Trippin’ - A travel blog

Just turned 30 two months ago and here’s what I have learned in life so far… and I reckon you should too:

1) What you learn in the confines of a classroom can only get you so far.  It’s what you learn from the people around you, apart from your professors, that make the difference.   Honestly, I have learned more things in the 1.5 years I have spent in Grad school rather than 3 years of Business school.  Difference was, I was surrounded by a diverse group of individuals - different cultures, varying degree of experiences from fresh college grads to 40 yr old bankers.  Bottomline, everyone had an opinion and discussions were just more interesting.  It should make one think twice if getting an undergraduate degree right after high school is the best option or not.

2) If you have cash to spare - travel.  It’s not about traveling being a status symbol - it’s all about soaking in the experience and well, being more worldly which no textbook or website can give, because it’s a personal experience.  Notice how people who have not even traveled outside their own state are just so ignorant? ‘Nuff said.

3) A job is just that - a job.  You do your damn best not because you want to keep your job forever, you do it because you don’t want to be fired when you have bills, rent or loans to pay RIGHT NOW.

4) If you still are discovering and defining who you are, that’s alright.  But by the time you reach 30, you should at least have a good idea of what you don’t want - be it in a relationship, career, etc.

5) Now I understand why religion exists.  It doesn’t matter what one believes in, it’s there to keep your sanity intact - that things will get better even if all things surrounding you are not going your way and are just so screwed up.  It’s there to keep your hopes up, so keep the faith! It’s your last resort to explain things that defy logic.

6) Having a lot of friends may be fun.   But if you do not have deep personal relationships with any of them, it’s useless.  In this aspect of life, quality is still better than quantity.

7) Php 1M is not a huge sum of money, well at least depending on one’s circumstances.  If you have bills and loans to pay, Php1M won’t get you far.  But if you still have Php 1M after all bills are paid; you have your own place and a car and its all paid in full, then yes it is a considerable amount of money.

Going out or traveling with a big group of friends may sound fun.  But the amount time wasted and the stress in coordinating logistics to accommodate everyone (ie their budget and preferences) is a nightmare.  The best ones, especially if it is a trip abroad should be at an absolute maximum of 4.

9) It is a much less painful experience to have your eyebrows waxed than threaded. 

10) I was wrong about Manila before, about wanting to leave it behind thinking it was a wasteland.  If you do it right in your 20’s, you have a good chance of  attaining a  pretty good lifestyle by the time you hit  your late 20’s and 30’s.  Think about it, most of your Caucasian counterparts are still in the process of paying their student loans by this age.  While you, again if you do it right-meaning managing your cashflow and capacity to earn properly, are shopping at the higher end shops (not necessarily designer but several notches above KMart and Walmart), taking your pick from the numerous fine dining and specialty restaurants that are now available in the city, traveling locally and abroad at least twice a year and of course regular spa and salon treatments.  And this is on top of the monthly amortizations you pay for your own place or car, or both!

Hopefully by this time you can truthfully say that life is good.

A year ago I made a decision to change my very fast paced corporate lifestyle - I took a breather, unpaid of course, a sabbatical of sorts.  If I didn’t, probably in another year or 2, I would have been promoted to a VP level role.  Do I regret the decision? Not sure yet.  What I do know is that it gave me the chance to do things that I had never found the time to do, like traveling. 

For those who are part of the "dog-eats-dog" corporate world, you know how stressful and fast paced life can be.  I took it a notch further, I took the express route (like a handful of people I know) where the  stress levels were at least twice the intensity.  Any person whose role is to lead a team of at least a few hundred individuals will tell you it’s not an easy task.  Long days, minimal sleep, high as the sky expectations, you name it.  A typical work day for me back then was 14-18 hour work days where I get up just in time for a 10 minute status report from my team before jumping off to a conference call with senior executives and/or my clients.  I saw my inbox and Outlook calendar in my dreams (this is no joke).  My working my ass off mode paid off in more ways than one.  A couple of promotions, bonuses, a video by the client thanking and congratulating me and the team for a job well done and an almost interview with some business publication distributed across Asia (almost being the operative term here - we had to cancel at the last minute) - all of these were smiling back at me.  But one question was burning a hole in my brain - what good is all of this if I’m not enjoying it?  I tried taking a 10 day break to make use of my leave benefits, and yet after 10 days, I was still asking myself the same question.  So I took a leap of faith and just did it - I handed in my resignation letter and began my transition to my successor.

It felt weird at 1st: not being challenged.  Sure, I helped out in our family business, but it was child’s play compared to what I was used to.  What I didn’t realize though was how much beating my body took from all of the stress that accumulated for almost 4 years.  I had occasional palpitations (and this was after I left my job).  Had myself checked and true enough the diagnosis was chronic fatigue which shortly developed into anxiety attacks. As if that wasn’t enough, I also didn’t realize I was experiencing asthma attacks which were also stress induced according to my doctor.  I took my medications and got myself a therapist and learned soon after that it was me, my high expectations to myself and my fear of failure that made up the root cause.  Lesson # 1 for me: Listen to my body, think positive and take calculated risks.  I’m still working very very hard on the 2nd one.

Well, the best part of this past year of course was the free time.  I took advantage of this and did some traveling, spending time with family and friends, hitting the gym, taking photos of what captures my fancy, reading a book…all the things I didn’t get to do (or purposely pushed aside) during the past few years.  In fact, next week I’m off to KL. It was and still is, high time for me to go out and smell the roses, and that’s exactly what I did.  The really, really good part of traveling while one is on a corporate hiatus is that while enjoying the scenery, you don’t have to worry about office matters like if this report was done or if the person you put in charge is on top of things and worrying about all the work waiting for you when you get back.  Life is good.

I did try to get back to the corporate world a few months back, but realized that I was not ready to go back…at least not yet.  My mistake was shifting back to full gear from day 1 because I thought I had to, with the challenge of launching 3 new programs while learning the business of my new employer, adjusting to a new living space and 2 hour weekly commutes to and from Manila, it was hard but at least I was able to do the job.  However, at the end of day I was unhappy.  Something good came out of it though, the re-introduction of stress cured my anxiety attacks - weird. Lesson #2: If I can successfully transition out of a role, I can successfully transition into a new role (transition being the operative word).

And now that year long break is nearing its end.  I’m about to affix my signature above that dotted line on a piece of paper called an employment contract and surprisingly, I’m really excited about it.  There were lessons learned this past year which helped me discover more about myself be it physically, mentally & psychologically and I sure hope I’ll put it into good use.  It me set me back a year behind some of my peers who could be promoted to a director or a senior executive role anytime soon, but during the past 12 months I realized, what’s the rush?  I know I’ll catch up in due time and it will be a leveled playing field again - because I know I can.  So do I regret the decision I made a year ago? - right now the answer is no.

Right now I’ll enjoy my (hopefully) last 2 weeks of vacation and make the most of my KL trip.  After that, it’s GAME ON.  If you do plan to make a similar decision, just one piece of advice, make sure your bank account can support you through this phase since it will be some time before you see another paycheck deposited in your account.

Too bad the 2 Indian models were already eliminated from the Amazing Race Asia as this week’s pit stop will be in India.

Did you notice the reaction of the teams when they learned that after Thailand, they would be flying off to Calcutta for their next set of challenges?   Their reaction was just so different compared to how their American counterparts would react to the thought of going to India.  The American teams would get excited and all, while the Asians and the white folks based in Asia had a "Oh great..you’ve got to be kidding" expression on their faces.   

I haven’t been to India myself, but from what I’ve heard the place you’d want to definitely visit is Goa - skip Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi and just go straight to Goa and supposedly you’ll have a blast.  What I was told as well was that all you need to bring are 2 sets of swimsuits, a shirt and a toothbrush and you’ll survive with only that for 2 weeks.  Errr….I don’t think so.  If I do get the chance to go there, I’ll tell you about it through this blog.

If someone asked
me 5 years ago what would be my comfort food, my response would be sushi or
Japanese Chicken curry or dimsum.  Now, it’s anything Indian or
Greek.  So I decided to give Cyma a try.  Cyma first opened its doors
in sunny Boracay and now they have arrived in Manila.

The first time I saw their Edsa Shang branch a few months back, I was laughing so hard when I saw an item on their menu (and written on a blackboard) because it had a funny name - Loukanika - well at least I thought it was funny.  Loukanika is a flaming greek sausage, I told my friend that we should definitely have that (pun inteded).

Back to what I thought of the restaurant and how I can’t help but compare it to Cafe Mediterrenean, the menu of Cyma is definitely more extensive than Cafe Med with several Greek dishes which I have never had before and this would include their starters.  I tried their sampler which I believe is called Pikilia - it had Melitzanosalata (eggplant, tomato, garlic, lemon in EVOO), Htipiti (creamed feta cheese) and common favorites tsatziki and hummus.  I noticed the presentation was really nice (as seen in photo) and better than how it is served in Cafe Med.  When it came to the taste, I would have to say that Cafe Med’s tsatziki is way way better than Cyma’s.  The pita bread used in Cyma was also something not worth raving about as it did not taste like it was freshly made in other words, it tasted commercial.  The only time I appreciated the tsatziki was when I mixed it together with their melitzanosalata.  However, what did catch my attention was Cyma’s moussaka.  Now that was really good.  However, I would recommend that this dish be shared with 2 more people since it tastes so rich.  Cyma has a specialty called Saganaki which is flaming cheese - now what’s up with Cyma and dishes that go on fire?  Good question - I don’t know.

Overall, it was an ok experience.  I may go back to try out a few more dishes which I can’t find on Cafe Med’s menu.  However, if I had to choose between the 2, Cafe Med’s food win over Cyma anytime of the day - no doubt about that.
 

Spent my Christmas at Subic and this has got to be my worst Christmas dinner ever - I barely had dinner at all.  For some only-god-knows-what reason, a caterpillar landed on my right arm or some insect decided to sting me or (not sure which one really).  So there I was, not knowing if suddenly my allergy is acting up again (in which case I am usually rushed to the hospital since my airway passage swells) or if it was caused by the insect or caterpillar.  Anyways, after 3 spoonfuls or should I say chopstickfuls of tempura udon, I decided not to eat anymore in case it was my allergies going crazy again.  I didn’t want to ruin the rest of my Christmas night by being strapped down to a hospital bed.  So I heeded to my mom’s advice of soaking the infected area with vinegar to neutralize the toxins - and guess what - it worked!!!  It did sting pretty bad though, and of course I reeked of vinegar (cider vinegar to be exact).  After the stinging, the swelling started to subside and after an hour it was completely gone. Oh well, it could have been worse.  Now where’s the menu for room service…

Milan

Stylish and sophisticated, you want to enjoy a truly European life - away from tourists!
Milan fits you perfectly. Great shopping, high quality food, lots of culture… with very little hype.

http://www.blogthings.com/whateuropeancitydoyoubelonginquiz

According to Blogthings, my French name is

Michèle Giraud

http://www.blogthings.com/frenchnamegenerator/

You have probably heard of Cebu Pacific’s P99 sale for any domestic destination.  It is a good price, but don’t expect to pay just P198 for a 2 way ticket.  There are applicable taxes and other fees you know.  Expect to pay a little less than P2200 for your airfare.  It’s still dirt cheap so stop complaining.  As for me, I’m off to Palawan this January!!!

Quick Australian geographical facts.

There are 6 states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania) and 2 territories in Australia (Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory).  The biggest of them all is Western Australia with Perth as its capital city.  It occupies the entire western coast of the continent and because it’s so big, the sights, scenaries, foliage and natural formations vary depending on which part of WA you’re at.

If my 1st impression of Sydney was that I hated it (and eventually turned into loving it), Perth was the exact opposite.  I love this city and I still truly do.  The city skyline (especially at night), the food, the sights and the people are the things that make it so special.

If you want to see what Perth and Western Australia has to offer, you need to stay for at least 2 weeks.  If you do the typical 3D/2N, you would think that Perth is boring and that’s because you’ll be limited to just looking around the city and Fremantle when there’s a whole world of things to explore.  As for me, I lived here for a year and a half. 

Some say the best years of their lives were their high school years.  Mine would be graduate school.  I met the most intresting set of friends and no surprises here, but we were the coolest gang on campus (at least for grad school).  We were like a walking United Colors of Benetton ad which made the experience memorable.  The whole cultural experince made me more worldly as they were ambassadors of their respective cultures.  The funny thing is that all of my classes were composed mostly of international students and there were less than 5 Australian born and bred classmates.  So you can just imagine our class presentations and discussions having a lot of "From where I come from…" flying around.

One of the things I love doing around Perth is to drive around.  These are my favourite driving routes:

1. Cottlesloe and Fremantle via Sterling Hwy - Start from the city centre then enter Sterling Hwy. Turn at Eric St to get to Cottleloe via Marine Pde. Make sure you stop by Indiana tea house or the Blue Duck cafe preferably before the sun sets.  Have coffee or tea while watching waves of the Indian Ocean gently kissing the shoreline.  Go back to Sterling Hwy and make your way to Fremantle.
2. Applecross and Garden City via Canning Highway - From the city, take Kwinana Hwy (South) and exit at Canning Hwy.  Turn right at Riseley St to enter Applecross.  Enjoy the city view from the park and expensive houses with magnificent river views!  Make your way back to Riseley and keep going til you see Garden City Mall.   Tip: Applecross has a lot of great cafes along Riseley! My personal favorite would be Merchant and The Cross for their Chai Latte.  There’s a Gelare’s cafe that serve the best waffles in the world and they are half price every Tuesday.  Similarly, movie tickets are also half price every Tuesday for some moviehouses like Hoyts @ Garden City.
3. South Perth via Riverside Dr - From the city, take Riverside drive headed towards East Perth.  Enter Causeway and exit to Great Eastern Hwy.  Turn at Mill Pt Rd.  South Perth has the best view of the city with the Swan River at the forefront, and there’s a lot of really nice apartments here too!
4. Sunset Coast  - From the city make your way to Scarborough via Mitchell Fwy then Scarborough Beach Rd.  Enjoy Scarborough beach and Observation City.  Hop back in and head to West Coast Hwy.  Traverse the entire West Coast Hwy and enjoy the million dollar houses that face the Indian Ocean.  You will actually end up at Cottlesloe beach then Fremantle if you keep on going further. 

Personal picks:

Eat!

• Gelare - Did I mention Gelare earlier? Well this place is so good that it is worth mentioning twice in this blog.  With branches all over Perth, there is no excuse for any visitor NOT to drop by and enjoy the fabulous waffles.  It is considered an institution in Perth.  My personal pick is the Applecross branch and my usual order is a freshly baked waffle with Cookies and Cream ice cream. 
• Cicerellos @ Fremantle - You go here to experience Australia’s best fish and chips.  The batter they use is so good that til now (which is approx. 9 mos since the last time I ate there) I can still taste and smell the barramundi I ordered.  To add to the experience, you dine outdoors beside docked boats and truly get a feel of the Fremantle port (complete with sea gulls of course).
• Oriel Cafe @ Subiaco - This place probably holds my fondest memories of university life.  Oriel is a 24 hour cafe located in the upscale suburb of Subiaco.  Since it is open 24 hours, you can already expect a lot of students here when they need a break from their long night spent studying or preparing for a project.  However, that does not mean that the ambiance has a university campus feel to it - far from it darling - the best way to describe Oriel is that it is posh and young yet casual.  My favourite things on their menu: Tiger Spice Chai Latte, their Chips with aioli dip and of course for breakfast, Oriel’s Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine.  It surely does not help that I’m writing this while I’m hungry.  Arrgghhh! I want my eggs benedict and chips right now!
• Asian Campervan @ Murdoch Uni - A favourite food joint for Murdoch and non Murdoch students for lunch.  I was surprised during my last visit to Perth that there are now tables and chairs for its patrons! Their satay and polo chicken are just soooo good and cheap.  It’s located near one of the carparks inside the campus.  I think it’s carpark #4.
• Taurus Hawker Food @ Willetton - Another Perth classic especially for Asians.  Food is cheap yet is tastes great.  I often order their Char Kway Teow, while a good friend of mine often gets their combination roast.
• Ohnamiya Japenese Restaurant @ Applecross- A classmate of mine who back then did some part time waitressing work at this restaurant recommended their Japanese chicken curry.  I never regretted ordering it and I have always ordered it whenever I find myself craving for Japanese food.  Their Karaage chicken is also very good as it is deep fried to perfection.

Live!

• Accommodation - As I mentioned in my entry for Sydney, when vacationing in Australia go for serviced apartments.  Medina is always a good choice and so is Saville. 
• Accommodation for incoming international students - What I would recommend is to go for a home stay arrangement where you would get to regularly interact with an Aussie family.  While there’s the challenge of adjusting to the lifestyle of the Aussie family you are staying with, the benefit of it is that you can join family bbq’s and get to regularly interact with people outside university life.  I stayed with a wonderful Aussie family and love every minute of it.  Your university’s International Student Centre can definitely arrange this for you.
• Good places to live in if you are moving to Perth permanently/semi permanently.  - If I had the money I would get a house with water views in Applecross or Cottlesloe or Peppermint Grove.  South or East Perth are also good options.  I would not live in the city since it’s pretty boring on weekends.

• Nightlife - One word, Northbridge.  There are pretty good clubs and bars in the area.  The classic Brass Monkey, Church (the club, not the religous kind), The Deen. Rise and so many others.  Feel free to go bar and club hopping all night!
• The Ultimate Perth and Western Australia vacation - As I have mentioned earlier, you need at least 2 weeks to enjoy the Perth and the Australian West Cost.  Below are the things and places to see for an unforgettable vacation:

1. Kings Park @ night.  Apart from the city skyline to enjoy from the edge of the park, the multi coloured lights which illuminate the tree lined path are really pretty at night.
2. Hillary’s - A very nice place to spend an afternoon with a nice cuppa’ (cup of tea).  If you want to feel Australia’s laid back attitude, then Hillary’s is a must see.
3. Fremantle - The City Centre makes you forget you are in Australia - you would think you’re in Europe.
4. Swan river - Enjoy the sails and the yachts on a lazy afternoon.
5. North of Perth: New Norcia and York - Historic towns not too far from Perth (about 1-2 hours away by car).  New Norcia has a monastery and it was here that I saw an artistic representation of the stations of the sross - it was done graffiti style.  York is a picturesque town that will surely bring you back in time.
6. North of Perth: Broome - Don’t drive, you need to fly to get to Broome.  Unless you want to spend several days on the road.  Your destination would be the Cable Beach resort where you can ride a camel while traversing the shoreline. 
7. North of Perth: Monkey Mia - You would love Monkey Mia if you like dolphins.  These gentle creatures would go to shallow waters, so if you want a photo to remember - pose with the dolphins!
8. South of Perth: Mandurah- Best time to go to Mandurah would be every March for the annual Crab Fest! Yummy!
9. South of Perth: Busselton - A bustling town about 2 hours away from Perth.  Busselton has the world’s longest jetty that stretches 2km into the open sea.  You can choose to either walk to the end of the 2km stretch or take a mini choo-choo train.  We walked since the train was busted that day and it took me 25-30 mins to reach the end of the jetty which leads to a natural underwater observatory.  What is unique about this observatory is that the structure was built in the middle of the ocean and you would have to go down several meters beneath sea level to enjoy the creatures in their natural habitat.

10. South of Perth: Margaret River - I don’t even know where to begin so that I can describe this magnificent place.  A lot of people say that the best Australian wines can be found in Margaret River.  I’m no wine expert so I can’t really validate that.  But what I can say is after having been to Hunter Valley (NSW) and Yarra valley (Victoria), Margaret River is still a much more enjoyable to visit.  The best wineries I’ve seen here would be Brooklyn, Voyager and Cape Lavender (which actually use lavender extracts in their wine making process).  However, the thing that I really like about this place is that there are so many things to do and see : a) Go to the caves and discover a whole new world.  I would recommend Lake Cave since it is the best out of them all. b) Drive your way to the river mouth which is the starting point of the Margaret river.  The coastline also offers magnificent ocean views.  Imagine being on the sandy shores facing the ocean and when you turn around, you are actually facing the river (or the start of the river for that matter).  c) Make your way to Cape Leewuin @ Augusta - what makes this place special is the viewing deck where 2 oceans actually meet (Indian and the Southern Ocean).  It’s absolutely amazing!

11. South of Perth: Walpole - There’s an exciting activity awaiting visitors who drive further south from Margaret river and that would be the Tree Top Walk.  As the name suggests, you would be walking over a suspension bridge and get the feeling that you are walking on top of the trees and certainly on top of the world!

12. Tip: To fully enjoy Perth and Western Australia, rent a car and I would recommend M200 or Bayswater for their dirt cheap rates - provided you rent it at least for a week.

Shop!

• Fremantle Markets - This market started opening its doors to patrons since 1897.  There are several shops that can be found only in Freo and some specialty shops as well.  Check out my picture where I’m trying out Medival inspired clothes.
• Murray and Hay St Malls - Every major Aussie brand has a shop in the city centre and the it’s good place to go people watching.
• London Court - Ah, London calling! This small arcade is tucked  neatly along St Georges Tce and it definitely has that British flavour to it.
• Garden City (Booragoon) and Crousel Mall (Cannigton) - Indoor shopping at its finest.  To get to Garden City, take Riseley St.  To get to Carousel, take Albany Hwy.

Next on Trippin’ - So where the bloody hell are you - Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

A country so vast it’s considered a continent along with it’s partner in crime, New Zealand.  More than koalas, kangaroos, didgeridoos, Kylie and Nicole, Australia is a land of contrast and diversity.  From the sights, to its flora and fauna, the best way to describe Australia’s diversity is through its people.  So far, this is the place where I have witnessed different cultures co-exist harmoniously (well at least most of the time).  Unlike other countries with a big number of legal and illegal immigrants, people from Asia, Europe and North America come here and preserve their own culture.  They retain their identities including their accents (cute or uncute they may be) and their grandma’s recipes.   They are not ashamed of where they come from.  In fact, if you ask someone where they are from (preferably someone obviously not a pure bred white Aussie or an aboriginal for that matter), chances are you will NOT get a cocky response claiming they are from Australia, even if they were born there.  They will say "Im from (country of origin) but I was able to get my Australian citizenship/residency" or "My family is originally from (country of origin) but they moved here."    Notice the format - they declare to the world that they are Malaysian, Singaporean, Kenyan, Irish or Filipino FIRST before indicating they have now become part of the land down under.

It is a land where you can surf and enjoy the sun and sand, then afterwards travel by land for a few hours and you find yourself in a ski lodge or the desert.  It is a land where Kmart is still operational.  It is a land where McDonalds is not called Micky D’s but Mackers and Burger King is called Hungry Jacks (or H&J’s).  It is a land where you can hear "Bloody hell" and "lah" in one sentence.  For example, "Bloody hell, the bloody laksa tastes like shit lah!".   I have indicated earlier that most migrants retain their accent.  Sadly, a lot of the Filipinos there try their bloody best to imitate an Aussie accent and guess what, it sounds soooo fake!  Believe me, Filipinos sound so much better with our acquaried "American like" accent, or if you can carry it really well, do a British accent instead.  Accept it, our local tongues are just not naturally programmed to mimic the Aussie accent.

If you plan to travel to Australia, here are some basic tips regardless of which Aussie city you plan to visit:

• Always wear sunscreen.  I think the sun’s rays over there were made to be set at maximum level.  Whenever the sun is out - regardless of season, I never fail to turn red (even with my dark skin) by just driving or walking for 10 minutes.  The Aussie way of saying "Wear sunscreen" is "Slip, slop and slap".
• Always have your sunnies handy. 
• Buy a multi travel card, regardless of any major Aussie city you can buy a local bus/ferry/train card from a newsagent (aka newspaper stand) or convenience store.  In Perth it’s called a MultiRider.  In Sydney, there’s the Travel ten, Weekly Travel Pass and other similar travel cards.  The best thing is, all you need to do is board, insert the card into the reader, pull it out and you’re off!
• Get a map.  Don’t worry if you look like a tourist, even the locals use it too. If you still get lost, ask around.  The locals (regardless of nationality) are very friendly and will point you to the right direction.
• Try the Aussie clothing brands.  They are cheaper than their American and British counterparts but are of very good quality.  Personal favorites of mine are: Portmans, Sports Girl, Witchery, Valley girl, Sussan, Jacqui-E and Bonds for underwear.  If you are on a strict budget, stick to Target, Kmart and Supre’.
• If you need to get over the counter or prescription medicine, ask someone for the nearest Chemist.
• If you need to get some basic grocery stuff, ask someone for the nearest "Woolies" (it’s short for Wollworths) or Coles.  It’s cheaper than the convenience store.

Next on Trippin’ - Australia: SYDNEY