Happy Birthday To My Son.

In our family birthday celebrations last all week long and into the weekend. We started my son's ninth birthday celebration in the Philippines and ended it in Hong Kong. In the Philippines we ate at the first TGIFridays that I ever ate at. Back in 1995 it when the restaurant chain made its way over to Manila, it was a big deal. Now there are so many western chains out in the Philippines that it's not a big deal anymore. The hotel we were staying at was right next to the Fridays, and we found ourselves at the restaurant on one of our final nights in Manila. 

Back in Hong Kong, my son got to have what he declares as his best birthday yet. He invited his best buddies and we took them all to see the movie Zootopia in 3D and then out to lunch. He ended his evening building his massive Lego set that he got as his birthday present.

The Philippines - Ayala Museum.

For one of the days I was in Makati on my own with my two kids, I took them to the Ayala Museum. My parents told me I've been there several times as a child, but when I was there nothing seemed familiar. The six story museum gave us great information on the history of gold in the Philippines, the influence of different pottery from China and surrounding Asian countries, and fun dioramas that depicted some of the history I got to live through. History in the 1980's with Ninoy Aquino getting shot and the EDSA People Power Revolution. My kids found it amazing that I got to experience it!

The Philippines - Homeschooling On Holiday.

I brought along the kid's school work for the week because we are continuing to chip away at our curriculum. I have the personality that if I were to stop the routine it's hard for me to pick it back up. As the mom in charge of my two kid's education I know it's vital for them to keep learning every day. So while my husband was attending his conference for work in the Philippines, I was having our kids do work before they could get into the hotel pool and we could explore more of Makati. 

The Philippines - Greenbelt (Ayala Center).

Our hotel in Makati, the Dusit Thani, was within walking distance of the Ayala Center or also known as Greenbelt. Greenbelt is a mall spread out in five different sections with high end shopping, eating, a movie theatre, and a church. I was not really in the Philippines to shop but, the kids and I would walk over for lunch and eat at one of the restaurants with outside seating. It was the perfect spot to people watch.

The Philippines - Dusit Thani Hotel.

We finished off our last days in the Philippines in Makati because my husband had a conference he needed to attend for work. We stayed at the Dusit Thani hotel which was close to the major Edsa highway and in walking distance of the Greenbelt shopping center and plenty of other shopping malls. There wasn't too much to do in Makati except shop and the stores were big brands like Gucci and above my desired price point. 

My husband and I got a bit of a laugh when we checked into our single king sized room and the front desk (after seeing we had two kids with us) asked if we wanted to upgrade to an extra 200 square feet for an additional price. We declined the nice offer and were thankful when we saw that the room we were to be staying in for the rest of the week was actually a bit bigger than our apartment in Hong Kong. After living in less than 400 square feet, we know what small space living is all about.

The hotel offered a nice pool that was relatively empty of other people swimming around and we spent plenty of time out in the sun and in the water. 

The Philippines - Riding The Sky Eye.

This makes our fourth country to ride their version of the London Eye. During our stay in Tagaytay, we rode the Sky Eye. The view at the top was amazing as we could see Taal volcano and the surrounding lake. Each car was air conditioned and we went around one time. The kids loved seeing the people on the ground who were riding the amusement park rides. 

The Philippines - Sky Ranch.

When we were in Tagaytay, the Sky Ranch was a short walk down from the hotel we were staying at. One day we walked down to ride the Sky Eye and told the kids they could pick out three other rides to ride. We had a fun time of together at the amusement park and there were fantastic views of the volcano from the park as well. 

The Philippines - Hotel Monticello.

This was the first time our family has gone on a vacation and not booked everything beforehand. While we were in Quezon City, my husband scoured the internet for a good deal on a hotel in Tagaytay and we found a relatively new hotel offering a fabulous package. {Hotel Monticello} was a friendly boutique hotel making sure to meet all the needs of their guests. The hotel was so spacious that we felt as though we were the only ones staying there. 

The kids loved the time spent at the swimming pool and the hotel breakfast buffet each morning. One evening I grabbed my son and we had ice cream sundaes in the hotel restaurant as a little date.  

The Philippines - We Found Doughnuts!!!

Oh Krispy Kreme doughnuts how I have missed you!!! We were so excited to take advantage of this sweet treat while we were in the Philippines. Unfortunately, our top priority was eating halo-halo every day and so we would typically try to save our calories for that particular treat native to the Philippines. We did get to eat a dozen doughnuts one day, but there was no "hot now" sign flashing and the no chocolate kreme filled doughnuts.

The Philippines - Taal Volcano.

After our long hike up the volcano we finally made it to the crater and we saw Vulcan Point Island. The island, within a lake, in a volcano, in a lake, on an island. Back in the early 1990's when I camped out on Taal Volcano, with the three grade levels of middle school, kids hiked up and were able swim inside the crater. No one was able to swim in it now, much to the disappointment of my husband and son. At the top of the crater, there were people selling coconuts and cold drinks. We had made sure to pack snacks and plenty of water in our backpack so we took a bit of a break before we headed back down the mountain. 

The Philippines - Hiking Taal Volcano.

Hiking Taal volcano was definitely a highlight for our family on this particular vacation. The hike up was pretty steep in places, but our kids are familiar with hiking, since we've done several long hikes with them in Hong Kong. There was no complaining from either of them and they were good sports. The sand and dust from the volcano was thick in places, but we came prepared protective sunglasses and bandanas to cover our eyes and faces. 

Before we came out on our hike, we talked to our kids about the different people who would try to convince us to hire a horse to ride up the path to the volcano. We'd read where the horses aren't properly taken care of, and it was evident by the way they were treated as they went past us carrying tourists on their backs up the hill. My son is convinced they need a cable car up the volcano, but unfortunately the current economy would not support that expense. 

The hike down was a bit faster for us than going up, but by the time we were back at the base of the volcano, our legs and clothes were covered in several inches of dust and grime. We all had a good sit down to shake out our shoes.

The Philippines - Banka Riding Out To Taal Volcano.

In order to get out to the volcano from the mainland, we had to take a little banka boat ride. My husband did a lot of research reading personal blogs of people who had hiked Taal volcano and what they recommended. We knew that locals would typically try to take advantage of tourists, and though I look Filipino, my knowledge of Tagalog was sporadic and we knew we couldn't rely on that. We knew that the price to take us over to the volcano via boat would be P2,000. 

From our hotel we hired a private van service to take us the twenty minute drive down to the water. There the driver took us directly to a prearranged boat package where we paid our money and got in our banka. 

When we got to the other side, a little old lady brought out a questionable board for us to walk on and we were taken to the spot that all tourists had to pay a fee for being on the volcano. Our banka driver told us he would be there waiting for us when we got back from the top of the volcano, and off we hiked.

We were thankful to see the banka driver when we came back to the base of the volcano, and we were told to give the little old lady a P50 docking fee.

The Philippines - Tagaytay.

While we were in Manila, my husband and I booked a hotel and a private van shuttle to pick us up from my house in Quezon City directly to our hotel in Tagaytay where we would be hiking up an active volcano. {I will do another post on our wonderful hotel that we ended up finding and the amazing deal we got.} 

Being out of the city and in the country was literally a breath of fresh air. The temperatures were actually cool and the wind was strong. We ate our weight in rice and fried squid at the local restaurants around our hotel. The food specialty our the area was "bulalo" which is buffalo. The way the restaurant cooked it, caused the buffalo meat to just fall off the bones. 

The Philippines - We Found Food Trucks.

I grew up living in Quezon City near the University of the Philippines. My little subdivision of Teacher's Village has really changed over the past twenty years. Maginhawa Street is no longer purely residential, but has become a street full of restaurants. Every evening we would walk to Philcoa for our halo-halo and we were impressed with the selection of restaurants we had to choose from. You can imagine my complete surprise when I discovered a food truck scene at StrEat.

The Philippines - Hello Open Markets.

One of my favorite things about being back in the Philippines is all the fresh fruit that is available. I should also say all the organic fruit that is available in the open markets on the side of the street. In my limited Tagalog, I would purchase fruit for our family, but I was never quite comfortable enough to bargain with them nor did I feel right about taking a few pennies from their livelihood when they clearly needed it more than I did.

The Philippines - It's So Good To Be Home.

Growing up as Third Culture Kid, I never know quite where to call home. Home is really where my family little family of four is, but then I come back to the Philippines and we stay at the house that I grew up in, and we walk around my old neighborhood and I realize... This. Is. Home. 

The Philippines with all of its grime and grit, the chaos of the traffic and the mass of people. This is what I associate best with and where my heart is most content. It's definitely a strange feeling to have those emotions rise to the surface again after being gone for eight years. My husband can tell a difference and it makes him happy as well. He tells me I'm more grounded in the Philippines. Having known each other 18 years, I'm more back to the person he met so long ago. And isn't that life? That home is supposed to bring out the best in you?

A Taste Of The Philippines.

The World Wide House building is to Filipinos what Chungking Mansion is to Indians. One day I will do a more detailed post on what World Wide House Plaza all has to offer, but for now, if I'm ever craving a taste of the Philippines and my childhood, I take myself down to World Wide and have a meal at Jollibee and pick up some dessert from some of the stalls owned by fellow Filipino's! 

Ice Candy.

The sidewalks in Central on Hong Kong Island on a Sunday are full of domestic workers sitting on any space deemed acceptable for them to sit on. Our family had skipped church for the day and we were waiting for a friend to meet us, so we decided to pass the time by eating our take out lunch on a concrete ledge. Finding the perfect spot turned out to be harder than anticipated. There are many spots in Central that the domestic workers are allowed to sit, but they are not allowed to eat in that spot. We finally found a place on the concrete that we could sit and eat, surrounded by women who work very hard for the meager amount of money that they make. 

Since the majority of domestic workers are from the Philippines, we had women who have a side business of selling things they have made come up to us. My husband purchased three little plastic bags of frozen "ice candy" for him and the kids to try. 

Ice candy is a fun fiesta food that is served in the Philippines. It is made from the meat of a young coconut, sweeten condensed milk, evaporated milk, and canned fruit cocktail that is then frozen in narrow, thin, plastic bags. 

Thailand Via Manila.

As a family, we decided to take our summer holiday and volunteer somewhere in Asia. Since my parents are missionaries and know a lot of missionaries, I did not think we would have a problem finding a place to volunteer. However, all our contacts ended up in closed doors, until a friend of ours from our small group at church told us her brother had volunteered in Thailand a couple times. Rupert got us in contact with a lady and her family who live in a remote village in Thailand. I'll be honest, I was {and still am, as I'm writing this from Thailand} a little nervous about going to a place sight unseen and not knowing anything about this family. We were told that they are a family that has a home for kids, we could build concrete buildings for them {manual labor}, help with soccer camps, and teach English in the public school.

The day finally came that we were to make our first trip to Thailand. With a little trepidation, we were packed and on the bus headed to the airport when my husband realized he had forgotten to bring along our Thai money that we had taken out of the bank the day before. After a quick plan that we hastily put together, my husband got off the bus and the kids and I continued on to the airport where twenty minutes later we were reunited and headed on our way. We ate a breakfast at Starbucks for the kids, and had a caffeine fix for my husband and I while we waited for our flight to board. 

A thirty minute layover in Manila meant we literally ran through the airport without much time to say hello to the mother land. The Ninoy Aquino airport is undergoing renovation, and we had to go through some declaration point instead of just being able to run to our next flight. Three stalls in the ladies bathroom for all transfer flights was also a bit inconvenient, and we never did get to relieve ourselves before we had to board.

Once we landed in Thailand, we met the family whose village we are staying at to help them. We all immediately piled into a taxi van for a four hour ride to the village. Forty minutes into the ride, both my kids passed out just to be awakened twenty minutes later for dinner. After our first meal in Thailand... can we say spicy food?!? With my son having a melt down and embarrassing my husband and I in front of our new friends, we then got back into the taxi van where everyone shut their eyes and the driver took us to the village, arriving at 1:30 in the morning.