bora.. bora bora

It has been years (maybe 5 or more) since my family has taken a vacation. We decided that this year, we'd try to break the hiatus (of not taking a hiatus) and go to Boracay for 4 days from May 22 to 25. This has been my first time and everyone else's in my family to the island and we finally got the chance to experience firsthand what the fuzz is all about.

And Boracay delivered. I have been to a few beaches (all near Manila, only Pagudpud being the farthest), and I could say that Boracay indeed impressed me the most. What's great about it is, as everybody would've known by now, the fine fine sand. No worries on getting your feet abrased while walking along the shore at all! There’s nothing quite like the white sands and azure waters of Boracay indeed.







What got me the most is how friendly the locals are! Believe me, my parents are the two most impatient people you could ever meet, always unforgiving to every waiter, cashier, saleslady mistake (I just duck my head whenever they throw their tantrums and pretend to be some place else). But they bot were easily charmed off by the friendly Boracay locales. We never met anyone who seemed "Mapagsamantala" (just greedy). Like for example, a boatman approached us if we want to go island hopping and we replied "Me kausap na po kami" (We already have arranged with someone else). He smiled and said "Ok, salamat Ma'am enjoy kayo mamaya!" (Thanks Ma'am, Enjoy the ride later!). It's like they are trained to be friendly so the tourists of would feel relaxed and welcomed.

We stayed at La Reserve Beach Hotel thru our Vacation Club, so we never really knew how much the rates were (transaction was conducted using points we paid years ago). It was pretty good, with separate house villas for privacy and comfort. Its location was also ideal, just right there at Station 2, two blocks away from D'Mall.

Our hotel, also being a French Restaurant served us croissants anf baguettes every morning for breakfast. It's a cozy little place to stay in to.

Speaking of D'Mall, I have heard of the "D'Mall" a lot before and I kinda expected it to be a mall smacked in the middle of the island but it turned out to be tiangge's, restaurants and other shops huddled together. We spent a lot of time there our whole stay, eating, buying pasalubongs, shoppping around, and again eating. My favorite of all resto's, I could say is the Lemon Cafe, where my sister and I ate the flourless Chocolate Cake and the Lemon Chessecake. Yummmm.



I was prepared to forgo the nightlife scene at Boracay, being as I am with my two very younger sisters and parents, but on our second night, I, my Mom and my sisters escaped my sleeping father and went to a bar for a little drinking. (bad bad)! At Rumba's cocktails are at buy one take one, within happy hour which starts at 4pm and ends at when they'd think they'd end it. As my three companions sipped their fruity shakes with the disguise that they do have alcohol in them, I finally found the drink to whack me on the head in just one tiny little glass. Never being a fan of fruity mixes, I always opt for the Kahlua or Bailey's variety. I got "Wet Dreams" which on the menu is a mix of Kahlua, Vodka and Amaretto. By the end of my "Buy One" I don't know if I could still get thru my "Take One" without hurling my dinner out. But I did. Though my sisters said I just got a lil biiiit too noisy by the end of the evening.



Being on a lil tight budget, we ignored most hotel restaurants with buffets at 400 each, and the lobsters being offered to us everytime we choose where we would eat. For me, the best meal I had in Boracay was in D'Talipapa (What's up with the D'), situated a lil over Station 3, it's just like Dampa where you get to buy fresh seafoods first and have it cooked by the carinderias nearby for P100/kilo. At a lil over P900 we had a delicious meal of Buttered Sugpo and Alimango. (My mouth is watering now).

We all got henna tatoos and my sister Kris even got her hair braided (which she later took out after we called her Stevie, as in Stevie Wonder).



We went island hopping on our second day, but only managed to go to the Crystal Cove and Cocrodile Island (for snorkling) because our time is up. At first I was worried that my Mom would not be able to go around Crystal Cove seeing all the steep rocks we have to step into, but she managed just fine and we enjoyed swimming around the water on the caves.





Snorkling was sooo much fun I don't know why I haven't tried it before. There's nothing like the feeling of lots of fishes trying to get to the bread in your hand and biting you in the process (hehe I exaggerated it a bit but it's definitely not scary at all).





On our third day we went Paraw Sailing which is just relaxing. Nothing but the waves licking your feet as you lay into the sides of the paraw boat.


In the afternoon, my sisters and I went at the other side of the island to hop to the banana boat. This is my third time wo try the ride, the first two were at Puerto Galera (which left me bad memories.. Yes being hurled alone, blind sans my contacts, and left forgotten by your so called friends who you are with at the ride, then being rescued only by a lifeguard a good 10 minutes later could be called a bad memory.) I was a little nervous considering my previous incident with the banana boat, but I just kept in mind that this is my sisters' first times and I should just let myself loose so that they could enjoy the ride. Luckily the ride went on smoothly. Ok I promise to try to let go of that banana boat incident already.

Hoping the third time is a charm

The fall was not as bad.

Obviously my sister is exaggerating.

When we were shopping for pasalubongs on our last day, we came across this stall at DMall which sells hand-painted tshirts by the singer from Asin (I forgot his name, I'm sorry). My dad went and bought a couple of shirts. The meaning of one shirt got me the most. The gecko (locally called tuko), were abundant in Boracay before but since the modernization of the island has become less and less. The question mark forms a gecko crying of what is happening of the island, as the sun is not as white and fine as they were before, buildings and pollution are arising and Boracay is now getting to commercialized. If this continues, we might all lose of the beauty of the island that caused it to be so popular in the first place. Point is, tourism is good and everybody is most welcome to stay but we have to take care of the place if we still want to enjoy it years from today.




All in all, our trip was a blast. Nothing beats getting to travel and discover a new place with the people you love the most in your life. We are only halfway thru the year and already I have been to three woderful places already. I'm excited on where I could go for the remainder of the year (thou I can't say the same for my savings). Hopefully I could return to Boracay soon and discover what the island has more to offer.

manic may.

The last couple of weeks had been (somehow) busy for me. To try to reiterate:

My little drummer boy.

After more than three years of my relationship with Ian, I finally got him to try a shorter haircut. I got really tired of his old do and how people keep saying he has better hair than me. "Gayahin mo si Ian nagsusuklay!" hmp. So after a few arguments, walk-outs, and two haircuts in a day, I finally got what I wanted. (enter evil laugh here)hahahaha. I like his hair sooo much better now, though after the parlor cape was removed his first words were: "Ano, masaya ka na?". Indeed, happy I am. He looks so young now, thus my new nick's for him, Little Drummer Boy or Tenten (from Tanging Ina).

Which do you like better?

May 12 was my sister's birthday. The four of us (my dad was in Cagayan for work) celebrated the day with dinner at TGIF. My sister is so lucky her classmates are generous, she received quite a bundle for her birthday. (Tamang parinig na ba?) Happy Birthday Memem, and to Ying (May 8), Steph (May 12) Sephen (May 16) and Ujin (May 21)!



May 13 of course was Mother's Day. Did you know that it is the most "eating-out" celebrated holiday, Valentine's only coming in second? True enough, every place in Promenade was packed even with lines waiting outside. I gave my Mom a pair of Crocs, knowing how picky she is with footwear (already three sandals from me are not anymore used), because of medical reasons. I loved the idea of how comfy Crocs are, but they really are ugly.. Lucky enough just this month, I saw Cleo in the stores and immediately thought it would be perfect for Mom. Happy Mother's day to all Mom's!!

Next day, May 14 is elections day in the whole country. I'm happy that most who got my votes are now constantly in the final 12. Yey. It's a different story for my hometown though. tsk tsk.

FInally got to try out the new restaurant (if you could still call one month old new) IL PIRATA here in Eastwood on our monthsary. We knew the exteriors were great but when we walked inside the interiors are just amazing! Everything was so detailed, there were even carvings on the ceiling! The few officemates that I have who have tried it did not recommend the place though, being it was expensive and the menu is limited, but we enjoyed IL PIRATA just fine. Meals are at 300 up, but given that it has huge servings and prices are already tax inclusive, I'd say our bill is just all right. And Italian, being my favorite food, I'd say the limited menu is not a problem for me.

still can't get over tenten's haircut!

My phone finally gave up on me. After more than a year of unbelievable drops (a drop from the 2nd floor terrace to the ground, thanks to tuni, a slip in my short's ripped back pocket directly to the floor, a stumble to 4 steps in the stairs and countless drops from my bed to the cement floor), my phone finally said "Enough is enough!". Here's how it happened, I was in bed when an evil roach flew directly at me. Naturally I jumped around like crazy, shrieking and screaming, kicking my sister in the eye on the process. It was later on that I found out that my phone was also a victim of my hysteria as I found the now all-white screen (at first I thought one of my sisters had changed the wallpaper). Maybe I knelt down on it while it was flipped open or something. Hay. But heck it could still receive calls and texts (I just can't see the message or who's calling, and I could still call, by guessing where am I already at the menu after pressing the keys haphazardly). If this does not show how amazingly sturdy the Motorola Razr is, I don't know what the hell can.

badang. my alter-ego.

I had been messing around Pepper one day and found this new cool trick from its webcam. Funny how just one distortion on your face can totally change your look. It's scary, some of my office mates were afraid to try it, but not me (what's wrong with me). I enjoyed Badang immensely, thus these photos.

I chickened out on posting these in Friendster (people might think I got into an accident or something) so I posted them here instead. Figured, nobody really reads this. It was scary, I was getting used to how I look in the screen (changing poses for about 30 minutes), and I might end up looking at the same face when in front of the mirror. So when I finally did see normal self I'm just so happy, I'm still pretty! (compared to Badang of course). What a neat trick to make you love yourself a lil bit more eh.

BTW, this is me just in case you need comparisons.

SMACKERS!!

I had been a fan of ice cream sandwiches. Personally, I prefer cakes or chocolate bars over ice cream but the ice cream sandwhich is a different story. It's like you're getting the best of both worlds. I am still quite upset by the demise of Tivoli's Funwich. It has been my favorite after school snack when I was in elementary, being available for 10 pesos at the store across the street from our school. Recently I have discovered reincarnations of the old funwich. Brother's Burger has one, Cool Bites, and so does Dairy Queen though I forgot what it's called, but they're both expensive (around P40, I think, a piece). Luckily a store near our house has made a funwich rip-off. The store is called the ice cream store and a piece of the ice cream sandwich costs P10! I love them. It's like childhood all over again!

I had been very happy with the funwich nostalgia I've been having but never had I been happier of ice cream sandwiches than upon discovery of Penny Brown. One day, when I was from my gym, the mini-stall right outside my gym's door caught my attention. (WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PUT IT IN THERE!?!). If there would be any food from now on that could make me cheat on my diet, this is it. The cookies themselves come in ten flavors ranging from the classic chocolate chip to dark chocolate, old-fashioned oatmeal, and a (Thank God!) sugar-free variant. Any two cookies with your choice of ice cream (nonetheless two scoops of FIC Ice Cream) is called a Smacker! (P65, which I think is a steal considering how heavenly they taste). The cookies are said to be made “… to be soft, moist and chewy (as opposed to hard), so that it’ll stick to the ice cream.” Just thinking of them makes my mouth water. I can't wait to try all their variants. My new favorite is the strawberry ice cream with two browny fudge cookie. Penny Brown perfect cookies are also available at P20 a piece (Perfect for pasalubongs since bringing home a Smacker won't make any sense).

I'm a Penny Brown convert. Forget Funwich. I found my new comfort food.

Sugar free choco marble in between two sugar free cookies.

Penny Brown

Glorietta 2, Level 2 (across Sbarro’s)

Robinsons Galleria, East Wing, Level 2