Japan

March 2009 trip

Mount Kinabalu Climb

November 27-30, 2009
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

With Ian, Pagc, Tiano, Jaycee and Bokkie.

Zoe's Hongkong Trip

Some snapshots taken during Zoe's trip to Hongkong.

...sweet dreams are made of these....

Yes, we're probably crazy to bring a two-year old along. And yes, she probably won't remember any of these travels when she grows up. But right now, we remember. And we all had fun. That is what matters.

...who am I to disagree...

HK Disneyland and Two-Year-Olds

Question: What can 2-year olds do in Disneyland?
Answer:
a) Get in for free;
b) Sleep;
c) Get frightened by it all;
d) Enjoy it all;
e) All of the Above.

Yes, two year old Zoe was so tired from a morning stopover at Lantau Island's Big Buddha, that she fell asleep on her way to HK Disneyland. She missed the big parade, and woke up only when we transferred her to a rental stroller. She was frightened by the evening fireworks show (but she kept on taking a peek from her "hiding" spot), and by Mufasa's intense song numbers in the Lion King show, but enjoyed Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. Donald even patted her head before he made his entrance to the Golden Mickey show. Cool!

Lantau Big Buddha, Cable Cars and Zoe

One Hong Kong morning, it was off to Ngong Ping 360 and a cable car ride to Lantau Island's Big Buddha.

It was a really long cable car ride which Zoe enjoyed. We went there on a Saturday, but there weren't that many people around. We didn't really hike all the way up to Big Buddha, so yes, officially I still haven't seen Big Buddha up close in clear weather. Basically just rode the cable car, watched an animated Monkey show, and bought a souvenir magnet. Had fun -- check! Can do activity with kids - check! Worth it!

With Kids? Here's Uncommon Advice

Travelling with a toddler, they say, is a nightmare.

Well I've travelled with Zoe, rode cars, jeepneys, tricycles, buses, planes, boats, and so far, so good. Zoe has a relatively happy disposition. Give her enough food, enough sleep, and she'll be relatively patient with all the things one goes through while travelling. She's a happy camper, and you just have to really tire her out so she'll be a happy sleeper too. Even at malls, she never threw a tantrum because she wanted something.

Until that last day in Hong Kong.

When we bought her a toy at the airport. And then she wanted to open that toy. Right this very moment. Now na! So there we were, lining up to get into immigration at the Hong Kong airport, and Zoe was bawling. BAWLING. Crying her heart out. No explanation from us could soothe her. She wanted that toy opened, now! We went through the security check area, towards the immigration area, and still she was crying. (We couldn't open the toy though, because the toy had several small and large parts that weren't play-able while walking). I was carrying Zoe that time, and I was seriously rethinking this plan to bring her along for a longer future trip.

So this advice I will share with parents -- Don't buy toys for your kids at the airport. If buying toys, make sure they can easily be played with while on the go. Explanations about patience don't really work too well with two-year olds.

We got home to Manila around 11pm. Zoe was still awake then. You know the first thing she did when she came home? She opened her toy.

Hmm. Some kids never forget.

Used To Be

I used to row almost every morning. Woke up around 5-ish to go to Manila Bay and row. Manila Bay isn't that smelly, you know. It is calm and serene when it wants to be so, and the rhythmic slicing of oars into the water is a beautiful experience shared amongst those willing to wake up early enough to try it.

I used to climb mountains. Spent weekends hiking. My backpack was my friend, and nights were spent with gin and more friends. There was a time I didn't have a single Nalgene bottle to my name, and was very very proud of my 100-peso Nalgene look-alike bottle...that is until the bottle fell off from a tricycle and got shattered into several un-usable pieces. Then I wished for a Nalgene bottle for Christmas, and got 3. Now I have Nalgene bottles (which are probably non-BPA-free). And I don't hike anymore.

I used to play ultimate frisbee. Got introduced to the sport. And introduced B. to the sport. Loved the feeling of running. I'm a terrible thrower and not a decent catcher, but I really liked the feeling of running. Now practice takes too much time, and only B. plays now.

I used to love a lot of other things too. I used to write a lot. I used to paint when I was younger. I remember composing songs when I was a 6-year old. Now I don't do those things. I can't even draw a decent duck or cow when my daughter asks me to draw. But that's ok. She writes squiggly lines and says "that's a fish". It's a beautiful fish. Perfection is relative too, you know.

"We are all the paths we walked, and everything we loved." - Paulo Coehlo

Walking - the pre-rituals

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to arrive at City Garden Hotel North Point from Hong Kong International Airport.

Since I was trying to save some money, instead of taking the Airport Shuttle from HK Airport to City Garden Hotel North Point, I wanted to take the Airport Express instead. The Airport Bus shuttle would cost $140 one way, a total of $280 roundtrip. The Airport Express, on the other hand, would cost $180 roundtrip, or just $90 one way. From the HK Station I could then take the MTR to Fortress Hill station, at an estimated cost of around $4.40. Total would then be $188.80 via the Airport Express, saving me almost $100 per person! There were 3 of us, so $100x3 = $300 HKD savings! Go!

So there I was googling the "how" of actually trying to walk to City Garden hotel from the MTR station. Based on some travel sites, it's really just a short walk, from 10 to 3 minutes. There was even a site that said it was "just a minute's" walk:

Reading more closely, no one really did describe "how" to walk from the MTR station. Since I've got a two-year old with me and another possibly irritable adult, I didn't want to take the chance of being unprepared and lost. Thank God for GoogleMaps!
Fairly straightforward huh! Looks quite a bit far, but fairly straightforward. But wait...here's another set of directions I got from someone who's already there:

• Take the exit to King's Road
  
• Take the footbridge beside the exit and walk to the end (Market), and down to Electric Road
  
• The hotel is on the toher side and entrance is around the corner

I need to take the footbridge...there's a footbridge??? Aww...we'll see how it goes...

Rainy Days and El Nido

August 29-31, 2009
El Nido, Palawan

• ITI promo airfare - 2K one way
  
• El Nido breakfast only promo - affordable for one person, worth crying over if multiplied by 4
  
• Seeing your 75-year old parents on kayaks, your 75-year old father snorkeling, and your two-year old daughter also on a kayak...priceless!

Zoe's 2nd Birthday

Domingo-Bautista Nuptials

August 8, 2009
Guiguinto, Bulacan

My cousin Rose's wedding to Bitoy, and Zoe's first time to be a flowergirl.

Note: Medyo magulo yung photo sequence, for some reason di ma-arrange ng maayos yung photos. Medyo mahirap i-rearrange isa isa eh. Maybe next time ma-re-arrange ko. :)

Congrats and Best wishes to Rose and Bitoy!

Zoe's 2nd Birthday - Una Fiesta!

Start:	Aug 16, '09 3:00p
End:	Aug 16, '09 5:00p
Location:	Detroit Street, Cubao, Quezon City

What: Zoe Turns Two!
When: August 16, 2009. Sunday. 3PM.
Where: [Map] [Google Map]




RSVP
Leave a message if you have questions!

Independence Weekend at Tagaytay

June 12-14, 2009
Tagaytay City, Philippines

Food trip weekend with the family. Medyo splurge sya. But enjoyable. :)

Overnight
We stayed overnight at One Tagaytay Place, a relatively new hotel managed by Genesis hotels (they also manage Astoria Plaza in Ortigas). It was relatively new and had mixed reviews on the web...yun nga lang mana ang dad ko sa akin and nagpapadala rin sya sa advertising. I think they were just had some advertisements in the travel section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer --- ayun, dun na kami nag-stay!

Cons:
Located on the other side of the ridge, so there really isn't a view. Breakfast buffet was so-so. The theme song of the hotel seemed to be "bulilit...bulilit, sanay sa masikip, kung kumilos, ang sikip sikip!". Halos lahat masikip -- restroom, lobby, dining area, the slope towards the basement parking. Even the infinity pool at the rooftop was narrow! Plus, they require a non-refundable deposit when you make your reservation, which really irritated me.

Pros:
The bed and the pillows were nice and fluffy, very conducive for sleeping in! Ang sarap matulog! The rooms were clean and modern. May flat screen TV. The rooms weren't initially impressive but it does grow on you. Both the one bedroom suite and the normal deluxe room had sofas. There was one hour free wifi (you had to get the username/password from the front desk). Over-all it was a relaxing stay, and though I'm not raring to go back, I wouldn't mind going staying there again either. Especially if it's free. :)

Food Trips
Ok, this is a trip Bok would love. In fact, I think this was a trip Bok did love. So, no I wasn't able to eat Greek food at Manos. No Bag of Beans, no Moon Garden, no Residence Inn Zoo, not much sightseeing around Tagaytay. It was basically...eat, sleep, eat, sleep. And then eat, sleep, eat sleep again =)

Verbena at Discovery Country Suites
We arrived around 1pm for lunch, and we were the only ones there. Food was yummy. From other blogs, the cheese fondue was highly recommended, but obviously I would not want to eat cheese fondue all by myself. (Bok doesn't like cheese much). My lamb ravioli smothered with blue cheese was delicious and filling. They served the wrong dessert, but the panna cotta they served was delicious as well.

***Budget: 500 to 1000 per person.

Fire Lake Grill
Located in the Cliffhouse area, where Cafe Breton and Buon Giorno are. Serves steak. Well that's all I remember. Hehe. Steak, salad, soup, grilled seafood. The parents and I shared a cowgirl steak. Bok had grilled salmon. Afterwards, dessert was at the next-door Cafe Breton.

Carlos' Pizza
Surprisingly good pizza with a great view of Taal Volcano. They have branches around the Metro as well. Nothing beats good food and a really nice spot with a view.

Antonio's
Barangay Neogan, Tagaytay
0918-8992866 (among other numbers)

O.M.G. Haha. Yes, this was really a splurge. It was my first time to eat at Antonio's, and all the praise it gets is well deserved. We had steak (again). The salad, soup, entree and dessert was delicious. I had warm flourless chocolate cake. Panalo! The house is impressive, there's a koi pond and a big garden. Really nice and romantic as well. Suitable for special family dinners or very special occasions. Chef Antonio also makes it a point to greet the guests, so you feel that this really is a special dining experience.

Getting there is a mini-adventure itself. Medyo malayo sya from the main road. The signs are easy to follow but it can get lonely driving up to Antonio's. If coming from the rotonda, turn right when you see the sign for Antonio's. After that, it's around 2km of narrow well-paved road. Just follow the signs. Antonio's will be at your left side.

Reservations are a must. Also, be sure to wear presentable clothes. Slippers, sandos and shorts are not allowed. Credit cards are accepted.

***Food budget: 1500-2000 per person. Worth it!

Zoe and Joward's Swimming Session

Zoe's swimming session with our neighbor Joward.

One Day at Max's

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Zoe's Day Out -- Tita Rei brought Zoe (and Nanay and Dessa and Ate Cely) along to Piolo Pascual's event at Max's Tomas Morato. I wanted her to have a picture with Piolo, hehe.

Well, it seems Zoe had lots of fun in the play area, na pagkatapos kumain eh nakatulog sya at muntik nang di makapag-picture with Piolo! Buti na lang mabait si Piolo at pumayag syang maistorbo sa kanyang lunch para mag-picture kasama ang isang baby na bagong gising.

Thanks Tita! Thanks Piolo! Thanks Max!

Bisita Iglesia and Easter with the Parents

April 10, 2009
Holy Thursday

Inscribe Tours organized a Bisita Iglesia tour through 7 churches in the Batangas-Quezon area. Apparently, this was a yearly activity for the said tour group. This year, there were 8 big bus loads of people. Zoe has got to be one of the youngest participants in this tour.

Here are some pictures from that tour. Photos taken mostly by Bok.

April 12, 2009
Easter Sunday

Spent some time at Eastwood mall with the grandparents.

Bicol Road Trip

For the longest time I have been bugging Bok to vacation in Donsol and swim with the whale sharks. Several years later, here we are!

We took our Innova (nicknamed Pinoy Big Blackie) to a roadtrip from Manila to Bicol and back. It was actually supposed to be Bok's birthday trip, pero kawawa naman si Bok kung magda-drive sya sa birthday nya diba? Kaya we had the outing the weekend before his birthday, plus we had to compress everything because most of the folks only had Monday off.

Our itinerary took us to Donsol for the whale sharks and to CWC for the wakeboarding. We left Manila midnight Friday and arrived at Donsol around 3pm on Saturday.

Our itinerary:

Friday Night: leave for Bicol! We left Manila right before midnight, and gassed up at the Shell station in E.Rodriguez. It was 3 minutes before midnight, but the gas station already raised their prices by 1 peso. Bad trip! Medyo traffic din sa southbound portion ng EDSA, turns out the MMDA was doing some road repairs on both sides of the road. SLEX was also slightly heavy.

Day 1: Saturday: We got a bit lost in Batangas, but eventually found our way to the road bound for Quezon. When we reached Bicol though, there was a huge traffic jam on the shorter way bound for Sipocot -- it turns out portions of the road were being repaired and were passable only one-way. Syempre malamang may mga di nagbigayan, deadlock, ayun traffic jam! We had to divert to the longer way that would pass through Daet and Bitukang Manok, where we had to stop because Zoe puked. Haha, she was so lively right before, sayaw sayaw pa sya ng "single ladies" and "low", tapos maya maya di na mapakali at umiiyak na, tapos ayun, nahilo na pala at nasusuka pala.

Lessons learned: When travelling through zigzag roads, do not let a child with a full stomach dance and jump to her heart's content in a fast moving car.

Zoe's photo sessions:

We had lunch at Naga City, then proceeded to Donsol. We arrived at our homestay around 3pm. We stayed at Aguluz Homestay at Barangay Awaii, a barangay away from where the Donsol tourist center is located. All of the resorts I tried to contact that were in Barangay Dancalan were fully booked. The owners were accommodating. The 6 of us stayed in their biggest room, which had its own toilet and bath as well. Aguluz is around 7 minutes drive away from the tourist center.

In the evening we took a boat to see the fireflies. Enchanting! Sayang lang umulan bigla, and we had to go back.

Places to Stay in Donsol: Vitton Beach Resort is right beside the tourist information center. Amor Farm Beach Resort, Woodland resort and Casa Bianca are also located in the same barangay (Barangay Dancalan) as the tourist center, but you'd need to walk a few minutes. Their contact numbers can be Googled. We stayed at a homestay in Barangay Awaii. Aguluz Homestay even has a Friendster profile! Cost per person: 350 pesos.

Day 2: Sunday: Whale watching day! Our homestay cooked breakfast for us, and after a hearty breakfast, we proceeded to the Donsol tourist center. We didn't wake up early enough though, so we had to wait and managed to board a boat almost 10 AM already. It was a bit rainy, and the visibility in the water wasn't that good, but still we managed to see 5 whale sharks. We had lunch at the nearby Vitton's Beach Resort. We left Donsol around 3pm, and drove back to Naga City, where we checked in at Villa Carceres.

Our Whaleshark Video: Click here.

Places to Stay in Naga: This information I got from the N@W yahoogroup: You can stay at Casa Catalina Hotel and Avenue Plaza Hotel, both along Magsaysay Ave, or Naga Land Hotel along Elias Angeles St. Useful links: naga.gov.ph and camarinessur.gov.ph We stayed at Villa Carceres hotel at Magsaysay Avenue.

Day 3: Monday: CWC day! We were up bright early and was at the Camsur Watersports Complex before 8:30 AM. Amazingly, even if it was still before 8:30, the place was already open and there were already people wakeboarding! The Governor was there, as well as Aga Muhlach and Paolo Paraiso. Good thing we were early as even more people arrived around lunch time. We only took the half day rate. After lunch and a quick wash up back at Naga City, by 2:30pm we were driving back to Manila.

About Camsur Watersports Complex: For more information about CWC, including rates and accommodations nearby, check out their website. CWC is located in Pili, Camarines Sur, near the Provincial Capitol Complex. All the nearby accommodations were fully booked when I inquired, which is why we stayed in nearby Naga City instead. Naga City is a 15 minute drive away from CWC.

Wakeboard Videos: to be posted.

11:30 PM: Home sweet home!

Butanding at Donsol

Natuloy din ang Bicol roadtrip namin! Here's a video of a whale shark up close. Kita pa yung gills! Amazing...

Zoe's Mobile Photo Session

What to do on a 15 hour car trip to Bicol? Pose for the cameras!

Zoe's Island Life: Boracay 2009

Well, these are all mainly Zoe shots. =) I posted the ultimate frisbee action shots and the party shots at Facebook.

Laki na ni Zoe, especially if you compare this to her first Boracay outing. This time, she loves playing with sand already. Pag gising pa lang nya sa umaga, turo agad sa beach at gusto na mag swim! Gusto rin nyang tumambay lang sa beach. So far, she seems to love island life.

Boracay
March 20-23, 2009

Saigon - Day 3

Day 3 of our Saigon trip -- a whole day tour through the Mekong River. First though, we had to travel around 2 hours by van to the start of the Mekong river tour. On the way back to Ho Chi Minh city, mega traffic! Back in Saigon, we ended the day with drinks with our tour guide and Pinoy travel mates.

Beer usually sells for 15,000 VND a bottle. There was a 5,000 VND draft beer at this sidewalk place, and for a while I thought I had found something to rival the 1,500 VND brewed beer at Hanoi. But no, this one kinda tasted metallic. So Bok and I went back to ordering Saigon Bia (both the red and the green varieties), and our tour guide's favorite beer, 333.

Saigon - Day 2

Day 2 of our Saigon trip. This was Tour Cu Chi Tunnel day. The day before, we just randomly crossed the street and booked a tour at one of the travel agencies lined up in the Pham Ngu Lau district.

Lessons learned:

1. You should probably book a tour at a travel agency near where you're actually staying. Since we just randomly decided to book a tour, we ended up booking a tour at a travel agency which was still around 20 minutes away from our hotel. Boo. Good thing the meeting time was not too early, and we still had time to eat breakfast.


2. If possible, don't book a tour at a travel agency. Hehe. Since we were only 2 people, getting a taxi to Cu Chi (2 hours away from Ho Chi Minh City) was too expensive. There are also buses from Ben Than Market, but the easiest way would probably be via a tour. But, we did wait quite a while for the tour guide, we had to stop first at some lacquer factory selling goods to tourists, and yes, the tour guide basically ignored our group since he was also handling another group. Did I mention we had to wait a long long time for the other group to arrive at Cu Chi before we could start the tour?

Everything was good once we got going though. Bok conquered his claustrophobia. :) We also met a group of pinoys from CDO in the tour. After returning from Cu Chi, we ate at an eatery around the backpacker district called Kim's. I had yummy fried noodles while Bok had seafood pho, and we shared fried vietnamese spring rolls. Sarap eh. :) After walking around some more, we had a merienda of pizza and delicious draft beer at an Italian resto. Buy 2 take 1!

Saigon - Day 1

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
March 7-9, 2009

Overall, it was a fun trip. We took a lot of pictures, which explains why it took quite some time before I posted anything. Hirap i-filter! Actually, di pa nga fully filtered ang mga pictures dito, pero what the hey. :)

Our itinerary:

Day 0: midnight flight to Ho Chi Minh via Cebu Pacific. At the airport, we were fetched by a driver from our guest house, which was a good thing because by the time we arrived at past 2am, everything was already closed! Even the guesthouse lobby was locked up already, and someone with unruly hair rubbed her eyes to direct us to our room, which was in the building at the other side of the street. (We stayed at the building across Madam Cuc 64).

• Accommodations: Madam Cuc's guesthouse. Recommended! USD 20 for a room (which can actually fit 4 people). A good deal especially since we had TV, aircon, hot water, breakfast AND dinner! Breakfast was a baguette with strawberry jam and butter. Bottomless Vietnamese coffee, juice, tea and bananas anytime of the day. Dinner consisted of instant noodles and fried vietnamese spring rolls. There were probably cheaper hotels in the area but we were happy with our place. :) Other areas worth exploring would be the numerous hotels in the backpacker district (Pham Ngu Lau, Bui Vien, De Tham Streets)

Day 1: Walking tour of Ho Chi Minh city. I was actually waiting for Bok to lose his patience some time during the morning. To his credit, he lost patience late in the afternoon already, while I was exploring the basement bunkers in the Reunification Palace. We got to see a lot of sights, and had fun even while we were stranded in the zoo, care of a very heavy downpour. I even walked barefoot in the Saigon streets (because the streets were flooded and I didn't want to get my shoes wet, haha). Because it was raining heavily for hours already, we tried to hail a taxi to our next destination. Unfortunately our first taxi rejected us. Parang Pinas! Our 2nd taxi took us in, but went around and around and around Saigon, resulting to a very expensive taxi fare :( To give him the benefit of the doubt though, he might have misunderstood our destination, since the driver didn't understand English too well.

• Walking tour: From our guesthouse in the Pham Ngo Lau backpacker area, we walked to the actual Pham Ngo Lau street, and onwards to Ben Than market, where across the street there's a park and in the middle of the rotonda, a statue of Tran Nguyen Hai on horseback. We basically followed the Lonely Planet Walking Tour, with some significant shortcuts. From Ben Than, we walked to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. We had lunch at Quan An Ngon, and since it was lunchbreak at the nearby Reunification Palace, we moved on to Notre Dam Cathedral, and walked all the way to the zoo and botanical gardens, returning back to Reunification Palace later in the afternoon, and revisiting Ben Than market (again). We had a yummy meal at Pho 2000, the Pho place across from the Ben Than Market. We intentionally skipped the pagodas, and the other museums. Wouldn't want to test Bok's patience too much!

Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnels tour (USD 5 with transpo) in the morning until early afternoon. Underground tunnels! In the afternoon, it was back to Ben Than Market, as requested by Bokkie Bok.

Day 3: Whole day Mekong Delta River Tour, USD 9 with transpo and lunch. I got this suggestion from one of the travel pages in the internet, forgetting of course that the person who recommended this was non-Asian and thus found this exotic. Well the tour was enjoyable, we had fun, but there were just some aspects that weren't really exotic to us (being Asians also). Come on, overpriced fish that tasted like Tilapia? Exotic fruit tasting (suha, banana, longan, pineapple)? Hehe. Davao pomelos were sweeter than what we tasted. :) Hopefully someday somebody could develop a Pasig River tour especially for tourists, hehe. But like I said, we had fun. We also went biking. Wee!

We ended the day with a few drinks with our tour guide and new found Pinoy tour mates.

• Some tips for late night flights: bring your own food! :) Or stuff yourself before going to the airport, haha. Ang mahal ng airport food! The airport was large and modern though, and had clean restrooms. :)

Day 1 pictures below.

Cagayan de Oro & Camiguin Trip

Team building with the Supplier Portal and Supplier Portal-related folks.
Feb. 20-22, 2009
Camiguin & Cagayan de Oro City

Captions and white water rafting pics to follow.

Day 1 -- Arrival at CDO, travel to Camiguin. View Camiguin sights
Day 2 -- White Beach, back to CDO
Day 3 -- White water rafting c/o Kagay, Macahambus Adventure Park Zip Line, back to Manila

Zoe at Manila Ocean Park

One day in January, had a little family outing to Manila Ocean Park.

In this album: the Concepcion family

Aaron Zips!

Macahambus Adventure Park
Cagayan de Oro City

Rizza Zips!

Rizza at the Macahambus Adventure Park in Cagayan de Oro City

Ruby Zips!

Ruby at the Macahambus Adventure Park Zip line in Cagayan de Oro.

Things I Love, by Zoe

Things I Love To Eat:

1. Mango Shake
2. Orange Juice
3. Grapes
4. Dried Mangoes
5. Kiat-Kiat (tiny orange-like fruits)
6. Ponkan
7. Spaghetti
8. Noodles, any kind
9. Pandesal
10. Fit N Right Four Season's Flavor

Things I Love to Do:

1. Dance (I even have a dance video! And I like to watch myself dance! Ask my dad!)
2. Shout (Dadaaa!!!!)
3. Go up and down the stairs
4. Drag my mom to the refrigerator
5. Run around the driveway and walk around the whole neighborhood
6. Play with my neighbor's Jollibee doll
7. Watch the Barney VCD my Tita gave me
8. Color my Barney and Dora coloring books
9. Thumb suck and rub my belly button
10. Swim and play with water
    

Things I Love to Say:

1. ATE!!!!!! -- at a very high-pitched shriek. This is from the juice TV commercial of the little boy looking for his robot shirt, which his ate wore
2. BRO!!!! -- this is from the TV show "May Bukas Pa" (yes, I may be watching too much TV. But what can I do?)
3. WIIIII!!!! WIIII!!!! -- well my dad loves to play Wii Tennis while I hold the remote and pretend I play too. Now I always drag my mom and tita to play Wii. Wiii! Wiii! 
4. DEDET!!!! -- first thing I say when I wake up. Milk! Milk! Milk! Feed me! =)
5. DADA! -- I used to call practically everyone "Dada". Now, I can also say:
6. MAMA!
   
7. DAMA! -- this is when I'm stressed out and crying and saying Mama and Dada at the same time. I get confused and say "Dama!" and "Mada", and all the grown ups laugh
8. WOWA -- lola. 
9. COOKIE
10. NO.
    

Avilon Zoo 2009

The road to Montalban via the Commonwealth Ave QC route is scenic. You wind through a zig-zaggy mountainside that reminds you of Antipolo with the view. You'll pass through part of the walls of La Mesa Dam, though part of the way, you'll get to smell the Payatas dumpsite as well. Nevertheless, I always thought the views here were underrated.

On the first day of the Chinese New Year, we decided to be impulsive and go on a tour of Avilon Zoo in Montalban. It was a Monday, and I reckon it wasn't really a good day to go on a tour of a zoo. For one thing, there weren't too many people. I think we were only 1 of 3 groups that were in the whole 7.5 hectare zoo. Another thing, some of the animals seemed to be on vacation as well. Rumor has it some of the animals were on loan at the Ark of Avilon Zoo near Tiendesitas, but we never really got to spoke to anyone in the zoo. It was a tad disappointing though, what with the missing animals, and the general messiness of the place. On a positive note, we did notice a lot of ongoing construction to make the place at par with foreign zoos, with fake safari-type enclosures and trees. Plus, Avilon really seems to be making headway with its Veterinary School, something I didn't notice when we first visited in 2005.

Maybe Monday was the general cleaning day for the zoo, and the first day of the Chinese New Year wasn't really a good time to visit a zoo. In any case, our first visit to Avilon way back 2005 was great. What with all the improvements going on right now, maybe when we visit again next time, it'll be better.

The kids had fun though. We even had some pictures taken with Trixie the Orangutan.
Avilon Zoo is located in Brgy San Isidro, Montalban (Rodriguez), Rizal. The place is a favorite for school field trips. You can visit their website for more information on how to get there. Entrance fee, without the guided tour, is 208 Pesos per head. Children over 1 will still pay the same amount. The zoo is usually open til 4pm.

Things I learned today:

1. 200 people in front of you in the line is 200 people in front of you in the line. If you haven't got 2 hours to wait in line, forget about it.

2. PAL processes refunds much much faster than Cebu Pacific. PAL already gave me a refund a month after I asked for it. Cebu Pacific -- 6 months later, they're still processing the darn thing.

3. Don't believe it when a computer application says "Time remaining: 11 minutes...". It's been 11 minutes for 3 days already!

4. I don't know how to read Japanese. And it's difficult to fill out an online reservation form in Japanese when you don't understand it.

Zoe at Manila Ocean Park

Dear Diary,

Today I went to Manila Ocean Park with my parents, my cousins Reign and Raver, their parents, and my Tita Rhea. At first they tried to insist I can get in for free, since anyone below 2 feet can get in for free. But really now, I'm already a big girl! I stood waay above the height limit! So, my Tita Rhea paid 350 bucks for me to get into the Ocean Park. My cousin Reign is 2 years old, while cousin Raver is 5, so they both also got in for 350 bucks. The other grown-ups aside from Mommy got in for 400 bucks. Mommy said she was a Manila resident, so she got in for 360 bucks.

Not that I enjoyed it. Most of the times I just hid in my dad's neck. They kept on trying to make me walk around the area, but it was soo dark and scary! And all those giant sea creatures! I've never seen them before, even that triggerfish that Mommy says Ninang Jao is scared of.  There were seahorses, crabs, giant arapaimas, manta rays, sharks! So scary! There were lots of people, but not as many people as last Christmas season when we attempted to get in. Cousin Raver even wanted to dip his feet into the fish spa, but since it was an additional hundred bucks, the grownups just told him that the fish might die because of his smelly feet. Bad! :)

I was more in my element when we finally came out of Manila Ocean Park, and got into the souvenir shop. So many colorful stuff! Flipflops, T-shirts, caps! I really enjoyed looking at all the stuff there! Tita Rhea bought me a cute T-shirt and this monster ball that glows when you bounce it. I really like my Tita!

Afterwards, the grown-ups were hungry already, and we ate at the Oceania resto, which is owned by that famous catering group Tamayo's. For 250 bucks each for the grown-ups, they had an all-you-can-eat merienda buffet. Mommy fed me lots and lots of spaghetti and pancit. Tita Rhea also gave me my favorite pandesal! It was yummy. I was so stuffed I didn't even finish my milk! Cousin Raver had halo-halo, while Daddy and Mommy really stuffed themselves with puto, spaghetti, pancit, arroz caldo, bread and halo-halo. Afterwards, cousin Raver bought some gummy bears at another store and gave me some.  

On the way home, cousin Reign and I were talking about the trip. Then Mommy gave me my milk, and I was finally sleepy enough to dream of all the cute stuff in the souvenir store! When I grow up, I really am gonna be a fashionista!

Love lots,
Zoe

Zoe at Manila Ocean Park

Dear Diary,

Today I went to Manila Ocean Park with my parents, my cousins Reign and Raver, their parents, and my Tita Rhea. At first they tried to insist I can get in for free, since anyone below 2 feet can get in for free. But really now, I'm already a big girl! I stood waay above the height limit! So, my Tita Rhea paid 350 bucks for me to get into the Ocean Park. My cousin Reign is 2 years old, while cousin Raver is 5, so they both also got in for 350 bucks. The other grown-ups aside from Mommy got in for 400 bucks. Mommy said she was a Manila resident, so she got in for 360 bucks.

Not that I enjoyed it. Most of the times I just hid in my dad's neck. They kept on trying to make me walk around the area, but it was soo dark and scary! And all those giant sea creatures! I've never seen them before, even that triggerfish that Mommy says Ninang Jao is scared of. There were seahorses, crabs, giant arapaimas, manta rays, sharks! So scary! There were lots of people, but not as many people as last Christmas season when we attempted to get in. Cousin Raver even wanted to dip his feet into the fish spa, but since it was an additional hundred bucks, the grownups just told him that the fish might die because of his smelly feet. Bad! :)

I was more in my element when we finally came out of Manila Ocean Park, and got into the souvenir shop. So many colorful stuff! Flipflops, T-shirts, caps! I really enjoyed looking at all the stuff there! Tita Rhea bought me a cute T-shirt and this monster ball that glows when you bounce it. I really like my Tita!

Afterwards, the grown-ups were hungry already, and we ate at the Oceania resto, which is owned by that famous catering group Tamayo's. For 250 bucks each for the grown-ups, they had an all-you-can-eat merienda buffet. Mommy fed me lots and lots of spaghetti and pancit. Tita Rhea also gave me my favorite pandesal! It was yummy. I was so stuffed I didn't even finish my milk! Cousin Raver had halo-halo, while Daddy and Mommy really stuffed themselves with puto, spaghetti, pancit, arroz caldo, bread and halo-halo. Afterwards, cousin Raver bought some gummy bears at another store and gave me some.

On the way home, cousin Reign and I were talking about the trip. Then Mommy gave me my milk, and I was finally sleepy enough to dream of all the cute stuff in the souvenir store! When I grow up, I really am gonna be a fashionista!

Love lots,
Zoe

Batan Island, Batanes

Batanes Trip
January 3-6, 2009

Our flight to Basco, Batanes was delayed for a day, someone got stuck inside the plane restroom for more than 30 minutes, my butt aches from the whole day bike ride, and our flight back to Manila was delayed 4 hours.

It was great!

A very special thanks to the manager of Batanes Seaside (for following up on when we'll get to Batanes), and to our day guide Mang Roger Amboy, who borrowed the bikes we used (6 bikes), and who also rode with us across the island. Extra effort talaga.

*** Note: pictures below are not shot in order. Napagod na ako mag-arrange sa Multiply eh, hehe. ***

Sabtang, Batanes

Sabtang, Batanes
January 3-4, 2009

Sabtang is an island roughly 30 minutes away by boat from the main island of Batan (where the airport is). Tourists normally take Sabtang as a daytrip from Batan island. We stayed overnight at the Bureau of Fisheries building, where you can spend the night for 150 per person.

Sabtang island has several barangays. We hiked from Centro to Savidug to charming Chavayan. It was already dark (very dark), and cold (very cold), so we humbly begged Chavayan's kapitan to drive his multi-cab and drop us off back to the Centro. Haha. Buti na lang mabait si kapitan!

Cool. Chavayan rocks.

Places to stay:

• Bureau of Fisheries: You can contact Gigi Cielo as your guide (09217154919)


• Chavayan Heritage: I guess most of these towns also have guesthouses. You can also stay overnight in Chavayan for 150 a night. The barangay captain's Mrs. will personally cook you your dinner. :)

There are other places to visit -- there's what they call Little Hongkong in Barangay Sumnanga, Barangay Nakanmuan, and Natao Point. There are 2 more islands viewable from Sumnanga as well.

How to Get There:
There's a daily boat from San Vicente Pier in Ivana, Batan Island. Boat leaves when it's full. Fare is PHP 50 each. Ride is a bit bumpy, if you're seasick, take Bonamine. If you miss the boat (or if there's no boat that will travel that day), you can hire one (depends on the weather of course). This will cost PHP 1500 upwards (depends also on the size of the boat).

Batanes

Sabtang, Batanes

Indonesia - Taman Safari

Jakarta, Indonesia
December 12, 2008

Taman Safari is around 2-3 hours by car from the city of Jakarta. It's a very large and impressive complex. You really do need a car to get around the place.

There's the safari section where you can drive your own car, roll down your windows and feed the animals. There are lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, hippos, monkeys and lots of other animals in this area. After the safari car tour, there are still lots of areas to visit. There's the baby petting area, where you can pay the equivalent of 50 pesos to have a photo op with some sedated wild animals. There's an aviary, a reptile area which features some crocs, snakes, and komodo dragons, an elephant riding area, a penguins section, monkeys-swinging-around section, etc. There's also a cowboy-and-indians live show (in Bahasa Indonesia) that you shouldn't miss..

Best for: kids, and wide-eyed adults who think like kids.
Other pictures: View Dudong's site.

Indonesia - Borobodur and Mendi Temples

Jogjakarta & Jakarta, Indonesia
December 6-13, 2008

Candi Mendut is a Buddhist temple located 3kms from Borobodur Temple. I really liked this temple -- for some reason I felt really calm when I saw the big statue inside (There are 3 big statues inside the temple). There's also big tree just outside the temple with overhang roots where you can swing ala-Tarzan.

Candi Borobodur is another impressive Buddhist monument located 40kms from Yogyakarta. The temple was buried under volcanic ash and jungle growth for several centuries -- volcanic Mount Merapi lies just over the horizon. The last 2 layers of the temple are still buried underground. The restoration work is impressive though, and while we were there, there were workers pounding cement stones to recreate the old brick stone look of the temple walls.

*Note that Yogyakarta is around 12 hours by car away from the city of Jakarta. Borobodur can usually be visited as a daytrip from Yogya.

Jogjakarta - Day 2 - The Sultan's Palace

Jogjakarta & Jakarta, Indonesia
December 6 - 13, 2008

The Sultan Palaces had an underground tunnel that led to a prayer area for Muslims. The ruins of the Sultan's Palace exist side by side with everyday life -- you can see ordinary houses erected using the old palace as walls. Nearby is the old swimming area for the Sultan and his concubines -- Taman Sari. Around the area are also some art shops. Yogyakarta seems to have a vibrant art vibe -- even the graffiti around the city impresses!

For dinner, we ate at Cafe Via Via (Jalan Prawirotaman 30, Yogyakarta), a cafe that caters to the western budget traveller. Jalan Prawirotaman is filled with several hostels and guest houses -- a good place to start looking for budget accommodation in Yogyakarta.

Jogjakarta - Day 1 - Prambanan

Jogjakarta & Jakarta, Indonesia
December 6-13

The Long Intro

This is a trip that had been booked way before. When the date came nearer however, due to some misguided work plans, I had already spent several days/hours in researching possible booking, rebooking and entry options. The day before, those work plans didn't push through, so I had to cancel and ask for a refund for one of my rebooked flights. At this point, the plan was for me to just stay with the original flight schedules. But NOOOO! On the day itself (Friday), EDSA decided to have a hugh traffic jam, and Bok and I got left behind by the plane. Like those scenes in the Amazing Race, we tried to beg them to let us in the plane, but unfortunately, the answer was N-O.

Since Cebu Pacific didn't have daily Manila-Jakarta flights, we eventually had to:

• Book a next-day (Saturday night) Cebu Pacific flight to Kuala Lumpur, where we would need to spend the night...


• Book an Air Asia flight from KL to Jogjakarta (Sunday afternoon), where we would meet up with our Sunlife friends

The Pit Stop, Finally

Bok and I arrived at the Jogjakarta (Yogyakarta) airport, where I realized that really, Philippine domestic airports are heaven compared to the chaos here. Aside from the language barrier (no one spoke English), the luggage conveyer belt was a textbook case of "How Not to Build a Luggage Conveyer Belt". Or maybe "The Idiot's Guide to the Luggage Conveyer Belt". Really, the manual system of porters carrying the bags from the plane into the airport terminal is more efficient.

Bok and I finally joined up with the RLimpics gang on Sunday afternoon. They had already driven from Jakarta to Semarang and to Yogjakarta. Richard picked us up at the Yogya airport, and from then on, it was smooth sailing.

Looking back though, I think I did a pretty good job of appeasing Bok, shielding him from the initial hassles and making sure we only had pleasant memories of the trip. Haha.

Day 1 Highlights

• The Entrance Fee Fiasco at Prambanan (The temples are not as grand as the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia, but it is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia. They do charge different entrance fees for foreigners and locals however.)
  
• Dinner at Gadjah Wong (Jl Gejayan no 79 D - Great ambience, yummy food)

For other pics, check out Dudong's site as well.