Sojourn with Soo Jung

“You don't really know a person until you live with him, travel with him or do business with him.” 

–Omar ibn al Khattab 

Soo Jung and I haven't been friends for a long time. We've just met each other less than a year ago. I guess we hit it off in spite of the huge age gap. We agree on many things. And in the same way that the British talk about the weather all the time, we - a Korean and a Filipino - found our favorite conversation topic: travel. Back in Seoul then, we had already talked about travelling together this year. Yet all that talk seemed unreal until we actually did it this week.

This trip to Bataan was one of those very few trips that I didn't have much time planning. For one, Soo Jung was only able to book her plane tickets four days before the actual flight. So all the preparations had to be completed within four days. That was record-breaking for me whose mild OCD tendencies always become obvious when it comes to travel planning. LOL!

It wasn't a perfect trip. Nonetheless, I still think we pulled it off perfectly. Here are the best five-fect moments of this sojourn with Soo Jung:

#5: Hairdryer is life. And so is sunscreen. And dry shampoo. And face mask. And...

Whenever I travel, my luggage was always almost bursting at the seams because I always brought everything - my own toiletries even if I was staying at a hotel; more than enough underwear and clothes because, who knows, I could get stranded; and at least two pairs of footwear.

Well, I thought I brought everything. Soo Jung, on the other hand, brought everything of everything.

She packed a lot of clothes. She brought her own clothes hanger. She had two pairs of footwear - a pair of flats and a pair of wedges. Now, I know why Korean women are always glam - they're prepared to dress for virtually any occasion.

It wasn't just toiletries that she brought; she had all sorts of skin products for different purposes. So this is why Korean women have perfect skin with or without make-up. And while my complete make-up pouch had lip gloss and lipstick, hers had the works - from mascara to eyelash curler to blush and some other stuff that I don't even know the names of. And she brought a hairdryer.

Right before we went out on our last night together, she decided my no make-up look just won't do. She sat me down and proceeded to do my make-up. I protested slightly because I thought the idea of coming out of a tricycle looking all dolled up is just too hilarious. Hahaha!

#4: Lost in translation

On a normal day, I'm usually good at transitioning from speaking one language to speaking another. But during this trip, the pressure of making sure that everyone understood everything often had me speaking English to tricycle drivers and restaurant staff (who I know would understand me anyway but would always give me a look of either surprise or panic) and speaking Tagalog to Soo Jung, who definitely didn't understand a word of what I was saying. And in between, I expressed surprise and frustration with 갑자기야 and 아... 진짜. 미쳤었야! LOL.

That was how it felt like to be a tour guide and interpreter.  The experience wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't feel like I had to apologize for every bad and sad thing about my country - the inconveniences at NAIA; the traffic jams; the non-existence of a reliable bus schedule; the delays in bus departures; sudden power failures; GrabCar and GrabTrike service that take forever to book, non-airconditioned buses when obviously the hot weather requires aircon all the time; homeless kids roaming the bus terminal, begging for money. These are things that could have been easily fixed if only the government and/or the relevant companies or organizations invested time, effort and money into these.

It's not exactly easy to say that "it's more fun in the Philippines" when you have to tell a tourist that the international airport terminals are not connected to each other and that such a basic service as a shuttle/train service between the terminals is non-existent.

#3: The bus

"Ah... Wala pong mga aircon bus na papuntang Bagac," (Translation: "Ah... There is no such thing as an airconditioned bus going to Bagac.") said the 아저씨 at the terminal. My face, already beaded with sweat, fell.

In the Korean drama, Reply 1988, I do remember seeing non-airconditioned buses plying the streets of 80s Seoul. However, Soo Jung was born in the 90s. How can one explain to a millennial Seoulite that these things still exist in the Philippines in the year 2018? 어떻게?!

But one thing you've got to love about this Korean 아가씨 is that she was such a good sport. From Day 1 when she had to ride the hotel service car from the airport on her own to the chaos of the bus terminal in Pasay to the numerous literally pain-in-the-ass tricycle rides that we had to take to get around the province, she took all that in stride. I could barely detect any trace of frustration on her face.

She climbed up the bus, chose an empty three-seater on the left side and reclined across all three seats, head on her tote bag. Looking at her sleeping (or trying hard to sleep) through most of the 40-minute bumpy ride from Balanga to Bataan, I didn't know whether to be amused or to feel sad at how she made the most of the otherwise completely uncomfortable situation.

Thankfully, the heavens were a little merciful that morning and gifted us with a cool breeze blowing through the windows.

When we finally reached Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, I asked her: "So, do you think this was all worth the difficult journey to get here?" 

She replied, "Yes!"

I breathed a sigh of relief.

#2: #BeholdBataan

Soo Jung and I arrived in Balanga on a Sunday afternoon. After checking in to our private room at Balanga Travellers Home (which turned out to be not the most comfortable place to stay at), we went to The Beanery at Capitol Drive and got ourselves a slice of their light and not-so-sweet chocolate almond cheesecake. The cheesecake matched well with the drinks we had chosen - iced coffee for her, iced raspberry tea for me. "Bataan's version of Starbucks" had a casual comfy atmosphere. It was not teeming with people even though it was a weekend.

Re-energized by caffeine and good conversation, we made our way to the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, a good 10-minute walk from the cafe. True to the typical lay-out of a town designed by the Spanish conquistadores, the church was located near the plaza next to the City Hall. Built in the 1700s, its original white walls have already been replaced by walls of bricks. Statues of saints lined the wrought iron fence surrounding the church grounds. They do look like they are guarding the church.

While we were there, we caught a glimpse of a parade of young local women in elegant white gowns. I really thought it was a bridal fashion show but a sampaguita vendor told me the parade was for the Santacruzan.

Our last two stops that night was at JCRIS Wellness Spa where we experienced a very relaxing massage (Php 675 for 1.5 hours of full body massage), and at Espada Grill where we stuffed ourselves with pork kare-kare and grilled tilapia (Php 450 inclusive of two cups of rice, one glass of ripe mango shake and a Coke-in-can). #TrueValueForMoney

But of course, the highlight of this Bataan trip was visiting Las Casas on Day 3.

We came on a weekday so the day tour package was priced at Php 2000 per head. This price included a Php 500 voucher that we chose to use at La Bella Teodora, the restaurant at Casa Biñan that serves Italian cuisine. We only had to pay an additional Php 185 for our sumptuous lunch of Insalata Greca, Pasta Amatriciana, a can of Sprite and a glass of iced tea. Bread was on the house.

Our day tour at Las Casas is itself worthy of a separate blog entry. Here, I've just shared a few of our photos taken at this Filipino traditional houses-themed resort.

         

#1: 2 Lucky Girls

Hollywood had 2 Broke Girls. Bataan had 2 (un)Lucky Girls.

We didn't get to finish the 4:30PM Heritage Walking Tour in our rush to catch the last bus from Bagac to Balanga. However, we still missed it. The tricycle driver who took us back to the Friendship Tower said we could wait at this certain restaurant near the highway for another bus coming from Morong. He drove us to Apung Orang, which is the only restaurant in sight along the highway.

Not having much of an appetite anymore, we ordered one serving of camaron rebosado and a cup of rice for sharing. Halfway through the meal, the electricity went out. You can just imagine Soo Jung's shock when the whole restaurant was enveloped in darkness. With neither sunlight nor streetlight, day suddenly turned into night.

The bus from Morong passed by but it had no space to accommodate any more passengers. By this time, we were already feeling restless. The nearest available room that we could possibly rent was located 7.7 miles away. On the other hand, the prospect of riding a tricycle from Bagac all the way to Balanga, a distance of 11 miles, didn't seem appealing at all. Should we just wait another hour for the next bus from Morong? And what if no other bus came along?

The heavens did hear our desperate pleas. Our lifesaver was Mr. Eduardo Palad, the owner of Apung Orang himself. He offered to drive us back to Balanga for free. Had he not visited his restaurant that night, I couldn't imagine any other alternative ending to the story of that eventful evening. Soo Jung and I are very grateful for his kindness and we hope that in a not-so-distant future, we will be able to repay that kindness or at least, be able to pay it forward. (This wasn't the first time that a stranger had shown me kindness in a most desperate situation. Five years ago, something similar had happened to me in Germany.)

All's well that ends well.



P.S.

#0: Jollibee's newest fan

Jollibee has gained itself a new fan. Soo Jung had nothing but praises for the Chickenjoy and the Jolly Spaghetti.

After our evening at Esquinita Kitchen + Pub (They sell San Mig Light/San Mig flavored beer at Php 50 a bottle.), she requested to go to the 24-hour Jollibee branch and bought herself a chicken-spag a la carte. This she ate at the transient house while downing a bottle of San Mig Light - another one of her new favorites.

She has become a Jollibee-loving, San Mig-drinking Korean. And I remain the 김치-loving, 소주-drinking Filipino. How's that for culture exchange? ^_^ 

Hangeul translations:
갑자기야 - Suddenly!
아... 진짜 - Ah... Really!

미쳤었야! - It was crazy!
아저씨 - man
어떻게?! - How?! What am I going to do?!
아가씨 - miss
김치 - kimchi
소주 - soju