Surf's Up at Baler, Aurora

Baler is the provincial capital of Aurora. It is identified as one of the top surf spots in the country. Getting there will take around 6-8 hours depending on the route one will take. Our company's department outing commenced here last May 9-10 2014.

On our way, the GPS directed us to take the aurora memorial national park route wherein we experienced the roughest road ever. Our car's tires were just inches away from the mountain's ends.

On the lighter note, we were able to witness the mountain's natural beauty during this memorable route.

Arriving at Sabang Beach, we were all exhausted and hungry so we had our late lunch to fill our growling stomachs. We headed to Hungry Surfer Restaurant. (Perfect name!)

After the sumptuous meal, we finally regrouped with the rest of our department. We had the usual team building activities wherein our team lost! :( We need to drink alcohol as a consequence.

We attempted to play frisbee along the shore but ended up laughing out loud because most of the players don't know the rules. Then some of us chose to swim for about 30 minutes before having dinner.

We then had dinner and had another team building activity where we lost again! After that, we prepared for our performance (like an initiation) as newbies in the company. To cap off the night, we had our socials to keep up with each other's lives outside work.

We got up very early despite staying up late because we are excited to finally surf! :) We put our rash guard and headed to the beach!

It was my first time to surf and I must say these muscular legs had been but into good use! Waves aren't that high so it's perfect for a beginner like me. Balance and timing is the key if you really wanna ride with the waves!

After the surfing session, we prepared to check-out and had our lunch by the beach.

Since we still have time, we decided to pass by the largest Balete tree in Asia. It was indeed humongous!

We took the Pantabangan Route heading home and it was relatively smoother and safer. :)

Baler did not fail to give me a YOLO moment. I am truly blessed to have experienced the waves of Sabang Beach!

Wonders of Nature: Albay - Sorsogon 2014

Discover. Explore. Learn.

When I was a kid, my grade school teacher would always instill to us how beautiful Mt. Mayon is. Teachers would repeatedly describe it having a perfect cone and showed us pictures of the almost symmetric conical shaped volcano. 

It is not until this year that I decided to travel to Bicolandia  and see it with my own eyes. I am currently at the point where I want to appreciate the beauty life has to offer. Taking this trip to Albay and Sorsogon is the first of the many exploration I plan to achieve. 

I joined the tour for this trip via www.travelfactor.com since I don't have enough courage yet to explore the region on my own. We traveled by bus for almost 13 hours to Legazpi City. Bus ride was bumpy, long and tiring, should had opted to take the plane instead. Upon arriving to the terminal we transferred to a van to start our Bicol side trip tour.

We first stopped for breakfast to refuel ourselves. We had tapsilog (Tapa-Sinigang-Itlog) at Cres.

After refilling our empty stomachs, we headed to this great spot where we could do photoshoot. Too bad Mayon was too shy to reveal herself.

We then headed to another place where we could do zip line ride but no one from our group tried. I saw 2 guys fishing from the side for Danggit. Truly it's fun to live this simple life.

Next to our list was to visit Lignon Hill. We thought that taking the habal-habal is not necessary anymore since we are "fit" to take the hike up the hill. The heat was draining our energy so eventually mid-way we have to ride the habal;-habal. Nothing much could be seen on top of the hill except for a great view of the Mayon but again she is too shy to be looked into. After some exploration, we decided again to ride the habal-habal downhill. Boy I must say, it's a trip to hell! I was so afraid I could barely keep my eyes open. 

At that point we were already tired and hungry so our tour facilitator took us to lunch at Kim's bowl. I never thought I would taste such delicious crispy pata in my lifetime. That restaurant totally raised the bar! Aside from the super tasty crispy pata, I had my first ever bicol express and pinangat. We also had sinigag na seafood to complete our meal.

After this sumptuous meal, we headed to Daraga Church (Our Lady of Gate Parish Church). The church was made mostly by volcanic stones. A great view of Mayon can be also seen here.

  

Last to our list was the Cagsawa Ruins. These are the remnants of a Franciscan Church in the 18th Century. The church was destroyed by the most destructive eruption of Mayon Volcano in February 1 1814. I never imagined that around the ruins will be full of pasalubong shops. That somewhat decreased the historical value of the place in my opinion. I imagined it to be very sacred and well preserved with lots of lahar around. Still, being able to see the ruins with my own eyes is one for the books.

It was the time to head to Donsol, Sorsogon to check-in our resort and have a rest. Sunset always fascinates me, but sunset by the beach is love for me. Having the chance to witness this wonder after N years is totally a stress-buster. It would always bring infinite joy to me to walk in a beach, listen to the calm waves and witness the sun sets.  

After having our dinner, it was time for our Firefly River Tour. Unfortunately I was too scared to bring my camera in the River so I wasn't able to take shots. I also doubted my camera can capture the beauty of those light emitting creatures. After that we had some socials then headed to bed to cap off the long day.

The next day was supposedly the most exciting part since we were scheduled for a whale-watching activity. Sadly and disappointingly, we weren't able to interact with the butanding even if we tried to search for one for 3 hours! On the brighter side, we were able to see some dolphins playing for less than a minute. 

We headed back to Manila after some pasalubong shopping. Again we have to endure a long 13-14 hours bus ride.

This trip is the start of the many more things that I had to ticked off my bucket list. My dream is to be able to capture these majestic places and wonderful moments while I could still can. Even if a big chunk of my salary will have to be allotted for this, regret will never be in the equation. 

This is the start of something new. To many more awesome places! Cheers. :)

The Year That Was...

"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." -Babe Ruth

My faith had been tested for so many times this year that I almost lost count. Everything that I had been through may those be good or bad made me become who I am and who I will be.

2013 made me value my job more.

I truly understand now why I took Chemical engineering in college and why I chose to practice my profession in the field of waste water.

Being a chemical engineer does not only entails that I know the technical knowledge, it is important that I also apply what I gathered from experience.

Although I had been mentally exhausted for being a process engineer, boy I must say it is most of the time physically exhausting.

Aside from the usual task of a process engineer, I am proud that I learned how to do sludge hauling from a lagoon, that experience is totally priceless!

I decided to change career mid-May and tried to be a technical sales representative for a Chemical Company, I enjoyed and learned a lot from that short experience, but I guess my heart still belongs to Waste water operations. My TSR experience taught me humility and persistence.

I guess love will always lead me back to wastewater. Now that I am with my new company, I look forward to face new opportunities to help me become a better individual.

2013 taught me the importance of saving

When I was still having assignments abroad for plant start-up, it was a bittersweet experience because I have to leave my family but my salary is tripled during those days. Due to this, I was able to earn something but I was not good at managing my savings. To make a long story short, my earnings were gone.

When I was job-searching during the last month of the third quarter, I was almost broke. That is the time that I felt how hard it is to cannot afford to buy something that I badly want. After experiencing such, I now make sure to appreciate the financial aspect of my life and be wiser on budgeting my money.

2013 made me my brain wiser and my heart stronger

This was the year that I first tried blind dating. It was alright but now I am sure it is not my thing. Out of the blue, I decided to trust someone whom I knew way back in high school. I believed in love again after 6 years of being contented on being single. It was not a happy ending for me due to unexplained situations but this helped me in discovering myself more.

• I got the chance to spend more time with friends especially with my long time friend, Tin. 
• I realized that at the end of the day, nothing beats the love of my family.
• I was able to try Zumba and oh boy I enjoyed dancing and sweating! :)
• It was my first time to dye my hair, yes, I thought my hair's going to fall off!
• It was the time that I have to figure out what I really want with my career and how I will see myself in the future.
• I got to travel out of the country for leisure just to reflect on life.

For everything that had happened in 2013, I am glad that God is always there to show me the light in the darkness, to help me see the beauty in every ugly situation and to assist me in finding the good in goodbye. My family and closest friends never stopped to assure me that life is awesome. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for always being there. I am grateful that you are there in the happiest and toughest moments of my life.

I don't wanna plan anything for 2014 yet but I will hope for the best for everyone that I love. May we always find the goodness in all situations and not lose faith that everything will be alright in the end. 

Happy New Year everyone, let's celebrate 2014 with awesomeness and positive vibes! :)

Singapore 2013

This was indeed an impulsive trip. I got to be luckily invited by my friend, Tin over dinner around mid June. It was just a casual conversation of her mentioning that her company might send her to SG for a business trip and it might be a good idea to drop by one weekend to enjoy SG. It was really a great plan because I was planning to have an out of the country trip this year, so fortunately we made that happen. A week before July 5, I booked my plane ticket.

I left Manila at around 22:15 of July 5. I Arrived at Changi Airport around a quarter before 2 of the 6th of July. Tin's staying at Park Avenue Changi Hotel, just around 5km from the airport. The taxi driver was really nice for stopping the meter because we had been going around Changi Business Park and cannot find the hotel right away. Eventually we found our way. I met with Tin but she gave me the saddest news that she won't have her weekend off because she still has to work. Truly heartbreaking, because I planned doing the activities with her. (Tin and I had been good friends since the 3rd grade). Since I was already there, the show must still go on. She ensured me that a friend of hers would accompany me for my Universal Studio Experience.

Our cozy room at Park avenue Changi

I woke up at 5:30 AM to prepare to start off my day at the Botanical Garden. The place was full with kids and joggers. It's a very ideal place to reflect and read a good book.

From there I had met with Tin's friend (eventually became my friend too). We lost our way out of the garden so we have to travel around the perimeters to eventually access the MRT. We had brunch at Vivo City first before heading to Sentosa.

I cannot hide my excitement any longer because I had been dreaming to go to USS ever since. We rode the monorail for an overview of Sentosa.

Upon seeing the iconic symbol of USS which is the globe, we spent quite a while to have pictures taken with it. Eventually we were able to enter USS. I was able to feel the vibes that I was really in Hollywood. The following pictures might narrate how I felt during the visit. For the attractions that we tried, I might say that the Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers 3D were the highlights of this experience. I chickened out for trying the Battlestar Galactica because I had never been a fan of roller coasters. We waited for the Parade in the afternoon before heading to the S.E.A. aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world.

After the parade, we visited the SEA aquarium. We were time bounded because we wanted to catch the firework display back again at USS. We passed by the Maritime Museum first, where displays of SEA countries' richness could be seen.

The SEA Aquarium experience was just alright because I kept comparing it to the one I visited in HK ocean park and of course our very own Manila ocean park. My favorite part? I was able to see up close those cute dolphins! 

After witnessing the firework display at USS, we killed time to have coffee before meeting with Tin at Chinatown for late dinner and some night shopping. We planned to go to Clark quay but we were all drained out of energy.

Our view while having coffee and killing time

The following day, I had breakfast with Tin at Changi Mall. It was a delicious meal, and we were able to have small talks before she head out to work again.

Our yummy breakfast

I had reached out to a long time friend, Ellaine who I also met in the third grade and until now considered to be one of my good friends. She treated me to lunch together with her hubby and my soon to be god-daughter. 

After our lunch at Marina bay sands, we headed to the Gardens by the bay, but we weren't able to enter the observatories anymore because of time constraint.

I Find the Marina Bay Sands truly spectacular. I hope when I return to SG I could see its beauty at night.

                   

Since I was also saving my energy for tomorrow's work (flight back to Manila is just hours away from this moment), I decided just to zoom in my camera to take pictures of some famous figures: The Merlion and the Singapore Flyer.

Ellaine and I finally headed to Orchard Road to do a last minute shopping before I head back to the hotel to prepare for my flight.

Below is just some of the yummy foods that I was able to try. Singapore's cuisine is already an Asian fusion of Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Indian.

This amazing trip wouldn't that be awesome if not for these two great friends. Thank you so much tin and ellaine for this superb experience. Also thank you Paolo (he's too shy to have his picture taken) for the unforgettable USS moment. 

I will surely be back Singapore, I was not able to explore you that much yet, but I promise on my next visit, I will include Malaysia on my itinerary.