It’s been 3 years! since I’ve last seen Urbandub, I think that was when they played for NOFX here in Manila. I’m really looking forward to watching their Online Concert, my first time to watch such kind of event. There’s no reason not to watch this.
Check this teaser video!
For more details, visit http://pelicola.tv/AliveOutThere and http://rockersworld.com/urbandub-online-concert-free-tickets
See ya there!
I got lucky the other day, June 22 — i didn’t go to work because i woke up past 10am already — I got to witness the solar eclipse! I rushed outside the house when Adrian buzzed my that he got pictures of the partial eclipse. I didn’t know how to view an eclipse, so I called James and he suggested I empty a bag of chips and use it as a filter.
So I emptied a bag of piatos and look at the sun through it and oh my, a part of the moon is covering the sun. I got excited and really wanted to take a picture, but the piatos bag wouldn’t just work as a filter. Adrian used a film he pulled out from a 3.5 floppy disk. Lucky me, I still got a 5.25 floppy disk, hehe. I used it as a filter for my Nikon D70s, with Sigma 18-125 mm lens mounted.
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For more of my partial eclipse photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22571631@N08/
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i promised myself before that i would get a PADI openwater diver certification and so i saved and planned for it since december. i skipped going home for christmas just so i could save money, i planned to take my course in boracay and i knew it’s gonna be expensive. the dive courses rates are more expensive in boracay compared to other places like batangas or palawan, and the lodging and food are tourist prices too, plus the fact that it’s the week of the lent (holy week), prices of everything are twice the prices during the regular season. holy week’s the super duper peak season in boracay.
this year’s the week of the lent (holy week) was the longest vacation i could ever get. i took 2 days vacation leave from work to get a total of 12 days off from work (including the holy week holidays and weekends). holy week’s also the best time in boracay, lotsa beautiful people and parties.
i took my course with Sea Gaia, since i had my discovery dives with them too and lance’s (my bestfriend melany’s husband) sister and brother-in-law own the place. Sea Gaia has lodging too so I stayed with them too. I actually have a favorite room there, the room with the glass door and a veranda facing the white beach.
on my first day, i got to the island around noon. i was with my friend Marvin, so we had lunch first and rested a bit. then later that afternoon, i was given a PADI openwater course book to read and lessons in video to view. i read and view on video the 3 first chapters.
the next day (2nd day), i suited up and took a dive preview on the beach with my dive master (Roel) and master scuba diver trainer (Sato-san). they thought me how to set up and adjust my diving gears, the bcd (bouyancy control device), regulators, tank, weights, etc. then in the water, they thought me scuba skills like inflating/deflating the bcd, proper breathing, regulator clearing and recovering, clearing flooded mask, proper equalizing, snorkel breathing, surface snorkeling, no-mask breathing, mask replacement, orally inflating the bcd, proper weighting and more!
after the lessons at the beach, we took a boat and dived at the coral garden.
dive log 001 (coral garden)
time in/out: 10:00 – 10:35am
depth: 11 meters
weather: good
air/water temp: 31/28 C
visibility: 10-15 meters
during the dive, we did the lessons i learned at the beach. i enjoyed the dive, i didn’t have problems with equalizing and with applying the skills i learned but my finning was really bad.
in the afternoon, i did some skills on the beach again, deep water entry, ascent, swimming 50ms through the snorkel, neutral bouyancy control, cramp removal, tired diver tow, cesa, breathing through free-flowing regulator, breathing through alternate air source, etc. after learning the skills, we did another boat dive at angol point.
dive log 002 (angol point)
time in/out: 01:30 – 02:10 pm
depth: 12 meters
weather: good
air/water temp: 30/28 C
visibility: 10-15 meters
on the third day, i did some of my tests, finished the rest of the book and video lessons. we didn’t do any dive since there were several skills quizzes/assessments and knowlege reviews that i needed to finish.
the next day (4th day), i woke early around 7am so i could work on the rest of the skills i need to learn before we join some divers to crocodile island. this time i learned to remove, replace, adjust and secure the scuba unit, weights and bcd underwater, etc. then we took a boat to crocodile island — it’s an island a few minutes boat ride from boracay.
the water was a bit more bumpy over there. i had motion sickness that time but i survived the dive. the dive spot at crocodile island’s, i think, is richer compared to the 2 previous spots we dived. but it was quite harder because of the current underneath. when we got up, i got a nose bleed and vomited.
dive log 003 (crocodile island)
time in/out: 09:30 – 10:15 am
depth: 18 meters
weather: choppy
air/water temp: 30/28 C
visibility: 10 meters
in the afternoon, we did the underwater navigation with compass skill. then we dived on the beach. to check if i learned my navigation skill, they left me in a spot and instructed me to swim a straight line 25 meters forward and back to my original spot. the goal was to be able to navigate back to where i came from. i did it well so we continued the dive exploring the beach underwater. i enjoyed it more since it was pure exploration and i was done with all my lessons. i saw garden eels, a beautiful lion fish!, a big orange coral that looks like a giant pumplin, some sea horses, a big sea cucumber, some nudibranchs and more.
dive log 003 (beach)
time in/out: 04:15 – 04:55 pm
depth: 5.5 meters
weather: good
air/water temp: 31/29 C
visibility: 10-15 meters
all i needed was to pass the final exam after that. and i got 99 percent!!! i was hoping to get it perfect though.
my dive master Roel and master scuba diver trainer Sato-san signed my dive logs, my application form for the PADI certification ID to be sent to Australia, and i got a temporary ID. then we had some beer to celebrate my graduation. it was one of the happiest times in my life. it was another dream come true. and a start of a new dream too…
What: PADI Openwater Diver Course (April 4-7, 2009)
Where: Sea Gaia, Boracay Island, Philippines (Station 1, Tel. +63 36 2883661)
Cost: 18,000 pesos*
* course only, you need to pay separately for the lodging
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camotes island in cebu is a one stop shop for adventure-seeking travellers. i first heard of the island from my friend Zsazsa and when i googled it i fell in love with the island already. my friends from Stratpoint and i organized a trip to cebu when cebu pacific had one of their super-low fare promos. we bought our roundtrip plane tickets for 700 pesos, lucky us.
it was the independence day long weekend and we thought we had just enough time for an adventure in camotes. from cebu city, we took the fastcraft at pier 1. it leaves the pier at 9am and takes 3 hours to travel to camotes island. camotes is even nearer to ormoc/leyte than to cebu.
the fastcraft docks at poro port, which is 45 minutes drive from our resort, the santiago bay resort. a golf-cart-like vehicle picked us up the pier and drove us to santiago. the drive was refreshing, the air was clean and scenery was healthy green for our eyes. (we paid 150 pesos each for the ride)
the mode of transportation in the island is by habal-habal (motorcycle) . for multicab or van, you have ask the resort to get you one to rent.
santiago bay resort
santiago bay resort is one of the 4 resorts in camotes (camotes resorts). we chose to stay there because it has a huge white-sand beach area. we paid 1800 pesos for our room which was good for 3 persons (2 beds with extra matress). the resort has its own restaurant and you have no choice but to eat there since there are no restaurants nearby. food ranges from 150-250 per dish (can serve 2 persons), not that great except for the lechon kawali. food takes time before they can serve it, so better order it ahead — like 2 hours before you plan to eat.
when we were there (june) low tide comes at around 5pm. during low tide you can see huge ripples on the sand, with lots of crablets running around and hiding if they see people coming. lots of starfish(they are so many, you have to step on them!), blow fish and jelly fish too. so better bring an anti-jelly fish sting lotion (godiva lotion which can be bought at mercury drugstore) and anti-histamines — their stings can trigger your skin allergies.
some may be “turned off” by the sea weeds, but i really don’t mind. it’s the way nature works. but definitely the beach is rich with marine life. there are a few litters on the shore, which could be been cleaned up by the resort. let’s face it, there are just irresponsible tourists. and once you put up a resort in any nice place, tourists will flock and litters are unavoidable, there’s no other choice but to be responsible for keeping it clean.
there’s a nearby white-sand cove, we attempted to walk through the water to go there but it was getting deep already so we didn’t pursue it. we then took a kayak to get there and we saw lots of big jelly fish and thick sea weeds in the area, we’re lucky we didn’t walk through it. when got to the cove, we realized it was a cemetery.
mangodlong beach resort
mangodlong is another beach resort in camotes and is around 20 minutes habal-habal ride from santiago bay resort. outside santiago bay resort, there’s a habal-habal terminal. we paid 60 pesos each for the roundtrip and just gave extra since the driver waited for us for 2 hours.
mangodlong has a smaller beach area but it is great for snorkeling. Four meters from the shore and you can already see a variety of marine life, lotsa fish of different colors and sizes. Just be careful, we saw a black and white banded sea snake. It was long and was coming after us. snokeling gears can be rented at the resort, 150 for the mask and snorkel and 150 for the fins. There’s an entrance fee of 25 but you don’t have to pay if you’re a guest at santiago bay resort since they have the same owners.
lake danao
another must visit in camotes is lake danao. the lake is surrounded by hardwood mangrooves secluding the whole lake. the reflection of the skies on the water is just awesome. there’s a nipa hut where visitors can view the whole lake and enjoy the peace and quiet. but i recommend to cruise the lake in a sakanaw — a lake boat. the sakanaw ride costs 100 pesos per person. the sakanaw cruise will take you around the lake and and to an islet passing by some wild ducks. (entrance fee is 5 pesos)
poro church and town
at poro town, we visited poro church. we bought some snacks and medicines ans we also ate our lunch at the market. lunch was pork+liver+chicken barbeque, puso rice, coke and some fruits.
buho rock
buho rock is just a few kilometers from poro town. it’s a garden on top of a rock formation with a small swimming pool, a diving platform and a couple of slides to the sea. there’s also a stairway that takes visitors down to sea level pool of clear and cold water. (entrance fee is 10 pesos)
timubo cave
timubo cave is quite a small cave and easy to penetrate because of the man-made stairway. the water inside is very clean, cool and clear and is just perfect for a relaxed swim or for floating around. (entrance fee is 15 pesos)
bakhaw beach
bakhaw beach has sugary white sand, really clear waters and is secluded. (entrance fee is 5 pesos) we would have stayed there if we knew that we could rent a room or a house there. it’s only now that i know that there’s the borromeo’s bahay bakasyunan (Contact: Jocelyn Delfin at mobile +639086267585) which offers 4 bedrooms, but 1 room can be rented for 1,200 pesos. In my next trip to Camotes, definitely i’ll be staying there.
camotes has more to offer
there are still more in camotes that we missed to visit. three days and 2 nights are not enough to explore the 4 islands that compose camotes. cut i don’t mind because it leaves me a reason to keep coming back to that wonderful place.
i would love to visit tulang diot, bukilat cave and busay falls when i go back. i would like to go diving too but the only diveshop i’ve seen there is in mangodlong. i’d love to do some biking too, hmm and mountain trekking.
For more info:
http://www.camotesresorts.com.ph/
http://travelcamotes.com/
More of our photos:
Lake_Danao_Camotes
Bakhaw_Beach_Camotes
Santiago_Bay_Resort_Camotes
Buho_Rock_Camotes
Mangodlong Beach Resort
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got my chair in the trip to jerusalem
as much as i loved playing the trip to jerusalem game, i never ever dreamed of really going to the holy land. i wasn’t even curious about the bible. but i considered myself lucky when my company sent me together with my 4 other colleagues to israel for a ‘training’.
it was my first out-of-the country trip and i was more scared than excited. feeling lucky and scared at the same is like having a diarrhea. unfortunately, any amount of diatabs couldn’t help.
we travelled via Hongkong, and i was amazed of the airport. first time have i seen a really big airport with a mall, lots of lounging chairs, walkalators and aquarium-like smoking rooms. it was big, i didn’t even realize how we managed to find the EL AL airlines counter.
at the EL AL counter we were thoroughly questioned about the possibility of having bombs in our luggage, we also had to surrender our luggage keys and/or lock combination. the scan was really very thorough, from the sole of your shoes to the strands of your hair. believe me they scan every inch of your stuff IN your luggage, even your undies.
the “tooth squeeze”
the 13-hour flight was hell. the pressure on the plane gave me a “tooth squeeze”. when we got off the plane it was already sore. and i forgot to bring my antibiotics! for a couple of days, i had an inflamed tooth. the hotel helped me call a dentist, but unfortunately he couldn’t speak english. so i went to the pharmacy and tried to buy some antibiotics, but they won’t let me unless i had a prescription. i showed the pharmacist my sore tooth and then she gave me a mouthwash. two days after, it was sore no more.
pine trees and beaches in the desert
we stayed in Haifa, the 3rd largest city in Israel located on Mount Carmel and is split into three tiers. our hotel (Dan Panorama) was in the upper tier overlooking the residential neighborhood on the slope of Mt. Carmel and the commercial center at the lowest level (where “our office” is located).
the temperature in the upper tier is averagely low and with the pine trees of mt. carmel it was just like we were in baguio. and everyday we take a cab down to Matam (where ‘our office’ were). the ‘office’ is just 20-minute walk to the beach, awesome. we got to unwind at the beach after work, you see.
haifa is a beautiful city, it has mount carmel, the beaches and the surf! there you can visit the Bahai Garden — the architecture, landscaping and water system are admirable. there’s also the german colony — that showcases the old houses that survived from the time of german templars.
floating at the dead sea
yeah, it’s true. everyone floats in the dead sea. just don’t get a drop of sea water into your eyes, it’s freaking painful. i really felt it could blind me, forever.
the dead sea mud is known to be used as facial mask and has curative effects to our skin. you see…
it is the lowest point on earth – 1300 feet below sea level. fortunately i didn’t get another “tooth squeeze” from the pressure.
the way of the cross
though i considered floating around the dead sea as the highlight of my travel in israel, the jerusalem tour was also quite a significant experience. we went to the garden/church of gethsemane, hmm we passed by schindler’s tomb, we went up to mt. olives and the jewish cemetery and then to the old city of jerusalem.
the old city has several quarters, the jewish, the christian, the muslim and the armenian — each one having its own special shrines. we visited the western wall, followed the ‘way of the cross’ , stopped by the spot of the last supper, then to the church of the holy sepulchre, we just watch the dome of the rock from a distance.
i couldn’t grasp every detail of our stops. it was just too overwhelming. i was busy with my thoughts. it is said to be the holiest city in the world, but i could feel the religious tension through the old walls. one old city, different old religions divided only by stone alleys, but for years they have stood to be divided.
shalom shalaam
it was several days of shalom and good hotel living until i heard the rocket siren for the first time. i was window shopping at the hotel mall when i heard an announcement, it was in hebrew and it was repeated several times. i couldn’t understand it but i could see people moving fast so i sensed an emergency. i ran back to the hotel and at the entrance stewards were holding signs marked “TO BOMB SHELTER”. i panicked, i was alone and the bomb shelter seemed a really scary idea. i ran to the elevator and went up to edward’s room and told him that people were being guided to the bomb shelter. a hezbollah rocket hit a spot in the neighborhood. it was all over cnn. friends and bosses started to call. but then we settled, it was only one rocket.
but then in the morning when we were having breakfast the siren wailed again. from the hotel window, we saw lotsa rockets hit the haifa bay. we felt the earth-shattering kaboom and saw the smoke cloud. we had no choice but to go deep down the hotel’s bomb shelter, we had to go down several floors. the shelter’s not bad as i thought. it was huge, good ventilation, not so much light but comfortable. we were down there for around 3 hours. when it was safe to go out, ‘our office’ arranged our transfer to tel-aviv.
from rockets to diamonds
the view from my hotel room (Dan Panorama too) took my fears away. we hang out at the beach, in front of the hotel, had a tour of the city and old city of jaffa. we shopped for souvenirs, bought some hookah and chocolates and toured the israeli diamond center.
the trip was never planned that way, we were supposed to work/train
this was three years from this week. i never planned any of it except for the work part. it was a true adventure, unplanned and spontaneous.
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