Macau and HK Photowalk

I chanced upon a promo fare to Macau via Cebu Pacific and booked it right away since doing a Macau Photo-walk had been long enough in my bucket list.

Since the arrival in Macau is quite late already, I decided to book via airbnb for a budget night stay. Caleena's place is really nice and comfortable. The following morning, my friend and I woke up early to start our Photo-walk tour.

To date, I must say that this trip was the most times I got lost. My navigation skills were not at its best. Luckily, my patience were still in place so we were still able to find those iconic places around Macau Peninsula.

We started our photo-walk at St. Dominic Church since we had missed the nearest bus stop to Ruins of St. Paul. The church was still closed because we had arrived too early.


It was always a dream to see the grandeur of the Ruins of St. Paul. I was inspired by the hit Taiwanese Series, Meteor Garden. I felt like I was Shan Chai waiting for Dao Ming Tze to regain memories when I was there.

And yeah, there were A LOT of TOURISTS in the area. :( I wasn't able to fully appreciate the beauty. Maybe next time, I'll come here very early in the morning. Hope to have some quality moment with this beauty.

Off we walk to Monte Fort to witness series of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It has an overview of the Peninsula. The area was built to survive a 2 year siege. It was a military base until 1965.

The Museo de Macao is located within the area. It was unfortunate, I was not able to enter the place.

The Senado Square really gave European feels. I am fascinated by the architectures. I loved how everything was preserved.

Santa Casa de Macau serves as an orphanage and refuge for widows of sailors lost at sea.

The Macau Cathedral is the current Diocese of Macau. I was fortunate to go inside to say prayers.

St. Agustine Church is under renovation when we visited. The roof had collapsed so it must be repaired accordingly.

St. Lawrence Church is a neo-classical Church. It is situated in the southern coastline of Macau, overlooking the sea. Families of sailors used to wait and pray here for the return of their loved ones.

Something that had captured me - the artistic details of tile designs.

In a narrow street, we ventured into the Mandarin House. This is home to famous Ideologist - Zheng GuanYing. The building was predominantly in Chinese style with subtle European influences.

Lilau Square. Lilau means "moutain spring". It turns out that the groundwater in Lalau had been the main source of spring water in Macau.

Moorish Barracks. It was built to accommodate a regiment from Goa, Portuguese India. It was later turned into Macau's Port Authority HQ. To date, it is now the HQ of Macau Marine and Water Bureau.

This place reminded me of my mi-amor so much. :)

Of course I will never let the visit to Museu Maritmo slip away our itinerary. I wanted to get to know more on the maritime life of my mi amor.

Kun Iam Temple is one of the three richest and largest Buddhist temple in Macau. There were a lot of people who paid their respect during our visit.

After the historic walking tour, we checked in to another hotel - Casa Real. We were dead tired from the morning activities so we decided to have a slower phasing this time. We went out late afternoon already to go to Macau Tower and explore Taipa Night Life.

If this was 5 years me, I will definitely jump off that tower! :) 

Loving the bridge view.

Bus transportation is not that tourist friendly in Taipa area from Macau tower so we decided to take a cab instead. It's really pricey! Good thing Venetian Macau did not disappoint! :)

It really feels like I am not inside a Hotel. Amazing interiors!

I was luck enough to watch the first night of Shrek the Musical. All good vibes! :) 

After the show, I walked around Taipa to check the exterior of Galaxy Macau. I also tried to check the mall inside, but there is kind of fear in my mind that I might get lost again, so I just decided to go back to our hotel.

The following morning, we decided to do the Cultural and Science Center Tour before we leave for Hong Kong.

 Macau Fisherman's Wharf definitely will let you feel you are in Europe

Macau Cultural Center

I truly enjoyed exploring Macao Museum of Art. Everything inside is  amazing.

 Passing by Kun Iam Ecumenical Center

 We needed to catch the next ferry to Hong Kong for the second part of our escapade. We boarded via the outer harbor terminal towards Kowloon.

From Kowloon port, we just need to walk around 10-15 minutes to reach our Hostel located at Mirador Mansion. It is so relaxing even with our heavy luggage that we have this calming view of Kowloon Park,

After Checking-in, we just relaxed for a bit before going out to check the HK skyline in Avenue of Stars. Too bad Avenue of Stars was closed during our visit.

Former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower

The following morning, we started very early to visit the Ngong Ping. This is my third time to be in HK but this will be the only time I will see the majestic Giant Buddha. There's also a much to see in Ngong Ping Village but I was not able to take shots since I was busy discovering the place.

We also visited Po Lin Monastery 

We then decided to take a 15min trail to the Wisdom Path

Crystal Cable Ride back to the nearest MTR station from Lantau Island

We were dead tired from our Lantau Trip so we rested a bit back in our hotel. Since we really wanted to utilize our time, we channeled our energy to find the Kowloon Walled City Park. Truly, it is worth the patience to find this secret place.

The following day, we took the morning ferry back to Macau for our last walking tour in Taipa.

Since this is the last part of our trip, our luggage are at the heaviest. We rode the free shuttle from the Outer Harbor to Venetian Hotel. We decided to avail of their luggage storage for a fee. Guess it's our luck, fellow Filipinos were in charge and waive the payment. :) Thank you, kind souls.

We venture to our Taipa Walking tour. Again we had missed our stop for the nth time, but it was a blessing we were able to see the Flower City Park.

I wasn't able to take pictures in Taipa Village, because I was again immersed to the beauty and culture. After dining to an Authentic Portuguese Restaurant, we started the walk back to Venetian Hotel.

Museum of Taipa and Coloane History

We availed the free shuttle to the Airport. On our way, we had peeked into this  soon to open by then, Parisian Hotel.

This trip was quite tiring but everything is worthy! I need to go back to Macau to further explore its beauty. It is the nearest way to feel the architectural influence of Europe.

Marvelous Masungi Georeserve - Getting Close to Nature

I heard about the beauty of this place through my college friend. I instantly checked it right away and google directed me to their website. The catch is to secure a reservation on-line, there is no other way. We had made reservation months before to secure booking.

Thankful for my friends who gamely joined me on this trip. We had filled up 14 slots because I had mixed my college friend, Manila Water and Laguna Water friends.

Days before our chosen date - July 9 2016, Metro Manila had been experiencing non-stop rain. Some of my friends had been already thinking if we should pushed through due to safety risks. Fortunately, nature had been on our side as we experienced a very beautiful weather on that day.

We arrived very early for our 6AM trail. We were briefed in the area called Silungan by our guide/park ranger. In the briefing, we had learned that Masungi is endangered from trespassers that wanted to take portions of the area as private property. They could pose as potential source to degrade the natural environment.

We were also excited to start the trail and was quite surprised that the first rope challenge will be very soon after we start off.

Sapot could be really one of the best spot in the area. We literally spent majority of our time here to have good shots. :)

"Yungib ni Ruben" gave me a little creeps due to the low lighting and unusual smell in the area.

(c) Ruth Pascual

We were able to cool down in the air house.

(c) Kamz Sales

The most fearful part of the trip is the rope course going down to the giant hammock. I really felt there is a need to at least put guide rails. I might be smiling in the picture, but God knows how afraid I was back then.

Good thing that fearful experience was followed by my most favorite part of the trail - "Duyan". I could stay all day to just chill and relax.

We were able to reach the peak of Tatay and Nanay and capture some good shots.

Peak of Tatay

Capturing the beauty of Nanay

We were given recovery food near the area of "Liwasan". The food are so refreshing to regain our energies.

Before going home, we decided to have a full meal for our lunch in Park, Rest and Dine. Yum, yum!

Masungi Georeserve is located in Km 45 Marcos Highway, Baras, Rizal. For booking details, please visit their website: www.masungigeoreserve.com

Beautiful Bolinao: Role Ender as Process Manager

It's never hard to leave something you already considered close to your heart. I always love to work as Process Manager because I can interpret data being thrown to me and verify it on site. There are lots to look back with my previous role and I will always be thankful that those experiences made me a better person.

Before I ended my stint, my closest friends was so game for a road trip. I personally would just want to visit Manaoag Church in Pangasinan to be thankful with the new opportunity given to me. Deciding to be "localized" as they term it in my company is not that easy as I need to move to the province and have a place of my own.

My friends and I are up for a road trip to celebrate this milestone. We also decided to spend a day in Bolinao, which is not that near to Manaoag by the way.

When I was young, I was used to hearing that Bolinao has great beaches through our neighbor who owns Puerto del Sol. After visiting though, I can say that Bolinao doesn't just have great beaches, there are a lot to be explored more in this municipality.

My friends and I booked a night at SCL Garden Resorts because we left Manila late at night already. We need a place to stay to prepare our jump-packed schedule the following day.

We rented a tricycle to get us around Bolinao. Our first stop - Bolinao Falls 1. Yes, that's the name as of my visit last January 2016. The way there is very easy, no need to trek to access the falls.

Next stop was the second falls named Bolinao Falls 2. I wonder though when will they rename it properly. I was really too scared to jump into the falls so I did not even try it.

My favorite part of the tour is the visit to Patar Rock formation. The view is spectacular, perfect to forget all the hustle and bustle of the city.

We also visited the Cape Bolinao lighthouse. It is the second tallest lighthouse in the country.

We then visited the famous Patar Beach. We swam a little bit to feel the water.

Last for out tour is the Enchanted Cave where we truly spend quite a lot of time. The water is crystal clear inside the cave and it relaxes us.

The pictures cannot justify the amazing scenery we had witnessed for this day trip tour. If given the chance, I will love to return back and bring my family there to share the beauty of Bolinao.