I haven’t posted my Dubai trip last week yet, yes! I was out of Jeddah, KSA again..hurray! It is always a treat to be out of this shell, Oh how I wish it will be forever!
Anyhow, my friends and I were planing a weekend trip for a long time now, so even though I just came back from Dubai and needed a rest, I didn’t miss this happening! And I was right! This place is awesome as if we’re not in Saudi Arabia. And to be surrounded with friends is a bonus in itself!
We left Jeddah late at night and woke up early to catch the sunrise at the beach. I learned the coconut trees were taken from the Philippines, great!
The place is so serene, as if the place was reserve for us only. there was a couple of families fishing along the edge and a few women who are still wearing their abaya, strolling along the beach.
I was having headache all day and took medicine every 4 hrs., but still manage to enjoy the place and my friends company.
My last night in Dubai … I can’t leave without even trying to see Atlantis The palm Dubai, unfortunately our reservation was already late in the evening. It took us about 40 minutes drive from the city premier to Atlantis. the driver dropped us a bit far from the entrance of the hotel and just imagine wearing high heels walking through the pavement, huh! the next time oh yeah there will be next time 😉 save it to the last…keeping my fingers crossed! ain’t gonna ride with you,no more driver!
Chef Kevin choose “Nobu”, just for bit of information Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa is a celebrity chef known for his fusion cuisine blending traditional Japanese dishes with South american ingredients. http://www.nobumatsuhisa.com
Just look at the face of my Chef Kevin, smiling from ear to ear, oh! it’s great to see him very happy after working 12 hours. I wish that my eldest son Edge was also with us. We invited his friend Kary to join us too, so I got two dates at one night 😉
ceiling art at the entrancesee the tag?…Atlantisentrance at the sake loungeinterior
We would like to experience the essence of Nobu cuisine so we opted for Omakase- 8 course meal and true! It was the best choice that evening. I am not into eating raw but tonight was different…I love Sashimi hmmm great meal..great company!
We had salmon,caviar,Sashimi,scallop,wagyu beef, sea bass,matcha green tea cupcake with passion fruit,mochi ice cream
enjoying his night 😉
at the sushi bar
Ladies, fine dining experience at Atlantis is also an excuse to dress up 😉
How I wish, I was able to go around, but for now I am so blessed to have seen my Chef Kevin and Dubai (half of it 😉 ).
We started the morning with a breakfast in La farine at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, joining us.. is the eldest daughter of my consultant and her husband. It’s been three years since I attended their wedding. It was great seeing them.
La farine is 24/7 cafe & bakery and I took fancy of the mirrors on the wall, If I count it all.. it will total into 247 mirrors according to #fact friday of JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai. Interesting!
Chef Kevin has to work on that day so I spent the day at the largest shopping mall in the world …Dubai mall. I went to spa for an hour.. had full body massage and Yes! ladies I did some shopping but I must say,being a single provider, I got to be stingy this time… not enough budget to spend 😉
The mall was crowded with different people from different countries which is visible by the clothes they wear. It was like attending a United nation day celebration!
I spent a lot of time taking photos of the amazing waterfall adorned with fibreglass statue of human divers. It runs through the entire height of the mall. I started from the top to the bottom (1st to 4th level). Whew! that was a good exercise ! that’s what I needed…before I dive into another food trip with Chef Kevin 😉
Lunch..
at Rosa Mexicano restaurant… Hola y bienvenidos Dubai 😉
Guacamole en molcajete – freshly made and so yummy!
with avocado ,jalapeño,tomato ,onion and cilantro hmmm and served with chips..I did not order my dish anymore, this was enough for me. I love it!
Ladies if you happen to be in Dubai, I recommend Rosa Mexicano Restaurant…you’ll love it too!
Friday brunch at Kitchen 6, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai..what an awesome experience! Chef Kevin and I choose once more to dine at JW Marriott, His work starts at 2 in the afternoon and we invited his cousins to join us for lunch so the choice was perfect!
Kitchen 6 is located at the first floor. We choose the place that was a bit far from the food tables so we had the chance to walk a bit far ,a chance to digest a bit and be ready with all the different cuisines. I just had my coffee early in the morning so I kind of ready to savour everything that was there…I wish ! The ambience was overwhelming and all that’s in there .. I felt my tummy was already satisfied by just looking at it 😉
Sweet indulgence 🙂
hmmm u think this is enough?
Appetizer
what about this?
Who doesn’t like Japanese food?
my first plate 😉 and more!
Main dish
I know you’re enjoying it!yummy!oh yes!
There was a lot more.., but I was full and satisfied with what I ate for the day. We decided to visit Chef Kevin at work and took some pictures with him. I appreciate the kindness of his head chef and again..and again..I am so proud of you Chef Kevin, keep up the good work and may you have more blessings to come.
My Chef Kevin
Keep the flame burning.., I know it is creatively taxing..collectively draining..but I know and you know and everyone knows..you can do it! I’ll see you at the vertex of your success soon!
I knew that I was planning for a holiday but I wasn’t sure if it will push through or not until, the last week before Eid Adha when suddenly my consultant asked – when are you leaving? who me? Surprise ? yep! because a week ago when I was asking for a holiday, he was refusing to let me go and now, he is asking? I am a lucky lady!
Me and my Nomadic Chef
huh! yes this weekend! I readily got my ticket and confirmed my hotel booking. I was so excited, as far I can remember this will be my first time to go on holiday without a dental conference on the side.But I also knew , that this will be a fun holiday with a food trip ..yes! what else? If you remember well..our common ground is food 🙂 and with Chef Kevin, it’s not only food like eating in fast food restaurant but he likes to savour a real dish, if possible to go on fine dining restaurant. He is doing his culinary internship in JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai,UAE. Surely, this will be our first stop.
Did I stayed in the hotel? nope! I can’t afford it at the moment (both of my sons are still in College). I stayed at City Premier Hotel Apartment which is a very cozy place and about 20 minutes walk from his work.There are two supermarket on each side of the building, a pharmacy and salon spa nearby.It is also located near the business bay metro station.
one bedroom apartment
It has all the amenities of the hotel, one bedroom,with separate kitchenette,dining and living area. Two bathroom (one inside the bedroom and one for the guest).
metro stationbusiness bay metro stationburj khalifa
After I dropped off my luggage, we started the day meeting his colleagues,Head Chef and Manager at The La Farine,
JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai. The welcome was warm and pleasant, I felt I was the only proudest mom in the world, my heart swelling of pride and happiness when I heard how my youngest son is doing well in his internship job. Thank you Lord for all the blessings!
La Farine – is 24/7 bistro and bakery, catering for breakfast,lunch and dinner.
Thank you so much chefs!!
After the sumptuous lunch, we went to “The Lounge” to get some green tea and macarons.
Before having dinner, we strolled along Dubai mall, I got fascinated by the high ceiling intricate light decor , here are some of my shots.
me and a camel
Outside the mall, between the man- made lake, the address hotel and the sight of burj khalifa, there’s a big fat horse, i would guess it is one of Fernando Botero art sculpture, who’s signature style of large and exaggerated volume can be seen.
botero fat horsebehind the scene 😉The addressburj khalifa at night
real gold
We had a glimpsed of dancing fountain but it was so crowded that I was not able to take a good picture of it. What comes out was all heads and heads of people looking at it in awe 😉
And dinner was at the italian restaurant inside the mall.
seriously choosing his dish
fresh mozzarella
Ladies, how about shopping? hmmm not now, let’s enjoy the day with my Chef Kevin. 😉
We arrived Viga at 8:30 in the morning, we asked our family friend to find “kinis” (crab)for us, back then when we were young, the crabs were sold in a bag made of nipa palm leaves.Unfortunately, it was not available on that time of the day, so we decided to continue our road trip to Panganiban (payo) and Bagamanoc.
Nipa palm leaves for crabs on sale: Photo credit (Experience Catanduanes)Banquerohan bridge
According to my research, when the 2nd world war broke out, Viga became the centre of Guerrilla movement in the province.The battle between the Guerrillas and escaping Japanese forces were simultaneously fought at Banquerohan bridge. (source: Catanduanes.gov.ph)
The abundance of swampy area and palms leads to mud crabs harvest but I didn’t see any one selling “Kinis” (crabs)!
We went around until we reached Bagamanoc, still “Kinis” (crab) is nowhere to be found, huh! not my day 😦 and yet so happy to be here, so refreshing!
beautiful daymy travel companion (my bros)… special thanks to Carmela
For so many years, this our first time to travel to the north, It was fun to have this two bodyguards 🙂 psst… did I mentioned we are all beyond fifties? hehehe peace !
With “kinis” or no “Kinis” the scenery was just too much to take in…a real beauty of simplicity!
Nipa palm leaves
Buto ni Kurakog
The famous ” Buto ni Kurakog” -a phallic – shaped land formation off the coast of Ilihan point. O la la! what’s behind this shape?
Buto ni Kurakog
My apology to those who have virgin mind 🙂 Buto means “Penis” and Kurakog according to the legend is the name of the Giant who was madly in love with a local barrio lass who committed suicide because her parents disapproved her relationship to Kurakog. Kurakog got depressed and died eventually leaving his “penis” as a memory to the locals. Either your jaw dropped or you’re smiling aha! please read the rest of my road trip story, get some tea if you may or take a deep breath to recover hahaha , just kidding.
Well so much for the legend, let’s move back to the main road, what I noticed about Catanduanes, there are public schools at every district we passed by, it doesn’t matter if the population are small, I am so proud to conclude that ‘Education” is given a priority even into the remote area.
It was almost lunch time and we haven’t found “Kinis” yet, we went back to Viga and had lunch with our family friend. Thank you so much Manal itoy, I was starving and forgot to take a picture of “laing” (taro leaves with coconut milk).
Viga District hospital where it all started…my father popularly known as “Dr. Mariano” worked in this hospital,the reason why we became bicolanos 🙂 . Few meters away from this place, we had a farm, my father and my siblings planted rice, corn and peanuts…me? well, the only girl in the family, I played around, I helped in harvesting peanuts and sneaked out few fresh peanuts in my mouth, so crunchy and sweet 😉 I love the weekends, eating lunch under the coconut trees. Oh, those moments …it’s unforgettable!
From Viga, we went to Buenavista (Hitis) , at one point we got out of the car and savour the fresh air and marvel at the sight of the pacific ocean. A marvellous day for all of us!
From the top we saw the shoreline of Soboc beach.
and here it is… Soboc, Catanduanes…so simple and yet so beautiful!
On our way back , we passed by a small store to buy coca-cola, I knew there’s no cola in a can, so I was expecting it will be in a plastic bag with a plastic straw, wow! exciting authentic… but to my dismay, my brother handed me a disposable glass, huh! way to go Soboc! improving ;-
Going back to Virac, we passed by Cockpit (sabungan). I stayed inside the car, though I wanted to get pictures of the cock-fighting but I hesitated, It will be odd to see a woman inside the arena of men.
rooster lost,feathers out, skinned and hanged.. into fried chicken for dinner
summit
copra
Jeepney
and so that’s the end of our road trip…oh wait. did I got KINIS? nope! nothing in Viga -Panganiban-Bagamanoc -Soboc .
small Fish stalls
not even here at the fish stall…
The following day, we went to Virac Plaza, there was demonstration or maybe a labor strike, I am not sure.
then.. at the bazaar where they showcase products of Catanduanes…
pili nut candies
furnitures
and kinis! 😉
ah! there KINIS big ones…O lalala! only here at the plaza.. 🙂 😉 🙂
Ladies, I shall end here, hoping you enjoy my photos and happy that I found my “KINIS” lol!
From Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi to Manila, PhilippinesFrom Manila to Catanduanes
Imagine the trip I took to reach the island of Catanduanes,… brace yourself with a cup of tea while reading my tour, this is the longest blog I ever written, I hope I can tickle your mind to a place of simplicity, a nature of beauty and serenity…
San Andres – Virac- Bato – Baras- Sagrada – Oco – Viga Payo- Bagamanoc-Soboc
Catanduanes – the “Land of the Howling Winds” , commonly named because of its geographical proximity to the pacific ocean,making it directly open to the path of tropical cyclones, typhoons are normally occurring any month of the year. Good luck to our trip, rain or shine, here we go! 🙂
11 municipalities
The island has 11 municipalities : Virac, San Andres(Calolbon), Caramoran, Pandan, Bato, Gigmoto, Baras, Panganiban (Payo), Bagamanoc, Viga and San Miguel. We only have few days holiday so we thought, It would be nice to re-traced our memory lane to the place where we grew up ..in search for the famous “kinis” (king of crab) and who would not crave for the sweet taste of newly harvest parto (small shrimp) and “balisongsong” a native sweet glutinous rice/coconut wrapped in banana leaves! Hmmm so tasty that I was drooling (literally) in my dreams hahaha 🙂
my two brothers
Though I was not born in Catanduanes,l considered this as my home.I studied elementary in Viga and High School in Virac ,hence, I can speak both southern (Virac) and northern (Viga) bicolano dialect. Neither any one of my parents are natives of Catanduanes nor our ancestors. I was born in Lupon, Davao, where my father worked as Hospital Dentist. He was inadvertently assigned to Viga when I was only 6 years old. To make the story short, I considered myself as Bicolana.
Let’s move on…at 6:30 in the morning, we left Virac, the capital town of Catanduanes, passing through Cabugao to Bato.
Bato bridge
Bato Bridge, the longest bridge I have seen in Catanduanes. Year 1980, I was a fresh graduate and worked at Bato Maternity Hospital, there was no concrete bridge then, I have to ride a small boat to cross the river and tricycle by land so I can go to work everyday.
We didn’t cross the bridge at this time but we did it the following day, we had a quick stop at Buenavista to see the DOST Weather Radar Station.
Weather Radar stationspectacular view at the back of the radar station
From Bato, we went to Baras to see the white beach of Puraran.
Well, lets go back to the main road, passing through the Bato bridge, we passed the mountainous and hills side of going to the North.
north bound concrete road
Here are some of the scenery along the road..It is common to see Abaca on the road, after all, Catanduanes remained the biggest producer of Abaca in the Philippines.
curve and narrow
rain started to pour
passing through the rain forest
pile of fire woods used in cooking
The ride was not bumpy at all, it was a good day for all of us 🙂
At the middle of our road trip, we found ” Cathy’s Spring Resort” at Sagrada, a well-kept resort , good for travellers to stop and dine or maybe take a deep breath, smell the freshness of flowers, the green mountains, sit down and relax…if I only knew, I could have brought my swimming gear and swim the whole morning! 🙂 but…it’s only road trip remember?
From Sagrada to Oco and when I saw the summit bridge, I knew were so near to Viga town proper, my heart was pounding so hard that I can’t concentrate which scenery I should took a photo. My childhood memories were coming back, this is it! 🙂 beautybeyondfifty…life is not all about work…life is looking back where I came from…
Hurray! finally were here…
My brother reminded me that our old house backyard was in proximity to the river.
Do you remember the day you went out of the school and didn’t come home on time? he asked. Rolling my eyes, who would not forget that day! I guess the town was in fiesta…like finding nemo..Where is mimi? hahaha, I can laugh it off now, but memories were still vivid, I can still clearly draw in my mind the face of my father, so furious to find out, I was not at school but where?… your guess is right! I was swimming, jumping freely with my classmates and the carabaos (water buffalo) lol!.
Suddenly, a group of adult and children were rushing to the river and in the middle of them all, my father stands tall, red face, his hand pulling out his belt .. hurriedly I came off the river, grabbed my clothes and in seconds. PAK! PAK! I felt the pain on my butt, there was no time to cry, I knew it was my fault 😦
Stop.. this is road trip, not a story of my life ..let’s move on (again) 😉
nothing left of our old house
It was overwhelming to see the skeleton of our old house. I can’t get off my feet out of the car, it was the biggest house on that street and now? nothing left! ;-( so sad but don’t get me wrong, a lot of happy memories out there 🙂 for one, reminiscing the fun moment when there was no electricity and my father bought a live crab (kinis) for dinner. The crab was all bundled in a bucket and was placed at the corner of the kitchen. After awhile, I heard our helper screaming! Apparently one of the crab got out from the bucket .. crawled and bit her toe. It seemed, the crab had better eyesight at dark.Oh well, she survived( helper )and the crab didn’t! hahaha yummy Kinis (crab).
Parish Church at Viga town proper.
Viga Municipality Hall
Nipa hut
Viga Central Elementary School
The plaza
Capiz
Balisongsong (glutinous rice)
Parto (shrimp)
Coconut
Hopi (taro leaves)
Not done yet? alright…have some more tea because were moving to Panganiban (payo) and Bagamanoc 🙂
Oh well, I changed my mind …let’s do a part 2 of this Road trip…shall we?
Day 4 and still cloudy, rain showers every hour but our feet was just so itchy to move to another secluded place, a newest attraction in the island of Catanduanes. The place is small but so serene and if you are a nature beach lover and love to surf, this is the place for you – Puraran Beach Resort, Baras, Catanduanes.
the road to the majestic puraran beach!
So serene and beautiful place!
The younger versions of me 🙂
alright pretending we are the surfers!
few cottages a lot of privacy!
Not so much to write, we didn’t stay long. Oh! rain.. rain.. go away…sure were coming back Puraran! And maybe we can actually learn how to surf 🙂 (that… if my knees will allow ) hahaha growing young my dear 🙂
I was having headache all day and took medicine every 4 hrs., but still manage to enjoy the place and my friends company.
Dr. Myriam- The Dental Aesthetic Clinic 
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