Rhapsody Residences by DMCI Homes: Condo Near Makati Central Business District

After our Ondoy experience in 2009 one of the goals my wife and I have set is to have a place where we can be secure from floods and landslides brought about by storms. Getting a second and third floor for our 48-square-meter house became one of the options but prior to that, we also considered getting a condo unit somewhere near our area or near our church in Makati.

One of the areas within our choice was Muntinlupa and it was great to hear that http://www.dmcihomes.com had developed a mid-rise condominium in that area known as Rhapsody Residences. With its strategic location which is along the East Service Road, it’s only half a kilometer away from the Skyway entry point, and some minutes away from Makati where the church I pastor is located.

Rhapsody Residences map

We do not see any signs saying “Condo unit for Sale in Alabang, Muntilupa area” when we drive by SLEX but since we are very familiar with DMCI Homes, Rhapsody Residences easily caught our attention because of their developer. 

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Quan 7 in Ho Chi Minh: Bonifacio Global City of Vietnam?

It was the first time I went to District seven (Quan 7) in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and I appreciated its big difference from the other districts. Roads are wider, apartment buildings are much more spacious and Taps are available cold or hot, and traffic is not as congested as in other districts even during rush hour. District seven, they say is like the Bonifacio Global City of Ho Chi Minh and it does seem like it. It has spacious and relaxing grounds, with tall buildings and some malls, many high class stores and restaurants. This would be a great place to stay when you're in Vietnam if you have friends who live in the area.

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Adjusting to Banjo/Oriental Sounding Music in Vietnam

I got back from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam last Tuesday and the trip was a blast! It was, so far the best missions trip I've ever been to. I left the Philippines and adjusted to Vietnamese music which sounds like a banjo and other oriental instruments playing together but other than that everything was fine especially the food.

Ministry wise, everything turned out well even though at first our team did not have our support fully raised for the trip. Best of all, we really felt God's protection, providence and presence in everything we did in Vietnam. I am excited to blog about specifics in my next posts.

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Increasing My Rate in Jogging

Last night, I was able to run 3 Km around the Marikina Sports Park oval in around 20 minutes. That meant I ran 2.5 meters per second. I haven't joined any marathon or a 3k or 5k run before so I have nothing to compare my time with. I'm not sure if it's fast but my brother-in-law said that it was quite a strong rate.

My borther-in-law is now into biking and he has conquered the Masinag-Antipolo climb via Sumulong Highway. If I tried biking that same route i don't think I could make it like he did. I would probably need to mount my car with equipment from cracksandracks.com for car bike racks and have someone follow me up the route in case I stop or am forced to go back down.

In any case, we both need to continue developing our stamina so we can increase our rate in running and biking. I'm now going to try to at least run twice a week.

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How Much is a Local SIM in Vietnam (MobiFone)

During our trip to Vietnam I purchased a local sim card, MobiFone and was satisfied with its capabilities. Cellular phone signal in Vietnam is not difficult to find and it makes communication among our missions team easier and a lot cheaper. Instead of using our lines for texting and calling with the roaming charges, we were able to do them more liberally using the Vietnamese local sim. The MobiFone sim cost 150,000 VND (around PHP 300) and is preloaded with 50,000 VND (PHP 100) worth of load. It is very much available in convenience stores. With it, I was able to enjoy my music phone and at the same time use its call and text capabilities using other music as ring tone.

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Missing My New Friends from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

It has been three days since I got back from Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and I already miss the city and all the missionaries and new friends I have met there. Some of them, I have already added as friends in Facebook but some of them I can only remember through pictures which I haven’t uploaded yet. As early as now, I will be preparing for another trip next year for our second summer youth camp there. 

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