Foggy mornings

A week ago, it seemed like the rains were really back and we had our fair share everyday. It usually rained in the afternoons and nights. The rains usually stopped early mornings before dawn. And so when you wake up there is usually a fog in our area. Here are a few photos taken during our morning walks.

The fog as seen from one of the streets leading to our home. There is a PLDT line that was detached from the post and still dangles and blocking the street. A water service contractor left a couple of barriers that some residents relocated to serve as early warning signs to people approaching the area.

The fog as seen from our daughter's room's window.

The fog seen from along a street corner near our home.

It was cooler a week ago but recently the rains stopped and it was quite hot again for a few days. With a typhoon passing (but not making landfall), it is again raining but mostly its just gloomy.

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Chocolate review: The return of the dark Snickers bar

I was pleasantly surprised to find the dark chocolate variant of Snickers in the supermarket shelf. I had not seen this in a very long while. I first saw these on the shelves of convenience stores and supermarkets in Japan, and later in the duty free shops in Clark and Subic.

Snickers cacao strong (that's Japanese katakana for cacao)

The Japanese roughly to 230% more cacao than the usual Snickers bar.

Like other imported products at the supermarket, there is a sticker providing a translation of ingredients, nutrition information and manufacturer's info.

Was a little surprised to see that the importer, Mars Philippines, Inc., which is the local subsidiary of Mars Foods is located in our city. However, I was not surprised but somewhat suspicious about the bars being produced in China.

I used to buy these by the box whenever I saw them on Clark Freeport's Puregold Duty Free shop shelves. Those were from the US rather than from Japan. It has a distinctive taste from the regular Snickers as well as other variants now available. As far as I can remember (taste-wise), its the same dark Snickers bar we enjoyed before and so I've included these in our stock of chocolates.

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Coffee choices at the supermarket

The recent trip to the supermarket allowed me to get a few photos of local coffee being sold in beans, ground or instant form. I just wanted to show that there are so many to choose from among the many brands and blends from locally grown coffee. I think we have gone a long way in as far as coffee is concerned and this is something that should be pursued and promoted with or without government help.

Among the local brands are Kickstart, Healthy You, Artisans and Bo's Coffee

There is also Blue Notes coffee nestled here among the instant coffee jars that include Nescafe, Key Coffee and UCC coffee. The latter two are Japanese brands; both having a chain of coffee shops in Japan even before the arrival of Starbucks there.

More local coffee in Silcafe (from Silang, Cavite), Cafe de Lipa (from Lipa, Batangas), and Gourmet Farms (also from Silang, Cavite but usually attributed to nearby Tagaytay, Cavite). These areas in Cavite and Batangas produce some of the best coffee in the country. Batangas, of course, is famous for its Barako blend of coffee that's perfect for morning cups. 

Not in the photos are other local coffee like those from the Cordilleras, Rizal province and Mindanao. These also grow high quality coffee in these regions/provinces. I will try to take a few photos of these brands in the next trip.

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Kandy, Sri Lanka, Part 2

Here's a continuation of the series on Kandy, the former capital of what was a kingdom in Ceylon/Sri Lanka. The following photos were taken at the Sacred Tooth Temple complex.

I forget exactly where this staircase leads to but it is not a temple but a residence of people taking care of the temple complex

One of many gateways leading to the Temple of the Tooth

Intricately designed doorway

Signs explaining the entrance to a sacred area and asking visitors to remove footwear and head gear as a sign of respect.

Buddha image surrounded by flower, incense and money offerings

One of the small temples spread around the complex

Pathway leading to another Buddha image covered by a curtain

A very old tree that probably was witness to a lot of events in the complex

A devotee prays beside one of the Buddha images at one of the smaller temples in the complex

There are curtains covering some of the images to physically separate the devotees from what are likely to be images being preserved. I recall similar images designated as 'national treasures' or 'national cultural treasures or artifacts' in other countries such as Japan, Thailand and Korea.

More on Kandy soon!
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Vintage Seiko DX 6106-8030 Sea Lion M88

Another quick catch was this Seiko DX that is also popularly known as a Sea Lion, based on the sea lion drawn on the case back. It is actually one of many sea lion models. I got it for cheap and because the watch was in great condition.

The watch has both day and date features but with the day display located on the left part of the dial.

Side view showing the crown at 4 o'clock.

The other side view

The watch is powered by a Cal. 6106A movement with quickset date by pushing the crown. The movement runs at 21,600 A/h with a potential power reserve of 46h. The serial number on the case back indicates this watch to be manufactured in December 1967. Why not 1977? It is also stated here that the watch is "water proof" instead of "water resistant". The former was applied to watches prior to the 1970s. The sea lion is also clear and clean

Close up of the pristine dial of this Seiko. That's not at all bad for a watch that's almost 53 years old.

Wrist shot

The watch came with a stretchable strap so it wears a bit loose. It looks like a casual watch but with a strap change, maybe a nice set of leather straps, it can be worn in formal occasions. 

 

[I unloaded this watch early this year. Another collector was shopping around for these DX models with the split day and date. I obliged an inquiry and he got the watch for a good price.]

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Vietnamese coffee at the supermarket

The wife's supply of coffee for her morning brews were running out; well at least the ground coffee that she uses for the press. We still had a couple of bags of beans from our pre-Covid cache and she didn't want to grind these for the press. She usually used these for her more complicated coffee machine, which automatically grinds the coffee beans according to her settings. I usually bought coffee at the supermarket where they have a good selection of local coffee including those from Cavite, Batangas, Mindanao and the Cordilleras. And so the next time I went to the supermarket, I was ready to pick up a couple of bags, one usually the Barako blend, when I spotted a bag that had "Viet" on it. This turned out to be Vietnamese coffee marketed under the brand of Mr Viet. We love Vietnamese coffee (I make an exception when there's Vietnamese coffee around as I usually drink chocolate or tea.) so it was a no-brainer for me to get a bag.

Mr. Viet Coffee

Details on the coffee at the back

Information on the manufacturer and country of origin

Brewing instructions

The coffee was really good and so now I get a bag every time I go for our groceries. It's good to know that they also have Vietnamese coffee available at the supermarket so we can have some variety outside of getting coffee from Starbucks or CBTL, which also have branches nearby.

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Vintage Tudor art deco watch

I don't have a Rolex but could afford to get an old one if I wanted to. I tend to identify the brand to corrupt officials though so I have resisted getting one for myself even though I like some models, particularly the simpler ones. No bling for me. Tudor is owned by Rolex and sort of their next tier line. It does have its own history and distinguishes itself from its mother brand. Last year, I had the opportunity to get one that I really liked. It seemed to be out of the radar so I got it for what I thought was much lower than its value. I have yet to determine the approximate date of manufacture but judging from the design, this is art deco, pre-WW2, perhaps between the 1920s and 1940s. Tudor was established in 1926 so it cannot be older than that year. The rose emblem probably gives a clue on when this watch came out? A quick research from the official Tudor site shows that the rose logo appeared from 1936.

The rectangular dial features Roman numeral hour markers and a sub-dial.

Close-up of the dial showing the lugs and framing

An even closer look at the dial and sub-dial showing Tudor's rose logo and the raised roman numeral hour markers

Side view showing the crown

The other side view

Case back stating this to be of stainless steel and showing what appears as a serial number

The dial, movement and case back can be detached first from the frame.

The inside of the case back bears the abbreviated RWCLtd that stands for the Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. Rolex, after all, owns Tudor.

The signed movement bears the Tudor brand. I still have to research on the caliber of the movement.

Wrist shot. This wears like a big watch because of the 20mm lugs and the long case from lug to lug that's like my Baume Hampton.

Though the watch was packaged well, it arrived with the second hand of the sub-dial detached. I inspected the watch and found the case back to be somewhat loose. So I quickly got some bubble wrap and ziplock bag as preventive measure. And I brought the watch to my watch guy for it to be serviced the first chance I had.

I had the watch checked and it is a legit piece with a legit movement from Rolex, which probably produced this as an in-house movement. This is definitely another keeper and one that the wife also borrows occasionally. The watch also keeps time and I only have to adjust it after winding every third day. Not bad for a 80+ year old time piece. :)

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Chocolate review: Bark Thins dark chocolate almond with sea salt

One of the first things we tried to get when Metro Manila finally transitioned into GCQ were some "comfort items" or "luxuries" depending on your perspective. My sister pointed me towards the Healthy Options online store and I promptly filled in an order for comfort food including baking ingredients for the wife. Among the items we ordered were Bark Thins snacking chocolate. We like two flavors - the dark chocolate almond with sea salt and the dark chocolate with pretzels.

Bark thins snacking chocolate

Details on the chocolate at the back of the package

Nutrition information

Ingredients and allergy informations. Unfortunately, it doesn't indicate the minimum % of cacao for this chocolate.

Other Bark Thins flavors.

What the chocolates look like

I also got a few chocolate bars to replenish our depleted cache and some snacks (junk food actually) that we had not had for months. These are luxuries though that we are lucky to be able to afford. Evil as it seems (that we are buying these), we did work hard to afford these and continue to do our part to help others who are in need. Sulit ba sa price because its on the expensive side of snack? Yes. In fact, I would say that it is also "bitin" because a pack seems to be not enough if you'd be sharing it with others.

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Another Glashütte Spezichron Diver

I have another Glashutte Spezichron diver watch. Spezichron comes from the term spezial or special chronometer. This watch is also powered by a GUB Cal. 11-27 movement that runs at 28,800 beats per hour. While considered a diver, it is not as water resistant as desired. The crown is not the screwback kind and so should not be used for showers or swimming. I've used it for washing and watering the plants in the garden though and it has held well so far.

The light-colored dial has day and date features. The day wheel is in German.

Side view showing the crown and the condition of the case and bezel from this angle.

The other side view

Case back showing the words stating the watch to be of stainless steel, water resistant and shock resistant. It also shows the watch to be Made in GDR (German Democratic Republic or East Germany).

Close-up of the dial showing this watch to be in great condition

View of the bottom part of the dial showing the bottom lugs

View of the top part of the case and the top lugs.

This is a rare model but not as rare and desirable as the other Glashütte diver that I have. Still, this is another keeper for now.

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