June 8, 2026

The Intramuros section of Manila, Philippines is the historic walled core, of this Capital City. Today, the surrounding stone walls are  ringed by a golf course, in lieu of the moat from long ago. Below shows comparison from rendering 300 years ago, under Spanish Colonization to Today. Many of the historic buildings, churches, fort and prison remain. Kimberly and I walked it for over 4 hours, and we saw maybe a quarter of it. We sadly gave up due to the heat, humidity and our exhausted feet and missed the Corpus Christi procession to the Manila Cathedral with the Bishop, by just a half hour! If only we had known ahead of time!

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We passed up many offers of transport in the quest for exercise!

One of my favorite parts of the walk was meeting all the little kids in the streets. They were not shy and so curious! Sadly some did ask for food, candy or money. I shared some caramel hard candies I had with them.

Here's what we missed from the Corpus Christy Procession! The shower of flower petal, when The Blessed Sacrament went up to altar, looked very cool - images all from the Manila Cathedral facebook page!

Got a super refreshing drink from street vendor right before leaving the Intramuros area - cucumber and lemon juice on ice. So good! We weren't hungry, but would have liked to try the corn dogs covered in french fries! I did have a Cloud 9 bar day before - it is the top selling candy in the Philippines - their version of a Snickers bar. Snickers is better, there's is more caramel than peanuts!

Singapore - Little India

By Pat Patick • August 11, 2026
Little India is a neighborhood in Singapore that I wanted to explore becase I love Indian food and their Temple's have such unique gods and Architecture, super colorful and detailed. Below is the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Singapore's first temple dedicated to Veeramakaliammam or the Kali , a fierce incarnation of Shiva's wife and the "Destroyer of Evil" .

SINGAPORE - Cooking Class

By Pat Patrick • August 10, 2026
Other residents had a great experience at Singapore's Food Playground on prior visits, so we wanted to try it out! Our first day in Port, twelve of us signed up for a fun afternoon, where we got to enjoy our creations as a yummy lunch. Front row (L to R) is Ellie, Rick, their visiting friend, Sue, Christy and Angela. Back Row - Me, Bosco, Delia, John, Terri & Lori.

KOH CHANG, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • July 26, 2026
We just relaxed on the Island of Koh Chang, Thailand. It's one of the largest Thai Islands in the Gulf of Thailand and it has a dense, steep jungle & National Park covering the interior of the Island, which extends off shore, to coral reefs. The coast line is dotted with beaches and villages. This was a tender port, so we decided to stay on the Island for 3 nights, to be able to experience the nightlife. Turns out, it is low season, so nightlife was pretty sleepy. However, we did find a new favorite night time activity! Any Guesses?!?