Still Majestic & Magical in Bagac, Bataan

Posted on April 2, 2017 by heavenliner

It’s been 5 long years after my return to Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar. Five years ago the resort located at the edge of the Philippines radiates a feeling of how majestic and magical Filipino culture is. And with my recent visit, five years later, the beautiful resort in Bagac Bataan has massively expanded offering more Filipino architectural wonders of the past.

In my second visit (this time with Beth, Wlillie and JB), I was again at awe on the richness and beauty of the Filipino culture and architecture.

beautiful

the building where we were billeted

my personal favorite… casa la drillo

the bagac gang selfie

still majestic… the former hotel where i and travel buddy karen was billeted 5 years ago

serene…

There has been some arguments on whether Filipinos are Pacific Islanders or South East Asians, but when one visits Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar, one would realize that Philippines has a different character that is unique and of its own. The architectural wonders along with the culture and customs linked to it as featured in Las Casas Filipinas are uniquely Filipino and could not be found anywhere in the Pacific Islands neither in the neighboring countries of south east Asia.

The best thing I like about Las Casas De Acuzar is that there is no ugly photo that we have shot. One need not be a professional photographer to obtain an excellent photo. Because of the beauty and stylishness of the place, every photo is Instagram worthy!

sunset… one of my instagram entries

a new thing near the lobby

strike a pose muna

magical! (with beth and willie)

will be back…

I don’t know if Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar is a popular foreign tourist destination. I have yet to realize that because when we were there, all I could see are domestic tourists or Filipinos living abroad doing a short vacay in the Philippines. This place has yet to be tapped by the foreigners. And in case I would have a foreign visitor, Las Casas De Acuzar would be one awesome option for a destination!

Grabe! Ang ganda!

Seoul’s Autumn Soul

Posted on November 4, 2016 by heavenliner

The beauty of autumn continues to fascinate me. This is especially true this year because I got to spend some cool autumn time in Seoul, South Korea. My recent visit in Seoul can be summed up into three fascinating tenets: the weather, the wardrobe and the verdure. These I consider as the souls of my recent Seoul visit.

nice!

Autumn, is one strange type of season for an earthling like me. The temperature, the climate and the cool breeze of the air is so atypical. Growing up in a perennially clammy tropical country like the Philippines, autumn is such a wonderful novelty for me. I’m entranced every time some cloud would come out from my mouth each time I speak!

Aside from the cool weather, I also got to wear sweaters, scarves, gloves and leather jacket which I cannot wear in hot and humid Philippines. I would be a laughing stock among the locals if I would don some leather jacket in Manila.

Lastly, aside from the weather and the clothes, you got to see some striking colors of bountiful vegetation during autumn. Nature is so beautiful during this cool season, Koreans even have “Chasing the Autumn Foliage” as a past time.

red colored tree

cool colors

bright!

selfie muna

And because it’s autumn, I enjoyed every bit of my stay in soulful Seoul, South Korea! Kamsahamnida!

Owtum! Wagas na tag-lagas!

Ridiculously Stunning Views: The Road to Milford Sound

Posted on October 22, 2016 by heavenliner

Referred to as the 8^th wonder of the world by Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, I have zero idea on what and where is Milford Sound. But with my recent visit to New Zealand, I can attest to what Rudyard Kipling has tried to imply.

The journey to Milford Sound from Queenstown (where me and my travel buddies were based) in New Zealand took about 5 hours. But I can actually consider the 5 hour ride that we took (through a tour group bus) to Milford Sound as one stunning experience.

super cool bus…

Reaching Milford Sound by land was half the fun of my Milford Sound encounter. It is because the road to our destination is extremely scenic. I can’t remember the number of times I uttered “Wow!” in the entire duration of the bus ride.

Part of the rewarding experience of the bus ride are the bus stops. The modern and transparent ceiling bus would pull over so that passengers can go down, breathe the freshest air, take a short stroll and snap some awesome photos.

Three of the amazing stops that I particularly loved most were:

Egliton Valley

gorgeous! (parang ako)

Monkey Creek

monkey!

Mirror Lake

can’t believe that I made this shot!

picture muna

I definitely agree with most visitors of New Zealand declaring that the road to Milford Sound is one of the most scenic road trip on the planet. This is particularly true on the super scenic State Road 94 which is the road between Te Anau and Milford Sound.

Can you just imagine? I am not even talking about my exhilarating experience yet in Milford Sound itself. I was just talking about the road to this heaven of a place! If given another opportunity, I would definitely do another bus ride to Milford Sound, may it take 5 or 6 or 10 hours and be amazed again by the beauty of these stunning places.

Mapapa-iyak ka sa wow!

Unbelievable Photos in Glenorchy

Posted on October 16, 2016 by heavenliner

I am convinced New Zealand literally has some of the most stunning sights on earth! Everywhere you look, the view is ‘exploding’ with awesomeness!

Two photos (not just one but two) taken during my New Zealand adventure that everyone doubts its authenticity are these…

too beautiful!

is this for real?

Every time I would show these photos to friends and colleagues, they could not believe that such a stunning and beautiful place really exist. Common comments I receive upon seeing these photos is that I just stood in front of a big backdrop of a very well executed painting or a massive high-definition printed tarpaulin or that such photo was a product of someone’s drawing and that I simply superimposed my body to make it look real. Everybody says it’s too good, it’s too perfect and it’s too beautiful for a place to be existing here on earth.

But the thing is… these photos are 100% real. This place is called Glenorchy which is located at the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu, the longest lake and 3^rd largest lake in the southern island of New Zealand.

Thanks to my super friend Joesel who captured the perfect natural color and lighting, the perfect composition and the perfect texture using just my Samsung Note 5 mobile phone. All these makes these photos seem to tell awesome stories.

an addition to my ref magnet collection

iconic…

I actually was stunned to find a souvenir ref magnet being sold in a nearby souvenir shop that features the very site where my photos were taken. According to the lady who was manning the store, the red wharf shed is considered one iconic spot in this unbelievably beautiful town! She said that the massive red painted shed is considered to be the hub of Glenorchy at the turn of the century. It was built to receive supplies from Queenstown brought into the town via steam boats. I was so awe-stricken, I just have to purchase the ref magnet so as to own my little piece of Glenorchy.

Nakaka-laglag panga sa ganda!

The Majesty & Magnificence of Callao Cave

Posted on June 30, 2016 by heavenliner

I can’t recall if I have been to a cave. This is until my attention, interest and curiosity was called upon by the beauty, majesty and magnificence of Callao Cave in Tuguegarao Province. This grand and imposing natural formation is known as the site where the oldest human bone of a Filipino has been discovered.

Being inside Callao Cave can be considered a blessing. It was such an awesome sight. The grandiose rock formations and the dramatic effect of natural rays of the sun seeping through the holes and crevices above the chambers and domes were really breathtaking. I never imagined that such a place actually exists!

with mj, jb and willie playing with the rays of the sun…

dramatic!

the rarest chapel ever!

the stunning lighting effect are all natural…

Me and my colleagues (MJ, JB and Willie) felt so blessed for we were fortunate enough to behold such a magnificent work of nature! The stunning site gives you an insight that the caveman who lived inside Callao thousands of years ago must be spending some auspicious lifestyle! His architect and interior designer was no less than Mother Nature.

My experience and beautiful impression of Callao is worth a memory that can be tucked securely in a corner of my mind which can readily be pulled out later, maybe for a poem, or a short story or a song. And it will definitely take a lot for the succeeding caves that I will step into for me to get as impressed as that of the first cave that I have been to. Callao was one stupendously gorgeous cave!

Hayop sa ganda ang kwebang yon!

Cool Tuguegarao Adventure 2016 Video

Posted on June 28, 2016 by heavenliner

Worry. That is my initial feeling when the plan to go to the province of Tuguegarao has finally been confirmed. I was worried that my super hot body might assimilate with that of the hottest place in the Philippines. I was worried for it might have an effect on mankind and the environment I was worried that the integration of my mega hot body with that of the blistering climate of Tugegarao may cause the planet to explode!

my gosh… that is one hot dude! (in my dreams) hahaha!

But I was wrong because by the time I stepped on the tarmac at Tugegarao airport all I could feel was coolness. I knew right away that this super hot spot in the Philippines would be one cool place to stay. I was wrong because the only blazing hot was the weather everything else were sooo cool and refreshing. The people, the food as well as the beautiful scenery were something to chill about!

To summarize my adventure with colleagues MJ, JB and Willie, here’s one refreshing video. I hope that Ben Rector would equally be cool about my using his awesome song entitled Brand New (no copyright infringement was intended) in this video…

It was a blast!

Sa sobrang init, gusto ko nang mag dyaket!

Swooned & Captivated by the Sunset

Posted on January 31, 2016 by heavenliner

After spending the whole afternoon at the mall with Nengkoy and family – watched a Filipino movie and have an early dinner treat – me and my nephew Luis decided to walk the three-and-a-half-kilometer distance from the Mall of Asia to our respective condo units in Vito Cruz. I was actually in some way thankful that there was a traffic gridlock in our place and that taxi drivers refused to have us as passengers. It is because on our way to our respective units, we instinctively slowed down, took photos and enjoyed this…

Captivating Manila Bay Sunset!

While walking the surprisingly breezy streets and intently listening to Luis about his school research/thesis, at the back of my mind I am realizing that appreciation for the beauty of nature is something that is innate and spontaneous. Since it is instinctual, it is but a natural tendency for a person to stop, stare and be captivated. It gives human beings a break from fretting over the past and a pause from worrying about the future. Captivating beauty of nature makes you feel refreshed, relieved and revitalized at that very moment.

And for those who have been overridden by the acquired imperative of the need to be urgent, of the feeling to hurry up and of the thought to get things done immediately, I simply wish that you would someday take it easy and be swooned and captivated by the natural beauty of the sunset.

Teyk it isi…

Taal: An Unexpectedly Beautiful Town

Posted on June 26, 2015 by heavenliner

i love taal

Prior to visiting Taal in the province of Batangas I never expected so much about this place. It is actually only 2 hours away from the bustling capital of the Philippines. Because it is so close to Manila the range of my expectations on what this town can offer is so low.

All the while, I thought, Taal would just be another usual town that aspires to become a modernized place near Metro Manila that is vehicle-congested, mall-infested and overly-populated. But my short one-night and one-day glimpse of Taal tutored me otherwise.

a nice sunny weather…

yey!

this is what philippines should be like… i love it!

a dungeon like stairs leading to a church belfry

This place was able to preserve the calmness of a Filipino barrio, the gentleness and courtesy of the Filipino people as well as the elegance and beauty of the 19^th century Philippines.

According to Wikipedia, Taal is classified only as a third class municipality. Yet the feelings and thoughts I experienced during my recent visit in this bucolic Filipino town has surprisingly been first class!

I would definitely be back to further explore the culture and the beauty of this calm, naive and gentle place.

Ang gara! Ang ganda! Ang galing!

My Long Island City Photo Treasures

Posted on May 1, 2015 by heavenliner

No thanks to social media, we Facebook users are bombarded with photos of our friends’ recent vacation. Gone are the days when we have to go to a friend’s house before we would be able to sit through his most recent vacation because we would be shown stacks and stacks of photo albums. But nowadays, we can never totally escape from our friends’ vacations.

water front promenade with the spectacular view of midtown manhattan skyline

this shot garnered lots of fb likes!

According to a researcher on human-computer interaction issues, posting photos of oneself on vacation is like “impression management”. These people tend to paint an impression of themselves to get the positive reaction they want. These are the people with narcissistic motivation who tends to provoke envy but in fact and in my personal assessment could actually be very annoying especially when photos posted has gone too excessive. It can already be considered a bunch of uninteresting excesses of the cyber world.

Well, the person the researcher on human-computer interaction issues is talking about is so me. That is so me and I freaking don’t care! Hahaha! Yes I am narcissistic but let me just modify the issue on provoking envy. I post my photos on the net particularly my blog not because I wish people to envy me. I post them to chronicle the treasures I had amassed. It is because I consider my travels and vacations as my treasure.

feeling rich!

a super nice shot by jo dela rosa…

I actually don’t care if people hate my photos or do not care at all about what I post. My photos chronicling my travels may not have some positive cosmological effect in the universe, but these are my treasures that can never be spent away or stolen from me.

And to further prove this adverse and unflattering trait, in this blog post are a bunch of photos of me and with some New York-based friends, whom I consider as another form of treasure. These “treasures” were taken by my friend Jo Dela Rosa (who surprisingly possesses some excellent photo skills) at Gantry Plaza State Park at Long Island City during my recent NY vacation.

striking a pose with charles, mark and jhong…

Oh diba? Ang yaman yaman ko, andami kong foto.

The Unique Charm of the Hundred Islands

Posted on May 31, 2014 by heavenliner

hundred islands, a totally different adventure

Having close encounters with the Taklobo or Giant Clams, colorful corrals and vibrant schools of fish are the highlights of my recent journey to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan (a calm and peaceful province north of Metro Manila). I was so glad to have the opportunity to snorkel in the deep blue waters (of the Coral Island) in this portion of the Lingayen Gulf. I have been a couple of times to this gorgeous protected national park and I am glad that the islands were still jarringly beautiful.

I really like the fact that it would be very difficult for people to stay overnight in the islands because there are no luxurious room facilities available in these islands which would tend to spoil, destruct and deteriorate the natural splendor of the place.

Among the more than 120 islands of the park I think only four are allowed for tourists to stay overnight. People who would want to stay overnight would only have to settle on pitching their own tent/s and pray that unforgiving heavy rain won’t fall and gust of viscous wind won’t blow during the night. Otherwise, it would be some messy, muddled and shambolic escapade.

with lambert, jun and willie

now, how can you construct toilets on those islands? aber!

my magic shot of jb…

those rickety pump boats are not for the fainthearted

Some two-legged squeamish finicky creatures may actually say and declare that they hate the park due to its inadequate or lacking in facilities – like drinking fountains, toilets, luxurious restaurants, air conditioned huts, high-class smooth sailing speedboats, etc. – in the islands.

But for me these add up to the unique charm and appeal of this Philippine tourist spot. It totes up to the rugged virginity of the place. This makes you feel that these harsh islands remains to be untouched, unexplored, undamaged and indeed intact. That the environment and its ecosystem is nothing but ‘natural’. So when you’re in the Hundred Islands, simply embrace nature’s beauty and expect the unexpected! Besides, that’s what fun is about!!!

Hundred Islands is not a fluid, easy and relaxing type of an escapade. It is for the rough, tough and jagged type of an adventurer. This distinct characters of the Hundred Islands makes me love and fancy this erstwhile Philippine tourist destination.

Kakaibang adbentyur… di pwede sa lelembot-lembot…

Nengkoy

ruminations & travesties of the favorite yet naughty son of Nengkoy

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