Harbour Plaza Resort City, Hong Kong

November last year, I stayed in this hotel for 3 nights, when I attended the Lion Rock Institute's Reading Club Salon 2013. The hotel is on the Northern Territories, near the mainland China border and thus, is far from the main Hong Kong and Kowloon islands. It's a twin tower hotel, connected to a mall at the back.

Its swimming pool is huge and beautiful. The hotel website features the swimming pool. There are also kiddie playground on the same level of the pool, both at the 3rd or 5th floor.

The area is newly developed. Thus, all the buildings look new. A view from my hotel room. I don't remember what floor I stayed.

Another view from my hotel room. All flashy new condo buildings.

A park between the two towers of the hotel, and in front of the mall. This is a few meters from a train station. There is a pedestrian tunnel under this park and the road where people can cross to the other side of the road. Again, seen from my room.

Further at the back of the hotel is an open area, then a forested area.

I took this not from my room, but near the elevator area, same floor as my room's. All new buildings.

Thanks again to the LRI for that activity last year, I set foot in this part of Hong Kong. I am writing this at my hotel room in Harbour Grand Hong Kong. Will check out shortly to go to the airport, fly to Bangkok for the EFN Asia conference.
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See also:
Crowne Plaza East Kowloon, Hong Kong,  November 07, 2012
Harbour Grande Hong Kong, October 18, 2013

Harbour Grand Hong Kong

Here in Hong Kong, arrived today to attend the Reading Club Salon 2013  tomorrow, sponsored by the Lion Rock Institute. Venue is Harbour Grand Hong Kong in North Point, Hong Kong island. It's a big hotel, huge, wide and minimalist lobby. Few chairs or sofas in the lobby, no table. So upon entry at the lobby, guests are met with this spacious lobby, cool. This photo is from the hotel website.

I stay on the 17th floor, and this is my room, nice, comfy and inviting for resting and sleep, argh. If my family joined me here, my two girls would love this room..

Whenever I attend seminars and conferences abroad, my work time aside from attending the seminar/conference proper is about the same as my sleep time. So I always cherish a comfortable and spacious work area. Here, the table is not wide but is fine with me. My table lamp is cool too.

What I like most, rather unique, is the transparent glass separating the CR and the bedroom. Here, view of the CR from my bed.

And view of my bed, work area, from the CR. I like this idea of transparent, clear glass separating the two, really nice.

View from my room, Causeway bay. Below, they are building another skyway.

Another view fom my room, mostly old buildings but new, flashy ones are sprouting up.

A new building will soon rise right beside this hotel. Digging machines, cranes, trucks and other heavy equipment are working here.

This afternoon, I heard a knock on my door. When I checked, it was the hotel staff, asking me if I want to make up my room, I said no, then she pointed at one switch which signified outside the "please make up room". The culprit? These two switches below the air-con control switch. I clicked open the "room make up" switch, argh! I apologized to the lady, she understood, smiled and quietly left.

I like this hotel. Will post part 2 later.

While I am in Hong Kong, my wife and our two young girls are in Bangkok. They will stay at my wife friend's condo. When I go to Bangkok on Sunday, they will join me in my hotel.
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See also:
Thailand trip, Part 1, June 10, 2008
Thailand trip, Part 2, July 22, 2008
Crowne Plaza East Kowloon, Hong Kong,  November 07, 2012
Elle Marie is 7, Bien Mary is 3, October 07, 2013

Gummersbach, Germany, Part 2

Almost five years ago, I first went to Gummersbach-Cologne. I attended the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) seminar, "Civil Society and Local Government" held at the Theodor Heuss Akademie (THA) in Gummersbach, Germany, October 26-November 2, 2008.

Another photo on a clear, non-misty day.

The tall building on the right is the dormitory for seminar participants.

Gummersbach is a small city and THA is on a hill. We have to walk down a hill to go to the city proper.

View of the city from my room. I think I was on the 4th floor of the dormitory.

Elle Marie is 7, Bien Mary is 3

Last Monday, Elle Marie turned 7 years old and last Friday, Bien Mary turned 3 years old. Time flies and the two girls are getting bigger, I am happy. Elle on her birthday, preparing to go to school.

I am poor now, I could not give her a birthday party for her friends. I just brought her and Bien to a Mcdo store for her favorite chicken fillet and spaghetti.

My wife is in class/work that afternoon. The two girls enjoyed their modest treat.

Some miscellaneous photos of Elle.

Last Friday, my wife and I treated Bien's afternoon batchmates to a modest birthday party with various food. Elle did not get jealous why her sister has a party and she has not....

The two girls and my wife are joining me in my nice hotel in Bangkok two weeks from now. Bien and her friends enjoying a Jollibee spaghetti, then donut, birthday cake, and balloons.

About middle of last month, Bien joined her schoolmates in a musical presentation, held at St. Paul's compound, not far from her school and from our house.

She was not shy to dance on stage, with her two classmates, Issa and Allison. Her other classmates in the afternoon class did not join.

At the Philippine Cerebral Palsy, Inc. compound, during my rotary club's medical mission there last month.

Yesterday, we have a Family Day in our rotary club, held at Rosewood Pointe in Ususan, Taguig City. The two girls enjoyed the warm water.

Counting the days for Elle's 8th and Bien's 4th birthdays next year.
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See also:
Bien Mary Oplas, Part 2, May 27, 2013

Elle Marie Oplas, Part 2, May 28, 2013

Elle Marie and Bien Mary, Part 2, July 14, 2013

Elle Marie and Bien Mary, Part 3, August 21, 2013

The German Club, Makati

Last night, I set foot at the German Club in Makati for the first time. I was among the friends of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) who was invited to the "WahlParty" or Elections Party. We watched the elections live.

The place is not very big but cool. Prices of food and drinks are expensive of course, but FNF paid for our limited orders.

I like these different wooden flags of the different states of Germany. I have visited that country twice, in 2003 after my 7 weeks agriculture seminar in Sweden, I visited my friend, the Beil family in Miesbach, Bavaria; then when I attended the IAF seminar in Gummersbach, near Cologne, then I visited again the Beil family after. I like Bavaria/Bayern.

An Octoberfest announcement at the bulletin board.

Our group of Filipino observers, friends and some staff of FNF Manila office. It was the biggest defeat for the FDP since post WW2.

A photo from the official website of the German Club.

Thanks to the FNF and its Country Director, Jules Maaten, for the invite last night.
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See also:

Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Oct. 2003, November 21, 2005

Bavarian Mountain, Germany, March 07, 2012

Beil Family, Miesbach, Germany, December 25, 2012

Elle Marie and Bien Mary, Part 3

Our two girls are getting bigger and prettier. Photos below I took last month and this month.

Below, Bien at the Sacred Heart Church, in front of her pre-school within our barangay. She likes posing in front of flowers and Jesus.

At Mt. Carmel Church in Lipa, Batangas.

At the back of my pick up, the two girls like riding here and I allow them when we are inside a gated village, meaning no traffic, pollution or speeding vehicles. And if they see some low-hanging flowers, I stop so they can pick up the flowers.

Bien, again at the Sacred Heart.

At a playground with white sand. They like to play in the sand.

Watching a magician's show in one kiddie party they attended. Below, Elle Marie in her Saturday morning swimming class, with fellow Grade 1 batchmates.

See also:
Elle Marie and Bien Mary Oplas, August 14, 2012
Bien Mary Oplas, Part 2, May 27, 2013

Elle Marie Oplas, Part 2, May 28, 2013

Elle Marie and Bien Mary, Part 2, July 14, 2013

Filipino Hospitality vs. Service

Below are some frank but useful comments from a good friend, Bruce Hall, an American living in Iloilo with his Pinay academic wife teaching at UP Visayas. They have been living here for more than a decade now. Bruce is also a fellow Rotarian, he is the Immediate Past President of RC Iloilo West.

Bruce posted these in his facebook wall. Thanks for these useful observations Bruce.
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August 06, 2013 

Is there a difference between hospitality and service? Can you have good hospitality, so to speak, but terrible service?

Today I read about the Philippines' "world renowned hospitality". This is true, but service is not world-renowned. Service is very friendly and solicitous but inefficient and often inattentive. Sometimes I wish Philippine waiters would be ruder but more efficient, like the stereotype of the rude, crocherty diner waitress you see in Hollywood movies.

Most of the Westerners I know notice the same thing -- very friendly but frustratingly inefficient service. I remember I was at a Philippine Airlines office. Everyone was very friendly and hospitable but it still took me 30 minutes from the time I gave them my credit card to pay until the time I left, all because of the systems imposed upon the staff from higher-ups who don't put efficiency first.

If the Philippines wants to appeal to more foreign tourists, I think that the focus needs to be less on hospitality and more on inefficiency. When on vacation many care more about getting their food on time and hot then about how big the smile is when it comes. A smile does not make up for a delayed and warm beer.

Now, if the Philippines could somehow combine ruthless efficiency with its great hospitality, then it would really have a competitive advantage.

... I would argue that the Philippines works better and is more efficient than the average country. Unfortunately, being better than the most -- better than average -- is not enough if you want to be at or near the top. To gain a competitive advantage one must significantly better than the rest of humanity.

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CAAP sets ground time policy for airlinesBy Miguel R. Camus, Philippine Daily Inquirer
3:04 am | Thursday, July 18th, 2013 

 The country’s air safety regulator is now pushing for the industry-wide implementation of a minimum 45-minute scheduled ground time for domestic flights in three months—a move budget carriers said would be disadvantageous to their business model, which relies on speed and efficiency to bring down costs.  

John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), on Wednesday said in an interview that the regulator would implement this policy by Oct. 1, the start of the so-called winter schedule.  

Last Tuesday, the CAAP announced that the 45-minute scheduled ground time, also known as the turnaround time policy, will start with Cebu Pacific Air on Aug. 1. The budget carrier of the Gokongwei group has a turnaround time policy of 30 minutes….

I welcome this. Every time I fly, the ground crews seem to be rushing around, trying to leave early. This is not professional. This is not being cool, calm and collected, in control. Instead of focusing on doing things properly, they seem to be focusing on the time, rushing to get through things and leave early.

When I fly from Iloilo to Cebu, regularly the flights will leave 30 minutes early, arriving in Cebu just after the time scheduled departure time from Iloilo.

On one flight, already significantly delayed, the pilots and crews were so rushed that they pushed back from the gate even before I had a chance to put away my bags and sit down, violating all sorts of safety rules.

Regularly staff are announcing "final boarding" and calling out passengers' names while there is still a long line on the air bridge waiting to board, and well before the 15 minute prior cut-off.

Once when going through security at Terminal 3, 25 minutes before the scheduled departure, a ground staffer ran up to us, asked us our name and then hurried us to the gate. He was even running through the terminal! We had 25 minutes to go, 10 until the cut-off time. Why the rush?

Philippine airlines need to stop rushing and be more professional and do things properly.

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Deregulation of the airline industry in the Philippines has created a big boost to air travel, driving down costs and unifying the nation. Deregulation of telecommunications has led to the transformative cell phone industry. In the U.S.,deregulation of rail freight has created the world's best rail system for freight, built by private money.

Deregulation of shipping in the Philippines will have the dual effects of making this country richer AND more unified. We need more farm-to-market roads, but in this case our "roads" are the seas and our jeepneys, buses and airplanes float on water

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March 30, 2013

Airlines and their websites can be so inexplicable. I made a discovery today while booking flights all on Air Phil Express -- er PAL Express -- from CDO to Cebu and onto Iloilo.

First it is cheaper to buy the legs separately then together (2 purchases instead of 1).

Second, despite both flights being on Air Phil Express, one leg was cheaper on Philippines Airlines' website.

So by making two purchases on two different websites to fly one airline, I saved 436p, or more than the minimum daily wage in the Philippines.

Ilongo ka gid Kon...

After posting Ilongo Expressions and Fun in the facebook group, Cadizmycitymyhome, it attracted more funny comments. I just re-arranged them to some themes, added photos. Enjoy.

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10 Common Expressions sg TRUE BLOODED ILONGGO,  super ugot ugot nga iloy  

1. Ka ulugtasan, kanami huyapan.

2. Ka salawayon sa imo, lusiooon ko gid na karon imo igot-igutan.

3. Baw ka tonto, kanami gd paliwatan.

4. Ka batinggilan sa imo, ibagnos ta ka da karon sa pader.

5.Ga biga'-biga' ka na? Inusnos ta ka da karon sa salug.

6. Liwata pa gid bla, kay ibakol ko gd sa imo ang paklang nga akon gina uyatan.

7. Masabat ka pa, kumuson ko na karon imo ba'ba'.

8. Indi ka mag pati? Ipa timo' ko na karon sa imo ang imo gina uyatan.

9. Sigeha p da kay malintian ka gid karon sa akon.

10. Ah mabato' kna sa akon? Pag layaaaaaaaas!!!!

Quotes sa Pamigado/poverty:

"wala nako d ekoy" (kwarta)

“pre kmo lng to ah kay PAKOY gd q subong"

 “pigado gd, wala gid watot"

pamuraot gid...iwat pangwaon...

 "BINGKONG", wala wala na gd

“yogs...sugid sugid, wala ka man gali ibuga" or “wala k man gali ikasarang” 

kn wala kmo kwarta...kadto lng kmo sa NEGROS.ky ang KWARTA didto GINA PIKO kg GINA PALA

Some vocabularies:

barko- BAPOR;  Canal, Kalog...

nabulasot-nabulaog;   lusbot kg buslot

tikalon-hambog;  “Balbal”, X rated.

alabuton-tiriringon;  buang-lagtok

ermat-erpat...wanggo-wangga

lango lango – labutaw

anak- LUMAT;  Bata- Liwat, ano ka dako imo liwat?

Passengers’ corner:

Popular stop-over sng CERES PASSENGER . ...."BANGGA RUBY Lang da a"

Popular Stop-over sng CERES DRIVER... "BANGGA-BUNGGO!! " 

"Nong, pundo lng da sa BANGGA SEGUNDO DIEZ a"; sa Henglish, "Just Stop me at Crossing 10 SECONDS'

Kon mag para, 'sa LUGAR lang nong'

pasahero sa kondoktor 'may LUGAR p nong? may ara pa..sabaka lg ang bata pra mk larga na'

Ilongo games:

ginatumba ang patis...tumba patis ta

TUBIGANAY, KURIT AMO

Ang taya' sa lagsanay, tumba patis,tubiganay,panaguay etc is "ASUWANG" 

shatong, tubig2 kag taguan;  mataksi ta...lg ma plas pitiw.

Famous/cute places:

popular purok name...PUROK BARIKOTOT

popular na Barangay sa cadiz na wla barangay captain.. BARANGAY SNG BIRHEN

sa sicaba an ya PUROK HAMILI kg PUROK MATINATAPON 

BARANGAY SICABA kay damo kono SICAD kg TALABA 

guro pinka peaceful na Purok, PUROK MATAWHAY

pinka optimistc na purok sa cadiz, PUROK PAG-LAUM sa brg Luna

may ara p gid purok kasadyahan pero ginhimo nla maligaya sir rolan.gintawag ini sya nga purok kasadyahan or maligaya tungod oras sg fiesta sa sicaba kg kn magsugod n gani ang liga sg basketball...ini nga purok bisan sudlon sg kawatan ila mga balay wala my mkahibalo ky tanan nga mga tawo ato n nag cheer sa ila mga players my bitbit p nga mga laton;kaldero;kg kaserola para ipatikpatik kn maka shoot ila mga players.pinakasadya kg pinakabakod mga basketball team sg brgy.sicaba ang purok maligaya