The Bucket List

My friend Ginger visited over the weekend and she told me she's thinking of starting a checklist of things she wants to do and that I should so the same. Brilliant.


I told myself I wanted to move here to experience living abroad, to see if I can live independently, and to do things I have not yet been able to do in Manila living under my parents' roof. I have always wanted to live in a 1st world country and be on my own. Maybe more as a test to see if I can make it. So I left my loving family and boyfriend, suffered through homesickness and just to see if I can do it.


But today, I just stayed home the whole day, surfed the internet, read blogs and watched the 2nd season of how i met your mother. I wouldn't have been able to laze around the entire Sunday back in Manila (what with the usual scheduled family lunches and dinners) but still... not exactly how I pictured things.


So I made a list of what I have done so far in my 4 months and to see what I still need to do to make the most of this experience:



- I have learned to cook pasta - and realized anything can be tossed with it- , plus white rice, fried rice, garlic rice. Unfortunately, I still have to learn to do my one signature dish. My mom has spoiled me so far with all the cooked frozen food she brought with her. So to do: learn a signature dish from scratch

- I have always envied the scenes in movies with main characters jogging around a park - exercising in the great outdoors. Manila does not have nice clean parks to jog around in. The village would be the next best thing but one is surrounded by gated houses and not greenery. I brought over my rubber shoes and 1 - 2 excercise outfits to do some jogging at least once a week. But I never have. So to do: jog around Singapore Gardens (or even around my block)... at least once.

- I realize that I truly am a clean person. I like the routine of doing chores. Every Saturday morning, I roll out of bed at noon, sweep my room, scrub my bathroom and do my laundry. I always wash the dishes after I eat and if ever I do dump anything in the sink, it would only be a glass and a spoon, max. I can actually live without a maid. But the one thing I have yet to learn aside from cook from scratch is how to iron. I have a pile of clothes due for ironing that I have put off for a month now. So to do: learn to once and for all, iron my clothes.

- I am obssessed with first world living. I love the idea of new restaurants to try, fabulous clubs and bars to discover, exhibits and festivals to go to. So far, I have been able to compile a list of go-to restaurants for visitors (cheap hawker-style and expensive chi-chi settings), gone dancing and drinking until 4 in the morning (with no wru text from my mom), obssesively scouted the luxe guide and time out magazine, tried out cafes and desserts, hung out in destination areas. I have yet to experience though watching a play, going to a concert (I chickened out of going alone to Singfest where Alicia Keys, Simple Plan, Newfound Glory played), experiencing full exhibits, museums, and fairs. So to do: all of the above.

- I left Manila because I felt I always end up in the same places - UCC Podium, Rockwell Cinema, the Fort resto's, Shangri-la mall. I want to discover and visit new places on any given weeke-end. So far, I think I have more or less memorized Orchard (and been inside most of the malls), gone to two cinemas, explored the Marina Bay Area, gone to Chinatown and its little streets, hung out in all the quays (Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, Roberson Quay). I've gone to some tourist spots: Night Safari (1st trip here), Botanical Gardens, Sentosa. But there's still a lot of "heard-of-but-never-been-to-places": Little India, Arab St. (been there once but stores were closed), East area, Jurong, Ang Mo Kio and other exotic sounding names. So to do: discover more. The funny thing is, now that I am more familair with the places, it amazes me how everything in the city center really is connected to each other.

- In Manila, I hardly have time to myself. With familial routine activities every week-end, work, going out with my boyfriend and a full household with 4 sisters, I used to crave and cherish time home alone. Now, I am alone more often than usual (in the train on the way to work, in the bus/ taxi to go somewhere, when my flatmate is away, during meals). I still cherish alone time. It doesn't bother me as much to eat alone. It doesn't bother me as much to show up to dinners and to go home after alone. Sometimes it does feel self-concious especially if I am unsure of where to go. But afterwards, I feel that I have accomplished something. Anticipating all this alone time, I have brought over DVD's and TV shows to catch up on. I am getting there and I am not as delayed as I used to be back in Manila. So alone time: going well.

In the end, this experience is all about finding myself and discovering what I am capable of. It is about stepping out of my comfort zone, learning to do things on my own, on my own pace, on my own time. I still miss my loved ones terribly but I know that this has given me confidence and pride as well as experiences I would never have had back home. This has opened my eyes to the world bigger than me. I can't wait for more lessons and experiences to come.

Now to check those things off my list...

Explorer

chijmes

cathedral of the good shepherd

What I love about living in a foreign country is the feeling that I am always travelling.

I know Manila. I've lived there all my life. Sure, there are a lot of new developments but life is routine and places are in general familiar.

Here, there's something new and undiscovered around the corner. There are still a lot of places I have never treaded upon. I like the feeling of just walking and getting suprised at what is on the next street. (Of course, the nice thing here is that one can actually walk and roam the streets. It's harder to discover and revel in discovering new places while inside a car peering through tinted windows as we do in Manila. Maybe that's part of why I like travelling - to satisfy the explorer and the walker in me.)

Take one weekend for instance, I wanted to visit Raffles City since I don't really go there plus to scout a hotel for a friend. I went around the mall, ended up going to Chijmes (an old convent school turned into a F&B complex) which I have only visited once during a rain shower. I was there during sunset when the place was bathed in the yellow light and it was quite beautiful. A street away, I found a church, decided to go inside and lo and behold, a service was just starting so unwittingly, I was able to attend Mass for the first time since I got here.

Another weekend found me running errands to buy cookies for my sister then stumbling upon the hawker center in Esplanade, sitting down for a snack admiring the bayview while a concert started up.

I love the spontaeinty of suddenly just finding myself do something unplanned and on impulse. Back in Manila, things aren't so quite up in the air. We eat here, shop there, drive here. It's all so specific and sometimes, there is joy to be found in being lost. There is a sense of wonder in stumbling upon something. Losing the routine, losing the schedule, losing the map, losing oneself in the streets... and afterwards, realizing that getting lost means a chance of finding the unexpected.

National Day

the view from esplanade during one of my sunday walks

re-discovering my love for oyster omelette

Singapore is growing on me.

It's the most bashed country, consistenly and continuously -- at least from my circle of fil-chi friends. It's small, there's nothing to do except shop and eat, the people are not attractive, it's boring (for the singaporeans reading, sorry!), the energy is flat...

Maybe they're (we're) all just jealous. Because Singapore is a first world country surrounded by countries wannabe first world.

Since it's National Day here, I guess it's time to raise the red and white flag as a proud 3-month old Employment Pass Holder.

Actually, I've always loved the city-state since I first visited for work last 2004. I love order and neatness and Singapore is all about that. I love Orchard road -- 2 specific moments: walking at night last December 2006 with the twinkling lights strung on the trees and shopping with the throngs of people clutching a Dior & Prada paper bag last Great Singapore Sale. Felt so "Sex and the City" then although my purchases were paid for at 40% off! I love the food - here the high and low is all good. The high with the fabulous interiors and chi-chi plating combined with the popular hawker centers churning out local favorites (chicken rice, char kway teow, carrot cake and oyster egg). I love the discovery of new places to eat and now, I can't live without Singapore made Kopi-C paired with kaya toast. The breakfast (or in my case, the afternoon snack) of champions!

Okay so all I've done so far is prove that Singapore is all about shopping and eating with the paragraph above.

Let's go beyond that...

Moving here has been smooth. Everything works like clockwork (I apply for a credit card and get it in the afternoon!). It's easy to use the public transportation (even for a newbie to the public transport system like myself). People in general speak English -- arguably, not good English and English wherein I have to slow down and enunciate the words more clearly. There's no racism because at any time you will see a Chinese, Caucasian, Indian, Malay riding the train together. It's safe -- I don't feel fearful walking at night.

Singapore creates little pockets of events to make the city-state busier - arts festival, singfest music festival, garden festival, food festival, and wonder of wonders, beer festival come this october!! There was a Louvre exhibit and currently a Vietnam showing plus continuous concerts at the Esplanade. F1 is coming soon as well (and to prove Singapore effiency, they are already setting up all the lights in the streets as we speak). They have tourist sights albeit manufactured ones - night safari, sentosa - okay artificial, but hey, they try and it works!
There's also a lot of new developments- Dempsey, Rochester Park, Wesssex - wherein old places are turned into something new and hip again. Reconstruction: an old church to a restaurant, old army barracks to a cocktail bar. Plus the bars here are really cool - nice ambience, original & extensive cocktails (but pricey!), international names in party-ing (hed kandi bar, ministry of sound) and lots of local clubs (if only I were single...!). It's party-ing but never over the edge - can't be bad here, they take it very seriously!
Shopping yields American brands plus the European brands mixed in with the local brands and Japanese/ Korean funky imports. Housing is clean and well-maintained. The city is green and you feel healthier walking versus choking on air pollution. Even the botanical gardens is so lah lah happy with free concerts at the park that I envision myself jogging there (haven't done so far but soon!).

Let's not forget about the amazing Changi airport which is the one airport I look forward to visiting and the extraordinary Singapore airlines which is the one airline I look forward to flying.

I like to think of Singapore as "Stepford" country.

The Good Life

Bangkok had never held much allure to me before.

I always felt it was too much like Manila -- traffic, polluted, chaotic and a bit on the sleazy side. My first time there was last early 2000 during one of our Sy clam trips again and to be honest, all I remembered was a butterfly park, a river cruise and a golden temple. This was before Bangkok became the hottest (and cheapest) shopping mecca in South East Asia.

Last July however, I went back for a work trip (I've been back twice or thrice since then but always on short business trips) and stayed over the week-end.

Top Bangkok thrills:

The accomodation - One of my most, if not the most favorite, hotel so far is the Metropolitan -- minimalist design, large rooms, aromatherapeutic toiletries (como shambala - peppermint, lemongrass scent), organic breakfast (check out the white omelette), separate spacious shower and tub, plus lots of freebies to bring home (including shoe/ laundry bags changed daily! ha!).

the pool where supposedly the sun doesn't shine because of the tall buildings bordering around

the very cool "clock" in the lobby reflected on the wall thru a projector

the spacious room

french toast for breakfast (and I never eat breakfast!)

The food - My favorite food in the world is Thai. Ask my sisters... everytime we eat Thai food I always declare my love for the cuisine. Love love the green curry with chicken and eggplant, pad thai with lots of dry chili and bean sprouts, lamb or duck red curry, beef salad, sticky rice with mango, i could go on and on. I inherited my love for spice from my dad (including the tolerance for alcohol) and I feel it's one of the things that make me less girly... I refuse now to answer my boyfriend's question if something is spicy or not because then I'll see him all sweaty and trying not to show he's unaffected after I assure him a certain dish is not spicy for me!

Red Duck Curry

The classic: Pad Thai

Thai Spices wash down perfectly with an ice-cold local Singha beer

The "high-brow" food - The most decadent buffet I have been to... Four Season's Brunch in Bangkok is an absolute must. My first time to encounter a foie gras station, a fish roe station (with the server wearing rubber boots knee deep in a koi fish pond), an actual champagne/ cocktails station (not like the one in Manila where there are only 2 - 3 bottles displayed). There were the usual staples - a live grill station for lobster, lamb, prawns, beef, etc., a chinese station for dimsum, a thai station with satay and local salads, an indian station with curries, a cheese and cold cuts station, ... it wasn't about quantity (no "filler" dishes) but about quality. Drool.

Next time, I am going back and spending the afternoon there filling up with bellini's and gorging until the buffet closes!

the cheese station where i discovered i just didn't like brie, but also reblochon & camembert

champagne cocktails station

foie gras station

slabs of foie gras... the whole courtyard smelled of the grilled meat

i can only stuff two kinds of foie gras -- with custard (heavenly) & parfait

the fish roe station with huge balls of fish eggs

The views - Ironically, I don't have photos for these (of course, I only got photos of the food! ha!). Dined by the riverside with a fabulous view of a golden Buddhist temple illuminated at night. Had drinks at a skyscraper with a towering view of the cityscape twinkling with neon and glitter. Love the contrast.

The spa-culture - Thailand has always been known for its soothing massages and tranquil spas. The last one I had before was in a spa by the street wherein one can choose a masseause from a "fishbowl" and I shared a common room. This trip, I tried the Oriental Spa signature massage wherein the luxe experience started with a boat trip across the river from the hotel to the spa. The experience with the private room, rain shower, clean and complete amenities, and pampering touches were spot-on. The massage itsef was above average. As long as I fall asleep, at least I know it was relaxing enough (even though the words of my boyfriend refusing to sleep during a massage because he feels it's a waste resonate in my head). In addition, I rediscovered my love for toiletries, aromatherapy products and candles which Thailand's local brands does so well with the nice packaging and heavenly scents.

the private room at the Oriental Spa

The shopping - Best way to describe it... shop til you drop or until your cash runs out (which it did...!)! From the top designer brands in Paragon to the local designers at Siam Center to the "imitation" bags at Siam square (they did look real!) to the maaaadness of Chatuchak market. Shopping mecca indeed. Particularly love the cool loose distressed neutral looks from the local designers.

In the end, it may not be love at first sight with Bangkok for me but the love affair will certainly continue...

The Perks

the view from my hotel window

the hotel pool

don't you love the open bathtub so one can watch tv while bathing?

i'm a sucker for nice bathrooms, a bath tub, rain shower and spacious countertop

love the wood panels

my first time to see this: TV screen linked to the mirror in the bathroom sink so one can watch tv while brushing teeth, washing hands... you'll never be bored doing mundane tasks!

The Pavillion, KL's latest high-end mall

Celadon, a modern Thai restaurant at Pavillion with great spicy duck salad

My first visit to Kuala Lumpur was a disaster. It was during one of our annual clan trips with my entire Sy family. The hotel was supposedly really new and in a nice location but there was no water for two mornings. There was supposedly a nice beach we were gonna go to but we ended up riding in the bus for 5 hours back and forth only to stay in Penang overnight and barely seeing sand. The sights would be supposedly be breath taking including a visit to the famous Petronas Towers but we ended up seeing it only from a distance and having our picture taken with it in an empty parking lot with the actual Towers miles away! The food would supposedly be authentic but it turned out we ended up eating at a roadside restaurant (barely a resto) with flies all over the place and no toilet bowl in the restroom, only a hole in the ground (the worst restroom I have EVER seen)! The only consolation was that it's a funny story to tell and laugh about, for now at least. But that time everyone was up in arms threatening the travel agency!

This June, I visited the city again (for the 3rd time as the last was 2 years ago for a business trip as well). I stayed at the Hilton KL, right across the train station to the airport. Love the room. When I travel, I don't like the thought of saving one's money by staying in dirt cheap and dirty places. Why be not comfortable especially since you're already far away from home?

I never really like visiting Asean countries often because I feel it is too much like Manila. Everyone drives, no one walks, the air is polluted, the taxis cheat you, malls are the main tourist sights, the other tourist sights seem contrived, the city is chaotic... The only silver linings are the local brands (hello VNC), the discovery of more exotic eateries and the service of a luxury hotel stay.

GRAND father

due to popular demand (by mishi), am putting out my post on my grandpa as mentioned in an earlier post...

My grandpa/ kongkong died last October 2000. Even in his death, he managed to help me.
At that time, I was going through a break-up and really a path of hatred towards my ex which was admittedly unhealthy. My ex visited his wake and paid his respects and somehow because of that I (partly) forgave him and realized he wasn't so bad if he could do that. I knew he liked my kongkong and I was happy that even though we didn't work out, he still recognized that my kongkong was a good man. My kongkong gave me a sense of closure with that relationship.

Kong (as we sometimes fondly call him) was extraordinary. Up to now, after 8 years, I still feel a twinge of sadness when I remember him.

He was a short man, I think he was almost the same height as my ama. The reason was when he was young, he carried a bilao (native basket) on his head laden with filipino delicacies, selling on the streets. His parents died young and as the eldest, he was responsible for his siblings. Together with his brothers, they left their younger siblings with aunts and found ways to make money. How he was able to go from that to building a successful paint company I will never understand. It's those rags-to-riches story that one simply wonders in awe how one person can rise so high above where he used to be.
I remember my ama said that when he first started out, my kongkong used to have a lot of small things going on at the same time. Little rackets to make money. Then he decided to sell everything and to start this paint company. It was a big risk because if it didn't work out, he would be left with nothing. He had guts. More than that, (as Edison said, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration), Kong knew the value of hard work.
When he was just building Globesco, Kong was an all-in-one person. The delivery boy, the stock man, the big boss, everything. Such that when a businessman went to his office and saw him sweeping, the visitor asked for his boss and Kong simply nodded. He put away his broom and went behind the office desk and proceeded to conduct the meeting!
Kong was inspiring and humble. I always refer to that story whenever my boyfriend, who is an entrepreneur himself, faces challenges.

When Kong died, the funeral home was filled to the brim with flowers. People from all over the Philippines and Asia sent their condolences. It turns out he had helped so many people and asked for so little back. A lot had to do with business and lending money.

Kong wasn't perfect of course. He was human like everyone else. As a father, I know he had his favorites and funnily enough, one of them was my mom who he felt brought him good luck because just before she was born, he ran into a relative and got himself a job (by volunteering to search for wood).

As his grandchildren, there wasn't anything we wouldn't do for him -- to the point that we all donned red T-shirts with his caricature emblazoned in the front and danced choreographed steps to 80's hit, Blame it on the Rain, during his 70th birthday (whoever has the tape, burn it please!). I remember my boy cousins had to massage his bare back with chinese-smelling balm. Of course, as the patriarch, he also had his sons-in-law accompany him to hong kong trips just to play mahjong all day long in his apartment. He knew how to milk his role!
Kong will always represent love and safety. He used to tell me that if ever my mom treated me bad, I could just run to him and he would spank my mom. Of course, I never did that but as a rebellious child, it was nice to hear that there was a higher person than my parents.

My one regret is that my would-be husband will never get to meet him and know how inspiring he was. My one fear is that my would-be children will only stare at his portrait blankly and go through the motions of ha-po-pi without knowing how great a man he was.

I'm scared because now, my memories of him are not as clear. I still remember he liked Carl's Jr so much that he used to order my boy cousins to buy it for him when they opened in Virra Mall. I still remember he loved that old navy blue Benz with plate number PBA that even though it was sooo old and he already had a newer Benz and a BMW and a Volvo, he still insisted on using it. I still remember he went to Globesco everyday at 7am even though he was already 70+. I still remember he loved playing golf and had his nasty habit of smoking like my dad. I still remember he loved calling one of my cousins Battery (Valerie) and another Tua Diap Gong (hard to translate in English as it sounds really bad). I still remember how he used to shush my mom and her siblings whenver they got too loud and giggly. I still remember how much he liked Grassi's for dinner and we felt it was such luck if he had a craving and you happened to be in his house at that time.
But now, I don't remember how he laughed anymore. Or even how he called me. I can't even remember how that nasty Chinese balm he had smelled like.

Grandfathers are bigger than life. They are somehow more perfect and less scary. They never get mad at you and are always happy to see you.
I know that I will never forget how Kong made me feel whenever I was with him -- safe, loved, protected, knowing that I came from greatness. Kong gave me reason to believe that anything is possible.

Nesting

I am an OC person when it comes to staking out and laying claim to a territory.

Everytime I travel, the first thing I do is unpack. I display all my toiletries, put my toothbrush in the cup, place my shampoo in the shower, hang all my clothes and arrange my footwear at the foot of the closet. It's always a ritual for me to also open the hotel directory and look at all the amenities offered even if I don't plan on doing any of them. I need to make this place my own (albeit even if only for a night or two) and study my surroundings.

So, it comes as no surprise when it came for me to actually settle into my new place, the 3rd place that I would eventually recognize as "home" (the 1st was my grandma's house where I lived for 10 years and the 2nd where my family moved thereafter and where I've been living for 17 years now), I would exert all my efforts madly to make it my own.

I know my boyfriend was ready to kill me but for 3 straight days since the day we arrived in Singapore, we went to good old Ikea. Even though my flat was supposedly fully furnished, the bedroom was sparse with only a bed and a closet. I needed a desk, a night table, a lamp, photo frames, hanging pictures, hamper, sofa bed, mirror, shoe rack, trash cans, beddings, cushions (okay so maybe some were actually wants and not needs). And he was sweet because I bugged him to carry and fix up most of the furniture.

I am a true-blue Libran. I appreciate and need beautiful things around me to be happy. If I was going to be away from the people I love, then all the more I need to be comfortable and look forward to at least going home. I revel in seeing my closet filled to the brim and my desk overflowing. It makes the place feel more like my own than some stranger's. It makes me feel that I am really living in this country and not just here on an extended vacation.

What is it about things that bring us comfort? I love my comfy sofa chair where I curl up and watch my download videos and my soft khaki quilt where I sleep in every weekend. I love the clothes I brought because they bring familiarity. I love the way my desk is now organized into a make-up dresser area and my magazine holders now hold various folders of bills and documents. Most of all I love my mini gallery facing the bed which display a myriad of memories and faces.