iPhone365 #157: drive-by shopping

On our way home from Alfonso, Cavite, my mom decided to shop for some ornamentals in Silang. Instead of walking the length of all the plant shops lining the Tagaytay road, we had the van drive slowly on the shoulder while she looked at the plants on display.
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iPhone365 #156: juxtaposition

A semi-permanent house/store across the street from SM City, one of the busiest shopping malls in the area, provides an interesting illustration of the stark contrast between two different layers of the Philippine economy.
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iPhone365 #155: durian

I have never tasted durian before. Today was the first day I actually held one in my hands at SM Supermarket. It's supposed to be really smelly, but I couldn't smell anything through the leathery, spiny skin. I think I'll get one the next time I go.
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iPhone365 #154: cold drink

Tired from the trip at the mall, Julia preferred her mom's berry cream frap over her orange juice at Starbucks.
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iPhone365 #153: penny

Penny, my mom's dog, must have sensed that I miss my dog Eli. She has stayed by my side since the day I arrived.
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iPhone365 #152: manila bay on stilts

My dad, Michael, and I went for a walk early this morning at Island Cove, a resort park a couple of miles down the road from my parents' house. Before leaving, we walked over to the Fishing Village, an area of the park with cottages built on stilts where one can eat and fish at the same time. Michael was a little nervous walking on the bamboo slats -- it can be unnerving when you can see the water below through the floor.
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iPhone365 #151: learning the ropes

Here is my precocious niece trying to learn how to use the garden hose from my mom. Actually she was just scheming so she could play with the water.

Although we Asians all look alike (not really), I'd like to point out that the hats are not Filipino. They came from Vietnam. The Filipino version, the salakot, is broader and as a shallower profile.
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iPhone365 #150: rice cakes

I was pleasantly surprised to find that bibingka is now readily available any day of the year. We used to have to wait for the Christmas season for local folks to bake and sell these things. These days one only has to go to the mall to get these once-seasonal delicacies.
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