Pinoy Rafting: Riding Inner Tube Down Rapid River

It sounds like a little boy's dream adventure. Riding an inner tube down a 17km river with 21 fast rapids in Cagayan De Oro did truly make me reconnect with that inner child.

Cagayan is renowned in Asia for its rafting and my cousins Karen and Isis were nice enough to organize a "Pinoy Style" rafting experience on Tuesday, Nov. 16, for Andrew and I - along with their friend - to experience it.



We began our day by taking a jeepney to the river starting point (above). Andrew's always wanted to ride a jeepney. As for me, it was as fun as I remembered it from 21 years ago.

Pinoy-style rafting is simple: four inner tubes are tied together. We were divided into two groups: Andrew, Isis and me in one, Karen and Anna in the other. Floating down the river was so much more fun than regular rafting, because we just lied there and didn't paddle. I'm on vacation, you know. With the currents rushing under our butts - and all over - it was like nature's bidet.

Our group flipped over two times and so did the other group. The tour guide joked that it was a competition. At one point, we were approaching a mountain he nicknamed "Kiss the Wall." Then he grinned and we saw a chipped tooth.

And when the tour guide says butts up, make sure you lift your butt up. I wasn't paying attention and ended up landing on a hard rock.



Mind you, the entire journey wasn't turbulent. There were moments of calm waters, when we just floated slowly down the river and enjoyed the beautiful mountains and scenery around us. Our tour guide told us that Cagayan used to be submerged under water 15 million years ago - and proof of this are the coral formations on the rocky walls on either ends of the river.

We ended the amazing journey by jumping off a 30-foot bridge (below is my cousin Karen's jump) and then enjoying a delicious bbq lunch.

Reuniting With Family and Enjoying Great Food and Adventure in the Province of the Golden Friendship

Cagayan De Oro - the first of our five stops in our Philippines trip - is nicknamed the Province of the Golden Friendship. It was my first time back in 21 years and I had limited memories - mainly bits and pieces - of my few visits to Cagayan as a kid.

I really enjoyed our three-day stay here, because it was a wonderful mix of fun adventure, delicious food, and most importantly, catching up with family - many of whom I had not seen in 21 years and even those who I met for the first time.

We were picked up at the airport by my uncles and were whisked off to enjoy a delicious Filipino lunch, where I was reunited with my cousin Isis, who had just visited Canada a few weeks back. I also met my cousin Apao for the first time.

We stayed at my fourth uncle's house, a place I often visited as a kid. We stayed in our late grandma's room. I enjoyed looking at old photo albums, especially of when Ma was younger.

On our first night, we celebrated Andrew's 30th birthday (above). My uncle took us out for another delicious night of Filipino fare and then we enjoyed yummy desserts baked by Isis. As an aside, oh my God, we ate so much in Cagayan. Every meal has rice. Not that I'm complaining, as the food was delicious.



Another highlight of our trip - aside from our many adventures, which I'll post about next - was visiting the cemetary where my maternal grandparents were buried. I vividly remember the last time I was there, in 1987, during my grandma's death. I remembered exactly where I stood and facing Ma, with Sa placing her hands around her shoulder, as she cried. We also got to see my great-grandfather's grave, just a few feet downhill from my grandparents.

On our last night, the entire family came over and my third aunt, who I saw again for the first time in 21 years, made a delicious dinner for us, including diniguan and pansit. My uncles also bought a lechon (roast pig). Cagayan's lechon is well known for its taste; the pig was stuffed with lemongrass. The crispy skin and tender meat were as delicious as I remembered.

Province of golden friendship? I can definitely see how Cagayan has earned that reputation. Every moment Andrew and I were here, we were treated to such amazing hospitality. As we left Cagayan this morning, I told my uncles and cousins how much fun I had and that it definitely won't be another 21 years before I visit again.

The Food Thread - Part 1: Rediscovering local snacks

I love food and the second I arrived in the Philippines, I knew I was going to gain at least 10 pounds by the time our three week vacation was over. We've been doing a lot of eating - and every meal has rice! But I ain't complaining. I love rediscovering the local cuisine and the local fast food - including Jollibee.

I'll talk more about the local cuisine and fast food later. But for now, I'm going to indulge in some of the local snack foods I've been having fun rediscovering - some of which include:

Banana Q (above) - Street vendors in Cagayan De Oro sell this deep fried banana on a skewer on the streets. It is delicious - and uses a special small but tough banana (Asian banana, haha).



Quezo Ice Cream - I love weird and unusual flavours - be it chips or ice cream. And this Selecta Brand cheese (quezo) ice cream - with real cheddar cheese chunks - was delicious. We only have the Magnolia Brand Filipino ice cream in Canada, which doesn't have quezo.



Polvoron - This Spanish shortbread snack has always been my fave as a kid and I only get to have it when relatives visit from the Philippines. Simple but delicious. The best Polvoron is still from the Goldilocks brand. I'm bringing home an empty suitcase of this stuff.



Chicharon - Pork rinds. Always loved pork rinds as a kid (one of my uncles even had his own pork rind business). No one makes them like the Filipinos do.



White Rabbit - Pa loved this butter toffee snack. The ones we had as a kid were these melt-in-your-mouth white gooey stuff. The one now is different, but still good.



Clover Chips - Sa used to love these chips and so did I. Simple but tasty corn chips.

And of course, there's lots more to indulge in, which I look forward to enjoying and sharing in the coming two weeks.

Visiting Intramuros: Going Within the Walls of Manila's History

It was a goal of ours to absorb some history and culture during our trip to Manila this time around. On Sunday, Nov. 14, my cousins and aunt were nice enough to - at the suggestion of one of my cousin's friends - take us to Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River.

It was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and is Manila's oldest district. Its name, in Latin, literally means "within the walls" and refers to the wall enclosure of the city/fortress and describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats.

During the Spanish colonial period, Intramuros was considered Manila itself. It served as the centre of political, military and religious power of the Spaniards during the time that the Philippines was a colony of Spain.



Located within the walled city is Fort Santiago, a defense fortress which also imprisoned political advocate and national hero Jose Rizal before his execution in 1896. Today, Rizal's spirit lives on through a shrine and exhibit that ensures his work and ideals live on for future generations to learn about.



Also located within the area is the Manila Cathedral (above) and other buildings (below) that preserve the Spanish-era architecture, which I loved.



We did enjoy our short visit a lot and leisurely walked through the beautiful gardens, trying to stay cool as the afternoon sun beated down on us and the humidity slowing down our pace. The city definitely tried to keep the memory of the old times alive, with guards dressed in old military garments and the calesa (horse on carriage) offered as a means to get around the grounds. I'm glad we made this visit.

We ended our 1-day stopover in Manila with a dinner with my uncle's family - and two other cousins - and then walked around the newly opened Eastwood Mall (below). New malls seem to sprout like coconut trees in the city, but it's nice to have seen that history lives on within the walls of Intramuros.

Hello again, Manila

The big difference between my trip back to Manila in 2008 and this time is the degree of shell shock. During my first trip back two years ago, I was really overwhelmed by how different the city I was born in was from what I remembered: a stark contrast between new and old, rich and poor, and of course, the ridiculous traffic. This time, the city didn't feel as foreign, nor did the traffic feel as horrendous. It was just very nice to be back for a visit.

We departed Toronto on Friday, Nov. 12. After a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong, followed by a four-hour wait/flight from Hong Kong to Manila. We arrived on Saturday evening, local time, and were greeted by my cousin at the airport. We then ate at a yummy Japanese restaurant with my uncle and aunt, where I enjoyed the first - of what is sure to be many - glass of green mango shake (below). So refreshingly sour. We then went home and chilled out for a bit before passing out.

We were greeted in the morning with warm beautiful sunshine. The view of the gated community from my uncle's kitchen (above) was just great. Warm weather, getting to wear shorts and basking in sunshine for the next three weeks. I knew then that it was going to be a great vacation - no matter what happens.

Looking Ahead: Mapping Out Our Strategic Plan

Andrew and I had a fantastic week in New Brunswick with his family (thanks Jenny for watching the house/cats). One thing we did to amuse ourselves during the long drive - aside from listening to Madonna and Kylie - was to discuss our goals for the coming years. All this, while on the lookout for moose or deer.

In the past few months, I'd been outlining - for fun and focus - a strategic plan for our life. A strat plan is a bible a company creates to guide itself. It is usually drafted every three or four years and outlines high-level objectives and the tactics in which to achieve them. It's a good way to keep a company focused on what they deem important and to inspire and energize their stakeholders.

I recently participated in such a process for the non-profit board that I serve on. So I thought it'd be fun to create such a plan - more informally - for Andrew and myself.

So for the next three years (2011 to 2013), five areas of focus are:

1. Start a family - Andrew's been harrassing me about this for ages and I'm now mentally and emotionally ready. It's going to be a life changer and an uphill struggle, but we both want it. So to my 5 readers, stay tuned!

2. Build a dream home - We're aiming to move to a house in Summer 2011. Andrew wants a fixer upper, so we can mould it to our vision. Some things we dream about: a zen garden (summer 2012) and a cool home office (2013).

3. Evolve professionally - Find new challenges and achieve new things - be it professional, volunteer, or creatively. Yes, writing is in there.

4. Travel and see the world - We want to see as much of the world before the stork visits and, ideally, after too.

5. Live to the fullest - Andrew and I feel very blessed, so this is reinforcing the need to acknowledge that blessing by continuing to enjoy every moment and to share them with others too.

So, our "plan" is not earth-shattering, but it presents more clarity than we've both ever had. It's also to ensure we enter our 30s with focus. And of course, family and friends will energize us along the way (and vice versa); while budgetting, flexibility and spontaneity will be necessary.

We celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary this week and Andrew got me a card - and of course, I didn't even think of getting him anything. Isn't he such a jerk for making me look bad?

The card had a quote that really nicely sums up the point I want to make. At the risk of being corny, I'm sharing it: "Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction."

And I think by having articulated, informally, what it is we want to achieve together, it was nice to discover that we both have similar goals. And now, just gotta watch out for the moose and deer along the way.

The Hills Were Alive

A month ago tonight, I was packing excitedly for our - Ma, Andrew and I's - European trip to Paris and Zurich.

I had recapped some of the highlights from our Paris leg and as the mineutia hits me in the late afternoons these days, I think back to the beautiful Swiss Alps.



We took the train from Paris to Zurich, a four-hour train ride to be exact. We had always wanted to take a train country to another. The beautiful weather that greeted us in Zurich lasted for the rest of our amazing three-day weekend soujourn.

Zurich is a tiny modern city by a beautiful lake. It is so convenient to get around by tram; in fact, I was impressed with their public transit system.



We spent the first day walking around town, exploring the Banhofstrasse shopping mile and taking a leisurely late afternoon boat ride around Lake Zurich.

The highlight of our Zurich stay - and to me, the entire trip - was our full-day excursion to the top of Jungfraujoch, one of the Swiss Alp peaks.



We departed Zurich from the bus terminal and the two-hour drive took us through Lucerne and Interlaken. My eyes were glued to the window, just staring out at the beautiful mountains and the wide sprawling flat green carpet. Tiny waterfalls - made from melting glaciers atop the mountains - sporadically cascaded down the tall mountainside - and the turquoise glacial lake water hypnotized me.

The one-hour ride to the top of Jungfraujoch was fun. Andrew, Ma and I took turns being silly to the camera, poking out of the tram. We absorbed the views, as the houses got smaller below us and the majestic white-capped mountains emerged.



There was an ice palace atop that we got to explore, which was quite cool. When we exited one of the palace doors, we found ourselves atop a snowy peak - and we had to wear sunglasses to shield our eyes from the blinding white light.



Standing atop the peak - at 13,500 feet above sea level - with Ma and Andrew, I felt so blessed to be soaking in this amazing moment. I said a silent prayer to express my thanks for this trip of a lifetime, made all the more enjoyable because it was shared with two people that I truly care about.