of changing life and travels...

i haven't really gone out of the country or rode a plane. the farthest i've gone to was baguio and vigan in the north, and bicol in the south. all those trips i took by land. so during the start of the year last year, i vowed to myself that i will travel more often. well... as often as my budget permits anyway. hehe... it's about time.... well, "it is long overdue" would be a better way to say it.

i must admit that it's kinda hard for me to spend hard-earned cash even for my own self. i hardly even buy things for myself. it's easier for me to spend for others though. i know, weird. and don't ask me why coz i don't know too. i guess that's just the way i am. it's easier for me to buy for people i love and care about rather than spending my money on myself. but i know i want to travel and want to visit as much places as i can in this lifetime. and of course, it is not just a question of the willingness to do it but also the amount of money that goes along with it. traveling isn't cheap you know... so hopefully, if the good Lord permits and if it is His plan, i know i will go places. i don't know how, but if He wills it, it will happen.

and so, my friend and i started to plan for a hong kong trip midyear of last year. it was kinda hard to look for a good travel agent/agency. it's either they don't have the rates yet, or they just claim that they don't, or they are just too lazy to compute. i don't know.... maybe they just don't see a meager 4-person package tour client as an income that they can afford to lose and ignore us. whew! after a kinda looong search, of inquiries and emails that were never responded to, i ended up with my company's agent.... yes, really! imagine?!!! having gone to so many agents only to end up with them. i could've just gone to them first and saved all those time searching. hay.... out-of-the-country-travel-virgin dilemma... i know. anyhow, things were finalized by november. thankfully... the only sad part was that my friend's mom wouldn't be able to join us since she will be busy on the dates we got for our trip. those were the only dates available since it was peak season. but after all the hassles and bumps along the way, me, my mom, and my friend were off to hong kong on the 28th of december....

yipee!!!

at our hotel lobby (royal pacific towers)

syempre san pa ba? ocean park. di ba obvious? hehe... with my peborit dolphins of course.
mapapalampas ko ba ito???






a boat sailing at victoria harbor; the five towers of the hotel where we stayed with beautiful christmas lights. we stayed on the 5th tower; a view of our hotel from the small bridge going to the park.






DISNEYLAND!!!!









cute little pink stitch on my friend's head. ;)


so stitches like to eat heads huh??? uhm... that didn't sound right. hehe...

just like that and am not an out-of-the-country-travel-virgin no more! not that am complaining... am sure that there will be more adventures to come. well... too soon in fact that i was off to guam before i can even shake the hong kong hype from my system. but that's another story.... :)

chavit's "baluarte"

before, i only knew chavit singson's "baluarte" from tv or magazine features. i never really thought i would eventually be able to visit the place. well, i guess it isn't part of my "places to go to" list. i don't know why though. i guess if ever there is an animal place or a zoo themed park that i want to go to, it will be at zoobic safari or the ocean adventure, or maybe the nearer malabon zoo, which i never had the chance to visit. sigh.... well anyway, even if that is so, i don't regret visiting "baluarte." i love the animals! they look too good to be true. it was like seeing cute stuffed toys... except they are alive. hihihi...

lazy tigers

since "baluarte" is located at vigan, ilocos sur, if anyone follows my blog, you might have guessed that this is another blogpost installment of my la union-vigan trip last may. there isn't so much to say 'bout this part of my trip, except that i couldn't believe that such a facility can be enjoyed by anyone for free. yes... there is no fee whatsoever. you can enjoy the beatiful birds and animals without any charge.

kyuti birds and miniature roosters and hens... :)

miniature horses cuties...

who could ever think that you can bring deers to the philippines, huh? they hardly move that you won't believe they're real.

from la union to vigan... (the heritage city)

to follow-up my last post 'bout my la union trip/vacation... i know, i know, it has been taking too long. but there's just so many things to do... i have a job and a life too. :)

well, there really isn't much to say but our supposedly trip to the haven that me and my bestfriend dreamed of didn't push through. i guess pagudpud would have to wait for some other time. the van we rode on, which is owned by my bestfriend's family, is not that much up to very long trips anymore. a trip to pagudpud will take 5-6 hours from san fernando city (la union). so, we just opted for a shorter trip to vigan. i didn't regret it though... vigan isn't a bad option. besides, it was my first time to visit ilocos, so why would i complain?

vigan is about 2-3 hours drive from my bestfriend's place. the travel time isn't that bad considering the nice scenery you will be passing by on the way. we tried to take pictures while on the road, but we missed most of the best shots or it's just that we can't get a decent shot. it's so hard to take pictures while in transit. besides, we were too engulfed in the beauty of the sights we were passing by that we forget to take out our cameras earlier. but nevertheless, the moment we stepped on to vigan soils, we can't help but to shoot... and shoot... and shoot!

the first thought that came into my mind when i saw vigan was that it was like intramuros, only way, way better. although intramuros has somehow preserved some of our very rich cultural heritage in the form of old buildings and houses, i can't say that it's the same outside of it. there were so many old houses and buildings that have been destroyed in manila to give way to new constructions.

i admire how vigan was able to preserve our rich filipino heritage by keeping the old architectural designs. my bestfriend said that it is a requirement in the city that when new business establishments are constructed, the old architectural designs must be retained and preserved. heck, i nearly didn't recognize mcdonald's there, if not for the big yellow "M" sign. even this popular american fastfood looks like an old spanish house. and to my surprise, i saw a familiar insignia on one of the buildings in vigan. i felt reminiscent looking at it since i was once an employee of its makati head office. i am talking about the CAP building, which looks very much different from its other branches. of course, it also has a spanish look and feel to it, blending nicely with all other establishments in the area.

since we arrived in vigan at around lunch time, we looked for a place to eat. there was one place my bestfriend was talking about but we couldn't find it, so we ended up at cafe leona. it's just a small, cozy restaurant near the heritage village. they don't only serve good ilocano food but the nice interiors of the restaurant would also nourish your artistic appetites.

after munching on some ilocano treats such as bagnet, diningding (which is an ilocano version of pinakbet), vigan longganisa, and some chicken at cafe leona, we proceeded to the heritage city where more shooting and a little shopping took place.

the heritage city of vigan is also much like the wow philippines tiangge in intramuros. you can buy local products ranging from food to crafts. although i never really bought anything for myself, i did buy one small remembrance for a friend. it's a miniature carriage-like swing made of wood. i chose it because i noticed that it is very typical to find one of these swings in the heritage village. i just don't know if it's also the same for the whole of vigan. in fact, tourists like to take pictures sitting on those wooden swings.

here are more of the pics i took at the hertiage city...

our trip doesn't stop here... but of course, i will reserve my story and pictures on the next installment of my la union - vigan trip post. :p