A piece of Art land: Pinto Art Gallery
October 15, 2016
Antipolo, Rizal

This little piece of wonderland radiates a beneficent expression of love for art, culture and community. The Pinto Art Gallery is an addition to the rich art culture of the province of Rizal, settled on a hilly terrain of Antipolo and can be reached by an easy 40-minute drive from Manila.   

Palaui Island, Sta. Ana, Cagayan Valley

Palaui Island, Sta. Ana, Cagayan Valley
September 25-26, 2016

A trip to the extreme North of Luzon Island -

Ilocos Norte: Land of the solid North

2005, 2013 & June 14-16, 2016 

505 kilometers off Manila, approximately 10 hours drive or 45 minutes plane ride, is a home to the best bagnet, chichacorn (of all sorts of flavor), sukang iloco (best with bottle half full native chili), Longanisa (a showcase of native bawang), dinengdeng (a full casts production of vegetables), including the fusion of pinakbet and dinuguan  pizza, batac empanada (this is different from empanada of Vigan), miki noodles (with spicy sukang Iloco), not to mention a delicate and intricate weaving of abel. 

The Ilocos Norte is also noted for being the bailiwick of Marcoses, to date, the embalmed body of Former President Marcos, encased in glass coffin is still on public display at Marcos Museum in Batac.

Despite numerous revolts that the Region has gone through against the Augustinian Friars since 1589,  Ilocos Norte, is currently gaining popularity with its world-famous sights such as an old church of Paoay and Pagudpud.

I cast my first footprints in Ilocos in 2005, then in 2013 and the most recent trip was in May 2016.  

Best things to do in the North:

1. Sandboarding, 4x4 and ATV adventure at La Paz Sand Dunes 
         
         The best time to do the adrenaline rush adventure in the desert is before sunrise or sunset to avoid the sun burn. 
 

Gathering my courage.

Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte

Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte

May 21-22, 2015

Though at around 3:30AM, I moved out of the tent and laid under the perfect moon, the air blows steadily, I can hear the melodious sound of water continually crashing on the shores, watching the couples lounging by the beach, some walking hands together… the dawn is whispering the stillness of the moment, my precious moment, thus, “Unless you love someone, nothing else makes any sense” by E.E. Cummings, actually makes sense.

Banaue Rice Terraces

Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao
December 16-17, 2010

Witnessing the silent, unmovable and splendid work of art and nature, we already knew that our adversity paid off as we finally stood in one of the most beautiful wonder of the world.   We were just standing there, staring deeply in awe.  We submit ourselves to an unexplainable feeling of triumph over what we just had conquered, and so we let ourselves enjoy the perks.

Sagada, Mt. Province: A walk that I will always remember

Sagada, Mt. Province
1st visit: April 2008
2nd visit: December 16-20, 2010
3rd visit: December 2011
4th visit: April 24-27, 2014

Now imagine this, one cold and crisp afternoon, just before dusk, some streaks of bright orange rays of sunset make its way through branches of trees, you are having wine and beer by the fireplace beside the glass and wooden cabin, which lodged up the hill, hidden behind piles of old and young pine trees, the surroundings is slowly getting covered by early evening fog, the only sounds that you hear are the swish and swoosh of pine leaves and the chirps of unknown creatures, the smell of fresh pine leaves dominating your senses.  You wished that the moment would never end and you find your self wished for forever. 

North Chronicle: Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos Sur

 North Chronicle

Traversing Pangasinan, La Union & Ilocos Sur

Holyweek Special: March 23-26, 2016

While the Holyweek is the most anticipated and sacred week for the general Catholic practitioners, for us, this was also the best time to renew our faith in a most adventurous way, Visita Iglesia across 3 provinces.

The Seven Churches Visitation also known as Visita Iglesia is an ancient pious Roman Catholic Lenten tradition to visit seven churches on the evening of Holy Thursday - Wikipedia

  

This journey was guided by this quote:

 “Life is like a book, If you do not travel, you read only one page” by St. Augustine, 

 an absolute reminder written at the arc of the Bell Tower in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.
 

Singapore (Part 2): From Day till Night

Singapore (Part 2): February 5-8, 2016 (5th Asian destination)

Singapore (Part 1): Universal Studios

A place, a dream… there’s always one and none… you never stop, a one ticked out of the list, will be replaced by two or three... more to go, I know, I feel, I’ll do.

Singapore (part 1): Universal Studio Singapore

Singapore: February 5-8, 2016 (5th Asian destination)

A place, a dream… there’s always one and none… you never stop, a one ticked out of the list, will be replaced by two or three... more to go, I know, I feel, I’ll do.

On February 5, 2016, I ticked off my 5^th Asian country visit, Singapore, though a search from google could bring you on a numerous sites and pages that offer numerous information about the country, yet still, for my memory’s sake, I will cover my personal account on one of the most expensive countries in the world.

There are 10, 20, even 50 must do in Singapore, but we only went as far and as many as our tired, soared feet and meager budget could brought us.  If you just feel like reading and if you think that the information below could help you, then scroll down.

 Singapore is not a priority on my list, considering that it requires a huge cut  on my almost zero bank account, but an accidental proved on Cebu Pacific site led me and my friends to a compulsive decision to purchased a roundtrip ticket to Singapore for Php6,500.00, not bad indeed!  It was September 2015, and the flight is scheduled on February 5 and return on 8, 2016 in time for the Chinese New Year.  We made an extra effort to save for hotel, entrance fee to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS and food, shopping is certainly not included. 

Tawi-Tawi

Tawi-Tawi
Date: March 11-14, 2016

A trip to the southern most tip of the Philippines requires great attention to details, from timeline down to security.  One of the major concern and common question from the people who were informed about our trip to Tawi-Tawi was the "security."  Which is quite understandable, considering that it is situates near the islands of Jolo, Sulu and Basilan, and even nearer to Sabang, Malaysia.  However, upon our arrival in the province, we knew already that "security" is at the least of concern, you can easily forget about being kidnap and worry on how much weight you are about to gain from having fresh sea foods and sumptuous delicacies.

The trip to Tawi-Tawi was officially set in time for inauguration of the first "Women's Peace Center" in the municipality of Panglima Sugala, 45 minutes ride from Bongao, and the ceremonial signing of Memorandum of Agreement for the establishment of WCPU in the province. So it was quite official, alright!

Nonetheless, our team are not duty bound not to enjoy the place where "peace" is possible, no matter how laid back, you'll be surprised by how a simple environment could bring so much meaning to the lives of 387,000 Tawi-Tawinians.

Hut by the sea.