The Stilts in Calatagan

July 25 - 28, 2014

Out of all the places we have visited since we have been in the Philippines, Calatagan is probably my favorite.  We stayed at a resort called the Stilts.  It was a three hour drive with no flight needed.  There are cottages actually on stilts over the water but they were booked for the weekend, so we stayed in a beach cottage.  This cottage, it was more like a cute, little hut, was right on the beach.  At high tide, our door was literally maybe six steps to the water. 

The beach is really nice.  At high tide it is a great swimming beach, and at low tide we explored for starfish, sea urchins and all kinds of little sea creatures.  The owners have a huge plot of land – they are almost self- sustaining with their own garden and their own animals.  The restaurant which is called The Sweet Spot serves fresh vegetables from the garden and fresh eggs from their chickens.  Every meal we had was delicious. One evening we even felt like we were on The Bachelor.  They had our table set when we got there.  It had lanterns and a beautiful place setting with our yummy food.  Of course being right by the sea was a plus.

There is a floating beach cabana that we swam / walked out to and just hung out enjoying the view and doing a little reading.  Edi even did a little snorkeling out to the reef.  Sadly, the reef was damaged, but it is slowly growing back, and Edi saw some life.  It was funny because at low tide the floating cabana was no longer floating.  We went exploring one afternoon and just trekked around the property.  There are actually three beaches – I like Harmony Beach (the one we were on) the best.  On one of the beaches they have built a tree house.  A couple was staying there for the weekend.  We saw the garden, horses, oxen and the beautiful mountains walking back toward the main road.  There were people riding four wheelers, but we did not take the proper clothing, so we didn’t get to do that.

It was a little cloudy during our trip, but we still got a nice sunset mixed in with the clouds and what great happy hours we had.  I really felt like I was on a spiritual retreat as there are literary quotes painted on these driftwood like signs all over the property.  They are all positive in nature and thought provoking making me appreciate and just feel content and happy.

The people there are really nice and friendly, and the service was great.  I would definitely recommend this place and would love to go back!

Walking to a coffee shop

Well, I always said I wanted to live some place where I could walk to a coffee shop.  Living here in Fort Bonifacio, I have hit the jackpot!  Last weekend Edi and I were out and about.  One of our stops was to a local Starbuck’s here in the area.  After getting our coffee drinks and settling down on a comfortable settee on the outside patio, we started counting the number of coffee shops that are within walking distance to our apartment.

We counted twenty one coffee shops, nine of which are Starbucks.  The particular Starbucks where we sat is huge with an upstairs sitting area, a rather large downstairs area, and a nice outside sitting area with tables and settees.  Most of the coffee shops offer some type of food, from pastries, to sandwiches, to actual pasta meals.  

 

One of my favorite coffee shops is the Starbuck’s on the top level of Fully Booked, my bookstore hangout.  I love to get the most recent copy of The View, a local magazine spotlighting places to go in and around the Philippines, and head to the top floor where I order a nice hot cup of coffee or an Americano, or an iced caramel machiatto, and peruse my magazine getting ideas about where I want to go on our next long weekend outing.

 

Another favorite is Café de Lipa.  This little shop offers local Philippine coffee and is very good on the pocketbook.  It is simple and offers light pastries and is a nice place to sit and people watch. This is usually where I opt to buy my ground coffee that I make in my coffee press every morning.

Whatever my mood, if I’m in the mood for a coffee while I’m out and about, there is certainly a coffee shop just waiting for me to walk through the door. 

Fourth of July

I was a little worried about the Fourth of July.  I mean they really don’t celebrate it here, so I was thinking no fireworks.  I would also miss the Scoggins get together at Joy and David’s.  Although I did miss the get together, the weekend turned out to be quite nice.

Friday the fourth, Edi had to work like any normal day.  When he got home, we (including Kona) walked to Army and Navy Burgers and Burritos to pick up some burgers, fries and soft drinks.  We went to the park where we had a nice, little picnic and watched kids play in the lighted shooting water fountain.  We could actually hear fireworks and could see the glow in the sky, but we couldn’t actually see anything from where we were.

Saturday we did a little shopping and had lunch at Slice this great little cafe on High Street.  They have watermelon slushes – yum!  They also have desserts in a jar –our choice was red velvet cake.  After lunch we headed over to Santis Deli to get fixings for a burger meal.  I love going to the deli… it is like being in a little French market where you pick your meat, bread, fresh veggies.  That evening we cooked a delicious meal – burgers with fresh bread instead of buns, homemade pasta salad, and baked beans – ok, they were not my Aunt Joy’s baked beans, but they were baked beans nonetheless.  As we were sitting down to eat, we heard a loud ‘boom!’  We headed out to our balcony for a fabulous firework show right above our building.

Sunday was very relaxing – it is supposed to be a day of worship and rest.   We walked to the super market for some groceries, did some reading, and just hung out.  Sunday evening we tried a new restaurant, Puccini’s Café.  It’s a great little restaurant with plenty of outside seating, read and white checkered table cloths, and delicious food.  We ended our mean with chocolate marshmallow cake – yum!  It was really nice outside, so we had a pleasant walk back to our apartment.  

Turns out, I shouldn’t have been worried at all about the Fourth of July!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Monday, May 26 – Thursday, May 29, 2014

We’ve got another country with which to mark our map.  The flight to Malaysia was three and a half hours – not too bad – and was all together smooth.  We stayed at the Park Royal Hotel which was in the Golden Triangle and within walking distance to pretty much everything we wanted to do.

We toured Petronas Twin Towers which was really cool.  The sky bridge is on the forty first floor, and we were able to walk across it.  Then we proceeded to the eighty sixth floor to the observation deck – the eighty sixth floor…now, that is really high in the sky! 

We also went to KL Tower and had dinner.  The restaurant is called 360 degrees because it revolves slowly while you eat (just like the Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta).  The food was delicious, and the view was incredible…

I guess the highlight of our trip was the tour to the Batu Caves.  The tour bus picked us up at our hotel – very convenient.  Our first stop was the Royal Pewter Factory.  We got to see craftsmen working on handmade pieces that were absolutely beautiful.  It takes a steady hand I can tell you!  All of the formula one trophies are made there, and several were on display.  We also got to see the largest pewter tankard in the world...

Our second stop was the Bankit Factory.  There we got to see how these silks and cottens are beautifully hand painted.  They had clothing, scarves, wall hangings.  We actually came out of there with a beautiful silk wall hanging…

Our final stop was the Batu Caves.  It is a religious shrine of sorts for the Hindu religion.  People make pilgrimages there every year.  The lime caves were breathtaking and the gargantuous statue of Lord Murugan was something to see.  I have to say, though, that the vendors selling all kinds of trinkets and toys took away from the reverence of the scene…

We climbed 272 steps to get to the very top of the shrine.  There were monkeys everywhere!  Our tour guide told us the monkeys would not hurt us but not to lay anything down on the ground.  Items on the ground are fair game for them.  After looking around the cave and seeing the main temple we headed back down the stairs.   This one monkey was just sitting on the rail, so I took a picture of him.  He jumped down, and I turned to continue my descent.  All of a sudden I felt something on my back hanging on and…chomp!  That monkey had jumped on my back and bitten me!  When he jumped off, I turned around and looked at him – he was sitting there looking at me showing his teeth and growling.  That crazy monkey was not finished with me.  When I turned around to get the heck out of there, it jumped me again and got me right on the bum!  The only thing I could think was ‘I need to get away from this monkey without falling down these stairs.’

We made it down and I must say I was a bit freaked out and rubber legged.  To celebrate my escape, we got a fresh coconut from one of the vendors to quench our thirst – it was so hot!  Back on the bus with me still in a bit of shock we headed back to our hotel. Turns out the bite on my back was more like a scrape and the bite on my bum was more of a bruise, so I didn’t feel I was in “rabies” danger.

We did some shopping while in Malaysia.  Edi was in absolute heaven in Low Yat, a five level mall with nothing but technology gadgets.  We also went to Berjaya Times Square, a ten level mall with an indoor theme park on the 5^th – 7^th floors.  Asia loves their malls!

All in all, a fun trip J  Where will we go next?