Chinatown Museum, Manila (part 1)

The museum tour resumes. This time we headed to Binondo, specifically the Lucky Chinatown Mall. This is our second time to visit this mall but I had no idea that there is a museum at the 4th floor.

The museum focuses on the rich colorful history of Binondo, the location of one of the world's oldest Chinatown. The 17 galleries of the display narratives serve as visual testament to the social, cultural, economic, political and religious significance of the Chinese community. 

The Chinatown museum is privately owned by Megaworld Corporation. The real estate developer company that also operates the lifestyle malls in Eastwood, Newport, Uptown and Arcovia among others.

For years, Binondo was the center of the business industry as many Chinese merchants, laborers and artisans thrived there. Many of the Philippines' firsts like pharmacies, theaters, restaurants and departments stores started in Binondo.

Michael, a former student of the hubby who is now the manager/curator of the museum gamely toured us around the brightly lit museum. I was really impressed with the historical tidbits he shared with us. 

Chinatown Museum
4th floor Imperial Wing
Lucky Chinatown mall
Reina Regente Street,
Binondo Manila
Tuesdays - Saturdays 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Entrance fee is 150 pesos.

Tercie

From 1978 - 1982 we lived in Brussels, Belgium. Our apartment was a two bedroom, 1.5 bathroom with a bathtub, a workable size kitchen with separate dining room and a spacious living room with big windows. The view from our living room was the front street lined with big trees. It was on the second floor of an orange bricked building with an old style elevator, and an older couple who lived downstairs serving as the 'concierge' of the building. It was located in the univesity part of town in the capital of Belgium.

Our first ever car was a 3 door A/T silver Toyota Tercel hatchback. It was quite an oddity in a country prevalent with European and American cars. But Dad and I guess Mommy too decided it was the perfect car for our small family of 4.  Dad chose it because it had only 2 doors (with a hatchback) so it meant me and my sister were safe at the back. I remember we would push the passenger seat down so we could enter the back side of the car. 

It was a much loved car we named Tercie. We traveled all over Europe in Tercie, from the alps of Switzerland, the cobblestone streets of Paris, the windmills of Amsterdam, the sacred grounds of the Vatican, the old town of Cologne, Germany to the canals of Venice, Italy.  It was so fun those road trips with Dad at the wheel and Mommy as our navigator. We were just small kids but we cherish those European travels with much fondness and gratitude.

In 1982, we were recalled back home. Tercie was still our car when we lived in Mandaluyong. Dad took great care of Tercie even though sometimes, he had difficulty finding its spare parts as it was one of a kind in this neck of the woods. I still remember Tercie with no aircon but a heater (European winters were harsh) rollling through the streets of tropical, sunny and humid Metro Manila.  

In the 1990s, sister dearest drove Tercie when she was studying in UST. Still handy and quite reliable. But in 1992, Dad was reassigned to another posting abroad. This time to Singapore so it was with a heavy heart that we had to leave Tercie with some relatives. But sad to say, Tercie was neglected as it was too costly for them to maintain. Last time, I saw Tercie it was all rusty and in a state of total deterioration. It was heartbreaking.  I cried so much but Dad was strong yet I knew he was sad too.

So imagine our surprise when sister dearest and I were walking aimlessly in Tamsui, Taiwan because we got lost looking for some historical fort. We came across this silver Toyota Tercel parked along the road. Although it was a 4 door sedan and Tercie was a hatchback. We were so happy we had to take a picture.

It brought back so much memories along with the thought that it was a sign (yes I am a strong believer of signs!) from Dad and Tercie. They are watching over us because we were lost in an isolated place with the bus stop so far away. Some taxi driver didn't understand us and refused to take us to the nearest MRT station but thankfully we regained our bearings and got back on track to the Tamsui MRT station. Thanks Dad and Tercie! 

Longshan Temple, Taipei

For our Taiwan trip, we did not avail of the hop on hop off bus because we had the 3 days Taiwan FunPass. The pass came with a booklet with interesting information of the different tourist attractions along with its opening hours, the nearest MRT station as well as which bus to take to get to the sites. Quite comprehensive, really.

We discovered the Lungshan Temple when we realized it was just a few MRT stations away from where we had our hotpot dinner on our first night in Taipei. Too bad, it was already closed. But it was an impressive sight. We wanted to return during its opening hours but due to time constraints, we never got the chance. 

Lungshan Temple
Guangzhou St. Wanhua District,
Taipei City Taiwan
Free Entrance
6 A.M - 9:30 P.M

Gratitude

Sunday visit to the parents @ Loyola Sucat

This past week, we received sad news that a nephew of D collapsed and died. He was only 50 years old. It was quite a shock because we had no idea he was sick or had any lingering disease.

Saturday, we went to his wake. A reunion of relatives we hardly have time to socialize with but only keep in touch through social media posts. A glimpse here and there of what is going on with each other's lives.

Unfortunately nowadays, a wake or a funeral is the only way families, relatives and friends get to see each other. We wanted to stay longer for more 'chikahan' but San Jose del Monte is about 2 hours drive away from our place. The weather is quite unpredictable, we left Bulacan by 4 PM to avoid traveling on unknown provincial roads by night fall. We have a love and hate relationship with Waze, it keeps directing us to tiny dead end roads. Goodness.

It makes us realize just how short life is. That we are on borrowed time. We need to make each moment count. Enjoy each waking minute. Be grateful for life. Be grateful for good health. Be grateful for a roof over our heads. Be grateful for small victories. Be grateful for abundance. Basta, just be grateful. 

Leaving on a jet plane to Taiwan

Any early morning flight on Cebu Pacific means being at the NAIA terminal 3 at least three to four hours before the flight. Yes, even though you have already checked in online and just need to drop off your check in pieces of luggage.

Here's why:

• you have to pay the travel tax fee of 1,620 pesos at a separate counter.
• the queue at the check in counters are quite long.
• the most important reason is the even longer snake like queue at the immigration counters.
• we were in line for one hour and a half for this trip to Taiwan.
• I had all my pertinent and supporting documents + photocopies in a neat folder
• I was merely asked who I was traveling with, what is my job and when is my return flight.
• no, long interrogation by immigration officer, this time.
• another long queue for security check, this time we had to remove our shoes.

Budget airlines means there is no meal on board. We usually have a light snack at the airport or we buy burgers/ biscuits to eat on the plane in case we get hungry. We bought a couple of Wendy's burgers and put it in our bags and waited for final boarding time call at the designated gate. During the 1 hour 45 minutes flight, we both fell asleep because we were up at 2 AM for the 7AM flight. 

Upon landing, we exited the plane and heading towards the arrivals area. Before we reached the immigration counters, there was a security check so we had to put our handbags and hand carry luggage into the carousel to pass through an Xray machine, then they physically inspected our bags because apparently any form of meat (beef, pork, lamb, poultry) was not allowed. So they confiscated our Wendy's burgers and promptly threw them into a trash bin. First time I encountered such a secuirty check even before getting our check in luggage. The female security personnel inspecting my sister's handbag even talked in Filipino. Not sure if she was Taiwanese who knows Tagalog or a kabayan working at the airport. Strange, lang.

A quick photo in front of the Taiwan signage before heading to the immigration counters where they stamped our passports. By the way, Taiwan extended the visa free entry for Filipino passport holders for another year. So until July 31, 2025 we can go to Taiwan and stay for 14 days visa free.

It was time to try our luck at the Taiwan the Lucky Land raffle draw. Don't forget to register online at least 3 days before your arrival date in Taiwan at their website. You will be given a QR code which you will scan at their portal located at all Taiwan airport terminals. I lost but sister dearest won a whooping 5,000 NTD (New Taiwan Dollars) stored in a card.

This iCash card had many benefits like free MRT rides (which are basically quite cheap though) but also limitations because it can only be used in a few stores like 7/11, Starbucks, Mister Donut, CosMed while other stores didn't accept it. We had a very difficult time trying to consume the entire 5,000 NTD worth and mostly used it to buy bottles of mineral water and snacks at 7/11 convenience stores.

We also went to the Klook counter to avail of our 3 days Taiwan Fun Pass. This card allows free rides on buses and MRT as well as free admission tickets to several attractions for 3 whole days. 

It certainly pays to get an early flight because by the time you land until you get to your hotel/accommodation, it takes about 2 to 2.5 hours just to get your essentials (SIM card, Fun Passes, MRT e-card) to enjoy a seamless vacation.

The best part of our first day in Taipei is the hotpot dinner we had at Tripod King restaurant at their Da'an district branch. Just a couple of MRT stops away from our hotel. Since we don't eat spicy food, we ordered the hot pot with pickled cabbage and pork broth. The soup base tasted a bit like sinigang but not that sour naman. The whole hotpot dinner experience is lovely!

Celine Dion at 2024 Paris Olympics

Celine Dion's rendition of my favorite French song gave me goosebumps.

The famous song “Hymne a L’Amour” written and sang by the Edith Piaf is a passionate ode to LOVE. 

So happy to see that Celine Dion has recovered from her debilitating disease.

Kudos to the organizers of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Despite the heavy downpour, it was a spectacular show!

Planning a trip

planes planes planes at NAIA terminal 3

     At the beginning of 2024,  sister dearest and I manifested that it would the year to travel! Last March, she had to attend to some banking matters in Singapore so I accompanied her.

 

Right upon our return from Singapore, we planned to travel again in July. But I had terrible tooth aches and my dentist told me I needed 2 root canal, 2 teeth extraction and placing of crowns on the two molars after the root canal sessions.

It took the whole month of April, May and June just to get the several root canal sessions done. Before the procedure, I needed medical clearances from my endocrinologist and my cardiologist because of my hypertension and hyperthyroidism conditions. This entails fasting for 10 -12 hours for the blood extraction, scheduling an ECQ, xray, urinalysis. etc. My endocrinologist was also on leave for 2 weeks and if you know how difficult it is to schedule a doctor's appointment in this country, you would understand it takes a while just to get all the necessary medical clearance.  Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to plan a vacation as the dental sessions were tiring, and sometimes even painful to bear. 

Early week of June, I said to myself oh what the heck, I deserve a break after spending almost 3 months in a dental clinic every weekend. I told my dentist I would take a break before I proceed with the teeth extraction and placing of the crowns on my two molars.

If truth be told, 3 weeks is a short time to plan a trip. First, we needed to choose a destination, search for cheap(er) airfares and affordable hotel room rates. Sister dearest had already applied for leave from work so it was funny because we didn't have anywhere to go at that point.

I did all the research on the cities we wanted to visit, checked the weather forecast for each city, googled about the attractions to visit, keeping in mind that we learned our lessons from over exerting ourselves in sunny, humid Singapore. After we finally decided on our destination, it was time to plan  how many days/nights we would spend, the convenient flight schedule of different airlines, the location of the hotel, as well as plot an itinerary, compare the rates of the admission tickets, whether to book on Klook, at their official website or buy from the attraction ticket booth itself. Find suitable dining options based on our budget, our cravings and its proximity to our accommodation, study the different MRT stations and bus routes. Thankful for google as everything is now available online. Just need to make an effort to really research, by watching some travel vlogs and visiting official websites. 

Now that we are older we do DIY activities, not relying on package tours because we prefer to take our own time and not be rushed and ferried around like cattle on group tours. I know it is more convenient to join group tours as you merely have to show up at the pick up point and not worry about mobility. 

But sister dearest is adept at 'map' reading, has good directional skills so I mostly rely on her ability to get us to the different landmarks on our itinerary. So far, she is always on point and a very reliable travel partner. Quite patient, with huge stamina to explore but her main goal is mostly to satisfy her cravings and eat eat and eat some more. While I tend to veer towards exploring historical sites and museums especially when it is my first time to visit the place. Both of us are not keen shoppers, we prefer culture based, cuisine infused vacations.

This particular trip made me realise I have limitations now and don't really do well in whole day walking, commuting on public transport and exploring sites. I still try to make an effort to be 'nice' even though my feet  and my lower back hurt, I’m depleted from exhaustion and I seem to lose steam by 7PM onwards and would want to return to the hotel. LOL

In such situations, I am reminded of our dear mother who was in her 80s yet still energetic, very enthusiastic about going around HK during our Yuletide holidays there. She didn't drink any vitamins, nor supplements, never exercised at all, didn't have any skin routine, didn't use any sunscreen, yet had flawless milky skin. She was a force to reckon with, larger than life persona and to this day, three years after she has gone, I still think about her boundless energy, her bubbly personality, her never say die attitude and her stamina during our vacations. I am awed and humbled, and use her as my motivation and inspiration to quit complaining about every little joint aches and pains I experienced when I travel.

Heh, so far I have failed miserably. But there is always a next time, a new destination to explore, more plane rides to take and hotels to stay in so let’s go! 

P.S.

Picture shows a Jetstar plane but that was not our flight, we flew on budget airline Cebu Pacific Air.

Beep beep

 

• Pardon the absence.
• 2 weeks after our trip, still feeling under the weather.
• Overindulging in cold drinks and scoops of ice cream, sheer exhaustion, not being fit (enough), menopausal, having some auto immune disease might be the factors.
• Yet I remain constantly grateful for small, medium and big blessings. 🥰