ilocos here i come :)

yeah, so when i want to go somewhere or set my mind or eyes to get there i cant sleep until i am there... though my batanes dream (the ultimate philippine destination for me) is still a dream, hopefully next year

but really why i wanna go visit ilocos? read on what TIME has to say:
1. earthly wonders
2. church architecture
3. bucolic beaches
4. characterful cuisine
5. historic vigan

very nice article indeed which made me more excited with my upcoming ilocos trip!

i have been wanting to go and visit ilocos' famous sites: vigan, laoag, and pagudpud. and come this holy week, i'll be able to walk down that road and leave my paw prints there... Yay! so excited!!! can't wait for this road trip... see you on the road :)

Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte travel itinerary, though of course this could change.

Day 1

Manila to Vigan
Breakfast at Cafe Uno
Heritage Village
Baluarte
La Paz Sand Dunes
Currimao Rock Formation
Malacanang Ti Amianan
Paoay Church

Day 2

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse
Bangui Windmills
Patapat Bridge
Agua Paradiso
Blue Lagoon

Day 3

Shrinking Bell Tower
Heritage Village
Back to Manila
 End of ilocos trip itinerary

9 days of one great summer adventure

we were so lucky to have a 9 day vacation during the lenten season (guess we're the only company who closed the office from holy monday... very nice eh?) and since we do not have work on weekends that made the vacation longer - sweet 9 effin days! when it was announced i was so worried i'll end up bored to nuts but thankfully i found someplace to go and the 9 day vacation is bitin pa! LOL

me and my office mates planned a vacation since were kind of stuck with each other's companies since most of our friends have work till wednesday so gurls gotta do what they gotta do. plan a vacay!!! :)

and off we decided we'll go to boracay via roro wahahahaha... well we have plenty of time! lots of it actually... and its cheap.... twas a nice experience going to boracay via roro specially if you're traveling with a group but i wouldn't recommend it not  unless you have a tight budget and have plenty of time to spare which is our case hehehehe... will tell you more about this saga on a separate post (oh yes, as if i can do a proper post ... we'll see hehehehe abangan!)

well it was really tiring to travel by land and by sea to go to boracay, we left manila on early morning of saturday (27 march) and traveled to batangas port, from there we rode the super cat to calapan port and another 3 hour drive to dangay port in roxas, and from there another 3 hour boat ride to caticlan port and well you already know about 15 minute boat ride to boracay from there. and finally we have arrived in boracay! =)

chillin' it out ... sarap after mapagod mag swim and when the sun is already striking hot chill with san mig light =)

a teaser of my detailed boracay saga ... yeah presenting to you the cover gurls hehehe

and of course my trademark pose - anupaba? eh d jump shot LOL

we left boracay on wednesday (31 march) with a sidetrip to romblon... the ferry to romblon is something that should have been a panggatong a long time ago... it was stinking, kadiri, and looks like its about to sink as soon as it sail and i was just a hair breath away from leaving my colleagues and go back to manila on my own but my adventure seeker self prevailed and off i stayed and we sailed for 3 hours in that boat that looks like it was about to break in half because of the strong waves! to cut the story short we arrived safely at looc and travelled more than an hour to reach odiongan, romblon where a sumptuous lunch was waiting for us, thanks to kc's mom... our travel was definitely worth it.

after a very late lunch (about 3pm) we have to leave already to catch the 5:30 schedule of the roro boat to manila... and it was another 8 hour boat ride to batangas port... got home at 4am on thursday (1 april)

'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step on to the road and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.' ~ Bilbo

oh yeah bilbo's right but that's what make's traveling a one big adventure =)

just got enough time to sleep on april fool's day ... because yeah i'm a fool like that to have another adventure in the wing... left home again at around 8pm to catch our bus ride to sagada... oh yeah the one in the mountain province... arrived in banaue at around 8 am on good friday (2 april)

i have traveled from south to north... and our path is in the map: from manila -banaue - bontoc - sagada - baguio... yeah we have traversed the cordillera region and i think i have never seen so much mountain in my life ... felt like i have travelled across a hundred mountains but it was definitely worth it! i promise to prepare a proper post in each of my adventure and post pictures to share with you guys... if you can travel please do visit sagada and banaue ... it is really something!

me and my friend in a stop over at a view deck in banaue - overlooking the 7th ancient wonder of the world - the banaue rice terraces... i'll show more pictures in my next post it was truly amazing! i sometimes forget to take pictures and just look at the magnificent view and get amazed...


after breakfast we have traveled another hour to reach our destination - sagada. we have concquered sagada and survived sumaguing cave!  that spelunking is worth another post because that is really an experience that i will never forget... after the 4 hour trek in the cave connection - i knew that i can join those amazing race and extreme contests already! :D  but again again i am telling you, you guys should go visit sagada and be a part of the 29% who tried to conquer sumaguing... at least that's the figure our guide gave us and we belong to that 29% and we have a proof - oh yeah our own certificate that we have braved sumaguing

left sagada to baguio on sunday morning (4 april) and had about an hour quick stop at baguio just enough time to have lunch slash merienda slash dinner and do some shopping at the market for the pasalubong,,, grabe pang amazing race talaga... and we thought we still have enough time to drink and have a night life in baguio but then again mahirap na maubusan ng byaheng bus pa-manila since i still have to go back to work on monday ... arrived home at 1am on monday (5 april) and woke up as if nothing happened and that my muscles aint aching to go back to reality that is called work



and last but not the least i would like to pay tribute to the best travel buddy i have... btw that photo was taken at kiltepan point view while waiting for the sunrise .. felt like i could touch the sky for a while, just being one with nature... bliss :D

promise i'll do a proper post and account all of my 9 day great summer adventure with pictures (para mainggit kayo? LOL)

PS. to my fans (ayan na naman yabang ko LOL) i mean why waste your time searching for me on google everytime... aint it easier if you'll just bookmark my addy? just a thought... dont worry i dont bite - i purr :D

update: added tripline to show the manila-boracay-romblon-banaue-sagada route

trip na trip na road trip

ellow my dear fans, have been busy (kelan ba hindi?) well heniways if i have the time i'll post the pictures tomorrow of our super bonggang bonggang road trip in batangas-tagaytay a couple of weeks ago

just check out the batangas map of our road trip, super karir diba? ikutin ang buong taal lake, nauta na kami halos makita ang taal volcano! charing sangkaterbang photo opps hahahaha

we meet up at ayala and headed to cuenca for breakfast then off to taal for pictures syemper, first time to climb up the church's bell tower - amazing!!! - then off to caleruega in nasugbu, super late lunch and coffee at tagaytay,  then back to mataas na kahoy in lipa for a a swim via the scenic talisay route. oh diba maghapon nagbilad sa araw tapos swimming! so refreshing :)

hope to post the photos soon, but if you're in my fb u prolly saw some photos already

road trip - part 3

next quest (well it seems like a quest to us now to find these hidden treasures of "viaje del sol") is to find the sampaloc lake - the largest among San Pablo's seven crater lake, (fyi, san pablo city is known as the city of seven lakes. we got excited when we learned that we can ride a bamboo raft and cruise the lake... bt immediately realised we cant do that since its raining like hell but still we wanted to see the lake.

i guess you've already surmised that we got lost again looking for this lake! We're already in San Pablo but would you believe that we somehow managed to get lost and find ourselves on the way to Quezon province! i dont know how we got lost but after lots of u-turns and questions we were able to find our way back to san pablo and reach sampaloc lake. a bonus the place is observing its fiesta celebration, too bad we didnt see marching bands... prolly because its raining.

love love these banderitas

after navigating for hours, we finally get to our destination... sorry it doesnt look picturesque and aside from the fact that it is raining ... it's also starting to get dark... the dusk is fast approaching

but that didnt stop me to have my photo taken (adik eh!) it's raining but i have my shades, LOL i really thought it was going to be sunny, feeling summer na ko!

another look at the lake... i think i've seen this lake before when we hike up in a mountain somewhere in laguna as well, i have to check that with mami dorcs and will show you better photos of the lake taken from the mountain top

so after cruisin around the place and got nothing to do, we decided to head back home since its already late... yeah we got lost again! we're just lucky that we always find our way back! we have like traveled almost 200km and half of that was spent tracing our way back finding the right track! so please do not ask me for direction or to be your navigator in this viaje del sol tour, oh i'd love to assist you that is if you're prepared to get lost and make sure you have a full tank, ok?

stopped here at luz garden (lisa wanted to buy some potted plants and it feels like we have a garden at the back of the car when we left the place), the owner aling luz is very accomodating , she said it was just her hobby before which became a business and i couldnt believe it when she said sh'e already 64! anyways her shop is located at bay, laguna

finally we find ourselves at SLEX and the traffic is starting to get crazy when we saw this beautiful place and decided to have coffee and stretch our limbs - sorry cant remember the name of the place but its so hard to miss, promise the place is sob big and well lit up.

i guess the laguna government is partly to be blamed why we got lost countless of times! well i admit my sense of direction or lack of it so pathetic but really it would help travelers if they put out signs in every major crossing. like this way to this so and so place, like what we have here in manila.

i'm really thankful to the people of laguna for being so nice! after spending 14 hours on the road i was so tired and dead to the world when i got home i immediately slept.

lessons learned? it doesn't hurt to ask for directions really especially when you're lost! and 2. learn how to read a map! having a map cant help you find what you're looking for if you dont know how to read one!

i invite you to take the journey, go out, hit the road and follow the sun

====

a lot were asking how to reach the places and how to go about the viaje del sol, you can download the viaje del sol map here

here are the places to visit, it would be difficult to visit all these wonderful places in just a day, so you can just pick a few from the list... hope this helps

1. Pettyjohn Pottery
Bucal, Calamba, Laguna.
Tel No. (02) 8120766, (02) 7292980

2. La Vista Pansol
Norville Subd., Bgy. Pansol, Calamba, Laguna
Tel No. (049) 8341121 or (049) 2443645 or (049) 5451850

3. The Forest Club
Bay, Laguna
Tel No. (02) 3764623

4. Collette's Buko Pie
52 San Rafael, San Pablo City, Laguna
Tel No. (049) 5626754

5. Casa San Pablo
Gomez Compound, Bgy San Roque, San Pablo City, Laguna
Tel No. 0917 8126687

6. Tour of Sampaloc and Padin Lakes
Dagatan Blvd., San Pablo City, Laguna
Tel No. (049) 5627404

7. Pillar Plants and Novelties
Kusina Salud 09153737851

8. Kusina Salud
285 Bgy Sta. Cruz (Putol), San Pablo City, Laguna
Tel No. (02) 6995035

9. Carlito's Workshop
Sta. Ana, San Pablo City, Laguna
Tel No. 09198377755

10. Sitio De Amor
Km88.8 Maharlika Highway, San Pablo City, Laguna
Tel No. (02) 5527340

11. Villa Escudero
San Pablo City, Laguna
Tel No. (049) 5623282

12. Kinabuhayan Cafe Bed and Breakfast
Dolores, Quezon
Tel No. 09173271106

13. Ugu Bigyan: Potter's Garden
490 Alvarez Vill. Bgy., Lusacan, Tiaong Quezon
Tel No. (042) 5459144

14. Earthkeeper's Garden and Restaurant
Km 101, Bgy Talisay, Tiaong Quezon
Tel No. (042) 5457112

15. Casa Rap
Km 90 National Highway, San Jose, Batangas
Tel No. (043) 7262873

16. Charley's (reservation is required)
Lipa City, Batangas
Tel No. 09209507032

17. First Asia Institute of Technology
Tanauan City, Batangas
Tel No. (043) 4052326

18. Tarawoods
Bgy Natatas, Tanauan Batangas
email tara@info.com.ph

19. Herbana Farms
Km 59, Batino CPIP Exit access road
Tel No. 09205445439

road trip - part 2

in continuation of my road trip to follow the sun or the viaje del sol, we finally reached kusina salud and as i've said, the trip is worth it... they offer really good food and the staff are accomodating but what really attracted me to the place is its old style house with antique collections, and the place is surronded by trees and plants, your sensual and gustatory glands will surely appreciate this place :)

kusina salud is owned and operated by patis tesoro, the renowned fashion designer and advocate of indigenous fabrics. They also offer lunch buffet every sunday for only 395 per person.

meron kaya halimaw sa banga? if you'd notice they do have a mini aviary and would love to check out the garden but since it was raining we just headed inside to eat, after all we are already starving!

entrance

main lobby

reception, old school fon o. i really like the place they have lots of antique carved wood figurines

ok so we ordered their best seller, carabao salpicao... first time to eat carabao meat and it is delicious and tender, you should try it if you're going to visit kusina salud

also tried their seafood karekare

food trip... also included in their specialty is fiddlehead fern (pako) salad! of course we didnt ordered that one! :) i also loved their iced tea pandan flavored.

yosi sa silong, busog na

another dining table for a big group, it just seem that we're the only patron in the photos but i'm telling yah, they do have lots of customers... this table was just cleared when i took the photo

smoking area, not allowed to smoke inside the house itself


the smiling buddha


staircase, customers not allowed to go upstairs, didnt bother to ask why so just ask them yourself when you get there ok and get back to me ;)

big window, i really love these kind of old school windows

igorot


nude gurl


leading to patio



i'm fascinated with those heads hanging in the post

still checkin out the heads

heads uli

altar

buddha

my friend lisa here is praying to buddha - help her find a boyfriend!

a bit crazy sometimes but she's sane i can vouch for that! minimum qualification - guys with masteral degree, PhD after your name is a big plus... for further inquiries drop me a note, i only get 10% commission here. LOL

about to leave kusina salud fully energized... me singing in the rain - under my umbrella ella ella

oh btw you can download the viaje del sol map here, after you reach any of the places included in the itinerary for the viaje del sol, they will give you a big and colorful map as a guide and will also help you in giving directions how to go to the next stop... which in our case is the sampaloc lake

road trip - part 1

Have you ever felt that need to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, the longing to see the fields and tress instead of buildings ... the serenity that only you can find in the province? I'm a city girl through and through and i can't imagine myself living in a rural area (no offense to those who live in the province - this is just me talking) but i do like to get away from city life once in a while... just to feel the unpolluted air caressing my face and the wind flirting with my hair... just to smell the grass and the raw earth... and be at one with nature.

that's why lisa and i decided to go on a road trip (to laguna in particular) friday afternoon and set to leave saturday morning. that's one of the best things i like being single, you can plan a trip in mere minutes without worries, no questions asked!

call time is at 7am but when she texted me if im already awake at around 6am i was like yeah just woke up, will just txt you when i'm ready yadda yadda and was about to go back to sleep when she texted again its raining, i was like - shit! and go over to the window and wahhhhh it cant be! we dont need the rain on this trip! nevertheless the rain didnt stop us, i was like it's only raining in manila, i'm sure it'll be sunny in laguna... guess am not a good fortune teller!

me and lisa raring to go and reach the city limits ...

see its effin rainin.. but still happy to see that we're leaving manila

already in the SLEX... still raining, have i mentioned that we really have no idea where we're going?

we planned to follow the sun or the viaje del sol which im sure you've heard before, for those who doesnt know yet... viaje del sol is "the way of the sun" a colorful map of batangas, laguna, and quezon that has hidden treasures of cafes and restaurants, inns and country homes, and artist studios

our first itinerary is to visit the PettyJohn Pottery somewhere in Bucal and boy am glad to say that were able to reach Calamba with no problems at all (meaning we didnt get lost yet - uhmmm i forgot to mention that i am the "navigator" of this trip! so good luck)

but before anything else we have to stop at jollibee calamba crossing to have a breakfast and look who welcomed us? none other than jollibee himself! :)

yummy breakfast.. beef tapa and coffee, but wait...
i swear jollibee loves me!
after having the hearty breakfast we're set to find treasures... with a firm vow that we'll never ask for directions, we'll find these treasures on our own... yeah right! well that's where the thrill of the journey is ayt?

ok, so i guess we're lost... need the map to remind us that we're actually looking for the next turn or whatever... PettyJohn pottery is located somewhere bucal and pansol according to the map but hey, were like traveling for an hour already and still no pottery in sight! so swallowed our pride and began our "where is...." questions!

yep this is at pansol, the hot spring bed of laguna with colorful array of donuts in the road

uhmm at this point i can't count anymore how many times we got lost and asked for directions! so it seems we're way too far now to look for the pottery so decided to reach san pablo and look for kusina ni salud
too bad it never stopped raining so we cant go out and play in the fields as planned...
we were like traveling for quite some time now and realized we're heading in the wrong direction! we're like oh i think this isnt the place.. we'll just notice we're lost - noting that there are no other vehicle ont he road just us - and giggle like fools - but at least our instincts can tell us that we're on the wrong track!
tracing our way back and decided to pull over here... if laguna have mmda's on the road, boy we surely have gotten tons of tickets for those illegal parking and turns we've made!
i am surprised and quite happy that these folks knows this so and so place, so when we stop and ask for direction they willingly help us, guess we really look helpless and lost or maybe they think we're some stupid city gurls!

yehey! finally we we're able to find san pablo!
one of the funniest "where is..." we have is when i was askin where can we find kusina ni salud, and the man was like, kusin ni san luis daw! the other man said mali, lusina daw! LOL we cant help but laugh and then an old lady butt in and helped us and say we're way over off the track...

so finally we're able to reach the street where we can find the elusive kusina ni salud, about time i'd say since we're like travelling for almost 3hours already! yeah 3 hours from calamba to san pablo... go figure how we're able to do that! ;)
nice carabao but a bit snobbish i think...
hmmm lil did i know that am going to eat his kind at kusina ni salud... sorry kalabaw!

the tiring journey and the quest to find kusina ni salud is all worth it i'm telling you... but i just have to post all about it tom.