Updates, updates...

Kyaaahhh! Summer's almost over (in my part of the world), and I haven't updated in a long time! I am so sorry, I'm just the laziest person to go online, but hey y'all, if you're interested, the easiest way to catch me online is through Twitter. It's not like I actively tweet, but if you tweet me, I'd tweet back right away (yuck! did I just use the same word 3 times in one sentence) as compared to poking or PM-ing me in Facebook. I also open my email regularly, so...

There's really nothing much to talk about, really. It's always been work and home, which is not very interesting for you I'm sure :D, I do acknowledge the fact that I still owe a post from my Bicol blog series, the part 3, the final installment, I promise I'd post it before my next major trip this June *pressure* hehehe.

May was not a busy month, but it was eventful! I'm just gonna throw some random stuff I did okay.

I attended Komikon with close friends this Saturday, the last time I attended Komikon was 2007. The event was held in Unilab's Bayanihan center, I loved the venue! Very con-friendly, significantly less stressful than those being held in Megatrade hall. Come to think of it, the past conventions I've committed to attend were held outside the malls. I think that's a good progress. I hope that Komikon would also be a regular event in the checklist of hobbyists. It just feels great that Filipino comic artists are gaining a significant following. God we have overflowing talents that are begging to be appreciated. I think we're still far from the used to be mainstream status of Komiks, but in time, with enough exposure, we will get it back. The best part, as always, was seeing my friends again. Yay!

I've been planning to start this Flat Belly program CD that I got free from Nestle's cereal. Believe me, it's more for safety reason than aesthetic (it's a long explanation and I don't have the time to touch that right now) but my point is, I haven't even started it yet. I think I just continue to gain weight, which is really bad. It's  a reflection on my discipline, and it's one of the things I promised to improve on this year -sigh-

Sad news, Jim Paratore died. He's an executive of The Ellen Degeneres show. He's one of the producers that I really liked (next to Andy Lassner) because I remember when the show won its first Emmy for Best Talkshow, Ellen mentioned in her speech that he convinced station managers that people still want to see her on TV, at a time no one believed her... Thank you Jim, RIP...

Yesterday I went to the supermarket to buy some food supplies (flat belly program -- ack!). It was Savemore by the way. I know I hate SM (environmental and labor ethics reasons), but because it's the only place where I can get Kiwi here (I love Kiwi!), I can't pledge to cross it off my shopping destinations YET.  The store had been out of supply (of Kiwi) for sometime, and when finally it's available, my God the price had went up from P244/Kg to P360/Kg (US$5.5/kg to $8.2/kg). That's crazy! I went ahead and get them anyway, I love it that much :(

I've also been frequenting to Starbucks lately. It's a matter of consequence, I can't talk about it here because it's not my situation, but it reminds me a lot of my own loneliness. I just hope the complicated situation ends up in a positive and peace of mind giving manner. I just want everyone to be happy, demmit!

I missed the Hiten Mitsurugi RK night event. Just when you thought I'm a huge RK fan eh? Of course I am, but the event looks like a reunion of some anime indie bands I've seen during my fangirl hey days hehehe. I was a little curious how old fans are doing, but my curiousity wasn't enough reason to shake off my laziness hehehe. Also, there's an upcoming live action film this summer (northern parts of the world). For some reason, I'm not so excited. I've seen the trailer and a lot of my FB contacts tagged me to the video link, and, I don't know, I feel like I've seen everything I needed to see in Kenshin's life. Perhaps a spin-off series or film or whatever that's official, would get me more curious. I mean, don't get me wrong okay, I love RK from the pit of my hypothalamus. It's great that it's getting a new platform for exposure. I would love for the new generation of anime fans to get to really know it. I'm happy for Watsuki-sensei. I'm just not convinced that the film would offer anything new to me. Next month is Kenshin month by the way, so expect me to upload a Ruroken music box video very soon!

On more trivial stuff, I started going organic. Slowly. I started switching my shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap to organic products. My sister in law is an authorized dealer of Human Heart Nature products. The company is founded by the daughters of Tony Meloto, the founder of Gawad Kalinga Foundation. What I like about the company is their mission to go Pro-environment, Pro-poor and Pro-Philippines. They use natural and harmless ingredients, they are made in the Philippines and the price is cheaper than most organic products available in the market. I easily noticed the difference of organic care products from what I used to use. The shampoo for example has a natural citrus smell (though it doesn't last very long) and the suds are waaayyyy thinner from Head and Shoulders. It's time to stop patronizing big corporations and start supporting small players. 

Part of this move is my intention to help my body and the environment. Aside from switching brands for peronal care products, I have this long time plan to eat more veggies (which I haven't really done yet, but I'm on progress okay). I recently tried Greek cuisine at Cyma, OMG the Roka Salata (salad, mixture of letuce walnut, dried plum and parmesan cheese, poured with Greek vinaigrette) is LOVE! The servings at Cyma is good for 2-3 people. It's so good, I wouldn't mind having it as a main course. I also ordered a vegan cook book online, no I'm not going vegan nor vegetarian. But I really want to work on eating more veggies than meat, I'll just start by assigning a meat-less day/s in a week. Who knows? I hope it works.

Okay, I can't think of anything else anymore, I feel sleepy, that would be all for now.

Some Things Never Change

On a quiet Good Friday afternoon, I was peacefully taking my slumber when I woke up to a loud sound of bickering naggers. It was Ivy and Oli, my siblings, fighting over the internet turn.While I was extremely upset at the time, for taking away the most precious thing from me (sleep), I can't help thinking that some things never change. Having siblings is favorable because I got mates by default. But sometimes, I can't help but think that it's not so favorable because I got mates by default. Other than putting up with their immaturity, we always had something to bicker about, it never gets old. When we were kids, it was the TV. On our teenage years, it was the landline phone. And now, the internet!  We have no wifi router, and these two have been planning to get one. They asked me to share the expense but I declined because I didn't feel the need for it, if there ever is, it's on weekends and holidays, on times when we're all at home. On weekdays, I have no competition on morning (which is my only free time anyway), and most of the time, I don't have the energy to stay in front of the computer (heck! I'm in front of a PC all the time at work!). Anyway, the bickering of these two O's (Ivy's real name is Olivia) didn't stop there, they did it again on Black Saturday and on Day of Valour (Monday, April 9). They are getting on my nerves! I am happy that our family got together for a long weekend, but then I realized that being together also meant slashing my peaceful time at home. Oh hello rowdy people! Despite that, I am still very grateful.

Backpacking Bicol in 3 Days (part 2)

Hold on to each other, don't let go of one another! The BIO reminded us. We graciously followed and eagerly waited for the go signal. And finally he said GO! We jumped off and ducked our heads. Then I saw Keiko. OMG! He's huge! (I'm not really sure if Keiko's a he, but for lack of definite information, I will refer to it as he). My eyes opened wide with wonder as I watched him gently swim forward. I'm not the squealing type in wow moments like this (and I can't squeal under the water anyway) but all those time all I could think of was Oh my God, oh my God!!! Then something went wrong, the water started to get inside my snorkel. I tasted sea water! I panicked, and though I haven't seen Keiko's full body, I raised my head and remove my snorkel. I put it back my mouth and tried to fix its fitting when Janet saw me and asked if I was okay. I was okay but I felt something was wrong. I felt like my life vest was yanking me. I realized that I got separated from the group and I felt sad not being able to see Keiko's whole body, but I was more concerned of my safety. My snorkel disappointed me, why did the water get in? And now I'm so far away from the group, even though I have a life vest on, the waves are taking me away. Good thing Janet stayed with me and calmed me. Our boat soon approached us and we went back, with hope that we'll spot another whale shark.

And we did. This time, I was more composed. I tightened my snorkel and locked the leg strap of my life vest. It didn't take too long for the BIO to spot Keiko again, we were reminded once more to hold on to one another. When we jumped, I was calmer and I decided that if the water comes in again, I'll just have to hold my breath. If David Blaine could hold his breath for 17 minutes and 4 seconds under water, an average person like me can do it for a minute or two. My problem this time though, was not my snorkel, but other fans of Keiko (other tourists). I thought that only 6 people are allowed to swim with one whale shark, but this time we had to share Keiko with other groups. As we swim to chase Keiko, I saw a bunch of butts approaching, other swimmers were also chasing Keiko of course. I got worried that my face would bump into those butts. The prankster in me toyed with the idea of groping one of the butts just to scare the hell out of them, but my conscience reminded me that I may not only be sent back to the shore but I can also be charged with harassment, so I focused on my priority,  Keiko. Despite the struggle, I did see the whole body of the whale shark. So there goes Keiko again, this majestic giant finally showed his gentle entirety. I saw him swim forward, I saw his body move upward, like when a movie's ending credits roll. I was full of awe.

Photo of a Butanding grabbed from the DOT website

The third sighting was a quick one, swift and smooth and in fact I can't remember much what happened. But it was still Keiko for sure. The fourth sighting was another bummer for me. I got separated from the group again, this time, it was because Che let go of my hand. Good thing I was still with Janet or I would have ended up panicking again. Because I didn't see the fourth whale shark, I assumed he wasn't Keiko so I named him Mocchi. The BIO made a fifth sighting, but this time, none of us saw him, the shark got away too fast, we couldn't catch up. It think it was also Keiko.

The 6th and last sighting is Chastity. As my friend puts it, this was the most intimate whale shark encounter we've had. We had her all for our group and I felt like I was closer to her than Keiko. So close that I could have touched her, and I gotta admit, I was so tempted to hold on to her dorsal fin and let her tow me under water, but I remembered that I shouldn't be selfish. These gentle giants are supposed to go on with their usual business without having to deal with the threat we impose. So I watched her swim away from us, with wonder...

We didn't have underwater cam to record what happened on our whale shark interaction, I have no pictures of Keiko nor Chastity. But it was probably for the best. I doubt we'd get decent pictures when every sighting happened in a blast. I was just grateful to see those gentle giants.

My mates! Sam, Debbie, me and Janet. Photo stolen from backpackingpilipinas.blogspot.com

After the whale shark interaction, we set on our next destination --Masbate! Fr. Eric invited us for lunch, but we declined because we were trying to catch the 12:00 PM fastcraft trip to Masbate. Later on, I regret declining, we ended up missing the trip despite arriving earlier than 12. We had no choice but to wait for the next trip, which was 4PM. We were stuck in Pilar, Sorsogon for the next 4 hours. We had our lunch in a small eatery and then we bought our tickets for the 4:00 trip, after that, we were left to think what to do the whole time. A four hour wait time was too long. The good thing about the place is, I got a strong 3G signal, I was able to browse the mobile web. I decided to google Pilar Sorsogon to look for interesting places to check. Interestingly, I learned that the great film maker Lino Brocka was born there. Other than that, nothing else came up. Che and I decided to ask around, we were silly enough to think that Lino Brocka's house might still be erected in the place, but when we asked the town's people about it, they didn't even have any idea who Lino Brocka is. And that baffles me, I mean I know he passed away a long time ago, but he's one of the greatest Filipino film maker of our time, he's a national artist, how can they not know him? Anyway, we asked for sites to check, and this lady we asked answered 2 things - the court and the port. Nice *sarcastic tone alert*.

This is the court.

And this is the port, which is what we stared at for four hours.

We did find a church, small and barely polished, but still worth adding in our collection of Philippine churches. A mass was going on, it was a Sunday afternoon. I listened to the priest conduct his homily in Bicol language. I am amused at the fact that we have so many dialect here in the Philippines, when I hear people in the background speak in their native dialect, I can't help feeling I'm in another country.

Man, that was probably the longest 4 hours of my life, with nothing to do nor check, I started taking pcitures of stuff that made me ask "what's this?". Che and Janet were joking that I looked like some kind of an inspector with my photos.

I also attempted to do a dance dare for @theellenshow, but I proved to be gutless to actually do it (next time Ellen!). I'm glad I had friends to wait with. Janet was lucky enough to take a nap even while sitting, while Che and I were left to chat and banter one another. The whole time, we were joking that our friendship meter would drop low because we always disagree on so many issues. Oh our friendship is indeed is one of the wonders of the world! Having a smartphone was also a bliss, I got preoccupied with my Facebook and Twitter updates, I also got the chance to check what to see in our next destination, Masbate City.

At 15 minutes before 4, we were asked to board the boat. It was my first time to board a fastcraft ship, and boy I didn't know that it was a little cramp inside. I got a little claustrophobic when I settled to my seat, the first thing that I looked for was the emergency exit. All crazy things swarmed through my head --what if we hit another boat? What if our engine messed up? What if there's a fire? Where are the life vests? Oh my God, I'm gonna throw up! I am not a good first timer of such stuff, the negative scenarios always win over my mind. I wish I could think otherwise, but sometimes, I have no control on what pops into my brain. The good thing about it is, I prayed all throughout the 2 hour trip for a safe and sound arrival. And that was what we got, surprisingly, I didn't throw up. God is good after all.

We arrived at around 6:00 PM. We got a nice view of the dusk when we got off the ship. The first thing we looked for was a tourism flyer or anything similar, but we were unsuccessful to find one. We then scoured for an inn to spend the night. I was dying to take a bath! While walking, it was delightful to see bunch of old houses, but because it was almost night time, I didn't get decent pictures. We checked a couple of hotels before settling in to Sampaguita Inns, the room rates were far less expensive than the ones in Donsol, that alone said something about the tourism state of the city. After taking a bath, we decided to have a fine dine-in. We asked the hotel staff for a recommended local restaurant and popular tourist spots in the city. But they were clueless. When we asked for the interesting places I saw on Wikipedia, they had no idea what we were talking about. I find it really sad, when people are not aware of places of interest of their native land, I thought, what kind of pride do these people hold for their hometown? Maybe they weren't really homegrown of Masbate City, perhaps they just moved in a month ago, who knows. I saw a map of the province in a bulletin board, posted in the inn's cafeteria, with pictures of popular spots. We checked it out and asked some old men dining in. They were helpful in giving information, but we realized that most spots are situated very far from the city. We managed to learn two places to check for the very limited time we have the next day.

We headed out for a sumptuous dinner. The inn keeper did recommend a local restaurant whose name sounded "mainland", but it turned out to be "Minlan" or something like that (I forgot). The place didn't have a festive ambiance as I would have liked when going out for a food trip, but the grilled blue marlin was really good (it was the only thing I remembered). After dinner, we stopped at a local coffee house, whose name I also forgot, but it carries a tagline as "the coffe place to be". It's been a while since I've had coffee, and I'm sorry, but the coffee I tasted didn't live up to its tag line. I mean it's not bad, but definitely not something my palate can cherish.

To be continued...

Visita Iglesia 2012

Hey y'all, it's Holy Wednesday. Later on, there will be a procession around the town presenting the Passion of Christ. The observation of the Lenten season is big in our town. The next 3 days will be the most quiet ones in the year. One of the activities of our parish is the annual pilgrimage to 7 churches. I pledged to join since last year. This year, our pilgrim destination was the province of Cavite. We visited churches from the Diocese of Imus. My friend Nagi, who happened to be a homegrown of Cavite, joined our pilgrimage. Compared to last year, there were more pilgrims who joined this year. It's great that more people are getting involved in religious activities.

Our Lady of the Pillar, Imus Cavite

Our Lady of the Pillar Interior

Immaculate Concepcion Parish, Dasmarinas Cavite

Immaculate Concepcion Parish interior

Our Lady of La Salette Parish, Biga Cavite

Our Lady of La Salette parish interior

Our Lady of Knight Parish, Silang Cavite

Our Lady of Knight Parish interior

Ina ng Laging Saklolo (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) Parish, Tagaytay

Ina ng Laging Saklolo Parish interior

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Tagaytay

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish interior

We concluded our pilgrimage with a mass in our last church visit in St. Gregory the Great Parish in Indang, Cavite. 

St. Gregory the Great Parish

St. Gregory the Great parish interior

concluding the Stations of the Cross

When I selected the pictures to post, I suddenly realized I don't have much to say. Then I've had second thoughts whether I should blog about this or not. The whole pilgrimage was supposed to be a spiritual journey, but I gotta be honest, looking at what happened during the day, I feel like I failed my mission. I feel guilty, I feel like the whole pilgrimage itself had become more of an architectural and historical appreciation than an act of reflection and penance. I got distracted all the time, I laughed endlessly at the mishaps after mishaps I experienced while on the bus, I got critical of some disorderly proceedings of the pilgrimage and I barely listened to priest's homily.

Suddenly I am reminded just how flawed I am. Despite my honest desire to be a good disciple of Christ, I harbor ill thoughts towards other people. That's not to say I'm a wicked person wishing bad things for other people, no, but here's my dilemma -- when I am surrounded with complex and intellectual deep thinkers, I get intimated, but when I am surrounded with not so deep thinking people, I get extremely irritated. Irritated by stupid little things that radiate them, so I can't help but curse and trash those people, which is a bad waste of energy. I hate it when I hate, not a healthy feeling.


Everyday is a struggle to be a better person. This Lenten season, I reflect on all the awful things that I've done. Of course I know that God forgives, but it's not enough to just ask forgiveness, the act of repentance requires the commitment to correct the mistake, and I know that I say this on my everyday prayer, but I will try to be better. 


I hope y'all have a meaningful Holy Week.

Sick! Ugh!!!

I hate to break bad news, but I’m sick! Literally. I’ve been having fever since Tuesday morning, I’ve had my medical checkup the next day, they found higher than normal count of WBC in my CBC test, so I was diagnosed with bacterial infection. Really? If you know me, you’d know that I make extra effort to avoid infection and anything viral. I hate being sick and not being able to do anything and I hate subjecting my body to antibiotics and other medications. I mean, I spray lysol around the house from time to time, I bathe my hands with sterilium everytime I get home from work, sometimes I would bring it at work when I’m extra paranoid about a bacterial outbreak, I even bought my own snorkel so I won’t have to rent one during my travels to the beach (I know those snorkels for rent are sterilized after use, but what if the keeper forgot or got lazy to sterilize it?). And yet this?!? And this is not the first time my body was subjected to viral infections, but so far this is the worst! It’s horrible! I am getting traumatized and I am an inch close to wearing face mask and gloves everytime I had to go out of the house. I like Howie Mandel but I don’t wanna be like him. I want a normal life, and this illness I’m having is NOT normal. At least my fever have subsided and now I have sufficient energy to update people on what’s going on. I expect the fever to go up later and by that time, I will be bed ridden once again. I sincerely hope I'm wrong!

I like taking a break from work once in a while but it sucks to be unproductive for so long. I am losing a lot of money because of this. When my temperature goes up to 39̊C I can’t do anything, not even watch TV, read a book or wind up my music boxes. I'm too weak to enjoy anything, I’m helpless. If anything good has come out from this unfortunate incident, well, I’m becoming more and more religious (dear Lord, please make me well very soon) and I also promised myself to be nicer to people. I plan to eat healthier foods (veggies) and probably stop [bleeping the deep dark secret] before going to sleep (I had to bleep that because it's embarrassing for my age and I don't want to be misjudged of lacking attention, I've had more attention than I need, in fact I'm being pampered like a baby right now). Oh boy, I can't wait to get well and be a better person.

Oh God, I just wanna get better! Please L

Mayon Encounter in 3 Days

My family owns a hard copy of Reader's Digest Natural Wonders of the World. My siblings and I frequently browsed the book when were younger, and I remember competing with my brother Oliver in flagging our own territories. The game is pretty simple, I'd choose a place that I want to go to, if I have chosen it first, it's mine and that means he can't go there. Silly game, but the book was one of the early roots of my interest in traveling. It was published in 1988. At the time, only one entry from the Philippines made it to the book, and you guessed it right (thanks to my spoiler title), only Mt. Mayon was featured from the Philippines. While my recent trip to Bicol was really all about Butanding (whale shark) watching, I am just as excited to see this majestic beauty.

I was warned beforehand, by my friend who lived in Legazpi for 4 years, that the tip of the volcano is not visible in most days because of the clouds. And you'd think, here in the Philippines, where it's "sunny everyday", it shouldn't be a problem, after all it's summer. But no, my encounter with Mt. Mayon was like a courtship! It took time before I see the Mayon in her conic glory.

On my first touchdown in Bicol, my first glimpse was really disappointing, the sky was overcasted and the Mayon looked like a creature in hiding. From Cagsawa Ruins, I was hoping to take an iconic postcard shot of the Mayon with the bell tower and the rice fields. But it was an epic fail...

Oh, if only I could blow those clouds away! So we left for Donsol and went back after 2 days. A visit to the parish church in Daraga proved to be very pleasant when the weather showed a little kindness, then Mayon slowly revealed herself.

Later that day, I felt the she finally offered friendship, but still unwilling to bare the conic tip. Here, the thin cloud capping the tip made her looked a little like Mt. Fuji with the ice cap on.

And that made me satisfied, I thought that was it and expected nothing more. But to my delight, on my departure, finally…

Oh Mayon! You are truly gorgeous!

Backpacking Bicol in 3 Days (part 1)

It's summertime! There's no better way to kick off the season than getting away from the busy city. For my first break this year, I went to Bicol, the land of Mt. Mayon, abaca, Pili nuts and more!

It's not entirely planned. My friend Che, who also happens to be a Bicolana, invited me to join her in fulfilling one of her 2012 bucket list - to swim with the whale sharks, locally known as Butanding. While it's not in my own bucket list, I've always dreamed of sailing with the whales. I have a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle of Orcas dancing with the moon (which I proudly completed all by myself, it was tough y'all!) displayed in my room. It glows in the dark and at night, when I look at it, I imagine myself sailing in the sea, watching the whales and listening to whale songs. Of course the Butanding is not a whale (it's a shark, a gentle shark), but it looks like one and it's the closest I can get in fulfilling my childhood dream. In fact I decided that the first Butanding I'd see, I'll name Keiko, in honor of the Orca who played Willy in the film Free Willy. Our friend Janet joined the trip, also, to fulfill a long dream of swimming with the whale sharks.

So the main destination is Donsol, Sorsogon -the whale shark capital of the world. To get there, we flew to Legazpi Albay. Before taking the passenger van to Donsol, we took a short tour around Legazpi City. I was just as excited to get there because of Mt. Mayon, the prominent volcano known for its perfect cone shape. This crowning jewel of Bicol is visible all over the province of Albay, it's like a portrait of Big Brother, you cannot get away with it (as Che puts it). The moment I got off the plane, this majestic beauty immediately loomed at my sight. But I was a little disappointed when the annoying stratocumulus clouds conquered the sky and I couldn't see the symmetrical cone shape of the mountain.

It was just time for lunch when we arrived so Che took us at a local fast food, Biggs. It's a vintage themed place, the meals are a little pricey, but I didn't really mind since I enjoyed the food and the interior. I especially liked the iced tea and the cheesy potato. While scanning the place, something caught my attention --what do you know, there was a music box! I was (extremely) delighted to see it, too bad it's no longer functional.

Like any other trip, we made a stop to the church. St. Gregory the Great Cathedral is the Episcopal Seat of the Diocese of Legazpi and is one of the most prominent landmark of the city. I can't remember if we took a trike or walked to get there because I remember passing by a park and the capitol building.

Next we went to Cagsawa Ruins in Daraga, Albay. A visit to Albay would not be completed without going here, in fact, my image of Mt. Mayon is always coupled with the belfry. The remnants of the baroque church, destroyed by the most devastating eruption of Mayon in 1814, is a symbol of the dangers of living near the vicinity of the volcano. I was hoping to see a classic postcard sight but thanks to the weather, I was reminded that I can't be spoiled and get everything I want. While taking hopeless shots of the backdrop, it rained and we were forced to take shelter in an orchid's stand. The lady who owns the shop was very nice to accommodate us even though we're not buying anything, but I thought it was weird that my friend was speaking to her in Bicol (language) and she kept on replying in Tagalog.

Our next agenda was to try the locally famous DJC Halo-Halo. Halo-halo by the way, is a Filipino desert, a mixture of crushed ice, milk, leche flan, purple yam, tapioca and anything sweet that you can throw in. My friend constantly raved how the DJC Halo-halo stands out among any other halo-halo in the Philippines. I'm a big fan of deserts (unfortunately, it's taking a toll on my waistline huhuhu) so I was eager to give it a try. After ordering and waiting, the halo-halo was finally served and so we indulged. The ice was finely crushed and it gave a smooth texture to the mixture. The leche flan and the purple yam were really creamy and tasty. What made DJC Halo-halo different, in terms of ingredients, is the presence of grated cheese. I thought it worked really well with other ingredients, it made the whole eating experience not overwhelming with sweets, there was something to restrain too much sweetness. But after a halfway consumption, the taste gets old. It tasted like any other halo-halo. Maybe it was the presence of the ice cream. I never wanted an ice cream on top of my halo-halo, they are two different deserts that are not meant to be together. I ended up not finishing my cup but I'd like to give DJC halo-halo a second chance, next time, without an ice cream on top.

After the halo-halo, we headed to the terminal and took the van going to Donsol. It was the last trip van and we were short of one passenger and the driver would not take off unless we (with other passengers) all agree to pay P100 each instead of the regular P75 fare. There was also a drivers strike going and I'm not sure if that issue is related to the driver's demand to increase the fare, but it made me feel bad about any drivers strike held in the country. I mean, we're all frustrated, except Petron, Shell and Caltex, when the oil price goes up. I thought the real enemies are the oil companies, but when there's a drivers strike, the ordinary commuters are the ones who get affected. I wish we could find a way where we can all be united and protest the greediness of not just the oil companies, but other corporations as well, without causing setback to each others' daily responsibilities.

Anyway, after the long wait, the driver finally took off. My energy meter drastically dropped by then. My brother's priest friend, Fr. Eric, is currently the parish priest in Donsol. He knew that I was coming with my friends. We'd been texting each other prior to our trip, he really wanted to accommodate us in the convent so we won't have to pay for board and lodging but he was so busy with parochial activities at the time of our visit so he didn't get to attend to us. But he was really helpful in arranging our accommodations. He arranged for us to stay in Shoreline Beach Resort and we got huge discount on the room rate. When we arrived in Donsol, we met him by accident, he also just arrived from the town's people's pilgrimage in Naga. He hailed a tricycle and endorsed us to the driver to take us to Shoreline. When we get there, the inn keeper were already expecting us and immediately referred us to our room. It's a big thing to have someone you know in faraway places.

We checked the beach then we had a little drink and chat before going to bed. The room they gave us had huge beds, it's good for 5 people. I'm not the type who rolls all over the bed when sleeping but having a king size bed all by myself is love! I've always wanted to have one, but it's not gonna fit in my small room, I could only put up with my single bed. I got up about 5:30 AM, I went outside and walked around and got a more vivid view of the sea. The beach has black and rough sand (probably because of volcanic emissions), it's nothing close to being fancy, not some beach that a tourist would want to sunbathe to. It was very clear that the purpose of the beach is mainly for docking boats.

I received a message from Fr. Eric, reminding us to go early to the tourism office to register and pay for the whale shark interaction activity. We immediately had our breakfast and headed to tourism office. We got there before 7 AM but the place was already jam packed. Aside from Boracay, this is one of the place where I saw more foreign than local tourists, but there are more Caucasians than Koreans this time. I thought the office needs improvement on the registration and dispatch system. It was a little disorienting. Maybe having directional signage would help, something similar to what I see in DFA when getting a passport. We initially approach a desk we thought was the registration counter. We were surprised that the boat will cost us P7000 (US $163) we were informed that it was only P3500 (US $82). It turned out that it was for island hopping and that the registration office was further ahead. When we got there and registered, we were informed that we'll be included in the 2nd batch of boats which will dispatch around 10-11AM. We got worried because we had to catch a fastcraft boat trip to Masbate by 12 NN. Fr. Eric gave a contact person to talk to but she wasn't around yet when we came so we had to fend for ourselves. Luckily, we were able to find boat mates who are scheduled for the first batch dispatch.

Debbie and Sam are British who currently work in Sydney Australia. They are having their vacation and this was their first time in the Philippines. It was great to know they are having a great time and they seem to like the people. They said Filipinos are very friendly, of course we are! So we split the boat rental fee of P3500 into five and paid our dues, including registration fee then watched a Donsol video presentation, as required, before embarking on the sea.

The video presentation gave an introduction to the place and whale sharks. It also provided the rules and guidelines during interaction. Each boat is accompanied with 2 boatmen and a Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO). The interaction time is 3 hours, once we spot a whale shark we are can stay in the water for no more than 8 minutes. Tourists can swim with the whale sharks at distance of 3 meters. Only 30 boats are allowed to embark for the first 3 hours and only 6 person can interact with one whale shark. If you get caught violating these rules, you will be escorted back to the shore and won't be allowed to go back to the sea. It's good to hear that the activity is regulated to ensure the well being of the whale sharks.

After watching the video, we set off to sail in the sea. It was a cloudy day and the result looked bleak. We were told that even though it was the peak season of the presence of whale sharks (February-May), there's still no guarantee that we can spot one. I've known some people who've gone there and didn't spot a single whale shark. All those times, I was praying that we'd see even just one. Oh Keiko! I frequently muttered. When the BIO instructed us to get ready with our gears, we got excited. It was a positive sign. We seated in one row at the edge of the boat to get ready to jump. But we still have to wait for the BIO to tell us to jump off. The anticipation kept mounting as we see other tourists jumping off from their boat. I heard scream of delight from them and I was like, "why are we not jumping off yet?" Our boat kept sailing away from the shore and when the boat sped up, our excitement went up. Then finally, the BIO told us to wear our masks and get ready to jump off. OMG! THIS IS IT!!!

To be continued...

Karakuri

From Matthew Allard:

Japan has always been on the forefront of cutting edge robotics. Its roots can be traced back 200-300 years during the Edo period when skilled craftsmen created automata (self-operating machines). Using nothing more than pulleys and weights they were able to make the Karakuri (Japanese automata) perform amazing tasks.

Japans modern day robots can be traced back to the Karakuri. Today Hideki Higashino is one of the few remaining craftsmen who is determined to keep the history and tradition of Japanese Karakuri alive.

Shot and edited by Matthew Allard.

To say this is amazing is an understatement. There's just no words to describe it... I wanna own one of these!