Two years ago, I listed some reasons why I loved the month of August. This year proved to be no different. Three out of the five weekends of August I was away from work and from the confinement of my apartment. And you know how happy I get when I’m away on a trip! Here are the reasons:
Macau
More pictures here!
Macau is just how I expected it would be. Casinos left and right, Chinese establishments all over the place, and since it’s not that far from the Philippines, I expected the place to be equally hot and humid! But I loved the experience just the same. Especially that night Deej and I walked around the place to take pictures, to loiter, and to eat. One to two days are enough to get a good grasp of Macau, in my opinion. And Sarj wasn’t kidding when she told me that everything (well, almost everything) is just walking distance. That’s how small the place is.
One of the things I like about being raised in a third world country is how easy it is for me to appreciate beautiful things and places. Show me a colorful skyline with dancing lights, a uniquely-shaped building, a mall with an artificial blue sky disguised as Venice, historical churches, or a musical water fountain display and I’d be whipping out my camera to start shooting or recording, seemingly caught in a trance. To totally enjoy the trip, it really helps for a traveler not to be uptight and ashamed to act like a tourist.
Hong Kong
More pictures here!
It was my second time in Hong Kong, but this time I didn’t get to see the tourist spots that I planned to see but instead I had the chance to find the shopping places hidden in the streets of Kowloon and Hong Kong Islands. I’m not really into shopping when I’m traveling but this is fine since I’ve already seen most of the tourist attractions in Hong Kong with Mae three months ago. Among these are: The Peak, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, the Ngong Ping 360, the largest outdoor and seated Buddha in the world, the attractions along the waterfront (Space Museum, Avenue of Stars, The Clock Tower), A Symphony of Lights, and of course, the place that has made me a happy person again, Disneyland!
After spending a total of 7 days in Hong Kong this year, I think I can say that it’s a place I can imagine myself staying in for a period of time without worrying much about being an outsider. It’s such a safe, tourist-friendly place that it’s almost heartbreaking when I’m reminded of how far behind the Philippines is compared to her neighboring countries. Then again, they don’t have our beautiful beaches which I wouldn’t trade!
Bacolod City
More pictures here!
Since two years ago, after my folks moved to Manila, I only fly back to Bacolod for special occasions (weddings, official reunions, my dad’s funeral). But the trip home last month wasn’t for anything special. It was just a long weekend and the round trip plane ticket I bought was very cheap. Plus my friends have successfully convinced me to book the flight by luring me with plans to get together. So I did! Because I’m hopelessly gullible like that. And we did have a blast at our slumber parties and reunion dinners.
I also took the chance to visit Papa’s grave for the first time since his funeral last February. My situation reminds me of Emily in A Lot Like Love. She lives in CA but her mother’s grave is in NY. Because she lives far away, she only gets to visit the cemetery once in a while.
One thing about this that’s driving me insane is how they misprinted my dad’s name. My auntie blames the guys who made the headstone, but I don’t. Evidently, my good-for-nothing of an uncle has screwed up the name as he was the one who was placed in charge. My dad is a Jr., not a Sr.! Now there are two Pio B. Ang Sr.’s in Greenhills Chinese Cemetery. It’s soooo frustrating. I mean, how hard is it to get a name right?
Baler
More pictures here!
The trip to Baler last weekend was an interesting one, mainly because I got to know more about their history at the Museo de Baler and got to see the church where the actual Siege of Baler took place in 1898-1899. The first time I went to Baler two years ago I had no idea how rich the history of the place was, I’m glad I had another chance.
Learning about the history and culture of a particular place is something that I find very captivating. As a result, I downloaded the movie “Baler” and watched it the other night. It’s definitely a love story — a tragic one — but it pretty much showed the gist of what happened during the siege. It’s good to see Pinoy filmmakers getting into epic or period films too and not just the usual flimsy horror and tutti fruity flicks.
Hopefully the next time we go back to Baler, there will be better waves!
Last but not the least..
We celebrated Deej’s birthday this month! He turned 25 on August 25. That’s him above beside his humongous 35″ pizza from El Buono Pizza. PIZZZZZAAAAA!!!
Now that September’s here, everyone’s raving about Christmas being just around the corner. There’s something about knowing that Christmas is nearing that makes me sad, so I’m obviously not looking forward to it. Maybe it’s because it’s the first Christmas without Papa… or maybe it’s because a month after Christmas I’ll be turning a year older again… Ugh. I hate QLC.
But, despite the grief, life is still good! Goodbye, August. Hello, September. =)
