Flight details:
Singapore to Manila: 5J 808 Thu 10 May 2012, 0130H
Manila to Singapore : 5J 805 Thu 17 May 2012, 1325H
My sister and I planned this homecoming after the 2011 Christmas holiday. I was so excited because after a year I'm going to see my family, meet my friends, eat the food that I missed most and lastly to see again the Pahiyas Festival after five years. Even our luggage were packed five days before our vacation, seems so excited to travel again. And I remember my mom that one time on our phone conversation that she has her own countdown.
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| two backpacks, for me and my sister's clothes and guess what's in our luggage? No wonder why we exceed 11 kilos. |
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This vacation is very memorable to me because this is the second time that the whole family will be together again since the time I worked overseas. We touched down at 5pm and we are earlier by 15 minutes, that's Cebu Pacific. We stayed at bay 6, waiting for my family to fetch us... as were coming closer to the car I could see my mom's face smiling from ear to ear when she saw us, I took a head count after my brother loaded our luggage, somebody is missing my youngest nephew, oh I forgot my sister told me that he's in a summer school in preparation for the next school year as per requirement for the K-12 program.
Itinerary were meticulously planned by my sister, we had a pit stop at UST to have our annual complete blood chemistry since there's no meal serve in a budget flight we fasted for 12 hours, second stop was at Divisoria for my nephew's school supplies and we had a heavy breakfast at Max's Restaurant, aww Sinigang in breakfast. Third stop was at S&R then at Claw Daddy at Fort Bonifacio Global City for our lunch.
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| Lunch with my family at Claw Daddy |
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| Clockwise: Kuya Ed, Kuya, Ate Myla, Cla, Nanay, myself & Jairus, sorry Kendrick you took this picture |
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| Calamari |
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| Crispy Shrimp |
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| Our favorite, Crab Maritess |
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| Baby back ribs, for my nephews |
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| Aftermath |
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After a hefty lunch we went to SM Makati and shopped for my nephew's additional school supplies. KFC at SLEX was our last last stop for dinner. Long day was done and it's home sweet home, I wasn't able to see the beauty of our 3 hours journey 'coz I fell asleep. We're home at 10:30 pm, the town was already in a festive mood and no such big change in our house but one thing I noticed, we have a new members in the family, two cute kittens. It was already late at night and we're still catching up until 12 midnight.
May 11: I woke up at 6 am, that's my body clock, no work or rest day, I'm up at 6 o'clock. Pandesal and hot chocolate was on the table. I brought my mom to her Pulmonologist for her follow up check up because of her nagging cough and I was rewarded to dine at Chowking. Ate Benny made the fried tawilis (thanks S&R) and I cooked sauteed patola with scallop for dinner.
May 12: Fully loaded day, we went to my brother's hideaway and we helped him in administering the regular shot of vitamins to piglets. It's good to see that even my nephews were also anxious in holding the piglets. Jairus tried to hold the piglet but its wiggling so my brother decided to hold it and Cla was the one who jabbed while Kyle put the blue mark after the injection.
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| Jairus assisted my brother in jabbing a supplement |
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Wiggling
My brother's turn
Jabbing
Proper technique to avoid twitching
Good job Kyle, does it make you sweat? |
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| Keep on growing |
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| Real piggy back |
We grilled samaral, hotdogs and spareribs marinated in soya sauce, garlic, black pepper and lime; enaseladang pako (edible fern) with tuna and onion as our lunch. What a refreshing experienced we cooked the rice in a traditional charcoal in a tripod. Lunch was served in a banana leaf, we must eat with our hands but I saw my sister she brought fork and spoon 'coz she thought that water supply is not for consumption and not ideal for washing. Anyway, it was a good simple lunch and finally realized, which my mother planned even those vacations we had in Lucban that wasn't push through because of the weather.
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| Kyle And Cla |
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| Kyle is our techie technician (kinakalutkot nya lahat) |
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| You're hiding the Piknik |
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| My nephew who still allow us to kiss him (he's 12 y/o now) |
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| He really enjoyed biking around |
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| Malena |
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| Bonsai |
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| My brother with his baby Jackfruit |
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| Only one is left given by Melanie |
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| Baby coconut |
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| Pigpen |
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| Koprahan |
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Lacatan
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| I alternate with my sister but on the later part there was a hot coal landed on my right foot |
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| Samaral |
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| Grilling Samaral |
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This is what we missed ....hotdog
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| Burned grilled pork |
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| Ensaladang Pako |
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| Kaninan na! |
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| L-R: Ate Benny, Kyle, Jairus, Ate Myla, Cla and Nanay |
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| With my Kuya |
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| Enjoying the lunch |
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We went home at 1:30 pm to freshen up and attend the 5:30pm anticipated mass in Kamay Ni Hesus Healing Church. It was not in my plan to visit my former colleagues in LDH but I was surprised to bump Ate Lily with Kuya Flor, Ate Lucing with Kuya Romy and Bebot whose also visiting her parents. How time flies Bebot was just a small child playing with me when I was just new in LDH. Catching up with friends in just a moment made feel that I am really home. Tanigue's head kinulob was our dinner that I cooked especially requested by Ate Myla, and she bought it one week before our vacation, I think she sorely missed my kinulob. I thought that Saturday night that I would be able to join the #Quiztion of @Hecklerforever but our PC is spoilt again, grrrr what a bad fate. Instead I helped Cla to grind all the ingredients she needed in making Pesto sauce. Then, I baked my dark chewy chocolate and made my humble blueberry cheese cake for the next day celebration of Mothers Day.
May 13: Ate Myla and I went to the market at 6am for the whole week supply and I was able to buy my favourite small tinapa to bring home. I cooked our breakfast which is pine apple fried rice match with longanisang Lucban and a hot chocolate. To my amazement my brother loved it the first time he took a bite.
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| Pasta in Pesto Sauce |
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| Special puto |
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| Our Mother's day gift |
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| She's excited to open the box |
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| My siblings were also eager to see what's inside the box |
Cla cooked her signature Pasta in Pesto sauce for our Mother's day dinner. It wasn't the whole family's dinner but also with some of our old friends, Cla's god daughter Carla and her fiance John and my good friends from LDH, Ate Elsa and Ate Puring, but Ate Girlie wasn't able to join because of her work who never fails to visit and bring me some goodies when I'm home and this time they gave me a bushels of ripe mango.
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| Thanks Ate Elsa, Puring and Girlie, you really know that I missed this most |
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| With Ate Elsa |
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| My Ate Puring |
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| With their extended family |
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| With John and Carla |
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| One more shot including myself |
Monday, May 14, I went to Lucena City to finish all the errands, routine visit to my doctor and passed by a salon in SM to trim and dye my hair. Then Cla and I went to the Tiangge selling souvenirs made in Lucban to check some pasalubongs. I was surprised by another friend when we got home, it was Ate Yolly, my former colleague in LDH pharmacy, with Kuya Benhur. This couple were my very good friends who also make time to see me when I'm in town and they brought Lacatan, they really know what I want to crave when I'm home.
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| Lacatan, naturally ripe unlike what we buy in NTUC |
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| With Ate Myla, Ate Yolly and Kuya Benhur |
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| And with my sister Cla |
Tuesday, May 15, we woke up at 6:30am I asked Ate Myla to help me in clearing the closet with those clothes that were outdated and not using anymore and later we prepare the table ready to welcome our expected guests.
Pahiyas festival is a feast day of our patron saint of bountiful harvest and we celebrate it every 15th of May. It's a colorful festival where we adorned the house of our harvest such as palay, kiping(rice wafer) fruits, vegetables, agricultural products and handicrafts. Parading of St. Isidore is being held in the morning, as accustomed by Lukbanin we need to decorate the house where the procession will pass through. In the afternoon, there is a parade of floats, carabaos, handcart selling pansit hab-hab and kakanin and parikitan, featuring the beautiful ladies of our town wearing not a common gown but made of natural products such as buntal or buli.
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| St. Isidore the Labourer |
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| Palay Chandelier |
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| Colourful Kiping |
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| Creative design using egg shell |
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| Palay arranged and shaped into mushroom |
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| Kiping Chandelier |
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| Anok or Scarecrow |
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| Grand prize winner but I wasn't able to get a good angle 'coz of the crowd |
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| Another competition at night by adorning the pahiyas with light |
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| hats were made into chandelier |
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| too amazing , it's a five story building and covered with decoration |
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| colorful Kiping |
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| this house also got a prize |
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| farmers also joined the competition on decorating their float |
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| Carabao carrying the farmer's harvest |
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| Lucban is also known of higantes |
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| Float carrying the Senior citizen , btw the lady on the left is my god mother |
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| Suman sa Ibos |
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| Pansit Habhab |
Wednesday, May 16, Cla and I visited our dentist, my classmate and good friend Dr. Arlene Lalangan, thank you for your generosity, we had a kumustahan of our classmates. Pasalubongs will not be missed to muffle, so we hopped from one booth to another to look for some good finds to bring back to Singapore. Our vacation is not complete with out munching the favorite of Lukbanin which is Pansit Lucban from Buddy's restaurant. Special Pansit Lucban and Chamy was our dinner, sorry Ate Benny, we skipped to try your menu, and the whole brood feasted on it. Thanks to Carol Vivares, my kumare and classmate, for your visit and Apas. After dinner, we packed our luggage and checked everything if we missed some items to bring home. This moment is the hardest part of our short stay in Lucban, packing luggage signaling that we're going back to reality. We went to bed at 10pm because we need to be up by 4am to packed the frozen foods the following day. We traveled for 3 hours going back to Manila and we just sleep all through out our trip, many thanks to my brother and Kyle for sending us off to the airport.
Seeing Pahiyas festival aside from my family is the highlight of my vacation. Saying good byes was the worst part because it will take months or a year to see them again. As we say how time flies but I want to speed up the days to make another memories with my family.We'll gonna miss you!
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| Missed you all! |
'Til next time!
