Please Help: Little Mark Salazar

Brave Little Mark Salazar

With nothing to waste but time, my usual "facebook lurking" stumbled upon a picture of a child named Mark Salazar and shared with it is a link about his story. 

Only 1 year and 8 months old, he was unfortunately diagnosed with Biliary Cirrhosis when he was just at his 7 months. The youngest child of Dennis V. Salazar and Maritess B. Salazar from Sampaloc, Manila. He was in and out of PGH and UST hospitals since his 1st birthday. Due to his congenital problem, the common cough and cold progresses to pnuemonia. His young body is susceptible to complications and infections, and has suffered from measles, diarrhea and sepsis.

Travel Asia: Winter in Beijing, China Part 6 (Great Wall of China)

"He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man" - Mao Zedong

Despite the cold weather and heavy snow, we're finally off to pursue one of my long time dream -- to climb the Great Wall, the symbol of Chinese ingenuity, enlisted as a UNESCO Heritage site in 1988 and also considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World in July  of 2007. It was set to fortify the borders of China against Northern nomadic tribes.

The closest gateway to the Great Wall is the Badaling gate which is situated in Yanqing County, around 70 kilometers from Beijing Central. The Badaling great wall is strategically reinforced a lot of times during the Ming Dynasty to defend the capital against Mongolian intruders. Standing in it actually made me feel like I'm Mulan. LOL :)

Me and the Great Wall

Travel Asia: Winter in Beijing, China Part 5 (The Summer Palace)

Oh Summer Palace! This is one place that I felt we could have explored more, said to be the largest and best preserved Imperial garden in China and was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1990. It was meant to be, as the name implies -- the Summer vacation home of the emperor or empress during ancient times.

The dominant structure here is the Yu Feng Pagoda that is set on top of a hilly ground facing Kunming lake, the lake itself was actually extended in 1750 by the Emperor QianLong to imitate the famous West Lake in HangZhou. 

As an extensive traveler, the Emperor took notes of every beautiful places he's been in China and incorporated it in the construction of Summer Palace.

view of the Yu Feng Pagoda over a courtyard

Travel Asia: Winter in Beijing, China Part 4 - (Where to eat)

When it comes to food, Beijing surprisingly felt like heaven to me, It's just like eating at Northpark every single day (Northpark is a famous Chinese restaurant in the Philippines) and being the rice lovers that we are, we were not disappointed with the many food viands that are really similar to Filipino dishes so we really felt at home. The price though might be a little expensive than Northpark especially if you're eating at those chinese restaurants or mini "turo-turo" near your hotels so sometimes, it's more practical to just grab a bite at Subway or Mcdonalds or at a food court if you're tight on budget. Or just buy some food from the many convenience stores in the area and stack some food in your hotel room for those midnight cravings like we did.

Travel Asia: Winter in Beijing, China Part 3 - Temple of Heaven

Another tourist attraction worth seeing is the Temple of heaven, another UNESCO world cultural site, which is, (could you believe) much bigger than the Forbidden City and a little smaller than the Summer Palace. The temple was built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to the heavens for good harvest.  Like the many tourist spots in Beijing, it has an entrance fee (around CNY 20). Tip: Ask for a free map.


To get there: Travel via Subway Line 5 and get off at Tiantan Dongmen Station, leave from Exit A and you'll find the East Gate of the Park of  the Temple.

Imperial Vault of Heaven

Travel Asia: Winter in Beijing, China Part 2 - Forbidden City, Jingshan park, Belhai park

Another way to see the glory of the forbidden city is through Jingshan park which was originally a part of the Forbidden city until the 1900s but, when a road was put up, it was cut off from the city's Northern gate. It's a bit of a climb just like in Namsam Tower (if you've been in South Korea) but the view of the city from the top is all worth it. There's also a makeshift photobooth on top where you can get dressed up as an Empress or Emperor and have your picture taken and you can get a printed copy -- a worthwhile souvenir (hehe). My husband and I have one and it's now one of the best picture we have together. :)

view of Forbidden city from the top

Rooms and Inspirations

As I said in my previous post, there are many sites that offers inspiration for homeowners. Me and my husband have used several of this sites to come up with our own versions of them and have applied them to our home. Don't expect too much though, our home is just average compared to those you see from the mentioned sites so consider ours a super uber miniature versions only. lol :)

Our Kitchen

Our actual kitchen has come about as a bit of a disaster during construction, but, I am a firm believer that someday, we will have enough budget to get the traditional look that we were going for or something better for the heart of our home. Pardon the dishes in the sink, it was a busy day when I took this picture. :)

Inspirational websites for homeowners

             There are two things that helps builds a house; one is a very reliable, experienced and trustworthy general contractor with very skilled people under them and the second is a great design that would give them an idea of what you want to achieve in your home (inside and out). You can hire an architect to help you with the layout or house plan design or maybe an interior designer for decorating (which is usually a good choice). But if you don't have the budget to pay the professionals (like we do); know that it is plausible to do the design yourself. There are several sites in the internet that you can find helpful in getting the design and look you want for your houses. Here are some of the sites that have helped me in our journey to being homeowners.