2014 Baguio finds

I find myself in Baguio from time to time and more often I end up on the usual familiar territory. There were quite a few new and noteworthy ones during this last visit though. It really is good to travel sometimes with other people who know the area.

1. Visco's at Session Road

Believe it or not, it was my first time here even though we've been going to Baguio since I was born. My parent's hometown was nearby and Baguio was pretty accessible. Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to try the famously delicious strawberry shortcake. Will have to make sure next time.

2. Manhattan suites/hotel

I am not sure where this was (I mean in Sepic road but it's not walking distance to Burnham or anything) but the places was relatively new and it had those neat accents all over. The view from the room balconies are not much and consist mostly of shanties.

3. Ketchup community

We probably mostly just ate in Baguio. This one was near Wright Park and tends to get packed. This is a popular place to eat and you have a few choices of cuisine to choose from. You can think of it as ~5 outdoor restaurants with its own dining space enclosed in just one gate and wooden fence. There's no central dining area so it's not a food court either. 

4. Holy Family Church

Nice church for a wedding.

5. Kaffeeklatsch

Probably the highlight of this trip. It's a hole in the wall kind of coffee shop with live acoustic music. The place does not feature a standard seat or tables but a mish-mash of different sorts in different nooks and crannies. Overall a great place to chill. We tried looking for alcohol but didn't find one. Supposedly some of our friends saw some though. Somewhere near Legarda, the entrance gives little hint of the treasure you'd find inside. Maybe it's one of Baguio's little secrets. This deserves a visit when in Baguio.

6. Cafe by the ruins

First time here as well. We were lucky to arrive just before the droves of people came in. There were quite a number of seats at 11:30am on Sunday but once it hit noon, the place easily filled up. They don't take reservations on weekends so better time it right. 

The food may be a little pricier than usual but I think they're fresh and good so it's reasonable.

Fast forward to August

While I don't like the fact that I'll be turning xx on August, all these Japan posts in my IG especially are just making me more and more excited. Then there's the news that they might allow visa free entry for us as well. Ack! Soo looking forward to August! It's a different season but I'm hoping it will still be great! Nonetheless, I'm also dreaming of visiting again when it's sakura time. 

When we booked our trip, I thought we had more than enough time to roam around but now I am starting to feel it will be hectic. I have to carefully plan the trip and prioritize to make the most of it hopefully with some help from friends. Oh the Japan fascination sure is back and partly thanks to the (Arashi) boys too! 

Seria and KB town photo walks

Because I'd flood if I posted them in IG so thought I'd post them here instead. Like I said there isn't much to see (at least for me) in this sleepy town but nonetheless took snaps of those that I found interesting.

Seria:

KB town by the river (I took some selfies haha):

I'm bored alright!

Rediscovering Arashi

As my friend and fellow fan puts it, once an Arashi fan, always a fan. It's been a few years since I last watched any of their subbed videos or their music videos or anything related. Sure I listen to their old tunes which I had from time to time but basically I lost track. It's fun to know though that they're still very much alive, famous, popular and active in the industry. Now, if only I knew Nihonggo...



Hopefully, I will get to visit (finally!) if only for a short time their country sometime soon. *fingers crossed

5 Criticisms Of How I Met Your Mother‘s Ending (And Why They’re Invalid) | Thought Catalog

5 Criticisms Of How I Met Your Mother‘s Ending (And Why They’re Invalid) | Thought Catalog



Undeniably, HIMYM is a favorite considering the many HIMYM inspired entries I have in this blog. There's so much to learn and relate to in that series. They articulate realizations and thoughts that you are trying to form or grasp in an entertaining and creative way. I have not watched the whole series including the finale though and I've quite a lot to catch up on but I'm still sad that this show has ended. Whatever the buzz is on the season finale as it seems it was some sort of a mind-f*ck for a lot of people, I will still love this show and try to finish it. Nonetheless, the article above is worth a read (if you don't care about spoilers like me). I'm pretty sure that there are quite a number of "realizations" to take away from that finale. Nonetheless, this phrase from the article above seems very apt considering my state. Keep smiling and looking for that silver lining!


"If HIMYM has taught us anything, it's that if we want to see something legendary happen, we're going to have to wait for it."


P. S. I doubt that this will be the last HIMYM inspired entry for the series has not yet technically ended for me as I still need to do a marathon on a whole lot of episodes (like re-watching from the start).

Bicol 2013: Day 1 - Bulusan + Irosin

Sometime last year I blogged about my 2013 summer adventures. It's summer time once again in my beloved country and though I don't really have any plans considering that I'm mostly out of the country I thought I'd finally get down to sharing our Bicol itinerary. As I mentioned in my old post, blog entries have been very helpful in order for me to arrange our DIY Bicol trip. Since my other entries particularly the Calaguas one are not of much help, I hope this one would be more informative.

My mom and sister haven't been to Bicol but I've been there twice. The first time I went to explore the region I was able to enjoy: CWC, Mt. Isarog and Caramoan, Camarines Sur. The second time was spent beach-bumming in Calaguas and "surfing" in Bagasbas, Camarines Norte. I had to scour around the cyberworld for ideas that would take me to new places since I knew that there's still so much to discover in Bicol. The next popular ones left were the Butanding experience and the Legazpi ATV tours. I felt that it was lacking the beach experience that Bicol is known for so after some researching I finally ended up with the following Sorsogon+Albay combination:

Day 1: Bulusan Lake + Irosin
Day 2: Matnog Beach tour
Day 3: Legazpi City Tour: Cagsawa Ruins, Lignon Hill and ATV adventure

I had to give up the whole whale shark experience because we were on a tight schedule and on a budget. We originally intended to travel by land the whole time (minimum of 8hrs just to get to the region) so doing the whale shark meant skipping Matnog if we wanted to stay just 3 days. Also, we ended up splurging a little by choosing to fly back from Legazpi instead of the long travel back to Manila by bus. So we bought our bus tickets from Cubao near Ali Mall to take us straight to Sorsogon City on a Thursday Night.

Day 0, Thursday: 8pm: travel  to Sorsogon City from Cubao
Day 1:
From the Sorsogon City bus terminal, we took a tricycle to take us to the town proper where Fernandos Hotel was located. After checking in, we freshened up, tried to get our bearings and ate our breakfast. Before lunch time, we were on our way to Bulusan Volcano National Park:
From Sorsogon City, take a jeepney bound for Gubat. Travel time is 30-45 minutes. From there, you should take a Bulusan-bound jeepney and get off at Bulusan public market. Travel time is about 30 minutes. Ask around as to where the terminal for jeepneys bound for Irosin are, these jeepneys passes by the entrance to the Park. Travel time is about 30 minutes. At the entrance we got a tricycle driver who offered to take us to and from the park and to our next destination which was Irosin hot springs. I forgot how much the fee he asked from us was but I believe considering the distance, it was reasonable (no more than PhP500 for all three of us). Also, it turned out to be a good offer from the driver since the distance between the entrance to the park and the lake was quite a distance in itself already. However, you could immediately feel the cool "forest floor" temperature once inside. 

We learned that the volcano is still quite a distance from the lake and that you have to camp the night if you wanted to be at the peak during sunrise. The water was green owing to the colors of the forests/trees surrounding the lake. You can kayak or hike around the lake (with a guide) for a fee which we ended up doing both. The kayak was harder in my opinion since we were exposed to the noon sun. My mom cheated as she got one of the guides to kayak for her while she sat with her umbrella. The place is just too beautiful and serene. However, there is not much choice when it comes to food so better if you plan for your lunch elsewhere, arrange it with someone or bring your own for picnics.

After spending some time kayaking and hiking we then headed off to Irosin for our very late lunch. We were definitely starving. The hired trike from Bulusan to Irosin took us probably an hour or so. We were all sleepy from the sleepless bus commute from the night before. I had to bear it though since I was seated at the back of the driver. I couldn't possibly afford to fall asleep there! 

that side mirror shot.

At last we got to our destination and first on our list was to eat. There was not much of a choice but all three of us: me, my mom and my sister loved the Bicol express!!!

The San Mateo hot and cold springs Resort don't look much and not too inviting but I suggest give it a chance and take a dip. You'd definitely realize why it was worth going to after all, at least that's what we felt. The water felt really clean and invigorating!

Going back, we just took a tricycle and some jeepneys to Sorsogon City. It's not too scary to ask people around as they are honest and helpful enough for directions. The good thing was the tricycle and jeepney rides going back to Sorsogon gave us a picturesque view of the country side with a glimpse of Mt. Bulusan.

view from the Bulusan park