Gearing Up for Mt. Pinatubo

Things to Bring:

• Hiking shoes or sandals (if you will be crossing the river, I suggest you bring sandals)
• Cap and Head Gear (to cover your nose if you are to ride 4X4… It gets dusty during summer or if it did not rain…) you can get this at a cheaper price in SM malls under accessories area, I got mine for Php  75. You can find some good stuff in Divisoria too price range 75 - 150.

• Shades or Eye Protector (same reason as above)
• Sunscreen
• 2-3 liters of bottled water
• Energy bars
• Comfortable hiking shorts or pants
• Comfortable clothes
• Arm sleeves or biker’s sleeves

• Extra clothes
• Earth mat or blanket which you can use once we are at the peak
• Jacket (Van’s AC might get too cold)
• Pillow
• Hiking Bag (make sure that you don't bring too heavy stuff because we are just having a day tour)
• Extra Money
• Camera or Camcorder to capture your memories
• Patience and appreciation

Enjoy and see you!

Ilocandia Trip 2014 - Day 3

Every beginning has an end and it's our last day in Ilocandia. So we hurried up because we were informed that we should have left the resort around 7:00 AM wherein we just woke up at around 6:00 AM. There is a breakfast we need to prepare for the group which will take about 30 more minutes. Aiah and I were in the kitchen to prepare our breakfast while we move as quickly as we could to pack our bags too.

We visited the Bangui Windmills which were the source of electricity in Ilocandia. There were about 60 of them and were laid near the shores where wind is at its strongest.

Checked out Sinking Bell tower which no longer sinks this time but when my first visit, you will find some remnants of the fallen tower which was made of "tisa".

We ate at Rafael's and enjoyed our last and cheapest meal.

We went back to Calle Crisologo and bought more pasalubong and drove off to Manila.

Ilocandia Trip 2014 - Day 2

We went along and rested on our first at Jun and Carmen Beach Resort at Pagudpud. We swim a little to drench our body with Pagudpud salt water. It's nice to be one with the nature again.

The next day is going to be busy yet another fun adventure with my travel buds Aiah, Ronnie, Katchi, Tin, Pochie, Tina J., JJ (/Jiji), Ryan (Bang!), Rhose, Ate Mimi, and Kuya Noy (power-swerving-driver). Day 2's to go list are the following:

Patapat Viaduct - a nice bridge built beside the mountains which gives you a scenic view of Ilocos waters.

Paraiso ni Anton - a small yet known as a Miraculous Falls

Bantay Abot Cave - a magnificent seems like man-made cave which looks like a whale with an eye or a submerged 5 Philippine centavo coin (It looks like a duck or an elephant or a whale to me). Just an FYI there's a block of rock that fell from the rear side that day when went to Bantay Abot Cave, I'm hoping the local government should at least put a marker not to get inside or near those falling rocks to prevent future accidents.

Blue Lagoon - a mysterious and tranquil view of a vast ocean and fine sand. It's cold waters makes you want to soak and bask in the sun with your friends or love ones.

Hope you like the pictures and it's more than meets the eyes guys. I don't edit photos so you see what you get. The weather is hot which is typical in northern Luzon but you can always find ways to make things cooler.

Chill time and travel time is fun as you get to experience more things along the way!

Ilocandia Trip 2014 - Day 1

I went out with 10 of my friends to Ilocandia last May 29 - June 1, 2014 (Ikhay sorry I'm not at there to celebrate your birthday!). We went to the following places in Ilocos and enjoy a long ride from one town to the other.

Here are the places you can visit on Day 1 of your tour which we also went thru.

Calle Crisologo at Vigan

Padre Burgos Church & Plaza at Vigan

Baluarte

Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center 

Paoay Church

Malacañang of the North

Sand Dunes

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

Above list shows all the places we've been before finding our way to rest at Jun and Carmen's Resort in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

Angelina Jolie as Bida-Kontra Bida

Maleficent

Opening across the Philippines this coming May 30, 2014 is the movie Angelina Jolie lead – Maleficent. Check the trailer below and let’s see if this gives you the liking to watch the movie:

Maleficent in the movie Maleficent is portrayed by Angelina Jolie. Directed by Robert Stromberg an Academy award winner for Best Art Direction (oh by the way, it’s his debut directorial movie) and he is a well-known special effects artist and designer in the industry. His extensive credits include James Cameron’s Avatar, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and most recently, Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great.

Run Time: 97 mins

Release Dates: May 28, 2014 (UK)

                           May 29, 2014 (Brazil)

                           May 30, 2014 (US and Philippines)

Budget:  $180M 

Trivia:

Do you know that Maleficent is one of the most sinister villains in Disney? Maleficent who is the Disney’s version of the wicked fairy god mother from the original French fairy tale, La Belle au bois dormant by Charles Perrault and Little Briar Rose by The Brother Grimm. She appeared first in Sleeping Beauty  in 1959. She also appeared on Kingdom Hearts, Disney’s House of Mouse, Fantasmic!, Kingdom Keepers, Dream Along With Mickey, Mickey Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Walt Disney’s World on Ice, Disney Divas, Mickey Mousecapade, Timon and Pumbaa, World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Once Upon a Time, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, and Disney Descendants.

She is also known as Mistress of all Evil or Embodiment of Evil.

Her father was Lysander and her mother was Hermia and a god mother to Princess Aurora.

Have blessed Sunday! See you at the Cinema!

Enjoying MongKok's Noodles

Lissa and I just got back to our hotel. We enjoyed strolling along Mong Kok's busy street. We watched some performances and those amazing photographers. 

Lissa watching 2 singers (a male and a female duet a Chinese song) under G2000 sign in Mong Kok, Hong Kong

A photographer directing his subjects or customers for a photo shoot!

After a long walk and buying (it's more of haggling) stuff for our colleagues. Lissa and I decided to have our dinner at New Forrest where we ate the following dishes:

Dinner's READY! DIG IN!

Lissa:

Lissa's first Mong Kok meal... Yum!

She had a baked creamy and cheesy pork rice with a cold authentic lemon ice tea on the side.

Mine:

I said spicy and it was really spicy! Yey! Yummy as well, the soup is really good!

I had a spicy Hong Kong noodles with breaded pork chop and an Iced Coffee.

Our meals totaled 100HKD. We are trying to save as much we are under budget... :)

I'll keep you posted guys!

Message From an Old Friend... (Sagada?!?)

An old friend message me in Facebook saying how he enjoyed reading my blog post. I thank him for that and then he asked me if I have any idea about Sagada! Well bro you got me there and this article will hopefully help you out. "Iyayi na co no maco camo sa Sagada! hehehe"

My Sagada trip started when Ikhay and Jonathan asked me to join their tour. It was a tour with GAFA and to tell you guys Kuya Frederick our driver is really fun to be with even he always stays in the van to take a nap (hahaha... laglag). So like anybody who will be going to Sagada for the first time and does not want to take any hassle of commuting and have everything scheduled for you, I would suggest you get this a tour like this one we've got. (I'm not promoting GAFA guys, it's just they are the one who served as our host).

The tour costs around Php 5,000.00+ per head for 13 pax inclusive of the fare, food, and tour package. This might have changed as we had our tour last year of February. So James if you are thinking of going to Sagada, try to consider this (a friendly reminder... lolz)

Pick up point is at Trinoma, I don't know if there's another pick up point and we drove 10 hours to Benguet and about 11-12 hours to Sagada. In Benguet you'll be stop for a short time to have breakfast, photo shoot with the en famous Banawe Rice Terraces as your background, check out some Bulul, and feel the breeze of the Mountain Province then you will be led to uphill-downhill-zigzag drive to Sagada.

Following were included in the package:

• Drive along Sagada
• Extreme or Basic Spelunking (I will tell you about this on the next post)
• Hike at the rice terraces back and forth to Bumud-ok Falls
• See some locals and their tradition
• Eat at Salt & Pepper
• Taste a delectable yogurt (put some strawberries in or wild mountain berries! mangoes too)
•  Enjoy rebound of sounds in the Echo Valley
• See the hanging coffins
• See the only museum in the town
• Enjoy eating Lemon Pie and Egg Pie too
• Get frozen while watching Sunrise at Katilpan
• Enjoy the scenic view Mountain Province can showcase

Hope this gives you a little idea pare koy about Sagada. I will be writing a different article of the whole Sagada feel with photos too.

Mi-quit Tamana Bolinao! Part 2

After eating a full breakfast we head off to Picucubuan just to see the port then moved to Guiguiwanen where I introduced yellowish sand which is like “Polvoron” as per my co-travelers. The sand was really fine but the Guiguiwanen beach which we once enjoyed swimming on when we were kids, no longer looked like the same. The old Marinara bar is no longer there but the view is still as scenic as it was see the vast blue ocean. There were some fish pens at the right side but all in all it is still a great view. 

Then we walked far left to see the Subor or Bukal (Spring) where we found some kids swimming and a lady washing her clothes. After which we climbed up Fatima Hill and saw more of the view from an overlooking. Then walked more toward east and found two (2) lighthouses which are smaller than usual. I remember there was only one (1) lighthouse (parola) before which concluded the other one was a new working lighthouse.

We stroll back to UP Marine Science Institute to supposedly see some giant clams but we failed as the UPMSI’s team is at UP Diliman having their school activity. Nonetheless we were advised to have a boat ride to Silaqui Island for Php 600.00 by the security guard whom my tourists agreed to pass.

I took them to my Uncle’s resort – El Pescador or The Fisherman resort. It was midday and the sun hurts our skin so bad so we decided to go back to my Aunt’s house (supposedly the restaurant – Mitoshi) to have our lunch but we came too early so we had some halo-halo (with fresh ripe mangoes which Bolinao also is famed of) to beat the heat for Php 20.00 only. Had some laugh moments during the waiting period and we were called for our lunch with crabs, grilled Parrot Fish, and Siganid Fish in Cashew Meat Stew. These flavours were all been missed since childhood and it brings back memories of picking ripe cashew fruits and of course keeping the seeds aside for roasting.

Where the Movie - THE BEACH was Shot...

I never thought I was able to step in to one of Leonardo di Carpio's movie - The Beach.

The Beach movie was a film of Danny Boyle which is an adventure drama based from Alex Garland's book with the same title. The book came out in 1996 while the movie was shown in cinemas in 2000. 

We went to Phuket and this is one on our To-Go list last October 2012. We joined a group tourists which toured Mayabay and swam in its clear waters where Leonardo Di Carpio swam too.

Vannie and Ronnie were my travel mates on this Ko Phi Phi Island.

Maya Bay View from our speedboat.

tour and was pretty much enjoyed a quick tour of the area. I just browse my Facebook account and found this picture in my Instagram link which I forgot my log on credentials so I'm trying to retrieve as much picture as I can and share them with you guys.

Tip:

When your boat docked at Mayabay; enjoy, swim, take as much photos, run along the shore, and swim more. Why because you'll never gonna stay there for long if you have joined a tour group.

I will give you more details on my Phuket tour at some other time. I will try to show our tour package as well so you will be have an idea of the whole tour.

Mi-quit Tama na Bolinao! (Part 1)

It has been years I have not seen my hometown and now with a group of few friends, I was able to visit the place that once took me as a child.

I grew up in this small town of Bolinao, Pangasinan then moved to Manila at the age of 13. I was still looking forward in seeing my hometown as I remember it. So I rallied the TamaRaw! Hikers group in FB to set a date and scheduled our Bolinao tour. I was planning this as my test travel package I create. The package I took for the group (supposedly of 10 -13 pax) is Php 4,000 – Php 4,500 which includes a ride back and forth Manila in safely driven Hi-Ace.

Planning along, I scheduled a tour for the group and advised them to prepare the following before we took off:

•  Summer outfits (preferably comfortable, loose, cottony, for beach… etc.)

o   Sando or razor backs or shirts

o   Swimsuit

o   Rash guard

o    Board shorts

• Slippers or sand shoes
• Sunscreens
• Shades or sunglasses
• Head gears, Hat, sun visors, cap, and the likes
• Umbrella
• Camera
• Your own towel just in case vanity strikes
• CASH – there’s an ATM at Aliminos but it’s a far travel once you get to Bolinao so better have cash handy.

·

Lani and I came first and I had a few sips of my personalized caramel macchiato in Starbucks around 11:00 PM – 12:30 PM and soon we moved to our meeting place. Not long waiting Son, Ellai, and Alvin arrived, then Marz, after which Kuya Aaron, and Rhei. Time check: 1:30 AM and we (Lani, Rhei, Alvin, Marz, Ellai, Son, and me) are left waiting for Rhose to arrive from work at our meeting place in North Avenue and will depart at exactly 2:00 AM. At last she arrived and we are able to move our things to our Van with the help of Kuya Aaron who drove as fast and safely to Alaminos around 5:00 AM. We took some photo at Alaminos town center and had our pee break after the long 3 hour trip (but this really is sooooooooooo FAST) then we drove to Bolinao took some photos at the Bolinao marker (arc) while enjoying the view of the sunrise.

We arrived at the Bolinao town proper and drove directly to St. James Parish Church and the Municipal Hall. We prayed and took some photos then I showed them the Binunguey Sellers at the church’s gate. 

I called up my Aunt, Jasmine Camba, then we drove to her restaurant (which turned out we ate in her dining table) for breakfast. We famished ourselves along the way with little of Puto Calasiao and Kuntsinta so we can eat more of Bolinao’s very own Binunguey, a good grade of Danggit (oh so fresh!), and eggs. It was really a great day seeing my aunt again and as well as enjoy those little breakfast feast served wholeheartedly by my aunt and uncle. (Abaw a salamat Ante tan Uncle! – Thank you very much Aunt and Uncle!).

(To be continued...)

Summer Plans

It's summer again... This tells me to list down what my summer vacation plan looks like. Here are some of my plans for Summer of 2014:

February 08-09, 2014 - Zambales Getaway

• Mt. Pundaquit Trekking
• Anawangin Cove Camping
• Capones Island Trekking and Scenic Viewing

March 12-13, 2014 - Ocean Park, Manila and an overnight stay at H2O Hotel. (Cancelled)

March 22, 2014 - Shepherd of Hills Foundation, Inc. Charity Event with U! Happy Events

April 5-7, 2014 - Advent APAC Offsite 2014 at Crimson Hotel Resort and Spa at Mactan, Cebu

April 11-13, 2014 - La Luz Batangas Trip Part 2 (Cancelled)

April 17-20, 2014 - Lenten Family Getaway at Bolinao, Pangasinan

April 26-27, 2014 - Coco Stilts Resort at Batangas (Cancelled)

May 3, 2014 - Barkada Dinner and Kamustahan

May 9-12, 2014 - Unexpected Boracay Trip! (Inserted)

May 17-20, 2014 - APAC Professional Services Offsite 2014 - Hong Kong (NEW!)

May 24-25, 2014 - Coco Stilts Getaway (to be pushed!)

May 30, 2014 - Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte Trip  (NEW!)

June 01-02, 2014 - Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte Trip  (NEW!)

November 2014 - CDO, Camiguin, Bukidnon and Iligan

A Repost About Bolinao...

“There might have been multiple crossroads you have walked by, multiple pavements you have passed by, multiple places you have gone by, but there is always a place you have most of the memories left behind which you always want to as your safe exile.” – Yu Kaito

I have been to lots of places but there is always one place I remember most of my childhood and its Bolinao, Pangasinan. As a Bolinaonon, I speak the dialect (Binobolinao) and still embody the culture, which made me write about my hometown, to give insights of what’s at stake when you visit Bolinao, Pangasinan. You know what is best from Philippines – food and beaches, which both you can have along shores of this little municipality at the tip of Pangasinan.

A beacon of light at the tip of Bolinao to guide fishermen and ships that voyage the vast South China Sea.

The hospitable municipality of Bolinao, Pangasinan or the “Hidden Jewel of the North” is known by its historical Saint James the Great Parish Church (now challenging to where the first mass happened in the Philippines instead of Limasawa) which was built around 1609 by the Agustinians, it’s delicacies like binungey or bamboo rice cake and padas or vermiculated spinefoot sauce or clear bagoong isda, fresh marine products ranging from cudincudin or sea urchins or uni in Japanese to sungayan or unicorn fish <I miss this grilled Sungayan… yum yum yum>, scenic rock formations, and beaches. The grandeur of the rock formations and clear waters suits a very tropical atmosphere. Aside from the variety of sand colours from salt and pepper, orange, yellow, and white; the amusing enchanted cave and the beacons or lighthouses are also on the must see list.

Travel: To Bolinao is a private or bus ride from Manila around 5-7 hours to north. It may be a long ride but a worthy one. The fare is around Php 400-500 from Cubao or Pasay to the Bolinao’s Poblacion and vice versa. Tricycle rides are available near the area to drive you wherever you might want to go around Bolinao.

Below are my lists of places to go as far as I could remember and will revisit soon:

Saint James the Great Parish Church – one of the oldest churches in the Philippines and Pangasinan. This Agustinian church stand along the main road of Concordia Poblacion. This shows a strong the Catholicism heritage in the province. Just in front of the church’s gate are the souvenirs and binungeys for you to try.

Bolinao Wet Market – a place I always remember where my mama or lola and I went to get some fresh produce and marine products. Here you can get a freshly caught sungayan which is very delicious after grilling.

Breakwater and El Pescador Resorts and Hotel – a short turn going to Germinal toward the sea lays a beautiful view of the vast South China Sea. You can hangout and stay at the El Pescador Resorts and Hotel and ask your sungayan to be grilled.

Guiguiwanen Channel, Subor, Cape Bolinao Lighthouse, Our Lady Fatima Hills, UP Marine Science Institute, Cueba ni Palos – this is one of the oldest beach resorts we have in Bolinao. You just need to pay for the nipa huts or cottages at a very affordable price. You might want to climb the Our Lady of Fatima Hill and pray in the chapel before you continue climbing to the Cape Bolinao Lighthouse, one of the oldest beacons we have in Pangasinan, another is in Patar. You can also go down and ask from UP Marine Science Institute to join on their trips to Silaqui Islands where giant clams were bred. From the UP Marine Science Institute building along the sea shore walk towards west and you will see the Subor or spring in English where fishes swims across the sweet water towards brackish then salty. Cueba ni Palos or Palos’ Cave is an amazing adventure. There is a legend about the cave with three entrances, which was used by Palos as a panic to keep him safe during the war. One of the entrances goes to his room and the others go to the intruder’s death place.

Pantalan, Dewey White Beach, & Balin Buaya – see the port of Bolinao and the islands separate from the mainland with the vast view of white sand and ocean, pass through a rumoured sprouting volcano, the salt factory, colourful apay or straw mats made of a family of anahaw (a round-leaf fountain palm) leaf or what local calls silag and the local weavers, maguey ropes andsinamay weavers, and the local community or the fishing village.

Long Beach and Governor’s Road Beaches – additional beaches you can explore around Bolinao where sand were white and people were so nice.

Balingasay Beach – this is a haven for local bars and fishing village along the trench of a river approaching the ocean. I remember my mom telling stories about how brackish the waters of this area and how strong the current where they used to training the swimmers’ speed as an athlete. This is where you can find the salt and pepper colour of sand where you can as well enjoy the sunset view.

Patar White Beach, Enchanted Cave, Patar Lighthouse, Rock View Beach – more beach, amazing cold waters inside a cave, another beacon of light, and the amazing Rock View Beach showing off the various rock formations. 

Breathing taking dusk time view of Bolinao’s Rock Formations.

There’s a lot more Bolinao can offer from food to adventure to soaking yourself on its beautiful beaches. If you would like to get some details on Bolinao Travel Guide, I will be creating a different link for you to look at or you can email me directly to give you some recommendations.

You can now follow me in twitter @travelingwithyu.

Related articles

• Why YU TRAVEL? (travelingwithyu.wordpress.com)
• Our Bolinao Adventure (annekralovna.wordpress.com)

Hong Kong Tour (Day 2) - Mongkok Tour (Part 1)

For Filipinos, Hong Kong is just like another Binondo or Chinatown. We, Filipinos, were influenced highly by foreign countries and one of them was the Chinese. We embodied some of their culture and such Chinese people embody ours as well. Some of the Chinese merchant actually lived in the Philippines after a long trading time. It was Barter then that keeps our relationship with Chinese as tight as it is in a partnership type of business. Knowing that Chinese are into trading and we know they have cool and unique stuffs as well. Off to market is what we planned after our Lantau Tour. We set off from Tung Chung to Lai King via the Orange lane then to Mongkok via the Red lane and Exit on E2. You need to look for "Ladies Market" from MTR so you will find your way exactly in the market area.   

Pinoys out there be amazed as you will find a pimped Divisoria once you laid foot to Mongkok. Below are the things you can actually find in Mongkok. I tell you, have lots of money with you because you really find good stuff – SHOES, and yes SHOES! and more!

Ate some street food for HKD30.00 - a fair priced snack and a rude vendor.

Saw some street performers too.

Thanks and enjoy reading! Follow me at www.facebook.com/travelingwithyu or http://travelingwithyu.wordpress.com or www.twitter.com/travelingwithyu.