Fun at Blue Coral in Batangas :)

That was a Sunday morning, we were on our way to San Juan, Batangas for our company outing. I was with my colleagues and co-employees. I told myself that I have to enjoy my time there and make the most out of it (Well after summer classes and stuff). And so I did.

Sir Mhon and the curtains.. Very orange!

This lady on the next picture is Ms. Dahlia. I was with her most of the time. We have known each other for quite some time but we have never bonded like what we did. (Also because, my other girl buddy was not around.)

With Mam Dahl.

This is the resort where we stayed. Blue Coral. (I didn’t see any blue corals though.)

Blue Coral

We waited at the fourth floor of the main hotel before we checked in. I think we were ahead schedule. Anyway, while there, this sight had made me feel good. I took this next shot with my cellphone.  I have never seen one like that.

I took this shot using my cellphone. Breathtaking.. ^_^

Most of the pictures here are not from my camera, however the owner of the photos allowed me to use them. Here are some.

Another nice shot of the Blue Coral pools.

So these are, well, the pools again.

This is the main building or hotel. I was at that fourth floor when I took the shot of the fourth photo.

The main hotel. I would say it is quite clean.

I can say that the rooms are okay. For the ambiance of the whole place, I’ll give it four stars out of five. But most of my colleagues think that the place is small and congested. I didn’t see it that way though. I can’t say anything about the food, because for me, they’re all good! (Well, except for breakfast, I didn’t have much options.) So for the food, I’ll give it four also out of five.

And of course, who wouldn’t want to go to the beach?

The beach.

After checking in, we rested for a while and then we had games after at the beach.

These are my colleagues and workmates at school.

Hey, I look pretty nice here. hehe. >_< That’s our nurse by the way. We were having a relay game here. And obviously, I was not looking.

She is our school nurse. Go go go!

Good sport. I think they had fun! But I did not participate in any of those. I can’t. hehe >_<

During the evening, we had games again and of course, drinking to the max level. Hawaiian is the theme and several did put an effort to come in Hawaiian attire.

Can’t play again, however, I did come in my pink glittery see-through churva. >_<

Me in pink. ^_^

The next day, we didn’t have any activities so we can do anything we like. They took a lot of pictures, I did a lot of dipping in the beach and in the pool.

After breakfast.

Tambay mode at the beach.

Me, Sir Rman, Sir Ed, Sir Raffy and Mam Meng.

All in all, I did enjoy my stay there. I didn’t take much pictures, but I’ll remember my time spent there just well.

Thank you to the staff of Blue Coral for your fine accommodation. Thank you to SPCBA (for taking me there, hehe) and Mam Meng Veloz, for most of the photos.

Blue Coral is located in Laiya, San Juan, Batangas. You can check out their website if you want to know more information. (Hehe, they didn’t pay me to do this..)

Till then, have a nice day.

Galera Beach and Me

I have gone to Puerto Galera a number of times. And I never get tired of going there because it’s  a great getaway substitute for Boracay.

This time, I went there unplanned. And I didn’t take much pictures using my camera, these shots were made through cellphone.

As usual, the travel started from Alabang to Batangas pier, then to the Island.

Life vests, I didn’t wear any.

My friend took this shot of the waves through the window of the ferry boat.

The waves as seen from the ferry boat

Hey, that’s my hand! (Maka extra eh)

My excitement whenever I go there and finally see the sands never ceases.

I can see it now.

The next shot shows the other boats that travel from the pier to the Island.

The ferry boats

Waiting area for the passengers.

Around 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., I wouldn’t dare to swim in the beach because it was really hot, that it hurts just looking at the beach. But one can start dipping around 5:00 p.m. If you really want to dip earlier than that, make sure that you have your sunblock. It’s better safe than sunburns!

It was around 3:30 p.m. here.

There was also the floating restaurant that I have seen for the first time.

With the red tables. haha!

The next photo seems symmetrical to me.

wiaitng

And of course, the title of this post is Galera Beach and Me. So here’s me!

Me.

I maximized my time there by eating a lot, and dipping in the beach. I now, love beaches! ♥

The Remote Beauty of Lobo

I have never been to Lobo, Batangas. My mother told me that it is really far. One Saturday, I was fond of going to the beach, without spending much. My two other friends were already there, and the other one, works there. So with my good friend Jhoanne, we traveled from Laguna to Batangas. It was indeed far. While we were traveling, my friends took these shots of the beach that morning.

Lobo beach at morning.

Majestic mountains.

I heard that the children in the next photo just happened to pass by. And someone took a shot. I just love the capture of this one. It plainly shows friendship, or could it be anything else?

Friends walking at the sands of Lobo...

Rarely touched sands. (Rarely nga ba?)

The travel from Balagtas exit to Lobo took us two hours. We also rode two jeepney rides to the terminal. (Pasaway pareho yung nasakyan namin!) The sights were almost the same as the road I have taken on the way to the Underground River, that is, you’ll see a lot of zigzag roads and mountains and trees. It was already 3:30 p.m. when Jho and I arrived at Lobo.

I was with them. 1, 2, 3.. Pose!

Before we took off for the beach, we ate Lomi at this place.

Eating lomi with Chard, Radney, Jho, and Dhenis.

The lomi costs only P25.oo. I can’t believe the servings. One bowl could be eaten by three people already! Busog much!

Lomi, I surrender. >_<

After the eating session, we headed to the beach and waited for the sun to set. We took pictures and they played cards and amused ourselves. (Because it’s too darn hot!)

Love this shot too. It caught Jho's sincere gladness..

These... are not mine. >_< and the owner of these certainly doesn't like Hello Kitty.

I also texted my friends and tweeted  a bit. And Chard took this shot of me.

Me, while tweeting..

At 5:30 p.m. we started to feel the water madness! The beach is nice. It is not commercialized, there are other resorts nearby, but the people there are not as crowded compared to other famous beach spots.

Water shot, fail!

I really enjoyed dipping in the water. And I laughed a lot with them. They are indeed stress relievers. I also have Jhoanne, my good friend, and we shared stories, as in loads of them.

Me and Jho while enjoying the waters..

Swim swim.

I maximized my time that I can see the mountains and the sun. The sunset was magical. Around 7 p.m., I looked at the sky, and I was really amazed with the stars. I mean, there are lots of stars! I haven’t seen it that way. I never thought that there actually more stars in the sky.  Someone explained that we can’t see it near Manila because of the ‘light pollution.’ Anyway, I can’t forget how the sky looked like that time.

Lobo at Sunset

Look at that sun..

I would like to thank Dhenis for the place, food, laughs, and everything. I enjoyed my stay there. And to my friends, Chard, Radney and Jhoanne for being joyful companions. And again, thank you to my friend Dhenis for the photos.

I want to go to Lobo again, hopefully, and see it’s beauty.

Palawan Trip: “Gusto ko lang, Mag-beach”

After my first time to ride an airplane (My First Airplane Ride), it was also my first time to visit the wonderful place of Palawan.

And these are my friends who were with me.

Kim and Virgel, yeee ♥ Tophe, the chubby, and his cousin Ariane who toured us in Palawan.

Just as we arrived, I asked Ariane, if there’s a beach there. All I kept on saying was “My beach ba dito?”, “Makakapag beach ba tayo?”,”Okay lang, basta makapag-beach tayo..” I was like a pirated cd player. >_<  I really want to dip my body in the waters surrounding the island.

So.. did I get to the beach?

Palawan “Bukid kung bukid”

After our arrival, we went straight to a farm and a prison. (Yes! But of a different kind)

While we were riding a van, I felt the air, it’s different from the air that I feel everyday. It’s kinda cold and I know it’s clean. It gave me a very nice feeling. Not mentioning the ambiance of the place, very “barrio” and provincial. It’s like as almost the description of the stories of Manuel Arguilla. (Kung baga, define “bukid.”)

Princess, Kimi, Virgel, Tophe, Me and the farms of Puerto Princesa.

Look at it, isn't it majestic?

I took the shot that afternoon. My eyes missed this.

Crocodile Farm and Iwahig Prison

At the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center.

We also stopped at the Crocodile farm. Of course, we saw a lot of crockies!

The farm had a lot of crockies! Small, medium, large, super large! But Lolong was not there.

Kimi was able to hold and carry this animal, and I can't! >_< (Duwag daw ako)

We also visited the Iwahig Prison. I just said a lot of “wows” because this sure is a different prison.

At the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm. (Gosh, am I really that small?)

The inmates there are free to roam around the compound. And it doesn’t look like a normal one with steel bars or something. Very peaceful for me.

Ariane said that this building is the oldest of all of the houses inside the compound.

After the short trip, we ate at the house of Tophe’s cousins and uncle. We ate rice and this, crabs!

We ate this. So hard to crack the shell, but delicious!

High in cholesterol but very delicious. I’m just glad that I don’t need to worry when I ate a lot of those.

Old school poso.. yeah!

On the second day, my friends were excited to see the underground river. I said, okay, “pero gusto ko pa rin mag-beach”    (I was not so interested with the underground river that moment.)

But they said that since we were there, we have to see the place. It’s like a non sense Palawan trip if we didn’t go there.

Underground River

Yeah? You were saying something?

The next day, we woke up early to get to the terminal going to Sabang. It’s a long two hour drive, but I was not bored because of the things that I saw during the travel. I even talked to the foreigner couple sitting beside me in the van.

Hello Sabang Puerto Princesa!

After two hours, I was kinda excited to see the said one of the just declared “New seven wonders.” Voting period ended Friday and it was announced Saturday night. And we were there after that happened!

So according to the map, we are at the left side, and we have to ride a boat going to the right side. hehe.

On our way to the underground river cave.

Welcome to the Puerto Princesa Subteerraanean Underground River! Whew! Kahaba..

So you still have to treck.. and wait to see the majestic view of the cave.

Wow, we made it!

This was taken using Tophe's cellphone camera.

He looks serious but he's really funny during the tour inside the cave. Makes the tour inside even more enjoyable.

Inside the cave, we saw a lot of rock formations. We were riding with an interesting and funny boatman.

After the trip to the river, it was a two hour drive again back to the city of Puerto Princesa. We arrived at 4:00 p.m. I almost lost my hopes of going to the beach. But then they said,”Sige, may time pa naman.”

And so… I got to the beach! (Parang ako na lang ang naging dahilan. >_<) Thank you, thank you!

I made it to the beach!

Yehey! ♥

I love Palawan. ♥

I will surely be going back to Palawan. I had a really nice trip. Thanks to my friends who were with me, and Ariane, for being a wonderful companion. ♥

My First Airplane Ride

Yeah! In my years of existence, it’s just now that I have ridden an airplane!

I was very excited to ride that plane.

My friends who were with me, Tophe, Virgel and Kimi.

Picture picture while waiting.

Supposed to be, my first time would have taken place if I have gone to Iloilo and joined my blogger friends there. But I was not able to join them due to some unavoidable circumstances.

Anyway, I was excited for my first ride in the airplane. At first, I was kinda scared. The plane was moving slowly and then it became fast when taking off! The feeling made me dizzy and I was holding on to my seat tightly. I couldn’t look at the window every time the plane makes a turn. It makes me feel dizzy more.

But after a while, I got used to it. I saw the clouds, it made me smile. That I was at the same level with them, or even higher than the clouds.

I was overwhelmed with the clouds. They were 'heavenly.'

I didn't sleep during the flight. I just looked at the things that I see below. Even if they hurt my eyes already. >_<

That was taken on our way home.

I am very pleased with the feeling of riding the plane. Although a bit scary, I would like to ride again and visit extravagant places.

And where have I gone during that vacation? I’ll tell you more about it in my next post.

At Puerto Princesa Airport. ^_^

Panahon ng Pagtalon

Sa pagdating ng mga alon, ako ay patuloy na tatalon, pipiliing bumangon dahil darating din ang aking panahon. *Peace!*

Ang larawang ito ay kuha ito sa Puerto Galera. Sasama ka bang magbulakbol sa isang guro na tulad ko?
Ito ang aking entry (sa wakas!) sa pakontest ni pareng dyowel (aka bulakbulero)
Belated Happy Birthday po

My Subic Encounters 1: Mine is cooler!

I went to Subic, Olongapo City for an International Rotaract Conference for four days. (That’s why I wasn’t able to blog, gosh!) I had a lot of experiences that I’m sure I’ll treasure. Since there are so many, I decided to chunk them and tell it bit by bit.

During the convention, one of the speakers was Dingdong Dantes. Because he is like the ambassador of the youth for the arts and culture something. (Sorry! I wasn’t paying attention, just looking at him! >_<)

I listened to his speech and it was interesting. And we had a picture with him.

My friends from my district and Dingdong. (It's obvious that this is a wacky shot!)

One of my friends went to the comfort room before his speech and was able to have a solo picture with Dingdong.

A lucky shot of Iyah and Dingdong (Photo Credit: Iyah Palisoc via fb)

I said to my friend Joe, “Wow, he had a picture with Dingdong, malapitan?” Ahehehe..

“Buti pa ako, mas bigatin…

…

…

…

 

…with Tirso Cruz III!

Here take a look.

We saw him outside the hotel that we were staying...

In fairness to him, he is indeed a vetaran and well known actor. I told the story to my mom, and she was laughing hard. Ahaha!  :D

Intramuros and MOA Side Trip

I had a tiring Saturday evening, but I have to wake up early the next day because the president of our sponsoring Rotary Club (Sir Mhon) needed our assistance to accompany the group study exchange members from the United States.

The GSE members (Christine, Aimee, Cecilia and Ellen) with Pres. Mhon of Rotary Club of San Pedro East

The members of the Group Study Exchange program of the Rotary are from California. A day before they go home, we brought them to Manila and roamed them through the streets of Intramuros. It seems that I enjoyed the places as much as our visitors did!

It’s my first time to see the Manila Cathedral. I want to get in because it is believed that if it’s the first time for you to enter a different church; you can say a short prayer and make a wish. There was a mass at that time, so “no can do”. However, I enjoyed looking at it since this is one of the famous churches in the country.

Manila Cathedral.

The tower at Manila Cathedral. I love my shot.

At Palacio Del Gobernador (I'm really sorry po Sir C.. ♥)

The next stop was at Fort Santiago. I am still fascinated to go there even if I had countless of trips there when I was in elementary. I have a lot of respect for Jose Rizal, and I can feel his greatness when I go there.

Me at Fort Santiago

Me at the Calesa..

Me, tracing at the last "trails" of Rizal..

That's Juan and Ellen talking.. Yes, Juan may be silent, but he CAN speak the language..

There was music being played in the background and the  music are instrumental OPM songs. I love to hear them so much. I can feel the “Pinoy” feeling in the whole place.   The song that I remember being played was “Sana Maulit Muli.” It was really really nice.

We also have gone to this “I can’t remember the name” garden near the Pamantasang Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM). And then took some pictures. I haven’t seen this place before. It seems that this was one of the “tambayans” of our Rotarian president since it’s near PLM..   According to him, this was a place where soldiers stay. This is called “dungeon.”

Dungeons

That's Aimee, one of the GSE members

After the trip at the Intramuros, we went to Mall of Asia. Since this is, well, a large mall, we walked and walked and walked. But I enjoyed the sites and the talking as well.

I am super super hungry..

I thought I lost my camera here.. Juan was using it!

We reached the coastal area and again, took the liberty of taking pictures.

I don't have a LOT of pictures, do I?

Ellen, Aimee, Cecilia and Christine. ♥

We had a long day, and other things happened during the day. But I won’t tell you about that any longer. I think my GSE friends sure remember it. God is so good!

I enjoyed the trip. I really enjoy going places, and I enjoy doing it with friends. I’m sure there will be a lot of next times. Thanks for reading!

Galera Getaway

I had been once in Puerto Galera because of a company outing. I didn’t enjoy it much though the place is just right. So I told myself, “I am going to come back.”

And so I did. After a series of sadness and confusion from relationships and career paths, I had returned. This time, with a friend. I had to reflect and apparently think things over.

I was very thankful as God permitted us to go because there was the imminent threat of a storm days earlier and the thought of canceling the “gala” was on the way. But still, a wonderful day had greeted us.

It was Saturday, early morning, when we boarded a bus going to the pier. The sun was indeed in the mood that day. I started to gather my thoughts on the way. I was actually worried that there would be strong waves but the travel from pier to the island by boat, were indeed smooth.

I ate good food while I was  there, though they were quite expensive, I was able to save on the cheap accommodation. The room was nice too. It has two beds for the two of us.

It was raining in the afternoon, so I was able to rest. When we went out for a swim, the water was not very cold as I expected. I love the temperature of the waters. And the waves were high, I enjoyed the feeling of swimming towards them.

Me and the waves of Galera

The beach at night

The place has a lively night with the bars making it possible. I did not drink a lot. I just want to have a nice relaxing sleep that night.

I liked looking at the sights..

The next day, we took the time to take pictures. I saw this mountain, I was glad that it was captured well by my camera.

A nice mountain to look at. ^^

I walked at the fine sands. I had to take off my slippers so I can feel the sand.

Walking on the sands

And me on the beach taking a nice dip. ^^

Me and the cold waters ^^

Galera is indeed a nice place and the vacation had helped me find peace in a way. I intend to go back but not this year. My next stop would be in Boracay…

Photogra-facts of our Trip to Baguio ♥

I planned to blog about our adventures in Baguio. But since Zyra has already blogged some of it, I decided to think of another blog out of that trip. And this is what I came up!   (This is only what I came up??) hehehe

We had a lot of pictures in Baguio. (As in A LOT!) Yeah! It seemed like we went there only to take a lot of pictures from three different cameras. So I took the time to choose the photos that remind me of some things I encountered in Baguio. And so, here they are…

1.       On our way to Pasay, Zyra gave me a new lipstick. (Thanks Zy.. =)

The lipstick that Zy gave me. Thanks Zyrie.. ♥

2.       The tv that was showing during that time is “Soldier” starring Kurt Russell. (One look at the screen, I already knew it.)

3.       This was just an “accidental shot” from my Olympus camera.

"Lugar ba ito?"

4.       It is Ryan’s first time in Baguio. So we always consider him first before the rest. (That’s why we weren’t able to go to the Chinese Temple –bell tower—which I really want to see,,because he wants to see the strawberry farms instead.  You, Ryan!)

Pa-cute.

5.     While Ryan was imitating a saber tooth, Zy discovered that we were on the bus with “Karen” from the McDo commercial. Ryan was so happy during one of the stop overs because Karen talked to her. Guess what she said. “Boss, san dito yung CR?”  hahahaha

6. That is me, taken while I was sleeping.

Red suman

7.     (On our first day) This photo was taken with neither of us taking a bath yet. Hehe.. Water is friggin’ cold, and we were still heating water. So “picture-picture” first! 

8. I was really exhausted when this shot was taken..(and I’m not selling those everlasting!)

Hey, it's only P25.00!

9. We don’t know who “Girlie” is… 10. We just stayed here for three minutes to take a few photos and then left right away. (wala naman daw makikita bukod sa mansyon..:)

The Mansion

11. I was thinking If I will like what they ordered for lunch.

Tagal naman umorder...

12. It was my first time to eat in this so called “Shabu Shabu”. Zy really wanted me to eat there. Ryan enjoyed the food more than I did. hehe. But I enjoyed the experience. It was my first time use chopsticks.

Wow, I am good with chopsticks!

13. It was also my first time to drink cold coffee or something at Starbucks! (Hey, I’m glad it happened in Baguio!)

Outside Starbucks, Camp John Hay

As I’ve said, there were indeed many pictures. I enjoyed the trip and I don’t know what’s with Baguio and I always love to come back there. I hope you experience the same too when you go there. Don’t forget to bring the cameras with you.

These are just few of the many pictures we had taken. I hope to post more next time. Till then, thanks for visiting and reading!