Macau: Part One

It is already the 27th day of the first month of 2015?  Time flies ha? I've been keeping my mind busy, writing reviews of all the films I've watched since September last year on my other blog. I am still in the month of October so I have a long way to go. But I'm happy because I get to write again as opposed to just posting pictures and adding captions to them.

Physically, I have not done anything to get healthy as I sit on my fat butt all day writing entries. I should probably stop wondering why my waist line is still as bloated as a blow fish when I don't make any effort to slim down, no? Although sometimes, I get too engrossed in composing reviews, I just eat a small bowl of soup with rice. You'd think that would help in my effort to trim my waist line?

So enough whining about doing nothing 'healthy', let's get on with the ubiquitous post about Macau. You are probably wondering why we always have a side trip to this tiny state when we visit Hong Kong. Philippine passport holders can enter HK visa free for 14 days. This means upon entry they automatically give you 14 days regardless of the length of your stay. They advise travelers who plan to stay beyond 14 days to go to their nearest consulate and apply for a visa. 

Magastos po yun at matagal ang processing, tapos marami pang documento ang kailangan. Minsan pa hindi nila i-aaprove so bakit ka pa magpapakahirap, di ba? 

Kaya ang ginagawa namin at ginagawa na rin ng madlang pipol ay lumalakbay kami sa kalapit na bayan na ngayon po ay sakop na rin ng malaking lupa ng bansa may isang sanggol policy. Doon ang binibigay nila ay 30 araw na visa upon arrival din po.

Nakakapamasyal ka na sa magagandang tanawin, mag eenjoy ka rin sa mga casino (paborito ni Ma!) at pagkatapos ay makakabalik ka ulit sa pamamagitan ng ferry na isang oras lang biyahe at ipatatak ulit sa passport mo na 14 days. Ayos, di ba?? Kaso halatang halata po yun kaya ang ginagawa namin ay nag checheck in sa isang hotel ng isa o dalawang gabi (depende po sa budget) dahil sa totoo lang ay kulang ang isang buong araw sa dami ng magagawa doon. 

Now allow me to regale you with some sights and sites of Enchanting Macau.

The Galaxy Macau

Galaxy Macau at night

Lobby of City of Dreams Macau

The Venetian Macau

Sands Cotai Shoppes

St. Francis Xavier Church in Coloane, Macau

Coloane City - a fishing village

The Combatting Pirates Monument is dedicated to the "Coloane Incident". In 1910 pirates took a dozen pupils hostage and were held for ransom. Portuguese soldiers launched a military operation to free the hostages.

Sands Cotai

Swarovski Store in Senado Square

Post Office

Senado Square

St. Dominic Church

Cathedral de Se

Manger at the Plaza de Se

Road Signs

The Archbishop Palace

Peek a boo with Grand Lisboa Casino

West Lobby of The Venetian Macau

Stanley, HK

In August 2011, my sister found a stable job in HK. During the year, she would come home during long weekends and holidays because it is just a 2 hour flight. So by the end of the year, she'd have only a few leave days left. We decided it would be better if we spend the Yuletide holidays with her. Good timing too as D has his Christmas break from teaching. This also gives me time to save as much as possible during the entire year for our airfare and expenses. 

The first couple of years we stayed in HK, we basically walked our feet off visiting numerous tourist attractions like Disneyland, Ocean Park, Ngong Ping (The Giant Buddha), Stanley, The Peak, TST, Avenue of the Stars. The trip also entails eating at all the places that my sister wants to dine in but cannot since she does not like dining out by her lonesome self. So weight gain is naturally expected.

2014 being our fourth time in HK, we felt it was time to revisit some of the above mentioned sights. Since her open surgery was barely two months ago, my sister is still in the healing process and has difficulty climbing stairs and walking long distances.

Stanley is a town located in the southern district of the Hong Kong Peninsula. A quaint town aligned with bistros, restaurants and a promenade along the Repulse Bay. You can also visit the Murray House, the Stanley Market (a bazaar type shopping center), the more modern mall Stanley Plaza and just soak in the serenely peaceful environment.

Fortunately, Stanley is just one long bus ride from my sister's flat. The best way to enjoy the ride is to sit on the top deck of the double decker bus and be sure you are not squirmish because the ride entails navigating zigzag and sharp winding ascending roads. But the view is worth it!

Upon reaching Stanley our first stop was the St. Anne's Church.

Then it was time to head for the Stanley Market for some shopping and have a light snack along the waterfront promenade.

We were having such a great time bonding over lively conversation and hot drinks. Evening had set in and was getting quite chilly out in the open.  

Papal Mania

Ever since His Holiness Pope Francis set foot on Philippine soil in the early evening of January 15, 2015, Thursday, the whole nation has been gripped with excitement. Well, I think even way before his flight landed at Villamor Airbase, we, Catholic Filipinos have been enthusiastically awaiting his Holy presence in our land.  I am filled with a renewed sense of spiritual religiosity as I tune in to the TV and watch the live coverage of his visit here. 

I grew up in a strictly Catholic environment, was educated in institutions steeped in Catholicism and I tried my best to lead a lifestyle befitting a Christian. But after my graduation from the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in the early 1990s, I strayed from its traditions. The Church was the last place you would see me in during Sundays. I shunned the act of Confession and Communion.  The main reason is I was not worthy of entering a holy place of worship as my lifestyle back then was governed by sinful acts. Let us not enumerate them as they outnumber the 10 Commandments!

Despite my waywardness, I always respected the Pope as the Vicar of Christ and I never shunned what he stood for and what he represented in the grand scheme of things. In fact, in 2001 my sister and I (despite both of us being non Church goers during that period) even stood in line and waved at then Pope and now Saint John Paul II when he blessed the congregation at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican after he said mass. He was waving from the second or fourth floor of the Vatican and you needed a binocular to see him but still a papal blessing is quite sacred and we have never forgotten that encounter.

I started hearing Mass on a regular basis when I began dating my husband in 2007. His idea of a perfect date is to hear mass on Sundays then have lunch together. The first time we ever met (after several months of text messaging) was at the 4:30 pm Sunday mass at the Greenbelt chapel. So I thank God for D as he 'mended' my errant ways, guided and paved my way back into the loving folds of the Catholic Church. Although my sister teasingly tells me it was L-O-V-E that jolted my faith back into life. Heh!

So even though I rather stay home and witness His Holiness' activities on live TV, I still feel truly blessed as this is the closest I can 'get' to the Holy Father. I have to commend the media networks for their comprehensive coverage of the Papal visit.

May God continue to bless the Holy Father as he visits our country. May God give him strength and guidance as he tends to his growing flock by spreading his message of compassion and mercy. 

Photo credits: D's co-faculty who managed to grab a pivotal spot along the Papal route. These photos were taken this morning when Pope Francis was en route to make his courtesy call at Malacanang.

Reflections

It is 1:55 am Thursday morning on the 15th of January and I wanted to write about my 2015 resolutions when I realized by being awake at this hour, I already broke one of them.

As most people, my list include the usual resolutions such as eating healthy and nutritious food, try to find some time to exercise (the keyword here is 'try'), sleep early, write more (especially on my blogs) to develop my intellect, read more books, watch films at the cinema.

Yet by the 15th day of 2015, I have already reneged on about 80% of the items I listed above ... great!  But naturally, I can say don't be too hard on yourself, you still have 11 months to go - there is still time.

But the glaring truth is well there isn't enough time. For most of 2014, I was cooped up in hospital rooms taking care of either my sister or my mother and this really put me in quite a pensive and reflective mood and I realize that life is indeed short.

During this particular Yuletide holidays, I've seen how frail and fragile my parents are now in their late 70s as they struggled during long walks, had difficulty climbing stairs and would tire easily. As I sort through the numerous pictures taken during our trip, I notice a certain fatigue behind their smiling faces and it tugs at my heartstrings.

In this regard, I now know that resolutions are meant to be broken, that wishes and desires often never get fulfilled and frustration sets in like angry waves crashing against the shore.

Therefore, I resolve to stop questioning my purpose in life and stop self doubt from overpowering my judgement as well as to treat each dawning day as a blessing and be grateful for life, itself.

HK Revisited

After my sister's surgery (Oct. 23, 2014) was deferred because she developed a cold, our Yuletide plans were kept on hold. Last November 4, she was wheeled back into the hospital room after almost 6 hours on the operating table. We spent 5 nights at the hospital as she slowly recovered. A couch and a chair were our only places for rest and naturally sleep was hard to come by. 

It was nearly a month after the surgery that my sister decided she was 'strong' enough to travel. By that time, airfares were quite expensive, traffic jams were horrific, but we set our minds to go through with our Yuletide vacation.

In fact things got so hectic, I developed dizzy spells and my blood pressure shot up so high after one whole day of last minute shopping for our trip. I was rushed to the ER of a hospital but after a blood test, ECG and xRay - they didn't find anything wrong and I was discharged and merely advised to rest and take it easy.

When we were safely tucked in our plane seat on that Sunday morning (December 14) I was able to take a deep breath and resolved to enjoy our much deserved break. We landed in HK around 30 minutes past noon so we proceeded to have a light meal (lunch was served on the plane) at the Crystal Jade located in the massive and very conventionally functional HK International Airport.

Upon arriving at my sister's flat, we were so fatigued we hardly went out and we did a lot of sleeping for the first 3 - 4 days we were there. Then it was time to explore the sights and I noticed that this year they had less Christmas decors. I even read an article which basically said that they should not 'celebrate' Western holidays perhaps this explains the subdued tone of the city state. Nevertheless, we did find some Christmas trees here and there which added some festive cheer to the very nice cold climate.

We also got to eat at all our faves places to dine in HK. Cuisine ranged from Vietnamese, Mongolian, Japanese, Belgian and Western fare. Naturally, we had our share of dimsum, dumplings and wanton soups.  All of them were delicious and yummy! By the end of the trip, my pants were tight and I had to adjust the belt of my jeans.

I better get some sleep before my tummy grumbles from hunger.

More soon!

First post for 2015

I've been back from our long vacay in HK for 3 days now and I am still in a daze. The vacation itself was so much fun mostly due to the cold/chilly climate (which I adore) as we spent 3 weeks in the island state.  D was able to get an early Christmas break so off we went.

Oh but before I forget, my sister's surgery was successful (to say the least) as it was postponed from the original date of October 23 to November 4. 2014.  Even though the hysterectomy was a success, sad to say they discovered another medical condition called diverticulitis while she was on the operating table. Unfortunately, this condition also requires surgery but right now she is still in the recovery stage and needs to heal completely. It seems there is no end to her health woes but with prayers and medications she retains a positive outlook for 2015.

I am still in the process of unpacking, cleaning the entire house, sorting through things that need to be thrown away as well as sorting out the numerous pictures we took during our trip to both HK and Macau.

After all, it would give me a good excuse to resume blogging and resuscitate this blog.  Give me a few days and I vow to return with posts and pictures to boot!

In the meantime, I wish you all the best for 2015.  

Some random thoughts after turning forty six

I was really glad that D liked the birthday surprise treat I planned for his milestone birthday. A weekend staycation of R & R. 

A few days later it was my dearest sister's turn to add another year to her age. We had fun, food and family bonding moments to mark the occasion.

A month into D's fifth decade, he got really sick with symptoms of the flu. Marked with high fever and the chills, yet he was being very stubborn about going to the hospital. Thankfully after almost a week he recovered and was restored back to his healthy disposition. But it goes without saying that I was beyond myself with anxiety and worries and I had to summon all the saints to make me strong to endure the ordeal.

On the other end of the spectrum, my sister is back in town and her surgery has been scheduled for this Thursday. It has been hectic prepping for all the tests she needs to undergo before the operation.

But she took a much needed time off to celebrate my 46th birthday, yesterday. Truth be told I was not in the mood to feast as D had sustained an ankle injury a few days ago. His right leg is terribly swollen, and his mobility is greatly limited.

But birthdays have always been a big deal in our family so naturally I put on my happy hat and a smile on my haggard face to enjoy my 46th year. Never mind that we spent half the day at a clinic for a doctor to examine the hubby's swollen ankle. The power of persuasion worked this time as he finally agreed to go to a doctor.

Now as the surgery is just a few days away, I'm really scared and fearful especially when my sister gives me a notebook listing down all her personal belongings, stuff like bank accounts records and her important documents etc. I know she is just being realistic but it certainly is not easy to put up a stoic stance and not show any emotions.

It seems like all I've done nowadays is ... worry, worry and worry some more. I stay up at nights and my mind wanders into dark places that offers no comfort. I'm weary but certainly not tired of assuming my caregiver role over and over again.

Since I have to admit, there are still some instances and glimmers of hopeful anticipation! So much so that I can't help but still be enormously grateful for the abundant blessings I enjoy and continue to cherish.

On that note, my 46-year-old self says: