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May

HAPPY BLOGGING

Looking back, the first 5 months of 2012 have been more exciting and fun filled for me & my blogging. To others, these things may be ordinary but of course to me, the following events that transpired mean the moon and the stars already!

Let’s have a trip down recent memory lane, once more!

February 2012 was about docgelo x Mickey Mouse! The family and I were invited to a 3D2N sponsored adventure in Hong Kong Disneyland. We’re thankful for the opportunity to revisit the wonderful island and theme park for free. It was glorious!

Two months after, I was almost blown away with the hits this blog generated in one day. Considering I am not a celebrity, neither I blog sensational stories, nor national-level events or global issues, an almost 7,000 hits in a single day was beyond surprising!

On the same month of April, I stumbled upon an info on twitter that THE Ministry of Tourism Malaysia is holding its very first Malaysia International Tourism Blog Conference and Awards. I took a chance to nominate my blog and eventually it won under the Best Expat Blog 2012 category. And meeting the gracious and honorable Minister of Tourism Malaysia on stage was really one for the books! Accepting an award because your blog was voted by the people and was approved and confirmed by professional judges was indeed surreal! And FYI, the trophy was literally solid-heavy!

The event was featured in some newspaper within Malaysia and God knows if it also got to foreign shores. Obviously, it felt like weird and unusual to be on paper and to make matters more amusing, I can’t read a character because I don’t know Mandarin! I had to source out to instant friendly translators from my facebook list – a friend in Hong Kong and a Penangite blogger translated that it’s all good so I need not worry. It still felt weird, nonetheless I take pride as the only one wearing Barong Tagalog on that stage. My nose that night became an inch taller! hehehe!

The award was too perfect to celebrate my FIVE YEARS OF BLOGGING; the date of the awards night, May 8, 2012 coincided with the exact anniversary of my blog. Sweet victory, is it not?

Then came last week when I got my blog a dotcom, finally!

A week after I got my own domain, my new blog header banner was delivered.

How could you not be happier?

Presenting, my newest blog header banner….taaaaadaaaah!

Do you like my new blog header?

Does it shout out what I blog about- family, food and fun?

Thank you to my sponsor for this blog header banner, no other than my lovely wife, Tina! *applause!*

Tina and I like it a lot. I love it to bits actually! I even appreciate how my receding hairline was immortalized in this digital masterpiece, hehehe! It’s unbelievable that I have collaborated with an amazing Malaysian artist who generously agreed to do it for my site! Her name is Ms. Emila Yusof, a mother, a wife, a seasoned traveler, an Illustrator, a Children’s Book Writer and an Award-Winning-Blogger! Her blog was named as 2012 Best Tourism Lifestyle Blog at the 2012 Malaysia International Tourism Blog Award. It was literally on stage where we casually and briefly met! And the rest as they say, is history or in our case, an online collaboration. I emailed Ms. Emila heavily about my design in mind and it looks like she effortlessly illustrated everything I want. All my request and suggestions, even my last-minute-revisions were granted and delivered professionally!

Terima Kasih, Ms. Emila! Thank you for being so kind and patient on all my request. It’s my pleasure to own a piece of your awesome talent!

Know more about Ms. Emila Yusof, her art works, books, worldwide exhibits and her portfolio via her award winning blog : http://emilayusof.com/

There are certainly a lot of things to celebrate and to be grateful for!

Thank You, Lord!

May

PENANG SPICE TRAIL : ENTICING SENSORY EXPERIENCE

By docgelo 20 Comments

When I arrived in George Town, it took me about five minutes to figure out the location of the office of Ministry of Tourism Malaysia-Penang branch in Beach Street. I asked a traffic officer and a man guarding a building across the street about its location but I didn’t get a positive response. I found out later the office was newly transferred in the area. It came to mind that my adventure for that day had started early. Luckily, taking few more steps, a warm smile and a friendly welcome greeted me at the office’s lobby. I felt so home and was surprised that Ms. Jaime Yeoh knew my name and my recent win for blogging from their office’s Head Quarters in Kuala Lumpur. I randomly exchanged thoughts with her about being a traveler and being a tourist, and the so many possibilities that Penang can offer. Little did I know that I was already speaking casually to the Director of the Penang branch of the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia herself.

Exclusively invited participants arrived in the office few minutes past 8AM. I was introduced to a variety of people who are directly involved in the Tourism industry in this part of Malaysia. Our group of around 40 were composed of hotel managers, travel agency representatives, people from Tourist Guide Association of Penang (I hope I got their group’s name right), some journalists and photographers from the media and of course, a bunch of Penangite bloggers. We were all invited to be introduced and to experience the new tourists’ package called the “Hot and Spicy Penang – The Spice Trail”.

Here are my insights, suggestions and a few tips about the program…

As a tourist, I want to see, taste, smell, hear and feel the place that I am visiting. As a traveler, I want to discover, experience and immerse myself with the culture, traditions, history and lifestyle of the people and place I am exploring. The Penang Spice Trail offers all that with fascinating diversities from Malay, Indian and Peranakan or Straits Chinese all represented in the package.

From the brief orientation at the office’s AVR, we were immediately led to the streets of Penang on foot.

*Suggestions : It would be better if you include an audio-video presentation of somewhat like a synopsis-introduction of the Penang Spice Trail to the participants during the orientation. Also, weather forecast for the day of the tour should be noted.

*Tips : Bring umbrella and fans, wear your sunnies and sun visors and apply that much needed SPF lotion because the tour would involve some walking and strolling in and out of George Town other than riding the very comfy Bas Persiaran or tourist bus.

The tour was professionally guided by the amusing and spontaneous, Ms. Joann Khaw. She kept the participants engaged and well-informed with everything about spices, its history relating to the island and the rest of Asia and lots of pertinent facts. She was never boring and was so candid to burst into laughter and shared smiles with us. She really caught my attention when she mentioned that the Spice expedition to the Southeast Asia was halted when the Portugese, Ferdinand Magellan was killed in an island in The Philippines.

Our first pit stop : An old building with history that dates back to the Spice trade and industry in Penang. I so appreciate the fact that it’s preserved with its structure built with mixed concrete, steel and wood.

After brief discussion on the Spice trade and history in Penang, we strolled back to Jalan Pantai or Beach Street. What’s interesting with this tour package, it’s informative not only of spices and herbs but with almost everything in George Town. Case in point, I learned that when a building has inscription of a year, like that 1886 in the building shown on the next photo, the year indicates the year the building was completed.

From Beach Street, we went to Little India via this quaint alley called Lorong Che Em or Che Em Lane…

Et voila, Welcome to Little India…

Having been to Little India in George Town for a countless times, it still never fails to amaze me. The structures, the aroma of spices and herbs either being sold as raw ingredients or that distinct olfactory stimuli from Indian restaurants will surely draw and entice your noses to try and sample them. Not to forget the loud and lively Bollywood music that lords the parallels of Little India.

That day, I also developed my appreciation for wooden shutters! We were told that this building with gorgeous wooden shutters (on the next photo) is currently undergoing restoration.

It was only a few steps across the Indian restaurant we sampled for breakfast.

I have professed on this blog my family’s love affair with few Indian dishes, as well as this blog has documented some of our gastronomic adventures in Restoran Kapitan located at the junction of Pitt Street and Chulia Street in Little India. That morning, my taste buds were exposed to another Indian restaurant, the Sri Ananda Bahwan.

My Sunday breakfast : Teh tarik or Milk Tea, hot and Cheese Roti which I enjoyed with 3 Indian dips. Flavorful and made me crave for more

I was looking at a young family (who brought their grandparents with them) devouring an interesting Indian food. The Tourism officers noted my fascination and they ordered one for me. I told them I surely cannot finish one with its humongous serving but I really wanted to put my fingers on that Roti Tissue.

It was my first time to see such towering delight! I was like a kid silently jumping for joy! The moment could have been happier if I was with Tina and Gabby; I’m sure my little kiddo would also love this! Roti Tissue is a crunchy and crispy, hand-tossed larger and thinner version of the traditional, Roti Canai. It’s also called Roti Helikopter or Helicopter bread apparently because of its incredibly creative presentation. It can be eaten with jam, sugar, or ice cream or in our case, it was served with condensed milk. A perfect ending to a simple but flavorful breakfast! A must-try in Little India!

*Suggestions : It would be better if the Ministry of Tourism-Penang Office would constantly check or delegate another office to keep an eye on the hygiene and cleanliness of restaurants, not only in Little India but the rest of the island. Delicious foods would appeal more tasteful to travelers, tourists and even local and expats if dishes and beverages are prepared and served with utmost cleanliness. Some restaurants barely offer table napkins or at least tissue to diners.

From Sri Ananda Bahwan restaurant, we walked to another alley in Little India. There were more wooden shutters for me to appreciate, and more wonderful sights to see. I particularly liked this amazing tree whose leaves and branches are not common to me. Pretty, is it not?

One of the parallels of Little India is China Street (Okay, it sounded like we toured around Asia with just few steps. Unless you’re from other planet or somewhere in the outer space, you must have heard of MOTOUR’s tagline, Malaysia Truly Asia! It’s Truly Asia in this part of Southeast Asia!) In China Street, we found ourselves inside the V. Kaleespari Grinding Mill which they had it open only for the tour (read : remember, it was Sunday?).

For me, this is one of the highlights of the Penang Spice Trail. Tourists and travelers would definitely be interested in something they never see and experience on a daily basis. And of those things is being inside a Milling factory.

Spices, spices, and more spices!

I salute this man who was grinding chili on a Sunday morning. He could have enjoyed the day off with his family but he gladly reported to work just to accomodate us in the tour.

Chili grinder, baby!

We only stayed for few minutes inside the Milling factory, enough for us to practically see how some spices are processed. Then we walked along China Street again. There were more wooden shutters and century-old structures to love. The day was even lovelier because the sky was intensely blue and the sun was in its mightiest; at least we didn’t have downpour!

An inspiring day, is it not?

One more shot with those beautiful wooden shutters and that handsome tree…

At the heart of Little India, we were ushered to this store that sells, what else but spices!

*Tips : Take note tourists and travelers, we were told that this spice shop is the friendliest among the many spice stores in Little India. They allow you to ask queries about their commodity even without you buying. Photo-ops are also free!

After that Spice Milling factory and Spice store visits, we needed to go inside this art exhibit gallery while waiting for our tourist bus. It was an extra treat for us!

Inside this art gallery are tons of inspiring objects. I instantly found this corner with art and photography books, a guitar and piles of colored masterpieces very inspiring! Is it not too cozy?

While our tourist guide, Joann further explained things about spices, I found more fascinating things like this wooden staircase.

“PENANGism”

Here we were on this central spot of the art gallery having an engaging talk about spices, spices and spices…

Joann came so prepared like a girl scout and brought several samples… The most interesting spice to me at this point of discussion was the Betelnut which of course, can cause Nasopharyngeal cancer. It’s commonly chewed by Southeasian people including native Filipinos in the Northern Philippines.

On our way to our tourist bus, I saw this Kedai Kopi or Coffee Shop… Do they serve peace and joy with their drinks? I must sample!!!

A stone’s throw away and we reached the Goddess of Mercy Temple in Kapitan Keling Street. The shrine is located beside this pastel colored structure. It caught my attention because it blended well with the hues of the clouds and the sky!

The roof of Guan Yin Temple…

From George Town, our Bas Persiaran took us to Penang Botanical Garden…

It’s my second time in this place; the first time was with Gabby almost a year ago, while Tina was taking her “me-time” at a salon in the mall. I love how lush and textured the trees here.

Mr. Michael Langdon (center) spoke to us about the history of spice trade in Penang and how it evolved through the years. He also pointed out how several species of spices and herbs have grown and were kept in Penang Botanical Garden.

Other than the spices and herbs and century-old trees that may lure tourists, there are a lot more this flora-and-fauna-theme park has to offer…

I found this tree with uniquely charming bloom too interesting that I decided to make a separate blog entry about it soon. For now, enjoy this solitary shot…

Time flew so fast that I didn’t feel hungry until we were brought back to George Town in a restaurant called, D’ Dapur located in Union Street near Beach Street. They specialized in Malay cuisine.

*Suggestion : It would be better if the proximity of location in the itinerary will be well thought of, so traffic jam particularly during rush hour can be avoided, thus time could be stretched.

We had Indian food for breakfast, Malay for lunch!

This bright yellow wall was the view from where I sat. Eye-catching, isn’t it?

Here’s the table where I had my lunch with newly met fellows. Wait till you see the photo below when it was filled with Malay dishes…

A detail shot of the view of the corner from where I sat…It appears to me a father-and-son-bike. And you?

Now, these were the HOT & SPICY MALAY CUISINE we sampled…

Can anyone identify those dishes ?

My Filipino taste buds were intensely stimulated by these Malay dishes! I was sweating profusely on my nape as I taste everything on the table. To my surprise, one of the Chinese-Malaysian bloggers in our table commented to the manager of the restaurant that overall, she found the dishes not that hot but rather SWEET! It was a statement to reckon with; a comment to ponder!!! Kidding aside, I understood her point. For someone whose palates have been accustomed to HOT & SPICY dishes, any local Malaysian can easily tell which is authentic from which is not. The manager of D’ Dapur reasoned out that the dishes they serve were already tailored to the tastes of foreingers.

In all fairness, the set meal that was served per table had veggies, seafoods, rice of course, chicken, tofu, and teh tarik or milk tea to complete. The proportions were huge for sharing and spices and herbs made everything tasteful and… spicy!

God is alive because they followed the hot and spicy meal with a heavenly dessert. A truly Malaysian sweet treat, Cendol! This reminds me of Halo-Halo from the Philippines, although ours have more ingredients while Cendol, in my opinion is a simpler version. It was a glorious ending to a hot and spicy meal! A perfect one to sample even from hawker food stalls in Penang…

My personal serving of Cendol… Refreshingly sweet!

*Suggestions : It would have been better if the chef himself came out from the kitchen (D’ Dapur in English means “Inside the Kitchen” according to my Malaysian students) to explain every dishes and feature the spices he used in cooking. There was no set menu found on the table to introduce the name of the dish to a foreigner like me. The dishes were nicely presented and the facilities of this restaurant including the toilet and a peek into the kitchen proved that they give importance to cleanliness and hygiene.

I also suggest for the restaurant to prepare the set menu with names of dishes, description and include the ingredients highlighting the spices used in preparartion. That way, the diners particularly non-Malaysians would have better appreciation of the Penang Spice Trail.

After that spicy and hearty lunch, we hopped on the tourist bus again and few minutes after, I saw this by my bus window…

We were brought to the Tropical Spice Garden which is not to be missed if you’re into this Penang Spice Trail! It’s my second time there after I brought my family there last year.

*Tip : It’s better for visitors and tourists to go with the guided tour inside Tropical Spice Garden, this would maximize their visit.

I learned a lot from the tourist guide unlike when we had D.I.Y.-tour I had with Tina and Gabby last year. Do sample their in-house restaurant, Tree Monkey and if you have extra time, enroll in their cooking class which highlight herbs and spices of course.

*Suggestion : Remind tourists to wear something casual and easy, comfortable enough to cover the arms and legs and the feet so as to avoid the pesky mosquito bites. Although the free citronella oil spray at the entrace of this tropical paradise was offered, I still had another memorable mosquito bite at my antecubital fossa from Tropica Spice Garden.

I appreciated that almost all species in Tropical Spice Garden has its label complete with Scientific Name and common name, plus its use as a plant, as a herb or medicinal plant or just plain cooking spice and its sources.

It was only during that Penang Spice Trail that I learned about the Pinang Tree (the palm tree on the next photo). I know that Pulau Pinang or the island of Penang’s flag has a palm as a symbol but I had no idea what species of palm tree this state was named after until I joined this tour. Informative, I tell you!

Behold, a tropical beauty at its finest…

This tree that exfoliates spontaneously exposing its nearly scarlet bark is used as an ink to design Malaysian batik.

While that ordinary looking plant beside our knowledgeable and cool tourist guide is poisonous! I think most domestic houses, private and government offices have that as their indoor plant but it was only last Sunday that I learned that it has toxins and is very lethal. Do you such info? I was totally out of the loop!

*Suggestion : Be cautious to observe timetable. Some tourists and travelers want an on-the-dot-schedules. Others may also prefer to have the tour guiding in their native tongue. I remember touring California ages ago, from LA-San Francisco-Fresno-LA, our tour guide then spoke and explained everything in 4 languages – English, Italian, Spanish and French. He did that impressively! However it may add up to the cost of the tour.

The last part of this Penang Spice Trail was way beyond my expectations. We were all assigned to different spa in various hotels in the island. This part of the tour package aims to highlight the Peranakan-Inspired Spa treatment. To me, it completed the package because all the 3 large communities in Malaysia are well represented–We had breakfast and toured Little India. Lunch was at a Malay restaurant that featured Malay cuisine where spices were used and the day ended at a very relaxing note in a Peranakan-Inspired Spa (representing Chinese community).

I, together with 7 other fellows were brought to Rainbow Paradise Inn Beach Resort in Tajung Bungah to experience Samporna Spa…

*Suggestion : Remind tourists who would avail of this package to bring extra clothes.

The massage with aromathic oil followed by application of mud really put me to sleep for few minutes. It was indeed relaxing!

Samporna Spa also has jacuzzi…

A group of four to maximum of six can unwind in the jacuzzi and enjoy a sip of their favorite red or white wine… I only had the massage then hit the shower after an hour. It was so invigorating after all the walking and a whole day of tour in the island… Thank you, Saporna Spa! Thank you, Rainbow Paradise Inn Beach Resort! Thank you, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia-Penang Branch for the invite!

Penang has its unique charm with its rich culture, heritage and diversities in food, people and places. This Penang Spice Trail offers a variety of options on how to enjoy and maximize one’s stay in the island. Avail of the tour packages via your chosen hotel in Penang, ask your designated tourist guides or personally visit/email/call the office of Ministry of Tourism Malaysia-Penang branch for more details about these.

Are you enticed to take the Penang Spice Trail? You’ll definitely savor every step!

Visit their facebook website via https://www.facebook.com/MOTOURPenangOffice. Special thanks to Ms. Jaime Yeoh and her staff and to fellow blogger, Willy Wah for the invite.

*My blog post last year about Tropical Spice Garden via http://docgelo.com/2011/04/03/amidst-lush-greens-good-food-mosquito-bites/

May

CHANGES ARE INEVITABLE

By docgelo 15 Comments

Categories: HEADLINES
Tags: angelo nino santos, beyond toxicity, blog, blogging, doc gelo, docgelo, expat, expat blogger, filipino blogger, penang blogger

It’s the same blog you LOVE with few changes and more interesting posts coming very soon!

*To all my blog buddies, you may now change the link of this site in your blog roll to http://docgelo.com/

Thank you!

May

SOMETHING ABOUT BARONG TAGALOG

By docgelo 19 Comments

Categories: HEADLINES and PHILIPPINES
Tags: Filipino, doc gelo, docgelo, filipiniana, pinoy abroad, beyond toxicity, pinoy expat, filipino in penang, filipino in malaysia, filipino expat, expatriate, barong tagalog, ferdinand marcos, marcos, ferdinand e marcos, philippine costumes, the philippines

It took me few days to bring my Barong Tagalog for its much needed dry cleaning to the laundry shop located just in front of the building of our appartment. I wore it proudly when I and my family graced the 2012 Malaysia International Tourism Blog Awards in Saloma Theater, Kuala Lumpur last May 8th. You all know by now what happened in the awards night; now here’s what happened inside the laundry shop :

Me : Hello! Good afternoon! Do you do dry clean here, Sir?
Old Malaysian man about age of 60s, perhaps : “Yes! What do you call that? ….Philippine!”
Me : “It’s called Barong. Our national costume in The Philippines.”
Old Malaysian man : “Ahhhhh…. Barong!”
Me : “How much do you charge for dry cleaning a Barong, Sir? And when can I collect it?”
Old Malaysian man : “Today is Saturday, so tomorrow Sunday -store is closed. You can collect it on Tuesday. You pay 6 ringgit.”
Me : “OK, Sir, I’ll pay now and I shall collect it around 6:30PM, Tuesday.”
Old Malaysian man putting my Barong closer to his chest : “Can you wear Barong without a shirt inside?”
Me : “Oh no, Sir. We wear it with plain white undershirt underneath. Barong is worn in formal occasions.”
Old Malaysian man : “Ohhhhhh… Can you wear it with jogging pants, like this?” –pointing to what he was wearing.”
Me : “No, Sir. We wear it with slacks or formal dark pants.”
Old Malaysian man : “So if I want Barong, I go Philippine and buy. Where can I buy and how much?”
Me : “You can buy Barong Tagalog from Department stores or even in huge public markets.”
Old Malaysian man : “Ohhhhh… I see. How much?”
Me : “The price usually varies with the material or the cloth that was used. This Barong, I only got cheap for around hundred ringgit (FYI, I bought that particular Barong in Tutuban Mall in Divisoria, where else?) But as I have said, prices go up depending on the material. It can go as high as one thousand ringgit (Php 14,000) or even more expensive specially if it’s a designer’s label and/or the cloth is made of pineapple fiber.”
Old Malaysian man : “Ohhhh….the one worn by Marcos.“

May

THANK YOU!

By docgelo 24 Comments

Categories: EVENTS, FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES, MALAYSIA and TRAVEL
Tags: best blog, beyond toxicity, doc gelo, docgelo, expat, expat blog, expat mm2h, malaysia international tourism bloggers awards, ministry of tourism malaysia blog awards, mitbca, mitbca 2012

This blog is celebrating its 5th birthday on May 8th, 2012. Yes, it has been 5 years of blogging about life’s simple plesaures -family, food and fun. I honestly think that it has gradually evolved from what it has been before to what it is now. My blog has been growing with my documentation of my family’s, particularly my son’s memorable activities. Since 2007, I have been considering blogging more than a part of my limited social life but one of my passions that makes me happy and whole. In as much as I wanted to throw another blog anniversary online contest which has been well-received annually, or support or conduct a charity work, or at least buy a delicious cupcake-with-candle-for this site; time, chance and finances restricted me in doing so. Nevertheless, there are so much reasons to rejoice and be grateful for.

A DOWNPOUR OF PRICELESS BLESSINGS

Back in December of 2011, this blog received an invitation to partake in an all-sponsored Hong Kong Disneyland tour after it was selected from hundreds of blog sites from the Philippines. And by the middle of February of this year, my family and I flew from Malaysia to HKDL and joined 5 other esteemed Filipino bloggers from various fields of interests with their friends and families for that incredibly fantastic 3D2N family-food-fun-adventure.

Then came last month, April, my blog received its highest pageview per day – it garnered 6,776 views all in ONE DAY! These figures to most people may not be impressive but I so appreciate this considering that I am not a celebrity, neither I post sensational stories. My overall stat may have not reached half a million yet, but I am always overwhelemd with support from friends, readers and blog followers.

Also last April, I chanced upon a tweet on twitter that Ministry of Tourism Malaysia will be holding its very first Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Conference & Awards. I immediately clicked the link and found out that one of its 16 categories is to honor expatriates blogging about anything that has to do with tourism in Malaysia. I read the criteria, process and mechanics of joining, and nominated my blog (Oh yes, I nominated my own blog because I believe that recognition and appreciation should initially come from within) and began campaigning for it.

With guerrilla marketing strategy, I sent individual and bulk messages in facebook and twitter to my friends, relatives, present and former students and blog readers. “Judging criteria is based on 80% public voting and 20% on judges’ decision (10% site or blog content, 5% design and layout, 5% on ethics and effectiveness)”. With such mechanics, I believe the feat is so much sweeter not only because the trophy will be coming from the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia itself but the VOTES of THOSE GENEROUS & SELFLESS PEOPLE will all be counted.

I took a chance and professional judging and people’s votes made me win! I AM HUMBLED.

With 5 other blogs as finalists, Beyond Toxicity won the Best Expat Malaysia My Second Home Blog Category. And as I ran down the list of 376 blogs from the 16 categories, this blog ranked 6th in overall standing.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

So on the evening of May 8, Tuesday, my family and I will grace the MITBCA 2012 Awards Night in Saloma Theater in Kuala Lumpur.

And with utmost sincerity, I am thankful to the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia for empowering the international bloggers as part of social media and for recognizing the humble contribtions of expatriates in this side of Southeast Asia.

I am also forever grateful to those people who took few minutes of their valued time to entrust their votes to this blog.

Maraming Salamat po!

Terima Kasih!

Mabuhay ang Pilipinong bloggers!

Apr

ANOTHER WEEKEND IN PULAU PINANG

By docgelo 5 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, FOOD & MORE FOOD!, HEADLINES, ILOVEPHOTOS and MALAYSIA
Tags: action, avengers, beyond toxicity, black and white photos, Brunch, cadburry, captain america, chocolate, chocotop, chris evans, cosplay, costume of the avengers, doc gelo, docgelo, expat, expat in penang, expat life, expat life in malaysia, family, filipino expat in malaysia, filipino expat in penang malaysia, Film, first avenue mall george town penang, first avenue mall penang, food, food blog, food photos, foodie, fun, george town, george town penang, Life, life in malaysia, loki, mall rats, malls in penang malaysia, marvel comic superheroes, marvel the avengers, mcdonald's, movies, parenthood, penang malaysia, photography, photos, subway, subway sandwiches, superhero, The Avengers, thor, tourism in malaysia, weekend

I’m sure you have already experienced a weekend made extra-special by unexpected little happy moments. My family and I spent another Saturday that’s totally different from the ones we already had here in Penang. It was a delicious, action-packed, gripping and charming weekend we all enjoyed.

28 April 2012, Saturday. I was fully motivated to wake up early (despite the fact that I am such a morning person even on weekends!) because we planned to watch the Marvel-comic-superhero-movie that’s everyone was raving about. The Avengers! After I’ve read countless superlatives to describe that film on facebook and twitter, and even heard 2 Filipino hilarious-radio DJs via online live streaming of their program from the Philippines, talking of wrong spoilers about it, I personally built an excitement to watch The Avengers with Tina, Gabby and my mom on a wide screen.

So we left our place again in Butterworth, traveled the road via Rapid Penang bus, crossed the bay and reached George Town via ferry (where Gabby met a bunch of my Bridging Course-Ireland-PreMed students en route to see the same movie too!) and rode another bus to Komtar. *whew!*

Why, hello there again, George Town! It’s weekend once more!

As Penang Rapid Bus commuters, my family and I have been accustomed to these road signs in Komtar Tower. The sight is an almost weekly breather from our usual daily routine.

We arrived in First Avenue Mall around eleven in the morning with almost nothing in the tummies. We only drank coffee and hot Milo for Gabby before we left home.

Then just at the entrance of First Avenue Mall, our almost growling stomachs were satisfied in a heart beat by one word –BRUNCH!

With his Lola (my mom) during our brunch before the movie.

Of course, Gabby must have a photo with my lovely wife.

kulitan! (*insert english translation here*)

I thought that the last time I had a bite from Subway was ages ago when I was on a date with Tina who was my, ehem, girlfriend then in Powerplant Mall cinema in Rockwell, Makati City. Or was it the only remarkable Subway experience I can recall? I digress. Anyway, important thing is, Subway opened an additional branch in Penang in this First Avenue Mall and our hunger was remedied.

My mom had her default choice for sandwiches -what else but Tuna, Gabby selected his own, while Tina and I had the same option to have 6-inch-Roast-Beef each.

We had two orders of 6-inch-Roast Beef sandwich; one for me, the other one for Tina. She had Parmesan bread while I chose Honey-something-bread. But we both agreed to have everything with Roast Beef except two things –black olives and jalapenos.

My 6-inch-Roast-Beef-sandwich came with 2 options -either potato chips or 2 cookies. Apparently, I had the cookies and loved these double chocolate and white chocolate macadamia cookies. Sarap!!! Sedap! My family ordered more for takeaway.

Mas Mura Sine Dito Sa Penang!

If you must know, movie admission rates in this Malaysian state (I don’t know with the others) are cheaper than in the Philippines. I only paid 43 ringgit (PhP 14= 1 rinngit, USD 0.32 = 1 ringgit) for the four of us; that’s RM12 per adult x 3 (Tina, Mommy and I), plus only RM7 for Gabby. You don’t pay almost half the price for a 7-year-old-movie-goer like Gabby back home but in full adult price as well. And according to Mamy who lived and worked in UAE and Qatar in the past few years, movie tickets there are more expensive compared to rates here in Penang. That’s another simple reason why we should be grateful in this side of Malaysia.

The Avengers movie was incredibly awesome! The super hero characters were expectedly intersting but gripping action scenes, sophisticated computer graphics and hilarious storylines made it more amazing! What an unforgettable movie! We wish a sequel would be filmed soon.

I liked all the characters but that of Hulk and Iron Man were hilariously funny! Have you watched The Avengers? I’m definite you’ve enjoyed it too! If you have not, c’mmon, give yourself a fun treat!

And look who we saw at the first level of First Avenue Mall few minutes after we exited the cinema…

This little boy was too cute for words, he made me feel envious that Gabby should have worn such fantastic costume too. See his smile? I’m sure even the monstrous Loki’s army will easily melt by this boy’s charm!

Who would have thought that the characters would come alive immediately after you watched them on the big screen? What an amazing surprise! A cool unexpected treat to me.

People of the world, here’s a proof that Malaysians know how to do it too! Here’s Thor and Loki -Malaysian versions!

The Marvel Superheroes came in full force! How fierce! In characters! hahaha!

My mom and his uber-gwapito grandson had that photo-op with Storm and Captain America. Then Gabby became a bit moody; perhaps he was shy too be photographed with the company of Marvel Superheroes. Well his father was otherwise! hehehehe (view next photo…)

I don’t know about you but to me, the chance of being in the company of Marvel Superheroes does not come on a daily basis, does it? Wait, where’s Hawkeye? Had I know that Jeremy Renner’s character can’t make it, I could have brought bow and arrows to complete the casting! hahahaha!

That Captain America little boy was really charming! He’s a stand out in his group! I’m sure Tina would agree that Gabby would look more handsome in that same blue-red-white-superhero suit!

So much fun for that unexpected mall visitors! We left First Avenue Mall and went to Prangin Mall just across the street where Tina and Gabby bought some stuffs. We ended our very special-superhero weekend by savoring one of our favorites…

One cone of Mcdonald’s CHOCOTOP is perfect enough to end a weekend!

Another weekend of family.food.and.fun in Pulau Pinang was wonderfully spent.

It’s MARVELous!

Happiness continues tomorrow.

Apr

LET’S DO THIS!

By docgelo 43 Comments

Beyond Toxicity X Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Conference & Awards 2012

Here we go! This personal blog that gives reverence to life’s simple pleasures – family, food and fun, is one of the official entries to 2012 Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Awards 2012 under the Expat Malaysia My Second Home Category. You know how I love my country, the Philippines but living and working in Penang for almost 2 years has made Malaysia my second home now.

There will be a 2-day conference set on May 8th and May 9th, 2012 at Seri Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur that will highlight and feature talks, workshops and panel discussions on tourism and social media to be conducted by a list of esteemed speakers. Registration is FREE! To know more of the details and schedules of the event, visit MITBCA website at http://mitbca.com/conference.php

I’d like to thank MITBCA 2012 and Malaysia Ministry of Tourism for having this event to honor the people behind social media and their humble contributions to the tourism industry in Malaysia. I take pride in being one of the MITBCA 2012 nominees under EXPAT Malaysia My Second Home Category!

“Judging criteria is based on 80% public voting and 20% on judges’ decision (10% site or blog content, 5% design and layout, 5% on ethics and effectiveness)” sourced via MITBCA 2012

The awards shall be given on 8th May 2012 in Saloma, Kuala Lumpur (the date incidentally coincides with this site’s 5th birthday! Yes, Beyond Toxicity will be celebrating its 5th anniversary soon!). As mentioned, voting accounts for 80% so if you think this blog deserves to win, show some love, support and care -tons of them by CLICKING THE VOTE BUTTON on this LINK :

VOTE FOR BEYOND TOXICITY http://docgelo.wordpress.com!

Maraming Salamat po! Terima Kasih! Thank you so much!

*to browse or review my blog posts about our Malaysian adventures, click the links on my sidebar under Another Day In Malaysia category.

*EDITED : Voting ended before midnight of May 1, 2012. Thank you so much to those generous people who expressed support!

Apr

BEYOND TOXICITY X OLD MANILA WALKS IN GEORGE TOWN, PENANG

By docgelo 11 Comments

What could be a perfect welcome to a revisiting tourist in George Town, Penang but a RAINBOW! Can you spot it?

My family and I wolf down plates of Restoran Kapitan's Chicken Cheese Kebab + Cheese Naan served with coleslaw, tamarind sauce infused with green mango+chili chutney. The fambam loved it! We usually order Chicken Tandoori and it's only my second time to savor this kebab dish and I personally liked the tenderness of the chicken specially when perfectly dipped in the tamarind sauce+spicy chutney; flavors just burst into mouth!

Roti Prata Telur or Egg Prata + Manggo Lassi.

Chicken Tandoori + Cheese Naan for Ivan

Beyond Toxicity X Old Manila Walks in the heart of George Town, Penang 04/17/2012

When I learned several weeks back that Manila’s tour-guide-extraordinaire, The Main Man from Old Manila Walks, IVAN MAN DY is revisiting George Town, Penang after he graciously informed me via facebook, Tina and I had to think where we should treat him even just over dinner.

Tina first thought of bringing Ivan to Nando’s that specializes in Portugese Peri-Peri Chicken in either Gurney Mall or Queensbay Mall however, both of these malls are located in the tail ends of the island-one in the north, the other southbound; it means travel-commuting would definitely kill our time. I considered something authentic to Penang –the hawkers of course! But we personally prefer hawkers outside Gurney Mall for a wide range of choices but then again, location doesn’t fit the schedule. Then we narrowed the list down to 3 other family favorites –Old Town Restaurant (Malaysian cuisine), Towne’s Steamboat (Chinese) and Restoran Kapitan (Indian). I told Tina that since Old Town Restaurant is a chain present in almost all parts of Malaysia, Ivan might have already tasted it in the airport or somewhere. While we also considered getting a table after 5PM would be close to impossible at the frequently-packed Towne’s Steamboat in Jalan Macalister, thus we agreed to take Ivan to our favorite Indian food place, Restoran Kapaitan in Little India. I think it was a good choice beacause it’s only a few meters away from the hotel where Ivan stayed.

Because his arrival fell on a weekday, we could only meet him after work hours. Too bad we failed to tour him around in some of the heritage sites in this side of Malaysia. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the limited time we spent with him. The moment was like we’re only talking, walking and commuting in the streets of Binondo, Manila, hahaha!

Ivan Man Dy of Old Manila Walks :

“Conceptualized, manufactured, bred and educated in the city of Manila, Ivan is the feet behind Old Manila Walks. Before he finally took to the streets, he was an active museum guide as well as a staunch heritage preservation activist. Now, he has found his calling being seasoned urbanite, a self-designated life-long citizen and ambassador of Manila. Since 2005, he has led the thousands of happy walking hordes down his city’s most historic quarters. Four years on and countless calluses later, he is still loving every step of the way.” -Sourced via OldManilaWalks.com

If you’re a Filipino-balikbayan or foreigner who would like to explore Manila in a nutshell, joining his walking tours back home is always informative, engaging, entertaining and educational. It’s history and gastronomic treats beyond books. We have joined 2 of his amazing walking tours around Manila -

Malacanang Palace, San Miguel Manila : Power, Palace and a Shot of Beer
Malacanang Palace – Legarda Mansion / La Cocina de Tita Moning
Big Binondo Food Wok
and my first few meetings with Ivan Man Dy were at Foodies’ Walk at BGC (Bonifacio Global City) and at where else but Binondo / Manila Chinatown

*For more of his walking tours and its details, check out their website at OldManilaWalks.com

After our simple dinner at Restoran Kapitan, we hopped on the bus to accompanied Ivan to one of the malls in George Town where he treated Gabby who didn’t say no, to a delightful scoop of Baskin n Robbins chocholate chip ice cream! Thanks, Ivan! And here’s wishing you enjoyed your days in Malaysia!

Apr

THE DAY WHEN GABBY LEARNED ABOUT EARTHQUAKE

By docgelo 25 Comments

The “morning after” edition of the New Straits Times newspaper was distributed to all hotel rooms at around 4:30AM, Thursday 4/12/2012 and my mom was the only one awake among us to pick it up.

4/11/2012, Wednesday was a public holiday for the entire Malaysia because their new King was crowned or in their words, was installed (Sultans of Malaysian states rotate on being a King, as explained by one of my Malaysian students). In spite of the holiday when one has the luxury to enjoy the malls and whatnot in the island, my family and I simply chose to stay at home together. Then at around 5PM, I thought of sitting on our rattan chair in the living room instead in the sofa, and felt the seat was rocking and sliding. In a blink, Tina and my mom came out of separate rooms telling me it’s an earthquake! I knew it’s an earthquake but my mind was in denial for a few sec because for 20 months of stay here in Malaysia, I haven’t experienced any natural calamities, not a single typhoon nor floods, neither anything alarming.

Our very first earthquake felt in Malaysia.

As the four of us walked hurriedly to exit our unit, we saw next door neighbors about to go down too. We didn’t panic except for Gabby who knew nothing of earthquakes before this incident! You cannot blame our 7-year-old boy for it was his first time to experience such. The boy was almost in tears, yelling for us to take the lift. I, who was still plugging out and turning off electrical appliances in our rooms, told Gabby, “We never take lifts during earthquakes, anak, we take the stairs!” (Good thing is, our unit is located adjacent to the concrete stairs, almost across the elevators and our block has 2 more exits other than what’s beside our unit and the 2 lifts.) Tina held Gabby’s hand and guided him and my mom towards the stairs –11th floor to the ground. I locked our unit, went down with only 7-year-old mobile and keys at hand. Yes, we didn’t panic but admittedly, we’re NOT ready with such EMERGENCY! (Lesson learned : Pack important stuffs such as passports, credit cards, money, keys, things that matter to you the most and those you cannnot live without in an “E” bag with a couple of clothes and toiletries for survival. I know this, actually but honestly was too lazy to prepare.). We went down the emergency-exit-concrete stairs with one of our Filipino colleagues and stayed for about 20 minutes in one of gazebos in the playground.

The aftershock and the tsunami alert.

Twenty minutes after, we returned to our unit. I heard my mom reminding us to pack important things to be ready enough in times as such. I turned on my laptop and browsed online news about the quake; I even managed to chat to my friends in Pinas and Saudi about the earthquake and inviting a few of them over to Penang on one of its holidays. While Tina called her older sister, relayed our situation over the phone. Then, the inevitable happened. An aftershock! This time, Tina brought money with her in a sling bag and I got my backpack with passports and credit cards, and camera but still left and forgot my laptop, chargers and other things. We saw more people coming down. A siren was heard all over. Security guards seen actively roaming and advising the tenants to evacuate and leave our units.

Tina, Gabby, my mom and I walked our way to a restaurant-cafe in front of our condo unit. We saw some colleagues and talked to one of them who pleasantly, despite of the stress about the quake and all, kept her composure for her own family. We saw them carrying a few of their clothes and other essentials to their cars. We stayed in the restaurant, watched news on TV even if it’s on Bahasa Melayu and stay tuned for updates. We sat in the resto so naturally, we had to order food. It was a blessing in disguise for we had to fill in as it’s almost dinner. Trying to struggle with panic and anxiety, we heeded to the advice of one of our co-workers to get clothes, bottles of water, toiletries and things we need for the night and leave too. So while my mom and Gabby were waiting for our food, Tina and I went up again our unit and finally got our things. Leaving our unit was an understatement -we evacuated! Tina even joked as she tried to fight her stress, “We’re like refugees now!” As we rejoined my mom and our son in the restaurant, I saw my mom flipping pages of the telephone book so I began calling our suking (*insert english translation here*) taxi cab driver. Luckily, the cab driver’s available to pick us up and transport us to a hotel near our work and far from the sea.

Tina, Gabby, my mom and I had to evacuate our 10th floor (actually, we’re on the 11th level as Malaysians consider Ground floor as their 1st) seaview unit in Butterworth, Penang because a Tsunami alert was issued.

‘We have issued a tsunami alert. We urge people to keep away from the beach in (the states of) Kedah, Perlis, Langkawi, PENANG and Perak,’ Che Gayah Ismail, Deputy Director-General of the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

‘People are advised to keep away from the beaches. It is not an evacuation order.’ She said she wanted to clarify an earlier statement by a department official who had mistakenly said an evacuation order was issued.

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra island, triggering an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert. Sourced via StraitsTimes.com

Despite the news which I firstly read on facebook, stated it was only a warning and NOT AN EVACUATION ORDER, the sound of sirens screaming long and twice, the sight of our colleagues who also live in the same condo units packing and about to leave, the countless feet that looked like EXODUS of people of various ethnicities whose ages range across the lifespan –literally, there were a lot of babies and grandmothers, all going down the stairs -but some took the risk of taking the lifts, those series of text messages and (missed)calls and brief talks with Filipino concerned co-workers, and worse, the cry and plea of our 7-year-old son who practically learned about the meaning of earthquake first time led Tina and I to immediately decide to go somewhere else too far from the sea.

We left this seaview for a night…

and woke up in Hotel Seri Malaysia with this view on our window…

Renting our 11th floor fully furnished appartment for 950 ringgit monthly (PhP 13,300 or USD 310) exclusive of utilities and other domestic bills to a very generous and nice Chinese-Malaysian lessor for almost a year now has been a good deal, or at least for us. We know that with such priceless and remarkably beautiful view of the bay before George Town and gorgeous sunsets by the porch, it’d be difficult to find similar cost and perks in Manila or possibly anywhere else. However, it dawned on us that living in a condo unit by the sea has its own downside too. Tsunami risk and earthquakes are difficult to battle. We’re not complaining, just contemplating. In fact, we’re very grateful despite and in spite of everything. Adversities make us stronger and wiser.

On a lighter note, we safely arrived via our reliable taxi cab driver in Hotel Seri Malaysia in Kompleks Dato Kailan, Kepala Batas at around past 9PM, Wednesday. It’s a few meters away from our place of work (and around 40-45 minute-away from our appartment when we take the bus).

Can you spot my mom who's only in her duster seated beside her apo, Gabby? We became evacuees for a night.

If it’s only Tina and I, we could have stayed the night anywhere and waited until the tsunami alert’s lifted, but we’re with our son and my mom.

So I got a Family Room for only 160 ringgit nett (PhP 2,240 or USD 52.13–probinsya po kasi ang Kepala Batas kaya mura kumpara sa iba) inclusive of buffet breakfast for 3, a spacious room with a Queen-sized and a double beds, cable TV, internet use, hot and cold shower and a clean toilet. It was another steal! God knows that we’re financially burdened and unprepared for these things so He led us where comfort is affordable and reasonable (with its inclusives, it’s even cheaper compared to one of our favorite budget hotels, Tune Hotel!). God is great, all the time!

Facebook buddies kept me posted through the night. Notably, just so timely that the concierge gave me a negative reply when I asked her about English news on cable TV, one of my students informed me via fb that there’s an English news on TV3 at 12MN. Thankfully, we learned that tsunami alert was lifted around 10PM.

My family were all knockout at few minutes after midnight while I managed to stay up until half hour past 2AM.

Morning came with a new promise. We headed down to the Delima Restaurant of the said 4-star-hotel. Delima in English means Ruby or the red gem as told to me by the hotel manager. Tina and I actually have been seeing Hotel Seri Malaysia almost every week as it’s located right in the spot where Rapid Penang Bus Station in Kepala Batas is, however we never set foot to it before our so called evacuation.

And with no expectations from an unexpected (excuse the term) staycation, we were delighted with the buffet morning spread…

DIY-congee. I stuffed it with dilis, chopped salted egg, roasted peanuts, spring onions, fish sauce and sesame oil to taste. Sarap!

We arrived home at around past 12 noon, Thursday 4/12/2012 and were absent at work and school. Despite the nice stay in the hotel that night and everything seemed going back to ‘normal’, we felt extreme fatigue as soon as we got back.

We kept on telling Gabby to trust and believe in the Lord and that He shall never abandon nor forsake us, not now, not ever.

DEUTERONOMY 31:6 –”Be strong and of a good courage, do not fear, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God, He it is who goes with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

*”We’re so thankful to those people who were concerned and professed that they prayed for my family’s safety on facebook, twitter and personal calls. Their messages were overwhelming! Maraming Salamat po!”

Apr

DREAMERS OF DREAMS

By docgelo 24 Comments

It goes without saying that every educator should provide proper motivation, frequently try his very best to spark inspiration and constantly encourage and fuel his students’ aspirations. As someone who delivers the lectures inside the classroom for almost eight years now, I consider it as a priceless blessing whenever tables are turned. Moments are incredibly remarkable when students become the teacher’s motivation, inspiration and encouragement.

Early last month, after I conducted a lecture with our students in the Bridging Course-Ireland (they’re all SCHOLARS of Malaysian government who will continue studying Medicine in either Cork or Galway in Ireland starting this SEPTEMBER 2012. They’ll be the second batch whom I handled in classes to be in Europe soon. The other batch have been enjoying Ireland and Spring break in Paris already!), I asked them if they want to be photographed and if it’s OK for them if their photos shall be posted on this blog. Surprisingly, I heard a loud cheer, I saw smiling eyes and a look of excitement on their faces. I asked the same query to my 3 students of Basic Molecular and Cellular Biology-class who are equally intelligent and diligent on their studies, Diploma of Medical Sciences (yes, they’re only 3 but they’re a class), they also positively replied. If you must know, at present, I also teach Basic Pathology (6 students in a class) and Physiology (27 students) to different intakes/batches of students of DMS (who are not in photos; we’ll probably have unofficial class picture taking at the middle or end of their semester if and when they want to).

Enjoy the photos and let their smiles and happy faces remind all of us to always dream and dream big!

“No dreamer is ever is too small, no dream is ever too big.” -anonymous

___________________

*For readers out there who want to study or knows someone who wants to pursue Medicine (AUCMS runs 5 Medicine Curricula with twinning programs abroad!), Allied Health Courses like Pharmacy, Medical Sciences, Medical Laboratory Technology, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Environmental Health, Foundation in PreMedical Studies, Healthcare Management, kindly check out the website of AUCMS (Allianze University-College of Medical Sciences) HERE! and read my former blog post HERE! Thank you! Maraming Salamat po or as they say here in Malaysia, Terima Kasih!

Mar

OUR HONG KONG DISNEYLAND TRIP 2012 : LAST DAY HIGH

By docgelo 24 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, FOOD & MORE FOOD!, HEADLINES, HONG KONG, ILOVEPHOTOS and TRAVEL
Tags: amusement parks, angelo nino santos, beyond toxicity, black and white photography, blooms, breakfast, broadway shows, cadillac, chef mickey's, dining, dining with family, disney train lines, disney's hollywood hotel, disneyland, disneyland train line, doc gelo, doc gelo blog, docgelo, family and living, family blog, family from philippines, family life, filipino blog, filipino expats, filipino family, flight of fantasy parade, flowers, foliage, food, food blog, food places in hong kong, foodie, fun, gardens, gratitude, Hollywood, hong kong, hong kong disney's hollywood hotel, Hong Kong Disneyland, hong kong island, hong kong tourist spots, hotels, hotels in hong kong, how to go to hong kong disneyland, how to go to hong kong disneyland from hong kong international airport, lantau island, live performances, musicals, must see in hong kong, must-visit in hong kong, nikon D7000, pancakes, parades, park, photography, photos taken using nikon D7000, pinoy expats, r & r, rest and relaxation, restaurant, restaurants in hong kong, simba, sunny bay, thanksgiving, the golden mickeys, the lion king, tourism, tourist spots in hong kong, toy story, train lines in hong kong, vacation, vintage cars, woody toy story

19 February 2012. Sunday. It was the last day of our 3D2N grand family vacation in Hong Kong Disneyland Park and Resort. And although we’re ecstatic with everything we had experienced in the Happiest Place On Earth, we tried to struggle a bit with fact that we’re leaving Hong Kong for our work place in Penang, Malaysia before dusk. It’s always hard to leave something so special that gave you many wonderful memories. Nontheless, we still had a day to enjoy so Tina, Gabby and I started our last morning in Hong Kong with ear-to-ear smiles.

Good Morning, Disney’s Hollywood Hotel !!!

From our room down to the lobby, we headed directly to Chef Mickey to have our buffet breakfast!

“Chef Mickey recalls the lavish Art Deco-styled studio commissaries of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Mickey decorations and various Disney characters in sketch form are found throughout the restaurant.” (via hongkongdisneyland.com)

Here’s the nice corner reserved for my family and me…

From the ceiling, fixtures, tiled walls and the spread, there’s a piece of Mickey Mouse to delight your senses!

It was Gabby who first noticed and told me, “Daddy, look at the plate, it looks like Mickey Mouse’s pants!”

Much ado about carbo-loading : My first plate had a crusty cheese bread, a delicate egg tart, sample of fruity and fluffy pastries and a piece of Winnie the Pooh banana cake. Of course, my morning would not be complete without a dose of coffee.

Who says pizza ain’t a morning meal? Gabby was wide-eyed when he spotted an all-cheese-thin-crust-pizza on the spread; he’s a purist when it comes to pizza thus, it’s his favorite! I asked him, “Anak, do you want some?” Of course, I received an excited positive response! I got a few slices for him, added some hash browns molded into smileys; how cute! And the basic scrambled eggs and bacon with Mickey Mouse waffles spruced up with maple syrup, while our boy favored chocolate syrup!

One of my favorites that I found so good from Chef Mickey’s various offerings was those thin slices of smoked salmon! I paired it with fresh green salad which I topped with different kinds of cheeses, some bits of cold cuts and vinaigrette and my morning instantly became perfect!

Tina and Gabby were satisfied with the breakfast too. Why, there were cereals which is a staple for my wife and son; yoghurt and fresh tropical fruits too! There were also some Chinese favorites –choices of dim sum, noodles, congee and a lot more that we wished our stomachs can accomodate.

After filling our tummies from Chef Mickey, we got our luggage and bags, had an early check out at 10:30AM, deposited our bags (for free!) at the Left Luggage Service of the hotel and trooped to the Disney’s Hollywood Hotel garden.

For the nth time, I owe some brilliant observations from our 7-year-old-kid. After first noticing those Chef Mickey’s plates patterned after Mickey Mouse’s pants, he commented about the aisle at the garden has film strips! And so I took a snap…

Bright and beautiful foliage at the Disney’s Hollywood Hotel garden…

The colors of the blooms – both big and small were awe-inspiring!

Pretty, isn’t it? My mother would agree (read : she loves flowers while my wife prefers food!).

It must be the great climate. It must be…

Happy moments in Disney’s Hollywood Hotel were made of these…

So happy he became buoyant on cool air!

Then, at the back of those “Hollywood Hotel” signage is somewhat discreet walkway where vintage cars are parked, excellent for photo-ops. What is Hollywood without them anyway?

Now, here are the exhibits of our “not-our-car-photos”….

Gorgeous cadillac coupled with those lovely smiles…

We’re almost ready to leave the garden when Gabby was fascinated with this movie ticket booth…

Gabby was inspired to do role-playing with his mom. Tina as the movie-goer and Gabby sells the tickets. Guess who’s their director? Definitely, not me! I played the usual camera man; Gabby himself called the shots! And all the while we thought his mind’s already fixed in becoming a chef, hotelier and restaurateur in the future. He got other talents, baby!

The moment came when he thought of dancing in the middle of a turntable-designed ground near the poolside. Elvis Presley songs were on air. He was then more of an entertainer with the grooves more than just an actor-director! haha! (I captured all of his moves in photos which I will probably post on a separate entry soon).

Time to bid goodbye to Disney’s Hollywood Hotel. Thank you for that warm and family-friendly accomodation!

As we planned to collect our luggage from Disney’s Hollywood Hotel at around 3PM before heading to Hong Kong International Airport to catch our 5:45PM HK-KUL flight via Air Asia, we rode the resort’s free shuttle bus and went to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Public Transport Interchange (PTI).

TRANSPORTATION IS ALSO WHIMSICAL AT HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!

Here are some info and tips on how to go about the MTR Disneyland Resort Line

Getting to and out the park is as easy as counting 1, 2 and 3. From Hong Kong International Airport, one can opt to ride a bus, a car, a taxi cab or a train to reach Hong Kong Disneyland and vise-versa if you’re leaving the Happiest Place On Earth.

We’ve been to Hong Kong and Hong Kong Disneyland quite a few times already but we were always on a package tour (read : there’s a tourist bus that pick us up to and from the park) and we have not experienced riding that Mickey-Mouse-windowed train running on the MTR Disneyland Resort Line. And so we did not let the chance pass last month to enjoy such experience.

It’s always great to ask whenever you’re in doubt. So I went to the counter of the MTR Disneyland Resort Line to inquire how to go to Ting Chung via Sunny Bay. He instructed me to buy tickets from the machines located at the laterals of the station just before the turnstiles. He generously broke my bills into coins for the train ticket machines; very HKDL-friendly!

The ticket machines are touch screens; you need to identify and press the point of your origin before you touch the point of your final destination. Say for example, touch first Hong Kong Disneyland Resort then Tung Chung. The ticket price for adult and kids are different but the machine monitor will show the amount per person and you just need to press the total pax (e.g. 3 adults, 1 kid). Et voila, you collect the tickets to be inserted (or swipe if it’s loadable) on the turnstiles!

Convenience meets Fantasy.

That’s my first impression on Disneyland Resort Train Station.

It made me wish that all train stations around the globe would be as neat and pretty as this.

“Travel on the railway network of MTR and interchange for the Disneyland Resort Line at Sunny Bay Station.

Only 23 minutes from the Hong Kong International Airport, MTR Airport station,

30 minutes from MTR Kowloons tation and

33 minutes from MTR Hong Kong station where Guests can pick up Park Tickets too!

Operating Hours between Sunny Bay and Disneyland Resort Station
From Sunny Bay: from 6:15am – 12:45am the following day From Disneyland Resort Station: from 6:20am – 12:40am the following day

Frequency 4 – 10 minutes.” (-via hongkongdisneyland.com)

Just wonderful.

And at an instant, we fell in love with the train! Those train handles are one of the many reasons why one should visit and experience Hong Kong Disneyland!

Among the many train couches, we were lucky to randomly seated near that Mickey Mouse bronze statue.

There’s Tink’s and many other Disney characters immortalized in bronze enclosed in capsules.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort line runs until Sunny Bay. From here, you wait and take other trains that will take you to your destination.

Doing the “tourist thing” at Sunny Bay Station….

Now, where did we go and what did we do after Sunny Bay would have to be posted next!

With that, I’d like to thank the people who made our Hong Kong Disneyland trip very memorable and fun-filled! Thank you to Jaclyn, Nicole, Catherine and Purple –you guys are the BEST!

Thank you to my fellow Filipino bloggers with their families and friends! Thank you to Gael of The Pinay Solo BackPacker and her sister, Juvy, Thank you to Thammie of ThammieSy.com who came with her entire family, Pastor Dennis of Act Like A Man and their two adorable daughters, Alyanna and Mika. Thank you to Leslie of Shoot First Eat Later who came with her friend, Ms. Elizabeth (not in photo but Thank you, Maam for giving Gabby a lego-Buzz Lightyear watch!), Thank you fashion bloggers and celebrities, Laureen Uy of Break My Style who came with her special one, Robbie, and Kryz Uy of KryzUy.com who went with her sister, Jack. Maraming Salamat! Don’t you wish we meet again in some similar trip like this? Better yet, let’s go to HKDL again someday!

Last but not certainly not the least, THANK YOU SO MUCH to HONG KONG DISNEYLAND for being the venue of our FAMILY bonding, offering more than expected delicious FOOD and providing us never-ending FUN!

In so many ways, this Hong Kong Disneyland vacation was truly an exceptional one!

Whether it was our first time or we’ve been to the park and hotels several times over, reasons are beyond words to go back and revisit the Happiest Place on Earth!

Let this last set of my photos speak of those remarkable reasons why WE SO LOVE HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!

As Shakespeare had put it, “Parting is such a sweet sorrow.”

It was an enormous blessing that we got a chance to revisit Hong Kong Disneyland and experienced family bonding, food and fun beyond our great expectations!

Thank you so much, our dear God!

Thank you so much, Hong Kong Disneyland!

Till we meet again, Mickey Mouse!

———————————

This Blog Series Includes :

Mar

OUR HONG KONG DISNEYLAND TRIP 2012 : GLORIOUS DAY 2

By docgelo 32 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, FOOD & MORE FOOD!, HEADLINES, HONG KONG, TRAVEL and WISH LIST
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18 February 2012, Saturday. Tina, Gabby and I woke up early from one of our restful sleeps in Disney’s Hollywood Hotel and excitedly prepared for our Day 2 in the Happiest Place on Earth!

It turned out to be glorious!

From Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, we hopped on the resort’s shuttle bus and headed to Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. We had a table reserved under our names at Enchanted Garden Restaurant for our breakfast buffet and Meet and Greet with the Disney characters! Everything seemed so thrilling particularly for Gabby!

As we went down directly to the basement of the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel where the Enchanted Garden Restaurant is housed, this beautiful space greeted us…

Enchanting, indeed!

We came in too early at 8AM (read : apparently excited!) and found from the Cast Member at the door of the restaurant that our table would be ready at around 9:30AM (so that’s the time that was reserved to us!). Without a hint of worry, we went out the door from the restaurant and spent time almost unnoticed in this perfectly manicured garden at the back of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.

The gazebo looks inviting as a perfect venue for couples to exchange “I dos”. Imagine a wedding with all your favorite Disney characters led by no less than Mickey Mouse! Amazing!

A more interesting part of the garden is the hedge maze that Gabby, Tina and I tried finishing…

This is called, “Mickey Maze!”

Our kid totally enjoyed every second inside the maze…

Spot us in the Mickey Maze…

Let’s play “Hide and Seek!”

More cheesy but priceless bonding moments in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel…

Must be so happy? You bet!

After almost an hour at the garden, it’s time to freshen up and hit the tables and the spread. On way to Enchanted Garden Restaurant, we spotted super cool and nice things.

Exhibit #1 : Wooden high chairs for kiddos. They made me smile.

Exhibit # 2 : A room near the Enchanted Garden Restaurant will surely entice parents and their little daughters…

In “My Little Princess”, little ladies may be transformed into a Disney Princess of their choice.

This was just a “one proud daddy scene.” The moment reminded me of our wish (I and Tina’s) to give Gabby a little sister. (read :If it will come, it will in His time.)

Exhibit # 3 : Spotted Cinderella at the lobby of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel with Alyanna and Mika (the beautiful daughters of Dennis and Thammie who were with our group in this HKDL trip).

Finally, a walk under those trellis! Splendid!

Being ushered to our reserved tables and seats felt surreal! Not that we’re excited to binge eat, hehe! but the ambiance exceeded our expectations!

The spread had Asian and Continental breakfast favorites. Everything looked tasteful and a must-try. There was more than enough for us to savor and be energized for another whole day at the park!

And then a thought popped out…

You don’t go to Hong Kong without sampling good bowl of noodles

and some tasteful dim sum and dumplings.

You just dont.

I just wished they had toyomansi (soy sauce + lime/calamansi) for the dim sums.

And because it’s Disneyland, Enchanted Garden boasts of Mickey Mouse figures in their waffles and pancakes! These made me stare at my plate for several minutes before I dunk my fork and knife at them. I had some of the goodies in pair, yum, yum!!! One of my plates had waffles, pancakes, hash browns and french toasts. Appreciate if you won’t calculate the calories! This is when my weakness in Math comes to be most useful! hehe!

The next set was mostly Tina’s and my plates. I had no chance to take photos of Gabby’s because he’s preoccuppied with excitement and huge appetite.

Known in local Filipino TV series, “My Binondo Girl as”Amethyst” that Tina religiously followed online (Malaysia has no TFC!) and more popular as a fashion blogger-celebrity and sister to Liz Uy, we met the charming and beautiful, Laureen Uy.

One Stellar Moment

More stunning episodes happened as some of the best loved Disney characters went to our table for us to take photo-ops! Diners of Enchanted Garden need not to queue to have memorable pictures with Mickey, Pluto and Goofy (and other characters). It’s another VIP treatment that we enjoyed in Hong Kong Disneyland!

Widest and sweetest smiles from my family as we posed with Pluto and Mickey…

Must have one more shot with Pluto…

After that one-of-a-kind-breakfast experience at Disneyland Hotel’s Enchanted Garden, it was time to explore and enjoy Hong Kong Disneyland Park again!

To those who are planning to experience HKDL for the very first time and have doubts if you can enjoy it in one whole day, actually, you can! But would you not wish to double the fun if you can be there on 2 consecutive days?

Weather forecast checked : 14 to 16 degree Celcius. We loved the climate; we didn’t have a downpour! God is truly great!

We wore various hats : A Cast Member volunteered to take our family pic just before a quaint door in one of the pastel-colored structures at Main Street, U.S.A..

Hot. Fresh. Delicious!

Then our feet brought us to Tomorrowland!

As Tomorrowland intends to give park goers a creative experience of being in the future, the moments became nostalgic to us.

Here’s how we looked five years ago…I guess only pounds and kilos of happiness were added!

Inside the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride, we have been warned.

We had FAST PASSES to this awesome ride! It was so cool when Buzz Lightyear himself introduced us to Astro Blasters!

Emperor Zurg!

Shooting robots. robots and more robots! We liked it here!

After that exhilarating Astro Blaster ride, we trooped to the largest restaurant in the theme park with over 800 seats, the Starliner Diner and grabbed a lip-smackingly good fried chicken and fries for lunch!

Over and beyond the food, what Tina and I liked was the fact that Hong Kong Disneyland’s Starliner Diner prioritizes sanitation and cleanliness by providing plastic gloves given inclusive of the food tray. You’ll find them folded and pack neatly with your tray. So eating chicken with hands was no-worries at all!

One more time on this car, Gabby!

2007 on the left ; 2012 on the right –Take a look at Gabby’s Then and Now photos and appreciate what 5 years have done!

Another ride within Tomorrowland available with Fast Passes is Space Mountain. We gave our Fast Passes to Laureen and her friends as we’re not fond of rollercoaster rides (read : Tina has Vertigo, Gabby’s still uncomfortable and cannot ride alone and I might throw up!). But if you’re adventurous and somewhat fearless, by all means, Space Mountain will surely give you the thrill!

We bid goodbye to Tomorrowland and strolled our way in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle to watch the Flights of Fantasy Parade for the second time! That 30 minute Hong Kong Disneyland parade really left us in awe!

Just before the parade started, Tina thought of a clever strategy. Since we didn’t have priority pass to the musical, The Festival of the Lion King, she suggested that together with Gabby while I am still drowned capturing the parade on photos, they will head to Adventureland just before the parade ends. In that way, while people are still busy watching the parade, they’ll be the first on the queue to that another must-see-musical..And true enough, it was a wise move.

The Festival of The Lion King at Adventureland

The scene became more fascinating after the stage lights were turned off. Let the show begin!

“It’s the Circle of Life

And it moves us all

Through despair and hope

Through faith and love

Till we find our place

On the path unwinding

In the Circle,

The Circle of Life….”

It’s visually stunning! The songs and their voices are overwhelming too. We have seen this musical at HKDL more than a couple of times already and performance gets better and better! My particular favorite was the gorgeous air stunt of this lady-bird character; the act was so graceful; almost breathtaking!

These live musical shows (The Golden Mickeys and The Festival of the Lion King) make Hong Kong Disneyland specially different from the other Disney Theme Parks!

Then, it’s Gabby’s time for some Mickey Mouse ice cream! Sarap!

Few more steps, we found oursleves in Liki Tiki…
These “leaky” tiki jungle poles squirts water like fountains; look how our little one enjoys the drizzling effects…

Playing with tribal percussion instruments entertained Gabby to the fullest!

Tina and I are the happiest when he’s happy.

OK, so we left Adventureland with a smile and moved on to Fantasyland with even wider smiles!

This Pixie Dust area where Tinker Bell usually drop by for photo-ops wasn’t existing yet way back in 2007 (Gabby’s first trip to HKDL).

Time for some Mickey’s PhilharMagic! This colorful 3D movie adventure about how Mickey Mouse lost his wizard hat and what Donald Duck has to do with it never fails to amuse us. You never get tired of great attractions in Hong Kong Disneyland!

3D glasses on!

Our last Fast Passes on our hands were for the The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh...Gabby was only 2 years old when he first rode the track to the story of Winnie.

Cinderella’s Carousel has 60 graceful, prancing horses!

I learned that last year’s celebration of the 5th Anniversary of Hong Kong Disneyland, Tink had showered Sleeping Beauty Castle with her pixie dust… The effect is even more magical at dusk!

After Winter Must Come Spring… Is it Spring yet?

Smiles and blooms perfectly blend…

Ahhhhh… another stupendous day at Hong Kong Disneyland is about to end…

Thank You, Lord for another magical day!

We made sure we remember this trip not only through photos and video but mementos and souvenirs from HKDL shops itself. Other than the Disney character-hats that we bought, Gabby got himself a rubber Mickey Mouse wrist watch (When we got into the hotel room, he received a gift from one of our new friends in our group–a lego writs watch with Buzz Lightyear design! Thank You, Ms. Elizabeth for such generous gift!).

Before exiting the shop, Gabby called my attention, “Daddy, picture!” hence, this…

Before 7PM, we left Hong Kong Disneyland Park with almost a heavy heart. It’s our last day in the park and surely we’ll miss all the fun!

Thank you for the memories, HKDL!

We had our last dinner in Hong Kong at Disneyland Hotel’s WALT’S CAFE. I’m almost lost for superlatives to describe how great the overall gastronomic experience we had. First thing came to mind : The dinner was EXCELLENT!

I think diners of Walt’s Cafe can opt to enjoy their meals at the lobby…

I checked the reservation and we’re instantly led toward the end of the restaurant where everything seemed perfect.

This is the beautiful corner reserved to our group. Isn’t it divine?

Looking at my photos after the trip made me wish I have sampled a bottle of their wine…

The view from our table… The ambiance and the look of that by-gone era was almost ethereal!

The smiles to live for….

Now, let’s get down to business. We loved everything we chowed down; starting with this crusty bread that looked like a hot air balloon when you work your imagination; it’s baked to perfection and can be enjoyed sans butter.

Gabby favored one of Mickey’s Kid’s Meal -Oven Baked Ham and Cheese Macaroni with carrots and green peas, fresh fruit salad and a choice of drink; our kiddo got himself a hot chocolate.

For Tina, she savored, Grilled US Beef Tenderloin and Simmered Beef Short Ribs with Mushroom and Pinot Noir Sauce, HK$ 268.

Let me tell you, I had a great time from browsing the menu to having a taste of everything my family had. Here’s my preferences and recommendations from Walt’s Cafe..

Chicken Breast Fillet with Poached Crab Meat with Papaya and Mango Salad served with Honey Lime Scented Dressing, HK$ 128.

My palate was satisfied with its texture and flavors. The fusion of freshest and sweetest fruits complemented well the crunchiness of the greens. And the Chicken Breast Fillet? Heavenly!

I requested the wait staff to provide extra small plates so I can share my order with Tina and Gabby. I also sampled one Walt’s Cafe’s soups -

Double Boiled Black Mushroom with Kam Ha Wam Soup, HK$ 78.

The soup’s tasteful. I like the flavor of the Chinese ham and the black mushroom. Beautiful combo! The mushroom was shaped into Mickey Mouse’s head too! Amazing!

Then for my main entree, a huge plate was served first with one of the prettiest veggie side dishes I ever had…

To people who think amusement parks and their resorts only offer fast food junkies, think again! Hong Kong Disneyland’s Corner Cafe and Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel’s Walt’s Cafe proved it otherwise. Their menus are beyond sumptuous! The ambience, sublime!

Seafood Platter for Two. (Grilled or Poached. I wanted it grilled). Lobster, Scallops, King Crab Legs, Squid, Salmon, and Cod Fish with Lemon Dill “Beurreblanc” and Crustacean Sauce, Assorted Garden Vegetables, and Boiled Potatoes. HK$ 538.

One word : Outstanding!

Just take a look at that lime gorgeously wrapped with golden tulle and ribbon; wonderful!

The entree, Tina, Gabby and I shared….

We cannot be grateful enough!

Moving on to desserts…

My choice : Penny’s Bay Mango Pudding with Mango Puree.

Tina’s sweet preference : White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis

Gabby’s dessert plate was the most divine!

Oreo Cheesecake never tasted this great!

It’s one FUNtastic dinner to end one glorious day of everything that this blog gives reverence for :

FAMILY. FOOD. and FUN!

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I cannot help but marvel at the immense scale of blissful experiences we had in Hong Kong Disneyland! That 3-day-2-night vacation extremely gave us unforgettable memories that Tina, Gabby and I will cherish forever.

Hong Kong Disneyland spells H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S!

Thank you so much, Hong Kong Disneyland!

*Up Next : The concluding post of this Hong Kong Disneyland Series! Stay Tuned!

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This Blog Series Includes :

Feb

OUR HONG KONG DISNEYLAND TRIP 2012 : ARRIVAL & LUNCH

By docgelo 51 Comments

DOCGELO X MICKEY MOUSE

FAMILY.FOOD.FUN @ the Happiest Place on Earth!

Similar to a shot of adrenaline, the thought of revisiting Hong Kong Disneyland increases the heart beat and quickens the pulse, at least for Tina, Gabby and me. It’s incredibly different and NOT physiologically tiring but a special feeling of excitement that my family and I would love to go through over and over again, despite and inspite of everything! Hong Kong Disneyland has that positively addicting charm that effortlessly draws the young and equally attracts the young-at-hearts! It’s a Nirvana for family bonding, food indulgence and lots of fun!

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND : DEFINITELY, A STRESS ANTIDOTE

Before Tina, Gabby and I immersed ourselves in a worry-free-three-day-and-two-night-fun-filled-vacation in Hong Kong Disneyland, we had to travel a day before from our current place in Butterworth, Penang to Kuala Lumpur to catch our flight earliest in the morning. We all thought it’s wise to travel via KL if you’re coming from Malaysia because the trip from Penang would take us to Hong Kong International Airport at around half hour past 8 in the evening hence, we’ll lose a day. Either we go a day earlier to Hong Kong which will be more expensive or take the alternative route of via Kuala Lumpur. We opted the latter. However, since we didn’t reserve a flight from Penang to Malaysia’s capital city because of steeper cost (read: we are 3), we chose to take the 5-hour-road trip via the public tourist bus from Butterworth, Penang to Puduraya, Kuala Lumpur, then with our luggage and bags in tow, we hailed a taxi cab from Puduraya Bus Station to KL Sentral where buses that take passengers to KL-LCCT airport are parked.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur-Low Cost Carrier Terminal at around 8 in the evening of Thursday via Aerobus after an hour trip from KL Sentral. My family and I had to spend the night inside food and coffee shops. After our quick family dinner and some coffee for Tina and me, chocolate frap for Gabby, we found a corner inside LCCT and called it a night (Actually, it was only Gabby who slept for few hours; Tina and I rarely shut our eyes). And few hours after midnight, we took turns in taking showers, changed into new clothes and queued to check in at 4 in the morning.

Some may find our travel very stressful but believe me, we’ve experienced more difficult instances than you could imagine. So this Hong Kong Disneyland trip is definitely a stress antidote for me and my family. We cannot thank the good Lord enough for such opportunity!

We took the flight from KUL to HK at 6:45AM, Friday, February 17, 2012 and arrived at HKIA 4 hours after. Before I slept in my seat, I accomplished the Immigration Arrival forms for Tina, Gabby and myself as what I used to do on our few travels.

That long travel to Kuala Lumpur from Penang and finally to Hong Kong, those frequent air pockets and lack of sleep were absolutely NOT enough to kill our excitement and enjoy the Happiest Place on Earth!

Finally, we set foot again at one of the biggest and most impressive terminals in the world! Sweet!

Hong Kong Disneyland, here we come!

Passing through HK Immigration was a breeze, so did the luggage pick up from the conveyor belt. I wish all terminals particularly that of the Philippines would have such remarkable efficiency. Upon arrival at the HKIA lobby, we trooped immediately to the Train Information Counter. Our initial game plan was to take the MTR from the airport to our hotel but after learning that the waiting and transfer period from one train to the other will take us around an hour, we decided to take a cab.

After paying the metered taxi HKD 150, we arrived at the hotel lobby all in one piece. Yahoooo!!!

DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD HOTEL : FAMILY FRIENDLY!

From its exteriors that reflects similarities with Pan Pacific Auditorium, the art-deco theme reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood echoes to the interiors of Disney’s Hollywood Hotel to every detail in the lobby and in its rooms.

And since it’s Disneyland Resorts, the head of Mickey Mouse with other Disney figures including Minnie Mouse’s of course, are a constant decor. Wonderful!!!

Tina and I have lately developed the appreciation for boutique and themed hotels. It’s nice to see how people put so much attention to details. The first sight of the lobby of Disney’s Hollywood Hotel was definitely a feast to our senses!

Just before those bilateral lifts take Disney's Hollywood Hotel guests to their rooms, the Disney magic manifests with the voice of Mickey Mouse no less, welcoming everyone to their room-level, night and day. So cool! It makes you think that Mickey Mouse doesn't sleep too! *kidding*

Certainly, the glass etching on the doors of the lifts also has the same Hollywood art-deco theme and to make it distinctly Disney's, there are so many Mickey Mouse embedded on it. Can you spot some?

We’re checked in at the 8th level where the view’s fantastic! The blurry hazy skyline at the backdrop confirmed that we’re about to experience a misty cool Hong Kong climate despite the clock already hit 12 noon. And coming from the tropical state of Penang, that for me, was so inviting! Thankfully, we didn’t have any downpour, God is really great!

The view from our room offers a relaxing sight of Lantau island, its bay stretching to South China Sea and Disney's Hollywood Hotel's swimming pool. Can you feel the cool atmosphere despite the clock hit 12 noon? It's Hong Kong, baby!

Another view from our window gives you a glimpse of how Disney’s Hollywood Hotel back lot looks like…

I wish I've photographed it too at night. Some other time perhaps (that's another little reason to go back!).

Tina and I basically want few essentials in a hotel room; just nice and comfy bed and pillows to provide us a restful sleep, an insect-free-airconditioned and clean room, toilet and bath and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel doesn’t disappoint. Its theme is continuously obvious. The play of colors are vibrant and definitely puts everyone into the Disneyland euphoric mood!

I guess each room with a twin-deluxe beds has a black and white cartoon of Mickey and Minnie from one of their movies.

How sweet it was to sleep with worries and stress far from your cerebrum.

A little while later, Gabby felt so at home!

From Malaysia to Hong Kong, this 7-year-old-Filipino kid loves his Disney cartoons!

It may not be the most spacious toilet and bath that we had experienced but nonetheless, its cleanliness and the generous volume of towels are truly noteworthy. It’s expected that Disney Hollywood Hotel would be family-friendly and we proved it correctly. How many hotels have thought of providing kid-sized slippers? This hotel has it making Gabby simply delighted. Toothbrushes, toothpaste and some wipes and cotton buds are provided in a pack inside 3 paper cups capped with Mickey Mouse ears. Even the toilet is richly themed!

And again, the little artsy details made us smile and utter, “so cute!”

Cast members (or those who work for Hong Kong Disneyland Park and Hotels) are amazingly creative at these towel crafts. They even refill it everyday in different colors and adorable animal and alien-designs. We brought home some pieces, actually!

Riding the theme park’s own resort shuttle buses for FREE was definitely convenience in its truest sense of the word. After checking in and quick freshening up in our room at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, we went to the resorts’ other hotel, Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel for the much needed lunch.

The HK Disneyland Resorts Shuttle Buses take passengers for FREE from the theme park to Disneyland Hotel then to Disney Hollywood Hotel in 10 minute interval. It spells convenience particularly when you're traveling with kids. It's so nice when you're worry-free of going back to the hotel and theme park or hopping to a restaurant located at either of Disney hotels.

Experiencing two hotels of Hong Kong Disneyland was so awesome! Both hotels have unique themes, one takes you back in time to Hollywood’s golden years and the other is lavishly Victorian-inspired.

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND HOTEL : ENTICINGLY ELEGANT!

We saw luxury and sophistication at every corner of Disneyland Hotel… Our little-big boy, Gabby’s so amazed! I wonder what other kids think of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Surely, most of them believe that it’s a magical mansion!

what a gorgeous pair of chandeliers!

Everything’s so fanciful! Even the men’s toilet melted all my worries away, haha!

While Tina and Gabby were checking out the merchandise at the hotel’s souvenir shop, I walked towards the concierge and didn’t pass the chance of capturing the framed paintings hanging at the back of the counters.

I asked permission from the Cast Members who are at the reception prior to snapping my cam; made me smile when they gave me a nod.

Aren’t these paintings fascinating? I remember the Mark Twain’s steamboat that we saw in Disneyland Anaheim on the next painting.

Those bursts of colors are too beautiful in my eyes!

Sincere to their work place, I noticed Cast Members of Hong Kong Disneyland Park and Resorts are all service-oriented, warm and friendly. Just when I was thinking for someone who could snap a photo of us, one male hotel staff offered to take our family pic even without asking him. That’s marvelous!

Look at my very own Minnie. Lovely, isn't she?

The hedge maze in the garden of Disneyland Hotel fronting South China Sea really caught Gabby’s attention.

Did Gabby and I try and finish the maze? Find out on my succeeding posts!

Meanwhile, can you spot Mickey Mouse’s profile on this green maze?

LUNCH at CRYSTAL LOTUS RESTAURANT, HONG KONG DISNEYLAND HOTEL.

What warmed our souls and filled our stomachs after that long tiring trip from Butterworth, Penang to Puduraya and KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur, to Kuala Lumpur-Low Cost Carrier Terminal to Hong Kong International Airport then finally to Hong Kong Disneyland apart from seeing Mickey Mouse again at the theme park was a sumptuous and divine Chinese cuisine at Crystal Lotus Restaurant.

With rich, classy and exceptional ambience, coupled with prompt and attentive service and a delightful menu, Crystal Lotus Restaurant is the best option when you feel like indulging in some Chinese favorites with Disneyland’s kiddie appeal.

Modern and sophisticated Oriental ambience of Crystal Lotus Restaurant. We're so blessed to have experienced it.

Tina, Gabby and I met a few bunch of Filipinos who own blog sites too; Mom and Lifestyle blogger, ThammieSy, Fashion bloggers Laureen Uy and Kryz Uy of Break My Style and KryzUy.com respectively, Foodie blogger, Leslie of Shoot First Eat Later, and travel blogger Gael of The Pinay Solo Backpacker. We communed with our families and friends and with delicious gastronomic treats at this luxurious room.

Crystal Lotus Restaurant brought our taste buds to a variety of Chinese dishes that we all happily took in.

stunningly gorgeous chandeliers

Now, let your eyes feast on the set meal we savored….you might need tissues to wipe your keyboard when you drooled! *kidding!* A glass of ice cold water beside you might be helpful.

If it's Chinese, there must be Jasmine Tea.

We started our delicious dimsum lunch with Roasted Suckling Pig with Cucumber and Sweetened Paste in Steamed and Piggy Mask Buns…

Crisp and flavorful. I'm in heaven!

Family bonding comes in different packages. At this moment, it came with authentic Chinese cum Disney’s culinary.

Next on the menu brought to our table was Disney Dim Sum Platter. Consisting of Three Little Pigs Barbecue Pork Bun, Little Green Men Pork and Vegetable Bun, Mickey’s Glutinous Seafood Pancake which Gabby liked so much!

Eating Dim Sum has never been this cute! It took me several minutes to take them with chopsticks and bite, haha!

I see harmony in steam basket, haha! Then I gave these 2 cute buns a peaceful death via taking them in, LOL!

Pink ears or orange ones? Doesn’t matter, both are appetizingly delicious!

Then came Braised Seafood Soup with Crab Roe. This warm soup dish won my palate! Tina liked it too.

D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S

The meal got more interesting when the next dish was brought in. It’s called Wok Fried Chicken and Longan with Sweet Sour Sauce.

My palate is familiar with the fusion of pineapples and chicken meat in a dish but with longan, it must be fascinating! And it is!

With Wok-Fried Shrimps and Disney Root Vegetables, Disneyland and Crystal Lotus Restaurant really know how to make vegetables and seafoods appealing to kids. The dish to me is so impressive!

You know how some children have aversion to veggies and making the ingredients of this dish cut into Mickey Mouse’s gloves and head is pure brilliance!

Who says eating veggies is never fun?

Blessings continued to pour on our table with this golden crab dish…

This one really brought out the kid in me. I was in awe with the plating of this crab dish. Indeed, a crab plated in gold, hehe!

Flip the golden shell of this crustacean plate et voila…

Baked Tasmanian Crab Meat Fried Rice in Whole Crab Shell : Eating crab has never been this edgy!

And of course, a meal isn’t complete without a sweet ending. Crystal Lotus prepared and offered us Chilled “Mickey’s” Red Bean Honey Pudding and Chilled Mickey’s Green Tea Jelly.

Gabby like these desserts and so did Tina. As for me, I like the fusion of textures and its light flavors.

Must take a detail shot…

Did I mention that we EACH received a full course meal? What Gabby cannot finish, Daddy Gelo’s there to rescue. hehehe! Immediately after our very first meal at Hong Kong Disneyland, I thought I gained a few more pounds! Who wouldn’t with such hearty Dim Sum lunch set?

It’s not on a daily basis that we get to eat Disney-themed Dim Sum nor a crab dish on a golden crab shell and of course, not everyone is given the chance to have such indulgence in very sophisticated food place thus, Tina, Gabby and I are grateful for this great dining experience. THANK YOU, LORD FOR ALL OF YOUR BLESSINGS! THANK YOU, HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!

Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel : Such a Magical Dreamy Place!

After our sublime Oriental lunch at Crystal Lotus, we headed directly to the Hong Kong Disneyland Park via the resort’s shuttle bus. We got our fast passes to Space Mountain, Astro Blasters and The Adventure of Winnie the Pooh rides and tickets to the theme park for 2 days! Excitement soared the highest! All that and a lot more in the part 2 of this blog series! Stay tuned!

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*for more information about Hong Kong Disneyland Park, Crystal Lotus Restaurant, Disney’s Hollywood Hotel and Disneyland Hotel, kindly visit the theme park website at http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com

This Blog Series Includes :

Feb

BACK TO HOMEBASE

By docgelo 10 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES and ILOVEPHOTOS
Tags: disneyland, doc gelo, docgelo, donald duck, dslr, family, family and living, family vacation, fountain, hong kong, Hong Kong Disneyland, mickey mouse, mickey mouse fountain, nikon D7000, photography, theme park, traveling, travelling, trip, vacation

And we’re back in Penang with so many wonderful and fun experiences from Hong Kong Disneyland.

Will prepare a blog series about it; stay tuned! *wink*

Feb

REVISITING HONG KONG DISNEYLAND VERY SOON!

By docgelo 20 Comments

Excited is an understatement to describe how Tina, Gabby and I actually feel about our upcoming trip to HONG KONG DISNEYLAND! The wonderful anticipation to revisit the whimsical kiddie’s paradise heightens as days go by! Who would not be thrilled to return to the “Happiest place on Earth” with no less than the most important people in your life? It will be a some sort of Post-Valentine celebration for the three of us but with or without occasion, just being there, leaving all our worries and stress behind makes any day definitely lovely and special!

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND, January 01, 2007

Gabby was only 2 years and 3 months old when we first brought him to Hong Kong Disneyland and that young experience gave him an early positive impression of how a life full of dreams looks like!

I’ve been to HONG KONG DISNEYLAND thrice in the past and had been to other Disneyland as well (Tokyo and Anaheim, California) but admittedly, my first trip outside the Philippines with my parents and siblings to Hong Kong Disneyland was the most memorable of them all! Meeting Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in person back then was absolutely surreal for someone who remains a kid at heart.

I was blessed to bring Tina and Gabby to Hong Kong Disneyland back in 2007 to celebrate New Year at the theme park. Five years after, we’re so geared to go back and relive that magical experience! We can’t wait to see the newest attraction in HKDL that is dedicated to one of our favorite Disney animations of all time: TOYSTORY LAND!

It's PLAYTIME, baby!

We’re ready to see Mickey and Minnie again, together with Goofy, Pluto, Donald and Daisy, the gorgeous Disney Princesses and of course, my personal favorites, Woody and Buzz Lightyear and a whole lot more in HONG KONG DISNEYLAND!

I am sure it’ll be an extraordinary weekend full of FUN and FAMILY BONDING!

Have you been to HONG KONG DISNEYLAND? I’m sure! What are your most unforgettable memories about this fantastic theme park?

Feb

THE COLORS OF CNY 2012 IN GEORGE TOWN, PENANG

By docgelo 26 Comments

Road closure is inevitable when there’s either a repair or an important event. More than a week ago, the streets of George Town, Penang were not accessible to traffic because of the Chinese New Year Heritage and Cultural Celebration.

Kapitan Keling Street along Lebuh Chulia : Closed for the festivities

Everyone’s feet were on the go to welcome the Lunar Year of the Dragon!

Every spot and almost every laterals of Lebuh Chulia rendered a festive mood. Even Penang’s famous trishaws were dressed to the nines for the occasions!

Do you have any idea in mind about the next photo? Have you seen similar dry runs before?

They're rehearsing LION DANCE ON STILTS; Yup! LION DANCES ON AIR are observed in this part of Southeast Asia! Roads are not enough to dance to the beat of the drums! ....Too bad the shows were scheduled 7 and 9 that evening and I had to go home early.

As I marveled at the various preparations to make the event lavish and merry, I followed a few groups of people walking down the red carpet.

Walking on Red Carpet

Youngsters who rule the drums came in troops…

Drum roll, please!

Their thunderous drum rolls led me to the Opera Stage of Khoo Kongsi Temple…

The Opera Stage had these kids in traditional Chinese costumes prancing in lively tunes…

I only spent few minutes inside the Cannon Square of Khoo Kongsi because “something happened” to me (don’t ask what for now, will post it one day. Let’s just say, it happened all for the love of this hobby called photography). Moving on…

I exited the compound of Khoo Kongsi and went back to one of the streets of George Town…

Buddhist temples and clan mansions at this side of Malaysia are located left and right!

As I turned my back, another visual feast greeted my eyes : Chinese Opera Rehearsal…

The artists were stunningly beautiful in their costumes despite sans make up! I think this is because they proudly wear their culture on their skin.

Then, my feet brought me to this corner where kids were practicing what I assumed as yo-yo.

I wonder what they call this uniquely looking yo-yo. These kids are amazing! They're practicing the skill in sync

One more temple facade and I found myself back in Armenian Street.

In one of the souvenir stalls there, my eyes caught these pieces, won my heart and made me smile…

I know Tina would love these paintings as she appreciates art too. If only I have an extra budget for pretty but unnecessary things, I would have brought a frame or two for her. Perhaps, next time…

Do they appeal to you?

I’m sorry I failed to get the name of the artist, most of the artworks weren’t signed too so there’s no way for me to credit them.

CNY 2012 is being observed in Penang from 23rd January to 15 days after. A lot more streets will surely witness dragon and lion dances in the remaining days of the event; either on the grounds or on top of the stilts!

I know red is considered to be the most auspicious of all the colors. Does black attracts good fortune too? I guess so. It’s not a black cat anyway, it’s a lion! LOL! hehehe

And among the volume of inspiring sights I’ve seen, this one’s most enticing…*wink*

Feb

DRAGONS IN KUALA LUMPUR & PENANG

By docgelo 12 Comments

As I am an ordinary spectator of the biggest annual event for the Chinese community here in Malaysia, my eyes continue to feast on the colors and festive moods extremely associated with the Spring Festival, the Lunar Year or simply, the Chinese New Year. It’s such a delight to learn that at the end of every grandiose day of celebration, a family reunion dinner and gatherings with friends remain to be the occasion’s most inspiring spirit!

Apparently, 2012 is the year of the DRAGON.

“In Sung Dynasty (a Chinese imperial dynasty lasting from AD 960 – 1279) texts, the dragon is described as having the head of an ox, muzzle of a donkey, eyes of a shrimp, horns of a deer, body of a serpent covered with fish scales, and feet of a phoenix. The dragon usually clutches a pearl symbolic of its super-natural powers. Invariably accompanied by thunder and rain, dragons move like lightning and whirlwinds – - all powerful yet totally unpredictable” (-sourced here).

And because Tina and I, together with my mom who’s with us currently here in Penang, are all under the DRAGON sign, behold my blog’s tribute to the ultimate auspicious symbol representing success and happiness…

In KUALA LUMPUR, dragons come in varied elegance…

At Suria-KLCC Shopping Complex at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, My

Detail shot of one of the dragons in Pavilion Mall…

Pavilion Mall, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur

And its entirety…

Pavilion Mall outdid Suria-KLCC Shopping Complex in terms of volume and size of their dragon displays. This is how Pavilion Mall’s 600-foot-dragon looks like…

And what’s a Chinese New Year celebration without dragon dances?

Embroidered dragon in a man’s court suit on display at Pavilion Mall…

In PENANG, the Chinese community also shows solidarity and unity in welcoming the New Lunar Year…

Drum rolls and beats make the atmosphere so stellar!

Armenian and Kapitan Keling Streets welcome everyone with this dragon-designed arch.

Dragons in Pulau Pinang are everywhere! From stage…

to novelty stores selling stuffed dragons…

and street kiosks with paper ones…

fifteen ringgit is two hundred ten pesos. mahal!

The streets of George Town, particularly the laterals of Lebuh Chulia display a lot more dragons…

Do you like your dragon on textile?

which are obviously hand-painted…

Or would you care your dragon be inked on you?

To environmentalists and those who care for Mother Earth, a dragon made of recycled bottles surely looks awesome!

but to foodies like my family and me, these last two photos certainly seems enticing!

Gong Xi Fa Cai, everyone!

*CNY in Malaysia this year starts 23rd January 2012 until 15 days after.

Jan

CHRISTMAS BREAK 2011 DAY 5 PART 2 : THE LEGARDA MANSION

By docgelo 14 Comments

Our Christmas Break 2011 Series includes :

En Route To Pinas
Day 2 : Ulingan, Tondo
Day 5 : Malacanang Palace
Day 8 : Bisperas Ng Pasko Sa Ulingan
Day 11 : Our Students’ Wedding
Day 12 : We Went To Farmville!
Day 14 : Our Celestial Weekend at Hotel Celeste
Day 19 : Our Big Binondo Food Wok

—————————–

There's my dad-in-law who came home for the holidays from Missouri; holding hands while walking with her lovely daughter (the one in black striped shirt; not in pink, ok--no offense meant.

After an engaging and informative Malacanang Palace Tour with Ivan Man Dy, our group of local and foreigner-tourists walked back to where we met that afternoon –the Legarda Mansion that’s turned into La Cocina De Tita Moning, a fine dining restaurant that features Filipino cuisine at its best.

It’s good to see an herb garden within the restaurant itself. It’s so uncommon to spot a food place that partially rely on their own produce.

They grow Tanglad or Lemon Grass among other herbs and leaves for their very refreshing Lemon Grass Iced Tea.

We were ushered to the outdoor dining area where a tasteful and supposed to be a light merienda but was a bit heavy and delicious on the tummy was served.

While eating, Ivan continued to entertain his guests without a hint of fatigue from more than 3-hour tour guiding inside the Malacanang Palace. I believe it’s his gift more than a talent or skill.

Then the opportunity presented itself. Ivan Man Dy asked us if we’re interested in having a brief tour of the Legarda Mansion for free or as a last stop of our Palace, Power and A Shot of Beer Malacanang-San Miguel Walking Tour (remember, we were enjoying our light snack at its outdoor garden and without a reservation, one may have uncertainties to be accomodated inside the Legarda Mansion itself or the La Cocina De Tita Moning restaurant proper). I immediately replied, “Sure, I read somewhere there’s a medical clinic inside, I want to see it!”

Because it was almost past 5 in the afternoon, some of the tourists had to bid goodbye. We chose to stay to take a peek inside the ancestral house. I’m glad that my father-in-law was so courteous enough not to say no to my want despite he seriously lacked sleep and was still struggling with jet lag from his more than 16 hour flight from US to HK then Manila the day prior to the tour.

More than the main dining areas (read: several private rooms to dine) of La Cocina De Tita Moning located at the mansion’s second level….

Rose petals, sculptured crystals and the best china on the dining table.

I am more interested to see the other quarters inside the Legarda Mansion…

The wooden and iron staircase leads to a whole lot of fascination.

Do you like PHOTOGRAPHY?

Antique photography equipments are showcased in one of the rooms as Dr. Alejandro Roces-Legarda was into this beautiful (and expensive) hobby. Visitors, diners and photo-enthusiasts like me have plenty to talk about over this priceless collection.

This was how a camera looked like in Dr. Alejandro Legarda’s years…

Imagine if time didn’t evolve and cameras still appear like this, I think I cannot strap it around my neck to stroll and shoot, haha!

Are you into ARTS?

"La Inocencia"

For the moment, I was left in awe…

How many houses own a Juan Luna?

If owning a priceless masterpiece is close to impossible, then dreaming to have a coffee table book about such art works is the next best thing, haha!

Let me remind you (or myself, haha) that this mansion is the restaurant itself.

Photography. The Arts. If not, perhaps, are we playing in the same field?

Notice the stirrups on the photo? I'm no OB-Gyn but a humble General Practitioner-Educator only however, man, I miss delivering a baby! Just like many Filipino MDs, I had the chance to go on rotation in Fabella Medical Center in Manila where 98 deliveries in a 24 hour shift is considered BENIGN. I also miss my Post-Graduate Medical Internship days at Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City and my OB-Gyn rotations there. I miss yelling (just to make your voice heard) at women about to deliver, "Ginang, hingang malalim, pigil, ire!" (In that order! --"Mrs., take a deep breath, hold and push")....ah, those were the days!

Can you find a vaginal speculum on the next photo?

Dr. Alejandro Roces-Legarda was an OB-Gyn specialist along with his 3 other siblings who were all MDs.

Like the others, I also believe having a clinic at your own residence gives you the convenience to practice. However, the downside is having your own home and worst, own family being exposed to your clients’ pathogens (microbe-causing diseases ). To each his own.

We read the same book.

Of course, it’s not an issue to me but would you still have your appetite for fine dining at the sight of a female skeleton? *just asking*

An appetite stimulant or an appetite killer? haha! I won't mind for as long as the spread's delicious!

Other than the medical clinic, the living room upstairs is definitely attention-grabbing.

One of the quarters features the family’s radio transmitter collection. Another rare and expensive collectibles.

And then, there are some more things to tickle your fancy.

According to Ivan, a fine dining set meal, either lunch or dinner on reservation will cost you around PhP 1,500 to PhP 2,500 and up per pax. With the sample we had at the outdoor garden, I am definite that the menu is as superb if not beyond words.

The Legarda Mansion, a.k.a. La Cocina De Tita Moning extremely reminds me of two of my favorite heritage houses here in Penang,

the PINANG PERANAKAN MANSION

and

the CHEONG FATT TZE BLUE MANSION

which both stand with grandeur in George Town, one of UNESCO’s Heritage Sites.

—————————–

*Special thanks goes out to Ivan Man Dy for his generous invitations to me and my family. For readers out there who would like a professional and intelligent and amusing guided walking tours of Manila, visit the website of OLDMANILAWALKS.COM for details. Kindly give my regards to Ivan if in case you’ll find time to join his tours. Thank you!

Jan

CHRISTMAS BREAK 2011 DAY 14 : HOTEL CELESTE

By docgelo 27 Comments

Our Christmas Break 2011 Blog Series includes :

En Route To Pinas
Day 2 : Ulingan, Tondo
Day 5 : Malacanang Palace
Day 8 : Bisperas Ng Pasko Sa Ulingan
Day 11 : Our Students’ Wedding

—————————–

*This is not a paid post for Hotel Celeste. The blogger and his family spent for their overnight stay and this blog’s simple review and staff commendation attempts to be honest and fair.

Celeste (pronounced with silent last e) means heavenly. And Hotel Celeste in Makati City is just that. Celestial. Stellar. Heavenly!

30 December 2011, Friday. Exactly 2 weeks after we arrived from Penang, we availed of the deluxe room I reserved a few weeks ago at Hotel Celeste, a European-inspired boutique hotel in the heart of Makati City. Now, before someone raises his or her eyebrows and comments that we’re spending a fortune on this overnight accomodation, think again. We only availed of the hotel’s promo called CELESTIAL WEEKENDS that I luckily spotted at their website last year. Besides, give us a break, will you? It’s already 2012 and it’s our 8th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday, January 08, 2012, hence this simple indulgence.

I asked first my commander-in-chief’s go signal (who else but Tina) if I can book a hotel room even for just a night in honor (naks!) of our 8th years of being officially married, 11 years of togetherness and as a part of our Christmas vacation in Pinas. And man, I was in cloud 9 when I got her nod.

It was already the night of December 8, 2011 when I emailed Hotel Celeste to make a reservation. One night for us (December 30-31) and the other date this January 2012 as gift certificate that we gave as present to our first inaanak sa kasal (sponsored newlyweds, Nicole & Carlo). Tina and I thought it’s a decent wedding present for them more than the classic golden chamber pots (ginintuang arinola) *pun intended*

Incidentally, this is the first time I’ll be acknowledging the names of the people who served us beyond expectations. The hotel service was excellent!

First to be applauded was the front desk officer, Ryan Lacerna. We never met him but he was the one who promptly replied to my email-request and immediately sent a reservation under my name on my preferred dates on PDF form. Thank you!

Second was the door man/bell boy, Dexter and the couple of guards outside. Mabuhay po kayo! Dexter’s Indigo blue marvelous uniform was perceived by Gabby as those worn with Samurai. (Our son mixed Japanese with Old World European–you know how kids watch so many cartoons these days, haha!).

And of course, the nicest people who man this small but ever efficient reception should be regarded as well.

Thank you to Em and Ethel who smilingly received me when I first personally went there to settle our bills in advance. Believe me, they’re the friendliest front desk ladies I’ve ever encountered.

Thank you to Jiggs Garcia who texted to inform me that the GC that I requested was already ready for pick up.

Not to forget the front desk people who were on duty during our stay, Gracie and the tall male front desk man who’s with her and whose name I forgot to ask, he also didn’t wear his nameplate that time, nontheless, thank you too!

To the Celi’s restaurant wait staff -morning and night shift, hats off to you for being courteous!

All of you made our brief stay so remarkable and memorable! Maraming Salamat!

Honey, lower your eyebrows, please. Umabot ata sa 3rd floor. Why? hehehe! *she'll kill me for this*

Needless to say, Hotel Celeste impressed us –not only the jologs in me who’s easier to pleased but Tina who has more discriminating taste. With only 30 rooms –in Suites and Deluxe that vary in their interiors (I think no room is designed similar), this charming hotel is an absolute respite amidst the hustle and bustle of Makati City and a great competition to the premier hotels around. It’s a few steps away from our favorite malls -Greenbelt and Glorietta. Very accessible too for tourists and balikbayans who likes a nearby accomodation from the airport.

Wacky Gabby posed for Tina while I check in at the counter.

Gracie, the front desk officer on duty didn’t ask anymore for the PhP 2K refundable deposit when I checked in for my family. I don’t know, either she forgot about it or I’d like to think she trusted me because of the 2 letters after my surname (ehem!). She just requested me to provide an ID; I gave her my passport and after she scanned and returned it to me, I found myself with Tina, Gabby and the bellboy/doorman, Dexter inside the lift. Even the lift was elaborately decorated with DAMASK TEXTILE and mirrors. Nice!

We’re assigned at level 3, room 305. Here’s the corridor…

The lateral view from the door of our room…

We were welcomed by spotless wooden floors and simple yet amazing fixtures.

I'm happy when my family's happy.

The mini bar isn’t free of course unlike QUINCY HOTEL SINGAPORE but nevertheless provides with complimentary bottled water, coffee and tea making facility. Personal fridge also available.

The quality of pillows and the size of the bed for me are relatively important whenever slumbering in a hotel. I want my pillows not too soft but a little firm. Tina and Gabby like it otherwise. We all love a king size bed instead of a twin, so much room to cuddle and curl up. And in Hotel Celeste, we’re grateful that we had one of our restful sleeps. Fantastic!

Tina noticed the wardrobe has a long umbrella for the guests to use. We both think it’s uncommonly provided by most hotels unless you ask for one and Hotel Celeste was thoughtful in doing so even without a request.

The tandas (toilet) at first glance was instantly perceived as covered with wall paper but a closer look revealed it’s beautifully stenciled. Thank God it’s no floral design but leafy. The Deluxe room has no bath tub but the rainshower dutsa with comforting hot and cold water was good enough.

The banyo may be small but almost sterile. It’s so important to be kept clean.

L'Occitane hair and body wash are provided, must of all, I like it when hotel choose Colgate to include in the box of toothbrush (despite we always bring our own gum needs).

The Celestial Weekend Promo package that we availed comes with a foot and leg massage upon arrival that we failed to enjoy. Tina and I opted to have it in the morning just before checking out however, it’s already late when we learned that the service is only available from 3 to 5 in the afternoon. Our fault. No worries. But definitely, Gabby and Tina savored the welcome drinks; they chose ripe mango shake and iced chocolate.

vouchers for fee welcome drinks that were handed to us upon check in.

Fast forward to dinner : Most deluxe hotel room packages would only offer buffet breakfast, but Celestial Weekends treats guests to set dinner as well. When we’re almost ready to choose from the set menu, Gabby asked me to accompany him to pee.

This is how the toilet at the lobby looks like…

waiting area just before the toilet at the lobby

the male toilet : I wish I had mural painting of a knight to in our comfort room.

Admittedly, the set dinner may have been better if the servings are a bit bigger. But I’m not complaining; just saying. As mentioned, it doesn’t happen all the time that set dinner is inclusive in a hotel package unless it’s an ALL INCLUSIVE (Read : QUINCY HOTEL SINGAPORE again FTW!).

Inside CELI’s Restaurant just by the lobby of Hotel Celeste…

There's a male acoustic crooner who's set we adore : love songs from the 80s sang and popularized by male foreign singers. Ang husay!

The view from where we sat…

From the set menu, Tina and I chose, focaccia and another high-fiber bread with buttered spinach and rock salt as starter, then roast chicken for me that’s sadly too salty and so minimal serving (I should’ve ordered the salmon!). Tina had carbonara which we gave a thumbs up but wished for, yes, a larger serving, hehe (note to self : it’s free and included in the package, remember?). She shared some pasta to Gabby but he likes the desserts better. We all love the chocolate ecclairs but the creme brulee’s too sweet for my sweet tooth.

If the set dinner was just OK, we were greatly surprised with the buffet breakfast!

A knock at our door at few hours before we went watching last full show of Gabby’s choice from 2011 MMFF at Greenbelt 3 cinema (guess what movie? haha!), made me opened it and saw 3 people, wearing white collared shirts and pants (correct me if I’m wrong but they struck me as on OJTs or HRM interns) who handed me 2 sheets of paper to fill out.

It's all in the details.

The paper had the menu for breakfast but it allows the guests/diners to customize their dishes. It’s like tick the ingredient you want in your omelette; tick if you want Belgian waffle, croissants, danish pastries, cinnamon, smoked fish, pork tocino, bacon, chicken frankfurter, eggs benedict, fresh fruits, cereals, yoghurt and a lot more choices with various tea and coffee.

The jologs couple in us were puzzled after reading the instruction on the paper. It simply state tick your preferred dish to be served either in Celi’s restaurant or right inside your room. We’re not dumb or anything but we want to make sure before filling it out and submitting it to the front desk before 11PM. So Tina called the front desk to clarify. The OC in me followed to verify.

Tina : “Hello, this is room 305, We just received 2 sheets of paper for us to select our menu for breakfast. So how do we fill it up, will it be, we choose one per dish category or we can select more than one plate?”

Front Desk : “Maam, you can select all po.”

Tina : “Ah, OK, Thank you.” …puts down the phone and turned to me, “‘ney, pwede daw lahat? haha! Ikaw nga tumawag!”

To cut the funny story short, I confirmed that it’s like “select-all-that-apply” kind of thing. SARAP! Alam nyo naman, we have to eat like a KING during breakfast! hehe!

We’re glad to have tasted their SMOKED BONELESS BANGUS… This is one reason why we love Filipino dishes!!!

Admit or deny it, this is how a typical Filipino buffet plate looks like : mix-mix! haha! ...There's that gorgeously delicious Smoked Boneless Bangus (we opted it instead Daing), Omelette, Beef Tapa, Pork Tocino, Hash Browns, Bacon strips, Chicken Frankfurters which we all shared.

Then Tina loved their Eggs Benedict…

And then seriously, while being served with one of our delightful breakfast meals, Gabby began feeling sick (he and I really got sick, NOT because of Hotel Celeste but perhaps of pollution/bacterial/viral exposures or change of weather temperature), so Tina requested the wait staff if we could have all the food to be served in our room in order for Gabby to have ample and more relaxed time to eat. Et voila!

We didn't finish everything! Ang dami..so we take it home by buying microwavables from Landmark when we went grocery shopping before checking out at 12noon. Sayang naman itapon! haha..

Our stay in Hotel Celeste’s Celestial Weekends only cost us PhP 5,399 nett (the promo runs every weekend until January 15, 2012). Some may accused us of overspending beyond our means, but hey, it ain’t your money we’re using. So chill. Some may say it’s too much for an overnight stay, well I say it’s a steal from the original deluxe room price of almost PhP 10K+ exclusive of what we enjoyed. And above all, price for as long as you can afford, shouldn’t be an issue when you spend for family’s happiness and family bonding. Memories are cherished forever. Money can be earned.

I love you honey and Gabby! Cheers to our 8th year and here’s to more traveling, delicious feasts and fun-filled family bonding!

For more details on Hotel Celeste, visit their website at www.hotelceleste.ph

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Dec

CHRISTMAS BREAK 2011 DAY 5 : MALACANANG PALACE

By docgelo 31 Comments

Our Christmas Break 2011 Blog Series includes :

En Route To Pinas
Day 2 : Ulingan, Tondo
Day 8 : Bisperas Ng Pasko Sa Ulingan

—————————–

*Disclaimer : I try to maintain my blog as an APOLITICAL one so this isn’t about views and opinions about any issue.

”How many times have you been inside Malacanang Palace?“ asked by Ivan Man Dy of Old Manila Walks to our group of 14 tourists –a mix of locals, balikbayans and a few foreigners. One of us replied, “Four!” …I thought my previous Malacanang experience was absolutely no match because I only answered, “Once“…

Then Ivan continued to ask, “How many times have you been to SM (Shoemart Department Stores)?

I smiled.

Apparently, setting foot inside the grounds where President of the Philippines resides and takes office doesn’t happen on a daily basis. Needless to say, it’s another EXTRAORDINARY experience for us. Thank you, Ivan for the invites! My wife, my dad-in-law and I definitely enjoyed every bits. Brilliant!

We began The Power, Palace and A Shot of Beer Walking Tour in one of the art-deco huge houses in San Miguel, Manila– the Legarda Mansion, that’s known to others as the fine-dining restaurant, La Cocina de Tita Moning. From there, Ivan escorted us through a parallel of San Miguel all the way to the stone throw away, Malacanang. The drizzle that Wednesday afternoon wasn’t an issue to get us in the Palace.

these things look amazing to me...

ORGANIZED… Several days prior, we received an email with reminders of what to expect, where to meet, the how-to-get-there-map, and whatnot on the this walking tour. Our names were collected for submission as guests to the Kalayaan Hall or the Malacanang Palace Museum thus, getting inside was such a breeze (Do you think PSG did a character-investigation prior to the tour? haha, just asking!). Understandably, since we’re paying the highest office of the land a visit, our bags and bodies were scanned; cameras were labeled with red-orange PSG stickers (I just didn’t get it why PSG asked us-those with cameras to have a test shot with them or point and shoot it first at anything…). Ivan explained everything’s a protocol, of course.

With utmost humility, I got 1.25 (highest of 1.0 and lowest of 5.0) in Philippine History back in my days when I was taking up my pre-medical course at Far Eastern University (who cares, right? even the carebears don’t care, toinks!). Defensively, I am neither a History geek nor a happy-g0-lucky kind of guy. I just don’t know up to now what soul got into me those days that I became so fascinated with Agoncillo’s book on Philippine History and taking essay-type-of-exams in our class wasn’t difficult for me. With more than a decade after, I forgot everything I’ve learned. Haha! Well, almost.

INFORMATIVE…Glad I was one of the participants of this walking tour because A LOT of things that happened in the past were not found on books. And Ivan had refreshed and informed us even of things unfamiliar to many. Case in point are these four men on a set of painting who contributed to the Philippine History. The only name that rang a bell to my ears was Hernando de Magallanes who toured the globe before he got killed with his Portugese Christian soldiers by a native ruler of Mactan, Cebu–who else but Lapu-lapu. (Iyong iba, di ko ka-facebook, hehehe!)

Apart from history and politics aside, Malacanang Palace as a tangible structure in my humble opinion, is very Filipino or at least represents who we are, how we evolved through the years. Inspite of the fact that the exteriors reminds us of Spanish colonial regime, it boasts of intricate carvings on solid wood inside its vast and countless rooms that obviously reflect talent, skills, artistry and craftmanship of Filipino people.

Must have that detailed shot…

INTERESTING…wood carving galore!

Can you believe that this served as a luggage used in traveling in the previous era? ...*hebigat*

One can easily tell that those solid wood carvings from Narra, Kamagong and other finest lumber are symbolic of our resilience amidst adversities, or was it only my interpretation? I hope others won’t perceived it as luxuries in the heart of a third world country (Did I just mentioned this blog would not discuss social and political issues?).

NEVER BORING… The tour featured almost all corners of the museum and the stories behind them.

Imagine the efforts exerted in making these floor to ceiling wood carvings. One can almost feel the hands that held those chisels. Artistic. Decorative. Beautiful!

Nothing’s overlooked…

even the electric sockets should look authoritative?

NOSTALGIC…Alas, my solitary memory of Malacanang Palace resurfaced from my lazy cerebrum. Upon the sight of the rooms, I remembered Imelda Marcos’ shoes, Ferdinand Marcos’ five libraries with vast collection of books, their gorgeous paintings, Madame’s canopied bed with wooden crown at its top, her toilet boasting of jars of perfumes with actual miniscule faucets and a lot more of Marcos’.

Admit it, they're the most vivid and powerful people who lived in the palace.

COMPELLING… How does a ruler convince his people to follow his lead?

Letras Y Figuras : One of the eye-catching commissioned paintings inside Malacanang has the name of Imelda Romualdez Marcos with scenic and iconic paintings representing her "achievements" per letter of her name.

Si Sir....

at si Madame...

Martial Law may have scarred the many; thus, looking at the same chair and table where it was proclaimed could hyperstimulate your senses or worst, can be disturbing…

ENGAGING with WITS and HUMOR…As a lecturer myself for almost a decade now, I have learned to make my classroom discussion interactive, lively and enticing despite a boring topic. And the Ivan Man Dy certainly knows to do the same, in fact far better than my limited skills. He makes Philippine History soft and chewy to absorb by the common tao, much more by the foreigners who most of the time are clueless of our own story.

"How many pairs shoes did Imelda Marcos have?", "Where are her shoes now?" Everyone was enthralled in the charming discussion about everything inside the museum including fellow blogger, Marian of her site, upto6only (wearing black shirt with pink headband and pink belt; yes, it must be pink, right, Marian? hehe!)

Folks, meet the most participative tourist in our group, Mr. Primo (the one wearing Fedora hat and eyeglasses). He’s the man who made the tour more fascinating. He had the most extensive commentaries.

Ivan's so successful in engaging all of us in his tour.

To me, students who come to my classes so prepared and well-read, are definitely a challenge. And Mr. Primo is similar to such, that with his impressive knowledge on Philippine History, his great discussions with Ivan made me think he could effortlessly pass as a Dean in an academe or simply put, he’s someone who experienced the tales being told.

FANTASTIC... The tour featured the priceless art works of Filipino artists as well as gifts from foreign dignitaries that are all housed inside Kalayaan Hall.

I just had to click my cam on the sculpture of that Greek God, Mercury (right photo); reminds me of a local drugstore's tag line, "Gamot ay Laging Bago" hehe!

There’s something for everyone to be interested with…

With all due respect, Ex-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada's inaugural Barong Tagalog showed he's definitely bigger than I am. *no pun intended*.

She will be forever Tita Cory to me. I was once a child growing up in her presidency.

One of the reasons why this tour's called, "Palace, Power and A Shot of Beer" : San Miguel Brewery back in the old days was located literally beside Malacanang Palace. Don't ask me how it happened. I highly suggest you join the tour of Old Manila Walks.

And of course, there were those photo-op moments…

Special thanks to my father-in-law who snapped this shot.

On way out, I found this sculpture of a family that I wished to have as a takeaway. hehe!

After more than 2 hours, we walked our way out of the Palace and Ivan led us back to the Legarda Mansion (not of Senator Loren’s but Atty Katrina’s family).

The tour promised a fine-dining merienda, et voila!

How often do you eat with rose petals on the table?

We enjoyed it in an-open-air-dining area within the simple garden of the Legarda’s. The ambiance was so casual yet the offerings were special.

The sotanghon (vermicelli noodles) dish was a delight. Squeezing a calamansi covered with mesh (similar to how they serve it at the Lobby of the Manila Peninsula --abangan!) over a sauce dish of fish sauce and chili even made the pancit more heavenly.

We were treated to a delicious light snack but absolutely less ordinary…

If my taste buds and memory serve me right, those 2 slices were chicken galantina. One thing is definite, its aroma and fantastic taste was to die for.

However, they made the dessert less sweet (perhaps, they’re considering the diabetic tourists/diners). Sayang, I like it done with more sugar.

Guinataang Bilo-bilo

For the nth time, this tour’s called, Palace, Power and A Shot of Beer. So other than that refreshing and refillable Tanglad Iced Tea (Lemon Grass Iced Tea) and cold water, here’s that single shot of San Miguel Beer, cheers!

It was so nice to end a tour with a simple feast. But lo and behold, Ivan gave us a plus! After I told him that I read somewhere that the Legarda Mansion houses a doctor’s clinic (the patriarch and his 4 kids were all MDs), without hesitation, he invited all of us for a short but another impressive tour inside La Cocina De Tita Moning.

The experience inside the Legarda Mansion deserves a separate post…Soon!

For interested parties to join Ivan Man Dy’s tours of Manila, contact them via their website at OLDMANILAWALKS.COM

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Manigong Bagong Taon po sa lahat at Maraming Salamat! May the good Lord continuously shower us with His divine grace.

Dec

CHRISTMAS BREAK 2011 DAY 8 : BISPERAS NG PASKO SA ULINGAN

By docgelo 42 Comments

Our Christmas Break 2011 Blog Series includes :

En Route To Pinas
Day 2 : Ulingan, Tondo

————————–

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I was once lost but now am found. Was blind, but now I see.“

“T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear; the hour I first believed”

Even Santa Claus found time to visit the children of Ulingan.

“Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home.”

“The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures.”

Thank you generous donors, co-volunteers and supporters of Project Pearls!

Bigay ng BreadTalk

“Yeah, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil, A life of joy and peace.”

“When we’ve been here ten thousand years. Bright shining as the sun. We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise. Than when we’ve first begun.”

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.”

Pagpalain Nawa Tayo Ng Maykapal.

*Thank you so much PROJECT PEARLS (through the amazing photojournalist-blogger, Mr. Sidney Snoeck of the award winning blog, MY SARISARI STORE , the generous soul behind PROJECT PEARLS, Ms. Melissa Villa, and the rest of my co-volunteers) for sharing with me one of my most unforgettable experience in ULINGAN. Your unselfish efforts to help the children and their families living in Ulingan is awe-inspiring.

*For those of you who would like to contribute, donate, share, volunteer and help, kindly contact and coordinate with PROJECT PEARLS. Thank you and God bless!

*Amazing Grace, the song used in this post was written by John Newton.

Dec

CHRISTMAS BREAK 2011 DAY 2 : ULINGAN, TONDO

By docgelo 51 Comments

Categories: Attitude and HEADLINES
Tags: charity, children, corned beef, corned beef meal, doctor, education, family, generosity, helping others, jollibee, kids, luneta park, manila, med mission, medical mission, medicine, metro manila, Philippines, poor, poorest of the poor, poverty, poverty in philippines, project pearls, rizal, rizal park, slums, third world country, tondo, ulingan, underprivilege

18 December, 2011. Sunday. 2nd day of our days off from work in Penang. *Arrival and Day 1 to follow.

Prelude : People who have been chronically exposed to coal dust of about 15 to 2o years are at risk to develop COALWORKERS’ PNEUMOCONIOSIS also known as “black lung disease” which is a progressive and incurable disease. Imagine the plight of those babies, children and their families living in Ulingan.

—————————-

I tried to win the battle against the alarm of my mobile by curling up in bed a bit longer but my sleepy brain was telling me that I needed to wake up at 4:15AM with the thought that I shouldn’t be late to my appointment on a very early Sunday morning. Resistance as they say, is futile. So after my quick but necessary morning rituals, I kissed my wife and our 7-year old son goodbye while they’re still dreaming and immediately hopped on a tricycle from my relatives’ place in Pasig City and rode a jeepney to LRT 2 Santolan Station. From there, I took the train for less than half an hour to Avenida, Recto Manila. One more jeepney ride and I found myself at the corner of Kalaw Avenue.

Because I left the house with an empty stomach, I felt the urgency to fill it in. I surrendered to one of my favorite Jollibee breakfast meals -fried rice, egg, corned beef and coffee. Solb!

En route to our meeting place, I walked through Rizal Park (formerly known as Luneta Park back in my childhood). It’s good to be back here after some time.

Glad to see you again, fellow MD –JPR.

To say that Rizal’s iconic is an understatement. The sight of his monument was so apt to further fire my willingness that day to participate in a medical mission of PROJECT PEARLS in Ulingan, Tondo, Manila. I had a chance to become a manggagamot again just like JPR in joining this worthwhile activity. Thanks to SIDNEY SNOECK (a Belgian photojournalist whose heart is in the Philippines and thanks to his facebook account and his famous and award-winning blog, MY SARISARI STORE) that I got to know MELISSA VILLA (the soul behind the charitable organization) and PROJECT PEARLS.

I had arranged the schedule with him few days before my family and I left for Pinas. Sidney and I met up in front of Manila Hotel at around 7AM and together we went to Ulingan in Tondo, Manila.

In my 35 years of existence, I have heard so much poverty in my country commonly personified by people of Smokey Mountain who thrive in rubbish. But it was only last Sunday when I saw and experienced the gospel truth behind issues I’ve read and heard. The sight was terribly haunting.

Sidney : “Doc, I’m sorry I failed to ask you to wear proper footwear. Your shoes will get muddy and dirty.”

Me : “Don’t worry, it’s already muddy even before we got here.”

I should’ve been prepared to wear rubber boots (the ones worn by fishermen, wet market vendors, and the like) however, I had no hesitation to soak my shoes just to reach (out to) Ulingan.

Unbelievably, a community exists in this part of Manila.

“ULINGAN is a small slum community in Tondo, Manila that sits on a dumpsite and surrounded by charcoal factories that emit toxic smoke; there is no electricity, no access to toilets or sanitation. Children and families have no choice but to live with soot, garbage, mosquitoes, flies all day and all night. The common meal is “pagpag” (leftover food from fast-food restaurants scavenged from garbage sites). “Pagpag” means to shake away the dirt and maggots in the food.” -sourced from the website of PROJECT PEARLS.

These are their homes– the abodes where they face life’s challenges, the houses where they build their dreams…

Sidney noticed the potted greens -proof that people of Ulingan still find time to make their surrounding a little pleasant despite and inspite of their condition.

This is their usual food, “pagpag” which is sold at PhP 15 per pack…

This is their common past time…

And this is how they make a living…

Sidney told me that children who work for their families in Ulingan remove the nails from the pieces of wood they collect from else where, then other workers would burn them under an "earth" where smoke is emitted day and night. It takes 2 days before charcoal is ready.

Before a sack of charcoal can be sold to about PhP 320 each….

the end consumer might be clueless that young and small hands were behind those uling...

Imagine breathing the smoke and living with the tons of rubbish day and night. Think of babies born by mothers within Ulingan with only midwife to assist and manage them. Life is unbearable but people here are probably the most resilient to tolerate such difficulties.

The main purpose of my trip to Ulingan began immediately after I was brought to the Project Pearls Learning Center.

Despite my heart was breaking at the sight of everything and everyone in Ulingan, inspite of the fact that my respiratory tract wasn’t getting along well with the polluted atmosphere in that community (I have not puffed a cigarette stick in my entire life but believe me, the feeling was probably worse than chronic smoking. I only spent half day in Ulingan but it also took me another six hours to breathe with less discomfort), I was silently jumping for joy upon seeing these…

Thank you to those who donated medicines for us to prescribe and dispense that day. May God bless us all!

*photo courtesy of ace photojournalist, Sidney Snoeck. Thank you, Sid! Mabuhay ka!

Assessing his frontal mass, apparently an infected wound with a complaint of pain and swelling in his mouth. Because we didn't have sterile instruments, I gave a referral note for surgical consult and management at a nearest hospital.

Do you remember the song, Paraiso sung and recorded by the group, Smokey Mountain and if I’m not mistaken, composed by Ryan Cayabyab? The lyrics came to my mind when I was in Ulingan…

“Return to a land called paraiso,
A place where a dying river ends.
No birds there fly over paraiso,
No space allows them to endure.
The smoke that screens the air,
The grass that’s never there.And if i could see a single bird, what a joy.
I try to write some words and create
A simple song to be heard
By the rest of the world.“

Their eagerness and enthusiasm to read and learn despite and inspite of everything are inspiring! Hope is alive in their hearts!

His eyes tell so much tales…

but his hands and feet certainly melted my heart…

As a father to our 7-year-old son, I feel so much for these kids. They’ve been exposed to unimaginable severities in life and were robbed of their childhood. Look at their eyes and peek into their souls…

It was a day that I will not forget for as long as I live. Sidney was repeatedly thanking me before we left Ulingan but I told him the pleasure’s mine. Had it not for him and the organization he’s in, I will not be reminded to make the most of what we have, and MUST THINK BEFORE WE COMPLAIN because we are more blessed than people of Ulingan who certainly know how to SMILE AMIDST ADVERSITIES.

Thank you to all my fellow volunteers…

Thank you, Project Pearls, Ms. Melissa Villa and Mr. Sidney Snoeck for giving me a chance to experience this worthwhile endeavor.

Find me in a sea of unsung heroes. It's an honor to be with them! *photo courtesy of the awe-inspiring photojournalist and award-winning blogger, Sidney Snoeck.

Another wonderful shot by Sidney–this time with Lola Felissa, a 99 year old woman from Ulingan. It’s just amazing she’s still up and about, can still walk and stand straight as if she’s not in her late geriatric years!

One more year and Lola Felissa from Ulingan will be a centenarian! I have not even lived half of the years she enjoyed in life! Mabuhay ka, Lola Felissa! *photo by Sidney Snoeck.

Thank you for these priceless smiles that bid us goodbye…

You can make these children’s lives a little better through your donations and/or by supporting the activities of PROJECT PEARLS; contact the organization via their website at ProjectPearls.Org

——————

*This is the first of the series of our Christmas vacation in the Philippines; DAY 1 to follow soon. May our CHRISTmas and holiday celerbations be happy and meaningful. Let us always count our blessings! God bless us!

Dec

QUICK POST, BIG THANK YOU!

By docgelo 20 Comments

Categories: HEADLINES
Tags: gratitude, philippine blog awards 2011, best personal blog category

I am humbled and honored to be one of the 10 finalists under Best Personal Blog Category-National Level in this year’s Philippine Blog Awards. Maraming Salamat po, PBA and to everyone who follows Beyond Toxicity. Congratulations to whoever will win this Saturday, December 3, 2011. Win or lose, this is absolutely INSPIRING.

Oct

SUNTOK SA BUWAN!

By docgelo 32 Comments

Categories: HEADLINES, ILOVEPHOTOS and TRAVEL
Tags: doc gelo, docgelo, floating market, hat yai, natgeo, national geographic, national geographic photo contest 2011, photography, thailand

I’m shooting for the moon and the stars, people! I entered my photo below, taken at Klonghae Floating Market in Hat Yai, Southern Thailand to National Geographic Photo Contest 2011 under People Category. Win or Lose, it’s all for the thrill and the experience! USD 10,000 and a trip to Nat Geo main office in Washington DC, USA to attend a Photography Workshop on January 2012 and a spread of the winning photos on Nat Geo issue are at stake! There will be judges to critically select the winning entries per category but your support will be so appreciated!

So if you’re generous to show support to DOCGELO’s entry, kindly click LIKE his photo via this link -> HERE!!!

It’s difficult to resist the unique charm of the rural life reflected by the fascinating vendors of the Klonghae Floating Market in Hat Yai, Southern Thailand. The ambiance simply radiated their passion to live and to boost the local tourism.

UPDATE : SUNTOK SA BUWAN ito pero I want to WIN!
“The First Place winner in each Category will each receive US$2,500, and his/her winning photograph will be published in National Geographic magazine. One Grand Prize winner will receive in addition to the First Place prize, US$7,500 and a trip to the District of Columbia, USA from Jan. 10 to Jan. 13, 2012 to participate in the National Geographic Photography Seminar. Trip includes round-trip coach class air transportation between a major airport near winner’s home and Washington, D.C.; three nights hotel accommodations in Washington; a behind-the-scenes tour of National Geographic headquarters; and access to the all-day Seminar on Jan. 12, where Grand Prize winner’s winning entry will be projected. The Grand Prize is non-transferable and no cash alternative is available.” -sourced from National Geographic

Sep

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

By docgelo 16 Comments

Categories: BOOBTUBE, FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, FAVORITE SONGS and HEADLINES
Tags: doc gelo, docgelo

Tina and I were astonished this Thursday afternoon upon seeing one of my friends’ posts in my own facebook wall. She shared a video she found uploaded in youtube with our wedding photos (not one, not two but many!) together with some other foreign couples’ pictures over David Pomeranz’s love song! The thing is, we don’t know the person who used our photos and uploaded it on the video-sharing website. We would have appreciated it more if she/he asked permission to use our photos and we would have granted him/her our sweet nod. But I must state, Gabby was happiest to watch that video with his parents’ wedding photos.

View it HERE!

PS : Because some of the photos were not uploaded anywhere, neither in our online wedding album nor on my social networking sites (this blog, fb & twitter), the person who created and uploaded the video must have been so resourceful with a good taste and great sense in choosing our photos among so many other married couples around. hahaha! Thank you but next time, please ask permission. It’s called courtesy and ethics, in case it slipped your mind. *wink*

Sep

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

By docgelo 28 Comments

Categories: Attitude, HEADLINES, MALAYSIA and TRAVEL
Tags: books, butterworth, children, doc gelo, docgelo, edcuation beyond books, education, family, ferry, floating library, george town penang, georgetown, kids, library, Life, living a life, logos hope, penang, teaching

This was how God greeted us last Saturday noon when we viewed Him from our porch…

It was a sunshiny day too perfect to go to the Island. It was a long weekend, by the way, because last Friday, 16th September, 2011 was Malaysia’s 54th Merdeka or Independence Day! However, Tina and I were actually lazy to go out last Saturday and had psyched ourselves to spend it at home, rest, eat and do Grey’s Anatomy marathon (We loved Season 7 Episode 18 – the Musical episode of that Medical drama).

The plan to be a bum at home didn’t push through. I was too weak to resist Gabby’s wish to accompany him to the Island. OK, fine, I also shared the same thoughts with my kid. So while Tina had her much deserved-rest at home, Gabby and I hopped on the bus, went to the jetty in Penang Sentral and headed to the Island…

Enroute to Georgetown aboard the ferry…

Round trip Ferry rides from Butterworth to Georgetown jetty cost RM 1.20 per adult (PhP 16.8) and RM 0.60 sen (cents or PhP 8.40) per kid. And you only pay once at Butterworth (so if you’re coming from the Penang airport or anywhere in Georgetown, crossing to Butterworth is always free).

Another very short bus ride took us here at Sweetenham Pier..

Gabby and I had the chance to board a 12,000 ton vessel and the boy was as excited as his dad.

No we didn’t go on a cruise! How we wish, but you certainly know we won’t board a cruise ship without our muse (Tina of course!).

We went to Logos Hope, the world famous floating library that took its maiden voyage to Malaysia this year; docked in Penang since last week of August and will leave for other parts of Malaysia prior to Singapore on 25th September.

“A community of 400 UNPAID VOLUNTEERS from over 45 nationalities lives and works together on board Logos Hope. With over 5,000 book titles bringing knowledge, help and hope to the world…” Absolutely it’s a unique and inspiring experience!

Has Logos Hope visited your country already? Check it out…

Apparently, it already docked in the Philippine shores too but it took us to become expats in Penang before we get to experience it.

The little kid was so happy on board the floating library…

There’s a book for everyone, even if you’re looking for the most delicious ones…

Since this largest floating book fair travels through so many countries, book titles are priced in units and there are a charts provided that convert the unit prices into local currency…

Titles are so varied and mostly affordable.

Logos Hope has different sections, prior to the main book fair, there’s a “Welcome LifeBoat Theater”. There’s that “Journey of Life” that will surely melt your heart by merely looking at the illustrations on the wall; they tell story even without trying…

Those walls will make you reflect in a blink…It cuts through me.

Then there’s everyone’s favorite part of Logos Hope, the International Cafe where you can have ice cream or coffee or both, depends on how you were inspired by those books, haha!

Volunteers of different colors and hair-dos try to make kids’ visit to Logos Hope more fun and memorable; they even hand away colorful sculpted balloons…

Imagine the passion and dedication these unpaid volunteers have as they serve Logos Hope; truly inspiring…

I know I still have a lot of grains to swallow, but as a young father and a medical educator, I say it’s so easy for any fool to teach anyone to earn a livinlifeg but it takes a ton of passion and skills and dedication to teach anyone how to live a life.

I’m glad I accompanied my son to Logos Hope last Saturday. We both learned beyond books.

Sep

ON THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON

By docgelo 12 Comments

Categories: EVENTS, FOOD & MORE FOOD! and HEADLINES
Tags: birthdays, crispy birthday noodle, crispy noodle, doc gelo, docgelo, Life, noodle dish, seafood noodle

Today’s my 35th birthday. Thank You, Lord for everything, most specially for giving me Cristina and Gabby. Amen.

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updated @ 4:19PM 18 September 2011…

Who needs a fancy birthday party when I’m enjoying a great time bonding with Tina and Gabby? I had the luxury to doze off after I left home at 6AM and went to public market to buy stuffs to last until the next weekend. Life is good.

And look what my lovely wife prepared and cooked for lunch…

Tina’s version of crispy birthday noodle is enough to complete the wish for longer & blissful life. Medyo maalat nga lang ang noodles, she needed to add water so it became a noodle soup dish after. What the heck, it’s still delicious! cheers!

PS : my blog’s hit couter just reached more than 300,000. thank you so much for the follow. it really means so much. Maraming salamat po!

Aug

MY FAVORITE PHOTOS TO DATE

By docgelo 33 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES, ILOVEPHOTOS, MALAYSIA and TRAVEL
Tags: arts, asia, blogging, boats, culture, doc gelo, docgelo, family, family and living, family life, george town penang malaysia, georgetown penang, hari raya, hari raya aidilfitri, heritage, hobby, india, indians, Life, malay, malaysia, nikon D7000, passion, past time, penang, penang malaysia, photoblogging, photographer, photography, photos, pictures, tradition, tropical spice garden, vacation

And so the weeklong break has come. We’re up to enjoy the Hari Raya (end of Ramadan) vacation from work (for Tina and I) and school (for Gabby) beginning today, 27th August until 4th September. I will take my wife & kid on Tuesday next week to a short trip in a neighboring Asian country for the very perstaym, but since it’s too early to pack our luggage and bags, we’re just happy to spend more time together for more than a week (repeat : no work, no school, yahoo!) and do things we’d like to do.

De-stressing at home : As Tina’s busy preparing our meals, she also finds more time to play her favorite computer games. Gabby’s doing a cartoon marathon on TV (making me miss to watch one of the series I follow, The Amazing Race but that’s OK of course) while I go online to do a little research on our itinerary next week, making last-minute reservations and bookings (akala ko ba de-stressing?) and blogging and blog hopping in between.

I’m happy that a popular Filipino website called spot.ph featured few of my blog pictures of the Japanese restaurant back home called, Zensho, with, permission, proper credit and link to my post (back in 2009), I was inspired to browse my photo files once more.

I chose to repost my favorite photos taken after I purchased my Nikon D7000 early this year. They may be far from your standards, but I’d like to share them again to you as my favorites to date as these captures simply make me smile when I browse them in files. Comments for improvements, particularly free tips on this hobby called photography (I consider it a big word for I am a neophyte with still so much to learn –blame my laziness to read the few photography books and magazines I acquired) will be appreciated.

And of course, my main reason for owning a camera is to capture moments with them with their precious smiles…

I don’t know of the technical aspects of photography yet but I like these pictures not only because of the subjects but the memories that come with them.

PS: I agree with what I have read before that “owning a DSLR doesn’t make you an instant blogger more so a photographer”. My 2-cents-worth: It’s not really the camera that matters for it’s only a tool; it takes passion, talent and the will to learn new things for you to love and improve on these hobbies.

Aug

DURING OUR TRYING TIMES…

By docgelo 10 Comments

Categories: Attitude, FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO and HEADLINES
Tags: arteriovenous malformation, cerebrovascular accident, challenges, dilemma, doc gelo, docgelo, Life, life's challenges, neurological disease, neurosurgery, problems, stroke, sundown, surgery, the medical city, trials

PRAYERS are all we can offer against all trials that our family has been experiencing. Unbelievably, things have been emotionally, physically and financially draining but it is only through prayers that we gain strength and could keep our sanity intact amidst things that are happening beyond our understanding.

Just last Saturday, I was informed that Joshua, my 12 year old nephew back home had CVA (cerebrovascular accident), commonly known as stroke. His case was a result of an aneurysm or ballooning and rupture of blood vessels in his brain brought about by AVmal (arteriovenous malformation); unknown to all of us, he had that intracerebral vascular abnormality since the day he was born.

Who would have thought that a very active youngster as Joshua who has been playing basketball with his team in their school and community has congenital vascular abnormality that can suddenly lead to stroke?

I saw my nephew grow before my eyes and I can personally and professionally attest that his medical history had remained unremarkable until the said diagnosis. He even engaged in a game before he had the attack at home last weekend. He was immediately brought to the ER of The Medical City in Ortigas, was admitted to ICU and subjected to diagnostic imaging procedures (CT scan, angiogram).

When I called my mom, I chanced to talked to one of my nephew’s MDs; she confirmed it’s AV mal that led to bleed. Two days after, he was put under the knife to evacuate the clots and repair the 4 intracerebral blood vessels. According to my brother (Joshua’s dad), the first operation was a success to initially repair the 3 blood vessels, and his son will be operated on for the second time (hopefully the last) today, Tuesday.

(At such a young age,) He’s already post left frontal burr craniectomy with placement of ICP monitoring device, post embolization of left parietal arteriovenous malformation and craniotomy, evacuation of hematoma.

We ask for prayers for his uneventful surgeries and less complicated recovery.

Months ago, when my paternal grandmother passed away, one of my aunts failed to bear the situation, she also incurred stroke and until now, has been undergoing rehabilitation and recuperation. Our prayers also go out to my Tita Violy.

I need not elaborate on our other domestic problems; nothing can be more difficult than having family members with physical ailments. In my almost 35 years of existence, it has already dawned on me that life’s full of inevitable challenges but we believe we have a good Lord who’s definitely bigger than our burdens.

Life goes on.

We just have to keep the faith.

And uplift our spirits.

UPDATE : As of Tueday, 23rd Aug 2011, accdg to my relatives back home, his operation went well, the clot that was removed as per their description was as big as an apple. 72 hours post-op observation is highly critical, so please help us in praying for joshua’s recuperation. thank you po.

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About the photo above : Sunset viewed from our porch last 22 August 2011. For some, sundown is perceived negatively, i think otherwise; it’s a promise of a new hope, a fresh beginning.

Jul

ONE YEAR

By docgelo 18 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES and MALAYSIA
Tags: anniversary, doc gelo, docgelo, expat, family, family life, life abroad

On the same date last year, I left Manila to Penang and became an expat, or as most people from my country would call, OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) or OCW (Oversease Contract Worker). A lot of things changed since I decided to become one of the medical lecturers in this side of Malaysia.

One year abroad reminded me these things :

Love and value my family more; I’m working and living life because of them.
Always keep the faith. God is always with us.
Trust no one except God, family and few genuine friends.
Be more grateful despite of financial difficulties and work hassles. There are more things to be thankful for.
Never waste time on people who discount, mock and malign others. People who consider themselves righteous despite their wrong deeds at work and toward others are truly worthless. Pray for their souls instead.
Keep cool but be tougher.
Disregard what others think. You cannot do anything with their perceptions. The world will happily revolve without them anyway.
Value time. You cannot buy it back.
Enjoy today but save for tomorrow.
Sleep remains a luxury.

———————

Mamy, Daddy, Tina, Gabby and I will spend 3 days in Thailand beginning tomorrow until Monday. We pray for a safe trip and a good weather. It will be fun, definitely. Have a great weekend too!

PS : What post from this blog about Penang do you like the most?

Jul

BLESSINGS KEEP POURING IN

By docgelo 6 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES and MALAYSIA
Tags: blessings, doc gelo, docgelo, family, family and living, family reunion, reunion

We’re counting blessings, however simple and remain grateful.

Dubai and Manila met in Penang

Gabby’s probably the happiest grandchild in the entire universe after his lolo and lola arrived in Penang for an unexpected family reunion. On the first week of July, my dad (who had been an OFW for almost 2 decades in KSA) came from Manila to be with us and watch over Gabby while Tina and I go to work, especially when he goes to school next month. Few days after, my mom who’s working in Middle East followed suit. We’re glad that she’s having her vacation with us after she left for work 3 years ago.

Lola Tessie's first Rapid Penang Bus ride

Indubitably, no material thing can surpass the bliss of being together. Not even a brand new TV.

Happiness of family-togetherness is incomparable to enjoying ice cream.

…even to planned trips to neighboring countries.

On top of these blessings, we pray for continuous health and safety. Amen.

Jul

GEORGE TOWN FESTIVAL 2011 : TAPESTRY OF CULTURES

By docgelo 25 Comments

I have stated it multiple times that I considered myself blessed for having a chance to work in a place regarded as melting pot of cultural diversities. Fate has been more generous when I was able to bring my family to Penang and together, we’ve been immersed in the vibrant and fascinating colors of Penang.

7th July 2011, Thursday. It was a non-working holiday for us here in Penang for the celebration of the 3rd Anniversary of George Town as one of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We decided to spend a night in the island just to witness the festivities.

I began the day in Eastern and Oriental Hotel as I was invited to the official launch of 2011 George Town Festival and the book launch of Heritage Trees of Penang.

Breakfast was served at the courtyard of Eastern and Oriental Hotel, George Town, Penang.

At the Grand Ballroom of E&O Hotel, the Chief Minister of Penang officially opened the celebration.

Heritage Trees of Penang, written by Simon Gardner, Pindar and Lai EE May published by Areca Books; Thank you, Areca Books for the invitation!

The event was short and sweet; on the dot and precise. The video presentations about Penang tourism were enticing; brief and beautifully done. Then everyone was led to the courtyard of E&O Hotel for a delightful breakfast.

And yes, the Governor of Penang also graced the occasion.

And just after the launch, I met Tina and Gabby in a mall, ate lunch at KFC and checked in at Yeng Keng Hotel.

In the afternoon, the streets of George Town specifically the laterals of Lebuh Chulia were filled with fun, flavors, colors and a ton of varieties.

In my almost one year of stay for work here in Penang, I have not tried riding a trishaw yet , I don’t feel good riding a manually pedaled vehicle plus it usually costs RM 30 (USD 10) per hour.

“George Town’s dancers come alive in this vibrant showcase of movement and music, featuring dance performances by members of local multi-ethic groups such as Indian, Chinese, Punjabi, Siamese and Peranakan communities.”

Here’s that eye-catching cultural overload! Jai Ho!

Innocent smiles from kids easily melted my worries away.

The rich Malayan race…

THURSDAY 7TH JULY

“Testimony to Our Living Heritage
(All events are free unless stated otherwise)

George Town is a living testimony to the cultural heritage of various ethnic groups that have settled in the Malay archipelago over the centuries. Events on this day feature performances and exhibitions that express our living heritage in art and music, food, language, and religious practices.” via George Town Festival website

I walked inside the Indian Muslim Museum which is located within the compound of a huge mosque and fascination was absolutely free!

Can you imagine yourself wearing this pair?

I found this metal iron charming. Do you notice the rooster design on its upper part? Nice!

Don’t you wish evolution has brought an automatic flat iron? I do! hehe!

Brass galore!

Then the Malaysian Indian exhibit was also prominent on the streets…

Jasminum sambac or commonly known in my country as sampaguita, our National flower is not unusual in most countries in Southeast Asia including India; beautifully made into leis fit to honor the gods.

Another common in my country and reminiscent of my childhood is this wooden toy called sungkaan in the Philippines.

The Malaysian Chinese community also shared their colorful offerings on the streets of George Town…

Who would have thought I would see the NINJA KIDS in Lebuh Chulia? haha!

Then, there were seriously enchanting live musical performances from these kids; simply awesome!

At the age of 34 and a beginner at violin, I find the passion from these kids awe-inspiring!

Notice how young the conductor is?

There were also live-demonstrations of incense making (which I first thought as chocolate sticks, haha!)

I don’t know about you but found this man’s craft the most interesting in that event…

The child in me was silently jumping for joy when I saw his works…

Amazing clay artisty; no details were overlooked! fantastic!

The Muslims exhibited their skills and talents in Wayang Kulit making (remember we went to Kota Bharu in Kelantan and marveled at how Wayang Kulit or Shadow Puppet are made?).

During our family holiday in Kota Bharu last May, we also went to a factory of Kelantanese Batik; that’s why this scene made me smile.

I also went inside art galleries that were opened to public for free and this painting caught my eyes…yes, it’s a framed painting on canvass!

The event also highlighted the unique flavors found in Malaysian dishes, from Nasi Lemak, Nasi Kandar, dimsums , a variety of noodle dishes and a lot more!

My captures were just a fraction of this celebration that’s stretched for the entire month of July. But I believe they were more than enough to prove the reasons why Penang, particularly George Town is one of tourists and travelers’ favorite places to explore.

Jul

LOLO BENRUH ARRIVES IN PENANG

By docgelo 33 Comments

09 July 2011. Saturday

We left our home in Butterworth at half hour past 11 in the morning. It was another memorable weekend for my family.

that little golden jeepney arrived in our home in butterworth, penang as we warmly welcomed the one who brought it from pinas!

After knowing that Transformers is only showing on 3D in one of the cinemas here, we decided to pass on the movie because my wife doesn’t want to watch anything that may trigger and aggravates her vertigo. Instead of a movie-date, we immediately brought ourselves to a Chinese restaurant and indulged in some dimsum and noodles for lunch inside Queensbay Mall, the biggest in the island that’s few kilometers away from Penang International Airport.

We needed to kill time before we pick up my dad who came from Pinas on dependent visa (valid until my work visa expires) via Kuala Lumpur, to continue his being dutiful lolo to his apo, Gabby.

The no-drama-and very casual-reunion at the airport was almost like we just last saw each other yesterday.

After the meeting, must eat Mcdo! Funny thing was, he’s also treated to Mcdo breakfast meal by my brothers in the morning of his flight right before leaving Pinas, haha!

Note to Jollibee : If you can bring your branches to Brunei and other parts of Asia, sa Penang wala pa! We’ll be your very first patrons, when that day comes. Promise!

lolo benruh (ruben or lolo ben for gabby) finally invades penang!

I arranged a pick up service with a friendly Indian taxi cab driver, the same guy who helped us haul and transfer our things when we moved in to our new place a week ago exactly. The trip from Penang Airport (Penang Island) to our place in Butterworth (mainland Penang) cost around RM 70 (PhP 980).

Daddy’s first glimpse of that 25km Penang Bridge….

After that long stretch of magnificence comes another flyover that connects the roads going to Butterworth. The structure mimics the majestic Penang Bridge…

Then the time came to unwrap his 25kg Balikbayan box (yes, he didn’t have any luggage and only brought few of his clothes to accomodate and bring our request).

Tina wanted something from Pinas for our living room table centerpiece. My brother, Mac bought these balls for us from bazaars in Greenhills no less (tyangge, syempre!). For the meantime, Tina placed her balls on one of her plastic banana leaf plates until I’ll find something more appropriate.

And because religious articles are apparently hard to find in a predominantly Muslim state…

Gabby's happiest with his first bible.

More reasons to be happy…. Lapid’s Chicharon, FTW!

Best Package Ever!

Thank you, Lord for all the blessings, big and small.

Jul

WELCOME TO OUR OWN SPACE!

By docgelo 45 Comments

It’s our third day in our new humble abode since we moved in last Friday, 1st July and Tina, Gabby and I are so thankful for having our own space finally! It’s almost indescribable living with just your family; with no other people who have less concern, consideration and sensitivity. The feeling is tantamount to independence, liberation, freedom. Simply surreal!

The priceless seaview from our 10th floor unit (11th actually since they have ground floor prior to first). Gabby and I will add more pin wheels to gauge the wind and sea breeze with vivid colors.

You don’t have any idea how I appreciate and value my readers’ comments. When I posted that We’re Itching To Move In to our chosen appartment to rent here in Butterwoth, Penang, I got helpful words from my blog buddies and one of them came from Marga aka Midge, the passionate blogger behind Sybaritic Diversions, whom Tina, Gabby and I met in one of her informative and fun sessions of Chocolate Appreciation 101 in Heavenly Chocolates, she generously shared the essentials to bring before one occupies a new home.

In the same words our late grandparents told us, fellow blogger, Marga reminded me to bring : "Salt to keep evil at bay, rice so that the kitchen/pantry never runs out for food, matches to protect the family from harm, and coins for prosperity."

Superstitious or not, I heeded to Marga’s words for I knew there’s no harm if those little items will be the first to be hauled.

I was truly overwhelmed with suggestions and pieces of advice to make our personal space as homey as possible. Online friends who mostly I haven’t met are always unselfish to share their ideas. Even on tweeter, fellow blogger-educator and an architect at that replied to my request when I asked her expert advice for free! Thank you, Architect Reena of Reena’s Thoughts . I really appreciate it.

Here’s a peek to our home in Butterworth…

Dad & son attempt to urban gardening : After I bought some potted plants in the island, I put them in our doorstep and Gabby arranged those pebbles around them. It was our very first father & son bonding in our new home.

Limited space requires you to be creative in maximizing everything. Without being boring but minimalist, our unit is still a work in progress.

the couch where we'll spend lazy hours; it's strategically located facing the porch that offers the view of the bay

Huggables : we bought some uncoordinated pillows to put life and colors in our living room.

The curtains were bought on sale. From RM 114 (PhP 1596) each, we only paid RM 28 (PhP 392) each.

Gabby’s choice : Because we love our almost 7-year-old kid, we gave him a chance to put on some decors that he likes. At the console table, there are framed photos, indoor potted plants and our boy’s little things.

While shadow puppets of Rama and Sita made from cow hide and artline inks that we bought from Kota Bharu, Kelantan which we haven’t framed yet stand side by side with our wedding photo, on the other corner of the living room lies another Gabby’s favorite : Plants vz Zombies!

Tina’s favorite area of the unit…

We’re fortunate that in Penang, discounts can get as low as 70-80% off. Tina bought these electric kettle for only RM 29 (PhP 406) from RM 99 (PhP 1386) and the mini oven for another affordable price.

Old but still at its best : Sharp fridge that came with the unit decorated with our ref magnets

Our fully furnished 3-bedroom-2 toilet & bath-appartment (or condo in Manila; flat in other parts of the globe) owned by a Christian Chinese came with a TV set, 3-piece sofa, 3 airconditioning units, ceiling fans for each rooms, queen size beds and a single bed, a dining table, a simple but charming kitchen, a refrigerator; our landlord was so nice to provide us a brand new washing machine. So when Tina is busy cooking, I do the laundry, hehe…

With A Mind of Its Own : We love this brand new washing machine provided by our landlord; it calculates first the exact volume of water per load of laundry before it starts spinning. Excuse our amazement; walang ganito sa probinsya namin, hehehe!

The very first meals were memorable! Despite we truly miss having pandesal in the morning, breakfast with Spam Lite, rice and coffee tasted great as we ate as one family.

The lunch with paksiw na bisugo was superb! Do you eat bisugo?

Paksiw na Bisugo : best eaten with fish sauce + siling labuyo. Try it! hehehe...

While I only went to the public market which is a bus-ride away and mini groceries downstairs to purchase some more stuffs, I have to give credits and much love to my wife because she exerted extra efforts to prepare our first dinner.

garlic buttered shrimps, beautifully deveined by Tina : one of our favorites!

Udang (the Bahasa Melayu term for shrimps or prawns) is cheaper in Penang than in Metro Manila. The cost here ranges from RM 16 – 25 per kilo (PhP 224 -350) thus enabling us to enjoy it every now and then.

We only invited one of our senior colleagues who also lives in the same building. For almost a year now, she stands as my/our genuine friend, comforter and a nanay-nanayan. She came with her sister and together, we shared our very first dinner. We could have invited another senior-fellow who have inspired me so much about family life, life in general and whatnot but I thought he’s busy enjoying the weekend with his own family. (read : We’d rather keep one or two friends only here in Penang rather than have an entire community who backstabs us; our world will peacefully revolve without them!).

Best Home Cooked Dishes : Kare-kare with Bagoong, Camaron Rebosado and Garlic Buttered Shrimps

At anytime of the day, our porch offers a relaxing view; now we know how it feels like to dwell in those hotels and serviced appartments along side Roxas Blvd back home; the only difference is, it’s a lot affordable here in Penang for the purchasing power of Ringgit is higher than Philippine Pesos.

The coming days will be brighter. As we begin to enjoy our new home, my parents from Manila and UAE will be coming over to share the love and fun with us. Gabby will continue schooling here in August and the rest, I know will be epic.

A new chapter of our expat lives unfolds.

—————————————-

Jun

OUR SATURDAY MORNING AT 32ND PENANG INTERNATIONAL DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

By docgelo 27 Comments

While most people in Penang were still sleeping and curling up in beds last Saturday morning, my wife, Tina, our 6-year-old son Gabby and I were already on our feet to the bus stop at few minutes after 6AM. The reason was simple : to get a glimpse at the 32nd Penang International Dragon Boat Festival held in Teluk Bahang Dam.

I initially considered sleeping with my family in a cheap hotel in George Town to be up and early at the rowing site but Tina vetoed the idea; I surrendered to her choice.

I never expected that we would have a long hike getting to the venue.

Although it took us only few minutes to be at the jetty after hopping to the bus from our place in Butterworth, we’ve waited around half an hour for the bus to arrive and spent another 30 minutes for the ferry to arrive in Penang Sentral that will take us to George Town; note that the usual ferry trip takes around 12-15 minutes (Why ride the ferry? We’re staying in mainland Penang where our work site is and “the life” is in Penang Island so whether you own a car or you commute, either way, you still have to cross the bay via ferry–for both vehicle owners and commuters or take the long Penang Bridge).

We had another bus ride from George Town to Teluk Bahang; it’s Rapid Bus 101 that took us there for almost an hour. Now you can do the math computing for our travel time! It was almost 9AM when we got off the bus and immediately bought some chilled bottled water at the convenient store within a gas station. Oh, and by the way, we went there with fellow colleagues, Dr. Y and Dr. C.who are also photo-enthusiasts.

Dr. Y : “One kilometer na lang daw iyong dam, lakarin na lang natin! Kaya ba nyan (referring to my son)?“ (It’s still 1 km to the dam, let’s just walk; is it OK for Gabby?)

Me : “Sure!”

And my simple honest nod to his question took us for that unexpected morning hike.

After passing by Penang Butterfly Farm which we haven’t been to, we had that unforgettable almost 45-minute-uphill-walk to the dam. (You might think we could have taken a taxi cabs but ‘teksi’ here in Penang require to be contacted by SMS or phone call if you’re not riding it from their stations; or we could have hopped onto another bus but it would take another hour for us to wait).

We walked though this long and winding road…. Tina and I are just proud of Gabby; he took his steps through it with less complaints.

Believe it or not : Our 6 year old son, Gabby walked with us through this uphill road enroute Teluk Bahang Dam; it was almost 2 km long!

It was a good relief when we finally saw the dam…

the bridge to the Dragon Boat site with the view opposite Teluk Bahang Dam.

The 2-day-competition held June 11-12, 2011 had entries from Guam, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Macau, UAE, China, Malaysian states like Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Penang of course but Tina and I had our widest smiles when we heard the name of our country, the Philippines who, at the time of our arrival at the site was already rowing at the preliminaries.

Guess who competed for The Philippines…

Me to Tina : “Tanggal pagod nang marining ko ang “in lane….The Philippines!” (My fatigue was nothing after I heard, “”in lane….The Philippines!”)

Unlike in other foreign cities, there is rarity of Filipinos in Penang so understandably, it’s nice to see and meet Filipinos, more so if they’re here to represent our country.

Photo-op : Gabby with a DLSU-Philippines-Dragon Boat Team member

After the DLSU-Philippines finished 3rd at their first row before the official Opening Ceremonies…

we caught them having their much needed-stretching…

then had their cheer for victory…

Animo! ... As DLSU-Philippines Dragon Boat Team puts it, For Synchronicity, Strength and Speed!

Meet some of the foreign and local Dragon Boat rowers…

Singapore! See you in 2 months time...

Nice to see varied colors of uniforms!

The 32nd PIDBF had Standard Boat and Small Boat Races of 250meters and 500meters, with Open, Women and Mixed categories.

"row, row, row your boat gently down the stream..."

But wait, our beloved Philippine flag was displayed upside-down, gera ito! (means war!) Had it not for our colleague, Dr. Y who told the people there to fix our banner, it would have been in the air for two days wrongly.

Universe, the blue part of our flag should always be on top of the red, get it? Otherwise, it means WAR!

As a beginner in violin, I was so impressed at these Chinese youngsters who played at the Opening Ceremony that was done at 10AM, their band played upbeat pop songs fit for the competition.

At around few minutes past 10, we decided to leave the event while our colleagues, Dr. Y. and Dr. C stayed until 5PM. According to them, DLSU-Philippines Dragon Boat Team placed 1st in one of the races that day, congratulations!

It was fun watching people…

reminds me of a local teeny-bopper TV soap, "Tabing-Ilog" hehehe

Luckily, as we walked down the road, there was an empty taxi cab that passed by, so it saved our legs and feet in going back to the bus stop.

Although admittedly, we were fatigued from the event, we never regret our decision of attending it. As Tina and I witnessed how Gabby was strong-willed to finish the hike with us (as if he had other options!) and for being exposed to friendly competitive sports, I was reminded of the fact that if you really want something (like success in any task, or a glorious win),

there are a ton of ways to do it, but otherwise, you’ll just offer reasons to make up for not trying.

—————————————————————

PS : While on the Rapid Bus 101 going to Gurney Mall from Teluk Bahang, we figured out it’s a perfect time to freshen up and try another wonderful lunch buffet! *burp* –>here’s our dining experience at G Cafe in G Hotel, Penang

Jun

FOR TRAVEL & FOODIE BLOGGERS : MyCityCuisine.Org

By docgelo 2 Comments

Categories: FOOD & MORE FOOD!, HEADLINES and TRAVEL
Tags: backpacking, backpacking trips, doc gelo, docgelo, food and travel, food blog, food bloggers, leisure, my city cuisine, mycitycuisine, travel blog, traveling, travelling, trips, vacation

Love food? Who doesn’t?

Do you have passion to travel?

Whenever one travels, it’s difficult not to be curious of a local cuisine, taste & eventually indulge.

Another Wiki project was put up called MyCityCuisine.Org that encourages contributors to share the most original and tasty traditional foods from different countries around the world.

So if you are a traveler and/or a foodie, make MyCityCuisine.Org a more engaging website!

How To Contribute

At the heart of this project are food lovers from around the world. You can contribute to this project in the following ways:

Provide content:

Write a new dish description
Expand an existing dish description
Correct mistakes in an existing dish description
Suggest a new dish to be included
Upload a new dish photo

MyCityCuisine.org features authentic and traditional cuisine, representative of local cities around the world.

Dishes to be featured on this site should meet the following criteria:

Dishes widely consumed by locals and generally considered local dishes, even though they may have originated from another region.
Dishes that are widely available in the city under which they are featured.

NOTE: Dishes do not have to be unique to a city. It is alright if the same dish appears in multiple cities.

We make every effort to include the following dishes on this site:

Well-known regional/national dishes.
Dishes that originated from the region, which are still consumed by locals today.

Dishes that should not be included:

Fast food from international chain restaurants such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, etc…
Foreign dishes, even if popular among locals (i.e. Chinese food in San Francisco or Italian food in New York).
Dishes based on personal recipes, as they are not commonly found in the city.
Uncommon dishes that are difficult for visitors to find.

You’ll know more about How To Contribute on MyCityCuisine.Org when you CLICK THIS!

And please don’t forget to inform Ms. Emilie McDonough that you read this from docgelo *wink*

May

AND THE WINNER IS…

By docgelo 9 Comments

Categories: HEADLINES
Tags: blog contest, blog contest winner, doc gelo, docgelo, kg, kumareng grace

Four years of blogging. 248,232 hits and counting. Comments I value. And more importantly, blogger-friends and readers whom I so appreciate unconditionally. These and more are the little perks of having my own virtual universe.

Before you know the winner to my BLOG CONTEST 2011, allow me to share my own answers to my queries.

1. If you are to live a different life, what would it be, where, with whom and why?

I’d like to be a chef in Paris, living with my (same) family and do nothing but cook and travel the rest of the globe.

2. What is the most unforgettable meal that you had and why?

Previous Noche Buena during the time that my family is still complete – with my grandparents still living and all the ~~feasts~~ meals I’m having with my own family.

3. Why do you follow Beyond Toxicity (shameless flattery, c’mmon it’s my blog anniversary haha! but honest answers would get a plus!) ?

Let me modify the question : Why have you been blogging for 4 years now?

I started blogging just to have something for my son (children to come, hopefully) to read and browse someday. I never expected that it would be an extension of my social life. Often, comments really help me in making a decision or post a reminder and at times, can be amusing. It’s more than rewarding.

How did I come up with a winner? I asked a favor from Doc Jane, who’s a Pathologist from Philippine Heart Center, an educator, a schoolmate in Med school and presently working with me here in Penang, with Tina to pick 3 choices after I printed all the participants’ entries. Both Tina and Doc Jane who are non-bloggers made their choices separately. I also made my own (believe it or not) impartial choice. The common choice stood as winner.

The unanimous pick :

1. If you are to live a different life, what would it be, where, with whom and why?
-Hmmm….T\this is hard. But if I had to answer (remember my Wimpy kid post?), I would say I would like to live duting Jesus’ time, as a commoner, just to see if I would believe in Him then.

2. What is the most unforgettable meal that you had and why?
-Ang hirap naman nito! Ang dami eh! I guess the last “meal” we had as a family before my mother dies. Kumpleto kami nun sa NKTI. We ate KFC in the cramped hospital room, as all members of the family were there. If I could have meals like that every day, I would.

3. Why do you follow Beyond Toxicity?
-What can I say…I’m a nosy person! I love reading about other people’s lives! He he! Just kidding! Seriously, I feel I learn something when I read your blog, not to mention I feel like I’m keeping up-to-date with a “friend.”

And the winner is….*drum roll, please*

KG!

*Grace, kindly email me your address where I can send your prize. My email is at the “CONTACT DOCGELO” page at the upper portion. Thanks! BTW, you didn’t win because you were insistent!

Terima Kasih to all those who joined. I know it’s not because of the prize but you wanted to share the fun.

Read the other entries here ->BLOG CONTEST 2011

Apr

SCENES FROM OUR FIRST EASTER IN PENANG

By docgelo 11 Comments

Categories: EVENTS, FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES and MALAYSIA
Tags: bukit mertajam, catholic church penang, doc gelo, docgelo, easter, easter sunday, lechon, lechon kawali, non halal, penang, roasted pork, st anne bukit mertajam, st anne church penang, st anne parish, st anne penang

We usually celebrate Easter in the Philippines by waking up before dawn to attend the very early morning mass and witness the Salubong (restaging of the scene where Jesus Christ first saw Mother Mary after His Resurrection; little girls dressed as angels lift the black veil as symbol of mourning from the image of the Blessed Virgin in caroza). Then it’s usually followed by religious procession led by the image in caroza of the Risen Christ, His apostles and saints. I miss those events. I miss eating lechon and lechon paksiw as brunch during Easter Sunday with our entire family. Things are totally different now that we’re trying ~~our luck~~ to live a better life here in Penang.

Dressed in Sari : An Indian mother and daughter who are about to hear Catholic Mass in St. Anne Church

As Tina, Gabby and I tried to make the best out of our very first Easter here in Penang, we woke up early at 4:45AM, freshen up and hit the roads to the bus stop before 6AM. We ate and sipped our purchases from the ever reliable convenience store, 7-11 while waiting (for almost an hour because we were too early!) for the Rapid Penang bus that would take us from our place in Butterworth to Jetty.

At Penang Sentral bus station, I personally asked the bus drivers of the specific bus and bus number that we have to ride going to St. Anne Church in Bukit Mertajam. Two of them told me the bus will leave at 8 in the morning, which I knew would be too late for the mass. So Tina agreed to take the cab for RM 25 (PhP 350) which I haggled from RM 30 (PhP 420), hehe!

There are other few Catholic churches in predominantly Muslim state like Penang, but I wanted my family to experience St. Anne. Its mountainous backdrop with lush greens and fresh air blends beautifully with its vast interiors and exteriors.

First built in 1888, St. Anne then was only a chapel. That original small church remains to stand still on top of the hill beside the newly established parish for everyone to visit.

The interiors of the original chapel…

The image of the Resurrection perfectly overlooks from the top of the hill beside the chapel…

They built a new parish in honor of St. Anne, mother of the Blessed Virgin,with bell tower that reaches the heavens…

The massive parking lot…

And the church itself…

As faithfuls started flocking inside the church, I signaled Tina to walk toward the right side first for us to go to tandas (read : malaysian word for toilet).

I led my family to sit in the pew at the church’s right side and started praying just before the mass. I knew that English Mass is always scheduled at 8AM at St. Anne but apparently, almost half of all of the church-goers at that time were dressed in Sari and mostly Indians. My hint that the mass would be in Tamil was confirmed only when it began.

We looked at each other cluelessly. Gabby was puzzled. The boy was surprised to hear hymns and biblical readings in foreign tongue. Tina and I explained to him that regardless of language, color or race, our Lord understands and appreciates the voice of our hearts. Then he started saying his very own daily prayer, also uttered one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be.

We didn’t finish the mass and walked few meters away from the church to the same Chinese eatery we used to go to.

After almost a weeklong abstinence from pork, I suggested this simple meal to be our breakfast; we ordered two (Tina had hers mixed with Peking Duck, mine was purely roasted pork cutlets both affordably delicious at RM 4 each = PhP 56 served with rice) with iced and hot coffee, while Gabby had seafood noodle soup and Milo-iced (pronounced here as Mee-lo ais).

It may not be my personal Easter favorite, lechon or at least, lechon kawali, but we savored our simple breakfast because we certainly enjoyed it TOGETHER.

God bless, everyone!

Apr

BLOG HOLIDAY

By docgelo 7 Comments

Categories: HEADLINES
Tags: angel, angels, doc gelo, docgelo, holy week, penance, sin, sorry

“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” -John 8:7

This blog will have a weeklong holiday and will be back on Easter Sunday. The author, like any sinners would need to repent for his wrong doings, would pray for people he has wronged and would reflect and learn lessons from his and others’ mistakes. He fervently lifts up everything to the Lord Almighty. May the Peace of the Lord be with us all. Amen!

Apr

BLOG CONTEST 2011

By docgelo 2 Comments

Categories: HEADLINES
Tags: blog, blog contest, contest, doc gelo, docgelo, food, freebie, fun, online contest, penang, penang malaysia, photography, recipe, TRAVEL, travel books, traveling, travelling

My own universe will be celebrating its 4th birthday (it’s my blog 4th anniversary!) and you are invited to join this simple-all-for-fun-contest. Mechanics and the prize ->[HERE].

Maraming Salamat po! Terima Kasih from Penang, Malaysia! *clap, clap*

Mar

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD

By docgelo 17 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES and MALAYSIA
Tags: doc gelo, docgelo, expat, family, family and living, family life, filipino abroad, filipino in malaysia, life abroad, life in penang, ocw, ofw, penang, penang malaysia, pinoy abroad, pinoy expat, rob, sensory replays

Another chapter in our family life will unfold today.

My life in Penang will be happier for this late afternoon, my wife, Tina and our kid, Gabby will arrive from Manila via Kuala Lumpur. They’ll be staying here with me on dependent visa until (my work visa expires) God wants us to be here.

I certainly know how difficult it is for my wife to leave Manila for she will be missing two valuables in her life -

-her Ate who’s a doctor and a medical educator too (happens to be my classmate-friend back in Med school) and is the only immediate family she got in Pinas; the rest of my in-laws are based in the US and

-her job as a clinical instructor and a skills laboratory lecturer for Nursing college students in which Tina have been passionate about for some years (I think she didn’t resigned but only filed an indefinite leave of absence).

My wife shall begin to work here in Penang as an Operating Room Nurse once her license from MNC is issued. While waiting, she’ll continue to be the best personal and private teacher to Gabby as we prepare him for schooling here (read : we need to save first for Gabby’s private foreign school because its cost is so steep although the cost of living isn’t).

I know that with my family’s presence, I’ll be more inspired to wake up every 5 o’clock in the morning to hit the roads to work.

Another reason of my excitement is the fact that someone close to my family will pay a visit next week.

I already filed a replacement leave in our HR office because by mid next week, one of my best buddies of 18 years and counting, Rob of Sensory Replays will have his lone backbacking trip for a week in Malaysia. He’ll start his leisure tour in Kota Kinabalu on Monday, then we’ll fetch him at the airport on Wednesday and will serve as his tour guide here in Penang until the next day before he leaves for Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Rob is one of Gabby’s dutiful godparents so we expect pasalubong from him of course. haha!

It’s a whole new world for my family; a new life to begin. I am certain that there are reasons why the good Lord made all this possible. We cannot thank Him enough.

Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I’ll have to prepare to go to the island, kill few hours in the mall before fetching my family at the airport. yeehaa!

Mar

I LOVE JAPAN BECAUSE OF THESE

By docgelo 11 Comments

Categories: FOOD & MORE FOOD!, HEADLINES, MALAYSIA and Uncategorized
Tags: doc gelo, docgelo, food blog, foodie, george town, georgetown penang, japan, Japanese food, komtar, penang, penang malaysia, prangin mall, sushi, TOKYO

Honestly, I cannot get over the news about how Japan was inundated by that massive tsunami and jolted by that tremendous earthquake a couple of days ago. I was ashamed of myself dwelling on my little personal and professional problems while people on the other side of the planet were fighting for survival against forces beyond their control.

I prayed and asked for forgiveness; asked for mercy for those deeply affected by the calamity. I immediately thought of my family who as of the moment, are miles away from me. I prayed for their safety and for the good Lord to continuously keep us in His divine care.

Perhaps, one of the reasons why I am deeply affected with what happened to Japan was because I was fortunate enough to experienced Tokyo last year. I have personally seen, heard, smelt, felt and tasted Tokyo for 14 days! It was indeed, remarkable 2 weeks of my life! Admittedly, I fell in love with the city and it’s so difficult to reconcile that its northern part was devastated by that natural tragedy.

It instantly came to mind that even the most progressive country has its own sufferings. And that nothing is spared when nature speaks its wrath.

I know Japanese people have been used to strong typhoons, frequent earthquakes and in history, even atomic bombings. How they managed to rise from all these adversities should inspire and motivate not only me but the rest of the globe.

I was hesitant to post something pleasant about how I love that city and that country with their culture and their food of course, but life has to move on. Thus, this entry.

Second to our very own local dishes back home, I love Japanese foods. As mentioned, I am lucky to have tasted authentic sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki and sukiyaki when I was in Tokyo. So everytime I see Japanese food stalls and restaurants wherever I go, I cannot help but crave for some bites.

About a couple of weeks ago, I went to one of the malls here in Penang that I frequent every weekend. And I did not resist the temptation of having Japanese for late lunch. Here was my set then…

Japan’s greatest contribution to gastronomic history : sushi!

Other than sushi and sashimi, Yakult is the next best thing Japanese people introduced to the world!

This set meal came with soup+noodle bowl and a small cup of custard dessert as sweet ending!

Free small pitcher of iced cold green tea and drinking water to wash everything down.

I had that set meal from Sushi King in George Town, Penang…

Diners can directly get their sushi from the conveyor belt …

besides the set meal I had, I also opted to order ala carte. Sushi King’s Soft shelled crab temaki –delicious!

I ate this lunch set at the heart of Penang 2 weeks before that catastrophe happened in Japan. At least, it reminds me of good memories I had from Tokyo; a breather from those actual photos of news online.

Japanese food. Japanese culture. Japanese innovation. Japanese people. Japanese way of life. These are the things I love about Japan. And so until after they rise on their feet from the devastation they had, they’ll be constantly in my prayers.

So help us, God!

Feb

GABBY WON AGAIN, 3 YEARS IN A ROW!

By docgelo 16 Comments

Categories: EVENTS, FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO and HEADLINES
Tags: achievement, award, children, contest, declamation, declamation contest, doc gelo, docgelo, education, family, love, preschool, success, twinkle toes academy, winning

When he was 4 years old at Nursery, he won 3rd place in their Declamation Contest in school with his poem, “For My Country.”

The feat was carried on to his Kindergarten when he was awarded 4th Place in the same annual contest with his piece, “Planting Rice.”

That was Gabby last year with his classmate, Chloie; then, a year after…

Yesterday, I had a few calls and sent SMS to my wife, Tina at lunch time but she missed them all. I forgot that she attended to our son, Gabby’s declamation contest held at one of the function rooms in Ateneo De Manila University. No, Gabby’s not enrolled in ADMU, but it has been always a venue for their preschool’s extracurricular activities including graduation rites (usually at Henry Lee Irwin Theater).

It was only few hours after that my wife answered my call then I heard the great news that Gabby won 2nd place in their declamation contest, beating few sections of Preparatory students. Congratulations, son! Ang husay mo, manang-mana!

We love you, Gabby! We’re so proud of you, son!

See you here in Penang in 3 weeks time!

PS : You may not have won first place in those contests, son, but always keep in mind that your mom and I have you as our champion forever! WE LOVE YOU SO!

Feb

T’SAI SHEN TAU : 3RD & LAST PART OF A SERIES

By docgelo 12 Comments

Who would not be enticed to enter such spectacular facade leading to a street of festivities?

It was half hour past 4 in the afternoon last Saturday when we reached Lebuh Chulia (Chulia Street) in George Town, Pulau Pinang to celebrate the diversities of 3 predominant races here in this side of Malaysia.

the Malays…

the Indians…

and the Chinese…

The year of the rabbit has officially ushered in and they have the occasion here in Penang for 15-long days of merry making, fireworks and whatnot that started last February 3 and will end today, the 17th. Part 0f the reasons for the event was to commemorate the inclusion of George Town as one of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Cities (read : Penang Island is a must visit!).

The theme for this year big event’s T’sai Shen Tau which means The God of Prosperity has arrived…

As everyone began to trooped to this group of chinky-eyed males clad in orange, Dr. Yambao, Dr. Carlo and I positioned ourselves to capture such unique street procession called CHINGAY…

“Chingay originated from China, and the Penang Chinese first performed Chingay during deity processions. It is a street art where the performer balances a giant flag that ranges from 25 ft to 32 ft in height and about 60 pounds in weight.”

Every attempt to throw the bamboo pole to the air and catch and balance it on someone’s forehead was done harmoniously with the beat of the drums and cymbals played by these Chinese of younger generation…

Look at the pure reaction of amazement from these kids…

All in all, this very first photo-walk with colleague-friends, Dr. Yambao and Dr. Carlo was a day well spent.

We witnessed unity amidst diversities in Penang.

It was tiring but our experience remains priceless.

Indeed, the God of prosperity has arrived…

—————————————o

Read the first 2 parts of this series :

T’SAI SHEN TAU PART ONE

T’SAI SHEN TAU PART TWO

—————————————o

Feb

T’SAI SHEN TAU : 2ND OF 3 PART-SERIES

By docgelo 23 Comments

T’sai Shen Tau means The God of Prosperity has arrived…

The event last weekend was part of the Chinese New Year celebration and to commemorate the inclusion of Georgetown, Penang in one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Cities.

In few cities I’ve been to –there are always a Chinese community and a Chinatown and Penang is not an exception. Being one of the three races in this part of Malaysia (with Malays and Indians), the Chinese people are not to be disregarded. Whether in business, in schools, in malls or just about anywhere and everywhere, their presence is always felt.

On my seventh month of being an expat, it was my first time to experience Chinese New Year in Penang. The celebration stretches from February 3 to 17–or fifteen long days of fun and festivities.

Versatility is one of their strong characters. They can be so reserved…

Or appear to be on top of the world…

Their concern to protect Mother Nature and giving importance to one’s roots were so apparent in the street tableaux…

back to the basics…

Even ‘lending a helping hand’ was depicted on the streets…

The Recycle-Reuse-Reduce echoed in the streets of Georgetown last weekend…

What fellow medical educators, Dr. Yambao & Dr. Carlo do for this hobby called photography...

And while my 2 companions were busy clicking their D7000, I didn’t let my chance to taste this Chinese Sharksfin soup pass… For RM 3 (PhP 42) it was thick and flavorful, enough to complete my delight.

Soon after my tummy’s warmed by that tasteful soup, I continued the experience of immersing myself to bits and pieces of Chinese lifestyle in Penang back in those early years…

There were young ladies who acted as vendors…

Sugar canes as one of their commodities…

Oriental pieces never fail to fascinate me…

Even the skies were decorated for the event.

No detail was overlooked…

Chinese decors are a real feast to the eyes…

And the vivid colors of their decors and ornaments are a reflection of their people…

Would you agree that they also have a natural thing for humor? Check out this kid’s hair piece…

And when it drizzled, this couple didn’t mind putting on egg trays to cover their heads; how amusing!

The streets were geared for the occasion from afternoon…

to sun down…

“Nothing and no one can destroy the Chinese people. They are relentless survivors.” -Pearl Buck

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

————————————–o

Feb

ALFONSO

By docgelo 29 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO, HEADLINES and MALAYSIA
Tags: boredom, D7000, doc gelo, docgelo, dslr, hobby, komtar, mega star photography, newbie photographer, nikon, nikon D7000, penang, penang malaysia, photography, violin

Although I felt short of our 4-day paid holiday here in Penang to celebrate Chinese New Year, simply because there are more places to explore and things to do, I am still thankful for all the blessings – big and small.

The coming days will be more fruitful, I know.

You remember, my violin, Amanda, right?

Beginning this Wednesday at 6:30pm to 7:30pm and every Wednesday thereafter, I and some 3 colleague-friends will learn the basics of violin in a Chinese Music School in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth.

Then, learning new things never stops.

Just last Saturday at Jalan Penang, Georgetown, I was accompanied by one of our friendliest senior-colleagues who’s into photography since I was 2 years old and a housemate-colleague who, like me, wants to learn and enjoy DSLR photography, to scout for a good buy of a camera.

Meet my new ~~toy~~ baby, next to Amanda, third to Gabby, here’s Alfonso…

Reading its manual and gradually going thru the basics is like learning how to read when I was 6.

I’m extremely excited to acquire the skills, little by little. I know it’ll be more than fun because when I showed Alfonso for the very first time to Tina and Gabby over skype, my son had his hands clapping with smiles from ear to ear.

He cheered like, “Yehey, may camera na kami! Wow, ang ganda!”

Those moments are the things you cannot buy; they’re absolutely priceless!

I hope with Amanda and Alfonso, my homesickness and boredom will diminish soon.

Thank God for all this bliss.

————————————————–o

PS : Amanda and Alfonso are the names we (Tina and I) have in mind if and when we’ll have future kids next to Antonio Gabriel.

The 2 photos above were the first shots from Alfonso using automatic mode. I will try my best to learn how to operate him manually and all the modes he has… I wish you’ll see improvements soon.

Jan

AMANDA

By docgelo 45 Comments

“It is never too late to begin. Remember that you always wanted to play the piano, paint, write poetry, start a journal, read that challenging book, begin stargazing, learn a little Spanish, take up yoga or qigong, build something special. There will never be a better day to begin than today. Just do it.” –Jonathan Lockwood Huie

At 34, I know it’s never that late to learn new things and pursue other fields of fascination.

I never thought that homesickness and boredom out of living and working abroad would lead me to do things I wanted to do since God knows when.

This beautiful sunny Sunday morning, I went to Jalan Raja Uda in Butterworth, a 5-minute-bus-ride and a 10-minute walk from our place in Taman Robina.

The Chinese owner of the music school and her receptionist were both amazed that I came on the dot at 9AM as I have committed over the phone yesterday.

I cannot hide my excitement to meet her; that’s why! I cannot wait to take her home! My wife, Tina already gave her nod for me to have an affair with my new love.

Meet Amanda, my new love…

Isn’t she gorgeous? I just hope she’ll love me back! *wink*

She’s brand new; they ordered for me from their supplier and did not come from their display…

I scouted a music store in a mall yesterday and also google the web to compare prices, the cost is still cheaper and more affordable in music school.

I will join 3 other MD-lecturer-colleagues in a beginner class for violin on 09 February when the music school reopens after the long Chinese New Year holiday here in Penang (CNY celebration starts Feb 3-4-5-6) and every Wednesdays at 6:30PM (after our office hours end at 5PM) thereafter. Our class is scheduled an hour per week; 30-min theoretical, 30-min practicals.

Like a kid who wanted to explore and try new things, I am extremely excited to learn the basics of violin. Little by little, I believe I can pull it off, who knows, after few months time, I’ll be able to play The Corrs’ Runaway and other beautiful music that Amanda and I will enjoy.

I’ll keep you posted.

Do you know how to play any musical instrument?

For anyone who knows how to play this string instrument, would you mind giving me some tips and pieces of advice about its care, and whatnot? Do you have any songs to suggest for me to play ~~someday~~ soon? *naks!*

Enjoy your new week, everyone!

—————————————–o

AKADEMI MUZIC NEE. 13 Tkt Mawar, Taman Mawar, Jalan Raja Uda, 12300 Butterworth, Seberang Prai, Pulau Pinang, West Malaysia. It’s only right across my senior colleagues’ place, Kondominium Cassia Their website here –> CLICK!

PS : I’m planning to enrol my son, Gabby to play+learn any musical instrument of his choice after he arrives here in Penang on late March with his mom. It’s nice if we can play the violin together but when I asked him on Skype last week, he prefers piano at this early. We’ll see.

Jan

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

By docgelo 11 Comments

Categories: EVENTS, HEADLINES, MALAYSIA and TRAVEL
Tags: binondo, chinese new year, chinese new year celebration, george town penang, georgetown, georgetown penang, holdiay in malaysia, manila, penang, penang malaysia

Last year, I celebrated Chinese New Year here…

I strolled this charming street of Manila called Binondo with a bunch of fellow bloggers; was my first time to appreciate dancing lions and dragons with people of common interest.

This year, I am excited to witness how Penang people observe such occasion. And who would not be excited if there will be a very loooooong holiday next week because of the event?

It’s holiday here in Penang on February 3, 4 (Thursday and Friday next week), and of course the fun, definitely will be carried over to the weekend, Feb 5 and 6! *hooray for paid holiday!*

Those dates will be perfect to see cultural shows on the streets and to be delighted with those ornaments of red and gold. Indulging in some dimsums and dumplings would be so apt too for the occasion.

Other than going to Georgetown next week, my colleague-friends and I will try to explore more of Pulau Pinang (Penang Island). I just wish the weather will continue to cooperate (FYI, we only experience very occasional rains here unlike in Pinas; no storms for the past 6 months here for Malaysia is located outside typhoon-risk areas).

But more than anything, I am looking forward to PAYDAY (we only get our salary every end of the month).

Can’t wait to send remittance to Tina+Gabby.

Do you have plans on celebrating CNY?

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Be blessed and be safe!

—————————–O

Jan

THIS ONE’S WONDERFUL!

By docgelo 33 Comments

Categories: FAMILY : LOVE KO 'TO and HEADLINES
Tags: alberto segismundo cruz, blogging, book, doc gelo, docgelo, may bagwis ang pag ibig, may bagwis ang pag-ibig at iba pang kuwento, percival campoamor cruz, percival cruz, perks of blogging

I never thought blogging can give me so much pleasure. From gaining loyal virtual friends (of whom I met a few already) to receiving comments and opinions on my posts that they generously share, to a few perks of being invited to events, receiving gift certificates and freebies, to earning a few amount from exchange links and whatnot.

Yesterday, I got a go signal from my inbox to claim from any Western Union branch the payment for the little online transaction I engaged into, after someone bought exchange links from my blog. After which, I went to the mall and grocery to shop for my baon (and a couple of shirts for office!) to work for the new week.

This beautiful Sunday morning, my housemate-friend knocked on my door to give me this…

Now that you know my present address in Penang, you can send in fan mails, pre and post holiday gifts, pasalubong, etc. LOL!

Someone from Burbank, California spent USD 10.31 on postage just to send me a copy of his materpiece of which I have a very little contribution…

Call it trivial but for me this one’s amazing. I have never been so humbled with such appreciation…

A US-based Filipino author emailed me few months ago and asked permission if he can use one of my blog photos in his then soon-to-be-published book…who am I to say no?

This was my photo of Quiapo Church I posted on this entry –>My 15-minutes in Quiapo

With my watermarks and proper credits, my photo of Quiapo Church taken by an old-school digicam landed in Mr. Percival Cruz’s book; I am truly honored!

More credits for the contributors…

May Bagwis Ang Pag-Ibig At Iba Pang Kuwento by Percival Campoamor Cruz and Alberto Segismundo Cruz is available also via Amazon.com; here’s the the link.

To Mr. Cruz, thank you so much, Sir! Good luck on the book and More Power!

————————————-o

Jan

10 THINGS I HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE

By docgelo 15 Comments

Categories: Attitude, HEADLINES, MALAYSIA, TRAVEL and WISH LIST
Tags: doc gelo, docgelo, TRAVEL, trip, vacation, violin

One of my friends of 18 years and counting, and the same person who introduced me to the world of blogging, Rob of Sensory Replays (to quote his verb-) urged his fellow bloggers to do a post similar with his. He even required everyone who will follow suit to name the entry “10 things I have not done before.” So obedient as I am, here goes my own boring list…*drum roll, please!*

1. VIOLIN. I want to learn how to play it, seriously. The thought didn’t come suddenly but a childhood dream. I cannot put into words how fascinated I am with this string instrument; each time I get to watch an orchestra play, my ears are always biased to its sound.

You can just imagine my extreme excitement last Saturday, when my senior colleague told me that she and another MD-lecturer-friend are already scheduled to start violin and voice classes respectively in a Chinese-own Music School here in Penang. I immediately asked the rate per hour, and it’s reasonably affordable, RM 60/4 sessions in a month (that’s exactly RM 15 per hour x 4 sessions or PhP 210/session). The instrument can be purchased from the Music School too. Let’s wait and see…soon!

2. GO BALD. I wanted to sport a skin head for the longest time but Tina doesn’t allow me.

Admittedly, at 34 I have thinning locks. Thanks to my dad who unfortunately inherited me with hair attributes of poor quality (thin strands in less volume, got used to it already, so no worries). Now, I can sense that the time is near to sport a new look but not too soon. *bagay kaya? vote now!*

3. ORGANIZE A CHARITY EVENT. Another blog buddy, Chyng of No Spam, No Virus, No Kiddin’ inspired me after she successfully put up a Christmas party and gift-giving and more for the kids of a certain orphanage in Bulacan recently. I think everyone who knows her should follow her footsteps in doing such generous endeavor. At her young age, hats off ako kay Chyng!

I am not promising to do it this year but with a goal and plans in mind, I know things will spring soon.

4. SLEEP ALL DAY and DO NOTHING. I used to sleep less and wake up early. Like even weekends, I have my body clock set with such schedule. I want to experience how it is to be narcoleptic and lazy for a day.

5. SERIOUSLY SAVE, SAVE and SAVE. *enough said*

6. SINGAPORE, INDIA and other parts of ASIA. I could have included countries in Europe but with our personal 2011 financial outlook, a lifelong dream for a European trip shall have to be frozen until that time comes. For now, traveling to neighboring Asian countries might be feasible but still subject for budget approval. *wink*

7. GET MY OWN DOMAIN. How does docgelo.com sounds like? Honestly, I don’t have any idea of getting my own domain. Help! Only heard that it’s cheap per yearly rate and that’s it. On the second thought, I don’t want to have separation anxiety with wordpress.

8. SOLITARY BACKPACKING. This one’s a challenge. For a traveler no, but for a family man like me, it is. After Tina and I had Gabby, most if not all of our trips were done with him and I am not complaining.

9. SEND OUR SON to SCHOOL in FOREIGN LAND. So help us, God!

10. BE A STUDENT AGAIN and PURSUE OTHER POST GRADUATE STUDIES. I hope this happens soon. I cannot wait.

Do you have your own list or at least ideas in mind of the things you have not done before?

————————————————————–o

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