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.