all about my journeys in life

19-27 October
Manila
PHILIPPINES

It was a busy week for me because everyone's rushing for their projects to be finished just before going home for Eid and I felt that I was being dragged everywhere to 'help'. So at 3pm on Thursday (19Oct), I still didn't know how I'd be going home and I had no idea of the flight loads. So-not-me, I tell you.

Fortunately that morning, while getting some water from the pantry for 'my' plants, an officemate asked where I was going for the holiday and how. I just told him that I planned on going home to Manila but I still didn't know how though I had several tickets with me--direct Manila on QR, via Hong Kong on QR and Cathay Pacific, and via Dubai on Emirates. He suggested I try going via Abu Dhabi on Etihad.

As always, I got so busy that day to the point that I almost forgot to buy my Etihad ticket. Almost, but not quite. Hehe. I bought one-way DOH-AUH-MNL just before going home to pack. Eggward eli-phant picked me up at about 830pm since he was also going home to Manila that night. The crowd at the airport was so huge that it was too difficult for us to even get inside. Luckily I was 'tiny' so I got in a little bit more easily than Eggward. :))

At the Etihad counter, I was given DOH-AUH boarding pass only although my baggage was tagged DOH-AUH-MNL. At least there was a 50-50 chance that I'd be boarded. Hehe. If not, I'd just roam around Abu Dhabi. The flight was a little bit delayed and so I was already in panic upon arrival in Abu Dhabi Airport because I might miss my connecting flight to Manila. The staff at the counter must have been alerted that I was joining since she asked me if I was the staff from Doha when I showed up at the counter. (And for that, I loved Etihad!)

Etihad's service is good although I was a bit disappointed with the lack of blankets for guests. We arrived in Manila at around 230pm, got my baggage, went straight to CEB where I had to deliver some documents and then went home to Nueva Ecija.

I slept most of the time while at home and my activities only included going to SM Pampanga with my family and cute pamangkin (who now calls me Ninang Sungit), visiting SAS' new office in Equitable Bank tower along Paseo de Roxas in Makati, having lunch with my ex-Boss at Teriyaki Boy, meeting up with Anna (na napansin ko lang na maayos ang buhok at mukhang alaga sa hot oil!) and Cat (na walang sawang makinig sa kakulitan ko) at the Enterprise Bldg, having dinner with CEB friends at Good Earth (and then later on, drinking session at Masas) and spending some time with V.

Then before I left, I was able to reward myself time for vanity (haircut, hair and body spa at the Suriya) and have dinner with SAS friends at Chicken Bacolod (originally, at Razon's for Mayfie's craving of halo-halo but Razon's was already closed at 8pm!), photo-ops everywhere (and anywhere!) and lastly, coffee at CBTL. The following morning, I was off flying once again. This time, I chose to fly with QR just because there was a problem with my Emirates ticket and booking. Tsk, tsk. Otherwise, I would have stayed til midnight. Hahah!

12-15 October
Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA


At last, I finally was able to go to KL.

It' s been a long time since I flew (long haul) on QR as I was always choosing EK. :) And using QR this time was a big disappointment because the service was not what I expected. There was no 'personal' in-flight entertainment, no hot towel given, no menu and the meals were not good either. At least the flight was wide open hence, we were checked in as soon as we gave our ticket to the staff counter. Original plan was to go with Amira but she backed out when I was already checked-in so there was no way out for me but to go. She had problems with her kids so it was understandable, I guess.

We arrived in KL at 12nn and before going to the low cost terminal to pick up Philip who was arriving from Clark at 4pm, we ate at the Malaysian Express Wok where we ordered our first 'authentic' nasi goreng. The bus terminal is located at the ground floor of the airport and buses going to the LCCT leave every 15 minutes. It would only take around 10 minutes from the KLIA to the LCCT and the fare is just MYR1.50. (If you go directly from the KLIA to the City by cab, the charge would be around MYR70.00.)

From the LCCT, we took the bus (MYR9.00) to KL Sentral then took a cab (MYR20.00) to the Crowne Plaza Mutiara where we stayed for MYR240.00 per room per night. After checking-in at the hotel, we went to Bukit Bintang via Raja Chulan LRT station to check the prices of camera (which my officemate wanted to buy) at the Low Yat Plaza. We ate yummy yummy foods at BB Cafe on Bintang Walk then proceeded to the Menara KL for a fantastic view of the city at night. It was a tiring walk but because we wanted to maximize our time in KL, we went to a bar after the KL Tower sightseeing. Only after then were we too tired that we decided to call it a night.

The first thing we did the following morning was to check out the Petronas twin towers. For me it was a rush because pickup time for my tour of the Batu Caves and suburbs was at 9am. I left my friends at Petronas and went back to the hotel which was just about 500m away.

The tour was only to three locations: Royal Selangor, Batu Caves and Bateka. The first part of the tour was the Royal Selangor pewter house where the largest tankard as recognized by Guinness Book of Records is located. Pewter=tin+antimony+copper. Yehey! I was listening to the guide! Hehe. I did not buy anything because, well, everything was quite expensive and I did not have the money to spare.

It is while climbing the 272 steps towards the cave that I realized I do have the fear of heights. On the 40th step, I was too afraid to go further up and going down was too difficult it seemed. So I decided not to go up anymore and stayed on ground for almost an hour and a half while the others went to see what's in the cave. It is said that for every step up you make, you gain an additional day for your life. And..for every step down, one sin is forgiven. Win-win, ain't it?

The last leg of the tour was just to see a batik shop where there was a very brief orientation on how they come up with the batik products. While looking at the shirts inside the shop, I was approached by a saleslady who spoke to me in a language that I am assuming to be Malay. When I appeared not to have understood one single word she said, she then asked me, "Taiwan?" I shook my head. "Hong Kong?" I shook my head again, decided to stop the guessing game of my nationality, and told her I am Filipino. It was then then that she led me to the 'discounted' items. Hahahaha! The image we Filipinos have for ourselves.

After the tour, I went back to the hotel and met up with Pia, Jas and Philip. I ate lunch at a restoran along the street then we went on a cab (MYR8.00) to the Orchid Garden (MYR1.00) and Planetarium Negara (MYR3.00) which are both located at the Lake Gardens area. We decided not to go around the place anymore because we were already tired and it was too hot. Luckily, the rain poured right after we were able to get inside the cab (10.00) going to Chinatown on Petaling Street where we bought some pasalubong. Last stop was at Suria KLCC where we ate at a Japanese food stall, bought the camera for my officemate and had coffee at Starbucks while waiting to watch The Devil Wears Prada (MYR11.00). It only cost us MYR8.00 from Chinatown to KLCC. After the 925pm movie which finished at around 1125pm, we walked back to the hotel where we met with our taxi-sundo (MYR120.00) to the airport. Our flight was at 3am the following day.


KL Lim (016-6503684)
CityTan Holidays & Limousine Sdn Bhd
No. 7-1A, Jalan Up 1/8, Ukay Perdana 68000
Ampang Selangor
603-4106-0663 / 603-4106-1662
citytan_holiday@yahoo.com.my

Crowne Plaza Mutiara
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur 50250 Malaysia
603-2148-2322