It's summer and the bikinis and surfboards and SHARKS are out in Australia!!! To sample the famous beaches in our part of the world here in Western Australia, we went to Scarborough Beach. It's a scene out of Baywatch, complete with the lifeguards, the (pale) sunblocked bodies baking in the sun, the surfer dudes but minus the very Aussie Shark Patrol (!!!). The beaches of Perth are part of the Indian Ocean and they say learning to surf here with sharks in the water are as common as people learning to drive in the US! During our trip to Scarborough, the [View Full Entry]

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On my first birthday in the land of Oz, here is what we did: Woke up late. Had a leisurely breakfast (while doing the laundry). Traveled to the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) at Hillarys Boat Harbour. Had an awful lunch at Sorrento Quay. Got lost going home (but passed by some really good views at Swan Valley). Slept. Had a haircut (because it was Thursday, and trading hours are extended until 9PM). It was great! It's so...normal. [View Full Entry]

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I don't eat veggies. But the Midland Weekend Farmers' Market (just 5 minutes from home) is such a nice place to shop in that we've visited two Sundays in a row. I didn't buy much, I just loved looking around . Check out the pics! [View Full Entry]

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After more than a month in my new home here in Western Australia, we decided to go a bit farther out and visit Fremantle. After a quick stop in Perth (30 minutes or so by train) to get some cash, we took the train to Fremantle (I think another 30 minutes). It was a gorgeous day and Fremantle was the perfect venue for a day out. First we had lunch at Cicerello's, reputedly the best restaurant at the Fishing Boat Harbour. I don't know about the other dining outlets there but my Seafood Basket was great -- the shrimps, squid and [View Full Entry]

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Enjoying my first weekend in Perth, we went around Swan City after church on Sunday. First, we visited 2 Oriental stores where I stocked up on Knorr cubes and Sinigang Mix hehehe. Also bought veggies, tofu, kiamoy, sampaloc and everything else we miss from Pinas We also went garage-sale hopping hehe. We had quite a few very cheap finds such as airtight glass bottles (50 cents each), comforter set ($11) and a TV stand ($4). Joey was also kind enough to bring us to the Chocolate Factory. It's small and the products are expensive -- I thought that the Whistler's fresh [View Full Entry]

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It's my first weekend in Perth and we're off to the city! Instead of taking the bus, we walked to the train station so we can pass by the Filipino Oriental store. Everything's expensive there of course, but it's good to have one nearby. We passed by the Midland Public Library and I plan on visiting it soon. Unfortunately, I can't get a library card yet because I need an ID with my address on it Sayang because they stock up on the latest books including novels. At the train station, Kim bought me my own TransPerth card. It's similar to [View Full Entry]

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After getting rained on in Cocoloco Island in Roxas, Palawan, we were expecting part 2 of our honeymoon to be sunnier and warmer. Unfortunately, it was not. But our stay in Batanes was still lovely and as a good friend told me - be thankful for having experienced Batanes on a rainy day. Not bad, Kate Unlike most of our travels, I was too busy preparing for our wedding to research for a do-it-yourself trip to Batanes. So I speed-dialed Luz Castana’s number, a Batanes-based travel agent recommended by a friend. Having a travel agent arrange your trip to Batanes (especially [View Full Entry]

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After our very intimate but fabulous wedding in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, we headed-off to Cocoloco Island in Roxas, Palawan for some rest and hmm, recreation Note: In the slightest chance you are interested (and if you need more travel information on Puerto Princesa), visit our wedding website here and check out our wedding pics here. We were supposed to cancel our booking because there were two typhoons in Manila and it was starting to rain quite heavily in Palawan, but were [View Full Entry]

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Looking for somewhere to go to for the Nov.1 long weekend, I chanced upon a website promoting Dumaguete City (www.dumagueteinfo.com). In a couple of hours’ time, I had booked our flights going to the City of Gentle People - and unknown to many, probably the only place in the Philippines with a different time - Dumaguete time is consciously and uniformly set 15 minutes ahead of the rest of the country’s. It’s a quirk even the locals can’t explain but it sure makes for good conversation Day 1: Apo Island Still sluggish after our 630AM flight from Man [View Full Entry]

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For our anniversary month, Kim and I decided to go to Bohol. Since our time for vacation is limited, we needed a place that would offer much yet is not too far nor too difficult to get to. This is my third and Kim’s first time to visit Bohol and I’m glad that it still did not disappoint DAY 1: COUNTRYSIDE TOUR After a hearty breakfast of bacon, ham, eggs and Japanese siomai (takaw!) at the cafeteria on the basement of PAL Centennial terminal, we headed off to Bohol at 8AM on board the brand-spanking-new jet of PAL. The flight is [View Full Entry]

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