The Dubai Chronicles

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

vacation summary

after christmas, i've been on a hiatus and it's been a very very busy vacation for me. a lot of meetups and reunions were held, visiting various places, the shopping rush for christmas and dubai and of course, the moments with my family. this was my first time going home since i've stepped to dubai and it's quite an experience.

during my stay there, i'd craved for the foods that i haven't tasted for a long time. the site almost became a food blog tempting my friends back in the sandlands. since it's the yuletide season, i've got the chance to feast on puto bumbong and bibingka. although there's pork in dubai, i'd still have the "freshly butchered" swines available in wet markets and groceries. high-cholesterol and nape killing lechon, chicharon bulaklak, balut, and sizzling plate's pork steak are amongst the faves. chicken were despised during my vacation but i cannot resist the temptation of kfc's chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, macaroni salad, jollibee's chicken meal and andok's lechon manok (grilled chicken). beef were also a no-no but when i went for pancake house's tenderloin, tagaytay's beef for steak, nilaga and kaldereta. ahh, i definitely feasted upon it. there were new things i've tried as well such as greenwich's sisig pizza, and unknown dish ordered by my friends at north park and world topp's adobo flakes. they were great trying them. my craving for japanese food became a heaven for me when i got a chance to step in to a tokyo-tokyo fast food for sushi and pork tonkatsu. i love sushi. of course things will be complete if there's dessert. wifey's macaroni salad and buko pandan were the best. drinks such as taho and seattle's best javanilla shake with cheese croissant were the faves... alcohol? of course, san mig beer (pale, light or whatever).

most of the time i stayed at home but whenever there's means of transportation (commuting is a very tiring and risky especially when you're bringing stuffs such as the camera), i'd go to the places worthwhile to visit. first off, i visited my dad at loyola in marikina to pay my respects and thanking him. we've made a short-stop visit to manila bay and the baywalk area, to a church near sm mall of asia, the sweaty and crowded divisoria, the tagaytay lake and the beef market, makati business district and greenbelt area, our farm in cavite, los baños, and last but not the least, the malls.

reunions and social gatherings were at high during christmas season. that was the time i've also met of my friends, relatives and colleagues. i've also met some of the bloggers such as yuga, la vida lawyer (and wife?), attorney punzi during the venue-confused christmas party. i've met and seen with my coffee friends, my street tropa, long-lost nephew and nieces, sound and light system buddies, moviehouse junkies, cousins, cousins, and more cousins, high-school batchmates, wifey's relatives and my relatives.

finally, my quality time spent with my family. it's been hard being away that my youngest daughter, juliana, almost didn't recognize me as a father. the good thing was, the camera's with me and it's a kid's weakness... i got closer to her through the lenses. miles, however, was waiting for me for a long time. a smart and energetic kid. he even learned to bike on his own without support when i was there! as to my wifey, she changed. i don't know if it is bad or good but the important thing is that we love each other. we just have a bigger breathing room to each other... and i think it's best for us.

i still got the hangover of my vacation...