Amazing Asian Tour

It's been a month since I first set foot to a foreign land and I still can't get over it.

I don't remember exactly when did I convince my sister, Candy, to go out of the country with me, but I won't forget the day we left the Philippines. It was March 20, a Holy Thursday, around 730PM.

Afraid that the plane might leave without us, we got to the airport around 430-5PM. Excited, hahaha! Soon after, my officemates Joyce and Queenie arrived. In the immigration, my sister and I were completely caught off-guard. The officer who checked our passport and other documents (and who was old enough to be my father) was so obnoxious and condescending. Clearly, it was our first time to travel abroad. He didn't have to say it to our face. I was so tempted to answer back and tell him "Yes, it's our first time. But we'll be traveling to four different countries, old man!" Of course, I kept my cool, lest, he'd prevent me from leaving the country. Needless to say, it was kinda traumatic for us.

I thought I was going to experience the same thing when we got to the Macau International Airport. The lady kept looking at me, to her screen and then to my passport. After what seemed like forever, she finally let me enter their country. Thank heavens! What's with these people?!? Come on, I'm not a terrorist or some kind of bad element (hahaha!). We just want to have fun! ;-)

And what FUN we had!

First stop: Macau

We got to play some of the slot machines in the casino of the Venetian Hotel, got to go around the place and explore the wonderful Venetian Hotel, got our pictures taken in front of the Grand Lisboa Casino(hehe), got to see the amazing Prosperity Tree in Wynn Macau Casino. There is, of course, much more to Macau than casinos. We also got to visit different churches, museums & galleries, the Senado Square, which really made an impression on me. Even the temples and fortresses were inviting. Macau is not just an entertainment place, but is also rich in culture. Though I didn't really enjoy the Macau food, I can still say that the whole experience was worth it.

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Next stop: Hongkong

Most of the people I know relate Hongkong with shopping, shopping and more shopping. The only thing I can think of when I think of Hongkong is Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse equals Disneyland. This, I believe, is the reason why my sis got convinced to take this trip with me. We both love Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest of the gang. Imagine how happy we were getting our pics taken with Mickey and Goofy. Had the queues been shorter, we would have lined up again and taken another pic with them. =) I also enjoyed our trip to Ocean Park, prolly because I'm such a sucker for theme park rides, hehehe! Tip: try the The Abyss, if you want to get your money's worth. It surely made my day. ;-)

But of course, we also got to do some shopping. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! =) I bought a souvenir shirt from Disneyland for my dad and I, a ref magnet from Ocean Park for Margie (which until now I can't find, sorry girl) a Lacoste bag (yipeee!), pasalubong shirts for my siblings and pamangkins from the night market (hehehe), a jacket/blazer, a backpack and a (katsa) bag from Giordano. Good thing I got a hold on myself, otherwise, malamang super gasgas ang credit card ko.

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Singapura

After Hongkong, my sis and I went back to Macau and went straight to Macau International Airport to catch our flight to Singapore, while Joyce and Q went back to the Philippines. We arrived in Singapore around 10 or 11PM. After a good night sleep and waking up at almost around noon, my sis and I, together with her friend, explored Singapore via the MRT. It was fun and I felt kinda at home. Funny, coz I don't really like taking the MRT (especially during rush hour) back at home, but I enjoyed the train ride in Singapore.

I was really looking forward to this trip because I was excited to see my good friend, Apol, who now works and lives in Singapore. True enough, the following day, afer our Sentosa adventure, we got off at Lavender station to meet with Apol. 'Twas like a scene from the movies - we ran to each other, kissed and hugged each other (kulang na lang background song, hehehe). This definitely made the whole trip more special. I missed my friend so much and was just looking forward to spending crazy times with her.

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Last stop: Malaysia

I didn't get to explore Singapore with Apol, but we did spend time together in Malaysia. Right after meeting her at Lavender, we went to the bus station going to Genting, Malaysia. It was going to be a 6-hour long drive, but we didn't mind. We were busy catching up. So when we arrived in Malaysia, we were all tired and kinda not in the mood due to lack of sleep. But after getting breakfast at Mcdonald's and seeing the rides at the Genting Theme Park, we were all pumped up again. I was surprised to find out that Apol was also not scared of trying all the rides. We were thrilled in riding the Space Shot and Flying Coaster. But we had the time of our life when we tried the former. Space Shot is Malaysia's version of Ocean Park's The Abyss, so another tip: try and experience Space Shot! The best, pare! ;-) But be warned, this is not for the faint-hearted! ;-)

After exhausting all our energy in the theme park, we looked for a place to stay, dropped our things off, and went to have dinner in KL. Good thing, dinner was great (forgot the name of the resto, but they served mostly fish and chips)! This gave us energy to do our last task for the day - have our pictures taken, with the Petronas Twin Towers serving as backdrop.

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We went back to Singapore the following day. Apol and I said our goodbyes, this time around, we were not that sad. We were maybe thinking the same thing - it's more possible for us to visit each other, unlike when she was staying in China.

Eversince I was a child, I've been dreaming of living in another country, specifically, the US of A. I'm still far from realizing that dream. But I am more confident now that, it has a big possiblity of coming true.

I will forever cherish the opportunity of visiting other countries, may it be in Asia or Europe. This is such an amazing, amazing journey and I can't wait to take the next one.

American Idol and then some

I've been a fan of American Idol since Season 3 where Fantasia won as that season's idol. I was satisfied coz she was the one I was rooting for to win the contest. I didn't really care who'd win in Season 4 since my bet Nadia Turner was eliminated earlier in the show. Then in Season 5, I was really hoping Elliott Yamin would win, but unfortunately for him, he just finished third. And then last year, I've accepted the fact that Jordin Sparks had a lot more fans (or at least those who'd vote for her) than Blake Lewis, so I wasn't really disappointed with the outcome.

And now American Idol Season 7. Among the top 12, my favorites are Michael Johns, Jason Castro, Carly Smithson, Brooke White and David Cook. Aside from their looks, (the-kind-that-makes-me-want-to-stare-at-them-forever) I like these three guys coz they really make me listen and always be in anticipation of what they have in store for the viewers every week. I also love the song choices and style of MJ and David Cook since I'm more of a rock/alternative fan. I may not really like the style of Jason, but seeing and hearing him sing every week, gosh, it doesn't matter; he had me the minute he sang the first note. =) I like Carly and Brooke coz Carly can really sing (though she tries too hard to please everyone) and for Brooke, she can sing as well, but I like her more for her authentic 'good-girl' image.

So much for the long intro. :P Tonight is result's night, and since I couldn't wait, I checked out the blogsite of this girl who lives in the US, and I effing didn't believe of what I was reading from her blog. I was in utter shock to find out that Michael Johns has been voted off. He was never at the bottom 3, so it was really shocking to know that he was leaving the show for good. Upset as I was, I immediately called up at home to relay the bad news. My dad and brothers were surprised as well with the result. I just felt really, really bad. Oh well, shit happens! "Goodbye MJ, I will surely miss you mate."

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Speaking of goodbyes, I almost said bye-bye to my Zune, digicam, cellphone, wallet and my (sister's) entire bag last Sunday, April 6. I went to the baptism of Baby Deus (Cherry's baby) in Muntinlupa since I was one of the ninangs. On my way home, the jeep I was in got hold-upped by a thin and not-so-tall teenager. Yes, a hold-up(!) and it was in broad daylight on a Sunday at that! Even though the hold-upper was alone, I, along with the other passengers (who were mostly girls and there were even kids) were scared to death since he was holding an icepick and he was attacking us with it. When he turned to me and asked for my phone, I got into panic-mode and I wasn't able to find my phone. What I was taking out from my bag and was actually 'giving' him were the other items I've mentioned. Good thing, these items have their own 'covers/cases', so he didn't know what was inside. Also, the stupid hold-upper was just determined to get my phone, so he didn't even bother to take them away from me. And since I was taking too long to find my phone, he just gave up, released my bag and got off from the jeep. I was relieved that nothing was taken away from me, but was startled to see blood in my hanky. The other passengers noticed it too. I got cut in my left ring finger and I didn't even know it. I panicked so much I didn't even feel any pain when I got cut.

At this time, I was 100 percent more scared. I was starting to feel the pain and the sight of blood was really terrifying. Then my finger got swollen and suddenly felt numb. I so desperately wanted to get off from the jeep and go to a hospital and have my finger checked. Need to get an anti-tetanus shot, this was what was running in my mind the entire time. When I got off in Sucat (East Service Road side), I saw 2 policemen (or are they just traffic aides?) and told them what happened. They wanted me to go with them (I guess, to a precinct) to file a report, but I said that I would not coz I was afraid that the hold-upper might get back at me (ok, sorry but I've seen too many police-drama on tv and film already) and told them that my main priority was to get to a hospital. In the hospital, the lady doctor was so nice and I felt that she was genuinely concerned for me. While the nurse was cleaning my finger and was prepping me up for the anti-tetanus shot, I called my dad and told him my story. All these time, I was holding back my tears and trying hard enough to be strong. But when my dad and brother got to the hospital, I wasn't able to stop the tears from falling. I cried silently while my dad was trying to make me feel better.

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I am so paranoid with what happened to me. There are a lot of things in my mind. One of them is - is this my karma for being so maldita? I really want to believe otherwise.