More From Paradise.

If you're in for an awesome and frenzied escape, then Puerto Galera couldn't be more fitting. It's a quest of every thrill-seekin' soul to find a place like this. And even though I've seen it a couple of times before, I still can't find the perfect words to earnestly describe how mind-blowingly beautiful it looks over there. Galera has a certain pull on me, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of braving the harsh seas just to see it. Must be the serenity, or the overly-enthusiastic locals... But then again it could be the 'hakuna matata' feeling dawning each time my foot hits that cool sand. It's dangerously addicting, I can't help but yearn for another visit.

On our 2nd day in Galera, rain blasted the entire island soaking everything. But luck prevailed and the rain veered away shortly after lunch.



When the sun finally showed up, we all excitedly ran towards the beach, eagerly trying to feel that damp sand against our bare feet. And while everyone's raving about making a sand castle, my attention drifted to a familiar green bottle slightly buried in the sand. We all know the multitude of Koreans flocking to this location - some getting piss drunk not with local beers but with Soju. I haven't fully grasped Korean's love for their country till I saw this.


The rain made everyone antsy for an adventure, so after lunch we rented a boat that took us on an island-hopping tour.


Here are some of the cool sights we saw along the way.

The boat stopped at a spot where the water looked more emerald than blue. Then we all donned snorkelling attires and plunged into the water. We spent a good three hours swimming, feeding fishes, and exploring the corals below. Here's how that special spot looks like.

We were all exhausted from swimming, so when the boat took us to an isolated beach to rest, we couldn't be happier. We rushed to get a good shady spot to relax and ate the sandwiches my Mom brought along.

I'm the type of person who is always trying to find something to outdo the last adventure, but somehow I knew it's gonna be hard to top this amazing experience...

Bring On The Heat!

Summer conjures images of all-night partying, water sports, chilled beer on the beach, and skimpy attire for the metabolically blessed. Though it's still two months away and we're barely feeling the need for AC, my family didn't think twice to hit the beach and get that early dose of summer fun we so desperately need.

We came to Puerto Galera with only one thing in our head; that is to subject ourselves to all the fun the beach and the glorious tropical climate could offer. We left at the crack of dawn and drove to Batangas Pier, and there we took a ferry that brought us to the Island. The weather was perfect then, but the sea was far from calm. Waves came crashing to the boat and soaked our bags in the process. After a grueling hour of turbulent seas and strong gust of winds, it became better and we could all manage to smile again.


I could tell people were in awe at the first sight of land. When the boat docked, we all let out gasps of appreciation.

And here's a first glimpse of the place they call "White Beach".

It was still early when we arrived, and most people were still in slumber, or better yet, nursing a hangover.


We got two rooms at Mindorinne Oriental; a resort that takes pride on it's spectacular beach front scenery, coconut trees, and cute little balconies.

We had a quick lunch at one of of their alfresco-style restaurants with the beach in full view. We spent the rest of the afternoon putting sunscreen, working on our tan, and taking long walks by the beach. Here's how a lazy afternoon in Galera looks like.

We are all under the spell of this place. The days seem endless and the nights are filled with so many fun things to do. We spent our first night in Galera doing beer shots and listening to reggae music - a genre even my mom could appreciate.

Although the sound of the waves crashing and beer being popped open has dissipated, the calming insouciance only a beach could bring still remains. I hope you all stick around for the next installment. You'll see more of Galera that'll get your head somersaulting in a fine frenzy!

Nature-tripping.

Whenever I wish to take a respite from all the absurdities of the real world, all I do is read my old posts again. It lets me travel back to the good 'ol times, bringing back all the thrills, the spine-tingling chills, and the churning jumble of emotion I felt in between! I love how it floods me with positive thoughts after, it helps me get through life's sucker punches.

To add to my gazillion of wonderful experiences immortalized here in my blog, I'm going to feature a place where one could find solitude and commune with nature. They call this place La Mesa Eco Park, and it's located right by the La Mesa Watershed in East Fairview. We came in at a time when people are still enjoying their vacation in the most far-flung provinces so the journey then was a breeze. No traffic whatsoever, it only took us an hour to get there.

It doesn't get greener anywhere else in the city than this place.

Pondahan (whatever that means) is the place where your get your tickets to ride a boat.

La Mesa Eco Park is a true haven for the outdoorsy and the nature-lovin people. There's a wide variety of activities you could do there like wall-climbing, zip lining, biking and stuff. You could even play a game of paintball if you come in groups. But among the activities you could do there, I find the boating experience the most enthralling.

Around lunchtime, we chose a grassy spot under the shade of a tree to lay our mat, and ate the yummy treats we brought from home. Most people choose to stay on the picnic grounds where huts provide a more comfortable place to rest



Just by looking at the the clear blue sky, you could feel a sense of peace and tranquility permeating the air.

The place in all it's tropical splendor, gives visitors a new appreciation for nature.

Be sure not to miss the hiking trail while you're there. Nothing beats the lulling sound of the trees swaying from the wind, with birds chirping and butterflies fluttering to cap off your simple-yet-amazing nature-tripping escapade.

Of One Childish Rendezvous.

I know I haven't been writing posts about Korea lately (might as well change my blog description for that matter^^). But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Korea at all, and for sure, I'm gonna be posting more about it later. For now, expect to read a couple of entries about the places I visited around here. Well, they are all pretty interesting and deserve to have a space here in my blog.

***

Imagine a whole year of looming deadlines, cram-jam time, sudden mishaps, and being around stress-inducing obnoxious people. All the negative vibe that comes with it could really take a toll on any baby-faced and wrinkle-free soul. That's why holidays were created, and it's there for a reason. It's not supposed to just come and go, I say we should all make the most out of it (I'm still very much in the holiday spirit, expect it to sizzle down right after the 'Three Kings' is over ^^;). It would be utterly nice if we could take a mini-break from reality and sort of immerse in the positivity it brings. I know a place to go where you could do just that.

I treated my whole family for a day at Manila Ocean Park. Ok I know it's cheesy and childish, and a trip to an Oceanarium isn't really an ideal thing to do. But my family enjoy doing this sort of thing you know, like visiting a place where we could all feel like a child again.

I've been to an Oceanarium thrice before. My first time was in Hong Kong Ocean Park a few years back and it was the most memorable. Manila Ocean Park was my fourth visit to a place with the same theme so I thought I've seen it all. But it also feels different this time because I was with my family. I felt their excitement as they ogle at different marine creatures they haven't seen before. What amused me the most were the mermaids who swam ever so gracefully, in sync with the 'Disney-ish' kind of music.

And she's my favorite.. She's the prettiest of them all. Look how she gamely poses for the camera, and how photogenic she is even underwater.

Here are some of the things you could see at the Park; amazing multi-colored corals that seem to glow.

Some giant clams..

And odd-looking fishes worthy to be featured on National Geographic.

Giant turtles lurking in every corner...

And huge stingrays that swam with the mermaids. Something tells me they shouldn't do so, it's stupid I know but it reminds me of Steve Irwin's death.. It's probably a different kind of stingray that killed him. Nobody wants to put those pretty mermaids in danger right?

Here's how the rest of the Ocean Park looks like at night.

We ended the night with an all-you-can-eat feast at our favorite buffet restaurant. It's amazing how the night stretches on. There were just too many things to talk about, too many jokes to laugh at, and too many fond memories to look back. We only realized it's time to go when the staff started turning off the lights!

Fresh From The Holiday Hiatus.

The two most important holidays of the year has just ended, and I'm absolutely elated to have celebrated it with 3 of my strongest passions: family, friends, and food!

This year, our family wanted to do something we haven't done for Christmas. We agreed to skip the standard Noche Buena Dinner at home, and instead, we all stayed in a family suite at Astoria Plaza. I was in charge of the hotel, and getting a room on Christmas Eve proved to be a very difficult task!

The room's motif of white and blue is a refreshing take on the classic wallpapered and heavy curtained rooms we're all familiar of. The floor-to-ceiling glass that gives a good view of the sprawling city was a plus I didn't expect, and it's awfully pretty especially at night.




So we're all gathered in this cute little spot away from home, and the only thing missing is the food right? Well, to complete the whole Christmas experience, Mom packed some Buko Salad, Leche Flan, and her signature Roast Beef in disposable plastic containers. Sis came with her Pesto Pasta and Grilled Prawns. Both tasted awful, but I commend her effort ^^. While waiting for midnight, we watched "Romeo and Juliet", then we exchanged gifts and greeted each other "Merry Christmas". I recieved a chocolate body scrub gift that smells good enough to eat! The next day, we all went to hit the Buffet for some nice, familiar comfort food. Look, they even got Kimchi!

For New Years Eve, I went to Eastwood City with two of my best buds for the 2010 countdown. We came 20 minutes early, and it was already jampacked with people. We were far from the stage so we didn't get to see the performers, but we had the best view of the whole place with the lights and everything. When the countdown began, people were in a state of frenzy, jumping and shouting and laughing altogether! The amazing fireworks generated even more shrieks and 'wows' from the crowd. It was unbelievable having to jumpstart the New Year like that. I didn't get a video of my own, but I found one from rachellelorene on Youtube. Do click it to get a glimpse of the kick ass New Year celebration.

Holidays like these are indeed the perfect time to bond with the people you love the most. I've learned that being around them is enough to restore the energy I need to face all the stress and hardships of the coming year. And sometimes it pays to think out of the box and do things outside tradition. It can be super fun as long as you're with the people that matter the most. I hope you all enjoyed the holidays as much as I did!

Travelogue - Sagada

A signal no. 2 typhoon didn't stop me and my friend from visiting Sagada last year. There were several landslides, and road accidents along the way that made the usual 12-hour ride from Manila to Bontoc, a grueling 15 hours. Imagine sitting in a very cramped bus with not enough leg room (filled with bags, containers, boxes of vegetables, and a few noisy chickens) for 15 hours. My body was aching all over, and my butt sore, and if not for the decadent buko pie we bought somewhere in Nueva Vizcaya, I would've gone straight to a mental institution. We arrived in Bontoc around 12 in the afternoon, exasperated, and terriblly hungry (we only had buko pie all throughout the insanely long bus ride). It took another hour of incredibly bumpy jeepney ride from Bontoc to Sagada, but it's all worth the pain (in the butt) when you get to see the mountains covered in lush green trees, and some, slightly covered in mid-afternoon fog. There were a number of rivers we passed by, all seemed clean and pristine. I strained my neck from gazing at the wonderful scenery for the whole hour.

Sagada is a very small village where everyone seems to know one another. The villagers talk in English (that could put those who work at call centers to shame) as if it's their native tongue. The air is a bit damp and cool against the skin, but except for a few tricycle fumes, the air seemed perfectly fresh. After getting a room at St. Joseph's, we headed to Yoghurt House, a small but famous restaurant in the area. We had pancit, club sandwich, and spicy chicken curry in huge servings, and for dessert we tried their famous home-made yoghurt which is too sour for my taste. We were tired from the trip and couldn't do much of sightseeing, so after visiting the famous Episcopalian church, we called it a day.

The weather was perfect the next day, we got to see the weaving place, hanging coffins, and the waterfall. It was also their market day, so cheap but delicious street-food sold in styro packs were plentiful. For dinner, we ate at Log Cabin, another famous buffet restaurant in the area. I spoke with the French chef who fell in love with Sagada and decided to live there, he was nice and very welcoming. I asked him the recipe for his Couscous and Eggplant Lasagna, and he was more than willing to share his recipes. We went to a bar after that to unwind and mingle with the locals and other tourists who seemed to know one another (frequent visitor perhaps?).

The next day was spent on cave tours which proved to be very difficult. I strained every muscle in my body, but I was lucky to get out unscathed. It was my most memorable part of the trip. We got invited to go camping with a few other tourists after that, so we spent the night in a tent somewhere in the mountains..

My legs and arms hurt like hell the following day that we had to cancel the hiking tour. We spent the rest of the day walking and looking at nearby places before we took the bus going to Baguio. After the exhilirating Sagada trip, Baguio seemed to be a bore that we decided to skip the city, and took the first available bus going to Manila..