One romance theory that has been backed up by empirical study shows that playing hard to get is a good way to build desire and romantic attraction. Case in point for this theory is the hardships that one would have to encounter and endure before reaching the most beautiful tropical vacation place on earth known as El Nido in Palawan.
Unless you have heaps of wealth, getting to El Nido is an exhausting challenge. Like the theory of playing hard to get, reaching El Nido can be like investing into some emotional and physical investments.
el nido port
going inside the big lagoon…
inside the “secret lagoon”
super nice…. at the yet to be spoiled, nacpan beach
beauty…
One would have to encounter the dangers-that-be lurking at the Manila airport, one would have to endure the often-delayed flights of airlines, one would have to suffer the butt-aches and bladder-control agonies of land travel for five to six hours, one would have to bear with the bumpy boat rides when touring the paradise-like destinations, one would have to endure the stings and soreness of a sunburn.
But all these hardships would definitely be worth it! All these pains and stressors would simply be erased as soon as you see, smell and experience the desirable and attractive paradise known as El Nido.
I would like to believe that I must have done something beautiful in my past life that my present one has been so blessed. One particular blessing is the opportunity to go and visit the beautiful and mystifying Koyasan, a unique Buddhist town nestled high in the peaks of Mt. Koya in Wakayama, Japan.
But what is so amazing by such a blessing is that I did not only visited this UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the holiest places in Japan once. I was given by the heavens the generous chance to visit Koyasan twice. First was during the springtime of 2014 while the second was this year’s richly colored autumn season.
Selected 2014 Photos
with nengkoy and the gang…
at my back is the massive kongobuji temple
breathtaking…
feeling blessed…
right at the heart of okunoin
Selected 2015 Photos
taglagas…
strike a pose…
mesmerized by the chanting of these monks…
hugging a massive tree at okunoin…
same alley, same person, different season
colors of autumn…
What captivates me most about Koyasan is the peaceful aura and zen-like atmosphere it emits. Visitors will truly feel the positive serenity and explicit spiritual side of Japan. I am not religious, but each of the visit I did in this holy place made me feel so moved, it makes me wanna pray!
Koyasan is one great travel destination, no way will I hesitate if in this lifetime, I would be given the chance again of visiting this holy place for the third time.
Costa Pacifica is a high end resort/hotel place in Baler, Aurora Province. If I am to describe this stunningly relaxing resort in one word, the word would be “imperfect”.
first shot! the sun has yet to rise when we arrived
picture muna
Though ranked as the number 1 resort in whole of Aurora province, the soft, fine and sandy beach offering of Costa Pacifica (which is literally few steps away) is not the soft white variety that you would typically find in a high end resort in the Philippines. But you will totally forget about the color of the sand as soon as you would see the awesome color of the sunrise, hear the calming sound of the beach and experience the exhilarating swells of its waves.
aylavet!
relaxing…
amazing view
Though the very nice facilities and ambience of this resort can already be considered perfect, the reason for its imperfection is their overwhelming customer service flexibility. It’s more than perfect that is why I consider it ridiculously imperfect.
I know that check-in time for any resort or hotel is at 2:00 PM and request for early check-in would usually be granted starting at 10 in the morning depending on room availability. But what is insanely surprising is that we were granted a 6:00 AM early check-in even though we did not actually insisted or demanded for it.
Upon arriving in Baler super early in the morning, we went straight to this beautiful resort just to request on the possibility of our luggage to be kept in their storage area. And that we would just return at 2:00PM in time for our check-in. But surprisingly, we were already offered to check-in in our room right at that very moment!
super nice!
nice loots for nengkoy… she would hate me if i will just leave those…
fit for a king…
To prove and push further their incredible customer service flexibility, they allowed us to avail our breakfast – which by the way was a delightful buffet – on the day we arrived. When in fact, the breakfast should only be availed the following day after we have spent overnight in that beautiful resort.
These two rare more-than-perfect experiences made me incredibly so impressed by the customer service orientation of the whole resort! It shut off my usual petulant morning crankiness making my whole throughout stay in Baler very pleasing and relaxing. I have been to lots of expensive hotels and resorts, but never was I granted this amazing level of generosity and flexibility.
Here’s my chosen Song of the Week. I’ve never heard of Shawn Mendes in the past but as soon as I heard this folksy-uptempo song, I’ve gone obsessed with it.
Costillas De Ternera Guisada, Spanish Garlic Chicken, Paella Negra, Lengua Estofada and Prawns in Creole and Hollandaise Sauce are some of the sumptuous main dishes found in Lorenzo’s Way restaurant, one of the refined casual dining establishments in Manila.
These highfaluting and pompous sounding dishes may be the some of the best main courses for human consumption but for me the main course remain to be the last dish served in any meal. As what the common saying goes, “save the best for last”! That would simply be the dessert.
Having dessert perhaps is like all the other events and circumstances where the so called “last” is considered the highlight. Aside from sex, cases in point would be a beauty pageant, an awards night, a bingo social and even the Filipino tradition of Santacruzan in which the last part is considered the best part.
Lorenzo’s Way restaurant happens to serve my most favorite desserts!
extra-ordinarily creamy yet classic, Leche Flan
blissful with this Pecan Pie
Gigil Tart. It was immediately sliced as soon as it’s served for we could no longer wait, only to realize that we haven’t taken a photo yet!
my favorite! choco banana volcano,
Unlike responsible adults, I would rather skip the starters but never the dessert. Two reasons I guess is the enticing visual appeal as well as that of the pleasurable palatal sensation it generates.
super lavet! (btw, images in this post are not mine)
My most previous post is about how I loved and enjoyed the movie Inside Out. But I could not stop myself from writing about another reason why people should see this new Pixar animation. It is because of the equally adorable short film which was featured prior to the main movie. It’s entitled Lava.
I was totally clueless when the short film started. I thought it was just one of the movie trailers or previews. But as the film continues with its charming music and unique love story, I eventually found myself so engaged with this impressive short film.
The short is about a volcano all alone in the middle of the sea longing to meet another volcano he would love. But since he’s stuck and could not move, all he could do until he grows old to the brink of extinction and nearly submerged under the sea was to sing a song about his dream of meeting a volcano he could love. He however doesn’t know that deep beneath the sea is a female volcano who hears his singing every day. This lady volcano knows that she is the one that the male volcano was longing for.
mr. volcano
lady volcano
But when a colossal shaking of the earth occurred, the female volcano emerged above the sea level. But she emerged facing the wrong way! The male volcano was at her back! The male volcano noticed the new, high and lovey lady volcano, but could no longer sing because his mouth is already submerged in water. He could not also be seen by the lady volcano for she emerged above water facing the wrong way. Until a great storm came and have the male volcano gone totally submerged underwater.
While underwater, the male volcano could hear the lady volcano singing his very song of hope. He was happy and knew that the volcano he was longing for was already up above the water. But the problem is, he is down submerged under water.
Until another mighty shaking and rumbling of the earth happened and the male volcano was pushed up above the water. Now both of them were above water and was actually positioned side by side seeing each other! Now both are singing a new song. This time, it is about having their wish coming true and that is to grow old together as two loving volcanoes.
Here’s the adorable storyteller of a song…
It sent shivers down my spine when the male lava has grown old and when the female volcano emerged from under the sea facing the other way. I was screaming in my mind “Goodness! Why are you facing the other way?”
But when both volcanoes eventually found each other, I was tearing already. Good thing, me and my family chose to watch the 3-D version. I was already wearing the 3-D glasses that’s why my relatives could not see me crying! Hahaha!
Aside from the adorable song, what I loved most about this short is the simplicity of the story. Maybe I am already so complicated that is why seeing something simple is so great for me. For me, Lava is a beautiful and moving short film. Those who won’t be moved by this film may literally need lots of super hot lava so as to melt their heart of stone.
Ang ganda! Parang gusto ko tuloy maging bulkan. Hahaha!
Only God and I knows why I am very happy today!!! My general happy feeling can be described by my chosen song of the day. And I would like to greet a very Happy Birthday to the woman who sang this lovely song.
A shower of kisses to you and see in February here in Manila!
Maligayang bati sa bruha kong aydol! ‘Di lang ikaw ang hapi ngayon, AKO din…
A considerable amount of my time growing up during my pre and early teen years was spent by watching the original cartoon animation series The Superbook. It is an anime series that chronicled the events in the Bible’s Old and New Testament.
joy, chris and gizmo
The Bible in its written form can be so intensely deep and enormously ornate in words, idiolect and terminologies. Because of this, its thoughts, teachings and philosophies can be at times so difficult to understand. Because of this, The Superbook then was my early basis and reference on how to understand the stories and teachings of the Bible.
And from among all episodes of this valuable anime series during the 1980s (including its re-runs dubbed in Filipino language), never did I saw Christian, Joy and their toy robot Gizmo encounter an episode that being gay and falling in love with a person of the same sex or gender is a sin.
Maybe it is because the creators of The Superbook series knows that it does not take a person to read, know and understand the Bible to realize that falling in love is not a sin. I guess The Superbook creators knew that love is universal and that love is beautiful. I guess The Superbook knows that there’s no book on “how” and there’s no book on “who” when in comes to love.
Me and my elder sister Gaying believes that there is a direct and positive correlation between the way a person looks and the number of flyers that person receives every time he or she is in a mall. We believe the more affluent-looking or rich-looking you are, the more flyers will be handed to you by Flyer Ladies and Flysheet Dudes inside a mall.
That is why when I and my elder sister Gaying would be together inside a mall for some shopping, we have some sort of a small competition. We would tally how many flyers would be handed over to each of us. The person who receives the most number of flyers at the end of shopping wins.
Scoring would actually depend on the type of flyer given to us. If the flyer would be about a luxury car, a posh condo unit or a high-born club membership that would mean high points. But if the flyer is about a missing pet, a launching of a new soy sauce brand or would be about a dishwashing liquid that would definitely trigger hilarious pang-aapi (verbal oppression) and riotous heckling towards the person who received it.
me and ate gaying love osaka!
And since it’s my Ate Gaying’s birthday today and though we did not go shopping today, let me concede and declare that today even without any flyer (just for today though) that she looks richer and more high-heeled than I am.
Sige dahil bertday mo, mas mukha kang mayaman ngayong araw kesa sa kin. Happy Birthday Ate!
Nengkoy 