Great Weekend Ahead

Kris, Richard, Aris + Pat. Christmas party 2009 in Tagaytay.
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I'm so giddy with excitement! My bestfriend Pat and her boyfriend Aris are arriving this afternoon!
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This is how our weekend together is going to be like.
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aSee how kulit Aris is? Pat says I'm his #1 fan kasi ako lang ang laging tumatawa sa jokes nya.
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Good times ahead ahead! I can't wait to see them!

The Shopaholic Sisters Were Here!

Sorry for the lack of posts. After Aly's birthday, I was preoccupied with two things: getting ready for our trip and being a tindera. Yes, you read that right! The Domestic Goddess is now a tindera -- oops, make that entrepreneur. And this, I mean, they are the reason why...

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Jean, Krisan, Alyannah and Abby.

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Last March, my godsisters Jean and Abby Alcid a.k.a The Shopaholic Sisters were here. Jean and Abby are daughters of my mom's bestfriend Ninang Penny, who is also my ninang for both baptism and wedding.

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We haven't seen each other in years! So their stay was like a three-day pajama party. We'd shop all day and stay up to the wee hours of the morning just chatting. It was so much fun!

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These pretty and hardworking sisters also happen to own an online shop at Multiply. They were in Bangkok to shop for items that they can sell online. These enterprising sisters encouraged me to get into selling. Kaya ako naging tindera...I'm putting my shopping skills into good use and they told me to grab the opportunity while I'm here in Bangkok where clothes are super cheap. So now, I'm having a dry run of sorts with my friends when I come home. I will be bringing some items home to see kung mabebenta. You can check it out here.

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To Jean and Abby, I hope you enjoyed your stay as much we enjoyed having you here! Balik kayo anytime :) Thank you for the blouse that you gave me!

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Speaking of blouse, I had so many people asking me about the blouse that I wore during Aly's birthday...

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...it was a gift from Jean and Abby.

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I was planning to sell those too so I went to the place where they bought the blouse from -- twice, but I didn't see it. However, I think Jean and Abby still have it on their website so buy na lang from them! Check out Shopaholic Sisters 2k9. Some of my items are posted on their site too! Happy shopping!

Wat Pho

Wat Pho is the oldest wat in Bangkok. This popular tourist attraction is famous for two things: the enormous Reclining Buddha and the Thai massage school. We didn't try massage; we didn't need it yet. We explored the compound instead.

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Welcome to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. My name is Richard and I will be your guide for today. Heehee!

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The Reclining Buddha.

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Mandatory tourist shots at the buddha's head.

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Walking to the other end.

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More tourist shots at the buddha's feet.

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The feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl illustrations of the 108 auspicious characteristics of the buddha.

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Behind the buddha is a long row of 108 bowls where visitors can drop 1-satang coins for good fortune. You can get a bunch of these these coins for Thb20, which also doubles as a donation to help the monks keep the wat.

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The compound is huge! There really is much to explore at Wat Pho. In the following photos, you will see Richard and Kerwin harassing the statues.

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Ang kukulit naman ng mga turista na to!

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Richard the paparazzo.

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Lovers in Bangkok. Nyehehe!

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Ang sosyal ng poste ng ilaw nila!

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Ano kaya kung may mga statue na ganito ka rin sa gate ng bahay nyo? Siguradong matatakot ang mga magnanakaw!

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Lakad.

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Wat Pho is also home to a thousand buddha images.

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Lakad ulit.

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Eh ano naman kaya kung ganito ang pinto ng bahay nyo? Siguradong mananakawan ka.

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Richard's macro shot. Nice!

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I don't really know what this is. Hehe!

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Pagodas.

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Check out the mosaic!

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I'm not really sure about this, but I think a group of pagodas is called a chedi. These were used to enshrine relics of the buddha, but were used later on for kings. Kaya siguro sya ganyan kaganda kasi mahalaga pala ang laman nya.

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Beautiful.

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For some reason, I liked Wat Pho better than the Grand Palace. Was it because of the huge buddha or the magnificent chedis? Or maybe it's because of the cheaper entrance fee (Thb20 only vs. the Grand Palace's Thb250). Hehe! They're not too strict about the dress code either. We were all wearing shorts that day. I will definitely recommend this to my future visitors. Ngayon pa na marunong na kami sumakay ng river taxi, visiting Wat Pho will be more fun for our guests.

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Next stop: Chinatown.

Ria + Kerwin in Bangkok

Our first visitors for 2009, Ria and Kerwin the explorer (parang Dora the explorer -- my daughter's afternoon-DVD-watching-habit is starting to rub-off on me!), visited us last month.

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Their stay was short, pero sinulit talaga nila to the last hour. We went to so many places, got lost a couple of times (hehe!), did a little shopping, took tons of photos, and ate a lot of food! Gosh, I don't think I've ever done that much sightseeing and eating in such a short period of time! Haha! But it was a blast! I love that this couple is so game and willing to try anything!

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At hindi sila napapagod ha. Well, I'm not really surprised because these seasoned travellers (in other words, super gala) are really active. They climb mountains, they bike from Manila to Antipolo, they surf, they run...in short, they do a lot of things that I would never do in a million years! I knew that I had to do something so I can keep up with these two. So how did the Domestic Goddess train for her athletic guests? I went to the gym! Haha! And more importantly, I asked Richard to bring his backpack so I can use a smaller bag while he carried the rest of my stuff. Heehee!

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Ready to explore Bangkok!

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More kwento about their Bangkok escapade in the coming posts so stay tuned!

Our First Visitors for 2009

Galera, May 2007

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I received a message from my bestfriend Ria thru gmail chat yesterday morning:

Ria: kung pupunta kami BKK, susunduin mo ba kami sa airport at ihahatid? at will you let us stay in your place?

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Me: ofcourse i will let you stay in our place! anobeh? and i can pick you up. ilan ba kayo?

Ria: kami lang ni kerwin. yehey. ayusin lang namin leaves namin.

Me: yey!!! kelan nyo balak? excited na ko :)

Ria: wait lang. basta. soon.

When she said soon, I was thinking maybe March for her birthday, or April for Holy week. So she kept me in suspense the whole morning. Then, later in the afternoon, we were able to chat again. She told me that she was booking their tickets already. Oooohh! Moments later, she confirmed. They will be here on 14-17 February!! Woohoo!!!

Double date daw kami sa Valentine's Day. Just like our Galera trip...

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a Eeww...cheesy. Hehe!

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Anyway, I'm super excited! I started making a short list of places that we can go to. I was also planning to cruise the Chao Phraya River and now may kasama na ko.

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AC Christmas Party 2008

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To Ri and Kerwin: Have a safe trip and we'll see you soon!

Visitors in November

Mom, Dad and my titas were here on November last year. I told you about them being stranded, but I haven't shared with you any photos of their trip. Picture taking was done only on the first and last day. The rest of their stay kasi, they went shopping on their own and I had to stay behind to do my household chores. Pfffft...Corny no? Anyway, here are the pics.

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Seated, Left to right: mommy, tita Lori, Aly and daddy.

Standing, left to right: me, tita Vicky, tita Jojo, tita Wena and Jolo. Tita Vicky and tita Lori are my dad's sisters, while tita Jojo, tita Wena and Jolo are tita Lori's friends.

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After Sunday mass at Christ the Redeemer church.

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Lunch at some Thai restaurant at Central World.

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Around Central World.

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Merienda at Swensen's.

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Dad and his Apple Tower.

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For me: Chocolate Millionaire. Four baby scoops of ice cream, truffles, banana, whipped cream and a shot of thick, gooey fudge. Sooo heavenly!

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Dinner at Curries and More!

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Pomelo salad and shrimp cake.

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At the Oakwood poolside.

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Aly and her newfound playmate Kuya Jolo.

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He always gives me the best smile when I take his pic.

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Waiting for the shuttle that will take us to Central Plaza.

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We're going to have dinner at Sizzler!

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Short intro about Sizzler: I have always been intrigued by this restaurant mainly because there's always a long line of people outside who are waiting to be seated. As in, the other restaurants beside it can be practically empty, while Sizzler would always be packed. Richard and I thought the food there must be really good! We've been wanting to try the food but I was always turned off by the long line. Until finally, we had to no choice because tita Lori was going to treat us for dinner there. Hehe!

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Tita was raving about the all-you-can-eat salad/soup/pasta/dessert bar, which comes free if you order a main dish. I saw people going crazy in the salad bar -- ang daming tao palagi and it was hard to get anything -- but I wasn't too thrilled because I'm not really a salad person. I'd rather have soup, but I wasn't happy with the choices available so this is what I got: crab salad. Parang ang lungkot ng plato ko...

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...compared to my mom's plate. The dessert spread wasn't exciting either. It was actually boring (hello? puro jello lang with whipped cream on top) so I didn't bother anymore.

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Hindi sila maka-smile kasi may laman bibig nila. Hehe!

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Tita Vicky got soup with prawn crackers.

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Inseparable: Aly and her lolo Bernie.

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Si Jolo masaya kasi bukas uuwi na sila (after being stranded in BKK for more than a week!).

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Hamburger steak with baked potato.

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Half rack of baby back ribs.

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The verdict: the food did not exactly blow me away. I've tasted better baby back ribs before. But I'm willing to give Sizzler another try. Maybe next time I should try their steak. Baka mas masarap yun. The food is pretty expensive (THB250-Thb400), but it's worth it because of the salad/pasta/soup/dessert bar. Actually, sa appetizer pa lang mabubusog ka na. Hehe!

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The next day, we had to bring them to the airport. They were happy that they were finally able to go home, but it was also kinda sad to see them go.

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Look at all that luggage! Isama nyo na yung bata sa harap. Hehe!

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Bye, mom and dad!

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When I woke up that morning, I kept telling myself over and over na susunod na rin kami after a week para lang hindi ako umiyak. But when I saw my mom getting all teary-eyed when she kissed me goodbye, I got teary-eyed too. It was a quiet ride back to Oakwood and even more quiet when we got home.