Hong Kong Wanderlust 2 of 4

A new day has dawn for my companions and I in the land of "fragrant harbour," Hong Kong! After a day in Hong Kong Ocean Park, next on our itinerary was the Disneyland Hong Kong. I'm a child once again as we stepped into the park of Mickey Mouse and friends!

From where we're staying in Causeway Bay, we decided to tackle the Hong Kong's octopus network of trains to reach Disneyland. We started at the Island line and alighted at the Central station. We walked further (now we know why the Chinese are thin... they walk a lot!) and found the Tung Chung line which took us to the Sunny Bay station where the Disney Resort trains await. Even if we need to transfer from one train coach to another, it wasn't that hard to figure out which ones to use and we reached our destination in no time at all! (Such wonderful transpo system! Wish the Philippines has something like this!)

Welcome to Disneyland Hong Kong!

Wonderful Disney floral landscape.

And so I reached the land of magical realm and fantasies... and I was transformed into a giddy little girl who knows no life realities. What realities?! I'm sorry, I didn't hear you! Too busy getting a good look at the "Let It Snow" Christmas parade. With blaring Christmas songs and faux snow raining upon visitors, the parade is on! Surely, no one's gonna rain on this parade!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The white dust you see might seem like dandruff, hehe, but they're fake snow raining upon us. It melts quickly once it settles so there's no residue left on the hair or clothes after the 'snowing'.

Snow White and Cinderella.

The princesses are not statues. They're real people who look like they came out of the fairly tale book. Such porcelain skin and dainty gowns. These are the stuff little girls' dreams are made of.

The Disney characters!

I love the winter blue costume! Very apt for the Christmas season.

Most of the performers on the parade were Filipinos! Some even came close to us, shook our hands and asked "Kamusta po?" Wow! Every day, they're entertaining people. What a job!

After watching the parade and before going to any rides, the train traveling around the entire Disneyland ground beckons with its soft whistle, just in time as the parade ended. It's a slow ride but it gives a glimpse of the entire magical world of Disney in the comfort of a wooden bench.

Choo choo train!

A walk into Main Street, USA proves to be very therapeutic. It feels like being transported in another place and time, probably on the old Hollywood era. The shops are beautifully decorated and the roads aptly cobble-stoned.

Main Street store.

Most stores carry souvenirs, candies, chocolates, and bread. There's also photo shops along the way.

The Disneyland map caught us off guard for a moment. There's just too many shows, rides, and shops to go to! Again, nakakalula! (Good luck naman kung Disneyland USA na ang pupuntahan ko davah?! *wishful thinking*) To help us facilitate our Disneyland experience, we browsed the map and planned our itinerary for the day.

The park is divided into three "lands". Come, and I'll tour you around (na parang akin ang Disneyland HK! Hehe!).

Welcome explorers!

There's Adventureland where nature and its tribes await. The should not be missed attractions include:

The Festival of the Lion King

This is the best (IMHO) music and dance presentation which depicts one of my fave Disney movies, The Lion King. The production and costume are all awesome. Also, the cast sings beautifully and dances oh-so gracefully.

The finale

Tarzan's Treehouse

There's a raft that takes visitors across the river to Tarzan's treehouse where an interactive playhouse lets kids (at-heart) conduct experiments and play instruments. I climbed the treehouse to have a picture with Tarzan! (Yun nga lang, estatwa lang sya eh, lol.)

Adventure seekers will be happy with Adventureland. Too bad we didn't have the time to ride the Jungle River Cruise but we're still happy dancing to the tune of the jungle rhythm emanating from the leaky tiki poles. Gusto kong mag-ati-atihan!

Jungle River Cruise

Up next is Tomorrowland where the futuristic rides and attractions are.

Welcome to the future!

This is perfect for the thrill-seekers. Unfortunately, my companions and I are not this type of people so we only rode one:

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

This is such a fun game! We were seated on carts, laser guns in hand, and journeying on a track that is filled with Buzz's enemies. We aim at targets and shoots! The cart even swivels for a more accurate shot. It was so action-packed I didn't have time to take a photo inside. Not that I wanted to let go of the gun anyway! Need to shoot the enemies! (A perfect stress-buster!) ;)

Space Mountain, one of the most popular rides in Disneyland is found on Tomorrowland. It's a thrilling rollercoaster journey that will take you to the far reaches of the universe! (O diba, may ganyang effect!). Tomorrowland also features Stitch Encounter, Orbitron, UFO Zone, and Autopia- all of which we're too coward to try.

The last one, and definitely the most magical is Fantasyland.

Welcome to your dreams!

It features Disneyland's major landmark - the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Walking through this portal is a dream come true. After all, I was also a little girl who dreamt of becoming a princess one day. ;)

Most of the not-to-be-missed shows are here. So just a tip, always be mindful of the shows' time. I tell you, you cannot afford to not watch these:

"It's A Small World Christmas"

The boat ride 'around the world' is worth the wait! This is a journey that took us through the regions of the world and see how they (and the 38 Disney characters) celebrate Christmas. The displays were marvelous! Every detail was carefully planned and placed. Everything was just colorful and ah-may-zhing! (I didn't get to find all Disney characters but I did find Santa!)

Amazing set design!
Dolls representing various countries. Indeed, this is a small world!
(Particularly love this set because it's pink, lol!)
They rep Pinas! The dolls are wearing baro't saya. Their umbrellas are twirling. Cute!
The amazing, colorful displays never cease.
Love winter! Para s'yang cake noh?!

Sorry, I have no photos of the following shows because I'm too busy enjoying myself. Hehe. Mickey's PhilharMagic. Watching Disney characters in 3D is such a treat. We definitely felt like members of the cast ourselves just by merely looking through our cool 3D glasses. With flying musical instruments and saucers flying at us, gawd, the experience was surreal. There's also water splashing and wind blowing on our faces. It's so real! Love, love this! It definitely beats Rialto! The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This storybook journey is a little bit boring for the "adults" but your little ones will surely enjoy this. We were in a cart traveling in Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood. We got to meet Tigger and Piglet! This is such a short but quite nice ride. Perfect for Pooh lovers!

The Golden Mickeys

This musical is an award's night of sorts for the best of Disney. The production numbers were very nostalgic. I particularly love the "romance" part where Beauty and Beast sang and danced to my fave Disney songs "Something There."

Tale as old as time, true as it can be...

Fantasyland rides include Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Cinderella Carousel, and Mad Hatter Tea Cups. There's also the Fantasy Gardens where a meet and greet with the Disney characters happen. Of course, we did not fail to take a picture with Mickey Mouse.

During the night, the Festival of Lights happen. A magical procession illuminates the street lights and the Sleeping Beauty Castle. This is how the castle looks like before the lighting:


And here's how it looks like after (plus fireworks):

All-lit! All sparkling!

Of course, there's also the much-awaited fireworks display in the evening!

A fountain of sky light.
The fireworks dazzled everyone!
(Nagka-stiff neck yata ako pero worth it pa rin!)

The huge Christmas tree was also put up in time for the holidays.

After this, the park comes to a close although souvenir stores are still open for those who want to bring home a piece of the magic of Disneyland Hong Kong.

Souvenirs galore

I'm contented to bring home a huge marshmallow lollipop! What, I'm a little girl eh! Haha!

We never got bored in Disneyland Hong Kong. There are just so many activities. Restaurants with different themes also abound and for light snacks, food carts are around to offer coffee and hot chocolate (apt for the cold weather) and cookies. And for the lost, information/guest relations centers are open to help. This park is very people-friendly. Everyone is well taken cared of. A one-day ticket costs HKD350 (PHP2,450).

If you're in Hong Kong, I'm sure you don't need persuasion to visit Disneyland. After all, this is prolly your main objective in going. Just leave your stress behind and enjoy the magical moments.

More Hong Kong tourist spots on the next installment. See yah!

A Photo A Day 9

Hailing from the Northern province of La Union, I'm used to traveling six hours or more to reach my hometown. But with the newly-opened Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, travel time has been reduced to 4-5 hours. On this vacation, I usually take the Tarlac City (via La Paz) entry to the SCTEX. It only takes me a mere 30 minutes to get to the North Luzon Expressway and from there, another hour (with a 15-minute stop-over at Shell NLEX) to reach Manila. It definitely saves time and fuel. If almost all roads in the Philippines are like this, traveling will be such a breeze!

For this A Photo A Day, Northeners will be at an advantage. One of the most prominent scenes while traveling in Pampanga and Tarlac is this:

Can you identify this famous mountain?

The Road to the 2010 Election Day

For this 2010 election, we OFWs are given the right to vote through the Overseas Absentee Voting.

We are now being bombarded with political advertisements with irritating jingles to boot. Posters and tarps are scattered all over the country. Politicians are attending every seminar, conference and forums to create a never-before-seen presence. Presidentiables are flying planes, carrying torches, riding jeepneys, checking off accomplishments, making a comeback and lulling us to sleep. All these are superficial. All these are merely PR. All these are weak attempts to win our hearts over. To choose, we need to overlook these ads and dig deep on character, moral integrity, performance, credibility, and platform.

Who are we looking for? Remember that these people are not competing in a popularity or beauty contest. They are vying for the opportunity to steer a battered country into a future of sustainable and holistic progress. Indeed, it will be a rough road ahead for every Filipino. Thus, we need to vote wisely and responsibly, not only for ourselves, but for the very reason why we’re working our asses off abroad: our families. We are away from the Philippines but we are all encouraged to speak our mind. After all, wherever we may be, we are still Filipinos.

The Pink Tarha is one with the Kablogs community in recognizing the voting power of the Overseas Filipino Workers in the coming May 2010 election. And so, we re-post this call to enjoin everyone to vote!

For decades, we've been lauded as "Bagong Bayani" as a recognition by the same government who has caused our mass exodus into foreign lands.

Let's breathe the title of modern day heroes and accept its appended challenges and responsibilities. Despite our distance and diversity, we take pride in being a part of the Filipino abroad’s global recognition as shapers of the world.

Now, the time has come to unleash the heroes within us as the majestic sun rises in the East and its rays of hope shines upon our nation this coming May 2010 election.

This is a call for our collective voice in the 2010 election. We encourage all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families to actively participate and be part of our country’s historic electoral process.

For several years, we’ve made our presence felt in building our nation. In every single dollar remittance that is being delivered in our family’s doorsteps, we OFWs have helped in sustaining the Philippines’ economic growth.

Our experiences in and out the country have led us to become seasoned professionals who are now politically mature to discern what’s best for our home country. Now is the moment to make a difference. We are part of the 12 million Filipinos dispersed across the world and we can definitely make a difference.

We will solidify our stand to choose the right leaders for our country. We will influence our family and loved ones back home, the recipient of our hardships and struggles abroad, to act too. We will guide them in making their choices this coming May 2010 because we believe that their actions will not only shape our country’s future but the future of the generations to come.

Our nation has suffered from the action (and inaction) of irresponsible and corrupt government officials but we must remain steadfast in our hope and desire of having a better country. Our nation is already battered and divided. This coming election, its fate resides in US.

If there is a time to live as modern day heroes, to make a difference as global Filipinos, to embark on something worth doing, IT IS NOW!

Let us empower ourselves as OFWs. With one voice and one heart, let's vote and get counted! Only responsible voters can bring responsible leaders in office on May 2010. Let the new leaders of our land rise from the votes of OFWs.

This May 2010, we are given a choice. Do we remain mere onlookers or do we prove to the nation that we’re part of the heroes this country is made up of? Now that we’re nearing the road to the May 2010 election, are we ready to vote?

Let’s act! Let’s rock the vote!

"Wala naman talagang perpektong binoboto e. Meron lang perpektong boto - yung botong pinag-aralan, pinag-isipan, at handang panindigan sa loob ng anim na taon."

Sticking to Steaky

It's time for another food post! So be prepared to be hungry after this post.

For the uninitiated, Riyadh experienced a massive boom in the "steak restaurant" business in the past five years or so. All of a sudden, a string of franchise brands like Applebees, Chilis, TGIF, Tony Roma's and Steak House sprouted all over the city center - all of them brought and highlighted the taste of their steaks. When I was growing up, the competing brands at the time were just Herfy, KFC and McDonald's. Nowadays, a casual (sometimes almost bordering on fine) dining experience has been the trend and a young and budding restaurant has been creating a stir for some time now: Meet STEAKY.

The name is quite tricky for Filipinos with a "hard" English. Take one particular evening for example as one of our fathers (aka drivers) called us prior to picking us up.

Dad/Driver: Saan ko kayo susunduin? (Where will I pick you up?)
Daughter: Sa Steaky po. (At Steaky)
Dad/Driver: Saan? Sticky? (Where? Sticky?)
Daughter (and the rest of us girls LOL-ing): S-T-E-A-K-Y po! Anong "Sticky"?! (Steaky! What STICKY?)

It was a definite laugh trip! Hahaha. But hey, "sticky" jokes aside...Steaky has definitely stuck in our list of favorites. I think I have been there more than ten times before I finally had the time to write this entry. So without further a due, let me tell you why I keep coming back to Steaky.

The PERKS (for me) are three-fold:

---> Cool space. Interiors are welcoming, with high ceilings and interesting decorations. Surroundings are spic and span plus a very fragrant bathroom if I may add (not pictured below though). Also, one MAJOR perk of this place is that they play house music! Probably the first and only dining place I've been to in Riyadh that plays tunes over the entire restaurant (well, the family section at least--the single section has a TV). From the numerous times that I've been here, soundtracks have ranged from new wave to R&B selections. And I noticed that the Saudis/Middle-Eastern people dining in didn't seem to mind. In fact, from time to time, we'd see them bobbing their heads to the music. Now that is COOL. Having the music really makes a difference in terms of ambiance.

This is the single's section. I was able to take photos that time since the place just opened and there wasn't anyone there yet.

Single's dining area.

This mural of a cow's anatomy is entertaining and educational. It's found on the rather narrow entry way going into the family section and before eating, you can contemplate what part of the cow you'd feel like biting out from by looking at this informative artwork.

---> Accommodating without being overbearing. Staff are incredibly nice and approachable without being too over-friendly (if you know what I mean). Mostly kabayans.

Pictured here is one of the chefs, who personally delivered our orders himself. Talk about special.

--> The SALAD BAR is the win-win for me! For the Filipino palate, I think their macaroni salads and tuna salad viands are a sure win. For an additional charge on your choice of main course, you can have unlimited salad and soup for as much as you like. I particularly go for the jalapaneos and rocket leaves (also known as "gir-gir" in arabic) as my personal favorite.

Fresh greens and other salad items. Refilled by the clock.

A plate of salad picks. A bed of macaroni salad, tuna salad, dried raisins, almonds and pineapples. The jalapeneos must be hiding there somewhere.

Well, those are my top reasons. Here are some of the dishes we've tried so far.

Steaky Combo Platter 39SR

I find this unique in the sense that they included fish fingers in it, which I rarely find in other starters.

BBQ Ribs 69SR

This has got to be their bestseller (the restaurant is called "Steaky" after all). No complaints for me in terms of tenderness and portions. I could crave for this on any given day. However, they seem to have a scarce supply of this particular dish. In the numerous times that I've been there, I've encountered three or four nights that BBQ Ribs wasn't available. And given that this dish is one of the most ordered (coz it's less expensive than the other steaks but just as fulfilling) the restaurant should consider getting more in stock. At the rate that these babies are flying off the grill, in the long run, they'd be doing themselves a favor by increasing supply.

They have other steak dishes as well, like: Tenderloin Steak (85SR), Rib Eye Steak (75SR) and one called the "Wagyu Steak" priced at 285SR! Apparently, it's one of the best steak in the world and exclusive only to Steaky. Intriguing and expensive.

Fried Shrimp Butterfly 22SR

A delicious starter. Light and crisp. We've also tried other of their seafood dishes like the Jumbo Grilled Shrimp (60SR) and the Grilled Fish Hamour (45SR). For the Jumbo Grilled Shrimps, be prepared to use your hands. I don't know about you, but for me food becomes more delicious when you eat it with your hands. The shrimp got me licking my fingers at the end. I found the Grilled Fish Hamour to be somewhat bland and blah. I thought it needed more seasoning and flavor. If you don't want to eat with your hands but still want seafood, get the fish. Otherwise, choose the succulent shrimps! :)

Other grilled dishes:

Steaky Chicken Tawouk 39SR

Marinated boneless chicken breast, skewered and grilled. My take is that it's a great deal for 39SR. I could not even finish it off by myself. The meat is juicy and I like the fact that I can ask them to make it spicy for me (upon request).

Lamb Chops 60 SR

These are well-done and nothing special in particular if it weren't for the tasty gravy that goes with it.

And one starter na humabol...

Chili Cheese Fries 25SR

I tried this out from my last visit to Steaky (which was two nights ago) and I sort of regretted it. Why? Well, I'm a fan of Nacho King in the Philippines and my idea of a good-tasting chili is that of Nacho King (or the one served in Chilis). For this particular starter, I found the seasoning of the chili to be too "lasang arabo" or"of Arabic taste", if I may say so. Too bad, but hey, if you like that kind of taste, go ahead and order it. We are after all, in Saudi Arabia right?

To wash all those meat and fries down, they have Iced Tea for 6SR. According to Shoegarfreeruby's assessment, the taste of the fruit flavor in the tea is a bit overpowering. But we'll drink it anyway. We've also already tried their Vanilla and Chocolate Shakes at 16SR each. If you're not watching your weight, go on ahead and down one.


And to top off your meals, here are some of their desserts:

Choco Brownie 22SR

Berry Cheesecake 22SR

The Choco brownie was served freshly-baked and is your usual yummy chocolate desert. So far, no one has topped my chocolate fondant experience so let's just say that the brownie is just plain okay. The cheesecake is apparently imported and comes from the US (if I am not mistaken) and it will not fail strawberry-flavor afficionados. We've also tried their Banana Split (22SR) and you can choose from three flavors of ice cream: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

Pardon the inconsistency of the photos. I wasn't with my fancy camera at all times, so some of them were taken using a 3.2 MP camera phone. But having said that I've been to Steaky more than ten times is already evident that I love the place. Oh, but one more thing though, if you have your own ride going there, parking can sometimes be a problem because it's right in front of the main road and beside a left curve, so cars can get congested from time to time. Visiting during off-peak hours like before the last salah would help, since there aren't that much people at that time. They are also open for lunch if that's more suitable for you. I almost forgot to mention that they have a children's playroom as well where kids can sit, play and watch TV so parents can enjoy dinner while the children can go wild in the playroom.

Overall, Steaky caters not only to us twenty-somethings, but it's also a place for the family and even for the single men who can enjoy an LCD TV in the single's section. I'm sure that's a hit during a big football game. Give it a try one of these days why don't you?


Oh and it's STEAKY...not STICKY...ok? :P

Cheers!
-ec-