Jogging

I try to keep fit or at least tummy-less by jogging at 3 times a week at either around Quirino Grandstand or around Luneta Park. Since I've been travelling the past week, I haven't had any form of exercise so definitely today I had to get into my jogging mode again. What should welcome me this morning but a dead woman's body face down at the Luneta Park. I personally saw the dead woman with blood oozing from here head. I did not get that close though as I have a quesy stomach when it comes to stuff like that. I could have taken a picture with my camera phone but I decided it was not in good taste and what would I do with the picture. Apparently she was gunned down by the suspect (that's all I picked up while jogging around the park). I've never felt unsafe around the areas where I usually jogged but lately things have proven it to be a place where we should exercise caution (e.g. Quirino Grandstand hostage taking). It took a while for the SOCO to arrive and take away the body. Hopefully, this will not be one of those millions of unsolved crimes that we have.

Bohol

My recent stay at the Bohol Tropics was not exactly a vacation since I was there to attend to some VIP clients of ours. Usually, people who go to Bohol prefer to stay at Panglao island resorts and Bohol Tropics is not one of them. Bohol Tropics is actually a city hotel but once you stay there, you cannot help but think you are staying in a resort. The rooms are made to resemble wooden cottages on stilts, there is a beach (albeit not a swimmable one), lots of trees and greens in genereal, and overall ambience is one of a resort hotel.
kiddie pool

foreground is main pool and some of the deluxe rooms

main dining area overlooking the sea...if you don't mind, dine at the open area as if offers you bountiful breeze as well as a spectacular view of the sea and the island of Cebu

another pool...


What really made my stay in Bohol really memorable is the Boholanos themselves. Case in point, I took a tricycle from the hotel to BQ (Bohol Quality, a mall) wherein I had in my pocket the following: 1X100o bill, 1X500 bill, a 10 peso coin, 3X1peso coins. The trike is supposed to cost me 10 pesos but unfortunately, along the way, I lost that 10 peso coin. There was no way the trike driver could give me change for my bigger bills. Once I got to BQ, I asked the driver to wait while I try to break my 500 peso bill. I asked a security guard where I can have my money broken down into smaller bills to pay for my trike fare. Without any second thought, the security guard handed me a couple of coins to cover the trike fare. After paying the trike driver, I thanked her and told her I'll come back to pay her after I purchase something at the supermarket. She looked kind of embarassed and said there was no need to pay her back. I insisted but she said she was going to do her rounds at the mall so i might not see her at her post. So after making my purchases at the supermarket and purposedly looked for her at the mall (its not that big). In the end I was able to find her and pay her back although she said it was really not necessary. For a jaded city person such as myself, kind acts such as these are practically unheard of so for me to to experience something like this first hand, don't you think it was kind of suspicious on her part? did she want a reward or something? hehehehe I'm just kidding! People in the province are really much nicer than us city folks. They have that innocent quality that I wish I still had (question is, was I ever innocent and kind really? hehehe)

A Brand Apart

Ever since I've been perusing the pages of http://www.luisaviaroma.com/, I have been intrigued by this bag brand called A Brand Apart. So I googled them and found out the following:

A Brand Apart (or AB for short) is an Italian brand. AB use only the best leathers available like Rossellini’s inside-out camel leather, calf, and inside-out moose as well as full grain national leather

source: http://www.abrandapart.eu/home.html

Aside from that little tidbit, nothing much can be found about this company except that their bags are simply beautiful. I don't think you can see them in stores here in the Phils as its relatively a brand only known to a few people. But I agree with a couple of blogs that I read that it is bound to be a big brand in the future. I'm actually contemplating on getting my hands on one once I can afford it hehe

Bistro Ravioli

One of my favorite restaurants to date is called Bistro Ravioli. And to make it even an enjoyable meal is to be with good company. That is exactly what happened today at lunch time, or rather a late lunch at around 1:30 pm. My favorite couple from Cebu, Filford and May, are in Manila for several events that they need to attend to. I've never seen anyone as hard working as May even if she doesn't need to...she can very well live a life of leisure but she chooses to be self-sufficient, she must have gotten it from her lovable parents!

In fact, the company was so good that I forgot to take pictures of the food that we ordered! We had pizza with shrimp and pesto, italian sausage ravioli and meatball spaghetti plus bread with boursan cheese for appetizer. Bistro Ravioli will open a branch soon (either Sept or Oct) at Robinson's Place Ermita (this is just great as my office is nearer to this mall)

The food is just lovely here, everything seems to be freshly made plus the service is excellent. I highly recommend this restaurant specially during times that you want to take a leisurely meal as human traffic here is considerably less than the other too-commercial restaurants.

Mulberry vs Braun Buffel part two

After a week of mulling it over, I decided to return my Braun Buffel passport case and get the Mulberry one instead. Luckily, Rustan's has a 10-day return policy and I am just on my 7th day. Why did I decide to exchange the Braun Buffel for a Mulberry when the Mulberry one is in black leather (which I'm not really a fan of when it comes to luggages and leather goods, black colored ones that is)? I recently found out that my boss is also using a BB passport case! Not that it would matter since we have different passport case models but since we travel together frequently, I wouldn't want to come out as a copy cat hehehehe (its all in my mind, i know...). Anyways, I'm quite happy with my Mulberry since it comes in calf leather and as with most Mulberry products, it has a weathered look so it would definitely age better and stains or dirt will be harder to spot. Plus, Mulberry for me is a more premium brand than BB which should explain why this is more expensive than BB (does it?)

Bookworm...2

Just finished reading the latest book from Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City. This is the perfect book for all those tweens (at heart) out there who have been through Sweet Valley High (never even attempted to read them, i swear!). This was Carrie Bradshaw before New York City. The first half of the book was a bit ho-hum but it starts to pick up towards the mid to end part. Samantha Jones even makes a cameo! Do I recommend this book?...only for the SATC fans out there!

Great Finds

For somebody like me who is known to not know the words, travel light, packing everything into one suitcase is an impossibility for me. But nowadays with less baggage allowance, I am trying to keep all my things in one cabin approved trolley. So I was genuinely pleased to find this travel size contact lens solution in one of the optical shops in Manila. In Hong Kong and Singapore and other developed countries, this contact lens solution size is nothing new but I have been searching for this travel size in Manila for quite some time now and only yesterday, was I lucky to have finally found it.

This certainly fits the airline requirement for hand-carry liquid items to be 100ml or below. At Php100 (US$ 2.50), it is quite cheap.

now my 300 ml solution can stay at home!

Bookworm

I recently finished reading the book, The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein and I must say this book gives us humans an insight on what goes through a dog's mind during his lifespan. Its an interesting read as well as light reading. I highly recommend this to dog lovers and for people who are afraid of dogs or simply don't understand dogs.

Mulberry vs Braun Buffel

So I was determined today to purchase my Mulberry passport case at Rustan's Makati. Just as Joshua, my personal SA at Rustan's (he's not really my personal SA but I always look for him when I purchase things there hehe) was wrapping up my 100% calf leather passport case, he mentioned that I might like to look at some of the merchandise of Braun Buffel (pronounced as brown byufel). So off I went to the Braun Buffet counter and my attention was caught by Braun Buffel's passport case in 100% cow leather (under the Jung (pronounced as yoong) collection)). I was torn and it took me about a good 15 minutes to decide (after consulting Joshua and the Braun Buffet SA). I finally ended up with Braun Buffel's for the simple reason that the plastic thingy that holds the passport is not too thick that it will be difficult for me to take out my passport should I need to. Plus the Braun Buffel one had more 'flair' compared to Mulberry's conservative design...

Braun Buffel's iconic buffalo logo

barely visible is the side pocket for tickets, cash, frequent flyer cards, etc

proudly Pinoy!(?) hehe

Love. Want. Pray.

Two out of three based on Julia Robert's movie ain't so bad...specially if what I'm taking about is the bag that I'm praying hard for that will land on my lap soon hehehe

Givenchy's Maxi Hobo made of 100% smooth black cowhide is from the brand's Fall Winter 2010 Collection for men. The euro800 question is...will i ever get this bag in this lifetime? praying..........

Snack Time!...for dogs

What do my dogs go happily crazy for?

a. is it me coming home from work?

b. me giving them snacks?

Yes, it is actually letter B! sad to say, they do get excited whenever I come home from work but the excitement doesn't really last for more than one or two minutes. What really drives them bonkers are the snack food that I give them 2 or 3 times a week. ok, below are some of the stuff that I give them for snack. Please remember that they can never replace dog food though even if your dogs would prefer them over their actual dog food (just like mine does!) which is why I only feed them snacks after they've had dinner and only 2-3 times a week.

I'm a big fan of Canidae specially since I've been feeding them Canidae all stages dog food for the past two years or so. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found these Canidae snacks at a dog store at the basement of Greenbelt 5 in Makati. Snap bits can be given to smaller breed dogs while the snap biscuits are for all sizes of dogs.

e

my dogs' all time favorite..the very first kind I ever purchased for them when they were still young. There is a version for puppies and large breed dogs so check the packaging (or pictures)

A variety from the above treat. I first saw this in Singapore and finally saw it in Manila after a couple of months. in Singapore, this was being sold for around S$3 or Php 95 while in Manila, it costs only Php 75 or less than US$2

Discovery Shores Boracay

Discovery Shores Boracay has just been named one of the 15 top resorts in Asia by Life and Leisure Magazine. Discovery Shores ranks 14. There are 7 from India (wow!), 5 from Thailand, 1 each from Cambodia and Indonesia.

I've dined at and I have seen the rooms at Discovery Shores but I've never really stayed there. Now is my chance to prove if it is indeed one of the best in Asia as I will be staying for two nights at Discovery Shores towards the end of August. I'll write about that in one of my future posts...

Edsa Shangri-la

Last 30 July 2010 I, along with 12 other agents, was invited by Ms Aris delos Santos-Ote, Director of Sales of Edsa Shangri-la Manila to be part of Shangri-la Hotels' Circle for Success. Basically, Circle for Success is a program by Shangri-la to update people who book with the hotel by letting them experience guest rooms, food and beverage outlets, meeting facilities and other services the hotel may have to offer.

Call time was at 0800H but the affair started at around 0900H already. They did have a breakfast spread with pastries, coffee and tea to kick of the day. The event started with the introduction of key department heads from Reservations, Front Desk, Housekeeping ,etc. The Resident Manager, Ms. Maggie Garcia (my former boss), was also there for some opening remarks (she also attended the closing cocktails). Afterwhich, we were ushered into a guest room where a housekeeping attendant showed us how to make beds and clean up the room (a lifelong dream of mine since I've always wanted to be a maid or housekeeper, NOT!). Buffet Lunch at Heat was next and this was the part I looked forward to the most hehehe. At around 1330H-ish, we were allowed to check in our rooms and freshen up for the afternoon activity scheduled at 1400H.



inside the basket is a pot and two tea cups...since i thought this was a part of the giveaway, I didn't bother to check if there was tea inside the pot. And there was! It turns out, this is kinda like a welcome drink and not for me to take home hehehe

the view from my room. as you can see Shangri-la Plaza Mall is just a stone throw away

all rooms have LCD TVs and complimentary internet connection

welcome platter and chocolate

So after depositing our stuff inside our room, we assembled for the afternoon activity which turns out to be an Amazing Race-type of game. We were split into two teams (I was with the Red Team...the other team was the Yellow Team) and were given four pictures with different locations outside the hotel. We were to go these four locations and snap a picture similar to the one that we were holding. The four pictures were namely from Eastwood Mall, Tiendesitas, Greenhills Shopping Center and Shangri-la Plaza Mall. After the task has been completed, we were to return to the hotel. Red team was the first to go back but it didnt end there. There were still some more tasks to be accomplished and these had to do with Philippine street games such as garter, jackstone, etc. Fortunately for me, my team mates were good in these games as I could not, even if my life depended on it, accomplish any of the games laid out for us. The finale was bed making which, once again, I passed on since I was no Martha Stewart. We eventually emerged as the winning team was awarded with a gift certificate for lunch or dinner at Heat. The day ended with cocktails at E Bar with juices and canapes and finger food.

The Shangri-la group is definitely one of the hotel brands that we expect a lot from and they definitely proved this once more with such an activity.

Edsa Shangri-la Manila
1 Garden Way, Ortigas Center
Mandaluyong City
1650 Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel: (63 2) 6338888
Fax: (63 2)6311063
Website: www.shangri-la.com

Mulberry

My very first Mulberry bag purchased today! Can't wait to show you my latest acquisition...

Here it it!

outer logo...very discreet

inner tag/brass logo

serial number

Lloyd Clipper in Vintage Leather

The leather is super soft and its nice that they used vintage leather as normal wear will not be as visible. Plus definitely, the bag will age well.

I need to give a shout-out to Joshua, Rustan's Makati's SA who was extremely helpful and patient. I just might buy a Mulberry passport holder from him again this week!