http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/TinNiE/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from TinNiE en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 20:42:57 +0000 Wed, 22 May 2013 20:42:57 +0000 Day 1 To be honest I thought the APO Island Tour package was too pricey. We basically paid 2200each for a 45ish minutes boat ride and for the snorkelling gears. We had to pay for our lunch ourselves too. There39s really not much of competition around since there were no commuter boats one would have to hire a private boat anyhow. Now on the brighter side...it felt totally amazing swimming wi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Negros/Dumaguete/blog-778271.html Those kids were effortlessly swimming along the few boats anchored near the coast the clear blue sea was calm and inviting. The young ones swarmed towards us as we sailed nearer to the shore. There was really no proper port so we were relayed to a smaller boat without an outrigger to be transported to the dry land. Residential houses lined just a few meters away which didnt look very appealing http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Quezon/Mauban/Cagbalete/blog-760064.html Three different bus stations without luck its a four day long weekend after all. We took another chance and went to Cubao Victory Liner as chance passengers unsure when we would actually be able to get on a bus. Who would have thought wed end up on a comfortable deluxe bus with reclining chairs and a shorter five hours ride Now all we had to do was to get ourselves on a bus to Sagada. Sup http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Mountain-Province/Sagada/blog-759592.html We woke up sore from our record breaking five hours spelunking trip through the Lumiang Sumaguing Caves the previous day. And for our last day we decided wed go to the Echo Valley but then we met a lad name is Dan on the way and decided to hire him as a guide. From the Echo Valley we will now go onwards to the underground river and to Bokong Falls. Sagada is known for its hanging coffins p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Mountain-Province/Sagada/blog-754141.html For us who travel the word scam has a very special place in our hearts. For me they mostly appear in the form of taxi drivers...them who asked for fixed prices those who post additional charges because they went through a bad traffic them who wouldnt use the taxi meter and end up with a urprie harge in the end et al. I feel like a trouble magnet when it comes to them. Well...the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-737155.html First Part Second Part The Sunday Catholic mass was yet another challenge. The service was spoken in Ivatan a totally different language from the other three Filipino languages I know. But upon recognizing the presence of the tourists the priest then carried on with the homily in Tagalog Philippine National Language and welcomed us in Basco. Although I did not understand most of wh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Batanes/Batan/Basco-City/blog-731062.html My parents had a little trouble with the immigration since they are government employees they were supposed to secure some kind of clearance from their heads which we didnt know about The good thing was we had it all sorted out thanks to being WarayWaray. Everyone is here for Tatays Dads Birthday Trip Every single one is home for our little getaway my two brothers my sister http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/blog-728178.html An article I wrote for a virtual team at work it goes...A travelling girl whether alone or in a group has its advantage and disadvantages we can either be a liability or an asset. We are usually capable of getting away with things with a flutter of eyelashes or with an enchanting smile. We do know how to make use of that feminine charm to get ourselves out of trouble or at least win us a discou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/blog-725339.html First Part It was another early start of the day up by dawn to catch the 0600AM Falowa to Sabtang. It was steep cliffs sharp curves and varied mountain scenery on the way to San Vicente port with our constant companion the cold wind and drizzle. Below the cliffs are the harsh waves crashing to its base forming white foams and turning noticeable blue in much of my fascination as they hit http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Batanes/Sabtang/blog-716138.html Hugs and Kisses seeing many familiar faces...I am finally writing from home. Lawaan is a coastal town home to a population of 5058 with a quarter of it if not half probably a relative. The town dates back to late 14th or early 15th century with its discovery by a family Juan 39Guingot39 Gabrillo his wife and his children who took refuge from an approching storm under a Lawaan Tree. T http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Eastern-Samar/Lawaan/blog-712867.html The windswept city located at the northern most part of the Philippines hence the sturdy stone houses. The mountainous region of Batanes is the countrys smallest province isolated from the rest of the Philippine islands home to the laid back Ivatans. Only three of the ten islands in the province are inhabited Itbayat Sabtang and the capital Basco with majority of its population being fishe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Batanes/Basco/blog-588519.html Its the time of the yearour warm summer days with its blue skies hot humid air and the scourging heat it was a fine day for a flight out of town except that ours was delayed again. The troop is off for our second time in Bicol a late birthday trip for me having gone older three days earlier. It was supposed to be just a short 45 minutes flight but when it was time for our plane to descen http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Camarines-Norte/Daet/blog-712843.html Firstly seeing Hollywood actors Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz on the way to the airport was such an amazing random chance to happen They were filming a part of their upcoming movie Bourne Legacy now I know what starstruck means. Anyway I was to travel out of town with a group of colleagues most of whom have been my constant travel buddies Janet Martin Wendell Mae Ann Joel Erlyn http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Ilocos/blog-693052.html The taxi driver was driving like a mad man I guess he took it too seriously when I told him he really really had to hurry because I am very much running late yea cramming again but made it on time once again thanks to the crazy driving to meet up with Martin Lori and Ren at the Airport. Our plane took off at around four in the morning and by half past five I was already eating pancak http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Cagayan-De-Oro/blog-691038.html It was a special bonding trip with my little cousins and little brother who are not so little anymore we initially wanted to go to El Nido in Palawan then changed the plan to Coco Beach Resort in Puerto Galera until we finally settled with Food Trip in Baguio Surfing in La Union and the 100 islands in Pangasinan.For our first stop we managed to get on a nonstop Deluxe Bus bound to Bagui http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Baguio/blog-565931.html Being from the LeyteSamar provinces I am well aware of the annual Leyte Landing celebration which commemorates the return of Gen. Douglas McArthur to the Philippines. Who isnt familiar with the line I Shall Return He is probably one of the most loved expat in our history books and our fascination to the American culture may as well be associated to him. Whilst the Spanish brought the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Corregidor/blog-661762.html ... Meanwhile we were back in Seoul by six in the evening after another walking day in Nami Island. We went back to Sunshine Guesthouse to get Martin and Dells stuff and had dinner at a restaurant nearby. We have told the guys about our disappointing discovery re our next hostel HEY backpackers and gave them options if they want to spend the night there anyway or look for another place to st http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-660368.html Janet and I arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 0900 in the evening and after going through the usual immigration process we were on our way to Seoul. We took the subway and went through the Gimpo Airport route which led us to Jongnogu where our hostel was located. It was around midnight when we finally arrived at Jongno district and after getting lost for a bit we finally foun http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-660276.html My third birthday journal in Travelblog. I have about five drafted travel stories waiting to be finished I had to oblige myself to finish this one. It39s the second consecutive year that I have been spending birthdays in the province of Zambales camping and trying to find that 39peace and quiet39 that I39m always in search of. I spent the day in a beautiful Island called Magalawa fi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Luzon/Zambales/Palauig/blog-606277.html Another Trekker referring to us These people dont have trekking standards. RodgerYeah because the only standard we know is Programming standards We had the trek planned a couple of months back but I personally didnt research about the area all I know was that we were going to trek 4 waterfalls at Mt. Romelo at Siniloan Laguna. We pretty much did not expect more than an hour tr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Laguna/Siniloan/blog-564599.html