Bacolod Empacho

It was 6am on February 4 and we were waiting to board Zestair for our trip to Bellarocca when Cebu Pacific announced their Piso Fare. Hurray! And as impulsive as I am, I NEED to book a flight to anywhere. And since Aldrin is doing his Starbucks Project, we decided to go to Bacolod. But of course, we are limited to our "piso fare", we got our round trip tickets for only Php360 but for an overnight trip only. Not bad for a challenge though.

Before I start my adventure, I'd like to make a special shoutout to sis aMz of GT for being our virtual guide during our stay in Bacolod. She even gave me inputs even before our trip to keep me more excited! Thank you, sis aMz, for everything! You were such a great help. And we still keep in touch even after our trip. I truly appreciate it. Mwah!

July 19

Our flight is supposedly at 2:45pm but as usual, it was delayed. We took off at 3:20pm. We arrived in Bacolod at about 4:20pm. We went outside and was surprised their airport was neat and not too crowded. You can even see the vans going to Bacolod just right in front of the Arrival gate! We asked around for other ways to reach Bacolod. There's a van service that would cost each person Php120 and there's one for Php100 pesos. But there's the cheapest way, the Nyala Tours. For only Php35, you'd be in Bacolod! Downside though, it's not a Hi-Ace van. It's an L300 sorta van. But no need to worry; If you're a light packer, the trip is comfortable.

We asked the driver to drop us off at Pepsi to have our trip to The Ruins. The trip took us 30 mins. Once in Pepsi, we hailed a tricycle. The driver quoted us Php100 for a round trip plus the wait. I haggled to Php80. Deal Sealed!

Nyala tours - Php35 fare going to Robinsons

The Ruins

After manong driver dropped us off from our Ruins trip, we rode the Bata-Libertad jeepney. The jeepney goes straight to Lacson St. We just asked the driver to drop us off at L' Fisher. We actually stayed in Saltimboca which is just near L'Fisher. Saltimboca is just beside the new Calea which is just right across L'Fisher.

Calea at night

Calea's signature door

Saltimboca was ok. If you're on a budget trip like us, this would be a perfect accomodation. Location-wise, this one's perfect! we paid Php900 for an overnight stay in an airconditioned room with ensuite bathroom and with matrimonial bed. Too bad, our camera was on lowbatt when we arrived at Saltimboca so we got no pictures.

Dinner was at the Manukan. Sis aMz suggested that we eat in Aida's. We ordered pecho, paa, baticolon, isol and oysters. Uhm, the oyster is at Php40 only per plate. So I had two. Aldrin just had one.

Inasal and others

 

talaba at Php40/plate

We capped the night off at Calea. Yeah, the one beside Saltimboca. Calea was HEAVEN! I could just stare at the cakes for hours. We ordered varities of cheesecakes. Aldrin had brewed coffee too!

A good friend of mine, way back in grade school dropped by. Errol a.k.a Love Radio Bacolod's Diego Lo dropped by before heading to his work. So happy to see him after 13  years!!!!

my long time friend, Errol aka Diego Lo of Love Radio

Aldrin was too tired to even have a bottle of beer at Pepe's so we decided to sleep the night away. At 11pm, we are both asleep.

July 20

We woke up and took a shower then went to Saltimboca's restaurant to have our complimentary breakfast. Aldrin and I just had toasted bread and sausage. Too light from our usual breakfast but we were preparing for a loaded day ahead of us. After breakfast, we took a rest for a while. I actually fell asleep while Aldrin was doing a bit of work on his laptop. Then off we go to Aldrin's project. Starbucks pictorial time!

picture taken almost exactly the same as from the planner

My friend Errol invited us to drop by his station as he was on air until 1pm. We went to Love Radio's station at 12nn. We took off past 1pm and we went to Connie's Cansihan. The lunch was SUPERB!!!! Cansi is like a bulalo with a twist. It's a sour but not too much like sinigang. I since I love sabaw, this one's a winner.

Love Radio's booth

Cansi

Of course, time was precious. Our flight is at 6:55pm and we haven't been to some of the places in our list so off we go for an Amazing Race. After our lunch at Connie's, we had our dessert at Bascon.

After Bascon, we went to Pendy's for pasalubongs!

outside Pendy's before crossing to Cafe Bob's

After Pendy's we chilled at Cafe Bob's. And that's where Errol left us so he could still sleep for his work that night. Aldrin and I relaxed at Cafe Bob's and I was amazed with their paintings for sale and they all come cheap! I wish I had extra money.

creampuff and flavored soda

By 4:30pm, we rode a jeep to Robinson's and beside KFC is the terminal for Nyala Tours. And yes, we reached airport after 30minutes with Php70 fare.

So why the Title? Yes, I had EMPACHO (I think) after this trip. My next stop-over was at Medical City. But of course, that's another story. I would still love to go back to Bacolod... for another food trip.

Uh-oh, I am poorly travelled.

I took this test from Lakbayan. And here's my result:



My Lakbayan grade is C+!
How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.

Looks like I need to travel more.

Get your Lakbayan grade here.

Why I don't watch Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition

Because it's depressing.

I am a sucker for reality TV shows, especially the ones being shown in ABS CBN. I feast on forums for spoilers, updates, real life stories, background, personal encounters with the contenders. But  not this one.

I am not sensitive to weight issues. I am sensitive to health issues. For one, weight is not really the issue in this show. It's about the health of the contestants. Obviously, the contenders are at poor health. Blame it on good things - food, easy lifestyle, slacking. See how these great things can do to our body? Second, this show leads to an exaggerating emotional torture to the contenders. Flashback of how ugly they were during weigh-ins, shattered relationships are brought up to remind them what they did to themselves, etc. ugh! It's just too much for me.

And the thing why I really don't buy this show - It's very unrealistic. Of course, it's not easy to lose weight. How can one show make someone lose 8lbs in one week? You see, everyone is in a camp. And when you're on a camp, you don't do anything except for workout, do challenges, run, strategize. In the real world, you won't have all the luxury of time to spend at least 8 hours a day to do a hard core work out. And not all can afford world-class trainers. If contenders can sometimes think of quitting, how much more in real world when you just don't deal with your weight? Contenders need to be emotionally blackmailed to have discipline. How about it real life? How can one have discipline in losing weight aside from having rock-hard will.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to discipline and taking care of ourselves. Food is love. I admit I love eating and there are days when I have series of donuts, cakes and ice cream. But when I realize that my tummy doesn't go flat anymore and my back starts to hurt, I stop. My work requires sitting in my station for eight hours. Now, that's bad. I am not a health buff. I am just health conscious. I make sure I run at least thrice a week. I enrolled in Gold's Gym for Zumba. I didn't enjoy it so I'm contemplating of going back to yoga. There are times when I am not in the mood to go to the gym. There are times when I'm tardy. Now that's something I need to work on. I love myself. And when I say I love myself, it means I value my health. And I hope this goes out to everyone.

Designer Stuff for Less: Reebonz

Finally, I found a safe website to purchase designer stuff. And when I say designer stuff, this doesn't only limit to bags - but there's shoes and accessories too!

What is Reebonz? Here's what I found in their website:

What is Reebonz

Reebonz is about transporting you into a world of pleasant surprises - a place where discounted luxury is not an oxymoron. We bring you straight into the world of private sales, with exclusive members only deals.

Reebonz Fashion

A section of events catered to selling overstock of apparels, handbags, accessories and shoes.

Join

Membership is free as long as you know somebody. Only members have access to events held on Reebonz.

Shop

Events held on Reebonz are for members only and last typically between 2 to 3 days. Each event is held only for the stated period - once ended, it is gone for good.

Spread The Love

Invite your best friends and only those you want in our community. You decide who gets access to Reebonz. Invite a friend and get 5% credits when your friend joins and makes her first purchase.

Waiting List

Entrance to Reebonz is by Invitation Only.
Reebonz is an exclusive online shopping destination of premier brands and private sales. Events are held for short periods of time and are open to members only. Joining us is free but you have to be invited by an existing member.

So I'm posting this to invite you all to become a part of this fabulous community. Also, let's help each other earn credits. Hehehe.

the shoes

Chanel flaps, baby!

See? they have accessories too!

Sign up in Reebonz now!

The Traveling Story that SCARED Me.

Chyng is a virtual friend. I have encountered her many times in a forum especially in Out and About section. She loves to travel. That's something we have in common. But if we measure our travels, she's waaaay up the notch already. She's been to several provinces and countries. She traveled with friends and most couragiously, ALONE! I have admired her courage to go to other countries alone. She and Nina are two of my favorite travel bloggers. Almost everyday, I get to check their blogs for any new posts. Then just this afternoon, she mentioned in the forum about her latest post. It was not fun. It was traumatizing. And she here's her story.

I was really scared. To be honest, it is one of my goals this year to travel alone. I had four countries in my mind: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. But watching some traveling documentaries got me scared. You see, I'm a 100-pound-5-1-lady. Anybody can take advantage of me, especially if I don't know their language. And so I invited friends. Well, we're still on the planning stage. I'll tell more of it once we've finalize everything.

Going back to her story, I know how it feels to be questioned in immigration in the first place. When we have our passports checked in immigration, the officers just do the normal checking of the passport and sometimes the irrititating look-you-in-the-eyes-for-the-nth-time. But what scares as most of the time is when they begin asking us questions. I have my own traumatic story in HK last April.

Officer (looking at my passport picture): Is this you?
Me: Yes.
Officer: So are you flying back to the Philippines after in Hong Kong?
Me: No, I will go back in Macau.
Officer: How many days are you going to stay in Hong Kong?
Me: 2 days only
Officer: Can I see your plane ticket?

At this point, as I hand her my e-ticket, my  heart was already at my throat. I can already see my friends waiting and looking at me on the other side of the immigration counter. I felt they were all nervous too.

When the officer saw my e-ticket, she gave this comment "oh gosh!" I don't know what that means but she stamped my passport and left the counter in time for her reliever. I could pass out. But I just wanted to believe nagtitrip lang yun. That night, I had a hard time sleeping.

Is there something I should be nervous about? Well, maybe. I don't have any illegal business. I don't do drugs. I am not a drug user. As far as I know, I haven't been in jailtime. But... I was a DOST scholar. You see, when you're a DOST scholar, you're not allowed to leave the country while your bond with the scholarship is on effect. After your scholarship and graduation, you should be serving your country equivalent to the number of years you had your scholarship with them. Proof? I had a hard time getting my NBI clearance for my passport. I had to get my certificate from DOST that I am no longer in bond with them. So now you know why I'm allergic to immigration counters.

This is another traumatic story I have to consider... at the time of my planning stage for my next trip. How ironic. But this is really something we need to be serious of. Points to ponder. If this would've happen to me, I might get insane.

So another pat on the back again for my friend, Chyng! I'm glad you've overcome that incident. Isipin mo na lang, this is one of your adventures. Charge to experience na lang sis. Goodluck sa atin na manlalakbay! Maybe this is the best time na magpahinga muna sa gala. Cheer up na! : )

Angry Birds for Anger Management

Do you have a temper? Well, this game might be for you.

Funny how I go about this game. First, I read it a lot from Facebook status of my friends. I was curious. But not quite. I am not really a "games" person and for the reason that my husband is the one who tends to get obsessed with games, I chose not to discover it. Promise, I really did not make any efforts on finding out what this game is all about. Here's the thing, Aldrin tends to get crazy over games. Any games. May it be DOTA, WoW, Cityville and even Happy Aquarium. He's the competitive type. He'd definitely have sleepless nights just to upgrade and level up. It's supposed to be okay. He considers this as his way of de-stressing and to relax. Fine. I get that. But what I hate about him when he plays these games is instead of de-stressing, I actually see him getting tired. He lacks sleep, he doesn't eat, he doesn't bathe, he goes to work late and the list goes on. So, there.

And so here's the story. I've been keeping this game from him for quite sometime now and my huge mistake was to mention I know a certain game but would't dare share to him. I understimated my husband's power. And few days since that conversation, I knew it. He has found it. And it was already installed in our lappy! Whoah!!! That quick, huh?

that tiny bird can actually split into three

Anyway, so obviously I lost. So I just took the chance of playing the game. At first, I thought it was stupid and brutal. Imagine birds flying out just to kill green pigs (aren't they?). Then just tonight, to my boredom (Sun Broadban is intermittent), I checked the game myself. Well, Aldrin's scores were already up the bar so I have to keep up. Hey, I'm that competitive as well. So I had to try several slings, jumps, angles and strategies to maximize my hits and drops to keep my scores running. Wooot! Addicting, it is! I also feel a slight pressure here. So now I think is the best time to channel my anger (or being upset) in this game. Also, those green pigs are quite a heckler! ugh! I have that gigil factor already. Watch out!

and that very angry yellow bird can do a super speed hit

Satchels Galore!

I happen to pass by Schu Galleria last week and saw that they are open again for preorders of the Cambridge Satchels. I really wanted to have this bag. However, I have plans on going on an Asian trip this year. So I have to hold on to my pockets for the meantime. On the other hand, I am also lusting over the Longchamp Planetes in raisin although I have my Le Pliage already. Haaaay, girls talaga...

my friend LR and his green Batchel

Then just this week, I saw my favorite blogger, Frances of Topazmommy posted a teaser of her new line of bags coming up. Lovely, isn't it? It's also a satchel but what's nice about her bag is that it's handmade (3 days to finish the bag) from pure leather and proudly Pinoy product! I got excited. But not just yet, I still have to wait for other details. Then just this evening, she updated her blog and she posted a prototype of her project. I didn't waste much time, I immediately emailed her.

Frances modelling her leather satchel

Frances also included in her post why she came up with this bag and her review of the Cambridge satchels. It was indeed very helpful. And so I crossed out 'Cambridge satchel' from my list. But no need to worry, I have this Pinoy made bag coming up. Frances replied to my email. She told me she hasn't finalized the sizes yet and she's thinking of coming up with more colors. Yaaay! And she promised that the price is nowhere near as expensive as the Cambridge Satchel. That means, I can have a satchel and at the same time, I can have an additional budget for my Asian trip. Woohoo!!!

Check out more about the Handmade leather satchel. For more details on this bag, you can email Frances at frances@topazhorizon.com.

Zumba way to go!

As I was browsing through a forum last night, I stumbled upon the Zumba thread. For months, I've been really contemplating in going back to dance class. Now that I'm 27, I'm starting to feel the terrible back aches, joint aches and all the aches in the world. I started to jog but I felt pathetic. I was alone with my own little iPod.

I wanted to get my groove but but I was a bit reluctant. You see, I could no longer stretch my legs. That's the point. I might end up in day-care type of dance class. And I don't want that. 

What is Zumba? Zumba started way back in the late 90's. An aerobics instructor had only Latin tapes (back then) in his bag to deal with. So he came up with aerobics in a form of Latin dances. Cool, right? So I think this is perfect for me. I need my semi-advance aerobics steps to keep me fit but I might not need the intense Latin dance steps...yet

So I read this deal from MetroDeal (rhymes!). Php1,000 for 10 Zumba classes at any Gold's Gym branch. It's originally worth Php5,500 for the 10 classes but all these for just Ph 1,000... I just thank God for these offers!

Can't wait to start my June. Aside from going back to the night shift, I have this Zumba thing to look forward to.

The Heat is ON

This is the biggest upset for this season. I thought it would've been the loss of Lakers and the goodbye of dear Phil Jackson that would be the saddest news this year. Then this morning came, at Game 5, Chicago Bulls home court, they lost the game at a close 83-30 scoring points because my beloved Derrick Rose lost that 3 point shot.

Sure I like Heat (Bosh and Wade, you guys were fine). I just don't like that other guy - LeBron James. Yes, he makes the hardest blocks but I think he should because he'd be more stupid to not make those calls looking at his gigantic features. 'Nuff of the explaining. I just don't like him. Period.

I hate this picture

And for several years, I got tired of the Heat-Celtics-Lakers run in the finals. So when Bulls stepped up this season, this was refreshing. I was soooo looking forward to see them on finals. It made me kinda remember of the time of Jordan, Pippen and the rest. And I have the heart for underdogs. Opposite to that Lebron guy, is the humble Derrick Rose who I see a Kobe potential in this field. There's one word for this guy - FAST! Well, he did try his very best and that, for me, was well enough.

So what's next? I'm half hearted to root for Miami because of the obvious reasons. I still hope he won't get that ring. So there, I MIGHT be rooting for Dallas instead.

See you all on Wednesday for The Finals Game 1!!!!

My take on RH Bill

I am pro RH Bill. I have long been waiting for a bill that's for us, women. Not that I disprove the Magna Carta for Women but as I see it, this RH Bill focuses on women's reproductive health rights and choices.

I am not going to talk about church, God, Bible and anything religious here. I believe that God allowed us to go forth and multiply. But I also believe in following this word responsibly. And with being responsible means having to take care of our offsprings without depriving them the quality of life.

I also don't understand why the talks of RH Bill goes around condoms and other contraceptives. The last time I checked the full text of this bill, it does not limit to these contraceptives only. It also talks about the choices of women, the pre natal, post natal and post  menopausal benefits. It also talks about the responsibilities of every employer to their women employees. To be honest, there's much more to talk about in this bill than condoms. The way I see it, the politicians feared of moving funds from their own pork barrel to these condoms (read: RH bill). If we talk about money and budget, it's just there. It's just that once we passed this bill, women would have the "say" or rights to claim for more benefits. And this alone fears the whole government body.

So there, for me, if we pass this bill, we get to claim more of our benefits, thus, lesser money to corrupt for the government. We will have voices to share and impart our rights for taking care of our reproductive health. We can now have our own choices.

Strategic Planning: Magalawa Island

Because I was soooo cranky at work and I literally cried almost every night about it, Aldrin thought of leaving the city and have our husband-and-wife strategic planning. Yes, planning. I already wanted to leave my work. And I wanted to go back in my home town, Cagayan de Oro City. Of course, this is not a simple thing to do. It's easy to say and decide that I'd go back, but the thought of moving and Aldrin leaving his job would not be easy. And so off we go to Zambales. Magalawa Island is a 6 hour bus ride from Manila. We left Victory Bus Terminal at 4:30am and arrived Palauig, Zambales at 9:30am. We asked the bus kundoktor to drop us off at Radyo Veritas Road. Once we were at that road, we asked a trycicle driver to bring us to the port for Magalawa Island. Trip costs us 150 pesos for a 30 minute off road challenge. Yikes! Then boat ride took us 10 minutes to reach the island.

 Radyo Veritas Rd. waiting shed

 our tent

 fresh octopus

 from the kubo restaurant

 looking at the mountains

 our bags

the kubo restaurant at  night time

Would I come back to this island? Yes but not anytime soon. 

On Pets and Babies

Lately, Aldrin has been whining about getting a dog. A pomeranian to be specific. I admit I am not a caring person, more so, a pet lover. But his constant whining is deafening to my ears and I already told myself "bahala na". You see, only the two of us live in this tiny condo unit. We don't have househelp and we are not that close to our neighbors. In short, we only stay in this place to sleep, cook, eat, bathe and watch TV. I thought having a new dog in this tiny room would add chaos to our lives. Imagine leaving the dog while we're at work, it would die in hunger and loneliness. Having a dog in this house would really change our lives. And I'm not cool with it. You see, keeping a dog would change everything but it would not give much gratification in my life, to be honest. It's as good as having a baby. So there, I'd rather be pregnant and have a baby than to have a dog.

cute, isn't it? but no thanks.

Superfriends: Goodbye, Macau!

April 5

It was our last day in Macau. As usual, the preparation kicked our time. We left Coloane at noon. Our first stop was Macau Tower. We probably spent 30 minutes up there. Then we hurried back down and went straight ahead to Senado Square and St. Paul’s ruins. Our way up was a feast. We enjoyed eating the samples. And by the time we reached the ruins, all we need is a cold drink. Burp! We took pictures and bought our pasalubongs. Egg tart, anyone? I bought a box of egg tarts and the spicy beef tapa. The meat was freakin’ MOP60!!!! This have to be our viand for the whole week. LOL.

Cha cha looking at the person who just jumped.

Skywalk

Macau from the top

We dropped by this church to say some prayers

St. Paul Ruins

a wedding shoot!

the bridge to Cotai area

And we literally ran back to The Venetian. Amazing Race, next episode it was. The ZAIA show is at 6pm and we haven’t bought our tickets yet. We were a few minutes late of the show. Instead of the MOP388 ticket price, there was a discount for that time slot. We had our tickets for MOP188. Quite reasonable though because I honestly fell asleep during the show. I found it a bit boring.

At 8pm, we were already at the airport. We checked in and had our dinner. We met up with friend May Chan who already works in Macau. We passed by immigration and then we boarded the plane. At 12mn, I was already breathing the Manila air. And then I miss Macau and Hong Kong.