Bolinao, Pangasinan

A quickie trip with the girls to catch some sun...

♥A

Baler for old times' sake..

A quickie overnight trip with good old college barkada because Racqs is in town!! Woooot~

It was a long drive from Manila to Baler - from dawn to sunrise - but totally worth it!  

We did what we can in a day.. tour around town, sightseeing.. We tried to surf too! (and I failed miserably! lol) 

We ended the day with late night conversations catching up over drinks!

Now it makes me wonder when will be the "repeat".. After all, we all have our own paths and lives to live ahead of us.

It's kinda happy and sad thoughts at the same time.

♥A

Nacpan clip

And this is how my day started..

With this view, a morning walk is in order. I think it's one of the habits I can't let go off when on holidays.

I'm not in a hurry or anything today, and I've decided last night since I pretty much can't do more because I'm feeling sick I'll just check out the other beach to read a book. I guess a little bit more sunning won't hurt, say late morning until sunset? Lol

First stop? Nacpan Beach

Gone Solo

Ralei and my siblings were headed back to Puerto Princesa earlier today.. and I'm staying behind for a few more days. Unfortunately, I had to take it easy today since I'm not that feeling well and my skin was irritated since yesterday.

Did some walking today.. then tomorrow, I'll see what I'd feel like doing for the day. Perks of traveling solo!! =P

El Nido Day 2

♥A

El Nido day 1

♥A

All set for the weekend

Planning this trip with Ralei and my siblings was not the greatest thing, but hey! We made it..

Ralei is on an earlier flight so she head on out to El Nido hours ahead of us and will just be meeting her in the hotel.

It is a nice day with the blue sky! I need a wink since I came straight off from work on a night shift but I just can't. I am exhausted but I'm too excited to sleep. It's been years since my first glimpse of El Nido and I can't help but compare the difference. While it is still a long drive from Puerto Princesa, the roads now are in a better condition and transportation to and from are available at most hours unlike years ago. The traveling time were cut a few hours shorter than before and it felt less remote.

For hours, endless coconut trees and various plants was all we can see. Until finally, we get closer to our destination and we can now see some water.

We arrived late in the evening..

And the bed is soooo inviting! But then we need some real food after all those hours in the road left us hungry. In our efforts to find food, we ended up here in IslandFront restaurant.

It is nestled by the shore, a quiet place with just the sound of the water kissing the shore in the background. Looks like people are scarce at this time of the night. We then settled in one of the candlelit tables near the beachfront, near enough to taste the saltiness in the air and hear the waves. We ate heartily and cap the night back in our rooms.

Now, off we go to dreamland! Bonne nuit! ~ ♥A

going back to Paradise

Booked!! After 4 years, I'm coming back to see you again...

dreaming over reality ♥

I am still on a high over my recent escapade and really can't move on. Indeed a dream realized!!! It's a bonus that I did it solo and I have met nice people along the way.

the end of my holidays

I chanced another walk early before my flight to Singapore. And well, I showered in the rain!!! Way to start my day.. A hotel staff has arranged my transfer to the airport and I am not thrilled to leave yet. *sad*

The city is still crowded and the people are walking everywhere which makes traffic bad. The hotel staff and I shared our cab with another tourist since he can't get any and it'll be just a quick ride why not. Amusing, just look at the "cab-rules" below.

Boarded and it's time to leave.... and still cloudy..

Last glimpse at this stunner!

And a sweet goodbye for now...

 A couple of days by myself was nice but a company once in a while isn't bad as well. I am leaving this pretty little islands with new realizations about myself, boosted confidence, learned lessons and new acquaintances. Now I get to check Singapore for a quick stop.. Do I extend or not?

undecided ~~ A

Kuda Bandos

360 view

Island excursion it is in Kuda Bandos island and no other activities available but then a minimum of 4 pax is required for it. Luckily, there were a pair of guys in for it and waiting for more people to join. Along with them, 2 women with their 2 kids joined as well.

I don't have anything to do yet. So I just packed my sunscreen, water, chips and pretzels along with my sarong, sunnies, book and phone while wishing Mr. Sun will grace me his warm rays. More sunning day for me!!!

The boat ride to the resort took a while.

And thank goodness, it was sunny by the time we arrived. So we have the whole day in the island until 4 in the afternoon when the hotel has scheduled to fetch us back.

First thing in order is to find the perfect spot in the area. Minimum requirement of a nice view with a little bit of shade to filter through just enough sun for me. And here it was.

Reading a few pages of the book I packed until I totally gave it up to just savor the moment and daydream some more. A catnap along the shore which earned me a sun burnt back later on - note to self, next time do it under a shade at least! and few more photos until it went all dark and gray, threatening a rain.

Yes! Maldives has an unpredictable weather around this time of the year. One of the guys I met in the excursion kept teasing me and calling me the "Rain Girl" just because... well, I am not really sure with his basis on the nickname but then they were in Maldives around the same time last year and they said it was all sunny without a drop of rain and then this one time I was with them and it was all gray and rainy. Totally not fair! I firmly believe I did not bring the rain. LOL

20-minute walk in Villingili Island

I turned in late last night but still woke up pretty early today. Mulling in bed while checking Facebook and chatting up with friends and family back home I thought of walking around the island. So after a while of my  tamad-moments - since it's only almost 6 o'clock in the morning and still pretty cloudy, not expecting a bright sunny weather today - I decided to take my morning walk and check out the beach or wherever is the shore..

I started my walk in the empty streets of Villingili. From time to time, I see people going out and some walking towards the opposite directions or across mine always with a shy smile on their faces and when you get close enough to hear them they also utter a quiet "Hello" or "Good morning". It feels nice that the people are welcoming.

I tried to capture what I amuses me with some selfies that I am too shy to share, so I'm not posting it here either!

I get to round up the whole island in 20 minutes but definitely, I did not explore every alley way just because I'm trying to keep track on my turns to and from the hotel for when I am to return to it.

And I'm not really sure if this was the beach area. Not as stunning as the one in Vilamendhoo but hey, I'm just starting my day and will be planning for what to do until tomorrow.

A quick walk and I was back in the hotel. More time to wait for breakfast and ask the available activities offered around here. Initially, I planned to push through with the wind surfing lessons but we'll have to see since when I inquire, looks like there's no lessons offered for the day. Guess, I need to find something else to do after my breakkie.

leaving Vilamendhoo...

And it's time to leave the island.. and move near the Malé City! Still having a gray weather on my last day in Vilamendhoo Island.

Few hours more before I leave, I decided to walk some more, bathe in the rain and splurge with some reds from my room.

At this time, I am sort of regretting why did I opt to stay my last days near the city and why not just spend it all here. I don't really want to leave the comforts that the resort is offering. But then again, I really wanted to experience the best of both worlds - well then, I just need to suck it up and charge it to experience.

I specifically booked a resort in the south atoll area to chance a view of the phytoplankton and for the seaplane ride to and from. The luminous sea was a fail but the seaplane ride did not disappoint. It was an awesome experience. If I could just film the whole thing! But no, I was not prepared for this, and my phone memory is already at its limit. =( I did try to capture some of it though. The stunning view is more than just that. It's amazing!

And when I arrived at the City airport... Well, I was kind of lost.

bumming in Maldives

It's very cloudy today and I have nothing else to do but to lounge along the shore and wishfully enjoy the sun since I haven't gotten enough of it from the past few days.

While deciding what to do today.. hmm.. I walked around some more to find a perfect spot to read my book. Yes! the book I pretended to be my companion in this trip which eventually I've given up after more than five minutes of just staring at the same page and reading the same lines a few times over just because I am pretty much preoccupied with with the stunning view, the feel of the warm sun underneath the clouds, the salty smell carried by the wind, the sand in between my toes, the sound of the waves and just about everything around me at the time. Regardless of which nth day it is, I am still mesmerized by the experience.

After a while, I've decided to kayak around the island since I can't push through with my initial plan of learning how to wind surf. Staff in the resort's water sports center are really accommodating and has offered to guide me through it which I welcomed enthusiastically. And good thing I did, cause less than halfway through it, I am done paddling myself so he did all of it instead. Really nice people! Thanks to him I get to circle the island resort. Lol 

And then, I sneaked a peak at the water villas. Initially, I've been tempted to book one of these gorgeous rooms but then decided at the last minute to save it for the next time I get to see Maldives! Yes! I am planning a return a few year from now.

The staff let me in on one of the rooms to check it out which I basically drooled over. *sigh*

and more bumming..... 

until it's time to return to my room and prepare for the sunset cruise...

The sunset cruise without the sun, yet the dolphins graced us with their presences. So instead of basking in last rays of the sunset on my last day here in the resort, I was amused watching the dolphins playfully swimming along the sides of our tour boat. Pretty amazing! 

So we gave up looking for the sun and settled on watching the dolphins until dusk just in time for dinner and later's Cultural night...