ANAWANGIN

Been to Anawangin before October ended. It was my first time. I've been hearing a lot of this place - the beautiful view, the pine trees, the lake, mountains that surrounds the beach and how relaxing the place is - all good things I must say. Their stories excites me and wanted so much to experience the place. So when someone invited me to come, I said YES!

The place was indeed wonderful. If you are a nature lover, you'll definitely enjoy being there. Anawangin is very popular to the mountaineering community and photographers. They are the peeps whom I kept on hearing stories about this place. And by the way, Anawangin will bring you back to basics. The place doesn't have electricity, signal and you will need to bring a tent and camp if you want to stay overnight as there are no resorts available. Cool, right? 

The place deserves to be called a Paradise. Too bad it was a little crowded when we went there because of the long weekend I guess. But the place did not fail to amuse me. I would still love to go back there and explore the place more.  

 Pine Trees

 Tents

Lake

Pine trees reflecting on the Lake

 Mountains and Pine Trees

Beach

MERCATO

A night out with good old friends. This was never planned, it just so happened that we we're all online at Facebook and decided to meet-up last Saturday and have some food trips. We went to this place called Mercato which offers different kinds of foods. All possible foods you can think of is there. It's like Banchetto where foods are all over the place. They usually open over the weekend. As usual, in a place like that, you'll go crazy deciding what to buy. It's like you would like to try and taste everything. We all ended up with full stomachs. So nice to go out and eat with good friends.

Check out the photos below:

Click on the picture for a larger view

It was kinda raining that night, but there were still a lot of people. 

Good thing Mercato is inside a big white tent.  

This picture is a little blurred, sorry about that. =p

THREE LITTLE BIRDS

Singin' don't worry about a thing..'Cause every little thing gonna be alright..

Evening with a soothing music, cold breezy air, sound of waves, bottles of beer - I just miss reggae nights at the beach!

WHERE I WANT TO BE

Click the picture for a larger view

On the beach is where I want to be. I want to walk along the shore, feel the sand under my feet as the ocean breeze hits my face and the hot sun kissing my skin. I love everything about it. I so miss being there! 

FOOD TRIP WITH FERN

Weekend food trips with my buddy Fern! Just this last Saturday, we tried a new food place in Marikina called Burrito Bros where they offer Mexican style foods. Then the next day, we decided to visit Banapple to fill in our stomachs. :)

What's in the table?

Super Taco

Super Burrito

Banapple on Sunday

Hickory Smoked Barbecued Country Ribs

It's a Pesto pasta for Fern; I forgot it's menu name

*BURP*

Apple Caramel Crumble Pie

Home Made Ice Tea

Mirinda Soda

Looking forward for more food trips with friends! I suddenly got hungry. Haha!

THROUGH THE LENS

This is how I see them through the lens... :)

BORACAY 2011

Some photos from our Boracay trip. Stress-free, lazy days, relaxing view, party till dawn, beers, all fun... It is indeed a vacation! If I can just be on vacation mode forever... LOL!

What's with the song? It's being played there all through out our stay that we suddenly kept on singing into it...

It's not about the money, money, moneyWe don't need your money, money, moneyWe just wanna make the world danceForget about the price tag...

CHILDHOOD DAYS

It was our company's sports fest last Sunday. It was held at UP Human Kinetics Gym. It was the opening of the said event that's why I decided to come. I just usually attend on the first or opening day. We also had our sports fest at the same venue last year. But this time, outside the gym, there's this play ground like obstacles. Seeing those amazed me and brings you back to your childhood memories. 

I remember so well how addicted I am to playgrounds when I was a kid. All those see-saws, swings, slides, play houses - they drive me crazy! I would always want to play outdoors whenever I had a chance. Playgrounds then are like heaven to me. LOL! Being in those kind of places just gives so much happiness when you're a kid. Whenever you're there, you keep on wishing that the day won't end so that you just have to stay there. Those were the days wherein the hardest decision is choosing what games to play.

Now that I have my own kid, I am thinking that maybe, if me and my son would spend 1 day at a playground, I might act more like a kid than him. Haha! Kidding aside, I got to admit that up until now, seeing playgrounds still bring out that excitement in me. It's so fun to be a kid!

The 'dirty ice cream' - they're the best! Back then, in a late afternoon, I've been waiting to hear the sound of the dirty ice cream vendor's ringing bell, coz' it means that it's time for ice cream! So childlike, I know. It's just nice to go back and reminisce your childhood once in a while. Those days where decisions were made by "enie, menie, miny, moe" and not being found in hide-and-seek was your biggest worry in life. =)

PUERTO GALERA 2011

As I've mentioned in my previous posts, our Galera trip was accompanied by the storm "Bebeng". We missed the sun so much, but still, we enjoyed each other's company and our stay there. The video above were some photos on that trip. On our 1st night there was when the rain started to pour and the nearest bar then played Katy Perry's FIREWORKS and the crowd just started to go crazy. It's raining and all, people drinking, dancing and partying like no one's watching. Though I haven't seen much sun on that beach experience, it was still fun and memorable. :)

HONEYOSH PHOTOGRAPHY

These pictures were taken by Slice with her Nikon D90. Honeyosh is her watermark. I love the stolen shots. Especially the 2nd photo, it looks like a paparazzi shot. Uhmm, please let me dream. LOL! I thanked Slice for being so patient on taking pictures of me. Oh well, I am just doing the same for her. Quits! Haha.

RAINY AND WINDY BEACH EXPERIENCE

As stated in my previous post, I'll be going back to Puerto Galera. I did, together with friends. We went there Saturday morning. We didn't expect that this Galera trip will be accompanied by the typhoon "Bebeng". It was a rainy and windy experience at the beach.

The rain started Saturday night, all was still good and having fun with all the open bars that night. We thought that sun will show up the next day but the rain keeps on going. Majority of my friends (Che, Djhaye, Popz, Shayne and Lois) decided to go home Sunday afternoon though it keeps on raining and the wind is just unpredictable. Me and Slice stayed and planned to go home Monday morning, we were with Kuya Dennis and family who plans to leave as well on Monday. It was raining all through out that Sunday and wind were so strong that we all felt afraid even for just a walk outside.

We woke up early on Monday to prepare our things so we can go home. It was already sunny but still windy, that means the waves will go crazy. Our boat ride is at 10:15am, but with all those people who extended their stay and would go home that day too, all boats were jam-packed and we were able to have the 12:30pm boat ride to Batangas Port. 

The waves are too big which gives difficulty to the boat that were riding. There was something wrong with the boat that time, and I think the boatmen were just not saying it to avoid panicking for all the people out there. We were stuck at the middle of the sea for quite long while the crew were trying to fix something. When it was fixed, we were sent to the nearest beach resort and waited for another boat to fetch us. 

That beach experience was so tiring. I always felt relax whenever I'm at the beach but not this one. It was so stressful! But of course you still need to look ways how to have fun, I just can't let myself be taken away by boredom. It would just be nice if it didn't rain at all. I missed the heat of sun at the beach. :(

* Taking photos while we were stranded at the other resort 

and waiting for the next boat to rescue us. LOL! *

* A windy effect photos of me at the rooftop of the hotel 

that we're staying. Haha! *

Will I still go back at Puerto Galera? Uhmmmmm. Let's see. LOL!

I'M GOING BACK

Puerto Galera - I am going back there. 

See you tomorrow!

* Photos taken last July 2010 at Puerto Galera *

LAI-LYN'S CATERING

Tapsilog craving? Try Lai-Lyn's Catering tapsilog! The place is just a few minutes away from my workplace. After shift, me and some colleagues would go there to simply eat, sometimes our food is accompanied by a couple bottle of beers. Haha. Their food is really nice, they offered catering services and have this little place where they serve very affordable meals too. Not only it is affordable but delicious as well! Yum. My favorite is their tapsilog, whenever I'm there, I can't resist ordering their tapsilog. Now, I'm hungry. LOL!

Lai-Lyn's Catering

#8 E. Rodriguez Ave., Sto Nino, Marikina City
933-09-78 / 997-7672

CAFE DE LIPA

Me and my friend Slice went to Lipa, Batangas over the weekend. We stayed at her friend's place. It was not a planned visit, it's actually a last minute thing. We just wanted to go somewhere that weekend and ended up going there. 

On our second day there, that was Sunday, I craved for coffee. We were planning to go to Starbucks Lipa, but Ate Karen, who is a true blue Batanguena mentioned that there's a coffee shop near Starbucks Lipa that tastes the same like Starbucks' coffee but is actually made from Kapeng Barako. Batangas is known for their strong tasting Kapeng Barako and is usually served hot brewed. But Cafe de Lipa made it with different twists and keep up with other famous coffee shops. They also served iced coffee, frappes, lattes and yummy pastries that will go along with your choice of coffee. 

Their coffee is so good, it's just like your favorite coffees at Starbucks. The ambiance is so nice too. I feel proud that we Filipinos can also make a world class kind of coffee. They have several branches as well, but mostly in Lipa, Batangas. I hope they expand more to different places, they'll definitely beat other known coffee shops.

- Slice -

- with Ate Karen -

Coffee Lover!

Cafe de Lipa

Main Branch : 

32 San Carlos Drive, Mataas na Lupa 

Lipa City, Batangas