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

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.

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

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...

holiday habit

I have this thing when on a different place, like a bad habit that I can't let go off. Aside from sleeping a little - meaning I sleep late and wake up early - I have this habit of doing morning walks that I don't usually do on my regular days. So yes, I am a lazy, couch potato on my usual days. I don't know why but I tend to do it every time I am on vacation with friends or not. I love to see the place with a new light. Basically, I would have wanted to see the sunrise and sunset, and it must have been my motivation but I guess I am more enamored with the idea that everything looks different in each different time of the day.

My morning companion for the rest of my stay in the resort. Along with this incredible baby sharks and mantas that swam by the shore.

 Another perks of my walk is I get the whole place to myself. The quiet mornings where all you can hear is the chirps of the birds, the sound of the waves kissing the shore and the tune of the blowing wind along with the waves. It feels nice and liberating. Somewhat relaxing and.... just beautiful. I can't be all poetic on this since I am not that eloquent. I just, it's just.. it makes me feel good to have that time of the day to myself. =)

And then you see the hard work the people do to keep this paradise as magnificent as it is.

And regardless if the sun came out to shine or hide behind the clouds.. it still feels worth your while to have spent an incredible time alone with your own thoughts once in a while.

Soul searching ---- Ms A ♥

and at night....on a holiday

You lounge..

drink....

enjoy live music...

love the view..

and appreciate the time spent in a place like this...

Goodnight and sweet dreams,

♥A

Finding Nemo

What else is there to do? Take a dip and find nemooooo!! 

Day 2 and it's incredible

It's a treat to see more.. I had other thing in mind but the said tour doesn't run on the same day so I just signed up for a half day excursion to one of the nearest island from the resort called Dhangethi. The boat ride was really nice. The sea being sooo blue as it is! The sun shining so brightly that morning with the salty wind blowing my hair. Feels so nice!

It's interesting for me since I am not really familiar with their culture. Dhangethi is a small island. It is so small that we walked around it in less than half of the time allotted for the tour. I like it, though it would seem like a drag of your time away from your own paradise, it is still an interesting walk. Try once and get over it!

They have a whole strip full of souvenir shops that I didn't bother to look at because the brilliant me forgot my purse in my room!!! Of all the things I'd forget to bring? I got my candies and chocolates, camera, phone, sunblock and cap but I forgot my wallet. *sigh* Nonetheless, it saved me from an impromptu souvenir shopping.

The view around the shore lines were all nice.. incredibly clean and inviting. Honestly, I would have tried to dip in and see if the water feels different around there. hmm.. Saying it like this now makes me think how silly I am at the time. Lol

The people around there is really timid and shy unless you are walking along the strip of shops, most of them that we passed by tend to just focus on what they are doing. The kids look happy from a far. They'll smile back but still they are reserved. And I am really glad that I brought my treats with me! It was nice to be able to share, and I did get to share some with the kids.

And then the tour came to an end. Since I didn't have plans of shopping, I stick with our tour guide who invited me to join him for coffee and some snack. I don't know what that was called but it tasted weird for me. It has this minty, nutty and spicy flavor together and another thing that I can't describe at all! A bite is totally enough for me. I'll just stick with my chocolate. =P

And one last photo before we leave...