We are here for an Amazing race challenge! Teams form! See more of us at 6 Floor Glorieta 4, Ayala Center Makati Tel: 729-88-88 or visit : www.the-ascott.com [View Full Entry]

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My older brother Tristan, just arrived in the Philippines after working in a Royal Caribbean Luxury liner for 8 months. He just can’t wait to jump into Philippines’ beaches. With little time in my hands, I dug into my old travel files to head to a place with the beach, nightlife, & activities we needed for a quick getaway. I also wanted to explore a new destination. Since all of us have visited Puerto Galera already, I decided to put some twist by going farther into Oriental Mindoro’s Tamaraw falls & Ponderosa. My wife, Valerie, was kind enough to drop off [View Full Entry]

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We have returned! After the wedding and the holidays, Mila Atienza, my mother-in-law now, decided to bring all of us to Alaminos, Pangasinan, their hometown. This would be a chance for the balikbayans (Filipinos coming back to the Philippines) Ditas Gavino and Nikki Sacasas to go back to the Hundred Islands. Fortunately, Ditas' family owns the ocean-themed house we used to stay in. It was a 6-hour car drive to Alaminos, passing through North Luzon Expressway. It used to be an 8-9 hour ride but due to the government's improvements and widening of NLEX, the drive was much shorter. We first [View Full Entry]

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After wandering in the world, it gets pretty lonesome despite all the people you meet. You engage in what they call the pursuit of happiness. And for some people, happiness is found in that perfect person. At an early age, I was already searching. I was lucky to have met Valerie when I was just 15 years old. But, never did it start romantically because my eyes were fixed elsewhere. After two years of friendship, I realized how much I liked spending time with her. Yes, I could not admit love, I just got jealous of the thought that she can’t [View Full Entry]

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I have never thought I would travel internationally this soon. After our last travel adventure at Puerto Galera, Val & I were really very busy. Val had been studying for her medical board exams that finished this Aug 16. I, on the other hand, was busy doing domestic errands like car & home repairs, fixing family issues, (I feel like Michael, one of the characters in the TV series “Arrested Development” ) and also canvassing for our big day, the wedding! Since then, we had to resort to our urban escapes like the metropolitan malls & restaurants. But at last! Last [View Full Entry]

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Extra challenge survival budget getaway! Puerto Galera is your alternative to Boracay fun. It's cheaper & very ideal for groups. A 2-3 hour bus ride from Manila through the South Luzon Expressway & 1-1/2 hr ferry boat from the Batangas pier. In this trip, I went with Val's Medicine friends Block C, my brother, Robby & his bestfriend Chichong. We left Filinvest 1 Quezon City, our home at 4:30 AM. Papa drove us to the Tritran Bus Station, Kamias at 5AM. We arrived at the Batangas Pier at around 7:30AM in time for the 7:45 AM ferry boat. There are various [View Full Entry]

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Road trip to Pagsanjan is a fascinating journey. We enjoyed the different towns of Laguna in two days. This really created variety of experiences in food, people, and scenery in our trip. Truly worth it journey. What a delight!!! After spending the holidays in the city, my wanderlust started acting up again. In the morning of Jan.16,2007, a monday, after Val's 24-hour duty in the hospital, I literally dragged her to the car and buckled her up & off we went to this quick getaway. Pagsanjan falls, technically known as Magdapo falls, is a 4-hour car ride from Manila. We left [View Full Entry]

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The Big day! Val & I being in our relationship for 8 years now calls for the next step. God I'm going to propose!! We intended to get married next year of Aug 26, 2006. Unfortunately, we had to move the date to Dec 19, 2006 because she would be taking her board exam August of next year. We mutually agreed to move it then & announced it when our families met for brunch. I had been planning the proposal for weeks. The buying of the ring was the most stressful. I sought the help of my mom, my officemates and [View Full Entry]

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June 17, 2005, Friday at 10:00 AM, Val, Toby (Val's brother), Ninjo (Val's cousin) & I left Filinvest 1, Q.C, our home & headed to Subic, Olongapo via North Luzon Expressway. Everything was going along fine, cruising with our music but suddenly when we reached the bridge in NLEX(North Luzon Express way) the steering wheel started to shake. At first I thought it was just the road, but after the long stretch of the bridge it still continued to shake. We went down from the CRV van & found our wheel unevenly bloated. My Gosh! Good thing it did not explode! [View Full Entry]

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Summertime! Summertime! We need to escape! The beaches of Boracay is already crowded. We need a place that is serene & secluded for a couple getaway. Treasures of Bolinao is the place to be. It's a resort fronting the South China sea, at the northern part of the Philippines, West to it is the Lingayen gulf. Val and I went with our bestfriends Jaqui and Maan H. It took us 7 hours drive from Manila to get here. Since the resort is really secluded, it is best to bring food for your snacks (there is a corkage fee about P200 for [View Full Entry]

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