Memory backup, Kid suggestions, Ilocos Norte and Pagudpud

Age has turned my topsy-turvy memory in a more chaotic state. Thanks to my daughter, I have needed help.

"Remind me that we need to buy this and that at the supermarket." We go buy at the supermarket and I am gently of what I earlier told her. Her impressive memory and persistence prove to be a useful backup to my otherwise short term memory.

She loves to go to school. There's no problem in waking her up, and getting her ready.

Within reach
While passing urine in the rest room, my preschooler boy remarked, "Why is our light switch placed so high? Creatures like me find it hard to reach!"

"How then should we place it?"

He argued they should be placed low enough for everyone to reach.

Top view of Ilocos Norte

Ilocos Norte with Manong Ador

Part of our emerging family tradition is to spend the New Year's eve in a new place. Partly to avoid the smoke of the fireworks, though we've observed that the smoke is the same anywhere we go.

This time we headed to Ilocos Norte. Took a low price airplane Cebu Pacific on sale seat on our way there and toured around Laoag City. It was sad that it was a weekend when we were there. The city's museum is impressive.

I love it that riding the kalesa is not as pricey as compared here in Manila. Fare is like that of tricycles, which is Ilocos Norte's equivalent of the jeep. P10/ride per head when we went there. Jeeps are reserved for town-to-town trips like when we went from Laoag to Paoay to visit the World Heritage Church there. We also visited a chicha-corn factory.

Corn, garlic and salt are materials abundant in Ilocos Norte, that's why chichacorn rules there!

Afterwards, we took a bus to go to Pagudpud - Luzon's Boracay. If I remember it, the fare from Laoag to Pagudpud is P60/head.

In Pagudpud, we met Mang Ador. A tour guide/tricycle driver. His number is 0948-794 0255. He toured us around Pagudpud, and the nearby towns. He even helped us look for our accommodations. He said that local tourism is a big boost in their livelihood and that the local government is helping them get proper training.

If you're Ilokano, you can read this!

We chose to visit the lighthouse of Bojeador, South East Asia's tallest. It's on top of a hill, so it really has a breathtaking view of the sea below. At summertime, visitors have to walk from the bottom up. We were lucky that Mang Ador's able tricycle took us at the steps of the lighthouse.

On our way, we had lunch and I ate their pinakbet version. I find it a bit salty. Perhaps because salt is so cheap there? Pasuquin's rows and rows of road-side salt stores are nice to see. Mang Ador chose the Bagnet, the pork chop of Ilocos Norte.

I love their green grapes. The seeds make them real healthy. A kilo is P80.

The windmills of Bangui were giants guarding the shore. They make this scary sound that my little boy doesn't like. They say that it supplies 40% of the province's power needs.

On our way back, we took the bus and it was expectantly uncomfortable. It was cheaper. We had no choice. All throughout the 12-hour trip from Laoag to SM North, the bus kept on stopping to load vegetable produce from farmers who had contacts in Manila. From the smell of it, we rode with onions and pepper. The other vegetables didn't smell that strong.

Before boarding the bus, I was able to try their empanada. It's a marriage of lumpiang toge and kwek-kwek. It's either I am not a great fan, or the one I tried wasn't very well prepared.

Adventure Resort in Norzagaray, Bulacan - Entrance Fees and Rates

My brother learned about Adventure Resort while watching a GMA-7 morning TV show. They say it gathers swimming, rapelling, zip lining and wall climbing all in one destination.

Since we're taal Bulakenyo, the place may be a closer summer destination. Sharing with you the rates of their facilities as of March 2012.

Daytime Rates and Other Charges

Entrance:

Adult Php125 

Kids Php100

Cottage for 15 persons+ - Php500

Package promo per head: Swim - zip - rapelling - wall climbing - Php300

Per facility rate:

Php120 - zip line

Php85 - wall climb

Php75 - rapelling

Some guidelines: white shirt only, no maong bottoms. Food may be brought inside, but there's a cafeteria serving short orders. No alcoholic drinks allowed inside, even Emperador Lite.

You may want to also check these links for photos and other details about the resort:

• Bulacan Philippines Tourism
• Bulacan Resorts
• Here In The Philippines

DENR's Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife in Quezon City

Inside that cage, perched on the dried log is a Philippine hawk eagle.

Last time I visited the place was when I was 12 years old. Back then, it was still known as the QC Parks and Wildlife.


Why we went there
It was no-school day for the kids because of the Quezon City day non-working holiday. For a change in scenery, we visited the park named after the Philippine president namesake Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife.

It's along Quezon Boulevard, a bit walkable from the MRT Quezon Ave. station if you don't mind sweating. However, you may take any jeep that passes that road and pay the minimum fare of Php8. It's in front of the Philippine Lung Center, and beside semi-private Lungsod ng Kabataan or Philippine Children's Hospital.

A lot of endemic animals may be seen at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife - I think all of them?

What to see inside Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife
For the Php3 for kids and Php5 for adults entrance fee, one may stay and roam around the huge park. I spotted some informal settlers near the forest trail, their houses looked like they are.

Don't expect Avilon Zoo level in terms of quantity of animals, and maintenance. The place is run by Department of Environment and Natural Resources. They have an office at the Visayas Avenue side of the park. That means government institution. You may park on this side, by the way.

The zoo is open until 4PM so we visited that first. However, I was distracted with some tall cages in between trees and found out what they were. The trail led to a series of bird cages that I think are 5-star for animals in terms of accommodation among all the zoos I've seen. Why? Because trees are inside and they are really tall and wide structures. The birds may fly a bit more freely.

This Philippine Hawk Eagle is not inside a cage, intentionally left there for picture loving Pinoys

The foliage in the place almost resembled a rainforest, giving the animals more shelter. Honestly, you wouldn't think you were in the heart of the metro if you're there.

The path also led to a nipa hut of various types of fish, a small pond of numerous turtles. There were unused swamp-ponds, and I was almost at the look out for crocodiles. Though I'm sure there aren't, it seems that's how forest-like the place is.


Overweight crocodile and snake
Inside the main zoo, there are cockatoos, eagles or lawin, Philippine Eagle Owls, Philippine Serpent Owls, bats, monitor lizards or bayawak - theirs looked very old and gaunt, crocodiles, snakes, monkeys.

This is a fine-looking animal, and looks like a Philippine meerkat. Though I'm not sure really.

Treehuts
Picnic areas are available for free, and if you're lucky, there are huge nipa houses where you may stay. They are really big, comfortable to fit 10 people.


Stage Area
There is also a stage where perhaps cultural shows are done. When we visited the park, a meeting of all-men and all-women groups were being held simultaneously. Surrounding the stage are seats enough to fit 100 people.


Man-made lake
From the stage, we were able to see a floating house on stilts on the man-made lake. Ill-prepared, I didn't let the kids wander off there thinking dengue-causing mosquitoes are present.


Who goes there
I was surprised to see lots of SLR-toting people, with made-up models with them. So this is where camera enthusiasts meet?

There were also lots of students in uniform - elementary, high school, college. Families with little babies have picnics too.


What I love best
There were many other mini-zoos around the place, right side of the main entrance. However, I didn't check them out. I was thinking bad guys may lurk and rob us? Or the kids may trip and the ground was not very clean, because of the rain.

There were a lot more that I didn't check. However, I was glad to chance upon the HARIBON with the Manny Pacquiao tarpaulin poster in it. I have read in the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife houses a Philippine Eagle because it is blind and therefore it may not thrive in the wild.

They need their clear vision to hunt for food. So the blind, young eagle stays there. It has the biggest cage, though it would be better to make it thrice bigger just to see it fly?

Cars 2, Rooftop hydroponic greenhouses, Edouard Martinet, Steve Jobs, parenting tip from Dr. Kevin Leman and Pinto Art Gallery in Antipolo

Thanks to the long weekend from P-Noy, my kids were able to go on a date with their Ma Dahls to see Cars 2 in 3D. They love it, of course.

"Carlos was very excited he kept on jumping on his chair," my little girl told me about her brother.

They got tired from too much fun that they slept early that day. Good start for this 3-day school week. :)

Planting fun and nobility
The world is going back to agriculture. Noting organic as the way to go. As a lass from the province, I am at home with the land. That's why I want my kids to experience slow life in the rural farms. We haven't had the chance to do that.

I have heard of hydroponic farms in Tagaytay which supplies salad greens to five-star restaurants in the metro. Hydroponic started in the Middle East where they used water to hasten the planting cycle. Now, this practice is being implemented in New York on un-utilized rooftops through Bright Farms.

Edouard Martinet - sculptor
It would be really freaky to see crawling insects like these. Seamlessly sculpted from metal, these creations look like they are the real deal.

Artists are really innovators and dreamers. They see things that aren't yet there, and their eyes perceive things that are already there in a very different way.

Goodbye Sir Steve Jobs
People don't know what they want until you show it to them. ~ Steve Jobs

10 Laws of Steve Jobs

One shining claim of the US is Steve Jobs and Apple - amidst the gloomy picture their country is painted now. The world respects this guy highly, because he changed the world several times. His personality and attitude settle for none and that make him stand out.

We have shifted to the Mac experience slowly some two years ago. They say that once you've experienced it, you won't settle for anything less. From a single Mac laptop to all things Mac in our house, that's how we've been Steve-fied.

The world will need another fountainhead that will steer excellence and perfection now that he left Apple as CEO.

Unhappy parents 

Dr. Kevin Leman  advises parents to utter, a simple and calm "I'm very unhappy with what I see/hear "...turn around and leave.

It works with 4, 10, 17, not to mention the 20 year old. I call it " parental poker". Every parent has to learn to play those cards just right. It works. Kids don't like it when mom/dad are unhappy!

I have tried the Leman book Have a New Kid by Friday and I agree 100% with his sensible parenting tips. Though sometimes I forget, being reminded consistently of parenting the Leman way proves effective.

Take for instance a conversation I had with my daughter's classmates' mom. She told me that her son didn't want to go to school anymore. When she investigated, her son admitted that he fears school because the teacher might get mad at him when he fails to write his name. The boy said the teacher looked like ghost when she got angry. My daughter never mentioned anything about her teachers getting mad. She is, perhaps, used to serious looking mom when I deal with her the Leman way.

Pinto Art Gallery in Antipolo, Rizal
My share of the long weekend climaxed yesterday, when together with my small group, we went to the Touch of Glory Prayer Mountain near the Gozon compound in Boso-Boso, Antipolo. After having our lunch there - I ordered their famous arrozcaldo, we visited Pinto Art Gallery. It was a gallery and a private collection exhibit hall of Dr. Joven Cuanang, a director of Neurology at St. Lukes Medical Hospital.

The facility lies behind a famous restaurant named Laya. I don't know if the people who eat there know about this treasure tucked behind the gate inside the Sierra Madre Grand Height Subdivision.

The Mediterranean inspired design of the whole place worked around the natural landscape of the place. There were trees shooting inside the roof of the veranda. Huge boulders of stones were incorporated at the main art gallery as if they were in exhibit too.

I also liked that in between the art houses are green gardens with welcoming lounge areas. The garden used endemic plants - saw black bamboos there - both ornamental and palatable ones. I only found out that citronella leaves look the same as lemon grass there.

Pinto Art Gallery is a place I will go back to - bringing the kids with me next time. There was a pre-nuptial photo session ongoing when we had our tour. And yes, we were toured by one of the artists in display there too - Mr. Jim. All the featured artists are Filipinos and they are AWESOME creations there. More power to Filipinos supporting the Philippines art and nature.

How to enjoy a plane trip with young children and Filipino Fish at Manila Ocean Park

A long overdue post, publishing it finally after some spring cleaning of my dashboard blog. Carlos and Lois enjoyed their first air flight. Not much fuss, thank you very much. Food was key, and tiredness. By the time we were flying, they were both sleeping.

For more frequent fly-ers with kids, these suggestions may help:

1. Prepare quiet toys. Don't put them out until you have really ran out of things to distract the kids with. The novelty of the airport and the airplane may provide a lot of interesting things to check and observe. Once you've explored them all, bring out your guns, I mean, those quiet toys - like books, puppets, washable crayons, etc.
2. Crocodile mouth. With all that pressure changes, you may never always have the medicine or the chewing gum solution. A neat tip, do the crocodile mouth. Ok, it may be another animal with a big mouth. Point is to prevent ear popping by making the kids open their mouth wide.
3. Observe your kid. You may be too engrossed on the time, or the luggage you may not notice your kids' cues of tiredness or sleepiness. Children are easier to manage before they approach their emotions' peak.

Manila Ocean Park

Located behind Quirino Grandstand, along Manila Bay is the expansive Manila Ocean Park, a Singapore-an investment if I am not mistaken. We trooped there one Sunday afternoon for some family bonding with the Laguna people. I was not so excited to go in, but I was not left unimpressed.

What I liked most with the showcase was that most of the fish there are endemic. I don't know if this is because they use salt water from Manila Bay, after 5-layers of high grade filters, or because they patronize local marine life? I liked it so much that they have Filipino terms for these popular fish. I wouldn't know Finding Nemo's Dory, voiced by comedienne Ellen de Generes, is a labahita if not for the trip.

I also liked the attention and planning they gave to the facility. They planned on how people traffic is just one way, so there's no missing the shops and restaurants occupying their space. It felt like we were the fish hooked on their bait. Mapapatingin ka talaga, kung hindi man mapabili.

She's not pretending her hands are binoculars, she's just shying away from the camera. :)

Yes, there's a giant lizard at the Manila Ocean Park!

Chains on the seats? Either they don't want the arrangement ruined, or some people steal them?

It can grow up to 12 meters and live for 100+ years. I once heard marine biologist Boni Commandante say that it is possible that from these giant clams or taklobo came the early writing method of our ancestors as found in the Angono Cave archeological site.

If you belong to the Batibot generation, you are familiar with Sitsiritsit Alibangbang. This fish may be called bannerfish, but to us, it's the Alibangbang.

Lion fish or Umay - Umay

Tita Tin

While visiting Nangni Che in Sheung Wan, Hongkong, we talked quite a few about relative Tita Tin whom we met there. She has helped Nangni Che settle in Hongkong when she transferred there from Dubai since she's been there for over a decade, in fact she is an HK resident. She showed Nangni Che around, and shared her flat while Nangni Che was still looking for her own.

As I was giving Lois a bath, I engaged her in a conversation to avoid the shrieks and squeals. It was 17 degrees average while we stayed there, and taking hot baths aren't very fun for us all. I pointed out the two scrubs at the bathroom.


"Lois, why do you think Nangni Che has two bath scrubs?" I asked.

Lois simply replied, "Oh, one is for Tita Tin and the other is for Nangni Che."

"But I do not see Tita Tin here in Nangni Che's place."

"She's here when we're not. So when we leave, she will come here and take a bath."

Whoa! Her logic sent us all laughing. Lois was already able to conclude about relationships even though things are not directly told her. These kids really has magnificent minds.

Why Every Filipino MUST Visit Bohol

'Wag maging turista sa sariling bayan.' This age old saying should be enough to send us all traveling, right? No! It took me thirty years before I ran out of valid excuses not to tour the Philippines but, three days and two nights in Bohol were enough to convince me to see more of the world. Here are some reasons that could convince you to take that flight:

1.Stay global warming free amidst the tall, lush trees of the three-hectare Man-made Forest.

2.See bermuda grass covered lawns and gardens in almost every where you look.

3.Greet oral healthy Filipino Buko King. He'll gladly open up a coconut for you using his really best pearly whites.

4.Conquer your fear of heights at the Hanging Bridge, which spans the bluish green Loboc River.

5.Fly over 1,268 giant chocolate hills

6.Be refreshed while having an extravagant lunch on a banca cruise down Loboc River. The soothing serenade and relaxing sound of the river were enough to take all my worries away.

7.Cover yourself in fine, white sand at the Alona Beach named after actress Alona Alegre who went dipping in the pristine shores of Panglao Island.

8.Feel centuries gone by through the walls of a 400-year old edifice at the Baclayon Church built in 1596.

9.Hear angels sing at the Loboc Church, home of internationally-acclaimed Loboc Children's Choir.



10.Wonder at how an ordinary field could hold deep treasures at the Hinagdanan Cave. God was so awesome, He put a lake underneath a stalagmite covered-sky.

11.Know how to say thank you through sign language at the Dao Diamond Hotel where our hardworking deaf and mute brothers and sisters work on.

12.Find out how small the world's smallest primate is, the tarsier.

13.Learn from the bees at the Bohol Bee Farm, an organic farming haven where you can also lodge and dine in supreme comfort and warmth.

There are still the dolphins and butandings to persuade you to come and visit them in Bohol. Really, travel to Bohol and find out how superbly blessed we are.