The Historic Camalig Restaurant, Angeles, Pampanga: Wherein I Ate Pizza With A Blog Giveaway Winner

Hey folks, do you remember that time when I had a contest-slash-raffle in which readers have to guess a couple of cities from two different continents that are included in the book 501 Must-Visit Cities? And yeah, that book was the prize.

Oh, you don't? Well it was five continents, fourteen months ago. I was feeling generous on my second blogversary.

Artsy decor in The Historic Camalig Restaurant. Can you name all five?
Luna drew the winner from her ice cream bowl (video looks like it was edited by a ten-year-old) while we were at Tallow Beach in New South Wales, Australia. So who's the winner?

Oh look, it's my ol' watermark! And my hideous zigzaggy hair.  

I've never met the dude then, and I politely asked if he could wait for me to fly home. The book weighs a gazillion pounds and there's no way I'm shipping at a cost that's more expensive than the prize. He didn't mind.

The book was eventually sent to the Philippines via door-to-door, along with some early Christmas presents we shopped for relatives during Black Friday in the U.S. (second stop on our round-the-world trip). Cause yah know, we can't possibly travel luggin' all that.

For months, the book forlornly collected dust at my mom's house.

Armando's Best Pizza   

Last June when I was in the country, Duni and I finally set a date. What was supposed to be a quickie eyeball at Pampanga's Dau Terminal ended up as an early booze session at The Historic Camalig Restaurant. He's been living in Pampanga for more than a decade yet it was his first time to dine in this famous Angeles restaurant.

This pizzeria got its name from an ancestral camalig (grain storage shed), a century old I believe, which its owners restored in 1980. It is housed in the resto's building, and customers get to gorge on crispy-crust pizzas inside it. We felt like we traveled back in time as we stepped through the door. Framed sepia photographs and antiques abound.The upbeat pop music didn't match with the Filipiniana interiors, but paired with our bottles of cold San Mig Light well.

Top: No photo, didn't happen. Bottom: Duni's prize and his gift for my daughter Luna. Ain't he sweet?
We ordered Armando's Best which is topped with tons of ground beef, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, green pepper, mushroom, and cheese. It's available in one size, 13", and reasonably priced at P476. If you haven't had Filipino pizza, this hodgepodge may surprise you. The crust is not chewy. The tomato sauce has a hint of sweetness, the mushrooms from a can (at least I think so), and the cheese may not be the type you'd expect on a pizza.

But hey, it suits our taste. And it was a great accompaniment to our lengthy conversation about backpacking, volunteering, biking, parenting, music and... The old Multiply days. We could have gone on and on, but there was a meeting (first ever meeting of the people behind the Book Sharing Project 2012) in Manila that I had to attend. Our leftover pizza was packed for takeout, and we soon made our way to the jeepney stop for a ride back to Dau Terminal.

I bade farewell to Duni as I hopped on the bus, and smiled at the realization that I made a friend. The Historic Camalig Restaurant just became historic for me too.

Historic Camalig Restaurant 
292 Sto. Rosario Street, Angeles City, Philippines
Tel No: (045)322-5641/(045)888-1077
Website: http://www.camalig.com Email: camalig@comclark.com

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Backpacking Borneo: Clark-Kota Kinabalu

Exactly a year ago, 7th of May 2009, Shervin and I set off for our 6-week backpacking trip across six countries (Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar) in South East Asia - with a budget of $1,000 each. And where did our epic adventure begin? Malaysian Borneo.

Signal no. 2 typhoon on our departure day. A bad omen?

Our flight to Kota Kinabalu was with Air Asia (P1,800), so we needed to travel 2 hours to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from Manila first. We took a bus from Victory Liner Pasay Terminal to Dau (less than P200), trike from Dau to Clark gate (a whopping P70 but the storm didn't leave us with any other choice), then finally a cab from Clark gate to airport (P300).

A much easier way to get there is to hop on a Philtranco bus from Pasay or Ortigas (P300/350) that will take you directly to the airport, which unfortunately we weren't able to book. These two options almost cost the same (granting you're with a backpacking partner to split the fares with), so take your pick. By the way if you're flying back also with Air Asia, you might want to reserve Dau-Manila bus tickets already at no cost.

We were running late and were hoping that the flight would be delayed since there was a storm. When we arrived, the AirAsia check-in counter was still open and on its digital signboard flashed 'on time'. We felt relieved and thought we got a few minutes to grab a bite at the departure area, until the girl from the counter told me I must buy a return ticket to the Philippines. Otherwise, I won't get past the Filipino immigration officer.

It felt like the Amazing Race. We ran to the ticket sales booth and hurriedly decided on our return date. The Cebu Pacific attendant gave me a ridiculous price of P14,000, Bangkok to Manila. I don't know if she was confusing herself as a PAL officer or ripping me off, or just high. So we settled for another Air Asia flight, P3,800 Kuala Lumpur to Clark dated 22nd June. Shervin, an Aussie citizen, was not required so he didn't buy his - plus it will be easier and cheaper to reschedule just one flight in case we would want to extend our vacation.

After scoring the tickets we sprinted back to check-in, paid P1,620 travel tax and P600 terminal fee, breezed through a short immigration queue, then sat on the plastics waiting area chairs to catch our breath. The flight wasn't as 'on-time' as they claimed, so we were able to munch on a Jamaican Patty before boarding.

The plane ride was insanely turbulent for almost half the way. I've never been so scared in my entire life! In my head I scolded myself for watching too many episodes of National Geographic's "Air Crash Investigation".

We arrived at Kota Kinabalu International Airport two hours later and found the money exchange counter closed. We weren't that worried though since the place we'll be staying at is just three kilometers away. Two weeks before the trip, I asked a Couchsurfing member if he could host us for three nights. He agreed, and trustingly provided me his residential address.

We busied ourselves taking photos along the way so we'd barely notice the long walk.

We walked for an hour and found his place with the help of non-English speaking locals kindly pointing the directions. After entering one of Grace Ville's gates, a guy behind us called out my name. It was Kuni.

Kuni led us to his apartment, showed us our room, gave us the keys, and asked "Was your flight delayed?". He smiled and nodded in amazement when we replied that we walked all the way. Then he invited us to join him and another CSer (also staying at his place), Anita, for dinner. He lent us money to buy food, since we didn't have ringgits yet. After our first Malaysian meal, with getting-to-know-you conversations in between, we all went back to Kuni's to rest early for activities the next day.

I plopped on our queen-sized bed, and fixed my sleepy eyes on Shervin who was poring over Kuni's Lonely Planet Borneo... my last memory that night was of him, taking photos of the Kota Kinabalu pages.

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Kuala Lumpur-Clark

It all ends here. We traveled nonstop (with one bus change) from Bangkok to Kuala lumpur, a 21-hour trip. We stayed at Parham's place for two nights, and mostly spent our time indoors. We were weary. I was missing home and I can't wait to see my mom. I haven't seen her for eight months, or maybe longer than that.

This six-week Southeast Asia backpack trip (around 6 countries) will definitely be a big chunk of our memories. We have trekked treacherous jungle trails, sauntered along crowded and pristine beaches, eaten countless bowls of mee goreng and nasi goreng, washed laundry in every guesthouse we stayed in (I brought Surf powder), devised our own Asian sign language, been bitten by bedbugs, ripped off by a Burmese mob, been familiarized with different 7-11 goods of each Asian country, ridden numerous buses (and other modes of Asian transport), and met an eclectic mix of interesting backpackers and Asian locals.

We spent P49,773.425 each for everything, including four plane trips. I have documented all of our expenses - even toilet admissions: Malaysia 20 sen, Indonesia 2,000 Rp, Thailand 5 THB, Singapore 10 cents. We were ridiculously frugal. A lot of times we shared one meal (I also brought instant noodles and a small portable stove with pan), and we once walked three hours just to save up on 100 THB each for a taxi ride. We would take overnight bus rides to save up on accommodation. If we arrive in the wee hours of the morning, we would wait for public transport no matter how long so we need not take a cab.

It was definitely no leisure trip, but we enjoyed it to bits. We're poorer today but we'd definitely do it all over again!

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