Have gas, will travel: San Juan, Batangas

a spontaneous 'have gas, will travel' trip to the beach despite the threat of tropical depression gener. fortunately for us, it did not rain. though the waves were a bit rough when we swam at the beach. the morning drive to san juan could have been more relaxing if it was not for the mas que nada song that kept playing over and over; i really have to get a new radio for my car. we have nothing against bep but it came to a point that the song is already irritating.. haha. we arrived a few minutes before 11 a.m. and upon registering, one of the staff pointed to us where lunch would be served. i saw several people already in the eating area but i thought that they were probably just staying there to have a chat with their peers. we did not know that they were already being served lunch. tired from the drive, i took a nap first until i was woken up by one of the staff inviting us to eat lunch. since we were the last to have lunch, they have already separated food for us.

for lunch, they served us grilled fish, menudo, chopsuey and chicken. after our filling lunch they served sweetened bananas with sago for dessert






the staff were very accomodating and the reception to the place was very warm so i commend the service of la luz. overall, i had a fun relaxing time, even if it was just a day trip, and would definitely go back to this place.

Sunburnt and sunkissed anilao escape

saturday, started the weekend with a 3K fun “run” (partida pa kasi nagyoyosi si jm while doing the fun run), at mckinley hill. then headed to cash and carry to buy our food and alcohol supplies for the anilao trip in the afternoon. oh yes, the long awaited amd outing finally pushed through. these made the trip memorable: last minute confirmations, our lunch came after more than 3 hours the order was made, unsuccessful attempts to buy a pair of slippers for abhie, paghintay samin sa star tollway… mga santacruzan sa batangas that had traffic stopped along the national highway, tamarind beach’s steep driveway, white dog ni xtian at jammy, coleman full of ice cold beer, tequila and johnny mix ni sir jason, the koolaide traydor drink of sir alex, mr. notary public, pag ‘ba-baraha’ at pag gulong-gulong sa damo, designing the bauan church, and those that i can’t remember due to my alcohol intoxication. =p but in the end, it was sunshine and the beach that made my lovely weekend.

team megaworld








abhie showing her teeth =D


ending the day with a dinner overlooking the manila cityscape

Baguio Essentials 03/15/08

Here was the plan for the Baguio trip, there would be nine of us who will go, we would need two cars, we will stay at Petersville, we will go horse back riding, boating and biking on our first morning, and that we will drink and party on a local club.

However, out of these plans for Baguio, only one was materialized, that we would be staying at Petersville. The “trip to remember”, as my dear friend Yuts calls it, almost did not push through because five people backed-out. At first, the four of us who were left hesitated to push through with the trip, but we eventually decided to go because we did not want to spoil the excitement that we have been feeling several days before our departure. It turns out that we had made the right decision because the trip was a blast.

Here are some of the essentials that made our Baguio trip a “trip to remember”:

a.) Be with excellent company



b.) Make sure that the roads are safe for traveling



c.) Be well rested; use the long trip to gather energy



d.) Always have someone take your pictures



e.) Wear proper gears for biking and horseback riding



f.) Take time to appreciate the beauty of nature



g.) Try the local hot chocolate de batirol (w/ bibingka preferably)



h.) Connect with the past by visiting war relics



i.) Bring a good alcohol



j.) Eat street foods



k.) Keep distractions off your head



l.) Visit the market for souvenir items



m.) Stop by and have your photos taken at the Lion’s head

She-Pain: The big news from Pao

It has been more than a year since I last went to Tali, Batangas with my palangga and my greatest friends from high school. So to ensure that most would be able to come, we planned a month in advance this weekend escape to Batangas. The plan was finalized last minute, our food, transportation and most especially our alcohols. But it turns out that Pao has his own plan; he planned that this week would be the time he would reveal his upcoming fatherhood.

The Main Beach Tali, Batangas

Da boys

Daddy

Our mini bar

More of Tali

Then on our way back to Manila, Joyce and Kim brought us to this place where they serve fantastic Bulalo! I'm still drooling over what we ate at LZM Restaurant.

Bulalo

Aside from the Bulalo, according to Joyce and Kim another specialty of LZM is their Daing or dried milkfish.

Eternal honeymoon in paradise

Eight o’clock in the morning. That was the time my cousin Raymond was supposed to pick me up at Mercury Drug, Muñoz. Instead of taking the free ride with them to Concepcion, Tarlac, I decided to take the bus instead, mainly because I was too lazy to get up from bed and I just felt like traveling alone.

Five Star travel

Contrary to what I expected, there were relatively few people in the bus terminal last November 1. Perhaps most have already gone to their respective provinces the day before. Also contrary to what I expected, there were no more air-conditioned busses traveling to Dagupan last Thursday. According to one of the drivers, all of the air-conditioned busses were in the provinces; this means that the large volume of people I was expecting to see at the bus terminal has left couple of hours earlier and have taken all of Five Star’s air-conditioned busses. Not wanting to wait long, I bought food for lunch (a bottle of water, 2 Mister Donut twists and a siopao that is more of a mantao because it has more dough than filling) and boarded on the next ordinary fare bus leaving for Dagupan.



I found the travel along the North Luzon Expressway very relaxing. The songs playing on the bus’ radio plus the fresh breeze flowing against my face, while the bus was speeding along the Bulacan and Pampanga countryside, was very soothing. Moreover, the relaxing sensation feels greater the further I get away from Manila. Away from traffic, away from pollution and away from stress that work brings.

Eternal honeymoon

Besides visiting my grandparents’ tomb to show our respect to them during the all soul’s and all saint’s day, we went to Tarlac to commemorate the 40th day of Lola Metring’s passing. From what I understand, this practice of commemorating the 40th day of one’s passing was adopted from the Bible wherein Christ rose 40 days after his death.

All rose early so that we can attend the 6 a.m. mass for our departed lola Metring and lolo Baste. Everyone took turns in using the bathroom. If each of us were given 10 minutes to take a bath it would take almost 3 hours for all of us to take a bath since there were more or less 20 people at the house over the weekend. To avoid waking up early and queuing up for the bathroom, some of my cousins including myself strategize by taking a bath before we slept. By doing this we can sleep longer and we only had to brush our teeth when we woke up. Efficient!


Lolo Baste passed away 2 years ago and I remember clearly that he waited for lola to get to the hospital and to be at her side before he died. Both have waited a long time for them to be re-united. In lola’s passing last September, I am sure both of them are now enjoying each other’s company. They are eternally united and now, they shall be at their eternal honeymoon in paradise.

Finding Nemos

My fascination in the underwater world began on a trip to Plawan when I was still in high school. I am not quite sure if it was my first time to use a mask and snorkel, but it was definitely my first time to swim in pristine waters with diverse and colorful aquatic life. The experience was like watching the Discovery Channel live. Recently, with the generous help of Olympus, I got to share my fascination on the aquatic life to my 3di photo club mates.


Our club got to test the new Olympus 790 in Anilao, Batangas. Why did we have to test it in Anilao? Because the Olympus 790 is a consumer point-and-shoot digital camera that is, dust proof, shock proof, scratch proof and most importantly waterproof. Unlike other digital point-and-shoot cameras available in the market, the Olympus 790 was made to swim with you (up to 10-feet) without the protection of a bulky underwater casing.

We were all briefed on how to use the camera and its features but since pasaway lang talaga ako and prefer hands-on-learning I did not pay much attention to the orientation given by the Olympus representatives. With my minimal knowledge on the camera’s features here are some photos I managed to produce.





The Olympus 790 has several macro features that could have been very helpful in photographing the colorful fishes of Anilao, Batangas. Unfortunately for me, because pasaway nga ako and did not listen to the camera orientation, I only accidentally discovered this feature when I was already being stung by tiny jelly fishes and itching due to sea mites. Meaning, it was at the end of my swim when I was already leaving the water. Grrr…

Thank you Axis Global and Olympus for the opportunity to test the Olympus 790. Looking forward to test the Olympus 795 next time, 40-feet underwater. =)

Let me be your knight in shining armor

Every man at one point of their lives dream of becoming the knight in shining armor or the prince charming of a princess in distress. Especially if the princesses are as hot as these... whew... HOT... i am perspiring now...






Ohh Snowwhite, let me share your apple with you... then let's add and play with some whipped cream... =p Why can't Walt Disney come up with an adult version of these characters? haha. =p