It’s almost 2 weeks of immobility limited mobility for me and it hurts today as much as it did in day 01. It doesn’t get any easier nor better which is scary because come Wednesday, I’m due for a check up. I’m dreading the said day because I might hear the 4 letter word I’m avoiding at all costs: CAST. :(

Apart from not being able to wear my new kicks, what’s really sucky about this situation’s I can’t go to FLOW SurfYogaSamba’s seventh retreat in (of all places) Baler:

Learn to SURF, YOGA & SAMBA on April 28 – 30, 2012, at Aliya Surf Camp, Baler, Aurora!

Baler, as I put it last year, is my kind of Disneyland. Surfing and Bikram yoga’s my flavour of unwinding and working out at the same time so I’m really bummed that I can’t go this April. #wawaface

Anyway, if you’re free and you’re looking for a new kind of natural high that will last ’til you get back to the city, enlist for FLOW SurfYogaSamba’s retreat. It’s guaranteed to give you that plus a whole lot more. :)

With these images in my mind, I’m having the hardest time deciding otherwise.

rad recycled neckpiece from A Piece of Green

green x 2

read more

I was looking for a quick getaway roughly two months ago when one of my associates recommended Coco Beach Island Resort in Puerto Galera. I immediately looked it up online and I was mesmerized. I can’t believe there’s still lush greens and deep blues tucked just nearly 4 hours from Manila! I was about to book a room when I learned about the Surf and Music Festival. I opted to join the latter because some of my friends will be there too. I bookmarked Coco Beach Island Reort though since it was a place I would love to visit sometime soon.

photo via Coco Beach Island Resort

A month and a half after doing that “vacay research”, my junior high classmate, Shaz, invited me to join them to celebrate Coco Beach Island Resort’s 25th anniversary. I think you can tell that I signed up in a heartbeat! :)

read more

Where did you spend last week’s long weekend? I spent mine in my kind of Disneyland — at Baler, Aurora for the Aloha Boardsports & Travel Factor Surf And Music Festival 2011.

I saved my slot roughly a month ago for Php 4600 (per pax, aircon premium package) through Travel Factor. That covers the kit above, accommodations, to and fro fare, festival passes, and couple of meals.

Where I stayed — ATI Hostel

My hostel’s the farthest from the festival grounds (Aliya Surf Camp). Not complaining with the size of my bed! :)

read more

You heard us gush about it over and over. Let me share some of my fave and what I think are rather epic snaps from our UBE (I think this is best coined as “ultimate bundat experience”) weekend:

We heard it’s mandatory to take a snap in this spot:

Really — we don’t know what we’re doing here although this comes naturally to me because when I play with Junkie I do this pose (and no, she doesn’t like it):

read more

When my parents went to Boracay last year, they brought home these photos that made me green in envy:

Yes, complete with belat factor from Gov!

the parentals’ De Luxe room (with pool access)

in true Gov fashion: “spic and span T&B”

the lap pool that changes its colours at night

Naturally, during my trip last week, I had to checkout the much talked about hotel myself.

Astoria Boracay has De Luxe, De Luxe – Pool Access, Luxury, Premier, and Honeymoon Suite for a total of 39 rooms. The floor area of the rooms range from 26 to 50 square meters providing you the luxury of space for a more comfortable stay.

read more

Some three weeks ago I thought it would be swell to spend my birthday at the beach. Thank heavens for US Labor Day, I have a long weekend different from the rest of the local corporate world. This translates to inexpensive and better travel deals when I decide, on a whim, to pack my bags and take a break. I have about 20 Zest Air tickets on hand (purchased from Ensogo at about Php 1300 each) and all I needed to do’s to decide where to go. Busuanga’s still on top of my head but my ticket issuer’s seat allocation’s already maxed out for that location on my chosen dates so I chose another beach that also starts with a B.

My flight’s scheduled to jet off at 12:10pm. Imagine how I grew an anxiety attack at 12:09 when we haven’t heard the boarding announcement yet (just so you know, I panic when I know I’ll be late and I know I can’t do anything about it). A minute later we heard the announcement. I was grumpily ranting in Twitter about this. Thirty seven minutes later, I had to take my ranting back because I already found myself at the Kalibo airport. I thought that wow — this is the fastest and cheapest flight to Boracay I’ve ever taken! Such a big help if you’re landing in Kalibo cause you’ll be needing a little over 2 hours more to see this:

Boracay Jetty Port

For the uninitiated, to get to the Boracay Jetty Port, you need to survive a 2 hour van ride (Php 200, inclusive of the boat fare) from the Kalibo Airport to the Caticlan Jetty Port. You’re due to shell out Php 75  and Php 50 when you reach the Caticlan Jetty Port for environmental and travel taxes respectively. Ten to fifteen minutes (boat ride) after, you can almost taste the infamous Blues Clues (drink) of the island.

read more

Growing up, I had the luxury of travelling at my parents’ expense. Apart from great education, I can definitely say that backpacking from one city and country to another’s one of the best things my parents gave me and Twin. This way of life’s so much grown in me that I know deep in my heart that I work not for shoes nor makeup but for my next expedition.

Imagine my delight when I found out a couple of weeks ago that our Department of Tourism’s pushed the envelope a little farther. I always thought that travelling in my own country’s much more expensive and difficult but with DOT’s collaboration with Bonamine, things are bridged left and right. Say hello to my new fave travel portal, Basta Pinas:

The site is still new and needs your help in building rich content! I’d like to personally invite you to get your game on the challenges Basta Pinas has posed. Until September 5, they have a very easy yet high stakes challenge open called 100 steps.

100 STEPS
Each time you take 100 steps, stop and take a photo

Instructions:
Go for a walk in your neighborhood or someplace new. But make sure you count your steps, and snap a photo of whatever you see for each hundredth step you take. By comparing these photos, we’ll see just far apart or close together 100 steps can get.

Submission of entries:
August 2 to September 5

PRIZE:
a Travel Certificate worth Php8,000.00 will be raffled off to all submissions at the end of the round

Easy right? I’m joining this challenge as well (I will post a buzzer beater entry because I’m travelling from September 3-5) not just for kicks but also to support this local yet very promising campaign dedicated to entice not just foreigners but also local strangers (like myself) to travel the Philippines. :)

It’s been more than a month since my surfing break and I’m obviously still hung over. *le sigh* Anyway, as promised, here are some snaps from my vacay, all shot using one of my sexy black pebbles, the Canon IXUS 220.

My travel buddy and I stayed at the Final Option Resort in Montemar Village, San Juan, La Union. It’s 10 minutes away (via a jeepney ride) from the busy and jampacked water stretch of Urbiztondo. There are different kinds of rooms available in the said resort but I opted for this  non-AC bahay kubo (nipa hut) cause I thought it was pretty slick for only a thousand pesos a night.

Here’s my awesome view from the balcony (yes, this is still part of the Final Option compound):

read more

I’m celebrating my birthday exactly 2 months from now and I’ve been searching for the perfect getaway the last 2 weeks. I’m near exhausted when I stumbled on this just a little over 10 minutes ago:

We’re going the extra mile for health conscious people! This special Flow retreat is complemented with delicious and healthy raw vegan gourmet foods catered by Bali-certified raw food chef, Asha Peri of Dahon Kusina to help nourish your unique journey to self-discovery.

Package Rate: 10,350 php
Early Bird Rate: 9,850php (til July 20)

Inclusions:
- 1 Vinyasa and 1 Yin Yoga session
- 2 Surf lessons
- 2 Samba lessons
- Roundtrip transfers
- 3D/2N aircon accommodation
- Raw Food meals and snacks
- Tote bag with freebies

PLUS! Introduction to ACRO YOGA for all participants!

It couldn’t be more perfect! My kind of retreat happening on the weekend of my birthday. ‘so excited to gun on my deadlinesss and sign up! Who’s with me? :)

More details about this event at FLOW SurfYogaSamba’s FB page.