When friends came to visit #itsmorefuninthephilippines

We had friends from Germany who came to the Philippines for a vacation last week, and because of that, we took the #itsmorefuninthephilippines by heart. Jeff showed them around, took them for an overnight hike at Mt. Batulao last weekend (Jeff brought the tent and food), and even dropped them to where they were staying, tour guide lang ang peg. Actually, it was Jeff who met Chris and Hong the last time we were in Hong Kong. Jeff joined a Sunday hiking group while Gwen and I went shopping hehe. After their hiking, they still keep in touch thanks to Facebook.

For their annual vacation, after visiting Singapore, their next stop is the Philippines and they already planned their itineraries, hiking included. Si Jeff na bahala dun :p.

Jeff said they really enjoyed the mountain! After all, Mt. Batulao is one of the best scenic hikes here in the Philippines with a view of Taal Volcano.

Chris and Hong wanted to meet me so we had dinner after work last Monday. I suggested Cafe Adriatico or Palutuan in Macapagal Boulevard, Chris said he wanted seafood so Palutuan it is. We took them to the market first to buy shrimps, squid and clams.

After buying the seafood, we went to the best restaurant in Palutuan, Aling Tonya’s. Promise, we never tried any other restaurant after tasting Aling Tonya’s cooking. For the shrimps, it’s Buttered Garlic with Chili…. natatakam na naman ako….

We’re glad that they liked the food. Mahirap palang maging tour guide :D. With Chris though, basta may San Miguel lang solve na. What is it with San Miguel that foreigners really love it? Even our UK bosses love San Miguel. Chris wanted to check out Vibram Five Fingers store in Mall of Asia after our dinner but it’s past 9 pm already so they’ll just go there the next day.

They will be flying out to Hong Kong on Wednesday that’s why we had another dinner on Tuesday, this time at their rented place in Manila and Hong also asked us to bring Gwen. We  left early for work so that we can tour them around in the afternoon and also to buy souvenirs for them. Ayaw na sana nila lumabas when we went to their place to pick them up because of the heat but we convinced them to join us in Robinson’s Place Manila. They were amazed with the crowd in our malls, wala daw malls sa kanila??? Anyway, we came back to their place around 6 pm. Jeff and I were starving already, hehe. They said their host prepared dinner for them but it’s not yet ready so Hong served us these.

Hong said it’s their dinner in Germany most of the time, they don’t eat rice… aaahmm, parang di yata ako mabubusog dito :p. They bought these in the nearby supermarket even the wine, hehe, of course, Chris has the San Miguel.

Let me rave about the place where they stayed, it’s a pre-war wooden house located in Manila, Coco’s Garden. I love old houses, and I love how cozy it is. They stayed at the master’s bedroom, it’s huge! At home na at home nga si Gwen, nakatulog pa, this is in the receiving area at the second floor.

This is in the dining area, the guy standing is Greg, he owns the guesthouse.

In such a short period of time, we really bonded with this lovely couple. We shared the same type of adventurous travels, not the usual touristy type. We are already planning for a trip-outside-the-metro on their next visit.

As for the usual question for foreigners, “How do you find the Philippines?” Chris said that Manila is not the best city but the people is very friendly. I would definitely come back for the mountains and the seafood.

At dahil pinipeg nga namin ang #itsmorefuninthephilippines, I sneaked to buy some souvenirs for them while we were at Robinsons.

It’s sad to say goodbye to them that night, but who knows, we might cross path again in another country, in their country perhaps?…. in the future.