October 2014 – Bondi Beachin’ (Day 9)

Yup, you know this view. It’s Bondi Beach, one of the most famous beaches in the world. And never did I think that I would ever get to see it in the flesh. What a blessing! Let me take you through half (again) of this picturesque day.

October 2014 – Eyeing Sydney and the Opera House (Day 8)

Our first day in Sydney was so packed, two blog posts are needed. After taking so many pictures in the beautiful Queen Victoria Building in the previous post, this one explores more of Sydney – the highlights of which I hopefully were able to incorporate into the title? (Trying to be witty, yeah…)

October 2014 – Hello, Sydney… (Day 8)

After a blissful six days in Melbourne, it was time for us to move on to one of the most famous places in Australia – Sydney! So many things Australia is known for is in Sydney… Opera House, need I say more? But let’s take this adventure slow – after all, there is a lot to be seen at literally every corner…

October 2014 – The Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles (Day 6)

When researching about the places to go to in a certain country, you can be certain that the ones which appear on almost every list are most definitely worth visiting. One of those places is the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia.

October 2014 – The Heart of Melbourne (Day 5, Part 2)

So I did say in the previous post that we visited the Shrine of Remembrance during our day trip to the urban areas of Melbourne. Yes, it was every bit as majestic and awe-inspiring as the photo promises to be.

October 2014 – The Heart of Melbourne (Day 5, Part 1)

Yes, we were in Melbourne the whole time, but our fifth day in Australia was the day when we woke up and found out that it was the day to go to the city proper. Yahoo!

October 2014 – Where Is Werribee? (Day 4)

Is a two-month writing/blogging spell worth the wait for this new travel blog post with one of the corniest titles ever? I hope the pictures more than make up for it. 😀

To answer the question that the (still extremely corny) title presents, Werribee is a suburb of Melbourne, which we were very fortunate to be able to explore courtesy of our gracious hosts, the Alcantara family. Even as I write about it now, I’m still floored by the depths and widths that Philippine hospitality to their fellow countrymen go to. So – to any member of the Alcantara family – if you’re reading this, please do know that to this moment, any mention or thought of Australia that we have always has your memories in it. 🙂

The family patriarch first took us to a place I myself would describe as touristy, but not too much that it just goes over your head (if that makes sense at all) – the Werribee State Rose Garden.

October 2014 – The Wild Side of Melbourne (Day 3)

After recharging back to our normal selves in our first two days at Melbourne, we were beyond ready for a little adventure. Of course, our definition of adventure would be the tamest one possible – in this case, a day of strolling in comfortable, cool weather, on the hunt for our first sighting of Australia’s unique wild animals.

October 2014 – Touchdown, Melbourne (Days 1-2)

If you told me last year that we would have an opportunity to visit and tour Australia in 2014, I would’ve told you to beat it and stop giving me fantasies to think about. But what can I say, God has been truly good:

The Cafe Quay Resto

Let’s give the travel posts a break, shall we? I do miss doing two things that used to be regular on my blog: reviews (especially places to eat) and nail polish posts… both of which are coming back with a vengeance. Soon. :p

One of the factors that inspired me to gather up the diligence to do reviews again was the number of pretty little cafés opening up in Lucena, where I live. Lucena used to be a pretty quiet and understated place – to me, the cooped-up-at-home introvert, at least. But over the past year, one could notice that a modern air was creeping into the territory – quaint little corners, painted in classy shades of grey, white & brown accented by ambient mood lighting were starting to pop up everywhere.

One of those places happen to be the Cafe Quay Resto:

July 2014 – Xiamen

So yeah, I remembered that I did have a blog. LOL we’ve flown to Australia, I’m flying to China again in a week, and I haven’t finished the pictures from the previous China trip. Great, just great.

I really, sincerely hope that I get to the point in my blogging where all my blog entry introductions start with a mini rant on how behind I am in my blog posts. To take away a bit of your annoyance at my ranting earlier, behold a magnificent view of Xiamen!
Quite impressive, isn’t it? I believe my previous sentence was also a bit misleading as one would actually expect an aerial view. Haha it’s just a tiny view of the city from the top floor of our hotel, which had a revolving restaurant… fancy. Anyway, more peeks on how modern Xiamen has become…

July 2014 – Nanyang

The name “Nanyang” doesn’t conjure up as many iconic associations or images as “Beijing” or “Shanghai” does, and I didn’t know what to expect as we made the journey from Guilin. We were, however, pleasantly surprised…

July 2014 – Guilin

This was the awe-inspiring view from my hotel room – typical Guilin, where the numerous mountains surrounding the area unexpectedly blend seamlessly with the growing amount of houses and buildings cropping up. Wait, Guilin? Yup, I was back in the beautiful city last July, and enjoyed every minute of it.

May 2014, Davao – Of Tribes, Butterflies, and Goodbyes

FINALLY wrapping up the Davao series with this short, but sweet post!

May 2014, Davao – PSD Adventure World

Apparently, another place which ranks high in my uncle’s “worthy to visit” places in Davao is this place – PSD Adventure World. 

May 2014, Davao – Boiling Crabs + Bone Collector’s Museum

Here are two more places in Davao that would be pretty hard to find without prior research or a local. Actually, the Boiling Crabs restaurant isn’t that hard to find, but I couldn’t think of another way to phrase the previous sentence, so here we go! 😀

May 2014, Davao – Here and There

Recognize these? Yup, those are durians, one of the things Davao is famous for. The stink is enough to drive a lot of people (including me) away, but for some others, it has its charm. To each their own! Here’s a little more random going around Davao, courtesy of friends:

May 2014, Davao – Eden Nature Park

After a lackluster first few days in Davao, the real fun began when my uncle, now a native of Davao, assigned his right-hand man to take us to the places that we must go to. And boy, does he know where to go. First stop: Eden Nature Park!

May 2014, Davao – First Impressions + Midori Inn

It’s only by God’s blessing that I have been able to explore more places of the Philippines I haven’t been to yet on this year. And man, is our country beautiful or what? Next stop: Davao!

May 2014 – Tulay Buhangin, Day 2

Day 2, here we come! We explored this relatively unknown island instead of the usual, and a bit more famous now, Kuwebang Lampas. I don’t really know what name this island was – there we were, riding along in our bangka, when we saw this island and just decided to stop here!

Of course, our journey itself to the island also had its own gems:

May 2014 – Tulay Buhangin

Coming from a two-week city-wide translation tour has made me long all the more for another trip to the beach. This time, though, I was enlightened by how helpful and, well, simply amazing a GoPro is. It’s in my sights now; hopefully, I can save up enough to be able to have one the next time we go to the beach!

And yes, I think banter completely unrelated to the topic of the actual post will be my trademark or something. Here, we have another trip to the unknown with the Luna family and a few more friends. By unknown, we literally didn’t know what the place was like…

April 2014 – From Mindoro to Home

Since we’re nearing the end of July now, I think it’s appropriate that I finally put a fitting end to this Mindoro series, no? Rest assured that it’s not half-heartedly done, though – in any case, our last day and trip home were as equally inspiring to write about as the trip itself was.

April 2014 – Another Day at Paluan

Remember me saying in the last post that we were supposed to be leaving Mindoro that day, but changed plans at the last minute and stayed another night? Well, here are more photos from that day, consisting of, but not limited to: posing with an Atlas-worthy rock, bathing in fresh spring water, and an impromptu spa session, completely free of charge.

April 2014 – Calawagan Mountain Resort, Paluan (Occidental Mindoro)

Allow me to take you through our second-to-the-last day in Occidental Mindoro, spent (unexpectedly) at the Calawagan Mountain Resort in Paluan. How we got there is a story all its own. I have something to admit, though…

April 2014 – Pandan Island (Occidental Mindoro, Day 2)

Here we are for day two of the Mindoro series! Just to tell you, fresh tomatoes and grilled eggplant don’t leap to mind when I think of breakfast, but after having this breakfast, I suddenly had the feeling that I wouldn’t want it any other way. 🙂

A good breakfast for a whole day of adventuring!

April 2014 – Occidental Mindoro (Day 1)

Yay! A travel post! 🙂 Needless to say, after about a couple of months without travel to any new place whatsoever, I was starting to feel a little restless. So that is what the travelling bug does to you – oh man, I think I’ve been bitten. 😀

This time, we explore more of our own beautiful country, the Philippines! Come Holy Week, or any vacation week for that matter, people think of Boracay, Palawan, Sagada or any other famous/hyped getaway to go to. Compared to them, the name “Mindoro” seems to not hold that same allure, that same magic as when the other names are uttered.

However, as we soon found out, Mindoro had a charm of its own. 🙂 Do take note that what we went to was Occidental Mindoro; there is another part called Oriental Mindoro.

January-February 2014, Boracay: Diniwid, Nami + Going Home

So on the day before we were to go home, my parents and their friends went off exploring. I begged off from this trip because I knew there would be a lot of walking, and I didn’t feel fit enough to be confident that I can finish the trip without complaining. Good thing my dad brought my camera, though, because he did capture a gem of a place in Boracay, the part definitely less traveled by people – Diniwid Beach.

January-February 2014, Boracay: Puka Beach & More

Boracay does not have one beach per se; in fact, it’s divided into Sections 1 to 3. Walking between those sections takes a lot of time; there’s a lot of land area covered. Hence, a lot to explore!

January-February 2014, Boracay: Gone Beachin’

OH MY GOODNESS. Here I was since last month, complaining about having nothing to blog about. Then, our Mindoro trip happened, and I had all the time in the world to put up the pictures and blog about it. While checking my blog, however, I discovered that I DID NOT FINISH MY SERIES ON BORACAY. 😦 I just started with an “arrival” post, but never got around to finishing the other pictures. Dayum. My forgetfulness is having too much of a good time.

So without further ado…

April 11, 2014 – Kickin’ Off the Birthday Month

So, as per usual, before getting to the actual point of this post, I will go and rant a little…

I was actually itching to update the blog since last month, where I had plenty of time after graduation and the school year were officially over. Problem is, there was nothing to write about! No recent travels, no special events, no sad happenings to make me go all emo on the blog – nada. But then April came around, and for me, that’s when things start getting interesting!

First of all, it’s the birthday month for my dad and I… and our D-groups went ahead of us and organized a semi-surprise party/gathering for all of us. Good food, good people, good conversation – what’s not to love?

My 2014 Valentine’s

How did you spend your Valentine’s this year? Yeah, I know… “seriously, you’re asking me this question one month after Valentine’s?!”

But you see, that’s because I want to share mine:

1) beautiful young girls;

January-February 2014, Boracay: The Arrival

When one talks about or thinks of the Philippines, hardly will s/he miss Boracay: the Philippines’s island haven and one of its most treasured tourist destinations. Is it the Philippines’s most beautiful beach area? That is very much debatable – but once you step into Boracay shores, you get to know one thing: it has one of the best atmospheres any vacation destination can offer you. Let’s explore this sandy gem, bit by bit!

Of course, we had to get there: