Singapore 2008: Day 4 - Wet and Wild at Singapore Zoo

To save some money, we opted to buy the Park Hopper tickets that the 3 parks in Singapore were offering. For SGD 40, one can visit the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, and Jurong Bird Park. The Park Hopper tickets savings amounted to SGD 18 per person.

We decided to try the Singapore Zoo first. The trip to the Zoo was quite long, about 1 to 1.5 hours. We had to take an MRT and a bus to go there. We followed the instructions on the travel brochures we collected on our trip to Orchard Road.

Unfortunately, it was raining hard when we got there. We had to buy raincoats at SGD 5 or SGD 10 each (I forgot exactly how much) because it was really pouring that day. In retrospect, we shouldn't have bothered with the raincoats because we rode the tram on our whole stay there! As if we stayed long! We were there for just about 2 hours I think. I was a bit annoyed with my mother then because there we were with our raincoats and she didn't want to explore the Zoo because it was raining. I argued that we were wearing raincoats anyway and it was a waste of our time and money if we didn't even try to visit some parts of the Zoo outside of the Tram. But she was adamant that we should try to stay as dry as we can. Oh well ... at least I have an excuse to go back to the Zoo if I get the opportunity to go back to Singapore.

The Night Safari was just adjacent to the Singapore Zoo. Well, at least the entrance was. I am not sure if the Night Safari was the same zoo just covering different parts of the place since we also just rode the Tram during our visit there. But that is another story for another day.

Here are some pics.

Singapore 2008: Day 3 - Fun with Rock Band

Day 3 was a rainy, wet Sunday so we opted to stay home (I mean Jet, Hazel, and Fred's home) for some Rock Band fun!

Singapore 2008: Day 2 - Orchard Road

Jet, Dianne, and I met Fred and Hazel at Lucky Plaza for lunch. We ate at a popular food stop called Jologs. Here, pinoys can eat their fave Filipino food.

Ater eating a hearty lunch, Dianne and I went aroun Orchard Road to look at the expensive shops. We also dropped by Konikuniya to buy a manga for my officemate Pao. While browsing, I saw a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows worth SGD 9.90!!! I immediatle bought a copy! Yay!!!

We also visited Chinatown. While eating at Smith Street ...




we saw this sign from one of the shops ....




Panalo! Hahaha.


Some nice pics of our running around Chinatown.






We also saw a perfume shop inside the mall in Chinatown where they sell cheap perfumes. Dianne was able to buy the perfume she had been looking for for quite some time now there and it was very cheap! About 50% off!



The Singapore pips then treated us to dinner in one of the street hawker joints. We met the Cookies (Jenny and Lord) and, of course!, took more pics.

Singapore 2008: Day 1 - Arrival

I went to the NAIA 3 airport by myself while Dianne was accompanied by Nanay and Tito Benny.

NAIA 3 was bigger than Centennial but not much different. It was cold inside the airport so we had coffee while waiting for boarding.

Bo's Coffee


Camwhores



We were met at the Budget Terminal by Jet and Hazel. The Singapore Budget Terminal was a bit a surprise to us since we did not expect it to be that plain. I was a little disappointed that Dianne will not see the Changi Airport since I boasted to her that Changi Airport is the best Airport I've been to so far.

We took a taxi to Jet, Hazel, and Fred's condo and was me there by Fred. Had some chicka with the 3 then we went to sleep to prepare ourselves for a busy day!

Happy Birthday to me!

I feel so happy today!!! Sana magtuloy-tuloy for the rest of the day! It feels good to celebrate my birthday! Yay!!!

Singapore Trip: Preps

Cebu Pacific had a promo last May. They offered zero fare seats for international flights! Yay! So my tour plans for this year was whacked! I planned to have just one out of the country trip for my family this year. We went to Hong Kong last March already so my plan before was to take my family to a local destination later this year and continue with our out of the country trips next year. But the zero fare promo was too good to resist! I have friends in Singapore and I figured we could save a bit more if we crashed in their condo for our stay. My friends were very nice and agreed.

Originally, it was only me and Dianne who were supposed to go to Singapore this month. Our trip will be on Aug. 21-27. I asked Nanay if she wanted to go with us but she told me she can't get off from work for that long. My sis and my round trip tickets cost us only Php 11,586.00. This excludes the airport tax and terminal fee. But then Nanay decided to go with us! She felt that there might not be a next time when we can go as a family to Singapore. Her flight will be later than ours, she will be leaving on the 23rd, but she'll go home with us. Unfortunately, there were no more zero fares!!! And so her round trip ticket costs us Php 12,632.00!!! Hayyy!!!! Oh well, at least we will be able to enjoy SG with her.

I'm now planning our itinerary for our trip. There's a lot of things to do in Singapore but I'm not sure if the costs are really worth the experience. We don't plan to do a lot of shopping in SG since we don't have the money for it but we would like to visit as many tourist traps as we can! Hehehe.

Meme: Compliments

Got this from Dianne.

One little compliment can make you feel amazing. So give me a compliment, anything in the entire world, even that my shoelaces are awesome. Put this in your journal. And once you get some comments, put that entry in a memory or tag and when you are feeling down, just go to that entry and this will remind how great you are.

I think they call this meme ....

Got this from Dianne. Am waiting for the manicurista so tried to answer this ....

100 Things (You Might Not Know About Me)- from YAN!!.

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT??
I have a cigarette burn c/o of my Lolo. He was taking care of me and he got a bit careless ...

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
Framed graduation pics and diplomas .... all the way to kindergarten.

3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP?
I have no idea ....

4. WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
Pop, Rock, R and B, etc.

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
Basta malapit sa midnight

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
The manicurista to arrive .... Nandidiri na ko sa nails ko ....

7. WHAT DO YOU MISS?
Papa ko.

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION?
I can't think of just one thing ...

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU?
5'1"

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
nope

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
sometimes

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
my officemates

13. WHATS YOUR WORST FEAR?
that all my family will die before me

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
black hair, brown or black eyes

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING PROPOSED TO AT?
inside a church

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?
coffee

17. FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
cheese

18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
busog pa ko ... la ako maisip

19. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME?
blue

20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH?
nope

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
office bag from my mom. it has been a long time since she gave me a present.

22. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH?
yup

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
what is double joined?!

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
Guess

25. WHO IS THE HOTTEST FEMALE/MALE CELEBRITY?
Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp


26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?
No.

27. WHAT KIND IS IT?
no pets

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
i don't think loving a person depends on whether he'll leave or not

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED:
8

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES?
brunettes

34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?
Never been to the US of A.

35. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
the little nice things that people do for me

36. MET ANYONE FAMOUS?
got a pic with zsa zsa padilla and kuh ledesma ... do they count?


37. FIRST JOB?
web developer

38. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
yup, when i was in highschool ... it was a bit cruel and i regretted it

39. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE HAS A SOULMATE?
nope

40. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED THIS OUT?
checking my kid sister's friend's blogs

41. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY?
3times

42. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
my dedication to my work and my kindness .... (although some people don't believe i'm kind!)

43. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES?
have one right now

44. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
enough money to bring my family out of the country again next year!

45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
maybe 2 or 3.

46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
not that i know of

47. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST TURN OFF OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
infidelity

48. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU MISS ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL?
laughing and playing in the rain

49. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?
head and shoulder

50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
nope

51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
huh?

52. ANY BAD HABITS?
procrastination

53. ARE YOU A JEALOUS PERSON?
yup

54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
yup

55. DO YOU AGREE WITH FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS?
what benefits are we talking about here? if it's sex, sure as long as we are both mature adults and are single

56. DO LOOKS MATTER?
Of course.

57. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER?
i rant and/or cry

59. WHATS YOUR MAIN GOAL IN LIFE?
to have enough money so that i and my family can live comfortably and do some traveling

60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
lutu-lutuan ... ironic since i didn't learn how to cook

61. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE?
between 200-300?


62.WERE YOU A FAN OF BARNEY AS A LITTLE KID?
nope. more of pong pagong.

63. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
yup

64. MASHED POTATOES OR MACARONI AND CHEESE?
mashed potatoes

65. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
integrity, looks, fun to be with, share my interests

66. WHAT ARE YOUR NAMES?
Ryanne, Ayanne, Eyen, Yen


68. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?
right now? wala eh. dati charmed tsaka dark angel

69.WHATS THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMIES?
either revenge or deadma

70. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
coffee flavored or cheese or strawberry

71. DO YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOES?
yup

72. DO YOU HAVE A COMPUTER IN YOUR ROOM?
nope

73. PLANS FOR TONIGHT?
still hoping the manicurista will come ...

74. WHAT'S THE FASTEST YOU'VE EVER GONE IN A CAR?
with me driving or a passenger? with me driving .... zilch! with my dad driving, i think he once reached 140kph

75. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
not really

76. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Francis Magalona's Kaleidoscope World

77. LAST THING YOU DRANK?
water

78. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
euclid, a cousin of mine

79. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX?
eyes

80. WHAT DO U LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?
eat, sleep, read pocket books, surf the web

81. FAVORITE THING TO HATE?
hmmm ... can't think of any

82. FAVORITE MONTH OF THE YEAR?
December

83. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF CANDY?
mint candies and potchi

84. HAVE YOU EVER REALLY AND TRULY HAD A BEST FRIEND?
yup

85. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR?
mostly black ... or is it white? ... or silver? ... oh well

86. EYE COLOR?
dark brown

88. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
mcdo and joliibee

89. FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
wah sun in recto

90. DO YOU LIKE SUSHI?
nope

91. Last thing you watched?
wheel of fortune ni kris over dinner

92. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
dec24

93. PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
tried to study guitar but my fingers were too short

94. REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?
neither

95. KISSES OR HUGS?
Both.

96. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS?
relationships

97. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT?
Carbonara with blue berry cheesecake and 4 seasons meal form red ribbon

98. DO YOU HAVE A LOW SELF ESTEEM OR A HIGH SELF ESTEEM?
high self esteem

99. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
The Playboy by Carly Phillips

100. DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE:
huh?!

Blue Coral outing with long time friends

After much planning, Carl, Marlon, Abi and I were able to finally settle to go to Blue Coral for our summer getaway this year.

We had several options since there are a lot of summer resorts along Laiya, San Juan, Batangas but we chose Blue Coral since it has beach front property and swimming pools.

Our trip started with a bus ride from the bus terminal in Buendia. We rode a Lucena bound bus at Php 108 each. We alighted at the Candelaria town and took a jeepney ride to San Juan at Php 18 each. Another jeepney ride after that to Barrio Hugom at Php 30. The jeepney passes through the gates of Blue Coral.

We availed of the day tour buffet offered by the resort. It costs us Php 800 each. The buffet included lunch and merienda. The lunch was ok, not great but ok. The merienda was a disappointment. They served just sandwiches. I liked the food in La Luz, another beach long Laiya, better.

On our way home, we had some trouble getting a jeepney ride from Blue Coral. We rode a tricycle instead. The tricycle ride costs us Php 150! Highway robbery indeed! And this is not even up to San Juan town. This is just to the nearest jeepney terminal that will take us to San Juan town. After that, we took a van to Lipa City. This costs us Php 60 each. There were a lot of people in the Lipa bus terminal and we had to shove our way in a bus back to Buendia.

Here are some of our pictures.

Labor day outing 2008

For our annual Labor Day outing, we went to Poracay!

Poracay lies amidst the remains of the ash fall and lahar flows of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption more than a decade ago. Going there means driving through the mega dike created to contain the lahar flow and through the various constructions they are making there right now. No public transportation passes through Poracay.

The water in their 3 pools was very refreshing. It seems that the water comes from a nearby stream. The water in the pool was not chlorinated and was cool to the skin even if the sun was at it's hottest. There was also a mini lake where we did some "boating". It was a good place to spend one hot day.

We rented a bahay kubo (nipa hut) for 1,500. This nipa hut had it's own toilet with shower, small kitchen and dining area, 1 double size bed, and 1 electric fan. Food can be brought in and there's a grill outside every nipa hut.

Here are some pictures of our day.

AIU-RP Team Building 2008: San Pablo Laguna

This year's AIU-RP Team Building was held at Casa San Pablo at Laguna. It wasn't what I was expecting since the 2 previous team buildings involved more physical activities while this year's team building was more introspective. It was ok but I prefer the previous team building activities.

Here are some of our pics:

Summer 2008: Puerto Galera

My friend Carl was jealous of her officemates who had been touring the country for the past months that she invited us to go to Puerto Galera as soon as she cam home from Japan. And so we were in Galera from April 5 to 7.

We stayed at the Buenalynne's Beach Resort along the White Beach stretch. We stayed there for 2 nights and it was pretty good considering the location and the price. It's a beach front resort and our 2 nights stay costs us Php 3,500 per night. It had 2 double size beds with a/c and a private toilet. We rented an extra mattress for 500 for the 2 nights for 2 of my cousins who came with us. Our party was Carl, Marlon (Carl's hubby), Dianne, Emond, Kuya Dondel, and of course me!








We rode the banana boat at Php 200 per person and we rented a motorized boat for our snorkeling at Php 2,000. The kuyas withe motorized boat made the trip more fun for us! They were a riot! They told us stories of the places we went to and they were funny guys who kidded with us during the trip. They even had a blue starfish that they asked us to have our pictures taken with. We were lucky to have hired them instead of the cheaper kuyas because not only did they brought us to the Coral Gardens where not most of the bankeros go to but they also made sure that we enjoyed our trip. Thanks kuyas!

We also tried the night life at Galera. The place was hopping at night! There were a lot of people in the bars and in the beach itself since the bars cannot accommodate all of the party goers. We tried the Mindoro Sling of Galera and it really has a punch (pun intended)! On our 2nd night, we opted to stay in our room and order the famous cocktail drink and play cards instead.






And of course, Puerto Galera trip is not complete without our tatoos!

Hong Kong Trip: Day 3 (Ocean Park)

We woke up early in the morning to go to Ocean Park. I think it was the first time for me and Dianne to ride a double decker bus. Mom used to ride one when she was younger along Luneta Park.







The line for the tickets was not as efficient as it was in Disneyland. Even though I have already bought the tickets online, I had to queue in line with guests who still need to buy tickets on site. The line was quite long since it was a holiday in Hong Kong. While waiting in line, my sister saw this amazing kid that was climbing up the statues in front of the Ocean Park gate.



The only ride we were able to go to in Ocean Park was the Ocean Park Tower and the Cable Car. All of the other rides were too much for my sister and my mother. So we spent all day visiting the many aquariums. We visited some of the aquariums more than once because we were so fascinated with how they have setup the habitat. Ocean Park's aquariums are by far better than the Melbourne Aquarium.












Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the dolphin show. The auditorium was already jam packed when we got there. But we saw the sea lion show and it was great! Both the sea lions and the trainors were showcasing their acting talents!

We weren't able to see the panda's also because of the renovation. We made a vow that we will return to see the shows/rides we've missed and to see the pandas!

We proceeded to the Harbour to watch the Lights Symphony show. The sky was a bit foggy and so we were not able to see the lights show in their full splendor but it was still great!

Hong Kong Trip: Day 2 (Disneyland)

Day 2 was reserved for Disneyland!

We were told that Hong Kong Disneyland wasn't really that good since it's only like Enchanted Kingdom back home. But contrary to what we were expecting, we had a blast in Disneyland! Maybe it's because Dianne and I are long time Disney fans and so really enjoyed most of the shows in the park.

We rode Space Mountain, the Buzz Lightyear ride, and the Mad Hatter ride. Mom had fun in the Buzz Lightyear ride. At first, it was only me and Dianne who were blasting the enemies but after a few minutes, my Mom took the blaster from me and started firing away! Hehehe.



We had our pics taken with Stitch and Buzz Lightyear. The line for the pics with the other Disney characters, particularly with Mickey and Minnie, was too long!!!

We rode the Disney train but the views were less than I was expecting. It wasn't the exciting ride I thought it was.

The Jungle River Cruise was cool! The same with the Raft ride to Tarzan's house. There was a cute guy in the River Cruise crew but he was suplado. Hehehe.

We also saw the parade but weren't able to stay until the fireworks display. Mother and Dianne wanted to go to the Ladies Market at Mongkok.

Next post will be about our Ocean Park adventures! Will try to post it tomorrow since I am too sleepy right now. Till next post!

Hong Kong Trip: Day 1 (Departure)

The Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong was delayed for 2 freaking hours! The crew told us that the plane will be coming from a domestic flight and since there was a power problem in the domestic airport, all domestic flights were delayed. Sigh! And to top it off, I forgot that Cebu Pacific flights do not include the departure tax in their tickets yet. We had to pay for Php 1,620 per person for the travel tax. All of my previous travels have already included the travel tax in the ticket price. Good thing we had extra money in peso that day.

We arrived at Yesinn at about 11pm. We took the A11 bus from the Hong Kong airport to King's Road in Fortress Hill. The cost of the ride was HKD 40 per person. This was the cheapest transpo since the Airport service via MTR costs HKD 100 per person and taxi from airport to Fortress Hill costs HKD 350.

The room was quite small, 1 double bed deck and the toilet was also quite small. But we liked it since the small space was really maximized and it has all the amenities you might need. There's a water heater shower in the toilet, microwave oven, ref, aircon, and water heater.

The small lobby of the hostel even had 1 computer terminal where guests can access the internet for 15mins if there's someone else who will use the computer. This was very useful for us since we had to backup twice the 2 1GB SD card that we brought for our digicam.

The receptionist of the hostel was a very friendly Filipina named Lee who gave us useful tips on how to go around Hong Kong.

Holy Week 2008: Day 4 (Easter Sunday)

We attended mass in Vigan Cathedral on Easter Sunday. The mass was in Ilocano so we did not understand much of the mass. Afterwards, we walked along Calle Crisologo, this is where most of the preserved old houses are located. This is also where most of the souvenir markets are.



We also went back to Baluarte to visit the animals there in broad daylight. The kids had fun riding the small pony kalesa,



the butterfly garden,



and the tigers.



We then continued on our way home. The End.