Dear Dunkin' Donuts

I love you, I really do. I will choose your choco butternut over Go Nuts or Krispy Kreme or effing J.CO but this ... this is one of the worst chicken salad croissants I've ever had. First, the bread tasted like it's a week old. It doesn't even look like a croissant. And I know photos on the menu rarely look like the real thing but come on! This is like mayo and cheese and lettuce ... it doesn't taste chicken salad-ish. Where is the chicken?! The mayo is sour like it's a couple seconds from spoiling and the only good thing about it is the lettuce is fresh and crispy. Maybe I should've stuck with the Bunwich. I will go back tomorrow and get one. Please do not disappoint.

P.S. Maybe I should sell you my chicken salad/spread recipe?

Well Hello Cheap Lodgings

 The House

So here's a (sort of) disclaimer, I am not a snob, but I am picky. If you are VERY picky, you might want to look some place else for accommodations. The group being on a budget relieves me of that privilege. I was in Coron two years ago and I had ideas of where I'm going to stay when I come back. I have to admit that Patrik&Tezz Guesthouse wasn't my first choice but, overall, I'm glad the group decided on this place. I was happy and impressed enough that I would recommend the guesthouse to friends (or anyone who is traveling on a budget).

The first thing you need to know is that the whole place is built on stilts (thus, my initial ... inhibitions). It rests above salt water but the structure is actually pretty solid. The house is made of native materials and if we're going on the specifics there are 5 rooms all-in-all but only 4 are available for guests (one is used by the family), shared toilet and bath but separate ones for male and female, shared living area with TV and fridge, and a sort of terrace in front where the guests also eat their breakfasts. They also have an adorable cat and a huge and scary but actually very friendly pitbull (another disclaimer: dogs are scary in general for yours truly, no matter what size or breed).

Now, other than affordable, the guest house was quaint, warm, and homey. I think it's the fact that they hardly have any staff, that makes a guest feel welcome. The owners and their family runs the whole place so you get to talk to them and they actually take care of your needs themselves. They are nice people and very easy to talk to about what you need or just about anything else. We particularly enjoyed our little breakfast chat on our last day with Tezz and her mom. I love that they have small signs all over the place with rules and reminders. It was very cute, to say the least, but mostly, it keeps people in check. Being a small place there will be little room to gallivant about so you just have to be sensitive about other guests. I think the signs (and the fact that Tezz lays down the rules when you get there :p) help a lot.

The signs

Booking through Patrik and Tezz gets you more bang for your buck. The package we got included the same places I went to the last time, save for a couple more I wasn't able to go to before, but this actually cost me less by a couple thousand pesos. It's not a lot but this is a 4day-3night trip compared to the 3day-2night trip I did before. Getting a package tour also relieves you of the other things like shopping for your own food for the lunch picnic, hiring a tour guide, haggling for boat rent etc. The package included accommodations, breakfast and lunch, airport transfers and the tour itself. Most of the places in Coron have some sort of environmental fee that you have to pay separately so getting a package takes care of that. The only thing we had to worry about was dinner and there are a ton of places to eat there so it was pretty convenient.

 It might be worth mentioning that they won this :D

So there, it's not 5-star quality but the thing I liked most about the stay is the experience. Again, I would recommend this to travelers and friends ... although, since the place is made of native materials and the walls are thin and the house is built on stilts, do not be surprised if you wake up at 4am with the whole house rocking that consistent kind of rock accompanied by funny noises from the other room ;-)

The Orphan Master's Son

When writing a review for an award winning book, one must be careful not to get carried away by the hype. To make things easier I asked myself one simple question: Did I actually enjoy the story? And the answer is yes (and not because Tim Kang **gushes** narrated it). But even then, when expressing your own opinion in a very controversial issue, you have to be sure you don't cross any lines and be politically correct. This is a hard review to write so work with me here, okay?

The book has been on my to-read list since 2012 but there are so many books out I just read them depending on what was available (or fits my mood). Honestly, I didn't think I would enjoy reading the book. I didn't know anything about N.Korea. But that was also how the book appealed to me (and it's timely since they've been threatening to nuke the world again). But, I did enjoy reading the book because it was a well-written one. I found the characters' stories and how they were brought together by some weird, twisted fate interesting. I think the first thing to do to appreciate the book is to appreciate the main character. The whole story revolves around him, after all. If you can't make yourself like him or relate to him or feel for him (at the very least), then it will be hard to enjoy the story. I felt detached from the story (as with most historical fiction stories) and didn't relate to Jun Do but I felt for him. 

Reading about Jun Do's life I felt like my problems (combined with everyone else's problems that I know of) are so petty and trivial. Hey at least I can vote for whoever I want to take advantage of me and then tell everyone I was wrong to vote for him/her whereas they have to stay devoted to their one Dear Leader; either that or die ... and I'm not even exaggerating. Now, I find it hard to digest that there are people so brainwashed (or hopeless) that they would just take whatever is thrown their way. It's so ... dystopian. Granted, it has been that way for decades but one would think that's long enough. Diving into the issue some more, I came up with a few theories: 1) that these people are completely and absolutely brainwashed (because they were fed propagandist information from birth and don't know anything of the world outside so whatever they see and whatever they are told is the truth); 2) that the military and officials outnumber the rest of the citizens (so they can't do anything to stop the injustice happening); 3) that they are actually spineless and are indeed hopeless; and 4) that they are just plain crazy to agree that they are the greatest nation in the world.

Back to the book, I liked the first part of it. The second part dragged a bit but the treatment was consistent. I think the story lacked a bit of suspense. Things were so complicated from the very beginning that you don't expect anything worse to happen. Or that everything Jun Do planned would surely fail. I also found the character of Sun Moon confusing especially the part when she kissed Commander Ga. That Ga would describe it as the same way it was in the movie when she kissed a S.Korean guard to distract him implicates she was distracting him too (?) but from what? From thinking of the bad things that could happen? Or was it for her to get things to work her way? I know the second part was supposed to be a story of great love but that seemed like a very one-sided love story. And a very fickle one. Did the author intend to make it look that way? Or have I been reading too much romance? In parts of the book, Sun Moon was described as a good wife, but she -as well as the first, lady interest of Jun Do (Second Mate's wife)- also acted as if they make the rules (and they did). I do this, you do that. I want this, you give it to me. Does that mean the author is saying N.Korean women are that way? Or that most women are that way? Lol! It could be me reading in between the lines too much.

Overall, I'd give it 4 stars because, again, I liked how the character's lives were connected by some weird, twisted fate and I thought it was a well-written story. I actually liked this better than the last Pulitzer I read (2008) which I think I also gave a 4.