A Day In Corregidor - Topside

Topside was named as such because it is the highest geographic sector in the island where the terrain elevation above sea level ranges from about 400 feet and higher. Topside is said to be the nerve center of the island fortress. It is here where you will find the ruins of the Mile-Long Barracks, the most photographed area in Corregidor. The barracks served as the Headquarters of some 2,000 US officials including Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The Spanish Lighthouse used to be a checkpoint which alerts Manila of an approaching galleon. Encouraged by our guides assurance that climbing all the way to the top is worth the hardship since it offers a spectacular view of Manila Bay, South China Sea and the whole island, my friend and I eagerly went but I backed out after seeing how steep the climb was. I can almost hear the evil voice of my personal trainer at the gym ~ Get your butt back here and work those flabs!
I just waited outside and took a photo of best-friend Ai and prayed hard she made no plans of jumping off that tower just to check if she can be the next Darna (Filipinos equivalent to Wonder Woman).

Aside from her aching legs, Ai survived the Spanish Lighthouse so back to our tramvias and off to our next stop Cine Corregidor,a movie theater. It was erected during the pre-war period to cater to the entertainment needs of the personnel of the garrison as well as their families. Gone with the Wind was the last movie to be screened before the place was destroyed. Of course the theater is long gone but it did not stop me from having my photo taken.


The Pacific War Memorial located at the highest point of the island was completed in 1968 and one of the only two memorials built by the US government to mark the war, the other one being Pearl Harbor.


Located at the rear end of the memorial is the sculpture of the Eternal Flame of Freedom. Designed by Aristides Demetrios, the sculpture commemorates the sacrifices, hopes and aspirations, and the heroic struggle by the United States and the Philippines to preserve freedom for future generations. The sculpture stands as a reminder that all men will fight as one if need to be to defend a nation's liberty.

A Day In Corregidor - Middleside

We joined bus no. 5 with 3 couples (Filipinos, American & Spaniards) and family of 10 another family (grandma, daughter & grandchild) of with chinese ancestry which the group later dubbed as "pasaway" or irritating, a danish guy and his guide and another american that my friend and I refer to as "deadma" and the only english translation I can think of is boring.

Our guide started our tour of the middleside sector where we got to see the ruins and former sites of the YMCA, Middleside Barracks, Post Stockade, Officers Club, quarters for officers and enlisted men, warehouses, some service and utility buildings. We were allowed to go down and take pictures of the more important ruins and just listened to our guides commentaries inside the bus on the others.


We also got to see those coastal guns and mortars called batteries set up all over the island. Corregidor had 13 anti-aircraft artillery batteries with 76 guns, twenty-eight of which were 3-inch and forty-eight 50-caliber. With all the gun emplacements set up in the island, Batteries Geary and Way proved to be the best and most effective for the defense of Corregidor during the siege by the Japanese forces. Since I have a thing for guns and I used to own a competition ready pistol I had a grand time having my pictures taken. Then a crazy thought popped through my head, could I launch myself from here to Korea so I can finally be where my heart is. Too bad the tour guide burst my bubble by saying it will only reach the nearby province of Bataan, oh well.....


Next stop is the Filipino-American Friendship Park that commemorates the close friendship and camaraderie between the Philippines and the United States in times of war and in peace which is depicted by ten-foot high statues of a Filipino and American soldier. Going inside the museum and seeing all those photos of the soldiers who bravely defended our country during the war made me recall the stories told by my grandparents. My granfather was a USAFE soldier and there were a lot of instances where he was to be away from his family then hiding in the forest sorrounding our province while he joined his comrades in arms. My own father got separated from his birth family when he was thrown by the japanese imperial army in a crocodile infested river when he was just 5 years old. Lucky for him that we was found by a Filipino soldier from a province far from his birthplace. A cousin of my grandmother survived the Death March from Mariveles, Bataan but lost all his toes from severe infection. Being here makes me feel proud of my heritage and I also sent I silent prayer that our generations and the coming ones will not experience the horrors of war.

A Day In Corregidor - Getting There

I have made no plans for the holy week and intended to stay home but my best-friend is feeling kinda restless and decided she wants to see Corregidor and wants yours truly to join her so we can have our "chats" about life and love. How can I refuse her and her moments of "insanity" (joke dear).

Tuesday had me running to a mall to get one of those "big" shades that happens to be a must have accessory this summer and I did promise some lovely gals in baeland that I will have my picture taken wearing one. While strolling around I ended up buying a comfy capri that happens to be on sale, then some shirts (you can't have too much). All the walking made me hungry so off to Lord Stows Bakery for those freshly baked tarts.

Early Saturday morning we boarded Sun Cruises 2 for our day trip to Corregidor also known as The Rock. An tadpole-shaped island between the shores of Bataan and Cavite where one of the most celebrated battles of World War II took place.




The entire trip lasted a little over an hour but you will be entertained with a film clip on the history of the island and some funny anecdotes from Ramon one of the tour guides. I was seated between my best friend and a japanese tourist who is one of the few who went on the trip alone. Upon arriving at the North Dock of the island we boarded one of the eight pre-war type streetcars called “tramvias” which will be our mode of transportation around the Corregidor.

Oprah's Words of Wisdom

A friend sent this to me through email and I just want to share it with everybody who may stumble through my blog.

Oprah
wrote this about
men...

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be.
Slower is better. Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't "be friends".
A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend. Don't settle.
If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.
Don't stay because you think "it will get better."
You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.
Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.
He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?
Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you.
If something bothers you, speak up.
Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.
You cannot change a man's behavior.
Change comes from within.
Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are...even if he has more education or in a better job.
Do not make him into a quasi-god. He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man.
If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.
A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
All men are NOT dogs.
You should not be the one doing all the bending...compromise is a two way street.
You need time to heal between relationships...there is nothing cute about baggage... Deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.
You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you... a relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals... look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.
Dating is fun...even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.
Make him miss you sometimes... when a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him - he takes it for granted.
Never move into his mother's house.
Never co-sign for a man.
Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need.
Keep him in your radar but get to know others.
Share this with other women and men (just so they know)...
You'll make someone smile, another rethink her choices, and another woman prepare.

Easter Greetings!

May the simple joy of Easter
Stay forever in your heart.
Happy Easter fellow bloggers!

Last Supper

israel11
Originally uploaded by marissa_p.

After walking down that long downhill road featured in my previous blog entry we came upon the Church of All Nation in Gethsemani.

The Church was huge and packed with a lot of pilgrims from other countries. Inside is a beautiful painting of Jesus praying in the Garden before Judas betrayed him. The rock depicted in the picture is enshrined inside the church. I couldn't resist to have my picture with the enclosed olive tree said to be more than 2000 years old. It was already alive during the time of Jesus and is still standing strong and proud to this day.

After a long leausurely lunch, we then proceeded the the room where the Last Supper was held. A bare, simple room that bore witness to a miracle of the wine and bread that symbolize the body and blood of our Savior.

The Road To Palm Sunday

Yesterday marked the start of the Lenten Season for Christians all over the world.

Here is the Philippines, church goes bring palm leaves to commemorate the entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem. The leaves are then blessed and placed on windows of houses.

Palm Sunday also signals the start of the traditional "Pabasa" in almost all street corners around the country. A book about Jesus Christ written in Tagalog is read in a rhyming fashion. The book starts with a prayer to the Blessed Virgin, continues to the reading of creation (Genesis) and ends with a message to all Christians regarding repentance and salvation of the world. The focus, however, is the life of Jesus Christ with emphasis on his sufferings, death and resurrection. This is done non-stop until 3:00pm of Good Friday. I haven't participated in the actual "reading" but I grew up helping the elders in our community set up the altar.

Last night, I remembered my own pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I was blessed to be able to see the birthplace of Jesus Christ my Savior. As we observe the Lenten Season I am devoting my blog in remembering my own journey through photographs starting with the Road to Palm Sunday.

israel1
Originally uploaded by marissa_p.

Best Egg Tart in Town

Blame it on my current state of withdrawal from my Goong obsession, but last night I suddenly developed a craving for egg tarts specifically those made by Stows Bakery. Love the flakey pie crust and the egg filling has just the right sweetness and creaminess ~ yum, yum, yum.....

Good thing it's available at a mall just a few minutes away from home so I had my fill of the oh so delicious pie for dinner.

My Ode To Goong (Princess Hours)

Goong is a korean tv series adaptation of a manhwa written by Park So Hee about a promise between the former king of Korea and an ordinary, strong-willed girl's grandfather, the heroine finds herself betrothed to a seemingly cold-hearted prince of Korea. How can she marry a guy who she overheard him proposing to another girl! Both unwilling parties agree to the marriage, each with his and her own different motivations for the agreement to marry. Sounds cheesy but since I'm bored and I'm not in a mood to watch a drama series I checked it out.

The main casts are all newbies in the acting world with the lead actor Joo Ji Hoon enjoying his status as one of Koreans top runway and cover model while the lead actress Yoo Eun Hye is a former member of a korean girl group Baby VOX. Quite a high risk and I read MBC received a lot of negative comments when they initially made the final casting.

Since I was in for the laugh I enjoyed the first few episodes and find the story and the cast cute. I sensed a great chemisty between the two stars and slowly I found myself getting addicted to the drama and can't wait for episode spoilers and screencaps from a korean thread I frequent. Then I started watching it even without an english subtitle. Yeah, I can pick up a few phrases here and there but I do get the essense of the story by just watching all the action on the screen.
The writers were good in getting us to be so involved with the emotional highs and lows of the drama that there are instances when you want to whack them in the head for creating certain senarios.

Sadly, last week saw the ending of my current korean obsession. It may not be on top of my list when it comes to overall excellence in production value nor will I say that the acting was one of the best but certainly it will remain as one that I will repeat over and over again just because......

And it does not hurt that it has one of the best kissing scenes I've ever seen for a korean series see for yourself. Makes me wonder if those two have something going on after being together for seven months. They sure made a lot of us hope so but I seriously doubt that they will admit to dating to avoid what koreans refer to as a "scandal" though it's just normal in my side of the world.

Good thing Season 2 is in the works even if I have to wait till February 2007. Just hoping they have the original casts back.