Who can man turn to? Psalm?
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Seasons of a mans life
A world class golfer passing away...A famous govt senator passing away...elderly people in the family becoming overly sensitive...a son leaving for military service...a career in stagnating waters..personal gift unutilized...aaah the winters of a mans life..browsing a book of "vanished people" in japan (missing people)...aaah the despoticism in a mans life.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Phil Trip September 16-25, 2016
Friday, Day 1 : AIR TRAVEL. The family took 2 cabs so we could fit all the luggages. After checking in at T2, we had local SG flavored lunch, then made last minute purchase (Bose wireless speaker). Uneventful as it was, I can sense the kids are looking forward for this trip. The flight was smooth, uneventful (again) as expected. Glad the 2 typhoons veered towards Taiwan. We landed before 6PM. Clearing customs was a breeze these days. Maybe a GN channel needs to feature this! Made SIM card purchase so I can use the GPS tracker during the trip. After checking in at the local hotel, asked all 14 family members to join us for dinner at a nearby mall. Everyone appeared welcoming! After dishing out the 'pasalubong' at the hotel, lights out at 11PM.
Saturday, Day 2: LAND TRAVEL to L.U, BAGUIO. Woke up to the sound of chicken cocks (5:30AM) and time to pack ! The car rental handed over the car the previous night so we packed our gears and head off! A quick petrol check allowed us to drop by nearest Mcdo for a quick breakfast. Reached my hometown before lunch and did a quick tour of the ancestral house construction. Lunch was served the Ilocano style! Kids loved the fresh fish as well. I can sense they are not used to travelling by land for 3-4 hours so exhaustion sets in. The weather is not helping either. Moments after we arrived, dark monsoon clouds began to appear. The thing is - Sept timing in the countryside means paddy fields and water laden farms across all viewing angle. The beach view is inviting but undercurrent danger always lurks. Shortly before 2 PM we head out to Baguio. Mom and dad did not join anymore since mom had problems on her swollen foot. The travel to baguio was foggy and we had to stop midway to let the fog pass. My 2 teens loved it! Once checked in at around 4-5PM, evening darkness began to set in. As a result, we had to arrange dinner at 6PM at the nearby John Hay country club with my brother and his brood. After dinner, I asked my 2 teens what do they fancy doing. Both of them agree that a good night cap with drinks be a good idea. So after dropping off the ladies and the baby, we head to a local bar. Nights out at 1030PM. It was a highly packed event!
Sunday, Day 3, GOLF and Baguio Tour. After a half day golf, (while kids are having sumptuous breakfast!), the family decided to tour baguio. Lunch, around 1PM was at AMORE resto, a retired co employee owned the business and the idea was mooted after my golf round in the morning. Soon after, we swung Mines view park, took some photos, ate taho, and since its starting to drizzle, we decided to head back to the hotel. Rested for a while, umm, massage for 1 hour (which was utterly refreshing!) and at 6 PM, dinner was at a nearby Japanese resto. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by a mall outlet to check out their items. Nothing new to behold. So we called it a night. Oh by the way, we also bumped into a Baguio based family whom we hosted in our house. World is getting smaller ! (PS. Scored 76, lowest EVER on any round!!)
Monday, Day 4, LAND TRAVEL AGAIN, L.U and Clark. Breakfast was glorious at the hotel! We even chance upon a local radio and TV broadcaster/presenter. My 2 teen boys also stumbled upon a SG based family who's their inner friends. Took plenty of photos across and around the hotel garden and we head out 1030AM to travel. Along the way, bought vegetables, honey and peanut brittle to munch! Reached LU around 12, head back again to our ancestral house construction and picked up mom for lunch at the CK town area. Quick 2 hr bonding with family and before we knew it, were about to hit the road again to beat 6PM deadline of the car rental. It was raining along the way and as per plan we drop Dau to get my brother ride a public transport and pick up our next vehicle for the next leg.
Tuesday, Day 5, GOLF@John Hay, MALLING. (Sun valley, TGIF dinner at Marquee Mall). Being in clark has plenty of advantages. Well you get to go to malls, leisure areas like casino, bars and the place is just teeming with nightlife from all sizes and shapes. Since we have a baby boy, we decided the best place is obviously to have him walk in the comforts of a not-so-crowded-place. Hence we choose the ayala designed marquee mall in order to maintain some privacy. And oh by the way, the Sun valley course is insane hard but scenery is spectacular! It takes precision and skill to keep your ball in play. Else one suffers painfully. Lunch was served at the country club resto managed by Koreans. It was splendid! Kids love the lean meat offering. We had pictures all around the place before heading back home. Had a massage to while away the golf game. Worth it! (P.S. Despite being a tough course, scored a 97 on sun valley)
Wednesday, Day 6, LAND TRAVEL to Cavite, via Bulacan, QC Jollibee. Before checking out at the hotel, we had to taste the best breakfast set of Tocilog and Longsilog I ever tasted. It was a resto off the main highway of clark going to main gate and within the Petron gas station. The place is called "CALLE'. Kids loved the porky delight! After checking out at 1030, we head to manila/cavite. En route my 2nd teen son wanted to check out the Nike and Adidas outlet mall for items. My wife ended up buying 3 pairs of exercise leggings as golf get up! At the behest of our kids, we had to rendezvous with my brother and his daughter at the Oral declamation contest. It was worth it! We had to make one big roundabout and drove around bulacan (outskirts) of manila in anticipation of heavy traffic (which occurred along East ave exit!). Along the way, hunger pangs set in and we drove by Jollibee commonwealth to pick up some tidbits. We left clark at 1030, reached EDSA at 430PM then headed to skyway to drop by yet another pick up, my niece! So we arrived at San Pedro 530PM and finally to Cavite around 630PM!) Whew!!
Thursday, Day 7, GOLF@sherwood, dinner at Tagaytay, malling at Ayala, nightcap! This is pretty much the order of the day. While our mornings are occupied by golf, and the kids are still asleep and resting, afternoons are made for going outs. On our first day, our kids wanted to see Twin Lakes as the newest attraction. And off we went! The view was worth the 1hr trip. I suddenly felt 1 hr is loong when driving in tiny singapore! To satisfy my craving for buko pie, asked wifey to buy in the nearby shop. Checking her grocery items revealed more than just buko pie. It was litterred with pika pika food like buko tarts and some other items. No complaints though. We ended up having "UNLI" coffee while enjoying tagaytay early evening breeze. Aaaaahhh, if only all of my country is this temperate climate! After coffee we head out to check out the mall and buy my baby boy his sandals. The price and quality is not bad! Worth it! Our week is coming to an end. So we had to maximize our time malling around...(P.S Scored 93 on Sherwood so not bad!)
Friday, Day 8, GOLF@Riviera, dinner at Ayala alabang, Mall hopping, starbucks Vista city. Wifey and I has this day as our last day of golf. And so I booked the toughest one around - Riviera@Silang, LANGER course. This course was something! The rough is well, very rough! You will end up sacrificing one stroke off your score if your ball lands on this rough. After a painful struggle off the back 9, I scored a miserable 101! But hey, I know now what to do for course which has thick rough!
Saturday, Day 9, GOLF@Eagle ridge, dinner at QC Korean, bag shopping@John carlo creations. "I need to recover from my misery". So I told my wife. So I decided to go Eagle ridge for my 'penultimate' golf adventure holiday! Finally scored below 100 on the 2nd toughest course. I played Faldo while all members say Dye is the tough one. The starter managed to get me 2 balls and I ended up playing with a lawyer and a businessman. They were 15-20 yrs my senior so I enjoyed playing!
Sunday, Day 10, Fly back! You know when you get lucky and your mind is bringing tricks on you, then you know thats the time that you cant distinguish reality from fiction. In our case, of all the flights and timingon the world, guess who was with us during our trip - a Vlogger named Wil Dasovich! Yes!
Saturday, Day 2: LAND TRAVEL to L.U, BAGUIO. Woke up to the sound of chicken cocks (5:30AM) and time to pack ! The car rental handed over the car the previous night so we packed our gears and head off! A quick petrol check allowed us to drop by nearest Mcdo for a quick breakfast. Reached my hometown before lunch and did a quick tour of the ancestral house construction. Lunch was served the Ilocano style! Kids loved the fresh fish as well. I can sense they are not used to travelling by land for 3-4 hours so exhaustion sets in. The weather is not helping either. Moments after we arrived, dark monsoon clouds began to appear. The thing is - Sept timing in the countryside means paddy fields and water laden farms across all viewing angle. The beach view is inviting but undercurrent danger always lurks. Shortly before 2 PM we head out to Baguio. Mom and dad did not join anymore since mom had problems on her swollen foot. The travel to baguio was foggy and we had to stop midway to let the fog pass. My 2 teens loved it! Once checked in at around 4-5PM, evening darkness began to set in. As a result, we had to arrange dinner at 6PM at the nearby John Hay country club with my brother and his brood. After dinner, I asked my 2 teens what do they fancy doing. Both of them agree that a good night cap with drinks be a good idea. So after dropping off the ladies and the baby, we head to a local bar. Nights out at 1030PM. It was a highly packed event!
Sunday, Day 3, GOLF and Baguio Tour. After a half day golf, (while kids are having sumptuous breakfast!), the family decided to tour baguio. Lunch, around 1PM was at AMORE resto, a retired co employee owned the business and the idea was mooted after my golf round in the morning. Soon after, we swung Mines view park, took some photos, ate taho, and since its starting to drizzle, we decided to head back to the hotel. Rested for a while, umm, massage for 1 hour (which was utterly refreshing!) and at 6 PM, dinner was at a nearby Japanese resto. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by a mall outlet to check out their items. Nothing new to behold. So we called it a night. Oh by the way, we also bumped into a Baguio based family whom we hosted in our house. World is getting smaller ! (PS. Scored 76, lowest EVER on any round!!)
Monday, Day 4, LAND TRAVEL AGAIN, L.U and Clark. Breakfast was glorious at the hotel! We even chance upon a local radio and TV broadcaster/presenter. My 2 teen boys also stumbled upon a SG based family who's their inner friends. Took plenty of photos across and around the hotel garden and we head out 1030AM to travel. Along the way, bought vegetables, honey and peanut brittle to munch! Reached LU around 12, head back again to our ancestral house construction and picked up mom for lunch at the CK town area. Quick 2 hr bonding with family and before we knew it, were about to hit the road again to beat 6PM deadline of the car rental. It was raining along the way and as per plan we drop Dau to get my brother ride a public transport and pick up our next vehicle for the next leg.
Tuesday, Day 5, GOLF@John Hay, MALLING. (Sun valley, TGIF dinner at Marquee Mall). Being in clark has plenty of advantages. Well you get to go to malls, leisure areas like casino, bars and the place is just teeming with nightlife from all sizes and shapes. Since we have a baby boy, we decided the best place is obviously to have him walk in the comforts of a not-so-crowded-place. Hence we choose the ayala designed marquee mall in order to maintain some privacy. And oh by the way, the Sun valley course is insane hard but scenery is spectacular! It takes precision and skill to keep your ball in play. Else one suffers painfully. Lunch was served at the country club resto managed by Koreans. It was splendid! Kids love the lean meat offering. We had pictures all around the place before heading back home. Had a massage to while away the golf game. Worth it! (P.S. Despite being a tough course, scored a 97 on sun valley)
Wednesday, Day 6, LAND TRAVEL to Cavite, via Bulacan, QC Jollibee. Before checking out at the hotel, we had to taste the best breakfast set of Tocilog and Longsilog I ever tasted. It was a resto off the main highway of clark going to main gate and within the Petron gas station. The place is called "CALLE'. Kids loved the porky delight! After checking out at 1030, we head to manila/cavite. En route my 2nd teen son wanted to check out the Nike and Adidas outlet mall for items. My wife ended up buying 3 pairs of exercise leggings as golf get up! At the behest of our kids, we had to rendezvous with my brother and his daughter at the Oral declamation contest. It was worth it! We had to make one big roundabout and drove around bulacan (outskirts) of manila in anticipation of heavy traffic (which occurred along East ave exit!). Along the way, hunger pangs set in and we drove by Jollibee commonwealth to pick up some tidbits. We left clark at 1030, reached EDSA at 430PM then headed to skyway to drop by yet another pick up, my niece! So we arrived at San Pedro 530PM and finally to Cavite around 630PM!) Whew!!
Thursday, Day 7, GOLF@sherwood, dinner at Tagaytay, malling at Ayala, nightcap! This is pretty much the order of the day. While our mornings are occupied by golf, and the kids are still asleep and resting, afternoons are made for going outs. On our first day, our kids wanted to see Twin Lakes as the newest attraction. And off we went! The view was worth the 1hr trip. I suddenly felt 1 hr is loong when driving in tiny singapore! To satisfy my craving for buko pie, asked wifey to buy in the nearby shop. Checking her grocery items revealed more than just buko pie. It was litterred with pika pika food like buko tarts and some other items. No complaints though. We ended up having "UNLI" coffee while enjoying tagaytay early evening breeze. Aaaaahhh, if only all of my country is this temperate climate! After coffee we head out to check out the mall and buy my baby boy his sandals. The price and quality is not bad! Worth it! Our week is coming to an end. So we had to maximize our time malling around...(P.S Scored 93 on Sherwood so not bad!)
Friday, Day 8, GOLF@Riviera, dinner at Ayala alabang, Mall hopping, starbucks Vista city. Wifey and I has this day as our last day of golf. And so I booked the toughest one around - Riviera@Silang, LANGER course. This course was something! The rough is well, very rough! You will end up sacrificing one stroke off your score if your ball lands on this rough. After a painful struggle off the back 9, I scored a miserable 101! But hey, I know now what to do for course which has thick rough!
Saturday, Day 9, GOLF@Eagle ridge, dinner at QC Korean, bag shopping@John carlo creations. "I need to recover from my misery". So I told my wife. So I decided to go Eagle ridge for my 'penultimate' golf adventure holiday! Finally scored below 100 on the 2nd toughest course. I played Faldo while all members say Dye is the tough one. The starter managed to get me 2 balls and I ended up playing with a lawyer and a businessman. They were 15-20 yrs my senior so I enjoyed playing!
Sunday, Day 10, Fly back! You know when you get lucky and your mind is bringing tricks on you, then you know thats the time that you cant distinguish reality from fiction. In our case, of all the flights and timingon the world, guess who was with us during our trip - a Vlogger named Wil Dasovich! Yes!
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