Caution: Camel Crossing

I have been working in different parts of Middle East for quite some time thus; I've been exposed to its desert wildlife which I don't normally see in the Philippines.

One of the most common desert animals in the Middle East is the camel; it can survive for days without drinking any single drop of water. Hence, I've been wondering how these creatures survive on this desolate place.

For more than 6 years in Yemen I've seen herd of camels coming to our work site from time to time. They would arrive and stay for at least a day and disappear without any traces at all. Whenever they are here in our camp, the expats have grand time for some photo-ops.

During my early days in my present company, I noticed that there were drums of water strategically located outside our camp. This puzzled me; I am sure they are not intended for extinguishing fire since we have big fire trucks in our camp. It never occurred to me that these water containers were there for the thirsty camels.

To satisfy my curiosity I ask my local staff about these wild camels and how they live considering that there is limited vegetation in our area. He corrected me and stated that these camels were not wild. The Bedouin tribes own these camels and they have put their marks on these animals hence other people won't dare touch or steal them. More so, the camels know which places have vegetation and they visit these places from time to time.

He added that camels have great memories. In fact they have been used to transport goods for more than a thousand of years and they know well the path to follow even in the middle of the desert. This is the reason why we see them regularly in our work site because they are aware that water here is plentiful due to water containers outside. They drink a lot of water and store it inside their belly then travel for days in search of foods. Their owners won't be bothered since they know the place very well and can easily track their camels at any given time.

Though a camel looks adorable it can be a hazard to any motorist especially when it crosses the road. I remember when I was in Abu Dhabi, UAE many years back, my colleagues informed me that several accidents occurred along the highway going to our accommodation in the middle of the desert due to presence of camels on the road; sometimes these accidents have caused death to both motorists and camels. Accidents can occur since on desert roads where traffic regulations are normally not being followed, you can drive up to your car's maximum speed limit. One time I rode a Land Cruiser and it reached 190 kph; I was both excited and afraid.

Camel Crossing Sign

As precautionary measure, our company has installed some "Camel Caution Sign" along our main road where herd of camels normally cross to prevent accident. You might think that camel walks slowly thus there is no need for this sign. Actually, a camel can burst into speed if they want to; I saw them run fast during camel race. Moreover. a camel's body has the same color with the surrounding area thus it is difficult for untrained eyes to notice a camel from afar.

It is worthy to note that people nowadays are adapting to protect and prevent disrupting the normal lives of these wonderful desert animals.  

Hong Kong - City Econo Guesthouse

A few months back, during our family's summer vacation in Hong Kong, our flight back to Clark Airport via Tiger Airways was cancelled due to schedule problem according to the airlines. I had no option but to re-book our tickets on the following day, free of charge of course.

Family celebrated and started to search the net for additional places to visit without knowing that we had a logistical problem. Our hotel booking for a family room at Mini Hotel in Causeway Bay was good for 4 nights only; I availed their promo rate. When I inquired for 1 night extension, the management replied that I need to pay the normal rate which was almost double their promo rate. Furthermore, they wouldn't be able to give the same room to us; we need to transfer to another family room. Because of this, I decided to book for 1 night at City Econo Guesthouse at Nathan Road near Jordan train station. I got a triple room for 650 HKD and a double room for 500 HKD. The booking has been confirmed through email correspondence with a certain "Jenny."

From Mini Hotel we transferred to City Econo by taxi. The Guesthouse is located in an old building. Following the instruction found on the internet, we proceeded to 6th floor of the building where the reception desk is located. The nice old lady was expecting us and after paying in cash she beckoned us to follow her to 5th floor where our rooms were located. It was pretty inconvenient though to go back to 5th floor by stairs while carrying our bulky luggage. The lift was busy and it would take some time before it would be back to 6th floor.

Our kids' triple room was quite roomy. There was 1 double bed and 1 single bed. Their toilet was quite spacious as well. As expected, the facility was quite dilapidated including dated beddings and towels though the place is clean. Anyway, for its price you can't ask for more.

No space to open our luggage

wash basin outside the toilet

Going to our room, my wife was disappointed upon entering it. The dated room and toilet were so tiny; the wash basin was outside the toilet. Hence, my wife preferred to take bath at the other room. While taking a bath, I accidentally dropped the soap, retrieving it my knee hit the wall. I got a bruised knee as remembrance, lol. Fortunately, hot shower was available.

A flat screen is mounted on the wall in both rooms however the TV signal was poor. Free bottled water and basic toiletry while hot water for tea/coffee is available along the aisle. The free wifi is fairly fast as expected in any paid accommodation in Hong Kong.

The following day, we need to check out early thus we simply left our room keys on top of the reception table.

There is nothing especial about this Guesthouse except the location and the friendly attitude of the owner. From here it was pretty convenient to go to different places.

Dad's Review - Hong Kong or Singapore?

Which place should your family visit: chilly Hong Kong or tropic Singapore? Disneyland or Universal Studios? This is a question most commonly asked by a Dad to his family or vice versa. I remember asking this question to my family before and both places never got a 100% vote. Nevertheless, my family who has been in wanderlust in the past several years will definitely pack their things in a moment notice once they see an opportunity to visit either of these two.

Let's make a face-off between these two Asia's must see places. Let us discuss the 4 categories that a Dad considers essential during the planning stage:

Budget / Places / Food / Shopping

BUDGET

Plane ticket:  Coming from Manila/Clark Airports, plane ticket to Hong Kong is cheaper than Singapore if you compare them on the same standard rate or promo fares. In fact, a few months ago, our family of five was able to purchase a Tiger Airways return-ticket for almost 21,000 pesos only whereas for Singapore trip the price was more than 30,000 pesos for 5 of us.

Hotel Fare:  In this regard, Singapore outweighs Hong Kong. At Geylang area, one can find a standard rate for a decent double room hotel for 60 USD per night, amenities included. For the same price, it will be very difficult to find the same room standard and size in Hong Kong. I was able to find one actually but it was a twin room at Wang Fat Hostel but the room size, amenities and service was not as par with Singapore hotel. More so, there are plenty of backpackers' hostels in Singapore than in Hong Kong.

Transportation:  Both of them are in the same level. Their LRT/MTR's are so efficient and comfortable in such a way that you will even enjoy using them. The fares are almost the same. However, Singapore Airport has a slight advantage since its train (MRT) is accessible inside whereas in Hong Kong Airport, the only train you can use is the Airport Express which charges each passenger 100 KHD one-way. However, you can easily find the city bus station just outside its doorway.

Verdict: TIE

PLACES

Universal Studios or Disneyland? Well, I can't be very specific about these two since my family and I love both of them. Hence, I will remove them from the equation.

Let us start with Singapore; by merely visiting Sentosa Island, anyone can be entertained the whole day without leaving the island. Aside from Universal Studios, you can spend your time strolling around the island and enjoy its different attractions such as zip lines, 4D cinemas, beaches, IFly, Songs of the Seas, among others. You can also climb the biggest Merlion. In fact, if you spend most of the day inside US you won't have remaining time to enjoy the other attractions inside Sentosa Island. See: Conquer Sentosa Island for 1 dollar

For night life, pay a visit at Clarke Quay along Singapore River where countless of bars and restaurants remain open until early morning. This place is ideal to visit from dusk to dawn. You can see drunk and partying tourists every night. More so, this place has its own attractions as well such as G-Max Reverse Bungee. See: Clarke Quay

Another place worth to visit is the Merlion Park. The sight around this area is simply awesome especially during the evening laser show at Marina Bay Sands. See: Merlion Park

If you prefer off-the-beaten-path scenery then you can visit the MacRitchie Reservoir or the "Tiger Balm Gardens" for free. See: The Tiger Balm Garden (How Par Villa)

While in Singapore it is quite easy to visit Kuala Lumpur by land (bus or train) travel and Batam, Indonesia by cruise. Better yet, visit Genting Highlands in Malaysia. See: Singapore to KL by train

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Aside from Disneyland, Hong Kong has another ace on its sleeve, The Ocean Park. Actually, more visitors are flocking to Ocean Park compared with the famous Mouseland. Aside from these two, another place that is worth to visit is Ngong Ping at Lantau Island. You can come to this place by bus, taxi or cable cars. If this is your first time to visit NP then I suggest that you avail the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars. Trust me, you won't regret it. On top of the lush mountains you will be able to stroll at the old NP village and Po Lin Monastery and see the 85 ft outdoor bronze Tian Tan Buddha. See: Ngong Ping

A stroll at Avenue of the Stars up to the Old Clock Tower during evening is truly a memorable experience; if you have spare tine then I suggest that you watch the Symphony of Lights at around 8 PM as well. More so, if you are curious about the locals daily routine then ride the Trams in Hong Kong then board Star Ferry and disembark at Kowloon; you'll be crossing one of the busiest sea lane in the world. I highly recommend this experience for any first timer in Hong Kong. See: Tram & Star Ferry

Hong Kong has its own share of off-the-beaten-path places such as The Nan Lian Garden and Ten Thousand Buddha. See: Nan Lian Garden & 10K Buddha

When planning to visit Hong Kong, better spare a day to visit nearby Macau or travel by train to Shenzhen, China where you can visit Windows of the World and Splendid China. See: Day Tour in Shenzhen, China

Verdict: TIE

FOOD

In Hong Kong you can easily dine in any authentic Chinese Restaurant. They even have fast food joints that offer Chinese cuisines Cafe De Coral and Maxims. Due to limited space, many hole-in-the-wall type food spots can be found at downtown Mongkok. There is even a Jollibee outlet at the back of Worldwide Plaza where most of our kabayans are staying during their free time. You'll find inside this Plaza several eateries that cater to Filipinos. Anyway, I believe that you won't visit Hong Kong just to eat Adobo.

While in Hong Kong I have observed that diners immediately leave the place after eating since most dining places are small and crowded; it is not unusual to see many people waiting or searching for vacant seat. You will feel awkward to have an after meal chit chats since the cleaners will immediately remove your plates upon seeing that they are already empty. See: Cafe De Coral

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In stark contrast, Singapore is known as haven for food-trippers. In almost every block you will find hawker centers such as Maxwell Food Center, Chinatown, Bugis and nearby Waterloo among others. You can easily find cuisines from every culture. In fact, when I stayed at Tresor Tavern Hostel, within 500 meters I can easily dine in Thai, Indian, Singaporean and Chinese dishes. The price is affordable. I can have a decent and sumptuous Thai meal for around 4 USD. Half of that price I can have a yummy Paratha with curry sauce and milky tea at nearby South Indian Restaurant. Beside our hostel is another authentic Singaporean Restaurant that specializes on meals with curry sauce. See: Singapore Food Trip - Part 1

When travel ban was imposed to Yemen, I was forced to spend my vacation in Singapore. During my vacation, whenever I longed for Filipino foods I frequented Lucky Plaza along Orchard Road. This is where most of our fellow Filipinos working in Singapore gathers during their day-offs. I usually dined at Lutong Pinoy at the basement food court. It is owned by a friend and fellow Bosconian. I loved their Bulalo.

I grew up exposed to Chinese dishes, my late Chinese Grandpa was even offered a job as Chef in a Chinese restaurant, thus whenever I am in Singapore I frequented Chinatown and dined at their Food Street. The place is fantastic for those who love to eat alfresco style. Just a stone throw away is the Maxwell Food Center where you can select your meal from myriad of hawkers. See: Maxwell Food Center

Chilly Crabs, Nasi Lemak, Hainanese Chicken are some of the famous dishes you should try when in Singapore. Even when in malls such as Vivo City, you can delightfully select your meal at Food Republic that offer authentic Singaporean, Indian, Malay and Thai dishes See: Food Republic

Verdict: Singapore

SHOPPING

Well, both places can provide great shopping experience for high-end fashion brands such as LV, Bulgari, Chanel, to name a few. Just stroll at Orchard Road in Singapore and you will be amazed in seeing great fashion brands along this road whereas in Hong Kong you will find these fashionable items from Causeway Bay to Central. In fact, these two places are great alternatives in case you can't shop in Milan and Paris. Anyway, since I don't expect the class A tourists to view my page I would focus on mainstream shopping such as apparels, shoes, electronics, etc.

A visit to Bugis should be included in your itinerary in case you plan to do some shopping. This place boasts a high-end mall and a street market. The price at the street market is quite competitive but the items being sold are limited. You can also visit Chinatown for souvenir items and other knick-knacks. Otherwise you can shop in any malls for trendy clothes and shoes but be prepared to shell more dough. See: Bugis

For Electronics items, drop by at Lucky Plaza and try to haggle. I bought my Tamron 70-300 mm DSLR lens with Macro for 300 USD after haggling. I bought it during my first visit in Singapore. I learned later that the price was a bit expensive. Hence, be aware that you might be ripped off by some touts or sales person in case you get intimidated by their sales talk. Cameras are cheaper here but it seems some of the shops are passing second hand items as brand new. In addition, you can also visit Mustafa Center; it is open 24 hours. On my second visit to Singapore, I bought from here my eldest son's Sony mobile phone with 16 GB memory for around 10,500 pesos. The price of the same phone in Philippines with less memory was more than 12,000 pesos at that time. The price was indeed cheaper but they offered 1 week warranty period only since their mobile phones were bought directly from Russia. See: Mustafa Center

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Shopping in Hong Kong? Prepare your dough and you should have sturdy legs.

In downtown Mongkok only, they have the Ladies Market for souvenir items and knick-knacks while along Fa Yuen Street you will find rows and rows of shops selling new and old model shoes. The price is indeed cheaper and lots of models and brands are available along this street. Moreover, plenty of other boutique shops can be found within this area too. See: Roaming around Mongkok

Planning to buy apparels in wholesale quantity? You can drop by at Hong Kong Industrial Center where Korean trendy clothes are available in block A while Japanese fashion apparels can be found in Block B & C. If you have sturdy legs then roam around Sham Shui Po area where countless factory outlets can be found. Be aware though that in this area, many shops are selling their merchandise in wholesale quantity only. Hey wait, why am I divulging these places to you? This is one of Happy Stripes' trade secrets, lol.

If you prefer a relax atmosphere when shopping then you can drop by at Citygate Outlets Mall before going to Ngong Ping where many global mainstream brands have established their outlets or shops. Moreover, you can stroll along Causeway Bay and visit the "little Japan." See: Roaming around Causeway Bay

For electronics items, just hike along Nathan Road where plenty of electronic shops are located. Again beware of unscrupulous sales strategy of some sales person. You can search the net to know more about their modus operandi. Nevertheless, there are specialty shops where global brands can be bought cheaper like Apple and other Chinese brands as well.

Verdict: Hong Kong

In my point of view as a Dad, both Singapore and Hong Kong are definitely worth to visit. Both of them offer some advantages over the other.

At the end of the day, though a Dad makes the decision regarding which place to visit he should also consider "The Mom." My wife swears that she won't again set foot in Hong Kong during winter. I can't blame her; we celebrated Christmas in Hong Kong a few years back and most of the times my wife was shivering due to chilly weather. The second time I brought my family in Hong Kong last April, my wife was a different person. The same thing last June when we bought merchandise for our online shop; my wife's battery was always fully charged, lol. On the other hand, she will prefer other Asian cities rather than Singapore during summer season.

For more details about these two places just click the "Travel" tab on my blog site.

Evacuees in our village during storm "Maring"

I live in San Mateo area near San Mateo River which is connected to Marikina River.

A few weeks back, I was enjoying my recent vacation when storm "Maring" entered the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR). Though the typhoon was quite far from MM, it strengthened the monsoon rain for several days. For two nights our neighbors and I were sleepless since we were monitoring the level of San Mateo River. In fact, the water was about to reach our village road when the monsoon rains stopped. We were elated since it saved us from the arduous task of relocating our household items and cleaning our houses.

MY OLD HOUSE

The flood water reached our ceiling in 2009

We have been living in the same place since 1992 but recently the flood has started invading our community. It all started in September 2009 when storm "Ondoy" inundated Metro Manila. Our bungalow type house was entirely submerged by floodwater. Luckily I was on vacation thus I was able to park our car in higher place and saved it from getting damaged; some of my neighbors were not lucky.

Last year, due to heavy monsoon rains, knee-deep flood water again entered our house. Fortunately, after "Ondoy" I was able to renovate our house and convert it into a 3-storey structure thus the damage caused by the flood last year was very minimal though my family was very exhausted relocating our belongings to upper floors and cleaning the entire ground floor; I was in Yemen at that time.

San Mateo River (back of our village) during monsoon rains caused by storm "Maring" - August 2013

Whenever San Mateo River swells and reaches its critical level, many of our neighbors living along its banks evacuate to our area and nearby roads. They put up make-shift tents and others who work as drivers park their vehicles such as jeepneys and trucks along the main road outside our village; their families live in those vehicles while waiting for the water to subside. They bring with them their meager belongings including their pets and animals.

outside our village along the river bank

It was a pity seeing them exposed to cold nights and dripping tents. However, as typical Filipinos, I can see their kids playing around while the adults were indulging in chit chats. Sometimes the guys even have the time and resources to have some drinking bouts along the road. The mood was festive, actually. Well, you can't blame them, poor as they are, they need to find comfort with each other and release their stress through whatever means.

It is not surprising therefore to see our local government handling relief goods to these people immediately after each flooding. In fact, after "Ondoy" in 2009, while I was walking outside our village I saw some good Samaritans handling some pre-packed foods. I fell in line and asked for two packs. Upon reaching our home, I gave them to those poor kids who I contracted to help me clean our house after the flood; my family stayed in my brother-in-law's house in Quezon City until our house was thoroughly cleaned.

evacuees lining up for relief goods

vehicles with make-shift tents where some of the evacuees were staying

Recently, the evacuees were back while in our case we keep monitoring the level of the river. As usual, the local government distributed relief goods the following day. I even saw our laundry woman in queue hoping to receive some of these goods. When she reported back to work after 2 days, I gave her some cash since she lost 1 day salary due to this incident.

After the level of the river has gone down, the evacuees started returning back to their homes. Leaving their homes for their own safety and returning back when the flood has subsided has become a part of their lives. They are familiar sight whenever the river swells and I believe, given a chance they would prefer living in a safer place where they can sleep well even when the perennial monsoon rains batter our place. Nevertheless, what impresses me is how they cope-up with this kind of calamity and their determination to move-on.