Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

I found an interesting article on the Yahoo site about the world's spiciest chili pepper: the Trinidad Moruga Scorprion!  The exotic-sounding name itself already evokes fear and awe; take note that this frightening baby packs a mean wallop of 1,200,000 units in the Scoville heat scale (used to measure spiciness or the amount of capsaicin present in the pepper).

Photo from the New Mexico State University's Chili Pepper Institute

I checked out the equivalent pepper power of this 1.2 million rating and I found out that this is the same amount of capsaicin contained in a can of pepper-spray used by law enforcement agencies!  Can you imagine that inside your mouth?

If the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion would be compared on the Scoville heat scale shown above, then it would be way past the heat generated by the Habanero and Thai varieties, which go for only 500,000 units on the scale!  So would you like to try some?

New Water

I inspected a small Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) that I commissioned some years ago to check on the current operating efficiency and found that the plant was still in good working order--the tilapia that we placed in the fish tank at the end of the process was alive and kicking, which meant that the wastewater treatment was going well.  I remember asking several engineering companies from all over the world to take the project, and only one company from Singapore was bold enough to guarantee that the Biological Oxygen levels would meet local pollution standards.  After viewing a documentary on how the Singaporeans have reduced their dependence on Malaysia for their water supply, I quickly understood why the Singaporeans are very capable in water treatment.  Singapore currently relies of 4 water sources--imported water from Malaysia (40%), rainfall catchments (20%) which include the Marina Bay barrage catchment area, desalination (10%) and reclaimed or "New Water" (30%).  The term "New Water" is their term for potable water recycled from wastewater.  This is achieved by collecting city sewerage via the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), a gravity-operated 48-kilometer tunnel that runs from 20 meters underground to 55 meter underground throughout the city-state.  Sludge is removed from the waste water and the waste water is aerated, and further treated to potable levels by reverse osmosis.  When the water treaty with Malaysia ends in 2061, Singapore plans on having total self-sufficiency by increasing catchments, desalination plants and New Water production.  A technological marvel, and lots of forward planning by the Public Utilities Board of Singapore--very impressive indeed!

AIESEC

Vicky's nephew Bryan was able to spend 6 weeks in Malaysia courtesy of AIESEC, the world's largest organization completely run by college students.  To reciprocate, Casa Ermita is now hosting 3 exchange students--a boy from Germany, a young lady from Austria and a girl from Beijing.  These kids will be working for Gawad Kalinga, a local charity group that builds houses for indigents.  Quite polite, easy-going and responsible, these students will be exposed to and will interact with third world conditions and will spend some time and effort to make a difference.  I understand that the Austrian lady is studying communication arts, while the much younger Chinese girl is going for a degree in computer science.  I hope that the experience of student exchange will broaden cross-cultural understanding and on a personal level, will be a solid foundation for close international friendships for these guests, Bryan, his siblings and his cousins.

PAL Inflight Video

I've got to hand it to Philippine Airlines for producing a new inflight video that's refreshing to watch and filled with quick & witty skits to manifest different safety issues.  The old video has probably been around for some 20 years, and was pretty much run-of-the-mill, much like a documentary clip or a high school educational tool.  The new video features a senior citizen interacting with mime hands and learning airline safety protocols along the way.  The narration is light and easy to understand, and the background music and sound effects are cool.  Next time you board a PAL flight, watch the video and I think you'll break into a smile!

Formica

While savoring the dark chocolate ice cream at the Deli, we all took a peek at Kong's latest handiwork, as executed by Andy, the local handyman.  Once I saw it, I knew that Kong's brilliance in furniture restoration will bring a new excitement to Annella's move to San Juan.  In the late 1950s, Kong made a wooden chest of drawers on steel legs for the old house of Gwamy in Carola, which Tita Carmen had been using until her death a few years ago.  Of course, over the years, the piece had already deteriorated just like the Carola house.  Just yesterday, this drawer was fully restored by Kong, in the original white with matching gold trim, and don't forget--new drawer locks!  The stroke of genius is in the use of Formica as cladding.  It looks so clean and so sleek, simply chic; Kong has truly outdone himself and has improve on his own creation, 60 years later!  Surely a great addition to Tony & Annella's new home!

Intramuros

Intramuros has always been a great place to show visiting friends--it's the Philippines in a nutshell. After a hearty dimsum lunch at the Shang Palace in Makati Shangri-la (we probably had a dozen different kinds of dimsum treats), I brought another batch of Chinese guests to Intramuros.  First stop was the San Agustin Church, but because a wedding ceremony was underway, we decided to skip the church tour, proceeding to the Manila Cathedral instead.  Now whenever I enter the walled city, I always marvel at the beauty of the Cathedral's structure, which makes an imposing presence on the skyline.  The interiors are well-preserved, and as such, the ambience seems to create a solemn mystique, making a perfect recharge zone for the spiritually-weary.  Truly one of the structures that define Manila!

Next stop was Fort Santiago which I had not seen since my high school days.  Not bad at all; I believe the Intramuros Administration has kept the place clean and a pleasure to visit.  As you enter, the park leading to the moat has a beautifully kept garden, alive with shrubs and flowers of various colors and hues.  The entrance gate right after the moat has a majestic archway, quite perfect for the calendar poses of couples-to-be!  The interior park has a statue of Jose Rizal, and while we were visiting, I could spot a few groups having photo sessions using the scenery as a background.  At the rear portion of the Fort, you can climb up to the ramparts overlooking the Pasig River, and only the view of Tondo/Binondo made me realize (abruptly) the disparity between the fairy-tale setting of the Fort Santiago park vis-a-vis the Third World reality of the City of Manila.  Well, so much for that...

The tour would not have been complete without merienda cena, which we had at the nearby Ilustrado Restaurant.  Being a hot day, we had the unique speciality of the place--Filipino ice cream, in pandan, ginger and calamansi!

Dinner?  You guessed it--Chinese food.  We went to the Manila Pavilion Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn Manila Pavilion), and tried the food at the Peony Garden restaurant.  Formerly known as Toh Yuen or the Pavilion Court, we had Malaysian style Chinese food, which my guests found to be quite different from what they were used to.

Overall, a great day for me to be a tour guide for visiting friends.  I also was able to appreciate the city a little bit better.  Pinoy na Pinoy!

Cebu City Tour

Happily behaving like tourists, I took my Chinese banker guests around Cebu and I found myself wondering when I last toured Fort San Pedro and Magellan's Cross... yup, that must have been 35 years ago... Had dinner at the Waterfront Hotel's Tin Gow restaurant.  The food is Malaysian-Chinese style and was absolutely good.  Prepare something like P1,000 per head for a royal treat!

PAL's new 777

Absolutely jet-set!  Had the opportunity to ride PAL's new B777 on my way to Cebu... I like the stylish contour of the Recaro seats, and the proximity of the reading light.  The control panel has easy to operate buttons and the tray was wider than that of most other planes.  Foam was firm although I had a little difficulty adjusting the headrest.


Also, kudos to the creators of the new in-flight familiarization video of PAL.  I normally don't even bother to watch FAs do the "fasten seat belt" gig, but the new video is quite upbeat and humorous!  Cool!