elbi

Los Baños, I just recently found out, is also known as elbi.

In University of the Philippines Los Baños (or elbi) you will see the sunset boulevard.. a strip of towering coconut trees.

At the very entrance you won’t see the customary Oblation of UP, but you will get stone carabaos. As one Elbi alumni puts it.. its an agricultural school afterall.

The ambiance of UPLB is different from UP diliman. Just as laguna is different from quezon city.

They have their own urban legends (there was a certain statue in campus that is said to disappear on certain nights. Also, it was rumored that a serial killer lurks under a certain bridge).  The main diff between UP elbi and dili was.. the spaces in between.  There were more spaces in between structures.. and there was a lot more green.  And the vehicles have not invaded the streets too much.

Baan Thai

The great things I discovered in elbi are the cozy foodie places nearby campus.  I was able to try Baan Thai.  Great find if you love Thai food.  The waitress said that the chef and owner is Thai.  The pad thai was a combustion of green mango slivers… scrambled egg.. crushed peanuts.. flat noodles.. bean stalks.. and that special Thai concoction of vinegary-sour, herby spice which is a tad sweet. 

The cuttlefish (not to be mistaken with cattle-fish.. which has yet to crossbreed).. is an interesting number of.. you guessed right… fried flakes of fish meshed together with crunchy lettuce, paper thin slices of onions, chopped peanuts, and green mango slivers.  It was sour-sweet with the green mango dominating the other flavors. 

I love Baan Thai’s homey ambiance.. we stayed in one of its outdoor nipa huts with a low table… you have to sit on the floor to eat, preferably barefoot to ventilate your usually confined toes.  (make sure however your seatmate doesn’t mind your feet’s smell. And that your seatmate won’t have the urge to hide your discarded shoes just to annoy you).

I am a fan of milk tea.. and I remember Jatujacks and Som’s milk tea.  How does Baan Thai compare?  It’s color is milky pink.. like baby strawberries.. and it mildly tastes of strawberry milkshake. You know.. a little sour but mostly sweet.

Meanwhile in Boston Café

Has a havianas shop inside but the best part is the aircon. Had to admit, the noon heat of the province is more scorching than in the city. The main attraction really was the aircon, the chairs… and the company…  the board games inside the cafe (one of my friends learned scrabble for the first time).  They also had boggle, mastermind, and WIFI.

Sorry I wont be able to tell you  if the coffee is good..but based from the few sips I had. It was nothing spectacular.

So the top three things to remember when exploring elbi?

    1)    Don’t miss the Original Buko pie (we were able to pass by the buko store 7pm, unfortunately closed na at walang buko pie)

    2)   Do travel with friends (it’s one of the places ideal for foodie adventures)

    3)    Remember that by 3pm, the road up to Mt. Makiling’s Philippine High School for the Arts is closed. If that happens, go explore "Pook ni Maria Makling" nearby. It's a nature reserve with accommodations. One of the few places where you can walk on trails and trip over giant roots attached to giant skyscraping trees.. some taller than the buildings of Makati.

(photos courtesy of artist monk and rhea)

Defying Gravity in Subic

Nice to have exercised my inner potty mouth.

I was dangling 80 feet above ground. The trees below were reduced to the sizes of small broccolis. The two bars and harness felt flimsy compared to the crushing power of gravity.  

When I was yanked backward along a 200 meter cable… I tossed every expletive there is my wind numbed brain could not even process. 

Why did I sign up for this? Oh right, I wanted to conquer my tiny fear of heights… and maybe have fun along the way.

Then we stopped… it was really a pause.. wait for it.. any minute now..

Another almighty tug. This time I am hurtling head first into the air… the flapping greens of the forest blurring.. calming me somewhat..

Heck.. I can do this. Heck. This is fun.

 

And just when I was starting to have fun, the Zipline  stopped.

Time to get off.

*

Never again, the Silver Surfer ride is not for me.  I enjoyed the first few seconds of it.. standing while traversing the air was the way to travel.

But why oh why when we reached the height of 80 feet the machine stopped and started to vibrate… almost bucking me out from my foot hold.  Close my eyes.. shit shit shit.. not helping… this will be over soon.

     The best part? When the ride ended and I realized I didn’t pee in fear like the way I imagined.  When I stepped on level ground, my knees were shaking so bad. I ordered my knees to stop wobbling, but they still kept on.  So this is what "weak-kneed" feels like.  

*

So the top three things I got out of our company outing?

1)      Subic is not just about duty free.  It’s also about beaches, ziplines, and go karts.

2)      If at first you don’t succeed, sky diving is not for you. 

3)      The scariest step is the first one.  I am glad because not only did I dare to defy gravity, but I dared defy my fear with knees shaking. =)