The Definition of “Arayat 5”

It all started with this:

Many expressed interest but few chose to heed the call—and those who did conquered every odds and obstacles in order to claim, “We owned Arayat!”

There were only five of us who went on with the climb—Sauron, Ohmer, A, R and me. Actually, I wasn’t even sure of going and R really had no intention to come at all—it turned out that at the last minute, those who expressed the intention to climb bailed out and we ended up choosing to join instead. The Arayat 5 from DLSU. From left: Ohmer, R, A, me and Sauron.

Since Ohmer is from Pampanga, we met with him in Brgy. Ayala and began the convoy that would bring us to the base of the mountain.

And as if sharing the ride with us, we saw what awaits us in minutes—a mountain that does not look as intimidating.

So this is the base where we began the trek. There’s another shot way before we’re completely wasted from climbing. Hehehe, nakangiti pa, o!

The rest of the climbers are Ohmer’s friends—they were nice enough accompany us in this trip.

These were some of the views of the lowlands—and we’re not even a quarter past the base!

I suppose it’s safe to say that this is where things got serious. Of course, we didn’t know that until we were deeper into the mountain. Since this terrain was such an open space, we had to adjust to the sun, which slowly began to take a toll on our hydration. Despite that, the photo ops were too good to pass up.

Deep into the trail. At this point, it’s a physical and mental battle. Although personally, I enjoyed the climbing part.

And we arrived at White Rock, which I believe is the second highest peak. From this place, the summit of Mt. Arayat can be seen...reaching THAT little tower is our goal.

Sauron is not yet here because he took a wrong turn and went temporarily missing…

Oh, there he is now.

A couple of hours later, we finally reached the top, where two dogs greeted us. Here is one of them.

We had our lunch here (at 1430H) but we were too hungry to take a pause and photograph the food…so, just settle with how view from the peak looks like.

So here we were after gaining some energy back…

We stayed at the peak for about an hour before heading back. Dusk caught up with us but it was still a sight to behold—the sunset and the emergence of the stars (okay, this is actually the planet Venus, the stars were too far to be photographed).

I suppose the big question is, “Was the climb worth it?” Well, it’s my first time to seriously climb a mountain—apparently, the trekking we did in Davao is child’s play compared to this. I would consider this as one of the charge-to-experience moments, where at least, I wouldn’t wonder “what-if?”

For one, I learned I am a climber, such that I can keep up with the guys going upwards. Going down, on the other hand, is a totally different story—I suck at going down. Compared to how fast (and almost with reckless abandon) I climb up, I was incredibly slow and careful when I go down, and even with such care, I still slipped more than thrice. It felt more spectacular for me when I got down compared to when I got to the peak (though it felt awesome, too) because of the sheer amazement that when I looked up again and saw the tiny tower on the peak, I had to remind myself that I just came from there.

One moment I won’t forget is literally climbing a steeply inclined terrain with only large rocks to cling on for support—no harnesses or something soft to fall back on. In hindsight, it was dangerous but it was worth the risk. Trekking for 10 hours in varied terrain definitely tested us physically and mentally. On a personal note, I remind myself not to dismiss ideas such as climbing the stairs of Andrew Building from ground to, say, 10th floor at the least; undertaking two straight hours of tennis training-in-hell under humid conditions in an open court; or taking 9 units of post graduate course work under the known sadistic professors.

The climb made me realize just what all of us are capable of—we’re not the Arayat 5 for nothing.

Pics from Arayat 5 cams--Ohmer, Sauron, R, A and J. For those who plan to grab the last two pics, please credit the genius in Sauron--nag-overtake pa yan para lang habulin ang sunset.

If FOOD TRIPPING was a video game, it would go something like this…

Biopsychologist John P.J.Pinel relates in his text, Biopsychology, that there are two theories behind the psychology of Eating. First is the Set Point theory, where our bodies’ sugar or fat levels have to maintain a particular set point (or a threshold, if you will) in order for us to remain satiated (i.e., “full”) and when the sugar or fats go below set point, that is when we feel hunger. Another theory is the Positive Incentive theory, where it explains that we eat not because of a decline in set point, nor a need to regain whatever energy we lost, but the positive incentive values acquired in the process of eating (i.e., flavor, enjoyment) are what compel us to eat, even if we don’t really need to.

Before 2008 ended, some of my Davao friends got to test these two theories, with the Positive Incentive Theory winning hands down. For the purpose of this post (and since we were incomplete), I would refer to them some random names that I randomly thought of. Random is the operative word here, because throughout the food trip, there was no plan—everything was random. I thought of the food trip experience as a video game, where we had to go through stages and load up with carbs every step of the way. If we had a poster, it would look something like this…(I just had to mess with the this whole thing, I was laughing out loud at it!)

So, Simon was the designated driver since he pretty much knew the places where we were supposed to go due to his highly advanced allocentric spatial memory abilities (translation: lakwatserong Atenista). On hindsight, he knew it so well that he didn’t bother telling us exactly where we’re going—at one point, it did look like he would smuggle us South to play Airsoft instead. The actual destination was in the Quezon City area, around Katipunan and Diliman (look, I’m not familiar with the place to I’m going to label these places in general). Andrea is more or less familiar with the place since she studied in U.P. while James and I are the Q.C. noobs. Let us begin.

STAGE 1: A Taste of Persia

It took a couple of rounds around Katipunan area and beyond before we settled with our first stop in MISTER KABAB. Actually, it was the only open place we were able to pass by (around 9.45ish in the morning) and we need to eat.

We had sizzling keema, ox brain with bread and yogurt shakes. The keema tasted like beef…well, at least Simon reassured me it’s not dog meat so I’m okay with it. It tasted really good! The ox brain…well, it didn’t taste like liver because I pretty much ate a fair amount of it. It didn’t really taste remarkable unless you season it with the garlic sauce and put cucumber and tomatoes in it with the bread. The yogurt shake tasted weird at first but I got used to it—it wasn’t bad.

Stage 1 CLEARED! We are one bunch of happy customers ready for the next challenge.

STAGE 2: Sugar Rush

Andrea wanted to go to Trinoma and have her dessert. James and I had no objections while Simon gave in. Off we went to Five Cows Resto and Ice Cream Bar.

Andrea had Belgian Chocolate Mint Ice cream—which James liked while I thought it was okay (not exactly a mint-in-sweets person), James had the Ferrero Crunch Ice Cream—which we all thought was okay (we didn’t eat the cone…too tough) and I ordered Rocky Almond Ice Cream Sandwich Bar, which was really big and AWESOME that it took a while before James and I finished it. Andrea couldn’t help us anymore because she was busy attacking her ice cream. Simon couldn’t stand us devouring dessert so early in the morning that he went to buy his large coffee.

Stage 2 CLEARED! The thing prior to clearing this stage was our constant muttering of “Oh, God…”, which usually should be associated with something good. But now, it’s more like “Oh, God, the freaking ice cream bar isn’t getting any smaller and I’m too full to eat…”. Andrea was a happy panda with because of her ice cream and Simon can’t help but snicker at our state. Apparently, another heavy weight challenge is about to come.

STAGE 3: Burjer! Burjer!

There was no question with regards to the inclusion of Bite Club since Simon had wanted to bring us here for a long time. The bright orange sign outside was fierce while the interior was kind of lean. Of course, that’s a far description on how they serve their burgers.

This was the Bombarella, a 7-inch burger patty filled with lettuce and tomatoes, seasoned with barbecue sauce. We had to have it cut since it was big and we will share. Since Andrea, James and I shared this (Simon ordered his own), we tried it with the sauce, where it was after some time that I realized, we could’ve have savored the meat more without it. Oh well, a reason to come back then!

Stage 3 CLEARED! Despite the lack of airconditioning on the second floor, we chose to still hang around a bit, hoping that whatever we consumed would digest itself quickly so we can move on to the next several dishes. Obviously, we had to wait a little longer so we left the joint, only to go to the street parallel to Katipunan to purchase our next meal.

STAGE 4: Street Turo-turo

Let’s face it—the stereotype of Lasallians being “rich, elite people” is immense. Logic should dictate then, that “rich, elite people” would rather patronize “fine dining and cuisine” rather than some random street food.

Well, not these Lasallians (by academic or professional blood). We’re neither rich nor elite, but we know good food when we see or smell one. And Morning Sun Eatery was a good one.

We bought Pork Barbecue, Tenga ng Baboy and Pork Liempo here. James just had to have rice with his grilled stuff. And seriously, if I had more room for food at that time, I would’ve order their other menus. Nothing beats the likes of “lutong bahay”.

Now I did mention we had to wait out a bit before we consumed our grilled food so to pass time AND WALK, Simon brought us to Parks and Wild Life.

It’s actually pretty spacious in here, and there were a lot of people—not exactly jam-packed but you can pretty much see some crowds in all directions.

Some greens…and yellows that will greet you in the pathways…

Seeing some wild animals in captivity was one of the highlights of the mini trek…

The best sight was definitely this lake right in the middle of the park! AWESOME!!!

Finally, after all that walking, it was time to eat. Of course, we picked the lake area for its ambiance.

All I can say for this stage was—COWBOY kami! After the BBQ and Tenga ng Baboy were consumed, Andrea and Simon were ready to get their hands dirty with the liempo while I used the stick from the BBQ, and James was able to eat his rice from its wrapping. For the record, the Tenga and the BBQ tasted great and while I still prefer Baliwag’s Lechon Liempo, the one we bought was pretty good! Stage 4 CLEARED.

STAGE 5: Sugar High!

We ended up at Chocolate Kiss, inside U.P. Diliman afterwards. I wanted to try this place out after hearing about it constantly for a long time and finally, it became the next stop.

Simon was the only one who ended up not ordering cake, while James was the only one who didn’t order the very good tasting Iced Tea. We had the Kahlua Cake, Devil’s Food Cake and Sourcream Cheese Cake. The Devil’s Food Cake was the best seller for James and me, and this somehow made Andrea a little bit sad since the other two, her favorites, didn’t sell that much to our taste, LOL! Come to think of it, I never found out what happened to the Kahlua Cake…

Stage 5 CLEARED and we headed off to get the appetizer for our dinner.

STAGE 6: Exotic Pinoy!

I actually wanted fishballs, even if at the back of my mind, I was hoping my immune system will not betray me. Unfortunately, there were no fishballs and only isaw was available. Now, I’ve never eaten isaw before and this was enough reason for Simon and Andrea to execute this stage—Mang Larry’s Famous Isawan sa U.P. Diliman.

The amusing this here is that you get your order taken—and you wait. Kind of like Starbucks only without the fancy barristas and coffee shop music. I was treated to both Chicken and Pork Isaw, both of which I found tasty. Now I understand why this is such a hit in most street. Sure, they look…so wrong to eat but hey, I’m all for adventure—and it was worth it.

Stage 6 CLEARED! However, there were doubts at this point whether we can still physically afford to eat dinner…We pondered this as we drove towards our next destination.

STAGE 7: The lamb is the final boss…

Never underestimate the power of the positive incentive of eating above average tasting and reasonably-priced lamb. We ended up having dinner at Javi’s Steak and Burger Joint in Sikatuna Village.

So, it won’t exactly win the most aesthetic presentation award but for someone who’s very, very full at the time, it tasted so good that we all finished our plates. It’s actually the only full meal each of us had, since all the food we ate earlier were on a shared basis.

Stage 6 CLEARED. It was decided, upon unspoken agreement, that this was the last stop. We were too full to think of where to eat next, plus the fact that the night was starting and all we wanted to do was go home and rest.

To date, I have never eaten this much before and I was surprised that this overpowered my previous record in Yellow Cab with the Meta Team. All of us had Simon to thank for, who despite his fever, still treated us to see these wonderful places. And this blog entry, will never be able to tell the story I want to share had it not been for the pictures from Andrea the Camwhore Poser and James the Closet-Camwhore Taker. As for T and S who were unable to join, I hope it pleases you to know that all those times, you two were constantly in our minds…and your portions in our tummies. [~ann.123008]