Tag: Manila

H20 Hotel, Manila, Review

Holidays & Travels

Bay view at H20, iphone photo by JMorton

H20 Hotel, Manila, Review

I have to admit H20 Hotel is our favourite hotel in Manila.

It is not perfect, in fact I could think of a few flaws right now but having said that there are more positive features against the negative ones.

For a starter the rooms are a delight.  We have now stayed in both the Aqua and the Bay view rooms.  Both have charms of their own as what the Tagalogs would say “Walang itulak Kabigin”, which means it is just impossible to choose.

The only strange thing is how transparent the toilet door was.  You can be heard as well as seen doing your business in there.  Also there should have been a sort of barrier on the floor of the wet room from the rest of the bedroom.

I love a good full on shower and the room provides a good strong gust of water from the beautifully huge fixed shower head by the ceiling of the bathroom.  Unfortunately the water splashes everywhere including where the paper toilet roll was attached, ergo it get soaked and when finally dry, it was not that fit for purpose anymore.  Not only that, some water would come out of the bathroom into the room, creating a small flood just outside the shower door.  Thank goodness, it did drain pretty quickly.

The housekeeping was very thorough with their job, the room was always clean and tidy.

The restaurant Makan Makan, is a revelation; it provides breakfast and it has plenty to offer in terms of variety of food, but not too much, which can leave your head in a whirl.  And it is important as well to talk about the price.  For just P400 pesos (which is so reasonable compared to other hotel of less varied food) you can eat as much as you like to your heart’s content.

It is a very popular hotel, especially for families.  Well it is next door to Manila Ocean Park, a place which would surely amuse the kids and adults alike to no end.  But do not be alarmed, you do not hear the sound of noisy children or other people/activities once you are in your own hotel room.

We would definitely stay in this hotel again.

Money Changer in Manila

Philippines

@The Money Changer, Photo by PH Morton

@the Money Changer, photo by PH Morton

@the Money Changer, photo by PH Morton

When we went to the Philippines, Peter and I had P10,000 (10,000 pesos) each.  We read on the internet that one is only allowed to bring in P10,000 each but you can bring in $10,000 (or any other denomination) if you wanted.

Anyway with all the recent laglag bala (planted bullets) anomalies at the Ninoy Aquino International airport, we dare not bring in more than we should in terms of the pesos even though P20,000 will not get us much.  We did not want NAIA to have any reason to give us a hard time, do we?!!!

We used John Lewis in Brent Cross as opposed to the Post office, which was our regular currency converter.  John Lewis did a better rate.

So with our P20,000 and more pounds sterling in our pocket we went to the Philippines and had a real good time.

But it was really expensive.  Marilou, the dollar girl from LA, and I were always changing money.

We tried changing monies at SM (ShoeMart) and BDO (Banco de Oro) but we had to bring in proof of identity, which is a bummer (I refuse to bring my passport everywhere; I had a bad experience in Rome with snatchers) and the queue can be horrendous, plus the fact that their exchange rate was not competitive enough.

Luckily, there were a lot of money changers in Tutuban Centre, near the Philippine famous Divisoria in Manila, which is only a tricycle ride away from our mother’s house.

The one we used all the time is located near the Robinson’s Supermarket.  They don’t ask any question, and the rate is much better than SM and the banks.  And the place looks fairly safe; of course, you have to be aware of your money and belongings at all times, just like anywhere else in the world.

I was so happy the first time we changed money because the rate was so high, even higher than John Lewis’s but with the news that Cameron had finally named the date for EU referendum, the pound sterling plummeted quite a bit.  It was so good that our holiday was coming to an end by then and I had changed most of our monies.

Aqua Room @ H20 Hotel, Manila

Philippines
H20 Hotel, Manila

H20 Hotel, Manila

Aqua Room @ H20 Hotel, Manila

IMG_0024 IMG_0025

As you can gather, we are now in the Philippines for our much needed holiday in view of a get-together with our Filipino family.

As our arrival was rather late in the evening, we decided to spend the first night in a nearby hotel called H20.

We booked it via  tripAdvisor before we travelled.  It was actually a good deal, almost half the price offered by Expedia and Agoda.

When we got to the hotel at 8pm, we were given a very good upgrade into a hugely superior Aqua room.

I have to say it was really spectacular and rather peaceful to see fish swimming over and out of beautifully lit corrals.  It was a real sight to behold.  At around 9pm the lighting goes dark so that it will not impede your sleep.  But you are still aware of the fish swimming in the dark, which was quite comforting actually. 🙂

It was a lovely stay and the room service is reliable.  We ordered food at almost midnight and they have brought us pork sinigang, kare-kare, dinuguan, rice and adobo for just my husband and me.  Though the food were delicious, we hardly finished any of it as we are so tired and over-ordered.  (Family now stopped me when I am ordering)

Pope Francis urges Philippine Government Leaders To End Corruption

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All institutions are prone to corruption and to the vices of their members.
– Morris West (Australian Novelist 1916-1999)

Here is an interesting BBC news item, we hope the Philippine leadership take note and act upon speedily as would any upcoming Presidential hopeful in 2016!

Despite President Aquino making his own comments about the Catholic Church in the Philippines, more importantly, the  Pork Barrel PPAF, Napoles etc scandals still persist despite promises from Filipino leaders to deal with!

We hope His Holiness’s words will be heeded !

Pope Francis urges Philippine Government Leaders To End Corruption

 Pope Francis urges Philippine Government Leaders To End Corruption

Pope Francis waves to the faithful from his Popemobile as his motorcade leaves the Presidential Palace for the Manila Cathedral Friday, 16 January 2015 in Manila, Philippines.Pope Francis travelled to Manila’s Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in his ‘Popemobile’ on Friday

Pope Francis has urged Philippine leaders to end “scandalous social inequalities” and corruption during a welcome ceremony in Manila.

On the first full day of his five-day visit, he called for politicians to show commitment to the “common good”.

But President Benigno Aquino responded that many Catholic clergy had been silent about the abuses conducted under former President Gloria Arroyo.

And he said some clergymen were now too quick to criticise him.

“In contrast to their previous silence, some members of the clergy now seem to think that the way to be true to the faith means finding something to criticise,” he said.

“Even to the extent that one prelate admonished me to do something about my hair, as if it were a mortal sin.”

The pontiff arrived in the majority Catholic country on Thursday and is due to travel to the typhoon-hit city of Tacloban on Saturday.

The centre-piece of his visit is an open-air Mass in Manila on Sunday, which is expected to attract millions.

The Pope is on a six-day tour of Asia. Earlier in the week he visited Sri Lanka.

‘Voice of the poor’

Well-wishers line the streets to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis in Manila on 15 January 2015 The Pope received a rapturous reception as he arrived in Manila

Speaking at a welcome ceremony in the presidential palace, Pope Francis called for leaders “to reject every form of corruption, which diverts resources from the poor”.

He said it was a Christian duty to “break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and indeed scandalous, social inequalities”.

The Philippines, like many countries in Asia, has corruption issues.

Corruption activist group Transparency International put the Philippines at 85 in its latest Corruption Perceptions Index, level with India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Under Mr Aquino, the Philippines’ record has slowly improved.

Mr Aquino suggested the Church had not done enough to fight corruption under Mrs Arroyo, who is facing charges of plundering state funds and election fixing.

“There was a true test of faith when many members of the Church, once advocates for the poor, the marginalised, and the helpless, suddenly became silent in the face of the previous administration’s abuses, which we are still trying to rectify to this very day,” Mr Aquino said.

Filipino Catholic devotees gather outside the Manila Cathedral as they wait to celebrate a mass with Pope Francis in Manila, Philippines, 16 January 2015Many people began waiting outside the cathedral in Manila for the Mass in the early hours of Friday
Pope Francis, left, and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III stand together during the welcoming ceremony Friday, 16 January 2015 at the Presidential Palace grounds in Manila, PhilippinesPresident Benigno Aquino (R) hosted a welcome ceremony for the Pope at the presidential palace on Friday.

Bayong

Philippines

Growing up in the Philippines in the 80s, the last thing you would want was a bayong as a school bag, or as an accessory. It would have been such a reputation suicide to be seen carrying a bayong. 😉

In the 80s, a bayong would have been a shout-out and a label of being someone prom da probins (from the province); as being provincial and definitely lacking in sophistication, which was the last thing you would want when meeting loads and loads of new people for the first time.

Students, during my time would have opted for fashionable and, if available and affordable, something made from abroad, stateside (i.e. from the USA or abroad). Never mind that some of these foreign made bags can be rather inferior, to say the least.

Having said that, I suppose, the old style bayong was not very attractive. They were of natural fibres from palm trees. Though woven beautifully, they were not prettified. No ribbons or embellishments were added, no buttons, intricate handles and the bayong did not come in different colours. They were just ordinary box-type bag, useful to carry when going to wet markets to buy fish, fresh meat and vegetables.

Bayong was just too native and screamed naivety and even ignorance of life, the life in the neon-lit and cosmopolitan Manila.

But when I went back home a couple of years ago, I fell in-love with the bayong and can’t get enough of them. I bought five of various sizes home and would have gotten more if I could carry them back to London without paying excess luggage at Manila airport!

I bought my first bayong in Tagaytay. It was raining at that time and as we did not bring umbrellas, we thought we would treat ourselves with those funny, cute hats which were proudly and snazzily displayed in vivid colours, designs and sizes in the mini-shops in Tagaytay. As I was doing a bit of rummaging in a shop, I found a beautiful bayong, half the size in height of the classic bayong. Unfortunately, one of the handles had come off so I did not buy it, but at that moment, I knew I had to possess a bayong. With my entourage of my beautiful Filipino family, we went from shop to shop, buying souvenirs after souvenirs, but I couldn’t find a bayong 🙁 Luckily my Auntie Glor, with her keen eyesight, saw a bayong and that was that, I had to  get it. My family were so lovely indulging me but I got the feeling, they didn’t really understand nor get my desire & feelings about the bayong.
Call it nostalgia if you like 🙂

A few days later we went to Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte, where Hannah’s beach resort is located. A fantastic place, I have to say. Lots to see and even a lot more to do. Little tinderos (mini merchants) would walk the street selling their wares. One was selling bayongs. I have to say I was able to get four bayongs for P1400 (pesos) which is about £20 because of my great bartering skills, LOL. Seriously, a good buy & great value for money.

I don’t really use them much in London, only once in a while, not because I think they are not sophisticated or well made but because I have so many bags. One day they will see the light of day in London again when it is their turn! So many bags, so little time.

My favourite story about bayongs was that of Carlos Bulosan, who was an Ilocano born in 1911. Apparently at the age of 17, he migrated to the USA with just a bayong (filled with Filipino delicacies such as bagoong, fermented fish and burong talanka, pickled small crabs) and a small matching tampipi (suitcase woven from palm leaves)

Many say that Carlos Bulosan was barely literate when he first arrived in America, but he went on to publish important and influential books written in English in America!

In fact Carlos Bulosan said it first part of one of President John F Kennedy’s iconic speeches did a few decades later.

“But we must not demand from America, because she is still our unfinished dream. Instead we must sacrifice for her: let her grow into bright maturity through our labors. If necessary we must give up our lives that she might grow unencumbered.”
– Bulosan (America in the Heart 1943)

“Ask not what your country can do for your. Ask what you can for your country.”
JFK, Speech 1960