Hoi An Cargo Club & Patisserie, Vietnam

In the serendipitous few days I spent in Hoi An last year I fell in love with the place, fell in love with its laid-back vibe and narrow streets and the little trinkets and souvenirs we took home to remind us of the place. One of my best memories in the short time I was there were the times I spent with Tiff and Jen at Cargo Club.

We dropped by Cargo Club on our second afternoon in Hoi An, after a day of shopping and going to the usual tourist spots around the area. We got a table on the balcony overlooking the river, and we spent the afternoon enjoying our pastries and drinks and in deep conversation about life back home.

(Photos below by Tiffany Orbien :D)

That night we put on our best dresses (at least the best ones we had stuffed in our backpacks), went back to Cargo Club and had our last dinner in Hoi An there. I remember getting the risotto, which was pretty delicious. The place was lovely at night, with the balcony lit by lamps and the river lined with lights.

We had dinner under the moon and stars and there was a vase of sunflowers on our table - it would've been pretty romantic, except we were all girls. We had a lovely night though, laughing and taking pictures, just enjoying the moment.

Self-portrait! :D

Hoi An Cargo Club & Patisserie
107-109 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An
Phone 0510/910-489
www.hoianhospitality.com

Snapshots: Cafe Noriter, Dumaguete, Philippines

For nearly a year now I've been into all things Korean thanks to KPop (this from the girl who loves The Virgins, MGMT and Florence the Machine - yeah, I'm a music schizo like that :D). And as fate would have it, a friend is getting assigned to Seoul for three months, so I'm going in November to pay him a visit! So I've been dreaming of Seoul of late, and trolling other travel blogs about where to go and what to do (besides fangirl to death, naturally. You're seeing a totally different side of me aren't you? :P)

Anyway, I keep hearing about this area called Hongdae which apparently is an artsy area in Seoul near a popular campus. Apparently the place is lined with cool clubs and cafes, and on weekends they have flea markets and such. As I was looking at some awesome pictures from Sleepwalking in Tokyo (here and here) I got reminded of this cafe I chanced upon on a random trip to Dumaguete in 2008.

So where Cafe Noriter gets is name from is the Korean word for "playground". The interior of the place was quirky-cute, with pictures and polaroids lining the walls along with books and random trinkets and things - the place had a very Asian pop culture vibe, which to me personally translates as cutesy, light and happy. It was a very feel-good place, and no doubt a favorite hangout of students from the nearby campus.

Apparently Cafe Noriter also has a branch in Manila now, somewhere in Taft Ave. I must definitely check that one out.

And while I'm on the subject, some new KPop videos! For kids who grew up in the 90's like me, these videos will probably remind you of the bubblegum pop era of The Spice Girls and the 1,001 boybands of our youth - except with a 21st century twist, I guess?




Note to Self: On my next post, I must write about (or at least mention) some totally non-commercial, non-mainstream bands so I don't completely lose all my coolness points. But whatever, KPop's fun, and I choose fun over cool (or musically original) sometimes. Haha! :P

Cafe Noriter website: http://dreamcafenoriter.com

Snapshots: A Rainy Day At The Airport

Summer in the Philippines is over and these past few weeks, I've been preoccupied with the rain, work, and moving in to my new place - which means I've been unable to blog about my trips. I'm back though, and to usher in the rainy season, I thought I'd put this picture up, from when we were waiting to board our plane in Coron, Palawan back to Manila last year. Surprisingly, it was one of the most comfortable, turbulence-free flights I've taken, but you never would've been able to tell from this picture.

My Travel Soundtrack: What's Your Takeoff Song?

I follow a blog called Offbeat Collective, and they had an interesting post a while back about takeoff songs. The writer chose MGMT's "Time To Pretend" for his own takeoff song, which I absolutely love and also wrote about previously. I got to thinking about what I'd choose to be my takeoff song and a handful of songs came up, until I finally decided to go with this one:

Snow Patrol - "Chocolate"

I'll probably change my mind tomorrow or on my next trip because I'm fickle like that (and because there are just too many beautiful songs out there, it's hard to stick to just one), but for now, this is the one.

What's your chosen takeoff song?

A Guide to Laiya, San Juan, Batangas | Part 2: "Peace Man" - Bamboo

I love this song and this video by Bamboo. It's really just footage of them going on a road trip to Laiya, San Juan, but the video fits the song perfectly.

"Supreme love and respect, peace, man."

Bamboo - "Peace Man"