tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77068403132983248822026-07-28T23:58:27.130-07:00Batangala, which comes from two Filipino words and can be pronounced as either batang gala (child wanderer) or batang ala (child without anything) can aptly describe my family who tries to explore places and food establishments on a limited budget. Join us in our (mis)adventures.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-77432719851504546212013-05-05T22:42:00.000-07:002013-05-06T20:12:53.607-07:00

Well, that seems to be the sentiment of our 11-year old daughter when she first had a taste of it. I just heard this spread from my sister in the U.S. a few months ago. She said that she bought one and she is spreading it to bread, cookies and even bananas. She promised to send me a bottle the next time she sends a package to Manila, which arrived late last month. The long wait was finally over.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-8034166001858771582013-04-17T18:06:00.001-07:002013-04-17T18:32:23.312-07:00

The National Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus is just beside the office where I work right now but I only get to visit the place on Thursday not to pray the novena but to buy food which are sold beside it especially on novena days. I would often see a lot of students and other devotees who are probably going to take their board examination and go there on Thursdays to ask the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-42081726273595332542013-04-08T17:31:00.001-07:002013-04-08T17:31:32.636-07:00

We were invited to a dinner last Friday to celebrated my niece's graduation from college with a degree in Information Technology. I was told that the venue was the Legend.  All along, I thought that we will be having dinner at Legend Villas in Mandaluyong. I was a bit apprehensive to come since it is a Friday night as well a we'll have to pass along EDSA during rush hour. It was all

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-53654149999812112512013-03-16T04:17:00.000-07:002013-03-25T01:24:15.390-07:00

The night before our mother was laid to rest, a mass was held and the priest's homily that a death is not a time to be sad but to celebrate because the dead had already joined her Creator and that in our mother's case, all her pain had finally ceased. He may be right but still, it is sometimes hard losing a loved one. Today, we finally brought her to her final resting place right beside

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-30367254644087540232013-03-06T00:56:00.001-08:002013-03-09T19:43:54.702-08:00

2013 doesn't seem to be my year. I had been hospitalized twice since the start of the new year. The first time was due to acute pancreatitis where I was confined for more than a week starting January 2. Even with a health insurance, we still had to shell out quite a substantial amount as the Philhealth gave only a measly P11T and the health insurance covered less than half of the total bill. My

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-38113404843260772882012-12-26T18:45:00.001-08:002013-01-21T05:29:10.644-08:00

Last Christmas, we planned to watch a movie.  But since it was not being shown at the Resorts World Manila and we didn't like the idea of watching at SM Bicutan, we decided to go to the Alabang Town Center (ATC) for a change. It's been a long time since we went there. In fact, I think this is the first time our daughter will be going there. Also, I missed the spaghetti being served at

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-49067319931765351592012-12-25T19:22:00.002-08:002013-04-18T22:17:21.519-07:00

Everytime we go home to Pangil, Laguna, we always see this big floating restaurant along the highway in Calauan, Laguna, just between the towns of Bay (pronounced Ba-ee) and Victoria. In fact, we witnessed how it slowly grew while the big concrete statues of the restaurant were being constructed. We wondered then if this will click among patrons. We realized later that their open parking lot

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-84800522354138218882012-12-20T06:26:00.001-08:002013-01-21T05:27:12.372-08:00

December 4, 2012 (Tuesday) On our last day, my wife and daughter didn't want to get up early. In fact, they finished a movie showing on TV before they finally got up and took their shower. I guess because this will be the last time they will be able to relax as we will have to check out since we plan to leave our things in the hotel and go back for it in the evening before we go to Melaka

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-80524884107905393672012-12-19T06:02:00.002-08:002013-01-20T06:37:19.810-08:00

December 2, 2012 (Sunday) We were supposed to leave early for KL since we wanted to maximize our time  there, but the two girls didn't want to get up early. Since, this was a vacation, we decided to get up a little bit late. Besides, 6 AM in Malaysia is still dark, unlike in Manila. After taking our shower and getting dressed, we brought our luggage downstairs and left it there while

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-64174744170894842162012-12-18T19:15:00.000-08:002013-01-29T00:49:11.463-08:00

December 2, 2012 (Sunday) Since Melaka was along the way to KL from SG  and it has been on my bucket list,  we decided to include it in our itinerary. I had earlier booked our seats online for the trip to Melaka. We got up early and checked out of our hotel at past 6 AM to catch our bus going to Melaka which was scheduled to leave at 7:30 AM. The bus is located at the Golden

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-19615578145097269572012-12-14T16:49:00.002-08:002013-01-21T05:06:48.561-08:00

December 1, 2012 (Saturday) Today, we woke up late since we've been waking up early the last 2 days. Since we were going to Chinatown, we decided to have breakfast there. Walking along Orchard Road, we took a bus at a stop near the Orchard Hotel. As we didn't know the fare, we had to ask the driver and fumble with our coin purse to have the exact change as the drivers do not give change.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-19047445968575944862012-12-12T00:06:00.001-08:002013-01-21T05:08:17.496-08:00

November 30, 2012 (Friday) We had to wake up a little early because we were to transfer to another hotel a few blocks from Marriott.  We decided to check-in early at the Orchard Hotel because the complimentary shuttle bus going to Universal Studio Singapore (USS) stops there to pick up foreign tourists. Take note that you should have your passport as well as embarcation card ready to

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-81209770633131470352012-12-09T03:28:00.001-08:002012-12-09T03:28:23.072-08:00

After a long while, we finally had another taste of Domino's. I actually found out that they're back in the Philippines late last year when I saw one of their stores in Alabang. The opportunity came when we were on our way to Laguna. Since the road from Marriott to SLEX via Villamor Air Base was slow moving, we decided to take the Sucat road via NAIA 1. It's on the way to SLEX that we found that

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-74522396369482889062012-12-06T22:35:00.002-08:002013-01-21T05:15:41.801-08:00

November 29, 2012 (Thursday) Our trip to Singapore and Malaysia had finally ended as quicky as it had started. What took about a year to plan was through after a 6 day tour of Singapore, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur. Our first day started with us waking up early even though our flight was still at around 12 noon. Since it was our first time to use the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-70751717310190615042012-11-24T16:25:00.000-08:002012-11-24T16:25:07.739-08:00

Weeks before Angel's planned skating party to celebrate her 11th birthday, we had already bought some vouchers and informed her classmates, cousin and a friend's daughter about the event. We decided to do it yesterday, since we will be going to Singapore on her actual birthday on the 29th of November. Unfortunately, when we got there, there was a figure skating competition and so the rink

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-7526002268007865882012-11-18T05:18:00.002-08:002012-11-18T05:28:12.988-08:00

This is not the first time we ate at Joey Pepperoni and always it's at the SM MOA. But this time was kinda urgent. The voucher we bought a few months back was about to expire last Friday. Coupled with that, our daughter had a school activity the same night: reading camp. It was a good thing my wife checked the expiry a few days before because you have to get a reservation a few days before

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-48614079229570034352012-11-11T05:55:00.003-08:002013-01-21T04:56:22.458-08:00

July 5, 2005 After catching some sleep in the train from Melbourne, we finally arrived back in Sydney. Since we still have a day to spend here, we decided to use the last voucher that came with the train pass we bought: a return bus fare to Bondi Beach, the world famous beach. Arriving in Sydney Central Station For breakfast, we bought some burgers at a nearby McDonald's and soda in a 7-11

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-26679720928076656352012-11-11T05:03:00.001-08:002013-01-21T04:57:07.376-08:00

June 27 - July 4, 2005 Finally, 5 days after leaving Brisbane, we were on our way to Melbourne. After taking a bus in Canberra we were dropped off at Cootamundra where we were to catch a train bound for Melbourne. It was already dark when we got to the city where my wife's sister picked us up and drove us to their place in a suburb about 1 hour away from the city. We were to stay there for

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-76885698702142685042012-10-25T08:01:00.000-07:002012-11-11T04:52:53.942-08:00

A copy of an NSO birth certificate is vital to anyone applying for a passport, getting married or other official documents which may require an NSO copy of this important document. There are two ways of getting an NSO birth certificate (marriage certificate, certificate of no marriage [CENOMAR] or death certificate for that matter. One is going to an NSO Serbilis Center or applying online

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-62950144693932701942012-10-23T07:08:00.000-07:002013-01-21T05:16:47.477-08:00

Since we are planning to visit the Universal Studios Singapore (USS) when we visit Singapore next month, I was trying to look for a way to get a discounted ticket. That's when I found in the Resorts World Singapore website that I can get a discount if I use my MasterCard/ The regular one-day peak pass costs S$74 and $54 for adult and kids, respectively. By using the MasterCard, you can

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-76407530413881332192012-10-21T05:48:00.003-07:002013-01-21T04:58:08.921-08:00

June 25 - 26, 2005 Since Canberra was within the area covered by our train pass (via a bus), we decided to include it in our itinerary. Again, a former classmate offered their abode for our 2-night stay there. However, the planned bus trip from Sydney to Canberra did not materialize. Instead, my ex-classmate in Sydney offered to drive us to Canberra to also meet our classmate there.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-58903049369715770112012-10-21T03:33:00.001-07:002013-01-21T05:00:32.762-08:00

June 24, 2005 We took a lot of detours before we got to our final destination: Melbourne. Since we have two weeks to complete our travel to return to Brisbane, we decided to make stopovers, 2 nights in Sydney and 2 nights in Canberra. With our first full day spent in the Blue Mountains, we decided to use the free day trip ticket that came with the train pass. The ticket gave us full

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-71347440042631514722012-10-20T16:25:00.001-07:002013-01-21T04:59:39.000-08:00

June 23, 2005 Going to the Blue Mountains on our way to Melbourne was not in our original plan in 2005. However, when we bought the Backtracker travel pass, which gave us two-weeks train pass from Brisbane to Melbourne, it came with a free return ticket to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. Since its free, we included it as a day trip. Fortunately, a high school classmate of mine offered

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-41483333667481238472012-10-19T08:56:00.000-07:002013-01-21T05:01:37.386-08:00

Studying in Australia for 1 1/2 years from 2005 to 2006 gave my family and me a lot of weekends to explore Brisbane as well as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.  Travelling by public transport and going to theme parks is not a problem as you can plan your journey by simply logging on to Translink, a website which gives you the schedule and what buses/trains/ferry to

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7706840313298324882.post-27552821487769235322012-10-07T04:29:00.001-07:002012-10-07T04:32:50.521-07:00

When not on travel, Sundays are usually spent at home to laze around since the following day is the start of a new work and school week. Having done our grocery and attended an anticipated mass the day before, that's what we did. We slept late and woke up late. Aside from a cleaning lady who visits us twice a week to also cook for us, the food preparation is left to my wife for the rest of

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00917091003513156555noreply@blogger.com11