Japan 2016: Hitachi Seaside Park

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Kochia crimson. 😀 Look at them giant red cotton balls :))

Close-up of kochia

Cosmos

On the top of the hill, there is a bell called “Miharashi’s bell”. Many people waiting in line to ring it. The bell is located in the middle of japan and there is a sign showing its distance from Hawaii and Australia. http://tadaimajp.com/2016/05/hitachi/

Item	Amount(¥)	Remarks
Food	220.00	Breakfast
Fare	420.00	Yokohama Blue Line: Nakagawa to Azamino Station vv
Fare	780.00	Tokyo Metro Pass: Azamino to Ueno Station
Fare	2,270.00	Ueno Station to Katsuta Station vv
Fare	1,200.00	Bus from Katsuta Station to Hitachi Seaside + Entrance Fee
Food	730.00	Lunch @ Park (Ramen, milktea)
Food	228.00	Food @ Katsuta Station
Food	257.00	Dinner
Total	6,105.00

Naga 2017: City Proper

✩ San Francisco Church ✩

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPgnH_yBX6s

✩ Peñafrancia Basilica Minore ✩

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPgl6Z1hrB0

✩ Porta Mariae ✩

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPjC-OHBZpa

✩ St. John the Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral ✩

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPjFMeBhPlg

✩ Plaza Rizal ✩

✩ Plaza Quince Martires ✩

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPgmwJ0hvyP

✩ SM City Naga ✩

 

✩ 1st Colonial Grill ✩

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPe_QFPBuuH

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BPhaXpkBWOH

✩ Chef Doy’s Restaurant ✩

✩ Bicol Central Station Mascot✩

Naga 2017: Haciendas de Naga
Naga 2017: Panicuason

Expenses:

DLTB Bus from Cubao (2pax)	1,300.00
DLTB Bus from Naga (2pax)	1,300.00
Tric to Carolina Terminal (2pax)	16.00
Tric to SM Naga (2pax)	16.00
Haciendas de Naga (2pax)	550.00
CBD Hotel (2nights/2pax) Mobile:(0922)881 0735/(0917) 556 6609 Naga:(054)472 0318/(054) 811 2318	2,400.00
Tric to Panicuason Terminal (2pax)	16.00
Entrance to Malabsay Falls (2pax)	20.00
Entrance to Panicuason Hot Spring (2pax)	400.00
Tip to habal-habal	100.00
Tric to SM Naga (2pax)	16.00
Jeep to Centro (2pax)	16.00
Food Atlantic Bakery	9.00
Food Graceland Bakery	412.00
Food Chef Doy’s (2pax)	611.00
Food 1st Colonial Grill (2pax)	797.00
Miscellaneous (pasalubong, water, toiletries, etc)	206.00
Total	8,185.00

UPD: Sunflower Season 2017

Oyeah. It’s that time of the year when sunflowers bloom in UPD because it’s graduation rites all over again. Since sunflowers are <3, we try to visit this season in UP. After all, it’s not every day I get to be surrounded by tall stalks of my favorite flower. 😀

However, much as I’d like to be there when they are all in bloom along University Avenue, we always arrive a week later when most full-grown flowers are bowing down to their weight  (and at the same time, perhaps a week early because there are still young flowers small and cute enough to be worn behind your ears :)) Sadly, these are the one being picked by people. Never giving them the chance to grow stand tall in all their golden glories. 😦 )

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Naga 2017: Panicuason

✩ Mt. Isarog Nature Park: Malabsay Falls✩
After our Haciendas de Naga trip, nagpahinga na kami at kinabukasan ay nagpunta sa mas malayong bayan ng Panicuason. Gusto naming puntahan ang Malabsay Falls at Panicuason Hotspring.

Paglabas sa CBD, sakay lang uli sa tricyle papunta sa terminal ng mga jeep (PHP8.00 each). May mga mapagtatanungan na agad na mga barkers kung aling ang jeep papuntang Panicuason. May kaagahan pa kaya siguro mga 30 minutes pa muna ang paghihintay namin na mapuno ang jeep bago kami nakaalis.

At isa pa uling 30 minutes bago makarating sa bayan ng Panicuason. Pagbaba mula sa jeep, may 6 minutes na habal-habal ride hanggang sa jump-off point ng Malabsay Falls.
May mga magaalok na agad na mga habal-habal drivers pagkababa ng jeep. Wala naman din talaga ibang paraan bukod sa pagrenta ng private na sasakyan o paglalakad nang mahaba.

Naga 2017: Haciendas de Naga

Ang trip na ito ang medyo biglaan lang inayos. Ang nakaplano talagang out-of-town ay paglipad patungong South Cotabato. Kaso, nang dahil sa mga hindi kanais-nais na balita na may kinalaman sa pagkawala ng katahimikan at seguridad sa nasabing lugar, pinili ng grupo namin na huwag na lang ituloy ang South Cotabato trip.

Nafile ko na ang leave at sayang naman din, kaya napagpasyahan namin ni Edmund na gamitin na rin at gumawa ng sariling lakad. Hence, off we went to Naga. 😀 Hindi pa raw kasi siya nakakapagikut-ikot nang husto sa Bicol. Huling narating lang niya ay nang mag-Calaguas trip kami three years ago. At bilang ito rin talaga ang probinsya ko, gusto ko lang mas maging at home pa sa naging bayang sinilangan ng Mama ko.

Agad-agad akong naghanap ng matutuluyan. Sikat sa mga nahanap ko ang CBD Plaza Hotel. Mabilis lang sila kontakin, at matinong kausap. Hindi kailangan ng downpayment para magpareserve. Buti nalang may available pang room for 2 nights at 24hrs pa. Pwede rin early check-in, as long as walang guests sa room. At ang pinakagusto ko, isang tumbling lang siya sa bus at tricycle terminal. Pati na rin sa mga karenderya, panaderya, at SM City Naga.

Eto ang view paglabas ng bus terminal. At ang building na ‘yan mismo ang CBD Plaza Hotel. Daanan na rin mismo ng tricycle yang kalye na ‘yan kaya anytime pwede ka pumara. Amazing din na PHP8.00 lang palagi ang tricycle fare. Mas mahal ng piso kesa sa at that time ay PHP7.00 pamasahe sa jeep. Piso lang! Dito kasi sa Manila, medyo FX levels ang pamasahe sa tricycle eh. Tapos exponential ang pagtaas ng presyo kapag sa mas malayo magpapahatid.

Sumakay kami ng DLTB bus sa may Cubao. Gabi. Para itutulog lang namin ang 8 hours na byahe. Pero sobrang bilis ni kuya driver, nakakakaba sa daan na madilim at pakurba, hindi rin tuloy ako masyadong nakatulog. Bukas din kasi ang TV at hindi ko katabi si Edmund sa bus. Kaya parang 6 hrs lang ang byahe namin. Nakarating kami sa CBD around 7am siguro. :)) Buti nalang pwede rin magiwan muna ng gamit sa kanila. Hindi pa kasi kami nakacheck-in dahil may guest pa raw sa room. Kaya nagpalit muna kami ng damit at nagpasyang simulan na maglibot.

Cebu 2016

Our second time together in Cebu. 🙂 Sa sobrang laki ng Cebu, marami pa talaga kaming hindi napuntahan. We went south that time – Cebu 2014: Osmeña Peak, Cebu 2014: Oslob Whale Shark Watching. This year’s main itinerary included Simala Shrine, Kawasan Falls, Moalboal.

.-Simala Shrine-.

Inuna na namin ang Simala Shrine. Naisip ko na rin na apt place to start siya. Para makapagpasalamat sa safe flight at magabayan ang aming buong bakasyon.

It took around two hours via our rented van from Mactan International Airport. Two kuyas went with us. Mabait naman sila sa van at naintindihan naman nila kahit na tinulugan lang namin sila most of the travel time, mukha pa man din silang madaldal at ready silang maibida ang Cebu sa amin. :)) Pare-parehong mga wala pa kasing matitinong tulog. :))

Before we went down the van to go explore the shrine, kailan muna namin sumunod sa rules on proper attire. Common rule naman ito sa halos lahat ng simbahan. Binigyan din kami nila kuya ng prayer cards.

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Hindi pa raw talaga tapos ang construction ng buong shrine, ayon kay kuya. Taun-taon daw itong pinalalaki at nadadagdagan ng mga archways, bridges, walkways, chapels.

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Sa simula, parang ang onti lang ng mga makakasabay namin, pagpasok nga sa loob mismo, kaunti lang din makikita mong mga tao.

Pero ayun pala, nasa may likuran ng altar na ‘yan ang crowd. Hindi na ako masyado nakapagpicture kasi parang masyadong sagrado at maraming seryosong nagdarasal.

Evident din dito sa mga bagong tirik na kandila ang dami ng mga taong nagpunta.

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Sa tabi ng patirikan ng mga kandila, the shrine boasts of its miraculous healing as shown by the display of used wheelchairs, casts, crutches, etc. They were given by devotees to show that they no longer needed them because their faith in Mother Mary helped heal them. Alongside those, may mga memorabilias din ng pasasalamat – certificates, graduation tokens, bar examination passers lists, etc. Sobrang dami nito, isang malawak na kwarto ang occupied.

Sa next na room, makikita naman ang iba’t ibang mga images ni Mama Mary. Mga lampas bente yata sila. And they all come with stories sa ilalim ng bawat statues.

Ayan si Kuya. Nagbabasa siya siguro.

Last few group shots bago kami umalis.

.-Kawasan Falls-.

Matapos sa Simala Shrine, nagpahatid na kami sa Kawasan Falls. Mukhang walang iba kaming kasama sa simula, pero pagdating sa mismong falls, andami na rin palang nauna. :p

Nagiiba-iba presyo ng raft na ‘yan depende sa kausap. So find the lowest bidder. Haha. As for us, hindi na namin inattempt, kasi in general, masyado siya mahal. Maraming mga foreigners na mga nagaavail, though. For the experience siguro. Ang gagawin kasi, may magdadala sa inyo sa mismong ilalim ng falls, kanya-kanyang posisyon habang binabagsakan kayo ng malakas na pressure ng tubig. As for me and Edmund, nilangoy nalang namin with life jacket hanggang sa may dulo. :))

Tip: Kung kaya makarating dito nang busog o magtiis ng gutom, gora. Kasi ang mahal ng pagkain dito. 😦 PHP250 each kami, ordinaryo lang naman mga pagkain. 😦

Sinubukan naming umakyat pa sa ibang levels ng falls. Para maghanap ng spot na walang ibang tao. Luckily, nakahanap naman kami. 😀 We also saw a couple of tourists na nasa last stages ng kanilang canyoneering. Usually, last jump nila ang parteng ito ng Kawasan Falls.

Negros Oriental 2015: Apo Island

After Cata-al War Museum and The Forest Camp, we headed to Apo Island the following day. Ang aga namin umalis, around 5am? Went to the bus terminal and boarded a bus going to Malatapay Market. We arrived and I was imagining a market teeming with the hustle and bustle of morning preparations amid early market goers all vying for fresh produce, but lo and behold, as we climbed down from the bus, the market was still sleeping peacefully beside the beach. :)) So we were like, paano tayo kakain ng matinong breakfast, saan tayo kukuha ng babauning pagkain sa Apo Island. HAHAHA.

Empty Malatapay Market. Photo from Aubrey.

There were several inns/resorts as we went by the beach and decided that they must be serving breakfasts to guests/walk-ins at this hour. So pumili kami ng isang may mga tables and chairs sa harapan ng reception area nila at kinain ang baon naming mga budbod (from yesterday’s market stroll). It felt like we were trespassing. We waited for someone to come out and assist us, pero wala. :))  

Mt. Gulugod Baboy 2016

Similar with Mt. Talamitam, this is another one of those beginner-friendly mountains with a difficulty rating of 2/10. Seasoned climbers that we met along the way tell that this climb will only last for one (1) hour. Two (2) hours will be more than enough. But I learned not to put too much pressure on myself especially since wala naman akong exercise and hindi naman nampepressure ang mga kasama ko. They patiently wait kapag napansin nila na wala na pala ako sa likuran nila. :)) Aaannd, honestly, ngayon palang sasabihin ko na na mas mahirap ito kaysa sa Mt. Talamitam. We did more assaults in here and lesser relaxing walks like what we had at the breezy Mt. Talamitam. Nevertheless, it was fun! We met more hikers (plus animals!) and one or two who got friendly with us during the entire experience. 🙂

Our day started at 1am, Edmund and I woke up to prepare for our meetup at Jollibee Concepcion. We took our (super early) breakfast there as well. And then later learned that Reyna and Erlie will not make it to our 2am meetup time kasi halos kakauwi lang nila (from work?). We originally planned to board the 3AM bus, but we made it at around 4:30AM. So much for wanting a dawn-to-sunrise climb. :))

We rode an Uber car to JAM Liner Edsa-Cubao Terminal and boarded the bus that will make a stop at Grand Terminal. We asked the driver to drop us off at Grand Terminal just to be sure. :p It turned out that Grand Terminal is a stop so obvious no one should miss it, the place is wide, has plenty of shops around, and there is a pay public toilet that is well-maintained. We saw a closed stall of Rodilla’s yema cake and planned to check on it before heading home later.

Soon we found a jeepney that would take us straight to Philpan Dive Resort, the jump-off point of the trek. (Normal commute would need us to take a jeepney to Mabini first, then ride a tricycle to the resort.)

There were several mountain climbers and scuba divers on the jeepney, and so maybe that’s why the driver just opted to bring us all to Philpan and just charge a fare at a considerably higher price. The travel took about 30mins.

The registration area is just a few walks away from this Philpan Resort signage. We paid our dues and wrote our names.

Upon the suggestion of several kuyas we rode with in the jeepney, we did not hire a guide for this climb. Aside from saving money, they told us to just enjoy the climb on our own since the trail is easily recognizable. Also, there will never be a shortage of other climbers from whom we could ask directions and make friends with along the way. :p

Just beside the registration area is our first ascent! :))

We treaded an uphill cemented path the first 1 or 2 kilometers. I’m the one with the pink dry bag, and you can see me already doing the technique of walking backwards to make the uphill climb easier, so they say. :))

On the first sight of these benches, I’d really like to rest for a while. Ang weak lang. :))

I’d choose the muddy, icky, earthy path over those paved, asphalted roads when trekking. The paved road provides a continuous, laborious trek as there is nothing to break the pace, which then makes the ascent more tiresome for me. So yeah, we rested at the first legit pahingahan place that we saw. And other trekkers behind us, also followed suit. :)) Grabe, nasa paanan palang kami ng bundok niyan, pahinga agad. Wahaha.

After gathering our strengths, we continued to walk uphill and finally saw the mark that will lead us off road and up towards the type of path that I prefer – ‘yung lupa talaga. :))

Kung sakaling hindi mapapansin ang blank sign na ‘yan, may nagtitindang ate sa tapat mismo niyan kaya naituturo niya sa mga namumundok ang tamang daan. 😀

Just when I thought puro lupa na ang lalakaran, meron na namang sementadong trail. The climb up was steep. It doesn’t look like it sa picture above, but one should gather enough momentum to walk straight up to this almost 90-degree angle incline.

Mt. Talamitam 2016

From our research, the difficulty rating for this trek is (just) 2/10. So naturally you would think that the ascent was an easy one. Little did I know that those ratings are made by seasoned mountain climbers, so that this mountain climb is so much like just walking on a flat ground for them. :)) I didn’t even consider seriously buying for a pair of decent trekking shoes, because what the heck, I wouldn’t think of doing this on a regular basis anyway. Ayoko masayang lang ‘yung bibilhin kong trekking shoes. :)) So I settled for my trusty strappy rubber sandals. And ended up having four blisters – two each on the side of each big toe – from having to constantly pull myself up during the ascent. At malalaki silang paltos ah. -_- So on going down, I’d have to tread (more) carefully para hindi sila pumutok at baka magcause pa ng infection.:))

Side note: Pero bumilib talaga ako sa sandalas ko ah, hindi siya nasira at all, hindi rin nastretch ang ankle straps. Super usable pa rin for years to come. :)) In case you’re wondering, Jessica ang tatak niya. Murang-mura lang,PHP350 sa SM Department stores. :)) #todopromote

At 5:30am, madilim pa nang simulan namin ang trek. Haha, blurred shots below kasi wala pang liwanag sa paligid.:))

Ang pagtawid sa kyut na ilog. :))

Eto na ang moment na iniisip kong nabigla ako sa pagpayag sa pamumundok na ito. Pansinin: Pinahiram na ako ng walking stick at wala na akong backpack, binitbit na ni Kuya Edwin. :))

At napatunayan ko na naman na my lungs don’t function like before na talaga. Hirap ng walang cardio. Kayang-kaya ng mga paa ko, ngunit bumibigay ang paghinga ko. Hahaha. Sikip sa dibdib tuwing binubuhat ko ang sarili ko pataas.

After our first 15-20mins siguro, finally, flat ground na. Dito na kami inabutan ng sunrise.:) Glorious greens and fresh air around. Relaxing.

Picture sa puno as an excuse para makapagpahinga muna. :))

Okay! Akyat na uli! Favorite ko itong open grounds. Kasi mahangin. Nakakahinga ako nang maayos, tapos presko, so less pagod feel. Malaki pasasalamat ko na umaga kami nagstart umakyat. Imagine this area kung tanghali na kami nagstart. Maluluto kami at madedehydrate pa nang bongga.

Pichur uli pagdating sa next flat ground. :)) Akala namin malapit na namin matapos ang hike sa point na ito. Kaya andami rin naming tinake na oras for rest and picture taking.

Obligatory jumpshot. Hihi. I believe  I can fly~

Obligatory drama shot. :))

Nagiisang picture naming apat with Kuya Edwin. Camera-shy siya, ayaw masyado magsasama sa pictures. :p

Tapos malaman-laman ko, ang layu-layo pa pala ng tatahakin namin. As in doon pa sa tuktok ng pinakamataas na peak na nakikita ninyo sa picture na ‘yan. (Hi, Mr. Cow! :D)

Close-up ni Mr. Cow. 😀

May Mr. Horse din. :))

Bayabas bushes. Yes, bush lang siya tingnan kasi ang baba nila. And kaya ba Sitio Bayabasan ang pangalan ng lugar? :p

On we went towards our final ascent. I was bracing myself by this time, kasi from blogs na nabasa ko, ito raw ang pinakamahirap na part. Kasi ito na ang steepest part, dahil paparating na talaga sa summit. Eh sa mga gradual ascent palang nauubos na hininga ko, paano pa kaya kung talang steep na ang aakyatin ko. :))

Negros Oriental 2015: The Forest Camp, The Market, and The Mooon.

After our little Lab-as adventure and war memorial at Cata-al WWII Museum, next stop namin ang The Forest Camp.

Kung makatingala naman si Edmund, parang hindi magkakasya sa picture. :))

Raw nature.

But man-made structures can be found deeper in this mountain resort.

Such as this one. The water flowing from the mountains fills these series of large man-made stone tubs to create pools where visitors can swim.

Five feet daw ang lalim nito. 😀

And this one. Exhibition area for skaters.

The water was chilling. Took our bodies lots of time before we were able to submerge ourselves. Edmund here’s still not yet fully wet. :)) But, of course, there were still those brave souls who could immediately just jump in through the water.

The place is large enough for many visitors. You could rent cabanas for storage of your valuables. Food are allowed to be brought inside, there are also available chairs and tables. Most visitors consisted of families, bonding over their picnic tables when not taking dips in the cold waters.

Pwede ring magikut-ikot at um-aura muna sa iba pang parte ng forest camp.

 

Andito na rin lang, eh di gamitin na ang props. :))