Cool School

Yesterday, I visited my nephew at UST Hospital. The last time I was in UST was more than 20 years ago. And this was actually the first time I explored their school grounds.

First impression - it's smaller than I thought it would be. From the outside, UST looks like a sprawling campus. But from the inside, everything looks so compact.

Second impression - they have a lot of food choices inside! Students won't get hungry if they study here. Neither would they want to go out since everything's there anyway.

While I only stayed in the area for a few hours, it gave me a glimpse of what this school is like. And truth be told, I'm curious to see more of UST. Might just come back and explore it again soon.

I Kid(apawan) you not!

There's always a thrill when you visit a place for the first time.

On this trip, we went from Davao to North Cotabato - Kidapawan City to be exact.

Kidapawan, according the Prichy, is the "City of Fruits." The monicker came from the fact that a lot of the region's produce is from there, and the fruits they grow are more flavorful. It must be in the soil, or the way they grow it.

We had breakfast at the hotel just in front of the City Municipal Hall. So, I quickly skipped to the other side of the street and checked out their White-House-inspired edifice. It's really nice! And around it, they have a park, an amphitheater and a market. Nifty!

I like how the city has kept its provincial charm, but still with touches of progress. It's like being in a place where the old and new come together.

It's my first time here, and after experiencing Kidapawan for a few hours, I think it won't be my last.

The 2013 Year-in-review: Firsts and last

At the last day of the year, the thoughts of all the wonderful firsts that happened in 2013 make me grateful for a year well-spent. Firsts that were shared with the most precious and important people in my life.

Firsts such as:

- First time for my Barcelona-based nephews and nieces to visit Manila. And they loved it here so much, they want to move here.
- First time to experience a Hanami in Tokyo.
- First time for Mark and I to hit the beaches of Boracay
- First time for the family to get together in Bataan
- First time to finish my Christmas shopping and wrapping early

And as the new year arrives in a few minutes, I can help but look forward to the many more firsts that will come in 2014. Firsts that are both planned and spontaneous. Firsts that will make life more fun and richer in the year to come.

Here's to the new year!

Do something new

Since I only had 48-hours in SG, I made sure that all the "old reliables" were accounted for. Thus, my agenda was filled from end to end with things that I've been doing in that country during my past visits.

But just as I was about to go all-old, Jo suggested that I do something new. She asked me to join her and her hubby to watch the Chingay parade. This was the traditional Chinese New Year parade that's a huge, huge event there.

We were all first time Chingay attendees, and we found the whole parade fun. It dragged at some parts, and I was disappointed that the Philippine contingent was the smallest among the ASEAN countries. But on the whole, it was worth the 3 hours of sitting by the bleachers, shaking golden pompoms and whistling our cheeks away.

Yup, the new can be a lot of fun, too.

Onsen for all

Mark says that a visit to Japan is never complete without a visit to an honest-to-goodness Onsen. In my previous visits, I've never tried going to one. Although during my trip to Kyoto in 2006, I was invited by a group of university students, but didn't go. 

On this trip, we planned to go to the Ooedo Onsen Monogatari, and after a few reschedules, we finally pushed through today!

So, we took off our shyness - and clothes - wore our Yukata and went on an Onsen adventure!

The main attraction of any Onsen is the public bath. It's a big room with 6 indoor pools and 3 outdoor ones. Each pool was heated, with temperatures ranging from 39 to 41 degrees. There was also a cold pool where people are supposed to dip after the hot baths. The catch is, everyone inside the public bath had to come in without any piece of clothing on! (Ergo, there are no photos of that part of the Onsen on this post.)

After the public bath, we went to the foot bath. What you're supposed to do is wade through a long pool of hot water. The catch is, the pool was peppered with big and small stones which made it quite painful to walk on. But they said it was therapeutic, so we gave it a shot.

(Ouch!)

After the Public bath and the Foot bath, Mark and I were happy and prune-y. My favorite part of the experience was the cool Yukata they asked us to wear. Too bad they weren't selling this design because I really, really like it.

(P.S. You're not allowed to wear anything under the Yukata.)

Before leaving, we stayed at the Tatami room for an hour to cool down after all that hot water. Their common room was designed like an old Japanese village, which is really cool.

After our 3+ hour stay at the Onsen, I must say that it was a fun experience overall. The brochure said that it was a theme park-styled Onsen, and I couldn't agree with them more. The vibe inside was happy and touristy, and save for the Public bath, it's something I'd do all over again.

Now, I can say that I've completed a visit to Japan.

Firsts time

Over dinner last Thursday, Mark reminded me of that small bit at the side of my blog that said: "Must visit a new place every year." It turned out that I didn't visit a new place last 2008. It's the last quarter of 2010, and even though I've traveled out of the country every month this year, they're usually to places I've been to already - HKG, SG, China, and Guam.

So, it's time to put that "mantra" to action again.

Time to go Seoul searching.

Yup, it's my first time in Seoul. Like the other "first" trips I've made, there was a feeling of excitement the moment I boarded the plane and went on the flight that totaled 8 hours. (Because I had to transit in HKG.)

And now, I'm here! I'll reserve my first impressions for later. Let me write about the other "firsts" first:

FIRST ACTIVITY: RIDING A TRAIN.



I've always loved trains since the "Bicol Express" took us from Paco to Bicol as kids. Whenever I visit a new country, I make sure to take the local train to get a glimpse of the local culture. So the first thing I researched on before my trip was the Seoul Metro. It wasn't as complicated as the JR system, although it isn't as simple as HKG's MTR, too. But thankfully, I was able to find my train and my stops.

FIRST PURCHASE: TRAIN TICKETS!



After computing the cost, I was surprised that the train ride from Incheon to downtown Dongdaemoon was cheap. It was around P200, and considering the distance we traveled, it's value for money. It's definitely much cheaper than the Airport Express or the Narita Express. The only thing is, Incheon is quite far from downtown Seoul. The train ride took 2 hours.

FIRST MEAL: LOCAL FOOD.



Ok, so it's fast food. But hey, it's local fast food! Lotteria is to Korea what Jollibee is to the Philippines. There's almost one in every corner. In fact, there were around 5 Lotteria branches around my hotel - and no McDonald's or KFC! (Actually, I've only seen 1 KFC and 1 Burger King branch in Myeondong.)



FIRST LOOT: BREADS!



The first thing I do whenever I go to a new country is check out their groceries. Since it was late, I went to a convenience store called GS25, and bought breakfast for tomorrow. This consisted of a strawberry tart and cheese bread.

Whew! That's a lot of firsts. And it's just my first day.