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Friday, January 31, 2025

Alterations Plus & Lunch at Olive Garden

Aloha Everyone,

Took my t-shirt for alteration. Instruction I gave was simple but with 3 women listening, each had her own opinion on what to do. More importantly, how much is this going to cost? Well! It will be more than the original price I paid for this small, simple Boracay t-shirt. By the time it’s done, I would’ve paid US$25. If I can make use of it, it will be a souvenir that I can wear.

It took time to search for Alterations Plus and even just as long to look for Olive Garden restaurant in Glorieta 4. J.J. had a pasta dish with soup and salad. I also had minestrone soup and salad plus breadsticks. Nothing fancy. While Italianni’s and Olive Garden both belong to the Bistro Group, Italianni's quality of food and service are far superior. 






The only best part of Olive Garden is their toilet. Twice the space of most in this class of restaurants and it was kept clean with an attendant just standing outside in case one needed anything. But toilet alone isn’t enough to return to dine.

Aloha -- Cathi

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Paradise Dynasty and The Year of the Snake Special Displays

Aloha Everyone,

Paradise Dynasty in their newest Greenbelt 3 restaurant. It has been opened for more than four months. According to the server J.J. spoke to, the restaurant had a grand opening a few days ago on an auspicious business day with Lion dancing to bring prosperity and luck.
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J.J. and I’ve eaten at Paradise Dynasty in Singapore. Their direct competition seems to be Din Tai Fung and I found most of the dim sums choices are comparable. However their hot & sour soup and dessert are far superior. 




For example, Chinese restaurants usually serve buci that are made of flour with bit of bean paste filling and deep fried. At Paradise Dynasty, buci taste like Japanese Kinako mochi. We will be going back soon to see what else we might have missed.


Glorieta complex has different sites for events to attract visitors. Colorful Chinese New Year’s displays had so many people there that I felt claustrophobic but J.J. helped me to take some photos.




Aloha -- Cathi

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Lunch with Richard & Terttu

Aloha Everyone,

Today, J.J. and I had a wonderful lunch with two of our dearest friends: Richard and Terttu.





Aloha -- Cathi

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

How the Wellness Boom Transformed The Cruise industry

Aloha Everyone,

Fitness and wellness travel is on the rise, according to the Global Wellness Institute, a nonprofit organization that promotes wellness. Their claim is that it’s an $650 billion business. Growth projection is 20% by 2027.

Observations are based on Princess Cruises.

Serene Meditation room - not anymore.

Quiet yoga & Zumba spaces - yoga is on video, no live person to lead

Zumba is squeezed between yoga time & bingo. Tiny dance space is packed. Zumba participants are aggressive.

Treadmills & Stationery bikes - forget them. Too many wellness seekers use them. 

Spas are promoted with daily flyers. If you sign up, you get a 3 minutes shoulder massage in a corridor where people are walking with food trays.

No Culinary nutritionist on board. Use the stairs, limit alcohol intake and do not apply to us. We find ourselves in areas including the promenade deck where J.J. and I can get our daily walking routines. Unfortunately it is not easy as more people are going on cruises.

Aloha -- Cathi

Monday, January 27, 2025

Chinese New Year Celebrations Continue

Aloha Everyone,

At 11:50 am, Tim Ho Wan, whose claim is Best Hong Kong Dim Sum, was empty. We were requested to choose any table. J.J. ordered both steamed and fried dishes. Halo Halo dessert was mostly coconut milk. Afraid it might affect my stomach, I just tried a little.








Honolulu Cafe located in Greenbelt 5 is a coffee shop, but offers Chinese and Filipino food. Our first time to try, we ordered two dishes too many. Not having a microwave at this hotel, we only brought back Chinese custard for dessert.







Aloha -- Cathi

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Happy Year of the Snake

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. led our way to Legaspi Village Farmer’s Market. A number of familiar vendors selling pretty much the same produce and prepared foods from the first time we visited over a few years ago. One thing we noticed was the small farmer’s market was packed, hardly any place to move.








We walked around the premises just once. Took several photos and went to Greenbelt Mall. Din Tai Fung, always great Taiwanese dim sum, was our lunch destination. Since we have food restrictions, ordering just for the two of us, we tend to get pretty much same dishes.





After a refreshing nap, we returned to Greenbelt Mall for an early dinner at CIBO.



J.J. and I watched a BBC special in Taiwan. Intelligent reporting and interviews. I recall seeing this program when Russia invaded Ukraine.

With new leaderships and new attitudes, relationships of Taiwan to the Western world are changing rapidly. We are again at another precipice of a major shift in global politics.

Aloha -- Cathi

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Reflections: People We Met in Boracay

Aloha Everyone,

Philippines is noted for warm hospitality. The mixture of Spanish, Chinese and Malay cultures show in food, dance and music. You always see smiling faces. 

We met a Filipino/Chinese couple with a 9-month-old son who are living in Australia.

The father mentioned that they wanted their baby to have greater opportunities, and they selected Sydney. We agreed that it is one of the most expensive cities, but quality of life including education, leisure activities and cultural enrichment are available. They travel to the Philippines once a year to maintain ties with their extended family.

A German wife and her Filipino husband were not as gracious visitors. He seemed to be exhibiting early stages of memory loss. She was constantly reprimanding him for not remembering where they were going. He would start falling asleep in the middle of the conversation. Well, that’s okay.  As long as he has his wife to be near him.

A couple from Estonia were happier. He has been to Boracay 4 times. This was her first visit. He is an air traffic controller and said it is a very stressful job. He needs relaxing holidays in Boracay.

We talked about their international song festival. She told us to avoid the main event but there are many other local festivals when the weather would be warmer. She said that Estonian people find Boracay an ideal place to take holidays. They have been meeting and established friendships in Boracay. She invited us to go to Estonia saying, “maybe we will see each other.”

While we would never cross our paths again, these are some of the people who have made our Boracay holidays memorable.

Aloha -- Cathi

Friday, January 24, 2025

Cost Associated with Boracay Holiday

Aloha Everyone,

Our 4 days, 4 nights holiday in Boracay was perfect. Sandy beaches were enjoyable for us to walk and for people watching.

J.J. tabulated the total cost of what we spent.

1.  Environmental fee to get into the island 300 peso each
2.  150-peso terminal fee for each time two — incoming and outgoing
3.  7,000-peso fee charged by MÖVENPICK for their shuttle service.

Total cost converted to US dollars including tips, hotel accommodation, shopping and food, and Boracay tour was US$ 1,500.  The airfare was paid using mileage with Philippine Airlines.






















Returned to Makati Diamond Residences. J.J. arranged for another upgrade to a one-bedroom suite with a washer and dryer in our room. The unit size is a spacious 64 sq meters. Included is a daily breakfast featuring the cuisine of five countries.

Ah, we can get used to all these.

Aloha -- Cathi