Dalaw na sa Dabaw

Even before our current president has won the elections, we have already heard so many good things about Davao ~ wonderful beaches, great seafood, and nice people. So again, when a promo came, we booked a flight to Davao. We arrived at Davao just a few days before the city's ex-mayor, now the country's President's inauguration.

Below is a quick view of our itinerary.

DAY 1



No late departures for us, so we were right on track with our plans. We arrived in Davao at the ETA indicated in our CEB Itinerary, which was a little before 1PM. They said people in Davao are honest so we did not hesitate to book a taxi that will bring us straight to our hotel. The travel time from airport to Seda is a little less than 30 minutes. Because we haven't had our lunch, we just checked-in, left our bags in the room and headed over to Abreeza Ayala Mall to look for a place to eat. We had our lunch at Hukad sa Golden Cowrie, and tried their Lechon Kawali and Grilled Tuna. We ate in banana leaves, making everything smell so good. The food was generally good but I expected more on the tuna. Either it wasn't as fresh as I expected or maybe I'm really not a fan of tuna.

Next, we headed to Davao Crocodile Park. I initially though that the place is pretty much the same as the crocodile farm in Palawan, which is just what the name suggests, but I was wrong. This is Davao's zoo. And there are more animals than just crocodiles. What makes it more awesome is the animal show, where you are not only entertained but you also get to learn new trivia. Some examples are the difference between monkeys and apes, with the former having tails while the latter has none, about the Oranggutan coming from two words Orang which means Tao and Gutan which means Gubat, and them having 97% of human DNA, about hornbills which are frugivores (a word I just learned that day), wherein males catch food as a way to show off, and once they were able to win the heart of the female, they will be with them for life as they are monogamous. Talk about #mayforever. The animal show also teaches us about manners of bless, shaking hands and kissing through our mammal friends, and also includes bird shows like Blue who taught the audience proper biosegregation and Nigel who knew how to ride an ecofriendly bike, both amazing talent shows, that tries to instill in us caring for our environment.

It's not only the mammals and birds that do the show, there was also a show by the star of the place - the reptilian crocodile. I won't say much, but if you plan to watch this one, Be prepared to get wet!

Up close and personal

Various species of birds in the park

The ticket we bought for the park includes not only the entrance to the park, the animal shows, but also an entrance to the butterfly garden and the Tribu K'Mindanawan Cultural Presentation and Fire Show, where we headed next. This place is also a restaurant, so you can have dinner while watching the spectacular shows.

Amazing Fire Dance!

Cultural Music and Dance

DAY 2

We had a relaxing morning, extending our sleep and taking some pictures at the hotel's pool. We checked out early so we won't be late on the scheduled ferry trip at 1PM to Samal Island. We had our lunch on the way, at Penong's Seafood and Grill.

The seafood is so gooood, me and my travel buddy were able to finish all these!

The travel from the wharf to Samal Island is around 45 minutes. It was hot and humid, the kind of weather that easily brings you to sleep, but the surrounding nature convinced me not to close my eyes for a second. On the way to Samal, we saw flying fishes (called bangsi). It was just so amazing how nature can entertain you without effort.

We booked a night at the Pearl Farm Resort, just to know what the fuss is all about. The resort did not disappoint. We were welcomed with a refreshing drink and towel, and a breathtaking view.

Welcome to Pearl Farm!

A bird racing with us to take a dip on the sea (see bottom left)

The infinity pool and the infinite sea

Villas by the sea

Our room, however, is not one of those villas. We opted for the less expensive room, located at the top. It may be far from the beach but it provides a nice view.

The first hotel I've been too that has a Holy Bible on the bedside table. Nice!

After checking in, we have the next 20 hours or so to explore the resort, take a dip in the infinity pool or in the other pool that's more private and peaceful, snorkel in the beach, sunbathe, enjoy the gameroom, or just relax in that comfy bed.

For dinner, since there is no other option in the private island, we dined in the resort's restaurant. We had buffet and watched the cultural show with performances from Pangkat Silayan of the University of Southeastern Philippines. They even engaged the audience when they tries to ask some to join them in doing the tinikling.

Pangkat Silayan performing various cultural dances

So delicious! So many to choose from!

There was also some game during the night. They showed us the story of the resort so we pocketed more trivia about the place, the artist Francisco "Bobby" Mañosa, Mt. Apo Island, native tribes.

DAY 3

We woke up early to make most of the remaining time. We had Breakfast Buffet, included in our room package, then headed straight to Malipano Island. The small boat going to Malipano Island is part of the resort's amenities, so there's nothing to pay. The place was very private and the beach was full of starfish. Never have I seen that much starfish in my life! Every step, every turn, there's another one!

At 12 noon, we checked out from Pearl Farm and waited for the ferry that will take us back to the city. Pearl Farm also brought us to our third hotel, Casa Leticia, so we did not experience any more hassle in bringing our bags and looking for a cab.

A few blocks away is Davao Dencia's, where we had our late lunch. We tried their lechon paksiw and the much acclaimed lumpiang shanghai, which are both good, but their lugaw is a must-try! It looks so simple but it's so yummy! 

Just right in front of our hotel is Davao City's People's Park. It was a Sunday so the park was a bit crowded, nonetheless the place is clean and serene, not rowdy. The place is a typical park, with lots of trees, birds, and benches, but what sets is apart is the number of life size statues all over the place. 

Aye, Aye, Davao!

who won't love these life-size Mario figures?!

If this is not your thing, there's a garden at the far back of the park. The place is so calm, and very few people go to that space, so you if you need some time and space, this is the place for you. :P

Just look at this kid's excitement!

After visiting People's Park, we went to St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, which is a single ride from the park for our Sunday mass.

For dinner, we hailed another taxi to Roxas Avenue. Have you ever been to Mercato or Banchetto? Well, Davao has their own such market place right in Roxas Avenue. Street food, street food, and more street food!

That Durian Ice Cream is a must try. It tastes heavenly!
(Note: I'm not a fan of Durian candies)

DAY 4

For our Day 4, the first stop in our itinerary is the Philippine Eagle Center. Because this place is far, and it is very unlikely that the taxi we booked via Grab can get another customer going back, and because it will also be hard for us to book another Taxi on the way back, we decided to rent it for the whole day.

I first learned about the  Philippine Eagle Center about a year ago when Pamana was released into the wild. Too bad that we did not get to see him as he was shot just a few months after his release. :(

Even though I've seen shots of the place in TV, I did not expect it to be a real forest, moreso to be housing various fauna and flora, other than the endangered Philippine Eagle. I was awed. The place houses a number of Philippine eagles (Kaibigan, Fighter, Mindanao, Hiyas and Dakila to name a few), monkeys, wild boar, Philippine brown deer, owls, and more.

A spile?

Reminds me of Hunger Games!

 Flora on the way to seeing Fauna

Up close and personal with Fighter!

Everyone was watching Pacquiao's fight!

Me taking a picture of the snake skins!!

Our next stop supposedly was Malagos Garden Resort. Unfortunately, the place is under renovation, so we just bought our favorite Malagos Dark Chocolates!

Since we did not enter Malagos Garden, we had more time to visit Eden Nature Park, much recommended by most drivers in Davao. It was a little bit far so when we got there we did not waste any time. We paid for the entrance fee and booked a tour of the place, which includes a snack of your choice (diet diet muna!)

The tour lasted about an hour with around 3 stops (Flower Garden, Tinubdan, and Lola's Garden). We went through the park's vast mangosteen trees, their different amenities, the hiking trail, and the plantation of dragon fruits.

"Somewhere over the rainbow.."

At Tinubdan - Bagani (warrior), Balai-Kalimudan (traditional house), Bebalay-baylan (Shaman's House) , Kaingen(a traditional shifting cultivation)

Just a selected few of the medicinal plants in the park's Lumadong Tambal

Mangosteen Plantation (located right in front of Lola's Garden)

On the way back to the city, there were a lot of stores selling mangosteen, pomelo, and durian, so we then opted to buy some for our pasalubong.

For our late lunch/early merienda, we tried the Shawarma Pizza from Dexter's Pizza, located just a few blocks away from our hotel It's something different, we did not expect to like it that much, but we did! We were able to finish the whole pizza, just the two of us. Just thinking about it now, makes my mouth water.

After this, we just had some rest as we had a long day, not to mention the long travel plus some trekking. We met a friend during the night and we were treated for dinner at the nearby Penong's Seafood and Grill. This time we also tried their pinakbet, and it was also good. I was actually wishing someone could framchise Penong's and bring it in Manila.

DAY 5

For our fifth day, we did our own D-I-Y City Tour, starting off at Museo Dabawenyo. The museum is for free. It's a collection of arts and photographs, and shows the culture of the different groups of people in Mindanao.

Next, located just a few steps away is the Davao City Hall, where Sara Duterte took oath as mayor, just the day before. We just went around and took some pictures of the place. Just right across is the San Pedro Cathedral, where you can also head on to say a prayer or hear the mass.

D-I-Y Short City Tour

Afterwards, we hailed a cab to bring us to Lachi's Sansrival Atbp. and sample the sansrival. For someone who is not a big fan of sansrival, I have to say that you should definitely try this! The crunchiness, creaminess, and the sweetness are all just right.

That's all for our city tour. We went back to our hotel and pack our things, so we can head back to the airport. But before that! We stopped by Ahfat Seafoods Plaza which is a Chinese restaurant that serves seafood. The price is a bit higher than Penong's but that's because the serving is so huge, we were not able to finish it, despite the great taste. I think the serving was good for 5-6 people! So the price is still cheap compared to those in the metro.

Below is a summary of our expenses (per PAX):

Airfare - Php 1,295 MNL-DVO-MNL via Cebu Pacific
Hotel Accomodation:
Seda - Php 1,834
Pearl Farm - Php 5,275
Casa Leticia (2 days) - Php 2,184
Entrance Fees and Package Tour - around Php 750
Meals - around Php 2,800
Transportation (includes one whole day Taxi Rental) - around Php 2,500

A little less than Php 17,000 is actually a bit pricey for a Davao Trip. But we promised ourselves that this will be this year's personal treat. So we opted for a cab when you could ride the jeepney and trike, we booked a night at Seda and Pearl Farm (both a little bit pricey for my standards), and did not skimp on food either. If you're on a budget, I believe you can travel Davao for less than Php 10,000. There are other resorts in Samal that are a lot less pricey.

For further reviews and comments on the hotels,

Seda had some stains on the sheets, something I surely did not expect

The shower room in Pearl Farm is a little cramped and there was no Wifi in the room, only in the common room. It also seemed that one water bottle was already opened

For Casa Leticia, it provides what you can expect of the price. Nothing fancy, but the location is the best. The room we booked comes with a free buffet breakfast. The food served is the typical Filipino breakfast, with some kakanin, and also cereals. That, to me, is a big plus.

For some tips,
You should try out the hito sold on various eateries along the way from Philippine Eagle Center. We've heard this so many time that it's really a must try. I now regret that we did not.

Book a night or two at Eden Park. There is so much to do in this place that a day tour may not be enough.

When going to Pearl Farm, you should instruct the driver to bring you to Davao Beach Club as we were initially dropped off at Marina Wharf, where most boats going to Samal are located. Or better yet, use the resort's pickup service which I think is included on the hotel price but we were not informed by the resort. The cab drivers and most bystanders also don't seem to know about Pearl Farm.

Buy mangosteen! Buy pomelo! They are really so much cheaper compared to those sold in the metro.

America, America

I would have never thought I'd be able to go to America. I usually just travel around Asia. Just the thought of having to ride a plane for more than ten hours makes me anxious. Add to that the cost of travel to the US of A.

But then my travel buddy was asked by our company to attend a conference in Los Angeles. So in a month's time, we applied for my visa (she being the agent who filled up my form 😜), bought my round trip ticket, and voila, I got transported to America!

Below is a summary of our unplanned itinerary. 😉 Note that the first two days were mostly spent sleeping to recover from jetlag 🤒 so weren't able to do much.

I also can't say much about the cost of travelling in the US for two weeks since part of my expenses like entrance fees to theme parks were covered by my travel buddy and we mostly slept at her relatives' place after the free hotel for her conference so my accommodation is free. Plus of course meal treats by her lovely family reduced our would be expenses to more than half.

2-Weeks Itinerary in California
Day 1
Arrival on LA
Check-in at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites
Target

Day 2
LA Grand Park
Cathedral of Angels

Day 3
Santa Monica Pier
Venice Beach

Day 4
Rose Garden
California Science Center
Staples Center

Day 5
Macy's
Grand Central Market
Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive
Shake Shack
Griffith Observatory

Day 6
Universal Studios
Universal City Walk
Check-out from The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites
Transfer to buddy's relatives' home in Anaheim

Day 7
California Adventure
Disneyland
Downtown Disney

Day 8
Newport Beach
Balboa Peninsula
Buca di Beppo
Travel to San Francisco via Mega Bus

Day 9
Settle in buddy's step family's home
Lowell School
Stonestown
Nordstrom Rack

Day 10
Civic Center
Painted Ladies
Golden Gate Bridge
Lombard Street
Fisherman's Wharf
Pier 39

Day 11
International Art Museum of America
Ferry Building
Golden Gate Park
Japanese Tea Garden
Cheesecake Factory

Day 12
Church
La Jolla Beach
Lo Jolla Cove
Old Town San Diego
Golden Chopsticks Restaurant
Conorado
Seaport Village
Balboa Park

Day 13
Shop for pasalubong
Travel back to PH

Tara na sa Taiwan!

GETTING INTO TAIPEI:

When I first booked this trip to Taiwan, it was simply to reach my goal of one international travel per year. I was actually looking for a flight to Japan (one of my two dream destinations) but the cost is too high. So I booked an all-in round trip to Taiwan instead for Php 5,480.16 without any idea what to do or what to visit there. I even had no idea they have a VISA. I had to go to Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines (Taiwan Embassy) located at RCBC Tower I in Ayala, Makati, present the required documents (photocopy of NSO Birth Certificate, photocopy of Company ID, Certificate of Employment, Bank Certificate, photocopy of Passport's first page, VISA Application Form and of course the Passport), and pay Php 2,400 for my Taiwan VISA.The line was pretty long. I'm just not sure if it was due to my timing, but there were a lot of workers applying for VISA during my schedule. It took me almost half day for the application, but less than 30 minutes during claiming, which is normally scheduled 3 working days after.


On the date of our departure, we still had to pay the Php 1,620 Travel Tax, no more terminal fees. We checked in online but still arrived early for the check in of our baggage.Our arrival time at Taiwan Taouyuan International Airport is past midnight. Thinking about it now, the price we paid for the promo fare was not very cheap because it feels like we already missed one day because of the late scheduled arrival.

Given the late arrival, we decided to take the Airport Taxi, so we won't have to take public transportation and make a number of transfers. I got to ride the Toyota Wish which is not available in my home country ;). The ride was very smooth and it was fast because there's not much cars around that hour. We paid around NTD 1,100 for the ride from the airport to the doorstep of our hotel. This is around 40kms (a little more than 30mins without traffic), so you do the math if you want to know if it's worth it.


ACCOMODATION:

I booked our hotel through Agoda. I chose Diary of Taipei Hotel II because of the good reviews and the location. The price (Php 2,264.55 per night good for two persons) is a little bit higher compared to the previous hotels I booked in other countries or local trips but we were very happy with what we got, To me, it's value for money. The sheets are very clean. The comforter, the bed, and pillows are comfortable. The room comes with an A/C, Television, Refrigerator, and a Safe. The room is also very well lighted. The comfort room is not cramped and is always squeaky clean. I was also very happy with the complete set of toiletries from the normal towels, shampoo, liquid gel, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste to the not so common set of handy comb, razor, cotton buds and dental floss. There's also free tea in the room and you can go to the reception area where there's unlimited free coffee.

The hotel also provides breakfast buffet. I think the buffet is common for all tenants of the building, as the building where our hotel is located also has other hotels in different floors. The breakfast at Diary of Ximen (located at 12th floor) has salads, dimsum, noodles, noodle soup, varying soup, buns, the typical continental breakfast and much much more varying viands per day. Their drinks include Coca-Cola products, coffee, orange juice, and wintermelon tea.

The WIFI is astounding! The WIFI provided is per room, not the usual common WIFI, so it was really fast.

The location is also ideal as it is located at the front of the Ximending market. We just have to walk a few minutes and we are at the heart of the shopping area in Taipei, with varying food stalls and restaurants around. The MRT is at the other side of the road.so it's very accessible. I've noted per Google maps that there's also a bus station near by but we haven't tried to go there during our stay.

Lagniappe! In most hotels I've slept in, when you don't call for services to make up your room, they take it to mean that you don't need to have your room made up. The Diary of Taipei Hotel II has a magnet attached to the inner side of our door. It should be placed at the outer side of the hotel door to indicate whether we would want to have our room made up or we would rather not be disturbed. We haven't left it outside our door so I was surprised to be always going home to a made-up room.

GETTING AROUND:

Getting around Taipei, you can take a Taxi, a City Bus or MRT.
We were in the machine to get a card for a train ride on our first day and we didn't know what to press, or how much to get so we opted to buy the 3-Day pass for TWD 440. This one can be used in the MRT or in City Buses.

So, here's how we spent our 4 nights - 4 days trip in Taiwan:

THE ITINERARY

Having no idea about what to do, what to eat, what places to visit, I made a lot of research over the internet, asked some of my contacts in Taiwan, and voila! our itinerary is finalized!

DAY 1: TAIPEI Zoo and TAIPEI 101
Taipei Zoo. Why the zoo? One, it is commonly part of every itinerary I read over the internet. Two, it was recommended by my contact in Taiwan. And three, who doesn't love a PANDA??!!! There are also lots of different animals that I don't normally see in other zoos I have previously visited like the the Koala, Red Panda, Kangaroo, Penguins (the King and the African), the Asiatic Black Bear, and another kind of brown bear, Camels and Pink Flamingos!!! There's also the common hippo, elephants, giraffe, and zebra, but seeing them in the setting of Taipei Zoo amazes me much more than our regular zoo. It's like living in their natural habitat that is well, man-made. There's also lots to learn about insects and there are also Reptiles and Amphibians and a whole Bird world that we did get to explore due to time limitation.

It would be best to explore this place for one whole day. But prepare to walk!

We were supposed to go ride the gondola to Maokong next (which is also included in the 3 Day Pass) and enjoy the scenery of the Tea plantaion, and have some tea in Maokong, but as the gondola was under maintenance from May 6 to May 31 (hello wrong timing!), we proceeded with the next item on out itinerary - the Taipei 101.What disappointed me here was that Taipei 101 is not picturesque in the actual location. Most of the pictures we see of Taipei 101 are most likely taken from a farther spot. The mall doesn't contain much amazing stuffs though it does hold a number of famous brands. In a few words - High end mall. High end brands.

We paid NTD 500 to go to the observatory. It has a good view of Taipei but it was a little foggy. There were also the damper babies - Smart Silver, Cool Black, Rich Gold, and Lucky Red. These cute babies help reduce the wind movements in this high rise tower, making the tallest building in Taipei (and the no.8 tallest building in the world as of our visit) more stable.

Before leaving, we wanted to try Din Tai Fung here in Taiwan but the line was crazy! It was so much longer compared to the line in my home country. So we went to the food court instead and tried food I don't even know what they are! haha... but it's yummy nonetheless. (All food will be featured in a separate blog entry)

DAY 2: AROUND TAIPEI CITY and THE NIGHT MARKETS

Huashan 1914 Creative Park

Before going to our next stop, we walked along Bade Rd. Section 1 and also dropped by Syntrend and Guang Hua Shopping Mall. This is just walking distance from Huashan 1914 Creative Park and this is where most electronics and gadgets are being sold.

Longshan Temple

Taipei Botanical Garden

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

Shilin Market

There's so much more to explore in Shilin market. But it rained.:( so we didn't get to tour around the place that much.

Ximending Night Market

DAY 3: Outside the City of Taipei: JIUFEN Old Street and TAMSUI Fisherman's Wharf

My most beloved part of our trip is probably on this day when we get to visit two places that are a bit outside of Taipei.

The first one is Jiufen old street, where red lanterns abound. The place is the inspiration for the animated film Spirited Away. 

I can't explain how I feel in this place. It's kind of like being excitedly happy and being at peace at the same time. It's like being in a place full of people but not feeling crowded or being in a busy street without the hustle bustle of the city life. 

We tried various street food sold here and had a taste of Taiwan tea at Ah Mei Tea House, which is the inspiration for the bathhouse in the film.
Next, we went to Tamsui. Tamsui can be reached by riding the MRT Red Line (Line 4). We walked along this park along the Tamsui River. The place feels like the stretch of Roxas Boulevard, less the stench plus the wide green park and lots of food vendors on the side. We also went to Tamsui Old Street and tried some more street food. 

We kept on walking along the river's path and thought that this is already the fisherman's wharf. But I kept on looking for the bridge and the Love sign that marks the Fisherman's Wharf and couldn't even see it. It turned out that this is still a long way from where we were. We had to ride Bus R26 and after maybe around 4 more kilometers, we arrived!

DAY 4: Shopping and More Food Tripping in XIMENDING

This being our last day in Taipei, it's our last chance to try the Modern Toilet which is located within walking distance from our hotel. It only takes less than 5 minutes from Diary of Taipei Hotel II.

We also bought our gifts and souvenirs in Ximending. There's a grocery right beside our hotel, a 711 across the street, countless stores around the area that sells clothing, food, souvenirs, and lots of other stuff that can be brought home as pasalubong.

And of course, before heading to the airport for our 8PM departure from Taipei :(, we had to try the famous Taoyuan Beef Noodle soup in Taoyuan Street. This is also located very near our hotel so we need not take any transportaion.

TIPS:

• May is already rainy season in Taiwan, so it's better to book earlier dates if you plan to enjoy without the hassle of the rain.
• Buy the 3 Day Pass or 5 Day Pass if you plan to use the city bus or the MRT when you go around
• Eat at small eateries or night markets. You won't be shelling out as much money as you would in posh restaurants plus you get to try various yummy dishes. Visit this link for some of their must try dishes!
• Learn some Mandarin if you can. Locals can speak English but some can't speak fluently. It will help a lot in ordering food or getting around if you can learn the basics.
• Visit the Tourist Information booths located in various places in Taipei. They can give you booklets that shows places to visit, current events happening, and where to eat. They can also guide you on your planned destinations.
• Songshan Airport is nearer and accessible via MRT. If you can find flights from your country of origin going to this airport, it would save you much time and effort.
• Book a hotel in Ximending if you are particular about accessibility. It is located in the middle of the happenings, with all the shops, markets, restaurants around. It's also very near the MRT station and the Bus stop

A cousin of mine, upon hearing that we would be travelling to Taiwan, asked "Why Taiwan? It's a small place." I would have answered her then that it was the only place within my budget. But that was when I didn't know so much about this place yet. I didn't know I would enjoy the Trip to Taiwan so much. I didn't know there are so many places to visit. There's actually much more than where we've been to. There's the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, 228 Peace Park, National Museum, Raohe Night Market, Fulong Beach, Jinguashi Gold Museum, shrimping in Shi Lin shrimp farms, Yehliu Geopark and much much more.I didn't know the Taiwanese were a friendly people, with a number of them saying "Ni Hao?" (Hello) as we passed them by. I didn't know they were very disciplined, that they always stay on the right side of every elevator if they won't be walking, even if there are no other people that wants to overtake on the left; that they line up in MRT. I didn't know it was well developed (with all the well built roads and highways, connecting MRT lines, and tall buildings) but with its culture intact. I didn't know Taiwan could make me so trusting, being able to carry my backpack the way it should be (at the back not the front), and being able to sleep on the bus and trains, being able to receive my change without the nagging feeling that I have to recount. I didn't know Taiwan was gonna make my heart beat again.

Who's Keeping Time?

Summary: 

A fiction that cuts through the heart - like all the other novels by Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper is a simple and light story about time. It is about Dor, the first man to measure time; about Sarah Lemon, the teenage girl who wants to stop time; and about Victor Delamonte, the rich man who wants more time. The book tells each of their story, how they came about their own struggles against time, and how their fates became interrelated. More important was how Dor (a.k.a. Father Time) is about to change their fates, by saving the two earthly people's lives and eventually save himself too.

Reflection:

How do we keep our time? Do we treat it as if it's gonna last forever? Do we treat it like a limited resource? Do we take it for granted or do we treat it with care?

With today's demands, we are more pressured than ever to move fast, work efficient, and decide quick. There are so many deadlines we need to meet - hard ones set at work, or standard ones set by our society, or personal ones that we have set for our own selves. There are so many things we need to achieve. There are so many things we feel we need to do. But sometimes, we have to stop and ask ourselves, are we making the best use of our time with all these? If we die at the end of the day, will we have any regrets? What things would we wish we would have done? What things would we wish we have not done, so we might have made better use of our time?

Today's demands also open us to failures, unmet goals, and sadness that can sometimes lead to depression. But today's times also open us to the growing possibilities of sickness, accidents, and death, always reminding us that our time isn't in our own hands. The books uses the traditional way of looking at things: a young one with a long life ahead, and a young man about to die, but the truth is that life doesn't always work that way. Only God knows how much sand remains in our life's hourglass. Only He can extend it. Or decide to cut it short.

On a side note, as I was reading the book, I had the urge to count how many times the word "time" will be mentioned. But with each passage I read, I know that that will be totally ironic. I don't want to be consumed with counting the way Dor had been, and forget about the essence of the time I spent reading a wonderful book and learning so much from it.


And now, for my favorite quotes:

"Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out." 

"Once started, this desire does not end. It will grow beyond anything you have imagined." 

"Soon man will count all his days, and then smaller segments of the day, and then smaller still - until the counting consumes him, and the wonder of the world he has been given is lost."

"The length of your days does not belong to you."

"Holding on to things "will only break your heart."  

"As mankind grew obssessed with its hours, the sorrow of lost time became a permanent hole in the human heart. People fretted over missed chances, over inefficient days; they worried constantly about how long they would live, because counting life's moments had led, inevitably to counting them down."

"But man invents nothing God did not create first."

"Not aging is not the same as living, and without human contact, his soul dried up."

"Mankind is connected in ways it does not understand - even in dreams."

"It is never too late or too soon. It is when it is supposed to be."

"You marked the minutes, but did you use them wisely? To be still? To cherish? To be grateful? To lift and be lifted?"

"You were one person, and you changed the world."

"Only God can write the end of your story."

"Remember this always: There is a reason God limits man's days."

"But a desperate heart will seduce the mind."

"Sometimes, when you are not getting the love you want, giving makes you think you will."

"But a man who can take anything will find most things unsatisfying. And a man without memories is just a shell."

"We all yearn for what we have lost. But sometimes, we forget what we have."

"But you grab a moment, or you let it pass."

"A heart weighs more when it splits in two; it crashes in the chest like a broken plane."

"Knowing something and understanding it were not the same thing."

"But common sense has no place in first love and never has."

"And when hope is gone, time is punishment."

"Magic came from the gods. And when the gods touch something, the normal became the supernatural, the simple became the wondrous."

"When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness."

"But hurting ourselves to inflict pain on others is just another cry to be loved."

"Love does not make you a fool."

"Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future. --- Hope."

"Ends are for yesterdays, not tomorrows."

"With endless time, nothing is special. With no loss or sacrifice, we can't appreciate what we have."

"But fates are connected in ways we don't understand."

"We cannot stop what Heaven chooses."

Visiting the lovers Pandin and Yambo

It was a sunny day... and a holiday.
And before the rainy season comes, we made another land trip this year to a place that's so near yet at times seem so far - the lakes of San Pablo!

I came upon the idea when I started to look for 'travels to other bodies of water other than the common beach'. When we were in Iloilo early this year, I've also seen this featured in one travel show. And the food looked yummy, and the lake looked inviting.  And as the place is only around two hours drive from my house, and having the road warrior traveler part of my year's objectives, I decided to give it a try.

We started the day late. We left our home in Paranaque at around 9AM and we made one stop over to have a quick breakfast, let our car rest and check the water levels.

We arrived at Lake Pandin at past 1PM. There is ample parking space, if you are bringing your car. You'd need to trek for around 15-30 minutes, depending on how fast you can go. Some of the parts is a bit steep, coupled with the scorching heat of the sun at that hour, the trek, though quick, can be very tiring.

Unfortunately, the place was packed. And since I didn't make any reservations beforehand, we were put on the list last. It doesn't matter if you arrive early, if someone with prior reservation arrived before you got on the balsa, they will be prioritized. So to be safe, make reservations.

We had to wait for around two hours as people with reservations continued to arrive. Fortunately, there was this monkey named Budoy who gave us a bit of entertainment by continuously asking for food. And mind you, he doesn't like bananas! He keeps on dropping the bananas, but he looooved the fries. He also knows how to open a bottled water. And yes, he also eats halo-halo!

At around 3PM, there were fewer people arriving so when three balsa came back from its tour, we were seated. (But we still had to wait another 30 minutes, probably because of some misunderstanding, our food is not yet prepared)

Finally! Lunch is served!

The typical lunch is Tilapia, Hipon, and Ensaladang Pako. They also serve buko juice and bottled water for drinks. However, as we didn't get to reserve before hand, the food they ordered may not have been enough so our shrimp got replaced by fish bakuli and the buko juice was replaced by a 1.5L bottle of Coke.

The balsa ride takes around two hours and includes lunch on the balsa, a visit to a grotto, a trek to view Lake Yambo and picture taking in the "swing" made by a small branch in U-shape. You can also take a dip in the lake but there are no shower rooms. There's a clean restroom though where you can change to dry clothes.

The drive was long, the trek was tiring, the heat overwhelming, the waiting was stressful, but it was all worth it the moment our balsa sailed and we got to enjoy the simple yet delicious lunch in the simple yet wonderful surrounding.

This travel is also relatively cheap. Below is a list of our expenses:
Around Php 500-600 worth of gas for a 1.0 compact car (roundtrip)
Php 165 toll from Bicutan to Calamba exit (one way)
Php 25 toll up to Sto. Tomas exit (one way)
Php 360 per head (Balsa ride around the lake, inclusive of meals)
Php 100 tip each to our trek guide and two bangkeros
Php 50 parking fee

That's less than PHP 3,000 for a group of 4! So what are you waiting for?!
Come visit the lovers Pandin and Yambo now!

Sama na sa Zambales

The 2015 summer is halfway through and we haven't explored enough, so we decided to proceed with one of the adventures that has been pending on my list for so many years now ~ to explore the islands in Zambales.

No airfare needed! Just a car and gas worth around PHP 1,500 for a 1.4 small hatchback. (You can also travel by commuting, there are lots of blog and sites that give direction on the bus you can take). As we passed by NLEX and SCTEX, there's also the toll fee.

Coming from Marilao, Bulacan, our total travel time going to Pundaquit is around 4 hours which includes a number of stop over to check our car's water levels and to have a quick lunch. We stopped  at gas stations on the way and at Harborpoint in Subic where we had a quick lunch at Sumo Sam, and went around for window shopping :p

Because we currently have a lot of concerns about camping overnight (particularly with the lack of "comfort" rooms), we decided to stay in a resort in Pundaquit.

Megan's Paradisio Beach Resort

The rate for the small room that we've got is PHP 1,800. We made a reservation only a month before by calling and texting the numbers in the site. We were asked to make a deposit for half of the total price to reserve the room.

We booked for an island hopping trip with the resort, They were the ones who arranged it with one of those renting their boats. It doesn't seem to be the season for visiting this place as there were no lines or waiting necessary. The island hoping we got is priced at PHP 1,500 for a small boat. Because our checkout time is at 11AM, we asked to start the island hopping tour early at 6AM (yes, this is already early for us :p)

Because it was the last night of ABSCBN's Forevermore, and there's no TV in Megan's, we decided to hop over the resort beside them - the Canoe Beach Resort. We had a simple dinner there while watching the show's ending together with a bunch of people who were probably booked in that resort.

The next day, our island hopping begins!.

Camara Island






Capones Island







Anawangin Island


Camara Island is pretty small. Most tourists would just drop by to take pictures and move on with their trip. Capones Island is a bit bigger. There's waves, rock formations, woods, sand, and sun. You can take a dip but the waves can sometimes be big so be sure to wear your life vests. And then there's Anawangin, where the others seem to pale in comparison. I don't mean to downplay the beauty of the other islands, maybe it's just my preference, but Anawangin gave me a certain kind of feeling ~ sort of being at peace with yourself and with nature while at the same time enjoying an adventure with it. We swam and played with the huge waves here (of course still wearing our life vests,and aqua shoes that were eventually washed away by the waves :( ) We only spent an hour or so in this island because the boat ride takes around 30minutes and we have to get back before our check-out time.

While riding the boat on the way back to our resort, I immediately felt the longing I rarely feel. Gosh! I really loved that place. Someday I will be back! And when I do, I want to be adventurous enough to camp overnight. On our way back, we stopped at Subic Freeport Duty Free and had our lunch at Meat Plus.

And as the home of the original Razon's halo-halo was on our way, our last stop before heading home ~ something sweet:

Guimaras - Iloilo Trip, let's Go!

Travel Details: MNL-ILO-MNL for Php 2,696.92 via Cebu Pacific
The time of our arrival in Ilo-Ilo is a little past 12 which is the perfect time, just in time for us to get a ride to Otiz Wharf, a ferry to Jordan Wharf and a tricycle ride to our hotel of choice. (Tricycle is the main mode of transportation in Guimaras)

Accomodation in Guimaras: Raymen's Resort
Plus Points:

• Affordable price
• Hot and cold shower is working great
• Beachfront
• Good food and Sweet Guimaras mangoes always available in their canteen

Minus Points:

• The room is so small, the CR is also very small and has a certain smell
• The walls are very thin with most of the sounds getting through
• Some of the canteen's staff are also not very attentive
• They did not provide the wifi password head on. I had to go back to the front desk to ask for it and its signal is intermittent.

DAY 1 P.M.
Guimaras Land Tour
Our first stop for the land tour is the famous Pitstop. It's a restaurant that serve mango in different dishes. They have the Must-Try Mango Pizza,  mango spaghetti, got mango shake, and of course mango desserts. They also serve regular food like bbq, adobo, and other pizza flavors. Next, we head on to the Trappist Monastery, where we bought some pasalubong. We also visited the Mango Plantation but we were not able not able to come in. We just saw the expanse of mango trees from the road. Lastly, we visited the Guisi lighthouse, where we had to traverse rough roads with lots of sand that our cameras became full of sand afterwards. The view at the top, though, is worth it.

DAY 2 A.M.

Guimaras Island Hopping Tour
First stop: SEAFDEC @ Igang Marine Station
This stop is such a good start specially if you'd like to learn a few facts about fishes and fisheries. There was so much to learn! Some of the trivia shared to us are:

• Female Snappers are bad! They bite similar species and thus need to be separated from males and even other females.
• Seabass males become females as they grow old.
• Giant Lapu-lapu are born female then grow up to be males. This species is also one of the laziest and is thus a good investment. And they can reach up to 125yrs old! 

(They even shared to us the best way to cook specific kinds of fish, but not knowing how to cook, I forgot all about it hehe.)

Second Stop: Ave maria islet is a small island with very fine sand.
Next Stop: Baras Cave - the boat that we've hired is big so we didn't really get to to enter the cave, but we did get to take some pictures.
Last Stop: Nagtago island - Of course this is my favorite because I got to experience holding and taking a picture with a pawikan. We also got to have a lovely swim for some time in this island.

DAY 3 Bye-Bye Guimaras, Hello Iloilo Proper

After checking out of our hotel, we rented an L200 to get us back to the wharf and proceed with the Iloilo part of our trip. We dropped by a shop that sells mangoes and lots of other goodies  like otap, tarts, and butterscotch that are made from mangoes.

Iloilo City Proper
Accomodation in Guimaras: GoHotels
Plus Points:

• Affordable - Our room was priced at PhP 1,014.45 good for two
• The location is just right inside/beside Robinson's mall (it's like within the same buolding but the emtreance is outside. So when we watched the Insurgent movie in Robinsons movie world after a long day out, we did not worry about getting back to our hotel).
• The comforter really provides comfort, allowing us to regain our energies through the night.
• The bed is bigger. Equipped with a TV and a remote controlled a/c, this really is value for money.
• I also loved their comfort rooms with their super shower. 

When I saw the room, I almost wanted to just sleep through our stay. But having not eaten lunch at 2pm is quite a challenge to both of us, so we headed to have a taste of the original La Paz Batchoy.

Decos-Original La Paz Batchoy La Paz Public Market

D-I-Y Ilo-ilo Tour
We were supposed to go to Netong's but it seems manong taxi driver did not know where Netong's is located, or maybe he got confused when I said La Paz Public market so we went to Deco's instead. We are not Ilonggos and we can't tell what exactly is the difference between the la paz batchoy here as compared to that served in Manila.. It has the noodles, the laman-loob, and chicharon. I was so hungry that I almost finished one extra serving (extra is how they term the serving with the most (laman) but my travel buddy didn't quite like the food specially the bitter taste of the laman loob.

Our next stop was Camiña Nga Balay. We had a little misunderstanding with the driver, with him thinking we were referring to a literal house made of stone and so brought us to one even though we have told him to stop on the location being pointed by google maps.

We had a tour of the house and learned about the history of the house and the story behind the steep stairs. We had some biscuits, hot chocolate and a molo soup right after.

We also went to the Iloilo City Hall. I read somewhere that the 360° view of Iloilo is part of the iloilo city tour itinerary so I included it in our list. We were guided by one of the employees to the roof top and we get to take shots of Iloilo top view. We next went to Calle Real. We went there a little before 5pm and got a shot at day and waited in I-mart for it to get dark and the lights to be turned on, so we can take another picture at night.

We had out dinner at Buto't Balat near SM Delgado, where we tried seafoods. We had baked oysters, ampalaya with egg and sizzling butteted shrimp. The food here is excellent. If only not for my worries about my tummy reaction and high cholesterol, I would have finished all our orders!

DAY 4 SEE YOU AGAIN ILOILO

Our departure from Iloilo is scheduled at 2:50PM. Again, this is perfect timing, giving us one more day to go around for a bit, pack up, check and head on to the airport. We decided to do to Esplanade. Today, being a weekday, the place is very peaceful. There are not much people around, mostly those that are just passing by. The place is very clean and is perfect for a jog. I wish we can have places like this in Manila.

There are a number of restaurants located at Esplanade, and we chose to ate at Ramboy's, known for Aklan's best chicken and liempo.