Down the Rabbit Hole

La Cocina de Tita Moning , the restaurant that started me off on my food journey and the place I first visited with Manuel, was closing down because the family who owns the place was selling the property off. I thought that I should visit it one last time, preferably with the people who have joined me in trying out new restaurants every year. And so I found myself back at the Legarda Mansion with Man, Ate Bing, Ate Mary, and Pogs . As always, the food was so good and we were received very warmly by the mansion's majordoma , Tita Tining. And just like all the other times I've been there, I was given a tour of the mansion. Seeing how the alta sociedad spent their free times never got old. Because while I do get the luxury of having hobbies, I feel that my time is split between my indoor hobbies (like colouring books) and chores (if I actually get the time to do my chores). On the other hand, the owners of the mansion, back in the day, could fill their free time ...

So, on a hot summer afternoon, Matty, Maya, Martin, and I went to Luisiana, Laguna to visit three waterfalls. I didn't expect a full-fledged hike and was thinking this to be more similar to a visit to Daranak Falls , for instance. Or even to Pagsanjan Falls , in which we were basically in a boat the whole trip to the waterfalls. So, I didn't bring water or food... thinking that these would be available along the way.  But I was wrong. To visit the three waterfalls, we had to really hike, go over boulders, and cross streams... something I typically wouldn't do wearing running shoes. But since when have I planned day trips involving mountains properly, right?  And so as we were hiking, I can't help but play TLC's song "Waterfalls" in my head. The chorus particularly resounded because we typically stayed in lakes or at sea when we go wakeboarding. This is only the second time I've trekked with Matty (I'm not counting the hike to see Yamb...

I'm going to echo what many have been saying about this year's Presidential elections in the Philippines: it is the most polarising one that my generation and the next (yeah, the ones who's first adopted the internet and social media) has had the privilege to participate in so far. It has also yielded a lot of unexpected results . My favourite is this: people came out in droves to vote. The Commission on Elections has reported that 81% of the voting population exercised their right to suffrage; this is the highest turnout in the history of the use of those Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machines.  My experience.   Weeks leading up to the election, I chose not to take an active part in heated arguments and debates about the merits and weaknesses of candidates seeking to serve the people for the next six years. Several reasons. One, I didn't want my relationships with my relatives and my friends be damaged by this elections. Two, I wanted my vote to be base...

Ten years ago, I first visited New South Wales as a PhD student. Ten years ago, I was using a point-and-shoot camera because I didn't have a digital camera yet. Ten years ago, it was my first time to see marsupials (ever) in the wild... they took on the form of kangaroos or wallabies... I'm not sure.  Anyway, this photo was taken sometime in October 2006 when Bob Gilbert, my USyd and UQ thesis adviser, took me and other students from other countries into one of the national parks near Boomerang Beach. We stopped by the roadside when these animals were sighted. We got out of the car and stood by the side of the road to continue watching them. Across the road was a tall metal fence with a warning sign: "Electrified fence. Do not jump." In my head, I thought, who in his right mind would ever think of jumping over a fence that's almost twice as tall as I am?!?  A few minutes later, one of these kangaroos stood near me, also looking at the tall fence. I ...

"Down here all the fish is happy As off through the waves they roll The fish on the land ain't happy They sad 'cause they in their bowl But fish in the bowl is lucky They in for a worser fate One day when the boss get hungry Guess who's gon' be on the plate." I can't help but think of Sebastian the Lobster from The Little Mermaid  when I went into the water at Dive and Trek, a marine sanctuary in Bauan, Batangas. I mean, there were a lot of fish! It's the first time I've snorkeled and seen the diversity of fish in the area! It's also a popular snorkeling spot so my family and I were not exactly alone in the area. The previous times I was there, I was wakeboarding... complete with flying into the air, thanks to a rock I wasn't able to avoid (one time). Anyway, here's a video of our snorkeling trip. It's Daddy's first time to snorkel; Mommy's first time to be in saltwater with us; Marco's first time to ...

While walking near the Shinjuku Station, I noticed this poster. It attracted my attention because (i) I don't speak Japanese or read Japanese script so I thought that this would be a good way to find out what the message was; (ii) there was an elephant in the picture. I have a few guesses at what it means. No offense meant to the Japanese... (1) Elephants are not allowed. (2) Elephants are not allowed to throw tissue paper rolls. (3) Elephants are not allowed to use their trunks to blow tissue paper rolls into the air. (4) Elephants are not allowed to go near lit cigarette butts. A photo posted by Rochie Cuevas (@rochiecuevas) on Apr 3, 2016 at 8:14pm PDT Whatever the poster meant, it made me smile after a day of walking in the countryside, visiting flowers, peach trees, cherry trees...

Bright lights, big city. I thought Tokyo was one bright metropolis already... Until I saw Osaka's Dōtonbori district. The place was also bright! There were huge billboards everywhere! Even with the rain, it was such a happy place to visit. It somehow reminded me of Hong Kong, only more eclectic.  A photo posted by Rochie Cuevas (@rochiecuevas) on Apr 4, 2016 at 12:22am PDT Some of the more interesting sights were the eccentric advertisements, like this one, the gigantic  Kani Dōraku crab . It's known to be a moving crab robot but I didn't see it. Without understanding the Japanese text, I knew instantly that this is a restaurant that serves crab. No-go for Rochie here. This one's the Meiji billboard. The guy in the billboard is known as Karl Ojisan. If there's one regret I have during this trip, it is this: I didn't hoard Meiji chocolate bars because I couldn't risk going over the baggage weight limit. I found this octo...