My First Visit to Korea

Last February I shared the time Sweetie and I visited Korea. I also visited the beautiful city of Yeosu. I have so much blog backlog and I remembered I never got to share that first time I visited Korea. 

My first visit to Korea is truly memorable. I went with friends from work. We always joked that it was a test of friendship since we spent our first night in a traditional Korean home. It was Myra who wanted to try it and we gave in. We all decided even before we went to bed that we were going to move to a hotel the next day. It was an experience like no other, but the need for conveniences won. 

After transferring to a hotel we immediately visited two palaces: the Changdeokgung and Gyeongbukgung Palace. All I remember now is we walked a lot. I guess at that I was already starting to have issues with clotting and I got so tired easily. At Changdeokgung Palace I parked myself at the museum steps while waiting for the girls to come back and get me. 

That same day we met a Kpop star who taught cooking at our office! That was a memorable experience! I should have probably asked him if I'd pass to be a Kpop star since I was mistaken to be one in Pakistan! Hahaha. 

By evening we dined out and ate yummy Korean barbeque. What was memorable for me was trying soju for the first time! They mixed it with beer and I absolutely loved it. I found it really tasty since it matched the grilled pork perfectly. We conked out immediately when we got back to the hotel. 

The next day we went to Seoul Skytower and Namsan. We took the cable car going up to the Namsan Tower. We decided to dress up for the day just for fun. We spent most our time there just taking photos and I remember laughing and laughing. There was a Latino guy who even asked to take a photo with me! That was so funny. 

After Namsan we went to a market since I wanted to buy fabric. That was where we had our second funny incident for the day. We were so hungry we went inside one of the shops. We immediately found a seat and tried to observe what other diners were ordering. We belated realized that everything they offered were raw food! OMG! We weren't ready to have that so we apologized to the server and moved to another resto. 

For our final full day we went to Nami Island. We just commuted and took the train. It was so cold! It was the perfect timing to visit Nami Island because the leaves were all orange and yellow. We rented a bike-trike (I'm not sure what it's called). It was an exhilirating experience to see the whole island through biking. I had so much fun doing that. After visiting Nami Island we also went to Petite France. 

We spent evenings roaming around Myeongdong. I learned a lot about beauty products visiting the shops. It was useful for me since Sweetie and I spent time in the same area when we visited last year. I wish I could visit Korea many more times in the coming years. I'm also interested to see the different provinces. Hopefully when things start going back to normal, maybe next year or the year after. I'd really want to visit all the wonderful people I've been meeting from Korea. I shall be back!

#CB45  #WFH39 #StuckAtHomeDay76 #StayHome #BeKind #ThrowbackThursday #TravelThursday

Travel: Punta Fuego

It was another adventure with the Band of Bloggers. The Punta Fuego trip was hosted by Rico's Tita. The sweethearts went ahead early in the morning with Jayvee and got to enjoy the beach before lunch. Abe and I followed after lunch because I had work to finish first.

It usually takes just about 2 hours to get to Nasugbu, Batangas, but it took Abe and I four hours! We stopped over at Petron SLEX to have lunch and buy some bilins from Sasha, coffee break at Breakfast at Antonio's in Tagaytay (yummy chocolate chip pancakes!), 7-Eleven at Nasugbu and then Abe just had to go back to shoot some photos at Kawayan Cove.

The photos I took do not do justice to beauty of the place. Here take a look:




Thank God there was wifi and Jayvee's Globe Visibility dongle! We were still connected to the world (much to Sasha's consternation!). Anyway, we spent the next day getting a tan at the beach and did a Bobcast recording in the evening at the Punta Fuego point. It was so dark on the way there that we just had to scare each other. (Some of the photos are by Sasha and I think Rico)



Of course, fun times always have to end. Three horror movies, lots endless pork inihaw, my Sexy Sling (tsktsktsk!), learning how to sleep on a bean bag and finding the coldest corner in the house, we had to go back to reality. And since we were in the area we spent some time more in Tagaytay and had lunch at Breakfast at Antonio's and merienda at that nook overlooking Taal Volcano.


Sigh. Back in hot, hot, hot Manila!

Travel Blog: Davao and Cebu

Picture this.

Soft, cool sand going between your toes

Salty, tangy wind blowing… whipping…

Small waves crashing through the shore

Sun rays streaming through a tree

And nothing else but the wide blue horizon in front of you.

Oh yes! I’m at the beach tap-tapping on my laptop (now belly-top).

Are you now itching to go to the beach? It’s summer! Go!

The past few days have been a blur of activity. I spent the weekend in Davao to attend the Davao Blog Party organized by Blogie, Andrew, Jun, Marc and countless others. Abe, Jayvee, Abe and Janette also came from Manila to attend. It was a huge success with a hundred percent more attending versus target. After the party we had durian coffee at Blugre Café (with free wifi!). Oh! And we stayed at Casa Leticia, the hotel with free wi-fi and the most number of electrical plugs I’ve seen in one hotel room (I managed to charge my laptop, 2 phones, Ipod and PDA all at the same time!).

We all wanted to go white water rafting, but wasn’t able to plan for it. Rex, a Davao-based friend was kind enough to bring Abe, Abe, Jayvee and me to Costa Marina, Samal Island. Costa Marina’s a really cool place. It just took us less than 15 minutes to get to the dock and a five minute jetty ride to the resort (at PhP12 each!). We all just chilled the whole day, napping, eating and taking photos. Wanna know how much fun we had? What Abe’s really cute dance (hihihi).

In the evening, Dennis invited us to his “house that Adsense bought” (more of Adsense paying for the rent). There was so much food! I liked the kinilaw best and the “clams” (too bad Abe and Jayvee are allergic to seafood! So I ate their share haha). After dinner, Abe and Jayvee did some jamming. Watch the videos here.

Jack’s Ridge, a place overlooking Davao City, was still very much beautiful. Rob, a college friend brought me there two years ago and I thought that the first timers would have a grand time at the place. We ended up at a cozy bar and did some videoke. Watch Abe as he sings a love song.

We had an interesting time at NCCC Mall. Who’d have thought of naming their stores “Juice Ko Day”, “Wear Else” and “We Make Scents”? Crazy isn’t it?

I would love to live in Davao. Aside from free wi-fi all over the place, where else could you eat three barbecues with unlimited rice for only PhP25? Buffet at “Buffet Palace” (the best in Davao) for only PhP200 (and buffet at PhP75 to 99 in other places). Everybody is so easy to speak with, no hassle whatsoever! The place is as clean as Singapore. Not crowded. And the best thing? The beach is just 15 minutes away!

Click on the photo to see more pictures.

Davao

See Davao Blog Party photos here (click on the photo please):

Davao Blog Party

After Davao I hibernated in Cebu for 48 hours. Managed to go to the beach with my best friend. In the evening we went to 22nd St. (they have branches in Las Pinas and Malate in Manila), a comedy club. We had a hilarious time and basically laughed the whole night. It was a good thing we didn’t push through singing on stage. I can just imagine going through the “interview”. I would’ve probably been so embarrassed and would’ve probably died on the spot. Well I left Cebu crying again because parting with one’s best friend is never an easy thing to do.

Click on the photo to see more pictures.

Cebu