Richard's Notebook

Roadtrip to Pagudpud (Day 1)

2009-01-18T02:22:00.017+08:00

Left Manila at 4am. Drove 100+ kilometers through NLEX to the edge of Pampanga. Low fuel warning light is on.

Mild panic for almost half an hour looking for a gas station, to a very beautiful sunrise on the highway. The feeling is confusing.

I will remember to fill up my tank at the start of any long trip. I just told myself it could have been a boring drive otherwise.

We reached Gerona (Tarlac) at around 8am. First stop: Isdaan. I've seen and read about this in blogs, but I wasn't expecting a restaurant this large. Behind the rocky parking lot there's a huge fishpond with so many small huts built on it. There are a lot of design elements around the place like stone fishes, tribesmen with allergy-lips statues, giant peeing monkeys, and giant buddhas with nice curly hair (he's a fish fanatic?). I also saw their famous Tacsiyapo wall and San Kilo Bridge.

Had breakfast, then left. Went past Tarlac, Pangasinan, and La Union. Somewhere in Sta. Maria (Ilocos Sur) we saw water just beside the highway - Suso Beach. I didn't see resorts around, just some people enjoying the beach. It looks clean and has fine light brown sand.

The fun part of the day was somewhere further in Sta. Maria. We searched for a place called Pinsal Falls. We were told to pass through some very narrow road about 7kms long, park at the end, and walk for about 20 minutes on a footpath. It was summertime when we visited so there isn't that much water. Locals say this is the footprint of some Ilocano giant called Angalo.

We reached Vigan late in the evening. Picked some hotel to sleep and we ended day 1.

Roadtrip to Pagudpud (Before the Trip)

2008-08-18T03:38:00.007+08:00

Long overdue notes from my March '08 roadtrip from Manila to Pagudpud...

The ~600km drive to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte is a long but very rewarding trip. A lot has been written about it, but I still want to keep my own account of it here and share the nice stuff I saw along the way.

Ok... so to start off... It's easy to get there, but getting ready is the hardest part:

1) Itinerary - I had 4 days to spend on this trip. To maximize this I need to travel really early on day 1, and start to head back around noontime of day 4. By the end of day 1 I should be able to stop and get rest either in Vigan or Laoag, move around, then spend 2 days farther up north before driving back. It's a tight schedule, but good thing I have a day 5 buffer in case something goes wrong or we decide to skip work and enjoy some more.

2) Maps - EZ Maps from National Bookstore. They will cost about 100 pesos each and will last for a couple of trips before they disintegrate. For this trip I got 2 maps: the Luzon Map and the Sanfernando/La Union/Vigan/Laoag city map. They have distance markers that allow me to predict where I'll be at specific times.

3) Points of Interest and Where to Stay - Wow Philippines website, my EZ Maps and the famous Anton Diaz blog to see where I can go. Google Earth also gave me a lot of free information from plug-in applications like WikiMapia, Panoramio, and a few others. I had to find the sites by town to make sure my list is properly sequenced. At the end of this post is a rough OC plan I used to manage my trip using waypoints.ph data.

4) Food - as a general rule we always hit the road with an extra meal and water in case we get lost or hungry/thirsty on our way. Major cities are hours apart. I still remember in one of my past trips a long stretch of Jollibee signs which read "straight ahead" for a branch which was at least 30 kilometers away.

5) Transportation - Check: a) car fluids like coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and engine oil (and even the wiper fluid), b) tires -- check the treads, inflation, nuts, and the spare tire c) electrical - all front/rear/interior lights and dashboard instruments, d) windshield cracks, e) brakes, f) aircon, g) wiper, h) battery, i) toolset. Expect a lot of trouble (and higher chances of meeting San Pedro) if any of these are not OK.

6) Fuel - the rule is to always keep the fuel tank at least half-full throughout the trip. Full tank offers the flexibility to take sudden side trips and will help you avoid using the gasoline in Pepsi-litro bottles (the ones used by motorcycles).

7) Driving hours - As much as possible I should be in major cities by sunset. It's hard to get help at night in the middle of rice fields and barely populated areas. Also, try to keep the car's exterior clean as the dust traps daytime heat and builds up moisture at night.

8) Camera - would be wise to bring the charger and borrow extra batteries and empty memory cards for those memorable photos from the trip. Polarizing filters too for those awesome scenery shots that will make you cry.

9) Clothes - 1 set per day, plus 2 extra sets for sweaty days, and 2 sets for water activities. 2 pairs of sandals for wet/muddy and dry locations, 1 cap, shades. Bring socks if you want to look funny.

10) Bags - 1 for valuables, and another for stuff I can leave in the car or hotel.

11) Entertainment - CD's or music players, PSP, etc. for the boring parts of the long trip and in case your companions turn lousy.

12) Cellphone - for emergencies, and for reporting needs.

13) Plastic bags - for dirty/wet clothes, and for camera/cellphone protection.

my rough plan

Baluti Island (Real, Quezon)

2008-03-23T13:29:00.011+08:00

[Mar 21 '08] This is the first time I'm buying my own fish, fresh from a public market in Ungos. There are no restaurants in Baluti Island so if we want lunch there, we have to do some cooking. I don't know how to pick good fish... seriously they all look the same to me! For a moment I thought things like "red tide", "is this fish rotten?", and "where is the nearest hospital?". It's so stressful, but I don't want to end up traveling 100+ kilometers just to eat canned Ma Ling or Corned Beef.

I ended up with -- yellowfin tuna. I asked the seller to prepare it so that all we have to do later is just put it on fire and eat it. She did some Mortal Kombat with the fish before handing it over to us... it was the bloodiest man-fish action I have ever seen live.

Rice is another whole new cooking problem so we didn't bother to try anymore. The fish is just too much for us. We got some soy sauce, tomatoes, calamansi ... At this point I don't know how we'll slice them without knives.

(OK, enough of the food, back to the trip..)

We took a short tricycle ride from the market to the port area. After that is a 10 minute boat ride to Aranda Beach Resort.

Upon reaching the island we rented a small hut where we could sit and have some shade. Locals here find it quite comfortable to talk to tourists, they even sat with us at the hut. From here we have a nice view of the magnificent Sierra Madre mountain range (the country's largest).

For the food... uhm, we found a sari-sari store there and they offered to cook the food for us. They don't grill fish but they fry it and we took the offer anyway to save us all the upcoming cooking trouble. Luckily we also found out that they had extra cooked rice at that time.

While waiting for our food we also had the opportunity to meet Dr. Aranda (the resort owner). He's been spending a lot of time developing the area, and it's so far so good. There are huts and places to sleep, the sand is mostly free from debris, they have a sari-sari store, water supply is ok. Job well done! Hope to see more major improvements in my next visit!

We had our lunch and went back to Merly's (restaurant which also happens to be my basecamp in northern Quezon) in Barangay Tignoan to prepare for our visit to the nearby falls.

[about 3 hours later we came back from Balagbag Falls]

Back at Merly's we had yet another delicious serving of her cuisine. Everytime she cooks, the food beats my expectations and I have ever since been excited about what she will prepare for the next meal. It's not like Gerry's or Dencios but compared to provincial food standards in Quezon this is already very good.

We took the seats at the rear end of Merly's and got a rare wonderful surprise.

I wonder if the patrons ever knew how nice this spot was. Table beside the river (which is by the way a flat piece of land during daytime) plus excellent food and a beautiful moonlit backdrop give us the perfect ending for our short roadtrip.

Last snap...

Balagbag Falls 2 (Real, Quezon)

2008-03-22T15:36:00.008+08:00

[Mar 21] I made a quick visit to my favorite falls to see what it looks like as the dry season starts. (my last visit to Balagbag Falls)

The lower basin still looks the same except for the cemented structure connecting it to the upper basin. It didn't look natural at all and I'm not sure why it's there.

Upper Basin

There's more water flowing this time because of the rains in the last few days. I got a good back massage by standing where the water falls and it's strong enough to be painful after some time.

I tried to climb it halfway up... not exactly safe but fun!

Beaches in Infanta, Quezon

2008-03-22T14:29:00.004+08:00

[Mar 20 '08] The first 3 hours to Infanta was a very pleasant ride. This is the second time I was able to precisely schedule my trip to experience a very nice sunrise drive along a stretch between the towns of Morong and Tanay (Antipolo route). If coming from Ortigas, the best time to leave is around 4:30 to 5:00am.

At the end of the highway from Famy to Infanta, we reached a junction and asked for directions on how to get to the beach resorts. The only way there was through a narrow rocky road in the middle of the rice fields - a little over half an hour of nothing but rice, rocks and rice and rocks and the fear of accidentally steering into the muddy field. At the end of it is some highway which had a one-way access back to Real (what the hell? it's a wide road, why not make it two-way?).

We asked the locals in the area for the best resorts and they pointed to Cote D' Azur. We had a look inside, and it was quite good for a provincial resort. The price was too high for us though (about 4000 pesos for a two-bed unit) so we had to find someplace else.

It was difficult to check resorts even if their entrances were lined up along the highway because I had to drive about 300m in and out of dirt roads for each. We found Blue Pavillion resort there and got a place with reasonable price.

It was about lunchtime already when we arrived and realized that they don't serve any food at the resort. Wow, the nearest restaurant was several kilometers away. A restaurant/bakeshop named Queen Cake seemed popular (and we didn't seem to have any choice) so we tried it... well, let's just say the food was edible.

Refrigerators are somewhat rare in this place, and most of them are in the town center. We had to buy ice to keep our beverages cold at the resort. While at the town center we took the chance to ask locals about tourist spots in the area and (sad to say) it was the beach and nothing else.

I almost forgot about the beach... hehe. Frankly speaking, it wasn't at par with what I expected. The water about 50m away from the coastline is a nice deep green and fades to deep blue. At the shore however is brown sand and a lot of other stuff like tree trunks, stones, and logs. At the very least I expected a well maintained beachfront.

I stayed here only until the evening since dinner (and breakfast) was a problem again.

I think the local tourism council will have to work much harder to generate visits here. With the completion of the Marikina-Infanta highway I'm hoping that they can get these beaches in top shape.

Winning Streak!!!

2007-11-28T22:45:00.000+08:00

I can't believe just how lucky I am... look at my inbox!

Thanks to the Internet, I'm such a winner!

Singapore Nightlife and Food (Oct 2007)

2007-11-04T01:04:00.000+08:00

Boring periods in between business meetings in Singapore brought me to lots of nice places to eat and party and eat...

[Dinner] Tonkichi Japanese Restaurant -- mostly Katsu on the menu. Tried Salmon Teriyaki Ju (on Rice) and it is delicious, though abit expensive for the quantity. There are also some curry and udon dishes which I haven't tried. Fried softshell crab is ok, becomes very delicious with vinegar sauce. The best part is the dessert -- Mochi Ice Cream! Menu: http://www.pokkafood.com.sg/tonkichi/ Location: 350 Orchard Road, Level 4 Isetan Scotts, Shaw House, Singapore.

[Dinner] No Signboard Seafood Restaurant -- Turns KFC into Finger-Licking Crap. After touching their crabs I wanted to eat everything by hand! Chili Crab, White (or is it Black?) Pepper Crab, Crispy Cereal Prawn, Sambal Kangkong, and a mountain of Buns and Fried Rice! Also mixes well with a cold glass of Tiger Beer! There are still a lot of special dishes that I want to try here. Website and Menu: http://nosignboardseafood.com/ Location: 414 Geylang Road, Singapore or in Vivo City (see other branches in website)

[Dinner] Bungalow Tapas Bar & Grill - Wagyu Beef, Salmon, Gambas, and more Wagyu Beef. The outdoor ambiance at night is ok especially during cold months. Food here is good for sharing, making it easy for people to talk (the team for this project I'm working on went for dinner as a group for the first time here and it was ok). Website: http://www.bungalowtapas.com Location: 101 Thomson Road, United Square, Singapore

[Lunch] Wee Nam Kee (Hainanese Chicken Rice) -- is the place in Singapore they say that has really good Hainanese Chicken Rice. Yes it tastes so good and it's very well complemented by chili sauce and the ginger sauce. The only thing I found strange is that some pieces had blood on them but they didn't seem to care. I only ate the well-cooked parts though. Location: 275 Thomson Road #01-05 Novena Ville, Singapore

[Dinner] Swensen's -- This is supposed to be an Ice Cream bar (ala Icebergs) but the food is thankfully good. Swensen's used to be my favorite, I am just not sure why but when I tasted it again it wasn't as magical. The Crayfish Pasta is still my favorite there, and the rest goes to the American stuff (burgers, fries, platters, etc). Website and Menu: http://www.swensens.com.sg Location: Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road, Singapore

[Nightlife] Ministry of Sound (MOS), Singapore -- it was midweek when we got here. Not too many people at 9pm, but the crowd starts growing at midnight. They had several rooms with different themes... 70s, 80s, House, Hiphop/R&B and maybe some few others. There was one song when they let out all the foam and bubbles (just one shot?), it was fun! You'll just need to ask around to get here. Website: http://www.ministryofsound.com.sg/ Location: Block C, the Cannery, River Valley Road, Clarke Quay, Singapore.

[Nightlife] Saint James Power Station -- Movida, Bellini Room, and Gallery Bar are just some of the few. SJPS is a 70,000 square feet collection of bars making it larger than MOS. This is the ultimate in Singapore nightlife (for now), with guests of all races, wide variety of party music, and an option to take part as spectator (2nd floor rooms). Website: http://www.stjamespowerstation.com Location: 3 Sentosa Gateway (near Vivo City), Singapore.

[Dinner] Kuishin-bo -- Authentic Japanese Buffet Restaurant. I like their giant crab legs (they have more meat than a whole alimasag) and beef teppanyaki which is always newly cooked (upon order). Every dish here is better than Saisaki in my opinion and they say a lot of people come to Suntec just for this. You even have to make advanced bookings to get inside on full days. Oh, and by the way, drinks are free flowing too. Website: http://kuishinbo.com.sg/ Location: 3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Tower 1.

[Breakfast/Lunch] Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts -- the free breakfast that comes with my hotel stay. It's one of the few hotels I know that has a breakfast set that shows they understand what regulars want -- the usual basic stuff + a good variety of dishes to make every breakfast taste different. I think RP can beat the 5 star hotels when it comes to this area. Lunch is also great, I can't remember the dishes because they were just too many. Website: http://royalplaza.com.sg/carousel.php Location: Scotts Road, Singapore.

[Dinner] The Tapas Tree -- Tapas again, this time we had Paella Valenciana (chorizo, chicken, mussels, squid, shrimps, fish, vegetables, and eggs). We also got the usual chorizo and gambas. Their Caldereta de Vaca con Patatas is my absolute favorite here. They also have a trio playing nice songs in Spanish (sometimes sounds familiar like when you hear Tagalog versions of English songs that never got played on TV) Website: http://www.thetapastree.com Location: Clarke Quay, Block 3D, River Valley Road.

[Nightlife] C Clinic -- Somewhere in Clarke Quay... I found this unusual place where 1) people are seated on silver wheelchairs, 2) in between seats there are hospital dividers, and 3) some drinks are served like dextrose bottles. I got seated under operating room lights and get a sense of both cool and weird.

[Nightlife] Hed Kandi Bar -- Somewhere in Clarke Quay ... nice lights, posters, and TV flicks ... but where is the crowd?!?!

Jumbo is not yet on the list... hmm...

Post more when I'm back :)

Ilog Maria Honeybee Farms (Silang, Cavite)

2007-11-03T22:11:00.000+08:00

I've heard of this place before but never got here or barely knew what was in there except for honeybees until today. I drove home from Tagaytay via the Coastal Road route (Aguinaldo Highway) and saw this road sign marked Ilog Maria somewhere near Km47 (this is about 7km from the Tagaytay Rotonda)... I turned that way and went past a 700m dirt road, several cows, lots of grass, little houses, and surprisingly, not a single bee was in sight.

At the end of the road there is a store resembling a half-completed house where you can park in front, and then a fenced, 2 long lines of about 15 white boxes (beehives) each on one side of it. A sign on the store reads "No Blowing of Horns"... yes, the busy bees are serious about very silent and conducive working environments. The air is fresh outside, not even the cow gases made it here.

I got inside the store and saw all these ladies (about a dozen of them at that time) with nice wooden baskets, picking up stuff and sticking them at their noses then putting them back. The next lady would do exactly the same. I also did the same, getting that nose-to-nose effect (without having to use the basket of course). The soaps smell really good, even those with added scents like carrot, cinnamon, eucalyptus, ginger, lavander, milk, rosemary, and spearmint. They also got a selection of oils, gift packs, coffee, candles, shampoo, bath salts, toothpaste all made with honey!

On another side of the store there were kids playing near the beehive display (live bees!) I got close and took a shot, careful not to knock it off.

... and then at the back side (the structure that looks like a hat on the first picture) there's a small museum (Museo Sa Ilog) which I think is only set up whenever there are organized tours to this location. A quick look at the tour packages makes me want to come back and hear the buzz about the bees.

Now I have stuff to bring home aside from the usual Collette's :) Mum liked the soap, and I tried the honeybee throat spray -- it worked! My weeklong sore throat is gone!

For more information check out http://www.ilogmaria.com/. All product catalogues, maps, contact details, are also on the website.

Mobile Blog (test)

2007-10-15T13:04:00.000+08:00

this is my first mobile blog entry. done with the iphone over wi-fi network in royal plaza hotel in singapore. cool...

iPhone Update!

2007-10-07T21:50:00.000+08:00

I was about to get my iPhone during a trip to Singapore last week but the price was much higher (S$1000+) than the listed online price (US$399). Just yesterday I also dropped by at Greenhills and saw that it has also been selling there for over a week now. Prices started around 50k and it's now somewhere at 30k. I felt lucky after deciding not to get one for now after hearing news of a software update (firmware version 1.1.1) released by Apple a few days back that killed unlocked iPhones.

The added features in general don't make the iPhone significantly better (and majority of the users probably haven't expected any of these), but it seems hardware/software capabilities of the device have not been maxxed out yet. This could mean more updates to come bundled with tougher cracking and hacking protection. Here's a quick list:

iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
Louder speakerphone and receiver volume
Home Button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls
Space bar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space
Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape
Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be re-ordered
Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar
Support for TV Out
Preference to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally
New Passcode lock time intervals
Adjustable alert volume
A bunch of security fixes for Bluetooth, Email and Safari

... and the bad news -- For those who bought the unlocked iPhones, they are probably still in the 1.0.2 version -- and if they downloaded and install the latest update, they might no longer be useable (dead!). If they try to downgrade it back, the phone functionalities might no longer be available and it turns into an expensive iPod Touch.

The 1.0.2 version works fine with 3rd party software (which by the way is free or cheaper, and sometimes with better functionalities) while the 1.1.1 unlocking tools are 'in progress'. I am waiting to see this happen before I get one, so I can have a better estimate of how fast and reliable the "developer community" will be against Apple's standards. If the unlocking tool doesn't come out until the Asia release, I'll just buy straight from Apple stores.

My Photo Contest Entry (Transit Magazine)

2007-09-16T01:30:00.000+08:00

The picture from my Majayjay Falls entry appears in the update page of the "On the Go, Lokal" photo contest by Transit Magazine!!! It's one of the 200+ entries... well it really doesn't mean anything at the moment, but I'm very hopeful that one of my entries wins me a prize :)

The prizes:

1st Prize: Tickets for 2 to Palau + Red Fox Gadget
2nd Prize: Tickets for 2 to Batanes + Red Fox Gadget
3rd Prize: Tickets for 2 to Cebu + Red Fox Gadget
Consolation Prizes: Electronic Gadgets & Gift Pack from Red Fox + other GCs

I'm excited!!!

My Data Architecture and Multiply

2007-08-27T23:43:00.000+08:00

This is a not-so-rough sketch of how my data is organized:

(click image for larger version)

The reason that I started to use Multiply.com actively is because it's able to keep and organize all the information I intend to have online. It neatly imports my blog data from blogger.com, photos/videos from my PC, and my favorite funny videos from YouTube -- with no crippling storage limitations and I hope it stays like that.

Having seen Multiply's interconnectivity with Blogger and Youtube and other video sites, I'm hoping that they could extend it to allow importing contact lists from Friendster because right now the best they can do is give you an invitation badge for display on your site. Also, if they can add more information to the member profile page I believe they can easily win the Friendster crowd; it's mostly about profiles anyway and Multiply already does better when it comes to connections (relationships).

Next is Multiply's crappy calendar. They're tied nicely to the updates and can be arranged neatly through tags. I'm not sure how they can prevent the same public calendar event appearing several times on the My Multiply page (ie. if 3 people put X's birthday in their calendars it comes out thrice), but while there's no solution to it yet regardless of the platform, they could have taken advantage of links with existing performers in the field like Google for now. If they can do automatic calendar updates with Google Calendar it would be great.

Reviews, Links, Music, Groups are items I have rarely used and disabled in my page for now. For me, they're as good as they should be.

Email... I'll stick with what I have. IM's ... I don't think they will succeed if they build their own, but if they could just add some buttons at the profile page to launch a YM window that's as far as it goes.

Overall I'm still happy with the setup, they just have to fill the gaps (red dotted lines). Multiply is still the most complete social networking package for me.

My Digital Image Workflow

2007-08-26T02:19:00.000+08:00

I've come up with my own simple workflow to produce better quality images on my blog. I haven't ever taken any training on digital photography, so I'm still expecting the output of this process to be amateur grade images.

1.0 Pre-shot: Initializing Camera Settings
-----------------------------------------
1.1. Set shooting mode (Av is my favorite)
1.2. Set aperture (usually biggest, or sharpest f-stop)
1.3. Set flash mode (usually disabled to use natural lighting)
1.4. Set focus point (useful for stationary objects)
1.5. Set focus mode (usually AF)
1.6. Set WB mode (depending on lighting)
1.7. Set ISO (initial 400)

2.0 Pre-shot: Adjustments
------------------------
2.1. Evaluate shutter speed
2.2. Minimize ISO setting
2.3. Initial shot
2.4. Adjust Exposure Value (based on Histogram)

3.0 Final Camera Image
---------------------
3.1. Take Final Photo

4.0 PostProcessing
-----------------
4.1. Download Original Images
4.2. Adjust Levels/Curves
4.3. Adjust Saturation (usually +10 to 30 depending on emphasis)
4.4. Image Sharpen
4.5. Adjust Brightness/Contrast (for increased sharpness)
4.6. Crop Image
4.7. Save Image to PostProcessed folder (ready for printing)

Natalie Dee Art

2007-06-13T00:20:00.000+08:00

Cute website with a lot of funny and interesting pieces of artwork, by Natalie Dee. This link was shared to me by Lor. Here's one of them...

More at nataliedee.com

How to detect BS

2007-05-29T21:29:00.000+08:00

I came across a nice article written by Scott Berkun on the topic of detecting BS (bullshit).

He starts with a philosophy of lies... and points out three reasons why people do it:

1) to protect themselves
2) sometimes it works
3) people want to be seen as better than how they see themselves

and then he shares some BS detection tools to help sniff it out:

1) Question: How do you know what you know?
2) Question: What is the counter argument?
3) Time and pressure
4) Never agree to more than your trust allows

Typically if someone ignores these things there's a high chance that BS is present.

More on the detail subject at http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/53-how-to-detect-bullshit/

Taytay Falls (Majayjay, Laguna)

2007-05-28T20:10:00.000+08:00

I spent last Saturday on a daytrip to Majayjay, Laguna to have a look at the not-so-rarely visited Taytay Falls. The first big mistake we made was leaving past 7am that day because the traffic was already heavy from SLEX all the way to Calamba Exit. Both the Alaminos and Los Banos routes were moving very slowly so it didn't seem to make any difference from this point. We headed east through Los Banos, Bay, Calauan ... then got directions from locals to a secondary road that skips San Pablo and goes straight to Nagcarlan. From Nagcarlan we drove to Liliw (some confusing roads as we went through this town) and then Majayjay.

There were small road signs that pointed to the falls, and the roads were narrow for about 7kms until we reached the entrance where we were charged 10 pesos for bringing in our vehicle. A few more kilometers of very narrow two-way roads... and we were at the registration point. Each person had to pay 20 pesos (I think it's more if you stay overnight) and sign on some logbook.

We took our backpacks and walked for about 1km. The path was safe and easy, they had a narrow cemented walkway and handrails, and very little obstacles. It was weekend so there were A LOT of people in the area. Some of them even had tents and cookware.

There were some people above the falls area and a path going up from the left side where a small grotto stood, so we thought there would be less people and cleaner water in that area. There was a warning sign though that people shouldn't go up here, but I think they didn't mind the danger to get a good view from above. Along the steep path was a small gate which was sealed with chickenwire, and a very narrow space on one side where one person could barely pass through (really very dangerous because the rocks there are slippery and the chickenwire is the first thing you will hit if you slip).

The water was ice cold up there, actually, enough to make my hands numb... it took a short while to get used to the cold water. We were the only ones there for some time until a few more stopped by, but it wasn't enough to crowd the area.

We spent about an hour up there until the sky turned dark. I had my camera with me and could sense heavy rains so we started to pack up and leave before it gets damaged (I just paid off the first installment so it's going to be painful) and the situation becomes too dangerous to go back down.
The rain started pouring when we got down so we had to rush back to the jump-off point for cover. Fortunately, we had our stuff waterproofed so only the bags got wet. I still had to run because I was afraid some moisture might get into the electronics I carried with me.
More bad luck on our way back -- we got semi-flat tires! We had to drive another 7km back to town before we totally run out of air on the tires (we didn't check the spare so it wasn't an option during the heavy rains). At the vulcanizing shop we just found out that there were no holes, so we knew it just wasn't inflated properly from our last gas stop.
After that, we decided to head to Tagaytay for dinner. It was past 6 when we stopped at a gas station (in Sto Tomas, Batangas) and found out that if we headed east from here, it would be unsafe because the route was mountainous and sparsely populated. A passerby also suggested that we take Sta. Rosa to get there. The traffic was still bad by the time we crossed SLEX so we decided to go back to Manila.
Just less than a kilometer from the exit to the expressway we saw Leslie's (where we were supposed to eat in Tagaytay). They say this restaurant was popular for their Bulalo. Well, it wasn't bad, the soup was fine, but I think they have to find a way to make the beef less chewy. That was it... we paid and headed home through heavy traffic again.
Next time we'll plan to do travels way before sunrise. I think I got so used to easy driving on holidays.

Happy Mothers' Day!

2007-05-13T22:53:00.000+08:00

Happy Mothers' Day :)

[Exclusive!] Cutest Dog On Earth Smiles

2007-05-12T20:25:00.000+08:00

I think we own one of the most fake-looking dogs on this planet. It looks more like a toy than a dog. You can actually program some stuffed toy to imitate its actions since most are really no-brainers -- barking, panting, running, eating, sitting, jumping and producing all sorts of nasty excretions -- and still end up with the same stupid dog we named Bruce. ... until one day... he did something unusual in front of the camera...

We tried to take a few pictures of Bruce. He was snobbish at first, just looking everywhere as if no one was around. We kept moving to the spot where Bruce was looking until he noticed we were trying really hard to get his attention...

The camera sends him a strange signal and Bruce starts to stick out his tongue, really weird (if a dog isn't sweating, panting, or yawning this shouldn't normally happen)...

we removed his harness ... then he smiles like he could appear in "How Much Is That Doggie In the Window" if it had an MTV in 1952 -- what the hell?? He does it again and again so I caught one.

After that I tied him up, "Bruce, what you did today was wrong, it was wimpy and sucky. This doesn't really match your macho image and the Arnold Schwarzenegger power-moves you showed last week when you bit my brother's hand." I posted this entry to humiliate him.

Barbie Almalbis Photo Ops in Edsa

2007-05-03T21:20:00.000+08:00

I've been trying take a good shot of Barbie - in that very nice Bayo poster - along Edsa - every morning - for 3 days already - using my phone camera...

... until I found out that this picture was just a click away, crystal clear and in full-color in Bayo's website. Now I don't know what to do with it so I paste it here. OK, end of story.

Well... nothing, just one of my little nothings (wrong grammar?) to get some fun out of my boring daily drive to office.

Here's another useless one... a really creative way of disposing your gum and its wrapper... I couldn't keep my eyes off it while it was in front of me.

This is the most meaningless post I have done in my entire blogging experience. Sheeesh.

Tahong (Mussel) Chips

2007-05-02T00:53:00.000+08:00

I am not sure if this one is new, but I was too curious to try this product after I saw the small banner on a Collette's store somewhere in Tagaytay -- Tahong Chips. They looked like nachos, but they were brownish and had dark spots (probably the crushed tahong). It also came with a small pouch of vinegar so I was already thinking chicharon and salt & vinegar flavored Tostitos (or is it Doritos?) I have never seen anything like it, but tried it anyway -- 20 pesos to kill my curiosity.

On the first few bites they were OK and tasted like dried seaweed or Nori, the one used for wrapping sushi. The vinegar somewhat helped to add to the taste, (it wasn't really bad) but after a few pieces I couldn't finish it anymore. I think the mussel flavor is too strong because just a few minutes later I could feel the ocean fresh aftertaste and was burping musselbreath already. I got the same result when I brought it home for the others to try... it was tough to finish this bag of chips.

Another site says this product is gaining popularity, but personally I found it weird for my taste.

Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas

2007-04-30T12:08:00.000+08:00

Just took an evening side trip to Tiendesitas and saw this nice huge playground for kids. I wish I could be 5 again ...

It was already past 11 and the kids were out. No nightlife for them...

OK. I'm glad I'm not five anymore.

Balagbag Falls (Real, Quezon)

2007-04-08T15:22:00.000+08:00

I haven't run out of nice places to try out -- last time I went to Famy/Siniloan (Buruwisan Falls) we were supposed to go this next spot which was about 45kms away, but my friend's car had to be back home the same day so it didn't push through. This is a long story so if you want to go to the nice pictures just scroll down.

I got another few days off from work and decided to drive there and stay overnight fearing I might not have enough energy to drive home 100+ kilometers the same day. Instead of the Antipolo route going to Famy, we took the south expressway route and then the southern edge of Laguna lake passing through Los Banos, Sta. Cruz, and Pagsanjan. It's not as scenic but it got us to Famy within reasonable time.

It was almost 6pm when we reached Famy so we had to decide on whether or not to cross the mountains to reach Quezon at night. We called up a resort owner to check if the road conditions are good and safe. They said it was fine so we took it on.

The drive from Famy to Real was a 40+ kilometer stretch, a very long, dark and almost 40% zigzagged path with plenty of almost hairpin turns and hundreds of road warning signs (like "falling rocks ahead"...OK!). I felt comfortable only at times when we would see locals walking or some houses with lights on along the way. We reached the eastern edge of Luzon about 1.5 hours later -- Real, Quezon.

We took Ocean Blue resort which was a bit pricey (2K at the time of our visit) maybe because it was holy week, though it offered a swimming pool and airconditioned room, and some discount. I'm not sure if there are resorts that offer similar stuff in the area, but since we weren't familiar, I just had to pick this. The info came from another blog that I went through so I assumed it was safe enough to stay here.

We didn't have TV in the room so aside from the pool, we went out and crossed the street to buy snacks in the sari-sari store just in front of the resort. The store owners were so nice to entertain us and give advice on what to do while we were there (Aida and her husband who fondly calls himself as the guy with just one leg) and also told us of a nearby restaurant owned by her sister (Merly's).

We tried Merly's for dinner. It was a videoke restaurant, and we sampled out anything that we could -- blue marlin, clam soup, bbq chicken and a lot of rice... all nice stuff to feed hungry stomachs. Roger (Merly's husband) sat with us and we talked about a lot of stuff while waiting and eating (from cameras, boats, nice travel spots, to business, etc... boy I was surprised by the richness of this man's experience). Later we were also joined by her daughter and her friend, and we continued on talking about so many things until late in the evening. They also invited us to join them next morning in Baluti Island (another white sand beach in the Real area accessible by boat). Just an added note... They have rooms for rent at a very good price (just drop me a note if you want contact details).

After dinner, we went back to Ocean Blue and got our much needed rest.

My sleep was cut short by a nightmare (I won't talk about this anymore). I got up at 5:30, maybe waited until 7:30 to feel really awake. I spent a few minutes outside to have a look at the beach at sunrise (left). The waves were quite strong (first photo at the top of this blog) but some were still brave enough to swim in the area.

We went around to search for restaurants within a few kilometers radius, but ended up again at Merly's. We got ham, hotdogs, cream soup with macaroni, bread and coffee... wonderful breakfast :) Sad to say we couldn't join the Baluti Island that morning because we had to leave early in the afternoon.

We got back and left our car at Ocean Blue, then got a tricycle which charged us with tourist rates... 150 pesos because of the very rough roads leading to the falls that they have to go through. Still, not bad if you start to think of the cost of vulcanizing for your car's tires. There's another 10 pesos entrance fee for the caretakers of the area. Also, at that entrance area, there's just another road beside it that leads to another waterfalls (Lunok Falls, harder to access because it requires a 1km trek).

Just 5 minutes of walking and we got to the front of the lower basin of the beautiful Balagbag falls.

There were just too many people in the lower area so we decided to climb to the higher basin. Up there it was more quiet and beautiful. I saw some people climbing this section halfway up.

Blablablablabla... and then back to Manila.

Egg Cooking in Ultra-hot Springs (Manito, Albay)

2007-04-08T14:17:00.000+08:00

[Bicol Trip Day 4-5]

We finished our whaleshark adventure early in Donsol so we thought of utilizing the remaining hours of the day to take a look at one final spot on the northeastern side of Albay -- Manito. The tourist spot market there is Balubagon Boiling Caves. It's supposed to be an area where you can see geysers shooting up steam from the ground. This is the last leg of our Bicol trip.

We started driving around 4:30pm and it was not so sunny anymore.

For me, this was the most scenic among the routes that we took in the Bicol area. It was the rockiest route for our whole Bicol trip, because plenty of landslides have destroyed some sections of the secondary roads there. About 10kms away from the central area of Manito, there's an excellent view of the mountainside, Poliqui Bay and Mayon Volcano. As we got closer to Manito, the road conditions were still getting worse (we tried to ask a government vehicle there what was going on and they said there was some project ongoing to fix the roads there), we also met a local couple riding a motorcycle on their way home. He told us that it wasn't a good time to go there because it was getting dark already. He was nice enough to guide us back down from the mountains, and offered to take us around the Balubagon area the next morning. This guy also mentioned that the water's heat there is enough to cook eggs, so we passed by some grocery to buy fresh eggs for testing.

We went back to Legaspi to find a place to sleep for the night (Reynaldo's, Washington Drive, Legaspi City). We went up again the next morning through the very rough roads and found our local guide waiting along the road (brothers Teddy/Jimmy Avion, I got their contact details).

After about 7-10 kilometers of driving we pulled in another young boy in the area to guide us to the geysers. It was another short drive, bypassing the Manito seaport (you can go to Romblon from here) and ending in a small spring where a few people washed their clothes and took the kids for a bath (that water was cold). Maybe they brought us to another spot. We didn't see any caves, just a spring, and a lake formation beside it.

On this small lake we could see steam rising from the water. I was expecting something different like steam erupting from the ground, but there was none, except for a few small holes in the ground with either steam rising gently (you can also hear the bubbly sound of water deep from these holes) or water boiling at the surface... anyway, the water was still too hot it burns the skin.

The water formation as we walked further down was wonderful, surrounded by plenty of greens in spite of the extreme heat we felt from both the ground and the sun. There wasn't much to do here so we started our mad-scientist experiment. We brought out a couple of eggs and dipped them into the bubbling waters (they didn't look clean so we wrapped the eggs in cloth and tied them with dry branches). In less than 10 minutes, we got our hard-boiled eggs!

We brought in some more food for our breakfast... ate these geyser-cooked eggs, and nothing more. I know this whole idea of bringing up eggs all the way up to this nasty mountain to cook them is crazy, but we had fun anyway :)

Whalesharks: World's Largest Fish (Donsol, Sorsogon)

2007-04-08T12:42:00.000+08:00

[Bicol Trip - Day 3 (and a half of Day 4), Part 3 of 3]

We arrived in the resort areas of Donsol at around 8 in the evening. The one the locals recommended was Woodland resort, but at that time an ambassador was there so it was closed out for security. The place we chose instead was Casa Bianca, one of the few that had cement buildings, good airconditioning and a balcony about the size of a badminton court.

We couldn't get a look at the beach again since it was late, so we just spent the evening arranging our trip to the middle of the sea. DOT had taken some control over the area so we found the prices to be consistent across offers. Luckily we were there way before holy week so we didn't run into a shortage of boats to rent. The local government only allows a limited number of tourist trips per season and there are local coastguards monitoring them, such that the ecosystem impact in that fish area becomes negligible.

Next morning we got up early and got into our boat. The seas were calm, and just about 15 minutes from the shore we could already their so-called Butanding (whaleshark), world's largest fish. I had difficulty taking photos from above the water because the sun's reflection was already too bright. We had to shut off our engines whenever we came close so that we wouldn't disturb or scare away the whalesharks. From above the water, they were superHUGE -- almost the size of our boat, maybe at least 5 meters long and over a meter wide. We saw a few more... and then blablabla it started to feel like watching aquarium channel.

The next part was even better. We rented some flippers, life vests, and snorkel gear earlier. This time we were going to jump into the water to swim with it and have a really close look. Sorry, no great fish photos from here. I couldn't take anything from google images because most are rare shots and copyrighted content (just look there yourself).

We found whaleshark model #1 ... it was moving slowly towards us from one side of the boat... by this time we were already seated at the edge with all the swimming gear on, ready and just waiting for the boatman's signal for us to jump.

"Jump!" he yelled, and we got into the water then followed our guide (the current was quite strong) to get closer to the fish. He pointed down at some point, and we started to look face down. I was immediately shocked with what I saw -- the front of the fish with its huge mouth going in my direction. Jaws!!! I recalled, then I totally forgot about my snorkel device and I scrambled up for air! I dipped my head down a second time, now I could see the body of this fish... big black skin with a grid of white dots. Looks good for a blanket design, but this species of fish is endangered, so no hunting of these, hehe. A few seconds later its tail seemed to be approaching my way again, so I tried to stay aside just at the right distance to touch the tail, but my goggle vision didn't seem right (it was farther than I thought) so I missed it.

We got back up after that, and searched around again for another one. This time I was disappointed because my flipper and goggles got out of place when I jumped into the water. I went for the flipper and lost the goggles. Just borrowed another one instead.

We dipped with a third one, and then just went around the area to look for more and take photos from above the water. We got some, but underwater shots would really have been the best ones. Too bad we didn't have any waterproof cases with us.

We had the engine turned off somewhere in the middle of the sea to have some snacks, then looked for about 5 to 10 more of these fishes, and went back to our island.

It was a great and unique experience! We have already driven 900+ kilometers south from Manila to get here, and the encounter with these large fishes was definitely worth it.

For more information and photos about whaleshark and its species conservation please visit www.ecocean.org and www.whaleshark.org

Cute Bread (Donsol, Sorsogon)

2007-04-08T11:29:00.000+08:00

[Bicol Trip - Day 3, Part 2 of 3]

After Busay falls, we headed straight to Donsol in Sorsogon where we could get to see their 'largest fish in the world' called Butanding (whaleshark).

We made a quick stop somewhere (less than 5km away from the resorts I think) to ask for directions and saw this little panaderia with bread in interesting shapes...

Crayfish and Alligator

Squid

Turtles

Pigs

Crabs