The "OK" Taal Volcano

Having a whole day to spare, I was thinking of an exciting place to go to that is nearby Manila. Since it is Vlad's first time in the Philippines, I want to make sure his vacation will not be thrown into waste. Actually, I also wanna boast how rich, beautiful, and spectacular my home country is :P 

Since we both love looking at landscapes, walking/trekking, and nature-tripping, I thought why not hike Taal? Taal volcano is quite complicated. Imagine an active volcano within a lake within a volcano that is surrounded by mountains. It was said that Taal volcano is one of the smallest active volcano in the world, a little over 1,300 feet above sea level. And by just driving for 2 hours from Manila, you'll be able to take a glimpse of this "geological wonder".

After researching and looking for a best deal over the net, I booked a Taal hiking day tour from Filipino Travel Center. You might notice in most of my posts that I always always ALWAYS book tours. Some say that it's expensive and it's wayyy cheaper putting up your own itinerary (like DIY kinda trip) - well, I agree if you have loads of time to spare. Being a "Balikbayan" doesn't mean I have lots of cash to burn. Honestly, it is the effort, hassle, and mostly time that I am putting up as priorities whenever I tour (not only in the Philippines but anywhere in the world). For me, paying extra saves me dineros even more because I don't need to think about those little nuisance. Besides, I am going for a tour to relax and not to worry about what or where or how!

So it was a day before the 2014 new year when we were picked up from Manila by a private air-conditioned mini bus to Tagaytay. From Tagaytay there is some sort of a ridge where a small motorized boat is waiting. Yes, before you can even reach this small village called Talisay where the volcano island is, you have to cross the lake for about 30 minutes. At the volcano island, a local tour guide is there waiting who eventually lead us the way up towards the rim and to the summit. Took us about 25 minutes to hike Talisay island.

View from the top of volcano island

The view from the top was neither breathtaking nor beautiful. It was actually uhmmm... errr... OK. Btw, there are some horses you can hire (if you aren't physically fit to hike) that will help you reach the top. Those horses are skinny though and looked like they haven't eaten for days not to mention they're stinky. These horses were the culprit of ruining the entire hiking experience because not only they cause a dusty surroundings, there's a poopy trap literally everywhere! Yikes! Better watch your steps! Also, it was a bit scary as we saw some steam that has a sulfuric odor in some areas.

Anyway, t'was still a nice experience mainly because while panting, we had a fresh coconut juice while on top of a volcano surrounded by a lake overlooking another volcano also surrounded by a lake. Go figure. Toodles!

Where did my money go? A total of Php 10,800 for two which includes private pick up and drop off in Manila by an air-conditioned minibus, snacks, entrance and toll fees, local Filipino guide to crater lake, and a Filipino tourist boat for island crossing

Weddings, weddings, and weddings!

Another reason why I went back to Philippines last December-January is that my dear friends (3 different couples) had a wedding. One was in Batangas and two were in Manila. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to one of these weddings because my schedule is really, really, really tight! That lovely couple loves me so and have forgiven me though ;)

I'm not sure if I love weddings but I love usual things during wedding ceremonies such as flowery smell of the church, groom sobbing while the bride walks down the aisle (I wonder why it's always the groom who cries :P), bride in her most natural beautiful self walking down the aisle, innocent kiddos who hold the rings or flowers, the priest's sermon, the couple's music selection... errr, ok fine, I love wedding ceremonies!

Anyhoo, here are my favorite shots of the newly weds.

Ralph and Bianca, 4 Jan 2014

Andrew and Kristine, 5 Jan 2014

Edward and Christine, 9 Jan 2014

Best wishes to all of you! Spread the LOVE!

Credit goes to Nelwin Uy and Imagine Nation Photography

Episode 8

I don't actually know when will these episodes end. So here goes...

Yesterday, I am expecting a call from the mogul for my pre-departure seminar but to my surprise, I just received a text from him around late afternoon stating that we're having a big problem. The problem was I have to miss my flight tomorrow. Why? My papers didn't come out that day, that the system is fucking down and it will be released on Monday. Frantically, I contacted my superior in Abu Dhabi, told her what's going on and asked her to have my flight rebooked. I didn't realised that twas weekend there and all offices were closed. In short, she can't be of any help. In fairness, she tried but still no use. Nobody's been answering her calls there. I am completely in rage with the mogul at that very moment. As much as I want to curse him or break his nose, I can't or else I'll really be in deep shit! Damn it... this is not the way we planned. He told me that I will fly on the 8th. But what to do? To ease the anger, I just thought that this has got to have a reason. Maybe Lord just didn't want me to be on that plane. So be it.

Today when I woke up, I still haven't got any feedback from Abu Dhabi re my flight tomorrow morning. So I figured to make my flight rebooked by me self. I called the Etihad office here in Manila and asked if there's anyway that they can rebook my flight schedule. Luckily, there is but the thing is, it'll be on Monday next week PLUS I have to pay 100 USD for that process. FUUUCKKKK that! So before I could actually say yes, I told the operator if I can call back again (as I need to have it finalised first with the stupid money-sucking mogul). I immediately phoned the mogul and asked if the early Monday flight next week is feasible. He said yes, so I did have it rebooked. I just hope there won't be anymore problems after this. My goodness, 100 USD is no joke! It'll be shouldered by moi! This should work smoothly by now.

I have never been sooo tired and stressed in my whole life until today. Hayyy LIFE is really full of shit. I don't care if it's too early but I need to drown myself with beer!