about a bunch of photographs

September 26, 2008

It feels like walking along a deserted hallway, flickering lights with rabid air conditioning and all with just the exit sign to guide where you' wanna go. Your bare feet rubbing the carpeted flooring, attracting electricity in the process you wish would go unto your own body and provide a flowing that will ebb all of your miseries by midnight.

Mt. Pinatubo: Shaped by a Wrath of Nature

September 09, 2008

Brought upon by my recent trip to the crater of Mount Pinatubo. I figured i’d write something about it.

“Before the catastrophic eruption of 1991, Pinatubo was an inconspicuous volcano, unknown to most people in the surrounding areas. Its summit was 1,745 m (5,725 ft) above sea level, but only about 600 m above nearby plains, and about 200 m higher than surrounding peaks, which largely obscured it from view. Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, a native of Zambales, named his C-47 presidential plane “Mt. Pinatubo”. The plane crashed in 1957, killing the President and 24 others onboard.” — Wikipedia

4x4 ride and Trek to Mt. Pinatubo

September 08, 2008

Going to the crater lake of Mount Pinatubo, visitors will have to ride a 4x4 vehicle to drive through difficult terrain of mud, sand and rocky trail. It's like being inside a salt shaker but the scenery along the way makes the ride a one excellent experience.

La Union Redux

August 31, 2008
I went to the beach again in La Union the past weekend with my friend Jandeska. She wanted to try surfing so I suggested that we go to San Juan, La Union. It was the off season for surfers as the waves were kind of small and comes in spurts only, nonetheless it was an ideal situation for Jandeska to learn the sport. Our trip took about 6 hours from Manila to San Juan, La Union on a bus trip that showed a Steven Seagal DvD marathon to my amusement and we arrived at the Surf Camp resort just before lunch time.

In the afternoon, Jandeska took her first surfing lesson with a very friendly surf instructor whom we met earlier the day named Danzig. He took Jan under his surfing wing by showing her the balancing moves aboard a surfboard. During her actual surfing, the waves kind of coordinated by bringing in some acceptable swell for surfing beginners. Jandeska pulled off her surfing lesson by getting the hang of it quite quickly. Something I never did during my first surfing lesson – I still suck at it until now.

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Jan and her surf instructor
While Jandeska was learning how to surf I was busy capturing some sunset pictures.

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There was this golden Labrador retriever at the Surf Camp resort and was friendly with the guests. I always wanted to have a Labrador retriever as a pet dog since they are known as very friendly, loyal and sweet.

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guest relation doggie

It was a great weekend learning to surf – bonding with Jandeska and drinking during the night and just wander around the area watching the sun goes off and paved the way for the night and watch it again rise the next day.

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This was my second time in this place and for sure I’d be delighted to plan more surf trips in the near future.



Best Philippines Beaches to Visit Right Now

May 17, 2008
Summer is quickly ending and soon we'll all have to hide under the shade, waiting for the rains to stop. Before that happens, it might be a good idea to head over to the nearest beach and enjoy it while you can. If you have some time on your hands, you might opt to take a beach weekend getaway to one of the nicest beaches in the Philippines.

The “Camsur” Experience (Caramoan)

April 24, 2008

It was my first time to travel to the Bicol region and as expected the trip to Caramoan took very long, from the 8 hour bus ride from Manila to Naga, an hour trip to Sabang port and the two hour boat ride to Caramoan. The whole trip almost took almost half a day.

Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC)

April 22, 2008
As part of our sidetrip to Caramoan, we dropped by Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC) to give wakeboarding a try.  The place was filled with both experienced and newbie wakeboarders, I put myself in the newbie category as I haven’t experienced wakeboarding before.

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I was too eager to try it that I ditched listening to the instructions of one of the staff there, I thought by watching closely at the form and style of those experienced wakeboarders I will give myself a better chance at pulling it off at first try.

Alas, I crashed during my first 3 or 4 tries to the embarassment of picking myself and swimming out of the water into safety and back again to fall in line. After that i stopped by to listen to the instructions for the kneeboard, a much easier position, instead of standing on a wakeboard, you have to kneel on the board and strap your lower body.

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I pulled it off during my first try, crashing on the turn, swimming back, falling in line and giving it a try again. After I was able to complete one lap of kneeboard I went back to give wakeboarding a try.

To sum it up, I crashed half a dozen times, lasted for half a lap once, completed one lap one time and after that i decided to rest as it also takes a beating on your body.
Will definitely come back someday and hoping, I’d get it all right next time.

Accommodation at CWC consist of cottages and trailers which looks cool from the outside and from what i’ve heard cozy in the inside. It has amenities like a swimming pool, wakeboard shop, souvenir store and a place to eat. (try out the popular “Laing Pizza”).

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Plus you get to see the wonderful view of Mount Isarog on a clear day.

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travel buddies
travel buddies

Punta De Uian, Zambales

March 26, 2008
Punta De Uian is a beautiful beach resort located in Pundaquit, Zambales. Everything about it expresses tranquility, peace and a majestic setting fit for one’s pursuit of total relaxation and leisure. Nestled in the fine white beaches of Zambales it offers a wonderful view of the ocean and the nearby Capones Island.

Enjoying the beautiful sunset while lying on the beach is an experience one will never forget.
The beachfront is popular for being a turtle habitat, every week there are turtle egg hatching being done in the resort and afterwards the turtles will return to sea only to return for an unspecified time.

Activities are a plenty as well, the resort offers the use of Jet Ski, banana boat and kayaking even up to the nearby Capones Island. Visitors can also rent a boat in Punta De Uian to go to nearby Anawangin another beautiful beachhead part of Zambales but is only accessible by boat.

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It is said all the time that first impressions are very important. Punta De Uian impressed me from the get go as we parked our car and noticed the fresh wind breeze coming from the ocean. It continued to impress me as the helpful and friendly staff entertained us and offered to help us unload our things plus the presence of Punta De Uian’s manager who answers at the name of Guy Morales continues to make sure that everything we needed are being taken care of.

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Punta De Uian offers many choices of room accomodations
Garden view
Moutain view
Single de luxe
Double de luxe
Suite
Family Villa
Me and my friends stayed at the Double De Luxe room which is good for 6 people, it was spacious and clean and neatly designed that provides for a cozy stay. Makes you want to stay there forever. The foods are delicious and prepared well by the in house chefs of Punta De Uian. Menu selection was vast that includes both local and foreign cuisines. Other features includes hot and cold shower, cable TV, wi-fi internet connection, karaoke and many more.

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Special thanks to the friendly staff of Punta De Uian headed by Guy Morales, our stay there became a memorable and truly enjoyable experience. for reservations email elsa.puntadeuian@gmail.com or visit www.puntadeuian.com. pundaquit, san antonio zambales

Caliraya Lake

March 09, 2008

I tagged along my friend Don’s family who went and celebrated his sister Myla’s birthday at the Lake Caliraya Resort along with Don’s girlfriend Kathrina. The resort is as the name suggests is located along Caliraya lake in Laguna, it has amenities like accomodations, bar and restaurant, swimming pool, basketball courts, wall for wall climbing and of course the lake where guest can go fishing, go kayaking or just ride a horse all over the vast surroundings of the place.

On the Road to Sagada

January 25, 2008
As i sat on my bus seat during our trip to Sagada from Baguio, my leg starts to cramp the same time my butt started showing signs of numbness. I wondered how long more is the trip. I remember what the ticket seller has told me that it takes “6 to 7 hours” when i asked her how long is the trip to Sagada.

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But all of these inconvenience didn't matter as I sat there gleefully directing my sights to the rooftop of the Philippines, represented by white clouds hovering over the green-filled countryside of Benguet and later on the Mountain Province. It was a bumpy ride and sleep would come at me at an intervals of 30 minutes, each time it came i struggled to stay awake so as not to miss the wonderful sights that we are passing by. Sharp curves, zig zag roads, concrete and rough roads, everytime the bus would make a sharp turn i could see the deep ravine just inches from the edge of the road. It was both an exhilarating and frightening sight.

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We passed by small towns along the way,people would disembark and others will hop in, these peace loving people from the countryside there’s an aura of harmlessness among them, we stuck out like a tourist would be but i bet it would be so much easier to belong with these people than the ones i left in the big city.

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I was delighted and i came to know the purpose of my trip, which was to leave some of my confusions behind and all those bullish thoughts that ramshackle my mind worrying about everything, to leave it all behind as i stare on the road ahead i understand the noble fruition of moving on, its time to move towards a new place and hopefully learn something when i come back.

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We arrived at Sagada about a quarter to 4 in the afternoon, the moment i got out of the bus i can smell the clean,cool air and the cold air starts to bite inside my skin. The town proper greets you like a long lost lover, the locals stared at us with smiles on their faces,i feel at ease in an instant, i wont have any problem exploring this town i told myself.

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After registering at the Municipal Hall and getting our map we settled in the Green House Inn, it was an old wooden house which according to Lola, who owns the house was a bit older than her. It was painted green at the outside and a warm sky blue color was painted on the inside, our room has a wooden bed and cushion, a side table and enough space to move around, not that small or big but cozy enough as the window gives us a view of the mountains outside and a tree that bores Oranges.

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Me and my friend April hurriedly settled ourselves for a brief rest, changed clothing, put on an extra shirt and a jacket and we then explored the nearby surroundings which includes the historic St.Mary’s Church,the sight of World War II bombing by the Americans to try to wipe out remnants of Japanese troops who fled to the Mountain Province countryside towards the end of the war.

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Before that we took our long delayed lunch at Yoghurts House which came highly recommended by those who’ve been to Sagada before, I ordered a plate filled of cheese and mushroom pasta and a Strawberry with Banana Yoghurt.

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Me and April took pictures, walked along a path with tall pine trees on the side towards St.Mary’s School, which was founded in 1904 by the wife of Rev.Staunton as part of the mission that followed the American occupation of the Philippines in 1898.

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As the wind grows colder and the sun starts to set leaving a magnificent trail in the sky, i stood there watching the view overlooking a basketball court, a tennis court and an empty field.I told myself, i should come back again to this place and that was just our first day Sagada and already i was making plans of coming back.

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