This is our Philippines – Monday Thoughts – Philippine Driving

Welcome to July everyone and another Monday Thoughts video! We hope you all enjoyed your weekend with family and friends! Let’s start this week off right!

I was asked in a comment (actually 2 comments) about driving in the Philippines this past week. George Melo asked why we were using a driver during a recent video. We had hired Kuya Jomar as our driver last year to get the kids back and forth to school. Since he was used to this routine and I am only home for a few short days each visit, there was no need to mess with the routine they followed. Not only was he a very good driver, but he helped as well while Maly was shopping in the market. He would help to carry the items she bought out to the van and then return to pick up more if needed. He is also good at finding parking and other areas that I am not as familiar with while in town.

Mr Farley Fernandez asked how I rated the driving here. To be honest, I find driving here not so bad. Sure, there are your traffic problems and such, but for the most part it is pretty good driving up where we are at. We do not have the congestion like they do down in Manila. We have a lot of more open roads. The main issue I would say are the road hazards that seem to pop out of no where in the driving lanes. The government has spent money on road widenings, but often these are now just extra parking spaces instead of a place to drive. Oh, and you cannot forget the occasional light pole sticking right in the middle of a lane.

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Thank you all for watching and we hope you have a great week!





#ThisIsOurPhilippines #PhilippinesDriving #LivinginthePhilippines 

This is our Philippines – Tip of the Day – Ending Our Work Day

We finish the day off by picking the
kids up from school and driving home. On the way, there was a truck loaded with
cement that seemed to have cut a corner a little short. On doing so, his load
of cement shifted and the truck almost tipped over. I am sure it was not a fun
experience for him.

We finally get home and Maly
prepared the fresh vegetables we had gotten earlier in the market along with
the pork chops. That is one good meal! Sorry we did not video that, but with
smackin’ lips and all, I guess you would understand.

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#CauayanDriving #MalysCountryMarket #EXPAT #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – The Palangke – Getting Chopped

We stopped by Castro’s Meat Shop for
some fresh cut pork chops. These make for some good eating at night fresh off
the grill. Maly and Marisa do a great job of marinating the meat and then
cooking it. It is great for pulutan or as a meal with rice.

I thought we were finished, but Maly
had different ideas. We had to go get some frozen meat as well. We usually use
this same stall for our frozen pork meat. She usually has a good supply and
seldom do we find her response to be “sorry out of stock”.

We end up our morning in a little
store that has most of everything in it as far as dry goods go. They often have
some produce as well. This is usually our last stop on our way out of the
market. Just be sure to collect all your bags before leaving here. On occasion
we have left some of our goods here by mistake. Luckily this couple are honest
and when we return they still have our goods.

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#ThisIsOurPhilippines
#CauayanPublicMarket #Palangke #CastrosMeatShop #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – Monday Thoughts – Street Food

Welcome to Monday again everyone! Hope you all had a great
weekend!

Abe asked me about using phone cards in the Philippines. I
am going to give an answer about what I use, but if that is not the exact question,
hopefully he will let me know.

Our main focus is on street foods in the Philippines. I am
not one to go up to any vendor along the road and order food. You can just look
at some of it and you know you would be better off not eating at that stand. Others
are better taken care of and the food is prepped better. If you choose wisely,
you will not spend your time in the nearest CR. That is not a good place to be
spending your time in paradise.

Rod from Amazing Philippines (link to his video will be in the
show more on the video) put together a video the other day showing vendors
racing to move their stalls. They were tipped off that the local law enforcers
were coming through and they were rushing to get there stalls off the
sidewalks.

I will eat some of the items we sell as street food at
Maly’s Country Market. I know how we prep it and I know I am not likely to get
sick eating it. There is not much better than a pork BBQ stick, hot dog or even
a chicken foot right off the grill!

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week!

#ThisIsOurPhilippines
#StreetFood #FilipinoStreetfood #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – The Palangke – Bopis: Looking for Some Good Lungs

You can find most anything in the local palengke. Even every part of the pig you could imagine. Maly was on the hunt for fresh pig lungs and heart so she could make a Filipino delicacy they call bopis! Even I was surprised to know that this was minced prior to us bringing it home.

What is bopis you might ask? Bopis is made with minced pork lungs, carrots, onions and peppers. It is load with big bold flavors you are bound to love! Bopis can make the perfect appetizer and your enjoying evening drinks with your friends or even as a main meal served with steamed rice!

If you have liked this video, kindly give us a thumbs up. We would also love to see a comment from you. We enjoy interacting and conversing with our subscribers. By the way, if you have not subscribed, you can do so by clicking that little button right there in the lower right-hand corner. Also, if you would like to be notified once we post a video, just click that little bell down there!

Thank you all for watching and we hope you have a great week!





#ThisIsOurPhilippines #CauayanPublicMarket #PigLungs #Bopis #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – Monday Thoughts – Shopping in the Philippines

We wanted to give a shout outs this morning to a few friends. Tok Tok Cali is another family vlogger from the Angeles City area. This past week was Independence Day in the Philippines and Tok Tok and family went out for the day. They visited a small water park near their house. Most Filipinos will go to a resort on holidays to beat the heat and enjoy some time swimming and singing.

The other shout out is to Bill. His YouTube channel is Landhawk59. Him and his wife run a pizza restaurant from their home. The past few weeks he has been taking pallets and turning them into tables, benches and a cabinet. It was an interesting project and by the looks of things, it has turned out great!

Now onto the palengke! A palengke is a type of public market common throughout the Philippines. We use the palengke for a lot of the shopping we do for the store. It provides a way to get everything we need in one general location and at fairly good prices. It is almost like going to a flea market or such in the States. We will be having several videos coming up of our morning stop at the palengke for supplies. It is not Walmart, but in the videos, you will see there are no lines at an empty cash register either! 

If you have liked this video, kindly give us a thumbs up. We would also love to see a comment from you. We enjoy interacting and conversing with our subscribers. By the way, if you have not subscribed, you can do so by clicking that little button right there in the lower right-hand corner. Also, if you would like to be notified once we post a video, just click that little bell down there!

Thank you all for watching and we hope you have a great week!



#ThisIsOurPhilippines #CauayanPublicMarket #Palangke #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – The Palangke – Our First Stop is Fishballs and...

Once the kids are dropped off at school, the real work begins. Maly is usually alone doing the task of going to the market (palengke) for the store and house needs. When I am home, I will go with her. She is all business in the market and she is determined to find all that is on her list.

This is the first video in a series you will see of our time in the palengke. After walking past all the barber shops that were yet to open, we head to the fishball and kikiam supplier. This is the first of many stops we will do!

Kikiam and fish balls are popular at our store in the evenings along with the BBQ. We have to maintain a good stock of these on a regular basis.

If you have liked this video, kindly give us a thumbs up. We would also love to see a comment from you. We enjoy interacting and conversing with our subscribers. By the way, if you have not subscribed, you can do so by clicking that little button right there in the lower right-hand corner. Also, if you would like to be notified once we post a video, just click that little bell down there!

Thank you all for watching and we hope you have a great week!





#ThisIsOurPhilippines #CauayanPublicMarket #Palangke #Fishballs #Kikiam #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – Rise and Shine – Bring on a New Day

Good Morning! Our
days start early out in the province. We usually try to be up and at the store
around 6AM while I am home. I am usually the one that goes out and opens the
store each morning to welcome the new day.

Most mornings begin
with a cup of coffee to get us going. Maly does not always get out for the
first cup, but will eventually get there after she has the kids awake and
getting ready for school.

I make sure the store
is opened and ready for business. Sometimes we have customers standing at the
gate waiting to get in first thing. If you forgot to get some soap, deodorant,
shampoo or any other daily needs, we have it for you. We also have morning
snacks to enjoy for breakfast if you need it.

Once Marisa shows up,
a list is prepared for a trip into the palengke. We take the kids to school and
then our shopping in the palengke begins.

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this video, kindly give us a thumbs up and share this video with a friend. We
would also love to see a comment from you. We enjoy interacting and conversing
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watching and we hope you have a great week!

#ThisIsOurPhilippines
#TimetoMakeTheDoughnuts #CoffeeTime #EXPAT #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – Monday Thoughts – Becoming Filipino and Feedsp...

What a wonderful week! As we have
discussed the last two weeks the positive and negatives of the Philippines, I
just happened to catch this video this week that really touched me.

If you do not watch Becoming
Filipino’s videos, this is one you will want to see. Kulas (Kyle) is a very
popular Philippines vlogger who usually lives and films in Mindanao. He has
been in the Philippines now for over 3 years. The past few weeks he has been up
on Luzon working his way through the mountains of Northern Luzon. This has been
an area that many say is not advisable to travel. But here is Kulas riding
through the mountains spreading smiles on his scooter.

This video he is out in a little
village. He happens to meet Manong Teddy who is one of the nicest men he could
have met along the way. Manong Teddy invites him to his house for coffee. He
feels sorry and even apologizes to Kulas for not having bread to give him. Kulas
does provide some tinipa and they enjoy a nice chat in Teddy’s home.

Afterwards, Kulas leaves and Teddy
follows him out to his motor. As they were parting ways, Teddy invites Kulas to
stay at his home. This is true Filipino hospitality. Kulas then takes off his
famous shirt and tries to hand it to Teddy. Teddy does not want to accept it at
first, but then does so. I am sure it will be a gift he will treasure for a
long time.

Secondly, we have gotten a notice of
being listed in the TOP 60 Philippine Youtube Channels. This was from Feedspot!
Any time you get noticed it is a welcomed mention!

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video, just click that little bell down there!

Thank you all for watching and we
hope you have a great week!

#ThisIsOurPhilippines
#GoodVibes #BecomingFilipino #Feedspot #Top60 #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – Progress is Made – Our Fence Installed

Maly has her hands
full while I am away. During my last absence, she had the front and side
fencing put in for our yard. We now have a full hollow block wall around our
house. We had a bamboo fence prior to this, but each typhoon that came through
it would huff and puff and blow our fences down. Hopefully we will no longer
have that issue after building a more secure hollow block fence.

Dennis and his crew
worked on this fence during a difficult time. There were family emergencies
that not only his family went through but also ours. Dennis also works at one
of the rice mills so his time is limited in when he could be available. Through
it all, he managed to get the fence in for the most part prior to me getting
back.

Dennis did the
steel work as well for the grates between the fence post and also for the
gates. Maly supplied the material and he came up with the design along with
Maly’s help. He used a welder on spot to complete this job. I think the fence
turned out fairly nice even though it was not quite finished yet.

#ThisIsOurPhilippines
#Fencing #HollowBlockWall #EXPAT #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – Megan’s Birthday At Mom Sabina’s Garden Resort

LATE POSTING! This was from Megan Maust​ Birthday party on April 6th!

What does a girl want for her 8th Birthday Party? A day at the swimming pool. We went to Mom Sabina’s Garden Resort to celebrate and brought most of Cauayan with us I believe!

We have always enjoyed going to Mom Sabina’s just on the south side of Cauayan. It has provided us with a safe and clean environment when we have needed a place for celebrations. They have 2 separate pools you can enjoy. One is a kiddie pool while the other is more for adults, but is only 5FT deep.

Megan really enjoyed her day. When we have a party, I can guarantee you Maly is going to ensure there is plenty of food. A trait common among Filipinos that if you are invited you are going to eat! We had plenty for everyone plus some!

The kids swam, ate, swam, ate more snacks and swam some more. The adults had fun as well eating, talking and singing. I think everyone had a great time.

Megan was wore out by the time we got home. I know she really enjoyed her day. I hope it will be a good memory for her and may she have many more birthdays to come! 

If you see or know someone in this video, tag them and share the good memories with them! #ThisIsOurPhilippines #MomSabinasGardenResort #BirthdayCelebration #Cauayan City #EXPATAdventures

This is our Philippines – Monday Thoughts – Discussing The Bad in the Ph...

After a comment was made on our last
Monday Chat video, I decided we would look at a few issues in the Philippines
that might not be as pleasing to some. There were several issues that were
brought up in this comment and I hope to have covered most of them.

I have given my opinion only on
these topics and I hope that doing so it might bring to light how I deal with
them and not let them get me down. I try to take a more positive approach to
what some may consider the bad traits of the Philippines.

The old me was content to sit back
and just glance around. If I saw negative, I went with that feeling. I didn’t
want to look harder or think too much about the good. I found it much, much
easier to sit back and just accept what I saw (which was usually the bad).

I now like to live my life in a
positive manner. If you want to live a positive, joyful life, you cannot be
surrounded by negative people who don’t encourage your happiness. In every
person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not
obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard.

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Thank you all for watching and we
hope you have a great week!

#ThisIsOurPhilippines
#GoodVibes #NegativeThoughts #EXPAT #LivinginthePhilippines

This is our Philippines – A Welcome Home Parade?

On the way home from
Cauayan one afternoon, we got caught in this little parade. We were not in that
big a hurry to get home, so we stopped and watched for a little as the groups
performed their routines.

We came up to our
main intersection in Cauayan to find a parade. It seemed to be some of the high
schools in the area competing for a best dance routine. Each group would stop
and do a performance right near the intersection.

We stayed as long as
the traffic enforcer would allow us. We were wanting to go straight ahead at
this intersection, but that is where all the performers were being staged. We
did not get to stay long before we were told to move to keep traffic flowing.

This is just one
of the many things you can experience in the Philippines that could affect
travel times. During the fiesta times, many towns will hold parades like this.
Just hope you’re not in a hurry or trying to be Google Maps estimated time of
arrival if caught up behind one of these parades. #ThisIsOurPhilippines
#Cauayan City #StreetPerformers #StreetParade #EXPATAdventures