Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Xin Chao! As early as March, our group already booked our Vietnam trip. We arrived past midnight at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. When told by security that we could not stay in the arrival area, we decided to proceed to our hotel and checked in using an extra room.

Day 1 morning was spent arranging our tours with the hotel's agent and exploring the route going to Ben Thanh Market. After a quick lunch (I had spring rolls), we returned to the hotel for our 1 p.m. Cu Chi Tunnel Tour.

After a short briefing from our tour guide, we watched a documentary video about the history of the place. We were then guided to the different features of the tunnel system. I was impressed by the hard work and persistence of the Vietnamese people in constructing the 3-layer tunnels. It is an "underground city with kitchens, living areas, weapon factories, storage and more". We saw the traps, entrances, and hidden air vents and got the chance to explore a portion of the tunnel. Going back to the city, we dropped by a government-owned lacquerware factory. Most of the workers were all physically challenged. More likely, they were victims of the chemical weapons (remember Agent Orange?) used during the war.

At night, we took the 2-hour dinner cruise at the Saigon River. We enjoyed the 7-course meal served while listening to instrumental music. It was surprising to note that rice was served just before the dessert. In a way, it was good to decline additional carbs.

Day 2 was spent on our Mekong Delta Tour. The take-off point for our boat ride along the river was 130 km from our hotel. We saw how spring roll wrappers are made. We visited other small-scale industries like salt and soy sauce making, candy making, rice wine and rice paper production, and more souvenir shops. Lunch was at Mr. Kiet's house which was built in 1838. We enjoyed preparing and eating our own fresh spring rolls.

On our way back to the city, we dropped by a Cao Dai temple but it was closed. We just went straight to the water puppet show in the city. The show featured history, rural life, and culture in Vietnam. What makes it unique is that the puppets were dancing/acting on water resembling the Mekong River.

For our dinner, we all trooped to the Lemongrass Restaurant, one of the top ten in the city. Most of the customers that night were Caucasians. Most likely, they also read the reviews about the place. And true enough, the food we ordered was yummy! I had my favorite seafood noodles and after dinner, all of us were in shopping mode again at Saigon Square.

Day 3 was for our city tour and shopping. We toured famous landmarks on foot - the Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, Reunification Palace, and War Remnants Museum. I was touched to see the photos and read statements about the war, especially the impacts of the chemical weapons used at that time. I felt so sorry for them.

After checking out from our hotel at noon, we decided to stroll around the city for the last time because our flight back to Manila would be at 11 p.m. In the end, we spent time in a coffee shop and picked up our luggage from the hotel for the airport.

We all survived crossing the streets of Saigon which are always full of motorbikers. Our guide advised us to close our eyes, walk not too fast or slow, and keep walking. Indeed, Vietnam is the Kingdom of Motorbikes.

Two important things I learned from Vietnam: living simply and eating healthy.

Movietime

Forever and a Day. I didn't know what the movie was all about but Bobby and I went to see it primarily because some scenes were shot in Dahilayan Adventure Park. We were intrigued by how it would look because we just went there and braved Asia's longest dual zip line. The park and its features were featured in the movie. This a good advertisement for the Bukidnon tourist destination. Now back to the movie. The funny scenes were entertaining. The rest is like a mix of Dying Young and A Walk to Remember. “Kaya mo bang mahalin ang isang taong alam mong mawawala rin sa 'yo?” At the end (and as usually happens every time I watch similar movies), I got stuffy eyelids and felt awkward lining up to use the toilet. That's the "iyakin" side of me. 

My Amnesia Girl. I almost forgot I had a copy of the DVD borrowed from my co-worker. Well, it's my favorite kind ... romantic comedy ... a feel-good movie. It's about a lady photographer falling in love with a very eligible bachelor who walked away on their wedding day. After a few years, they bump into each other, the girl pretending she doesn't know him because of her amnesia and the boy not revealing that he was once a part of her life. The boy tried to redeem himself and despite the heartaches, the girl fell in love again until the time came when they had to reveal their secrets. The boy was badly hurt upon knowing the truth and later met a vehicular accident which led to his amnesia. It was the girl's turn to make amends and love finally found its way. 

 

Three Idiots. Another co-worker highly recommended this Indian movie which I copied into my netbook. My children said they already watched it, so it was me and my partner again. I was glued to my seat from start to finish. I didn't realize it took three hours. There was no dragging moment except for the sing and dance scenes just like in Slumdog Millionaire. The movie sends powerful messages. First is friendship. It's about valuing friends, keeping promises, and building one another's self-esteem. A true friend will always be there for you no matter what. Friends are always treasured. The second is education. It tells how every Indian family values education to the extent of sacrificing everything just to send their loved one to pursue higher education, especially engineering education. It's also about teaching not for the students to simply pass the course but to gain knowledge and values and acquire lifelong skills. India is the second most populous country and I can only imagine the highly competitive world for its students and graduates. The third is working hard to pursue your aspirations. A task including studying is made easy if our heart is into it. "All is well." Life is like a movie. We laugh, we cry and most of all, we learn.

San Jose, Occidental Mindoro

I wasn't supposed to go there. The one in charge had to attend a meeting in Romblon and the other coordinators were attending a meeting in Leyte. Though a bit hesitant, the driving force was that I had not set foot on the place even if I came from the island.

It was also my first time taking the Zest Air flight. I was up at 1:30 a.m. because the trip to the domestic airport was at 2:00 a.m. and the 45-minute flight took off at 5:00 a.m.

From the airport in San Jose, we were brought straight to Sikatuna Beach Hotel, a resort facing the waters of the West Philippine Sea (a.k.a South China Sea). After checking in (which took a while because we waited for our room to be vacated and sanitized), we went to the Murtha Campus of Occidental Mindoro State College. Just after breakfast, we were led to the venue of the agency in-house review.

Though I was earlier informed that I would talk about STARRDEC, I was surprised to know that it had to be during the plenary session that I would be the last speaker in the morning. Good thing (the Girl Scout was ready), I brought with me the presentation material so during the opening program I was trying to draw in my mind the outline of my talk.

Here's another surprise. I would be one of the evaluators in the paper and poster presentation in the afternoon. Another first, but thank God, it went well.

And here's the surprise of all. During the session (it was already raining cats and dogs because of the storm Egay), the other evaluator was informed through SMS that their flight the following day (there's only one flight in a day) was canceled and their tickets rebooked for the next day. Oh no! The program finished past 7 p.m. We were informed that the ticketing office was already closed and we felt stranded.

We woke up late because there was no 6:30 a.m. flight to catch and while having breakfast, a call from the official of OMSC revealed that a plane arrived and left. We hurried to the ticketing office and it was confirmed. It was a no-show for me and my companion and we had to pay the penalty equivalent to a one-way trip. There were slots available for the flight the following day but we decided not to book because of the higher probability of flight cancellation due to the approaching storm.

In short, we took the 13-hour land trip: van from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro to Roxas, Oriental Mindoro; another van to Calapan City; roro from Calapan to Batangas; van from the pier to Palapala, Dasmariñas, Cavite; and finally, bus to Indang. Thank you, Lord.

No San Jose airport pictures. Not even shots while we were in the beach resort and definitely none about the landmarks of the place. But I had learning experiences that I will never forget. Even if senior moments set in.

Eating Out in CDO

We ate the biggest pizza measuring 36 inches (that's 3 ft) in diameter at Calda Pizza. Our thin-crust pizza was served with four different toppings divided in quarters. We were all super loaded! I love seafood but my pocket gets allergic to it sometimes. ;-) Well, seafood in Mindanao is fresh and not as pricey as in Cavite. So we went to Panagatan, a seafood restaurant in Opol, Misamis Oriental. The ambiance is good because the restaurant is located by the sea. The foods served were delicious, especially the fish kinilaw but their service was not commendable. We were already done with our food but our drinks were not served yet. It was annoying to find out later that our order list for drinks was missing. How come? After lunch in the house, our host brought us to Candy's in Limketkai Center for our dessert. We had Tartufo, an ice cream cake the same size as a bowling ball, paired with a Four Seasons smoothie. Calorific! The best meal we had was at Thai Me Up, a Thai restaurant. We were all thumbs up for the ambiance, service, and most of all, the food. The teens in our group requested additional rice servings. So appeThaizing. Khap khun ka!

Dahilayan Adventure Park, Bukidnon

Bobby, Cyd, and I with 11 other relatives trooped to Dahilayan Adventure Park in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon for more bonding moments and fun adventures. On our way to Bukidnon, rows, and rows of pineapples on both sides of the road welcomed us as we passed by Del Monte's Camp Phillips. It was almost 9 am when we reached the place and the park was already teeming with visitors. There was a long queue for the zip zone which features Asia's longest dual zipline. True enough. I got the thrill of my life when I conquered the 840-m zipline one sunny day at 28.8 degrees C, 45 kph wind speed, and 4,500 ft above sea level. Whew! Breathtaking scenery. Cool and foggy weather. Bonding with family. Great adventure. Priceless!