Maalaala Mo Kaya...

Let's do a little bit of reminiscin' here, shall we? =)

Jeff’s Bangkok Trip & Tips

I’m pretty sure there have been to many travel and personal blogs about some do’s and don’ts in Bangkok … I’ll join the bandwagon.

• August has the 30’s temperature (in C) and 80’s humidity. It’s effing scorching hot hot hot!!!


• Bringing a bottle of mineral water is always advisable though you can buy one practically anywhere for about 10-20 Baht. The buko juice (20-25 Baht) is a must try! It’s naturally sweet and creamy.


• Tuktuks can be tourist traps! Most drivers would rip you off by charging over 300 Baht for a five to ten-minute ride (with or without traffic).


• If you’re going to any of the floating markets, just enjoy the experience and riding the boat. Don’t shop there – items are usually priced double or triple. You can buy something to eat though.


• Temple visits would definitely be part of everyone’s itinerary. Note that certain temples have appropriate dress codes. The Grand Palace has the most expensive ticket for THB 350. The other temples’ “donation” or ticket prices range from Thb 20 – 50. Others, absolutely FREE!


• If budget is not a major issue, an organized tour will work for you. Tours would normally include hotel pick-up and drop off plus lunch. Although tours can take much of your time than the usual. I personally recommend http://www.city-discovery.com/ in fact me and my friends took the Khlong tour and we experienced the different side of Bangkok via the Chao Phraya River.


• Maps can be confusing at times so it’s also safe to ask for directions from the locals but make sure to ask at least two or three different people to check for consistency. You can get a relatively better English street conversation in Thailand compared to China. Oh btw, get your hotel address written in Thai by the concierge. This may come in handy in directing your cab driver back to your hotel.


• Factor in heavy traffic in your city travels but if you’re used to the Metro Manila scene, you’ll be just fine. You can take the train (BTS - Silom & Sukhumvit lines) on some of your trips.

• Night life ends at 1am. Deal with it.

• Expect long walks when touring sights and nearby temples. One way to ease those tired legs and feet would be the Thai massage. It’s 150-200 per hour on the average but in the shoppers area, it could range from 200 – 400 per hour.


• Although shopping usually comes last in the itinerary (of course you’d prioritize spending on tours and food first right), try to resist buying stuff during your tours since there are places with great bargains. Chatuchak weekend market is number one on the list. Brace yourself here because an entire day is not enough to browse through each and every stall. Pratunam district, Platinum Mall and Suan Lum night bazaar would come in next.

• You can get very affordable tailored clothes and suites (especially in the Pratunam district) and get everything finished in like 9 hours. I think I saw some shops that can give you about 1,000 – 2,000 baht for a complete suit already!


• Don’t be afraid to try the authentic Thai street foods such as the noodles (30-40 baht), pad thai (30 – 45 baht), etc.


• Always ask the taxi driver to use the meter for a more accurate fare.


• Thanon Khao San is the backpackers district. It’s very busy and almost everything is relatively affordable. And mind you, there’s San Mig light and Pale Pilsen here!!! Woohoo!!!

• When Thais say spicy, they mean it! Just enjoy the food.

• Thais are not culturally heavy on tipping for services provided. A little generosity wouldn’t hurt though. They’d be more than appreciative of that gesture.
  If it’s your first time to visit the city try to get as much travel tips from friends who have been there before or better yet, get them to come along with you.



• Try to arrange everything prior to your trip – hotel reservation (google it first and check out the location, reviews, rates, etc), airport transfers, tour package inclusions, etc. But if you’re the adventurous type, I guess you can just hop on the plane and take it from there.

Enjoy Bangkok! I did... and I'd love to come back. =)

Taking the back seat

I’ve always said that driving for over an hour makes me cranky – not to mention jammed roads, having no one to talk to while driving (either I’m usually driving alone or my pax are sleeping ugh!). And time and again I say “I’d like to take the back seat and indulge myself in being a passenger sometimes”. Thing is, for the two sets of my immediate friends, I don’t get that chance really. For the first group of friends, most of them don’t drive. Alvin does but he has expired driver’s license and from the looks of it, he doesn’t have plans of renewing it anytime soon. Ayee on the other hand doesn’t feel comfortable driving in the metro. So here comes my second group of friends. Whenever we meet up, they usually bring their own cars. Boo-hoo for me.

I’ve been feeling low for the past week. Some emotional distress here and there – okay, it’s all but the never-ending saga on my lovelife really. I’ve been taking the backseat on this ride for the past 9 months, would you believe? Stupid, I know. But what can I do? It was last week when the unimaginable just happened. How else am I supposed to feel when “they are back together, or should I say having the time of their lives again” right in front of my face? For over a year I’ve never seen them together really and I’ve never wanted to know much about them – “them”. What you don’t know won’t hurt, right? Here comes devastation. Sadness. Confusion. Anger. What else?

I was fervently hoping that I’d feel nothing close to what just happened to me from the other people I care about – yes, my dear friends. Guess what, I’m wrong (well at least as of this writing). You know that feeling when you want to feel extra special, get much care and attention from other people especially when you need them most? Now that’s what I need right now. With all humility I say it now because I’m not usually the type who’d ask friends to do special things for me. I’m doing those things for them most of the time really. It’s just now that I want to get a free pass… I want to feel that somehow, I’m priority 1 in someone’s life even for just a single moment. Boy that will really mean a lot to me.

Forgive the drama but this is the human side of me. It’s just a depressing thought sometimes when people around you have been used to seeing you too independent, super strong and resilient. It’s like they’d find it absurd to see you being weak, needy and hurt sometimes.

I try to tell myself that this too shall pass and the only best person I can always rely on – without any hesitation, doubts or questions – is myself.

Multiple choices

Put a check mark on the corresponding item that applies to you.

A) Mahal mo siya pero hindi ka niya mahal.
B) Mahal mo siya pero may mahal siyang iba.
C) Mahal mo siya pero hindi sya mahal ng mahal niya.
D) Mahal mo siya pero ang taong mahal mo ay niloloko ng mahal nya.
E) Mahal mo siya pero hindi mo magawang kalimutan siya.
F) Mahal mo siya at patuloy mo siyang minamahal sa kabila ng lahat...
G) All of the above.
H) None of the above.

Why I curse MMDA…

I’ve lived about five years of my stay in Makati in an apartment adjacent to the MMDA building. Needless to say, I see everyday what the enforcers are doing, what the apprehended drivers have to go through, among other things.

On March 17 about noon time, I went home to my apartment. The gate was closed so obviously I had to get out of the car so I can park inside the compound. Of course, kelangan kong itabi muna ang kotse sa gilid sa may labas, di ba? Daig ko pa ang tinamaan ng malas when my front right tire got flat dahil may pako sa may gilid ng gutter! Ay sus! Imagine, nasa labas na ako ng bahay ko nyan ha!

One MMDA officer knocked my window pa nga to tell me na my tire got flat. So I stayed another 5 minutes inside the car to call my brother (who was just upstairs) to ask for help kasi nakakahiya man aminin, I don’t know how to change flat tires teehee! So finally I went up sa apartment to talk to my brother. The moment I got back to the car, there’s this surprise na – I got a ticket from an MMDA office (different from the one earlier) and he just left it on my wind shield. Sabi nung isang mama na nakatambay dun sa tabi ng kotse ko, they told the apprehending officer that I got a flat tire and then I just went up to get some help.

Of course, what did Jeff do? This is something na hindi ko pinalampas, ako pa! I know it was just what, 300 pesos penalty for “obstruction” and “illegal parking” daw but it’s not about the money. It was simply the stupid manner that the ticket was issued! Ano ba naman yung hintayin ako for a few minutes at pinakinggan yung sinabi nung mga tao? One other thing that made me more angry was this. I told the officer na sige, I’ll take the consequences and pay for it but he can probably help me get my tire fixed. Ang at magaling na nilalang, eto ang sabi “eh sir, hindi na namin trabaho yan!” (in a condescending tone). Oh san ka pa lulugar nyan? At nagwating talaga ako!

We reached filing the complaint in the Traffic Adjudication Board. Filed some papers, etc. I almost got dismissed kasi feeling ata nila it was just a so-so complaint. Kung hindi pa ako nagsabi na I could simply call my lawyer para ayusin, eh hindi pa sila gagalaw. Two weeks daw ang processing but of course I didn’t believe it – for sure mas matagal pa. Knowing how inefficient government employees are, ugh!

I followed up the case personally sa 7th floor office nila kasi andun na daw yung papers for signatures and approvals. Mind you, there were like 3 signatories and like 5 or 6 approvers before the paper could finally come out! The resolution or recommendation was already made but again, red tape and all, kung kani-kaninong pontio pilato pa kelangang dumaan ang papeles. I initially had to talk to Mr. Red Maniego. When he pulled out my papers, he immediately said, “na-reject ang request mo…” sabay fold ng papers. Sabi ko, I need to see it and I need to have my own copy. He said, hindi ko daw pwedeng makita yung papeles. Aba! Aba! Aba! Ano ka, hello?!?! So I insisted. The resolution reads that my ticket should be cancelled based on their assessment. In other words, mga pirma na lang kulang for documentation and approvals. Ang matandang Maniego, naiinis, he forwarded the papers to Ms. Lourdes.

Ang sabi ng isang personnel duon na si Lourdes, kelangan pa daw akong dumaan sa “clearance” to check if i have any other filed violations on their records which would take about a day to check before the complaint papers proceed with the rest of the process. Sya na daw magbibigay sa department na next na pipirma. After a few days I went back only to find out that it didn’t leave her desk after the clearance part. Ang sabi nya, “eh kasi naman sir, bat di nyo kagad fina-llow up! Madaming papeles dyan sa lamesa ko, hindi ko lahat magagawa yan isa-isa!” Nakow!!! At ako pa may kasalanan ngayon!!!! Kumusta naman!

It was Wednesday holy week I think when I had my 3rd visit at ang sabi wala pa rin daw! I had to escalate it to the OIC sa department nila si Miss Mila. She asked one of her staff, Jerick to get another approval from Ms. Cora’s office at the 3rd floor. So I had to tell her the entire story again blah blah blah. After her, last signatory na daw yung General Manager so maybe after mga 2 days.

I let 4 days pass just to be sure, you know. I can follow up daw sa 7th floor kay Ms Mila or kay Jerick. Pagbalik ko duon, di pa daw napirmahan, excuses excuses! Puro, “if, then” ang mga sagot saken like “sir, if napirmahan na yun, andito na dapat yon”. Eh nung pina-pa trace ko, di naman mahanap. Escalated level na naman until Ms Mila assured me that my papers were still for the GM’s signature. So I was advised to go back after about 2 days. I went back the following week talk to Jerick and another guy. Naka-leave daw si Ms Mila kaya I have to return na lang! Aba! Aba! Aba! Syempre hindi ako pumayag sabi ko I need to know and see for myself this time kung nasan na ang mga papers ko! I was told na kung tapos na pirmahan dapat nasa TAB (the department where it all started) sabi ko I don’t want to go there kung hindi sure so pakitawagan kako. Ayan sabi wala daw sa TAB so ang tanong, nasaan na?!?!?

Habang ako’y nagfe-facebook (yung status ko kahapon hehe), eh sya’y naghahanap at naghahalughog ng mga folders sa kung saan saan! Isinama pa nya ako sa GM’s office at sabi ng assistant duon eh wala naman daw don! Konting-konti na lang talaga at mag-eeskandalo na ako... pero sige try to be cool pa rin, konting anghang na mga statements lang pinapakawalan ko here and there... After mga 20 minutes, guess what kung nasaan ang APPROVED papers ko --- nasa TAB! Kung saan itinawag na early na initially sinabing wala daw duon! Ay sus!

Imagine nyo na lang what do other people – mga drivers, hindi nakapag-aral, mahihina loob etc – would have to go through on similar situations. Nakakaawa talaga kasi pinagmamasdan ko sila nung mga visit ko sa MMDA sobrang parang helpless sila tapos lahat ng empleyado napaka antipatiko at bastos kung sumagot sa mga tanong. Most of the people who got tickets or impounded vehicles were very polite naman and they share stories kung bakit sila andun.

It’s just so sad that we are paying our dues and taxes to the government only to be served poorly by these employees! It’s already a huge issue that they obviously have poor coordination and processes, the very basic courtesy and etiquettes are not even there when they deal with customers!

My conclusion: masunog na sana MMDA building with all its effing idiot employees! Pampasikip sila sa mundo! Har!!!!

Moving on... eeerrrrrrr

Here’s an irony in breaking up with someone, you get to spend more quality time with each other post break-up compared to the time you were together. You might even seem like a couple now more than before. Some would ask how is this even possible.

I realized, if you haven’t burned any bridges with your ex, why act bitter now, right? There’s just one clear and present danger if you try to be the meek and forgiving ex: resurfaced feelings or worse, loving the person more now. You’re friends would probably nag you until the whole $&#! blows right open or knock some sense in you especially if you’re the one who got dumped in the first place. You’d hear lines such as “why bother calling?”, “why spend time?”, “why exert all the effort?”, etc. etc. etc. Of course these are all under the premise of your good old friends looking after you. Oh so sweet and caring but no, you’d still do what your gut tells you. You still insist on the feelings you have until maybe such time you can’t take it anymore.

There will be moments when you’d wake up in the morning and decide to “move on” also known as don’t initiate any form of communication or interaction with the ex. It could simply be a turning on the cold shoulder if you want to put it that way. But deep inside, there’s this hope that he’ll ask you what went wrong or probably even insist of seeing you because in the first place, there’s nothing wrong with being friends now.

The dilemma begins. Do you keep the brand new honest-to-goodness non-romantic friendly relationship with your ex or completely drop everything and just focus on moving on, seriously? Let’s admit it, the latter most of the time requires not talking or even seeing the person who broke your heart. Every time you feel like you’re in the right path of the moving process and the suddenly your ex shows up and treats you so nicely (even way better that you were treated before), ugh! Expect that everything shatters! It brings some feeling of immobility. It makes you indecisive, irrational at some points. In other words, you’re screwed!

Really, I think nothing and no one could ever know when it will stop or where something else would begin. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in relationships, it’s being not too cerebral all the times. Indulge in both the joys and pains of relationships. Just try not to end up too pathetic and miserable. There are ways to do it with so much class and sophistication!

Obviously, I wrote this because this is coming from I’d say real life experiences. I know, I know… friends will raise their eyebrows but to those who have been through all these will share the same sentiments.