Weekend Bicol Getaway!

Jojo, Kent, Dru and I flew early last Saturday to Legazpi City for a quick weekend in Bicol. We started having these volcano hiking trips recently and our original plan was to see the Mayon Volcano and hike up if weather permits. This trip fitted into perfect timing since I have been uber stressed these past few days and needed to do something to unwind.

We touched down half-past 8 in the morning in Legazpi Airport. First thing I noticed when I deplaned was a beautiful scene of the volcano and the plane side by side.


We stayed in Hotel Venezia, an experience that I liked so much. I was surprised to see a full service hotel in a city which I find very relaxed and laid-back. The experience is great having the hotel shuttle picked us up from the airport, a junior suite, spread of breakfast and cookies waiting in the room every night after turndown service.


We just settled for about an hour in our room and off we went to Cagsawa Ruins. This is where most of the postcards of Bicol and Mayon Volcano is taken from. The belfry on the right is the only remnant of then a church after the volcano's eruption in 1814.


The cloud is covering the tip of the volcano while we were there. We tried to wait and see if things will get better but, after an hour of waiting, we got tired and decided to leave. This is the best view that we got - the volcano partly covered by the cloud!


As we leave the ruins, we were amazed by this ingenious stick invention being sold outside the park. Rub the companion stick on a stick with propeller in one end, shout "hoy!" and the rotation of the propeller will reverse. We were teached how to "trick" others after we bought a set. Pretty neat!


Mount Mayon is famous for having an almost perfect cone shape (that is if it's not covered with clouds). After lunch and on our way to other places, we stopped by different points when we see the volcano is worth taking a picture of.


the volcano and some other "ruins"


Our next stop was in Busay Falls. However, we just dropped by and didn't stay long because it seems that my companions are allergic to people. argh! peace! :P


We wanted to get to this other falls, which is an hour and a half away. The party got lost on the way and after passing through some unpaved roads, we finally reached Vera Falls. We had to climb down what seems to be a kilometer of steps going down and this scenery greeted us!


It's all worth it! We were the only visitors during that time so we practically had the place for ourselves! A beautiful and serene place to relax and unwind!


I didn't swim, because I didn't expect that we'll be swimming today so I don't have extra clothes with me at that time. Instead I just dipped my feet and legs and focused on taking pictures of the place.


kent, dru and me


The next day we left early for Donsol, Sorsogon to do the "Whaleshark Interaction". The place is about 2 hours away from where we stay. After registering at the local office, we went to board our boat for the activity.


How it works? Basically the guide will circle around the area and spot a whaleshark. If we happen to see one, our motorboat will stop around 20-40 meters away so that we don't disturb them.


Next is that you will have to jump to the water and follow the whaleshark. This is Dru, Kent and Jojo, about to jump to the water.


You will have to swim around 20-40 meters and try to get near a whaleshark after jumping.


This is a picture taken by Jojo underwater. Unfortunately it's hard to get a good picture of the whaleshark.


We had a good number of sightings, so they jumped off the boat and tried to catch up with the shark about 5 times. For the record, I did jump in twice to the water. However I did not succeed and was not able to join them in this activity. I stayed on the boat, watched the whalesharks from aboard, and ate choco chip cookies.

Like all good things, this has to come to an end. We left early today to fly back to Manila and I went straight to a client call. It was a quick trip but it definitely got me recharged and I was back alive and kicking again after having a few days of being down. It was a nice experience considering we only went there for Mayon Volcano and we ended up doing some other great things.

A business trip to Cebu

I was out for a week during the first week of March for a trip to a customer for a Terminal Services Health Check. I've been to Cebu a number of times, sometimes for leisure, but this one is purely for business. I flew using Philippine Airlines and previously held an elite status. Since March is the start of their program year for Mabuhay Miles, I immediately felt the effect on going back again as a base member. I didn't re-qualify this year because most of my flights were taken in discounted fare (not that I have a choice), including transpacific flights. That means no possible free upgrades nor lounge access for me.

On my flight PR 855, It was funny to see that the information was set incorrectly to a different route (MNL-LAX) where in fact we're supposedly just going for an hour flight of MNL-CEB. Some passengers, mostly foreigners, gasped and this display wasn't corrected even until we land in Mactan-Cebu International Airport. I thought it would have been great if we were actually brought to Los Angeles. :)


We stayed in Cebu City Marriott Hotel. It was a refreshing stay for me, living in a newly renovated hotel for the whole week.


Adjacent to the hotel is Ayala Center Cebu, so we had things to do after office hours and a whole spread of options where to have our dinner every night. This open-air part of the mall just recently opened months ago.


Our customer is located in Mandaue City, which is just next to Cebu City. Most of the time we are here are spent either in the hotel or on-site the customer facilities.


In one late afternoon that we are free, we went to Tops to see a bird's-eye view of the city and the surrounding water and islands.


We also had dinner in a famous local restaurant - Lighthouse. In this picture are the PFEs whom I am with the whole week and of course, me.


One of their famous delicacies here is roasted suckling pig (lechon de leche). My companions were shocked on how it was served and thought it was brutal. First they put it on our table and then they cut it into pieces using a plate. You can still see the head, the tail and the feet in this picture.


After dinner we went to the nearby Banilad Town Center, a famous night life area, but just to buy donuts. They are craving for Krispy Kreme, but there is none in Cebu so the closest I can recommend is Go Nuts Donuts. After eating donuts, we saw this jeepney with Coca-Cola design. Jeepneys are like mini-buses which are the main mode of public transportation throughout the country.


Anyone going to Cebu shouldn't leave without sampling the local delicacies like dried mangoes and dried fishes. Shown below is danggit, which are small dried salted fish, eaten after dipping in vinegar. This is served in our hotel daily during breakfast.

Around San Francisco

San Francisco is our next destination after our Toronto-Niagara Falls trip in Canada. We arrived around lunch time a few days ago and it was raining all day. Last time we ate was around 8:00AM Eastern Time so we were hungry by 12:00PM Pacific Time. After checking-in, we went to Fishermen's Wharf for lunch by around 1:00pm-ish.

We had a hard time looking for a place to eat because they are either closed, a fast food or not to our liking. We ended up eating at Joe's Crab Shack and it sure was a good hearty meal! We had Joe's steampot which included shrimps, sausages, potatoes, corn and of course - hefty servings of snow and dungeness crabs!


Because it was raining, there was nothing much to do for us. We took time instead to go to convenience and grocery stores to stock up on food items and toiletries on the way back to our hotel. On a convenience store near Fishermen's Wharf, I saw these shelf and I thought something's wrong here. :P


We bought Muni passports which gave us unlimited rides to city buses, street cars and cable cars. Because transportation in the city is very efficient, this has been a very good value for us. Our main mode of transportation throughout the city was through cable cars because the two cable car lines intersect right in front of our hotel.


Early in the morning after we arrived, we went to Embarcadero Center to pick up a car rental. We planned to go outside Bay Area and Gilroy the whole day.


On the way to Gilroy.


Me. Don't be fooled though, it was mostly my eldest brother who drove the car all-day.


Gilroy Premium Outlets


We returned the car after that day and went around the city instead using public transportation. On the way to Fishermen's Wharf to have breakfast, we stopped by Lombard street to see the famous "crooked street".


Fishermen's Wharf


We also hopped on to a bus and went to see the Golden Gate Bridge upclose.


We also passed by Ghirardelli Square and got some chocolates on our way out.


After lunch, my mom and I passed by Union Square. We thought it was a park attraction of some sort. Turns out, it is a shopping district!


The next day, which was actually yesterday, we went to Pier 41 and aboard Alcatraz Clipper, we cruised to Alcatraz Island.


The island was famous as a military prison until 1960s. We walked around the island to see the beautiful surroundings and inside the building structures for a view of the now defunct prison cells.


We also took time to go to the first and largest Chinatown outside Asia. We also had our lunch there.


Because yesterday is our last day, we came back to Joe's Crab Shack to make sure we don't ruin our last night in the city. Like before, we had a good time and had a hearty meal.


Another shot of Joe's steampot!


As I leave San Francisco today, I cannot help but think how beautiful this city is. It's feels like home being there and there are so many things to do but so little time! There are still other places for me left to explore like Napa Valley and Berkeley so there are still reasons for me to come back.

A short Canadian trip

My mother, eldest brother and I are now in Canada to meet some family relatives and do some sight-seeing. For this very short trip, we didn't have much chance to go around but we made the most out of our time to explore the city.

We arrived late in the afternoon and after we checked in, we met with our relatives for dinner. And in true pinoy fashion, rest of the night was spent with singing with a videoke mic.


We spent a few hours the next morning to go around the city as we are leaving by noon for an overnight in Niagara. After hearing a mass in St. Michael's Cathedral, we went to places that are within the vicinity of our hotel. This is the Old City hall of Toronto.


The curvacious towers on the right is the new Toronto City Hall. On the left is an ice skate park.


On our way to Niagara later that day, we passed by Rogers Centre and the CN Tower. Due to the lack of time, we didn't go up or spent time here. My mom and I went up the tower on our last visit to have dinner in the revolving restaurant.


After 3.5 hours of travel, we reached Niagara and immediately checked-in our hotel. Our room had a nice view of the falls and we can't help but be awed. We usually want to go out of the room and explore the nearby areas after checking-in but this time we just spent the rest of the afternoon in the room. The falls on the left is called the American Falls and on the right is the Horseshoe Falls.


Later that night, we went down for a stroll and went closer to the falls. Unlike last year when my mom and I were here just for a day trip, we had a chance this time to see the lighting of the falls at night. It is nice to see it at daylight, but I like it even more at night.


After breakfast the next day, we went down again to see a closer look of Horseshoe Falls.


I really love these cities. Toronto is such a nice and cozy city while Niagara obviously draws me to come back because of its magnificent surrounding. Even if this is my second time to come to these cities, I still felt like it was my first and there are things for me to do and explore. I'm definitely looking forward to have a chance and be there again for the third time!

Sinulog Festival 2009

I just came back from Cebu today to witness the Sinulog Festival 2009. It is an annual celebration in honor of the child Jesus or Sto. Niño. My friends from office had a quick weekend getaway this week at this beautiful provincial islands of Cebu.


Saturday, prior to the festival, we went out for some island hopping. We visited different islands like Butete, Pandanon, etc. in an afternoon under an overcasted sun but we sure had fun!


The highlight of the festival is the street dancing and parade of different groups, showcasing Sto. Niño. It's definitely non-stop dancing, music and fun! Shown here is me in the middle of a group who are body-painted with blue. Seems I blend in perfectly!

Biking in Manila

I biked with a friend today all over the bay area of Roxas Boulevard. We started from the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City all the way to Manila (the capital city of the Philippines) and back. It's been a long time since I've done this and it was a nice experience especially because the sun wasn't shining. This picture was taken in front of the monument of our national hero, Jose Rizal, at the Rizal Park, where today I dicovered is across the KM 0 (kilometer zero) marker or the city center.

Journey towards the crater of Mount Pinatubo

I just got home a few hours ago from a day trip to Mount Pinatubo. It was a long and tiring trip which includes a couple of hours drive from Manila, an hour ride in a 4x4 and another hour hike going up the mountain and down inside the crater - multiply all these by two to include the trip going back.