My Last Manila Bay Sunset...

My vacation in the Philippines is almost over.  By noon tomorrow, I will be at the NAIA’s Terminal 3 dragging my suitcase to the check-in counter and hoping that the its weight does not exceed my baggage allowance.  Although most of the time, I don’t care if it does. If I have to pay extra for the excess weight, I would, as long as I have my Manapla puto, my dulce gatas, my hopia and all my other baons to Seoul in that huge maleta!

And on my last afternoon, I met with my former assistants Amy and Jenelyn at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City. I really don’t like huge malls; just too much people. There’s just one place I like in this mall: that alley by the south wing where they sell bibingkas and other local delicacies. 

After shopping and enjoying our bibingkas, we headed to the mall’s Seaside Boulevard for one reason: to catch the Manila Bay sunset. When I was still working in Manila, I’d usually catch the sunset from an office window or while I was passing through Roxas Boulevard. It was just one glance and that was it. I guess I took it for granted. One of the most spectacular sunsets in the world, that is.

And today, my last afternoon in Manila, I just needed to take a glimpse once more of that spectacular sight of the sun setting on the bay.

And so, along with a few hundred people strolling, sitting and relaxing by the bayside, where there were a few rides for kids and a few statues that pay homage to the Filipino professionals, Amy, Jenelyn and I waited for sundown. I wasn’t sure if I was the only one in that area who was excited about the time passing. I shouldn’t be actually rushing time as I would have to leave home again, and be away from friends and family once more. But I think all these years, I am used to that arrangement already.

A tourist boat roaming the Manila Bay, a few birds flying above and clouds by the horizon completed the picture.  No wonder people flock to Manila Bay at this time of the afternoon. From Manila’s Baywalk area to the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, and down to our spot, hundreds must also be sitting along the boulevard facing the horizon, not just eagerly awaiting for the same moment, but also enjoying a picture of serenity the bay offers at this time of the day.

Finally, the sun was finally nearing the horizon, which was now turning red, and the sun getting bigger but sinking. A huge, circular orange-red ball of light slowly dipping down past the straight line of the horizon with its colors reflecting on the waters below it and the darkening skies above it. This was the experience I took for granted before. This was the experience I missed.

At this moment, all eyes must have been fixed towards the horizon just like mine; but not everyone was trying to remember this sight and experience like it was their last. Unlike me, they can always come here tomorrow or any day they want; I could not.  They can always walk towards the bay and watch one of the most spectacular sunsets in the world any afternoon they want.

But for me, at least for now, this had to do and had to be…my last Manila Bay sunset. 

"I Believe I Can Fly..."

Yes, I believe I can fly. But unlike R. Kelly, I don’t believe I can touch the sky. Ha-ha-ha! 

                                                (Mount Silay from afar)

Thanks to the Wright Brothers and to the thousands of aircraft manufacturers, everyone can indeed fly! And when I ride these flying machines, I make sure I get a window seat especially if the scenery down below is a must-see. 

One of my most memorable flyovers was the one over Mount Fuji on my way back to Seoul from Tokyo. I had only seen Mt. Fuji on textbooks and postcards when I was little. On that flight, I could not believe that I was actually flying over the iconic mountain. I hope someday, I can get close and personal with Fuji-yama on foot, and not from Seat 3A. Ha-ha-ha!

                        (The uninteresting Victorias Coliseum. Ha-ha-ha!)

Today, I wasn't flying over a mountain. I was flying over haciendas, villages, rivers and a city I am so familiar with. Mine. 

                                                     (Victorias City. Do you
                           recognize some obvious structures?)

From the Bacolod-Silay Airport, the airport in the Philippines that has the most picturesque view, my domestic flight to Manila took off and from my window seat, I enjoyed the passing scenery of haciendas or plantations of sugarcane in patches of different shapes, rivers and Mount Silay from afar. 

(Why the murky beaches today?)

 A few minutes out, and I could see my hometown (or homecity?), Victorias, which actually looked like a small settlement of reddish brown-colored rooftops and trees. The most recognizable structures were the Catholic and Mormon churches, the city's main commercial arcade, that supermarket after Taytay Baho (which literally means, 'Smelly Bridge' that crosses over a smelly river of waste water coming from Victorias Milling Company millsite), and most eerie, the public cemetery, which looks like a huge collection of white blocks northeast of the city. 

Far from the city proper, I could recognize the Victorias Coliseum, which I have never set foot on. Why? Because it's freakin' very far from the city proper. I'm not interested in visiting it anyway.

And while the plane was flying out of the Negros Island, only then that I realized the waters by the coastal areas were that murky. Was it because of too much silt? It looked brownish and cloudy. Hmm. And to think I used to enjoy swimming on those beaches when I was a kid.

And while we were cruising over the Visayan Sea and Jintotolo Channel, I spotted paradise! Gosh, I wished that Victorias was just a short boat-ride from this islet with white sand beaches! I wonder who lives there! Or more important, who owns it? But it looks like it's closer to the Panay Island then Negros though.

I think it's fun naming the topography from your window seat if you know your geography very well. During my junior days working in Makati City, Philippines, I was sent to the field alone. I was to fly from Manila to land at San Jose. I was so confident of my knowledge of Philippine geography that I was so confused when the plane started its descent after only about 20 minutes. I could not believe that the flight from Manila to San Jose, Antique, was that short. I didn't know that I wasn't bound for San Jose, Antique; I was bound for San Jose, Mindoro. Ha-ha-ha! Luckily, I made it to my final destination, the Semirara Island, after making one more flight on a very small plane (from the San Jose, Mindoro domestic airport) which I think could only hold four people, including the pilot.

                                   (My in-flight snacks!)

And today, I wasn't flying on that single-engine plane with a very bumpy ride and a limited number of seats. With more than a hundred passengers on this flight and with my own Manapla puto as in-flight snacks, I continued to enjoy the view from my window seat.

             (Who owns this islet? Notice the white sand beaches!)

So, the next time I book a plane ticket, I guess I'd be choosing a window seat and be singing R. Kelly's song again.

"I believe I can fly....I believe I can touch the sky....I think about it every night and day...spread my wings and fly away..."

Cooling Off With Dongbinggo's Patpingsu!

In the Philippines, to cool off, we have halo-halo (or mix-mix). Since I could only get halo-halo at the Pinoy market in Hyehwha-dong on Sundays, or at my friends' homes during summer, I resort to the Korean version of halo-halo, bingsu, a concoction of ice shavings, milk and a couple more ingredients, the most popular of which is sweetened red beans, or pat. And the most common bingsu is patbingsu.

(My friend Rio's halo-halo ingredients at her home in Seoul)

When my good friend Justin mentioned a patbingsu place as a comment to my Facebook post about my favorite patpingsu café in Hannam-dong, I thought he was talking about that area near Itaewon and Bogwang-dong.

Dongbinggo-dong  is a small neighborhood in Yongsan-gu, and Dongbinggo is the name of the most popular patpingsu  place in the whole of Yongsan-gu!  But this café is not in Dongbinggo-dong as I thought it was. It’s in Ichon-dong!

I only discovered the actual location of Dongbinggo when I was browsing the pages of http://english.visitkorea.or.kr  featuring the best patpingsu places in Seoul.  And when I learned that it’s just a quick bus ride away, I decided to visit the place!

                             (Ichon-dong's rubberized sidewalks! 
                           So comfortable to walk on!)

So, one very hot lunch time, I tried to venture out to Ichon-dong, which is just a quick bus ride from my office. Before having patpingsu as a dessert, I decided to grab a real meal before that. A couple of years ago, I discovered a good hamburger joint near the Ichon Station. This time, while I was walking towards that arcade, I stumbled upon another hamburger joint and decided to try it.

                                                                  (A good lunch)

                   (The view from the arcade's second floor)

Smokey Saloon is on the second floor of a low-rise arcade in front of residential apartment buildings. It’s actually just right on a bus stop and has a variety of hamburger choices, depending on the ingredients. I chose the easiest one, right on top of the menu. After all, they are all hamburgers to me. The only difference is the name the restaurants come up with. After munching down my Ambulance Burger (not sure if I remember it right), complete with a fried egg on top, I was now on my quest for the best patpingsu in the neighbourhood! It was a good lunch, by the way.

Since walking down from the Smokey Saloon arcade in this scorching summer day was out of the question, I took the bus again and got off in front of the Geumkang Hospital, and just across the street is my destination of the day.

                                 (My take-out number)

When I got there, the place was already full of patrons enjoying their shaved-ice delights and more were even waiting in line as Dongbinggo only had a few tables. So, when I got in, expecting to get a number, I settled for the other option: take-out!  I couldn’t afford to wait for a table and within three minutes, I got my take-out!  I ordered a patpingsu, although they have other bingsu varieties.  My take-out was put in a plastic bowl and sealed inside a pack with dry ice!  As they say, 'Have dry ice, will travel'!

                                                  (Dongbinggo menu and prices)

For only KRW6,500, my patpingsu from the famed Dongbinggo was now travelling with me back to the office ready to be enjoyed without having to wait for a table. But as I stood there at the bus stop waiting for the Blue Bus 100, I was surprised another patpingsu place was just across the street, Bukchon Patpingsu.  Hmm. Perhaps, another patpingsu place to try next time? 

                  (Bukchon Patpingsu across Dongbinggo)

And for the rest of Dongbinggo patbingsu story, I'd rather show you the pictures. Or what's left of my take-out. :-)

(Leaving Dongbinggo in a pack)

               (Take-out in a foil pack with plastic spoons)

(It was definitely worth the trip!)

                                (Going...going...gone...)