Sunday, February 14, 2010

A "Twofer" Festival

This year, two holidays happen to fall on this date: Valentines Day and Chinese New Year. Here in the Philippines, both are celebrated with almost equal enthusiasm. The former is popular for its romantic significance-- an emotion that runs deep in Filipino culture. The latter is important due to the strong Chinese presence and influence in this country. At this very moment a dragon procession is wending its way down our street.

It's no surprise that thanks to this chance calendar convergence, the malls and restaurants are packed today--even more so than they typically are on Sundays. My wife Lydia and I wanted to partake of the festivities, especially Valentines Day, but we are not fond of crowds. So we celebrated by going out to dinner last night instead at a French restaurant called Enchante in Pasig City. Upscale dining is a luxury in which we don't often indulge, and we were looking forward to a fine dining experience. The food and service were very good and the decor pleasant. However, the fine dining ambiance was diminished by a loud party on the other side of the room. One reason of course that people dine out in groups is to enjoy themselves. Yet such noisy revelry that would be expected in a place such as Chili's or TGI Friday's is out of place in such an establishment of this caliber. It seems that Filipinos often talk about Delicadeza-- a sense of propriety-- but all too rarely observe it, and so people here don't practice subtlety even in sophisticated settings.

Ah well, tonight Lydia and will enjoy our leftovers from last night in the ambiance of our own kitchen. Then from our window we can watch the fireworks display that will likely be provided by the nearby mall. After all is said and done when it comes to enjoying a holiday, there's no place like home.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY AND GONG XI FA CAI (HAPPY NEW YEAR), EVERYBODY

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thinking of moving to Eastwood. How much are apartment units there and rent? Thanks

Secular Guy said...

Hi Marcus,

A furnished studio condo will likely run approximately P20,000 per month. Obviously, a 1 or 2 bedroom be proportionately higher.

Hope that helps.