Food Tasting at Chatuchak Weekend Market

September 18, 2011

Food Tasting at Chatuchak Weekend Market


I'm not really the kind of person who's into shopping. I shop all the time for the kids, buy necessities for the home, and do a lot of grocery shopping. So shopping has always been associated with errands so I don't normally like to do that while on vacation. My idea of fun and relaxation is not to go shopping.


So what am I doing at Chatuchak Market on a long weekend trip in Bangkok? Aside from accompanying my husband who's curious about what Chatuchak looks like, I decided it will be fun to discover what unusual food they have to offer. And I wasn't disappointed!


For those wondering what Chatuchak looks like, and is familiar with Divisoria in the Philippines, it actually looks like a more organized Divisoria. Items are grouped together into sections. The sections are numbered so it will not be hard to look for the items you want to buy. Check out the website http://chatuchak.org/ for more information.


Just to give you an idea how big it is and in what sections it is organized, here is the map taken from http://chatuchak.org/ 

Food we tried at Chatuchak


1. Turkish ice cream: 40 baht


Thanks to mithumonthe.net for this photo.
I wasn't able to take a picture. I was to busy tasting it that I forget to take a photo.


I tried the mango ice cream in cone. You can have it dipped in chocolate and nuts but I preferred to taste the ice cream itself so I requested only a small amount of these add-ons. Other flavors are chocolate and vanilla. 

One thing different I noticed about this ice cream is that it is thick and sticky. I wouldn't say it's creamier than the others but it's more sticky. But it tastes great!


2. Squid Eggs: 40 baht


This is the squid eggs stall.
Squid eggs are actually octopus eggs. They are deep-fried.
The vendor asks you if you want it with spicy vinegar poured on it.  


3. Nan Rolled with Beef Kheema: 30 baht


The nan bread is very good: soft, light and fluffy.
The beef kheema has a slight curry taste to it.


4. Maekang Paklad: 10 baht


The vendor gets a leaf, folds it into a cone.
Then she places peanuts, onion and lemon inside the cone....

... then adds melted sugar (the brown liquid you see),
closes the cone and skewers it into a bamboo stick.
The finished product: maekang paklad.
It tastes sweet and sour with crunchy bits of peanuts.


My tip: If you'd like to try it in another place, it is also available in the Gourmet Section of Siam Paragon.

How to go to Chatuchak


1. Go to any BTS skytrain station.
From Tarntawan place, the Sala Daeng station is just around 5-10min walk. So we went to the Sala Daeng station.
2.  Find the ticketing machine at the station.


This is what the ticketing machine looks like
How to use the ticketing machine:


1. Find how much fare you need to pay to go to Mochit. Look at the fare information.


This is the fare chart at Sala Daeng Station.
The fare chart indicates that fare to Mo Chit from this station is 40 baht
2. Buy the ticket at the ticketing machine.


Just follow the instructions on the machine.
If you don't have coins, you can change it in one of the
manned ticketing counters in the station.




3. Ride the train going to the National Stadium.


4. Get off at Siam, then ride the train going to Mochit station.


5. Get off at Mochit. Go to exit 1 and follow the crowds. 


Other photos of food stalls:


Food court

Assorted cakes at 12 baht each

Complimentary Breakfast at Tarntawan Place, Bangkok

September 7, 2011


Complimentary Breakfast at Tarntawan Place, Bangkok

I discovered lately that a wonderful feature to look for in a hotel when you're traveling with kids or with a big group is whether the hotel offers free breakfast. I remember the time when we went to Hong Kong with the kids for the very first time, with some extended family, which included my mom and my sister-in-law. I had to stock each hotel room with breakfast items because no one wanted to leave the hotel so early in the morning just to eat. It's very expensive to call for room service so the first thing my husband and I did when we arrived was to go to the nearest grocery to buy water and breakfast items.

When one of the hotels we went to included free breakfast, we realized what a wonderful convenience it is to be able to eat breakfast in the hotel without breaking our budget. A lot of budget hotels already offer free breakfast, which does not necessarily  mean just continental breakfast. So I suggest you look for one with this wonderful feature. In Tarntawan Place, Bangkok, we found their free breakfast one of the reasons to keep on staying at this hotel.

Great features about the free breakfast at Tarntawan Place:

1. It is served 24 hours.

One of the things I love about this hotel, aside from its location and reasonable room rates, is its 24 hour breakfast. At this hotel, the room rates include free breakfast that you can avail of any time of the day or night. If you arrive on a red eye flight from Manila, the earliest you will arrive at the hotel is around 1am. If you're hungry upon arrival at the hotel at 1 am, you can request and be served next day's free breakfast. Very convenient. This arrangement makes you feel very much at home in this hotel. 

2. The free breakfast menu has a wide selection to choose from.

Other hotels only offer free continental breakfast. But at Tarntawan place, you choose  from a wide variety which includes a Thai breakfast, a Japanese breakfast, an American breakfast, a Continental breakfast and a Natural breakfast. Details of what is included is shown in the menu below:





Photos of the breakfast we tried are shown  below:


American Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast

Thai Breakfast


My favorite of all is Thai breakfast. I usually put some of the spicy fish sauce shown above on the chicken pieces underneath all the rice. Yummy! I miss it already!

Cebu Pacific Lite Fare: Hand or Carry-On Baggage

September 5, 2011


Cebu Pacific Lite Fare: 
Hand or Carry-On Baggage

When you book online, all fares offered by Cebu Pacific are lite fares. This means that fares that you see online when you click the booking facility show fares that do not include checked baggage. For fares to include checked baggage you need to pay an additional amount either upon booking online or at the airport. Note that the checked baggage fees at the airport are more expensive than prepaid baggage fees paid online.

What baggage is included in Lite Fare?

One (1) hand baggage is included with the following specifications:

1. The dimensions of the hand baggage must be as follows:
  • for airbus flights: 56cm x 36cm x 23 cm
  • for atr flights: 56cm x 35cm x 20cm

and
2. The weight must be:
  • for airbus flights: 7 kilos
  • for atr flights: 5 kilos

NOTE: Since Cebu Pacific travel regulations do not mention if you are allowed a handbag or laptop bag in addition to the hand baggage, I called the Cebu Pacific customer service hotline to inquire about this matter. In other airlines, in addition to hand baggage, you are also allowed to carry a handbag or laptop bag. Customer service replied that I am allowed to carry a handbag provided the total 7kgs.

Updated October 13, 2015!!!

To check for yourself updates on the policy below: go to https://crmweb.flyceb.com/AskCEB/ and put in the box under "Ask a question or enter a topic": how many pieces carry on

Cebu Pacific FAQ as shown in the photo below states that: 
"One carry-on bag is allowed for each guest.  The dimension of the bag must not exceed 56cm x 36cm x 23cm on all Airbus flights and 56cm x 35cm x 20cm on all ATR flights, and must not weigh more than 7kg for Airbus (A319, A320, A330) and 5kg on (Caticlan) ATR flights. 
Guests will be allowed to carry additional items on board such as handbag, coat, laptop bag, camera bag, cane and crutches (for Senior Citizen and/or Person with Reduced Mobility (PRM) guests).


What actually happens at the Manila International Airport?

1. Upon check-in, they only inquire whether or not you have checked baggage. They do not check the weight or your hand baggage.

2. Prior to entering the area where you pay airport fees, which is before entering immigration, a Cebu Pacific personnel stationed at the entrance inspects your hand baggage from afar to see if the size is within limit. If you have wheeled hand baggage, this same personnel carries your hand baggage to feel the weight, if it feels like it's just 7 kilos. They let you go in and pay airport fees if they think your hand baggage is light enough to feel like 7 kilos. They do not use a weighing scale. If you have a backpack, they do not inspect or carry it at all.

3. Before boarding, there is no longer a weight inspection. But they do offer to check-in your hand baggage for free if you wish to have less baggage to take care of while on the plane. If you plan to take up this offer, make sure your baggage is with lock, and properly tagged with your name and address.

My tip to overcome the 7 kilos weight limit:
1. Use a backpack as hand baggage. They do not inspect the dimensions or handle and weigh the backpack. But make sure to carry it in such a way as to look like the weight is just 7 kilos  so as not to arouse suspicion and 

2. If you're using a wheeled hand baggage, make sure it is within the 7 kilos weight limit. So that when the Cebu Pacific personnel stationed at the area prior to entering the airport fee section handles and carries your hand baggage, it will feel like 7 kilos. You can put the additional weight in the handbag you are allowed to carry. They do not inspect the weight of your handbag.

What actually happens at a foreign international airport?

At the Bangkok airport where I took my most recent Cebu Pacific flight, they do not at all weigh the hand baggage. As long as the dimensions are within the size limit, they presume it is just 7 kilos.

Guide to Cebu Pacific Web Check-In, Express Check-In and Regular Check-In

September 4, 2011


Guide to Cebu Pacific Web Check-In, Express Check-In and Regular Check-In


When I used Cebu Pacific last week for my Bangkok flight, I discovered there are 3 ways of checking-in for an international flight at Terminal 3 of the Manila International Airpot:

Web Check-In

This is the online check-in option of Cebu Pacific. To be able to use this process, you need to use the online seat selector and purchase a seat. Without choosing and paying for a seat, you cannot use this option. 

Unlike online check-in offered by other airlines which allows printing of a boarding pass, the Cebu Pacific web check-in still requires the passenger to line up at the dedicated web-check in counter to get a boarding pass and deposit the bag. The advantage of being able to print a boarding pass at home is that you are able to do away with lining up at the check-in counter and immediately proceed to the gate. Cebu Pacific web check-in does not allow you to do that. You still need to line up at the counter dedicated for web check-in. At present, web check-in is still not popularly used so the line is still much shorter that the regular check-in.

New! My update as of April 20, 2013: Web check-in is not available for domestic ATR flights. These are domestic routes using the small ATR planes. Cebu Pacific utilizes the ATR planes in 22 destinations like Caticlan, Laoag, Busuanga, Naga, Dipolog, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, etc, Better check your printed itinerary or ask the customer service if you're using an ATR plane

New! My update as of November 2, 2011: Cebu Pacific now allows web check-in from 48 hours until 4 hours before departure, whether or not you selected seats upon booking. Upon checking-in online, you are pre-assigned a seat and you can print your boarding pass. If you are a passenger on a domestic flight without checked baggage, you can go straight to the boarding gate when you arrive at the airport. For other cases, you still need to go to the web check-in counter for verification of documents and dropping off of baggage.

Advantage of choosing web check-in: 

1. You can still decide to choose your seat in advance up to 4 hours before departure, upon payment of a fee. 
NOTE: if you don't want to pay a fee but wish to avail of the web check-in, don't change the pre-assigned seat during web check-in. 
2. You can use the dedicated check-in counter for web check-in anytime, which means you can  check in as early as you want and until before departure.

3. Your check-in time is reduced. The line at the web check-in is not very long since this feature is still not popularly used by Cebu Pacific passengers.

4. If you are a passenger on a domestic flight without checked baggage, you can go straight to the boarding gate when you arrive at the airport because you already have a printed boarding pass.

ON PRINTING YOUR BOARDING PASS AFTER WEB CHECK-IN




I get a lot of questions regarding this topic so I'm sharing my recent experience with it. When I did web check-in in my recent flight last August 2013,  I discovered that you can only print your boarding pass at home only once, which is immediately after you check-in online. After you close the Cebu Pacific window in your computer, you can no longer retrieve your boarding pass. But this doesn't mean that you cannot use the web check-in counter at the airport. Just inform the person at the counter that you accomplished web check-in and ask for a boarding pass. Not being able to retrieve and print your boarding pass at home for an international flight does not greatly inconvenience the passenger since Cebu Pacific requires the passenger to still pass by the check-in counter (in this case, the web check-in counter), whether or not they have check-in luggage,  for verification of documents such as passports and visas. You can't go straight to the gate even if you only have a carry-on luggage, unlike in the case of passengers on domestic flights.


Express Check-In

This option is open to passengers who do not avail of web-check in but arrive at the airport more than 3 hours until 5 hours before the flight. The regular check-in counter dedicated for a specific flight is still closed at this time because it opens only 3 hours before the flight but Cebu Pacific encourages the passenger to check in this early so they provide this option to them.

Advantage of Express Check-In;

You can use any open check-in counter, regardless of flight or destination, including the web check-in counter of Cebu Pacific.  This means you can check in at any of the 10 check-in counters that are usually open simultaneously. If you are on an international flight, you can check-in at any international check-in counter regardless of destination. This applies whether or not you have luggage to check-in. This means you have more counters to choose from


Regular Check-In

This option is open to passengers who arrive 3 hours or less before the flight. The check-in counter for your specific flight opens 3 hours before the flight. If you did not use the web-check-in option, you are only allowed to use the specific check in counters assigned to your flight, which usually is around 4 check-in counters. Expect lines to be long.

NOTE: the observation I made above applies only to terminal 3 of the Manila International Airport. Currently, there are only 2 airlines flying from this terminal. 

At any other international airport, they do not allow check-in more than 3 hours before the flight. In other international airports only 4 check-in counters are allowed Cebu Pacific: 3 regular check-in counters and 1 web check-in counter. Because of this and the fact that you cannot check-in more than 3 hours before the flight, the lines for check-in will be very long. My advice if you are flying from an international airport other than Manila, use web check-in for that flight. The line at that web check-in counter is short.



El Nido Island Hopping Tour Guides: A Quick Guide to Services and Rates

June 20, 2011

El Nido Island Hopping Tour Guides: A Quick Guide to Services and Rates


The municipal ordinance that standardizes the rates of tours in  El Nido.
Current rate are as follow:
Tour A: 700 pesos with food (minimum of 4 persons)
Tour B: 800 pesos with food (minimum of 4 persons)
Tour C: 900 pesos with food (minimum of 4 persons)
Note: mask and snorkel not included
(Enlarge photo above to see the details)

My tip: 
With the standardization of rates, how do you choose your guide?

1. Each tour guide offers different places to visit for Tour A, B, C. 
As you will see below, although Tour A usually includes the Small Lagoon, the Big Lagoon, the Simizu Island and the 7 commandos, some include either Entalula Island or the Secret Lagoon. Although the ordinance states 6 places to visit in Tour A, the standard rate usually applies to 5 places to visit per tour. Some also offer 6 places to visit but with my experience, 6 places to visit per tour may be too many and the visit per place will be too fast.

2. Ask what food is included.
Standard food included is grilled pork/chicken, grilled fish, vegetable salad, rice, fruits. But you still have to ask just to be clear about what food they serve. Drinks are not usually included but some tour operators include drinks for free.

3. Ask what time the tour starts and what time it must end.
A lot of the tours start at 8am and end at 5pm. Our tour with Rovics Pension start at 9am and ends at 6pm.

3. Ask if snorkel and mask are included.
It's usually not included but some tour operators include it as a freebie.

3. Ask for a discount, especially if you are in a large group.
As a rule, they are not allowed to charge rates different from those indicated by the municipal ordinance, but you can ask for freebies like additional islands to visit, include drinks with the food offered, or include snorkel and mask for all in your group or for just a few. 

NOTE: You can book your tour guide when you arrive because there are so many island hopping tour operators you can choose from. Restaurants and resorts also offer island hopping tours. For hassle free booking, you can book through your hotel or resort. Unlike in Bohol, booking through your hotel or resort will not turn out to be more expensive than the others because of the existing municipal ordinance standardizing rates.


TOUR GUIDE WE USED:
We used Rovics Pension for our island hopping tour. We got tour A and tour C. I chose Rovics Pension because they replied promptly to my email and text and gave me a discount. They were easy to deal with and had a hassle free island hopping tour with them. We rode the boat Arribada and their boatmen were kind and assisted the kids a lot with snorkeling and exploring the beach during tour A. We, therefore, requested them again at tour C. The owner, Bethel Maranan, who's based in Manila, and her assistant in El Nido, 

Here are the terms I got from them:
Tour A is P700/pax:  Small lagoon, Big lagoon, Secret Lagoon, Zimisu Beach 7 Commando Beach 
Tour C is P900/pax: Secret Beach, Talisay Beach, Hidden Beach, Matinloc Shrine & Helicopter Island. 
Food includes Grilled fish, Grilled pork or chix, Veggie Salad & fresh fruits. 
Drinks are excluded only food (picnic lunch) is included. 

There were slight deviations in the tour when we got there because of the filming of Survivor Series, Swedish edition. We were prohibited to visit some sites like the Big Lagoon and Helicopter Island. They replaced some sites with Star Beach and Nat Nat Beach to make up for the sites included in the tour but we were not able to visit. Another deviation is the lunch at Talisay Beach. There were already many tour boats docked in that beach so our boatmen found another beach that has no people on it.

Rovics Pension House
Mobile: +63920-542-0695
            +63920-923-2305
            (look for Bethel Maranan)
Manila Office Landline: (+632)  939-87-89 / 417-60-79
Email : rovicspension@yahoo.com
Website: www.rovicspensionelnido.multiply.com
Location: El Nido town beachfront

OTHER TOUR GUIDES
Servant Tours
Mobile: +639186613590
            +639154157245
Location: Rizal Street
Tours offered by Servant Tours
-includes lunch with snorkel and mask



Divine Mercy Tours
Mobile: +639096263896
            +639205090101
(look for Homer Manibo or Emerlyn Manibo)
Location: Rizal Street


Tours offered by Divine Mercy Tours
- includes lunch



Og's Island Tours
Mobile: +639178495434
            +639199486458 
(look for Amy Tamayosa)
Location: Ogs Pension house
              along the El Nido town beachfront

Tours offered by Og's Island Tours
- includes lunch


Sea Slugs Tours
Mobile: +639278220636 
           (look for Dondon or Nomer)
Location: along the El Nido town beachfront

Tours offered by Sea Slugs Island Tours

Ricsons Aquatic Tour
Mobile: +639102020494 (look for Donde Vitalicio)
Email: donde_gail@yahoo.com; 
          ricsonsaquatictour_elnido@yahoo.com
Location: Ricsons restaurant
              along the El Nido town beachfront
Tours offered by Ricsons Aquatic Tours
- includes lunch and drinks

I wasn't able to get the name of this tour operator
but info above may be useful just the same.


Spur Travel and Tours

Mobile: +639296644958
            +639214626655
Email: spurtravel@yahoo.com
Website: spurtravelpalawan.com
Location: Serena Street

Tours offered by Spur Travel and Tours
website: elnidoboutiqueandartcafe.com


Location of Tour Guides

My Personal Tribute to our National Hero Dr.Jose Rizal (on his 150th Birth Anniversary)

June 19, 2011

Photo courtesy of pilipinasatbp.wordpress.com

My Personal Tribute to our National Hero
Dr.Jose Rizal 
(on his 150th Birth Anniversary)

In school, we were asked to read the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo, but the work of Dr. Jose Rizal that made the most impact on me and had the greatest influence in my life, is his "Letter to the Young Women of Malolos".  He emphasizes the importance of women and mothers and how the country's future lay in their hands. I reproduce this letter below in the hope each Filipino woman and mother will read and ponder the words of one of the greatest Filipinos who ever lived.  


Photo courtesy of filipinofreethinkers.org
To My Young Countrywomen of Malolos 
by Rizal, Jose

When I wrote the Noli Me Tangere, I asked myself if courage was a common trait of our young women. Although I recalled and passed in review the women I had known since my boyhood, only a few resembled the image I had formed. True, there were plenty of girls who were sweet in their dealings, who had beautiful manners and modest demeanor; but for all that there was in them an admixture of servility to and full aquiscence in the words or whims of the so-called “spiritual fathers” (as if the soul had any father other than God). This admixture was the result of an excess of kindness, of modesty, and perhaps of ignorance. They were like faded plants reared in darkness whose flowers had no fragrance and whose fruits lacked juice.
Today, however, when the news of what had happened in your town reached me, I realized my mistake, and great was my joy. For such mistake, I could not, of course, be blamed. I did not know Malolos nor did I know its young women except one called Emilia, and even her I knew only by name.
Now that you have responded to our first appeal for the welfare of our people; now that you have set an example for those who, like you, long to have their eyes opened and be delivered from servitude, our hopes are revived and with you as our allies we even dare to face adversity, confident of victory.
No longer do Filipino women have to stand with their heads bowed or appear on bended knees. Hope for the future now quickened their heart-beats. No longer is there any mother who will contribute to the blindness of her daughter and raise her in self-contempt and utter moral debasement. Submission to an unjust order or ready complaisance is no longer the quintessence of wisdom. Nor a polite smile now the only weapon against insult or a humble tear the ineffable panacea for all tribulations.
You already know that God's will is different and distinct from the will of a priest; that religiousness does not consist in bending one's knees for a long time, much less in mumbling kilometrical prayers, counting the heads of big rosaries, and wearing grimy scapularies. It consists rather in spotless conduct, in the purity of one's intention and in the uprightness of one's judgment or criterion. You know that prudence does not mean blind obedience to whatever whims may strike the fancy of godlings. It means doing what is reasonable and just, because blind obedience is itself the cause of such whims, and hence those who provoke them are the real sinners.
Officials or friars can no longer assert that they alone are responsible for their unjust orders, because God has endowed each person with reason and a will of his or her own, and that reason enables its possessor to distinguish what is just from what is unjust. All of us were born free, unshackled, and nobody has the right to subjugate the will and the spirit of another. And why should one submit one's thoughts, free and noble, to another?
It is cowardice and a mistake to believe that saintliness is blind obedience and that prudence and the ability to think are signs of presumption. Ignorance has ever been ignorance; it has never been prudence and honor. God, the primal source of all wisdom, does not demand that man, created in his own image, allow himself to be deceived or hoodwinked. He wants us to use and let shine the light of reason with which he has so mercifully endowed us. He is like the father who handed a torch to each of his sons to light their way in the darkness, bidding them to keep its flame ever bright and not to trust to the light of the others, but to help and advise one another to find the right path. Fools they would be if they fell headlong for following the light of another; and the father would be right in reproaching them, thus: “Did I not give a torch to each of you?” But he would have no reason to hide them if they fell due to the light of their respective torches because then the light might have been dim and the road extremely bad.
Commonplace to the deceiver is the saying that it is presumptuous to rely on one's own judgment. In my opinion, what is presumptuous is to impose one's will on others and insist on having one's own way. And it is more presumptuous for a man to constitute himself into an idol and pretend to know the thoughts of God. What is more presumptuous still—it is even blasphemous—is for a person to ascribe to God every movement of his lips, to present every whim of his as God's will and to brand his own enemy as God's enemy. Certainly, we should not rely on our own judgment alone. We should consult and hear the opinion of others, before we do what appears to us most reasonable.
The habit or the cassock does not by itself generate or impart wisdom. A wildman from the hills, although clad in a priest's robe, will still be a hillsman and will deceive only the weakling and the ignorant. You could bear me out by just buying a priest's robe like that of a Franciscan and putting it on a carabao. You will be lucky if the carabao does not become lazier as a result of the robe itself. However, I shall leave this point and speak of something else.
Youth, the nursery of fructiferous flowers, must accumulate wealth for its successors. What kind of offspring will a woman have whose kindness of character is expressed by heart mumbled prayers, who knows nothing by heart except awits, novenas, and fake miracles; whose amusement consists in playing panguingue or in confessing the same sins over and over again? What children can she have but acolytes, priests' servants, or cockpit gamblers? Mothers are responsible for the present servitude of our countrymen because of their unlimited trust and their ardent desire to elevate their sons. Maturity is the fruit of infancy but the infant is raised on the lap of its mother. The mother who knows nothing but to teach her child how to bend its knees and kiss the hand must not expect her sons to have anything but the spirit of a slave. A tree that grows in the mud is either light or is good only for firewood. If by chance a mother's son should possess a bold heart, such boldness would be deceitful and he would use it for vile purposes. It would be like the bat that can not show itself except at vesper-time.

Prudence is said to be sanctity and love of God. Yet what sanctity has been taught us? To pray and kneel often, to kiss the hand of a priest, waste money on churches and swallow everything the friar is pleased to tell us. Result: gossip, hardened knees and blistered noses . . .

As to offerings and gifts to God, is there anything in the world that does not belong to him? What would you say of a servant who gave his master as a present the very cloth he had borrowed from him? Who is so vain and crazy as to give alms to God and believe that his miserable gift will serve to clothe the Creator of all things? Blessed are they who succor their fellow men, help the poor and feed the hungry; but cursed are they who turn a deaf ear to the supplications of the poor, who give only to him who has plenty and spend their money lavishly on silver altar hangings for the church, or donate it to the friar who wallows in wealth secured from fees for masses of thanksgiving, from serenades and fireworks. Such money squeezed out of the marrow of the poor is offered to the master so that he can forge more chains with which to subdue better, and hire thugs and executioners. Oh, what blindness and lack of understanding!
The first requisite of saintliness is obedience to the dictates of reason, happen what may, “Deeds, not words, are what I wish from you,” said Christ. “He is no son of my father who comes repeating, my father, my father: but he who lives doing my father's will.” Saintliness does not lie in abjentness. Christ's successor is not to be distinguished by his willingness to extend his hand to be kissed. Christ did not give the kiss of peace to the Pharisees and never extended his hand and to be kissed. He did not cater to the rich and vain Scribes, he did not mention scapularies, nor did he manufacture rosaries. He did not solicit alms or offerings for saying special masses nor did he exact payment for praying. If John the Baptist did not demand fees for baptizing in Jordan, and Christ did not charge for his teaching, how did it happen that the friars now refuse to move unless they are paid in advance? And, as if they were starving, they sell scapularies, rosaries, belts, and other things which are nothing more than schemes for making money to the prejudice of the soul itself. Because even if all the rags on earth were converted into scapularies and all the trees in the forests into rosaries, and even if the skins of all the beasts were transformed into belts, and signs of the Cross were made and all the priests on earth mumbled prayers and sprinkled oceans of holy water, still all this would not purify a rogue or forgive his sin if he himself did not repent.
Through cupidity or greed, the numerous bans or prohibitions, such as those against eating meat, marrying close relatives, et., are lifted for a price. Why? Can God be bribed and blinded by money through no less than a friar? Can the bandit who has obtained a bull of compromise live in peace with his booty? Will God sit at a table where robbery provides the viands? Has the Omnipotent become a pauper that he must assume the role of the excise man or civil guard? If that is the God the friars worship, then I turn my back on him.
Let us be reasonable and open our eyes especially you, women, who are the first to influence the conscience of man. Bear in mind that a good mother does not resemble the mother that the friar has evolved. She must bring up her child as the image of the true God; not of an extorting and avaricious god, but of God the Father of all, who is just, who does not suck the life-blood of the poor like a vampire, nor scoff at the agony of the afflicted, nor bend the path of justice.
Awaken and prepare the will of your children to a just and proper appreciation of honor, of sincere and firm purpose, clear judgment, clean behavior, honest acts, love of fellowmen, and respect for God—this is what you must teach your children. And, since life is beset with sorrows and sufferings, you must fortify their minds against every stroke of misfortune and inure their hearts to danger. People can expect neither honor nor prosperity so long as they will not educate the children in a manly way and as long as the woman who guides the child in its tender years is slavish and ignorant. One cannot drink from a turbid, bitter spring; no savory fruit can come from acrid seeds.
The duties that woman has to perform in order to deliver the people from suffering are not unimportant. Whatever they may be, they are duties which can not excel the strength and character of the Filipino women. Well-known are the power and good judgment of the women in the Philippines; that is why they are blinded and tied and pusillanimous. Their enslavers can now rest at ease, because so long as the Filipino mother remains a slave, as long will her children be slaves. This is the cause of Asia's prostration: her woman are ignorant and oppressed. Europe and America are powerful because there the women are free and well-educated, lucid in intellect and strong of will.
We know that you lack instructive books; we know that nothing is done to develop your intelligence, the purpose being to distinguish your natural light. All these we know, hence our endeavor to being to you the light that illuminates your equals here in Europe. If what I am going to tell you does not provoke your ire, and you will pay a little attention to it, and I shall say that however dense the mist that envelope our people, we will exert our utmost efforts to dissipate it with the beautiful rays of the sun, which will shine though dimly. We will not feel tired if you help us; God, too, will help us scatter the mist, since he is the God of truth. The fair name of the Filipino women seem lacking, will return to its pristine beauty, because she possesses more than enough good qualities.
Such is our dream. Such is the desire we cherish in our breasts; to restore the honor of woman, who is half our heart and who is our companion in the joys and tribulations of life. If she is a maiden, let her be loved not only for her beauty and amiable character, but also for her strength of mind and loftiness of purpose, which enliven and raise the feeble and the timid and ward off all vain thoughts. Let her be the pride of her country and let her command respect. It is a common saying here among Spaniards and friars returned from the Islands that the Filipino woman is complaisant and ignorant as if all could be blamed for the mistakes of a few, and as if women of weak character could not be found in other lands. From the point of view of purity, does not the Filipino woman stand high above others?
Nevertheless, returning Spaniards and friars, garrulous and gossipy can hardly find enough time to brag and brawl, amidst guffaws and insulting remarks, that a certain woman was this and that; that she behaved in that way at the convent and conducted herself thus with the Spaniards who was once her guest; and other things that madden one when one comes to think of them. All such faults or shortcomings are by and large due to candor, excessive kindness, meekness, or perhaps, ignorance, qualities or defects which in reality are all work of the defamers themselves. There is a Spaniard, now in high office, whom we fed and who enjoyed our hospitality during the time he wandered through the Philippines. Upon his return to Spain, he rushed forthwith into print. He related that once he sought shelter in Pampanga, ate and slept at a house, and that the lady who entertained him behaved in such and such a manner with him; that is how he repaid her for her profuse hospitality! Similar insinuations are made by friars to their first visitor from Spain concerning their very obedient confessers, hand-kissers, etc. The story is accompanied with smiles and very significant winks of the eye.
A book published by D. Sinibaldo de Mas as well as sketches by friars mention certain sins of which women accused themselves in the confessional of having committed and of which the friars made no secret in retailing to their Spanish visitors, seasoning them at best, with idiotic and lewd tales unworthy of belief. I can not repeat here the shameless stories that a friar told Mas and to which Mas gave no credence whatever. Every time we hear or read anything of this kind, we ask one another: Are all Spanish women patterned after Virgin Mary and are all Filipino women reprobates? I believe that if we are to balance accounts on this delicate question, perhaps . . . But I must drop the subject because I am neither a confessor nor a Spanish traveler with a yard with which to injure the good name of anybody. I shall put this aside and speak instead of the duties of woman.
People who respect woman, like the people of the Philippines, must know the truth of the situation in order to be able to do what is expected of them. It seems an established fact that when a young student falls in love, he throws everything overboard: learning honor, and money, as if a girl could not do anything but sow misfortune. The bravest youth becomes a coward when he marries, and the born coward becomes shameless, as if he had been waiting to get married in order to show his cowardice. To hide his pusillanimity, the son appeals to the teachings and memory of his mother, swallows his pride, suffers himself to be slapped, obeys the most foolish order, and becomes an accomplice to his own dishonor. One should remember that where nobody flees, there is no pursuer: that where there are no little fish, there can be no big ones. Why does the girl not require her lover a noble and honored name, a manly heart to protect her weakness, and a resolute spirit which will not be satisfied with engendering slaves? Let her discard all fear, behave nobly and yield not her youth to the weak and faint-hearted. When she is married, she must aid her husband, inspire him with courage, share his perils, refrain from causing him worry, and sweeten his moments of affliction,always remembering that there is no grief that a stout heart can not bear and there is no worse inheritance than that of infamy and slavery.
Open your children's eyes so that they may jealously guard their honor, love their fellow men and their native land, and do their duty. Always impress upon them that it is better to die with honor than to live in dishonor. The women of Sparta should serve you as an object of emulation on this. Let me indicate some of their traits.
When a mother handed the shield to her son on his way to the battlefield, all her injunction was this: “Return with it,or on it,” meaning, “return in triumph or return dead,” because it was customary for a fleeing warrior to throw away his shield, and if he died fighting to have his corpse brought back on his shield. A mother one received word that her son had been killed in battle and the army routed. She did not utter a word, but gave thanks that her son had been saved from ignominy; but when her son returned alive, she went in mourning. One of the mothers who sallied forth to meet the warriors returning from battle was told by a soldier that her three sons had perished. “I am not asking you about them,” said the mother; “what I want to know is whether we won or not.” “We triumphed,” answered the warrior.
“If that is so, then let us thank God,” and she proceeded to the temple.
Once upon a time a Spartan king who had been defeated hid himself in the temple, fearing the people's wrath. The Spartans resolved to shut him up there and starve him to death. When they were blocking the door, his mother was the first to bring stones. All this represented the custom in Sparta. That is why all Greece admired the Spartan woman. “Of all women,” said a woman jestingly, “only you, Spartans, have power over the men.” “Quite natural,” they replied. “Of all women only we give birth to men,” “Man” the Spartan women said, “is not born to live for himself alone, but for his native land.” So long as this mode of thinking and this kind of women prevailed in Sparta, no enemy was able to set his foot upon her soil, nor was there a woman in Sparta who ever saw a hostile army.
I do not expect you to believe me simply because I am the one saying it. There are many people who will not listen to reason itself, but will listen only to those who wear the cassock or have gray hair or no teeth. But if age is venerable because of its arduous experiences, the life I have led, consecrated to the welfare of the people, should also be credited with experiences though not many. I do not pretend to be looked upon as an idol listened to with closed eyes, heads bowed, and arms folded. What I ask of all is to reflect on what I tell them, ponder over it and sift it carefully through the sieve of reason.
First of all: The tyranny of some is possible only through the cowardice and negligence of others.
Second: What makes a man contemptible is his lack of dignity and his abject of fear of the contemner.
Third: Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so is he. A man who not does not think for himself lacks personality. The blind man who allows himself to be guided by the thought of another is like the beast led by a halter.
Fourth: He who loves his independence must first aid his fellowmen. He who refuses to give protection to others will find himself abandoned. The detached rib of the palm is easily broken, but not the ribs of the same palm bound together into a broom.
Fifth: If the Filipino woman will not change her way of life, let her not rear children, but just bear them. She must be deprived of being the mistress of the house, otherwise she will unconsciously betray husband, child, native land, and all.
Sixth: All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave. He did not endow him with intelligence so that he may be imposed upon, nor did he bless him with reason so that he may be deceived by others. It is not fatuous to refuse to worship one's equal, to sharpen one's intellect, and to use reason in all things. Fatuous is he who makes a god of himself, who brutifies others and strives to subject to his whims all that is reasonable and just.
Seventh: Consider well what kind of religion is being taught you. See whether it is the will of God or it follows the teachings of Christ that the poor be succored and that those who suffer be alleviated. Reflect on what is being preached to you, the object of the sermon, what is behind the masses, novenas, rosaries, scapularies, images, miracles, candles, belts, etc. etc. which daily and rudely and with shoutings and gesticulations are presented before you. Find out whence they came and whither they go, and then compare that religion with the pure religion of Christ and see whether that pretended observance of the teachings of Christ does not remind you of the fat milch cow or the fattened pig which was well fed not for love, but for grossly selfish purposes.
Let us therefore reflect on and study our situation and see how we stand. May these poorly written lines aid you in your good purpose and help you pursue the plan you have begun. “My profit will be greater than the capital invested;” and I shall gladly accept the usual reward for anyone who dares tell the truth to our people. May success crown your desire to educate yourselves; may you gather in the garden of learning not bitter but choice fruits, and may you look before you eat them, because on the face of the globe all is deceit, and not infrequently the enemy puts weeds in the seed plot.
All this is the ardent wish of your countryman.
(Sgd.) JOSE RIZAL
Europe, 1889.

SOURCE: Filipiniana.net
NOTE: Bold letters supplied by me.