Ish Meets World

I’m not sure if this is yet another culture clash entry. Here’s a curiosity that I came across in Ireland, the faucets in the bathroom sink: Hot and Cold Notice how the hot and cold knobs are separate but they have their own spouts as well. Now at first glance, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary… The actual oddity becomes apparent once you start to use it. First while brushing my teeth, It was fine but I realized that I needed to mix the water in my glass to get the right temperature. That was manageable enough. But  then, I had to wash my face. If you grew up watching the Dove and Camay commercials on TV, you would wash your face like I do. This is done by scooping up the water and splashing it on your face straight from the faucet. Of course, as you can see, with one side freezing and the other scalding, that wasn’t possible. I only realized the complete gravity of the situation when I tried to scoop up the water to rinse my face while it was currently covered in suds effectively giv

I had the opportunity to visit Dublin recently due to a friend’s wedding so you can expect a couple of posts about Ireland in the coming months. The first and most obvious attraction that greeted us upon landing in Dublin were the doors. This is apart from the Philippine flag being waved at us at the greeting area (nice one Kissa). The picturesque Georgian buildings all over the city center are highlighted by brightly colored doors framed in white. Apparently, back in the day, the doors were painted different colors in order to tell them apart. The exteriors of the buildings all looked the same so painting the doors a bright color allowed drunk Dubliners to find the right door when coming home at night. Sounds like my kind of town! I can’t be sure if this is true, I’ll have to wait for some comments of affirmation or violent reactions from our Irish friends. Another story says something about the Irish painting the doors different colors as a sign of rebellion against an edict by the B

No, of course we don’t have snow. but guess what, it’s not all about beaches and bit**es in the Philippines either. Tucked away in Tagaytay City, a mere hour and a half drive from Manila (ok, that really depends on the traffic so anywhere from an hour to let’s say 4 on a really bad day) we have the Tagaytay highlands. No relation to the Scottish ones. Our own little version of the Austrian coutryside or a quaint Swiss mountain town can be found here in the tropics. The log cabins will make you feel like sitting by the fireplace with a mug of hot choco singing Christmas carols. Because the city lies in a plateau and has fairly high elevation, the temperature drops considerably in the evenings but only just enough for a nice chill. Anyone who lives in a tropical country knows how much of a relief a little bit of cold weather can give. Sitting on the balcony, small patches of pine forests greet the senses and one can almost believe that Manila is continents away. An eerie fog creeps in on

*taken in Oslo, Norway Living in an archipelago, It still amazes me how other people just drive to other countries. I know it’s no big deal, but you know, even domestic travel around the Philippines wasn’t this easy and widespread until a few years ago. Of course, being Filipinos, we also have the small problem of NEEDING A VISA TO GET ANYWHERE. This makes it even more fascinating to me when I see the ease of access that other nationalities have to each other. In a global community where everything and everyone is just at your fingertips, the geographical distance of our islands to other countries still proves to be a very real barrier. Makes me think about the days of snail mail, telegrams and impossibly expensive airline tickets. How things have changed. I’m looking forward to seeing the next developments that humans will think of to bridge the gap.

Everyone who knows me is well aware that Madrid is my favorite city in Spain. The city itself has a number of areas to explore. However, today we will go on a food trip to one of the neighboring towns. Segovia is well known for the very well preserved and in fact, still functional Roman aqueduct that dominates the city center. This is a true blue medieval town. I don’t know about you, when but when I come to Europe, I don’t look for skyscrapers. The old world feel of the ancient cities of Europe are the big draw. Segovia Aqueduct Like the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China, it always fills me with such awe when I am in the presence of man-made structures built in centuries past. The longevity, stability, functionality and sheer genius of these structures never cease to amaze me. In times when little conveniences we take for granted like the telephone and incandescent bulbs were many centuries away from being invented, these people were able to build such magnificent structures. Most