Back to woManila

Ironically enough, I just read The Star, the local Philippines newspaper, and one of the article caught my eye; that of Philippines being ranked 6th in gender equality. Perhaps if they renamed their capital to Womanila, they just might move one notch higher and dislodge New Zealand from the 5th place. Sweden ranked 1st, Norway 2nd, Finland 3rd, and I can't remember the 4th place. But Singapore ranked 77th! Hm...I don't think renaming our CDB is going to help any!

Well, I had to stay in the Traders Hotel this time, and this merchant inn from the Shangri La group certainly needed much sprucing up. Considering the rate they were charging, it was certainly not value for money. I was even given an upgrade to the Club Floor, and paid USD180/night for that. The view from my 18th floor room was not bad indeed, and the Club floor lounge at the 19th floor afforded a better vantage point to take in the ocean view.

Unfortunately, the view did not compensate for the deplorable, dilapidated condition of the fixtures and finishings in the room. This hotel must be more than 20 years old, or older. Having stayed at the Traders in KL, methinks the hotel better start their refurbishment program.

Pictures do lie. The room looked a lot worse for wear than what you see.

Yes, the toilets were old too. And what was a greater disappointment was the hotel's unwillingness to improve on their shower facility. That, to me, is the least of what any hotel should do. All other amenities are not as important to a weary traveller than a good bed, and a good shower!

When I first checked in, the showerhead holder was incorrect for the showerhead, and the showerhead almost hit me on the head when I turned on the shower. After my complaint, the maintenance crew replaced the holder, but neglected to do anything about the leaky showerhead. Sigh...a bad shower makes for a grouchy guest!

Yes, this it how the entrance walkway to the bed. Even the lighting couldn't hide this ancient finishing.

Ok, so after that poor experience in Traders, I opted to try a newer hotel - a boutique hotel that opened in Sept 2006 and fully Filipino-owned. It's called the G Hotel.

The lobby is Panda-like; black and white. It's chic, and reminded me a lot of the Hangout Place in Singapore in its quaintness. The room key is something else though, somewhat of a nuisance to lug around with this heavy plastic encasement. I suppose the quest for uniqueness has its price.

The bedroom was pleasant enough, but for a one-year old hotel, it sure hasn't been too well maintained. The locking device has a homely feel. Remember not to forget to lock up before leaving the room because the door wasn't self-locking. It does remind me of home, of Mercure Hotel in Pattaya, and reeks of budget hotel offering. The rate was hardly budget hotel, though I'm not too sure if that's really the going rate for most hotels in Manila. Accustommed to KL and the low hotel room rates for quality standards, I guess Manila hotels rival Singapore hotels in terms of rates, but the city is certainly older than Singapore, thus, even the established hotel chains have seen better days.

The bathroom is rather sparsely furnished, minimalistic you might choose to describe it. I long for the Asian showers, with their detachable showerheads. Sure would love a good powerful shower with reliable hot water, and detachable showerheads! I narrowly escaped a nasty fall with the "anti-slip mat" provided in the bathtub/shower. They could really be in for a terrible lawsuit by other less forgiving guests. Awfully poor anti-slip property!

The hotel is not very conveniently located for a single woman traveller. There are no safe and closeby amenity or decent restaurant. Thus, one is left with only the hotel's own Cafe Noir. The price of the food is not reflective of an apparent budget-type hotel for sure. But the quality of food was commendable. My full 3 course dinner cost me 1,130pesos; Capuccino mushroom soup, with 2 pretty nice hot buns, grilled grouper fish with olive oil and vegetables, hot chocolate cake ala-mode. Oh yes, I had a glass of calamansi juice. The presentation was worth a mention.

Verdict - I'm heading for Renaissance Makati the next time round. At USD145/night, I think that would have been a much better value for money and more suited for the business traveller.

Divine protection in Hotel Plaza Sutera Biru

He gives His Angels charge concerning me, to guard me in all my ways. They bear me up in their hands lest I strike my foot against a stone! I experienced this very divine protection up close and personal during my stay in Kuala Belait.

I'd just woken up and was washing up at the wash basin in my slippers and shorts when suddenly, the granite slab from the bottom portion of the wash basin came crashing down at my feet. The slab broke into three pieces on impact, barely missing me by a centimetre. Each piece was very heavy. I tried to lift one of them without any success. I realized how blessed I was to have escaped this grave injury. I shudder to think what would've happened had the slab hit my feet.

This was a brand new hotel, and it was obvious this was a serious defect caused by poor workmanship. I reported this to the reception on check out, and after inspection, they were most apologetic. I am truly thankful for this divine protection.

Plaza Sutera Biru, Kuala Belait

A new hotel, barely six months old, with less than 21 rooms available. It re-defines Kuala Belait for me. I had spent quite a bit of time in Kuala Belait, Brunei, and so far, it has been

far from worth writing home about. Every hotel that I've stayed in reminded me of cheap chalet accommodations that I'd stayed in when I was a teenager having a bbq down at the beach.

The Plaza Sutera Biru was quite nice. The smallest room was bigger than a single business traveller would really need to manage. Nonetheless, the rain shower, the big comfortable king sized bed, the ample sitting area, and of course the sheer newness of the place made for a rather pleasant experience, save for one incident that gave me reason to thank Daddy God for His ever present protection and Faithfulness in giving His Angels charge concerning me, to guard me in all my ways.

The view from the Hotel, if you are fortunate enough to get the room facing the river, is fabulous.

The picture below shows a typical view you'll get of the river.

Museum in Jakarta

Really! I wouldn't even bring myself to my own National Museum back home...and to think I am visiting the Museum in Jakarta! But, I suppose it would be good to understand the type of exhibits that each country regard as part of their cultural heritage.

This rather foreboding sculpture was made out a solid tree; tens of intricately carved figurines, most of them quite eerie by my standards, and reminded me of demonic images from nightmares.
This was the entrance to the museum exhibit. The charge for entry was 10,000rp, I think, plus another 10,000rp if you wanted to bring in your camera. Hm.
The bust was that of Mrs Sukarno, the very first, first lady of Indonesia.

The Museum looked empty and lacking because of the sheer size of the rooms, and thus, there was a crying need to increase the number of exhibits if only to fill up the echo in the dimly litted rooms.

Surabaya, Indonesia 24 July 2007

Surabaya's Juanda International Airport

Travellers like me find it useful to know the type, state and condition of airports that I would be arriving into, especially when I needed to spend considerable hours waiting for other members of my entourage. Thus, the quality of the restaurants, toilet facilities and such, become important considerations for me. Thankfully, Surabaya Juanda Airport was relatively new, modern, and had clean toilets. The restaurants included The Black Canyon Coffee House, and several other eateries serving local fare. True to most airports, their prices for local food cannot be said to be representative of the country's average cost of living, nor standard of culinary offering.

Hotel Room in Surabaya...and I cannot remember what was the name of the hotel in which I stayed in. Certainly not exactly memorable. The rooms were old, but I understand this was considered to be a 4-star hotel.

Jimabaran Bali Restaurant is somewhat of a local franchise / restaurant chain that appeared to be ubiquitous all over Indonesia. I've tried the same restaurant in Bundung, and I've seen a similar Jimbaran Bali restaurant across the street of Novotel Mangga Dua Hotel, Jakarta.

Yes, it's always nice to go ethnic when you eat at a local restaurant. The rustic feel of a pavilion corner for the tired business traveller gives one a sense of having "been" to the suburban regions of Indonesia

The food wasn't too bad either!

Dessert

Dessert was at a very quaint home-styled restaurant that belonged to this lady who had studied overseas and converted her home into a restaurant.

Taal, Volcanic Crator

Being here reminded me a lot of the chain of restaurants in Australia. Al Fresco dining was the in thing here too.



Dinner was at Densio's, the local chain of restaurants serving a variety of western cuisines. Filipino Steaks are a little more salty than regular steaks.