It was as though I was dreaming. After 2 weeks of mad rush over work, I flew to Manila immediately right after I completed all my missions (for now), and back again to reality 4 days after.
I guess I was really exhausted over the past 2 weeks, I slept like a dead log over there in Manila. I did not bother to take any pictures too, I should have left my camera here.
But it was great seeing my friends there, both from Manila and Bago City. :) It was more like an early Christmas get-together with my friends, which I enjoyed it that way. Haha. Not to mention it was also a meaningful meet-up, to discuss the upcoming volunteering project in April. I'm very excited about that. :)
As usual, I love the shopping. Glorietta, Greenbelt and SM Mall of Asia are my playgrounds. :) Watched a pinoy movie too!
And oh! I took the MRT in Manila, ALONE. Haha. It can't be compared to the train system here in Singapore, but of course it was a kind of an experience for me. And I survived that. Haha.
I would still love to spend the Christmas in the Philippines, but air tickets are super expensive during the festive season, and work doesn't permit either. Maybe there would be a miracle, since my horoscope reading says that I would be travelling on Dec 3 - 4 and Dec 23. HAHA.
Yes I can never get enough of the Philippines. I'm already a pinoy at heart. :)
Showing posts with label whee~. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whee~. Show all posts
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Went to Manila, and back again!
Before I knew it, I was in Manila, and back again. :(
Time flew too fast, 4 days in the Philippines is definitely not enough. There are just so many things I want to do, I could do. Very tempted to fly back there again, immediately. Ha.
But anyway, this time round, it was a different kind of fun, because I was like a Singaporean working as a tour guide in the Philippines. :)
Right after we landed in Manila at 5am, we went to the hotel, had breakfast at the nearby MacDonalds and to tap on the free wifi, to plan our itinerary.
We were glad that we went to the Legazpi Sunday Market nearby. It was so colourful and there were so many interesting stuff there.
From accessories..
To handphone covers..
To toys..
To interesting stuff like paperweight..
To food..
Love how the photos turn out. :)
We had lunch at Dampa, and they were amazed by the cheap and good seafood there. You buy your seafood from the market, and bring it to the restaurant nearby and ask them to cook it the way you want it to. I hardly get disappointed whenever I get to eat there. :)
Thanks to Imee, we had a free tour around Fort Santiago, a defense fortress in the old city of Intramuros. The guide was an interesting fella, though there were quite a few times I couldn't catch what he was saying. Too deep. Ha. At least now I know more about the Philippines' history, and gained some insight while going around the Prison House of the Philippine hero Jose Rizal.
But I think we were more concerned about our wet feet after walking through the tour in the rain.
Our itinerary for the second day was to trek up the Taal Volcano Island. My Ate (sister) Shelyn was very nice, she accompanied us there and hired a driver for the journey. It was about 1.5hr drive from Manila to Tagaytay, where we took the bangka across the lake to the Taal Volcano Island.
When we reached there, overly-friendly guides and horses were waiting for us, hoping we would pay them for the horses to bring us up to the top of the volcano. We decided from the start that we would trek up, since we were already in proper shoes. But they still followed us, trying to convince us to take the horses because we looked like 'we couldn't make it'. Of course, they gave up when we were halfway up the volcano. Haha.
Even if it was physically exhausting to trek up under the hot sun, I am glad we chose to walk, to enjoy the beautiful scenery that greeted us along the way.
Other tourists must be thinking, these people must be mad, not to take the horses. Haha.
It took us around 1 hour to reach the top, and the view was gorgeous. A crater lake in a volcano within a lake. :)
We stayed up there for around 15 minutes, and it took us just 20 minutes to get back to the foot of the volcano. The power of gravity. Haha.
Lunch was exceptionally satisfying after the climb. The pinoy food wasn't bad, anyway. :)
We went on to Sonja's Garden, everything's pretty with the plants and whatever.
We even had a competition among the smartphones, to see which is smarter in taking photos. The result? iPhone won. :)
While traveling back to Manila, they went crazy over the outlet shops at Greenfields.
Dinner was at Via Mare in Greenbelt. Love the bangus (stuff milkfish) and the eggplant with eggs.
I realised I had lots of coffee in Manila, not just because it's cheaper, there are more cafes, more choices. :)
The next 2 days were mainly about shopping. We became the shopping queens and king at SM Mall of Asia, and I've instantly brushed up on my Tagalog while bargaining at the Divisoria 168 Mall.
Ate Shel treated us to dinner at Barbara's, which came with a cultural performance too. Dancers performed various traditional Filipino dances to the tunes of the rondalla.
Yup, before we could say 'hello', it was time to say 'goodbye'. I didn't even get to shop in my favourite Glorietta and Greenbelt! I guess I still miss the moments of travelling alone, but I don't mind having the company too. :) At least there were more fun and laughter, when they were not performing their SOP, i.e. sleeping in the car. Haha.
I really, really can't wait to be back in the Philippines again. Shucks, my compulsive air-ticket-purchasing disorder is acting up again.
Time flew too fast, 4 days in the Philippines is definitely not enough. There are just so many things I want to do, I could do. Very tempted to fly back there again, immediately. Ha.
But anyway, this time round, it was a different kind of fun, because I was like a Singaporean working as a tour guide in the Philippines. :)
Right after we landed in Manila at 5am, we went to the hotel, had breakfast at the nearby MacDonalds and to tap on the free wifi, to plan our itinerary.
We were glad that we went to the Legazpi Sunday Market nearby. It was so colourful and there were so many interesting stuff there.
From accessories..
To handphone covers..
To toys..
To interesting stuff like paperweight..
To food..
Love how the photos turn out. :)
We had lunch at Dampa, and they were amazed by the cheap and good seafood there. You buy your seafood from the market, and bring it to the restaurant nearby and ask them to cook it the way you want it to. I hardly get disappointed whenever I get to eat there. :)
Thanks to Imee, we had a free tour around Fort Santiago, a defense fortress in the old city of Intramuros. The guide was an interesting fella, though there were quite a few times I couldn't catch what he was saying. Too deep. Ha. At least now I know more about the Philippines' history, and gained some insight while going around the Prison House of the Philippine hero Jose Rizal.
But I think we were more concerned about our wet feet after walking through the tour in the rain.
Our itinerary for the second day was to trek up the Taal Volcano Island. My Ate (sister) Shelyn was very nice, she accompanied us there and hired a driver for the journey. It was about 1.5hr drive from Manila to Tagaytay, where we took the bangka across the lake to the Taal Volcano Island.
When we reached there, overly-friendly guides and horses were waiting for us, hoping we would pay them for the horses to bring us up to the top of the volcano. We decided from the start that we would trek up, since we were already in proper shoes. But they still followed us, trying to convince us to take the horses because we looked like 'we couldn't make it'. Of course, they gave up when we were halfway up the volcano. Haha.
Even if it was physically exhausting to trek up under the hot sun, I am glad we chose to walk, to enjoy the beautiful scenery that greeted us along the way.
Other tourists must be thinking, these people must be mad, not to take the horses. Haha.
It took us around 1 hour to reach the top, and the view was gorgeous. A crater lake in a volcano within a lake. :)
We stayed up there for around 15 minutes, and it took us just 20 minutes to get back to the foot of the volcano. The power of gravity. Haha.
Lunch was exceptionally satisfying after the climb. The pinoy food wasn't bad, anyway. :)
We went on to Sonja's Garden, everything's pretty with the plants and whatever.
We even had a competition among the smartphones, to see which is smarter in taking photos. The result? iPhone won. :)
While traveling back to Manila, they went crazy over the outlet shops at Greenfields.
Dinner was at Via Mare in Greenbelt. Love the bangus (stuff milkfish) and the eggplant with eggs.
I realised I had lots of coffee in Manila, not just because it's cheaper, there are more cafes, more choices. :)
The next 2 days were mainly about shopping. We became the shopping queens and king at SM Mall of Asia, and I've instantly brushed up on my Tagalog while bargaining at the Divisoria 168 Mall.
Ate Shel treated us to dinner at Barbara's, which came with a cultural performance too. Dancers performed various traditional Filipino dances to the tunes of the rondalla.
Yup, before we could say 'hello', it was time to say 'goodbye'. I didn't even get to shop in my favourite Glorietta and Greenbelt! I guess I still miss the moments of travelling alone, but I don't mind having the company too. :) At least there were more fun and laughter, when they were not performing their SOP, i.e. sleeping in the car. Haha.
I really, really can't wait to be back in the Philippines again. Shucks, my compulsive air-ticket-purchasing disorder is acting up again.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
A date with Papa Piolo
Many of my Filipino friends would be happy for me. No, I'm not getting married to a Filipino (still contented with my freedom), neither am I migrating to the Philippines. Haha.
But I finally got to meet my idol, the Philippines' ultimate heartthrob, Piolo Pascual!! :D
Yes most of my Filipino friends know that I'm a fan of Piolo, and they like to make fun of me for that. Haha. Come to think of it, I started learning Tagalog after watching my first Tagalog movie, 'Don't Give Up On Us'. The main leads are none other than Piolo himself, and Judy Ann Santos. So I should thank him that I can now understand and speak simple Tagalog. :)
He was in Singapore last Sunday for his Asian tour album's launch, and I knew about it some time in August. I was actually procrastinating about it, because I didn't want to go alone, and my Filipino friends here in Singapore are working on weekends as well. But I was glad I got to go to his concert afterall.
The opening act was by a Filipino band, and once again they proved that Filipinos are indeed talented in music.
Then comes the guest performer, the rockstar princess Yeng Constantino. True to her name, I've never seen any other female singers who could carry off and sing rock songs as good as her. She writes her own songs too. 'Hawak Kamay' and 'Salamat' are the hits that you will hear, and you must hear in any of her concerts or performances.
And with much ado, Piolo finally came out to the delight of many screaming (or perhaps shrieking) fans. That includes me. Haha. With that good-looking face and well-toned body (oh.. drools at that chest!), who won't go crazy over him? Hahaha.
Belting out songs like 'Babe', 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' and 'Be My Lady', he melted my heart many times. Haha.
Sadly, he only sang for about 30 minutes, and that was the end of his concert. Would love to hear him sing more songs. He didn't even sing some of his major hits like 'Kailangan Kita'. Then again, this was for his 'Songs of the Decades' album launch.
After the concert, there was a meet-and-greet session. It was in chaos. Ha. We had to purchase the merchandise, which included the album and a poster, in order to get into the meet-and-greet session. And disappointingly, personal cameras were not allowed and we could only take photos with Piolo in groups of five.
And I couldn't share any photos of the meet-and-greet session, because the organiser screwed up and had not uploaded all the photos. Very disappointed and annoyed.
Oh well, at least, after 5 years of waiting, I finally got to come up close with my Papa P, and got his autographs too. :) Despite so, I shall continue to plead with the mayor and Tricia to get Piolo to perform during Bago City's fiesta. Haha. I will fly to Bago City at all costs. Wahaha.
Love you, Papa P!! :D
But I finally got to meet my idol, the Philippines' ultimate heartthrob, Piolo Pascual!! :D
Yes most of my Filipino friends know that I'm a fan of Piolo, and they like to make fun of me for that. Haha. Come to think of it, I started learning Tagalog after watching my first Tagalog movie, 'Don't Give Up On Us'. The main leads are none other than Piolo himself, and Judy Ann Santos. So I should thank him that I can now understand and speak simple Tagalog. :)
He was in Singapore last Sunday for his Asian tour album's launch, and I knew about it some time in August. I was actually procrastinating about it, because I didn't want to go alone, and my Filipino friends here in Singapore are working on weekends as well. But I was glad I got to go to his concert afterall.
The opening act was by a Filipino band, and once again they proved that Filipinos are indeed talented in music.
Then comes the guest performer, the rockstar princess Yeng Constantino. True to her name, I've never seen any other female singers who could carry off and sing rock songs as good as her. She writes her own songs too. 'Hawak Kamay' and 'Salamat' are the hits that you will hear, and you must hear in any of her concerts or performances.
And with much ado, Piolo finally came out to the delight of many screaming (or perhaps shrieking) fans. That includes me. Haha. With that good-looking face and well-toned body (oh.. drools at that chest!), who won't go crazy over him? Hahaha.
Belting out songs like 'Babe', 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' and 'Be My Lady', he melted my heart many times. Haha.
Sadly, he only sang for about 30 minutes, and that was the end of his concert. Would love to hear him sing more songs. He didn't even sing some of his major hits like 'Kailangan Kita'. Then again, this was for his 'Songs of the Decades' album launch.
After the concert, there was a meet-and-greet session. It was in chaos. Ha. We had to purchase the merchandise, which included the album and a poster, in order to get into the meet-and-greet session. And disappointingly, personal cameras were not allowed and we could only take photos with Piolo in groups of five.
And I couldn't share any photos of the meet-and-greet session, because the organiser screwed up and had not uploaded all the photos. Very disappointed and annoyed.
Oh well, at least, after 5 years of waiting, I finally got to come up close with my Papa P, and got his autographs too. :) Despite so, I shall continue to plead with the mayor and Tricia to get Piolo to perform during Bago City's fiesta. Haha. I will fly to Bago City at all costs. Wahaha.
Love you, Papa P!! :D
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Hello Philippines :)
Yup, it has been a while. It has been 5 months. And now...
Hello Philippines! :)
Hello Philippines! :)
Monday, July 05, 2010
Stffy and Lionel's ROM
She was one of my confidantes during my high school days. Both of us were 'weird', we don't fit into the main clique. That's why we clicked. Haha.
It has been a good 11 years, for the both of us. :)
I'm happy for her, for finding her true love, and now beginning the next phase of their lives together as one.
Congratulations to Stffy and Lionel, Mr and Mrs Lim. :)
And thank you, I hope I've captured the beautiful moments of your special day. :)
It has been a good 11 years, for the both of us. :)
I'm happy for her, for finding her true love, and now beginning the next phase of their lives together as one.
Congratulations to Stffy and Lionel, Mr and Mrs Lim. :)
And thank you, I hope I've captured the beautiful moments of your special day. :)
Monday, June 28, 2010
Voyage de la Vie
Voyage de la Vie is a circus theatre production created in Singapore with an international cast. I was glad I was able to catch the show (thanks to the complimentary tickets) at the Resorts World Sentosa Festive Grand theatre, fulfilling one of my childhood dreams of watching a circus show.
Erm, I am not that old, by the way. Haha.
Sitting in the second row was a BIG plus, enhancing the thrills of watching the circus acts live. :)
Of all the acts, I enjoyed the contortions, the jugglings, the magic and the cloud swing acts the most.
I love the contortionist. He is a 16-year old Russian boy, but yet very charismatic. Haha. Love his hairstyle. I could be half as flexible as him, if I hadn't stop dancing 18 years ago, and still religiously do my Yoga. HAHA.
The juggler is just as amazing. Especially to a person with butter-fingers and no ball-sense. Like me.
The magicians fulfilled another of my childhood dreams to watch magic shows right before my eyes. I was, and still am, trying to figure out the magic tricks on stage. How did he cut his partner into half, and the partner could still play the piano with his legs on the other end of the stage??
Love how the white rabbit popped out of his magician hat. Classic.
The cloud swing act was exhilarating. She was like on a giant swing, reaching a full 180-degree swing up high near the stage lights. I dare to do the same thing, WITH the safety harness attached. :D
There was a moment when the arrow shooter swung his way into the audience, right in between my guests who were just a seat away from me. I think my jaws dropped at that instant. After the show, I asked my guests jokingly, if they had purchased insurance for their trip here to Singapore. Haha.
I had a good time watching the show, and I am glad my guests enjoyed it as well. Most importantly, I could cross out something off my list of childhood dreams. :D
Erm, I am not that old, by the way. Haha.
Sitting in the second row was a BIG plus, enhancing the thrills of watching the circus acts live. :)
Of all the acts, I enjoyed the contortions, the jugglings, the magic and the cloud swing acts the most.
I love the contortionist. He is a 16-year old Russian boy, but yet very charismatic. Haha. Love his hairstyle. I could be half as flexible as him, if I hadn't stop dancing 18 years ago, and still religiously do my Yoga. HAHA.
The juggler is just as amazing. Especially to a person with butter-fingers and no ball-sense. Like me.
The magicians fulfilled another of my childhood dreams to watch magic shows right before my eyes. I was, and still am, trying to figure out the magic tricks on stage. How did he cut his partner into half, and the partner could still play the piano with his legs on the other end of the stage??
Love how the white rabbit popped out of his magician hat. Classic.
The cloud swing act was exhilarating. She was like on a giant swing, reaching a full 180-degree swing up high near the stage lights. I dare to do the same thing, WITH the safety harness attached. :D
There was a moment when the arrow shooter swung his way into the audience, right in between my guests who were just a seat away from me. I think my jaws dropped at that instant. After the show, I asked my guests jokingly, if they had purchased insurance for their trip here to Singapore. Haha.
I had a good time watching the show, and I am glad my guests enjoyed it as well. Most importantly, I could cross out something off my list of childhood dreams. :D
Friday, May 21, 2010
10th time to the Philippines
My 10th time stepping onto the beautiful islands of the Philippines! :D
And my 9th time to my wonderful home of Bago City!! :D
I love the Philippines! Pinoy na Pinoy ako! Mabuhay!!
And my 9th time to my wonderful home of Bago City!! :D
I love the Philippines! Pinoy na Pinoy ako! Mabuhay!!
Monday, April 12, 2010
My summer paradise - Coron
Part 2 of my summer paradise - Coron.
The Philippines is made up of 7107 islands, it would be a waste to keep going back to the same old places. This time round, I ventured out to Coron, a municipality in the island of Palawan.
3 full days were spent there, doing island-hopping, sailing on the traditional Filipino bangka.
Honestly, sailing on the bangka, looking out to the horizon, is simply therapeutic. My kind of peace. Haha. Except for the wave-splashing moments when navigating across the rough waters.
We had a group of very experienced boatmen and guides with us. Kudos to them. They know all the islands in and out, they prepared our delicious meals, they steered the bangka for hours straight, while most of us ended up dozing off along the journeys. One of the boatmen even got pricked by many sea urchins while trying to steer the bangka out from the shallow waters in dusk darkness. Salute to him.
The entire island-hopping experience was all about the white sand, blue sky and the blue sea. A true summer paradise. :)
We have been to so many islands, which most of the names I couldn't remember. Well, who cares, what's important is to enjoy ourselves in the beauty of Mother Nature, and to have FUN!
I totally love swimming in the open sea, with the life jacket on of course. Haha. The waters in Coron were so clear, making snorkelling a great pleasure. I could see the corals and fishes swimming in schools. Superb.
The sunken Japanese warships off the island are one of the main attractions of Coron. Snorkelling there was another awesome experience. Corals formed on the warships, fishes swimming in and out. Imagine Titanic, or Pirates of the Carribean. Haha. These sunken warships are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine’s top 10 best scuba-diving sites in the world. What else can I say?
We also went to some of lakes and lagoons, claiming to be one of those with the cleanest waters in the world. Indeed, the Kayangan Lake was very serene, we just floated on the waters and drifted off to our paradise. Haha.
On our last day, we woke up at 3am and set sail to Calauit, 4-hour boat ride away from the Coron main island. Sadly I was disappointed with what I saw. The Calauit Zafari Zoo was supposed to be a sanctuary for Kenyan animals. Despite the large piece of land and resources, the number of species of animals on the island is within the count of my fingers.
Oh well, at least I had my fair share of taking photos of these free-roaming animals.
Up-close. :) I guess it's not quite possible to do that in the Singapore zoo.
And feeding the giraffes. :)
The entire trip was made a total enjoyment, because of the company, and the new-found friends. All of us had a hell lot of fun, and I have once again surprised people with my little command of Tagalog and my superb knowledge of the entertainment industry. Haha.
I miss seeing the beautiful view at dawn, from Mount Tapyas where we stayed.
I definitely miss watching the sunset, my favourite moment in a day.
I had a great time capturing the wonders.
And all beautiful things. :)
I left Coron with many scars on my legs (no thanks to the sharp teethy corals), but I left Coron with lots more splendid memories. :) I wanna explore other islands!
Next up (and a final one), my ultimate haven, Bago City!
The Philippines is made up of 7107 islands, it would be a waste to keep going back to the same old places. This time round, I ventured out to Coron, a municipality in the island of Palawan.
3 full days were spent there, doing island-hopping, sailing on the traditional Filipino bangka.
Honestly, sailing on the bangka, looking out to the horizon, is simply therapeutic. My kind of peace. Haha. Except for the wave-splashing moments when navigating across the rough waters.
We had a group of very experienced boatmen and guides with us. Kudos to them. They know all the islands in and out, they prepared our delicious meals, they steered the bangka for hours straight, while most of us ended up dozing off along the journeys. One of the boatmen even got pricked by many sea urchins while trying to steer the bangka out from the shallow waters in dusk darkness. Salute to him.
The entire island-hopping experience was all about the white sand, blue sky and the blue sea. A true summer paradise. :)
We have been to so many islands, which most of the names I couldn't remember. Well, who cares, what's important is to enjoy ourselves in the beauty of Mother Nature, and to have FUN!
I totally love swimming in the open sea, with the life jacket on of course. Haha. The waters in Coron were so clear, making snorkelling a great pleasure. I could see the corals and fishes swimming in schools. Superb.
The sunken Japanese warships off the island are one of the main attractions of Coron. Snorkelling there was another awesome experience. Corals formed on the warships, fishes swimming in and out. Imagine Titanic, or Pirates of the Carribean. Haha. These sunken warships are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine’s top 10 best scuba-diving sites in the world. What else can I say?
We also went to some of lakes and lagoons, claiming to be one of those with the cleanest waters in the world. Indeed, the Kayangan Lake was very serene, we just floated on the waters and drifted off to our paradise. Haha.
On our last day, we woke up at 3am and set sail to Calauit, 4-hour boat ride away from the Coron main island. Sadly I was disappointed with what I saw. The Calauit Zafari Zoo was supposed to be a sanctuary for Kenyan animals. Despite the large piece of land and resources, the number of species of animals on the island is within the count of my fingers.
Oh well, at least I had my fair share of taking photos of these free-roaming animals.
Up-close. :) I guess it's not quite possible to do that in the Singapore zoo.
And feeding the giraffes. :)
The entire trip was made a total enjoyment, because of the company, and the new-found friends. All of us had a hell lot of fun, and I have once again surprised people with my little command of Tagalog and my superb knowledge of the entertainment industry. Haha.
I miss seeing the beautiful view at dawn, from Mount Tapyas where we stayed.
I definitely miss watching the sunset, my favourite moment in a day.
I had a great time capturing the wonders.
And all beautiful things. :)
I left Coron with many scars on my legs (no thanks to the sharp teethy corals), but I left Coron with lots more splendid memories. :) I wanna explore other islands!
Next up (and a final one), my ultimate haven, Bago City!
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