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happy weekend!

rebel wilson

funny, hilarious, talented lady! 

tiyanak

dati-rati, sobrang daming pelikulang pinoy ang mapapanood mo sa bawat linggo. di yata bababa sa 5 pelikula ang nasa sinehan kada linggo. sa bawat pagpapalit ng pelikula kada miyerkules, samu't sari ang mga ito. mapa-komedya, aksyon, drama o katatakutan, laging may bago. siyempre may mga lahuk-lahok ng iba't ibang tema, may mga aksyong matatawa ka nang di sinasadya, may mga dramang nakatatawa dahil sa banong pag-arte at may mga katatakutan ding matatawa ka kung bakit ka natakot dito.

isa sa mga pelikulang ganito ang tiyanak. bukod sa nakatatawang porma nila lotlot de leon at mga sitwasyong dapat ay maiiwasan naman, nilahukan lang naman ito ng kung anu-anong gulatan para maging horror. sayang kasi maganda ang tema ng tiyanak at pagmamahal ng ina sa namatay na anak. pero siguro ito lang ang kaya ng mga nasa likod ng pelikulang ito noong panahong ito. 

kung mayroon mang isang pangsalba sa pelikula nina janice de belen at marami pang iba, ito ay ang mga eksenang nasa preym ang dakilang si mary walter. bagamat nabigo siya sa kanyang balak na patayin ang halimaw, ang kanyang pagkamatay ang natatanging haylayt ng pelikulang ito... wala nang iba pa. dapat siya na lang ang bida rito! :) 

saruman

gandalf vs. saruman - one of the best fight scenes ever!

TPLEX

sa pagitan ng TPLEX and SCTEX
sa banayad at tuloy-tuloy na pagtakbo ng sasakyan ni ama
sa malagihay na pag-upo sa likod ng adventure
sa mabilis na pagsumpong sa bahaging ito ng pampanga.

maulan ng mga oras na iyon
makulimlim ang kalangitan
makapal ang kaulapan
madilim ang dako pa roon.

dagling tumigil ang ambon
dumating ang linaw sa papawirin
dumaiti sa paningin ang tanawin
dumatal ang saya't tuwa.

binuo mo ang masayang katapusan ng linggo
bumusilak pang lalo ang malawak na kawalan
bumugso ang masaganang galak
batiin ka ba naman ng ganitong ganda!

Panglao

Amphitheater of dreams.
Be Grand Resort.
Panglao, Bohol. 
May 2016.

81 - travel goals

some people raised their eyebrows when i said that i wanted to set foot in all of 81 provinces that make up my country, the philippines. some felt that it's too difficult, some said that it may be too expensive, while some just asked why on earth would i want to do that.

and i don't blame them. it's hardly a feat anyone would aspire for. not too many people will say that it is one of their goals in life. yes, it is going to be difficult. while there are linkages from one place to another, commuting to and from is going to be a challenge as i've experienced in my recent trips. plus there are a lot of places that might not be too safe for a solo traveller like me. it is going to be expensive. of course, it will be. while i can always wait for budget airfares, hiring a habal-habal, tourist guide fees, entrance fees, accommodation and food… all these will make a dent on your budget.

but in spite of these, i still want to do it. i want to see every nook and cranny of this great country because of the enriching experience my travels will provide. every place in the philippines offer different feel and experience. there's hardly two places that are very similar with each other. for this alone, it is great to see all 81 provinces.

the philippines of course has some of the best beaches (nacpan beach in el nido and hagonoy in britania islands), waterfalls (tinuy-an and bomod-ok), rivers (cagayan de oro river and siitan river), underground river (puerto princesa subterranean river), lakes (taal lake and kayangan lake), natural pools (timobo underground pool and ogtong in bantayan). even manmade infinity pools (club punta fuego and in balesin island). my country also has  magnificent natural landforms such as mountains (makiling and arayat), valleys (nagtipunan valley), rice terraces (banaue and batad rice terraces), volcanoes (mayon and taal volcanoes), rolling hills (vayang rolling hills in batanes and batulao rolling hills), caves (capisaan cave system and sumaguing in sagada), islands (capones in zambales and sabtang in batanes), sand dunes (paoay sand dunes – haven't been here), rock formations (kapurpurawan in ilocos – also haven't been here) or cliffs (anywhere in benguet and mountain province).

but there's more! there are attractions steep in history such as old and heritage churches (san agustin church in manila and taal basilica), houses (laperal house in baguio and rizal shrine in calamba city), buildings (metropolitan theatre in manila and the main building of university of santo tomas), as well as heritage sites such as ruins (old guiob church ruins in camiguin and cagsawa church in albay), forts (fort san pedro in cebu and fort santiago in manila), historical trails (cebu historical trail from cebu city all the way to oslob and of course, vigan city) and various architectural pieces. there are manmade wonders such as san juanico bridge, as well as modern marvels such as the mind museum in taguig city. numerous interesting museums (bencab museum in baguio city and balangay museum in butuan city), plus a host of historical plazas (plaza cervantes in binondo and oslob's historical plaza), interesting boulevards (in dumaguete city and bislig city) and other places to see.

the journey to a place is in itself going to be an enriching experience. imagine trying various local forms of transportation, from airplane, metro rail, to ro-ro ferries, mid-sized bancas, local outrigger boats, bangka without katig, to jeepneys, tricycles, rafts (could be bamboo), kalesa, kuliglig, carabao-driven carriages and buses. these modes of transportation will bring you not only to different locations but also prepare you for exciting activities such as surfing, mountaineering, hiking, ziplining, canyoneering, rappelling, whitewater rafting, wakeboarding, water tubing, cliff diving, parasailing, 4x4 ride and spelunking.

of course, the philippines is not going to be fun without food! this is central to pinoy culture and my country offers a lot in this regard. unique dishes and town's specialty should not be missed. even next-door friendly sari-sari store can double up as carinderias. there are boutique restaurants, coffee shops and traditional ihaw-ihawan or larsian-style food joints, as well as floating restaurants, videoke bars, and various streetfood corners. there are culinary trails one should not miss out on such as in laguna and pampanga. when it comes to food, name it and we have it!

but more than these, the philippines is all about people and culture. even the everyday life in a little quaint town such as maripipi excites me. it is about discovering the uniqueness of each place and how this actually makes up what i know as the true filipino. it is about getting invited to a town's fiesta when you don't even know anyone in the whole island. it is about learning little intricacies of how sinigang or pancit is prepared and consumed and how sunday masses form the basis of town's camaraderie. it is about little chitchats with everyday townsfolk such as the habal-habal driver or the tindera in a carinderia, whose experiences in life are readily shared with you right after that first smile and hello. it is about realizing that people are not after your money, that most pinoys are good-natured individuals and are glad to see a kababayan visiting their hometowns. it is about getting lost a bit and finding nice surprises along the way. it is about coming across fascinating insights and tidbits that will stick with you.

it is about travel experiences that enrich my soul, my body and my mind. these are what the philippines has to offer. as st. augustine said, “the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” so i'm going to see all of the philippines, all 81 of its provinces. #81LalawiganPinas #all81PHprovinces hashtags to guide on this journey!

ikaw, naka-ilan ka na ba?! i'm a little bit more than halfway there… biyahe tayo!

Baguio

at nagkita tayo muli
walang nang pasubali.

pinadama mo ang iyong lamig
sa panglamig sumandig.

pagkaing nakabubusog
tanawing sa mata'y nakalulusog.

nagpatianod sa wagwagan
isang panglamig ang nawagasan.

pangkultura sa bencab museo
pangtakutan sa diplomat na tila musoleo.

bagong abentura kahit may bagyo
salamat sa masayang wikend, baguio!

BenCab

Anya ngay?!
BenCab Museum.
Baguio City.
July 2016

Sambawan

habal-habal papunta sa brgy. ol og.
hintay ng bangkero. 
tawaran sa bayad.
at sibad na!

wala pa yatang 15 minuto.
binati mo na agad ako.
sampu ng iyong maputing dalampasigan.
at mahabang baybayin.

walang masyadong tao.
maglalanguy-langoy at maglakad sa buhanginan.
lublob sa malinaw na tubig-alat.
kahit mataas pa ang araw.

akyat sa burol.
panhik-panaog para sa magandang anggulo.
hintay sa paglubog ng araw.
makuha lamang ang pinakamagandang larawan.

ibang klase ka, sambawan.
ang halos isang buong araw sa iyong piling ay langit.
tagong paraiso.
kubling yaman ng pilipinas.

fountain

a quarter of a century.
silver wedding anniversary.
atomic number of manganese.
number of points to win a set in volleyball.

winner. fountain. more.

tripadvisor

it was part of the second generation of web 2.0 technologies and one of the early adopters of user-generated content. along with blogs, wikis, youtube, facebook and twitter, its deep impact was felt when people actually started to look at its reviews for insights and important tidbits on travel, whether it is on hotels or on attractions to go to and have their say published as well. that's tripadvisor, one of the largest travel sites in the world today and one of the my favorite sites.

i've only been a tripadvisor member in october 2014. but as far as i can remember, i've always "consulted" tripadvisor for useful information on travel. what are the top things to do in a certain place, which hotels or hostels are good, how to go to one place from another, what referrals (or numbers of tour guides) can i get, and a whole  lot of valuable information on travel – these are the reasons why i go and read entries on tripadvisor. plus of course, being at the top of google search results also helps a lot.

i finally tabbed my own contribution on tripadvisor when i wanted to commend sivatel bangkok because of another great stay in this witthayu hotel. from then on, i posted my own contributions on points of interest or attractions, reviews on other hotels and restaurants. it's always great to see your contributions published, most especially when some other users and readers give you a helpful vote. but what's really fun here is tripadvisor's gamification process! for each contribution, a user gets 100 points and accumulation of which will get you to the next level and be given a badge. it's like getting to another level in your favorite online game!

as of now, i've published 84 reviews and 2 photos and considered a level 5 contributor. tripadvisor said that i'm just 1,528 points away from level 6. that's another 15-16 reviews, haha!! quite a number. but the badges always makes me want to write more reviews. tripadvisor is really good in getting you excited to get to the next level because of the badges. "1 review to go" to get to "attraction expert level 19" – tripadvisor's effective come on. add in badges such as 40,000 readers, top contributor at 50 or more reviews, a passport with 39 cities, and getting a "coat of arms" that 2 of your reviews (for el nido's pangulasian resort and shangri-la boracay) are part of the 2016 travellers' choice hotel reviewer!

gamifying it through the use of levels and badges are one of the intelligent ways these web 2.0 and 3rd platform companies make users like me engaged and would want to contribute more. this is of course what we at idc have been evangelizing the market about… it's all about the new prosumers. it's about personalization and gamification. and i don't think i would stop at level 5!

to more travels and reviews!

totalmente

ano na nga bang total mo ngayon? matagal-tagal na nga 'yung kauna-unahan. mag-aanim na taon na halos nang matuklasan ang biyayang ito sa lungsod na may mahabang pangalan. at ngayon, nasaan na tayo?

sa kabuuan, 27 na ang pamilihan. nadagdagan ng 6 ang naisara sa 116 sa katapusan ng 2016. salit-salitan ito sa 54. biruin mo 'yan! higit na sa 50! at bibilang pa. karamihan nito ay dulot ng har sa isang sulok ng madilim na kalsada ng aglipay. pangalawa rito ay ang matinding sulak ng pagpuwente. may 3 mula sa san jose habang tigdadalawa naman sa 5 iba pang pamilihan.

kahapon lamang ay nadagdagan ito ng isa pa. bale 28 na, 55 at 123 sa kabuuan. may humabol 'ika nga. wala nang ulitan sa isang ito.

sa totalmente, maligaya ang paglalakbay na ito. may rurok ng tagumpay pero wala namang sadsad na sadsad. magkaminsa'y may di swak sa inaasahan, pero may pangsalba namang ibang salik.

magandang paglalakbay na sana'y magpatuloy. wala namang ibang balakid at mukhang magututuloy-tuloy ito. walang pasok sa miyerkules, tuwa!