Today, Spring has officially ended here in Canada. I love Spring and I am sure I am going to miss it. I enjoyed it so much I can't help but take pictures of the greenery here. Canada can truly boast of its clean air and clean surroundings whether it's in the busy streets of downtown Toronto or in the suburbs. On my first morning this Spring, I was amazed to see grass. No kidding! I remember that the first time I saw Toronto, I got a harsh impression of its cold temperature. I haven't seen flowers nor grass along sidewalks. It [View Full Entry]

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Let me ask you. What is the Capital of Canada? Toronto you may think. Wrong. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. Let's recall a little geography here. Toronto is the capital city of Ontario. Ontario is only one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada. Ottawa is the country's capital and it is one of the cities within Ontario, which is on the east coast of Canada. Ottawa is nearing the border between Ontario and Quebec. (Quebec is another province which has the popular Montreal.) After visiting the gift shops in Montreal, we took off for Ottawa. It's approximately [View Full Entry]

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We left as early as 4am that Saturday to start a grueling 5-hour drive to Montreal. They say that being in Montreal is like being in Europe. I got excited because I have never been to Europe. So after hours of driving, we arrived in Montreal at around 9am and we were able to check in to a nearby hotel where we will be staying for the night. It was not as fancy as Sandalwood but it would do for a good night's rest after gallivanting within the vicinity. It's called the Hotel Viger, along Rue Hubert or Hubert Street. Approx [View Full Entry]

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My First Winter Experience In our Toronto office, I chose a desk which is by the window. From the 5th floor of Skymark, I found myself staring out of our office window watching snow falling from the sky... ahhh bliss! I remember that as a child, I have seen White Christmases on TV, I have sung "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas", and I have been curious how Winter was like. Next thing I knew, I am flying to the Winter City (MNL-HK-Anchorage, Alaska-Pearson Airport); and now I am here mesmerized by yet another natural wonder. I tried to catch snow [View Full Entry]

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We took the ChicoRiverquest White Water Rafting Adventure. It was all our first time to try this and instantly, almost 15 of us agreed to take the adventure. We hopped into a bus from Espana late that Friday evening. After 10 hours of travel, we got into the city of Tabuk in Kalinga Province, eager to brave the Ulalim Run. The Rapids That morning we arrived, we were escorted by ChicoRiverquest staff into the Laoagan Inn and Resort. We simply checked in, then got dressed. We took a jeepney ride from Tabuk to Pasil. Th [View Full Entry]

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The rainy season has come and we have yet to have our company outing. I don't mind going to the beach on a rainy day. Less tan but same fun. We all hopped into two buses the company hired and it took us just two hours to get to San Juan , Batangas. We went to the Laiya Balai Resort where we had welcome drinks and buffet lunch. We walked to the nearby resort, La Luz Resort, because it is only at that part that I can see some reef and fish. This has been our entry point to Mount [View Full Entry]

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Climbing Mt. Daguldol was quite tough for me. It was hot (gadd it was April), humid, and it was my first real climb. (I have only been climbing walls at PowerUp.) Our trail head described it as MEDIUM in difficulty (or so it says in our IT); uhoh.... We took the bus from Buendia to Lipa, Batangas. It took just 2 or 3 hours. From Lipa, we had breakfast at fastfood and ordered some more for lunch, take out. We hired a jeepney to take us to San Juan and from there, walked through the white sand beach. I was happy. [View Full Entry]

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It was our LOJ Esther Summer Outing when I got to see Lucban, Quezon. We rented two vans that took us to the province, which is at the southeastern portion of Luzon. Quezon is considered as the country's sixth largest province. The resort, Villa Senor, was on top of a hill. There, we spent most of our time singing together, playing parlor games like kids, playing basketball, and swimming at their pools. The day after, we heard mass at the Church of St. Louis of Toulouse. That church was so old, I can see moss and other plants growing out of [View Full Entry]

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Puerto Galera is a coastal municipality of the province of Oriental Mindoro. It is only about three hours away from Manila. We took a bus from Buendia to Batangas Pier. An hour at the boat took us to the White Beach where we rented a cottage. [View Full Entry]

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I was in Guam for more than 4 weeks. It was another business trip with my second company/employer. I remember landing at the airport, which was overlooking the city and the sea. Guam is pretty much small; we were able to drive around the main island of Guam in about two hours! I liked it. It was small and sunny. I can say it has the best of both worlds. As my boss says, you live a life like you are in the Philippines due to similar weather and timezone, but you earn green money! We walked along Tumon Bay, and [View Full Entry]

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