"I. Aguilar" <rishfe@yahoo.com> wrote:

i’m suppose to be writing a position paper on one of our advocacy bills but i find that incredibly boring so instead, i decided to list down places to eat in bora (isa lang ang konspeto ko ng bakasyon - good food and good sleep and in special instances a good dive!)

Sienna’s (station 3) is a good start although i didn’t find anything special about this place.  It’s your average restau where every meal is just plain old regular. 

Jonah’s (station 1) - Jonah’s is pretty special place to have your meal, mainly because it’s right by the beach.  they are known for their milkshake, although some of their concoctions are not available.  so you could just imagine having breakfast there right before or after a morning’s swim or drinking milkshake and (if on a tight budget) having dinner there as well, while the sun is setting.

There are four other specialty restaus which i like - cyma (greek), manana (mexican), sa neh thai (obvious ba kung ano ito?) all of which are in d’ mall.  the other one, a persian place, is in between station 2 and station 1 (just can’t remember the name and the location exactly).  i swear, their meals are just simply superb (or easy to please lang ang palate ko).   

and if budget is an issue there’s a lot of choices in station 3, one of which is the english baker, they have good breakfast meals for very reasonable prices.  aside from that, dami rin mga turo-turo dun to your stomach’s delight!

oh, and if your going with someone pretty special, the paraw sunset ride is uber romantic.  hirap nga lang dahil nasa-opposite sides kayo ng katig.  maybe you can ask someone to chaperone para lang balance yung katig, hehehe.

o sya, not a party person so can’t write anything about the nightlife in bora (except for masarap magpahilot sa mga manang, sarap ng tulog mo after!). 

have fun, nawa ay wag kayo ulanin!

cc: si ate, para mang-inggit!

since nagkakabastusan tayo dito, i will put up my own travel advisories for baguio.

baguio reminds me so much of the netherlands in spring or autumn because of the cold weather.  there is a particular place there just along mcarthur highway which will delude you into thinking that you’re in NL.  they have these long stretches of fields like we find near keukenhoff.  since it is only an illusion, there is nothing like the sensation of that delusion being shattered when you see the sprawling mountains up above.  the bitter pill to swallow is when you see those mountains coated with mist in the early morning or late in the afternoon.  bitter sha kasi you are suddenly reminded of the time when you went to austria to see the alps in salzburg or when you were in geneva.

top hotels to stay in baguio:

1.  the manor - i spent a week there around august or september ata.  i wrote about this experience in one of my blogs.  the room i had simply reminded me of our room in bazarlaan 25.  i have a magnificent view of the garden.  i also have this huge bathroom.  take note: the shower is exatly the same except for the running hot water coming out from it.  di lang gaanong hard ang chlorine yung sa manor.  they give you fresh sheets (bath and bed) everyday.  they replenish your tissue rolls and shampoos and soaps everyday too.  my room was also beside the spa and the gym.  and they were free for guests!!!! so after eating away all those nice food, you can burn it all out in the gym with a yummy instructor to boot who will give you cold water in a plastic cup in between breaks.  breakfast was the best.  you are offered a wide selection from the buffet table.  i had MULTI-GRAIN BROWN BREAD just like the ones we bought from ALBERT HEIJN.  The butter is smooth and nice and the jams tasted like the jams we had in salzburg.  The chef was european.  He whips up a lot of good breakfast items.  wala akong itulak kabigin from the dishes.  meron pa shang salad with feta cheese!!!!  i had spanish omelettes three mornings in a row kasi sobrang sarap ng pagkaka glaze nya ng onions, tomatoes, green peppers with cheese.  you eat breakfast with this beautiful view of the mountains capped with mist.  at ang coffee!!!! it was like having douwe egberts coffee again.  tapos you can read the newspapers while having breakfast. sigh!  For dessert, try their chocolate cake from the country club.  for take out/pasalubong, make sure to grab one of those almond loaves of bread.  it’s so great when you heat it up in the morning sa toaster! yumm!!!  may wifi access ka but you have to pay P100 for the connection.  the singers in the bar are also great.  i think one of them was one of those who were playing st gimbals when i visited baguio during the 90s.  mas tumanda nga law sha.  mweheheeh!  pero ang galing nila pag kinakanta nila mga bossanova songs and earth, wind and fire songs.

2.  Pines View Hotel - The rooms are not as nice as the manor.  pero the service is as good.  coffee is good but not douwe egberts like enough.  bathroom is not as spacious as the manor pero para kang nasa seinpost.  kasi the ambiance of the hotel feels like you’re in a big house.  imagine seinpost na lang na mas mataas at mas maraming floor.

3.  Golden Pines Hotel - nakakalito sila.  Think of etap hotel in Paris for the rooms.  Think of the bathroom in that Prague hostel where we stayed.  The food, medyo burned yung toasted bread nila pero the orange marmalade was divine. so, so lang yung fud.

4.  Green Valley Country Club - don’t go there expecting the bed and bathroom like the ones in numbers 1-3.  Imagine getting on the bed on winter nights with the cold sheet.  Imagine taking a shower in seinpost with the room heaters down because you will certainly feel the cold draft of air coming in.  but it has some amenities which the other 3 does not have.  it’s got  billiards, bowling alleys, a pool and you can play badminton, basketball and volleyball.  plus: great view of the mountains in the morning which again will remind you of the alps.

5.  Cafe by the ruins - great place to eat breakfast.  the yogurt is so fresh it’s better than the yogurt in the hague.  i don’t eat natural yogurt as a rule pero i tried this one and i loved it!  di sha gaanong maasim and when mixed with fruits, the best orgasmic experience for the tongue.  the coffee reminded me of herni nurbayanti because you can put those long cinnamon sticks ba yun to add flavor to it.

6.  rose bowl - great for dinners.  i am reminded of indonesian and thai food minus the chili powders.  of course, when you ask for chili sauce, they will give you the ones like we had in the hague with our indonesian friends.  plus: they offer haagen daaz for dessert!  not exactly like ben and jerry’s ice cream but your still get gastronomic orgasm when you have it.

Cc: si irish kuya kasi di sha maka relate sa ibang mga lugar na sinasabi ko. mweheheeh!!!

I’m supposed to be going home now to study pero nakita ko tong lecheng email ni bunsoy eh

kuya, it’s your turn!