A huge reason why my visit to Yasaka Shrine was more memorable and meaningful was the fact that I was wearing a kimono. Sure, there were awkward moments (OK, who am I kidding, there were a LOT of awkward moments) but then, a few minutes into it, I just thought, “wth, I’m here, this is happening, I might as well enjoy it!” And I am glad I did. Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Yasaka Shrine”
One of my disappointments when I visited Gyeongbukgong in Seoul was missing out on the hanbok experience. I wanted to try wearing their traditional clothing, even for just a few minutes, but the hanbok place was already closed by the time we were done touring the Palace. And then, weeks before our Japan trip, my friend and I were exchanging emails as we polished our itinerary and, out of the blue, she suggested trying out wearing kimono. And you know what they say… “when in Kyoto….”
Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: My Kimono Experience”
I could not help but look at my now very long list of backlogs… travel posts to make, photos to upload… and I start to panic. But then when I calm down a bit, I think to myself, “all in good time, eh?” It’s already the 2nd half of May, and I think I’ll be lying low for a bit. Catch up on some ZZZZs, recharge my batteries, recoup losses, replenish travel fund… y’know, normal, ordinary things. At least, MY kind of normal & ordinary. For now, though, I’ll take you to another Kyoto jaunt: the NIJO CASTLE.
Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Nijo Castle”
There is something universally appealing about sunsets and sunrises. Or, should I say, universally moving? Perhaps, more than the splash of colors on the horizon, or the spectacular display of a slow and gradual ascent or descent, it evokes thoughts of beginnings and endings: the sunset marks the end of the day and the beginning of the oncoming night, whilst sunrise is a way to bid farewell to the night and welcome a new day. This is one cycle that is anything BUT vicious.
Continue reading “Coron 2015: Of Sunrises and Sunsets… at Mt. Tapyas”
The rainy days seem to be making their presence felt as the past couple of days (and nights) brought on torrential downpours. The good thing about this is, just as the summery days seem to be coming to an end, the rainy season too will do the same. (Sorry, that’s what happens if you marathon 10 episodes of Falling for Innocence for three days.) The rain, however, is not a reason to talk about the sun, sand and the beautiful waters of Coron during our second day of island tour.
Continue reading “Coron 2015: Island Tour Day 2”
A lot has happened in the past week. Labor Day. LaBoracay for some. The Mayweather-Pacquiao bout. My 4-day trip to Mt. Bulusan, Donsol and Cagsawa. All in all, it was an eventful (very) long weekend which I am oh-so-grateful for. Yes, despite the ache in my extremities and the difficulty (top that with moaning and groaning in pain) when going down stairs, I can safely say that the past several days has been one for the books! I will be blogging about it in the future, but for now, I will continue my Coron 2015 series, ya noe, in the spirit of “oh darn summer is about to end” and #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines!
Continue reading “Coron 2015: Island Tour Day 1”
I did mention in my previous post that I fell head over heels in love with giraffes when we went to the Calauit Safari Park, didn’t I? I wasn’t kidding when I said that. It was a complete turnaround because, as fascinated as I was by these long-necked and long-legged creatures, I was afraid of getting close. Before the end of this morning, I couldn’t keep from touching them and even having them nuzzle my face. It’s love, I tell ya. Continue reading “Feeding Giraffes at the Calauit Safari Park”
Oppressive. That’s the word that comes to mind to describe this heat. Here in Baguio, it gets as hot as 23 degrees Celsius in the middle of the day, and I’m sweating buckets. I can only imagine what it’s like in other places. It must be scorching! I guess it can’t be helped; it’s summer, after all. So let me blog about something summer-y? And nothing’s more fitting than Coron, and the day I fell head over heels in love with giraffes at the Calauit Safari Park. Continue reading “Coron 2015: Calauit Safari Park”
That was a bit of a dry spell, wasn’t it? I was off somewhere, so I wasn’t able to update earlier. But now I am picking things up by giving you the second part of the tour inside the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which I started in the previous post. Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kyoto Imperial Palace Pt 2”
Right now, I’m far from home again, this time with friends-slash-colleagues, and we’re hitting the scene down south. Of course, it is primarily for work, but you know me (and my crowd, haha!). Somewhere in there, we’re squeezing in some fun non-work times. But that’s not what this post is about. This time, I am taking you inside the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kyoto Imperial Palace Pt 1”
Due to an unexpected visit of the Imperial family, I was not able to enter the Tokyo Imperial Palace when I was in Tokyo, so I made a mental note to myself that “you must check out the Kyoto Imperial Palace, then!” when I got to Kyoto the week after. I thought, going in, that I can just enter and see the Kyoto Imperial Palace immediately. It turns out to be just a small part of a larger area, which is the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.
Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kyoto Gyoen National Garden”
(Finally!) Resuming my Japan travel posts, this time focusing on the third leg of my 4-city Japan tour (naks!). More than Osaka, Kyoto was a must in my itinerary, because I felt like it mostly represents much of the culture and history that fascinates me so about this country. It is the Kyoto itinerary that I had the most trouble figuring out where to go in the limited amount of time, because there was just SOOOO MUCH THAT I WANTED TO SEE! Sadly, we only had to choose a few. (And it didn’t help that it rained the first day.) So our first stop was one of the historical buildings most representative of Japan… Kinkaku-ji. Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kinkaku-ji”
Happy Easter, everyone! How did you spend the past few days? Did you stay at home? Go out of town? Went on a Bisita Iglesia? No matter how you spent the past week – whether you lived it up or laid low – I suppose the important thing is that we did not forget what the week was all about, and we did not forget to thank Him for making the ultimate sacrifice for us. “Thank you” is rarely being said now, is that something we should allow?
In a few hours, the day will be over. Here’s to wishing that you have gone through April Fool’s Day unscathed. Once or twice, in my life, I admit to having been fooled. But I also admit to having been on the other end, doing the fooling. It was a lot of fun, but care must always be exercised when doing these things, because there are simply some jokes that aren’t funny… or may be too funny. Know what I mean? Before the day ends, however, here’s a little look back on one of our stops during our Honda Bay tour. This time, it’s this tiny place called Pambato Reef.
I mentioned this to a friend recently: the rainy afternoons that transpired in the past several days kinda made me think that summer is already over. The fact that we spent almost a week in sunny Coron just a couple of weeks ago reinforced that idea. But then I go online and everyone’s raving about summer being “here”. Am I way too advanced? So to rectify that, I’m going to hark back to a trip that is, well, sorta about summer: a visit to Honda Bay. Honda Bay was not part of the itinerary when we first went to Puerto Princesa 6 years ago. And it was also not included in the itinerary of our trip last month. However, due to a stroke of luck – and bad weather – we decided to check it out.
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.