Car Chases. More fun in the Philippines

Been waiting for trailer number 2, the one that actually has scenes shot here in Pinas. And here it is. The car chase scene is off the roof, as in wow, EDSA never looked this awesome to me before. Hahaha.

Mark your calendars, people. August 3. The Bourne Legacy.

Photo of the Week: Happiness

Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, pancit habhab and the cutest pair of dimples in the world.

Pahiyas Festival of Lukban at Agawan sa Sariaya

Just helping BBK advertise a friend's business. In 2 weeks, I will be in Manila to witness the Pahiyas Festival for the first time. I love festivals, I'm a Cebuano and festivals are embedded in my spirit. Well see how this goes. :) I'm so excited.

For more info, contact me. Below are the deets:

Pahiyas Festival of Lukban at Agawan sa Sariaya

May 15, 2011

Celebrate the feast of San Isidro Labrador on May 15 and experience the most colorful fiesta in the Philippines! Walk along the streets of Lukban and see the colorful “kipings” used to decorate their houses or join in the “Agawan” at Sariaya after the 3pm mass and bring home some of the town’s vegetable and fruit harvests. Shop for food and handicrafts such as longganisa, broas, pianono de patatas, beautiful baskets, bags, and hats galore!

Tour Fee: Php1,700.00 per person
Package Inclusions: Chartered van or bus, travel insurance, lunch and afternoon snack, visit to the churches of Sariaya, Tayabas, and Lucban, old houses of Sariaya, old stone bridge in Tayabas.

(Photo Courtesy of http://www.lugaluda.com)

2011 Holy Week Escapade

I haven't blogged in like a week coz I had a crazy schedule. Now I don't know where to begin so let's just see those Holy Week pictures one more time, yes?

Biri Island Trip

6:00-6:15 -Allen to Lavezares (15 mins)
6:15-7:15 – Lavezares to Biri Island (1hr)
7:15-8:00- Breakfast, Hotel Search, Freshen Up
8:00-12:00- Tour and Photo ops
Magasang Rock Formation
Macadlao Rock Formation
12-1:00 pm- LUNCh ( Packed Lunch)
1:00-5:00pm-Biri Island Mangroves
Bil-at (say Bee-lut)
5:00-7:00 pm- Back to Hotel
7:00-8:00 pm- Dinner
8:00-12:00pm- Chill, Inom
12 midnight – lights out

Saturday

5:00 am- wake up call
5:00-6:00- bath time, private time, breakfast
7:00-10:00am- other island tours (solo drifting)
10:15am-10:30am- pack up
10:45-11:45- going to Allen
11:45-12:30- Lunch in Allen
12:30 – 2:30 –Allen to Legazpi, Albay-- Mayon Volcano, Photoshoot
2:30-6:00pm- Matnog to Donsol

6:30-7:30- Dinner and wait for our Original Nita Negrita “Jazzybelle Baustista”

Firefly River Cruise

Day 4:
Butanding-watching

Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah

I forgot to post this...

Two weeks ago, we got to watch the return of the Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah The Musicale at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Hubby knows Im a sucker for stage plays and though all the tickets were sold out, we managed to sneak our way in. It was an awesome experience for me coz I've been itching to watch this since I read about from Icon Magazine (remember that awesome mag???) back in 2005. I was wishing there would be a Cebu staging of this play, but nada.

I'm not a big fan of the movie. I personally think the movie starring Zsa Zsa and Rustom was a complete blasphemy of how great this musicale is. The show that I got to watch starred Eula Valdez as Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah and boy was she hilarious. I havent seen that side of her, and she really gave justice to the role. I heard there was another staging before that starred Kay Brosas and I wish I got to watch that coz Im a big fan. She fits this role like a glove :) Anyway, no regrets, Eula was just as awesome and the whole show was a HUGE success as always.

After the show, BBK and I got to take pictures of the characters. He even introduced me to the men behind the Musicale--- The Stage Director, the Musical Director and the cartoon writer. It was a very sentimental moment for me. I'm a big fan of musicales :)

Buffet Babies

I had an awful day in the office and I was had tons of things to accomplish so I was whining the entire time. Good thing Vince set up this wonderful dinner treat at Cafe Ilang Ilang at The Manila Hotel. We decided to have the 9-cuisine buffet. :) We love buffet. Everybody LOVES buffet. We're all SUCKERS for buffet.

High Res

Finally got a hold of the high res version of the winning picture. Both of them now hang beautifully in my home.

Chikay and Em, this post is for you coz you've been bugging me for like the last 48 hours now. :) I don't now anything about photography so you might wanna ask him directly. I think you guys speak the same language. I even forgot your super technical questions, like for godddsssakes, I'm just an ordinary point-and-shoot person who absolutely has ZERO talents nor interests in photography. Leave me alone, punyeta. :)

It's Not the Climb... It's the Jump After the Climb

Here I am again with my usual Friday habit. I usually skim through old pictures, and today I found these really cute pics from Deo's album. This was taken last summer in Antique, and we kindof got lost on our way home. We stopped by a river that had this huge rock that you had to climb on, and from the top we decided to take a jump. Carla cried :)

The rest of the team were all worried, coz they thought we met some accident along the way. Little did they know that the three of us had such a good time diving and all. hihihi

I need a vacation.

Dumaguete Wedding... And Then Some :)

I had the most awesome time in Dumaguete last week when I attended the Boniel-Gayo Nuptials. The wedding was fun, the crowd was very responsive, and I definitely enjoyed hosting the event.

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I arrived at Dumaguete at around 10AM so I had about a couple of hours to freshen up for the Lunch Reception at The Bethel House. I took the land trip to Dumaguete so my back was aching for being stuck in the van for 4 hours. I took a 30-minute nap at Hotel Nicanor and then I took a loooong cool shower.

Note: If you haven't tried taking a land trip to Dumaguete, you'll be amazed at how easy it could be. Two options: You can always take a bus at the Cebu South Bus Terminal, and take the one that says "Dumaguete". It'll go straight to Bato Oslob, and will land in Sibulan in Dumaguete. Fare is P151. And then another option for you is to rent a van. It's a bit more expensive but there's a lot of trade off in terms of comfort coz taking the van is so much better.

I decided to attend the second reception at El Camino Bar and Restaurant. It's about a 5-minute drive from the Boulevard and all you have to do is to ride a tricycle. That's what's amazing about Dumaguete--- everything's just so accessible.

I'd like to thank the couple Sheanne and Delon for the invitation. I had so much fun. Till next time.

Bohol Bee Farm Experience

A lot of people have asked regarding the Bohol trip pictures I posted via Facebook three weeks ago. Some have paid close attention to the pictures I had at the Bohol Bee Farm, and personally approached and emailed me on how to go there, and the activities that are in there.

Suddenly my humble blog has become a little booklet of how-to's for people with whom I share the same interests. I'm no travel enthusiast myself, but I'm more than glad to help out if you ask me.


Anyways, The Bohol Bee Farm is both a resort and a restaurant located in Dao, Dauis, Panglao. If you have been to any of those beaches in Panglao, you'll know that the Bee Farm is just around the area. It is dedicated to making and serving organic agricultural products, from food to clothing and ornaments.

We skipped the farm tour coz we directly went to the Buzzz Restaurant just right at the middle of the farm and overlooking the sea. We did some researches prior to the trip and we learned about their unique menu.

Food was a bit pricey, around 120-150 per meal, but then of course you totally defeat the whole purpose of going there if you don’t try out their unique offerings. Here are some pictures of the awesome treats we ordered.

I especially love the spareribs meal, but my curiousity was focused more on the salad. It had flowers, you know the bougainvilla petals, and some others.

The food was yummy, and the flowers tasted like, uhmmm, flowers still (like what was I thinking?). If you are a big fan of eating, uhmmm, flowers, then you will surely enjoy the salad part. I'm not a big fan of eating bougainvillas, but it was a unique and fun dish that I surely will not forget.

The farm also has some really cute shops of everything organic: honey products, cloth and ornaments, wine, etc. I like their icecream shop coz it offered a gazillion Pinoy flavors. You might wanna try out their pandan and ginger icecream combo.

From Tagbilaran, there are many ways to go to Panglao, and specifically to Dauis. You may either take the metered taxi, or rent a van. I suggest the habal-habal ride coz it's way more fun, promise. :) Give it around 100-150 pesos.

If I were to give it some ratings, I'd give the Bohol Bee Farm 4 out of 5 stars for uniqueness and social responsibility.

Dumaguete Weekend

I'm travelling to Dumaguete this weekend to host the Boniel-Gayo Wedding reception. I will be taking the first trip Saturday morning straight from my Friday shift, and arrive at around before lunch just in time for the reception. Hope nothing goes wrong with my 4-hour trip else I'll be in super big trouble.

So Saturday lunch time, I will be working my ass off for the hosting job, and then catch some sleep at Hotel Nicanor right after.

And I'll be meeting up with Glenn Bacalso who would also happen to be in Dumaguete this weekend. Naks..

And then I will be meeting up with some friends there, and I just got an email invitation for the "second" reception. This sounds fun, like, read on: ~

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I have deliberated on whether or not to spend the whole weekend there (~maybe a little side trip to Casaroro Falls, the Twin Lakes, Siquijor or Apo Island). Today I have finally decided to give the Twin Lakes a go, and I'm super excited. I'll be going there alone by the way.

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I didn’t have a chance to view the Pre-nup pics of the lovely couple. But for posterity's sake, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you the lovely bride!

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Congratulations Sheanne and Delon! Stay happy, stay healthy, and keep on spreading the love! Make lots of babies okay? *winks*

Lambaklad Fishing

Tibiao Fish Farm

Ripe

I may be one of the most shallow persons you'll ever know, and I delight on even the smallest, most meaningless things you could ever think of.

Remember this picture from last week?

This was taken during one of my trips to a friend's farm in Tibiao, Antique (yup, that's prior to my Boracay escapade). One time during that trip I was right under a mango tree that bore lots of fruits. For a city boy like me, the sight of a real mango tree with gazillion fruits amazed me so much that I asked the guide if I could pick one unripe fruit from a branch that hung low. I decided to keep it as a remembrance.

I had no plans to eat it, in fact, I knew I was just going to throw it away after maybe smelling and poking and tossing it.

I however forgot that I placed it in my bag.

Today, a week after the trip, I noticed that my bag was still unpacked. Typical. My work schedule has been really INSANE this week (~and I'm not complaining coz I LOVE it coz I'm a self-confessed workaholic~) that I never really had time to sort my things out when I arrived home from the long vacation.

There I found my little mango, all yellow and ripe.

Amazing.

I thought if I'd leave it in my bag for one more week, I'd get a mango pie. That would be weird and better. :)

Yeah, you might think I'm beginning to lose my screws. :) You can quit reading now. Hehehehe. I can start eating my mango. Chomp-chomp.

Discovering Antique

I never really got to appreciate the Panay Region until I went there last week for a 2-day tour in their area. I got to travel from Iloilo to Antique, specifically in the quiet town of Tibiao to relish what they have to offer.

Antique, by the way, is 3.5 hours from Iloilo via bus or V-Hire. Fare is around P170.

Tibiao is known as the adventure capital of Antique. It kindof puzzled me at first, coz the term "adventure capital" sounded too much for a pristine town that had a backdrop of vast ricefields, mountains and dry rivers. This town is quiet, and I could barely see buses and people in the streets.

My questions were answered when we got to meet a few folks who were more than glad to show us the place. We arrived at Antique around after lunch. We stayed at Hometel (it's like P250 per bed++ which is exactly the kind of price that a backpacker like me was looking for), a small lodge-house situated right at the University of Antique - decent place, clean linens and since it is inside the university premises, security is a guarantee.

Things I did in Tibiao:

Snorkeling in Batabat Fish Sanctuary. From Tibiao proper, we took a tricycle ride to a nearby town, Batabat, and we were led to a small fishing village. We had to rent a small banca to get to the snorkeling area, it'sP300 for 2 bancas good for the whole afternoon (1 small banca can accommodate 2 or 3 persons)

Lambaklad Fishing. We started with our day 2 at around 4AM and rode a tricycle to a fishing town that had rafts that are used to howl fish. Yes we were going fishing today. We rode the rafts and headed to the middle of the sea, howled the nets and got our fresh catch-- today we got lots of squids and fishes, it was super cool.

Bugtong Bato Falls. We took a habal-habal ride to a small sitio where we had to start our trek towards Bugtong Bato Falls. Our walk lasted around 20-30 minutes and went past beautiful rice fields, terraces and countless rivers. We had to climb on rocks and stairs to get to the first fall, and rappel to get to the second fall. The rappeling part freaked me out a bit, coz there were no harnesses, only a single rope that you could cling on to. The view from the second fall was breathtaking.

White River Rafting. We had to rappel down and take another 30-minute walk towards the site where we had to do some kayaking adventure. One raft costs 500 so all the 8 of us had to share rafts coz it was quite costly. Due to El Nino, the rapids weren't really wild so it was easy to maneuver the kayak, I learned it in less than a minute in fact. :)

Kawa Hot Bath. From the White River Rafting site, we had to climb up to their make-shift spa center for a hot bath. There were like 3 big kawas in the area, I think they were made of copper. The guide told us that the kawas were antique and they got them from a sunken galleon back in the 16th century. When we got to the hot bath area, our kawas were all ready and they were ready to, well, cook us. :)

Hanging Bridge. From the Kawa Station, we had to walk like 10 minutes to get to the hanging bridge were you could get a good view of the river and the mountains.

Butong Bato Dive. From the hanging bridge, we took a habal-habal ride towards this point in there river that had a HUGE rock the size, lets say, of a 4-storey building. We had to climb the rock so we could dive from the topmost point. It was a thrilling experience and I did it twice.

Farm. The guide was kind enough to show us their farm. They owned a huge farm that had all the vegetables named in the Bahay Kubo song, some fruit trees and a Tilapia pond.

Caving. We took a 10-minute habal habal ride towards a cave at a very secluded part of the town. It was murky inside and I kindof didn’t enjoy being inside the cave. I was actually thinking of the Haiti earthquake that time. The trek around the cave was awesome though, coz we had to climb down on huge roots and branches.

Floating Cottage. From the cave, we took a 10-minute habal habal ride to Niel's resto to get our snacks. The food was expensive (I don’t know why), but they had 2 floating cottages that charges P20 per person. There's nothing more romantic than watching the sunset on a floating raft--- it was a moment with God, no kidding.

Tibiao Fish Spa. We took a habal-habal ride towards Tibiao Fish Spa. Dinner was already waiting when we got there (dinner rates starts at P120 per head), and after dinner, we dipped our feet on the small pool that had 5 species of fishes. The fishes were suppose to gnaw on the dead skins of our feet. It sounds weird, but the experience was fun and unique. The Tibiao Fish Spa is one of only 3 fish spas in the entire county.

If I were to rate Antique, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Of course, the trip would not have been possible without the help of some really great friends in Tibiao. Thank you Kuya Nono of Hometel for the accomodation, and thank you Flord for the very memorable tour. And to the people of Tibiao, thank you-- you guys are the best!

Check out Katahum Tours here and avail of their tour packages. If you wanna explore Antique, then Tibiao is the place to be.