merry christmas!

amidst the flurry of christmas shopping and gift-giving,
tear-your-hair-out traffic snarls 'round malls and
last-minute noche buena plannings,

let us not forget the reason for this season. :-)




from me and my blog to you, i wish all of you blogfriends a very merry and blessed christmas. :)

mt. pinatubo adventure pt. 2

date: 21 novembre 2009
who: h peeps and friends (14 people grand total)
battle plan:
2am: meet @ mcdonald's el pueblo; wait for the van that will pick us up.
3am: leave for capas, tarlac
5.30am: arrive in capas.
7-ish: get on those 4x4s and start the ride!

...

i have already lost track of time from the time we all boarded those 4x4s until the end of the trip. ;-)

--------------

you must have watched the vids in my previous posts already, so here i introduce us four ladies making all that racket. ;-) the three guys up in front (driver, tour guide and another friend R) were silent for the most part. haha. and yes, we were fortunate enough to be in the lead 4x4 (there were three in all to accommodate 14 people) so dust wasn't really a problem for us. thanks to friend S who took this pic.

the ideal 4x4! we were sitting at first but i noticed the tarp can be moved, so we asked the driver if we could stop and take the tarp off so we could stand. so from that time on, the four of us were standing the whole time. :)

noisy girls at the back! quiet guys in front!

as i've mentioned in my previous post, our group chose the newer option of taking the skyway, which took us on a longer 4x4 ride to the jump-off point which is about an hour or so depending on how many stops we made for foto ops. here are some pics i took of the amazing views along the 4x4 route:

blue, blue sky. the perfect weather for travelling.

the two other 4x4s

amazing lahar walls carved by the elements.

the hills are aliiiiive... again! it's amazing to see that almost two decades after the devastation wrought by the mt. pinatubo eruption in 1991, lots and lots of green have sprouted again.

even the aetas have come back to the place they have called their home for years.

sulfur and shadow.

the trek to the crater took all of us roughly 30 minutes, what with more foto ops and all. for someone without exercise for the longest time, except in preparation for this trip, this crazy traveler made it to the crater on two somewhat unsteady legs instead of all fours as she thought. all wheeziness was gone, btw, as she took in the magnificent view after the trek.

igneous rocks of different shapes, colours and sizes

large volcanic rock

tranquilité

...dot.com. ;-)

during the trek, in my concentration to balance and not slip on the stones, i almost forgot to take a vid until the last part. good thing i remembered to take out my phone to take this last video amidst the hazy vision and lack of oxygen. hey, that's a joke, ha? haha.

all righty peeps, just hit play!

-------------------

the whole package cost us P2,250 which included a roundtrip van transfers, 4x4, a local tour guide, travel insurance, conservation and skyway toll fees, and even an id with a lanyard. we didn't get the snack option offered; instead, all of us feasted on M's scrumptious pork and chicken adobo with egg. yumyumyum! :D

another nice thing about this trip is the fact that it's during the off-peak season. the place is much calmer.

if you're planning to visit mt. pinatubo, swing by travel factor's website.

mt. pinatubo adventure pt. 1

it's adventure time once again, folks. and this time, it's on to mt. pinatubo for yours truly along with a bunch of friends last 21 november.

let me set the mood for adventure with this couple of videos i took while on the 4x4 ride to the drop-off point. with all the excitement packed in these videos (which is prolly the understatement of the century), i'm sure you'll feel like you're with us. lol.

i'm not that much of a tour guide in the vids, so lemme share a few facts about this trip first. the 4x4 ride we had takes about one hour to the jump-off point via skyway. this is the new route which takes us on a longer ride on the 4x4 and cuts the trek to the crater by an hour and a half (30 minutes na lang), depending on the person's speed. but i'm getting ahead of myself. longer write-up on this coming soon. for now, just click play and enjoy!

word to the wise: better turn down the volume first. ;p

can you still handle it? then hit play! :D

coming soon: another vid and lotsa pics. ;-)

soundtripping: hare hare yukai

here's something from the new millennium for a change. ;-)

hare hare yukai is the ending song of the anime suzumiya haruhi no yuutsu (the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya). i don't really know the story as i haven't watched the anime or even read the manga. just learned about the song from some friends who danced to the song one time. hehehe. ;p well, what can i say? the song is catchy, and yes, so is the dance. really cute.

my further knowledge of this song only goes as far as who the seiyuu (japanese voice actors) are in this song: hirano aya (as suzumiya haruhi), chihara minori (as nagato yuki) and goto yuko (asahina mikuru). the boys (kyon and koizumi itsuki), who are included in the dance but have no singing lines, are voiced by sugita tomokazu and ono daisuke, respectively.

i better read the manga. or better yet, watch the anime. hehe. but as of now, i'll just enjoy listening to hare hare yukai. and the rest of the anime's soundtrack. :-)

hit play! enjoy!

from the anime




here's the vid with the seiyuus singing. (full song with encore)

beautiful mess 2

i remember being a ten year old back in 1934. one day after school, my mother brought me along to visit her sister in the office building where she worked. upon arriving, my aunt took us to the building's cafeteria. the song you're getting to be a habit with me from the movie 42nd street was playing on the phonograph as we entered. on one side of the cafeteria was this long counter with several stools lining it. my mother and aunt allowed me to sit on one of the stools to drink the chocolate malt shake my mother bought me while they had their chitchat on one of the tables. oh, i knew i had to sit still and behave, but those high stools were such a delight that i began spinning, spinning, spinning on it until i felt dizzy; my mother stared in dumb disbelief while my aunt just laughed at my childish antics and said that it's a miracle i didn't lose my malt shake in the process.

i have almost forgotten all about that certain visit until i saw the cafeteria again on my 85th birthday last may, when i decided to drop by this building after so many years.



note: oh-kay, i'm kidding about being 85 years old. but seeing this old cafeteria sure stirred up the imagination. :) btw, the first pic is the original; the second one was tweaked to look a bit older... err, does it?

again, the date is on the lower right corner of both fotos. i'm not kidding when i said that it was on my birthday when i went to this building. hehehe.

beautiful mess

books and papers on the shelf and more of them are scattered on the floor--everything's peppered thickly with lots of dust... yes, the absolute mess in this room really caught my eye. and i love it. everything's just in place for one of the most wonderful spontaneous photo ops ever. :)

the first foto is the original shot, which i took with my fone cam.


some experimentations with brightness and contrast and whatever. if not for the graffiti on the right side, one might think this was taken in 1909 and not 2009. hehe.

travel Q and A

copied this from a friend. you can do this too if you like. :)

1. would you rather travel by plane, bus, train, or boat? why? -i actually enjoy traveling by plane, bus, train and boat. =) any mode of transportation's fine with me as long as i get to my destination.

2. name the countries you've been to. which is your favorite and why? - us, australia, malaysia, thailand, france. i like all, but i wish i could have spent more time in france, which was all of 3 days. hrhrhr.

3. where in your country have you been? which place is your favorite and why? - aside from my beloved metro manila... batangas, cavite, laguna, quezon, legaspi, sorsogon, naga, baguio, banaue, cebu, leyte, northern palawan, pampanga, pangasinan, nueva ecija. my favorite would be palawan coz it was sort of like a pilgrimage to where my lola spent her childhood years (in culion island). went there with relatives and aside from exploring culion island, we went on an island safari, staying in one for 3 days 2 nights; island hopping around the calamian group of islands, and of course visiting calauit, coron and barracuda lakes and makinit hot springs. all these for one glorious week. :)

4. what do you do to kill time if you have a layover in the airport/terminal/pier? - if there's someone with me, then mega chika galore. if i'm traveling alone, i read and listen to music from my mp3. if i get bored from reading and listening to music, then i go people watching.

5. if you have a choice to go to either france or italy, where would you go and why? - there is no question. i will go to both countries. hah! ;-)

6. if you go to the beach what is the main thing that constantly bothers you? - as much as possible i don't allow anyone or anything to bother me while i'm at my most favorite spot in the world. (any beach, that is)

7. how long has it been since you last traveled? - 1 month

8. where did you go on your first airplane ride? - los angeles, ca

9. what three things do you always bring with you to your travels? - moleskine and pen (yeah, i'm old fashioned like that), and camera.

10. what is something you would definitely see in a highway? - aside from the usual vehicles, i expect to see fields... lots and lots of green fields!

11. do you over pack or under pack? - i guess overpack. i always say i have to travel light but i always end up with lotsa extras.

12. if you could visit a country for its cuisine only, which country will it be? - japan and greece

13. do you think flying first class is worth the money? - doesn't matter. i get upgraded anyway ;-) LOL

14. have you ever had to use a barf bag? - never

15. would you rather have an uninterrupted one-month (28 days) vacation in a year, or four seven-day vacations spread throughout the year? - the latter would be good. that way my vacay time won't be used up all at once, and i can choose different destinations.

16. would you go on a vacation alone? - someday.

17. if i cover all expenses for your vacation, where would you go? - norway

18. both pilots of the boeing 747 you are on have had a heart attack, the stewardess asks if anyone would be willing to try and land the plane with help from ground control. would you volunteer? - i just hope and pray that there is a pilot among the passengers. :D

19. what is one thing you find annoying that people do at the beach? - i only see myself when i'm at the beach. heheh.

20. would you rather take the scenic route or shortest route? - scenic!

21. when flying, do you prefer the window seat, middle seat, or aisle seat? any reason for it? - window seat, preferably sa may wings. very nice experience looking out the window while the plane is banking to the side where you are. it's like roller coaster in slow motion! and no rails! wahahaha

22. how well can you read a map? - haven't tried. i rely on memory.

23. what is the longest overland journey you have ever made? - from manila to bicol, and manila to banaue; new jersey to maryland, san francisco to los angeles

24. nasa is giving away free space travel packages. would you take one to travel to the outer space? - why not?

25. do you spend most of your time with other tourists when you are on vacation? - not really. might be different if i'm with a tour group tho.

26. are you a beach or mountain person?- beach, beach, beach

27. what's your biggest travel fear? what do you do to avoid this fear? - as much as possible i don't try to think of accidents. i just pray i'll arrive safely at my destination.

28. do you take your hotel's complimentary toiletries home with you? - of course. it's complimentary. :)

29. what activities do you enjoy doing when traveling? - walking, walking, walking... sightseeing, trying out delicacies, taking pictures, more walking.

30. what are the top ten places you would like to visit before you die? - all of scandinavia, japan, reunion island, uk, russia, germany, italy, andorra, spain, china

with some friends on a DIY tour of what else but manila, my manila. ;-P

honesty

got tagged by gypsy.

Can you fill this out without lying (it's not hard)? You've been tagged, so now you need to answer all the questions HONESTLY. At the end, choose at least 8 people to be tagged. Don't forget to tag me!

To do this, copy this entire message, then go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, start a new note, paste these instructions in the body of the note, delete my answers, and type yours. Easy!

Next, tag people and list their namesat the bottom. Have fun! :)

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
rosquillos (finally, after so many years of not eating even one piece)

2. Where was your profile picture taken? market market (this profile pic on blogger)

3. Can you play the guitar?
Nope

4. Name someone who made you laugh today?
my bro.

5. How late did you stay up last night and why?
530am this morning. was finishing up a script

6. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
sure. depends on the place tho

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
no. hah. heheh.

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you on Facebook?
sherry, one of my best friends :)

9. Do you believe ex's can be friends?
maybe. i dunno.

10. How do you feel about Dr Pepper?
like it when it's ice cold. mmmmm!!!!!!

11. When was the last time you cried?
i don't remember

12. Who took your profile picture
my friend D

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?myself.
;-P

14. Was yesterday better than today?
About the same

15. Can you live a day without TV?
sure

16. Are you upset about anything?
can't think of anything to be upset about, i just have to do what i have to do. :D

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
what kind?

18. Are you a bad influence?
get to know me and then you'll know. ;-)

19. Night out or night in?
night out. rarely do that now. woooo

20. What item(s) could you not go without during the day?
eyeglasses, radio, laptop

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?
announcement for tomorrow's small group

23. How do you feel about your life right now?
all right

24. Do you hate anyone?
...

25. If we were to look in your Email inbox, what would we find most?
e-newsletters i rarely read, jobstreet announcements, fb notices. how sad. lol

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?\
yes

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
no.

28. What song is stuck in your head?
dreaming from the soundtrack of the movie coraline

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?
my cousin whom i haven't seen for 17 years. thank God for ym and facebook. heheh.

30. Wanna have grandkids before you're 50?
no.

31. Name something you have to do tomorrow:
fix the house.

32. Do you think too much or too little?
oh, man. too much. lolol

33. Do you smile a lot?
maybe. i don't really think about it. :)

acey-chan, kuri, domjullian-----you're tagged! :D

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ps. as much as i love blogging i really don't have the time to do it nowadays, except sporadically. i even thought i wasn't going on food trips that much this year when i realized that all my food trip fotos are posted in my fb. wahaha.

pasaway

walking brings about so many surprises. just like this one while i was walking around the neighborhood one day.

sinabi nang wag pumarada, hala sige pa rin! tsk, tsk.

yeah baby, i'm on a signspotting roll. ;-)

a brewery stewery

i saw this sign on a coffee dispenser in a convenience store somewhere in qc last july.

i guess at that time, the coffee is just warming up until someone buys a cup of it. ;-)

anyway, someone must have noticed, coz when i went back there just a couple of weeks ago, this is the sign taped on the dispenser:

now at least i know that i can get freshly brewed coffee! yey! haha :-)

"bawal umihi dito"

roughly translated in english, it means "do not urinate here." one can see this sign mostly painted on fences or building walls, and is meant to discourage men to just "go" anywhere.

one certain building in manila caught my attention as it was painted on almost all its sides with the sign, plus some variations. good thing that the building is currently under renovation; these signs will be gone when it's time to give the building a new paint job.

hey... can u read dis? dis sign is talking 2 u. yes, u, man!

the guy who did this couldn't be more emphatic...


...in forbidding men to urinate on this particular doorway.

i wonder if the person who wrote this got one peso for every guy he catches urinating on this wall...

and the person who wrote this must be richer than the first one.

punishment awaits the unfortunate man who dares urinate here.

full frontal view of the sign (taken on another day)

:-)

postcards

it is said that sending postcards is a dying art. living in the digital age, when people find sending e-mails more convenient than walking over to the nearest post office, i am inclined to agree. coz whenever i travel, my friends would receive long, and i mean looooooong emails from me telling them all about my latest escapades. and then when i started blogging, there was no looking back. those of you who have been following my blog would know how long some of my posts are. all that i've written would not fit one half of a postcard. but i also believe that sending postcards or letters by snail mail gives a more personal touch from the sender.

so call me old-fashioned, but even before i took writing emails and blogging seriously, i loved sending postcards to friends whenever i go out of town. when i was staying with my uncle and his family in new jersey seven years ago, i even went to new york city just to mail some friends new york postcards. this is so that they would have that "authentic feel" of new york city. ya know, with the new york stamp and all. i felt that if i mailed them from new jersey it would feel fake. hehe. but that's just me. btw, my uncle's family lived in that part of nj just across manhattan, so it was easy to get to nyc.

i also love receiving postcards and letters in the mail, so another time, i ordered... err, requested some friends to send me some snail mail when i was away for quite some time. considering the length of time mail goes out from the philippines, i made sure that they sent me the cards one month at most before i had to go back home. am i demanding or am i demanding? lol! but really, receiving something in the mail is such a nice suprise. that feeling of anticipation when i open the mailbox, and then i see something from a close friend with my name on it. now what a nice surprise that would be! however, love letters from companies that bill me so do NOT count. ;-P

a part of my postcard collection i unearthed one day while spring cleaning

one time i was thinking to myself that while my friends are receiving postcards from me, why not i, too? it would be something really different. so i made it a point from then on to send postcards to myself as well from my out of town trips instead of just buying them to send to friends or add to my collection. at present, i have a grand total of 3 postcards i sent to myself. heheh. here's one that i sent in 2007.

i'm just greeting myself here :D

now it may seem strange for someone to send postcards to oneself. i dunno, but personally aside from that exciting feeling of receiving something in the mail, it is also my way of getting a souvenir from my travels without having to collect tickets (bus, museum, plane, train), brochures, newsletters, pamphlets, etc. Not that i don't have those, i do, but they only accumulate a lot of dust and take up so much space. and i simply cannot find the time to do a scrapbook of my travels so i end up throwing them away (not without keeping them for years first). and so, collecting postcards is the way to go. getting the stamp with the postcard is an added bonus as well.

dyou have a postcard/snail mail story? feel free to share :)

happy weekend, everyone!

subic road trip pt. 2

13 june 2009

the road trip back to manila was just as adventurous as it was the previous day. the only difference is that it didn't rain on our way back.

42 kms. more to... somewhere

so sunny!

as we drove along sctex once more, i could not help but notice that everything is greener than last january was. just compare the following photos i took last january and on june 13.

1 january 2009 (also posted in one of my january entries). look at that hill on the right.


13 june 2009. as you can see, the rice fields have been already harvested. this is also approximately the same spot i took a picture of last january judging from the trees.

same hill taken from another spot. that particular hill is more lush than it was 6 months ago.


so. what happened to our humongous pizza-and-burger dinner the night before?

they became breakfast, of course.

we headed back to manila at around 8am and stopped by the first pit stop after leaving sctex. there we had our pizza nuked in the microwave as the remaining slices could not fit into the store's lone oven toaster (the attendant was nice enough to microwave the pizza for us btw). as for the burger, it still tasted great even when cold.

9 remaining pizza slices for breakfast

one of the two remaining hamburger slices

i guess it's obvious by now that i love to shoot photos while on the road (refer to my roxas/boracay and first subic trips). and why would i not want to take pictures? everywhere i look, there is an interesting sight to be seen. cruisin' down nlex this time, it was all about trees, baby!

the lush trees on each side of the expressway remind me of a particular highway i passed which leads to upstate new york, coming from the jersey side of george washington bridge (turnpike, is it called?). there are also lots of trees on either side, almost exactly like nlex.

here

and here. certainly any passenger (and driver, i dare say) would be relaxed and refreshed just by looking at the sceneries around. great job, whatever company you are that's responsible for the expressway's renovation and maintenance. mntc, that's the company, right? oh yeah. i also hope that in ten years' time the expressway would have finally reached baguio, and in another five years the ilocos and cagayan regions. woot! lol :D

want weird? take a look this one:

what is wrong with this truck? and is this even allowed? with sights such as this, i promise never to sleep again while on the road. lol!

and oh. there was even a huling hirit (last hurrah) as we left nlex. all of us got distracted by this certain billboard with a dazzling model. is it aiko melendez? pia arcangel? ohh, no. when we realized that it was hilda koronel on the billboard modeling for some boutique (or is it for a make-up company? i forget.), we completely missed the off-ramp leading to edsa and had to go straight on to a. bonifacio avenue and into traffic. talaga nga naman si hilda koronel, o! hehe! but really, she's simply stunning in that billboard.

i must say that this trip is rated a million A's. what with the spontaneity of the moment, the series of adventures and misadventures that followed, and the most important of all---the fun, fun company. there wasn't any dull moment at all; us ladies seemed to laugh in every situation we found ourselves in, even when we were already getting tired--especially when we were looking for a place to stay. conversation never lagged, and we got to know just a little bit more about each other's lives. oh-kay i'm getting all sappy here, but hey, it's true. :)

oh, yes. this adventure of ours certainly made our bond stronger.


on to ze next adventure!

subic road trip

i didn't expect to be back in subic after 6 months. if the last time was all about celebrating the new year with family, this time it was about four adventurous, (single) ladies (moi, l, mm, mj) out to have some crazy fun. ;-) and by crazy fun i mean spur of the moment, taking whatever comes our way and no-extra-clothes-except-for-the-ones-we're-wearing. (and risking the wrath of some people, which made it even more exciting lol)

when you're out on a road trip with friends, it seems like the world is opening up to you. the road stretches out, beckoning you to go on until you reach your destination. and wherever we looked as we drove along the highways (nlex and sctex), we were like, wow. everything. is. so. beautiful. our raucous conversations were peppered with moments of silence as we took in the sights.

we left manila at 3pm and arrived in subic at around 5.

driving along the nlex. as far as the eye can see

adventure...?

once we entered sbma we just followed the arrows to the different attractions (in the direction of ocean adventure). as zoobic and ocean adventure are situated at the far ends of the earth, we opted to go to treetop adventure instead. treetop adventure is located at the JEST area and has four kinds of attractions: tree top adventure, where one can enjoy trekking and taking a leisurely motorized cable ride among the highest branches (P350/person); forest trekking adventure (P100/person); superman ride (self-explanatory :-), P200/person); and tree drop adventure, where one can descend the 60-foot tree any way he/she likes: by rappelling, the lizard, or the australian style, in which you drop face first. sweet! (P150/person)

because the four of us are adventurous, we decided to try the superman ride. and because we arrived late in the afternoon, the ticket booth was already closed. end of supposedly first adventure in subic.

we contented ourselves with pictures :D

thataway!

food trip, as always.

well, we had another agenda on our list anyway. what adventure is complete without a food trip, right? so we headed out to xtremely xpresso, this ultra-cozy coffee shop that serves a wide range of items, from pizza, pasta, sandwiches, coffee and pastries. xtremely xpresso is also the home of the humongous big ben pizza (P699) and ben's delight burger (one kilo of beef patty! P280). eating at xtremely xpresso is one of my unfinished business from last december/january as i really wanted to try their ben's delight burger after being able to try the normal-sized burger with wasabi dressing (a juicy 1/3 pounder for only P80).

so yes. as we sat comfortably on the couches, we ordered the big ben pizza and ben's delight. it was funny to see the eyes of the other patrons follow the journey of the pizza and burger to our table, and seeing four ladies making a noble attempt in finishing off such large portions of humongous grub.

big ben pizza. 22 inch thin crust pizza loaded with lotsa toppings: sausages, ham, olives, onions, green bell peppers, mushrooms, and cheese!


ben's delight burger, before we had it sliced into 6. for a 1k of beef patty, it sure was juicy even after it was grilled. served simply with lettuce, tomato and bacon. are you up for the challenge?

almost homeless

we enjoyed our time at xtremely xpresso so much that we realized that it was kind of late to be heading back to manila. and because that day was a holiday (june 12, philippines' independence day), most of the lodgings around sbma are either fully booked or the room available does not fall within our budget. the four of us trudged along waterfront road trying to find a room to no avail. as we neared the lighthouse (the last inn along waterfront rd.), we again bumped into some friends from church (we saw each other in xtremely xpresso earlier) and we hung out together at the lighthouse for a while. we then went our separate ways but not without them promising to contact us if they found a place for us to stay.

the lighthouse. the topmost part changes colors.

friendships

when we were sure that we won't find any room to stay, we decided to head back to manila. we haven't gotten far when one of our friends called to say their group has found a place for us, a condo for rent at 2k per night. sweet.

the place is subic world plaza, a new korean-owned three-storey condominium near subic international hotel. 2k per night, P300 for an extra person. the room is quite large, with enough space for a kitchen and living room. it is airconditioned and it comes complete with 2 twin beds, tv, mini refrigerator. it also has a nice bathroom with hot and cold shower.

@ the 3rd floor front desk

everything was well and good, until i got into bed. for almost immediately, i started to sneeze and sniffle nonstop.

seems like the room wasn't occupied for quite some time, and the sheets remained unchanged until we got there and used them. when i woke up early the next day the sneezes started again. oh, glorious dust galore.

will be posting more pics soon :)

note: cheers to mm for the other pics :)