26 Days in Manila 2016

By: Maria Girlie Pascual

 

The fourteen-hour flight from Chicago’s O’Hare to Narita, Japan was not so bad, nor was the three-hour layover. In fact, after two years from my last visit, it felt good leaving the snow covered runway of O’Hare, and landing solidly at Ninoy Aquino International Terminal at about 11 pm, Manila time. Jackets, scarves and socks came off.

Like a polar bear emerging from its cave of winter, I hurriedly got off the plane, hoping to beat the rush to the immigration lines that always seemed long and slow every time I came back to the Philippines. But wait, the immigration hall seemed different—it looked cleaner, brighter, and yes— the officers actually had better looking glass enclosures. Gone were the unimpressive wood and plexiglass makeshift cages of two years ago. Now, the Philippine Immigration officers actually looked “Official” inside their upgraded booths, still stoic and stingy with their smiles, the lines actually dissipated faster this time, and soon, I was on the lookout for my luggage.

Unfortunately, only one bag made it out of the claim area. I panicked because my one missing luggage was the one with all the Italian meats and cheeses (Hey, they taste good with my Grey Goose vodka), and I was thinking to myself that maybe someone made a mistake and opted to take my bag instead. I had to file a report which took a half-hour because there were other stressed-out passengers before me, but soon, I was out of the terminal and made contact with my brother “Docboy,” our eldest sibling who is also Dr. Arsenio Tristan Pascual III, but was given a selfexplanatory nickname by his friends.

With a zip, a zag, three “whoops” and one “whoa” later, we were having our first Filipino meal of “tapsilog” (Tapa, Sinangag, Itlog) at the BGC, or Bonifacio Global City as it is now called, and soon, by 2 am, I was trying to sleep in order to wake up ready to start my 26-day Manila vacation.

The whole point of this trip was our Ruby Alumni Celebration at the College of the Holy Spirit. This year marked our 40th year out of High School and having arrived late night on February 3, I just lost two days and had to start preparing for our Batch ’76 dance which will be performed in four days, February 7, my birthday. Given the fact that my Philippine-based batchmates had started practicing a month ago, I did feel a bit nervous, but then again, being the class rebel that I was mistakenly known for, my friends all believed in my ability to learn the dance quickly. I guess they forgot that we were all partying in our 20’s and that three decades later, the brain can only try to command what the body cannot execute, that is, if the brain remembers at all! I just received a remote key finder and started taking memory supplements that memorizing 60 dance steps in 48 hours seemed a bit daunting even to a (former) rebel like me. Still, hope springs eternal, and the rest is history, posted on You Tube, for all the world to see.

Fast forward past my birthday celebration where I decided to host an after-homecoming dinner at SPLICE resto-bar, as they call them in Manila, with a few of my classmates and my two brothers, Docboy and AA, our youngest, and their families, it was a night filled with unlimited glass clinking and toasting to our fleeting but vivid memories of our high-school days.

The very next day, I caught a Cebu Pacific flight with Dino and Melody Dizon to spend a few days in Melody’s home province of Cebu. The weather was warm and glorious, and the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu was teeming with both local and foreign guests, drawn by the central location and the casino annexed to the hotel. It was a whirlwind five-day trip, the highlight of which was our day with the “butanding,” as they were called, fat, beautiful, local grey whales that we travelled to the fishing town of Oslob for, a trip worth taking to the Philippines, if only for this reason.

There was a long, long line of international tourists–Europeans, Asians, Americans, all shapes, all ages, all sizes, all excited to have their time in the water with these Philippine whales. Looking like grey, spotted “Orcas” but with smaller teeth and a less active demeanor, these magnificent sea creatures migrated from Bicol where they were the provincial sensation for a good six years before they decided to migrate to Oslob in Cebu in search for new food sources, according to environmentalists. Local fishermen learned quickly from the scientists what these mammals were looking for, and soon, they were able to entice the “butanding” to come and get their daily supply of small shrimp from the fishermen’s hands, as they instructed the throngs of whalewatchers not to wear sunblock, oil, lotion, and never to touch the fish so as not to harm or scare them. The local government officials stepped in, and now, there is a system that tourists and fisherman follow so as to have an organized way of interacting with the big fish.

For the locals, it costs 300 pesos to get in the boat and be rowed alongside the butanding while the feeders keep them nearby with the shrimp bait. For non-Filipinos, the rate is 500 pesos. This two-price system is prevalent throughout the country, even in big hotels, and it befuddles the tourists when they learn about this. Maybe the extra fee is for translation? Who knows? Soon, we were all in our cheaply made life vests, aboard a wooden banca with other tourists (Maximum allowed is 5 or 6 to a boat), and before we know it, there they were! I jumped alongside Dino to try and swim closer.

What was exciting, chasing after the whales and trying to get a Go-Pro shot next to them, turned into panic, when I suddenly saw this giant fish head swimming directly towards me in full view. OMG! I quickly did a “Popeye cartoon situation” reverse and was swimming for dear life (or so I felt), away from those big teeth and pontoon-wide head, just to realize later that I was never in real danger. They were actually still young pups, according to our local guide, and just loved interacting with the tourists. Since we were the last group to be taken to the butanding, (the event starts at 6 am and goes to 2 pm daily), we were able to enlist the help of our local “bankero” and had them take underwater shots with the butanding in full view underwater. Unfortunately, my poses were not meant for public viewing, even though the whales were always in perfect form.

From swimming with the whales, we stayed overnight at this beautiful home that Melody found on AirBnB. It was so beautiful that they came back that weekend with Dino’s family and went “canyoneering,” the equivalent of “shooting the rapids” here in the States. The next day, we visited the grand and miraculous church in Simala where petitions and devotions are said to be granted if your prayers are sincere. This beautiful and sweeping cathedral is a must-see in Cebu. The edifice looks like a sweeping Taj Mahal with the walls of a Tibetan monastery woven into the design while they kept the original church intact because that was the spot where the Virgin Mother of God had appeared to a few townsfolk to give a message of hope through prayers.

From the miracle of the sea, to a sea of miracles, the walls inside the cathedral were lined with letters, postcards, pictures, wheelchairs, canes, news stories, testimonials and paraphernalia that were discarded when the recipients’ prayers were heard, and granted. We all lit a candle and said our prayers, closed our eyes with the hopes that the Virgin Mother also listens and intercedes for us, and soon, we were on our way back to Cebu City, and for me, it was also the day I flew back to Manila.

The rest of my vacation days flew by in a frenzied flurry of activities— parties, reunions, visits, treatments, health tests, beauty rituals, massages, and the finale was another out of town trip to San Fernando, La Union, a three-day jaunt to San Juan, La Union, the next town after San Fernando, to the new surfing capital of the Philippines. Here, I was with two of my classmates, Jingay and Jovie, and my brother Docboy and his family, and our host, my cousin from Malabon, Rizal, RJ Yambao of Arny Dading’s Pichy Pichy fame.

Our resort was a Mediterranean-inspired sprawling eclectic enclave of white villas and blue roofs, overlooking the La Union shore where surfers reveled in the lapping waves of the ocean to try their skills on the board. For me, it was the perfect time and place for evening massages after drinking vodka and feasting on fresh fish and crab. Again, time just seemed to race towards the finish line, but not without the most exciting part of my vacation occurring at Poro Point, in a golf course known as the THE CLIFFS, managed and run by the same company that runs the prestigious STA. ELENA GOLF COURSE in Cavite.

At the seventh hole, par 3 course, I decided to use a longer club to get on the green, going with my instinct rather than using the club my caddie gave me. With a six iron and 103 yards to the pin, I concentrated on my shot, my caddie started screaming, “Mam, it’s going to the hole..” then shrieks by caddies on the green translated into, “Hole In One, Mam! You have a hole in one!”. I rushed to the green in disbelief, and a Marshall met me at the fringe and said that he witnessed the whole thing. That’s when I started jumping up and down, screaming, laughing, doing what all LUCKY golfers do when the unexpected, joyful event in any golfer’s dream happens, but for me, it was special because it happened THERE—in the Philippines!

Thus, my 26 days ended not only with a bang, but with the sound of a little white golf ball, hitting the green and rolling into the hole, disappearing, happily, to emerge as proof of my first, hopefully not my last HOLE IN ONE. Enough said…FORE!

Happy birthday, Girlie! with CHS classmates at Splice at the Greenfield District.

College of the Holy Spirit Classmates w Girlie CHS Batch 1976.

 

Surprise Performer Basil Valdez w Girlie

The good life of a Philippine golfer

My awesome Hole-in-One at the Cliffs at Poro Point Thunderhawk Resort.

Playing at Summit Valley in Clark w Boy Ongpauco of Barrio Fiesta and Dr Edgard Castro.

Golfing w Alta Vista Golf Owner Andrew Aznar and Dino Dizon in Cebu.

Chicago golfers Roy and Lydia Espino and Joe Molina at Sta Elena Golf Coourse.

Marissa Oca and Mom Ditas with Girlie Her Ninang Tita Alice Kawachi at the Homecoming.

Celebrating my good friend Jingay Kaimo’s birthday at Kiwa Restaurant in Solaire with Jovie Galan.

Reunited w my cousins WOFEX World Food Expo founder Joel Pascual with sisters Ritchie and Malou at Cafe Havana in Makati.

My cousin Denise Pascual-Yambao and her children at my despedida in Malabon.

Master Chef Den Lim w Bpy Ongpauco, Docboy Pascual and Dr Daboy Castro.

 

Visiting my parents at North Cemetery with my brothers Docboy and AA Pascual.