Boracay, Here We Come!

I just got back from Bali, Indonesia yesterday morning and all I did was make love and sleep with my husband the moment we hit our bed. I missed him a lot and I swear I will never do a vacation without him by my side EVER again. It’s paralyzing and I can’t help feeling sad most of the time. So much for soul searching. I think all the soul I need is right here in Alabang with my baby baboo.  ^_^ Thanks to Lora and Jowi for showing me around Jakarta and Bali, I did manage to have a great time. 

Anyway, on Saturday, March 28, Peter and I will leave for our honeymoon vacation in Boracay. We’ll be there at Panoly for one week. We’re doing a photo shoot of my first ever lingerie collection (from Victoria Secret) which I will eventually post on my fashion blog. You’ll also know where to get the best lingerie finds here in Manila (hint: it’s in QC). I’ll catch you all and update you with all of my travels when I get back on April 3. It may take several days  for me to post about all the things I’ve seen and done but I will surely share them all with you. Enjoy your summer, folks! Don’t forget to use sunscreen. ^_^

Bali, Here I Come!

I feel excited but I’m stopping myself from feeling too much. I’ll be leaving for Jakarta later tonight then head to Bali on Monday. I’ll be doing all this traveling without Peter to at least allow myself do the “soul searching” thing I’ve been yearning for. It was supposed to be a month of  just “me, myself and jen “ all alone in Boracay but due to lack of time (not so much on funds tho since it’s way cheaper to stay there once you know the right places to stay at) and the fact that this Indonesia trip was supposed to happen last year, I just figured it’s the best way to go. The trip will just be until Thursday but still, it’s never the same without my hubby with me. For one, who will take all my pictures? Mwehehehe. Kidding aside, I was contemplating on whether to extend until the 28th then head straight to Boracay (which has already been booked since last year)  but I may need my beauty rest in the city and to pack another set of beach clothes  (of course!) before honeymooning for another week in the land of paradise.

I am both excited and terrified. Excited because I will be seeing my girlfriends Lora and Jowi; it’s a totally new place for me to explore and take photos of (at last, I will have Nikki all to myself!);  and we’ll be white water rafting! The first time I experienced doing that was when Peter and I visited Kota Kinabalu in 2006 and braved the wild serpentine currents of Padas river in Beaufort, Malaysia. This time around, I’ll be all alone with my gfs and who knows what will happen? I’m sure I can hack it, the same way I did before when all my German companions were thrown off the boat due to the wild currents and I was the only one left standing!  Even Peter was not able to balance himself. That was so much fun!

Anyway, enough of this chit-chat. I’m just letting you know I won’t be posting for a week or so, depending on how hectic our itinerary is and whether I get to find a good wi-fi connection in my destinations. Ack! It’s already 7:30am! I have been awake for 24 hours! I have to sleep  now and take my beauty rest so I’m all fresh for my trip tonight. Enjoy your weekend,  folks! See yah!

Shop Gossip Model

I was checking some celebrity fashion sites one time  when I came across a really cool online shop meant for the most gorgeous of the opposite sex. My guy friends will definitely love this site! Shop Gossip Model is an online shop that sells Men’s Jewelry and underwear products. I particularly love this Men’s Bracelet thay have in stock right now:

Shop Gossip Model is  so simple to use. They just require online registration for easy shopping from anywhere in the world.

I’m thinking of ordering one for my husband and another for my friend John. It’s mostly the kind of style they prefer and it would go really well with their clothes. As for the other designs, you will have a lot to choose from. So don’t fret!

Shop Gossip Model does not only offer awesome male undergarments & bracelets with the most unique, cultural designs,  they also have other exciting products like coffee, prints, incense holders and belts. 

Another thing that I love about their online shop is that it has a link to a site  on celebrity candid photos as well as their hottest models. Two thumbs up for this site!

QTube Interview with Peter Juan

 This interview happened approximately a month ago but it only got aired recently and we only got to see it now.

I’m so proud of my hubby! Mwahugs, baby!

Travelogue XXXVI: Sunbathing in La Union

Yep, you read it right. I went sunbathing in La Union together with our friends instead of doing what I naturally loved to do there before — surfing.

It was a very sad moment for me when I realized that I haven’t overcome the trauma I got from my near death experience last December 2007. I felt a mixture of chilling fright, panic and severe anxiety the moment wavy waters reached up to my knees. I tried to fight my fear several times by trying to body board, with Peter and our friends just inches away from me. But still, the traumatic emotions were too much that I just totally gave up trying and just sunbathed the rest of our stay there. I felt so melancholic….  I didn’t even want to blog about it. I felt so down… I went on a sex binge with my husband the moment we got home.

Anyway, I know this is my blog and I have every right to go into detail about this not-so-happy weekend rendezvous. But in fairness to our friends, who I’m sure had a great time, I’ll try to limit the negativity on this post. But if in case I do go overboard, just keep in mind that these are just my feelings which need an outlet. And what better place to express them  than here on my own diary, right?

To drown my sorrows, I spent a while tinkering with Nikki (my Nikon D40) during the early morning of our second day.  I walked all the way to the other side of the beach, taking photos of  whatever seemed interesting. It’s been a long time since I was last alone with Nikki. I rarely use it to the point that people call it Peter’s D40 when in fact I was the one who bought it  for myself, with my own money, with the intention of learning how to take good photos. My blood actually boils when I hear people call it Peter’s camera  (I’m very possessive that way).  Partly because I am selfish and also because it just means that I never get to use it as much as I’d like to. Hopefully, my trip to Indonesia will change all that.
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Date With The Cereal Killer

Hahaha! Yeah, I’m talking about Peter’s bestfriend, one of my best girls, PEACHIE. Peachie is a cereal killer! Hahahaha! Don’t bother to understand what I mean by these nonsensical stuff. It’s just that whenever we spend time with her, we always catch ourselves laughing and joking and basically talking about stuff that normal people wouldn’t understand (nor even talk about). I think we’ve been this way since our college days. And it’s nice to relive those moments whenever we can. 

  L-R: Erenest, Me & Peachie

 Yesterday, we had dinner with the cereal killer and her boyfriend, Ernest. We picked them up from her office  and by the time we arrived in Greenbelt, we still don’t know where to eat. For sheer lack of energy to choose which among the fine dining places we wanna check out, we just headed straight to Banana Leaf (for the 3rd time for me and Peter this month coz we’re lazy and coz their food is just that awesome!).

Roti & Spicy Kangkong

Mango Salad with Roasted Chicken

Pandan Chicken

Sago Pudding

I tried not to eat a lot so I only ordered their Mango Salad with Roasted Chicken. It was a little sweet for my taste but that’s okay. It’s just that we’ll be surfing this weekend and I really want to be a litle fit so I can stand and balance myself on our surfboard, Didi.  I have been doing an hour of taebo for the past three days now and I hope it helped my muscles loosen a bit. I really wanna be able to surf again after more than year now.

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Camiguin, The Island of Fire (Part II)

The time we spent at Camiguin’s famous sandbar, White Island, was really amazing. But come midday, we all had to go back to our resort for  a quick lunch before we finally visited all the other notable tourist spots in the area…

Enjoying the natural scenery…

Taking a refreshing dip and relishing the greenery all around us…

Katibawasan Falls. It measures 250 feet high. The falls gushes to a pool surrounded by wild ferns, shrubs and boulders. Be careful when you visist the place otherwise you won’t totally enjoy your P30 worth of entrance fee no matter how affordable that is! A very frightening thing happened with my husband here. My parents and I were so busy admiring its beauty when Peter surreptitiously disappeared into the waters. It turned out, the majesty of the falls beckoned to him and so he threaded its waters with his floater (salbabida) and before he knew it, he was right below where the water falls. Imagine the magnitude of the force of the water falling down on him from 250 feet high! He got submerged and pulled down into a whirpool of bubbles. He was drowning! We didn’t even notice it. We thought he was just happily swimming in its natural pool of liquid ice. Thank God for his presence of mind, he managed to NOT fight the pressure of the water and instead swam way beneath the surface, towards the other side, until he couldn’t feel the pressure of the bubbles anymore. That’s when he surfaced. Whew! How ironic it was when he then saw this teeny tiny sign that says “bawal lumangoy dito” in Cebuano dialect. Tsk, tsk. Even I didn’t see that from where I was standing! They should’ve made the sign a lot bigger!

~~~oOo~~~

Just imagine how rich the history is of everything buried underwater…

Cross Marker, Sunken Cemetery & Stations of the Cross. It was already 3 p.m. when we reached this next spot. We could’v rented a banca for Php2000 to reach the cross marker itself and to do a bit of snorkeling but we were running out of time and we still had a few more other sites to see (we only had until the next morning before we were scheduled to go back to Cagayan de Oro City). So we instead opted to just view its beauty from afar. I figured that was good enough. Maybe we can explore it more next time. Same thing with the Stations of the Cross. My parents didn’t have the stamina to climb so we just had a photo op at the base of the mountain.

The whole capital of Camiguin, with its cemetery, sunk under the sea. In the following years, the sunken land and the gravestones can still be seen when the tide is low. But in 1948 until 1953, Mount Vulcan erupted again, sinking the whole area deeper, to around twenty feet. In 1982, a large cross was built on the solidified lava to mark the site that became the graves of the ancestors of the Camiguin people. It has become a sunken cemetery. Now, it is one of the world’s most unique diving sites.

  ~~~oOo~~~

Catarman Church Ruins (Gui-Ob Church). The Catarman Spanish settlement was established in 1697. After almost 200 years (1871), a major volcanic eruption devastated the area and left rubbles of the Old Spanish Church with its adobe walls. It is our only glimpse to the Spanish era that pervaded the island during that time.
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Camiguin, The Island of Fire (Part I)

 The famous serpentine White Island with Camiguin’s Mt. Hibok-Hibok (its only active volcano) in the background

To officially welcome summer, I’d like to do a feature on Camiguin, a quaint little island north of Mindanao, which I’m very fond of. The very  first time I’ve been there was when I was six years old.  My grandmother and I used to visit the place when she was still serving as the Dep.Ed. Superintendent of the region. It didn’t really change that much over the years. The air is still fresh, the people are still as friendly and the sites are still as breathtaking as I remember them to be. 

L: Riding a bus from CDO to Balingoan Port; R: Arrival at Benoni Port in Camiguin

The island is said to be born of fire because of its seven (seven!) volcanoes. Had I not seen hardened  lava rocks all over the island, I would not have believed it to be so. How freakishly awesome, right?

CAMIGUIN almost defies description, I should say. It is a tiny island of lush forests, volcanic splendor, eternal hot and cold natural springs, pristine patches of black and white beaches, majestic waterfalls, exotic marine life, blue-ridge mountains, serene surroundings, idyllic lifestyle; it has a glorious past, and is inhabited with jovial people. The truth is, CAMIGUIN is best experienced than described as one gets enchanted by her mystical charm. It really has amazing natural resources and peaceful atmosphere that stir and baffle the minds of everyone.  — HON. PEDRO P. ROMUALDO, Governor, Province of Camiguin

This is why when I got married, it was one of those places that I eventually showed my husband so he could get to know me a little bit better (like where did all this love for nature and the beach came from?) I already showed Peter the land of my ancestors, Surigao. I also planned to bring him to Cagayan de Oro (where I spent high school) and Bukidnon (where my grandfather owns a modestly sized farm). But for now, let me share with you this captivating piece of island with its lush forests and pristine blue waters. Camiguin, my hot summer pick #1!

With my Mom & Dad

Did you know that this rustic island has a total land area of only 238 sq.km. with a circumferential road only 64 kilometers long?! This means that you can actually tour the whole island in one day! So how do we do that, you might ask. Well, first, if you’re coming from Manila, you have to take a flight going to Cagayan de Oro City. From Cagayan de Oro airport, take a cab going to  the bus station near Ororama in Lapasan. Board a bus going to Balingoan port which is a a 1 1/2 hours ride. From the port, take any of the ferries that follow an hourly schedule going to either ports of Guinsiliban or Benoni in Camiguin. Once you reach either of them, you will see vans and other modes of transportation that will be more than willing to take you wherever you want to go. Regular rates are around P2-3k for an entire day’s worth of going around the different tourist spots of the island. Good haggling skills can lower the price even further.

That’s our cottage at Caves Dive Resort.

 Dining with my folks

First stop: Resort. You can check-in at any of the numerous resorts available in the island. Make sure you’ve done your research and bookings especially if you’re planning to go during peak season. As for us, we stayed at Caves Dive Resort. They have air-conditioned cottages that I really like. I was interested in its simple old fashioned design coz I was planning to build my parents a similar small vacation cottage on one of our ancestral lands in Surigao. We enjoyed the scenery at the resort and shared a delectable meal with my parents (Yup, they came with us!). 

Waking up early the next morning to catch our boat…

 That’s the view of the resort from the boat.

One good thing about Camiguin is that anywhere you book a hotel room, there will always be bancas to take you to the famous White Island. However, out of all the resorts in the area, Caves Dive Resort is the one closest to it. So when we rented a boat to bring us there early the next morning, it only cost us P500.Yipee!
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Cafeteria Dinner

It was a particularly hot and balmy Saturday night. If I imagine hard enough, I can practically smell the scent  of  the  heat wafting through the city streets, rustling in the nearby trees, then settling on the pavement.  There’s no denying it… summer is definitely here! Peter and I decided to grab some fresh air and meet up with  two of our girlfriends, Anmarie and Ninette (again!). But this time, instead of clubbing, we just opted to have a scrumptious dinner somewhere nice. Since Ninette has been missing the Cafeteria beside Embassy so much, that’s where we decided to dine and hang out.

But before that, Peter and I went around Boni High Street first,  hoping to buy our friend Lora the pair of Havaianas flip  flops she wants. Unfortunately, the black wedgy one is not available. We’d have to look somewhere else.

We then walked around a bit and checked what’s new at Fully Booked. I was so tempted to buy! But considering that I still have tons of unopened books at home, I stopped myself. I still have yet to read the 12 volumes of Lemony Snicket’s adventures, the rest of my Narnia Chronicles,  the Lord of the Rings series, numerous self-help books, a bunch of chick lit and some graphic novels. Sigh. I wish I have the time! I checked out the new cds instead before finally walking all the way to Cafeteria to have dinner with our girlfriends.

Warehouse 135 Closing Party

It seemed like all I did the past couple of weeks was hop from one party to another. And I call myself an introvert. Haha! Yeah, I’m such a walking contradiction, I know. Well, last weekend, thanks to Jayvee (again!), he invited us to come to Warehouse 135’s closing party. It’s going to be renovated and then opened again sometime this year to give way for a better clubbing scene. I can’t wait! The last time we visited the place was back in September when I went club hopping with my girlfriends. I remember the music to be awesome. Their DJs at that time were so good and this particular night was no different.  So when Jayvee invited us, I immediately said yes after which I started inviting my other girlfriends too. It’s ladies’ night anyway. So all girls didn’t have to pay squat. The guys had to shell P200 to get in (a lot cheaper than before when we paid P500 each). But because all of us were on the guest list, all of us got in for free. We were also allowed to bring our Nikon D40 inside. The other people were not so lucky.  Tsk, tsk. Drinks were sponsored by Jayvee as well! Yay! Thanks my friend!

L-R: Jayvee, Isa, Anmarie, Me, Ninette

  L-R: Helga, Peter & Fritz

Cheers to Jayvee!

L-R: Fritz, Isa, Jayvee

Ninette, Anmarie & Isa went with us. Lauren, Marco, Fritz  and Helga also came! Gates opened at 11 p.m. and we partied all the way until 3 a.m.! To my surprise, despite my personal order of cosmopolitan and sharing with Jayvee’s Absolute vodka, I didn’t get drunk. Not even tipsy. I guess all the non-stop dancing we did prevented my world from going around that night. However, someone did get tipsy and even kissed me!!!! Had Isa known, she would’ve wanted to be kissed by Helga too! Hahaha!
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