Returning home today! We dared not be late to catch our flight, thanks to the previous experience. And this time, to prevent the airport officials from grinning and asking whether we like popcorn, we sealed our 12 tubs of Chef Tony's popcorn in two nondescript cardboard boxes and lugged them for checking-in.
Till our next trip again.
It was a Monday and the kids had to go back to school, so Slug and I slacked the whole day watching cable TV and catching up with his brother. We also followed him on his daily routine of picking up the kids at the Manila International School and then making them do their homework and project work at home. What a casual way of spending the day.
It was the outdoors again today! We were going to visit the Pagsanjan (pronounced as Pag-sang-han) Falls in the Laguna province, and according to Moses, it was going to be a slightly-more-than-two-hour journey there.
On the way to Laguna province
Along the way, we had toilet breaks to drink some fresh coconut juice and stretch our legs.
A roadside stall selling bags and bags of ... ...
... snails, eeek!
We stopped for lunch at Jollybee at some unknown shopping centre.
Slug playing some shooting game after lunch
We reached a spot along the river where Slug's brother rented two kayaks for Slug and I, and his two nieces. We needed not do the rowing - a guide would be rowing the kayak against the riverflow and taking us upriver to the Pagsanjan Falls.
Cruising along the river
No easy feat to go against the river flow
Some mini waterfalls cascading down the steep rocky valleys
Coming to a stretch of the river whereby the riverbed were strewn with boulders and rocks
Amazing guide had to bring the kayak up these rocks amidst the shallow waters
Guide got out of the kayak to pull it up the rocky riverbed
We arrived at the Pagsanjan Falls and the guide brought us onto a bamboo raft. I thought that the experience was to sail through the waterfall and into the dark damp cave hidden behind the waterfall. I felt nervous at the thought of the waters plunging down onto us and that slamming impact on our heads.
Pagsanjan Falls
Getting ready for the waterfall tour
The impact of the falling waters was painful but brief. We were thoroughly drenched from head to toe. Far from what I expected, we did not go through the waterfall and into the cave. We merely passed the edges of the waterflow, just enough for us to be soaked and not be hurt by the pounding waters. What a bummer.
After the experience the guide took us back to where we came from, and along the peaceful river we spotted some locals swimming, fishing and playing in the water. By the time we got back onto land, our clothes had more or less dried up. We had dinner before embarking on a two-hour journey back to Manila. The highways were more packed on a Sunday evening than yesterday as the people were returning back to town for work tomorrow.
Would be going to Taal Volcano in the Tagaytay (pronounced as Tah-gah-tai) province today! What makes it spectacular is that the Taal Volcano is actually a 'mini' (don't underestimate, it is still considered to be active) volcano within a larger volcano (but what remains of it now is just its extinct crater as it was largely blasted off during a violent eruption in the past).
Slug's brother had hired a local driver, Moses, considered to be their family 'chauffeur' for long trips, to take us there. Went to a weekend market to buy some snacks first. It sold lots of their local foodstuffs that we were unfamiliar with.
Couldn't figure what these were
Wow, large bags of candy floss
Macadamia nuts
Then we began an approximate two-hour journey to the Tagaytay province. It was uncomfortable with 5 adults and 2 kids squeezed into the car, and as the car cruised smoothly along the highways, Slug and I soon fell asleep. After travelling along the Tagaytay Ridge (the crater), we soon reached the place to take a boat ride across the Taal Lake to get to the Taal volcano itself.
The first we went to was Kaisa Angelo King Heritage Centre which showcases the historical and cultural legacy of the Chinese in the Philippines but unfortunately it was closed. We then went to the Manila Cathedral to take a look. I fancied the lighting effect of the stained glass windows - the light was just enough to illuminate the different coloured glass pieces but not too glaring to spoil the somehow gothic feel of the basilica.
Kaisa Angelo King Heritage Centre
Manila Cathedral basilica
Very pretty stained glass windows
Slug playing with a simple replica of a pipe organ
Exhibits detailing the milestones of the cathedral
A tiled mosaic depicting biblical images
We then moved on to Chinatown to have a dimsum lunch, visit a Chinese temple-cum-nunnery (the nuns there were kind to give us some bread and water, and they could speak Hokkien!) and shop for some local produce. Along the way, Slug's brother intended for us to mock at the locals by driving us to look at them praying to a cross with Chinese joss sticks.
What a bizarre integration of two religions
Chinatown in Manila
A golden praying hall in the temple
After lunch we fetched Slug's two nieces from the school and spent the rest of the day eating, slacking and watching cable TV (which was actually what we came here for).
We arrived at 11.30pm at the Budget Terminal to check in for our Cebu Pacific flight at 1.30am. A long queue was forming at the check-in counter and as time passed by we got increasingly puzzled at why the queue was not moving (even though there was staff manning the counter). Only at 1.00pm did it start to move and by the time we got onto the plane it was 1.45pm. Ironically we arrived 10 mins earlier than the arrival time estimated.
Cup noodles selling at an exhorbitant $4
Slug's brother picked us up from the airport and we spent the morning hours sleeping. I thought Slug's brother would let us sleep way till dinnertime considering that we boarded a midnight flight, but no, he woke us up very promptly to have lunch, tea and dinner.
Slug and I started wondering if we could put up with such a strict fatherly care regime for the next few days.
I hate the Hong Kong Airport. It was a pain running from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 and then back to Terminal 1 to board our flight. Till our next trip again ... ... which was a few days later!
We could not deny that their roast meats are fabulous
Religion vs capitalism
In Central
Went rabid at the HMV in Central, sweeping DVDs of old-school HK and banned films into my arms. You could hardly get such films like 阴阳路, 精装追女仔, 龙凤茶楼 etc back home, including a rare find - BEYOND日记之莫欺少年穷 casting Beyond, which thrilled Slug and me. Now couldn't wait to return home to enjoy a film fest of all these films.
Chanced upon a 翠华 outlet along Wellington Street, and the taxi driver's rave reviews yesterday motivated us to go in for afternoon tea. Slug was ultra pleased with their pork cutlet bun, and now it was his turn to keep on raving about this renowned cha can teng.
Our afternoon tea of soup noodles
The pork cutlet bun tickled his tastebuds
It was on to Mongkok after that for a last visit to the bustling markets, shopping malls and Temple Street. Was hustled by an old lady waving a large board advertising manicure services up 信和中心 upon exiting the MTR station. She had pushed me a pamphlet and from the glazed look in my eyes while staring at the advertised promotion on gel nails (they were seriously cheap), she knew I was on the hook.
I was then led to a small pink store, where I spent the next 3 hours there doing my nails and watching TV. The first episode of 巴不得爸爸 was showing and Slug and I were already in love with the drama. After a while the old lady who had brought me there came in, left the pamphlets and board in one corner and left after receiving her wages from one of the manicurists. Just as I was raising an eyebrow at such a bizarre situation - an shabbily-dressed old woman promoting manicure services, I was also raising my other eyebrow at the male manicurist. A male in this feminine industry!
The finished artwork made me smile - these manicurists here are professionals in painting! For half the price of what I would have to pay in Singapore for this, I could get a better drawing standard too! Now I wish I never have to remove these delicate pieces.
The 3-hour wait was worth it!
Supper at the dim sum eatery at Temple Street (again) with Slug gorging on his favourite salted fish and minced meat pie with rice.
What a lavish spread
Walked along a dim alley after supper and wanted to steal one of the many posters promoting Ekin's concerts pasted on the building walls, but the hookers standing there were watching me. Shouldn't they just mind their own 'business'?
I was still hungry
Packed and got ready our luggage before we went to sleep. It was weird, but somehow I missed home - the clean fresh air, the green trees and my cats.
We had breakfast at KFC in Windsor House at Causeway Bay and we were quite horrified to see almost every table there filled with maids (nationality undetermined). Sunday was their rest day. You could see the wild side of them - with sexy clothes and heavy make-up, and quite a number explicitly dressing and behaving like lesbians. Suddenly it felt scary to be a minority.
Grilled chicken parts, crisscut fries and a flaky Portugese egg tart
My heartthrob Ekin making a comeback with this Stormriders sequel and a concert on 19th Dec (what a bummer to miss it!)
We took the MTR to Sheung Wan and took the ferry at the terminal to Macau.
At Causeway Bay MTR station
We gambled and had dinner at our usual cha can teng.
Seafood noodles and xiao long bao
I could not help but spend 1 full minute laughing at the menu. I can forgive them for spelling 'fried' as 'fired', 'luncheon' as 'Inueheon' and 'macaroni' as 'maeatoni', but their English names for their dishes are largely inaccurate. The last translation was a hoot - 'The pig digs up the toast or the few buffalo and cow horns package'.
Very bad English translations here
We flitted from the jackpot machine to the Sic Bo table to the baccarat table, and so on. I shall not elaborate on the details but we were foolish enough to lose all our Hong Kong Dollars plus virtual dollars from the ATM. We were really depressed and decided to leave Rio at about 1+am. We were once again angry with ourselves - why couldn't we just keep ourselves away from gambling?
We caught the midnight ferry back to Hong Kong. It was a breeze going through the customs - no queues! As we took the cab back to our apartment, the friendly and bald taxi driver chatted with us in quite fluent Mandarin about Singaporeans often coming here to gamble, as well as to Malaysia and cruise ships. For once, an accurate perception of us coming from a foreigner! He could not stop raving about his favourite cha can teng named Chui Hua. His passionate " 他们的早餐 ... ... very good ah!" kept resonating in Slug's head on the way back and got his stomach curious.
We had a difficult night sleeping. Our heartaches kept reminding us we could afford another long trip back here if we had not gambled our money away.
I love today's tasty lunch - salt and pepper chicken with rice
At Tin Shui Wai again
We took a cab to the saltwater fishing ground, 鴨仔坑釣魚場, somewhere deeper inside Yuen Long. It was remote, quiet and forested like Lim Chu Kang.
Another fishing ground opposite of the one we went to
鴨仔坑釣魚場
The owner of the fishing ground handed Slug a bucket of smelly little fishes and prawns (for bait), and we bought some cool drinks and relaxed by the pool. What a great way to idle the afternoon away.
Patting a stray dog that the owner kept
Slug casting his line
Relaxing to our hearts' content
There was this pair of guys at the other side of the pool who were really getting good value out of their money - they were practically landing a catch every 15 minutes! After waiting for about an hour or so, Slug finally caught a fish which we thought was a tilapia. It was thrashing about when I tried to hold it, but it soon went limp. I decided not to stress it further by keeping it in a basket dipped into the pool.
It was frightened
Very slimy and left a fishy smell on my hands
Evening was soon approaching
Slug suddenly felt revitalized and was hoping for another catch
I sneaked out and went exploring the area nearby. I noticed a number of locals walking towards the bushes and decided to follow them. It was a pain fumbling through the thick bushes and walking on the uneven terrain, but at the end of it, I came to face with a stunning smoky sunset.
It was a part of the coast named 下白泥, and from here, we could see neighbouring China on the horizon. I was amazed to see many locals gathering there, armed with cameras and tripods, to take pictures of the sunset.
Minibus #33 is the only public transport access here
下白泥
Industrial development encroaching into Nature's territory
Eager photographers shooting the sunset
China in the distance
Sunset at 下白泥
Smog a pervasive problem in Hong Kong
We left the fishing ground in the evening, but not before releasing the fish Slug caught back into the pool. We actually had no intention of taking it away, Slug just wanted to enjoy the process of waiting and reeling in a catch. It was sad to know even if we did not eat it, others would, or it might eventually die if it could not adapt to the water conditions of the pool.
We travelled all the way to Sai Kung for a seafood dinner at Chuen Kee. However, we were greatly disappointed with the indifferent service and drastic drop in standard of the cooking there. The servers were cold and curt, and the food looked hastily prepared. There was a table with ten over patrons that had an elaborately-garnished lobster sashimi served to them. We started to suspect we were being discriminated just because the money they made from the two of us was peanuts to them.
No trip to Hong Kong is complete without savouring some delectable milk tarts
Lobster ee-fu noodles that did not look very appetising
Stir-fried flower crab with ginger and spring onion
Baby abalones topped with spring onion
Steamed garoupa Hong Kong style
Anti-drug campaign in Sai Kung
We returned to Causeway Bay feeling so bloated, and came across filming going on at a quiet back street. In the scene, Charmaine Sheh was in a cab, which after turning around the corner, she alighted and walked a few steps while gazing longingly upwards at a building. I was so mesmerized by her beauty that I could not take a picture of her in time. It was not easy for the film crew - a lot of time was spent waiting for the traffic lights, coordinating with the actors and taxi driver, and yelling at us onlookers not to use flash when taking pictures, for a scene that barely lasted half a minute.
Filming
The chilly nights were so good for a comfortable snuggle in the sheets and a peaceful slumber. Sigh ... ...
