My Bucket List #34 - Eat at an Authentic Indian Restaurant

I have always been fascinated with anything India to the point that I even used the handle "janujennifer" because an online buddy I met nearly a decade ago told me that "janu" meant "dearest." I know it is very impossible for me to travel to India, so on my Bucket List, I have two Indian-related things I want to do before I die - wear a green sari and eat at an authentic Indian restaurant here in the Philippines.

Prior to my holiday with K, a local magazine TV show listed the top 10 food places to try in Boracay, and one of those was True Food Indian Cuisine. The head chef of this restaurant is Indian, making it an authentic Indian restaurant.


Second night in Boracay, K and I decided to walk along the shores to find a place where to eat dinner. I didn't know exactly where this restaurant is located, but it was such a great surprise when we passed by it, and checking the menu, we decided to eat there.

me at the second floor

The restaurant has two floors, but we decided to eat at the ground floor so we could see people walking by. The menu is quite extensive, and being an Indian food virgin, I felt lost checking the menu. I had so many questions because I didn't want to end up with a very spicy dish to eat. Yes, I do like spicy food, but not in a big way. I still prefer just having a little kick of the spice, the kind that doesn't burn the mouth.


I ended up choosing the Northern Style Non-Vegetarian Thali, which looks like a sampler set with different dishes. The bowl with the finger chili had lamb cubes, while the other two were purely vegetables.

Everything tasted good, but my favorite would have to be the bowl with cabbages. It was foodgasmic! The dessert was super delicious, too... but because this was a very big serving and meant to be shared, I only got to eat 1/3 of it. This was also the most expensive food I ate - this alone was 790 pesos. Whoa.

But of course... K was happy that thru our holiday I was able to have my first taste of "true" Indian food. Eat at an authentic Indian restaurant? A check on my Bucket List.

My Bucket List | #28 Ride the Zipline

On the first day of this year, I had the chance to ride the zipline, but I didn't go for it, because I felt I still wasn't ready for it and also because I wanted to ride my first zipline out of town. In my mind, I am hoping to do it at the Dahilayan Park in Bukidnon, but fate brought me to a different course.


While doing a land tour around Guimaras last 20 June 2013, our tour guide asked me if we wanted to do target shooting. Asking K about it, he said he didn't know how to shoot and because I still haven't held a gun, that activity was quickly dismissed. The tour guide then asked me if we wanted to visit Camp Alfredo to ride the zipline and K was very much eager to do it. I didn't know then if I was ready, but this holiday has been about adventures and trust... and seeing how excited K was, I knew I had to do it.


The staff had been very patient with me. I wasn't the baby-baby type who whined all the time, but I did have questions and doubts to be satisfied. I asked if the ropes could take my weight... if someone bigger than me took the ride. When my questions were satisfied, I let them do their work.


At the starting point, the staff asked who would go first. K was considerate to say he'd go first so I could have more time to convince myself, but I told them I'd go first, because if I let him go first, I might back out and turn around.

It was scary at first. Seeing how high we were was scary, but learning how to trust the ropes was scarier. Again, I wasn't the baby type who would go and back out... but the staff was very patient. When he told me to just put all my weight on the rope that supports my bum and allowed me to test it (there was still a rope connected to my body and the main line), I was able to exorcise the demons and just when I told him I am ready, that's when he unhooked the rope so I could fly....


...and fly I did. It was so exhilarating! It was so fun and I just couldn't stop screaming for joy! I wasn't able to take a video or a picture of my ride (my POV) because the tour guide took our cameras so he could just took pictures of us, but I wasn't able to explain to him how to take shot after shot of pictures, so this was the only one he was able to take. :)


After the first zipline, K and I had to cross two hanging bridges. These bridges were scary to cross because there were planks smaller than our feet so we had to take it one step at a time. The final leg of the course was rappelling, but I just couldn't understand the jist of how it was done and that I fear I might just fall, so when K told me "There's no shame in passing this one, you did great just riding the zipline," I decided not to do the rappelling and just take another short zipline to the finish mark.

It was such an amazing experience. Had I known zipline rides were that fun, I shouldn't have waited this long. Well, now that I know how great it feels, I will ride the zipline every chance I get.

Ride the zipline? A check on My Bucket List.