Its Hard to Say Goodbye – Even for Dogs

We have this cute, smart little poodle we named “Lincoln”. He was like this when he came into our life. He stayed with us for barely a year now and he replaced our English bulldog “ Yaku” that passed away of heat stroke. In my entire marriage life, this is the first time we really appreciated dogs. After Yaku, we decided to get a poodle because I like small dogs..they are cute , easy to feed and the bark is not loud. Because we are not really pet lovers, the first few months were difficult..he does not stay in one place, chew whatever he sees, slippers, papers, cloth, anything that comes his way…pooh and pee anywhere. As he was growing , we are also learning from experience how to be a dog master. One needs patience , observing and researching to learn more about your pet. We realize that owning a dog is a big responsibility.

Just like a small child, during his developing years, we understand more about his habits, eating patterns and behaviour, now we can say that we are a better and a more responsible owner.. Its fun to have a dog in your life. Dogs are unmatched in their devotion, loyalty and friendship. The excitement your dog shows when you come home, the wagging tail at the sound of the leash being taken from its hook, the delight in the tossing his toy, and the head nestled in your lap-those are only some of the rewards of being a dog owner. As time goes by, in 7 months he would bring our slippers to its proper place, he would sit, he would stand and turn around, any tricks that you want him to do for a reward treat…he will try to perform it. He is learning faster and faster..its really true that poodles are very intelligent breed. When he reached his first birthday, we noticed his maturity.. he is less active..he can go around without the harness, going over the house without damage..he knows to hold his pee and pooh and would tell us if he needs to. He stays with his master all the time, following him, sitting and lying wherever his master is…he loves to be touched and caressed especially his belly.

He is a welcome delight. Because all of us work, he stayed alone in the house and served as a our caretaker. But when we arrived, even while at the gate, he would know if we are the one coming..I observed that he knows the sound of our car, the scent of his masters even some distance away.

The sad thing was he has to take a leave because of my allergy...Its barely 5 days and we already feel the difference . The house is empty and very quiet..we miss his naughtiness, his presence when we come home, .we usually call his name the moment we enter the house and he would easily respond with a bark or wagging of his tail..its a wonderful sight as you know that he miss us so much..

We learned that he is also lonely in his new place. The new owner heard him crying and the more we know this, the more we want him to come back. I am hoping when my allergy is gone, we could see him soon …

SIDCOR Sunday Market

When most of the people go to church on a sunday, others would head towards SIDCOR. Yes, this is a tiangge type market located inside the Lung Center complex in Quezon City. Its amazing people flock to the area rain or shine, young and old alike. Once you have started going there, you can't help but visiting the place every Sunday, probably because of its open- flea-market type setting that provides interesting selection of goods and stuff not commonly seen in our traditional market and supermarket like the tapang usa, sinaing/ginatang tulingan, bagnet & others. Prices seem cheaper especially if you buy it from your "sukis" like Laura , the vendor of Baguio vegetables and Yacon rootcrops. When other stalls are selling the lettuce at 80 to 120, she is selling it at 50 to 60/ kl only with matching free pcs of sayote and raddish, esp near the closing time, it ends at 2 PM. She is located at the left hand side of the market near the plants area.

Korean shoes from "Au" as we call her are cheaper by 20 to 50 pesos than malls or greenhills. She also sells blouses & stuff from HK and BK although in a limited selection only.

The best bet for Vigan products like bagnet, longganisa, native sibuyas, bamboo shoots, native eggplant and garlic are sold by Dayoan's. They also cook Vigan type pinakbet but you have to be early to catch up with it because they only cook small portions only. I tested one time at 20 pesos/ order and it was really good because it has no oil, no meat and all vegetables , perhaps with a local fish bagoong ..very healthy food...

They were also the first to introduce the Vigan empanadas that contain shredded papaya and ground beef topped with egg and deep fried in oil and was a hit..The next few months, another enterprising vendor did the same thing and now competes with her. you know how filipinos are... Her sukis nevertheless knows best..

EURAIL PASS & how it works

Travelling Europe by train is very convenient as all countries are connected by rails and the tickets can be easily bought at the counters or ticketing machines located inside the train stations. Travellers can also purchase what they called " EURAIL pass " which they said are much cheaper than regular tickets, although the ticketting clerk in Rome informed that its not really true as there are travel promo or packages provided every now and then which are much cheaper than EURAIL Pass especially for senior citizens.

However, based on my experience, there are benefits in using a Eurail because you simply pay one fee and can expect to travel from country to country without many additional payments. You can also get a number of price reductions for reservations at hotels, museum entrance fees, bike rentals, and more.

Where to get a EURAIL Pass :
It shall be purchased at the origin country from travel agencies; like the AMEX affiliated ADVENTURE iNTL.TOURS located @5/F SM Mega A Bldg. You should prepare a detailed itenerary first before purchasing the ticket because price of tickets depends on the number of countries to be visited.

A Eurail Select Pass - is a kind of pass that will allow you to travel between 3, 4, or 5 countries, depending on the pass that you purchase. The countries included for this pass are: Benelux (Belgium,the Netherlands, Luxemburg), Austria (including Liechtenstein), Bulgaria/Serbia & Montenegro, Finland, Denmark, France (including Monaco), Greece, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Republic of Ireland, Slovenia/Croatia, Sweden, Spain, and Switzerland. With this kind of pass, you will want to choose a countries that are accessible to each other via rail or boat in order to use the pass correctly.
In using the pass, always bear in mind the following:
- always validate train schedule as the pamphlet given to you in Manila changes in schedule
because train times and quality of rail service often vary from country to country.

- passports must always be with you when traveling by train.
- Eurail passes must be used within six months of purchase.

- always validate your ticket before boarding

- when purchasing, verify flexibility and length of the trip, as some Eurail options require a certain number of consecutive days of travel within a two-month period, while other options allow for nonconsecutive use within two months.

Cost of Eurail Pass:

A 3 Country Eurail Select pass for two covering France, Italy & Spain costs 682 USD , this is Mar'07.

Paris, France on a Budget!!!! From the Philippines

A lot of us, ordinary citizen dream of going to Paris and see the famous landmarks : Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Picasso museum, Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, etc.

But when you think of the currency used in the country (euro), suddenly the desire to travel diminishes because we already imagine how much budget we would need to stretch our few dollars.

I have visited Paris four times and based on my last trip in March 2007, there are ways how you can manage your travel on a budget..here's how:

1) plan your travel way ahead of your scheduled flight, better 6 months ahead and decide which period. In summer everything will be expensive. September till November would be fine , also March- April. Surf the internet for cheaper hotels and hostels and print the locations and phone numbers.

2) scout for the lowest airfare in the internet or go your travel agency. Booking on line is ok but you have to decide fast because seats are taken so fast also especially nearing the summer months. KLM offers low cost airfare but stopsover in Amsterdam.

3) decide where to stay. I stay in an ordinary hotel on the first day or up to 2nd day with all the basic amenities perhaps breakfast included, close to the train station and bus routes so you can save on taxi which is very expensive. On the first day, visit the hostels and hotels that you have printed from the net. Traveling by train is cheap, fast and easy, you can get a whole day pass or 3 day pass ticket whichever you like.

During summer season between June to September, rates of hotels would be more than 100 eu per rm and above. In colder months, the rate lowers down to 80 eu/rm.

Peace and Love Hostel was said to be the best in Paris , however its also about 50 EU per person . I have tried Blue Planet Hostel but not good. It charges 67 eu /rm inc the blanket, breakfast included but lousy although this is very close to Gare De Leon.

If travelling by two, Phalym Hotel also in gare De leon is prefferred at 80 eu/rm/ day inc breakfast but the service is good.

Air France couch stops at this bus point which charges only 14 EU going to the airport.

5)food: A decent meal would cost 7.50 eu or around 10USD. Allot an extra 25 eu per person for fine dining. There are Mcdonalds and Quality Hamburger Restaurants in Europe where you can eat as low as 6 Eu or 8 USD/meal.

You need about 2,500 USD per person without shopping allowance or 3000Eu with 500 Eu shopping allowance.

Sample detailed expenses below:

1) Airfare- KLM-------1220 ( through Amsterdam)= 940 eu
SAL -------1315 usd ( through Singapore)
2) Schengen Visa Fee----3800P = 65 eu
3) Airport Departure Tax ( Manila ) 550P= 12 USD= 9 eu
4) Taxi from Airport to Hotel (Paris)-& back 14 *2 = 28 eu
5) Hotel Fee – Phalym hotel (good for 2) - 85 x 6 nights= 510 eu
6) Food
breakfast (if not included) coffee + croissant --2.80
lunch ---------------------------------------- 7.50
dinner -------------------------------------- 10.00
total 22.30 x 7 days = 156 eu
fine dining------2 x 25 = 50 eu
7) daily transport by train –5.50 * 7 = 38.50 eu
TOTAL = say 1780 eu or 2300 USD / per son w/o shopping allowance
or Total = say 2300 EU 3000 USD Plus shopping allowance = 500 eu