Quarter-life Vices

Gone for the weekend in Hong Kong (The Lazy Girl version)

2013-02-13T23:38:00.000+08:00

Ah, Hong Kong! A cultural melting pot of East meets West, with great shopping, good eats and good-looking people. It's a big city with people running around, streets that are gloriously confusing and a vibe that can only be exciting. Having said that, a 3-day jaunt on "Asia's World City", seems like a taxing endeavor especially when you are going to do it all by yourself (i.e. good riddance, boring tour packages!). However if you are well-traveled and have been there once or twice before, it should be fool-proof, right? Probably true. But sadly, not for us We admit that once we've been to a place before, we tend to be pretty stubborn in our ways. And lazy. Big time. This could be due to too much sun and salt water exposure. Or you know how you seem to be good at Physics and you think you got it so you end up not studying for the exam and then when you take the exam you "surprisingly" fail? Well, that's kind of what happened on our Hong Kong trip (And I really thought I was good at Physics!). So we end up missing the last cable ride to see the Big Buddha in Ngong Ping, not having time to see Takashi Murakami's exhibit at Gagosian Gallery in Central HK and (gasp!) having our dinner at Mc Donald's (a first in our international jaunts, mind you. KFC is of course another story). When will we ever learn that in big cities like Hong Kong getting from point A to B will take a lot of perseverance and time? This is a whole lot true when about thousands of people are also wanting to do the same things as you are planning to do and you are taking mass transportation-- because you are not on said boring tour package. Such are times when an itinerary is kind of important and time is sort of golden (aren't I the epitome of adulthood?)

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Bagasbas Beach: A Summer Surfing Diary

2012-09-09T18:18:00.000+08:00

(Note: This is a much delayed post. I've started writing it last May, 2012 and never actually gotten around to publishing it because I thought back then that it read like a chatty blabber. Then reading it now, I realized it's not so bad-- kind of like a comprehensible diary, if you will. Also there are no proper entries in the blogosphere about surfing in Bagasbas Beach so I thought I might do a little public service and tell about my amazing time there. xo-- K)

April 29,2012-- After an overnight stay at Tinaga Island in Calaguas, we are headed back home to Manila but not until we dropped by and checked out the surf at Bagasbas, also in Camarines Norte. I was actually a bit wary that the waters might be flat, as what is expected during summer. Oh, before I go on, I am in no way a surfer-- professionally or even an inch near amateur, I suppose, but I love to surf once in a while (the long board kind) and get wiped out most of these times. So maybe I am in no position to be saying that the water is flat blah, blah, blah but really, what fun is there in surfing on calm waters? And is that still called surfing? But before I consume you with my thoughts, I was quite happy to see as our van parked along the beach avenue, that the waves were there. One local surfer the I got to talk to told me that the waves in Bagasbas never actually goes flat even during summer months wherein some other surf spots become calm. I don't know if this is actually true but if I can compare with my trip to San Juan, La Union a week before, I would agree-- the waves in Bagasbas are much more surfable (there is actually no "surfable" word, I just made it up but you would agree it sounds right, no?). I also noticed that the beach is alive: people are everywhere and you can just tell that energy is pulsating in the whole area.

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Nomnomnom (or what I did pretty much all the time while in Ho Chi Minh)

2012-09-09T01:09:00.000+08:00

As much as I wanted to be the cultured and classy person that you all think I am, the truth is that I grew up watching cable TV. This affected me in so many ways: at 15 my dream job was to be a MTV VJ (fortunately, this has changed, else I will still be unemployed), I thought Rachel Ray was a genius making 30 minute meals (still do, but still can't make anything other than fried eggs in 30 minutes!) and "Oh Tokyo" at WINS made my day (seriously, bring it back. The host was so good at creeping out the Japanese-- The Japanese, of all people! She should be given an award). The cool life as I knew it existed on the tube and people in there seemed to have more fun than I do. Perhaps the ultimate life-changing TV show for me were the Lonely Planet series shown on Discovery Channel when I was a bright-eyed teen. It opened my eyes to the wonderful world and all the fun of traveling. They featured places like Paris, Thailand, New York and Havana and every time I would swoon and wish that I could go there someday. But no other episode of theirs has stuck in my memory than the one they had of Vietnam. To be precise, nothing in that episode has struck me more than when they started featuring food: Spring Rolls, Bahn Mi and bowls and bowls of steaming hot and delicious Pho. Oh. My. I used those two words way before you met Christian Grey, Ana Steele. And I am completely PG.

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Gone for the Weekend: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

2012-09-01T22:52:00.000+08:00

I have a friend, E, who balks at the idea of a trip to Ho Chi Minh. She complains that there really is not much there aside from the cheap North Face bags being sold there. But surely there should be much more to this city other than factory overruns right?

Right! For as soon as my friends and I stepped-out of our hotel on our first day in Ho Chi Minh, or Saigon, as it is popularly known among the locals, I knew that E could have been balking at the wrong city. The revving hordes of motorcycles winding through the roads of Ho Chi Minh is already a reminder that this is no boring place. Saigon is also well represented in the "East Meets West" adage of most cities for its history of being once the capital of French Indochina.

So before you go and buy your dirt cheap and brand-new backpacks, grab the most reliable one you have first and get ready to dance with motorcycles, be french with you architectural tastes, brush up with important history and open your eyes to a glimpse of life on the riverside (yes, get out of the city for a while!).

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Secret's out: Calaguas, Camarines Norte

2012-05-05T17:07:00.002+08:00

Sorry guys, I just realized that it has been quite a long time since we have posted anything on your favorite blog (can I get high fives for that?). But its summer! and we are very sure that you are too busy frolicking on some beach or catching flights overseas to even bother with a blog-- we are on the same page as you. Luckily, I get to have a bit of a downtime today to actually do a bit of writing about a place called Calaguas in Camarines Norte.

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Summer Inspiration: The Surfer Girl

2012-03-27T13:30:00.000+08:00

Image via tumblr.com

On this entry for our "Summer Inspiration" series, we are turning the ~~spot~~ sunlight on the Surfer Girl. Fearless yet fun-loving and ultimately cooler than anyone else, the Surfer Girl exudes a free-spirited vibe with a sunshine-y attitude in life. We can all learn a thing or two from these girls-- riding the waves can't be easy with surfing as is with real life but Surfer Girls know how to just enjoy the whole ride... and to get back on board when you wipe-out sometimes.

Summer Inspiration: Beach Babe

2012-03-24T09:04:00.004+08:00

French actress Brigitte Bardot is our poster girl for our Beach Babe "peg".

Summer is officially upon us. And by "us" I mean you, me, here and now in the wonderful Philippine Islands. It is understandable that many of us get giddy and excited once summer steps in and I have a couple of reasons why this is:

1.) Summer is our only "official" season in terms of the universal knowledge of seasons in a year. (Do not get me started with "rainy" season. It rains all the time here. Why not name it, "flodding" season instead? )

2.) With 7,107 islands in our country, the choices of your "summer spot" are endless.

3.) We all love a good reason to eat Halo-Halo and not feel too bad about it ("It's sooo hot, I need to eat something that will cool me off!")

4.) We can now embrace our skin tone with much gusto-- sun-kissed and tanned is in.

But before you start packing for your summer destination, we've rounded up inspiration to start it right. And since each one of us are different when it comes to getting our summer on, we are posting a series of these inspirations for each type of "Summer Girls" (now, why do I suddenly feel like breaking into that LFO song?)
.
On this entry, we are focusing on the Beach Babe (since there are a lot of us, naturally.)

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Coron: Simply Paradise

2012-03-20T23:56:00.003+08:00

"I often wonder about people who live in tropical destinations. What do their screensaverslook like?" - Comedian Derick Lengwenus

In a country where exotic summer destinations are aplenty, it will be quite rare for someone to easily

choose a favorite. But for your consideration, ladies and gents, how about, Coron? From the deep

abyss of its waters to the peak of Mt. Tapyas-- you could say that Coron is gorgeous from head to toe.

If you haven't been there yet, then you are missing big time on probably one of the most beautiful places

on Earth. Not that we've ever been to all the places on earth, but Coron is just too amazing for words.

Too amazing that I'll just shut up right now and let our captured photos do most of the talking.

"Seoul" Food

2012-03-03T22:26:00.010+08:00

Did you like my title? No? Yeah, I know I’m trying too hard on this “writing” thing. But before you dismiss my seemingly pretentious entry, I want to make a proposition: It will be delicious. I promise it will. Why? Well it’s because I will be telling you about what I ate during our trip to South Korea (Hence the title? Duh). It’s not hard to like their cuisine because IMO it is made to be liked and enjoyed-- not super fancy that you are intimidated to eat it (maybe Kimchi is an acquired taste but you can’t get any more democratic than cabbage), always generous in servings (even in the student meal categories) and if you are a carnivore, welcome to meat land, my friend (along with entrails and parts you probably would not like to know).

What we chowed on while we freeze our butts off in South Korea after the jump...

Lost in wintry Seoul

2012-02-18T22:34:00.008+08:00

Getting lost has long been Quarter-life Vices' theme when it comes to travel. Sure, we check what places are worth going but we never really strictly plan our days with a well mapped-out itinerary. This philosophy has proved well for us so far but how about getting lost in sub-zero temperatures? It could be a bad idea. Images of hypothermia and frostbite (an ear falling out, perhaps?) comes to mind. There's also the dowdy and plain ugly winter style for the novice cold-weather fashionista (puff-jackets with pom-pom bonnets? Or how about jeans with white cross-trainers?) Yes, it is so bad an idea that you want to forget about it. But the lure of extremely-low promo air fares and the beauty of a foreign land we've never been to has such a strong force that a bad idea could become a crazy one. And you know, crazy ideas have the potential of being the most fun. And who doesn't like fun? So here we are, starting 2012 with a c-c-cold winter in Seoul and a bit of Nami (which is even colder but we're already on that road of crazy so what the heck, right?).

To let you know how cold it was in Seoul during our stay, a quick look at the weather forecast on our phones provides the fact: -10°C or -8°, or -3° and one Thursday afternoon we got lucky: 0° Celsius! (yay, we could finally get that one layer of thick clothing off!) So, bundled up in a down jacket with a fur-lined hood and a bonnet with pom-poms dangling on the sides of my ear (two things I swore I would never wear but here we are), I braved the Seoul winter with P and T to be able to tell you that the term "dead of winter" does not apply to a city as vibrant and enigmatic as Seoul.

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Hotel Review: Hotel Sixty3 in Kota Kinabalu

2012-01-22T18:02:00.002+08:00

We've all had our share of "nightmare hotels" and we here at quarter-life vices are no exception (to our friends who were with us at Hundred Islands, 2006, you know what I mean). So as we continue to travel, we slowly begin to be more discriminating on the hotels/ inns we will be staying in. After a day of walking, hiking, swimming, snorkeling and shopping, it would be good to come to a nice place with no roaches or gross bathroom to welcome you. Before you say that we sound very picky, we say you probably haven't experienced being at the room at the back of the kitchen with no space to walk on and ta-da! with a very gross bathroom (that hotel in Pangasinan, I'm looking at you). It is one thing to be aware and have knowledge that you'll be getting very modest accommodations but it is certainly unacceptable to get startled at the striking contrast of your real room with what's in the promotional photos. Can you say, false advertising? We are all for budget hotels, places where you get value for money for sure but most times it is hard to reconcile your budget with your expectations. Sometimes, though we get lucky and we find a hotel that is almost perfect, we want to cry (or it is probably just that time of the month). That's just what happened to us when we stayed at Hotel Sixty3 in Kota Kinabalu.

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Eating for the Weekend in Kota Kinabalu

2011-12-30T14:34:00.006+08:00

Disclaimer: I would like to say that the photos didn't do those yummy foods any justice. I am not a food photographer and really, we are more of unable to control ourselves to devour food once the server lays them on our table. So a quick snap here and there then ready, set, go... So we here at Quarter-life Vices apologize for that and for our next entries involving food. Do not expect them to look appetizing but be assured that their sometimes already-eaten shots validates their worthiness on our blog. :)

Any trip to far-flung places merits at least a taste of the good food it has to offer. You have to agree that it is indeed a waste if you just spend every day on a foreign country eating McDonald's. And when you are in a place like Kota Kinabalu, you cannot disregard the fact that delicious food surround you, yes you've read it right-- food surrounds you in KK as in the smell of bread being baked next door envelopes you or the thoughts of mee and dimsum at the eatery across the street can haunt you forever if you never give in. Despite the food being generally pork-free because of the Muslim culture, we would like to tell you that hunger will not be your problem in Kota Kinabalu (maybe crossing the streets is, but that's another story).

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Gone for the Weekend in Kota Kinabalu

2011-12-18T01:54:00.002+08:00

I will admit, when P told me that we will go to Kota Kinabalu with our friend T, my initial reply was this: What's in Kota Kinabalu? Aside from getting to see Mt. Kinabalu, it seemed like a trip there wouldn't be that exciting. For sure, we initially thought of Singapore and all its shopping and gustatory delights but trying to get a cheap flight there on December is like trying to get George Clooney to settle down and get married (read: not gonna happen). So the cheapest flights of them all is Kota Kinabalu and since all the three of us are itching to make a quick getaway, it seemed at that time that any foreign land will do. Normally, making a haste decision like that will result badly but we were surprised that KK, as it is lovingly called, gave us one of our most memorable weekends ever.

The NAIA Experience: The Bad, The Ugly and The Good News (in that order)

2011-11-13T21:36:00.000+08:00

photo via skyscrapercity.com

NAIA just seems to be the target of many a scrutiny recently, having been voted as the worst airport to sleep in by Guide ToSleeping In Airports and now, CNN Go has placed it in the third spot for the World’s Most Hated Airports for 2011. Come to think of it, it could have been on the list since after the 1970s, as according to the said report, NAIA is “stuck in the 70’s”. And based on experience, no one would want to be in that era in 2011 unless it is a retro-themed party.

Surf trip to Baler

2011-10-09T16:06:00.006+08:00

I badly need sunlight. And while I believe there is an app for that, nothing still beats the real feeling of the heat warming up your skin and the slight breeze of the ocean cooling you out at the same time. Alright I do not just miss the sun's heat, I miss it particularly in the beach. Fine, I miss the beach and being able to surf the smaller, pretty waves that summer brings on the waters of Sabang Beach at Baler, Aurora. Since I am on an honest streak here, I am also going to tell you that when I just said the word "pretty" to describe the waters at Baler by no means do I mean absolutely. It is a surfer's paradise for a reason and that reason does not include my penchant for the smaller, boring, beach breaks to surf on (its the girl in me). On a great deal of the year, Sabang Beach's waves are quite big and fierce-- the types that can and may engulf a person alive-- if you are not out to ride it, that is. Surfers come out here most especially during September, October when the monsoon winds bring in the larger, testy waves that can only mean great for them and can just mean plain scary for any other non-surfing person or even to those less-experienced surfer-types (i.e. me). So as a way to muster up my guts (and the skintight rashguard tells me I do have lots of those) in surfing on a non-summer day, I am going to tell the tales of what went on during a surfing trip I had with friends on last year's summer.

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Browser extensions to make Facebook likable again

2011-09-24T21:55:00.001+08:00

Confession Ecard via someecards.com

Are the recent Facebook changes driving you nuts? Yes? That makes two of us. No actually, that makes millions of us. If rants on your Facebook newsfeeds, twitter and other social networks are any indication, most are not happy about the recent changes in Facebook interface. I have this sneaking suspicion that Mark Zuckerberg and his minions are testing users on how far they are willing to go in allowing changes that may invade their privacy, track their activities and basically just ruin an otherwise pleasant moment(i.e. your boss suddenly being able to view your "Wild Bora Nights" album. In which case, having "Wild Bora Nights" for an album title is a bit cheap, don't you think?). Of course, there will come a time when you have had it with all that tweaking and redesigning of your social networking world and you will just: a. Delete your account (yeah, like you would do that), b. Join Google+ (which can and might actually be better than Facebook ), or c. Be realistic and have Facebook do what you want with browser extensions.

With all the smart-assery going on, Facebook will most likely not give an A about what you say because fact is, you are still going to use it. So quit the whining until you have enough Google+ friends to jump ship to. Meantime, read on to find the extension for your browser you'll Like.

9/11 in Images

2011-09-11T21:44:00.000+08:00

Tribute in Light installation by The Municipal Arts Society New York (photo via aceface.org)

Today marks the 10th year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of innocent lives and has shocked the whole world. I remember on that day in 2001 watching on CNN those United Airlines plane crashing into those two towers and feeling terrible for seeing it in such immediacy, having happened only a few hours ago. That was real-life, it was no Hollywood movie that one must see first, if at all. And yet, here we are as real-time technology would have it: informed and affected and just because we saw it. Vision is a powerful sense, and pictures paint a thousand words. Most news and media websites have recently created photo galleries to commemorate the tragic event. The photos are terrifying, unsettling, haunting and wrenching. All depict a certain moment, as if frozen in time, to tell a story of a day that will always be remembered.

Design Inspiration: Kate Hudson's gorgeous bedroom

2011-08-30T23:54:00.003+08:00

Photo via W Magazine

Hello to our growing number of loyal (and i use the term "loyal" very loosely) readers. From two, I believe this blog has gained one reader just because typhoon Mina decided to saunter along those three days of the long weekend, forcing almost everyone to stay at home and finally that one person to stumble across this blog. Obviously, our new reader has nothing better to do. But fear not, new reader, your idleness will not be in vain for just in time, I am going to make an entry after about 2 weeks of slacking-off. Yes I still wrote, even if I was left here at home while the other half of this blog goes somewhere not in the Philippine area of responsibility to enjoy the long weekend -and I hope to have something to write about when she gets home (P are you getting this?). Since we're all at home and probably just spending those rained-in days in our beds, I want to share with you this drool-worthy bedroom of Kate Hudson.

A night of debauchery calls for comfort food

2011-08-06T13:58:00.003+08:00

"Is that a turkey sandwich?" No need to ask a stranger for comfort food, Borough is here.
(Still image from "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist". Copyright 2008. Columbia Pictures)

So... we still have quite a hang over from the Incubus concert last Thursday. If you watched said concert and are watching that night's videos posted on youtube, drooling over the concert's photos and creating a playlist on your iPod titled "Incubus Manila tour 2011" (with the all the songs that they played on the concert arranged accordingly) then yes, you definitely have a hang-over with a bit of crazy mixed-in. We could go with the present mood and post something about the concert again or anything Incubus-related but then that would be a bit too much and most importantly we are not an Incubus fan-site. Instead, we are going to be stealth and talk about what we ate after the concert which is exactly what those intoxicated (with alcohol, drugs, music and/or delusions) need: good, hearty, comfort food.

Third time's always a charm: Incubus live in Manila!

2011-07-30T10:49:00.012+08:00

Araneta Coliseum (now, Smart-Araneta Coliseum) was filled to the rafters last July 28,2011 as Incubus played great music for their beloved Pinoy fans, making it the third time the band held a concert in Manila. We have to say, the crowd is still as enthusiastic and loud as the first time they came here in 2004 if not even more so. And boy, do the Filipino fans come in sold-out, coliseum-style throngs!

Food Tripping in Singapore

2011-07-23T11:44:00.024+08:00

Hawker centre. Image by Clarisse Hernandez.

We do realize that you, our loyal two readers, may think that this blog is having an Australian twang what with all the NSW tourist spots and that bit on Kylie Minogue. But be rest assured that Quarter-life vices is still committed to bringing you our meanderings from other places as well. Today, we felt particularly hungry and thought about all the gastronomic delights that one teeny city-state offers. Singapore may be small in size but it definitely measures up on our list of places to go on a shameless and delicious food trip. With influences from the Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures (not to mention the modern-day Western investors that have called it home in Southeast Asia) Singapore is indeed a culinary melting pot and the results are all the way yummy.

Our food-trip guide for the best chows in the Lion City, after the jump...

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Sand Surfing in Stockton Beach

2011-07-16T11:30:00.007+08:00

(Part 3 of Exciting New South Wales series)

I long have been amazed and been into the water sport of surfing that when someone mentions the word "surfing", I instantly know that they meant getting stoked on the waves out at sea; whereas before I would link surfing as synonymous to browsing the WWW. Can you imagine what a complete dork I was? Not that it changed, obviously I am still an Internet junkie. But now it seems that a new kind of surfing is here to haunt me: Sand Surfing; and of course, Australia has a place to do that (act surprised). As that country/continent where riding the waves is a natural past time, it is inevitable that those surfing skills will find a way in the massive sand dunes of Stockton Bight in Port Stephens, NSW.

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Design your life: Kylie Minogue's "Red Blooded Woman" Music Video

2011-07-06T23:26:00.001+08:00

I really like Kylie Minogue. Most of people who know me as that girl who professes her love of Incubus on a daily basis and blurts out indie rock band names out of her mouth like its basic knowledge; and yet those who are really closest to me can vouch that I adore Kylie Minogue. She just seems genuinely sweet and fun! And if I'll be able to look as good as her in my 40's then I am happy. When I learned that she will have a concert here in Manila (which was held last night), I was ecstatic and yet suddenly faced with a dilemma since Incubus will also be having a concert on the same month. If I have the money to dispense for expensive concert tickets, I could go to both but since my day job is my day job, I don't have that luxury. Eventually, my undying love for Brandon Boyd won which confirms that I am a Red Blooded Woman, indeed. So as it will be a good segue, click on after the jump to see key pieces in letting out your inner "sexy" as Kylie would have it.

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Dazzling Orient Cave at the Jenolan Caves

2011-07-05T23:21:00.004+08:00

(Part 2 of Exciting New South Wales Series)

Image capture taken from http://www.jenolancaves.org.au . All rights belong to jenolancaves.org.au

There was a previous post about Blue Mountains in NSW last month and in it, I mentioned Jenolan Caves as among the national parks you can visit in The Blue Mountains Heritage Site Area. The Jenolan Caves is one of the world's oldest and astonishing cave systems in the world. It consists of ten caves open for tourism but there are also many other caves in the area only accessible to cavers as they are quite complex . Some are even believed to be undiscovered.

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The Essentials: "Rained-In"

2011-07-02T20:13:00.003+08:00

Image By Frank Vincentz (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

With the past few weeks leaving the Metro wet, damp and soggy it is pretty safe to say that summer (and its shenanigans)here in our beloved islands is officially over. However, while waking up to a perfectly sunny day is one of the best, waking up with the sounds of raindrops on your window (preferably light, pitter-patters) on a weekend comes a close second (the worst? After a night of binge-drinking on Jägerbombs). With a rare opportunity to waste time at home, here are the essentials to make your "staycation" as cozy as possible. Comfy slippers included.

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