must get out

I'm baaaaaaaack! Hello blogosphere, its been awhile.

The past week has been crazy. It was so crazy that I need to go away. I was so physically drained that one night I was crying. I think I was losing my mind. I needed someone to talk to but the person that I wanna talk to was nowhere to be found and was so busy with his own thing. That's when I said to myself, Screw this! I'm going somewhere, I need to leave ASAP . Immediately after, I texted my evil twin Bogart and told her that I'm going to Toronto and I'll stay on their place. I basically, self-invited myself to their house (lol). I traded and gave away some of my shifts then booked a flight to Toronto and flew a day after. It was all spur of the moment. I'm so thankful that Bogart is in Toronto and her family was gracious enough to let me stay in their house. And thanks to Annkat too for being patient with me especially that night that I was about to go insane.

Fast forward to today: I just came from back my trip. I was glad I made that decision. I had to a great time there. Its nice to get away from the all the craziness; to step back a bit, to break away from work routine and give myself a chance to breathe and relax. Still not quite ready to get back to work yet but that's life. Oh well, there's always next time.  I'm looking forward to my next get away.

 

be free!

Parliament House (Toronto)

The Vintage Code( Kensington Market, Toronto)

view across Square One Mall (Mississauga)

Credit Lighthouse

 

 

As the old adage goes, All work and no play makes a dull boy/girl. So peeps, give yourself a break. Find something that will help you relax. Traveling does it for me; and I must say blogging is therapeutic for me too.  Don't take life seriously, no one get out alive anyway.

 

 

Cheers and have good weekend everyone! 

Gailie's Dayoff Series: Boracay

Aside from swimming, there are a lot of things one can do in Boracay. Some of the things, I tried when I went there.

1. Food trip

Rumor has it that these are the best in town. Let's try and taste it.

Best Shake: Jonah's - I had Mango Rum. It tastes good but there was too much rum on it that it overpowers the taste of mango. My sister tried strawberry and it taste good.

Best Pizza: Aria - Its an Italian restaurant, its a bit pricey but this dish pizza is a winner.

Loco Frio - frozen cocktails. i love the bubble gum flavor with a shot of vodka. I had 2 rounds of those. I can't get enough.

2. Catch the fire dancers perform

I was in awe when I saw them. They were really good. When we had a chance to have a picture taken with the fire dancers, I can feel the heat coming from the rotating fire ball. 

                               

3. Seek Adventure

Adventure you say?! Well, Boracay has lots of it.

a. parasailing - it may seem daunting at first, but once you' re up... whoa! it has a calming effect. Everything is so serene up there. It gives you a 360degrees view of the whole island. 

b. zorbing - i thought i may get dizzy after trying this but no it happened so fast you won't have time to get dizzy. wahaha! imagine yourself inside a washing machine, spinning round and round but this time on a hill. we were tossed in every direction.

c. sea walking - the idea of walking of scared me at first. you just have to listen to the instructors direction about breathing and 'equalizing' you'll be fine!

d. fly fish - cling for your life, wahaha! just kidding.

                                            

4. Sand Sculpture  - Boracay is known for its famous fine white sand. What better thing to do than build castles and try your hand at sand sculpture. 

5. Explore

There are a lot of activities going on especially at night. Party people go bar hopping, drinking and dancing all night. Not my type of scene, while others dance the night away, I'd rather have my quiet walks by the beach and admire the sky. If its not your cup of tea either, there are coffee shops abound and diners where local bands play. You have many choices or maybe do it all if you have the time.

This was my second time to visit this piece of paradise called Boracay and I never get tired. There's something about this place that makes me want to go back for more. Now, I understand why my cousin goes back every year to this place (told you, being a wanderlust runs in our veins). Be sure to try out some of these activities. Enjoy the sun, sea and sand. See you in Boracay.

 

why i love traveling...

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard

Aside from relaxation, travel gives me new perspective. It taught me a lot of things. With my recent trip to Zambales, it gave me realizations that are relevant and useful in my life...

1. you can't prepare for everything, learn to deal with difficulties.

2. think outside the box, use your imagination.

3. laugh at your mistakes. learn from it but don't dwell.

4.“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”–Mark Twain 

I'm proud to say that the friends I have are the best. Distance and time doesn't matter, even if we haven't seen or talk to each other for years, we still have the same closeness and bond. It seems like there was no time/distance gap; no awkwardness. Everything's the same.

 

5. Lastly, as I stated in this blog enjoy the journey, it's not all about the destination its also about the trip; the people you met, the friends you gain, the adventures you went through and lessons that you learn. 

So keep exploring. Let's go! 

Gailie's Day off Series: Capones, Zambales

At first I thought we'd go swimming right away. Kuya boatman brought us to an island with big white rocks, I said to myself I can't swim here. But then I remember Ate Maria said that, Capones has a lighthouse. Probably, we will go to the lighthouse first. And that's what we did.

We have to climb and trek again while Kuya Boatman waits for us.

Finally, stairs!

Half way through...

At last we reached the lighthouse. 

Took some shots and tried to go up to the top of the lighthouse but the stairs are shaky. Its covered with rust and its doesn't look sturdy. After 30 minutes of taking pictures we went down and proceeded to the part of the island where we can swim.

White sand beach greeted us as we docked. The water was inviting us to take a dip and we did! The water was cold and clear, so clear that you can even see fishes swimming too.  

Mina and Annkat swam for a while but Unna and I swam till we were tired and hungry. 

By 11am we left the beautiful island of Capones and that concludes our stay in Zambales. We really had a great time. Till next time! 

From Evernote:

Gailie's Day off Series: Anawangin, Zambales

Part 3: 

Night Time

Problem #1 : no light on shower stalls

As soon as we arrived at the campsite, we head to the shower area and take advantage of the light the setting sun brought. Problem #1 solved! 

Problem #2 : Light for dinner

Now, time for dinner. The problem with cooking rice and spam was resolved earlier that day. Our second problem was light, I had the flashlight in mind but in a hurry to meet Mina and AnnKat, I left it at the apartment. The ever reliable girl scout that she is, Mina brought a penlight and a whistle. We were laughing so hard with Mina's whistle but come to think of it a whistle would be handy in case of emergency. As Mina said, she had been to several camping trips, so she's prepared. Wahaha! Problem #2 solved!

Dinner

Problem #3 : No utensils.

Dinner is served. The plate that was used to served the spam was used by AnnKat/Unna as their dinner plate. We transferred the spam to a foil wrapper of Chips Ahoy. Wahaha! Talk about being resourceful. Then the cover of the pan as our plate (Mina and I). We can't scoop out the steaming hot rice with our bare hands so we make use of the plastic divider of the cookie. Bright idea right?! Eating dinner with no utensils: SOLVED! 

Sleeping

Problem #4 : Pillows/Mattresses

Bags as pillows

My towel as bed sheet

My sarong as kumot

Mina has a sweater to keep her warm during the night

Problem solved! Word of the night: Improvise! 

We hit the sack as early as 830pm too tired to talk, we just lay there and closed our eyes. A few minutes of silence inside the tent, we collectively expressed disappointment over how hot it is. Not to worry the girlscout has a fan! Prepared for all kinds of weather. A sweater for the cold and a fan to beat the heat! Veteran camper talaga! wahaha! To let the air in we just let the entrance of our tent open. Passersby can see us from the outside but we didn't care we want air to come in. Still its hot and humid inside. I didn't know but we all fell asleep to be awaken by rain. We're so glad that it rained thinking it would make the tent a little colder but still its humid. We just closed our eyes and prayed for a miracle. 

The morning after

We survived a humid night! Wow! We made it! Wahaha! Surprisingly, we didn't have mosquito bites but AnnKat and I had a few insect bites in our arms and legs. Oh well... we still made it! Had a good laugh about the things that happened last night. Up until now we can't stop teasing Mina and her sweater.

After a quick breakfast, we set out for Capones Island.

Gailie's Day off Series: Anawangin, Zambales

Part 2:

With life vests on, we braved the sea. 

The waters were clear, so clear that you see the bottom. On route to Anawangin, we passed by big mountainous rocks. It was breathtaking.

After the 45mins boatride, we've finally reached our destination; Anawangin. Fine gray sands greeted us as we docked; oh bummer! I was expecting white sand beach but not to worry the water is clean and clear that the sand didn't matter at all.

Kuya boatman, set up our tent and we discussed the schedule for next day. Pick up time is 7am for us to see Capones island before going home.

When we finally settled and had our things arranged, we found a swing and hammock by just a few steps from our tent. Like children we were excited to play and relax by the hammock. 

After giving in to our childish whims we set off to explore the island. We went beyond the camping area and discovered a river which we crossed. 

There was a lush vegetation and to our surprise another river. We call it the spa river. The water is shallow and you can see big smooth rocks which gives that spa vibe. wahaha! :) 

AnnKat was looking for another river which she saw in the internet. Told her that I think this was the river she was talking about but she insist that it was different from what she saw. Still determined to see that river we went to the far left side of the shore. With AnnKat's persuasion we climb the steep hill, one misstep and we will fall on the rocks by the sea. It was all worth it because the view was spectacular.

At last AnnKat found the river she was looking for it can only be seen from a high place. We can't go further up because Mina and I got scared. The path was slippery and steep, we assessed that it was to risky to try  to go up. And so we stopped and went down. Going back down was equally difficult that we had to sit to avoid slipping. 

After that risky trek, we found our spot. Its where the river meets the sea... we stayed there till the sun sets. Another beautiful scene to witness. 

where the river flows toward the sea and the sea meets the river with its waves.

Before the island is engulfed in darkness, we went back to the campsite to shower and get ready for the night.

Ah... night time, where the fun misadventures started!

to be continued...