Hi again, 4 and a half months later. Here's the day to day:
March 27 (Pearson Int'l Airport in Toronto, ON) - I'm at the airport at the new Terminal 1. I never been there since it replaced the old one (which was really small). I saw some art exhibits and ate a danish from Tim Hortons. It was also Earth Hour that day. In addition to the lights being toned down, the escalators/moving sidewalks were turned off. One hour after Earth Hour ended, it was time to board the plane. I'm flying on Air Canada and Cathay Pacific this time. The first leg was from Toronto to Vancouver, another Canadian Airport I never been before. During the middle of the flight, there was crazy/massive turbulence and I was freaking out. The entertainment system had less selections on music/movies even though it was touch screen without using the remote control. The food and headphones weren't free (you had to buy on board for 3 dollars Canadian/US), except for the drinks.
March 28 (Vancouver Int'l Airport in Vancouver, BC) - I arrive in Vancouver around 12:45 in the morning Pacific Time. The airport is still having those Olympic stuff/ads even though the games are already over. It was a long walk to our gate. They need more moving sidewalks. The coolest thing in this airport is that you can see the customs and baggage claim from below + a big food court/duty free shops for the international departures. The waiting time for the next leg to Hong Kong was short, around 20 minutes, not including the walking. On this flight, I watched some movies (such as Twilight New Moon and a Japanese movie called Kaiji) and listen to the same music from the other flight. I was so going Lady Gaga right now, as in listening to her songs from her latest album The Fame Monster. The headphones on this flight were free to keep, since this is an international flight. Best to use them on the plane than on my ipod. The food was fine (they used plastic trays...lame and cheap). I didn't get much sleep since there were hyper energetic and crying kids on board. Once again, my in-flight TV froze while I'm looking at the map (Airshow) before descending into Hong Kong. Maybe I overused it the whole entire flight.
March 29 (Hong Kong Int'l Aiport in Hong Kong/Ninoy Aquino Int'l Airport in Manila/Makati/Ortigas) - Just got into Hong Kong before 6 in the morning. The airport looks different from my last visit 11 years ago. This final leg was fully packed with Filipinos. At least there's more entertainment stuff on the Cathay flight than on Air Canada. The map on the Cathay flight is still old and very hard to see. I prefer Korean Air next time. The flight was really quick and the food was like fresh baked from the oven. We almost lost 2 of our 6 checked-in baggage. Apparently, they didn't make it on the plane (the jumbo jet) as it was fully packed. They ended up on a different flight. I thought it was stuck in Vancouver. We weren't the only ones that had baggage missing. Some passengers who were on the same flight as us (from Toronto) also had at least one baggage missing. The ground crew at HKIA were probably to blame for not putting the baggage in the plane. We had to wait till Wednesday to pick them up. Anyways, we get out of the airport and grandpa picked us up. We head to Makati house (to drop our luggage for now) and then to Ortigas for lunch and the dress fitting. My dress is so pretty ~^_^~ and It's not done yet. Afterwards, we head back to Makati house to pick up our luggage to go to grandpa's house in the province. I thought it was going to be hot, since its the hottest month. Turns out so breezy today.
March 30 (Pagbilao/Lucena/Tayabas) - The day starts off by greeting Grandma Roding and then do some shopping at SM in Lucena. After lunch, we head to Tayabas to see the church basilica and the venue at Graceland for my parents anniversary. The place looks so nice and had several nice flowers for me to take pics. I even participated in the food tasting and the dishes tasted good.
March 31 (Makati) - After picking up the 2 missing baggage at the airport, we head to the Glorietta Mall and SM for some shopping. The roads have been busy lately due to the Holy week. Few of my relatives are headed to grandpa's house from Manila to celebrate the Easter weekend.
April 1 (Pagbilao) - Move over March, its now April. Oh sh**! Its April Fool's Day and Sakura Kinomoto's birthday. Its the eve before Good Friday. The malls are closed today and tomorrow =(. All I did was stay home in my grandpa's house and bond with my cousins.
April 2 (Pagbilao) - Its Good Friday, the last Friday not to eat meat (except seafood). I basically stayed in grandpa's house, making the video montage for the anniversary party. There was a procession late in the afternoon. After the procession was over, the priests came to eat dinner in my grandpa's house.
April 3 (Pagbilao) - One week has gone by since I left Toronto. I stayed at my grandpa's house with my cousins and went to visit the cemetery where my Grandma Linda was buried 4 years ago. During snack time, we had some ice cream. All my cousins finished the 2 of the 3 ice cream packages quickly. Dinnertime should have been a buffet since my relatives crammed the dinner table with lots of Filipino dishes to eat. In the evening, I watched the finale of Inuyasha. I knew Kagome was going to end up with Inuyasha in the end as well as Sango and Miroku.
April 4 (Pagbilao) - It's Easter Sunday. I attended Sunday mass and it was packed with parishioners. After mass, I stayed in my grandpa's house again. I watched the Inuyasha finale (which was re aired) 2 more times. For some reason, I was into the ending song. Luckily I found the song online via Youtube to put on my mp3 cell phone. Few of my cousins and relatives had to head back to Manila. They will come back again next weekend for the anniversary party.
April 5 (Makati/Manila/Ortigas) - We headed to Manila with few of my cousins and relatives. Four of my cousins stayed behind to keep grandpa company and could not ride in the car with us as it was fully packed inside. It was traffic on the way as usual, since the Easter long weekend was over. Later in the day, we went to the Tutuban Centermall in Tondo, Manila. I didn't realize that this area is the poorest region in Manila. This mall is similar to Greenhills, but not as worse as Greenhills. I only bought my self 3 movies and Rihanna's latest CD. After that, we went to Ortigas to see my Uncle Mon and his family and to pick up the finished dresses for the anniversary party. The dressmaker just relocated to their apartment (on the 6th floor) since yesterday. I like my dress again, but it wasn't finished as they were putting the finishing touches (the flower lace) on the dress and we had to wait 2 hours. In the meantime, we spent those 2 hours in SM MegaMall by eating Chinese food at Super Bowl of China. Oh yes, a taste of what to eat in Hong Kong next week. We also did some shopping in Shoemart. Two hours later, the dresses were done. Finally, we can take them home to grandpa's house. I ate at Jollibee twice today. One at the mall in Tondo and again after refueling gas in San Pablo. The house was so quiet since my older cousins and the youngest returned to Manila. They'll be coming back to the province on Thursday just in time for the party.
April 6 (Pagbilao) - I just spent the day watching the movies I bought yesterday with my cousins in grandpa's house
April 7 (Lucena) - I went to SM getting my hair spa done and eating at McDonald's.
April 8 (Lucena/Tayabas) - I spent the day at a spa at SM and I never experienced this before. I ate lunch at Buddy's following the spa. Afterwards, I went to my Grandma Roding's house to get my nails done. All of my relatives are coming in to Pagbilao just in time for the anniversary party tonight or tomorrow. I spent the night at Graceland stuffing the giveaways since all my cousins might keep me awake at night back at grandpa's house.
April 9 (Tayabas) - Today was the anniversary party and all of my relatives and cousins are getting their hair and makeup done including me. The dresses and shoes are so pretty. It went by really quickly from the church to the reception. The speech I made was well done. The photographers and video camera people did a very good job. The wedding cake tasted delicious. I reunited with some of my relatives I haven't seen in awhile. After the reception, I had some bonding time with my cousins for some funny or silly pics before I went to the pool with one of my relatives to cool myself. Now, that's how you end the day.
April 10 (Pagbilao) - We check out of the hotel and head back to grandpa's house to pack up for Hong Kong. The house is so quiet knowing that my cousins are returning to Manila to start packing up as well. I will see them at the airport tomorrow.
April 11 (Ninoy Aquino Int'l Airport in Manila/Hong Kong Int'l Airport in Hong Kong/Hong Kong Disneyland/Disneyland Hollywood Hotel) - Today's the day. We're finally headed to Hong Kong! Few of my cousins have never flown on a plane before. We left my grandpa's house in the middle of the night to head to the airport to meet up with the rest of my relatives. Twenty-three of us (my dad's side) are headed to HK including grandpa. Our flight was really early and we did not get much sleep as we normally would. We get to Hong Kong just after 8:30 in the morning. We then hopped on a tour bus to our hotel in the HK Disneyland Resort. There were a lot of apartment buildings along the way and they're so close together. The driver's drive on the opposite side (on the right side). It feels awkward driving this way than the usual left side. It even applies to the train and walkways as well. As soon as we see the Disneyland sign, my youngest cousin was smiling excitedly that we're finally there. The bus dropped us off at the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel, where we're going to spend the next 2 nights and we couldn't go to our hotel rooms right away. In the meantime, we head to HK Disneyland via a complimentary shuttle bus. The theme park is almost the same as the one in California. After eating lunch in the Corner Cafe at Main Street, we all split up to explore the rides and other attractions. I bumped into some Disney characters including 3 princesses along with Minnie and Mickey Mouse. I went on some rides (with my uncle) such as the Mad Tea Party, It's a Small World, and the Dumbo Flying Elephants. Later on, I watched the 'Disney on Parade' and then the fireworks show at night, in which the park closes for the day. In the evening, we get to our hotel room (its a 5 star hotel btw). The room's cool and it has a flat screen TV (mostly Disney Channels) and a good shower head in the bathroom with gifts/giveaways. The hotel key can be used as a light switch for the room. Without it, there would be no lights in the room especially at night. I went to sleep right away after taking a shower.
April 12 (Hong Kong [Tsim Sha Tsui]/Victoria Harbor/Repulse Bay Beach/The Peak/Kowloon/Hong Kong Disneyland/Avenue of Stars or Cultural Center[Tsim Sha Tsui]) - Day two of HK. Half of the group decided to go on a half day tour of HK while the rest go to Disneyland for another day (part of the stay & play for 2 days). We commuted to downtown HK by train. The train at the Disneyland Station is Disneyfied with Mickey Mouse handrails/windows and bronze statues of different Disney characters and the seats were even comfy. Their train system is not complicated since there are English signs along with Chinese. It costs 18 HK dollars to go to Tsim Sha Tsui from Disneyland. The trains are so better than the TTC trains in Toronto. They even come with gates to prevent people from committing suicide whenever a train comes. It stops exactly at the gate doors. So organized. The downside is it tends to get crowded during Rush Hour. At least there is some space to stand inbetween each train vehicle despite being cold when its goes underneath a tunnel. After the commute, we go to the Kowloon Hotel to meet with our tour guide. The tour of HK started around 9 in the morning and showed us different areas of HK. To get to the Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, we go underneath the tunnel instead of taking the Star Ferry. Our first stop was to hop on a boat to see the floating restaurant, boating village, and different apartment buildings. The boat was like a mini store as the driver/owner of the boat sells some souvenirs on board. Just bought myself 3 clock keychains for 50 HK dollars. Next we went to this jewelry store nearby and they showed us how the jewelry is made and then we head to the showroom for some shopping. In the halls before entering the showroom, there was a photo of Manny Pacquiao who actually shopped at this jewelry store along with his wife Jinky. One of their exclusive/promo items is a fan necklace, which is supposed to give luck, wealth, good health, happiness to each family/family member. I got a red garnet pendant necklace. The color red is a part of Chinese culture and its supposed to give you luck and happiness. Even my relatives bought some jewelry as well. Next up was Repulse Bay Beach, where there are some statues. Our tour guide told us to walk with your left foot first than the right when entering the area. While riding the bus, we saw the Ocean Park cable cars and an apartment building with a hole in the middle of it. That is supposed to represent the dragon coming through the building. Afterwards, we head to The Peak and ate some HK McDonald's from up there. Jackie Chan's house is believed to be in the hills leading up to it. It was sort of disappointing since its a bit foggy rather than sunny to take a picture of the view of both HK Island and Kowloon. I didn't even get a chance to see or ride the tram either. That was basically it for the tour as we commuted back to our hotel and go to Disneyland to meet with the rest of my relatives. I had a good seat while watching 'Festival of the Lion King.' It was more like the front row since no elders or wheelchairs were sitting from our section of the audience. The casts/extras gave us high fives during the performance and it was very good. After that, a few of my relatives and myself commuted again to downtown HK to watch the 'Spectacular of Lights' later in the evening. With the fog in the way, the light show wasn't bright enough from where I was watching from the Avenue of Stars or Cultural Center at Tsim Sha Tsui. There's more on the Kowloon side than the Victoria Harbor side. I was expecting fireworks as well. The fireworks only comes when there's a holiday like Christmas or New Year's.
April 13 (Disneyland Hollywood Hotel/Hong Kong Int'l Airport in Hong Kong/Ninoy Aquino Int'l Airport in Manila) - Day 3 and the last day of the HK leg. I would have stayed longer. I just spent the day in the hotel. Few of my cousins went to the piano shaped pool while I posed in front of a replicated Hollywood sign. Some of my relatives went out for some shopping in downtown HK (Mang Kok/Ladies Market). After lunch, we went to the playroom and we saw Goofy there and he played with us for a bit. I was playing a good game of Jenga with a Disney cast member when Goofy reappeared again and all my cousins screamed, knocking the Jenga blocks down when the game was going well. He even reappeared again while I was getting my Disney coin souvenir. Around 6:30 in the evening, we hopped on our tour bus to go to the airport for our return flight to Manila. After passing security, we ate some Burger King while some of my cousins looked around inside the Disneyland store (we just went to HK Disneyland fyi). There were more selections and there's no changes to the prices on the merchandise. I went to the Tiffany store (which is one level down along with our boarding gate). One item I saw costs 15,000 HK dollars. You got to be kidding me! I saw another Tiffany store at the Kowloon Hotel yesterday, but I didn't go in there. Anyway, we get on the plane before 9:30pm and there were some empty seats at the very back where I was sitting. After take off, I hogged one of the empty seats and got my meal first. We arrive in Manila, just past midnight, early Wednesday morning and it was time to say bye to some of my relatives as they were hopping on taxi's to their homes in Metro Manila while my family along with grandpa returned to Pagbilao.
April 14 (Lucena) - After getting some sleep (it was getting brighter when I went to sleep), we went to SM to get a haircut and bought 4 pairs of earrings.
April 15 (Lucena/Tayabas/Lucban) - I spent half the day at my grandpa's house. Later in the afternoon, we went to do some errands in Lucena and Tayabas and then go climb up 298 steps to the hands of Jesus Christ statue. It was so tiring @_@! Think of it as going up the Great Wall of China. Easy going up, but hard going down. Once at the top, you can see the view of Lucban, another town in Quezon province. Afterwards, we ate some light dinner at a floating Native restaurant.
April 16 (Pasay City/Manila) - We went to the SM Mall of Asia for some shopping. It was a 3 day sale that begins today and the mall was crammed with shoppers taking advantage of the sale. I just bought myself some summer clothes and a pair of office shoes. For lunch, I ate Japanese food at Tokyo Tokyo. Later in the afternoon, we went to Manila Ocean Park and I saw different kinds of fish. For once, I'm able to see Manila Bay up close from the ocean park. I even went to Luneta Park where there's a statue of Jose Rizal and I even saw the grandstand, which is used for different events including the inauguration of a new president. It was really hot that day, so I ate some ube ice cream from Chowking.
April 17 (Pagbilao) - Back here in Pagbilao for my final weekend. I just watched some DVDs and began to pack my stuff. The local farmyard kids and their families came to grandpa's house for dinner. It looked like a tailgate party where they are sitting (in the driveway).
April 18 (Pagbilao) - Its my last day here in the Phils. My 3 weeks are almost up and It's also my aunt's birthday. I spent the day at my grandma's house eating food and cake with my relatives and cousins. I'm headed to the airport tonight for my return flight tomorrow.
April 19 (Ninoy Aquino Int'l Airport in Manila/Hong Kong Int'l Airport in Hong Kong/Vancouver Int'l Airport in Vancouver, BC/Pearson Int'l Airport in Toronto/at home in Toronto) - My vacation is over and I'm returning back to Canada. The stoppover in HK took a while from getting the Air Canada tickets to browsing the shops and restaurants in the airport. On the long flight to Vancouver, I tried to watch the movie Avatar, but I slept through it. The cabin crew and the plane itself were the same as when I left from Vancouver to HK 3 weeks earlier. Our flight arrived 2 hours behind schedule in Vancouver as the crew had to change the flight route due to severe turbulence over Japan. It had to fly over China and northern Russia and we had to rush to our connecting flight to Toronto after passing customs, picking and re-checking the luggage, and go through security again. Thankfully, the flight was delayed for 2 hours since there were some passengers missing. I was able to watch Avatar on the flight this time and it was a good movie to watch. No wonder it was popular around New Year's. There was no turbulence and the flight was smooth. We get to Toronto two hours later, before 2 in the morning. Our flight was probably the last to arrive or the first for the day. The highway and streets were so quiet when going home.
April 20 (at home in Toronto) - Already home and its almost 3 am in the morning. I just had a mini snack and then get some sleep. At least, I didn't get sick like in December. Now I have to resume job hunting all over again when I'm finally adjusted from jet lag. That's all for now.
