Better Than Manny

(Doing a spin-off from my TM speech proj 2) 

What comes into your mind when you hear the word GenSan? (pause) Or Saranggani? (People mutter familiar answers under their breaths) Or Mindanao? 

Good evening. I am here today to take you into a small tour of the treasures that lie within General Santos and Saranggani, other than Manny Pacquiao's mansion and birthplace. 


As a yuppie, I consider the luxury of traveling (on my own and with my friends) as a hard-earned privilege. When I was 10 years old, traveling meant waking up at dawn to be able to get to a resort or a beach in nearby Laguna or Batangas with my family. But now, the possibilities are limitless. Because traveling has been made so accessible to almost everyone in this age, it is only common for people to invest in exposure to and absorption of so many different cultures that the world has to offer. Or the Philippines at that. 


My college friends and I have this small traveling group because of our friend Paolo, who gets assigned to ridiculous places in the archipelago as his retail territorial manager stint in Pilipinas Shell Corp. Aside from visiting and spending time with him to perk up his dying nomadic social life, we get free passes to tour, lodging and gas when we book a trip to his turf. Last year it was Iloilo-Guimaras. This year, it was the borderline mountains of the Philippines in General Santos and Saranggani. 


We know Davao and Samal Island as the more frequented tourist spots in Mindanao. But apart from the familiar echo of the words GenSan and Saranggani whenever Manny Pacquiao wins a fight, nobody has any idea on what treasures these cities hold. So, coming into the trip we absolutely had no idea what to expect. For me, there were only two things: I was in it for the 1) fun and the 2) relaxation no more no less, away from the city - because honestly the stress of it all can't make me any less thankful than being deported to the far flung areas of the country.


Prior to this trip, people would ask me, where are you off to this weekend? I'd politely say: "GenSan" and get to a short narrative of this thing with Pao. With eat and roadtrip with "the best company ever" in mind and a few bikinis in my bag in hopes of having little traces of sun when I get back to the city, I set off for my weekend trip to GenSan. 


When we got there, Pao already poured effort into debunking the absence of our expectations and promised us three things (you know, the non-negotiables in any traveler's checklist): 1) food 2) adventure and 3) scenery. And we were like, okay since we're already here, might as well. Then we began our itinerary. 


On our first day, Pao picked us up with his familiar red Ford Ranger (company car no less) all filled up and ready for the roadtrip. After our breakfast stop in one of the popular coffee shops in the key city area, we headed to Lake Sebu, a 2 to 3-hour drive from the municipalities of GenSan located in the South Cotabato region. As we took off, we saw long outstretched roads that boasted of green pastures and fantastic mountain scenery. I thought this was a given since this was very rural for the place and I sure hoped this would not end there. 


We got to the place at around lunch time. It was a very balmy summer day and the lake's surface was reflecting the sun's sparkling rays. A boatman set out to paddle within the area and check if there was any catch at that time. Now this was still scenery :) 

 

The whole morning drive drained us so we settled for lunch that was mostly tilapia in nature. Since Lake Sebu was known for its cultivation and breeding of tilapia, all sorts of dishes were practically made to appeal to everyone's palate. We ordered just about anything that looked scrumptious. We chose the floating section on the top of the water to complete the dining experience. 

Tilapia like never before: pinakbet, sinigang sa pakwan, chicharon, sizzling, sweet and sour. BURP. 

First attempt at showcasing food, check. It was a definite success. 

After filling up our stomachs, we then headed to the second item in our itinerary, adventure. Just a few minutes away from the lake was a zipline attraction that served as a go-to by many of the tourists. Never mind that the drive was pretty bumpy and scary, my mental image of the zipline ride got the best of me. News had it that it was right smack in the middle of the mountains, just beside the waterfalls and a few hundred feet above the ground. I was scared of heights and I needed to someone to hold my hand, like the last time. Heehee :) 

Shortly after a 10 minute trek from the hill view top, we readied ourselves for the zipline ride. I was so eager to ask the manong in the first stretch of the station: "Manong, ilan po pwedeng sumakay?" (Silently praying that my friends would cut me some slack and accompany the chicken in me to the ride) He surveyed me from head to toe and unhesitatingly answered, "Ma'am depende po sa bigat." KABOOM. I dared not ask more. But thankfully my good friend Sammey rode with me on the first line. 

  Strapped to death. 

 

Here we go!

 

At long last!!! :) 

The ride was mind numbing/breathtaking/adrenaline pumping in all levels! We got to cruise above 600 ft off the ground with all the trees and tiny specks of living things prodding below. We passed by the gigantic water falls on our way to the other side. Adventure, check. I was ready for round two. 

This time (and despite what manong said) Raymond, Sam and I were fastened to the zipline. 

 

There was nothing like it. 

Upon settling down, we then proceeded to the waterfalls where we were hoping to have a good swim. We were all sticky from the zipline and the humid afternoon deserved no less than a plunge in the cool foresty waters. This was what welcomed us tucked behind the mountains. 

 

Of course at this point we were all thinking, Pao you haven't disappointed us one wee bit. 

But the rapids were too strong so after taking some pictures with the Japanese painting-like view, we then headed towards home. Awesome scenery: double-check. 

Being in a place far away from home puts you in a state of experimentation, of trying things you have never done before. But en route to our dinner place we tried out one thing we didn't have to experiment on just because we didn't have a choice: watch the last full show at 8PM. A bucket of popcorn plus a romcom and we were all set. 

 

Unofficially Yours

Then at long last, it was dinner time. To humble our grumbling stomachs, we were in for this kind of treat: 

 

King crabs smothered in garlic-ky goodness.

 

Tuna. The pride of Mindanao. 

We dozed off in bed very very happy. That capped off our first night in GenSan. 

Second day, woke up to a pretty late start but the sun was high enough to welcome us to the tententen: BEACH! It was time for us to get our tan on. High from the previous day's adventures and food, we headed to Saranggani to have our regular dose of the beach. 

Lo and behold this was what we found. No words, embellished and exaggerated could describe how underrated this beach seems to be. Hiding in the borderlines of this country, left unexplored by wanderlusts and travelers, this is a good enough attraction to magnet all tourists to this place. 

 

Nope, this ain't PS and BS. White sand, aqua blue crystal clear waters that mimic the shorelines of Brazil. This is Saranggani for you. 

 

The weather was just perfect. The scorching heat of the sun complemented the sea breeze as we indulged ourselves with a noontime dip. We played around with the fine sand, so fine it seemed like clay. Scenery and adventure: check check check check!!! :) 

Needless to say, I got burnt after this trip. 

On our way to the city, we decided to stop over and have our first meal of the day (at like 3 in the afternoon). We stuffed ourselves up with these babies. Only the cheapest, yummiest and most sinful steaks in town: 

 

Rib-eye steak with a bar of margarine. Thousand points for Weight Watchers! 

As if we haven't had enough, we hung unto the promise of cliff diving as briefed by Pao on our first day. We took another 30-minute drive to the cliff bay area to find the perfect diving spot for another fresh adventure. But much to our dismay, it was already getting dark and no one could accommodate us anymore. We then took a pit stop at Cesma cliff and swam the waters until past sunset. 

 

That aww-inducing moment. 

By twilight that day, we were quite sad that our GenSan adventure was nearing to an end. But before everything else, we had yet to tire ourselves with tuna. So this was what made our dinner on our last night: 

 

Baby back ribs at Php 300+ 

 

Grilled tuna. 

 

Tuna kilawin. 

Our last night was cheered to a halt with a bottle of Bailey's rolled out with the best of our friendship's catching up and talks. It was another one for the books most definitely. 

I apologize for the lack of description (my corporate life is catching its toll on me) and hasty ending but here's what I assure you. 

I came to this trip with just 2 expectations: fun and relaxation. Pao counterproposed with three things: scenery, food and adventure. He didn't fail the least in any of them and at such, actually exceeded them. Because at the end of the day, most truly, there is something better in GenSan and Saranggani to see than Manny. 

Toodles! 

Book On Board!

Life is a journey,we're all going somewhere, but where are we going? - Logos Hope 

I've been too many years late in finding out about the MV Logos Hope, just about the largest floating book sale that sails all over the world (pun intended). I read about it in a newspaper article that was posted by a friend in Facebook. Anything about books and book sales makes me go gaga ever since I was a kid. 


Before booking my parents for a visit to the South Port of Manila and see what was there to see, I did my own research about the MV Logos Hope. Apparently, it began its journey originally as a car ferry before it was operated by the renowned German Christian organization the GBA Ships e.V. Since 1970, its ships (Logos, Doulos, Logos II and now Logos Hope) have visited over 500 different ports in 160 countries and have welcomed over 40 million visitors on board.With a very inspirational goal of  bringing knowledge, help and hope to nations across the globe, it also allows citizens of various countries to volunteer, live and serve for two years in the ship en route to its many destinations. 


It was scheduled to dock in the ports of Manila from February 16 to March 14, 2012 and I was lucky enough to have time on the last weekend before it sails for the Subic pier. Stationed on Pier 15, right behind the Manila Hotel and past the Philippine Coastguard Headquarters it was pretty easy to find if you're familiar with the Manila Bay area. Since it was a Sunday, I told my parents to go after lunch because it opens at 1:30PM on Sundays. When we got to the South Port entrance, there was very little parking space so I guessed a mob of people must have gone to see the ship on its last weekend in Manila. 


Moving into the gates, we were welcomed by two ships. The Superferry carrier ship was nearest the dock and the MV Logos Hope was sitting majestically behind it. This was a pretty shot that I was able to take complete with an overcast sky on a late Manila Sunday afternoon. I could smell the sea breeze from where I stood. 

And the standing took long, mind you, because this was the queue that greeted us upon setting foot in the port entrance. 

 About a hundred feet away waiting to board the MV Logos Hope.

Crossing over the real gates, where we would pay our entrance fee and board the ship.

But the wait was absolutely worth it. Despite the long lines and our grumbling stomachs (a very clever mistake not to eat before going there), it took us roughly about 20 mins. tops to wait for our turn. Every 5 mins. signaled a flurry of people getting off the ship so I could just imagine how many people were actually in there. Finally, after paying a very delightfully cheap entrance fee of Php 20.00, we entered the MV Logos Hope for a real treat.

We were welcomed by a highly energetic crew, with the frontliner being a woman (a South American I'm guessing) giving us the house rules after playing a short video about the MV Logos Hope and its crusade. She was even chanting Tagalog words to relate to us and help us ingrain in our minds that the walk in the ship is a one-way system and that we cannot make "halo-halo" the books as courtesy to the next customers who will be coming in. Pretty witty at that, and I was more excited to move on into the book sale.

 Wall exhibit on the ship history.

Inside the ship were 5 different stations: the welcome area where we watched the video, the book fair area, the journey of life area, the theatre and the international cafe. 

Predictably, there were a lot of people on board that it was like mall sale of sorts inside the book fair. I had a hard time squeezing in past customers in the different sections that held almost 5,000 titles. Like the usual bookstore, the books were divided into catergories according to their general topics and I was pleased to see that the staples were there: fiction, health, biographies, cooking, children, spiritual, academic titles, etc.

My parents and I were not so keen on hoarding books since we were there mostly for the adventure but we grabbed a few titles that we found the most useful for home use (which I will reveal later). And well, my dad told me I could download through my iPad the books I wanted anyway and I guiltily agreed so. 


The books were priced per unit but it was fairly easy to remember because 1 unit = P1.00. The price range was fairly reasonable, though I could still vouch for cheaper books in real book sales. But the books were not all hand me downs and the majority for sale was actually brand new.

After asking my dad to pay for our finds, we then cruised through the other stations hurriedly because we wanted to get to the international cafe, to where the food was. On our way we saw murals on glass that told the story of the Prodigal Son, videos of life as a crew on the ship and a small room where a seminar on HIV was being held. 

 

At last we reached the cafe which was unsurprisingly barricaded by a long line of people yet again. Most families and kids had to fight their way to get tables.

While waiting in line, a woman went around and showed us the menu so we'd be ready to order by the time we reach the counter. 
 

I got us the quickest snacks: a bag of popcorn, a croissant (with chocolate syrup and almond slices) and vanilla ice cream. It wasn't bad at all. After it, we were ready to say goodbye to MV Logos Hope and make way for more people to enter the ship.

The book titles that we got were more on health, recipes and self-help. I didn't bother much on the fiction and biography since I still had untouched books here at home. We also got a bag for our books and I have to say that these were best buys that I can't wait to flip through. 


The MV Logos Hope goes around the world every year and my only wish for it is for more people to come and visit. An adventure in it once is enough, given the multitude of people who want to get a piece of that experience. 


I'm not sure if I'd be visiting next year to get more titles but I am interested to volunteer when it docks in Manila again. It would be truly great to spread the cause, involve people and help in a vessel of hope, inspiration and knowledge, in every sense of the word. 

What's Food For You

Anyone who knows me can attest my love for food. In fact, I can almost eat just about anything (yes, anything mind you) for as long as it doesn't border the too exotic. You can just take a look at my almost obese figure and understand how a 5-foot tall girl can store tons of food in her system. As a full-fledged night creature, I go to sleep every night excited to wake up because I look forward to having breakfast in the morning. That's how pressingly I love food. 


But I don't just love food. In my college years, I developed a knack for cooking. That, which was triggered and gradually stirred by no less than cooking shows in Lifestyle Network, Travel and Living, Asian Food Channel and the like. From Barefoot Contessa to Giada de Laurentis to Wolfgang Puck to Jamie Oliver to Bruce Lim to whomever shows I flip through. I didn't always have time to work on my technique and come up with a variety of concoctions to have people try and critique but I always had my share of practice come holidays (3 years running, or that which I could remember). I become the resident chef who prepares an entire meal for a party of 4, festive enough to last post-holiday dinners with leftovers and remakes of the recipes I was able to pull off. 


On my first year as the cook, I focused on the easy, no-brainer pasta. I remember making my first ever puttanesca, coupled with a main entree of buttered shrimp and a dessert of the passe mango float. You could say that I was a chef on a whim, pretending to be inventive and a pretentious chef who knows nothing about combination or the appeal to the palate. But the pasta ended up being too salty because I overused the anchovies and from there it was history. 


Second year as the cook, I planned on a Greek/Persian Christmas platter with salads and gyro stuff when I discovered the wonders of the yogurt shawarma sauce. I ended up doing roastbeef sandwiches (this got an A-grade) and kebabs (B+) which were then complemented by my mom's sweet roast chicken. 


Last year, I took my cooking skills up a notch by trying some heavy gourmet meal. I cooked sundried tomato pasta, steak with asparagus and potato gratin. My friends and I would always have these in reunions and it was about time to bring it to my family. (Sorry for the poor lighting of the photos)

 Pasta with sundried tomatoes and chili flakes 

Tenderloin steak with asparagus and potato gratin

Now to take this a step further, my parents, friends and I have recently become 'foodies' on a quest. Not so much critique food for a living but to extensively scavenge the streets of Manila and the tourist destinations that we go to for the best they have to offer. With the advent of Instagram and Twitter, that host the wild evidence of weight gain and food pornography, I can easily share snapshots of the restaurants I visit. The combinations that I taste and leave lasting impressions then become an inspiration and instruments to the next cuisine experiment that I will venture. 

So, with this I will now begin to embark on a new culinary adventure. I'm toying with the idea of doing food business as a sideline (seeing that my business Caja has been put on hold indefinitely). My first trial will be tentententen: MOCHI BALLS. Googled the recipe and it's selling like pancakes in night and weekend markets, plus it looks very easy to make (or I hope so). I'm giving it a try this summer and will offer it to my friends and officemates so they can enjoy the heat with a cool and delectable dessert. 

Updates on that soon. 

Toodles! :)

The magic 2-3.

It's the 1st of March and that only means one thing: BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! :) 


Aside from the exaggerated excuse to make a month-long celebration centered on my being (wait for it) 23 and fabulous, I wanted to make this year extra special. Not because 23 is such a milestone and a cause for jubilation, but because this year compared to the past couple of years, is entirely and more excitingly different. 


For one, the schedule by which my birthday chose to grace is a combo of three paradoxically stressful, gratifying, long-awaited yet long-avoided kind of day. Well at least for me. Picture a month end-end of quarter, payday, Friday birthday. There are just so many things all happening at the same time! More amusingly so, my initial goal of making the whole month about me just zapped itself to oblivion because everybody else will be busy thinking about other things. Hahahaha. Too bad! I'm still clueless on planning celebrations (I got pressured because of my friend who's celebrating her birthday to fund charity) so I guess I still have a few weeks to plan. 


Second, as part of my yearly Lenten sacrifice and I have to say, one of the most unique gift selections for myself on my birthday, I chose a rather unconventional way of bringing the grandeur of my celebration to new heights. I picked a very special present for myself in the form of: WEIGHT LOSS. Specifically, a minimum of 20lbs. 


After my brief weekend  adventure trip to GenSan (post of which coming right up) I had the chance to talk to my good friend Raymond. He, like my many other friends who pass on the good news (and unwarranted advice) of how to lose weight is a very credible source of tried and tested means to achieve a hot body  to complement the already excessive oozing out of intellect and personality. He was actually the second person to discuss the Slow Carb Diet next to my other good friend Niko who drastically transformed in the 4 years that he was my blockmate. I believe them (and the article) because of their so many valid points and I guess it is high time that I make the extra effort to look go back to looking at mirrors again and not hating the weighing scale. This obesity has been a nightmare for me in every sense of the word. Clothes that used to fit suddenly scrimped on room and I actually had to avoid meeting up with old friends to spare myself from being ridiculed. 


Never mind that I have crazy yoyoing hormones, people have been alarmed about my weight for too long and I just can't give them the right to judge me anymore. Whatever it takes, I will do my best to stick to the diet, finish my gym membership, start running and discount myself with those 20lbs. My new and improved figure will be the best gift that I will ever receive on my 23rd birthday. 


I can kiss these goodbye. At least 6 days a week.

I'm electing Sunday as my cheat day since my family almost always eats out on weekends but of course, my birthday makes the exception. ♥ 


Finally, the turn of the month signals more work and more responsibilities but I am so glad that in the midst of chaos and stress, I'm beginning to see all my dreams materialize. Maybe not exactly how I want them to be but where I am is definitely a good start. 


Toodles! :)