Grumpy Urban Slacker

'Cool Docks' Get a Cold Reception

2009-12-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

The 'Cool Docks', colloquially known as "Lao Ma Tou", was supposed to be the new, exciting, "in" place in Shanghai, a worthy successor and worthwhile competitor to Xintiandi, a wildly popular entertainment/resto/live band complex with restored "Shikumen"-style architecture, where thousands of locals and foreigners converge every night to eat and party and let their hair loose while in Shanghai.

Hence, yours truly braved the extreme cold and ventured forth to this night spot. Surprisingly, the staff at the hotel and the taxi driver were not familiar with the place, and it took a bit of persistent questioning before someone produced the name of the Cool Docks in Chinese characters.

Which should really have been a tip-off for me. Why?

After alighting from the cab, and entering the complex, one is greeted with absolute silence, and lack of any human crowd whatsoever.

I mentally calculated the number of people present whilst talking a walk around the complex. Let me see, maybe 20 paying customers in total? Not quite the numbers the people who conceptualized this place had in mind, that's for sure!

The array of restos is not so bad. Cuisines represented are Greek, Indian, Chinese, American (steakhouse), etc. with some coffee shops and tea houses (even Starbucks is here).

I finally settled on Mythos (Greek resto), where the staff saw fit to put me on the 3rd floor. Strange, because only one table was occupied on the 1st floor (2 persons at that!), and the 2nd floor was totally empty. So, i was the only patron on the 3rd floor!
(see below pic of Mythos interiors)

And while the food wasn't bad (expensive, though), it was a rather weird experience with 3 wait-staff hanging on to your every bite of food you eat and every sip of juice you take. :D

Oh, and that ubiquitous Starbucks branch? TOTALLY EMPTY!

You might say the Cool Docks is totally un-cool at the moment (pun intended). Which is a bit puzzling, really. Lest one thinks the people in Shanghai were opting to stay at home due to the cold weather, i went to Xintiandi the night after, and the place was packed to the rafters. Go figure.

So, if you happen to be in Shanghai, check this place out. . .before it closes down! :D

(The 'Cool Docks' is located at 505 Zhongshan Nan Lu, Shanghai, a stone's throw from the Bund)

2009-08-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

WOULD YOU PAY TO BE ON FACEBOOK?

It's insidious. It's addictive. It's the productivity-sapping bane of offices worldwide.

On October 24, 2007, Microsoft announced that it had purchased a 1.6% share of Facebook for US$240 million, giving Facebook a total implied value of around US$15 billion. Knowing Bill Gates, Facebook must be rolling in dough, right?

Apparently not, it seems.

A. How does Facebook make money?

How many people are on Facebook? No one knows exactly, but latest estimates range from 175 million to 250 million users.

A cursory internet search showed the following: According to founder Mark Zuckerberg, revenues of US$300 - 350 million are projected for 2009 [Feb. '09].

FB is supposed to be breaking even, but they plan to spend US$200 million on servers next year, which might land them in the RED.

Sources of revenues are essentially the ff:

i. Advertising (brand ads, deal with Microsoft)

Apparently, companies pay Facebook a hefty sum of money to place their ads on the right-hand side of the screen. These ads are supposedly customized based on your stated interests in your profile, so that there is a higher likelihood they would be of interest to you.

But really, when was the last time you actually clicked on a banner ad? Enough said.

ii. Virtual goods

Facebook launched Gifts on February 8, 2007, which allowed users to send virtual gifts to their friends that appear on the recipient's profile. Gifts cost US$1.00 each to purchase, and a personalized message can be attached to each gift.

But can this be a major revenue driver in the coming years? I would think that people are more interested in answering quizzes, and tagging friends on countless party photos, and coming up with feeling-profound status updates (ex., "Chubbs thinks happiness is optional. Que sera sera."), than in giving each other virtual gifts.

Facebook's database on its users is a veritable goldmine, and there have been plans to sell the information to other companies, but these have been hindered by protests from users about invasion of privacy.

B. Alternative revenue-generating scheme for Facebook

Well, here's my suggestion: Stop making Facebook a free site, and START CHARGING USERS.

Of course, the idea of pay-as-you-go subscriptions for internet content is not entirely new. Stanley Bing, columnist of Fortune magazine, is skeptical of this approach. In his August 17th column, he barked, "How about Facebook? Would millions of lonely, homebound losers be encapsulating their lives in all their digital splendor if they had to whip out a credit card to do so?"

Hey, don't discount it entirely, Bing-O! I believe it's worth a shot.

Let us discuss the arguments then:

No. 1 : "If Facebook is going to start charging me for using its site, i'll just delete my account." (or not bother to log in anymore)

This is obviously a valid concern. How many people would be so disgusted / dejected / disappointed / that they would actually stop using Facebook?

Not everyone, I think.

In fact, I would bet that "heavy" Facebook users (i.e. people who log on everyday, post their pics - even those back in grade school, etc.) would be "sticky", and remain loyal to the site.

Let's do the math. For example, if 75 million users drop out and you collect US$5.00/year from the remaining 125 million or so users, that's easily US$625 million in revenue.

The key here is to make the payments as unobtrusive as possible, and reasonable enough so as not to make a significant dent on the individual user's wallet.

How can it possibly be done?

a) "Micropayments" on selected actions

Off the top of my mind (this is not an exhaustive list) :

Logging in to view friends' pics and profiles - FREE
Updating your status / profile - FREE
Posting comments on friends' pics and "likes"- FREE
Taking quizzes - hmm....okay, FREE

Adding friends - say, FREE for first 300 friends, and you get charged something like 1 US cent for each friend exceeding this number

Uploading pics - can be FREE for first 50 pics, and then a 2-cent charge on each pic thereafter (hey, bandwidth does cost money)

SuperPoke! - definitely 1 cent for each

Playing games - perhaps FREE at first, but if you keep on playing Yoville or Typing Maniac for hours on end, it will cost you.

The total amount you spend each month would then be charged to your credit card bill.

Of course, the general level of activity would likely slow down, as people think twice about taking certain actions, etc. You might even argue it makes it so much less fun!

b) Purchase of stored-value units

Taking off from the prepaid cellphone card industry, one can opt to buy a certain amount of units (say US$10.00) online from Facebook, which would be debited as you play games, give gifts, upload pics, etc.

This would work for users who fear they would be unable to control their "spending" on Facebook actions.

Meanwhile, Facebook management can allay advertisers' concerns, by pointing out that the members who dropped out tend to be those people who likely didn't log in too much; didn't update their profiles; only had a few friends, etc. (in general, those people who never got into the spirit of things, as it were). Hence the remaining membership are the "quality" ones, who are more receptive to ads.

Further, they can continue to beef up content and features, to prevent the drop-out rate from becoming too high. To convince non-users to sign up under the new pay-as-you-go scheme, they can make an online ad campaign that goes something like, "Facebook is where the fun is." or "Facebook: Where all your friends are talking about everything, except you."

No. 2 : "If Facebook is going to start charging me for using its site, i'll just move to other social networking sites."

Again, this is certainly a valid response. But which site(s) offer a viable alternative to Facebook?

Friendster is passe and full of scammers. Multiply and MySpace's features are lacking in comparison.

One might make the following riposte, "Well, i'm sure someone will create a new social networking site, with even better features, and everyone will go there."

True, this is very possible. But would this hypothetical new site's business plan be based on advertising revenues only? How then would it go about making a positive return on investment?

So, dear reader, what do you think? Is the above analysis actually worth contemplating about? Or is it pure hogwash?

Hence, I'm asking you (yes, you) this question: Would you pay to be on Facebook?

Hit the comment button NOW.

2009-05-23T05:57:00.000-07:00

COBRATOX cream with snake venom
(Bonus Post, Saigon-Siem Reap-Hanoi-Halong vacation)

I guess i had ended my series on Vietnam and Cambodia too soon. Given my love for weird, oddball stuff, i couldn't resist posting about this new discovery below.

While browsing at one of the numerous souvenir shops at the Cu Chi Tunnels, my interest was piqued by this product:

Yes, you had read the box correctly, "Cream with Snake Venom". It is intended to provide relief for arthritis, rheumatism and similar ailments.

While other creams / ointments / liniments such as Bengay (from USA), Salonpas (from Japan), White Flower (from HK), Counterpain (from Thailand), Omega (from Phils.) and Tiger Balm (from Singapore) are basically combinations of Menthol / Methyl Salicylate (Oil of Wintergreen) / Camphor with other essential oils, Cobratox does them all one better with its unique ingredient.

It says right there on the side of the box, "Dried venom of cobra 0.0005 g".

Cobratox is produced by the formal-sounding Center for Rearing, Planting, Researching & Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Products of Military Zone IX.

I don't know about you, but what comes to my mind is a bunch of grim-faced men wearing combat fatigues slitting open the throats of writhing cobras and extracting their venom before stitching their insides back again before putting them on these big glass jars filled with water, which men are supposed to buy to increase their stamina in making . . . ahh, "Boom Boom". [A Vietnamese euphemism for . . . but let's not go there, shall we? ;D]

It was kinda cheap at 20,000 VND (around US$1.15) for a 20 gram tube, so i figured there was nothing much to lose if it didn't prove effective in relieving the pain from my tennis elbow.

The accompanying piece of paper inside the box wasn't of much help (see above pic), being in Vietnamese, but there are simple instructions to "apply to painful area with massage 2 times daily" on the box.

I am not so sure about the science behind using dried cobra venom as a painkiller ingredient; i have this vague notion that cobra venom kills you by paralyzing you, so i guess tiny quantities will just deaden your nerves a bit (thereby providing pain relief), no? :D

So, the 500,000 VND question is, is Cobratox more effective than Bengay, Tiger Balm and the like?

I've used it for a week so far, and here is how Cobratox performs based on the ff. criteria:

Heat - packs a bit of a wallop in giving that warm, burning feeling to temporarily relieve joint pain

Odor - neutral, meaning no discernable "snaky" smell, haha :D Would be nice if it had some sort of scent.

Feel - non-greasy, easy to rub into the skin. Not slimy, thank God!

Bottomline, it performs about the same as other pain relief ointments, so perhaps the REAL reason to use Cobratox is to be able to stretch the truth a bit and brag to your gymmates / sports teammates / etc. as such:

"My doctor has prescribed alternative therapy for my tennis elbow. We are applying dried cobra venom on it, which will eliminate the pain, AND as a side effect, increase my agility and quickness on the courts, AND increase my stamina to make Boom Boom. Unfortunately, the ointment is highly toxic and highly limited, so it is not available to the public."

2008-12-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

THE FINANCIAL METRICS OF RE-GIFTING

Having decided to play the Christmas Grinch this year, I have been searching through my closets and drawers for stuff to re-gift to the poor souls who managed to make my severely-downsized gift list.

Let me just point out once and for all that, contrary to popular opinion, people who re-gift are not cheap, lazy couch potatoes who are, well, too cheap and lazy to remember their loved ones at this time of the year and schlep over to the mall to buy the necessary gifts.

Au contraire, mon ami. We re-gifters (also known as RGs) are actually doing the world a huge, huge favor! Why? Just think of all the carbon emissions we are NOT emitting, by not driving our cars and burning fuel as our engines idle for 20 minutes while queuing at the mall parking entrance and driving around looking for that ever-elusive parking spot.

And don't get me started on all that wasteful packaging that comes with purchasing gifts. Why shirts have to be wrapped in fine Japanese paper, then into plastic and then into a carton shopping bag is beyond me.

If anything, it is the fault of those people who give us weird / inappropriate / unusable gifts ("Unwanted Gifts", or UGs) in the first place, that we RGs are forced to RG!!! :-D Gaddemit!!

Anyway, to get to the point, i've thought of some metrics to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of one's RG efforts:

1. Average Mental Regifting Period (AMRP)

= No. of days between the time you receive an UG, and the time you think of someone who would make a good victim, errr, recipient of the regifted unwanted gift (i.e. RUG).

For ex., if you receive a faux Seiko wallet from your creepy Uncle Leo on Dec. 12th and realized on Dec. 22nd that it would be an ideal gift for your lazy golf pro Cosmo, then your AMRP is ten (10) days.

Our rule of thumb is as follows:

<> 100 days - You're a bit of a dunce, aren't you?

2. Average Unwanted Gift Turnover (AUGT)

= 360
______________________________________________

No. of days between receipt of UG and actual re-gifting of the UG

This measures how efficiently you actually RG UGs, rather than stashing them in your closet and forgetting them till next Christmas.

Say that you get a ceramic white frog from your annoying nephew George on Dec. 9th and regifted it to your big-haired secretary Elaine via the office Kris Kringle on Dec. 24th, then your AUGT is 24. Pretty good!

3. Unwanted Gift Recipient Christmas Thrill Rating (UGRCTR)

= Recipient's satisfaction with the RUG (out of 10 points) _____________________________________________

Re-gifter's expected satisfaction from Recipient (out of 10 points)

Ergo, if your overweight postman Newman goes ballistic over the coffee mug you RG'd him (i.e. 3 out of 10), yet you actually thought he would enjoy drinking his daily cappuccino using it (i.e. 9 of 10), then the UGRCTR is a paltry 0.33.

On a chirpier note, if Newman liked the dog repellant you gave him (RG'd via your demanding boss Mr. Pitt), the corresponding UGRCTR would likely be 10 / 10 = 1.

Our aim is for this ratio to be equal to 1, meaning the recipient liked your gift as much as you had expected. In the event that the UGRCTR is greater than 1 (i.e. the recipient's delight goes beyond your wildest expectations), both RG and recipient are enjoined to hold hands and sing (all together now), "Fa la la la la, La la la la . . . ."

Merry Christmas, everyone!

(Thanks to "Cartoonful" for the tree photo)

2007-05-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

JONAH'S FRUITSHAKE & RESTAURANT
(Part 3, Boracay series)

Although it is officially a restaurant which is open 24 hours, the words "Jonah's" and "fruitshakes" are pretty much synonymous with each other in Boracay. Jonah's boasts of the "best fruitshakes in the island", and everyone pretty much agrees this is indeed the case.

Such is its popularity that during mid-afternoons, the restaurant is packed with beachgoers in various degrees of undress, all patiently enduring the sweltering heat and humidity while waiting for their name(s) to be called. Expect to wait for up to 30 min. to get your fruitshake.

This board below shows the variety of fruitshake flavors available at Jonah's:

Which raises a hypothetical question, what if Jonah drank too much beer one late afternoon (say, 6 bottles of San Mig Light) and had a vivid dream involving the idea of expanding his fruitshake empire? Would it take off in other parts of our archipelago?

Our group had some rather fierce discussions about this. Someone opined Jonah's should expand to other beach areas such as Panglao Island in Bohol, while another voice said they could put up an outlet in Pansol, Laguna or perhaps Subic. Alternatively, would Jonah's make it big in Metro Manila (in the form of a kiosk in a shopping mall perhaps)?

Using the classic 4Ps of Marketing as our basic analytical framework, what insights can we cull to help the hypothetical Jonah in answering his hypothetical question?

Product - As we saw from the board above, Jonah's has a very wide variety of shakes, from the regular fruit combinations (Mango Papaya) to the more unconventional (Banana Choco Peanut, anyone?). Thus, one can go there everyday and find something one hasn't tried yet.

On the debit side, the ingredients that go into these shakes are hardly a secret. Thus, one would think it is quite easy for any upstart competitor to duplicate Jonah's combinations, and poor Jonah would not have any unique recipe at all.

Price - Basic fruit combinations (say, Mango Papaya shake) are priced at PHP82 for a 500 ml takeout bottle. A rather extreme exception is the Strawberry shake, which goes for PHP165. Even if you assume the strawberries are flown in fresh from La Trinidad. . .PHP165 for a fruitshake? Seriously?

By way of comparison, a typical Fruit Magic or Big Chill shake is something like PHP45 (12 oz) and PHP75 (22 oz).

If Jonah's opened in Metro Manila, would it be able to price its shakes at a premium? (I.e. would you pay more for a Jonah's shake since a) you tried it before in Bora and liked it a lot; b) you haven't been to Bora, but want to feel like you've been there; c) since it's famous in Bora, it must be better than other fruitshake brands; and d) all of the above?) Maybe, or maybe not.

Place - Jonah's beachfront location undoubtedly helps in pulling in the crowd. But so does the fact that it doesn't really have a clear-cut, well-known competitor in Boracay.

If Jonah's were transplanted to another setting where it had to compete with other fruitshake stands, what would the outcome be? Should it decide to target other beach areas such as Panglao, Bohol or Mactan, Cebu, etc., where the hot weather generates a natural demand for its products?

Promo - As far as we know, Jonah's does not undertake any promotional activity. It basically relies on the positive word-of-mouth generated over the years.

If it does expand elsewhere, it would have to make a promotional push. But this should not be a major problem, as it could capitalize on its fame and reputation in Boracay. The natural tagline could be something like, "Boracay's best and/or most famous milkshakes, now here in _______________!!!"

If you want to hear my two cents' worth of opinion, i'd say the safest bet for our dear chap Jonah is to open a branch on the beachfront, in between Stations 2 and 3. This way, it captures the market of those people who don't want to walk all the way to Station 1; also, it will still be in home territory, and no marketing effort would really be needed.

Whew, all this thinking is frying my brain. . .now, where the hell is that Mango Lemon Vanilla Strawberry Avocado shake i ordered 2 hours ago??

(Jonah's is located on the White Beach front, Station 1 area)

2009-04-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

HALONG BAY
(Conclusion, Saigon-Siem Reap-Hanoi-Halong vacation)

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located at Halong City at the northeastern part of Vietnam. Going to Halong City from Hanoi takes around 3 hours by van, on surprisingly well-paved roads.

Halong City itself is a singularly charmless place, with the usual mix of hotels, casinos and shopping places. Located just 90 minutes away from Vietnam's border with China, i'm willing to bet that most of these developments in the city were funded by Chinese investors. Some establishments seem to cater primarily to Chinese clients,
being fronted by Mandarin-speaking staff and quoting prices in RMB.

Halong Bay is also known by the more dramatic name [drumroll, please] "Bay of the Descending Dragon." Legend has it that dragons once descended from heaven and spouted streams of jade droplets that fell into the waters of Halong Bay, forming thousands of islands and islets, and helping defend Vietnam against attacking armies.

Of course, the truth is a bit more prosaic. The islands are limestone rock formations, with caves, lakes, etc. for exploring in the bigger ones.

Truth be told, this was the part of the trip i was looking forward to the most, and was quite happy as we boarded the Chinese-style "junk" for our tour. I had heard instances wherein the junks and sampans are not allowed to depart for the Halong Bay cruise, due to fog and inclement weather. Thankfully, the sky was all clear today.

The view from the upper deck of the junk was lovely. It was quite a sight to see the various shapes and sizes of the limestone karsts and isles, with the sails of the boats silhouetted against the horizon. We dropped by a cave (for some fairly rigorous spelunking), and checked out a 'typical' fishing boat as well.

Of course, the preferred (in)activity of a certain grumpy slacker i know is just to stretch back and relax, like so:

On board, we partook of an excellent seafood lunch, before turning back to return to shore.

Aside from the daytrip cruise we took, there are tour operators offering overnight and even 3D/2N Halong Bay cruises, on board junks which are fitted with cabins and other amenities.

Halong Bay is one of the candidates for the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. Click here if you want to check the official site and vote for it.

2009-04-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

SCENES FROM A 'XICH LO'
(Part Four, Saigon-Siem Reap-Hanoi-Halong vacation)

Hanoi is the cultural capital of Vietnam, and one must not fail to tour around the Old Quarter area, basically a collection of narrow and bustling streets with tube houses selling all sorts of goods right on the pavement.

Hanoi's Old Quarter was originally arranged with each street selling one category of goods, so you have Silk Street, Silver Street, Paper Street and the like. But at present, this is no longer strictly followed.

We took a tour of the Old Quarter, while riding a contraption called the 'Xich Lo' (cyclo). As can be seen from the pics, it is a semi-open carriage, with the passenger seated in front, and the driver at the back.

At first, we were a bit hesitant to take the tour. J.N.'s mom thought it would be dangerous, since the cyclo did look flimsy. Nevertheless, our daredevil spirits prevailed, and J.N., R.T. and i were soon off, with our respective cyclo drivers pedalling leisurely.

The operative word here being "leisurely", as the cyclo drivers pedal at a glacial pace. It is much quicker to walk on your own! The ride becomes enjoyable once you get over the (very real) possibility that you will get hit by a motorcycle or car.

As it is, we were honked at lots of times by impatient motorcycle drivers, who were probably cursing underneath their breath at our cyclos for partially blocking their path.

Navigating the narrow streets of the Old Quarter proved to be a delightful experience. We passed by hotels, travel agencies, art galleries, restaurants, bars, music clubs, stores selling clothes, toys, groceries, fruits, etc., even one or two stores selling propaganda art posters; sidewalk cafes; rows and rows of motorcycles parked at the curbs.

One can really see and feel the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, at full blast. I realized, this tour by cyclo was actually a perfect springboard if one wanted to walk around and explore on one's own, at a later occasion.

After going around for some 30 minutes, we were dropped off by the cyclo drivers with all limbs intact, happy yet somewhat relieved.

So, my advice to people who are wary about the cyclo, go! Laugh in the face of danger and get on that cyclo!

2009-04-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

THE 'WINDOW SILL' PHOTO SERIES AMIDST THE TEMPLES
(Part Three, Saigon-Siem Reap-Hanoi-Halong vacation)

Around a week before the trip, i was enthusiastically telling a friend about our itinerary in Siem Reap, with stops to the various temples such as Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, Angkor Thom, and the world-famous Angkor Wat.

"That's funny, i've never thought of you as a 'temple' person," she mused.

I just laughed, and gave her remark no further thought.

My friend turned out to be quite prescient.

It was 9:30 AM, the sun was shining its warm, radiant rays cheerfully over the hordes of tourists arriving at Banteay Srei, our tour group included.

Our guide, a rather funny-looking fellow named Chay, was extremely professional and well-versed in the intricacies of ancient Khmer history. He waxed eloquently on the gods Shiva, Vishnu and Rama, amongst other things.

Unfortunately, after twenty minutes or so of standing under the sweltering heat, i was already suffering from 'temple fatigue', and wanted nothing more than to pour a cold bottle of water over my head.

So it went with our visits to the other temples. I could barely remember any of the historical tidbits narrated by Chay!

But of course, to keep myself interested, i resorted to taking my usual 'trick' camera shots and enlisted tour groupmates R.T. and J.N.

"Let's take some artsy, meticulously-arranged yet supposedly 'candid' photos, just like they do in most travel magazines," i suggested.

Hence, our visits to the temples degenerated into horsing around, making weird poses. Here are some of the 'artsy' photos we took, which i henceforth dub the "Window Sill at the Temples" series:

This one above is me, leaning against the wall while thinking despondently of my stock portfolio.

This pic above is of J.N., grinning like a cat who just devoured a whole saucer of condensed milk (instead of mixing it with his iced Vietnamese coffee ;D). He's probably thinking of his latest painting.

Due to the overwhelming, insistent clamor from my readers [i can imagine my friend, amazonic R., muttering scornfully, "yeah, right!"], i've included a face pic of myself. Haha.

Seriously now, this one was taken at Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom. I really like the contrast of this one, the dark foreground hiding the subject (me) in the shadows while the smiling image of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara looks down benignly on me, as he gets a suntan.

Bye for now, folks! Stay tuned for posts regarding Halong Bay and the cyclos of Hanoi.

2009-04-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

THE GUS GUIDE TO ENJOYING A FEW DAYS IN SAIGON & HANOI, VIETNAM
((Part Two, Saigon-Siem Reap-Hanoi-Halong vacation)

Part of what makes travelling to other countries fun and not-so-fun are the different customs, beliefs and practices one encounters, which leave one either open-mouthed with amazement, or shaking one's head in disgust, or exasperated by the absurdity of the locals, or all of the above.

I've come up with a partial list of stuff to expect in Saigon and Hanoi, so future first-timers to these wonderful cities have an equally wonderful experience. Here goes:

1. Money exchange

When changing money upon arrival at the airport, some banks offer a more favourable US$-VND exchange rate, but with a 3% service charge written in the fine print.

Better choose a bank which clearly states "No service charge", even if their exchange rate is less. You will come out ahead.

2. Crossing the streets

In these cities, the motorcycles rule the streets by sheer number. It constantly amazed me that there were hardly any accidents involving these vehicles.

Crossing the main streets can be problematic. Make slow, firm steps, while putting out your hand to signal "Stop!" to the onrushing motorcycles. Under NO circumstances is it advisable to do the cha-cha ("double-double-single"), as this is a surefire way to get hit.

While the motorcycles seem like ready to run you over, just stay rooted on your spot, and they will part like the Red Sea and weave around you. Take my word for it.

3. Shopping

Bargain hard, but always with a smile. The old trick of walking away when the vendor doesn't agree to your price works surprisingly well, but do not squeeze the last VND from them. Hey, they probably need the money a lot more than you do.

The lady vendors at Ben Thanh market in Saigon are particularly aggressive, to the point of pulling at your shirt and whacking you on the shoulder if you inquire about prices, but fail to buy.

4. Language

Surprisingly, English comprehension is not that good. It is best to learn some basic phrases, such as: "Xin chao" (hello), "Cam on" (thank you), "Bao nhieu" (how much?), "Mac qua" (too expensive!), and "Co dep qua" (you're beautiful).

5. Etiquette

According to Frommers, "any show of anger is a definite no-no", as this causes the locals to lose face.

Of course, if the taxi drivers are taking the long route to your destination; or the coffee shop waitress forgets the condensed milk when you ordered the "Iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk"; or they tell you a can of bottled water costs 15,000 VND when it is clearly stated as costing 10,000 VND on the menu (all of which happened to us), then go ahead by all means and raise your voice a bit.

6. Food & Drink

Speaking of which, not to try the "Iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk" (Ca phe sua dac) even once during your visit is borderline criminal!

7. Sights

When visiting the Cu Chi tunnels in Saigon (a must-see, in my opinion), bring insect repellant.
I repeat, bring insect repellant.

8. Money matters

Be extremely careful when buying stuff and getting change, especially if you pay in US Dollars and the store will give change in VND.

The various denominations of the VND notes tend to look alike (the green-colored 10,000 VND and 100,000 VND notes are deceptively similar-looking), given that they all have Uncle Ho beaming at you, making them prone to mistakes (intentional or otherwise) on the part of the seller.

After all, one must not give up one's millionaire status by being careless, right?

(Many thanks to May Ibalio and Diederick Helder for the lovely photos)

2009-04-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

HOW TO BECOME A MILLIONAIRE IN ONE EASY STEP
(Part One, Saigon-Siem Reap-Hanoi-Halong vacation)

Forget all those 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' books, and their ilk.

All you have to do is board a plane and fly to Vietnam, where one US Dollar gets you the equivalent of 17,700 VND [Vietnam Dong].

So, when i exchanged US$100 at the airport upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh (also known as Saigon) city, i was handed more or less 1.7 million VND. Woohoo!

As can be seen from the pic below, the VND notes come in big denominations, most commonly 100,000, 50,000 and 10,000 VND.
The largest note is 500,000 VND [not in photo].

The smaller ones, such as the 500 VND and 1000 VND notes, also come in coins and are pretty much useless, since most prices seem to start at 10,000 VND.

Of course, it took a while to get used to seeing and hearing prices quoted at such huge amounts. And even more difficult was mentally converting prices into US dollars (and then on to PHPs).

While at the Ben Thanh market, i inquired how much a box of coffee was.

"50,000 VND," stated the rotund vendor.

"What?! Mac Qua! [Too expensive!]" i cried, only to realize a few seconds later that this amount was something like US$3.00 only. Well, it was still expensive, and we eventually bargained her to a more reasonable level.

A sampling of other typical prices include:

Paper fan at Ben Thanh market = 15,000 VND
Pho [noodle soup] at a Pho 24 outlet = 34,000 VND
N & M [local upscale brand] men's pants = 499,000 VND

Of course, the astute reader will point out that there is a catch to my millionaire status in Vietnam. After all, it is not the amount of money per se that matters, but the amount of goods and services one can purchase or exchange for it.

As my college thesis partner-turned-financial whiz MonT. will probably put it, "You may be a millionaire on paper, but you have the purchasing power of a pauper. Olats ka pa rin! [Loser!]"

2009-04-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

COLORFUL TIBET IN SHANGHAI

It's March. Yup, the time of the year to fly again to Shanghai for work.

It was also another chance to have dinner with my friend JPL, and the friendly couple, Mary and Looi, who had chosen a Tibetan resto this time. (We had eaten at a Xinjiang resto the last time 2 years ago)

After some walking around in circles, we finally found the resto. The exteriors are nothing much to write about, and i had a huge feeling at the back of my mind that this resto would be a stinker. Tibetan cuisine wasn't exactly setting the world on fire, was it?

But once one stepped inside, everything suddenly changed. To say this resto was bursting with color was an understatement; it was breathng and exploding with vivid colors any where one looked!

And should one feel compelled to dine inside a tent, just like they do in Tibet (?), there's a colorful tent waiting:

The staff, who are dressed in colorful costumes, go around table to table, offering toasts in their native tongue.

We had absolutely no clue what they were saying. Hopefully, it wasn't in colorful language. :D

Onwards to the food.

The menu featured a one-page ad on their whole roasted sheep (complete with a ribbon tied around its head!). It looked tempting; alas, it has to be pre-ordered a day ahead.

Mary and Looi took charge of ordering, so i didn't have an opportunity to write down the exact names of the dishes. Below is a run-through of most of the dishes we ate:

First up, a dish of Alfafa sprouts, which proved to be chewy and tasty.

Second, lamb ribs. Lip-smacking good! A tad too oily, though. Nonetheless, I could have eaten another order of this all by myself.

Third, yak meat. When i tasted this dish, i asked JPL, "Why does it taste so much like eggplant?"

Well, that's because it WAS eggplant mostly. Turns out the yak meat was those little bits and pieces ground up.

Up next, the Tibetan baked macaroni. :D

It was actually a tomato stew, with cheese, potato, etc. Looked a bit yucky at first, but it was actually pretty good. The tomato was intensely sweet, but perfectly balanced by the potatoes.

Then, it got more exotic. The picture below is of the quail egg/veggies/dates/chili/hotdog/fishball soup with Tibetan ants.

Yes, you read correctly. Ants. These were supposed to be good for one's health.

With some trepidation, i scooped a bowl of the soup, turned to JPL, and solemnly stated, "I hereby appoint you as executor of my last will and testament", to everyone's hearty laughter.

Here's a close-up view of the ants:

They're pretty big and horrific-looking, but you won't really taste them at all. Everyone agreed the soup was good, and got second helpings, myself included.

Then, spinach soup, with naan bread. More like pureed spinach, sort of a goop. It tasted like, well, spinach.

Yak tea [not pictured] was also served, which in my opinion, tasted like regular tea mixed with low-fat/skim milk powder.

Throughout dinner, we watched the cultural program being performed by the staff, which consisted mainly of dancing and singing. At the end, guests were "invited" to join in a group native dance.

To our amusement, JPL was roped in to go up the stage and partake of this audience participation segment. He proceeded to do the Tibetan tap dance and Tibetan two-step shuffle with much gusto. (No pics here though, lest his reputation take a permanent beating ;-D)

There was a raffle as well, and i won a coupon entitling me to the lamb ribs dish (worth RMB 80.00) during my next visit!

Yak!! (Tibetan word for "Yes!!!", or so i think :D)

(The resto is located at the ground floor of the Shanghai Stadium)

2009-03-19T03:18:00.000-07:00

BOHOLANO CACAO FARMER OUT TO USE THE TARSIER FOR HIS OWN NEFARIOUS ENDS
(Bohol vacation, Conclusion)

Most visitors to Bohol go to the Chocolate Hills Complex, ooh and ahh over these unique formations (there are 1,268 of them, in case you're counting), crack a few jokes about their resemblance to female mammaries and take 'trick digicam shots showing them jumping over the hills, etc.

Most are unaware that there is another side to the Chocolate Hills. I found this out quite by accident myself. Having mentioned casually to our tour guide, whom we shall call Gulliver (for that is his name), about the extremely delicious cups of hot local chocolate i had been drinking at breakfast for the last couple of days, he quickly realized he was in the presence of a fellow chocoholic.

"Did you know that cacao trees are grown at the base of the Hills in the municipality of Sagbayan?" he queried. "That's where the cocoa beans that go into our local chocolate come from."

"Really? I didn't know that at all!" i replied enthusiastically. "So REAL chocolate comes from the Chocolate Hills? How cool is that!! Do you think we could visit the farmers' plantation?"

Thus, the day after saw me and Gulliver taking a 2-hour van ride to Sagbayan, where he had arranged for an interview with Mang Bokbok, one of the 80 or so farmers active in the cultivation of the cacao tree in Bohol.

Mang Bokbok turned out to be a wiry, quiet man in his late fifties, with a weather-beaten face from too much sun exposure. He gave us a brief overview of the cultivation of the cacao tree, and the harvest, processing and production into chocolate. At present, they were growing trees at some 200 out of the 1,200+ Chocolate Hills, all in the remote parts of the municipality, so as not to spoil tourists' camera shots.

According to Mang Bokbok, the rich, fertile soil, coupled with the shade provided by the Hills, were ideal conditions for the cacao tree to flourish and bear much fruit.

Rather skeptical, i asked him, "How come the government has not promoted Bohol chocolate at all? Or your plantations as tourist spots?"

Mang Bokbok frowned slightly, and he launched into a furious tirade. Gulliver took some time to translate his words. Turned out there was a dispute between two opposite factions of the cacao farmers. It went like this:

The Bohol International Industrial Klan (BIIK), being composed of farmers whose sons and daughters were disinclined to carry on with the business, was lobbying for their farmlands to be converted into housing subdivisions.

Meanwhile, the Bohol Underground Land Owners Klan (BULOK), of which Mang Bokbok was the president, believed it was only a matter of time before the world would discover the fantastic qualities of Boholano chocolate. So, they wanted the government to give tax incentives and subsidies to their production, to make it more competitive.

With the two groups warring with each other, the Department of Tourism (DOT) was wary of promoting their cacao plantations as 'eco-nature' destinations.

Besides, to get to their location would require at least 2 hours of driving through dusty, unpaved and winding roads, not necessarily any tourist's cup of hot choco (pun intended).

Mang Bokbok had no love lost for the local government. He described the mayor as "corrupt", who hadn't yet fulfilled his campaign promise to provide the farmers with a new, automated roasting machine for their beans.

The sun was setting, and Gulliver and i were preparing to get back to Panglao.

As we thanked Mang Bokbok for his time, he slyly smiled, and confided the "secret" project he was working on right now. He had heard of the "Alamid coffee", reputedly the most expensive coffee in the world.

This is what made it unique: It is made from the beans found in the droppings (yes, we also know it as 'feces', 'poop' or 'shit') of the Philippine Civet, a cat-like nocturnal mammal closely similar to the mongoose.

The civets eat coffee berries, but the beans inside are swallowed and passed out whole (undigested) by the animal. These beans are gathered from droppings found at the farm. Then, these are filtered, dried under the sun for several days and then roasted for 7 hours.

This inspired a brain wave in Mang Bokbok. He then set about obtaining (through dubious means, i must say) three dozen tarsiers from the sanctuary in Corella, and had been force feeding cacao beans on these poor creatures. Since the tarsiers' diet was composed of crickets and other insects, they were unable to process the beans properly, and said beans go through their digestive tracts undigested.

Further, to ramp up production quickly, Mang Bokbok had installed bright compact fluourescent lights inside his tarsiers' cages, thus depriving them of sleep and raising their stress levels. This had the effect of increasing their poop production threefold.

Quite ingenious, and devious, at the same time.

I asked, "Err....how does the chocolate from the tarsiers' shit taste like?"

Mang Bokbok closed his eyes, and started waxing rhapsodically about the intense, full-bodied aroma and creamy, vanilla-like flavour with a hint of lemony after-taste of the chocolate produced from the tarsiers' droppings. He even offered us a taste, which Gulliver and i quickly declined.

Apparently, he had no qualms about exploiting an endangered animal like the tarsier at all.

"The government is shit. The DOT is full of shit," he opined. With a bemused half-smile on his lined, weary face, he added, "So why not make money from the tarsiers' shit?"

[This story is a product of my imagination, and is pure nonsense]

2009-03-13T05:08:00.000-07:00

TARSIER WANTS TO PHONE HOME, BUT HAS NO LOAD
(BOHOL vacation, Part One)

We spent a day touring around the popular sites in Bohol, and one of them was viewing the Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), the smallest known specie of monkey and indigenous to Bohol.

It has gray fur and a nearly naked tail. Tarsiers are named as such because of their special elongated tarsial bones, which form their ankles and enable them to leap to almost 10 feet from tree to tree. They weigh only 4 - 5 ounces, and are quite small (around 11 cm, or 4 inches only). Their diet is composed mainly of crickets.

Another interesting factoid is that tarsiers can rotate their head almost 180 degrees in each direction. Whoa!

Being classified as an endangered species, the government had stepped in and established an 'official' Tarsier sanctuary in Corella, where an approximately 134-hectare piece of land has been set aside as the Phil. Tarsier Sanctuary. Here, there are supposedly more than a hundred tarsiers living in the wild.

However, since it was not very accessible and the tarsiers were probably not keen on being disturbed, what the DENR did was to put up 4 accredited viewing sites, such as the one that we went to in Loboc.

It is essentially a small roadside shack with a few trees, each having its resident tarsier; and some souvenir stands selling all sorts of knick knacks, Peanut Kisses (it mystifies me why Hershey's has not yet sued these people in Bohol for blatant trademark infringement?!? :D), and cold drinks.

Oh, there are some strict guidelines in viewing these creatures, namely:

a) NO flash photography, as this will either scare them or damage their eyes, or both.

b) NO touching! Once stressed, they become suicidal.

c) NO, you can't buy them, and make them into household pets!

Most people i know have described these creatures as 'cute', which quite honestly, was the last word i would use to describe them!

Our guide also mentioned that these tarsiers were nocturnal creatures, which begs the obvious question: What do they do at night? After all, all tourists visit them during daytime hours, and all they ever do is hang on tree branches for dear life, with this worried, bug-eyed look.

Some questions burned in my mind:

Can the tarsiers really leap from tree to tree? I have yet to see any National Geographic or Discovery Channel documentary showing this.

What could they be doing during the 'witching' hours when they are awake? Play hopscotch? Wipe their snot on each other's eyes for fun? What?!?

Our guide, and anyone else we asked, didn't know. Hmph.

After taking pics and looking at them closely, my friend R.T. jokingly commented, "E.T. phone home."

I don't know, man, but i think they're deadringers for Gollum from LOTR! Like this one:

Fortunately, though, we also saw the lesser-known, much cuter cousin of the tarsier, as you can see below:

I'm sure you'll all agree with me that they're much more endearing, eh?

(Thanks to Sheila Tan for the pics, taken with her new 8.0 megapixel camera)

2009-03-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

CHASING THE DOLPHINS
(BOHOL vacation, Part Four)

We had a very early call time today, 6:00 AM. Normally, i would revolt at waking up so early (we were on vacation, after all), but i was actually sorta pumped, even though it was all dark so early in the morning, and we had to eat a hurried breakfast.

Why? Because we were going on our dolphin-watching tour at Pamilacan Island, approximately one hour's banca ride away from Panglao.

Our guide/head boatman, Teddy, led us to our banca, called "ARCA". Fortunately, it seemed to be a sturdy boat, with adequate life jackets on board.

Before we sailed off, i asked Teddy about the numerous touts we had been encountering the past day while walking on the beach, all of them offering dolphin-watching tours at low prices. So, what was the difference between the tours offered by these touts and those offered by the tour company employing him?

He replied that these touts have not undergone the Department of Tourism (DOT) seminar/accreditation for the tours. Thus, they had no license to operate said tour. Moreover, they (and their passengers) have no insurance in the event of some misfortune at high seas. Rather reassuring, eh?

We were also introduced to our 'spotter', Arnel (above pic), who was 18 years old but didn't look a day over 12! [No wonder S. had an immediate crush on him, haha :-D]

Teddy proved to be quite a gregarious guide. We had asked if there were also whales to be seen at this time of year, but no such luck. Apparently, while dolphins can be found year-round, whales can be spotted only in the months of April, May and sometimes June.

Teddy commented that he and his co-residents at Pamilacan Island used to be whale hunters. They used to catch the dolphins, whales, sharks, manta rays, etc., and butcher them for food. But they have all seen the light, so to speak; and this practice has been banned for at least ten years.

Upon my egging, though, he described in graphic detail how they used to harpoon a dolphin, and how it easily got disoriented and dizzy from the smell of its own blood. From then on, it was easy pickings to reel it in.

Then viola! Dolphin sashimi for lunch. He described its taste "like beef".

We had expected a hot sunny morning, and had slathered on as much sunblock as we could, only to be thwarted by the overcast sky. Worse, a fairly hard drizzle came and stayed, making the boat ride towards Pamilacan Island one wet, chilly experience. Good thing, though, that the waves were fairly calm.

Fortunately, the sky cleared up during the mid-way portion of our boat ride, and the sun came out.

"The dolphins are there," Teddy pointed. Then he started clapping and whistling. This seems the standard way to catch the dolphins' attention.

"Where?" I couldn't see any, despite squinting and peering like crazy.

Oh, there they were. Initially, it was hard to pick out these creatures' dark gray fins peeking out from the dark blue waters of the sea; but after some effort, they became readily apparent.

Teddy estimated there were around 200 dolphins swimming around, behind, in front, and even underneath our banca. Yes, these creatures are aware they are being watched.

Taking good pictures of them proved quite difficult, though. The banca was rocking to and fro, the dolphins were swimming fast, and one didn't really want to stretch out too far at our vessel's bow, lest one fall off. We did see a dolphin doing a triple somersault some 30 feet in front of us.

A friend (who had previously seen the dolphins) quipped to me that this tour should be called "dolphin-chasing" instead. She did have a point. After all, unlike your typical experience at Sea World or other marine amusement parks, the dolphins are NOT going to do somersaults, or wave at you, or kiss you, on demand.

Nevertheless, seeing these lovely creatures at their natural habitat was made me real happy. Yep, i didn't even grumble at waking up at such an odd hour.

(For more info, check out the website of Pamilacan Island Dolphin and Whale Watching Tours at http://whales.bohol.ph)

(Thanks yet again to Sheila Tan for the pics, taken with her new 10.0 megapixel camera)

2008-02-24T04:22:00.000-08:00

MY BALLS HAVE B.O.

I don't know about you, but i like to keep my balls clean and nice-smelling, with no fluffy hairs about, just in case someone would like to touch them, juggle them about, smell them, and play with them.

Of course, what i'm talking about are my tennis balls.

While browsing for fencing gear, i chanced upon the "Gold Dacos" brand of tennis balls, being sold in cans of two (instead of the normal 3 balls per can). Turns out its a Chinese brand fairly new to the market. Priced at PHP130.00 (vs. around PHP250 - 270 for a 3-ball can), they seemed a good bargain.

So i bought one, being curious how these balls would hold up in actual play, compared to the established brands like Prince, Penn, Wilson, Dunlop, etc.
I'm a bit anal about the tennis balls i use, preferring the Slazenger brand because of their 'feel' and durability. The worst ball i ever used was Penn, which felt like a rock upon impact to my racquet.

A few hours later, i was at the tennis court, about to start playing a set vs. my friend Peaches.

I duly opened the Gold Dacos can. As i pulled on the aluminum tab, a Psst! sound ensued as air pressure was released. Then i took the bright-yellow balls with markings intact and absent of any fluff into my hand, juggled them a bit and smelled them.

Pooey!! They smelled really terrible! Like, like. . .words fail me. . .normally, i love smelling brand-new balls, as i find the solvent/rugby smell oddly sweet and mildly intoxicating.

But this was way, way different. This was more like rotten eggs oven-baked in cow manure for a week, and then blasted with fart and petrol.

What's worse, after we finished our set, the smell lingered on my hands. Yuck! Peaches even commented that she could smell the foul odor as the ball flew towards her during our match. Yeah, it was that bad.

I showed the balls to my friends at the club, asking "Want to smell something really terrible?" Uniformly, they all took a sniff and recoiled backwards.

In fairness, the balls felt okay. They seemed a bit harder on impact compared to my preferred Slazengers, but nothing like those Penn balls.

And their cheap price makes them attractive for players on a tight budget, who are not particular about the brand they use.

But i've decided they're not for me. Ang bantot talaga eh!

2009-03-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

BOHOL BEE FARM
(BOHOL vacation, Part Three)

I had heard about Bohol Bee Farm a few years back from my close friend Sh., but didn't really pay too much attention. I had thought it was something like the Ilog Maria Bee Farm in Cavite, which wasn't anything much to see.

Until Sh. mentioned in passing that the food at the Bohol Bee Farm was pretty good. Faster than you can say "honeybee", i was Googling them and was surprised to learn it was a bee farm-resort-restaurant rolled in one. Oh, you can get a massage here, too.

So i had our countryside itinerary tweaked a bit, and our group visited the Bohol Bee Farm as our last stop before going back to Alona Beach (where we were staying). We were so charmed by the place that we ended up staying for dinner!

Amongst other things, they have a small store selling assorted farm products, such as breads, spreads, honey, teas, a small selection of soaps, and the like. I was particularly taken by their Honeyed Salabat (ginger tea).

We toured around the place a bit, peeking into the various nipa huts and hoping to see people being massaged in various stages of dishabille, haha :D

Below is a pic of the area where they do traditional Hilot massage:

We proceeded to their alfresco restaurant overlooking the sea. It looked pretty inviting, and the view was lovely, too.

Below is a pic of their Organic Garden Salad (Fresh picked assorted romaine lettuce, radish, turnips, mustard greens and indigenous flowers served with honeyed mustard salad dressing), which is supposed to be a must-try.

When it was served to our table, we all looked at it for a few seconds, then at each other, wondering "Are those flowers edible?" The whole thing looks too pretty to eat!

Other dishes we ordered were the: Yoga Salad with Cheese (Assorted organic veggies topped with fresh herbs without onions and garlic) - very good, too! ; Tomato Soup (Home-made tomato soup with tidbits of organic carrots, radish, okra and celery) - quite filling, good for two or three people ; Spareribs - the portions were really large.

Their home-made ice cream (we ordered buko, vanilla and chocolate flavors) were particularly good, too.

To sum it all up, there's good food, shopping for pasalubong, massage area and nice views to be had at Bohol Bee Farm. I was surprised this place isn't as well-known as it ought to be.

Perhaps the only real drawback is that it seems logistically difficult to go here if you are staying on the beachfront areas of Panglao Island. I think it involves renting a van or tricycle to take you back and forth.

(Bohol Bee Farm is located at Dao, Dauis, Panglao Island. For more info on their menu, rates, location, etc., please check out their website)

(Thanks to Sheila Tan again for the pics, taken with her new 9.0 megapixel camera)

2008-11-21T04:29:00.000-08:00

G.U.S. NITPICKS!! (v. 20)

VIEUX CHALET ANTIPOLO

Five years ago. . . .

GUS : "Hey R., have you heard of this Swiss resto somewhere in Antipolo? Named Vieux Chalet?"
R. : "Yeah, i ate there once, a long time ago. It's rather out of the way, and hard to find."
GUS : "Really? Is the food good? As in, worth the trip?"
R. : "Yeah, very good. And it's pretty popular with all these middle-aged Makati executive types."
GUS : "Huh, why so?"
R. : "Coz that's where they bring their mistresses for intimate dinners. For sure, no one will catch them!"

Present-Day

After months of planning and meshing together of schedules, we (meaning charming J., amazonic R., suave XQ, with baby Moon in tow; and i) were finally off to Vieux Chalet for a reunion-cum-foodtrip.

Vieux Chalet was started by Tony Hassig of Switzerland way back in 1984 (!). It is simply amazing for a resto to last this long, especially in an industry notorious for short lifespans and given its out-of-the-way location. At present, it is his wife, Susan Hassig, who is in overall charge of the restaurant.

Vieux Chalet is essentially a house converted into a family-run restaurant. It is surprisingly small, having only 5 tables. The place can best be described as unpretentious, like dining in a family friend's house. The ambiance is very informal, and laden with rustic charm. The air was cool, birds were chirping in the background, and it was as rural and laid-back as can be.

The antique piano works, and assorted bric-a-brac is pretty to look at. I was egging amazonic R. to play "Blue Moon", but sadly, this was beyond her skills.

Corner table at Vieux Chalet, with a nice view. You can see the Makati skyline (and the overhanging cloud of smog) from afar.

The paintings on the walls are all for sale. While we were there, a kid from another table accidentally knocked a picture frame to the wooden floor, and they paid for it. At our table, we made jokes about how the artist would probably go bonkers, if he were to find out that the reason his work was selling at a brisk pace was due to accidents like this.

We duly ordered, and took some photos while waiting for our food. So far, everything was okay. I was just wondering if the food would be as good as hyped. After all, one didn't drive all the way out here to get a bad meal, right?

And our food came out, in this order:

Raclette (PHP185.00)

No one amongst us was fond of black olives, but other than that, this dish was very well-received. The cheese was tart without being cloying, and the potato had the right consistency. The portion could have been bigger, though.

Pizza de la Casa (home-cured ham, mushroom, cheese and oregano)
(PHP495.00)

Crispy crust, delightful toppings!!

Rosti (Swiss-style potatoes) (PHP185.00)

I tend to think of this dish as an oversized pancake-style hash brown. Whatever it may be, R. blurted out "Sarap!", and resolved to try making her own version at home. If we were living in the time of Robin Hood, we would have responded with, "Aye, aye! Thou speakest the truth, fair damsel." Hehe :-D

Fresh Fish Fillet in White Wine Sauce (PHP485.00)

The fish used for this dish was dory, and it was absolutely tender! And the sauce was light and delicate, and complemented the fish quite nicely, too.

Osso Buco (Veal Shank in fresh Basil and Tomato sauce)
(PHP585.00)

The meat was tender, although i personally thought the sauce was a tad too salty. But charming J. absolutely loved this. Really good.

[left] Parfait du Chocolat and [right] Butter nut Ice cream

The Parfait du Chocolat was fantabulous! Terrific! Unanimous that this was fantastique! I could have eaten a whole gallon of this, i swear! And an absolute steal, at something like PHP65.00 only. Meanwhile, the Butter nut ice cream was a bit too sweet and cloying for me, but R. liked it very much, even dunking each scoop into her coffee.

For drinks, we had all chosen the Lemongrass Cooler. It was very refreshing and had just the right amount of sweetness. Suave XQ recounted how he had tried several times making lemongrass tea/juice at home, which proved devilishly difficult as sometimes it could be too strong, and he had to add lots of pandan just to balance the taste.

I wished, though, that Vieux Chalet offered a "bottomless"/unlimited refills option of this. Funnily enough, the lemongrass cooler turned out not to be to J.'s taste, so she ordered a Coke instead. I was all too willing to swoop in and finish her lemongrass for her. Haha!

To sum it all up, the food was really great, going even beyond our expectations. The bill came around to something like PHP750.00/pax, not a bad deal.

Even before we had left, i was already scheming on a return trip to Vieux Chalet!

I'll leave you all with this pic:

(Vieux Chalet is located at Taktak Road, Antipolo City. Tel# +632 697-0396, and Mobile# +63 917 856-5175 . For complete details on directions getting there, menu, prices and reservations, check out www.vieuxchaletphilippines.blogspot.com)

**Many thanks to Irwin Cruz for the photo of Vieux Chalet's facade (topmost photo)

2006-04-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

FLYING ON MORE THAN WINGS AND A PRAYER

(Continuing with our travel theme this summer, below is a post about my ultra-light flying experience sometime during the latter part of 2003.)

"You only live once. Make it count, learn to fly."

Fighting words indeed, I thought. It was a sunny Sunday morning, and I was standing inside the Angeles City Flying Club (ACFC) premises with my friends Theo and Heston, browsing through their brochure.

First, a bit of background. Theo, apparently finding his medical studies not taxing enough and pursuing his lifelong dream to be an aviator, had taken the Sports Pilot certification course offered by the ACFC, and had actually been a licensed pilot for the past few years.

The club claims to be the only full-service ultra-light aviation facility in the country. Tucked away in Sitio Talimundok, Sta. Maria, Magalang, Pampanga, our drive from Metro Manila this morning was a breeze, taking a mere 90 minutes.

This would be the first flight for Heston and I. As we waited for our plane to become available, we spent quite a bit of time roaming around the hangar, looking over the various plane models parked there as well as watching other aircraft take off or land. Truth be told, getting up the air seemed a daunting prospect, as I was a certified world-class acrophobe. My mind was working overtime concocting all sorts of nightmare scenarios. Like, what if a 747 runs us over? Or the gas tank springs a leak?

My initial apprehensions turned into a veritable tsunami of trepidation as I caught sight of our aircraft of choice. It was called the Quicksilver MXL II, and quite contrary to my expectation of a small aircraft wherein the pilot climbs into the cockpit in front and his passenger sits at the back seat, this was an OPEN cockpit two-seater. Essentially, the pilot and passenger sit side-by-side, equipped only with an instrument panel, joystick and pedals for steering and braking. Literally and figuratively, there is almost nothing between you and the great blue sky. Yikes!

Heston had volunteered to be Theo's first passenger. Theo and the ACFC personnel assiduously went through the routine pre-flight check-up to ensure everything was in top condition. Heston was securely buckled up onto his seat, and given goggles and helmet to wear. The pilot and passenger can communicate with each other up in the air, as their helmets have built-in radio transmission. (No barf bags though) In the very remote event that the engine fails and they need to bail out, pulling a lever releases a rocket-propelled parachute, enabling the plane to make a soft landing.

Theo further assured me that the mechanics make a complete disassembly and inspection of each aircraft every 25 hours of flying time. They are cleared for take-off, and disappear into the horizon. After what seems like ages, they re-appear and gradually loom larger and larger until touchdown.

I half-ran over to them. Heston looked a bit dazed, although none the worse for wear. "Not scary," he assured me, while giving a thumbs-up sign. "The flat fields make it hard to judge how high up you are, anyway." But then, Heston has never been one to be easily scared. I mean, he can watch Dracula or Nightmare on Elm St. movies with nary a flinch, while eating fried chicken.

Showtime. It was now my turn.

"Can't we just hover 50 feet above the ground?" I half-pleaded plaintively, as we went through pre-flight routine once more. Unfortunately, my brilliant suggestion was met with resounding indifference.

The control tower cleared us for take-off. Despite all the reassuring safety measures, I was sweating bullets as we gathered speed along the 450-meter grass runway. We were off! The ground below grows increasingly farther away as we steadily climb until reaching an altitude of about 500 feet. Rather disconcertingly, when you are up in the air, you feel as though you are hardly moving.

Top Gun this isn't. Not even Iron Eagle, for that matter.

But this is actually a positive thing. There is time to savor the hot sun and feel the rush of cold wind blowing at our faces and marvel at the verdant expanse of rice fields with an odd carabao or two grazing contentedly in the mud. We head towards the direction of Mt. Arayat, where thankfully some forest cover still remains.

Strong winds buffet the plane, but it remains surprisingly stable. The air is now quite chilly, and I wish I had anticipated the cold and worn a jacket. While my nerves are mostly calm now, I still maintain a vise-like grip on one of the support beams. Theo puts on his best bedside manner (the guy is, after all, a neurosurgeon) and provides droll commentary on the various points of interest we were flying over. Banking sharply away from Mt. Arayat, we fly over more rice fields and farms, and eventually follow the path of the Pampanga River.

At this point, it dawned on me that ultra-light flying is actually very safe. With maximum altitudes of 800 feet and top speeds at 55-60 kph, my wild fears earlier were all but unfounded.

Besides, once you are up in the air with such a great birds' eye-view of Philippine countryside, you just can't help but wonder at nature's grandeur all around you, and time seems to move unhurriedly. For an ephemeral period, I felt totally free of any cares.

Theo offered to let me try manning the controls for a second, but sadly, I reverted back to my usual acrophobic self and failed to rise to the occasion. Soon, it was time to go back to the airfield.

We steadily reduced altitude and started preparing for landing. I couldn't figure out where the airfield was, and wondered aloud to Theo how pilots of these ultra-light planes could tell direction. "I mean, North is what is in front of me, right?" He shot me a you're-bloody-useless-with-a-compass-look and concentrated on the task at hand. He expertly maneuvered the plane towards the runway at high speed and made a semi-steep dive towards it. Whew!

Back to the safe familiar confines of terra firma, I felt a mixture of relief and accomplishment. True, this plane ride ranked among the scariest and longest 30 minutes of my life, but it was definitely among the most exhilarating 30 minutes as well! I would like to think I faced my fears head-on and came out a winner.

As we were driving along North Expressway back to Manila, I vowed to myself that I should come back someday for another round of open cockpit flying. . .and perhaps take the controls next time? Hah!

For more information, contact:

Angeles City Flying Club
Email: mail@AngelesFlying.com
Website: http://www.angelesflying.com/index.html

Note: Thanks to Theo Tan for the picture of the ultra-light plane (above).

2007-05-29T05:24:00.000-07:00

The GUS Guide on How NOT to Pick up Girls in Boracay
(Conclusion, Boracay series)

Okay, okay. Right off the bat, let me make the disclaimer that i'm writing this post NOT from personal experience.

I'm surly and anti-social most of the time, and can't flirt even if my life depended on it, so i'm just as likely to pick up girls as Santa Claus is to undergo the Atkins diet.

But while lounging around on my beach chair in the afternoons with my book in hand, i've had many opportunities to observe my fellow beach-goers. And one thing i noticed are the guys who seem intent to meet girls and hopefully 'score' with them at some point.

Below is a by-no-means-complete list of tactics that betray the bumbling amateur at the pick-up game. If you have done most or all of the following, then you are officially afflicted with the incurable disease called "LOSERITIS"!!!

1. Stare at winsome girls, with a wolf-like leer on your face, for more than 15 seconds.

1b. Stare and stare at winsome girls, with a wolf-like leer on your face; and approach them to say 'hi', with drool dripping down the side of your lips.

2. Wear skin-tight Speedo swimming trunks, with your 36-inch belly quivering like jello and spilling over the waistband.

2b. While wearing abovementioned skin-tight Speedo swimming trunks with your 36-inch belly quivering like jello, flex muscles and do push-ups and jumping jacks and other assorted calisthenics on the beach, with accompanying grunts, just 10 feet away from the girls of your desires.

2c. Wear this same pair of skin-tight Speedo swimming trunks for 3 consecutive days, doing the same calisthenics and grunting routine every hour each day.

3. When the girl(s) take pity on you and deign to politely listen to your pick-up lines,

a. Brag about how many girls have literally melted at your feet in previous Bora trips.

b. Expound in excruciating detail on how many bottles of beer and/or shots of hard liquor you can drink, with feeling any ill-effects.

c. "Accidentally" drop the condom you have slipped under the much-overworked waistband of your skin-tight Speedo trunks, and give a suggestive wink to the girl.

Yeah right, dude. This ain't the movies. Just take a cold shower and watch NBA on TV in the room. That's all the action you will get.

2008-10-31T19:37:00.000-07:00

The GUS Guide to Surviving a Few Days in Mumbai
(Part Two of the Mumbai debacle)

Upon hearing that i was taking a trip to Mumbai, i was deluged with all sorts of well-intentioned (and ill-conceived) advice from friends. For example, someone actually told me to wear a face mask, while another friend reminded me sternly to get vaccination shots beforehand!

Rather overkill, don't ya think? If my memory serves me correctly, the only positive reaction came from my bodacious friend from the tennis courts, Nx, who remarked excitedly what an exotic place Mumbai seemed to be and how she wanted the chance to go there in the future.

I've decided to write a by-no-means complete travel guide for would-be first-time visitors to Mumbai, so they would have a clearer idea what to expect. Here goes:

1. Getting Around

As my friend JPL put it, "Be prepared to overpay for transportation. The motto is, if they can screw you, they will."

Upon arrival in Mumbai, avail of the prepaid taxi coupon service at the airport. DO NOT just go out to the arrival area, and accept offers by the numerous touts to take you to your hotel for a cheap price.

Why? To put it succinctly, tout offering cheap transpo + gullible, unprepared tourist = circuitous route taken by taxi driver + possible extortion.

Yep, i am not kidding. So, while the official black & yellow airport taxis do not inspire much confidence, being 1970s-era Fiats, they are your best bet.

In general, taxis are classified either as "regular" (no Aircon) or "special" (with Aircon). Avoid taking a "regular" taxi at all costs, unless you want to sweat like a pig from the heat, or have a wizened, bent-over beggar reach her crooked arm through the open window to wheedle some rupees from you.

Upon getting inside a taxi, immediately instruct the driver to turn on the meter. Nine times out of ten, he will refuse and try to convince you that the rates are fixed, depending on distance and destination.

Insist he use the meter. If he again refuses, make (an empty) threat that you will file a complaint against him. If he still refuses, get out of his cab and find another one (and tell him to "Go to hell!" in Hindi, while at it. Haha :D).

2. Drinking water

Most common advice given to us was, "Do not drink water from the tap!" Not even when gargling while brushing your teeth! Stick to bottled water all the time.

A friend of mine even made the following distinction: Buy bottled water only from 7-11 outlets, not from local groceries; and buy only international brands such as Vittel, Evian and Perrier, not local Indian brands.

In his case, he had made the mistake of buying a local bottled water brand, and endured 2 days of diarrhea as a result.

3. Eating

Stay at a 5-Star hotel and eat your meals there. Yes, this will be quite expensive. As JPL wryly commented, "There is a high cost to staying healthy."

It is best to avoid dairy products, raw seafood, fresh salads and the like. Much better to stick to food which has been thoroughly cooked. Hence, i think we ate all sorts of kebabs during our meals, which i liked very much.

Regarding drinks, do not pour your soda or juice or whatever to a glass full of ice! A thousand times no!

4. Shopping

Due to some rioting in the streets, we were not able to go out and do as much shopping as we had time for.

Prices are always negotiable, even in those pricey hotel souvenir shops. Bargain hard!
That old trick of pretending to walk away if you're not happy with the prices does work. Once in a while, at least.

Oh, if you ever walk into a shop selling Turkish carpets and have no intention of buying one, get out before the proprietor has taken you by the arm and snapped his fingers for his underlings to roll out various carpets on the floor and extolled their respective design, craftmanship and thread count virtues. Believe me, these people WILL exert more pressure on you than a turbo broiler!

5. Customs

A sense of humor goes a long way. Accept that things do not run like clockwork, and you're half-way towards bearing all sorts of craziness with some degree of grace.

Try not to pass things or eat using your left hand, as this hand is considered unclean. Locals do not really expect foreign tourists to be aware of this, but doing so does help build some goodwill.

So that they don't try too hard to fleece you!!!!

2009-03-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

YET MORE SUNBLOCK ON MY BACK, PLEASE
(BOHOL vacation, Part Two)

Continuing our tradition of road-testing sunscreen lotions for the greater good of mankind, we pooled together all the sunblocks we brought along to Bohol, as you will see from the pic below:

We had a remarkably good batch this beach outing, since all the 5 sunblocks were easy to disperse into the skin and didn't have any 'oily' feeling.

1. Hawaiian Tropic Sun Junk SPF 45 (Tropical Fusion)

The packaging was unique, to say the least. It reminded me of the odor repellant i used in my car, which sadly, did not repel any odor. Haha. I thought this sunblock was spray-on (i.e. you just point the nozzle to the body part, and start firing away); turns out this wasn't the case.

We really liked this one, though, mainly due to its fruity, appealing smell.

2. Murad Waterproof Sunblock SPF 30

It smelled quite nice as well, with its Pomegranate extract touted to have anti-aging properties. As everyone very well knows, i'm a huge sucker for these natural fruit/herb/plant extract-type of things.

A tad too pricey, though, at around PHP1,300.00 (roughly US$26.00).

3. Soltan Extreme Sport Suncare Lotion SPF 25

The bottle says it provides "extra resistancy against water, wind, sand, cold, sweat and snow." Naks!

Compared to the others, you have to make more effort to rub this sunblock into your skin, but it does stay on. The smell is a bit weird, although not really off-putting.

4. Hawaiian Tropic Ozone Sunblock SPF 70

S. was the one who brought this sunblock. She admitted that its smell was faintly reminiscent of rust and rotten leaves, but claimed that due to its being 'thick' (i.e. viscous in texture), it was therefore effective and served its purpose well.

Hmm. . .i didn't find her logic Einstein-esque, but couldn't marshal any logical arguments to the contrary. I suppose it is more of a mental thing, since its ultra-high SPF (which is really overkill, by the way) can make one more secure and protected against the sun.

5. The Face Shop Oil-Free Sun Milk SPF 38

Being in liquid form, i had thought this would be difficult to apply, but surprisingly it wasn't. It felt a bit oilier on the skin than the others, though.

So, which one won our "Annual Beach Outing Sun Block Road Test" contest?

It was none other than the Hawaiian Tropic Sun Junk!! Not only did we like its smell and performance, at the price of PHP499.00 (around US$10), it provided fantastic value for money.

2009-02-08T05:21:00.000-08:00

SPEED DATING : A 'TWISTED' EVENT

Around late January, i realized that wretched, over-commercialized V-Day was fast coming up, and my potential V-date had turned out to be, well, lacking in potential, after all.

So, with no viable date in the far, far horizon, yours truly decided to do the next best thing: sign up for this "Early Valentine" Speed Dating event targeted to the Filipino-Chinese community.

Days before the event, i was informed there would be a "twist" with this speed dating event. But despite badgering the vivacious organizer Candie, she steadfastly refused to spill the beans.

Speed dating normally works this way: The guys and gals sit facing each other on individual tables, and talk to each other one-on-one for an allotted number of minutes (commonly 3 or 4 minutes). Then, once a buzzer or bell signifies the end of this allotted time, the guys move over to the next table where the next girl awaits, and the process starts all over again.

Each guy and gal has a checklist in their hand, wherein they "check" those people whom they liked well enough to want to see again. So, if Guy A checks Gal Z, and she also checks him, then we have a "match".

A day or two after the event, the organizers inform each participant by email how many matches they have, along with the mobile phone numbers of the said members of the opposite sex.

On the night itself, the turnout was overwhelming. There were 31 pairs signed up (whoa!). So, i guess there were that many unattached-yet-on-the-prowl people like me! Haha :D

Candie went onstage, and announced that the game. . . err, event was about to begin. Further, she revealed that the twist was that this would be a "group" speed dating, instead of the normal one-on-one set-up.

This was how it would work:

There were a total of 6 tables, and each table would have more or less 5 guys and 5 gals. They would be given 15 minutes to mingle, chat, make jokes, stare into space, etc. before the guys move on to the next table, and so on.

To break the ice (factoid: Fil-Chis, or "Tsinoys", are amongst the coldest bunch of people on earth), there would be a game question for each round, which the speed dating participants would answer. This, hopefully, would get everyone involved, and start sharing juicy tidbits about themselves.

Candie explained the rationale for the shift from one-on-one to group: Based on their previous events, participants would get hoarse from all that talking by the midpoint (and i suspect, tired about being asked and answering the same questions regarding their age, job, school, income, etc.), and sort of not enjoying themselves anymore from then on. Clearly, a case of diminishing marginal returns at work.

Also, i thought the group format was an ingenious way for the organizer to deal with last-minute no-shows/flakers, as it eliminated the need to have the exact same number of guys and gals.

Nevertheless, i had serious reservations about this so-called "twist", in all honesty. Probably because i'm anti-social, taciturn and don't like big groups.

Besides, under the usual one-on-one set-up, i have the entire 4 minutes to monopolize the girl's attention, and hopefully charm the pants off her. [IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This is a figure of speech only; DO NOT take it literally, okay?]

Whereas under the new group set-up, i have to find a way to stand out from the other 4 guys, who are all in their own way trying a find a way to stand out and impress the girls, too! Likely result: total chaos.

While i (secretly) wished that the other 4 guys at the table were all pasty-faced schmucks, so that i come across as relatively "better", i could not afford to take things to chance. After all, one has to take one's fate into one's own hands, right? You know, "Carpe Diem!" or whatever.

Without further ado, we guys were assigned our respective tables, and the game was afoot!

Amongst the questions used as starting points were:

a) Describe yourself using words which start with each letter of your first name. [For example, Candie could describe herself as "Catty, alluring, neurotic, delicate, ingenious and elegant"]

b) "If you were marooned on a desert island, who are the 3 people (whether dead or alive, real or imaginary, etc.) whom you would bring along, and why?"

c) State 3 things about yourself, 2 of which are factual and 1 being a lie. Then the members of the opposite sex at your table will guess which one is the lie, and you tell them if they had guess correctly or not.

In fairness to Candie (and contrary to my earlier reservations), this new group speed dating format worked quite well, especially during the later stages. At first, people were sort of shy, and deferred to others to start the ball rolling. But once warmed up, most everyone was willing to share interesting tidbits about themselves.

In particular, making wild guesses regarding which "fact" was in fact a lie proved to be hilarious. Not only did this game bring out interesting revelations from each of us, it brought forth lots of good-natured 'roasting' and bantering and hooting when each person had to reveal which of his/her statements was the lie, and why exactly so.

Of course, the evening was not complete without some low points, like the girls from the wretched Table no. [x]. I do not intend to sound mean, but really, they were regrettably a trifle deficient in the personality department.

For one, they kept on pointing to the others to get the discussion started, much like guests at a Chinese dinner lauriat, who move the lazy Susan back and forth the table, urging each other to be the one to dig into the food first. Then, when finally pressed to say something substantial, they hemmed and hawwed and frowned in agonizingly deep thought, as time ticked away.

One of them proferred the oh-so-fascinating tidbit that she "didn't like cheese". Equally uninspiring was another one who professed her love for travelling. When i inquired what her favorite travel destination was, or what had been her most enjoyable trip so far, she clammed up and looked at me uncomprehendingly, as though i asked her whether cold nuclear fusion was the answer to global warming.
Tsk, tsk.

Due to the late hour, Candie was not able to tabulate the results, and instead, promised to email everyone their respective "matches" shortly.

So the waiting game begins.

(For more details on the speed dating event, please check out www.my20firstdates.com)

2007-02-03T04:21:00.000-08:00

G.U.S. NITPICKS!! (v. 12)

SALA

As Yogi Berra would say, it was deja vu all over again.

My fresh-as-a-daisy-looking kumare, G., and i were scouting for a suitable resto for our belated Christmas get-together. . .in Malate. . .again. [Refer to our previous lunch at Palatofino Restaurante, under the June 2006 archives]

The problem with Malate, i think, is that the really nice, classy restos in the area, such as Mamma, Fidel, Blue Frog, Portico 1771, etc. have all packed up and closed down; the area is becoming more like a giant outdoor beer garden, catering to the hordes of Korean and Japanese tourists staying at the cheap pensionnes nearby.

Anyway, enough of the social commentary for now. G. and i decided to eat at Sala, which has been around for nearly ten years, and which both of us have (incredibly) not eaten in before. This resto has a reputation for great (and i must say, expensive) food and impeccable service.

It was definitely a slow Saturday lunch crowd for this venerable resto, as we were the only patrons during the duration of our meal.

The menu was quite limited. Let me see, one soup, one salad, a few appetizers and a slightly wider range of entrees and desserts, and that's it.

For starters, G. and i decided to share the Chicken liver ravioli with sage butter. Quite flavourful indeed! In fact, yours truly blurted out, "S**t, ang sarap!!" Believe me, it melts in your mouth!

For entrees, i ordered the Saffron, dill and roast tomato risotto, while G. selected the Lapu-lapu with capellini alla puttanesca. My risotto was again, quite flavourful and aromatic, while G.'s fish had just the right amount of crispiness and taste. Our only complaint was that the portions could be a little bigger.

For dessert (yes!), we had some difficulty choosing, as the Lavender praline ice cream, cardamom panna cotta with raspberry compote, and rhubarb creme brulee all looked so tempting! We finally settled on the latter, which turned out pretty okay. The rhubarb makes it different from your typical CB.

While the food lives up to its lofty reputation, i'm sad to say that Sala's interiors show their age badly. The floor tiles and walls look pretty grimy, and need a good scrubbing.

But then again, maybe not.

According to the staff, Sala will close its doors by July, and re-open at the new Greenbelt 5 development in Makati later this year.

One small (backward) step for Malate, one giant leap for Makati.

(Sala is located along Julio Nakpil St., Malate, Manila)

P.S. Thanks to fresh-faced G. for the pics above, taken with her new Samsung cellphone.

2007-02-14T06:30:00.000-08:00

GOING UNDERGROUND WITH A GOLDEN GLEAM IN MY EYE
(The Balatoc Mines Story)

“Well, you can start your chronicles by saying we are in the middle of nowhere,” my friend Ramil quipped wryly. I could only manage a forced smile, and looked around me, taking in the eerie stillness of our surroundings. Come to think of it, we DID seem to be in the middle of nowhere.

Some forty minutes earlier, we had boarded the Baguio-Acupan jeepney at the Petron gas station on Harrison St., right across the Baguio Patriotic High School and fronting Burnham Park. Our destination? The Balatoc Mines in Itogon, Benguet, where we planned to tour the underground gold mines.

The ride was initially not as arduous or uncomfortable as we had expected, as our jeepney was traveling through generally well-paved roads. This changed dramatically, however, once we got off the main highway. The roads turned into narrow, bumpy and winding rock-strewn stretches of dirt and gravel. The pervasive, swirling dust made it necessary to cover one’s nose with a handkerchief. Yet, as if to somehow compensate for this, a magnificent view of the Baguio mountainside was present with every twist and turn of the jeepney.

Eventually, the driver turned to face us and asked, “Balatoc? Go down here.” With alacrity, we did as we were told.

The three of us were standing on the side of the dusty, unpaved road with the hot mid-morning sun bearing down on us. No other signs of life anywhere. No other vehicles passing by, either. Most ominously, not a single sign to point us to the Balatoc mines.

“Where are we?” my other friend, Dale, asked plaintively.

Looking down over the side of the road, we espied the steel roof and wooden frame of a large, semi-rundown building nestled amongst the trees and foliage, some fifty meters below. Could this be it? We carefully – make that very carefully – negotiated the steep stone path leading towards it, as a ravine on the side welcomed us should we lose our footing. We found no one in sight, but undaunted (or was it foolhardy?), we decided to keep on walking.

Visitor's chapa, with unique visitor number.

Mercifully, we ended up at the main gate of the rather grandiosely named Benguet Mines Tourism Village. A few workers loitered here and there, minding their own business. Otherwise, there was little sign of activity this Saturday morning. In fact, the atmosphere of the place could be described as too quiet, somewhat desolate even. I started to have doubts, and wondered what possessed us to go all the way here.

It turned out that our jeepney driver had overshot the main gate, thus leading us to be momentarily stranded in no-man’s land. No wonder, for right after we told him of our destination, he had looked at us quizzically, obviously asking himself why on earth these city slickers would want to go to Balatoc.

We were eventually pointed to the Visitors’ Center, where the staff on duty proved friendly and enthusiastic. Billed as the first and only mine tour in the country, the Balatoc Mines underground tour promised to let one experience how it was to be a miner for one day. All in all, our batch consisted of twelve intrepid would-be miners.

Each of us was issued standard miner’s safety gear, comprising of skull guard, rubber boots and miner’s lamp. We were also each given a “chapa”, a round metal button roughly the size of the old Bagong Lipunan one-peso coin, which indicated our visitor number. I was officially the 77,266^th visitor since Benguet Corp. started giving underground mine tours in 1997. Cool!

The portable toilet of the miners.
Tissue paper not included though.

Our guide, Ms. Alma, explained that “chapas” served a practical purpose as well. At the entrance to the mines area proper, each miner drops his “chapa” into a wooden box. This serves as a control measure, making it easy to keep track of which miners were still underground. As a rule, the miners work on a buddy system and are prohibited to go out alone. They work a maximum of eight hours per shift, as their work is evidently physically strenuous.

She further narrated that the Balatoc Mines had a long and storied past. Started in 1903, it was the oldest mine in the country. The main product was gold, with silver as a by-product. They sold their gold bullion to the Bangko Sentral, who further refines it to gold bars with 99.9% purity. The devastating Baguio earthquake in 1990 flooded the mines with water. Compounded by the drastic fall in world prices of gold to below US$200/oz. levels in 1992 [Gold prices are presently around US$570-600/oz.], operations became economically unviable and the Balatoc Mines were shut down.

Fortunately, a few years after, the Acupan area mines were re-opened. Now operated by a contractor, the output (in the form of gold ore) is divided equally between Benguet Corp. and the nearby community.

On the way to the underground tunnel, we passed by a display of the various antique tools and equipment used in the olden days, such as slusher, pinch bar, blow pipe and claw bar. Back then, the basic qualification to be a miner was that one just had to be healthy and strong.

Of humorous interest was the toilet car (literally, a portable toilet on wheels). Instead of the miners going to the toilet, it was the toilet which came to them. Imagine, if you will, the sanitary man pushing around the toilet car, just like your friendly neighborhood ice cream man, and tending to each miner’s respective call of nature.

Into the batcave! Rather, the Vegas tunnel.

Ms. Alma mentioned that our miner’s gear totaled 4.9 kilos per person, with the battery of our skull guard light taking up majority. While the equipment weight was bearable, the knee-high rubber boots were rather uncomfortable and made brisk walking difficult.

Now, we were at the start of the 500-meter long Vegas tunnel, built back in 1946. Time to turn on our lights! We gingerly walked single-file into the tunnel. The ground was moist with water, and one had to walk carefully lest one slipped. But this was no longer a problem once our eyes became accustomed to the limited visibility. Our rubber boots provide good stability as well. Contrary to expectations, the tunnel wasn’t hot or stuffy and cramped. Rather, it was surprisingly roomy, and the air inside was light and cool due to the presence of blowers. Hardly any claustrophobic moments inside this tunnel, for sure.

We made our way to a portion of the tunnel where miners were preparing to do some dynamite blasting. Once gold veins embedded on the rock are deemed viable to extract, the foremost rule is to ensure that the blasting site, or “doghole” in industry parlance, was safe before operations could begin. The procedure, in simplified terms, goes like this: Strategically-placed holes are drilled on the wall to complete a blasting pattern. Safety fuses are put in, after which dynamite is loaded and pushed six feet deep into the holes. The blasting agent, comprised of Ammonium Nitrate and fuel oil, is added using an auto loader.

Huddling together at the Miners' Lunch Room...
waiting for the big BOOM!

Once everything is all set, the miner lights the fuse and scampers as fast as possible to safety. The burning rate of the fuse is 40 seconds per foot, so there is sufficient time to be quite a safe distance away from the blast. A round canvas exhaust bag, dubbed the “Anaconda” by the miners, runs along a fair length of the tunnel and is used to get rid of the smoke and dust after blasting operations, thereby preventing suffocation.

Over time, certain sections of the mine are fully exploited and deemed unsafe for any more blasting. Once this happens, the site is filled with sand, water and cement, to prevent future collapse.

Next stop was the Miner’s lunchroom, a small recessed area with spare wooden benches and tables. As its name suggested, this was where the miners partook of their meals when on duty. Our group sat on the benches to take a brief respite. We all turned off our head lamps in unison, and were plunged into pitch-black darkness. Shrieks and cries abounded, and we quickly turned on our lights again.

Ms. Alma forewarned us that the miners were now preparing to detonate some dynamite. With collective bated breath, our group eagerly strained our ears and waited. Seconds ticked by, in excruciatingly slow motion. She motioned us to cover our ears . . . .5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . .BOOM!! Perceptible shaking accompanied this muffled, yet unmistakable, sound. A few seconds later, the tunnel was still anew. I heaved a sigh of relief; and at the same time, I felt giddy and energized by what we had just experienced.

Riding the locomotive mine train. . .and
wishing Kylie was here to do the locomotion! :D

Our group walked until we reached the end of the Vegas tunnel, only too glad to see daylight again. We hopped on the locomotive mine train and rode back, passing by workers going about their daily work routine, be it fixing equipment, carrying sacks of gold ore, etc. The distinctive smell of diesel fumes filled the air. We were proceeding onwards to the ore processing area, where we would take a closer look at what happened to all that rock extracted from the mines.

Heaps and heaps of woven sacks containing gold ore occupied the ore processing area. Truth be told, these looked just like ordinary rocks mixed with sand, gravel and whatnot, so it was difficult to visualize the gold waiting to be unearthed. The ore is crushed until approximately the size of sand. Now, for the fun but arduous part, gold “panning.”

Simply put, the gold panners sit in front of round plastic basins filled with water and ore. They use a rectangular “pan” with a handle near each end, on which they continuously sift the mix back and forth, the purpose being to isolate the minute specks of gold dust from the rest of the rock. According to Ms. Alma, this could actually be done by machine, but it was cheaper to do it the time-honored way. The women doing this task took great pains to point out that only water was used in the panning process, and no Mercury (a very toxic metal) was used to extract the gold. Peering over the heads and shoulders of my fellow tourists huddling closely over the panners, I finally caught my first glimpse of the specks of gold sparkling underneath the hot, blistering sun. It truly, madly and wonderfully made my day.

Our last stop was the mini-museum beside the Visitors’ Center, showing rock samples that present gold in its natural form, and pictures of the Balatoc Mines through the years, among others. A 20-kilo (643 oz.) replica of gold bullion sat grandly on a dark, wooden pedestal, as if daring visitors to pick it up. (Warning: Do so only if you have adequate footwear, as you are liable to drop it on your toes)

Best of all, each of us intrepid souls was given a Certificate of Appreciation by the Benguet Mines staff, providing evidence that we had bravely gone to the innermost bowels of the earth and made it back successfully. I am exaggerating, of course, but what the heck. . .who wouldn’t?

As Ramil, Dale and I shared Cokes at the canteen while waiting for the next passing jeepney to take us back to Baguio City, our faces sprinkled with a fine layer of dust and our shirts lined with sweat, we agreed that visiting the mines was an educational experience and a rollicking adventure rolled into one. While I hesitate to use the much-repeated phrase “We had a blast!”, well, that was exactly what we had!

P.S. Thanks to Dale S., for these great pics!

(The Benguet Mines Tourism Village is located at Balatoc, Itogon, Benguet, 16 kilometers from the heart of Baguio City. For more info, please check : www.benguetcorp.com)

2007-04-03T01:49:00.000-07:00

SHANGHAI TANG
(Part 1 of the Shanghai series)

In case you have been wondering where Mother Lily got those horrid cheongsams for her never-ending Mano Po films, wonder no more. She obviously raided Shanghai Tang's 1960s collection, haha.

Seriously though, while having some difficulty deciding which resto to eat in at the Xintiandi complex [one of my friend Mike-mike's most fave places in the world, by the way; but that's another story :-D], we stumbled upon this Shanghai Tang store.

In the 1920's and 30's Shanghai was called the "Paris of the East". So, "Shanghai Tang", the clothing store, aims to evoke that elegance and charm of fashionable Shanghai in the 1930's, by mixing traditional Chinese designs with modernity. Sort of like "East meets West", i guess..

Well, enough of the blurb. The merchandise is exquisite, with lots of color and intricate design, yet definitely wearable without looking like someone from the 30s. The men's line is obviously more basic / less frilly, but what i particularly liked was the way they put in small details (i.e. fine stripes, knotted buttons, etc.) on typical plain short-sleeved and long-sleeved shirts, so you end up with looking classic, yet with a rather hip edge.

Alas, these things are expensive. I don't know about you, but paying something like RMB945.00 for a short-sleeved shirt, or RMB995.00 for a long-sleeved shirt, or heck, even RMB485.00 for a colored T-shirt with this funny Chinaman design. . . .hmm, maybe when someone brings in a Shanghai Tang franchise to Manila, and copycat designs start sprouting up for PHP150.00/shirt.

Well, the courteous and excellent English-speaking staff did give me a calling card listing their different locations. So it wasn't a totally wasted shopping exercise :-D

(Shanghai Tang has stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. Check out www.shanghaitang.com for their collections)