From Manila to Singapore to Malaysia and back again - Itinerary, Budget, and Some Tips

This is by far our most challenging trip yet. But since we had a dry run last January with our Baguio trip, we knew that we can do this. With careful planning and enough knowledge we could muster, we stepped into the unknown with our version of a 6 days, 5 nights Singapore - Malaysia (Johor Bahru) – Singapore adventure, our first out-of-country trip as a family of four. I must admit that we're not luxurious travelers, but Ramir and I agree that some inconveniences are necessary so we can afford to let our children see a place entirely different from what they know. It is also a way to stretch them in terms of physical abilities since they need to be mobile most of the time.  It's also a test of their patience thresh hold since waiting for our turns and falling in lines have been operative instructions every single time. And for Ramir and I, it's a test of our teamwork, as a couple, as parents and as travel buddies. We need to juggle between fixing schedules, charting itineraries, taking care of the kids, navigating maps, carrying our baggage, taking pictures and everything else in between, and still have a good time.

I must give credit to amazing children, who have the endurance to wake up at 6 in the morning, ride a plane, go around Singapore until night time, still proceed to Johor and retire at 12 midnight and still up and running the next day at 8am. So how did our trip go? I must say, sulit na sulit.

Below is our detailed itinerary.

I Miss My Mom - A Birthday Tribute and a Mother's Day Post

It was family day last April 28, Sunday.  We celebrated my Mom's birthday.  How time flies.  Ang nanay ko, lola na.  We had a grand time at Ace Water Spa.  What can I say, almost three straight hours of water therapy, and still, the kids would bargain for more minutes.  Never mind if their fingers and toes looked like wrinkled raisins.  We love the thought that all cousins, except one (a newborn), were spending happy times together.

And the Chinese dinner that followed was a satisfying ending, to a fun-filled afternoon of togetherness.

Dinner at Mandarin Sky in Banawe

The whole brood (minus my seaman brother and their new-born baby)

 When it was over, we kissed our parents goodbye like we always do.  My mom was standing on the side street, sending off each one of us. Waving her hand and giving us a flying kiss. I realized how much I missed her.  And how time flies.  Nine years na pala yun, when I moved out of our house to live separately and start a family of my own. I can still hear her, "Kahit gusto ko na maiwan kayong lahat dito, ang tama, magsarili kayo.  Diyan lang kayo matututo.  Paano 'pag namatay ako? Kayo din ang kawawa."  I knew in my heart she was right. I'm happy being married. But nevertheless, the feeling of leaving someone you love, to be physically apart from them, is something that brings out the cry baby in me.  Leaving my parents was life-changing. It taught me valuable lessons which I wouldn't learn had I not settled with Ramir.  Also, I realized that no distance can ever change the fact that I am a daughter. There will always be an invisible love string that forever binds me to my mom (and dad too).  And now that I am a mother too, I love and appreciate her more.

Our goodbye moment outside the restaurant, gave a series of flashbacks - waking up to her kind of music, her cooking, her talking on the phone with someone, her constant movement around the house, her smell, her chika while dressing up. And I was transported to the day when I entered our old room and all our kalats were not there anymore.  The only reminder that the room formerly housed four tightly knit individuals who came from one wonderful mother, were the four graduation photos which were hanging on the wall. Ahhh. Those were the days.

And as I close our car's window and head our way, I thought, if can be as good as my mother, not just in mothering, but in life, I think I'll be fine.

P.S. To you Nanay, I'll always love you.  And I'll always be your panganay. And thank you for the wonderful life that you have given us.  It wasn't luxurious, nor lavish, but it was enough to make us feel loved and blessed. The most important lessons in life (which I'm still struggling to teach our kids), I learned under our roof in Sto. Rosario and Santulan, under your tutelage. You and Tatay are indeed two of my life's greatest blessings. Mahal na mahal. Rok

CHENES and LT's Story of Strength

 

LT, not Lorna Tolentino but Linggit Tan. A TV Production Head in ABS-CBN.  She's probably one of the most hard working persons I know. I'm not close to her personally but she's got the  pleasant personality vibe. Someone whom you want to be around or just admire from afar. That's why when I learned that she's gotten the Big C, cancer that is, I felt sad. I must admit that when I hear cancer stories, I always fast forward to the day of reckoning. It's probably because of the movies, or my experiences of deaths in the family, that I've gone melodramatic or even exaggerated. Cancer is so close to home. My father's dad (Lolo Pedro), my mother's mom (Lola Sianing) and dad (Lolo Fred) succumbed to the disease. Ramir's girlfriend (Gigi) before she met me was only in her early 20s when cancer of the sinus took her. Ramir's oldest sister (Ate Lanie) is a breast cancer survivor while his father (Tatay Fermin) is still battling it. I must ask for forgiveness because of the morbidity but I can't help myself. Every time I hear cancer stories, my head, I think, prompts me automatically to ask these two questions... What stage? How long? Having heard of so many cancer stories, I know that no story is the same. But all of them, at least the ones I've heard, carry certain commonalities. All of them are living testaments of faith, examples of triumphs and proofs of God's enduring love and unfailing grace. LT's story is no different. When she gave her testimony in one of the fellowship nights in ABS-CBN, I was very grateful. I was once again a witness of how a weakness can be a channel of strength. She narrated how her life has been a series of answered prayers and guided pit stops. Looking at what she's been through, and where she is now, only strengthened my resolve to be brave in dealing with all of life's trials. Because it's true, we will never have to go through anything difficult alone. In fact, we will never be alone. Because He will always be with us.

She made me appreciate that our lives are used to inspire others and give glory to Him. When she cited quotes from the Bible - "I'll never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5); and "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11), I felt a wave of gratefulness, even for the trials and challenges of my life.  I remember what Ramir told me on our wedding day referring to his experience of loss and eventually finding someone whom he can spend the rest of his life with, "May premyo ang mga matatapang." It also brought me to one of the conversations I had with MA professor from UP who related her story of trial to me and mentioned someone's word of wisdom to her, "If something bad happens in our lives, things will eventually get better, and even if they don't, we will get better." There will always be sunshine after the rain, smiles after the pain.  If we're strong, trusting and faithful, we will overcome every trial. He didn't promise that it would easy, but He promised to be there, every single time.

I'll always be thankful  for Ms. LT's invitation to that fellowship night. I was humbled and blessed because of her story. Before she closed, she shared an acronym which I want to share with you - CHENES, her way of dealing with her sickness. Bagay na bagay, especially for someone who's been in showbiz for quite sometime.

C - Clean Air (Pollution is really bad. And smoking too.)
H - Healthy Diet (Avoid the junks and all the excesses - too much fat, high in salt, high in sugar.)
E - Early Sleep (We need to rest. Our body needs to recuperate, recharge and re-energize.)
N - No Stress (Take charge of your life. Manage your thoughts, emotions, time and how you deal with problems.)
E - Execise Daily (Our body is designed for mobility.  Walk. Run. Move.  Galaw-galaw baka pumanaw.)
S - Supplements (We need an armor to boost our body and immune system.)

God bless us all.

Baking, Bonding and Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I dreamed of being a baking diva. When I learned that my rewards points can buy me an electric oven, even just a small one, I jumped at the opportunity. I always feel that the interest of my children to help in the kitchen (or wreck havoc), is a way for me to bond with them. So when I saw a recipe of banana chocolate chip bread I turned it into a banana chocolate chip muffin recipe, and assigned the Rainbow Sisters as my designated assistants. Truth is I didn't change anything in the recipe except instead of a bread pan I used a muffin pan. So how did it go? I think we're quite successful.  At least, according to our yaya, Ramir, R and S. Or they might be biased. Nonetheless, let me share the banana-chocolate-chip-bread-turned-banana-chocolate-chip-muffin recipe I got from an old Yummy magazine.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup corn oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a muffin pan. Set aside.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. stir to mix.
3. In another bowl, combine brown sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add vanilla and mashed bananas. mix in the flour mixture. Lastly, add to chocolate chips. or mixture and do the muffins on. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
5. Cool pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.

Visita Iglesia - Davao Style

We were in Davao City last Maundy Thursday. We never thought that it would be possible to do a Visita Iglesia in a place that was very new to us. I must give credit to a very reliable transport system and very honest and trustworthy taxi drivers. Unlike here in Manila, where taxi drivers would either "mangongontrata," or would refuse to bring you to your destination because of proximity or traffic situation, the taxi drivers in Davao are very courteous, wouldn't refuse to bring you anywhere and would give back your change down to the last cent. And all of them have decent IDs too, pinned at the back of their seats for every passenger to see. I'm a fan of Davao taxi drivers.

Armed with our standard question of "ano po ang pinakamalapit na simbahan dito?", we were able to accomplish something which even us thought wasn't possible. With our group of 3 adults, 1 teenager and two kids, we ventured into our Holy Week tradition of Stations of the Cross cum Visita Iglesia which we started last year. We weren't able to complete our 14-church requirement (one station per church) but we considered it a feat that we were able to get to 10 churches. We finished the last remaining 4 stations on our last stop. Here's the list of churches/chapel we've been to, listed according to order of visit.

1. Gap Farm Chapel
Green Valley, Diversion Road, Ma-a, Davao City
(082) 244-0156

2. St. Francis of Assisi Parish
Don Julian Rodriguez St., corner Carlos P. Garcia Highway, Ma-a, Davao City
(082) 244-1147 / (082) 440-1285


3. San Pedro Cathedral
San Pedro St., Davao City
(082) 226-4740 / (082) 227-2317


4. St. Jude Thaddeus Parish
Malvar St., Davao City
(082) 227-5402


5. Our Lady of Assumption Parish
F. Torres St., Davao City
(082) 227-4043


6. Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish
J.P. Laurel Ave., Bajada, Davao City
(082) 227-6647 / (082) 221-2245


7.  Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish
Obrero, Davao City
(082) 227-6397 / (082) 305-2329

8. Sta. Ana Shrine Parish
Sta. Ana Avenue corner Lapu-lapu St., Davao City
(082) 227-3842


9. Our Lady of Fatima Parish
Fatima St., Davao City
(082) 227-2503 / (082) 224-5992


10. Sto. Nino Shrine (Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)
Shrine Hills, Matina, Davao City