Anywhere is Paradise

Why I love races

2019-07-19T02:26:00.000-07:00

It's not just about the finisher medal (well technically yes lol) or the Instagram worthy finisher photos. It's about the the teamwork on the race course, the laughter and fails during obstacles, the adrenaline rush near the finish line, and most importantly, it's training and achieving the goal with the right people!

Travel Video: India

2018-08-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

INDIA 2017 from macy 1018 on Vimeo.

Hong Kong in 12 hours

2017-08-04T04:22:00.005-07:00

Last June, we booked a 15 hours lay over in Hong Kong before heading home to Philippines to spend an unforgettable summer! We were outside of the airport premises for about 12 hours and this is how we made the most out of it.

Hong Kong express train was the easy way to get around fast and convenient. We had only two things in mind for this quick tour, park & food!

First? Hong Kong Disneyland! We spent a quick 3 hour visit to this happy place. We literally took quick walks and pictures as the sun was soaring hot above us. The weather was not pleasant at all, but don't get me wrong, the kiddos inside us didn't lose the excitement and craving for theme parks, and well, it's Disneyland of course!

As expected, the line to get close to Mickey Mouse was too long for us with limited time. While planning the trip, I told myself I would make sure to have a photo with Mickey Mouse but hey, Goofy was sure fun and it seems they got along well, right?. LOL

Second and last stop for the few hours left, Mongkok!It was easy to get there, just around 6 train stations away and taddah, the busy streets awaits you!

Having a chef for a boyfriend means food trip anytime anywhere! So I really had to research the best city in Hong Kong where you can find unlimited street food stalls around. Honestly, it had not been easy to ask the vendors about the food they are selling as they don't speak much English. We just had to point out what we want and wish that it taste good!

I was in search for a good milk tea when we passed this Mobile Softee that was intriguing because of the queue. Turns out, this ice cream cone was cheap and yummy!

This was our first trip together outside Dubai and it was better than I expected. I am grateful that he is as curious and hungry for experience as I am. This was also my first lay over where I went outside of the airport and I swear I'd do it again!

Travel Video: Davao

2017-07-07T06:50:00.003-07:00

Highlight of my summer!

DAVAO 2017 from macy 1018 on Vimeo.

UK in 7 days!

2017-06-24T11:25:00.001-07:00

Oh Stonehenge, you made me speechless! Last year, I had the best birthday celebration in a land far far away, YAY! This travel was a dream come true and I would go a hundred times or more if I could.

DAY ONE. This was the best airport arrival feeling! I didn't feel exhausted at all after the 7 hour trip unlike the usual, I was too excited to go out and mingle and take pictures and explore! The cold weather was much intense than I expected and we weren't that ready for it! Eventually we learned that people use 'warmers' everyday during winter to keep them warm. Thanks to M&S for having all kinds of warmers for us newbies!

First things first! International sim card and train map is a must to avoid hopping on the wrong train. Though we almost got lost one time despite having the map in our hands, which I consider as one of the adventure of travelling in a new place.

We checked in at Holiday Inn Express at North Acton which is a very convenient place since the train station is just behind the building.

And since it's weekend, Piccadily is the recommended place to spend the night. If you're like me whose excited to see random artist on the streets, then Piccadily really is the best place to find them.
I also made sure to go to Piccadily for tadaaahh! Chinatown!!! We went to search for Wong Kei which was not hard to find, it was one of the first restaurants you'll see. It has long been known for it's 'rude staff' who will treat customers like their idiots. Luckily, we weren't served that way, though I didn't see a single staff smile at anyone. I ordered duck wonton soup to beat the freezing weather.

Primark and front seat inside the London red bus, few of my ultimate goals for this trip I must say. Haaa! Primark is famous for low price clothing and we loooveee it there. We bought hoodies for 7 pounds only!

DAY TWO. Started the day early to see Big Ben! Excuse us as we just can't get enough of the famous train station logos. Yes we did take pictures in every station as much as we can. *tourist mode on*

We took the river cruise to Greenwich! It was not a boring boat ride, thanks to the entertaining speaker who fed us with London information with humor. I basically planned to go to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian. To our dismay, we only realized we were walking towards the wrong way when it was too late and we got too lazy to go back. I honestly regret not going back, ugh.

DAY THREE. One of my favorite day in London, spending the morning in Camden Town! The street arts, bargain shopping, cheap souvenirs... I wish we had more time to walk around!

It was rainy in the afternoon when we met with Gladys at British Museum for the sake of her love for the Rosetta Stone!

DAY FOUR. Went to see the Queen on our 4th day! Well her palace at least. Buckingham it is! It was a perfect sunny day to watch the changing of the guards which felt like I'm in a movie scene. We didn't attempt to get closer to the castle though as the crowd of tourist kept increasing.

I didn't know that London is known for numerous green parks and that to see a squirrel is a must! Haha! It was so much cuter than I imagined! We did a lot of walking from Buckingham palace to St. James Park to the amazing Westminster Abbey! Beside it was another church called 'Church of London' which has a controversial story I only knew about that day.

One activity on my bucket list was ticked off, to take that London's eye ride! 'If only' is one of my all time favorite romantic movies where this dream of riding the eye was born. Haaa!

We ended the night in an underground bar at Covent Garden called 'Belgio'. We met with Grace' friends who are Hong Kong nationals living and working in London as Designers.
It was my first time to eat that much boiled mussels without rice! I didn't know it was that delicious paired with Belgian beer. It was one chilled night indeed.

DAY FIVE. We took a tour package to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Bath which consumed the whole day and our whole energy. Dead tired as we got back to the hotel.

First stop, the Windsor Castle. My older brother is a fan of British monarchy history which I've never been interested on, however names and places I hear from him like the 'York family' and 'Windsor Castle' were already tattooed on my mind. I knew I have to see this famous castle in person! We were lucky to witness the changing of the guards which still amazed me for the second time.

Second stop, STONEHENGE! What used to be a desktop wallpaper was finally right in front of me! At this point I realized that the tour to Stonehenge was really worth it as these mysterious stones were actually closer to the tourist area than I expected.

Third stop, Lacock for lunch! We had the traditional fish and chips! Lacock gave me goosebumps as the area was like a studio for Harry Potter movies! *fan mode*

Last stop, Bath. This city is filled with structures where 'Gothic architecture' can be seen, every corner is surely picture worthy!

7 days in UK was not enough. Someone please take me back!!!

TRAVEL VIDEO: GEORGIA

2017-06-24T11:15:00.001-07:00

And because it's another long weekend for everyone, Georgia is one of the sought after quick vacation destination! So here's the long overdue video of our travel to Georgia a year and a half ago. Amateur video alert!!!

EID MUBARAK!

TRAVEL VIDEO: ILOCOS

2017-03-03T05:09:00.003-08:00

IN & IS from macy 1018 on Vimeo.

TRAVEL VIDEO: LONDON

2017-01-23T06:04:00.001-08:00

Live in colors!

2016-12-03T02:55:00.003-08:00

Finally got to experience the #happiest5k run! Life is an art, live yours with colors!

I've been wanting to join the Color Run for 3 years now, and I made sure I'd join this year. It wasn't actually a run, it was a walk with splash of colors!

2016 so far so good!

2016-10-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

01.01. NEW YEAR with holiday season buddies/neighbors/friends! Failed to catch the fireworks display though.

01.23. Spontaneous road trip with fun people I literally met the same day. Nothing beats waking up to beautiful sunrise & beach waves!

01.29. Catching up with these girls! Non stop more chika more fun!

02.05. Another camping it is! Long drives, midnight grills, lipstick game, one hour sleep, friends and bon fires!

02.26. Beach canteen - food trucks!

03.10. Appreciating modern art at Alserkal Avenue.

03.12. Another art stuff, 3Ds at Dubai Canvas!

04.01. Design never stops. Dubai Design District this time and "aura-aura" day!

04.02. Abu Dhabi day out! Grand Mosque never fails to awe me!

05.01. Finally visited cat café!!!

So that's my 2016 so far so good in pictures courtesy of my photographer friends! Aaaaand now it's the start of BER months! Aaaahhh I can smell Christmas!!!

Travel video: Sri Lanka

2016-09-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

Low quality amateur video of our Sri Lanka weekend!

SRI LANKA 2016 from macy 1018 on Vimeo.

We crave for connection

2016-07-27T11:09:00.001-07:00

An excerpt from one of my all time fave Jason Bateman movie. Everything was just well said. #TheSwitch

Wally Mars: Look at us, running around. Always rushed, always late. I guess that's why they call it the human race. What we crave most in this world is connection. For some people it happens at first site. It's when you know you know. It's fate working its magic. And that's great for them. They get to live in a pop song. Ride the express train. But that's not the way it really works. For the rest of us, it's a bit less romantic. It's complicated, it's messy. It's about horrible timing, and fumbled opportunities. And not being able to say what you need to say when you need to say it. At least, that's the way it was for me.

Sri Lanka weekend

2016-05-20T02:02:00.001-07:00

I've been wishing, dreaming and planning to climb that rock for two years! That photo finally is not taken from Google anymore, but taken by yours truly! So I took another weekend trip last month to a pleasant country, yes Sri Lanka! Here's our Sri Lanka getaway in pictures!

1. Sigriya Rock Fortress

Definitely the highlight of this trip. It is true that it's all about the climb. The summer heat didn't weaken my motivation to climb that rock! It was harder than it seemed in pictures! Imagine how the stairs are installed around the steep mountain?! It took us around 2 hours to get up and down. I can say this experience is a must as all the sweat and next day leg soreness was worth it!

Lesson: Don't ever ever ever skip your leg day!

2. Elephant Ride

Another thing that I loved here is that I was able to experience my first elephant ride! I'm telling you, it was not all fun. It freaked me out when the elephant started walking while we were on top of her praying not to have a bad fall!

3. Out & about
Getting around was easy for us since we have Sri Lankan friends with us the whole time. This fact also made the trip cheaper for us as our good friend tried to keep us from spending anything. Lucky us! I honestly didn't enjoy the food though as I am never a fan of spicy but Thank God there's KFC and McDonalds!

I'm always interested of how locals get by with their everyday lives. We were honestly in awe of the hospitality of the locals, most especially the family of our friend! Sri Lankans are undeniably polite!

4. Dambulla Temple - "Inner peace"

We visited Dambulla temple where you can find an enormous golden Buddha statue. It was already late when we got there so we weren't able to take nice pictures. I've learned that you can't enter the temple with shoes on, you must be barefoot now matter how rough the ground is!

Inner peace is a state of being calm in every aspect of your life. Finding their inner peace is like the "mantra" of Buddhist. They are firm believers of good karma which I personally think is the healthiest ingredient to live a meaningful life. Just like Po of Kung Fu panda!

5. Awe of beauty

Sri Lanka is overall an awe of beauty. Unfortunately we had a very limited time to explore the stunning beaches on the Southern part of the country. The sunrise photo we've captured below made me feel like we're in a safari in South Africa, which is one on my travel bucket list as well! Sceneries like this will just make you take a deep breath and thank your creator for allowing you to wake up with such natural charm!

The trip was not a change of atmosphere for us but rather a taste of home. The scenery and surroundings are as laid back as it gets. It made us feel like we visited a nearby province back home. This trip made us realize once again how a simple way of living can bring absolute happiness to your life!

Georgia for the snow experience!

2016-03-04T08:42:00.002-08:00

When it snows, you have two choices: Shovel or make snow angels. Snow angels for sure! You can't imagine how thrilled I am to write about my first experience with snow. Apparently I was not able to, but anyways...

It was indeed a short planned weekend getaway in Northern Europe! Well, everyone's been going to Georgia lately because of it's breathtaking mountain views, cheap holiday packages and most of all, nearest place we can go to that snows! That was the main target anyway, a "bucket list" thing for all of us. We spent 2 full days with a friendly tour guide. I believe it's better to get a tour guide since it's a 2 hour drive from Tbilisi to Gudauri Ski Resort, it won't be comfortable enough if you don't have a private car. Well at least for me. I love long drives and driving to the snowy mountains was just way too cool for first timers like us!

One thing I loved about Georgia aside from our snow experience? Wine! There are shops with cheap wines everywhere. You will receive your first wine bottle at the immigration for free and you would probably go home with wines on your luggage!

We went to Chateau Mukhrani Winery which was an awfully beautiful place. The tour will give you insights of Georgian winemaking and traditions. Plus wine tasting!

Georgia is indeed a beautiful country that's worth a visit. For a quick weekend, we were able to visit several places like Jvari Monastery, Mshketa, Ananuri Fortress and more I can't remember the names! It was fun walking around the streets anytime and super safe! We were able to ride a cable car, drink "Cha Cha" (Georgian version of Tequila) which instantly put us into cloud nine, eat lots cheese, drink free wines and enjoy stunning views! I'm a lover of weekends and this trip is definitely one of the best!

Singapore for a week!

2015-08-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

So I felt like almost everyone had a glimpse of Singapore except me. It's a usual stopover before going home since its close and we don't need a visa to enter. Therefore I was thinking to do the same when I go home next year, but I'm indeed lucky that an opportunity came to travel there for a week! This is a very unexpected trip and it's only been 3 months since I went to Egypt. Life feels even more thrilling when you receive surprise blessings.

Singapore Zoo
Unlike any other zoo, I was kinda impress as they have lots of animals (of course) but I mean lots of numbers of each kind. I'm not an animal lover but I definitely enjoy visiting zoos.

Marina Bay Sands
I was in awe when I had a glance of this fascinating hotel! I always knew that it's amazing since it is one of the landmarks of Singapore, but it's beauty was jaw dropping in person! The bridge and the Arts and Science Museum adds up a great view! I can spend the night there just watching the lights.

National Museum
I love visiting museums as I love visiting zoos. Some find it boring to visit still artworks but I am an appreciator of those things! The amazing exterior of the building is enough to make you want to check the interior. It looks like a government house.

Arts Museum
Contemporary art!!!

Sentosa Island
Time for Sentosa island! We planned to get up early but we woke up with heavy rain! Made me felt more like I'm back home. I always thought Sentosa island only consist of casinos and hotels, I didn't know it has a lot of fun attractions including a waterpark! I wish I had more time to try all of them!

Trick Eye Museum
Who is not a fan of optical illusions?? It's always cool to see optical illusions because it exercise your eyes and your brains while it fascinates you the whole time. Ticket price is totally reasonable!

Universal Studios
And of course the one place I wouldn't miss!!! USS! I've been to Universal Studios in California way back 2001 and I was truly amazed. Knowing that there's another US just nearby makes you want to add it on your bucket list! Well what can I say, anyone would take pictures in every corner of it. You gotta have your power bank ready for your day in Universal!

Bugis Street
Bugis street is a place for cheap finds. I always prefer bargain shopping, spend less, shop more!!!

Food
At first I thought "hawker" was a name of a restaurant. Then I realize they kept calling different food centers as hawker. So hawker is how they call the open air food complex at the streets. As expected it was cheap and it was good!

Transportation
Most of the commuting we did was riding the train which I am used to since I use the metro everyday to work. However I was kinda disappointed as the feedbacks I heard were overrated. Or maybe I just tend to compare with luxurious metro stations in Dubai.

Friends
One thing that made me happy about this travel is the chance to get together with my close friends who I haven't seen for quite a long time.

Singapore is an expensive city but I was able to squeeze in my allotted budget. You just have to know where and how to keep your travel money on track. And how to save while spending! Travel is surely the only thing you spend that makes you richer!

Pocketful of Sunshine!

2015-07-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

It's literally full of sunshine over us! And behind those smiles were irritated burning skins from the extremely hot weather! August is nearing and promising to bring higher temperatures in the Middle East. I wonder how people can still enjoy the beach these days. JBR is a nice place to wander and have a good walk but with this kind of weather, you're just gonna grab your umbrella and still run for shade!

Hello Dubai extreme summer 2015! It's gonna be screaming heat wave!

Anyhow, sunny days are always better than rainy days! I hope you're able to find your sweet escape in the most difficult situations. I hope you get a pocketful of sunshine everyday!

Stunning Souq: Khan El Khalili, Cairo

2015-06-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Khan El Khalili was first on the list that my Egyptian friend gave me for our itinerary which she said was a "Must See" and "Not to be missed" tourist attraction. However I felt like it's just a typical souq like anywhere here in Dubai. Although souqs are one of main attractions in any Middle Eastern countries, it seemed I've had enough here. But since it was late when we arrived in Cairo, Khan El Khalili was the nearest place from our hotel that we can visit to make the most out of the night. And I'm glad we did!

The atmosphere while walking in the market made us feel like were taken back in time. Look at the paintings lying on the streets and the horses guarding the old gates!

We were able to buy souvenirs for a lower price compare to those who sells at the Pyramid site which are literally overpricing! I regret not buying all the souvenirs from here. In addition to the shops, there are coffee shops as well. I initially only wanted to go there to see the more than two century year old El Fishawy cafe which is also one of the "Must Visit" as per my Egyptian office mate. But upon enjoying the walk and taking pictures, it totally slipped my mind and it was late when I remembered that it's already closed! It was said that it is where the ancient writers used to have their coffee while writing about Egypt history.

It was good this was the first place we visited in Cairo as it already gave us the feel that we really are exploring a historical city!

Pyramids for real!

2015-04-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of the Wonders of the World since I was a kid and hoping that one day I'll be visiting all of those places. Last month I finally got to see one! Up close and personal! What makes it most special among all other wonders is that it's the only living wonder of the ancient world, Pyramids of Giza!

I came to know that there are not only 3 pyramids and Egypt and they actually have them in different places aside from Giza, There are over 138 identified pyramids since 2008. Pyramids were built for Pharaohs and consorts during the old and middle kingdom. I was expecting to see tombs inside, unfortunately all pyramids are empty! I can't imagine how those professional thieves stole those heavy tombs made of golds!

We were lucky to discover that our tour guide is an archaeologist and Egyptologists! So he was loaded with information to share with us. He was patient enough to tell us every single detail of well known stories about their history. I never actually wondered how they built those pyramids with huge limestones but it was interesting to know that there were several theories about its construction and it includes aliens too!

Ever wondered how the inside of the pyramid looks like? I researched about it on the internet while planning this trip and I find it very claustrophobic. I was hesitant to go inside even though it was free for all. But I was there anyway, why not do all things possible! We went inside the small one which made me less worried about being trapped. And well yes as informed it;s just empty, you can see the area where the tomb used to be.

And then there was the Great Sphinx! I was expecting it to be larger though or maybe it just seemed to be tiny because of the giant pyramids around it. The Sphinx in Giza is the most famous and largest among other Sphinx built as adopted by other cultures.

This experience is truly extraordinary for me and it's now officially off my bucket list!

Never settling for less

2014-07-31T12:07:00.001-07:00

I passed by this good read about never settling for less when it comes to love, thought it'd be nice to share.

There are many things we may settle for in life: the meal that has fewer calories, the bad job in the right city or maybe the clothes on the sale rack. The one thing we should never settle for, however, is love. There are many average things in life, but love should not be one of them. Through the masses of mediocre, common and run-of-the-mill things that we experience day by day, love should certainly defy them all.

We should never settle for someone who could walk away and not turn back. We should never settle for someone who doesn’t recognize what he is holding when embracing our hands or someone who doesn’t remind us every day of how much we mean to him. What you truly deserve, well, is everything. What you deserve is someone missing you the moment you walk out the door, even if you’ll only be gone a moment.

You deserve someone who may not believe in fairy tales, but who treats you like a princess simply because that’s what you are to him. You deserve someone who will challenge you instead of just giving in. Someone who will share his honest thoughts with you because you’re going to share your honest lives together; yet, someone who knows how to forgive and to be happy instead of right.

You deserve something that isn’t easy; a love that is hard, but you tough it out together. You learn through your battles and you start to fight them together. You stand your ground, but you stand beside each other doing so. You deserve to be tested in your limits because it’s at the edge where you discover the greatest faith. You deserve a true and epic love, nothing short of the above. You deserve to be someone’s dream come true, never someone’s afterthought. You deserve to walk on air and walk on fire at the same time because the very best things in life are not easy.

Click here for full article

For those who are in love right now, I hope you stay happy and excited every time no matter how long you've been with your beau. For those who haven't found the one yet, well everything that takes time is worth it, just don't be tired of waiting. Happy weekend!

crazy, tragic & beautiful words

2014-07-16T11:59:00.001-07:00

It's so true that lots of good books contains tragic and great damages everyone experiences in life. I don't know why we unconsciously like the feeling of listening or reading something sad, I think it brings out the in denial emotional side of each of us. Here are some few bitterness from good books! Haha! These authors just know exactly how to get into a reader's heart!

“Everyone always wants to know how you can tell when it’s true love, and the answer is this: when the pain doesn't fade and the scars don’t heal, and it’s too damned late.”

— Jonathan Tropper, The Book of Joe

“At this point in my life, I’m not looking for any happy endings. I’m just looking to get things started.”

— Jonathan Tropper

“You have to look at what you have right in front of you, at what it could be, and stop measuring it against what you’ve lost. I know this to be wise and true, just as I know that pretty much no one can do it.”

— Jonathan Tropper, This is Where I Leave You

“Love is a piano dropped from a fourth story window,
and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

— The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

“The universe doesn’t care about us. Time doesn’t care about us. That’s why we have to care about each other.”

— David Levithan

“The important people in our lives leave imprints. They may stay or go in the physical realm, but they are always there in your heart, because they helped form your heart. There’s not getting over that.”

— David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares

“You think you know your possibilities. Then other people come into your life, and suddenly there are so many more.”

— David Levithan, The Realm of Possibility

“You can’t just make me different and then leave. You can’t. You can’t change me and make my whole life centered around you, then leave.”

— John Green, Looking For Alaska

Books please!

2014-05-30T06:09:00.003-07:00

So I've been reading John Greene books and I would love to read Fault in our Stars over and over again but I think it's time to shift into a new author. I heard Rainbow Rowell's book are good as well. I've never finished Fifty Shades up to now, I'm on page 500 of the second book! Which is okay I think since the movie will not be released this year, still have time!!! Here are some books from the Internet that were rated good by readers opinions. I wonder what's really worth reading.

I know there are lot more books out there, care to share more interesting books to read?

Reasons Why You Will Never Become Rich

2014-04-25T03:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not saying money can buy happiness, but we all work hard for money to be happy right? We need money to be able to buy a house and lot for our family, to be able to fly a thousand miles to meet the love of our life. But did you ever feel like you've been working hard so long and you're still struggling?

I found this interesting article about reasons why you will never become like those first class icons who gets to travel twice a month just to relax. I felt like most of the things on the list are slap in the face, on my face! I earn big but I spend big as well. It's just lately that I realized this. I realized how much I spent the past few years for stuffs I thought I wanted turned out I only wanted them for a short time. I realize how much I overspend every time I go out and feel like I deserve to pamper myself.

I have plans, I'm this kind of person who plans a lot. I plan for my next vacation, for something I want to learn, classes to take, amount of money to save for something special. Apparently, I always end up not having enough for my plans and I'm tired of it!

Here's the link for you to check out the full list. I hope it helps.
10 Reasons Why You Will Never Become Rich

Miracle Garden

2014-03-07T02:42:00.002-08:00

So there's this so called miracle garden from month of October till April when probably flowers are in the bloom. We had a national holiday so we made sure we would go somewhere, we pretty much don't like staying inside the house during long weekends. LOL. It looks beautiful in pictures but personally the whole place won't awe you that much. Or maybe I was just expecting too much? LOL. You would need a good photographer to get nice photos and make the place look interesting and impressive. We're lucky we have one.

We planned to wear skirts and dress for that day. It's a floral place so we should be blending! Don't we just look so young and sweet? LOL It took us around 4 hours to roam around. Most of our time were smitten by countless picture taking at the same spot.

It's not a place you would want to go back again but still, flowers never fail to set every girl into a happy mood! It has a power to make us appreciate the little things. Flowers are one of the sweetest thing that are visible to everyone. Just to notice a flower have blossomed can make us smile and feel enlightened.

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. - Luther Burbank

Musuem of Islamic Art

2014-02-06T23:32:00.000-08:00

Snap back to reality! I've had 5 long days in Doha, Qatar last week. They were really long days because there's not much to see and do. It's an ideal place to earn money. It's surely more fun here in Dubai but we spend a lot here because of too much places to see and things to experience. Doha is like a preserved country starting to cut open and bloom! They're much wealthier and Dubai and still on the process of developing.

We went to Musuem of Islamic Art on my second day. I've been researching about this place since I knew that I was going to Doha. I'm not much of a fan of history but I like the atmosphere when you're inside a museum. I think every place should have a good museum to be a must-visit for tourist.

Designed by a veteran architect I.M. Pei, this museum was already acclaimed as one world's greatest museums. The location is perfect as well, located along Doha's corniche with clusters of dhows on the side and the breathtaking view of the sea. I was amazed how the color of the sea seems unreal because of it's beauty. I guess that's one thing I liked about the place more than Dubai where corniche looks crowded and not as relaxing as in Doha.

Taking his cue from the diversity of the collections, Mr. Pei sought to create a structure that would embody the “essence of Islamic architecture.” He spent months traveling across the Middle East searching for inspiration. He visited the ninth-century Ahmad ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo, a sober structure organized around a central court with a templelike central fountain, and ancient fortresses in Tunisia. - The New York Times

“The museum is an object,” Mr. Pei said. “It should be treated as a piece of sculpture.” - The New York Times

Chocolate wonder!

2014-01-23T23:10:00.000-08:00

Best view I've ever seen to so far? Chocolate hills of Bohol Island!!! Even if you're not a nature lover, you'll call this place without any doubt, "wonderful". We were not on top yet I was already repeatedly saying "wow"! This is surely the main reason why I've been wanting to visit Bohol. There are lot more to see in Bohol though but I guess this place would be anyone's reason to really go on a trip.

Everyone probably have heard of these famous hills. Not yet? Go search your Google now and be amazed of its forms! Measuring up to 400 feet tall, the hills are made of limestone containing marine fossils dating back millions of years. The grass that usually covers the hills turns a milky brown come dry season, that apparently makes it's chocolate like appearance visible. You'll have to climb a 214 to get to the viewing deck which will be worth it.

We don't have much spectacular photos though since my best friend's SLR ran out of battery just when we got to the best part of our tour! How cool?! So here's an astonishing photo from the internet to make you believe how God perfectly made those hills!

Image from Fotopedia

Plus one cool image from Tumblr.

For those who are planning to spend their vacay in the Philippines this summer, you should absolutely check this chocolate wonder. I too would certainly come back soon!

I'm glad I did this trip with my best friend, this kind of adventure should be shared with important people in your life. One word for Chocolate Hills of Bohol, AWESOME!