The Peacock Garden getaway

Scored a lovely 3D/2N getaway at The Peacock Garden in Baclayon, Bohol over the long weekend via a DealGrocer promo a couple of months back. (That was actually my first DealGrocer purchase; best impulse buy made EVER. On that site at least. Haha. Maraming salamat guys! Next year ulit!)

Have I mentioned: ALSO A TOTAL STEAL. Here, have a photo:

Needless to say, we were totally not prepared for how totally awesome that place is.

(Cut for even more photos)

the summer 2011 recap

Dear Universe: You've been too kind.

So. This was how we fared for summer this year:

(Cut for table of contents)

the sean connery weekend

or, alternatively, the umulan-umaraw high school reunion

True to the weather bureau's announcement re: the official end of the summer season on Friday, it was rainy over the weekend with the exit of typhoon "Chedeng" but then not even that could have stopped this outing--have I mentioned it was nearly a couple of months in the making?--from happening.

Also: Can you believe I've known these guys for more than 10 years? (Think I was crazy in college? Blame these guys LOL)

Wet and wild, from L-R: Day, Danica, Me, Gino, Carlo, Eiven, Mary.

Under cut: Epic outing that capped this epic summer. And, as with all crazy events, I have no pictures of the portions that really mattered. Haha. Next time I go to a high school reunion with these folks, remind me to bring a tape recorder instead.

Pico de Loro vs Anvaya: A review

DISCLOSURES

Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club is by SM, while Anvaya is by Ayala.

Date of visit to Pico: May 8 (see entry)
Date of visit to Anvaya: May 16 (see entry)

Onto the blow-by-blow, under cut.

anvaya (oh yeah)

Was at Anvaya with the family Monday! Thank goodness for the fantastic weather. Left Krista's apartment in Quezon City at 6 a.m., had a quick breakfast at Jollibee NLEX, left there around 7, and arrived in Morong, Bataan via SCTEx around 9:30-ish. Not bad.

Anvaya's pool complex. Definitely the strongest point of this place.

in nasugbu, discreetly

There was a nasty storm over the weekend, but guess what, this outing has been in the works for a month, so we therefore conclude: Rain or shine, the show must go on!

Kayo na ang may jump shot sa gitna ng bagyo! L-R: Me, Andrea, Ice, Almi, Julie, Abi

(Cut for photos of beaches in gloomy weather, and various shenanigans you can do with a pool and a waterproof camera)

that extreme zambales adventure, 2011 redux

Here be photos via Ate Maricar's awesome camera! (Well, minsan nasa pana nga ata.)

Maipagpag lang first thing ang jump shot na ito.

(Cut for photos of torturous climbs and beach acrobatics)

extreme weekends: zambales edition, 2011

"Ano, next year ulit?"
"Dun na lang ako sa pleasant walks."
"Bakit, ano ba yung ginawa natin?"
"Agaw-buhay yun e."
-conversation sa likuran habang pauwi, tm val (david)

Summary: What started as an invite which sounded like, "Tara, punta tayo sa Anawangin, beach tayo" turned out to be, "Tara, punta tayo sa Anawangin, beach tayo sa Nagsasa pero AAKYAT TAYO NG BUNDOK MUNA FOR FIVE HOURS."

SERYOSO.

Touchdown Pundaquit, 6 a.m. Andrea and me before the hike.
Shit-ton of photos under cut (last count: 30)

5/3 EDIT: Andrea's account of this trip is here. =)

stilts redux

Ooooh, the temptation.
Tweaking layout slightly to accommodate bigger photos for the summer.
Needless to say: More gratuitous photos under cut.

the holy week report

Working today on a Black Saturday, but am extremely happy to report that the beaches were fine in Batangas these past few days. Ah, the joys of living in a tropical country.

(Cut for photos)

La Luz, Batangas (March 2011)

(Summary: We were in La Luz, Laiya, Batangas on Saturday! There were a lot of beach photos! Some under cut!)

Notes on Holy Week 2010

I am actually happy to report that during the six days I spent trying to have a "holy week vacation" I actually did not:

1) Read a single newspaper
2) Surf a single news website (with the exception of Twitter, which is actually turning out to be my news and chika aggregator whenever I'm mobile and not in front of a computer. Nifty.)
3) Read anything about/work on anything remotely about Elections 2010.

Which means I actually managed to accomplish my single battle plan for Holy Week 2010 to not turn the elections into a hobby. Heh. Instead, I:

1) Went to the beach with my family and my girlfriend, where I
2) Got a decent looking tan and
3) Trampoline-d my ankle to near oblivion;
4) Took lots of photographs
5) Did a gif of Krista jumping on a trampoline (LOL here.)
6) Finished Nick Hornby's High Fidelity in one sitting (FOUR HOURS! who would have thought I was capable of sitting still for FOUR HOURS.)
7) Wrote and finished something.
8) Went from Level 1 to Level 8 of Zombie Farm. (don't ask.)

Things I discovered this Holy Week:

1) I am a recovering mall addict.
2) I love Rockwell.
3) Zaifu is my new Japanese haunt of choice.

Here be photographs:

Hundred Islands, Pangasinan (March 2010)

Q: Yeah, so what's the plan?
A: We board a bus to Alaminos and then take it from there.
- also known as, the best plan ever (tm almi)

This one's with my angels Cy, Ice and Almi, the girlfriend and constant beachbuddy Edz. It's customary for the month of March to at least have one of these beach trips with these girls, and this year it's to Hundred Islands in Pangasinan.

We left Manila via Victory Liner - their Cubao station has buses leaving every hour for Alaminos. We boarded the earliest bus at 4.30am and arrived there around 10am so the trip's give or take six hours and cost around P350 one-way.

Victory Liner's Alaminos station is right in the heart of the town. Hawkers were everywhere but we were desperate for a restroom break so we crossed the street to this small mall (that I did not even get the name of, but it was nice) where the CR was at least better than the one in the terminal. We ate early lunch at Cindy's (Yeah the place to be, remember that jingle?) and asked around for directions to Lucap, which is the gateway town to the Islands.

We took two tricycles to Lucap at P60/trike (since it was from the terminal; later in the day, we would find out that they charge P80 for when you go by trike directly to the Victory terminal, but that's all right as we were in a hurry anyway, hehe). It's a ten to fifteen-minute ride to the Tourism center, which is the first office you go to when you get there.

At the Tourism center, they give you options re: boats. There's really no other way to go about the islands but on boats and we took one that costs P1,800 - it's a boat for 6 to 10 people and well, we basically had it with us the whole day. Not bad, if you ask me. It's called a Service Boat, and it's pretty convenient; for smaller groups of 1 to 5 pax, it's at 1,4k; for bigger groups of 11 to 15 people, it's 2k, based on the rate sheet they gave us. It's pretty spacious and it yes, it has a roof.


Meet Monagrace, our boat

Apart from that, the Tourism center also charges P20/head for day trips like ours. Pretty cheap, considering what we're about to see.

Our first stop was Governor's Island, where apparently we can climb to some point and see the view.


The Islands (just a few of many)


Group shot. (L-R: Edz, Ice, Cy, Andrea, Me, Almi, Kim)

Breathtaking view, most definitely; totally worth the stressful climb that went before it. (Note to self: Stretch first next time, Jesus.) Upon descent, we decided to check out the beach there. The water's fantastic, but guess what we saw?

Yep, a giant rock. Of course, the logical thing to do right then is take photographs.


Temptation Island, Stoned version. L-R: Me, Edz, Ice, Almi, Cy, Andrea.

And then, something fantastic happened: We found a fairly secluded island that had a gorgeous beach. It's called Lopez Island, and it is PARADISE.

At this point, I would like to flood you with images. To wit:


Places like this make me wish I have a DSLR hehe but for the meantime, I have Andrea's Canon A470 to thank, and of course, Adobe Photoshop CS3.

So yeah, staying at Lopez Island was the best thing EVARRR. The water's clear, the sand is fine, plus hey natural shade under rock formations. It was PERFECT. ♥

We stayed on the island until around 4; we spent it lounging under the shade/rock, camwhoring, eating chips, going into the water, trying to teach Andrea to swim freestyle (heh), camwhoring some more, taking really funny pictures underwater (HAHA), attempting to snorkel briefly (Thanks Ice!), re-applying each other's sunblock, being sexy on the sand, staring off into the middistance, etc. And of course, telling each other stories.

All in all a good day! :) We left a little before five, after passing briefly through Marcos Island for last-minute camwhorage. The boat trip back to the jumpoff point took around 20 minutes. There we tried taking a quick shower at the bath house near the tourism office (P10/shower, not bad, considering we had not expected it to be there in the first place haha). After showering I bought myself a cold can of soda (mm heavenly) and then we took a quick trike trip back to the Victory Liner station (P80/trike now) and caught the 6pm bus back to Cubao. (Their last trip is at 7pm, which is also good to note)

After three stops - we had one in Tarlac that lasted for 20 minutes in a terminal where you can buy dinner, too - we reached Cubao around midnight. The fare is also around P350, and man Victory Liner buses are AWESOME. Let it be said here. Comfortable and awesome.

So, in all - a really great time! :) Expenses review: P700 for transpo by bus (two-way); ~P260 for the boat (P1,8k divided by 7pax), P20 for entrance, ~P50 for trike (two-way). That's less than P1,5k so you can spend the rest on food even. Definitely, the trip's below your P2k budget. In a word: AWESOME.

Tips and tricks: Do bring a lot of water and baon and sunblock and coins (for those stops where you need to shell out P2-P10 to use facilities hehe). And plastic bags for your trash - take whatever you bring there back with you and leave nothing on the islands! :)

laiyeah! (2009)

or, alternatively, the third and last of a series

this one here's for the graduates. :) 2009 being dual-grad time for krista and wy, i dragged le familia to laiya for some sun, sea and sand on black saturday, capping off holy week's three-part beachineering tryst all over the place. hehe. this was also drea's first beach outing with my family (yay!).


saturday's outing was in balai sa laiya in san juan, batangas. the drive was surprisingly short and relatively unmarred by holiday traffic, much unlike our six-hour bataan trip on thursday. we left the cavite house at quarter to 6 and arrived at the beach around 9, with auntie on the wheel and i navigating from the backseat with dad on the passenger seat. krista and drea were dozing off; wy was listening to taylor swift on his psp (seriously).

the place was surprisingly deserted on a black saturday when we got there, much unexpected really. i had prepared myself for jampacked beach resorts in nearby batangas, since i figured this was where everybody else would be trooping, what with its proximity to the metro, but lo and behold the shore was clear and quiet.

and so, we camwhore.




krista and wy wanted to rent snorkels and life vests, and so we did. actually, the life vest rental was a good idea because the waters got deep not too far out. the snorkel mask was good for small fishy viewing (ika nga ni wy, "minnows" - whatever).





as previously mentioned, the beach was unusually unpopulated, and the resort had only a few people in it aside from us. we actually got to play billiards for a few rounds - this was how un-peopled the place was. and we loved it.

around noontime, drea remembered that she brought her zips with her, so she showed us a few moves:


as expected, type ni wy ang zips:


here he is pictured trying to play zips under the shade. ka-arte. heheh. anyway, drea says wy is a fast learner - much faster than i am, at least. hehe.


anyway, buffet lunch served by the place was awesome - we had grilled tuna, caldereta, stew, rice and singkamas with bagoong and mangoes for dessert (yum). their dining area was located on the second floor, amidst trees. dining was al fresco, and the summer breeze went perfectly with their mangoes and the drying salt on our skins. teehee.

let it also be noted here that you could come up anytime and fix yourself coffee or tea here and drink it while lounging in their rattan recliners or their egg-shaped duyan. double teehee.

by noon, we'd almost had our fill of the sea, it was time for some tanders timeout by our cabana:


regaining our strengths in the afternoon, we figured, maybe it was time for jumpshots:


but then, some jumpshots are not meant to be:


(sorry, natawa talaga ako dito hehehehe)


(buti pag anino lang pinipicturean parang magkaka-body size lang kami nina krista at drea. WAHAHAHAHA.)

we went home around 5:30p.m. but by then we'd already been caught into the outpour of vacationers into manila. we had dinner on slex and reached metropolis alabang around 9-ish. drea and i boarded a bus home to makati since auntie was too tired to drive all the way to makati then back to cavite hehehe.

all in all, a good beach trip. actually, a good series of beach trips, at that. hehehe. my shoulders hurt from sunburn and sleeves are currently some form of punishment, but hey, it's all good.

summary of expenses: P750/pax daytrip rate in balai sa laiya. covers entrance, welcome drinks (we had mango juice), the cabana, buffet lunch, one light snack (they delivered sandwiches, fish chips and juice to our cabana and we ate them by the beach - pwede na rin) and of course, the bottomless coffee. covers as well free use of junior billiards table - which wy enjoyed immensely. rental of life vest, P100/day. rental of snorkel mask, P100/day. pwede na rin. if you're not really looking for a pool (kasi sadly they don't have one) this resort deserves two thumbs up. :)

temptation island, bataan edition!

or, alternatively, bataan tryst 2009

for a while there, i thought this trip would not happen at all, but after several last minute arrangements, from reservations for the trip to recruitment of participants to surfing sulit.com for van rentals, we got there anyway. it was Maundy Thursday.

so now, presenting...


hahaha. actually, this picture lacks two beachineers, but i couldn't resist putting the title on the sand space. it was begging for it! hahaha. the beach we headed to was bataan white corals in morong (P300/head entrance fee, cabana for 10 @ P1,500), but this photo was shot on the opposite shore.

after much haggling, the final number of beachineers reached 10 on d-day, and we left makati at 5 a.m. holiday traffic doubled our estimated travel time, so we reached the resort around 11:30 a.m. the sun was already high, we were already starving, and sorry to say their restaurant service was a disappointment, but no matter. we wanted to get sunburnt so we hit the water as soon as possible, appendicitis be damned.

we rented a banca (P100/head) to get to the opposite shore. it was supposedly better for beaching, since the shore we left was full of jellyfish, but after a bit we started feeling stings anyway. ah, jellyfish, what to do with you. anyway, when the water starts stinging, you know what to do:


jumping shots, of course. (props to fran k for this one) hehehe. actually, i am in this picture - i'm the left-most one, and yes, i didn't know i could jump this high before this shot, either.




pardon the ridiculous camwhorage, minsan lang naman, wag nang pumalag, oki?


(really, this photo's filename is "woohoo-nakuha-sa-anggulo.jpg")

that trip to the other shore had time limit, sadly, so we had to head back to the resort after an hour. tumambay na lang at dumalife sa kanilang seawater pool. and yes, the water was salty. very.



and then somebody suggested beers by the seawater, and so i said, what the hell, why not?


and then the sun started its descent, hence the golden hour when everything the sun falls on just looks golden:



i know they look exactly the same, but then again, minsan lang, pagbigyan na please.


we left the resort after sunset, after wrestling with their clogged communal shower and then we trooped to SBMA to have dinner. we were hoping for Gerry's but then it was full and the waitlist had at least 14 sets of people ahead of us. so we went somewhere else, and their service was thankfully quick.

we reached makati around midnight. all in all, everybody pitched in P1,000 each for the resort, the van (P4,500 with gas), the toll fees and the driver's food. not bad, eh? anyway, that certainly deserves a repeat. so ano guys, next week ulit? hehe.

endnote. some photos taken by drea. postcrossprocessing mine. drea's attempts (as seen on facebook) do look better. ahehehe.

to pinatubo and back!

or, alternatively, of course the title of this post deserves an exclamation point

My legs still feel like lead today and there’s a healing gash on my left knee to remind me of where I was on Sunday.


Believe what everybody else is saying - the Pinatubo crater *is* breathtaking – on both the literal and literary senses, but clearly, this is getting ahead of myself. This photo was taken at around half-past 7 in the morning of Sunday, and that morning started five hours earlier, at 2:30 a.m., which was the time we left Parañaque for Pinatubo.

Being a novice trekker, I was quite nervous of the whole climb-thing, what with rumors that some people trekked for THREE HOURS to get to the crater. Add this to the fact that I am naturally afraid of heights, I figured the worst that could happen is that the guide would have to carry me through half the trip. Oh dear.

We got to the starting point Pinatubo Spa Town around 5:30 a.m., proving how Ate Maricar’s driving and direction skills could never really be underestimated. But if you think that’s early, consider that when we got there a van full of people had already arrived there first.

We boarded a 4x4 jeep around 6 a.m. We paid the package price of P1,250/head, which included the jeep, the guide and shower time after. We had water, we had trail food (oh Growers Nutribar, why had I met you only now?), we had cameras (easy-to-carry digicam ones, I think, would be far more practical than the bulky DSLRs). I wore my worn Mojos with socks – yes I knew they were bound to get wet in the several streams along the way, but if you’re pretty prone to injuring yourself on rough surfaces (more on this later), you’d be better off with covered feet.

Anyway, the 4x4 ride took about an hour. I think it was really supposed to take an hour and a half, but boy did our driver really cut half an hour from that trip with those mad driving skillz hahaha.


Anyway, when they said the hiking trail would be full of rocks, they weren’t joking. As previously mentioned, I was a novice hiker, and when I looked at the trail, I was like, if I were to walk for three hours in this I would *die*. Or have to be carried for half the trip. Whichever comes first.

But then, it turns out the hike would only take about 20 to 30 minutes. Apparently, they had shortened it for the summer, since this path we took, aptly named Skyway for the speed with which you could course through it, was accessible due to the nice weather. A good thing, generally.


Because if it were any more traumatic I’d swear I’d never go back EVER, but then, it wasn’t so bad, so really, I’d do it again. =) Anyway, this was what greeted us when we got there:


Movie-scenic, I thought. Like something snatched out of Lord of the Rings or something. Thanks to the Ates for dragging us along:



Sulit na sulit ang pagod. Actually, the hike through the rocks, negotiating with the streams was easier than getting through the steep stairs. Oh god, the steep stairs were what got me, really. Laglag talaga ang baga ko, damang-dama ko ang bigat ko, etc.

Anyway, happier times on the way down to the crater: (this flight of steep stairs would be such a bitch later, when it was time to climb it on the way home)


Pagkababa dun, sa sobrang ganda parang tinatawag ka na ni Lord: (haha)



Eto mga kasama ko, unaware:


And of course, we swam:




(Me: Nay bakit me bubbles?
Naychona: Nak, kasi bulkan ata yung ilalim eh.)

We were first on the crater, and we left when people started pouring in like crazy. The shore was pretty short, and things were bound to get pretty crowded so we decided it was time to hike back to square one.



As I’ve said the hike back up the steep stairs earlier was such a bitch; we had to stop three times along the way to catch our breaths. (Actually, kami lang pala ni Ate Chona. Go figure) While I was busy fixing my lungs, Andrea was busy taking splendid pictures:



Sabi ko nga, parang Lord of the Rings lang.

On the way back, my knees were already relatively weaker than when we began hiking that morning, and during one of them moments of weakness I accidentally brushed my left knee forcefully against one the bigger rocks. Hence, a gash. Which hurt, really. Hehe. Parang bata lang eh, umuuwing may galos. Napansin na nga ng mga nakasalubong naming hikers who were only on their way up at 10 a.m. (ang init na nito, we could only imagine) na my knee was bleeding. But no matter.


Anyway, ito pala yung sinakyan naming 4x4 with kuya and our guide:


Sa pagod, we actually managed to doze off in the 4x4 kahit super tagtag. Haha. Ako nagigising pag nauuntog so I figured, to hell with trying to sleep. By this time I was already hungry anyway so I thought of that instead.

I’d like to note here that the shower facility at the Spa was pleasantly surprising. The fee for the shower, turns out, includes locker use and use of other stuff like plastic bags (simple but really convenient), alcohol and swabs (for wounds like mine), soaps and fresh towels. Plus points talaga na hindi nabasa yung towel na dinala namin from home.

Anyway, we ate at SM City Clark because it was convenient and we were starving. I think it was only a little past noontime, and we were not really too keen on going home and so we headed to:


Oo me ganito pa, panalo!


The place was pretty much still under construction, and the entrance fee was in the form of a “donation” (to be determined by visitors, of course).

Wala pang chocolate hills, etc. pero meron nang Rice Terraces. Meron ding mga huge rock formations tulad nito:


They bullied me into climbing. It was really scary. Hahaha. Panalo me band-aid eh. We left and visited Ate Maricar’s relatives. Kapampangans are really awesome cooks, btw. Thank you thank you!

We arrived back in Casa at midnight, after having crepes for late night dessert at Rockwell and buying the latest Maxim issue at 7-11. Ho-hum. Hahaha. Talagang in passing lang eh.

It was a long day, tiring but we’d do it again in a heartbeat!

Summary of expenses: P2,5k all-in with transpo, gas, toll, food, etc. But only because we had the best financial managers ever. =)