¡Que suerte en San Juan!

It took me a while to find a slot-machine with the view of the wide screen tv. I wanted to secure a seat with a view so I can watch the much awaited Pacquiao-Hutton match. Earlier that day, we had gone beach hopping in San Juan where we walked what could have been four miles of coast line. We started from Isla Verde, east of the city, and walked westward to Ocean Park and then finally to Condado beach taking a cerveza break in between beaches. Take note that walking on sand is much harder compared to strolling on concrete sidewalk. So imagine how incredibly soothing on my back and legs to just sit down inside the hotel’s casino.

5th of July in a Philly bar

The next round of drinks is on me. My shout.
We are celebrating Nelson's birthday a day early because mijo and I will fly back to SF tomorrow and this is our last night in Philadelphia. I convinced them that it is okay since Nelson was born in the Philippines and it is a day ahead of the U.S. Technically, it is his birthday tonight. A belated 4th of July can also be used as an alibi to celebrate, I thought to myself.

4 Hours Of Deep Thoughts

I've been on my feet for almost four hours now, that I started getting shooting pains in my legs and my lower back, as if my body is telling me it has overdosed on seeing the museum's prehistoric artifacts and ancient Chinese and North American relics. My stomach also started warning me that a lunch break has been long overdue. We still had two more floors to cover at the Royal Ontario Museum so the museum's café sounded like the logical choice to get sustenance.

Ode to Kitakits*

by the water fountain
we were all supposed to meet
in a place called libis**
seems like a fun place to sit down and eat

Manila rain

There I was. Sitting alone at Café Havana while the rain outside seemed like not letting up. My sis and a friend had excused themselves earlier to freshen up. I took a sip of my chilled mangojito which is concoction of rhum, mango juice and crushed mint leaves. It is the Manila version of the classic mojito cocktail.

Viajamos a La Ciudad de México

Here I am again, back in Mexico, and my fourth time to be exact. This time we went to the mother of all Mexican cities instead of the coasts. I realized it is the most times I've visited a country other than the States and the Islands so when Mexicans in la ciudad ask for my ethnicity (probably because of the way I speak Spanish and with a thick foreign drawl), I jokingly tell them Soy un Filipino Mexicanizado. I get a smile back 99% of the time.

Island Tour Bohol

The original plan was to go to Palawan although we weren't exactly sure where to - Puerto Princesa, Coron, or El Nido. The Salvadoran also wanted to stay one more day wherever we were headed. So that would make the package a 4 days / three nights. I started making arrangements with the travel agent in Manila a little too late because the Salvadoran didn't arrive from Vietnam until 12/19. I learned that there are only a few chartered flights from Manila to Palawan so 4 days in the island would already include Christmas eve and we didn't like that. My mom and siblings wouldn't appreciate that either. I had to make another plan. Bohol and Panglao Island sounded right.

Konnichi wa from Tokyo, Japan

That and four other phrases sum up my Japanese language skills. This is probably why Tokyo, or Japan for that matter, was not in my list of places to visit. Not even after seeing the movie 'Lost in Translation'. Other than my brother and my sister-in-law, I don't know anyone else making a big deal about Japan.