Manila
December 27, 2019 on the Philippines ⋅ 31 °C
We arrived safely at night, but my stomach pain was back. I feared it was the same one from China but seemed like bowel problems to me. It was a rather excruciating car ride back home, to top it off we got stopped by a police officer for violating traffic rules. My mom tried to hand him some cash and that made my dad mad as he tried to wring his way out. They should have just used my poor condition as an excuse, the guard let us off and we arrived home where I expected myself to take the biggest dump but it all turned out to be just gas, massive gas. It was really funny, and relieving. Janelle had a good laugh at it too, while she waited. I took her back to her place where we said good bye,Read more
Manila II
December 28, 2019 on the Philippines ⋅ 31 °C
Today, I met with Frida at Robinson's place. I treated her to some Peri Peri chicken and then we went to shop for some fruits as we planned on going with my friends to Matuod beach down in Batangas, at night we went to Century Park hotel for a family dinner with my aunty Shirley.Read more
Batangas
December 29, 2019 on the Philippines
I woke up extra early today, Jasper picked me up at my place and then Frida at hers. It was a long road trip to Matuod but we arrived just fine. Nino sponsored the place for us though we had to throw in some cash, it was a good deal having a seaside vacation house all to ourselves. Nino had the most amazing beach vibe playlist, we went to check out the beach. The sand was dark and has such weird texture, the water seemed to stretch out endlessly but it never reached past our upper body. Nino said it was called Matuod because it only reaches your knees, which in Tagalog is called tuhod. Soon, we went back to Nino's place to take our magic mushrooms, the real reason we were on this beach. They took it first as me and Frida planned to trip sit them if ever but after a few hours they seemed to be having fun playing at the waters and we decided to take ours as well. We were basking under the shade, waiting for the come up that never came. It was quite unfortunate and much to our disappointment, the shrooms were a dud. Still, the beach was wonderful and being able to see such a beautiful sunset was amazing. We returned as the tides kept on rising up.
At Nino's place, Nino gave us some tarot readings while we waited for the guys to get dinner. We had pizza and drinks, it turned out to be a fun night for everyone. I was resting on the hammock, enjoying the night's sea breeze. I went out back to the beach to find some dogs who were a bit territorial. I still pushed through and saw a lot of stars. I later came back with the group for some stargazing and retired for the day a bit earlier than everyone else.Read more
Batangas II
December 30, 2019 on the Philippines
The next morning, I headed out to the beach. I saw a hen with its chicks and the usual dogs. I was quite surprised to see a lot of tiny dots as the beach was at its low tide. As I moved closer, the tiny dots seemed to stir as well. They happened to be thousands of soldier crabs, they disappeared just as fast as they appear. Sensing the vibrations from my footsteps, they reacted accordingly. As I explored to beach, there were plenty more aquatic creatures such as cucumbers and starfish. I went to take a dip, which was so refreshing in the morning. Some fishermen were also trying to catch some fish. Nino appeared soon after a while, playing some music from his speakers and also playing the guitar as I continued to swim around. I later went back to Nino's place and we played some games on his Switch, we especially had fun playing Smash Brothers. After an hour or so, we packed up our things and got ready for the long trip back, but not after a photo. On the way back, we stopped by McDonald's for a late lunch. Dropped Frida off her hostel, and I was dropped at my place. I got home still quite tired and sleepy and retired pretty early that day.Read more
Manila III
December 31, 2019 on the Philippines ⋅ 31 °C
New Year's Eve. I went to get Janelle and we spent the day at my place, watching some movies and lazing about. We had a lot of time to just cuddle and make the most out of our last day together. Come night, we went to Diamond Hotel to have a delicious buffet. I was very disappointed that my Dad wouldn't invite Frida as she was staying nearby. We ate the night away, and joined the annual New Year's Eve dance happening near the entrance. Soon we had to leave, I dropped Janelle back to her place and got some of my favorite lasagna from her mom and then I went back to mine and waited for New Year's to come and go.Read more
Manila IV
January 1, 2020 on the Philippines ⋅ 29 °C
A peaceful day, Frida came by my place so my dad could drop us both off at the airport. We said our goodbyes and finished our check-in. Our flight also got delayed. We snacked on lasagna for dinner while waiting for our flight but soon we were off to Bali, Indonesia.Read more
Manila V
May 13, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
My plane ride to Manila was one of the most beautiful ones so far. I was blessed with a wonderful sunset and a thunderstorm to boot. I was able to capture them beautifully while listening to Krishna Das. It was already night when I landed and I could immediately feel the familiar heat and humidity despite it being night time. I had told my dad to just leave finding the way back to me so I opted not have someone pick me up. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned and I wasn't able to get any access to wi-fi so I couldn't hail a cab on Grab as I didn't have a simcard. I had a couple of expensive taxi choices or spend an hour or so in line waiting for a metered taxi. I went to the nearby restaurant to check if I could use their wi-fi but they didn't have on working. I walked away from the airport into the dark streets with the hopes of finding a cab but also no luck. I ended up doing the walk of shame back to get the expensive cab to my place. It was a smooth ride but it was a surprise for me to see so many Chinese establishments everywhere. The driver also asked for a tip to which I begrudgingly gave but hey I was home.
It was a warm welcome and it was so nice to see everyone again after two years. We had a dog now, Bowie. Simply adorable, we quickly became friends. My mum cooked up an amazing meal and we had a nice catch up talk. The house still felt so foreign for me, the ceilings seemed higher than I remember and there were a lot of furniture changes. My old bed, I realized, was nothing compared to the bed I had now but I was able to fall asleep just fine despite everything.Read more
Manila VI
May 14, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Waking up in the morning and having that sense of peace and silence was strangely nostalgic even though I was never an early bird back in the day. The weather really does taking some getting used to but I was excited to go see Janelle today, after being away from each other for so long. We finally had time to just be with each other and this goes on for most of the time I was in Manila, the coming days were really happy ones.Read more
Manila VII
May 17, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 30 °C
Janelle and I had a date today at Lakbay Museo in Mall of Asia. I had lunch at home as mom had a lot of the menu planned. I came to pick her up and we were dropped near Conrad Hotel where the museum was. I had initially made a reservation so we got to go in, somehow it was only the two of us there and we got to do a lot of picture taking around the very Instagrammable museum. It featured the various regions of the Philippines with an artsy twist. Our guide, Teng, was very attentive and took pretty good photos of us. We got to eat some street food while watching a special dance to which we ended up joining as well. After the museum, we went to Mall of Asia to do some shopping for my clothes, we visited a lot of shops and ended up getting a good haul but we were definitely tired. We ended the day with a romantic dinner at a Thai restaurant with a pretty good ambience.Read more
El Nido
May 20, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
One of the highlights and a trip I was most looking forward to in the Philippines, a chance to visit Palawan with Janelle. I had everything planned from the accomodation to the activities and thankfully her parents agreed but her mom had to chaperone. We woke up quite early to get to the airport, we waited a bit and got on the plane with a direct flight to El Nido which took a little less than two hours to get there. Even just the scenery from the airplane descending down was unbelievable. Such amazing untouched landscapes, I felt the excitement begin to shoot up. As suggested by our AirBnB host, there was an area where we could get tuktuks and we paid a flat amount going to our AirBnB. It was a private home and it had two rooms, one where Janelle and her mom was staying and the other for me. We had a nice patio where there was a couch, kitchen, and dining area but the icing on the cake was the amazing view of this towering cliff which made our the whole staying experience so much more wonderful. We got to meet one of our hosts, Rusty as well as the people we were working with that day, Ban, our tuktuk driver and Nelson, our contact for island hopping. I was already stoked and the day had just begun. After getting our things all settled, we decided to go out for lunch first. We headed to another recommendation by our host, The Kollektive it was called. Specializing in Filipino food, they didn't disappoint. The wait was long but we were accompanied by two cute dogs so it wasn't all that bad. We had karekare, sisig, and pansit to which we all hungrily gobbled up. We also got some desert, I was already quite full.
Our first activity of the day was doing the canopy walk to see some of the views from above the cliffs. We went to go register but it had started to rain pretty hard so we decided to go home for a bit since we had some time to burn. I relaxed for a while, watching the rain storm on and taper off. Ban drove us back to the canopy walk starting point and thankfully the rain had pretty much stopped altogether. Such is the fickly weather of the islands. We had to go inside the barangay to sign off some stuff as it was part of their territory, we passed by a basketball court where some kids were playing as well. It was a small and easy hike up that took us across a suspension bridge. It felt like we were so deep in the jungle even though we were just in town a couple of minutes ago. All around us were the Tarao cliffs, these huge towering mountains with very unique structures. Our hike to us to the very top where we had a scenic and panoramic view of El Nido's pier. After some more picture taking, we started the hike back down.
The next destination was Nacpan beach, the longest beach in El Nido and unique in a sense that it was also a twin beach, one beach on each side with two different views. It was drizzling a bit but it still felt like we were smackdab in the middle of paradise. I remember seeing the sand stretch for kilometers long, it would take a long time just to reach the other side. We walked towards the other beach, Janelle and I explored the deeper parts of the rocky area which led to some amazing framing opportunities with the unique rock formations. We had wanted to catch the sunset but it was too cloudy and it seemed like it was setting on the other side of the mountain at the end of the island. We still tried to push our luck but gave up eventually. Our walk back was a very peaceful one as there was nary a soul in sight. Photo opportunities were ample and I was able to practice a lot of my techniques, teaching Janelle what I knew as well. She was able to get a lot of cool photos too. There was also blue hour where I was able to get a very cool silhouette shot of the palm trees against the blue backdrop of the night-turning sky. We were looking for Ban but he was nowhere in sight. It took a while to find him as night fell upon us, it had gotten very dark already. Eventually we found him in some random place and were off to Lio beach for dinner. It was definitely a bit more high class kind of restaurant that focused more on grilled food, the prices were a bit on the higher end but and the food took some time to arrive so Janelle and I went for a walk under the starry sky. The beach at night was very romantic with a lot of lights and live music playing. We went to where the water was and just really enjoyed the moment and each other's company. When we got back, the food was all there so we chowed down and finally headed home.Read more
El Nido II
May 21, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Our first day of island hopping, and I must say that it didn't disappoint. We had to wait for Nelson for a bit as he was supposed to pick us up and drop us off at the tour agency. We got there a bit too early though and had to wait for a long time before being able to get on the boat. Even then, it took a bit more waiting before we were finally able to set sail. Our boat had some characters but the weather was great and my mood quickly shifted back to high gear.
We started off at Seven Commandos beach, it was bright and sunny, there were people playing beach volley ball and the island had all these palm trees shooting upward. Janelle and I swam and played around the water, it was the perfect temperature and it felt so refreshing. Being in the middle of the ocean and enjoying this pristine location just made me forget all the worries of life. We swam for a long time and when people started to clear out, I took the opportunity for some picture taking before getting back on the boat. Our next destination, we went to Secret Lagoon. Going through a small crevice, it led to a lagoon that was surrounded by limestone mountains. I enjoyed floating around here and taking in the surrounding but I also lost my goggles here which was unfortunate as I haven't even gotten to use them for snorkeling. Our third stop, we went to have lunch at a nearby alcove which turned out to be an amazing buffet with delicious Filipino food and a lot of fruits. The weather had turned a bit gloomy by then and it had started to rain pretty hard. We hanged around here for a bit, enjoying the solitude and the waves, a little drizzle was no problem at all.
After lunch, we went to Shimizu Island next for some snorkeling. Our tour guide, Michael, let me borrow his goggles and I was able to see a lot of fish underwater which was pretty amazing. One of our boatmates started to crush and spread some crackers around which attracted a lot of fish. Now, I wasn't so sure about the environmental implications of this but I am pretty sure it's not exactly a good thing to be feeding all these wild fish with man made products but at the same time, seeing all the schools of fish flocking around was quite a spectacle. Lastly, we went to the highlight of the day: Big Lagoon. And indeed, big it was. We rode a kayak around here and it was pretty hard to get a stable photo especially when the boat kept on moving with the water. We passed through a pretty tight squeeze as well which was such a thrilling experience. I was surprised I wasn't getting tired at all from all the paddling. We kayaked our way back to the boat and off we went back to El Nido town proper. Nelson took us back to our AirBnB and we took a shower and rested up a bit before going to Art Cafe, a restaurant Janelle and I saw while we were walking around the docks waiting for our boat. There was really good live music playing and I ordered the house pizza special, we walked our way back, stopping by to purchase breakfast and snacks for the next day.Read more
El Nido III
May 22, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 28 °C
The second day of island hopping, we had some of the breakfast we bought yesternight. Amongst them were some instant noodles and bread. We found ourselves back at the docks, this time we were able to depart just fine. I was able to rent some goggles before getting on the boat. It seems like we were the last ones this time around as we didn't want to wait for too long, we opted to arrive a bit later. We started off in a pretty epic location straight off the bat, a visit to Cadlao Lagoon. It wasn't as grand as Big Lagoon but it was every bit as beautiful, maybe even more so because of the fair weather. Janelle and I were kayaking around the lagoon for a bit, we circled all the way and checked out every nook and cranny of the place, I was able to take a lot of picturesque photos as well. Heading back to the boat, one of our boatmates' were having some trouble getting back to the boat and their kayak ended up getting capsized. Our guides had to go fetch them instead, we ended up here for a long time doing nothing but this also gave us a good advantage on time as there would be a big gap between us and the other groups, meaning we would have more alone time on the islands. We went to the next location called Hidden Beach. As the name suggests, this beach was also pretty tucked away. Through a small opening between the two limestone mountains, there was a beach. We swam towards it and had a lot of fun on the way. The surprising thing was there was some sort of cove beyond the beach with a smaller body of water. This was a pretty unique place and it was also a graveyard for my phone as I tripped accidentally and dipped it in the salty water. I could tell that this was gonna be a problem as the screen had already started to get some discoloration. A bit worried but not enough to ruin the day, we carried on back to the boat to go to Talisay beach where we had lunch. Janelle and I fought here because I took the last piece of squid which pretty much carried on throughout the whole day, my mood souring by the hour as it dawned on me that we were actually doing this on such a special occasion. I decided to not let it bother me and just tried to enjoy the rest of the day. We were supposed to go to Secret Beach next but at this point of the day, just like clockwork, the weather started to get a bit wild and the waves ended up covering the entrance to the beach so we had to skip it. Adding that to the list of unfortunate events for the day. We went to Matinloc shrine next, I wasn't exactly in the mood to be hanging out with Janelle anymore so I opted to just do some snorkeling which was very worth it as I was able to be surrounded by a huge school of fish as I looked down at the dark abyss. The rain started to get really strong and the wind more furious so I went back on the boat and waited for the rest of the gang to get back down from their hike. The last stop was Helicopter Island. Here we also did some more snorkeling, I was mostly riding solo again and on the way back I somehow lost my second pair of goggles, definitely not the best day. When we got back on the boat, our boat's engine had problems starting as well so we were stuck for a long time as the rain got stronger. It took several tries for the crew to get it back up and running, as the onlookers cheered them on with worried expressions. Eventually, after some false starts, they got the boat running again and off we went back to El Nido. The weather started to take a turn for the worse as the clouds darkened immensely, the rain poured and the winds roared while the temperature seemed to plummet. It was a test of endurance as we patiently waited to get back to land, but at the same time the storm colored the surroundings with these beautiful shades of gray that made it look something straight out of a painting. Despite the crackling thunder, the scenery was quite enchanting.
We finally did get back to town, I was hoping I can sneak past the goggle vendor but they were waiting for me. I told them I had lost it and they were charging me a whopping 1,500 pesos for something that I could get for five times less the price. With some dumb luck, the boat's crew had found a pair of goggles on the boat and gave it to the vendor. The funny thing is that I was positive that pair was definitely not mine but I certainly wasn't complaining. On our way we stopped by a Filipino restaurant to order some take-out and started to walk back. Janelle's mom opted to get a tricycle instead and we got to our AirBnB quicker than expected. It was such a tiring day. After taking a shower, I retreated to my room and started to do Reiki. Janelle knocked on my door half way through and she apologized and so did I. I was glad things were okay before going to sleep but at the same time, I was also sad because I will also always remember this day when I look back to El Nido.Read more
El Nido IV
May 23, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 29 °C
Third day in paradise, I'm glad that we were able to put our issues behind yesternight yet one problem lingered. My phone was now pretty much busted showing nothing on the screen. I saw Rusty at his gym in the morning and asked him for a recommendation on where I could repair by phone. But with no way of contacting Nelson, I had no idea if he was coming or not as he was pretty late. I was waiting at the side of the road and talked to several tuktuk drivers passing by. They all seemed to know each other but none knew where Nelson was. After a bit of anxious waiting, he did get to our place. I asked him to take us to Rusty's recommendation but it was still closed. He convinced me that I would just charged an exorbitant fee so we just decided to push through with the island hopping tour. I rented another pair of goggles for the day, this time I was sure to take really good care of it.
Our first stop was Entalula Island, the island had one of the most turquoise waters we've seen so far. We had a good time swimming here and on our way to the next island, we saw a sea turtle. Under different circumstances, this would have been an amazing sight but this turtle was apparently choking from eating a plastic. There were some fisherman who were helping it and we were told that they were going to bring him to someone who can help. We went to Snake Island next, it got its name because it had a sand bar that acted like a bridge which connected it to the neighboring island. There were no snakes at all unfortunately. The island activity was pretty cool because it included a short hike to a small view point. On the way, our guide showed us some pitcher plants which were unique to the island. From the top, you could see the sandbar and the surrounding islands. We also had lunch here, another delicious buffet with a lot of fruits. Thankfully, no fights this time around over food. After eating, we took a dip by the sandbar and just had this general sense of relaxation. This day was different in that there was really nobody else on the island. Probably because it was the weekday now and Tour B wasn't exactly the most popular one as opposed to Tours A and C.
After a long respite in Snake Island, we went to Cudugnon Cave next, a first for the island tours so far. It lied deep in a secluded part of the island. We had to cross through waist-deep waters to reach the very small entrance to the cave. To top it off, we had to do these special maneauvers to fit perfectly and not hurt ourselves from the protruding stalactites. Once we got in, the cave turned out to be huge with the roof of it so high up. The stench of bat excrement threw me off a bit but it was still an amazing sight. There was another way towards the side that led to the main chamber with the sunlight seeping through a small crevice, lighting up and showing us how colorful and intricate the cave interior was. After taking our photos, we had to do the fancy maneuvers on the way back to boat. The next stop was another cave but this time we weren't getting off. The Cathedral Cave is a cave by the rocky side of the island. Our boat fit in just at the right position to get the most optimal photo angle and we were off to the final island of the itinerary. Our final stop was Papaya Island, this island was different from the other beaches because it had these cool swings that made for such a fun photo op. After our picture taking, Janelle and I went to the snorkeling area. So far out of all the islands, this one seemed to have the best coral reefs with the widest range of biodiversity. We held hands and swam around the expanse looking at all these fish swimming under us. I was able to pick up some garbage on the floor as well.
On our way back, we were still hoping to catch the sunset but the weather was looking gloom on one side and looking pretty good on the other. We decided to take our chances as it was the last day so when we got back to El Nido, we took a tuktuk to Marimegmeg beach straight away. This was actually one of my favorite spots of El Nido, it was so peaceful here and the water was so calm. On the horizon were some mountain islands and as the sun was setting, it got covered by clouds. There's a silver lining though as I was able to capture these amazing blue hour photos that looked almost unreal. After spening some more time on the beach, we went back to Bulalo Plaza to eat our last meal and stopped by the souvenir shop to buy some souvenirs. I got the El Nido mask, which was the same one I had in my AirBnB room. I also got a dream catcher keychain that matched my owl bag's color.Read more
El Nido V
May 24, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
The final day played on both sides as one of the best and the most infamous ones. That morning, I was thirsty so I took my cup from last night and saw that there was a bug inside. I should have taken this as a warning sign that perhaps I shouldn't drink from this cup without giving it a thorough wash but the idiot that I am, I simply washed the bug away from using tap water and then poured in new water from the filtered one. Little did I know, this grave mistake bite me hard in the ass a few hours later. For our last day, we went to Lio beach which was a stone's throw away from the airport. The beach was pretty much empty today, we were quite lucky as the weather also seemed to be perfect. Janelle put on the white dress that I bought for her and we walked around the beach taking photos. My tummy started to act up a bit here to which I disregarded as hunger. So when the restaurant opened up, we ordered a bunch of food. Before the food even came, I found myself in the bathroom dropping a load. I had thought the worst was behind me as I walked out the door and back into the table. I chowed down hard, from the pizza and sisig to karekare. I ate pretty much everyone's fill only to end up back at the toilet a second time. It was at this point, I knew I had fudged up. Janelle had to take charge in calling a tuktuk to take us to the airport as I held on my tummy for dear life. Things were taking a turn for the worse as the pain got more intense and I was getting into a cold sweat. After checking-in, I was now in the toilet again. I took some medicine and got first priority on the plane. It ached all the way back to Manila and some more days after that.Read more
Manila VIII
May 26, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
My body was still recovering from the El Nido incident but it was feeling much better. Janelle, Jake and I went to Century City Mall to do an escape room with Mystery Manila while my mom went to do her thing somewhere else but pretty near our place. We went up to book a room and were told to wait for a bit so we went to a nearby coffeeshop that had a European and Japanese themed interior but had OPM playing in the background. I ordered some Jasmine tea while they had their coffee. We went back after and picked the room we were trying out for which was Debby's Doll, an escape room that drew inspiration from Anabelle. Janelle had done this before but they weren't able to escape and it was a long time ago so for most of us this was pretty new. The guy explaining the room to us was quite unprofessional as he had his online class on the whole time so it was kind of ruining the immersion so I told him off and he switch it off. Soon, we were off into the darkness of the room, rummaging through various things to try and find some clues and keys to unlock the next parts of the room. To be honest, we did pretty well and finished the room just in the nick of time, if it weren't for a bunch of faulty locks, we would have made it out even more quickly. After taking a congratulatory photo, we went down to the supermarket to buy some snacks that we were going to bring for the hike to Mt. Pinatubo in the coming days.
When we got back home, Janelle and I went with Jake to the penthouse as he walked Bowie around. Soon it became a bit too hot so we went back down to get ready to go to Manila Hotel where we were going to have a nice buffet. We also planned to catch the sunset as we still haven't gotten the chance to see one and it looked like we were going to get one indeed. When we got to the restaurant, we sat for a bit and ate some food before heading out into the bay area but turns out it was blocked by the buildings further away. We took some hidden path up to the roof tops and made some small parkour to get to the furthest roof we could reach but alas it was still blocked so we went back down to the bay area and relaxed by the soft chairs that could fit two people. We enjoyed the view nevertheless, seeing all the vibrant colors changing and soon disappearing. This was our cue to go back so we returned and enjoyed the rest of the night with amazing food, though I still couldn't eat too much due to my stomach.Read more
Mt. Pinatubo
May 28, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 24 °C
A super fun-filled day with nature, also one that took a lot of energy from the get-go. The night before, Janelle and I had a pretty nice reunion with our highschool batchmates in Rockwell, she stayed over at our place to try and get some sleep but we weren't getting any that's for sure as we had to be at the meeting place by 2:30AM. I slept with her outside the living room with just the fans on and I woke up and realized it was already past 2:00AM so I woke her up and we got ready as quick as I can. Jake and Shannon were coming with us today and Shannon showed up just in time. We went downstairs and Rod, who was going to drive us to the meet-up spot, was also sleeping. We were able to find him and wake him up and then we were well on our way to San Juan. The roads were pretty open and there wasn't any traffic at all. We got to the meet-up place and paid the fee and we transferred to another van that took us all the way to Zambales. I tried my best to sleep and I did enter this state of restfulness but it still wasn't sleep. The ride seemed both long and short at the same time but we eventually emerged out of the van and found ourselves at the hiking trail registration area. We submitted the required documents and started to eat some breakfast while watching the sunrise. I remember I had to do a huge number two at a nearby store and it cost 10 pesos to use their bathroom. I just gave her the twenty because the mess I left behind was pretty nasty. We had to wait for an hour or something because we arrived a bit too early but soon we found ourselves on the 4x4 with our guide, Domeng, and we were off to the famous lahar fields. The roads quickly became bumpy and dusty and the surroundings switched to fullblown wilderness. The sunrise painted the landscape with its soft and golden light and the surrounding mountains all had these violet hues. The lahar fields themselves were very unique, some were taller than the car itself, and the others were as tall as hills. There were rivers and unique shapes all around, I couldn't help but try to absorb as much as my eyes could as it was absolutely breathtaking in every direction. The 4x4 ride was a pretty long one, we even made a brief stop to take some photos of one of the famous landmarks. There were some native Aeta there as well, who were unfortunately begging for money.
After the second half of the ride, we were finally ready to begin our hike. After just a couple of meters, it was time to cross a river, one of the dozens that we have to go through so at this point, I just took off my shoes and wore my slippers. The hike itself was predominantly flat so it was very easy, what was suprising for me is that it was a very wide and open field hike. The only time I had a trek like this was the ones in Peru so it was definitely cool. Just seeing this huge expanse of land stretching all the way while being surrounded by mountains, it just made all the fatigue disappear. It was a 2 hour hike up. We had some brief stops every now and then, there were more native Aetas here washing their clothes, and kids playing around. This mountain was their home. We also saw some carabaos resting by the stream. Shannon was getting quite tired while Jake and Janelle seemed to be enjoying themselves. I do tend to get too excited and go off on my own which irks Janelle sometimes, I was doing the same thing in Sanya. We got our reward when we reached the top as the summit's crater lake made every step worth it. We hanged around here for a bit, eating brunch and recharging, enjoying the breeze and watching the clouds go by.
After getting our fill of food and photos, it was time to head back down. The skies looked a bit darker than it did when we arrived and it looked like it was going to rain soon. The way back down was significantly easier, Janelle was having a hard time with a blister from wearing her flipflops so she switched to using shoes instead. Our guide knew the land pretty well and was able to guide her across each river without getting her feet wet. The weather was much more calm and cooler as the clouds rolled in and we were going at a pretty smooth pace though my stomach was acting up quite a bit the whole day. It started to rain pretty hard just as we reached our 4x4 so everything turned out pretty fine in the end. The bumpy ride back was different from this morning's. Everyone was tired and were knocked out cold and this ride seemed to take forever. We transferred to the same van that took us here from Manila and were on our way back but not until Jake realized he had lost his wallet. His best guess was that it fell during the 4x4 ride back as he remembered he still had it on him when he got on. We told the driver and drove back and had to do a lot of calls to try and reach the driver. After some anxious waiting, the kind driver came back and delivered Jake his wallet. Everyone got some handsome tips that day for being so cooperative and honorable. The ride back had terrible traffic so it took way longer to reach Manila. Shannon decided to get some Jollibee and made my dad wait and when he found out they were lying about some traffic and stuff, he was furious. Not the best way to end the day but Janelle and I were able to escape some of the blame as we didn't really have a part to play in this debacle.Read more
Intramuros
May 30, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
One final date with Janelle as I was leaving the Philippines the next day. We have been talking about Intramuros for sometime, and I can't believe we managed to tick off all the activities on our bucket list. After lunch, Rod dropped us off near Fort Santiago where we were starting our day. It was a hot and sunny day so we brought out the umbrella and started walking around the area. I had been here before as a child during one of our school trips and it seemed so much bigger back then. We walked from one end to the next, going up and taking a peak at what's above the walls. There were these wooden swings the resembled a nest. Turns out they were an art exhibit and there were several swings all around the fort. We found an air-conditioned room with some lego exhibits where we ended up resting for a long time, not wanting to leave. Our route was pretty well planned, it was just one direction and we visited each the famous Manila Cathedral and San Augustin Church. In the Manila Cathedral, there was a wedding happening inside. San Augustin Church was more peaceful, dark, and very old. At the end of Intramuros was Baluarte de San Diego, a pretty unique remnant of the past. It was a circular shaped ruin with an amazing backdrop of the Manila Metropolis. The stark contrast made for a pretty nice juxtaposition photo. It had this nice open grass field above the walls with some fresh breeze gushing in while the hot sun was covered by blue clouds. It was my favorite part of the day. The gardens were also very well maintained. It even had a bonsai section. To end the day, we backtracked to the Cathedral Cafe. After climbing some steps, we were greeted with an amazing view of the Manila Cathedral. It was a nice spot to have afternoon tea. We ordered some stuff for ourselves as well as for Rod. We went home for one last dinner together and I dropped her back at her place. I went home to do my final packing and said good bye to my family. It was always hard to do so. In the morning the next day, my mom woke up super early to say good bye to me. I was very touched and thankful for my time here in the Philippines. It was very healing as it was able to melt away some of the fears and doubts I had about my family and reinforced with a lot of love instead.Read more
Manila IX
December 27, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
I was visiting Janelle in the Philippines. For one of our special dates and for our anniversary, we went to Sip & Gogh in Century Mall to do some painting. The theme was "Winter 's Kiss" and I must say it was really fun to do something new with her. I really enjoyed painting with her and I was really proud of our work.
For dinner, we went to Manila Hotel. I had reserved a fine dining experience for us at the Champagne Room. We had arrived a bit too early so we first went to the bay side to enjoy the ocean ambiance. There, I gave her the Christmas and anniversary gift I had prepared. It was a lovely bracelet from Pandora and I think it really made her happy. We went back for our meal and it was really fun to figure out how to use the various cutlery and we were able to enjoy each dish as they arrived one by one.Read more
Manila X
December 28, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
We went all the way down to Quezon City to check out the Tales of Illumina, an interactive museum with plenty of Instagram worthy shots. It was also themed in such a way that it included plenty of Filipino folklore such as the classic tales of Ibong Adarna and Florante at Laura. It had various depictions of enkanto and included interesting trivia on beings such as the kapre, tikbalang and the mananaggal. It even had information of the old gods. The rooms were constructed very well, from the lantern forest, snow castle, and even a potions bar. They had a kaleidoscope room and even an acrobatics and dance show with full on trapeze and aerialist action. It was well worth the journey even though we were going island hopping the next day .
At night back at my place we watched some Love, Death and Robots as well as Joseph: the King of Dreams before crashing in the living room while waiting for our ride to Pangasinan.Read more
Hundred Islands National Park
December 29, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
Having not gotten much sleep and a long ride in the night towards Alaminos, Pangasinan. Around 5:00AM or so, we got to the park and went to the back to have some breakfast. It was a fond memory of mine because it felt like we were so far from everything else and that we truly had this day all for ourselves. I got to try to local cuisine and we went to the nearby hall to register. We soon found ourselves on a boat heading off into the horizon. The sky was of a pretty shade of blue and the water looked turqouise, it was a peaceful and chilly morning. It was only the two of us and the boat driver.
Our first stop was Pilgrimage Island, it provided amazing views of the surrounding islands. One of the main landmarks of the park, a giant Jesus Christ statue stood above, standing watch over the whole sea. On the way up to the summit of the island, we had to do a hike that ran through the 14 stations of the cross with amazing artistic depictions. At the top, there was a church where we prayed for a bit before going to the other side of the island where the actual statue was.
The next island was Governor's Island, which required another hike but provided an even better panoramic view of the Hundred Islands. Our boat driver also took us to nearby areas to try out snorkeling and we were able to see a lot of interesting fish. He then took us to Lopez Island, where we were able to have it all to ourselves which was an experience unlike no other, we swam and walked around the white sand while appreciating our surroundings.
We went to Quezon Island next which was one of the more developed islands in the area, having some ziplines, banana boat and several restaurants and outlooks. Janelle and I ate our lunch here along with the banana cupcakes my mum packed for us. We had a little bit of trouble finding our boat again and had to ask local services to hail our boat for us with their megaphone.
With tummies still full, we went to Children's island where the water was shallow but also quite cold. We went to Cuenca Island next where it had this giant cave and then to Romulo Island where we bought some souvenirs, a pair of two shells with the engravings on it. Lastly, we went to Scout Island which was the last one for the day before our driver took us back to the mainland. All in all, it was an amazing day and really tiring due to the lack of sleep the day before but now it remains a forever pleasant memory.Read more
Pagsanjan
December 27, 2024 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
A little day trip with the boys to Pagsanjan Falls. I invited Neil, Aim, Arvin, and Basti while Neil and Aim brought their respective girlfriends. We met up at Eurotel right in front of Robinson's Place Ermita.
It was great catching up though I had just seen Arvin during the early part of the year as we went to Snow Monkeys and Shirakawago. We stopped by Jollibee to grab some breakfast and I got a chicken burger which was pretty mid. I got a call from Ann, the lady in charge of the tour group we were using, and found out that rafting got cancelled due to the water levels and so I opted to use the hiking option. We got a 5,000 PHP refund as well because of that.
The rain came and went and by the time we got there, we settled for a light drizzle which gave off a rain forest vibe. It took some time for all of us to get settled up, but I was surprised that we were asked to wear some harnesses as it turns out that we had to do some rappelling, not once but twice on this trek. We had a guide with us for this one and at first, I was wondering if we needed one but the fact that we had to rappel pretty much answered my question. The trail started off slippery and wet, especially the downhill part, I almost slid down myself. From there it was stairs until we reached a statue of Jesus. The next part was the rappel section and it was a first-time experience for everyone so it was really fun. After the second rappel section, we had to do an 80-degree metal ladder backwards which was even more intense. One slip could have been fatal and the rain was not helping at all.
Once we got to the bottom though, after crossing the river we were rewarded with amazing views of Pagsanjan Falls, it was a huge deluge and I could understand why it was not possible to even use the raft to visit the caves as the water pouring out was some of the most powerful I have ever seen in a waterfall, similar to the release of water in Kurobe Dam! We spent a long time admiring the falls and soaking our legs by the shallow side of the river. We took plenty of photos before realizing that now we had to go back the same way up. We had to use ladders for the rappel sections and all the downward stairs were now a formidable foe. I had no problems with it, it was like some sort of warm-up but my friends were huffing and puffing and I realized that perhaps I was going a bit too fast. Eventually, we did make it back up and I took a drink at the natural water source and also took a shower which left me feeling refreshed.
Our ride back was a long one as we got stuck in traffic for almost 5 hours, we ended up watching 3 episodes of Squid Games by the time we got back to Robinson's Place. The plan was to have some ramen over at Ramenagi and since we got there around 9 PM we still had enough time to chow down. I even broke my fast just to get a chance to eat with friends again. Neil dropped me off at my place afterwards, it would be a while again since I would see these guys.Read more
