Adventour Magazine Features Sexy Nomad

I was surprised to receive a copy of Adventour magazine last week! It was actually delivered to my home Wednesday evening just before I went out to do the groceries. I didn't have the time to read it though until Friday late afternoon and boy oh boy was I surprised to see myself featured on 7 full pages!!! I was so ecstatic!!!

Taiwan Buddha Memorial Center and the 2012 International Youth Seminar on Life and Ch'an Day 3.

Hi guys! Si here's the continuation... Like I said in my previous post (Taiwan FGS Buddha Memorial Center Tour: A Prologue), so far, the third day of the youth camp has been the most fun of all. Aside from the usual protocol done during early morning meditation, breakfast and lunch, we did Sutra Calligraphy, listened to a talk about Life and Ch'an, witnessed Buddhist chanting, did a Dharma Hunt, watched a concert and ended the day with a Light Offering and Prayer Ceremony. So first things first...


Sutra Calligraphy

At 8am, all delegates gathered at the assembly hall. For the first time, we saw the hall filled with rows and rows of tables and chairs. We all went to our respective groups then took a seat. On our table were sheets of calligraphy and pens. At 8:00, one of the Venerable Masters explained to us what calligraphy is and what it entails to trace the different characters on the piece of parchment. It's not just about copying or tracing, but it's about meditating about the meaning of the characters as we trace them... it's about finding wisdom in the calligraphy... it's about ch'an or meditation. It's about freeing the mind from worries and other attachments and living at the moment.

Before we all started tracing the calligraphy, a little prayer ceremony was done where all delegates participated by praying through chanting. Then from 8:30 am - 9:00 am, we all traced the calligraphy.

Taiwan FGS Buddha Memorial Center Tour: A Prologue

I've been doing a lot of meditation and contemplation as of late that it made me think back to my 2-week trip to Taiwan when I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the Philippine delegates to attend the International Youth Seminar on Life and Ch'an. 

Heading to Real, Quezon with Barefoot Travels... Who wants to join?

*Due to typhoon Glenda and Henry recently, this trip was re-scheduled to Aug. 2 and September 6.

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Just a quick post... I'll be going with Barefoot Travels this Saturday, July 19, 2014. There are still a few slots left. Who wants to join? Please read the details below:

Surf and Trek Adventure

Real, Quezon

Real is a small first class municipality in Quezon province, approximately 145 kilometers from Manila. Conveniently located only 2.5-3 hours away from the Metro passing by the picturesque Laguna Lake and the scenic Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges, this town is slowly becoming a beach destination for quick and easy weekend getaways. With its coastline facing the Pacific Ocean, this has also become a surfers’ haven due to its great waves and much less crowded surf spots.

Berjaya, Petronas and Menare KL Tower: Kuala Lumpur Walking Tour

It's been a week since it happened and my days have been a roller coaster ride of varying degrees of extreme emotions. In order to get out of my funk, I thought I'd do other things that I enjoy like blogging. In this particular post, I'd like to just share with you that time Jayme and I did our Asian trip in January 2010. I never got to finish that series because life took over and as they say, the rest is history. Well, this is one history of my life that I'd like to document. And hopefully, from this post, my days will be filled with blogging about my previous trips all the way to present. It's always nice going back to old happy travel memories.

So Jayme and I had just come from Singapore and Vietnam. A quick stopover at Kuala Lumpur was next on the list. Since we were on a budget, we just decided to go around the city via bus and on foot. After checking out Batu Caves in Selangor, Malaysia located north of Kuala Lumpur, we had some lunch at a vegetarian Hindu place first just outside the gates of the Batu Caves before boarding a bus back to the city of Kuala Lumpur. 

 Lunch!

Back in the city, we stopped by Berjaya Times Square Shopping Mall just adjacent to the Berjaya Times Square Hotel majestically towering over the skyline of Kuala Lumpur City since it is located right at its center. 

Of Endings and Beginnings

I've been feeling the blues and it's been going on for a while now (severe depression which has been on and off since 2012). I was pretty ok last half of 2013. The NLP / Neurolinguistic Programming sessions I took in September helped a lot. In a way, the emotional baggage I've been bringing with me since I was a kid got healed somehow. Plus the non-stop travels I did the past two years did a lot of good to my psyche. 

The non-stop hopping from place to place was tiring, yes, and I was welcoming the rest I will be having from these trips come February, my birthday month which was last month, the only time I got to rest from my travels since January 2012. 

Fun, fun Feb, my birthday month!

Everything was going great; I was looking forward to celebrating my 36th birthday at home despite all the emotional trials I've been going through... until something hit me hard and since then I was never the same. :( :( :(

Summer Travel Schedule w/ Barefoot Travels

Can you feel the heat? Yep, I think summer is here! After that cold spell we all experienced in January, I'm ready to welcome the warm and sunny weather coz that means more beach trips and more travels!

If you're "nomadic" like me and have this immense thirst for traveling, you might be interested in what I want to share with you. Even if you're not the wanderer type, but you've been dreaming about getting out of the office and going on some adventure somewhere, then this post is for you too.  

In the past, I was used to traveling on my own if not with my hubby. Then a time came when I always wanted to travel with my old friends. Then sometime 2012, I started traveling with my bessy. Recently though, I discovered a group who likes organizing fun and affordable travels and I've already been with them thrice! They're called BAREFOOT TRAVELS. My experience with them in Sagada was life-changing! Then last month, I've been to Baler with them twice! The first was for an overnight trip and the second was for a 3D/2N surfcation. 

Before I came to know BAREFOOT TRAVELS, the only other traveling group I've been with was Travel Factor back in April 2012 when I first visited Baler with my hubby and gf Koryn. We had some mishaps at that time with Travel Factor but I still considered it fun because I was with my husband and friend. However, with BAREFOOT TRAVELS, considering that I was by myself and I didn't know anyone when I first went with them (to Sagada),  it was really a nice surprise how much I came to love, adore and miss this group! Plus, it's a bonus that every time I join them in their travels, I get to meet new and interesting individuals from all over! It's really an amazing experience every single time. I think it's because their travel coordinators who go along these trips are really nice, friendly and accommodating people. The bring out the best in each participant and they're also all for the adventure, camaraderie and bond that come with these trips which I love that about Barefoot Travels. 

And now that summer is here, it's time to travel some more and go BAREFOOT! I'm sure many of you are looking forward to spending some quality time relaxing on a beach, or surfing, or climbing mountains or just simply heading out there onto a new adventure, bonding with friends, families, loved ones or simply enjoying yourself or meeting new people. If so, check out the following schedules that BAREFOOT TRAVELS has for you beginning this month all the way through May: 

Barefoot Travels Baler Surf and Trek Adventure

Baler Adventure

Hey gais! I'm still here in Cebu, in Oslob in particular. I've been traveling non-stop so to speak since last year and now that I'n resting a bit here at my bessy's place (my flight back to Manila is early tomorrow at 3am), I decided to make time for another blog post, this time about Baler. I was just there last Jan. 11-12 when I joined Barefoot Travels in their surfing adventure. I'm going back there for a longer vacation this time, from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, for a surfcation as they call it. Two more slots are still available so if you want to join, contact Barefoot now at +63923-5610062; +63917-3589716. So yeah, as soon as I go home tomorrow, I'll have to pack again for another  surfing trip. Just look at some of the surfing videos my new friends took last time. Who wouldn't want to go back there, right? Whew! What a life! ^_^

Barefoot Sagada Package Inclusions

Below are the details you need to know if you want to join one of Barefoot Travel's future Sagada trips. I got these details from the primer they sent me a week before my scheduled tour of Sagada. You will receive one too should you decide to join them. You can also read my introductory post about Barefoot Travels and my Sagada excursion with them. Just go to this link here: Sagada with Barefoot Travels: An Introduction. Barefoot Travels has an upcoming Sagada trip this February 7-9 so be sure to register! 

If you wish to contact them for further details and clarifications, feel free to email Barefoot Travels at barefoottravels@yahoo.com or contact us at +63917-3589716 or +63923-5610062 Go Travel. Be Practical. Have Fun. Go Barefoot. Work Shoes: OFF LIMITS!

The Annual Sagada Bonfire Fest, now on its 5th year and held every last week of December, is organized by the Sagada Genuine Guides Association or Saggas. It is a night of merry-making, food tripping, music jamming and cultural bonding. Experience this one of a kind bonfire feast as Barefoot Travels brings you to the heart of the Mountain Province this December. 

PACKAGES:

 SAGADA EXTREME: Php5,500 per person (Php5,250 for early birds) 

STANDARD PACKAGE: Php4,450 per person 

Sagada with Barefoot Travels: An Introduction

Sagada Rice Terraces

Sagada has always been one of my dream destinations ever since my younger sister told me that she's been there during her UP days (about 15 years ago) and it was such an awesome experience for her. She was telling me all these wonderful stories of heading there atop a jeepney squeezed between her friends traversing the dangerous and steep sides of the mountainous Banaue while intoxicated with alcohol and what-not. It sounded so much fun and I wanted to experience that too. Unfortunately, between my younger sister and me, I am not as brave. So whenever I'd try to schedule a trip to Sagada, visions of buses and jeepneys falling off a cliff would pop in my head and just as soon as I thought of going there, my dream would immediately fade away too. Yeah, I'm such a scaredy cat. 

2014 Philippine Holiday Schedule - Plan Your Vacations Now!

Happy New Year! 

taken in Similan Island, Phi Phi, Phuket, Thailand

It's the year of the Earth Horse and I feel like this year is going to be luckier than ever for me. Life just gets better and better, doesn't it? Just when I told myself (a few months ago) that I'll probably stop travelling so I can focus on other aspects of my life, travel opportunities came left and right that I just couldn't resist. So here I am spending the first day of the new year fixing the schedules of my upcoming trips. I just came from Bangkok and Phuket last week, and just this weekend, I was in Sagada with Barefoot Travels. And next week I'll be in Baler with Barefoot Travels again then Boracay with Baboo and Padi, then Cebu for my Bessy's birthday. Anyway, I'll have a separate blog post for all these trips. For now, just as I am organizing my travel plans, I went on looking for this year's Philippine holiday schedule which I also want to share with you especially those like me who have been busy with life that it's only now they're taking the time to organize the vacations they want to take for 2014. 

I got this from http://www.gov.ph/2013/10/01/list-of-nationwide-holidays-for-2014/. Enjoy planning your vacation, folks!

Tours & Things to Do in Sharm el Sheik

Sharm el Sheik is a place that not many Western travellers have the chance to visit. However, there are many fascinating experiences to have on you trip to Sharm el Sheik. Fantastic diving, colourful deserts, and exotic dancers will surely create a memorable experience. 

One of the biggest activities in Sharm el Sheik is diving. The corals are alive and well here, and haven't experienced as much damage from tourists as the corals in other locations around the world. The beautiful and diverse marine life in Sharm el Sheik is really spectacular to see. Even first time divers can take a discover class, where they will learn the basics of diving and do a small dive. Instructors are knowledgeable and manage safety well. 

ATC, Sky Ranch Tagaytay, Glorietta 4: a Busy but Relaxing Long Weekend with Baboo Peter

I booked a flight to Cagayan de Oro earlier this year for Oct. 26-31. I was thinking that since baboo is always busy with work, I might as well spend time with some of my friends I rarely see. The thing is they live so far away. But what's an hour of plane ride and a few hours of commute to the City of Golden Friendship if only to see them, right? 

Well, a lot of things happened in between. For one, I didn't expect to be attending training for NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) plus the heavy workload that fell onto my lap. To cut the story short, I had to cancel my intended CDO vacation and just make the most of the holiday. Honestly, with everything going on in my life, I totally forgot that it was a long holiday (Oct. 28 being the day for Barangay elections). So I guess that's where the silver lining was in all of this. At least I got to spend three happy whole days with my baboo. He was available to me, for my pleasure, at my beck and call (hehe) for 72 hours and I wasn't going to let those precious hours just pass me by.  But the thing was, WE DIDN'T MAKE ANY PLANS AT ALL. Oh bugger!

Fortunately, my baboo was very easy to please. If I am the O.C. type who prefer scheduling every last minute detail of whatever plans we have, baboo Peter is the opposite when it comes to domestic/marital/personal matters. He loves to chill and just relax and just let everything flow. So having had my Breaking Through Barriers (BTB) training with Train Station a month ago (while baboo Peter had his a few weeks ago), we learned to adjust to each other's preferences. That's what you call second positioning. It's when you take on the position of the other person, immerse yourself in the way he/she thinks and feels and from there, get an insight as to how he/she is thinking, feeling and seeing things. So in short, we came at a compromise and it all came out naturally and subconsciously, meaning, without even trying so hard like how we used to do it before we had the BTB training. 

So, what happened was, we both let everything flow while still maintaining some sort of schedule for the long weekend. 

Oct. 26

Seafood Ilsand, ATC

We stayed in bed most of the day. It wasn't until late afternoon that we showered and dressed up, hoping to catch a movie. 

But then what do you know, it's been a while since I last prettified myself and I was just being so slow. So we got out of bed, prepared for our date and got out of the house early evening, decided to just splurge on dinner and just do the movie date another day. 

Plan Your City Break to Prague

Prague is one of the more vibrant and exciting cities in Europe with loads to do to fill your holiday to the Czech capital. It is very easy to visit this beautiful location without a definitive plan and spend the time wandering and enjoying the sights and sounds of the enthralling little streets and town squares.

But often it can be useful to have a plan to give your holiday some structure and also to ensure that you get to see the essential points of interest. Let’s take a look at how to plan a weekend getaway in Prague.

Travel & Accommodation

Prague has plenty of places to stay right in the centre, be it a self-catering apartment, hotel or hostel. Hostels are available from as little as £9 per night if you want a cheap weekend. Compare prices online to find the cheapest places to stay in the city.

Flights from the UK only take around 2 hours, and depending on who you book with can be picked up for under £50. You can find the cheapest flights to Prague here: http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/Flights/Prague/

Zest Air: Inaugural Flights to KL, Kota Kinabalu and Bacolod

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...you've probably been noticing a lot of uploaded photos taken in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On this post, you'll find out where it all started. So read on...

As you know, I just came back from my one month trip in the Visayas where I mostly stayed in Oslob and visited the neighboring islands of Dumaguete, Siquijor and Camotes. I got home last May 1 and I told myself that I'll just stay home the rest of the month to rest, focus on work and take care of my blogs. Well, well, well... I haven't even unpacked yet when I got an invitation from Zest Air, AirAsia and Fleishman Hillard Manila (c/o Ferdie Bondoy) to join the familiarization tour of Kuala Lumpur. I've already been there before but only for a very short visit. I'd love to go back to  Kuala Lumpur again and check out the other beautiful tourist sites KL has to offer so of course I said my sweet YES!

Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur Tour

So many things to do, so little time... I know this is my constant rant here on my blog. But looking at the brighter side of things, I still consider myself lucky. I work from home (basically from any place where there's internet wi-fi) which means I can travel on a whim or at a moment's notice. In fact, this weekend (just when I thought that I'd just be staying home this month to take a break from all that continuous traveling I did since October last year), I am going to visit Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu again. Actually, I'm leaving tomorrow and I need to be at the airport by 4am!!! Ack! I really need to pack!

My Hong Kong Disneyland 2013 Adventure

Like I said in my previous Hong Kong Disney Hollywood post, the last time I was here at Hong Kong Disneyland was in November 2007… almost 6 years ago. I’ve always wanted to go back and now that I finally did, this time with my mom, I couldn’t contain my excitement, especially since they have two (2) new attractions ---  ToyStory Land and Grizzly Gulch which I will discuss in detail here. But before that, I want to share with you my experience in chronological order. We’ll get to the exciting parts later.

So it was around 2:30 pm when we finished our scrumptious lunch at Crystal Lotus in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. We took the complimentary shuttle bus service from Disneyland Hotel to the Disneyland Theme Park and before 3:00 pm, my mom and I were already taking pictures at the entrance and at the Main Street USA (which we also did the next day).

Main Street USA

Where To Sunbathe In Majorca To Achieve The Perfect Tan

Millions of people visit Majorca every year, and if you’re planning to take a trip to this spectacular island, then you’ll certainly want to know where the best places to stay are. Majorca has always had a great reputation for sea, sand, sun and surf, and according to its ever increasing tourism numbers, it does a good job at living up to expectations.

As long as you know what you want to get out of a holiday to Majorca, you’ll have the best time ever, whether you’re travelling with your family, friends, or on your own. There are so many things to do in Majorca, you’ll find it hard to fit everything in! Let’s take a look at some of the best resorts to stay, and some of the best places to get that perfect tan, ensuring you have a holiday of a lifetime.  

Our Hong Kong Disney Hollywood Hotel Stay

It’s been six years since the first time I’ve been to Hong Kong to explore Disneyland and its hotels. I was with my husband, Peter, then. We had plans of going back but it never pushed through because of his very hectic work schedule. My mom, on the other hand, has been bugging me to go back and to take her with me since she’s never been to Hong Kong Disneyland. So this time around, with my cameras and a few pieces of clothing in tow, I brought her with me. And it’s been one of the best times of her life. Okay, mine too I must admit.

How to Get from Oslob to Dumaguete and Back (Oslob Diaries Day 1)

April Fool's Day has been a busy one for me that I didn't even celebrate it by pulling a prank on someone, tsk, tsk. I haven't had any sleep since the day before because I had to pack and take a 4:20 am Cebu Pac flight to Mactan, Cebu.