Two restaurants with the same name, one serving Filipino-Mexican fusion food, the other Vietnamese delicacies. Check out Silantro Fil-Mex Cantina in Kapitolyo, Pasig, and Cilantro in Iloilo!
Also, certain towns in Iloilo have been badly damaged
Showing posts with label island tales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label island tales. Show all posts
La Union Soul Surf 2013 feat. RAC, Classixx and Crazy/Beautiful Friends
Had an epic weekend with friends in La Union for Soul Surf
2013! I really wanted to go because of Classixx and RAC, and they were awesome (although I'm still really bummed Classixx didn't play "I'll Get You", like what's up with that?!),
but really, the best part of the trip was spending a few days with great
friends I’ve missed. Hilarious and random conversations on the road for 5+
hours each way, and of course, all the partying! Was it 7 hours straight? Everyone
just kept at it for that long because you know, yolo. Haha.
Anyway, I’m cutting this post short because it’s late, I’m
still not over the weekend that was, and I’m still trying to bring my blogging
chops back from a month of not posting anything. I’ll be trying to churn out
more posts over the long weekend, get my blogging groove back. For now I leave you
with pictures.
Were you in La Union over the weekend? How was your
experience? Hope you had a blast!
Thanks to Captain Morgan Philippines and Smirnoff Philippines for a great party!
Wise Words To Live By At The Circle Hostel La Union, Philippines
A few months back, I spent a great weekend at The Circle Hostel La Union and loved its cool, creative, laidback vibe. It's a great place to visit if you want to quickly escape from the city and to meet fellow travelers and new friends.
At The Circle Hostel, guests are free to paint and write on almost every surface available within the hostel. I took photos of the ones I liked, and you'll find them below (one of them I even wrote myself! Guess which one it is).
Do you ever feel compelled to leave a piece of yourself behind in the places you travel to?
Dirty White Jazz: RAC and Classixx! (A La Union Soul Surf Playlist)
I drive a white Honda Jazz that unfortunately I don't get to take to the car wash as often as I should. I do, however, love taking it on relaxed long drives, often on my own, with a lot of good music to keep me company - hence the title of this series of posts. I love music of all kinds, and love putting them together in playlists that help me build memories. Often I associate a song or a series of songs to a certain trip or a specific moment from that trip, kind of like a soundtrack to a movie. In these posts I will be sharing the music that I listen to during my travels, from all-time faves to newfound loves and one hit wonder flings. In some of these posts you'll find a download link to the entire mixtape for your own listening pleasure. I would also love to hear your music recommendations - I'm always on the hunt for new songs to listen to when I travel!
I've consistently loaded my previous playlists with songs from RAC and Classixx, and this time around, because they're headlining La Union Soul Surf in October, I'm dedicating an entire playlist just for their music! It was difficult keeping this one to twenty some tracks because they have so many amazing songs, so I highly recommend you check out their SoundCloud pages (here for RAC and here for Classixx), because there's plenty more where this playlist came from. Enjoy!
Spending Saturday Night in Makati, Philippines: El Chupacabra, Tonkatsuya, The Exit, The Curator, Blind Pig
I live in Ortigas and work in The Fort, so coming to Makati isn't a very common occurence. I hadn't spent a Saturday night in Makati in ages, but a few weekends back and just this weekend, my friends and I decided to change things up a bit and check out a few places that you couldn't find anywhere else but in Makati. From street tacos to bespoke cocktails to some awesome katsu, check out these only-in-Makati joints!
Where to Eat in San Juan, La Union, Philippines
Planning a surf trip to San Juan, La Union? Getting stoked requires a lot of energy, and thankfully there are plenty of food places to check out in and around San Juan. The awesome guys at The Circle Hostel La Union invited a group of travel bloggers including myself to stay in their eco-friendly accommodations for a weekend and kindly took us to three great places to eat around the area. Check out Urbiztondo Grill House, Kahuna Resort, and Thunderbird Resort below!
Life in Flip Flops: Saying Goodbye to Summer in El Nido, Philippines (Part 2)
A beach holiday wouldn't be a beach holiday without lots of photos of the water. I'm not one to just hang out by the shore all day when I'm at the beach - I love the water, love to swim freely and float around looking up into the sky thinking about nothing. So our holiday at Lagen Island Resort was perfect - we were surrounded by pristine waters to swim in, and there was a slew of other water activities to try. We swam with massive carnivorous fish in Miniloc Island, explored beautiful lagoons, and took a kayak to an empty, deserted beach. We wanted to try the Hobie Cat at Dibuluan Beach Club but the conditions weren't ideal for sailing, unfortunately. Maybe next time.
In any case, it's always a good holiday in my book if you spent at least half of it in the water, which we definitely did when we were in El Nido!
Life in Flip Flops: Saying Goodbye to Summer in El Nido, Philippines (Part 1)
My friends and I travel more often than we take a holiday - usually our trips have itineraries ranging from chock-full to intensely hectic, with only a few breaks to chill and relax in between. They're refreshing and provide a great escape from our daily routines, but are hardly relaxing physically.
So our holiday in Lagen Island Resort in El Nido, Palawan couldn't have come at a better time - it was going to be Mabelle's birthday celebration, my job was on the verge of going crazy so I needed a relaxing long weekend before all hell broke loose, and Rissee had just come from her own stressful moments. The best part? We got a crazy awesome deal from the Travel Expo last February - around PhP 27,000 all in for an entire 3-day package. And given the facilities, the service, the food, the activities, and just the whole magic of the weekend, it was absolutely worth it.
I have so many photos from our holiday that this is only photo set 1. There's plenty more where this came from, which I'll publish in the next posts!
A Weekend Well Spent at The Circle Hostel La Union
Summer was ending, it was the first weekend of June and I was starting to get busy with my new job when I found myself spending a weekend with strangers-turned-friends at The Circle Hostel in La Union for a much needed break from the city. I had been meaning to check out their first hostel in Zambales but hadn't found the time to do so, so I was more than thrilled to be part of the blogger event they organized for their new branch in La Union.
It was a swell weekend to say the least (pun intended, though there were actually no waves and we weren't able to surf when we were there). My corporate sellout self badly needed the break - the fresh air, the afternoon spent hanging out in the common area talking about random things while listening to Jason Mraz and eating green mangoes freshly plucked from a nearby tree, the random
There's just something about The Circle Hostel that makes it conducive to making new friends. I'm not usually the chatty-chatty type (really, I'm not!) with strangers but during our weekend in La Union, apart from the bloggers I went with, we also met the guys from GoodLifeCrewPH, and all it took was a few questions about their GoPro gadgets (and they sure had a lot of them gadgets!) and an offer of green mango slices. Two of them, after leaving their jobs in Singapore, are setting out on a journey across the Philippines and documenting their trip with their GoPro cameras. How cool is that? Theirs was just one of the many inspiring stories I heard that weekend about stepping out of ordinary routines and stepping into extraordinary, exciting lives.
If you're looking for a quick weekend getaway and can't find any friends to take with you, book a bed in The Circle Hostel Zambales or La Union - you would've set out on your own but you'll definitely come back with at least a few friends!
Life in Flip Flops: Girly, Pretty Things at Heima and Vanilla Cupcake Bakery
When I'm not traveling I long for other sources of inspiration, and in the past few days, rather serendipitously, I chanced upon two places in the city that have given me just that. I love very feminine lifestyle and design blogs like A Field Journal and A Beautiful Mess (thanks for the tip on the latter Eds!), and these places are like those blogs coming to life! I'll write more about them soon, but for now I'm spamming you with photos. Enjoy!
San Juan Bloggers' Weekend at The Circle Hostel!
It's only the middle of the week but already I'm looking forward to the weekend, because I’ll be
spending it at The Circle Hostel La Union with a group of amazing
travel bloggers. I’m so excited! I’ll be posting about it soon, watch out for it! Anybody else hoping to catch some waves/sun/sand/good vibes in LU this weekend? See you there! :)
Life in Flip Flops: Summer Road Trip to Subic Bay
Last summer I drove to Subic Bay with Carmeli and Mabs for a quick getaway to the beach. We didn't do much except lie around in our picnic blanket, take an occasional dip in the warm water, eat chips, and read through Carmeli's many issues of Cosmo. It was a great way to escape the city for a day, and the drive was a breeze - this, considering I literally had no sleep the night before (I had two engagements I couldn't get out of that ended way later than I expected - okay, I partied).
I particularly enjoyed driving into the sunset as we headed back for the city, recharged and refreshed, with some good music playing in the background (a bit of KPop and Michael Alvardo's "Slow Love" for good vibes). Nothing like a relaxed drive across empty roads and pretty scenery after a day at the beach with life-long friends.
Underwater Love: Photos from the Best Snorkeling Spot in Batangas, Philippines
At least once every year for nearly a decade now, my family stays overnight at Dive and Trek in Batangas - although it might as well be called "Snorkel and Eat", if I was being accurate about our main activities there.
The best thing for me about Dive and Trek is how accessible the rich marine life of the area is to a non-diver - even a non-swimmer, at that. You can easily jump off the resort's dock - with or without a life vest - and already view schools of fish and colorful reefs!
Jump in and read more about the world beneath the surface at Dive and Trek resort after the cut!
Gustare Kitchen: Our Secret In The City
I love coming to Gustare Kitchen for lunch, especially if it's been a particularly stressful day / week at work and I need some comfort food. Hidden behind The Goose Station in the relative outskirts of Bonifacio Global City, There are no signs outside W Tower (the building where it is located) to let people know it exists. Which is why I like to think of Gustare Kitchen as our little secret in the city.
The 2013 To Go List: 5 Asian Destinations To Visit This Year
In my line of work, I am plagued with to-do lists, and they are both extremely helpful (they keep me organized) but also frustrating (they never seem to end sometimes!). And with this post I come to you with yet another list, but a fun one: not a To Do List, but a To Go List, with five of my top destination suggestions for 2013.
I have fond memories of all the five destinations I've included here - from swimming through a hole under limestone cliffs into secret lakes, enjoying a candlelit dinner on a balcony overlooking a riverside view, to tasting a sumptuous pork dish that could rival the Filipino lechon, these destinations are not exactly off the beaten path, but are maybe just a little ways away from the regular tourist hotspots.
To Travel Like It's The End Of The World: YOLO 2012!
I once said that my 2011 felt like one long, extended beach trip, but that I hoped 2012 would be a little bit crazier, more adventurous. After all, the world was supposedly going to end in 2012. Now that we've survived December 21, 2012 (and celebrated it with an End of the World Party and Mayan-inspired accessories), it seems mankind has been given a new lease on life.
But the fact still remains - You Only Live Once. And 2012 was the year of the YOLO state of mind - all the surf trips, the road trips, the concerts and parties, even the staycations and my chillax Laos trip, and of course, our epic Seoul adventure were all witness to that. We only have one life to live, and I want to spend mine on the move, exploring strange places, meeting strange people, eating the strangest food, then coming home, only to do it all over again. So here are my favorite photos of 2012 - have a happy new year everyone! And as always, to my epic travel buddies of the year - the Samsung YOLOs, Carms, Eds, Jen and the Korea Girl Group members, what a year it's been! Here's to more legendary trips in 2013!
Snapshots: Vintage Luggage, Hacienda Isabella, Tagaytay
I see things like this and imagine how romantic traveling must've been like in the old days. But there's also something quite romantic about setting off with just a backpack, wearing your brightly-colored fisherman pants and flip flops, hoping the rubber straps on them won't break because it's the only pair of footwear you have with you. Ever seen "Before Sunrise"?
Snapshots: Forgotten Surfboards, Baler
Emil and I found them while exploring the resort we stayed in. He was looking for hot girls, I was looking for cute guys, this is what we found.
Snapshots: On The Road Back to Manila from Surfing
It's been rainy all day, so this photo seems appropriate. I'm so tempted to put emo song lyrics in it and post it on Tumblr. It's that kind of picture.
Snapshots: Before Trekking to Mt. Pinatubo
More Pinatubo pictures. I'll try to write more about our adventure soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
