Bubbacabulary

Our pet name for Zye is "Bubba". For the time that he is still learning how to pronounce words well, I'd like to list down what he has translated in his own language. Thus, I call it "Bubbacabulary" =)

(By the way, I am spelling the words the way he pronounces it)

dijuice = Jesus

Papatch = Spongebob

Momok = Moo - moo

Tutay = showtime

O-leyt = chocolate

Lalap = laptop

Pansit = any kind of noodle

Janoyd = John Lloyd

Amol = Elmo

Digo = Ligo (bath)

Babrush = toothbrush

Aski = Kick Buttowski

Ani = Barney

Liliw = Kili-kili (armpit)

Father's day -- a week after

My dad came home after almost four months from his last vacation and of course we were all present as he arrived. Since it was a week after father's day, we decided to just do a post celebration for him. It was a simple, cozy family dinner at the Emerald Garden Restaurant in Manila.

We had a table reserved for us which was a good thing because the place was packed at 7PM as if it was lunch time. Most of the customers were Chinese families which is a given since Emerald Garden is a Chinese restaurant. We sat around a traditional round table setting with tea served as we browse at the menu.

Mamu, Zye and Daduds

We got the Hot and Sour soup to give warmth to our stomach -- or at least have something to start with while our other food choices are being cooked. Unluckily for us, the soup got served after they bought in the Yang Chow fried rice, Sizzling fish fillet and Brocolli.

(Above) Sizzling Fish Fillet

(Above) Yang Chow Fried Rice

(Above- from lower left clockwise) Our Post-Father's day Chinese feast: Hot & Sour soup, Yang Chow, Sizzling Fish fillet, Brocolli, Squid and Beef in Oyster Sauce (Crispy chicken with Lemon sauce still missing)

Inspite of the not-so-nice reception of this one girl (who was forver holding this menu or folder), the service of the waiters were fair enough. The Hot & Sour soup was great, the Yang chow was gigantic. The sizzling fish fillet was savory and was really served sizzling. The Crispy chicken with lemon sauce was a so-so. (I'm still a fan of Big Buddha's Lemon chicken). The beef that we got was not a blockbuster either. The squid was fantastic.

I'd say that for the servings and the number of dishes we got, our bill of Php2000 was reasonable enough. We even had some to take home some of the left overs. Would we go back to Emerald Garden? Yeah, why not.

(From left clockwise): Zye, Verna, Dingdong, Jown, Mamu, Daduds, Owie, Cocoy

Emerald Garden

Roxas1170, Roxas Blvd.Ermita, Manila

Phone Number: 523-8510

Roadtrip 2010: The Banaue -Sagada experience (part 3)

Part 3 of a series.

April 3, 2010
Day 3: Batad day

We were excited for this day because we are on the path to finding a great waterfalls. They said that it was going to be a 45-minute trek going to the falls and that we do not need to worry since there is a pathway good enough to walk on.

The thing is it was about a 2-hour drive going to the start of the trek. And it was literally a ride going up the mountains. It was a long, bumpy ride. When we got at the site, we rented out walking sticks at 10 pesos each. They said we were gonna need it along the way. The whole group came -- including our baby boy Zye. We wouldn't want him to miss that falls.

The start of the trailHalf way there? Not yet! But the view was great.

The trail was loooong! Honestly, it wasn't a 45-minute walk. From the start of the trail up to this stop ( picture below) it must have been a whopping 1 hour already! And we were only half way there.

PITSTOP ONE

A quite difficult trail. The walking stick was indeed needed. Yes, we walked across the terraces..literally. Where is the falls? Somewhere else. This is PITSTOP TWO.

So after more than an hour we finally were done walking across the rice terraces only to find out that there is yet another hour to reach the falls. SERIOUSLY!!! That was too much for most of the oldies. But we didn't come all the way to not see that intriguing falls. So the four cavers (Me, hubby, Nikki and Renna) along with my FIL and MIL went on. The picture above is a bird's eyeview of the trail going to the falls. This was over looking the trail at the first stop from PITSTOP TWO. It wasn't the greatest sight to see. It was quite a dangerous trail most especially if it rains.

At last!!!! The falls is real!!! We saw it, we came, we conquered. It was perfect! The sound of rushing water was great to wipe out all complains we had. Still a few more to go to finally reach the swimming area of the falls.I think we spent just about 30-45 minutes at the falls because we still had to walk back again. Uugh! I honestly did not want to walk anymore. But there was no easy way going back. We did not even change clothes. We just let ourselves dry up while walking and when we got back at PITSTOP TWO we were dry as El Nino. At about 12NN everyone was walking back again across the rice terraces under the scorching sun. Struggling is the word. When we got to PITSTOP ONE, we were famished. Finally, lunch! Our lunch was also an experience. No, not the food. But the food server. He did not like getting orders all at the same time, you have to wait for him to finish one thing before asking for something else, and the best thing? He had us computing for what we ate and gave us tip for doing so. Funny!

A small "falls" which also is a swimming spot free for all. Our last photo opportunity after our Batad experience.

We got back to Banaue at around 5:30PM. At around 7PM we were off the road again going back to Manila. Still tired but smiling from the great adventure we just had. Our road trip for 2010 was a blast! We can't wait for the next trip.

Some great tips if you are going to Banaue-Sagada:

1. Spend one day in Banaue, overnight stay in Sagada, and overnight stay in Batad to fully enjoy the trip. That's roughly about 4-5 days of well spent nature trip.

2. Make sure to bring camera -- whatever you have bring it.

3. Leave only footsteps. Don't litter.

4. Essentials for the Batad falls trekking: Water, towel, extra shirt, walking stick, candy, energy bar, sunblock

5. Wear comfortable clothes when you go caving. If you are physically fit, the interconnecting cave is much more fun.

6. HAVE FUN and ENJOY GOD'S AMAZING WORK!!!

Roadtrip 2010: The Banaue-Sagada Experience (part 2)

Part 2 of a series.

April 2, 2010
Day 2: Sagada day

At 5AM the group was busy preparing to go already. We were off to an early start so that we can go back early as well and make sure that we don't get caught in Sagada come night time. At around 5:30AM, we were already driving away from Banaue. It was another long drive going to Sagada. Roughly around 3 hours from Banaue if my memory serves me right (which includes the stops we had for picture taking). I think that the roadtrip from Banaue to Sagada is not measured in miles but in the number of mountains that you are gonna be crossing.

After 30 minutes of driving, we saw a tower from way up the mountains and so my in-laws told us, when we get there we are half-way near Sagada. And it was like --- what the?! Seriously. Because we saw ourselves getting near the tower. Until we saw ourselves having a stop over at THE tower. And darn, it was freezing up there

After sipping coffee, we headed back on the road. And stopped again at the sight of a village of rice terraces.
After another hour or so,we finally saw the sign: Welcome to Sagada

Just along the road before going to Sagada proper, we took a hard stop We saw the famous hanging coffins which really looked like amazing big stones. Of course, this was another photo opportunity.

Breakfast was first. Before doing so, we registered first for the Sagada Caving exerience, just the four of us: Me, hubby, Nikki and Renna. The oldies had to wait or else the caving may take the whole day. Of course, that's exaggerating it. After the registration, we got to a basement of some sort for breakfast. Nothing fancy but the red rice was an experience. Now, off to the cave! We stopped at the registration center to look for our guide. Oskie was the one guide assigned to us.


Pictures first at the entrance of the cave. While Oskie lights up the lamp, we surveyed what's in store for us. Dark, cold. But there were a lot of people so it wasn't too scary.

The caving experience was nice. It was a matter of knowing how to follow instructions basically. I can sum it up in three parts: The "smelly" part, the "watery" part and the "climb". I'll let the pictures speak for itself and leave you with your imagination. Over-all it was worth the experience.

The cavers: (from left - clockwise) Renna, Dingdong, Nikki, Jown

It took us around an hour and a half to finish the caving as we got to have enough proof that we did it. After that we took a shower, changed clothes then off to see Sagada. We tried going to a "small falls" but the path is not too nice. The little twigs that fell off made the soil too slippery so we went a few hills down and got pictures of the green rice terraces then we went to what Oskie referred to as a water cave. Funny thing was, there was no water due to El Nino. We drove home after that, wanting to be back in Banaue before it gets dark.

The group in the "underground water" tunnel -- without the water!

We had a feast of binagoongan, chubby cheesedogs, green manggo, and tilapia for dinner. Then we helped ourselves for some videoke. Tomorrow, we go to Batad falls in the morning and straight home the next day.

TO BE CONTINUED...