Change of Scenery

I'll spare you the theatrics, but long story short, we've had to re-arrange our living situation in a short amount of time. It's quite a story, however, and if you'd like to know, I'm happy to share.

Alas, we are no longer guests of the Tropicana Hotel. Our beds will not be automatically made, bathrooms no longer scrubbed, and Meena and I will not be living in the same building as our boss. Frankly, I'm a little relieved about that last one. No more chances of awkward run-ins at the pool or shared elevator rides after an especially heinous work out.

What I will miss most is the neighborhood we've been in. It's not the prettiest of places, and the ongoing construction is irritating at 8am. But we've found our niches, and I'll be sad not to be in walking distance of our usual hangouts. If we aren't home, you'll likely find us at:

• Café Adriatico, the food never disappoints, the americano is perfect, and you'll feel like you've traveled to Europe. There's a great description on the Traveler on Foot blog.

• I've already talked about the Shawarma Snack Center, but it warrants another mention. I'm pretty sure the last time we were there, the Qatar National Basketball Team was at the table next to us. Either that, or a group of neck-strainingly tall men raided a market stand that just happened to sell clothes imprinted with "QATAR" everywhere.

• We have a love/hate relationship with Robinsons Place mall. Your go-to for just about everything. We almost signed onto living there inside one of the residential towers. Wouldn't that be ridiculous? Actually living inside the mall? But there's a cafe we frequent often called MoMo!. It's gone through a renovation and it's not the same, but it'll do.

• Chinese food = Hap Chan. Ok fine, it's a chain. And more likely than not, they use MSG. But that sweet and sour pork is insane. And we just discovered their student discount, so it's only 100 pesos! ($2)

There are also the stores down the street...

• the bubble tea stand: the 20-something owners apparently open only when they want, and that's usually only on sunny days, so they are never open.

• the laundry: where everybody knows your name, but calls you, "Julie," and Julie, "Nora."

• the dvd guy and his scary wife who yells at him to charge us more.

So there it is, that's essentially where we spend our time here--in Malate, anyway. I'll post photos of our new place once we're settled. In the meantime, here's something to look forward to in the new 'hood: Hobbit House. "...[F]ormer Peace Corps volunteer and college professor Jim Turner was so inspired by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books that he founded a bar called Hobbit House entirely staffed by “little people.”"