Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
Filed under beach, events, travel
The Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort wasn’t what I expected–it exceeded my expectations! I didn’t expect us to be treated like that, and I didn’t expect the event to be as well-planned as that either. I thought it was just another beach resort. My bad.
First, when I got to our meeting place at SM Cebu, Agnes greeted me with that big smile on her face and hang an ID on my neck. I said, “Oh, there’s an ID?”
That was just the beginning of surprises. The resort’s PR person, Ruben Licera himself, was there to greet us. The resort sent vans to pick us up, and we were more than happy to hop in. When we got there, we were greeted by Guest Service Officers who met us with white shell necklaces and this tasty lemon beverage:
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Filed under beach, blogging, events, travel
Just when I thought that my summer escapades are over, here comes the Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort offering a special summer blowout for all bloggers in Cebu. Hooray!
I started the summer early, so when March rolled around, I was already very burned (and I don’t burn easily). I promised that my Bantayan Island getaway last March, where I burned my skin, would be my last, but I just couldn’t let this pass. It’s free, plus I get to spend time with my CBS family, whom I’d be missing soon. Besides, I haven’t been to the Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort.
There will be fun and games and prizes awaiting, and I hear a lucky blogger will win a gift certificate for an overnight stay at the resort. I hope I am that lucky blogger! 
Bloggers also get to dine and witness a cultural presentation at their Allegro Restaurant.
If you’re a blogger from Cebu and want to tag along, leave a message. You may also visit the Maribago Bluewater Blog.
Filed under Photohunt, beach, travel
My feeble attempt at catching the sunset in Bantayan Island, Cebu. This is purple, right?
Filed under Photohunt, beach, travel
Hooray! I am back in the blogosphere and in PhotoHunt! 
I celebrate my comeback with my favorite element—fire. This is a bonfire we lit on a weekend getaway to a beach in San Remigio, a town on the northern tip of Cebu which boasts of having the longest shoreline in the island province. It takes around three hours to get there from the city. I made the mistake of eating a rather heavy breakfast before we hit the road, so on the way there my stomach felt funny. I puked twice on the road. It was embarrassing, but all in all the trip was great because I was with great company. 
San Remigio is also a great diving spot, but I was such a coward that I didn’t try it even though I really, really wanted to. The diving instructor said I need to learn to swim first before I should try diving (maybe because he didn’t want to be responsible for me).
Believe it or not, I grew up in a coastal city and the beach is my favorite place to be, but I have not learned to swim after all these years. No one taught me to swim when I was a kid, and I think the fear grew bigger as I grew older. Now I wonder if it is still possible for someone in her early twenties to learn such a basic skill?
Filed under Photohunt, the good earth, travel
Brace yourself, because even I, don’t like looking at this photo:
See the green coils around the tree?
These are green tree pythons or Morelia viridis. They are a non-venomous, arboreal (refers to animals that live in trees) snake species found in Indonesia, the island of New Guinea, and Australia. They like coiling around tree branches to rest there, as you can see. They sleep during the day and forage for food at night.
I don’t like snakes. Just looking at them (and even their photos) make me cringe. There were several kinds of snakes at the Singapore Zoo, the famous Anaconda included, but I wasn’t able to take lots of photos because I was in a hurry to get out of the area where the snakes were.
But, looking at this photo now, I must admit that I like the color of the green python—vivid green (I like green!) with spots of white that look like crystals when viewed under a certain shade of light. It makes them blend well with the trees. Fortunately, there aren’t green pythons in the Philippines, so no worries about mistaking them for leaves.
(This is my third PhotoHunt entry about animals. I seem to have taken my animal protection realization to heart, eh?)
Filed under Photohunt, family, the good earth, travel
One of the reasons my Singapore trip was memorable was because I had a reunion with my distant cousins. Look, we have a lovely photo together!!
Sorry for the yellow splash in the middle. I try not to post frontal photos of myself here, lest someone takes my photo and paste it on a porn star’s nude body. (Or maybe I just don’t want you to see how my cousins and I look alike! LOL).
Okay, serious now. They are orangutans, the largest species of arboreal animals (in other words, monkeys). They can only be found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. In fact, Orangutan means “person of the forest” in Malay and Indonesian.
I remember this kind of money very well because I used to call my second brother orangutan. When we were kids, we had contests of who came up with the worst name for the other. His nickname is Atan, so I called him orangutan. He, in turn, called me Badak. I don’t know where he got that, but I’m sure it’s not a monkey’s name. Technically, I won, right?
Filed under Photohunt, human interest, the good earth, travel, trivia
This is what white tigers do on a lazy afternoon:
“I am bored.”
“I wish I could get away from these people. They are starting to annoy me.”
“I should just go down to the water and cool off.”
“Whew! I love this!”
“Now my coat is squeaky clean.”
This white tiger can be found at the world-acclaimed Singapore Zoo, which is known for its open animal dens. I was one of the annoying people who kept staring at him. I just really loved his beautiful white coat.
Trivia:
- White tigers have blue eyes and pink noses, and no, they are not albinos. White tigers resulted from a rare genetic combination.
- White tigers descended from Mohan, who was caught by an Indian Maharajah in 1951. He was bred, and became the proud father of many cubs.
- There used to be five kinds of tigers in the world. Only three remain today. The other two are extinct.
- Only 7,000 wild tigers are alive today. They are being hunted and killed at an alarming rate for their coat. They are also losing their homes in the wild to real estate development.
Before I went to the zoo, I didn’t care so much about tigers. I only thought of them as animals to be feared. Now I think of them as beautiful creatures to be saved. I think I am going to adopt wildlife as another advocacy.
Filed under human interest, travel, trivia
Well, I have. He is Amigo, a Yellow-naped Amazon at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore. Listen to him count and sing in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Malay. He is so cute!
Filed under travel
I am finally safely home after a turbulent 24 hours. I was supposed to be home at 4 a.m. today, but the plane I was on turned around an hour into the flight from Singapore to Cebu. I *think* the pilot announced engine problems (I don’t know for sure what he said, I was sleeping) and decided to turn around for maintenance check. The departure time was moved to 11 a.m. On normal days I would have been annoyed or maybe scared, but I was too sleepy and tired to care. I had been running around Singapore and Malaysia for five days, and had looked forward to sleeping on the plane.
So, while the other disgruntled passengers argued with the airline crew because of the messed up schedules and poor customer service, I slept on a bench at Changi International Airport. The airline booked hotel rooms for us, but it was already around 5 a.m. when they finally arranged it, and we had to be back at the airport by 9:30 a.m. I chose to stay at the airport because one, I didn’t have Singaporean dollars anymore with me to pay for a taxi. I didn’t want to convert my money again. And if I slept at a hotel, in my own room, I wasn’t sure I could wake up by 9 a.m. If you know me, you would agree that it was best for me to stay at the airport. At least there would be people who could wake me up.
While the other passengers must be drafting their letters of complaint to the airline now, I’m happy because I got the sleep that I wanted, and at a world-class airport at that. I am that shallow. I also befriended two other passengers. One was a girl from Ozamis City and the other was a Chinese Indonesian who was on his way to Boracay. We’re Friendsters now. Third, which is the thesis of this post, is that I got me a free ticket to Singapore! Yay! God really does answer my foolish wishes. Tehee. I said a hundred times before I left Singapore that I would definitely be coming back, and presto, the ticket! I am so willing to forgive Cebu Pacific for everything, including the big slash in my next pay for having missed a day at my job. I am so easy to bribe, no?
Filed under Photohunt, human interest, travel, trivia
This is the aerial view of Chicago as seen from the sky deck of the Sears Tower. I just love that beautiful loop of roads in the center. It’s called Circle Interchange, one of the worst places to be stuck in traffic in the world, and it’s an example of a Spaghetti Junction.
But still, I love Chicago! I hope to go back there someday.
