TwEeThUmBsUp

Bagong Bapor at "Threading"

Nalala ko lang, on the way na pabalik to Manila, hindi na kami nag landtrip all the way. We drove up to Ozamis from Dipolog City and from there on, we took the Superferry to Manila. Inabot din ng dalawang gabi isang araw ang biyahe. Pwede na considering before we had to travel three nights and two days by boat to get to Manila.

There has been so much improvements on the water transportation of the Philippines, I noticed. The conditions of the boats/ferries are much better now. New boats, well maintained, cabins are much bigger with enough head room for 4,6,8 passengers. The economy area is so much changed.

Before they only provided in the economy deck cots/bunks. Naalala ko dati, if the pax came late on board, wala na siyang makukuhang cot. I don't know how they managed it, pero, bigla na lang somebody would bring cots andplace them sa gilid ng railings. Pag umuulan, siyempre basa sila. Hindi rin sila nakakaligtas pag malalakas ang alon. Sa tatlong araw at dalawang gabing biyahe, tamang-tama pag dating ng pasahero sa Maynila o pabalik man sa probinsiya, nagka-kasakit na sila. Dagdag mo pa ang seasickness. At ang pagkain na sine-serve nila, matindi pa sa ration ng sundalo. Tulad ng pag embark sa barko, kailangan maaga din sa mess hall otherwise, tutong na lang ang makukuha mo. And they don't even say sorry as pa-consuelo de bobo to you man lang. Pero ngayon, hindi na ganito ang systema. Maayos na ang mga double deck beds sa economy area. Malinis ang common toilet at wala nang beds sa railings. The food court provided for the economy passengers has a wide variety of choices at very affordable prices. For example, for 40Php, meron ka nang bottomless rice with vianed, like sinigang, adobo or pinakbet. To pay for this, the pax just need to present their meal card. This meal card comes with the purchased ticket. It has a load of 300 Php. Pag naubos na ang load nito before the end of the journey, (dahil for example, kulang talaga ang bottomless rice at one ulam sa inyo), huwag kayong mag alala. Pwede niyo itong pa load-an ulit. The only hassle is, if nag pa load kayo at hindi niyo ito naubos at the end of the journey, kasi palaging super haba ng pila ng nagpa pa refund. Being a Pinoy, I would probably just bring cooked rice and adobo, pansit and some pandesal with me para hindi na ako kakain sa barko. Tapos I can just get the meal card allowance refunded. O divah, parang naka mura na ako ng 300Php sa pamasahe ko?!

Sa Tourist class naman, they have airconditioning in the rooms which is parang isang hallway filled from each side with double deck beds. They have a common toilet& shower just like the ones provided in the economy class. The tourist class pax also goes to the food court for their meal. Wala talagang big difference, except for the airconditioned rooms.

For the Cabin, Business & first class pax, they have their own toilet & shower, their rooms are mostly located at the front end of the ship and are much closer to the reception area...im sure nakita niyo na ang part na ito, kasi dito palagi sinu-shoot ang commercials ni Shawie. They also have their own cable and pay TV. Their meals are served ala carte at the restaurant one level below the foodcourt. Each meal cost 100Php, so ang 300Php card provided is only good for three meals. Of course, this again, can be reloaded. It is also in this restaurant where one can enjoy karaoke the whole night. Kailangan lang um-order. Pero, kahit isang tasang kape lang ang order, pwede na...passport na yun to do your own mini-concert, provided huwag ka lang sipain ng ibang pax palabas, hehehehe.

While on the ferry, we didn't do much. Although the crew did prepare a program for the passengers. They had "The Singing crew" contest, some crews showed their talent in dancing and even the Doctor on Board played the guitar and serenaded the Pax. After the program, we, (my mom, my aunt &I) went down to the David's Salon on board. Paano, ang Tita, dahil on the road all the time, nag mukha ng bruha ang kilay...at ang feet-tsenes, nag ye-yellow na. I needed a foot spa very badly. Alam ko, when I get to manila, I will not have enough time na to go to the parlor dahil we will immediately drive up North naman. So I went inside, asked for their footspa service.

MP: miss palinas din ako ng eyebrows ha, I said while browsing through their magazine. Silently reminding myself that I would need to buy magazines for the trip back to Germany.
D: maam, sige threading, ho?
MP: hindi miss, hindi ako marunong lumangoy...papalinis lang ako ng kilay.
D: smiling tactfully, threading nga po ang gagawin natin.

Little did I know that my aunt was already laughing at me, kasi, nagbobo-bobohan nanaman daw ako. How would I know na meron na palang threading< /a> as a way to clean the excess hairs sa eyebrows. It turns out to be an Arabic way of cleaning the brows. Hehe, sorry ha, boba ako at hindi naman ako arabo...Arabo-hok sa ibang parte ng katawan yes!