Foodie Trip at Tiendesitas

Tiendesitas, a mall at the outskirts of Ortigas, in Pasig, is a unique Filipino-themed mall, with shops group according to products, such as Antiques, Handicrafts, Delicacies, among others.

For food lovers, Tiendesitas (means little stores in Spanish) hosts a menagerie of food stalls that will satisfy varied tastes. After shopping for antiques or pets (this is where I bought my turtle pets, Tweedledee and Tweedledum), you can sate your hunger in one of the countless turo-toro stalls dotting the mall.

Even vegans can a get treat, at Dr. Tam's Vegan House (their curry dish and vegan menudo is a must try). You can also take home Filipino delicacies such as chicharon (pork rind) and fruit tarts, which can be bought in shops at the Delicacies Village.

The mall is located along the C-5 highway.

Suria KLCC

The Suria mall below the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur

Schmap St. Louis

I was just been informed that my photo of Tivoli Theater was included in the Schmap St. Louis guide, both in the website and in the iPhone/iPod Touch app.

Snaking into the Horizon

A view from the window of a Delta CRJ-900 aircraft, approaching the Lambert - St. Louis Airport. We landed just after a tornado hit the vicinity.

Big Bang Theory at 29,000 Feet

In flight entertainment, such as an episode of the nerdy sitcom Big Bang Theory, is heaven-sent when travelling over long distances.

This one is on Philippine Airline's new Boeing 777 planes, bound for Hong Kong

King of Fruits

Despite an odor that turns off most Westerners, durian is a popular fruit in Southeast Asia, due to its creamy, sweet flavor, and its supposedly aphrodisiac qualities.

Detroit Wayne Metropolitan Airport

Detroit-Wayne Metropolitan Airport is one of the busiest gateways to the United States.

The airport's McNamara Terminal (Concourse A) is one mile in length, making it the second-longest in the world (after Kansai). It is served by an overhead tram system that ferries passengers from one end to the other.

The airport is 24th busiest in the world, handling 31 million passengers in 2009.

Food for Night Owls

Banchetto, a night food market held every Friday midnight at Emerald Avenue in the Ortigas business district, is a perfect place to get some grub after a night of bar-hopping at the nearby music lounges (and to tired and hungry call center workers doing the graveyard shift).

Everything from barbequed pork to burgers, shawarma to piyaya, the market offers all kinds of food to varying tastes and budget.

Still Life in Motion

A commuter waits for a train to stop, at Quezon Avenue MRT station

Launching Pad

A few years ago a cousin of mine told me about the supposedly top-secret project of then President Ferdinand Marcos to develop a rocket or missile indigenously. The name of the rocket is Bongbong 1. I was incredulous when I heard about it (until today) when I remembered the story and did some googling. There's a thread at timawa.net that has some pictures of the launching of the rockets/missiles (pics above).

What I unearthed is that there is actually a program in the 70s, called Santa Barbara Project, that attempted to develop a Philippine-made rocket, and the launching pad of the missiles/rockets was in Caballo Island. I took a picture of the island last January when I visited Corregidor (below):

Caballo Island , together with Corregidor and Fort Drum islands, has fortifications and were important to the defense of Manila Bay during the World War II.

Grand Central Station

The largest train terminal in the world by number of platforms, the Grand Central station receives a large number of visitors coming in and going out of the Big Apple, including yours truly, arriving here by bus from JFK, from which I then went onward using one of the subways.

pics, from top: the facade, and the main concourse

Urban Jungle

Some of the skyscrapers of the city-state of Singapore.

April 1, 2010

Puss Snooze

A cat opts to catch forty winks instead of rats, at Enigmata Eco Lodge, Camiguin Island.