A LITTLE GIVEAWAY JUST BECAUSE

My boys and I, together with Ate Lyn and the Azarcons are spending our weekend here in the twin city of Dipolog and Dapitan.

More "kuwento" about this trip of ours will be shared in a couple of days...

But for now, let me give a little giveaway to you my dear friends.

Heto ang background.

When we touched down last Friday, ang unang tanong ko sa driver ay "Kuya, ano po ba ang sikat na product ninyo?"

The Kuya, without batting an eyelash said "Ma'am gusto n'yo po dalhin ko kayo doon ngayon"?

As in karakaraka? O sha, lez gow bro!

Dito kami dinala

Whoa!

Dito nga pala ang roots ng super sarap na bottled Spanish Sardines na favorite ko!

So, to cut the long story short, i bought a few extra bottles for you dear readers.

How do you score a bottle?

Well, simply comment at the end of this post that you want one.

The first 7 (seven) who would do that wins!

If you are a reader from anywhere in the Philippines, I will send it to you via courier within the week.

I plan to do this everytime I visit a place. By doing so, it's as if I am with you in all my escapades!

Join now folks! Thanks a lot.

INCREDIBLE INDIA: FIRST DAY IN NEW DELHI

We slept like a baby that night at our room in the center of New Dehi.

I woke up around lunchtime refreshed and ready to conquer India.

I let J sleep some more while I offloaded the contents of our luggages as this will be our homebase while we were there.

Still could not get over the fact that we were "hi-flyers" at least once in our lives.

I could not throw the bag stickers just yet so I stuck it in the cabinet.

#pasensyanapojologslang

And, if you are a follower of this blog, you woud know that I always bring chips from home kahit papaano makabawas sa gastos (especially when you still have to exchange currencies and you arrive late at night).

Isa pa, this would somehow let you feel a semblance of home especially when you are miles away from home.

Here's the picture of our room taken from the bed.  Nothing fancy really pero again, with the price we paid, we were happy campers!

The Toilet and Bath's kind'a "unsightly" pero grin and bear it na lang ang drama ko.

Huhuhu. I miss my T&B at home. :(

The hubby was still fast asleep and I was left with nothing to do.
So I already took a bath and dressed up.
Naisipan kong sumilip sa maliit na bintana from the toilet and this is what I saw.

O di ba.  Silip pa lang sa bintana yan and already, India is showing off its colors!

Sa dako pa roon, lalo pang naging dramatic.
I was so excited already at this point, I wanted to wake J up right then and there.

It was so dramatc yet authentic at the same time.

And this one really caught my eye.  Kung may fire escape nga dun sa bathroom, I would have come down without wasting a single seond.
Di bale, HUMANDA KA SA AKIN MAMAYA!

Mga Kuya, tirhan nyo ako nyang lahat ng yan ha...kung anuman yan. Hehe.

When I came out and saw that J was still sleeping, hindi na ako nakatiis and went down.  
I promised myself na isang silip lang and I will go back again.
Look what I saw!

Well hello there New Delhi.  I was like leaving a scene from postcards.
Woohoohoo!

And, before I went up again, I saw this quaint little store directly across our hotel.
Ang suwerte ko nga naman.  Stock up, Ate.  Lulusubin ko kayo diyan mamaya.

After waiting like forever, J already woke up and we both had our breakfast at the rooftop.
It was a free and easy day as I allotted this day para masanay kami sa weather, sa time difference at sa culture.

Th only big thing we had to do on the dot was to take the train later that night to Jaipur.

Ayan na, J already started to "road test" his new baby.  In India no less!

Everything felt surreal.  We were both living a dream.

We began our walk just to observe and "feel" the city.

This sight is familiar.  We are in a Third World Country no doubt.
Parang Pilipinas lang. :(

After walking for sometime, we decided that we have enough time to go to the Red Fort.

Instead of taking the Taxi, we agreed to try their subway system.  We always do this in every country we visit.

This is chicken feed.
Parang Avenida Station lang.  Let's do this Punk!

Turned out,  the short ride was, by far, the SCARIEST ride I have ever been!

The train was too crowded and you never even had to walk as you will be dragged inside by the throngs of Indians wanting to get in.

I was seriously concerned we would be crashed to death.  They seemed to have no consideration that I am a female. 

 And what personal space? It was non existent.  I was practically gasping for breath directly towards somebody else' armpit.

Worse, J and I got lost upon entry and we could not see each other. I was worried that J may have forgotten what Station we should alight later.

Buti na lang, J thought of calling out my name.  

For the rest of the time we were there, we were conversing in Filipino and describing to each ther where we were exactly.

It became really amusing and fun.  I would shout "Punk, kadiri itong katabi ko, nangungulangot, et. etc.

We were exchanging shouts so loud that the other people thought we were losing our minds.

To cut the long story short, we got out of their MRT in one piece.

But that was one hell of an experience I never wanted to do again!

When we were back to the main roads, we noticed that the area where we were was really dirty.

Wala namang ganyan sa Pilipinas!

People were selling things we could not even identify.

We passed by a Buddhist Church too.

Hangkyut!

One thing we noticed, Indians love it when foreigners take their pictures.  They would even smile for the shot.... In most instances, they would want to check pa how their faces registered in our camera.  Amusing isn't it?

Father and Son were thrilled to the bones that we chose them as our subjects.
They were aboard a moving bus when we took this.

Maya maya pa, we saw na from afar ang aming pupuntahan:  THE RED FORT.

Malayo-layo pa but its sight alone was enough to make us brave the walk.

Here we are at last!

This place is full of history.  I never thought I would be able to come here and see for myself
the things that I have been reading in school. :)

Don't you think J  did  good job here? I thought so too. :)

Another shot of the Red Fort's facade.

More kuwento to follow.

The Red Fort deserves a separate post of its own.

Hope you are enjoying the series. :)

INCREDIBLE INDIA: ENROUTE TO NEW DELHI

So, the much awaited trip finally pushed though and thankfully, there were no more "aberyas".

As planned, we drove all the way to Clark, deposited our car in the Airport's Park and Pay facility, and off we go to the Air Asia counter for our flight check in.

We passed by Immigration smoothly with our new found friends even wishing us a happy trip almost in unison pretty much like the fastfood Service Crews - "Enjoy your trip Mamser"!

We boarded the plane as scheduled.

KL bound on a sunny afternoon in Clarkfield, Pampanga.

Inside the plane, we were seated in the front row with an elderly Aussie guy whom we chatted the whole time.

He told us that INDIA actually stands for I will Never Do India Again.

We laughed out loud but we're secretly wishing he was not the least bit serious about it. Haha.

Since J and I bought our ticket for an unbelievably low price, we had the luxury of buying meals inside the plane. This was J's all time favorite:  Nasi Lemak

Mangan tamo!

We were in KL after three hours.  Just enough time to catch our connecting flight to New Delhi later that night.

Back in Malaysia's LCCT for the nth time.  It was bustling with People as usual.

After eating our dinner inside the airport, it was time to check in for our flight to India.

Hala, totoo na ito. Wala nang atrasan.  India here we come!

And, for the first time in our lives, we are flying FIRST CLASS baby!

This was Air Asia's version of First Class.

We were blessed enough to avail of Optiontown's upgrade service.  We just added $100 from our original ticket and Presto!
Thank you Lord.

We had our own dedicated counter.  Goodbye long lines!

Maya - mayang kaunti, we were boarding na.
And since it was a long haul flight, we were using a bigger plane.

Let's do this!

Once inside, we were ushered in the First Class area and, for a moment, my husband was dumbfounded.
Napapatingin sa kawalan.  Natutulala.  Hahaha.

Okay ka lang Punk?

When we took off, food was served agad.

Nothing fancy pero nakakabusog naman.  Couldn't complain really.

And, when night fell, everyone started converting their chairs into flatbeds at the push of a button.

Woohooo!  

I must say that I had a very good sleep because the next five hours flew (pun intended) by so fast.
I was even regretting to hear the Pilot's announcement to get ourselves ready for boarding. :)

When we touched down at around 1AM India time, Hubby and I were already "conditioning" ourselves for the worst.  This is, afterall India and we were really sure the airport will be very dated and forgettable.

Yeah. Yeah. 

BUT, we were in for a big surprise.

Are we in Changi? or in Chep Lap Kok?

 India Airport is not supposed to be this clean and beautiful.

Hmmm.  Baka pa- impress lang yan.  Wait until you get to the Main Hall.

Impressive.

But no, Indira Gandhi International Airport is indeed ultra modern.

WE. WERE. FLOORED!

Loving it already!

At this point, both J and I got a little "inggit".

Why can't we do this in the Philippines?  :(

One of the best (if not the best) Airpots I have ever been to.

At syempre, sinulit na naming mag-aswa ng aming First Class privilege bilang baka hindi na ito ulit maulit. Our very own Immigration Line! 

Malamang malabo akong ma "hold" dito.
Hmp.  If you could only see me now, Clark Immigration Officers!  LOL.

When we got out of the building, we noticed that it was COLD.  And that made me really happy as I hate hot and humid temperatures.

Ang "sushala" talaga - may Airport Express pa at connected pa sa Subway!

This clearly was not India as I pictured it.  

Huge was an understatement.

Sad to say this pero malayong malayo ito sa NAIA. :(

And I thought India was dirty?

Sana ganito din sa Pilipinas kong pinakamamahal.

Since the Airport Express was already closed  (hello, it was 2AM already), we had no choice but to take the cab.  An elderly driver took us in and off we went to the City Center where we would stay for the rest of our trip.

Once we drove out of the Airport property, I was half suspecting that the dream will soon be over.

Hmmm.  Parang nagiging familiar na ito....

And I was right.

It was slowly beginning to have that India feel.

Uh oh, this is not good.

And, when the Taxi came to a halt, my suspicions were confirmed.

Welcome to the real INDIA.

We were transported back to Divisoria!

And smacked right into that area was our home for the next 6 days.

Kaano-ano kaya nito si Mommy Poko na favorite diaper ng anak ko?

Home at last.  Oh yeah!

Good thing, the hotel itself was good enough.

It was no Shangri-La but it was just fine.

Naman - for 1400 pesos. I could not really complain.

We slept like a baby that night until around lunchtime.

Jetlag was our friend kaya tulog mantika kami despite the stark contrast we experienced from the airport to the City Center.

What is in store for us on the next days?

Itutuloy ang kabanata bukas.

Stick around, will you?

Thanks.

INCREDIBLE INDIA - PRELUDE TO THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Having gone to most countries in Southeast Asia, J and I (sige na nga ako lang madalas, hehe) have always been on the lookout for new travel destinations.

Whereas before when we stick to nearer and more "touristy" places, I have outdone myself back in 2011 when I took a leap of faith and booked the hubby and myself  air tickets to India.

I could still vividly remember that I was sweating madly when I was in the process of booking it that fateful  night in November of 2010 when Air Asia was having their Awesome Sale dahil Tenth Anniversary nila (yata).

Millions of  thoughts are racing through my mind.

What if hubby refuses to go?  Kakapanood lang nya ng Slumdog Millionaire and he told me that India was the last place he is going to visit.

Photo not mine.  Grabbed it from the movie's website.

What if hindi ko kayanin ang India?  Sabi nila mabaho, madumi at higit sa lahat, MASIKIP it being the most populous country in the world...

Photo not mine.  Grabbed from the BBC website.

What if I get too busy with work and cannot leave?  Hindi kaya biro ang pamasahe.

Pero I booked just the same and hoped for the best.

Fast forward to the day of the flight (this was back in July 2011).

We came early in Diosdado Macapagal Airport all geared up and excited to see India.

(Side kuwento: In my bid na sumama si J, I encouraged him in buying his first DSLR earlier that year and told him that India is a good place to go to kapag nagsisimula ka with Photography kasi it was so colorful there.  Luckily, naniwala siya sa akin at naging excited na din to go there and try out his lifelong passion.)

When we arrived in the airport, we encountered many hiccups and I was seriously convinced that the Universe is conspiring to tell us NOT TO GO TO INDIA.

First, we were held in Immigration.  As in. For many years of traveling, ngayon lang kami na hold sa Immigration.  I was losing my temper pero pinapakalma lang ako ni Jon.  Kesyo baka daw mag TNT daw kami doon (haller?),  kaya ba daw naming tustusan ang travel namin doon (mukha siguro kaming yagit na yagit that time, hehehe).

Photo not mine.  Grabbed t from Yahoo Australia.
The guy in the picture is NOT the peron who held us.

Anyhoo, the incident ended with me being escorted (as in tatlong immigration officer na para bang may nakitng drugs sa bagahe ko) to the ATM machine outside to see how much money we have in our bank.

Nawindang sila sa nakita nila.

Tse!  Itsura niyo lang. Hmp.

Ang hindi nila alam, di amin yung pera kundi sa Tatay ni J.  Hahaha.

Hayun, awa ng Diyos, bestfriends na namin yung mga immigration officers doon hanggang ngayon.  As in, "Ma'am/Sir" pa ang tawag sa amin pag nakikita kami ngayon.  As in kulang na lang hindi na kami pumila.

KUNG ALAM LANG NILA! Hahahahahaa

Second, while we were checking in our luggages, the Air Asia personnel accidentally hit the button of her counter causing the conveyor to move.  Eh nandun kaya ang kamay ko. Hayun, naipit ako ng bonggang bongga I had to be rushed pa sa Airport Clinic because two of my fingers were numbed and turned purple.

Not the actual picture pero sa ganyan ako nadale!
Grabbed from Vin_Ann blogspot.

J was fuming mad pero wala naman kaming magawa. Sorry naman ng sorry si Ate na mukhang baguhan pa.

Third, the Air Asia flight to KL where we would take the flight to New Delhi got delayed. Super delayed na it would be super impossible for us to get on our connecting flight.

Source:  Scoopweb.com

So anung ending ng istorya?  We went home na luhaan and had our flight scheduled the next week na lang.

Akala nyo natapos na ang istorya doon? Hindi pa kaya.

Three days before the new schedule, I suffered a really bad fall.  I was carrying R at that time and had to prevent him from hitting the ground when i lost my balance kaya I twisted my left ankle.

SUPER THE OVER masakit talaga.  I was limping helplessly that very instant.

Pero tinuloy pa din namin ang pagpunta sa Airport when the day of the flight arrived.

And guess what? The flight got delayed again.

Ayaw talaga ata kaming papuntahin sa India.

Eh at this point, ATAT na talaga kaming mag asawa PLUS all the trains and the hotels were booked na.
Pero Murphy's Law was in effect so we conceded.

We had the flight move all the way to November na para Sembreak sa school.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the weather then was cooler na compared sa July kung itinuloy namin na nasa 40-43 degrees ang init.

Yun nga lang, R was already almost a year old that time kaya mas mahirap na iwan dahil nangingilala na.

Pero, to cut the long story short, we finally got to India in November and enjoyed every minute of it.

I will share with you our magical experience in a series of posts.

Sana hindi ko naman kayo ma bore.  Pero kung sakali man,  just click the X icon on the upper right hand side of your monitor/gadget and go.

Hindi naman ako matampuhing tao. :)