Kampuchea

おはよう

This story is truly one for the books.

I had never really experienced real earthquakes before. I considered myself lucky because I am here, born and raised in the Philippines where the occurrence of earthquakes is way above average and yet I hadn't experienced the ground going all mad and crazy. The "worst" earthquake experience I've had so far, prior to my Japan trip, was when I was inside the Araneta Coliseum watching a basketball game, where every one was literally jumping up and down, cheering for the competing teams. That's the closest thing I've had for an earthquake experience. Well, not 'til the March 11, 2011 historical 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan.

It was a really, really crazy and new experience for me. When it happened, we were already on the last day of the conference where we'd all present our projects done throughout the week-long conf. The groups had already started presenting when I somehow felt the ground shake. I thought "Gosh, what was that?" And then the earthquake began. It probably took me 20s or so to realize that I was in an actual earthquake. The ground didn't stop shaking as I'd expected, in fact it only grew stronger. The chandeliers were all swaying, dancing, making loud noises in the background. I was... calm.


While everyone was scurrying under their seats, I was calm. I looked for what I thought the best cover/protection was. So instead of covering my had under our seats, I went on the podium and hid under the lectern.



(...to be continued)

Splash! Hot Springs Adventure in Laguna

Laguna, Philippines is well-known for its hot spring resorts in Los Baños and Calamba. I'm quite surprised that I only visited the place this weekend. Hmmm. It is definitely the place-to-be for workaholic Manileños like moi. There is no better place to go if you're from the Metro and just want to get away for a nice and relaxing weekend: air-conditioned hotel rooms, hot spring resorts, coconut juice, local delicacies, and well, a breath of fresh air. The best part? It's only an hour or two away from Metro Manila.


We stayed overnight at the Splash Mountain, in one of their standard rooms (1 double bed, 1 single bed), which, by the way, is so affordable. The initial plan was to get wasted, ergo the getaway and the Tequila; but well, it's just that--an "initial plan". The thermal pools of flowing hot springs from Mount Makiling were just so inviting. Meron silang tumataginting na 19 thermal pools! Saan ka pa?!?


Once checked-in, you have the privilege to use ALL of its provided facilities, including of course the pools of warm spring water, giant waterslides, oudoor jacuzzi, barbeque grills, and coin operated karaoke TV 24/7.


The snack bar's open 24/7 also. When you're there, you don't have to worry about anything else. Just leave all your worries in the Metro. And, there's a coffee shop :) They serve good food; I had a Filipiniana for breakfast. Delectable!



P.S. Calmed and relaxed me forgot to take photos of the pools. Hehe.
P.P.S. In case you wanna know, we (the three of us) only spent around P1,500.00 for the entire stay including travel fare (only P200 round-trip).



Getting There (cut-and-paste from their website):

If you are coming from Quezon City, aircon buses are available at Cubao, along EDSA corner Aurora Boulevard. HM Tranport leaves at 3:30 am daily from Cubao to Sta. Cruz via Los Banos. Bus leaves every 15 minutes until 10 pm. From Los Banos, you can wait for buses bound for Cubao at the highway in front of Splash Mountain. The last trip for buses coming from Sta. Cruz is at 8:00 pm.

For those coming from Manila, aircon buses bound for Sta. Cruz are available at JAM and Tritran bus terminals at LRT station, Buendia. First trip is also at 3:30 am and buses also leave every 15 minutes.

Tupas in 澳門 and 香港 ♥

The Macau/HK trip was my first time abroad with my brother Fourth and cousins. Going places is definitely way more fun with family and relatives--especially with cousins whom you grew up with. It's so unfortunate though that my brother and I only got to spend three full days with them... we had to leave right away for work and school. Although it was a very short vacay... it was definitely an action/adventure-packed weekend.


The night we first arrived in Macau, we just dropped off our stuff in my cousin's place and went strolling around the busy and colorful city right away. We were all giddy and excited (read us noisy and rowdy) like typical tourists. What made it more fun was the company of my cousins.


We then dined in around the Fisherman's Wharf area for the Bisperas of Jem's birthday. Spicy sea food plus some meaty meal was heaven. We were home past midnight. Since it was gonna be a really short vacay for me and Fourth, we all had to wake up early -- to make the most out of our stay there.

Spent the entire morning touring around San Malo.



As I'd expected, the streets were pretty crowded; it was so surreal. I felt like I was in some Chinese movie or something. What made it more grand was when we finally got to the end of the narrow streets of San Malo -- Saint Paul's Ruins awaited us. It was such a sight to behold!



Surprisingly enough, even with the moseying in the morning, we still had the energy to climb up the summit of the Macau Peninsula.


My crazy cousin Jem (our tour guide) didn't warn us about what we were getting ourselves into. Let me rephrase that. She didn't warn us about what SHE was getting us into. It was a real climb, which reminded me of my Pulag climb! (And there we thought that it was just going to be another easy mosey.) It was really just fortunate for Jem that the A-Ma Temple at the summit was majestic--she eventually got spared from all the foreseeable whining. Anyway, according to Wikipedia, it "is one of the oldest and most famous Taoist temples in Macau."


The temple was really beautiful with some Chinese traditional music in the background making it more uncanny. When I was there standing at the center of the temple, it wasn't difficult to imagine Jacky Chan or Jet Li flying over my head with daggers and some red Chinese silk drapery like those seen in Chinese action movies.


After marveling at the majestic and culture-filled temple, it was such a relief to know that there were shuttles that we could take that'd take us down the foot of the hill. hehehe


As if we weren't tired enough... when we arrived home we were told to rest for only a few hours, we still had to celebrate Jem's birthday! As if my feet weren't hurting enough already, we dressed up, wore killer heels, and went bar hopping and partying around town. The city was grand at night. The city lights were fabulous and so were we!




Next Stop: Disneyland! Two countries in three days! Awesome, right?!?




Best Disneyland experience ever. I have been to Disneyland USA in LA but this time it's more fun, awesome and memorable... simply because I was with my brother and my cousins. We were on fire! It seemed as if we were transported years back when we'd all get together in one of our living rooms and do some Disney movie marathon! We realized that although we all seem to have "grown" up, we're still those same kids who used to hangout in our Lolo and Lola's bedroom watching cartoons and having fun bullying each other.

Sigh.

It was all so nostalgic. While strolling around Disneyland, we'd reminisce about those days of ol'.

The night ended perfectly with the impressive and splendid fireworks display. My Tita and I were both teary-eyed. It was so surreal being there with everyone... well, almost but not quite.



I wish I could tell you more... but I've gotta start writing my dissertation. (lol)


Anyway, we are all definitely going back... and there's definitely gonna be more of us! Yay! xox

HK/Macau trip write-up to follow very, very soon.

Potipot Island

It was a long overdue vacation. The first time we planned the trip, an unfortunate event went down and we had to cancel all reservations. Then about two weeks ago, we finally decided to push through with the weekend getaway. We almost missed it for the second time because of another unlucky accident! If only I were superstitious enough, I wouldn't have gone to Potipot knowing that it was going to be just my friend Tugs and moi, coz we were supposedly a trio. Worse luck, Ren (the wuss without a Twitter account) came down with a fever the night before we were set to leave for the vanishing act! At almost midnight, we were still scouring for another chum. Of course, we couldn't find anyone more kaladkarin than us, could we? So, it was decided. We were gonna conquer Potipot, Tugs and I!



It was breathtaking! The pictures here don't give justice to what awaited us. It was what people would describe as "paradise here on Earth". Oh, Gaia!

One of the best things about this trip was the timing. Amidst my busy schedule (paper submission deadlines for conferences, candidacy exam, and other teaching duties which were all due the same week as the bolt for freedom), we decided to be "reckless". It was liberating. What a perfect escape from 32 emails (excluding Facebook notifications) and 23 SMSs! Oh work, you hold your horses! :-)


No T.V. No internet connection. No electricity. How awesome! It was really nice to commune with nature like that. Totally rejuvenating!


Jealous much? Here are the details on getting there! I'm definitely going back soon! Ciao!

View of the island from our resort.

Totally stole the following from Tugs' post:

Details of our itinerary:

• Left Victory Caloocan at around 8am, paid 418 each to Uacon, Candelaria.
• Reached Puerto Del Mar at around 2pm. The resort cost 1800 for 3 people.
• Left for Potipot at 5:30am. Boat ride costs 500 (upto 6 people) roundtrip.
• Paid 100 each for environmental fee. You can also bring your tents or spend the night in cottages in Potipot but I do not know how much the cottages cost or how to reserve them.
• Took a bus to Sampaloc, Manila at around 12noon

Why I didn't go to the Rodeo de Santa Fe

Two options: Rodeo versus the Sandia Peak Tramway

It was a tough choice to make because I had already given a pseudo-"yes" to the other group. And... they even singled me out -- "Itsmekikay has to see the rodeo. It's very American!" They were right! But! My two summer school best friends (1) were planning a different after-hours adventure and (2) they hate the rodeo.

I was in a dilemma!

In retrospect, I'm so glad I decided to go with my two cool and dorky best friends and other equally cool and dorky friends to the Sandia Peak Tramway instead; although, I would really have loved to have experienced the rodeo, too, with some classmates. Plus, I had also been told that there were gonna be some macho cowboys... tsk.. tsk... But, can't be in two places at the same time, can I? So, I followed my heart and off to the Sandia Peak Tramway I went.


A side note: Had I known much earlier that the Sandia Peak Tramway is the world's longest aerial tramway, there wouldn't have been a dilemma at all. :) I can be so stupid and naive at times. I just go without knowing where I'm going.


The tramway ride was only about 15-20minutes long. Just getting on the ride makes everything worth the effort already. As we were hoisted to the peak, I couldn't help but marvel at the majestic view of the mountains and the landscape. It was breathtaking.





Photos by Bogdan... much more beautiful than my shots :)


When we finally got to the peak and off the tram, we were in the back of beyond. I loved it. We waited at the Kiwanis Cabin for the sun to set. I find the cabin very poetic in its isolation. And then the sunset. It was by far the most beautiful, romantic, and spectacular sunset I've ever seen. I wanted to inhale and draw everything in and freeze the moment... if only.





I'm so glad I had that indelible experience. I'm so glad I made friends in New Mexico.



(The Sandia Peak Tramway Group Photo by Bogdan)




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All I Wanna Do

This is LA!

All I wanna do is have some fun
I got a feeling I'm not the only one
All I wanna do is have some fun
Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard

This is LA!

Most of my friends know that it was my first time to be out of the country. No, I didn't go to Vietnam, or Korea, or Thailand, or Malaysia. I didn't go to Japan. And no, my first time abroad was not in Macau nor was it in Singapore. Typically, Filipinos who go out of the country for the first time visit these nearby countries and not go on a flight that's more than 10-hours long. My first time abroad, on the other hand, was spent in America.

Needless to say, I was uber ecstatic about my trip that I didn't get to sleep the night before. I was worried about a lot of things -- my passport, my visa, my luggage, my english, my presence of my mind, and well, my brain... to name a few. Anyway, I successfully got on my flight without throwing up (out of anxiety and excitement). It was also quite advantageous that I wasn't able to sleep the night before. The lack of sleep kept me calm during the flight. Consequently, the buzz slowly dissipated. I took a direct flight from MNL to LA; it was a long flight... long enough for me to get some rest. I woke up right before landing and had the luck to catch a glimpse of the view outside the aircraft. I saw something unfamiliar... which snapped me back to the reality that I was laying over another country... the city planning was different; it was well-organized. No scattered clusters of homes. No apparent slum areas. "Oh my God. I'm in LA."



Even at the very moment I set foot in LAX, I still couldn't believe that I was already in America. When I got there, I felt so small... literally and figuratively. The feeling was so overwhelming, I couldn't seem to figure out whether I was excited or scared. I was all by myself. I felt so small... and yet so big.

Siquijor: the Isle of Fire

I was the one who suggested to my friends that we drop by Siquijor, since we were already visiting Dumaguete. One of my closest friends in the dorm is from the Visayas, which is one of the three biggest islands in the Philippines. So, I trusted that somehow he knew the geography. It only took us a few hours to finally decide on our itinerary. I had this wild idea of island hopping: Dumaguate-Siquijor-Cebu. He said that it was feasible and that these islands are just a boat ride away from each other! Imagine my excitement! :)

Then it started to dawn on me that Siquijor is a place known for its "magic, mysticism and enchantments." I've heard a lot of stories about witchcraft being practiced still in the island. I am a science student, I know, but I'm still AFRAID of witches and voodoo dolls. Anyway, I was able to convince myself for awhile there that we're just gonna skip Siquijor. I didn't wanna be put into some spell or curse just coz I stepped on some sht. But some of my friends have already gone to the place and all they got were nothing short of praises for the mystic island. The island seemed to have mesmerized all of them! They tried to convince me that I was just being childish and illusory. And that I'd truly be sorry if I wouldn't let my rational self make the choice. It really did take me a while to convince myself that I was just being too superstitious.

I'm so glad I killed the folly. I would have really been sorry.



The island was truly MESMERIZING. Everything was heavenly. I also love the fact that we toured the entire island for a day on a motorcycle... soakin up the Sun! <3