Tag Archives: Manila

Quarantine Sky

21 Sunday Jun 2020

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If there’s one thing that I really loved during Metro Manila’s community quarantine, it’s definitely the cleaner air. Cleaner air, clearer sky.

BGC from my balcony
Mountains from afar

I appreciated my balcony more as I would work there for hours. A small table, a cup of coffee, and my work laptop – work from balcony starter pack. In between meetings, I would gaze at the mountains which I never noticed before the quarantine. Past the towers of Rockwell Center, I would see a bit of Manila Bay and the silhouettes of cranes at the Port of Manila.

Balcony workstation

How I wish the good air quality would remain as Metro Manila slowly awakens.

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I was supposed to publish this back in June 1 as the capital transitioned to the General Community Quarantine. Sadly, 20 days after, I am disappointed to report that the air quality has progressively gone worse. My air purifier has been getting PM2.5 readings of 20 – 30 lately whereas it hovered from 2 – 8 before.

Coping with the Quarantine

17 Sunday May 2020

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When it was announced back in March that a quarantine would be implemented in Metro Manila due to COVID 19, it was only natural that people were uneasy. Hours before March 16, the roads were abuzz with people heading to supermarkets.

Never noticed those mountains pre-quarantine

Thankfully, I did some trips to the supermarket the week before in anticipation of a pending lock down. Our company had also communicated work from home arrangements describing how we will be conducting our business during the quarantine.

The quarantine should only have lasted for a month. Sadly, the number of cases kept on rising so we ended up being in quarantine for two months and a half.

So what did I do within that period?

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Trip Report: Manila to Beijing with China Eastern Airlines

11 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in Personal, Travel, Trip Report

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These past two years, I have been sticking with Philippine Airlines more and more for my travel. Why? Mabuhay Miles, of course. It may not be as powerful as other loyalty programs because of PAL’s non-membership to any of the alliances but it suits my needs fairly well.

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There are exceptions though. When the airfare is too good for me to ignore, I grab it. Case in point, my recent trip to Beijing. I promised my mom that I will bring her to the Great Wall on her birthday. I was about to book two tickets to Beijing via Philippine Airlines at 545 USD when I saw China Eastern Airlines’ promo — 400 USD for two. I booked the tickets immediately.

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Impromptu Manila Tour

02 Sunday Jan 2011

Posted by in Personal, Random, Thoughts, Travel

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These past few days, I have been going through different websites, journals, and online photo albums looking for photos of pre-war Manila. I was very much frustrated at how beautiful Manila was and how horrible it is today. Before, Manila was dubbed as the Queen City of the Pacific. It was the city to go to in Asia. Now, it is just known as a place filled with trash and people with bad intentions.

I was wrong, well, half wrong. Continue reading →

Ni Hao Binondo

20 Monday Dec 2010

Posted by in Food, Personal, Travel

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If there’s one cuisine that I can eat everyday for the rest of my life without me getting tired of it, it would have to be Chinese cuisine. There’s something about Chinese food that I really love and I crave for almost on a daily basis. Add that to my desire to explore Manila and you’ve got me joining a food tour in Binondo. Wenk! Haha!

Well, Old Manila Walks offers a food tour of Manila’s very own Chinatown. Called The Big Binondo Food Wok, it’s a walking food tour of Binondo by Ivan Man Dy. My byte (Cez) and I have been planning to join the tour since August but it was only yesterday where we finally joined the tour. Continue reading →