My Trip Back to the U.S.

Jan. 11, 2008. Mom woke us up 3:30 am becuase we have a 6:30 am flight. I already took a bath the night before and wore the clothes I have to wear to the airport when I slept. So I just had to brush my teeth and get on the car. Everybody was moving around very quietly. Their faces were sad. I was sad too, sleepy but sad. When all the bags were placed in the cars, we hugged and said I-love-yous to everyone we're leaving behind. Actually, only Tita Chelin and LA stayed behind while everyone else went to take us to the airport.

The ride to the airport was also quiet and my mom was still crying (silently). I saw her wiping her tears. I still want to stay! I will miss everyone and every wonderful things about Philippines. I can't wait for the next time. I hope it's soon. And I hope we go during summer so I won't have to work on a lot of homework.

Destination: New York, USA

This is a tail of a Cathay Pacific plane. This was taken by Yna from the plane we were in.

Me and my dad on the plane. Don't we look sad? We didn't want to go back to the US yet!!! We miss everyone back home. Anyway, I tried to enjoy the ride by, of course, playing video games :) As you can notice, I'm not seating next to the window anymore. My dad moved us to the center seats because it's easier for us to get up and go to the bathroom when we needed to.

Yna was sad too. And Dani ... I don't know but she got cranky a lot of times during the flight. She was probably annoyed of the seat belt.

Dani's trying to get some sleep. Good thing she has her own seat.

My Favorite!!!

Jollibee! Jollibee! Jollibee! Jollibee!

I know I've been saying I love shrimp a lot. But this baby here is really my favorite. Did you know that there are thousands and thousands of Jollibee restaurant in the Philippines? There is actually one Jollibee in every block and they're always full of people. We do have McDonald's in the Philippines but Jollibee is more popular. Jollibee has tasty food like the Champ Burger, Chickenjoy, palabok, Jolly Crispy Fries (french fries,) rice, cheeseburger and many others but my number one favorite is... the Jolly Crispy Fries. Whenever Lolo Daddy and I go to Jollibee and buy food to go, I start eating my fries and when we get home it's half way done! It's too bad we don't have Jollibee in Pennsylvania. There are some in California but no one is willing to travel with me across the country to eat there.

They are spreading the food for me. They're so nice!

See all that food? I miss them soooooooo much!

Where is everybody? Am I eating all the food? If yes, yipee!

Our Rides!

My Lolo Daddy, Tita Myla and Tito Nick have really cool rides. Lolo Daddy has a Toyota Innova. It's red and it's big. It can hold about 10 people. Tita Myla has a silver Toyota Altis. Tito Nick has a brown Mitsubishi. I know I've seen Tito Nick's car in the U.S. but the Innova and the Altis, I've only seen them in the Philippines.

Toyota Innova

That red car you see is the Innova. It may not be the fastest car but it's a very good family car.

Toyota Altis

Tita Myla owns that silver Altis. It gets cold in there quickly!

Mitsubishi

My Uncle Nick has a brown Mitsubishi. Inside it is very comfy. The car has this awesome blue light inside that seems to grab my attention a lot.

Tricycle -- The best ride!

The tricycle is one of my favorite vehicles. It's really a motorcycle with an attached side car. Whenever we go somewhere in the subdivision I ask Lolo Daddy to not bring the car and instead take a tricycle. LA's mom and dad own a tricycle so she's lucky!

Here is a picture of one I rode on. Don't see these in the U.S., do you?

Here, Lolo Daddy is paying the driver for the fare.

Now you can see me. I'm holding a Jollibee bag because that's where we went.

I really want to ride one again. Since I like them, maybe I could be a tricycle driver when I grow up!

Jeepneys

I have seen several of these on the road every time we go out. But I have not been in one ever. I really wish someone could have gone out with me and let me ride in one of these. They looked really cool and you won't see one in the U.S.

According to Wikipedia ...

Jeepneys are a popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are well known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. They have also become a symbol of Philippine culture.

Here is the front of a jeepney. Looks big huh? Looking at it kind of gives me the heebie-jeebies.

All of those designs are awesome looking! It looks like they just splattered paint all over the vehicle.

This one is driving somewhere. I wonder where?

This one is driving past my favorite fast food restaurant, Jollibee.

My dad said MTV is not the original in pimping rides. He said Filipinos did as you can see on our tricycles and jeepneys. I know he was just kidding but I think he is right.

How Bizarre?

When we were still in the US, my mom mentioned the Balut to me. She said she will make me and Yna eat this special egg and if we do, she'll reward us with something.

That time has come.

Jan. 5, 2008. My mom, Tita Myla and Tita Alma dared me to eat Balut. It is a 15-, 16- or 18-day old duck embryo that is still in its shell. It's boiled so it's safe to eat it. You eat it by cracking the shell open a little and sip the juice from the crack. You may add a pinch of salt if you like. The juice tastes really good. After that, you have a choice of eating the yellow part first which was good too or you dig in and eat the baby duck right away.

Do you know Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods? If you watch the Travel Channel, then you'd know him. He once went to The Philippines and tried on a lot of, well, bizarre foods. He ate the very popular snack food, Balut. He said the dish was truly bizarre but he found it very tasty.

He was right. It was yummy. I thought I won't be able to eat it because there's a baby duck inside the egg but once I tasted the juice, I can't be stopped. I even felt some feathers in my tongue and a bit of its young bones which were really soft and I didn't mind. I am proud to say that I conquered my fear! It was a good experience. I think I want to try it again!

Now, about the reward ... where's my mom?

Here I am eating a balut. Tita Alma was holding it so I wont break it!

The fact that a duck was inside creeped me out a little but it was still very tasty and juicy!

It's better when it's warm.

I'm getting to the duck...

There's the duck!

The duck is almost gone. )-:

Now it's LA's turn.

She's good at this one. She's sipping the juice.

Still sipping the juice.

She's a pro!

I think I see the duck!

A bite on the duck!

There is a clear view of the duck! Yummy!

Cool Stuff!

In the Philippines I did a lot of cool stuff. I went to awesome places like arcades, beaches, and malls. This vacation was totally terrific because I had a whole month just to goof off.

Dec. 16, 2007. Timezone @ The Fort. This game was interesting. Though it's my favorite type of game (action), it hurt my arm holding the gun.


Dec. 16, 2007. Timezone @ The Fort. This is a motocross game. I used to know the controls like the back of my hand but now I forget.


Dec. 16, 2007. Timezone @ The Fort. I kept driving into the wall so I quit.


Dec. 16, 2007. @ The Fort. This is a statue of Santa. I made LA sit next to Santa because she was scared of it.


Dec. 16, 2007. @ The Fort. Those drummers look like it took a long time to make.


Dec. 16, 2007. @ The Fort. LA and I are standing next to Baby Jesus. I was scared because one of the statues was looking at me.


Dec. 16, 2007. @ The Fort. "Pretty! Pretty! Shiny! Shiny!" That's what I say when I see something bright. I believe that's a restaurant behind us. I'm not so sure because we didn't go in there. The Fort is a very beautiful place. There are plenty of bright lights, restaurants to dine in, a lot of shops that my mom really loved, a big park where we could relax,and most of all, it has Timezone!

Dec. 17, 2007. This our neighbor's colorful Christmas display.

Dec. 18, 2007. This is the SM Mall of Asia. It is the largest mall in the Philippines and one of the largest in the world. It is also way larger and more beautiful than the King of Prussia Mall.


Dec. 18, 2007. Inside the mall is an Olympic size ice skating rink. That is the cool part. The no so cool part is when my mom started shopping!

Dec. 18, 2007. I wanted to go in the rink but no one wants to go with me.

Dec. 23, 2007. I'm so happy because I finally got my glasses. That lady there is my eye doctor from Philippines.

Dec. 23, 2007. I didn't want to do it but my mom and Tita Myla insisted that I pose behind these cultural musicians as they perform inside Rustan's. Rustant's is one of the popular malls in the Philippines.

Dec. 23, 2007 @ Time Zone, Alabang Town Center. My driving skills rock. But thats just a game, let's see what I get in real life! My car is the orange Nissan 350-Z you see.


Dec. 23, 2007. I'm playing Air Hockey with Tita Myla @ Time Zone, Alabang Town Center.

Dec. 23, 2007. I'm on TV!!! - Alabang Town Center

Dec. 27, 2007. While we were driving home from Subic, we saw a group of monkeys. Tossing food to the monkeys was prohibited but we did it anyway because they looked hungry.

Dec. 27, 2007. LA, Yna and I are posing at a memorial of soldiers at Subic Bay.

Dec. 27, 2007. Here I am sitting behind a very, very huge boat. I believe it's from US. We saw it while going home from Subic Bay.

Dec. 27, 2007. Here, my mom, Dani, LA, Yna and I are standing in front of Santa and his reindeers.

Dec. 30, 2007. This is me showing my freakishly huge front teeth while we were having some nice drinks at Seattle's Best, Alabang. It was a time to chillax.

Dec. 30, 2007. In this picture, Dani was walking around. Yna was watching her and I was, well, just there. Sitting near the fountain is my Lolo Daddy.

Dec. 30, 2007. Here I am in the Alabang Mall sitting on an ATV. The place was closed but the guards let us in ONLY for pictures.

Dec. 30, 2007. Here I am standing behind a basketball shootout hoop. I wanted to try it but it was closed.


Dec. 31, 2007. Here, we were at home. Yna, Tita Myla and I were wearing kitchenware and acting like aliens. It was fun.


Jan. 9, 2008. Wow! An open eatery with live band! How cool is that.


Jan.9, 2008. Lolo Daddy is enjoying the band while we're enjoying the camera :)


Jan. 9, 2008. Aside from the popular Time Zone, we also have Power Station. That's where I am and it's located @ the Mall of Asia. I'm playing hoops.


Jan. 9, 2008. Still @ the Power Station. These toys behind me are toys you can redeem for your tickets. Awesome! This makes me wish we have Time Zone and Power Station back in the U.S.


Dani and Tita Chelin enjoying kiddie ride!


LA, Dani, Tita Chelin and Tito Lito enjoying another kiddie ride just outside Power Station.