𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴! 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿! 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘇𝘇𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘆.𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Philippines 2012 Day 2 - Mall of Asia

[for Philippines Day 1 - Market Mall, click here]

Our day 2 in Philippines is another relaxed day. I woke up at 8am which is the time my body naturally wakes up but Jhon’s family woke up earlier! Like 4-5am! His parents casually asked Jhon if Singaporeans always wake up that late but little did they know, an average Singaporean wakes up at 11am and 8am is considered early. Haha

We had breakfast and laze around until noon to visit Malls of Asia, the biggest mall in Asia. Getting ready was frustrating because Philippines was crazy hot and humid and imagine trying to put on make while your pore are HUGE and sweating away. sighs..

I thought it would be just a day out with Jhon and his sis will join us later after work but Jhon’s dad insisted that he follows to ‘protect’ us. It was very sweet of him but I feel really bad because he had to follow us around as I shop.

When you see this, you know you are near the Malls of Asia.



We roamed and I shopped. I shopped and shopped and shopped.

Most of the items in the mall are rather cheap but brands that can be found in Singapore like Top Shop, Marvel, Mango and etc are more or less the same price.





Jhon’s dad is forever smiling and would chuckle if I leave a shop empty handed which was plenty of times. He noticed if I like at least an item, I will go all out in the shop if not, I’m hands free. He found that amusing for some reason.


Half way through, we took a break to rest and took a quick bite.

I asked Jhon’s dad an obvious question jokingly “Are you tired?” He gave me the nicest smile and replied “Don’t worry about me, you just enjoy yourself” wahh.. Now I know where Jhon get his nice and accommodating character from.



Jhon’s sis called a while later saying that she can’t leave work so we continued roaming/shopping a little more.

The Avengers was already out in Philippines so their toys are showcased at the mall.



 



We also checked out cars because his dad was considering getting one.


Oh yeah! I brought brownies! It was because I tried brownies from Max before and it was awesome so I wonder all brownies in Philippines that great. (Never been a fan of brownies so this is really something special), more on that later. 70 cents each! fuwar!


So we eventually went home and mind you, we probably only explored 1/3 of the mall! -_- I need days to thoroughly scope this mall and I am a fast shopper.







When I got back home, the first thing I did was taste the brownies. They were superbly delicious! My favourite was Rocky Mountain. The texture of all the brownies are soft and tender and the sweetness were just nice; not to sweet, not to bitter. HEAVEN! I actually finished the ¾ of the box and that is a feat because I am not crazy about chocolates.


So we rested for a while, took pictures of my buys for the day [click here to find out] and checked out the street outside the house.







If only life is this simple. Breakfast, shop, eat tasty deserts, dinner and watch the kids play outside minus the heat. =P Cold showers have never been so heavenly until I stayed in Philippines.

Night 2 was also the night I ate Balut!!! Click here to read about my experience.


Anyways, Jhon’s family were so accommodating! They knew we were struggling with the heat even with a ceiling fan in the room so they bought another fan for us, A standing fan to cool us while we sleep.

Not only that, they know I am vain and take quite some time getting ready using a mirror so they bought a long mirror just for me. Feel the love!

The next day, a Pinoy Christian wedding!



   

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My favorite is the protection from aging! hehe

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Now, I am going to post a picture of my awesome sandcastle because I am proud of it! It is the most elaborate sandcastle by hand I ever made. haha 


That's all! Always remember to wear sunscreen!

   

The Day We Rented a $2K Camera Lens

Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens (rented): Nikkor 70-200 F2.8 VR 2
Photographer: Jhon Tolentino (My boyfriend lah lol)
Location: Pasir Ris Park


One of the best shots we have ever taken on that day. There are other photos but Jhon have not gone through it yet. It's actually a photo shoot of the 2 crochet shawls his mom gave to me. So watch this space!

It's sharp, it's clear and it's heavy. I had my hands on the lens and I am not kidding with the weight! Who needs to lift weights for biceps when you carry around 1+kg lens around.

We rented the lens from Camera Rental at $60 per day.

Was it worth it? YES! 

But would we buy it? NO. Unless we wish to start a business in photography or got filthy rich with loads of money to spare, why not? $2K is a lot of money for just a lens although it does do wonders in a picture.

Anyways, there is no point in getting such high end equipment when our knowledge with photography is borderline. At least we manage to have a test of the lens and perhaps we can rent again for really special occasions. If not, we will just stick with what we have. =)
   
   

Philippines 2012 Day 1 - Market Mall

The flight Jhon and I took was Cebu Pacific and it was at 1.30am. We did our final packing after work, rested and off we went to Changi Airport.

We have never been to the Budget Terminal before so it was a blur for us but we managed to find our way. Jhon and I tried to sleep throughout the journey but it was hard to get comfortable and it didn't help with a bratty kid whining away.


We arrived Manila airport at about 5am and as we walked to the lobby, I could see Jhon's dad big warm smile as he waved at us. I could do nothing but grin and little did I know it would be the start of a wonderful, sweet vacation that I will never forget.

To our surprise, Jhon's mom was in the van to pick us up too (she was diagnosed with Colon Cancer like my dad last year and is with a stoma bag) and off we went to Jhon's house in Pasig. Manila was HOT, mostly humid and the place reminds me of Malaysia in some ways. We were lucky that traffic was not bad that morning so we managed to reach Pasig in less than 45 minutes.


Jhon's house was still under (self) renovation but the main parts of the house was done. It is going to be a 3 storey house and currently, it is just a 2 storey house. Embarrassingly, within just a few minutes of entering the house, my sinus got the best of me and I started to sneeze like crazy. It was because Jhon has 5 cats and 1 dog roaming the house. The dog was chained (to protect her from evil neighbors) so at least I can roam around the house too. hehe

We were given breakfast and I took a short nap before we officially start our day in Manila.


After my nap and guess what? Food again! This time for lunch. 


Jhon's mom's friend cooked this certain dish that I REALLY LOVE! It's called "Relyenong Bangus"
I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the entire dish (actually, most pictures taken today were crappy lol no excuse for that) but trust me when I say it looks good and tasted awesome.

It was a steamed milk fish that has been de-boned, cooked with minced carrots, potato and salted egg. It was then put back to the fish with skin wrapped and lightly grilled.


After lunch, we got ready to head out to find Jhon a Barong Tagalog (Traditional Pinoy outfit) for his cousin's wedding.


Street outside the house. 


Jhon, his dad and I went out to take a cab to Market Mall. Which is technically a big market that sells wet and dry goods along with clothes, shoes, toys etc.


The place is very big but sectioned off very well so the place was well organised.

Jhon and his dad choosing a design and bargaining. Jhon has a size problem like all tall and slim people do. Size S fits well but lengthwise, it's too short while M is a tad big but his sleeves fit well. He got his Barong Tagalog for 1200 pesos (SGD35)


After that, we roamed around the place and there were a lot of good stuff to buy at a very cheap price. I bought mostly shirts for my family and kids and a couple of bags. They even sell imitation branded bags at crazy prizes. I bought an imitation HERMES hand bag for my mom at SGD5 and PUMA at SGD8.


We didn't spend much time there because I am a fast shopper and believe me when I say I bought a lot of stuff!!

By the time we reached home, it was 4pm. I spent the rest of the day, mingling with Jhon's family, hanging around the house and street just to absorb the surroundings.




By 5pm when it is not so humid, kids started to come out to play. Jhon gave me a heads up before that it would be noisy but I thought it was a good kind of noisy... Like chalet time noisy so it was okay. Today I also received the best compliment ever because Jhon's dad's best friend thought that I am 20-22 years old! bwahaha! #successkid

Poor Sandy on the 2nd storey peeking in.


We spend the rest of the day chit chatting and watched local game shows. 

And at about 9pm, I heard a man shouting. Who was he? The Balut man!

Every one got excited because they knew I have intentions of trying it so they bought 5. I was definitely not ready!! It was only my first day in Philippines so I just can't shove my face with a semi-developed duck! urgh!

I simply grinned while every one showed me how they ate balut. Jhon offered me a sip of the juice so I will know how it roughly tastes like and I did, it tasted weird and almost foul =P

And that is how I ended my first day in Philippines, a taste of balut juice in my mouth as I sleep for the night.