India Announces On-the-Spot Visa-on-Arrival for Philippine Nationals

As opposed to other nationals, the general rule for Filipinos when travelling to a foreign country is to apply for a visa. With very few exceptions, the visa requirements is always a major downside of possessing a Philippine passport.  Aside from the fact that applying for a visa can be quite taxing, there is a really disappointing possibility that after purchasing a ticket you get denied.

Last year I was supposed to travel to India.  We've already set an itinerary of Delhi-Mumbai-Agra-Goa when upon research another friend told me that a fellow bank employee of his was given a hard time applying for a visa.  Considering that the purpose for his travel was official business, government even, and still he was given a hard time I had doubts on buying a ticket and eventually decided on not going specially since the airfare then wasn't cheap at all*.

Nonetheless, India has always been in my list of MUST travel places.  Now with India's Visa-Upon-Arrival program for Philippine Nationals its finally easier to go to this land of Bollywood, color, curry and spicy cuisine.  I'm sure my I would want to see more of Incredible India, for the time being however, here's my list of places in India I want to see:

image from Wikipedia

 Beach, hippie vibe, flea market, and other free spirits makes Goa a must see place! Though i'm sure some beaches in the Philippines may be better.

The Darjeeling, where the famous GI protected name of the Darjeeling tea came from, toy train which was included on the best train journeys in the world would sure be also in the list.

from www.7wondersoftheworldpictures.com

No trip to India would be complete of course without seeing the Taj Mahal.

The World Heritage Sites....and all other equally interesting places in between. :)

*Although flights from Air Asia is relatively cheap that Singapore Airlines which flies direct to Goa, the long waiting hours between connecting flights will take away precious vacation time.

Restaurant Review: Antonio's, Tagaytay

Antonio's is one restaurant that needs no introduction.  Although the name Antonio is very common in the Philippines, there can only be one Antonio's restaurant.  Located far from the hustle and bustle of the metro, dining at Antonio's is an indulgence to senses -- not just the palate.

From the national highway, a nondescript sign points you to the location of one of the best, if not the best, restaurant in the Philippines.  When heading to Antonio's be sure to have a "spotter" that would look for this sign, otherwise, missing it is a very likely possibility.  Upon entering the alley leading to Antonio's you'll pass by a residential area leading up to, almost, the end of that street.  If it's your first time to head to Antonio's fret not that you're already lost, at the end of this narrow street one will find a rather black gate, right outside you'll see cars lined up.  You have arrived.

Because it's a bit hard to drive all the way to Tagaytay we went all out, less the wine, and ordered as much as we can think of.

Since we couldn't have wine we just ordered some juice. We got two - this carafe of strawberry balsamic might have a bad name but it sure tastes like your memory of kool aid -- when you didn't know any better and thought its the best juice in the world. Another carafe we ordered was some pineapple ginger, I had reservations about this flavor since I'm not a big fan of having ginger on my juice, but even I really loved it.  One really nice thing they do at Antonio's is to make ice from the same juice flavor, that way even if they put ice, the juice won't get watered down.

Feast for the Eyes
Arugula with dried cranberries, raspberry vinaigrette and bleu cheese topped with purple cabbage
(oh i get hungry just blogging)

A nice onion soup followed after the refreshing salad.
I'm not a fan of onion soups but this one is really good -- no strong onion taste, and just the right creaminess. 

While waiting for the main course, the server put these nice neat lemons , garlic and gravy (not shown on photo) in preparation for the arrival of our huge-ass T-bone. You'll see i really love how neat this is, this would sure be a nice thing to do at home. 

Side dish # 1: black olive rice and some fresh nicely-cooked-still-crunchy french beans.
I actually ordered the spätzle but it's a bit too strong and creamy for the T-bone so Ferdi and I swapped and I got the rice.

When the T-Bone arrived sizzling hot, pink and medium well our stomach rumbled -- it was silence for the next two minutes..

Ferdi's plate -- the  spätzle I traded and French beans with the nice succulent and pink portion. 

We sat at the al fresco area near the Koi pond and just contemplated life as we muster all appetite to finish the Tbone.

For dessert (yes! we, of course, left some space) I had a panna cotta sampler of vanilla, coffee and dark chocolate with candied toffee on top. The Panna Cotta was perfect -- creamy and consistent in texture and the best part, at least for me, was that it wasn't that sweet. Just enough for a nice sweet closure.

I fell in love with the presentation of these sweet decadence so I just had to take a photo twice. :)

For Ferdi he opted for something light, relatively, and got this nice poached pear on port wine topped with vanilla ice cream.

Dining at Antonio's is an experience in itself.  Always call to make a reservation because the restaurant can be quite busy especially during the weekends.  It was Ferdi's birthday then, and we made sure to book a table days in advance.  We went on a Sunday after diving and true enough it is a very busy day with family's having their get together (extended) brunch.

New Year. New Way of Living. Nuvali.

     Sustainable living -- the new buzz word from corporate to social networks. Though it has become the mother of all Corporate Social Responsibility mantra, few companies (and individuals) really embrace it.  One company that has shown how this can be done and pay more value than lip service to the idea is Ayala.  Through its new development, Nuvali and Greenfield City, the Ayala's have shown that not only is sustainable living cool - literally and figuratively -- it can also be profitable and beautiful.

   Along with a few other bloggers, we were invited to tour Nuvali more than a month ago.  What I saw surprised me.  It's not a very politically correct expression but i'll say it nonetheless -- it is very first world.  I'm guessing that once the skyway is fixed and the numerous buses plying the south side miraculously lessens then for sure the price for lots in Nuvali would skyrocket.  Although, this is possible but, at the moment, unlikely I still wouldn't mind living in Nuvali. And working remote... :)

Some reasons why you would want to live, play and love in Nuvali.

The "function" area in Nuvali. Bikes also have parking spaces!

from the "function" area, one can walk towards the boat parkings.  Water taxis, the Nuvali version of  Gondola's, would then take you to the Business District.

The Highway -- where herons, water taxi's and kois battle for right of way.

The Hills are alive with the sound of the cow's moos....

Sustainable living after all is about living in harmony with your surroundings.  As per the latest count of Haribon Foundation, after the Nuvali development, the diversity of birds actually increased.
I love how they didn't make a pavement here and just trimmed the grass on the way to the Bird Sanctuary.

Viewing deck. I can already imagine a barbeque party with friends here or a cozy set-up for a romantic dinner for two, some violin, and a proposal under the stars. :)

The Nuvali ecohouse - worth an extra 1 million pesos from the "original" avida designs. The additions (see below) on this structure makes the additional 1M worth in electricity bills, and a more comfortable living. Stepping inside alone makes you feel the cool air.

Natural Blinders-slash-Air Conditioners
This plants are planted strategically to block out the afternoon sun.

Thermodynamics.
These vents optimizes the natural flow of air and embraces the concept that "warm air rises, cold air sinks"

The ceiling is functional as it is beautiful.

I fell in love with these floor to ceiling windows -- allowing not only air but natural light to filter through.

These wallpapers are made from dried leaves proving sustainable can be both elegant and beautiful.

These CR utilizes grey water, that is, water from collected rain, "recycled water", etc for flushing.  On the other hand, separate pipes are connected to the faucet leaving you with clean water only where you need it.

These sala set made from recycled paperstuffs are perfect for the sitting area.

The principle behind the orientation of the houses and its design.

One thing I super love about Nuvali is its provision for pedestrians and bikers.  Also, a dedicated lane for buses and eJeepneys make commuting here definitely worlds different from Edsa.

Not wanting to rely solely on coal, the Nuvali management is looking at utilizing wind energy prospectively.

On board the water taxi, again, we headed for lunch. The fountain-like structure here is actually also used to clean the man-made lake where the Koi's are as well as serve to aerate the lake.

Also near the Nuvali "business district", restaurants have started to sprout.  From the south side favorite Conti's to the established brands like Italianni's and Yellow Cab as well as new comers - Pig Out, Nature Trails, etc - you'll never be hungry here.

Like these coys are never hungry.
A trip to Nuvali wouldn't, for sure, be complete without feeding these unabashedly (un)coy Koi's.
Bon Appetit!

 Thanks to Jayce Perlas of Perlas and Luna for the invite, and of course, Nuvali.