hongkong from the peak

hongkong is my one of my top ten favorite places in the world so far. eventhough i am more of the outdoorsy kind of person who likes to be with the natural environment more than anything else, hongkong has become an exception for me. i imagine myself in a place where there are so many buildings around me that it becomes difficult to breathe. the sheer number of the buildings suffocate your being and their towering heights overwhelms and humbles you at the same time. man has come a long way. each new construction is always better than the previous one. and everyday, people are coming up with ideas for a taller, bigger, a more magnificent creation of concrete and steel. hongkong has the real hustle and bustle of the city scene. everybody is walking fast (in a funny way)and in a hurry. totally unlike what im used to. hongkong will always be a place that i will never get tired of going back to. this photo is taken at the peak tower or victoria peak. you ride the peak tram to get here which is one exciting journey..it's probably the most exciting ride youll ever get in hongkong.

marina bay sands

a photo of the infinity pool at the marina bay sands just before sunrise.

My mother and I stayed in the Marina hotel in Singapore for a night. A close friend of mine works there and she got me a discount.  It was still quite expensive for a 25 year old me even after the discount but we had a good time there.  So it paid off well.
We didn't get into the pool, I wasn't really interested to.  The view is amazing from the top.  It's like a scene from a scifi film, films set in the year 2050 upwards.  It wouldn't have surprised me if I had seen flying cars passing by.  Of course, the Chinese people played their part in all of this by looking like alien crabs from the future.  
This hotel is nice. On the ground floor are lots of shops for the monied folks.  Although I didn't really like the feel of the hotel at the ground level.  It felt like I was in a mall and everyone is so busy and it was so noisy.  If you want to escape from the city, this isn't the place to stay unless of course you wouldn't mind spending your entire vacation in the infinity pool at the rooftop with the half naked alien crabs of course.

taxi

It is not uncommon to see old workers in singapore. In fact most of the workers i see in the service industries are old people.  People that are at least 55 years old.  This taxi driver is probably 60 years old..nearing retirement.  But of course my approximation is conservative to his benefit.  
Taxis are a rip off for the price but it's normal in Singapore to pay for everything with a rate much more than what I would pay for in my third world residence. However, with further analysis, I say that it's actually more expensive here in the Philippines.  why?  first of all, if you ride the taxi and you don't know the place, the taxi driver will take you to your destination using the longer, more complicated route.  second, the taxi driver will impose an "additional" fee for you because he anticipates that he won't have any passenger on his way back. third, the taxi driver won't give you your change, sort of like a withholding tax thing..he is withholding his tip for you.  if you are gutsy enough to argue with this, he will give you an evil look and make you feel like a selfish person who is too cheap to tip.  yes i've experienced this.  i don't tip those who assume that they deserve one, as if it's their right to have one and you are obligated to give one.  i'd give tips when i want and if you don't ask for it.  In Singapore, the taxis are metered and you get your receipt and your change when you arrive at your destination.  Here, the taxis are metered but when you get in the taxi the driver will negotiate with you whether to use the meter or agree with his proposed fare.  this is especially true when you take one from the airport or towards the airport.  Of course, not all taxi drivers are like that here.  Some are really good people and honest.  The few who are misbehaving though get more attention and exposure (like this) than those who are just trying to make an honest living.

merlion

chicken rice

the famous chicken rice of singapore. my mother and myself had to taste one of those after such raving reviews from my friend Jopet. it was tasty but it's not the bomb for me. however, if you are in singapore, you should go and try it. it is one of their most popular dishes.

singapore

egg tart

I've found a recipe for hongkong style egg tarts that I might be making this month. This photo is actually an egg tart I bought in Macau. Well you gotta try the popular stuff. I would say that it tasted very nice. Here's how to make egg tarts from allrecipes.com Ingredients 1 cup confectioners' sugar 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup butter 1 egg, beaten 1 dash vanilla extract 2/3 cup white sugar 1 1/2 cups water 9 eggs, beaten 1 dash vanilla extract 1 cup evaporated milk Directions In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork until it is in small crumbs. Stir in the egg and vanilla until the mixture forms a dough. The texture should be slightly moist. Add more butter if it is too dry, or more flour, if the dough seems greasy. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and press the balls into tart molds so that it covers the bottom, and goes up higher than the sides. Use 2 fingers to shape the edge into an A shape. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Combine the white sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Strain the eggs through a sieve, and whisk into the sugar mixture. Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla. Strain the filling through a sieve, and fill the tart shells. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown, and the filling is puffed up a little bit.

street food

white island in camiguin

This place is called white island.  It is in Camiguin province.  

Camiguin is an island born out of a volcano.  It still has one active volcano called Hibok-Hibok.  Across the mainland of camiguin is the white island.  It is called so because of the color of the sand.  It is white and fine and could easily rival that of Boracay Island.  What's amazing about this island is that as the ocean tides go up, you will see less and less of the island.  So it's best to go early in the morning.  It's actually a sand bar a few kilometers away from the mainland.  Since it is a sand bar, no structures are built on it.  Bring a hat or sarong and sunscreen to protect yourself as the sun goes up.  Bring some food and water too but remember not to leave your "kalat".  The island changes its shape according to the ocean current.  

From here, you will see a beautiful view of the mainland with it's coastline, mountains and greeneries.  We didn't stay for very long in this island.  We proceeded to the waterfalls in the mainland and the hot springs.  The hot spring was the best part in my opinion.  The waterfalls was too cold and we were a bit scared to swim close to the waterfall since there were just four of us girls on this trip.  And then after doing what we intended to do in Camiguin, we got on the boat back to Cagayan de Oro and went up the mountain to the place called Malasag eco park.  We killed the time there, we were really just waiting for our boat rip back to Cebu again.

whale shark at oslob, cebu

On my vacation in February 2011, I went to Oslob with my family.  Oslob is a town in Cebu City and is only about 3 hours away from where I live (Talisay City).  The town has become famous because of the whale sharks that have been frequenting its waters.  I had planned to go to Donsol in Legazpi on that vacation to swim with whale sharks but when I heard that this attraction is also in Cebu, obviously I didn't need to go to Donsol anymore.  

So we went there early morning.  We probably arrived there at around 8am.  You have to pay some fees to some people there.  We rented a small cottage for our things and myself and cousins, sister and mom and a friend of mine got our tickets and geared up for the sightseeing.  Gears mean, life jackets.  We had to wait for about an hour before it was our turn to go into the sea.  There were few boats and lots of waiting tourists/curious peeps.  The sun was getting too hot and my skin was starting to tan.  There was a light shower just before this almost overwhelming heat arrived.  There were a group of japanese tourists who put on their diving gears in front of our cottage.  

Finally it was our turn.  I was on a boat with my cousin Cielo and one other local tourist.  My sister, friend and cousin got their own individual boats.  They each were on the smallest boats.  In the photo above is my sister.  I took the shot from my boat.  We were lucky at that time since there were 3 or 4 whale sharks swimming that day.  I saw at least two of them.  I got into the water and noticed that the whale shark was swimming beneath me.  I was so excited when I jumped into the water but was just plain scared when I saw his silhouette underneath me.  I panicked that I swam towards another tourist and held his hand.  He looked at me wondering what was going on and I just pretended not to be scared and just looked straight ahead.  I let go of his hand when the whale shark had disappeared and swam quickly to the boat, climbed up and never looked back at the guy.  My mother on the otherhand who was alone in her boat wasn't really interested in seeing this animal.  She's a bit scared about these things.  But the boatman was very enthusiastic and very eager to show her the whales.  After spotting a whale she told the boatman to go back to the shore as she is done with it already.  But the boatman was just so eager, that he paddled towards the whale so she can have a closer look.  

It's so cute how the fishermen are so eager to share this amazing experience to others.  They are quite proud of this attraction that they have and how they get to be the ones to introduce the tourists to the whale sharks.  This attraction though has not been regulated by the government and there are no laws about this.  Some people are protesting against this practice especially the environmental and animal groups.

It was a bit sad to see how the whale sharks are living their lives in Oslob.  I am just speaking from observation.  During the whale watching sessions, one of the fishermen will be on a boat and will be throwing food at the whale shark..I don't know what it is but it's some kind of shrimp, tiny tiny shrimps..like a shrimp fry.  This way they will get the whale shark to go wherever they want.  I feel a bit sorry for the whale sharks because they are like the samurais in the rurouni kenshin movie who became slaves to opium.  They'd do anything to smoke opium and lost the honor and pride of a samurai.  Swimming with the whale sharks isn't prohibited.  You can go near them and touch them if you want.  I don't know if the fishermen realize the dangers of this.  They are convinced that these are gentle creatures and that there's no need to worry.  I'm not so sure if some legislation with regard to regulation of this practice is being made.  I sure hope so.  

edit.. an article about the whale sharks in oslob.

calle crisologo

one of the major attractions in vigan is a street or "calle" called calle crisologo. here you can walk through spanish era houses that have been preserved over the years. you will definitely feel like youve been transported back in time until you stumble upon some of many small shops there selling delicacies and souvenir items of ilocos, then you realize that you are just a tourist in a place manicured for your pleasure. this street is known as the street of the rich people at that time in vigan. there were a lot of spanish "mestizos" (part filipino, part spanish blood) who lived here. now the place is very silent, almost has an eerie feeling to it (for me at least) and then again you pass by a shop and are reminded once again that it's the 21st century and you are a tourist bound to get some of those tableya and those lumps of sugar that youre supposed to put into your coffee. at the end of the street, you will find cafe leona. it is a nice restaurant. you feel like youd just walked into a basement when you get inside but it's a nice feeling. the food in vigan or ilocos for that matter is something worthy of another blog post. it's one of the best attractions of the place. now im going to rest my twitching eye.

pros of travelling solo

travelling on your own has it's pros and cons. here i wanna talk about the pros of solo travel and why it is better to be "single" whilst travelling. 1. when you are travelling by yourself, you dont have to wait on anybody! you dont have to rush yourself when you want to linger on a place you find quite likeable and dont have to deal with whining and complaints from your travel buddy. when you like a place you can stay longer, when you dont like it you can just leave anytime. you dont have to consider somebody else's preferences and wants. 2. travelling solo is cheaper if you stay in a hostel that has a dormitory type of accomodation. the best thing about this is you can meet other travelers and join em or at least share information with them. 3. when youre single while travelling, you might meet the man of your dreams and instantly hook up with him because you are free to do so. you dont have to wait until you go home and break up with your boyfriend or whatever and then come back to your loverboy only to find that he has already found himself a single solo traveler while you were gone sorting your issues out. you dont have a ring on your finger that tells people that somebody is waiting for you back home. if you have a sweetheart, you shouldnt be travelling alone in the first place. 4. you dont have to trouble yourself with who pays what or end up paying for most of the trip. money can be a difficult subject to bring up with your friends. unless you have clearly agreed about money matters, then it would be better if you were just by yourself. 5. you will have more time to explore whatever you actually find interesting. 6. you will have more time to get to know yourself and your limits. you can better reflect on your life and the future ahead. 7. you can be crazy and do things that are totally out of yourself just because nobody there knows you. im sure there are a lot more positive sides of solo travel. let me know if you can think of other things as well..

.com

i have actually bought the website name www.turtlepacetravels.com but my purchase has yet to be confirmed cos i need to send two types of valid identification and i currently have only one with me. i can see that theyve charged my credit card for the purchase. now i have a problem. i dont know how webhosting works! how do i make the website..i dont even know how to log on to it. blogging is so much easier. when i go home after i quit my job here i would be giving this some time and try to learn how this thing works. i also want to buy www.turtlepace.com but i guess ill do that when ive figured out this whole website managing thing. im just afraid that somebody else might buy it first. it was already sold before and i guess it's already expired cos the website name has become available again. im excited to get my own .COM that will be my cyberspace goal for this year 2012.

jeddah sunset

*the sun setting in jeddah* it is 21:30 now in jeddah and it is 34 degrees celsius even after the sun has set hours ago. in the philippines, when we get to this temperature, the people would be whining about it all day. filipinos dont like the heat. i dont know of any other country where people use an umbrella on a sunny day. this is not an unusual sight especially in the summer. umbrellas are depended upon all year round to protect one against the rain and against the sun. *today is the longest day of the year. indeed it was for me even though i just slept some of the hours away. but whatever you do within your waking hours, it is important to be assured at the end of the day that everything is alright and everything is okay. there is nothing worse than being insecure about what will be in the morning after.

horizon

the horizon or skyline is technically that invisible line that separates the earth and the sky. here, some floating clouds have formed a sort of blanket in the atmosphere and have seemingly divided the atmosphere into two sections creating a horizon above the horizon.

twin towers

this is obviously not the best photo of the Petronas twin towers in kuala lumpur. i took this photo with my phone a year ago when my mother and myself went to kuala lumpur and stayed there for about 14 hours. we just stayed one night, went to klcc in the morning and then traveled back to the airport (which is about an hour away from the city center) to catch our flights back to singapore. according to wikipedia, a filipino and one filipino-malaysian were involved in the design of this grand structure. at night, the twin towers stand out among all the other brightly lit buildings in the metropolis. it is a great sight to behold. at one time, when i was in kuala lumpur with agnes we walked from at least 5 kilometers away from the towers to the towers and then back to the hotel. we didnt know the way and were kind of primitive in our approach of finding the towers. all we had to do was look up at the sky and see the top portion of either towers and just follow it like the 3 kings following the north star on that cool night.

random i

life is a solo journey. i think it is a continuing process of getting to know oneself and achieving one's full potential as an individual. in life, we meet other people who are also, like ourselves, too pre occupied about something. something we cant put a finger on. then we realize that we only have to look at ourselves to see what we've so long been searching for. every individual has the capacity for greatness. a human almost never gets satisfied. he will always be looking for something greater than what is already. it is this insatiable nature that has led to the wondrous things around us. a constant change, that is life. you meet people, constantly. see places with them, do things with them. but at the end of your earthly existence, life was a journey you traveled alone.