18 posts tagged “travel”

Last weekend, I spent 4 days and 3 nights at the country's City of Pines or the Summer Capital, Baguio City.

It's officially summer, and I started it with the 10th Flower Festival, or commonly known as Panagbenga 2009, also, it's the city's 100th year.. so that's double celebration.

That was my first Panagbenga celebration, and the last time I was in Baguio was in 2006.

We stayed at my friends' home somewhere in Kias, and met with their friends who were also on vacation.

The city's mood was very festive, there were SOO MANY people on the streets, it is fun to look at them moving endlessly yet everybody was fashionable, wearing scarves and fur coats.

I kept on feeling I was in the movie, Dante's Peak, except for the horrifying tragedy and the really steaming weather, but the setting of an urban place in the mountains surrounded with nature made the festive mood very relaxing.

We got on a bus and started the vacation with an evening street party along Abanao Square, there were bands performing and flowing booze, and lots of guys, guys and baguio guys, aha.

Got home very late, and because of that, we missed a few minutes of our 2nd day's Street Parade, but then, we were able to see most of them.

The Street Parade was uber cool, the costumes really made the whole strip of the popular Session Road really colorful, plus the loud beats of the drums gave different rhythm of native music.

The whole vacation had endless eating and walking, it's pretty tiring since we didn't have a car, and we had to chase cabs most of the time.

The evenings were all about party, party, party, I met with some friends and had dinner with them, one of which was a guy a girl friend hooked me up with.. we'd been sending text messages, and chatting online and talking on the phone sometimes, and we only met that evening. The others went to Ayuyang bar, I was supposed to follow but I stayed with friends.

We had dinner at Volante's and continued the party at the city's popular night spot, Nevada Square.. the place was packed with people, like, REALLY packed with people partying.

We danced and partied all night.

The next morning was the festival's highlight, the Flower Float Parade, this is where big establishments and businesses compete against each other through designing the most beautiful and artistic float using different kinds of flowers.

It's pretty interesting how big companies splurge on their floats, but I would've preferred if cities in the Philippines will take part instead.

Anyway, one of the most interesting things that I did was visiting "Oh My Gulay", it's a restaurant owned by Kidlat Tahimik, a well-known artist in the region.

It's a really cool place, made by his hot sons and several artists, and going there is not much of a thrill as there are common scenes of food stalls and is on the 5th floor, but as you reach the penthouse, an intriguing door design will greet you and entice you to check whats-in-there, and WHOA, the place was rewarding.

We spent the evening rather peacefully as we went to the church and did people watching, while the others went to the famous tourist spots.

I barely had enough rest during my visit, I slept about 4 hours every evening, going home really late and waking up for the next day's activities that start irritatingly early, but since it was cold, I was relaxed and in deep sleep.

Fun! ^_^

Random Panagbenga 2009 photos with floats, more here: x

It was our last day in the city, we started at 9:00am and drove to one of the heritage icons of the city, the Casa Gorordo.

It is a 19th century home converted into a museum and houses some of the rarest pieces of antiques, in it are century old relics and it still has that Spanish era ambiance.

The house is well-preserved by the Aboitiz Foundation, it makes me happy, and the Aboitiz family is one of wealthiest in the city.

Casa Gorordo is named after the Cebu's first Filipino bishop, Juan Gorordo.

Taking photos inside is not allowed but the terrace is an open space with wide windows.. we took images instead "outside" the house.. which brought me to think: In the study of argument, is that a crime or is it not? ^_^

We walked around the block and checked another museum, an old house turned to a museum [ man! i forgot the name! ], it has several antique pieces too, it's not as organized as Casa Gorordo with captions about each piece, but this one is a nice place to actually feel the old-Spanish time.. from the window, you can see the Cebu Cathedral's bell tower. Nice!

Next stop, Sugbo Museum, a newly opened site that shows the rich culture of Cebu.

The interesting part of it is the museum was a jailhouse and the home of the world-famous "Dancing Inmates", YouTube's Thriller revival. ^_^

I was called by the hotel saying that we had to vacate our room for there will be people who'll occupy it, we went back to the hotel to get our things and had them in the car.

We had lunch at Chika-an SM City Cebu, a real treat for tourists, the place is classy and relaxing and the best part is they have genuine Cebu dishes and really affordable food.

After a heavy lunch, we headed off to the hills around the city, we visited the Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills, Lahug.. yup you read it right, the same as the popular Beverly Hills in CA, where the rich and famous live like the Aboitiz family.

The temple is nice, it's so serene and people really observe solemnity, we gave honor and prayed in the temple and had a wishing moment with the gods.

The site is huge and colorful, and it also has the a good view of the entire Mandaue city [ Cebu City ], we thought it will rain hard, good thing it didn't.

We then drove further up the hills and stayed in a small cozy bar, it had the very nice panoramic view of the entire city, it gave me a thought of transferring to Cebu and spend a few years there.

We were still full, and were a few hours away from our flight back to Manila, we had simple drinks instead.

Our last stop is Leona's Bakeshop, a famous pastries shop in the city, we tried their famous cakes and and got more "pasalubong".

I got home around 11, pretty tired but I had a great time.

Went to Sabangan Beach Resort in Laiya, San Juan, Batangas last weekend.

It was relaxing and fun.

It's a break from everything else.. I couldn't ask for anything for a couple of days.

On my hands were air, water and space with a swine syndrome in my pocket.. hahah! ^_^

Oh, and the massage was heavenly.. from now on, I must pay in advance in case I fall asleep.. so the therapist won't wake me up anymore. ^_^

 * thanks to Kat for the pics.

We started our day at 7:00 in the morning, pretty late than the agreed time of 5:00. Rain clouds were above us.

We drove an hour outside the city to visit the old town of Carcar, a town named after the then friar's hometown in Spain.

The town is one of the oldest in Cebu, it is revered through its beautiful ancestral houses and its parish.

The church, also known as St. Catherine of Alexandria, is magnificent. Its Byzantine style of architecture incorporated with Muslim-inspired minarets of the bell tower, the intriguing arrangement of the 12 apostles, the greco-roman altar, the glorious antique design of the ceiling where each detail is unique from the rest are few of several features of the Parish church.

One bothering thing about the place is it is not protected by a certain foundation nor is in a priority list of the conservation groups in the country. I felt sad.

Surrounding the church are old structures, several antique houses are converted into schools or museums.

We visited the house of the parish priest right next to the church, it is an antique house that is a real gem of the town.. it has a Filipino-Muslim-Spanish style of design, the antique furnitures and the intricate details of the rooms are nothing compared to a big modern house made of steel and glass.

As we go around the house, it is bothering to see dripping parts on the ceiling, the hundred-year-old wood and antique designs are deteriorating in front of us, a piece of history torn right to our face, yet there's nothing we could do.. but something must be done

There was a room where the housekeeper let us in, a small place where the oldest image of St. Catherine of Alexandria is kept, her glass eyes were looted during the World War II, that piece is priceless.

Overlooking the "ventana" is a typical Philippine rural scene, there's the plaza, the "rotonda", and the province people living their simple and humble lives.

As we drove back to the city, we visited the Rotonda of Carcar, and bought one of the famous food at the site, the chicharon with taba.

We had lunch at Harbour City, Ayala Center Cebu, their food is distinct and their rice with toppings, dimsum and drinks are sumptuous.

After which, we had dessert somewhere, I just forgot the name.. 

We then drove to downtown Cebu to see Magellan's Cross again and that time it was opened, we visited again the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and its museum.

The Sto. Nino de Cebu is known as oldest relic of the Catholics in the Philippines, it was given by Magellan to Rajah Humabon and his wife, Juana for her as birthday present in 1521, that's few centuries old.

In the museum are priceless things of Cebu and the Sto. Nino, one could be awed with the century old dresses and precious stones and jewelries, arts and history.

A few blocks away and a few minutes walk took us to the Cebu Cathedral. This is where people can get married no matter how they want it at the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino de Cebu.

We had dinner at Golden Cowrie Restaurant, a popular native restaurant and the only one in the country. OH God, their food is really DELICIOUS and affordable, I spent about $7 and I had unlimited rice, crispy pata, baked scallops, chicharon, seafood soup and dessert. WOW.. something that does not exist in Manila.

It was already evening, there was a plan to go to a bar and try the gay culture of Cebu, probably in Mango Square, but it was cancelled.

We drove to "The Walk", a premier district for high style of Cebu and tried a popular dessert place. I just had their capuccino for I was really full and I couldn't take anything anymore.

We had been touring the city for 2 days and we decided to have a very affordable massage at Ichiriki Chaya, a favorite spot for tourists and locals alike for its high ambiance, affordable and truly relaxing full body massage.

 

..to be continued

Went on a 3-day tour of Cebu City, the Queen City of the South. [nov.5-7]

I took a Philippine Airlines flight while MC, Burn and Mikee were on a Cebu Pacific one for I got more affordable roundtrip tickets of about $40.

It was my first time to go on a plane alone. It was pretty boring, had I not brought my notebook PC with me, my brain nerves would've been so dried up doing nothing for 3 hours at the airport.

Right after I got off the plane, Chong and his Addie picked us up from Mactan International Airport and immediately drove off to our first taste of Cebu City.

First stop, Magellan Shrine and Lapu-Lapu Shrine, two common tourist spots in Mactan Island.

These sites are part of my childhood past, I recall seeing them from school books and discussing them with my straight bestfriend on the phone when I was 11.

The historical marks are amazing, Lapu-Lapu's statue, particularly his butt is carved perfectly, hahah.. and the Magellan monument highlights the masculine image of the Philippines' first hero by the shrine's phallic symbol.

We expected that we'll have a lot of food trips in the city, for Chong and his Addie grew up there, they said that they'll take us to delicious Cebu dishes.

Had our late lunch at Sunburst Chicken, a popular chicken place and I got to feel how affordable the food will be during our stay, we got big meals and we just paid almost half of the normal price in Manila.

After our lunch, we checked-in at Richmond Hotel, a cozy and really affordable hotel, for about $11/night, there's breakfast, free Wi-Fi at the lobby, a relatively big bed, own bathroom with hot/cold bath, a refrigerator, a t.v. with cable, all in an air-conditioned spacious room.

We got dressed and left our things and then drove to the smallest and oldest fort in the Philippines, the Fort San Pedro, near the Malacanang of Cebu.

The triangular-shaped fortress was built by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and was used in defense of the Muslims.

It was surrendered to the locals when the Americans conquered the Philippines, converted into barracks then to a school and later renovated to what is now a mini garden.

After the fort, we continued our tour, we drove to downtown Cebu and visited a live postcard, the Magellan's Cross. The site is where Christianity first touched the ground, where the first holy mass was held.

I've always wanted to see the site for it has an artwork of a painter I've admired, Carlos 'Botong' Francisco.

The gate was already closed, so we took photos outside.

Beside was the famous Basilica del Santo Nino de Cebu, another live postcard.

Chong is very informative about the city, since he's patriotic himself, and knows the value of art and sees the beauty in the Philippines, he gives trivias and information about certain things.

Anyway, the Basilica is splendid, what I used to read only on travel magazines and history books are now on my list of travelled spots.

I've learned a lot about the Santo Nino de Cebu, how it became to what is now one of the favorite sites during January, and the city's Sinulog and its pagan origins.

We had a long day, I got tired easily since I flew to the city right after I got off from work.

Had dinner at Koreen's and their seafood dishes were good, one of the best I've tasted.

 

..to be continued.

One of the reasons I enjoy watching Travel and Living Channel is Samantha Brown.

Can't help but love her!

She's such a very funny host.

Aside from having a very interesting line of work, she has this appeal that she's kind and happy with her life.

She may seem cultured, with her fancy travels and fine attitude, but I think she's humble. Good thing she'll have more shows.

On the other hand, I must say that I'm bothered with Marisa Tomei's episodes, she's a really talented and hot actress, but her travel shows are a bit well, elitist?

I mean, what I notice about how she handles the people around her a.k.a tour guides and the locals are cold and bland. She rarely converses with them, and if she did ask questions, it was unlively.

Also, the choice of her words for her script come to me as marginalized for she doesn't seem interested in something that's unique, or for other term, "unusual" from a luxury setup.

I may have the wrong impression, but among all other hosts and with each show's concept, she has the most different one. But then, I still enjoy being part of her travels.

Puerto Galera!

Aside from being waaay over than late on an agreed time, my friends and I have this problem of backing out on the last minute.

I was told that there will be 15 of us going but there were only 4 who came... Maco, Kevin, Gelo and me.. met with Tony and his friends there instead.

Ang daming tao!

Just an overnight beach party, got drunk with friends and lost my flops after the heavy rain, flirted with boys, met a rival from my gym, danced, sunrise by the beach, relax, and just about people I never know.

Food is expensive, but we found a nice affordable resto yet with huge servings, unlike the first ones we tried, well, it's really worth knowing the beach's good spots.. for next time!

more pictures here: x

Bangkok, Thailand ~ May 4 - 7, 2007.

My travelogue got featured on "Neat Things on Vox".. i'm happy about it..

Our third day is culture day, which was really nice. We were to discover more of Thailand's culture and its people, their history and feel a Buddhist country.

We hired a taxi cab that day, which was referred by our first "tuk-tuk" driver, Chari, we were so lucky to have met such nice Thais, he actually offered us to pay the cab, which was his friend's, Dorn for 1500 baht flat including the gas fare,. which was roughly $40! That was really cheap! We hired him for the entire day and took us to 3 destinations: Grand Palace, Ayuthaya ancient ruins and the famous Chatuchak weekend market.

Headed off to the most famous tourist spot in Bangkok, the Grand Palace; they say that one could leave the other destinations behind but not this one, for it is the true image of Thailand and indeed, it was.

The place was vast with temples and different historical structures and images, each corner is designed with intricate stones and detailed artworks on its walls, one would feel the taste of Thailand's culture gazing on the towering temple pinnacles.

There was an event inside the main temple where the ancient Buddhist culture happened and where the Emerald Buddha is housed, and the monarchy's third princess was their guest of honor. We waited while we wander, but our schedule must be on time so we failed to meet the princess.

We then travelled for an hour outside the city to visit the Ayutthaya ancient ruins, which is REALLY spectacular. The place is a UNESCO World Heritage and it really should be.

Ayutthaya was once Thailand's center or capital but they were defeated by the Burmese and burned the entire city down after as a sign of their rage..

It is an ancient city and what's left in the ruins are the edges of the old structures and the triangular rooftops of the old Rama's [king] palace and temples. The views are really wonderful, in any angle I was staggered by the fact that there's a big kingdom below, waiting to be discovered.

Saw the famous Phra Mahathat or the "The Face of the Buddha", ~Buddha's head miraculously embedded on growing tree roots.

One scary thing about the place is that most Buddha heads in a Wat [temple] were missing, most were looted by treasure hunters, a little bothering but I guess we'll never know what happened to those pieces.

The day was really hot, we were walking in an almost open field, and we feel the Thailand heat, steam to the face and pretty exhausting, but of course, we enjoyed every moment we were there.

Our driver was really nice, he's very warm and entertaining, he engaged us to discussions which made me really attentive to figure the keywords so we could hear what he was saying, thankfully, we understood each other.

Spent the night shopping at Chatuchak market, bargain shopping of cheap but good quality products, loads of people were there since it only opens during the weekends, we went after at the Pratunam Center for more shopping and went up the country's tallest tower, the Baiyoke Plaza Tower 2, we were really tired plus the heavy shopping bags that we were carrying.

 

We even got lost in the area and we were already hungry, but we just checked the place and soared through the buildings as landmarks with a little guide from the people we asked directions from, until we found it and decided to eat in a Chinese seafood restaurant for a fancy dinner.

The night was really tiring, we exhausted every second before our last day of the trip, but it was sublime.

The fourth day was our last day, packed our things and did last minute shopping around the area where our hotel was and errands before our flight back to the Philippines, of course, we took pictures before the flight.

I enjoyed the trip. To visit one of the fastest growing countries and major tourist destinations in Asia and in the world is fulfilling. To learn other countries' heritage and history, the people and the culture is a true education. Everybody must be given the chance to travel.

Gay Thailand:

Ok, this is so frustrating, I only did eye to eye contacts with a lot of guys! It seemed that the gay culture is more accepted in Bangkok than in Manila. I didn't go to a bar, since I didn't know where to go to though I have a list I made from my research and friend recommendations, but I wasn't able to go to any.

There are a lot of cute guys of course, from different walks of life and countries, I could've hooked up with several only if I wasn't with family. There was even a student from the PremCenter, an international school who keeps on looking my way ** naughty me. hahah. 

There were Thailand's famous "lady boys" and they were really pretty.. tall and sexy but I didn't see any hunky chinky-eyed guys, only with weird hairdos.. but definitely cute. I'm going back there to see more of what Gay Thailand is like. =)

more pictures here: x