Baguio Trip 2013

After 2 years of being AWOL from the blogging scene, I am back, with my throwback post from my most recent vacay.

Last February, in time for the month-long celebration of the Panagbenga festival, my husband and I went to Baguio for a 2 day vacation.

As a couple, we have never tried going out of town for more than a day. Though for so many times we have tried but nothing goes as planned. For this time around, we only have2 days planning before we left for Baguio. That’s quite short but it did the trick for us, at least this time.

We were bound to leave Manila at Friday night of February 8 and should be back then by Sunday night. I scouted for transient houses a day before the trip (and who ever thought that could be fun?). I was surprised that there were still  more available rooms than I expected since Panagbenga should be a peak season.

I made reservation to the transient accessible from Burnham park.

Lyn’s transient house located at City Camp Road offered a reasonable rate for an overnight stay (Php800, that’s for the 2 of us). The room has 2 double-sized beds (good for 4 persons), with own toilet and bath, kitchen (with stove, cooking utensils, refrigerator), TV with cable, and electric fan. They also have WiFi internet connection which I found helpful in checking our itinerary for our 2-day stay. The place is clean and quiet, with a beautiful view of the city.

 

View from transient house

 Victory liner buses trips to Baguio are scheduled to leave every 30-45minutes. We got the 1AM Saturday trip, and arrived at Baguio at 7AM. I sent an SMS to the owner of the room where we’re supposed to stay to ask if we can leave our things, since check-in time is still at 12nn. Luckily, they were kind enough to let us drop our bags and head to our itinerary.

Our Baguio Itinerary:

Saturday 8AM – Breakfast at Jollibee.

                            

9AM – Baguio Cathedral (Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral)

10AM – Camp John Hay

Camp John Hay

The Manor Hotel, Camp John Hay

12NN – Restaurants at CJH are full by lunch. We headed to Chocolate de Batirol.

Our Meal: Paksiw na lechon (Php300+), 3 servings of rice, 2 soda drinks, and of course, the traditional Blend Batirol. Cost us around Php500+.

The food was good but I found it a bit expensive. The place is constructed with trees, plants, vines and other recycled wood but I don’t find the interiors aesthetically appealing. 

The traditional Blend Batirol is something I have never tasted before though, so It was still worth the try.

                           

Choco-late de Batirol

At 2PM – We head back to our room and slept until 6PM. Need to recharge.

7PM – strolled at Burnham Park, to Session Road until we found (by accident) SM Baguio.

8PM – Watched the fireworks display (Chinese New Year) at Burnham Park from SM Baguio deck, then dinner at Dencio’s.

Chinese New Year Celebration

9PM – Walked back to Burnham Park and scout for Ukay-ukay at Night Market. This is the part I enjoyed the most. Things are really cheap here. I found boots for Php300        

11PM – Back to the room, time to sleep.

Sunday 6AM – Burnham Park (again). Photoshoot.

Boat ride at Burnham Park

9AM – Mine’s View. Of course I need to have a picture (again) with the St. Bernards.

10AM – Good Shepherd Convent for Ube Jam (and some photoshoot again)

12NN – Pasalubong shopping at Baguio City Public Market, then Lunch at some restaurant I forgot the name.

2PM – Checked out and head to the Victory Bus Terminal. Scheduled trip at 4PM. Arrived at Cubao terminal at 10:30PM.

Ms. Lyn (the transient owner) was kind enough to let us extend our checkout time until 2PM without additional fee, since we cannot make it back to the room from Mines’ view by 12nn (our checkout time).

The shortest yet the best vacation I ever had, made me forget all worries in the city. I am looking forward to my next trip to this city within the year.

Standard Chartered Credit Card Annual Fee Reversal

I phoned Standard chartered Credit Card and requested a reversal of my annual Fee. The CSR said they can only waive half of the annual fee, which is Php600. I am about to say yes until she offered another option to have the full amount waived.

If I enroll a utility (PLDT, Smart or MERALCO) under the bank’s auto debit facility, I can have my annual fee waived. Since I already have our MERALCO bill enrolled, I decided to enroll my my Bro account (formerly smart bro). That simple, No annual fee for my visa credit card and I saved Php1200!!

photo credit: 401(K) 2013 via photopin cc

Best Buddy Walk 2013

That joy of seeing my dog happy when I take him out for a walk… it’s priceless.

Me and my shih tzu Carl

Any doggie day-out activity excites me, yet I never had a chance to join organized activities before. Last Sunday's event, The Best Buddy Walk 2013 is the first event we (as pet parents) and my Dog joined.

Best Buddy Walk 2013, held Sunday (April 21, 2013) morning at Eastwood, Quezon City was organized by eXtribe and Robinson’s Supermarket.This one day event aims to promote wellness while bonding with our pet dogs.

The fun walk around the perimeter of eastwood plaza started at 6:30AM. Interesting activities followed such as Pet training talks, Dog dental health awareness (c/o Pedigree), Talk from PAWS, Dog trivia games (sponsored by Breeder’s choice) and presentation of special awards and raffles prizes.

It was a well-attended affair. Several booths offered freebies such as photobooth,  free coffee, ice cream, iced tea, hotdogs, corned beef and noodles. Our most loved companion also took home freebies for himself such as dog food sampler, dog soaps and denta stix. Course finishers take home a trophy (with Alpo/Purina Goodies), a gift pack from Pedigree, a bag of assorted doggie products and a grocery bag from Robinson’s supermarket. I won 2 kilos of Breeder’s choice dog food from a trivia question. My eyes feast on different breed of dogs. Yet the best part is, I enjoyed the walk as much as my dog did. Carl was nervous before the walk started, keeping his tail tucked between his hind legs whenever a dog sniffs his butt. But my dog relaxed when our cue to walk was given. Walking is his favorite activity and he was on the zone. The boy enjoyed the new route and kept on walking until we reached the finish line.

Siberian Husky

Pug

Beagle doing tricks

Beagle

Golden Retriever

Golden Retriever

Gift Packs for Finishers and other freebies from the event

Looking forward to the Best Buddy Walk 2014. Congratulations to exTribe and Robinson’s supermarket for organizing this successful event.

Colon Cancer and Colonoscopy

My father was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer last year. Unfortunately, he died 2 weeks after, at the age of 60. Through this post, I aim to share vital information about this dreaded disease, cancer symptoms and somehow help people spread awareness.


The first time the symptoms of this disease manifested was 2 years ago. He went to see a doctor because of blood in his stool. Due to incomplete diagnostic tests performed, he was incorrectly diagnosed with Ulcer. He was under medications for ulcer and felt relief. All the while we think it was just ulcer then.

Few months after (October 2011), he was rushed to the hospital due to severe stomach pain. An X-ray revealed gut obstruction. We were advised to have him undergo colonoscopy and endoscopy to see the exact position of the obstruction before the operation can be performed. Part of colonoscopy prep, he was advised to take phosposoda. A couple of hours after he felt relief. According to my dad, he felt the obstruction gone, as if it has been flushed out because of the medicine he took. Since we are having difficulty financially, our family decided to observe my dad and put off the procedure.

He felt fine until a year after (June 2013). He gradually felt weak and gets tired easily. A few weeks after he’s into intermittent fever and stomach pain. We’ve been to several doctors but he never felt better since then. His stool is now pencil-thin, and there’s blood in his stool again, based on his occult blood test. Doctors had him on ulcer medication and ferrous sulfate supplement to increase his red blood cells. As the disease progressed, he became restless, with frequent hallucinations. Despite the medicines, he never felt the same again. His RBC count dropped to an alarming level of 67. He needed blood transfusion immediately and was rushed to the hospital.

After a series of tests (X-Ray, ultrasound, AFP), his doctor explained the nodules found in his liver. His doctor suspected a cancer cells metastasized to his liver. His lungs also show some abnormalities. Gastroscopy or Colonoscopy procedure should confirm this. But the hospital where he was confined does not have the said procedures.

I searched for the cheapest colonoscopy rate available in metro manila. He underwent colonoscopy procedure in Healthway Alabang (ATC). The quoted package rate for the procedure is around 12k (sedated operation) for Senior citizen patients with Philhealth.

The procedure confirmed our biggest fears. The gastrologist showed me the 5cm mass in his large intestine. His dropping RBC is caused by the bleeding mass. Colonic Carcinoma, doctor said it was 99% stage 4 colon cancer and does not need biopsy. It started probably 10 years ago. Sadly, diseases like this manifest itself on the terminal stages. We were advised to have him undergo colostomy. Though this will not treat the cancer, it will somehow improve the quality of his life. The attending doctors of the hospital where we brought him (Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center) advised against it though, Colostomy being a major operation, and my Dad is getting weaker as days go by. They said he might not make it through the operation. As agreed by the family, we decided to take care of him at home. 2 weeks after, My dad said goodbye.

Though the doctors said no one can be blamed as these things are bound to happen anyway, I realized how important colonoscopy is as we reach the age of 40. Not the most comfortable medical procedure but it might save you. I had my dad undergo an overall checkup when he is 52. Unfortunately, we missed the colonoscopy procedure.

Through this painful journey, I thanked people who helped us, most of them were strangers. Our gastrologist who took off Php2000 from his professional fee after he broke the sad news, and contacted his fellow gastrologist to accommodate us in JPMMC. To the cardiologist who issued clearance for my dad- He was so kind to charge Php500 (consultation fee rate) instead of Php1500(med clearance rate). To the driver of the van we rented – for bringing us from Cavite to Alabang to Manila. For accepting the small amount of money we can only offer, an amount which can never be commensurate to the effort of bringing us to the hospital. To the kind cab driver who brought me home safely at wee hours of the morning from the hospital. To our family, relatives and friends, May God bless your kind hearts.

To my Dad – I miss you. Thanks for everything. Thanks for the last hug. Thanks for being my Dad.