The Egg

For some reason, the Chinese people have a high regard to the performing arts that they even built a carefully designed opera house. On our first day, since Pam has been to the egg for so many times, my bff and I grabbed our road maps and hit the streets. We took photos along the way while searching for the Egg. I suddenly realized that the street we walked on to is the same street where Jaden Smith ran to watch the violin audition of his classmate in the movie Karate Kid. We went in and out of small lanes until we found the egg! Too bad we weren’t able to return here at night time as the Egg showcases different colors of lights. Anyway, we can always go back to Beijing.

flowers along the street, on while looking for the the EGG

streets leading to the egg (i think this is an alternate route)

the egg!

Tea

China is more of a tea drinking country. I was never a tea lover (except for iced tea), but I really had no choice when we were there. One my friends even opened a coffee shop in China, but decided to close down because of well, coffee is really inferior to tea. But I don’t really regret being exposed to this culture. I began to develop this love for tea, and curiosity over new flavors. I even brought home a 2L Tong Yi tea (for only 6RMB). This brand was soo expensive in restos in Houhai (like 50+ RMB for .5L) but super cheap in supermarkets in the Silk Street (only costs 2RMB for .5L). They even have green tea flavored bread sticks while pizza hut has this peach fruit tea (not available in the Philippines). Now, I love tea as much as I love coffee. Maybe this was brought to me also by the emerging tea shops in the country

best tea ever!

peach fruit ta at pizza hut

Food

Another good thing about Beijing is that their food is sooooo cheap. After a very long walk at the Forbidden City, we rode a bus going errr nowhere. We went down upon seeing a Subway restaurant. I have almost convinced myself that I will eat anything known to me as I was really hungry after the Forbidden City tour. But my bestfriend told me we should try the authentic Chiniese food. I half heartedly agreed. I just don’t have the patience to experiment given the state of my empty stomach. The hardest part is that, there were no English translations of the dishes, We only relied on the photos and charades when communicating with the fouyan (waiter/waitress).

lunch near wangfujing, all of these for only P400

dinner at old beijing restaurant (P1,500 for 5 people! so cheap)

Shopping

We were brought to Wangfujing by mistake.  After having our meal on the day we had our Forbidden City tour, we walked around and found Wangfujing. It was the Wangfujing International Brand Festival when we were there. It is a long strip of shopping malls. It was actually heaven for me. All the big brands can be found there. I found so many cheap finds but since it was my first day, I decided not to buy anything yet. Coz I might run out of RMB. Use of credit cards is not really a practice in Beijing, so I’m scared u might run out of cash. But of course I tried their famous roasted chestnuts.

Wangfujing arc

Wangfujing shopping strip

glazed fruit and chestnuts at wangfujing

There was another strip of malls near in our hotel in Xidan. Here we were able to shop for a bit of H&M stuff

shopping mall in Xidan with the longest escalator in Asia

Another shopping haven in Beijing is the Silk Street. It is like their version of Divisoria. What is more surprising is that some Chinese can actually speak a bit of Filipino. We found a number of Pinoys shopping in the Silk Street. Maybe Pinoys are somehow the main cutomers of the stores and so they were able to somehow learn a bit of our language. Almost everything is here. Shoes, bags, ref magnets, postcards, groceries, tea, furniture, name it! The nice thing about Silk Street is that you can bargain to death. Sometimes the initial price can go down as low as 50% off! But I was never good at bargaining, coz even if I have gotten bits of souvenirs at half the initial price, I still feel like it is expensive and can still be bargained. Oh well…

Night Life

After a tiring day walking around Beijing, we chose to have dinner at Houhai Lake City. Braving the cold weather and almost zero knowledge on the directions, we tried to rely on our maps. No taxi would take us because they cannot understand us. Good thing we found Luke, Pam’s officemate, at the subway. We asked him the best way to go to Houhai. It was a really long walk, as in looong walk. I felt like I have walked the whole metro manila while I was in Beijing. Anyway, we laughed a lot while walking until we reached the lake. It was surrounded by a lot of bars and restaurants that one will really have a hard time choosing which one to try. We finally settled to a Thai restaurant. The dishes were a bit expensive though but really really worth it, especially if it was a treat from Pam.

Houhai Lake District Map

dinner at Houhai

trying out their street food --cotton candy. =p

Our Beijing trip is one of the best trips I ever had. It was a mixture history and culture all in one place. Our weekend trip to the capital of PRC is way too short to have a grasp of what it is really like to be a local Beijing person. But we can always go back to this magnificent city. Maybe on a winter next time?

So if you decide to take a tour to Beijing for the first time, make sure to gear yourself up with a pair of comfy walking shoes. as they say, no better way of exploring than walking.

Xie xie. til next post

We went to Summer palace on our last day. It was really tiring walking around Beijing. Our roadmaps seriously helped us a lot. I was thinking that maybe it is the resort of the royal family in China, like the Mansion in Baguio City in the Philippines. The architecture is again amazing. There is a lake in the middle of the whole place which is really refreshing.

On our last day, we finally encountered a group of Filipino tourists. It really felt good to hear and understand a language in a foreign land.

the entrance to the Summer Palace

We saw this while waiting for our 2 other friends

refreshing view of the lake

graffiti on the floor

great blue skies

with the girls.

at the bridge

The Olympic Green

Another historical event that took place in Beijing is the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The government of China seemed to have promoted this event strongly. A sprawling amount of idle land was turned into modernized facility that will cater all the games for the event.

big chinese musical instruments

at our back is the bird's nest

the bird's nest at night

the olympic pagoda

the water cube

so that caps off my HISTORY entry. hope to find time to start the way of life part of this trip. all i could say is that, this city is really rich in history.

The Forbidden City

We never really know how we got to the Forbidden City. We were just walking and walking in and out public parks, taking photos of what we see around and suddenly we got there. We were just so surprised that there is a big empty space with a lot of tourists from different countries. Almost everyone is lining up to get tickets and to book their guides. We then realized that we were then at the Forbidden City.

The entrance fee was at CNY 60 and if you want to get an audio guide which you can choose in your preferred language, there will be an additional CNY 40. We decided not to take the audio guide and just sneak in to the group of tourists who hired an English speaking tour guide. But, we didn’t find any ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDE.

Anyways, the Forbidden City is the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest palatial structure in the world. The site itself is marvelous when I see it in photos, but being there in person felt different. It was like I was part of this country’s rich history. I may never really understand why Chinese people have certain sets of beliefs, but just by being there somehow made me understand how they arrived to what they are today.

one of the palaces in the Forbidden City

a lot of tourists from different countries enjoy the rich history of the place

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

The Meridian Gate

with my bff and ultimate travel buddy

there are more than 900 buildings inside the Forbidden City

The Tianan’men Square

We were about to go back to the hotel from Wangfujing to meet with Pam for dinner. We took the subway and got off at the wrong station. Since we don’t want to get lost further, we just traced back our way to the hotel. We saw Forbidden City, so the hotel should just be a few meters away.

I felt like I was walking miles and miles and yet no sign of the hotel. We again followed the large stream of people, trying to figure out where to go based on our handy dandy road map but no luck. Then we saw a large photo of Mao Zedong. We curiously entered the edifice and only realized that we’re at the Tianan’men Square when we reached the gate of Heavenly Peace as people were buying tickets for the Forbidden City.

The Tianan’men Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing. Named after the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace), located to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. The Tiananmen Square is the 3^rd largest city square in the world.

Mao Zedong Mausoleum is at the Tianan'men Square

Chinese Dolls

Street outside the Square

The Great Wall of China

I was really excited for this 1^st official world wonder I was about to see. Even if we came home late the night before, we were so eager to wake up early to see the Great Wall of China. From our hotel, we took the subway going to the Beijing North Railway Station. It took us a while to find where this station was, as it was not part of our maps anymore. We had to ask around and relied on charades and intuition because we literally had to endure the language barrier. I never really felt uneducated my whole life. Having the ability to speak the “universal” language, made no difference at all.

Fortunately, after long walks, we finally set foot at the train station that will take us to the Great Wall. We bought our tickets for CNY 6.00 each. One thing I really appreciated about Beijing is that, their transportation is really really cheap, unless one will be taking a cab.

On the train, we met 2 college chinese girls who can speak English. They decided to join us in our tour as it was their first time too to see the Great Wall too. These girls came from Guangzhou. They wanted to practice their spoken English with us, and we wanted to be with someone who can do the translation for us too.

Anyway, we were really thankful to have these girls by our side. If not for them, we could’ve gotten really lost in the middle of China.

Beijing North Rail Station

Ticketing booth...all in Chinese characters except for some numbers

cityview inside the train

while waiting for boarding time

The Great Wall of China!

me and my girls at the great wall

outfit fail...it was a bit summer-ish at the Great wall

too tired of the long hike, i had to to take a break and sit down

That Great wall experience was really amazing! The thought of like being in 2 places at one, China and Mongolia, is still giving me goosebumps.

I know that the posts about Beijing are kinda long, but it is far from over. till i find some free time again to update this page.

This trip was unexpected to push through. Just mid-May of 2011, I was dreaming of seeing a real world wonder, as the Banaue Rice Terraces really struck me. Fortunately, my college BFF, Pam, was given a fellowship grant by her employer to Beijing and Hong Kong. She will have to stay in Beijing for 2 weeks, and that meant FREE Hotel accommodation for us! yay!

We finally booked our flights and applied for Chinese Visas. This was my first time to ever apply for any visa. I just couldn’t handle the hassle of appearing at the Chinese Embassy to personally attend to my visa application, so I just paid a travel agency to do it for me. Good thing, the agency was very reliable and fast in processing it.

The night before my departure, I was really restless as I might travel alone. Pam left a week before me and those who will travel with me don’t have their visas yet. I was really hysterical and paranoid while chatting with Pam asking her what to do when I arrive at the airport. The scariest part of the whole thing is that, Beijing people hardly or worse don’t speak English at all.

On the flight date from Manila, I was still hopeful that my BFF and officemate will secure their visas and we could all happily travel together. Unfortunately, one of them didn’t make it due to incomplete documents. I took a half day leave from work and picked up my Chinese Yuans from the money changer at Tower 1. It is always wise to bring the local currency of the country you’re going to. But if there is no available stock in the money changer, better to bring USD instead.

Beijing International Airport Terminal 2

Our plane left Manila at 7:35pm of September 15 and we arrived at Beijing International Airport at 12:05am of September 16. We followed the stream of people as we head out of the as large as a city airport. We immediately looked for a cab that will take us to the Grand Mercure Hotel to start our Beijing adventure.

BJIA Taxi Bay

***

THE HOTEL

It was raining hard when we reached Beijing. I was afraid that we might not enjoy our stay if the weather will be like that for the next 3 days. The airport is a bit far from Xidan, it took us about 45 minutes to arrive in the hotel. It was also a struggle communicating with the driver as they can only read Chinese characters. At the very least we have printed a map going to the hotel with its name translated in Chinese. I’m not really sure what kind of Chinese language they use in Beijing. All I know is that, we only used hand gestures and maybe intuition most of the time.

The Grand Mercure Xidan Hotel is located in the heart of Beijing, adjacent to Tian’anmen Square and Forbidden City, 10 min on foot walk to Subway lines 1&2. It was my first time to stay in a hotel for a travel abroad. The hotel’s location was perfect! It was near important landmarks like malls, parks, business offices to name a few.  We were also lucky because Pam got a room upgrade. We all stayed in an executive room. J (Beijingtoursguide.com)

Kung Fu demo at the lobby

lounge at the lobby, where there is free wifi

our room is always messy when we leave. but its always clean when we get back. =p

So I guess, I’m gonna have to do this post in sections. I’m not really a fan of lengthy reads so I’m not gonna do it myself. =p

My college BFF Pam booked us a month is advance for Boracay, just a day after my birthday. At first, it was just the two of us, and then 2 more friends joined us but they had to book separate flights.

August is not really an ideal time to go to the beach as it is the rainy season. But nonetheless, we still pushed through. We left Manila around 3pm for Kalibo. The best thing about taking PAL is that the flights rarely get delayed.

while waiting for our flight at NAIA2

We arrived at Kalibo at around 4pm and then met our two friends who had earlier flights. It was raining really really hard but nothing could really stop us from having this getaway. We immediately looked for a van that will take us to Caticlan. The ride was kinda slow as it only normally takes an hour to get to Caticlan. But maybe because of the heavy rains and low visibility, the driver had to be extra careful. As i always say, i never really mind delays in travels as long as i get to my destination safely. It took us more than 2 hours on the road and we were almost friends with the others in the van. =p

We arrived at the port around 630pm. We were so confused because it was not the jetty port we usually go to. Scared that we were brought in the wrong place, we asked the locals why we were not taken to the other port. The locals told us that because of the bad weather and big waves, the bigger port was not operational.  We had to take the other route going to the back portion of Boracay.

I was really surprised that it only took us 5 minutes to get to Boracay from Caticlan. Normally, if it is the bigger port and normal route, its like 20minutes long. We immediately got off the boat and looked for a tricycle that will take us to our hotel.

***

It was my first time to experience that kind of weather in the party island. There were no Paraws at the shore and not so many sand castles. It was perfect for wind surfers, but not for us who dont really know how to swim. yikes! Our friends in manila are quite thinking that maybe we were not having fun in this getaway. And that is totally not true.

This is the nth time i have been to Boracay but i must say, i still discovered and did a lot of firsts.

stormy weather

empty beach

helmet diving

It was my first time to try helmet diving. I wouldnt say that it was the most exciting activity in Boracay as i think i still find the zorb ride a more exciting one. We were taught steps and hand signals before dipping into the water. As i went down, my ears felt the pressure. It felt the same whenever i ride a plane and it is in a very high altitude. I felt like my ears will bleed anytime. Good thing that it stopped hurting after a few minutes. The fishes started to get around us as we scatter bread crumbs into the water. It was like being inside a big aquarium. The view under the sea was superb, but after a while, we had to go up as you only see the same thing. And yeah it gets a bit boring. We cannot go further as well coz our helmets were tied in the raft. It was an awesome experience, but maybe Im not gonna do it again? =p

Aside from wading and sun bathing, we did a lot of food tripping. I’m kinda convinced that we all gained a few pounds while we were there. We did nothing but eat, watch Cinema One, have fun and refuse to talk about things that will make us think so much.

Jonah’s milkshake was only known to me for its, well, milkshakes. But we have discovered that they have innovated their menu and added super delicious tacos. We also love the grilled hotdogs and isaws along the shore. And of course party never really dies in Boracay where people become oddly super friendly and generous. We always get free shots whenever we go there. I super love the vibe especially when everybody started to dance in the rain. =P

Jonah's tacos

good times

It may not be the best Boracay trip i ever had yet it was one perfect weekend well spent with my friends. I knew we somehow got to discover a lot about each other because of this trip.

I am never the type who will really travel miles and hours for a breath taking view. But all i can say is that, this trip is a must try for at least once in your lifetime.

This trip took place mid May. We had to book our bus going to Banaue two days in advance at the bust station near UST in Manila. The MNL-BANAUE bus ride costed us around P600 pesos. The trip is like 8 hours long. So the bus left at around 10pm in Manila and expected to reach Banaue by 6am. Unfortunately, there were too many stops along the way. I don’t really mind delays in travels for as long as i get to my destination safely.

We have slept the whole time during that more than 8 hour travel. Upon arriving to the bus stop, we have rented a van going to Sagada. Along the way, i have witnessed the famous Banaue Rice Terraces. They said that the natives of Banuae carved the mountains into terraces for survival. Rice is one of the most important food in the country, and they needed a flat surface to plant it in the mountains.

The view was really amazing. No wonder why it is the 8th Wonder of the World (but every country would claim they have the 8th wonder). From then on, i told myself, i gotta see at least one wonder of the official seven wonders.

for me, it is a World Wonder =)

We have arrived at our Hotel around lunch time, took a shower and some rest before heading out to find a good meal. We had our lunch at the Yoghurt House. I was surprised how large the servings were. I think a single plate is good enough for 3 persons with average appetite. Yoghurt seems to be on a regular appearance on all the restaurants’ menu in Sagada. I must also say how good the coffee was. This place sure have the best tasting coffee ever.

We have explored different places for food. We really loved the french buffet in the Log Cabin. The salad with all those herbs are the tastiest and the freshest. Even the sour bread tasted soooo good. We also had some lemon pie at the Lemon place. The food is quite fine for the kind of place. The place is too simple for the cuisine which gave the place an interesting feel.

To relate this post with the title of the article, i literally needed to survive Sagada’s long walks and hikes. on the 2nd day, we went down the caves to see the stalactites. It took us a total of 4 hours inside the cave, and once you enter, there is no going back because you cannot exit to the same place where you entered. One should really finish the trail.

Strangely, it was cold inside the cave to the point that our bodies are smoking. maybe coz we’re hot? haha. It was such a tiring activity but the works of nature wiped that away. The things inside were unbelievable.

The next day, we trekked down to Bomod-Ok falls. It was another 4 hour walk. but the great thing about this experience is that we get to walk on the terraces and get to mingle with the locals.

rock formations inside the cave

This Sagada trip is one hell of a kind. I would really say that im happy that at least i did it once. Im not sure if i wanted to do those things all over again, but if so, im gonna franchise the restos here in Manila so i wouldnt have to travel up north just to have a taste of the addicting cuisine

jetty port in hong-kong going to macau

After long walks, we finally found the ferry that will take us to Macau. One amazing thing about HK’s train system is that it is connected to the airports and seaports. Public transportation is really more convenient than having your own car. We bought our jetty tickets at the Shuen Wan Station which amounted to like 1,500php RT Hk-Macau-HK.

I never really expected that we’ll have our passports stamped stepping out of HK and stepping in to Macau. HK and Macau are 2 special administrative regions of China so it is treated as another territory. The environment didn’t seem so foreign though because of the so many Filipinos we met along the way. We have commissioned a kababayan to be our tour guide for the whole day so as not to waste time looking for directions.

view of hongkong from the jetty

Macau is like a big playground for the those who have money to burn because of their huge casinos. Im guessing that a big bulk if not whole of Macau’s economy relies on gambling. The bus rides moving around the whole Macau are for free courtesy of the hotels and casinos in there.

welcome banners in macau upon arriving at the macau port

free bus rides courtesy of the casinos

majestic architecture

jackie chan's hotel is filled with gold brick bars on the floor

But Macau is not just about Casinos. There are lots of other sites to visit also. The Ruins of St. Paul is among the most popular one. This site has been listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.

ruins of st. paul

venetian macau

I initially thought that Macau is the epitome of luxury, and its not hard to associate luxury with all those things one will see in there. Not until my boots gave up due to the excessive walking we’ve been doing. I had to buy a new pair of shoes coz I cannot stand the smiling sole. It really took me a hard time finding the perfect shoes for me. And the only concern I have that day is that it is CHEAP, I mean something I could really afford whole heartedly! All I can see are LVs, Prada, Gucci and all other luxury brands. How am I gonna afford all those?

I think I was already beginning to throw tantrums and maybe my friends were irritated at me at that time. Good thing I found Paul & Bear at the Venetian Macau. It was heaven for me. The designs seemed exclusive but not that expensive. I got a pair of blue flats for only 1,800php.

venetian

macau at night

Macau is such a convenient place to go to. In spite the modernity in that place, culture is still very much alive.

Those seatsales of Cebu Pacific are really getting us to burn our moolah and well, for the nice part, see the world, at the least, South East Asia. One afternoon my bestfriend  immediately called me up and informed me about the seatsale last feb, while travel date is for the last weekend of March 2011.

Our airfare amounted to P3,500 + P200 (check-in baggage) = P3,700 RT MNL-HKG-MNL. The bad thing about these spontaneous travels is that, even if we get to travel on a low budget, the frequency really emptied my savings account. I just went to Singapore, a few weeks back, then there i was again.

The Hong Kong International Airport is one of the best airports I have ever seen. The facilities are great and the whole place has FREE WIFI ACCESS. So even if one of our friends waited there for more than 3 hours, I’m sure she never got bored. Also, it is equipped with a lot of facilities like restos, information centers, etc., Maps are readily available in the whole place for tourists.

HKIA airport

Upon arriving, it is very easy to notice that Manila’s temperature is completely different from HK’s. It was like 10 deg. Celsius when we went there. And all we have were our thin jackets and scarves to protect us. Jeez!

with our thin jackets, braving the cold temp of HK...brrrr

My cousins who usually travel a lot will always tell me that HK is the shopping capital of South East Asia. I guess, it’s not hard to miss that fact because the train stations are like shopping malls. It seems that Giordano and other brands have stalls in all the MTR stations there. I was able to buy a pair of leggings at one station since my bare legs can’t really stand the cold temperature. If one wants to buy branded clothes stuff, the City Gate Mall at Tung Chung is the best place to go. We were able to buy Mango coats for like P1,500 (converted) only. H&M of course is like a 4 storey department store at the central part of HK showcasing cool and complete outfits, from accessories, to clothes, to shoes. And if one is on the lookout of cheap stuff, including gadgets, the Mong Kok night market is one the few stops one should visit.

city gate mall

inside the gateway mall

searching for the H&M dept store

Mong Kok Night Market

One of the reasons also why HK is among the top destinations in South East Asia is that the nearest Disneyland is located here. As their motto says, it really is the happiest place on earth!  I super love the food in that theme park especially the pop corn! And one should never miss out the parade and of course the fireworks! It was an awesome experience.

disneyland

parade at the disneyland

mickey mouse!

Aside from Disneyland, there are other attractions in HK. Among these are the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car, Big Buddha, Victoria Peak and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum to name a few. For party lover, Lan Kwai Fong is the best ever party place i have ever seen!

lady gaga at the wax museum

360 cable car going to big biddha

the big biddha

lan kwai fong

Our 3-day stay in Hong Kong was nothing but Awesome! I will definitely go back there and explore more of HK’s treasures. We also had a side trip to Macau, but i think that deserves a different post.

This SG weekend trip was my first out of the country trip. Of course via PI’s budget airline aka Cebu Pacific. We booked our flight last October and got a promo fare for only P3,500 roundtrip (+P200 for check in baggage RT).

Arrived at SG Budget Terminal at around 1am because of the delayed flight. I was really surprised at how, well, not as nice the airport was. there were no seats for the departure waiting area and the  terminal is very unlikely for Singapore. But everything seems to be orderly anyway.

We were greeted by the rest of the gang who had an earlier flight then went to Carissa Park, where all else started.

view from the windows of Lalie’s condo in SG

Raffles Hotel: Tito Bong gave us a little bit of SG’s history and we found out that Raffles is the developer of SG.

Chicken Rice: It is quite a popular dish in SG. At Food Republic, it costs like $5. They don’t have soy sauce, they love chili, and they seem to be so addicted to Milo.

The MRT is like the major mode of transportation in SG, also the double deck city buses.

SG is very organized that you even have to fall in line just to cross the street.

Bugis: one of the shopping streets of SG.

Ion Mall: one of the nicest malls along Orchard Road, where designer labels can be found

Kaya Toast is another popular food in coffee shops

Tram ride at the Night Safari

Merlion City

Drinks at Pump Room at Clarke Quay

Universal Studios

All in all, the weekend was not good enough for the shopping, sight seeing, learning about their culture and who they are. but i guess what i have realized in this trip is that, still tere is no place like home. no matter how organized, clean, rich Singapore is, i still love PIs chaos, noise, unpredictiblity, excitement and new discoveries in all corners of the country.

anyways, im not really into photos, but heck nice photographs really captures the heart. an officemate told me about this website which got really nice photos, not just photos but every picture has a story to tell.

and this is my fave photo of the day

See the Bog Picture at Boston.com