Filling Station Bar and Cafe

When food in a restaurant is extra pricey, I tend to just ignore it. But it was a good move to say yes to an invitation to try Royal Bellagio Hotel's Filling Station Bar and Cafe.

The moment we were dropped off at the hotel last month, my initial thoughts went like, "SHIT! This area feels like Ermita, with establishments full of foreigners!" And we all know what reputation a place with many male foreigners has...

But when we stepped inside the Filling Station, we were like WOW! Full of vintage stuffs from rotary dial phones to statue of music icons of the 60s and the 70s to pop culture icons. Even the music being played was those from the bygone era. The place is very much what I imagine American diners are like. I think old folks would surely love it here as it will feel like they've stepped back in time. I told my partner I'd like to date someone here. But she reminded me the place isn't even romantic. Yeah, but I guess romance is not for me.

But best of all is the food. I had turmeric chicken (P360). It's a somewhat big piece of tender chicken fillet bursting with flavors. I never liked chicken fillet until this. And the atchara that accompanies it is perfect! Note that I don't normally like atchara because of the vinegar but I found myself liking this one here because it's a bit sweet and one can make it extra spicy with a piece of red chili.

I also took out a blueberry muffin (P110). It was somewhat good but could have held more blueberry filling. My sisters found it too sweet though.

Will I go back? If I have the moolah, why not? I'd love to try their other [expensive] dishes.

Also, I'd like to one day stay at one of Royal Bellagio Hotel's theme rooms...

Royal Bellagio Hotel Makati
Address: 5010 P. Burgos Street, Poblacion, Makati City 1210
Phone:(02) 899 5555

Siem Reap, Cambodia 0112172014

We arrived at Siem Reap around 5AM, still sleepy despite the comfortable bus ride we had with Giant Ibis. We went straight to Hak's House where we had booked 5 nights. The hotel was small and there were mosquitoes about due to the place's proximity to an almost dried up canal, but we had a pleasant stay there. The owner Hak was accommodating and very approachable. Did I say that I love their version of French bread with tomatoes and cheese? And to think I'm not even a sandwich person.

That same day, we headed to Apsara Angkor Hotel to register. There were already a lot of people. Due to lack of sleep, I dozed off a number of times during the plenary, which was sad because the speakers talked of the development of Cambodian archaeology. From the explorations by Westerners (French mostly) to the abrupt halt in archaeological endeavors in the Pol Pot regime, to the revisions in curriculum in archaeology, the plenary session was very informative for me since I don't remember including Cambodian archaeology in our class discussions.

The next four days saw us attending different sessions based on our research interests. There are of course boring lectures but I was lucky to have attended really really interesting lectures on archaeometry and cultural heritage management. I especially loved the presentations by Japanese and Chinese scholars and I realized that their contributions in archaeology are largely overshadowed by Western achievements primarily because of language barriers. Most of the presenters couldn't speak English very well, but looking at the flow of their research methodology, one can say that they are at par, if not better than most Westerners.

I was also fortunate to have conversed with some Chinese professors. When I asked them if they were going to present a paper, they said yes and invited me to their session. I was elated to hear that their session focused on scientific analyses of artifacts, something I have taken a liking to. The use of the latest technology to analyze artifacts is just appealing to me who loves doing lab work so much. (At that point, I wondered again why I didn't pursue a science course... Sigh! I could have dabbled in many experiments!)

Wednesday was reserved for a whole day tour in the Angkor Wat Complex. The intricately detailed carvings are just super awesome that they left me speechless.Many questions formed in my mind, like how many people built the magnificent structures, how they knew which material to use, which technology was available at that time, what led the rulers to commission the construction of such a massive temple complex. I also wonder how the laborers fared in the whole project. Were they slaves subjected to cruel whips or were they highly skilled craftsmen who join together under a ruler, or a mixture of both?

It was in Angkor Wat where a friend and I met a Chinese American girl who was travelling Mainland Southeast Asia all alone. We chatted a bit and afterwards, decided to meet up for dinner somewhere in Pub Street. We had a five-meat dinner composed of chicken, pork, beef, squid, and crocodile. I didn't know they also eat crocodile meat here. The first time I heard of crocodile meat was last year when I went to Palawan, and boy do I love the sisig version!

The last day of the conference was for me the best. It was when I saw the presentations of Chinese scholars and they were really brilliant! While at the session, all I thought about was how to grab a scholarship and be under the tutelage of expert scientists in China.

The last day I also got to chat with an Australian professor who remembered me. She was ever a lovely woman, very chatty and very nice. She lectured of geochemical characterization last year at ASP and she remembered me as the girl who "was good with computers" because I ran xPRF tests in rapid succession hoping to get the most of their visit because we don't have that ultra cool portable machine. She asked me if I also did GIS and I answered no. GIS is something I'd really love to learn given the opportunity to go back to school since I am fond of maps and mapping. Then again, it sucks not to have much funds for schooling. Tsk... SIGH!

Our last night in Siem Reap saw me and my friend having a relaxing time with fish spa (2 USD each). It was a bit surprising at first to feel the fish pecking at your feet but eventually it was fun and very relaxing.

I wish to go back to Siem Reap and explore more of their food. Also, we didn't get to explore other places due to lack of time. Of course we wanted to attend as many sessions as we could since we paid 75 USD for it. The price may be too high but it was all worth it. I was more than inspired.

On Friday night, we boarded the night bus to Ho Chih Minh.

Read about our Phnom Penh trip here.

Solo Travel 1: Ilocos

Back last night from a solo trip from Ilocos. It was my first time to do it. My parents thought I was with a friend; I couldn't tell them the truth but they assumed I was with someone. I was afraid they'd say no, despite having proven myself capable of wandering and finding my way home in Hong Kong. Still, they insist, HK is different from the Philippines. Here danger lurks everywhere. So when I arrived home last night after a 10-hour bus ride, I was greeted by a brief sermon about my solo gallivanting, reminding me of the Davantes case, etc.

Touchdown Laoag airport: More than an hour's delay due to weather turbulence causing zero visibility

It didn't help when I told them I didn't go out at night and I was always back inside my room in the hotel before 6pm. I think they do understand something about me now, that I can get extra restless, (hopefully not reckless...) and that from time to time, I need a breath of fresh air from the countryside because sadly, I suffer in this urban jungle called Metro Manila. I wish to one day be able to procure a land and develop it into a farm and create a sustainable way of life while enjoying my books and nature around me. If Thoreau was able to do it, I don't see why I can't.

Three nights of sleeping without a companion and three days spent mostly on the road with strangers on public vehicles, I felt more independent, more alive, more free, more contemplative. In my travels early this year, I learned the art of communicating with locals. I ought to thank my training in archaeology for this because it was during our fieldschool when I first discovered how friendly the locals really are, and how they can make your trip more worthwhile by suggesting to you things you don't get to see or experience when you opt to book a tour from agencies. In travelling solo, you exercise full agency, you have complete control of time and resources, you can go from one place to another without worrying about companion/s. 

But the road can also get lonely. 

On the upside, it forced me to really get to know other people. I chatted with the manager of the restaurant in the hotel I stayed in who is from Cagayan Valley. I chatted with the lovely ladies of Ilocos Norte Museum who both admired my courage in travelling on my own. I chatted with the guide in Syquia Mansion in Vigan and one of the descendants of the Syquia family. I chatted and interviewed a National Museum official in Burgos Museum. I chatted with a passenger who works as a mascot and who sat beside me in the bus on my way back to Manila. I was humbled by their stories, I was inspired by their own travels, and I was warmed by their willingness to open up to me, a complete stranger.

I have spent some time in a beach in Pasuquin. While most visitors go to Pagudpud for the white beaches there (I saw many pictures on the internet and I too, want to go there but because of the typhoon, I decided to go to a much calmer beach instead.) I was totally alone in the beach, but I was pleasantly surprised when a dog followed me and kept me company. He was such a sweet dog.

My sole companion in a secluded beach in Nalvo, Pasuquin

My Ilocos trip was different in that I didn't visit the usual places a visitor must go to. Instead, I focused on my two great interests: churches and museums. Since renting a tricycle was costly, I decided to travel like a local and take the jeepney and/or bus. I prayed in each church I visited. Not that I am a super religious Catholic, it's more of a trip in search of spirituality and meaning. I am awed at the magnificent churches of Ilocos. Paoay Church truly lives up to expectations. But there's also Bantay Church and Sta. Monica Church. I even attended mass in Ilokano at Vigan Cathedral just to get a feel of the local way.

Sunday mass celebrated in St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral (aka Vigan Cathedral)

At night yes, I get scared. Sometimes I think there are ghosts with me in the room. It sounds creepy but for comfort, I always quote to myself Psalm 23: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (...) I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

I can't say that having been through it all, I felt a lot better. But I did feel a certain kind of calm, a tenderness that says "all will be well, do not worry."

So in the coming days, my posts will be about my journey in Ilocos. 

I wish I had read these before I went on my trip:
http://www.vagabondish.com/beat-loneliness-solo-travel/
http://www.ndoherty.com/travel/
http://www.candaceroserardon.com/2012/07/loneliness-on-the-road/
http://www.wanderingearl.com/feeling-lost-confused-lonely-while-traveling/

Or maybe having not read these was helpful for me to get to know myself better and to see for myself how I would behave when put in situations I have been in. I threw my life to the winds again, and I  discovered things I had never known before, things that cannot be learned under any other circumstances.*

*(in reply to an article I submitted to Youngblood two years ago)

update: See where I went to and what I did

Manila Hotel 08242013

When I arrived home after spending time at the hospital with my sister, I quickly get dressed for a formal occasion. My father was invited at a mini concert with dinner at Manila Hotel so I put on a red dress which I got as pasalubong from an uncle. (My nanny says it looked really good on me.)

I will not write about the concert since it bored me to death. Some singers were not ready and some committed mistakes and couldn't seem to keep up with musical accompaniment. So yes, I am sorry to say that it didn't manage to get a tight hold of my attention.

But the dinner was lovely, which was already the greatest consolation for me since I wasted my time that night.

Dinner started with cream of potato soup with smoked salmon relish and chive whip. This, as most creamy soups are, I find delicious.

The Caesar salad was fantastic and never boring. The greens are fresh and the dressing just enough for every bite. I especially love the generous amount of bacon bits.

Next came green mango sherbet. The thing I ate off that was the thin film of hardened caramel which luckily was not too sweet. On my first taste of the sherbet, I instantly thought of summer which I have come to associate with mangoes. Sigh. And yes, I thoroughly miss it and after that I constantly wonder when and where can I enjoy such wonderful treat.

For the main course, guests can choose between steamed lapu-lapu fillet or ballotine of lamb leg with spinach. It was a dilemma but since I seldom eat lamb, I chose the second one. It doesn't disappoint. In fact, after that night, I started looking for articles on the internet on how to make ballotines. The meat is tender and easy to chew, not to mention having just the right amount of flavor so as not to make it dull nor to make it overly flavorful. YUM!

For dessert we had Coupe Manila Hotell. Since I'm not a dessert person I'm not very knowledgeable about desserts. I find the coupe beautifully made though, visually speaking. 

To end dinner, we have a choice of either coffee or tea. I naturally had tea which smelled faintly of jasmine.

I hope I get to attend similar dinners in the future. :)