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A FILIPINA MOTHER & A TRAVELER DISCOVERING PHILIPPINES ONE ISLAND AT A TIME.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Bummed Out!

Not that I'm frustrated but well, the weather is to blame for all the chaos this has caused on our Palaui Trip. But don't worry...TF Friends are here to the rescue!

Bummed out?

HOUSE PARTEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!
@ Ced's place!

gotta go gotta go gotta go!

UBBE PALAUI POSTPONED

Thanks Travel Factor for texting us early. I was really thinking twice narin because of the bad weather. Again thanks for confirming!

Mag sundance na nga lang ika nga ni Leia!

For more travel updates check here: TRAVEL FACTOR

Again, UBBE PALAUI is OFFICIALLY POSTPONED.

Awmeng....sana di matapat sa Baguio express ko next week...

Monday, April 27, 2009

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Pinay's Last Destination this Summer!

This would be my last trip with Travel Factor for the meantime. Next trip would be CEBU EXPLORATION on Oct-Nov.

Anyway, for those who've been viewing my blogs, photos, and calendar - i think you already have an idea about where my last stop would be this summer.

I am going to Palaui Island, Cagayan Province. I checked the itinerary of TF and got really excited about it that I can almost feel the ocean again... - (akala ko ba takot si pinay sa malalim?)

I'm gonna buy me a tent, a flashlight and other camping needs, so I'll be paying ROX a visit this
week.


Now, the question is? How am I gonna pack my tent in my FILA backpack? <- di bale, I think I've mastered the never-ending saga of "PACKING"...so let's see...


PALAUI HERE I COME!

Calaguas Food Shots

Ok, I'm not really a good food photographer like Nonie, Gian, or Boss Rain. But when I saw these foods ready to be eaten by 100+ people in Calaguas, I just felt that I had to grab my camera and take some snapshots of it before pa bagyuhin tong lamesa!

Nasa bangka palang, sinasabi na nila na the best ang Laing sa Calaguas. So, when they finally
served the Laing along with the other 2 "ulams" the Liempo and the Fish, suddenly I heard my tummy crumbled in excitement. I hope I gave justice to these pinoy food favorites.

Ako na maunang magcocomment, sobrang vivid...tsktsk...
Liempo

Fish

and the highlight of the day,
TF Travelers welcomes,LAING!


Besides from Pili being the main delicacy of Camarines Norte, may isa pa kaming natikman sa Calaguas na super sa sarap. Daing na Dilis? ahahaha! yes Dilis sha na ginawang daing nga naman! AMAZING! But I didn't manage to take a photo of it nung dinner kasi after frisbee, photoshoot and other stuff that the TF travelers did that day - sugod lahat sa LA MESA! pagkasigaw palang ni kuya ng DINNER's READY! taray! Naguwi lang naman ako ng isang kilong Dilis for P350! Well, it was worth it kasi ginawa ko lang shang popcorn dito sa bahay!

I will definitely go back to the Happy Beach!
and LAING would still be my main lunch or dinner for the day!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Enjoying Calaguas

Hmmm, well it just shows that I am still high from my Calaguas escapade last weekend. From the moment I sent my registration for the trip to my island hopping last Monday. Clearly, I just can't get enough blogging about it.

My most memorable moment in Calaguas was seeing my old friends from my Apo Reef + Pandan Island trip last February.

We're almost perfect, we're missing Maya, Marge, Glen and Preckie.
This is probably the reason why I kept on traveling with Travel Factor. Meeting new people always, always excites me. And the more I go with their trips the more I make friends and travel buddies. People who like me, loves traveling, exploring and camera freaks!

So here, being the photoholic that we are, suit ourselves at the top of this
huge rock and Jerome with no hesitations, clicked his shutter!

Nice one, Jerome!

And of course! I can't be missed!
Argh! I'm getting darker than ever...oh well!

Pinay's moves!

And of course, we partied the night away!
Here we are, celebrating our weekend the Travel Factor way!

The Camarines Norte Treasures

I have never hopped 4 islands in one day...good thing they're like 3-5min away from each other. Camarines Norte is gifted with beautiful, unexploited, virgin islands.

But nothing beats Calaguas. Pure white sand, clear waters, unexploited, no resorts, no clubs, just me (of course and the 100 peeps who partied with Ced), the tent, and my camera. Nothing is more relaxing than that.

Ok let's go back to the 4 islands I've visited last Monday. Why did I end up hopping from one island to the other? Leia needed buddies for her occular and since I was on vl last Monday, I volunteered myself. simple as that. :)

I didn't manage to keep track of the names of the islands we visited. But it was an experience I will always treasure for the rest of my life.

How can I not fall in-love with my own country?

Forget Tagaytay, Batangas or Galera.

Explore Philippines, even further.
Our country has so much to offer.

Sweet locals, delicious food, diverse cultures all these and more
in the 7,107 islands of the Philippines.

Another one by:
Pinay Manlalakbay

Desire

Hmm, can you do this?


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The Shots That Might've Ended My Life

Super morbid ba ng title ng blog ko?
Wala na kasi akong maisip eh...
kaya dinramahan ko nalang lalo yung title!
LOL!

That's what I felt while I was taking these shots of beautiful islands while we were stranded in the middle of the ocean. The boat stopped twice, and while Kuya is busy fixing the boat, I couldn't help myself but to grab my camera and take pictures. But it wasn't easy. There's a lot of obstruction from where I am at and so I decided to stand up and stepped on the left "katig" of the boat. Of course, I made sure that brenda is safely tucked in while I try to balance myself...sayang wala akong picture! Di ko alam kung anu tuloy hitsura ko...but the fact that just one mistake could end my life...I am not a good swimmer lalo na pag sa malalim. Thinking of a possibile accident -- I kept asking "Lord just a few shots...just give me a few shots..." and he did. After a few minutes of shooting, I went back inside the boat as quickly as I can..


Here are the end results:


The effort, I should say - was worth it.

My PERRFECT Beach...

What is a Perrfect Beach for me:

- HAVE THE ISLAND ON OUR OWN
- NO HOTELS AND CLUBS (w/c is so annoying!)
- JUST ME, MY TENT (soon to buy one) and THE BEACH.
oh and a bottle of red horse!

Have I found it?

Oh yeah!

I found my perrfect beach.

And I guess you all know what's this perrfect beach I am talking about.

8hrs ride from Manila to Daet, Camarines Norte.

2hrs boat ride from Daet to the Perrfect beach.

Yes, I am talking about none other than....the Happy Beach

Calaguas


The BORACAY of CAMARINES NORTE!

The View - stunning.
The Water - CLEAR!
and the SAND - PURO!


The moment I saw the long stretch of white sand, I just couldn't get hold of myself. Once the boat was docked, I took off my slippers and jumped right out to the shore and didn't mind getting wet. The water is just so clear...the reflection of the sky kisses the water it makes it look so perfectly blue. The sand ---- OMG The sand....SO PURO! Usually, lulubog ang paa ko..but not with Calaguas.

And, you know what makes it more perrfect? It is not as EXPLOITED as the other beaches out there...now I feel so sorry for them.

What makes this trip exciting? It is the party that we (total of 108) participants brought to Calaguas.
Why? It's Ced's birthday.


As early as 2PM - I've tasted for the first time, the Calaguas Mix - talbog si Bailey's! Tents everywhere, (which reminds me, I have to buy one for my own in my upcoming trip to Palaui).
Booze --- it's everywhere! Photos - I bet they're more than 500! Let's see, 10-20 people including me has a dslr, plus the point and shoot ones...hmmm...more than 500 nga ito! But again, it's not about the camera - it's the memories (naman ngayun! ahahaha!).

I will definitely go back to Calaguas. But not anytime soon, I want to miss it that I would swim the Pacific Ocean to get there...(just kidding! but why not? LOL)

This trip is made possible and brought to us by of course,
TRAVEL FACTOR.
Not just an agency. It's a lifestyle.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Gone For The Weekend...ageyn?!

Ok guys, here it is! Tonight is the night!

The Happy Beach Bumming Experience is just around the corner!

Dean, TP, Jerome and others who will be going to this trip - alright guys, see ya later!

I can't wait!

Happy Beerday to Ced (Co-owner of Travel Factor).
I can smell the beers and antonov now...LOL!


How about you? Where are you gonna celebrate your weekend?

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Before and After

I was browsing through my friendster when I stumbled upon my old - super duper - old testimonials. 2 of it really made me smile. Not because of the good thing they said about me..but the "kalokohans" that they revealed in public. LOL.

The first one is one of the sincerest testimonials I've ever received. It's from Francesca, who I used to work with during my days with Dell (Sitel). While reading it I realized how much I've changed. You see, I used to make work fun. Looking back from before to now, suddenly I had this thought wandering off my mind - How come I don't do this anymore? I used to be like this...



But then, at the end of the day it is always up to me.

Francesca: "But of all the things that made me like her is that she makes work fun.".

I'm not bragging this, because this is me trying to re-asses myself. Again I go back to my question - "how come i don't do this anymore?". I am not saying that I need people to notice what I do and they would tell me kudos or whatever....because that's just not SO me. I just do whatever needs to be done, day in & day out. Reading this line over and over again made me felt that I was so different back then. I even asked myself "bakit kung kelan andito na ako ngayun saka ko ito di ginagawa..." and I didn't even noticed it not until now.

Frankly, I felt blue. Realization hit me. I am not the same anymore. That when people see me I always smile. But now, when people see me either they say Hi to me or would just ask me "are you having a bad day?!" And I was like "what?! no...". That's when I got my a.k.a "Bugi" in short for Bugnutin. <- hmmm well thanks to Nonie.
I wanna go back to my old self. Being the person who makes work fun. Having to enjoy each and everyday I do my stuff at work and frankly, no matter how hard it is for me not to let myself get affected of what's happening around me - well think again...you'd be surprise how people sometimes affects you and change your mood.

My Action Plan: This is hard. (parang appraisal lang!) - It's just simple, Be that person Cheska used to see in me 4 and a half years ago. - How? I couldn't think of a better answer than Think POSITIVE. If you think positive everything would be possible, and everything would be easy no matter how hard it is the tasks and the challenges that you're facing.

Everything is up to me.
Chances? It is for me to see.

Destiny its for me to take.


Ok L.A no more drama...Patreng let's go to Glorieta na!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Where To On Labor Day?

Where to on Labor Day?

Talk about the Northeastern Frontier of the Philippines.


Palaui Island


Photo by our good friend Rex Literato.

Everybody just got excited! The long-wait is over. Finally Travel Factor posted the trip details for the May 1-3 UBBE: Palaui Island (UBBE stands for Ultimate Beach Bumming Experience - a Travel Factor signature). Anyway, looking forward to see you guys in this trip. I just couldn't wait!

Here's a list of what's in-store for us in this trip c/o
Travel Factor.
- It's the northeasternmost island of the Philippines!
- Have the beach to yourself! (And your companions of course.)
- Visit the colonial-era Cape Engano lighthouse and prepare to be taken away by the awesome, awesome view.

- Amazing sunsets and sunrises at Palaui Island

- Anguib Cove is a beachbummer's dream!

- Seafood festival!
- This is one unique trip you can brag about. For sure.
- It's a Travel Factor trip!

See ya guys!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

OH NO!

OH NO!


Someone's using pinaymanlalakbay in blogger! snif snif snif...well when I checked her site, her last blog entry was last November 30th of 2007 pa..oh man... Now, I'll have to stick with fierceresuri. haaay!

My Own Shirt

I've been thinking about this lately -- creating my own signature shirt. Imagine PINAY MANLALAKBAY in front and the map of Pinas at the back..LOL

Since I've been exploring 60% of Luzon, and the rest soon, I think I deserve to treat myself with my own signature shirt. Oh and I hope I am the only one using Pinay Manlalakbay. hehehe!

I'll start creating the design as soon as I am done with my trip this weekend. Would be needing a lot of help from my Fine Arts stud, sister Joyce. She knows a lot when it comes to color combination, artistic designs and a lot more...(makes me feel so proud of her!).

And of course I will have to buy my own shirt.

If you guys know a place where I can print my signature shirt that is affordable, accessible, and offers good quality prints please do let me know. I am getting excited with this new idea of mine.

for more of my photoblogs go to http://pinaymanlalakbay.tumblr.com/

To The Happy Beach!

4 DAYS TO GO!!!!

Brenda and I are going to Calaguas! Yey!

April 18th, that is the day...

AND THE COUNTDOWN TO THE HAPPY BEACH HAS BEGUN...

Monday, April 13, 2009

Looks Like It's TAKING OFF!

It was around 1:30pm when I was doing all the usual stuffs I do at work. I was about to click send on my email when suddenly the cursor just got stuck, not moving and while I was busy moving my mouse I suddenly heard a noise in my cpu. I can feel the warm air from the inside on my left leg. The fan just got too noisy it sounded like a tora-tora taking off....and before I know it, my screen just turned black and when it came back, EVERYTHING IN FRON OF ME WAS BIG! Like the send button is right on my face...the cursor looked like a large arrow that you can put on the road signs.

And so I did the usual troubleshooting, like hey parang di ako galing ng tech support. ahahaha! I just couldn't take it back to its original setting, had to save the files, and restarted my pc, waited for 30min <-- ops this is not OA...30min waiting in front of that pc of mine was like hell.

Luckily after restarting, everything went back to normal except for the 30mins waiting time.

I just hope that I won't experience this in G5.
Haay..technology what the heck...

Livin' the dream...Part 1

One of my pending blogs...anyway

The Makati Dance Troupe had the honor and privilege to dance with the hottest dance crew in the country, 2-time World Hip-hop Champs - The Philippine All-Stars.

It was October last year when I first found out that the All-Stars was invited to perform at our '08 Xmas Party. Aidi and I got excited, and then suddenly the thought of performing with them in a short dance number would definitely excite everyone, maybe there could be a possibility. And so I cut to the chase and asked this unbelievably, out of this world question.
L.A: "Can we do a number with them?kahit short lang..kahit kami lang ang pang-intro...tas sila na all the way...Pwede?" I said that with a Grinch like smile on my face (with matching beautiful eyes pa...no JOKE lang...lol).

Surely we would want to dance with Streetboys, if we can do a cartwheel why not. And of course maybe we can rock the dance floor with Maneuvers, I'm sure we can do the ChooChoo Train naman...again why not? They are our inspiration! These dance groups have always been the big influence not just to us but to those aspiring dancers out there.

And so, December 8, 2008, the stage was set, for a showdown, we the dance troupe will never forget. It was the time of our lives, -- t'was like livin' our dream.

Here's a photo during the showdown:

Sorry the video is still under the process of editing and for some reason I am having a hard time uploading it...but here's the picture of us with the Philippine All-Stars right after the showdown.



Trivia: The Makati Dance Troupe started last August of 2005. Formally launched at the 2005 White Xmas Party @ the NBC Tent. Performed I Believe by Yolanda Adams. The Troupe was invited at the 2006 CCAP Battle of the Bands. We started out as 20 to be exact. And now the pioneers are just down to 8. That's Me, Aidi, Tina, Joena, Mary, Jay, and Egi and Pepper who are now in Commonwealth.

I miss Egi and Pepper, any chance of dancing with them again, will be another dream come true. It would be like a renuion ey?

MORE POWER
CMDT

To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.
~Agnes De Mille
~

Livin' the dream...

These guys are one of the dopest, most exciting cheering squad I have ever seen and I am talking about The UP Pep Squad.

Aidi and I got really excited at their opening number that after they performed, we took the opportunity of having a souvenir with them. Thanks to our boss, Tess for the tip. ahahaha! I took my brenda with me and the rest is history.

Aidi with the UP Pep Squad


Aidi and Me livin' our dream
a photo souvenir with the UP Pep Squad

Aidi next time, Jabawockeez naman...ahahaha!
Malay natin, pumunta sila dito!

Now, I am missing the dance troupe na...

Saturday, April 11, 2009

A Letter To A Crush

Amynda blogged this in tumblr.

A Letter To A Crush

it’s that slap of the forehead when i wish i would have said the things to you that spin in my head at night. just because you are the most beautiful thing i’ve ever seen and i don’t even know you. sometimes i feel like loving the air around me when i guess you might have been there. the bar, the stools, i know you could have been there. and your picture is in a book on my wall and i feel like i’m stalking you when i open it. i just want you to know that i fell in love with pieces of you and conversation is over-rated anyway.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

What A Cosmic Event!

Got this from Yahoo! News. I thought I should blog about it. It's just so extraordinary! A cosmic hand reaches for the light.


Thanks to NASA for this cosmic photo!
For more info click HERE.

Monday, April 6, 2009

My Zambales Exploration...


May I say Two Times?!

So here I go again with my travel blog, what can I say...traveling Philippines is something that I've always dreamed of since I was a kid. And who would've thought I'd be damn addicted to photographing landscapes ey?!

I love Zambales. It's just 4-5hrs ride from Manila, and it was much shorter because of the now opened SCTEX.

It was January of this year when I first came to Zambales and boy was I excited that time. I was curious of the so-called Photographer's Haven - Anawangin and it did lived up to its reputation of being IT. When David asked where can we spend our weekend for a teambuilding that is near, cheaper but fun place to visit, I told him Zambales would be a great place.

So I took the initiative to arrange the trip. Many thanks to Ms. Vilma the owner of Jimz Resort. She really took care of us while we were there and Kuya Randy my contact for the boat, again, he never fails to give me discounts...for the boat ride.

I have posted many blogs about Zambales a few months ago. Right now, I'm just gonna do one blog for this. Why? because I am not feeling well right now and my head is spinning while writing this. Oh crap looks like this fever is coming back! argh!

Anyway here are my Anawangin shots:

Shot this using Ronj's 18-55mm with a uwa converter



I could just stare at it all day....

Don't you just love to run around and lie down on the grass when you're tired?
I mean really?seriously?
The Heart-shaped Stone above was spotted by David, and so I grabbed the chance to take a picture of it.

The last photo was a scenic shot in Capones Island. Thank God we didn't have to treck for 2-hrs (like what happened to Nonie, John and I last January) last Sunday. The waves were not that strong so we were able to dock the boat on the other side. The walk to Capones Lighthouse is much shorter, may i say that - it took us only FIVE freaggin' minutes to get to where we're heading!!!

Anyway, I already have a shot of the Lighthouse, so i'll just show this one to you.


I'm bringing sexy back...yeah!
No just kidding, please don't throw-up!

Anyway, summer has just started.
Do what you've been doing every holy week.
For I and I alone will be bumming myself at home
like I usually do every holy week.

And for those who are going out of town this Lenten season, enjoy, take care and always put this in mind, something that I learned during my stay in Apo Reef:

Take Nothing but Pictures
Bring Nothing but Memories
Kill Nothing but Time
Leave Nothing but Footprints

And don't forget to say a prayer of thanks to our
Lord, Jesus Christ.

Another one by pinay manlalakbay.
Have a Happy Summer everyone!

Capones, I Love....



“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive.”


~ Eleanora Duse ~

Sunday, April 5, 2009

HR PBCOM/INSULAR GETAWAY!

Got a message from David a few hourse ago after we part, that they had a blast. Thanks God! It was their first time in Zambales and since I've been there last January I took the initiative to organize our long awaited team building. I took them to Anawangin and Capones.

Here's a sneak peak of our soon to be uploaded pictures.

Oh gosh, what's happening to me. Saturday night palang I was feeling sick na. Was having a tonsillitis, and since Anne and David were going to the market that night, sumabay ako to buy me some medicine. And this is what I got now, a fever with a temp of 37.8...GEESH!

Anyway, knowing that they enjoyed the trip makes me feel better. Now, I can't wait for the holy week to pass because i'll be going to the Virgin Beach - Calaguas on the 18th. Oh man! I can't wait!

Oh and I gotta buy a new Hawaiian Tropic Sun Junk!!! Naubos sha ng mga gels!

oh gosh!

Friday, April 3, 2009

A Hard Habit To Break...


I started smoking 3 years ago, back when I was with Ops, an active volunteer in any events, a member of the dance troupe (til now...) and back when I was sporting a short-short hair, baggy pants and a confused identity. It was summer grind when I first tasted a cigarette and I remember it was Seb who taught me how to. That time his cigar was marlboro reds. Wow! Watta cigar to start the habit! Since then, smoking became my everyday routine til' the early 2008. I spent most of my time with friends who shares my habit, and chitchatting all the way.

I decided to stop because I just chose to. Well, because of health reasons, it's really not normal, if like every month I always get a cough and I even experienced difficulty in breathing.

Then - when I went to Galera with the ER girls, October of last year...i started smoking again. Could you just see how stress really affects your lifestyle?! tsktsk!

Now, I noticed that whenever I go out of town, it's either I bring a pack of cigars with me or i'll just ask one stick from my Travel Friends.

Sometimes it's just easy but most of the time it's very hard to let go. It's really how you disciplined yourself and how YOU control yourself.

Hmm....Can I really promise myself not to smoke anymore?

I hope that when I go to Calaguas, I'll go without a pack of cigars with me - and I wish I'd be able to control myself and just spend a CLEAN weekend, learn how to skimboard, get myself busy shooting landscapes and just have fun under the sun...in the Happy Beach.

Thursday, April 2, 2009