2009 in Brief

It has been another exciting year for me.

I started off by getting what would make a Filipino's life in the UK much easier - a permanent UK residence visa (or what we call in the UK as indefinite leave to remain). Mind you, being a keen traveler and having a Philippine passport are not the best of combinations, because half of your life seem to be going to embassies applying for visas so you can travel! So acquiring a permanent UK residency is like saving yourself a quarter of your embassy trips (if not more)!

The first quarter of the year was what I would call a lull in my travels as I had to remain in the UK to wait for my UK visa renewal. After what seemed to be an endless wait due to my exasperation of not being able to travel out of the UK, I finally got my passport back and was over the moon when I saw the stamp on my passport... an indefinite leave to remain! Hurrah!

I celebrated my new residence status by going home to the Philippines in May. It was a splendid visit albeit being short. Had a lovely time with my family in Baguio and a sunny holiday in Boracay with Dave. In this Bora trip, it was Dave who suggested we stay in Diniwid, which is the quiet and very idyllic part of Boracay, away from the loud disco music and screaming videoke bars of the long beach.

Went back to London feeling refreshed and ready to go back to work. But of course, the summer holidays in the UK were just starting, but due to June and July being our peak months at work, I had to be around London. Which wasn't that bad at all, because this year, summer in London was fantastic!

Went to see Wimbledon for the first time and saw Andy Rodick in Court 2 and saw a few exciting matches in the smaller courts. Even got the chance to watch Andy Murray from "the Hill" along with the rest of British spectators cheering for Murray.

With summer at its best and music festivals happening all over the country, Dave and I took the opportunity to spend a camping weekend in Kent for the Hop Farm Music Festival. Saw the Fratellis, Paul Weller, Doves, Editors, etc.

In late July, we went to Belgium to see one of my best friends - Dada! The last time Dave, Dada and I were all together in one country was probably 6 years ago in the Philippines! It was indeed a good time to catch up. And of course spent a great deal of time enjoying Belgian beers and eating mussels! Jan was very sweet to drive us around Brussels and drove us to Bruges. Also met up with my friend Angelo who showed us around Ghent. We even had a taste of the Ghent music festival as it was happening when we went to visit the city.

In September, Dave and I did a local touristy trip by going for a cycling weekend at Shakespeare Country - Stratford-Upon-Avon. Went around the historical houses including Ann Hathaway's House, Shakespeare's birthplace, Nash's house and Hall's Croft. Our second day was spent cycling some 30-mile distance towards the town of Ilmington bordering the Cotswolds where a wide variety of berries along our cycling paths were a constant attraction along with the different cottage houses and tudor houses that were lining the villages we cycled through.

In October, had week long holiday in the beautiful Cyprus. Discovered the most amazing Cypriot food in Kouppas Stone Tavern in Neo Chorio, swam in the Blue Flag awarded beaches of the country, played chess in the most stunning locations, crossed the border in Nicosia towards the Turkish part of the country, enjoyed sipping Cypriot coffee whilst waiting for the sun to come down. Ahhh would go back there!

Finally, in December, I took the Christmas holidays off, first time after having worked the last two Christmases. For the 12-day break I got, I spent two days in Paris (courtesy of my friend Dominique who went through all the lenghty process of sending me an invite to support my tourist visa to France! I told you, being a Filipino who wants to travel is not that easy). Domi lives right next to the Eiffel tower so that after the dinner she cooked for Dave and I, she made us all jump out of our seats, put on our boots and made us run to go see the Eiffel. We got there just in time when the flickering lights covered the tower and then followed by a show of various flashing lights within the tower.

On this Paris visit, I had to make sure I would get inside The Louvre (which I missed the first time I visited) and of course saw Monalisa and the famous Venus de Milo.

On my second day in Paris, woke up to see the city covered in snow! It was then another day for Dave and I to visit museums and we chose to see Musee d' Orsay.

Our trip to Paris had to be extended by another 2 days as we got stranded due to the extreme weather condition. This eventually shortened our week-long holiday in Gran Canarias. As a result, we ran out of flights for Canarias so I booked tickets to fly to Tenerife. With the holiday cut short, it wasn't as enjoyable as I had expected it to be. I also got disappointed to see layers and layers of apartment blocks covering the island. I had immediately thought of the environmental implication of tourism due to the overwhelming hotels and apartments I saw in the island.

Flew in to Manchester on Christmas eve and spent a lovely Christmas with Dave's family. I enjoyed it so much that I almost didn't want to board the train back to London. It didn't help that Dave was staying behind in Manchester for a few more days whilst I headed back to London on my own.

I shall now post this blog before the year is over. 2009 has been another great year indeed and I hope that 2010 will even be better! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

So many things...

...have happened since I last wrote an entry.

And here is an attempt to go over what has been happening in the last 8 months! Wow that's a long time for not writing a single entry! Well, what with all these facebook stuff and blogging has become a thing of the past for me! No, i shouldn't say that. I do like blogs, i am not just one of those prolific bloggers.

Right, I think the best way to start writing again is just to share you all an idea where I have been traveling to in the last 8 months.

To...

... Paris (in August 2008) where I fulfilled my dream of seeing and climbing The Eiffel Tower and was loving every moment of walking around the city and saying, "merci", "oui" and "s'il vous plait".

... Amsterdam (in August 2008) where I found myself in awe with the architecture, the canals, and became so enthralled by the works of Rembrandt and Van Gogh and thought it would be fun to live in this city!

... Rome (in September 2008), where I agreed to millions of travelers that Rome has got to be The favourite city in the world. I couldn't get over how beautiful this city is!

... Florence, where I had intensified my love of art and had to trade the time to go on a quick trip to see the leaning tower of Pisa to que to the museum to see 'David', the greatest sculpture of all time.

... Venice, where the moment I saw the gondolas and crossed the Rialto Bridge that I thought, this has got to be the most romantic city I've ever been to.

... Marrakech and Zagora (in November), where gastronomic experience at the Djamaa El Fna and riding a camel to cross the Zagora desert were the highlights of this sub-Saharan Africa holiday.

... Philippines in December!

I will be filling you in with more details on my upcoming blog entries.

Dasol Mangrove Rehabilitation Project

Here's a more scholarly me =)

Not a travel entry this time but here's a paper I've co-written with Tom Byers (of Washington State University) about our mangrove rehabilitation project in Dasol, Pangasinan, Philippines. This project was one of my highlights during my work in Tanggol Kalikasan in the last three years. This has been made successful with the co-management of the local government unit of Dasol then headed by Mayor Angelita Jimenez and her very reliable municipal agriculture officer Ms Vilma Nifas.

I presented this paper during an international conference of small-scale forest managers last year in Leyte, Philippines. Please follow the link below for the paper:

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:108321

Maxine By The Sea

When in Alaminos, don't miss the gastronomic experience which is to my knowledge best had at Maxine By The Sea! Try their antipasto (my new favourite!) next to their famous calamares and pinakbet! mmmn yummy!

I must say that my craving for Filipino dishes particularly authentic ones have all been satisfied to my heart's content with the meals i had at Maxine!

I was asked by the lovely Liwy (owner of Maxine) and her equally lovely cousin and my very good friend Bulgee to extend my stay in Alaminos so I can have dinner with them at Maxine. How can i pass such a lovely offer! And to add to their treat to me, we had breakfast the following day again at Maxine and tried for the first time Fr. Uly's favourite - Maxine's pancakes! I must say I have signed up as one of the fans of these lovely pancakes as soon as my first slice of pancake started melting in my mouth. of course, the gastronomic experience is not complete without having Alaminos longganisa, my all-time favourite!

For lunch, I had bangus and sinigang sa miso. Try also Maxine's pancit, as it is one of their best sellers! Ah, but what is not, I think everything in the menu is truly a treat!

For more info on Maxine By The Sea, visit their website on http://www.maxinebythesea.com/. or call them on (075) 5512537 and ask for Liwy (owner and manager) and feel free to name drop me! No, don't ask for any discounts please, you'll find the price to be reasonable for the quality of the food, the freshness (we are talking about fresh catch of local fisherman here!) the way it's presented and not to mention for eating in a place where you have a fantastic view of Hundred Islands!

Of course, you've not been to Alaminos if you've not been to Hundred Islands! So pack those bikinis, goggles, flip flops and sun cream and head out to the beach before the rainy season begins!

Oh yeah, back to me in London, if I don't reply to your text messages or don't pick up my phone, that's probably because i may be at work and can only access my work mobile phone which is: +447826938758, but do keep my other mobile number: 07525720477.

White sand of Cabalitian

a travel tip for those who haven't been to the beach this (Philippine) summer yet, try frolicking in the beach of Cabalitian, Sual, Pangasinan. this is my latest discovery of white-sand and unspoilt beach, courtesy of my very good friend Bulgee and Fr. Ed who invited me to their beach party!

the place is accessible by boat from this small docking area in the mainland Sual to the beach of Cabalitian. the boat ride takes around 20 minutes.

just wear your bikinis underneath and top it with a sundress or pair of shorts and shirt. don't even bother bringing any clothes for changing! you'll see what i mean as soon as you get close to the beach.

when we got to the beach i literally stripped off my top clothing and ran straight to the water. the clear and unspoilt water of Cabalitian was one of the most irresistible things i've encountered in the last 9 months! talk about being deprived of warm beaches when in the UK! hehe

after taking a dip in Cabalitian's pristine waters, grab a bottle of water, wear a hat and perhaps consider putting another layer of sun cream and take a nice stroll towards the cove hidden behind the rocks west-ward of the beach.

the cove is one of Cabalitian's hidden gems waiting for nature lovers out there to sample its relaxing waters and zen-like atmosphere.

Asin Hot Springs!

This entry is not for Baguio and Benguet residents who may well better be the ones writing this blog entry as they know better than I do about Asin hot springs!

The photos speak for themselves... So if you are looking for a nice rest and recreation place within Benguet, Asin hot springs is the place to go!

There are a number of new resorts now in Asin and far so much better from what we used to have when we used to frequent Asin during the old days. (Naks para akong matanda dito a!) My family highly recommends Riverview resort!

It costs Php70-80 per adult for an entrance fee. Our entrance fee included a use of a hut which was situated on the hill, so we had a good view of the swimming pools.

Be sure to take a dip in their hot springs located just near the swimming pools... There's nothing better than a soothing and a relaxing dip on those hot spring tubs.

There's no Place Like Home

I've been stuck in London for a long 9 months, and after a couple of unpleasant incidents that prevented me from traveling out of the UK, the thought of going home to the Philippines for a three-week holiday thrilled me to death!!!


I hadn't felt so happy being in the Philippines until I went home this April and felt at home the moment...


... the airport cab driver asked me for pasalubong! (oh my god)

... i ate rice for breakfast

... i stepped into SM and managed to shop for clothes and shoes less than half of the price of the goods I would've paid when in the UK

... my dad and brothers prepared pinikpikan for dinner!

... i was seeing the sunrise at Hundred Islands!

... i was swimming in the pristine waters of Western Pangasinan

... i was eating fresh seafoods and indulging in Pinoy food such as pinakbet, crispy pata, kare-kare, daing na bangus, longganisa! yummy!

... i was voraciously eating mangoes!


Home is indeed a litany of beautiful things life has to offer and as I write this entry from my desk in London, away from home... it is always nice to say, "there's no place like home..."

Balut!

Was going over my photos today and couldn't help but smile at the photos of me with guys I met during an international forestry conference I attended in Leyte, Philippines in June 2007.

I thought I'd post it here as a reminder of that fun night when I challenged guys from Germany, Ireland and a fellow Filipino to eat the famous Fear Factor favourite - balut!

On this interesting balut encounter, where I was enjoying (hihi sorry guys) watching the facial expressions of my male contenders decipher the strange egg in front of them, and which I won't go into details here as it will spoil the fun for those who haven't tried balut yet, my fascination switched to the balut vendors who handed to me what I thought was the greatest balut accessory innovation of all time! I just finished gobbling up my balut and was fumbling for something to wipe my hands with when our balut vendor readily offered a bottle of water to sanitise my hands! And it was not just an ordinary water, it was scented water! (how clever is that? never seen that in other parts of the country before!). The water - mixed with fragrant fabric softener, effectively leaves your hands free from the foul smell of the balut!

While it was indeed fun watching some of the guys brave their first encounter with a balut, I'm not sure if my new friends found it as interesting as I did... err I am not even sure if I earned new friends after that challenge... hehe

Surfing in L.U.!

November 2006

I have learned a new sport... surfing! Thanks to my sis Dada who invited me to have my first surfing lessons in San Juan, La Union, Philippines!

Why surfing? Why not!

It was the first weekend after I arrived from Sri Lanka and as if my holiday wasn't enough, I went back on a holiday mode after a week-long work mode, and packed my beach garb (har har which proved useless to surfing and I will tell you later why), hitched a ride to Dagupan with our dear friend Bulgee and whisked off to San Juan!

Of course, this story won't go straight to surfing but will tell you that I got a gorgeous hunk for a surfing instructor. Ah well, I guess the motivation to learn surfing got more exciting at that point! My instructor Anthony (yes gals, you can find him at the______, I'm not telling! hehe) proved his worth when I realized he was as good as an instructor as his looks! During my first lesson, he taught me how to stand up on my board, paddle with my board, and finally ride my first wave! The moment I got on my first wave, I never really wanted to stop! So on a pleasant afternoon with the sun setting and red and orange skies were bursting on the background, my friends and I were enjoying lapping with the waves, getting turned over by waves and riding the waves - more appropriately called as SURFING!

The following day, my surfing instructor taught me a new skill, and that is, how to catch my own wave! Wow, I'm getting there! After my first weekend of surfing lessons, Dada and I were already planning to go back the following weekend. Yes, surfing is cool and here are some things you may want to know before heading off to San Juan:

1. Basic requirement. You should at least be confident in the water, i.e. that you should know how to swim or that when you fall in the water, don't go on a panic!

2. Wear tight-fitting tops otherwise subject yourself to become a flasher when you get rolled over by waves! I don't have my own rash guard, but thanks to Dada who lends me her rash guard everytime we go surfing. Rash guards are expensive (Php1,800++), so if you don't have one, wear something on top of your bikini top that is really tight enough to lock your top! I got another tip from a dorm-mate wayback in college and she said she wears knitted tops coz they hung tight to your body.

3. Choose an instructor who knows how to communicate. During my second weekend of lessons, my surfing instructor wasn't there, so I got a new one (who unfortunately was just pushing me towards the waves and didn't seem to teach me anything at all).

4. Meet and hang out with the local surfers. Yes dude, so that you get more tips even after you're out of the water!

5. Budget: 1 hour of surfing lesson (with surf board rental) is Php350. Accommodations range between Php150 (dorm) to Php800 (fan room) to Php1000++ (aircon room). Decent meals cost at least Php50.00. Drinks around Php 20.00. Beer Php25.00 up.

6. Where to stay. I've been to San Juan twice and stayed in both occasion at Mona Liza Resort (Php500 up depending on the number of occupants per room). Choose a beach-front room and you wake up to a view of pro-surfers riding the waves at the POINT!

7. Where to hang out. Surfers' Retreat. A bar on the highway fronting SeBay where you find all the surfing instructors mingling with old and new surfers as they burn their hard-earned cash over bottles of beer. Cool dude!