Is Coming Up

image here

My birthday, that is.

Hubby asks what I want for my birthday. I want his gift to be a surprise but he insists on letting him know what I want so I won't be disappointed. We will be going to the mall and I would show him the things that I like to receive. Right now, I want an office bag (since I only have one) and the What to Expect when You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel. Although I'm hesitant about it. I feel we should be 100% sure that I'm positive.

Maybe I should ask for What to Expect Before You're Expecting, instead.

He's not gonna tell what he'll buy. Is that "surprise" enough for me? Yes, it is good enough.

Baguio Orchidarium

The gate is open.

The sign says it's an orchidarium.

I've never read about this in my research for Baguio tourist spots. We still had time to spare so we entered the gate and see what lies inside the orchidarium.

Inside is an area filled with plants in pots, a gazeebo (which looks unused) and...plants. There were a few men (gardeners?) who came by and left. We looked around, sat on a bench to smell the clean air. There's a path which I imagine would lead you to a secret cove...

We saw seedlings of a pine tree. I wished I could bring it home but I know that it would not thrive here.

Burnham Park

To spend our time wisely (since our check-in is 2pm), we went to Burnham Park after our breakfast at Cafe by the Ruins.

The weather was cool with not much sun. Just perfect for strolling around. We rented a pedicab (bicycle with sidecar) for P40/hour. We rode around the park among children and other tourists. It was a holiday, being President Noynoy Aquino's Inauguration.

This kid looks like he's stuck in a mud.

There were many vendows around selling strawberry taho (which I totally forgot to buy during our 3-day stay), green mangoes, lanzones, rambutans and steamed corn on the cob.

Bad News, Good News

Yesterday, there was rain. As Hubby and I hurried to get off the bus, open our gigantic umbrella and cross the street to the mall, a pick pocket opened the pockets of our backpacks. We never realized it until we were inside the mall when the mall guard pointed out that the our bags were open. I dismissed it, saying that we forgot to close our bags since during our trip, we were getting things in and out our bags. Hubby was insistent that he didn’t forget.

As I was preparing my office bag at our apartment, that’s when I realized that my fish coin purse and strawberry-scented hand sanitizer are nowhere in sight. I checked and double-checked Hubby’s bag. Nada. The pickpocket got them! I was saddened that I was living in the city for years and still a thief stole my things. Hubby consoled me that good thing my wallet and cellphone was inside my bag where the thief would not be able to get them. Shame on you, thief!

All night I cannot let go of the thought that I was victimized. It felt that I was duped or something.

The next day, getting a ride to the office was kinda difficult. When an FX came, I immediately grab a seat and opened my wallet to pay for my fare. Imagine my shock. I totally forgot that I have no small bills to pay for my ride! I have P500 which the driver did not accept since he has no change for it. I thought of things on what I would do to pay even though I know that I have no P20 in my bag. I searched and searched but I know it is futile. I asked my fellow passengers if they could possibly break down my money. Futile.

My FX seatmate got his wallet and gave P20 to me saying I should pay it for my ride. I don't know what to say at first. I'm ashamed that a stranger would pay for me and grateful at the same time. I tried to get his name but he seems shy and was nonchalant by his kind act. I checked again my bag for loose coins so as to compensate his goodness (I was thinking what if that P20 was his fare later and he has no more money in his wallet?) and I got a P15 which I gave him. He was surprised with that, I can tell.

Before getting off the FX, I said "Thank you po uli, Sir. God bless po." Hopefully he has a good day ahead of him.

Now, I am thinking how to pay this forward.

Café by the Ruins

We arrived in Baguio at around 10am. Since the check-in time in Hotel Veniz is 2pm, we decided to eat breakfast first and see some sights.

I could tell that The Cook will be enjoying our vacation since he likes cold weathers and delicious food.

Our first stop, Café by the Ruins.

According to its website,

“The ruins we lay claim to are the remains of a garden theater which was later converted into the gracious home of Phelps Whitmarsh, the first civil governor of Benguet.”

We are so enthralled with the beauty of the place that we kept taking photos of every plant, décor, furniture, walls and signs at the café. Yes, we are obvious tourists in Baguio. The Cook plans to make our own house as relaxing as Café by the Ruins.

For breakfast, I ordered Champorado and Tapsilog for the Cook.

My Champorado was chocolatey, with fresh cow’s milk and some fried salted fish (small biya). Sadly, I wasn’t able to finish my food. My stomach had its usual “travel jitters”.

The Tapsilog has a cup of colorful mountain rice, fried adobo chunks (I think they served the wrong dish) and fried egg. The meal also includes brewed Benguet coffee and a small bowl of fresh fruits.

Whenever we eat out, I always check on the restaurant’s comfort room. I don’t know why, but I have this fixation to take photos of comfort rooms. Only the clean and photogenic comfort rooms, that is. Maybe I am saving photos of comfort rooms to serve as inspiration to our own comfort rooms in our future home.


I love the comfort room at Café by the Ruins. It’s clean, has big mirrors, tissue paper, water (of course), and as deodorizer, they have fresh sampaguita garlands and rosals. Isn’t it a great idea to bring in fresh flowers rather than use a toilet deodorizer to keep the comfort room smell good? That’s what I call an eco-friendly toilet.

Outside the café is a small area selling organic produce every Wednesday.


Café by the Ruins
23 Chuntug, Baguio City
Tel.: (74) 442-4010 or 446-4010
Fax: 442-5272
E-mail: feedback@cafebytheruins.com.ph
http://www.cafebytheruins.com/

Hotel Veniz

Since I’m an OC researcher, I searched the net for some viable places to stay. I want it cheap but near the city. I learned my lesson from our Bohol trip. I booked a budget-friendly place but was very far from the city that we had to cut short our daily tours just to come back to the room early. Transportation is hard to come by at night.

Hotel Veniz is at the heart of downtown Baguio. It is located near the Igorot Garden and the public market. There is a convenience store, gas station and restaurants around the hotel. Clearly, the perfect place for us to stay.

The hotel staff is friendly and accommodating. I reserved a Junior Standard room (P1,295)which has no aircon (who needs aircon when you’re in Baguio?) via email. But, since a Junior Standard room was not yet available by the time we checked in, the receptionist upgraded our room to Standard Room (P1,595), a room with an air con unit, at no extra cost. We saved P300 a night. A steal!

I’m so excited with our room at the fourth floor. It was spacious for the two of us. It has two beds, own bathroom, TV, coffee table, cabinet, drawers and a bedside table.

Inside the bedside table was a Bible, hotel phone numbers, flashlight, schedule of mass in different churches in Baguio and a Baguio map. Good thing we didn’t buy a map. Hee-hee.


There are also those “little hotel freebies” like soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, paper slippers, coffee, sugar and creamer. A broadsheet is delivered every morning at the door step.

Each guest has a complimentary breakfast at Café Veniz, located at the Mezzanine. To avoid waiting, you have to call the café first to place your order so your breakfast will be served once you come to the café.

Now, some glitches at Hotel Veniz.

The elevator does not have access to the fourth floor guest rooms. We had to go to the fifth floor to use the elevator. But, I think that’s ok since at least we had some exercise.

On our second day, we had a problem with our magnetic key card. It was not working! The Cook had to go to the Front Desk and have them re-program it. This happened thrice during our stay. 

All in all, I highly recommend Hotel Veniz. When we go back to Baguio, this is the hotel where we will be staying again.

Hotel Veniz
1 Abanao St., Baguio City 2600
Tel.: (74) 446 0700
http://www.hotelveniz.com/

2nd Vacation of the year

We are barely on our first year as a married couple and we already had two vacations! Yoohoo!

The first one was in Bohol for our honeymoon. The second was in Baguio for our pre-birthday celebrations. We’re supposed to go there in August, our birthday month, but thinking that it would be the rainy season, we opted to move our vacation earlier. Also, another consideration was that what if I got pregnant, I don’t think I’ll risk travelling for 6 hours to go to Baguio.

The Cook chose Baguio because he has never visited it. Ever. It’s my third time to visit, though. He said he wants to feel Baguio’s cool atmosphere, fresh vegetables and see some Igorots.

Collect, Collect, Ask, Ask

image from Amazon books

I love the novels of Sidney Sheldon.

His first book which I read was If Tomorrow Comes. And I'm hooked. I think I've read almost all of Sheldon's novels but only owns three of them.

I posted in Facebook that I'm thinking of collecting all his novels by buying them from secondhand book shops. My cousin commented that they have the complete set and no one would mind if I get them. Weeeeee!

Thanks, Ate!

Visit to the OB

We went to an OB-GYN over the weekend. Since we were not able to conceive last month, we decided to check with an OB.

I have hesitations prior to this visit. It seems like we're over eager to conceive but I have to remind myself that my husband and I are not always together in all the 12 months in a year. For this year, we only have 4 months together.

We went to Hospital 1 early in the morning to make sure that we are listed first. We were #5. The OB's clinic hours is from 11am-2pm. Last time we enlisted I was #17 and at 1pm, the doctor is handling patient #3. The secretary informed us that the OB has a 9-11am schedule at another hospital (Hospital 2). We immediately went to Hospital 2, hoping that the OB has lesser patients than Hospital 1.

Hospital 2 has lesser patients. I was #2. Woohoo! We waited for the clinic to open. The secretary arrived and called on patients. When it was our turn, she asked us our concern for visiting. Trying to conceive. She suggested that we should instead consult with another OB who specializes in Infertility cases. Infertility?! Since we want to get pregnant soon and The Cook will be away in 3 months time, it's better to consult with another OB. This OB has clinic hours from 2-4pm. We decided to come back later.

Why are doctors always late?

We arrived a few minutes after two, hoping that the OB will be available. We waited among other patients who are pregnant, aside from a teenage girl whom I guessed was having menstrual problem.

The OB, let's call her Dra. T, arrived at 3pm. I was the 4th patient.

Dra. T asked us the usual stuff, last menstrual period, health problems, frequency of sex in a week, etc. She asked The Cook his job and when he said that he's a cook, Dra. T was kinda saddened. She said with The Cook's line of work, it could affect his capacity to produce good sperms. In my times of researching and reading about fertility and conception, I never considered The Cook's work. I always thought that the difficulty in conceiving is with me since I'm not getting any younger.

We left the clinic filled with lots of information.

We hope that Cycle 2 will be positive.

Ovuplus

I bought an ovulation kit.

Before we got married, I went to an OB-GYN and asked her how I could get pregnant the soonest once we're married. In her pad, she wrote the days of the month, circled the days which I'm supposed to be fertile, checked the days which The Cook and I should have "contact" (her term, not mine) and listed the things I should buy/do. We never got the chance to do those things since he left for overseas work 11 days after our wedding.

Now that we have the time to get preggers, I unearthed this list from my files and reviewed it. On the list was to buy and ovulation kit.

The Ovuplus contains 5 test kits which looks like a pregnancy test kit. The kit instructs to use it 2 days before ovulation. There is a table wherein you can see when to use it depending on your cycle. My cycle ranges from 29-32 days. I can use the kit on Day 12. You should use it between 10am-8pm, at the same time every day you are testing. I guess the most comfortable time for me to use it is 6pm, after work, at home.

The ironic thing about these ovulation kits is that they cannot tell if you ovulated. All it can tell is the possibility of ovulation, not the ovulation itself. Argh!

Mid-year

Happy 6 months to us!

Cycle 1...Failed

After much anticipation, wishes and prayers for a baby...here comes my monthly visitor. :(

It's kinda sad that we have not yet conceived but I would like to see this as another month for The Cook and I to make our relationship stronger and our bodies to be healthier for our future baby. True, relatives and friends can be a pain when they ask the question, "Meron na?" or "Buntis ka na?" It puts unwanted pressure to the both of us.

If only I could answer,

"Realistically, we have been living under one roof for a month. It takes more time than that to have a baby. Some are lucky to have a baby in one shot. In our case, it takes time."