Women Talks

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Hello all! I am back since when? oh after my 4 days of absence! I’m sorry, there’s nothing much beauty tips, shopping tips or juicy entertainment news for me to share today . I’ve been pretty busy lately with things in the office and with “other” stuff. But I am just excited to share my recent getaway with some friends! Yesterday, me and my team together with some friends went to Cawayanon a small part of Bukidnon, hometown of LJ, one of my colleague. The idea just came out of the blue last Wednesday! Probably, we are so fed up with the “all work” life that we have. Thanks to Sheila for bringing their multicab and for convincing his nice nephew to drive us to the place. So Saturday came at 1:30 PM after our shift, we went out right away and went to the mall nearby to grab something to bite and waited for our ride. Around 2:00 PM we left CDO and arrived in Cawayanon after 30 minutes of travel (i just estimated ). Anyway, the place is known for their church to be miraculous where your prayers do come true (hmmmmm… evil grin?!) kidding! Big thanks to LJ’s family for being so hospitable and kind enough to harvest some of their “rambutan” fruit for us to eat..yum!! I am not a fan of rambutan but I must say, theirs is the sweetest! they also have this “lansones” fruit tree but unfortunately the fruits is not ripe yet so we were not able to taste. Our “dyosa” friend had to impress us with her spaghetti ala italiana (whatever she call it)! So off to the kitchen Dyosa and do your task while we have fun outside with the Rambutans! They had to toast some Garlic Bread as suggested and prepared by the Dyosa again..It took us prolly 30 minutes to prepare the food while munching the Rambutan. Everyone started taking out their camera phones and took pictures in all angles with the Rambutan! hahaha! Okay, so we have to hurry up, we need to head back to CDO before it gets very late since some will have to report to work very early the next day! So we head straight to the Cawayanon Golf Course and Horse back riding area. LJ took their Golf equipments for us to use (vah? can we really handle it?). Well anyway, again before we could reach the golf course, we consumed a lot of time in the entrance taking pictures of ourselves! As in promise! these bunch of ladies can’t seem to live a day without taking pictures of themselves…We didn’t really play, we just took turn in trying how to do the full golf swing. I just realized it’s kind of arm spraining? LOL! We went to horse back riding after all the poses and pa cute moments. The whole place by the way is so refreshing and the fresh air is so relaxing. This is one nice reward of being away from the city ones in a while. You get to breath fresh air where you smell no exhaust, pollution among the other stressing factors in the city life….just pure serenity….

After the little golf lesson LJ gave us we proceeded with the horse back riding…. didn’t really take us that long though. We went back to LJ’s place which is just across the clubhouse by the way and feasted on dyosa’s spaghetti and garlic bread! Everyone looked so hungry! hahaha! see what picture taking can do? We were supposed to attend the birthday party of LJ’s uncle and also stop over at Camp Philips, Bukidnon (the pineapple capital) but it was getting late so we had to head back to the city directly so we can rest and prepare for the next day’s work. Nevertheless, that was one great adventure.

Have you made a plan already on where to take a plunge or have fun this summer? I made some effort to research on some great places to be not just this summer but all throughout the year. Check this out!

• Mapawa Adventure Park – if you’re the sporty type, has the fear of heights and wants to be connected to nature while having fun! This is just the right place for you! Just a few minutes ride from the Malasag Eco-Tourism Village is the enchanting Mapawa Nature Park. The Place has small waterfalls for swimming and nearby are picnic tables set under gigantic trees. the Mapawa Nature Park offers many wonderful activities for its visitor like; a guide trek to the big water falls and a mini forest Horseback riding Camping, Rapelling and the zip line! Trust me, the whole family / barkada will really enjoy the place!

Contact them now!
Malasag Cugman, Cagayan de Oro City//Tel # (08822) 725218 or 63928-226-1747

• White Water Rafting - perhaps this is the most famous “to do” in Cagayan de Oro, the exciting, thrilling and breath taking white water rafting. It’s not just about surpassing the rapids, it’s learning to be safe while conquering nature! So for those outdoor enthusiasts out there! this is just perfect for you! I won’t mind doing it all again!

• Matangale Dive Resort - located in Balingoan, Misamis Oriental, on a spacious lot with a view to the south Bohol Sea and the island of Camiguin. They have the picnic huts, the rooms if you wish to spend days in the place, function rooms to those who wants to work while having fun. Activities like swimming, snorkeling, scuba-diving, kayaking and fishing will surely burn all your energies! If you want to see the corals and fishes without getting wet–Glassbottomed boat is for you! Enjoy the breeze as you cruise through fields of corals and fish life–all visible through the clear bottom of your boat!

Contact them now! (+63) 08822-722591

• Villa Arcadia – A Paradise of your dream as they say. Villa Arcadia offers the best in its Pure White sand beach and the allure of the rock formation. Situated at Calamcam Talisayan, Misamis Oriental. Only an hour away from Cagayan De Oro City. They have their Picnic Huts as well, swimming pool for the kids to enjoy and of course for the adults as well. Bond with the fish as you feed them. Snorkling in Villa Arcadia is great as well!

Contact them now! 09163354806//09265583135//09175555513//info@villa-arcadia.net

• Duka Bay Beach Resort – a classy and a pleasant place to unwind, relax and enjoy. This paradise is situated in Medina. The large ancestral trees in the place adds to its fresh scenery. even villas — spacious, elegant, and fully furnished — provide a breathtaking view of the bay and the island of Camiguin. Using hook and line, visitors can experience the excitement of getting fish right from the stream. And for sports buffs, there are kayaks, bancas, water bikes, and gears for scuba diving.

Contact them now!

(+63) 088-331-2288 to 91 // Cellphone: +63 9176483268// email;dukabayresort@yahoo.com// YM: rhea_pel@yahoo.com

HAVE FUN!!!

Hi there again peeps!! Here I am again so excited to share my next trip!!! CEBU and BOHOL!! I thought I will never have the chance to visit those famous cities in the Philippines! Fortunately I have colleagues who are into “lakwatsas’ everywhere!! Hmmmm… where should I start? October 25, 2007 our departure from Cagayan de Oro City to the “Queen City of the South” Cebu!! We had our plane ticket reserved August, excited huh! We had to work 4AM so we can logout earlier so not to miss out flight @ 1:30 PM. Okay, so we’re logged off already. Off to the Airport guys! Attendance!! Emma, Rona, Sheila, Mafe, Ria, C-Tin, K-Tin and JP!! Let’s go. We couldn’t contain our excitement that we were so noisy inside the plane! I thought we annoyed some passengers! LoL! well, sorry we’re just having fun! hehehehe…Oh! not to mention the handsome flight steward that they asked to have a picture with! (thick face!) lol!, what can he do? Pose nalang para madali!… 20 minutes after we’re in Mactan International Airport already. Joseph joined (Sheila’s bf from manila) at the airport which made the headcount 9.

BOHOL Escapade

We went directly to Cebu Pier to catch the fast ferry going to Bohol. It’s our first destination actually. The travel by sea lasted for about 2 hours. Byahelo etoh! Our official tourguide and driver Manong Johny fetched us at the pier. We went straight to Dao Diamonds where we will be staying for the night. Their staff were mostly mute and deaf people. So when you stay there, you are helping their foundation at the same time… isn’t that wonderful? … Well anyway, we changed and went out for dinner….I forgot the place… that was just a quick dinner, short orders.. everyone were so hungry and exhausted.. After our dinner, manong Johny gave us a brief tour around the place….Kinda creepy… At 10 o’clock it’s like a ghost town already… I think they have their curfew… We saw old houses, untouched.. some has occupants but most of them were unoccupied. The houses we’re really old and big… one street where most houses were ancient, the place was Bohol’s first city.. Being in the place was like going centuries back.. during Rizal’s time..Well, we went back to Dao Diamonds to rest.

5 AM our call time, everyone hurried to the van. We had to be early for whale watching. We went to Catiklan where the boat was already waiting for us. We were so excited for the whale watching and for the snorkling afterwards in Balicasag Island just accross Catiklan… We left and just suddenly around 10 minutes, the boat stopped! What happened?! unfortunately something was wrong with the boat’s engine! So we stayed there and waited until it’s fixed! Gosh! it was so wavy that time, that the boat couldn’t be still…we were so amused with the waves coming to our boat at first…. but after like 15 minutes, we were not happy anymore! I felt dizzy already! Mafe and Tin! we couldn’t laugh anymore! we kept asking the boatmen but we were just ignored! I don’t know what’s wrong with them! hehehehe…maybe intimidated? Well anyway, we stayed there for 30 minutes! Thank God it was fixed! So we hurried back to the island and changed boat… again, we sailed… fortunately it went fine… we recovered from the dizziness except mafe who was vomiting along the way! lol! poor mafia! We weren’t fortunate to see whales along the way . It lasted around 45 minutes to 1 hour until we reached Balicasag Island…white island full of coral reefs. The island was wonderful! We went snorkling right away.. One can really tell that the waters was still clean.. you can tell by the corals underneath! Seeing different and colorful fishes, corals and starfishes underneath was so refreshing and so amazing! Ms. Tin and I had to take off our life vest! hehehehe.. annoying! I couldn’t swim deeper because of that! hahayyy! I didn’t want to end the moment! I just loved the underwater world! I enjoyed fish feeding and just looking at the creatures under the waters. We have to get back to Catiklan at 10 since we still have our next tourist destination! We couldn’t leave Balicasag without buying all the “burloloys”… pearl necklaces, bracelets, anklets, earings… name it they have it! souvenirs… it’s much cheaper if you buy them from the island since the ones selling are those who really made `em.

Next stop was the Loboc River Cruise. We had buffet lunch there at 280/pax. Unfortunately we had to wait until it gets back from its cruise… We took the Long River Cruise. It was almost 2 when we got on the boat.. Rona was not talking anymore! heheheheh…she’s like that when she’s extremely hungry… don’t mess with her! Alright so we’re there! we ate, we cruise, we took pictures and well! We befriended this Russian couple or sibling, we don’t really know! hehehe.. we had our pictures taken with them! o divah! mga vaga jud! The “acoustic” singer of the boat entertained the passengers with his oldies songs, but everyone can actually connect! hehehehe.. we sang along with him… there were group of people in their yukelele (im not sure if i spelled it right), we stopped for a while they greeted us with their song and their “itaktak mo” version! Sheila step out of the boat to join and danced with them! hahahaha! Go Sheila! We continued the cruise until we got back.. It was wonderful! finally we experienced the famous loboc river cruise!

Back to the van! We went next to where the tarsiers where! they are prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius, a monotypic genus in the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name. They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds and snakes. As they jump from tree to tree, tarsiers can catch even birds in motion.^{[citation needed]} Gestation takes about six months, and tarsiers give birth to single offspring. There were only 4 tarsiers I sa there… they were very tiny creatures! like stuffed toys in those tiny branch of the tree. Camera flash are not allowed. They just sit still while the tourist are busy posing to take pictures with them! wow! aren’t they famous! heheheheh…

Enough with the tarsiers already! let’s go to our next destination! The Chocolate Hills! It was kinda far from where the tarsiers are! It was worth the travel anywayze….there were a lot of tourist already when we got there. Tourist from different parts of the world and of course fellow Filipinos. We had to climb the stais (100 stairs??!! geezz!) to get to the top where we had a great view of the amazing chocolate hills! Wonderful! God is so great to have created such beautiful scenery! we just took pictures there and enjoyed the moment for a while…we had to hurry because our time is limited! we still had to catch our ferry back to Cebu!

Our next stop was at the old Baclayon Church and Museum. The church was pretty old, Spanish time if I’m not mistaken.. You can see with its ornaments and its architectures. We went to the museum, we had to leave our cameras and camera phones because taking pictures inside the museum is prohibited. Creepy inside, knowing that those things were antiques and were owned by long time gone priests. Unlike other museums, Baclayon museum is like a big wooden house. There were priest things, his wardrobe in giving mass. The huge hymn book which pages are from cow’s skin! yeah! pretty solid! the songs are in spanish.. There were the wood piano. Crowns of different patrons… etc. Fortunately we were able to take picture from the museum’s window… thanks to johnny deep! hehehehehe… So off to our next destination!!

20 minutes left before the departure of our ferry going back to Cebu!! We had to buy “pasalubongs” so we went straight to the pasalubong corner..I’m sorry I forgot the place. They have everything there, from their delicacies, accessories and clothes. T’was just a quick shopping!! alright now, Johnny Deep is calling us! 10 minutes left and we’re still going to Pier! hurry everyone!! hehehehe exciting huh! when we got to the Pier, Christine jumped out right away to get to the ticket station so we’ll catch the ferry! We had our tickets already by the way… Run! run!! 5 minutes and the ferry is leaving!!! we forgot in an instant how heavy our bags were! LoL!! last minute passengers award goes to our group! hahahaha! that was draining, exhausting and funny! geeezz! i never want to experience that again!

CEBU Escapade

So we arrived at Cebu Pier around 7:30 in the evening. Everyone were exhausted, dizzy and hungry… so nuisance?! phulleezze! beware! We took a van going to Ramos st. to check for a place to stay. To everyone’s annoyance, the laborers are asking for a fee for carrying our bags to the car’s backseat! everyone reacted! they were raged! lol! “Kinsa may nagsugo ana sa ilaha!”, “wala man na cla sugua!”, “ah wala! tala na manong!” … well, need I say more? We are exhausted and we are hungry! LoL! … So we decided to stay at Regal Pension haus. Not so nice place but carry ra! Sheila, Josef and Ms. Tin weren’t that lucky with the room given to them! hahahhaahah… gross! I don’t want to go into details! Christine, Ria and JP shared room, while me, Mafe and Rona went ahead to our room…We took our rest for a while and decided to go out for dinner and supposedly night life! That was friday and we were so excited for that! We went to Ayala without Ria and JP (they went ahead, sa USP Lahug daw) and Christine with her cousin. So we had our dinner at Gerry’s Grill in Ayala. Thanks to Vicky (former officemate) and her bf for accompanying us. While we were eating, i was really in daze…. I couldn’t think well! It was like I’m drunk! my head was so light that I was scared to stand up because I might collapse! I decided to go back to the pension house to rest… Rona was disappointed but she understood. Mafe tagged along….1 hour and 30 minutes after we left them at Ayala, Rona came in glaring and well……pissed off. We didn’t ask further, we sensed something went wrong with the night out plan!

It was already 7:30 when everyone settled into the van for our Cebu tour! ehehehheeh.. take note we have until 11:30. First stop, Jollibee! take out lang and eat along the way (breakfast galore!) … So we went to the Sto. Niño Church, Magellan’s Krus. Famous tourist destination. There were group of Koreans as well with their own Korean tour guide. We just took pictures there, prayed. Mafe bought a gift for our friend’s wedding while I bought a pocket prayer book.

Our next quick stop is at the famous Toist temple! I’ve been to that place before…. it’s been ages already but it was like my first time to be there! Again, we had to climb the stairs!! whew! we haven’t recovered from the stairs to the chocolate hills and there we were again! LoL! What else is there to do? picture picture! pose here, pose there, pose everywhere! We were doing a great job posing! heheheheh… Toist temple is the haven of the mga intsik . They have their prayer room and the wishing errr pond? hehehe whatever, just drop your coin wish already! . Time’s up guys! let’s keep moving!

Next stop, back to Ayala Mall. We dropped by Starbucks Cafe where some bought mugs as pasalubong and some just had coffee while waiting for the mall to open. Around 10, we went inside the mall to shop, window shop or whatever. We have an hour to enjoy the mall! geezz! I can’t leave to that! 1 hour?? shopping??!! come on! well, what can we do? we are running out of time! We don’t want to be late for our flight! So we strolled for a while and hurried back to the van to drive back to Mactan International Airport. Hmmmmm… graveh! trip indeed! that was tight! our sched were very hectic but that was a great vacation! Though exhausting, it was worth it all! Thanks to Ms. Tin for gathering us all and letting us bond outside the 4 corners of our office! Well, I hope that’s not gonna be our last travel together people .

Home sweet home! Thank God we arrived safe and still beautiful! heheheheh..Thanks for reading!

October 12, 2007 7:00 AM – Logout

We are bound to conquer one of Philippine’s pride… no less than the enchanted Camiguin Island! It has been a long overdue planned trip (team building as we call it). We’ve been planning the said trip for almost 8 months now. We were just waiting for a perfect timing to visit the place. And finally! planning has become a reality! The night before our most awaited trip, everyone arrived in the office prepared, things were packed.. we are all set!

We left cagayan de oro exactly 7 in the morning after we logged out from work. Everyone settled inside the van. Inspite of the fact that we just came from a night shift work, everyone seemed to be so alive and active! We are supposed to be sleeping to gain our strenght back from working all night. But Spartans are naturally strong and tough people! We had so much fun from the beginning of the trip… how much more when we get to our distination!!?!

We arrived at the balingoan barge station after barely 2 hours of travel from cagayan de oro. We had to wait for the next barge since the first barge can’t accommodate our van anymore. Of course what else is there left to do while waiting? Our favorite past time, picture2x! Shortly, we were inside the barge already and ready to sail across the island. We never got bored of waiting til we arrive, we busied ourselves in taking pictures at all angles! See the proof!

We arrived at Camiguin around 1 afternoon, we went ahead to Lagoon, a place known for its delicious seafoods. We ordered our food only to find out that we have to wait for 40 minutes for our orders to be served. Jara being so starved lamented! For the life of Jara, we decided to cancel the order and left the place . Sayang…. well to our dismay, Jara the reason of the “resto walkout” ate while we were on our way to Mambajao, she munched over her left Jabee food. We arrived at this restaurant (sorry I forgot the name), basta just beside Landbank Camiguin, so those who wants to withdraw can withdraw na rin, hitting two birds in one stone.

After satisfying our hunger, we went straight to Katibawasan Falls. Though I’ve been to Camiguin before, I didn’t had the chance to set foot in the said place. Our first official stop! The enchanted Katibawasan Falls. We were so fascinated with the falls…. I wonder if there’s anyone who was able to set foot at its peak… We’ve been awake 24 hours already! but that didn’t stop us from dipping into the cold waters of katibawasan.. it felt great and very cold! ggrrrrrr!! Here’s a pic of it.

Next Stop …. not to any tourist spot just yet… we had to go back to Mambajao to market for our dinner. We will do the cooking ourselves when we get to Rosell’s house, our official residence while we were in the island. While in Mamabajao, some took the advantage of buying “pasalubong”, the ever famous pastels at VJandeep’s main store in Mambajao. Hurry! let’s go to our next destination!!

So we went right ahead to the next tourist spot… The Ardent Hot Spring. There were this little kids in their Hawaiian costume dancing infront of this “pasalubong” store outside the spring. Geeezzz! were they good! yes they were! Guess what else surprised us in Ardent?!! Well, no less than the Human Resource department team of our office! hehehehe… and according to them, the accounting department was there earlier as well.. seemed like a holiday for L2S people huh. We wasted no time, we dive right in!! We chose to be in the 38 degrees celcius water…It was hot at first but its tolerable and you’ll get the hang of it… it’s therapeutic actually. We spent our time there, talking, laughing, sight seeing! heheheheh and sharing out of this world stuff!

We decided to get some rest after Ardent so we head to our official residence in Camiguin, no less than the Pole’s residence! I can’t remember how long the travel to their place was…Well on the way to Rosell’s place, we decided to drop by “Walkway” the countless steps going to heaven! hehehehehe.. we can’t count how many steps one has to take to reach the top…let’s save it for holy week . We dropped by the pasalubong store where they sell t-shirts, blouses, sarong, shorts… everything with camiguin prints on it. We got carried away with the little shopping that it took us more than an hour picking on their stuff! hehehe….earth calling you guys! we are starving! we still have a long way to go and we still have to cook our dinner! geeezzz! talking about shoppoholics! yeah yeah! we’re coming!

So finally we reached Pole’s residence.. we were welcomed by Rosell’s parents and siblings .. Automatically Shella and Jayzar conquered their kitchen!! We are starving, can’t blame them! hehehehe.. the rest of us settled in the sofa to watch TV, fix our things, some did washed up and well just did our own things… Until dinner is ready!!! everyone rushed into the table! We had tinola, kinilaw and sinugba! geezz! yummy yummy!! We were supposed to morning the night but most of us can’t endure another sleepless night so we had to retire to bed and have a good night sleep. Tomorrow will be another day to have fun around Camiguin Island.

We woke up around 7 already in the morning… early huh! hehehehehe…We can’t help it! the place is so conducive for sleeping! hehehe..Anyway, we had our quick breakfast and while we were having it. Rosell’s mom went inside with loads of ‘lansones’ fresh from harvest! wow! thank you super cool mom! That’s our ultimate pasalubong! … Thanks to the whole family for the warm welcome. Though it was brief, we enjoyed our stay. And we are looking forward to see you again next time!

October 13, 2007

First stop for the day – SODA Swimming Pool

Plan was just to drop by and see the place..Picture2x galore! But, the water was soooooooo inviting that we were not able to resist dipping in! True enough, the water was so refreshing.. not too cold not warm either…. It’s not artificial, water is natural so no chlorine no chemicals whatsoever. Perfect to start our day right and fresh! The pool was deep, 6 ft so to those who don’t know how to swim… careful! . Jara almost drowned! gosh! I said be careful! El hombre shot guys while we’re enjoying the pool!

Okay so we’re done! Let’s get going guys! Off to the Old Church’s Ruins and Sunkin cemetery… As I read the history of that old church’s ruins, I imagined how tragic it was! Seeing the remains of that volcanic eruption made me realize there is no human weapon that can stop any disaster nature is bound to cause. Makaligtas ba ang ruins from our poses? of course not! Pose here! pose there! emote ever! After all the emote, we went to the famous Sunken Cemetery, according to Rosell, that big cross is just a symbol… in memory of those graves were burried underneath. Again, picture2x!!

Okay, so we’re done! next stop, the White Island! Why is it called white island? obviously because of its sand that is white! LoL! It is situated in the middle of the ocean so we had to ride a boat to reach the place. Around 11 o’clock we were there already. Gosh! init kaau! but that didn’t stop us from taking over the place! We ordered our lunch there, grilled fish and tinola @ 200/kilo, free na luto…While waiting, picture galore napod!! Gibati mi og ka model so I took the freedom of directing them! LoL! grabe! millions of pictures! hehehehehe…Girls in their bikini’s chuva and all! the dashing J-zar, the ever bench model John, the hearthrob ng bayan Charlie, the sensual diva Rosell, the charming LJ, the innocent Jara, the seductive Shella, the playful Franz…. they were my models!! check out our pictures www.picnuts.com/spartans. Too bad Jazz was not feeling well so she had to stay in our cottage and rest. We left the place around 1 in the afternoon. We had to catch the 2:00 o’clock ferry to Balingoan. Though that was just a short trip. It gave us the chance to get to know each other, enjoy our company and most of all, it gave us the opportunity to bond not just as a team but as friends who will always be there for each other. We went back to CDO not only bringing the memories of seeing the beautiful and historical places we’ve been in Camiguin but bringing as well the memories we all shared as friends in this wonderful island called Camiguin.

We are looking forward to our next “trip”!!! White Water Rafting! altogether now! Harooh!!

View the album here.

September 7, 2007

The long wait was over…. we finally made our destination trip to Davao! Allow me to share my wonderful experience with extremely fun and great people and of course my wonderful time in the largest city of the Philippines, Davao City. To start with, we had so much fun from the start of the travel til we got home! It was such an amazing trip in such amazing place! We’ve all been very excited about it that we can’t help talking while we await for the very day of our departure. Well for one is Tabby whose gonna be setting foot in the land of Davao for the veryfirst time. He swore he’ll make this travel worth the wait and excitement. Attendance please!! Shane, Dave, Tabby, Rex, Em, Clyde, Mykis, Mafe, Michelle, Robs, Dennis and Gabby. All rode in our rented Nissan Urvan Escapade van with our official and fearless driver Manong Tucker!! ( I’m not sure of the spelling though!) hehehe.. Well anywayze, we left CDO almost 3 in the afternoon. Everyone fasten your seatbelt!Davao here we come!!

Valencia Bukidnon - Our tummies are telling us we had to stop over and grab something to eat. Where else!!! JOLLIBEE! (trivia : peborit ni Dave and ako pod!) hehehehe. We took our orders and to Shane’s dismay, no hot choco available and her other order which I forgot.. takeout lang because we are so eager to reach Davao. It took us around 15 minutes to get back into the car to munch our foods along the way. Well, Rex and I had burgers and fries, Dave and Shane Rice galore! Burger stake and spaghetti, Robs had ummm.. burger and chicken with rice? wow ha! appetite!, the rest are just burgers as well.

We enjoyed our foods as we travel, the humps and bumps, the rocky roads and zigzag road as if we are approaching Baguio . And the fogs! yes! we had to conquer the fogs along the way. It was dark already as we reached BUDA so we didn’t have the chance to enjoy the scenery but just the fogs with Robstroy on the background “andyan na siyaaaaa” drama! LOL!

Davao finally! Tabby had to really open the car’s window to say HI to Davao! not so excited noh? Surprisingly our travel was less than 6 hours! Wow! Manong Tucker amazing ka! Shane was so busy coordinating with our contact while we were on the way, no less than the bride to be herself! Anne! heehehe.. disturbance ever. We agreed to meet the couple Jeedo and Anne somewhere near SM City. We needed help so badly as to where to stay. Our first stop is at DELONGTES, a restaurant just near SM City Davao, where seafoods is their specialty. Affordable and nice place to dine. Then next stop is to our temporary “home” for 3 nights and 3 days, the Anton-Rose Inn, 5 minutes away from SM also. Since there were 10 of us whose gonna be staying, we had to take 3 rooms and of course with all the “privacy” chuva as they said! Us drained and exhausted from the travel decided to take a bit of rest. Around 10 or so, our Davao life is supposed to start! but some of us were too exhausted to get up and go out for a night gimik. The ever energetic Tabby went ahead with Gabby, Shane and Dave and well in the morning I just found out Robs tagged along! I thought you wanted to rest muna? How pathetic! hahahaha! Well, they went back around 2 am and to think we have an early trip to Samal the next day, not to mention we all have to wake up extra early since there’s an scheduled blackout 6am, everyone should have taken a bath before the blackout in short. Geeezzzz, good luck guys!

Day 2, 1st stop for the day – SAMAL (PARADISE ISLAND)

Rise up sleepyheads! take a bath and lets go! Some didn’t have to take a shower enweyz. Manong Tucker is so ready ever! We rode our way to Lanang and decided to take the boat to Paradise Island instead of the Ferry. The ride cost us 12 pesos/head. I loved the ride so much! so relaxing… breathing the fresh air was exhilarating! I felt like I was in a whole new world . Pictures here and pictures there! pose here! Go Shane emote ever! In less than 10 minutes we reached PARADISE ISLAND! Welcome people! our first trip! Entrance is 90/head. A lot of things to do there, fish feeding, snorkling, pingpong along the beach, there’s a playground for the kids and for those feeling kids, they have different birds for your eyes only, there’s a massage by the bay for 300 pesos and of course FOODS to order for your erring stomachs! . Amenities are great and very clean, the place is very secured. Though the clear water was so inviting Shane, Rex and I chose to stay in the dry sands for some reasons! hehehehe.. shhhhh.. syodi na magtila! We have visitors the 3 of us! hahahahaha!

Next stop – NCCC Mall (whatever that means)

We had to meet Dennis, Mykis and Mafe there before going to our next destination. We had the chance to check the mall out and well a little shopping. I couldn’t resist my shoe addiction that I bought one pair, take note “On Sale” so it’s not really painful to the wallet. Time is running and we still have few places to go to!! so we sped up to our next stop..

3rd Stop – MALAGOS Garden Resort

It took us errrrrr… 30 minutes? to reach the place. We wanted to see eagles but to our dismay there’s none there but butterflies etc.. We decided to take pictures nalang instead and go across where our van is being parked. We took the time to go inside this plant area where we got the chance to see different flowers, plants and trees…finally nakakita na ko og Durian Tree! and the green house effect was relaxing! It’s so nice to be there inside to see a whole new environment to get in touch with nature again.

4th Stop – Philippine Eagle Center

Yeah! we visited the famous Philippine Eagle Center 50/head if you want to see our precious eagles and other animals inside. Before entering their world we were welcomed by a big snake! Hell yeah, my greatest fear! They all got their chance to hold and have it around their necks for the first time! ewwww!! Robs, Clyde, Tabby were the first ones to try. Then Mafe and Mykis as well. Shane didn’t have the guts to do the same but just touched it’s skin… well for picture2x sake! I couldn’t bring myself to really hold it, I tried touching the snake’s skin for 1 second!! with all my might najud to ha! It doesn’t feel good promise! I would never dare to touch one again! not in my entire life! geeezz! Of course we went to the main attraction, the Philippine Eagles!! Finally I saw the ever famous PAG-ASA and the other inmates! hehehhehe…We heard from the guide that eagles are loyal partners, ones their partner dies, they will no longer find another mate until they die….romantic isn’t it?? Don’t cha wish your partner is like that? hehehehehe… PAG-ASA’s mate is his caretaker! take note a human being!! hmmmm.. I wonder how they make out!!?? LOL! Aside from the different eagles, there were owls who according to them can turn their heads 360 degrees! woah! amazing! There’s the wild boar, the deers and oh! Robstroy’s long lost brothers and sisters! hehehhehehee.. the monkeys who were very entertaining! super! I was almost convinced of it’s evolution to human beings! LoL! The not so big crocs which I didn’t see. No worries, I’ll be feasting my eyes with crocodiles on all sizes on our next stop!! If you want to exercise or go walking without getting tired, just go to the Philippine Eagle Center! surely you will not notice how far you went .

5th Stop – Crocodile Farm

Aren’t we tired yet? No no!! We are so determined to make the most out of our visit in Davao! From the Philippine Eagle Center, we traveled again for hmmmmmmm….15 minutes? to the Crocodile Farm. Honestly I really was so tired already that I wanted to go back to the place where we are staying to lie down and rest, but everyone seemed to be so full of energy and so alive pa for our next stop so Go! I remember someone told me that “don’t worry, you’ll gain your energy back when we get there”, I think that was the ever drama queen Shane. And true enough! hearing the voice of their “Master Showman” awakened me! They were just starting their animals showcase when we went inside. There was the Tiger (tamed one. well at least by those caretakers), Iguana, Baby Crocodile and the life of the show Carlos the Urangutan! He was so “makulit!” he’s a bully Urangutan trying to piss off the Tiger who almost reached him with its claws! da! da! atras lagi si Carlos! But that didn’t stop him from pissing the Tiger off! LoL! He is adorable… again I’m closed to being convinced! hehehehehe.. Next, the crocodile dancing, showcasing how the crocodile jumps for their foods (prey??!)………Then the biggest crocodile in the farm. One farm employee had to trigger the crocodile so for us to see how it reacts. We were made to understand that it was not done to harm the animal but just to show how they will react when they think their life is in danger. True enough, it’s scary! it’s big mouth and sharp teeth are enough to slice through any flesh!! scary!!! Next picture taking with the animals showcased, except for the big crocs. Ones again! Tabby dared me to hold the GIGANTIC snake! Hell no way Tabs! I won’t be touching it even! They took turns in holding it, including the yellow python. Michelle and I settled with the baby croc! hehehehehe… in ferness ha it took courage to hold that! Its mouth is tied up by the way. Oh! I almost forgot to mention, the not so friendly parrots are present as well . We took a brief tour inside the farm to see the other animals. After that we rode our way back to our temporary home….Tabby had his favorite butt massage! actually whole body massage but the butt part is his most favorite! LoL! Rex and I went along anyway! hehehehehe….K1 Spa was just a walking distance from the place where we stayed. Everyone went to their rooms to rest after the long and exciting day! But hey! it’s not the end of the day yet!!!

10:00 PM – Night Out

Why rest already when there’s a big world outside waiting for us? Yeah! let’s partee eh! While we were asleep to regain our energy, the others went ahead already for the night out… Robs, Clyde, Dennis & his friend, Mykis, Mafe and Michelle went out for Videoke the Davao way! hehehehhe.. I wonder how’s it like? While Shane, Dave, Rex, Me, Tabby and Gabby went to Jack’s Ridge to enjoy the view and dine out. It’s like Tops in Cebu. We enjoyed the cold fresh air, the beautiful place, alternative music and of course the affordable and tasty foods! yum yum!!! We were too starving to talk while eating! hehehehehe… We didn’t stay there for long though. We went downtown and head to The Venue. It’s Saturday night so what dyu expect?! Gimikeros and Gimikeras were all over! It took us sometime to decide where to go. We ended up in Halo, it’s like Macumba in Cagayan de Oro, only it’s a bit in order and they have a separate room for those who smoke so you don’t really have to worry smelling cigarette when you go out. We drank and danced. Shane made her moment! she has all the space to dance! well who cares? nobody knows us! it’s Davao! yeah baby! 16 RH bottles down if I’m not mistaken then we went out……..We smell fight between two tables so better get out while it’s still early. It was almost 2 already so we decided to head back to our temporary home and call it a night.

Sunday 9/9/2007 – AM

Everyone went with their individual trip! Rex and I went malling to buy some stuffs. I had to go to Pinksoda store and buy stuffs for me. I had pinksoda towels, bag, undies, a small pouch and body sprays among other things I shopped. Not too addict noh? We spent the whole morning at the mall then head back to the Inn along with the others na to prepare for Jeedo and Ann’s wedding, the main reason why we were in Davao .

Around 5 we arrived at Sunny Point Function Plaza, Ma-a Davao where the wedding and the reception was held. That was the most beautiful wedding I personally witnessed! The bride was so lovely and obviously very happy. The groom looked calm and handsome in his suit. The entourage all looked great! The flower girls are adorable and the little bearers. It was a fairy tale inspired wedding so everyone was encouraged to wear their fairy tale costume. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to prepare for it, at least we still look decent inspite of it! Gus, MT and his Wife Marissa with Jenzar arrived Sunday Morning and stayed in the same place where we stayed. They attended the wedding too. Stickmedia peeps were welcomed and acknowledged by the couple and their family. Two things bewildered my eyes. First the way the foods were served in the presidential table by no less than the chefs themselves in their complete chef’s suit. Then second the cake that was suspended in the ceiling! rare! The foods tasted really great and the wine! we loved it! The wedding ended around 9 PM. We can’t help taking pictures inside and outside the venue, the place is so inviting and too wonderful to be ignored. After the wedding we all decided to go back to the Inn where we stayed. I was too exhausted to stay outside that I fell asleep instantly. The boys stayed in the lobby to have their moment, you know men’s bonding time . Hopefully they didn’t talk about WORK!

September 10, 2007 – Goodbye Davao

Gus, MT and his group went ahead of us earlier. The rest of us, stopped by SM mall first to make our final “shopping”. Jeedo joined us on our way back to CDO. We had our brunch there and then after buying couple of things, pasalubong etc. we went back to our van and head directly to Magsaysay Fruit Stand for another pasalubong spree! whatelse! the ever famous durian fruit! I don’t actually eat the fruit. After couple of minutes, after everyone satisfied their cravings, time for us to get going and head back to CDO. Being in Davao was one of the greatest experience ever! Aside from the chance of getting close to nature, I am glad I was given the chance to bond with beautiful and fun people! I gained new set of friends and that is one gain worth keeping . The fun never seem to stop with these people around me! specially adding Jeedo up! who’ll fell asleep along the way??! We again had to conquer the fogs that seemed to become worst than our way to Davao. Nevertheless we still enjoyed the travel more seeing the beauty of nature along the way. Again stop over sa Valencia! Never ending Jollibee feast! this time no more take outs, dine in na. After that we head back to the van. Heavy rain welcomed us in Bukidnon! That was freaky, we almost can’t see the road and worst is we can’t stop! Good thing manong tucker is the best driver ever! we managed to surpass the challenging travel! It was still raining when we reached CDOC.. Home sweet Home…. That was one heck of a travel!! To where next naman pod guys??