One of the places in Europe which I want to visit again is Italy with its beautiful architecture and romantic ambiance. Don’t you just wish you’re on a European holiday and staying in one of those luxurious Italy hotels with your loved ones? My training companions and I stayed in Milan and were housed in fully-furnished rooms at walking distance to shops and stores. Thus we would usually tour around a bit after our classes.
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30
January
2008
26
January
2008
Torre de Belém, Portugal
One of the places to visit in Europe is Portugal attracting over 12.8 million tourists worldwide with most of them coming from the UK, Spain and Germany. Hmmm…not much from Asia, huh? Maybe because we’re too far from Europe and it really needs longer vacation period for trips to places such as this to make the most of your time and budget.
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23
January
2008
I was cleaning up the mess in my desk when I chanced upon a tiny strip of paper which I was about to throw but the scribble on it made me scrutinize it a bit. It was my Mom’s handwriting with this phrase: “P. Bulata 433-5160”. It’s the phone number for Punta Bulata White Beach Resort, one of my dream destinations in Negros Occidental. Aha! Another sea paradise for me to explore.
Photo credits: Punta Bulata White Beach Resort
17
January
2008
Jomabo is a small island off the coast of Escalante which is about an hour’s drive from Bacolod. There were six of us who ventured to this tiny piece of paradise – a haven of deep blue waters and white sand. We got there via a motorboat and stayed overnight in one the ‘satellite’ huts which extend to the sea and surrounded by the waters when the tide is high.
Such an idyllic scene with the sky, sea and sand!
Here’s one of the Jomabo huts at low tide.
Want to take a plunge?
A thin beach strip with the sea on both sides.
Photo credits: cmoud.com
8
January
2008
Being an archipelago, the most economical means of transportation in the Philippines when traveling from one island to another is by ferries and ships. I’ve had my share of being onboard motorboats during my trips to nearby smaller islands like when we had an overnight stay in Lakawon and Jomabo. These trips usually take about 45 minutes or so. Going to Cebu, Iligan, Manila and farther provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao is generally by bigger vessels. Travel time from Bacolod to Manila usually takes about 22 hours via Superferry and from Cebu to Iligan about 12 hours.
When college life took us to Cebu, my siblings and I became regulars of Bacolod-Cebu bus trips which taught me to be more practical when preparing for the long trip ahead such as wearing simple and comfortable clothing and keeping my bags as light as possible. Lately we have experienced the convenience of inter-island travel with the van where we loaded it onboard a barge or inter-island vessel in our recent trips to and from Cebu.
My sea travel experiences have brought many wonderful memories. I remember when we woke up early and drowsily went up the ship’s sun deck and watched the sun rise magnificently from the horizon. I also like standing by the side railings and looking downwards at the splash of waves as the ship is moving forward. If you look longer enough in the seascape, you could catch a rare sight of some fishes frolicking around.
Photo credits: Sunday by the Sea by ideasnpink
3
January
2008
It’s another year for us, another page in our lives. 2008 brings much hope, and I say it with a lot of positivity, especially with regards to my travel plans. *winks*
The first evening of January was the schedule for Talisay city’s annual fireworks display. Everybody was in anticipation of this great event which was held at the old municipal building grounds. The skies didn’t cooperate though when it rained heavily and the event didn’t start as scheduled. Oh well, we also planned that evening to go the city to witness the affair and I even thought of bringing my camera. The rains took away our enthusiasm as we content ourselves with watching it later in the evening at our backyard. The next day, one of our friends told us there were still many people who watched despite getting soaked in the rain.
Anyway, let’s just have some reminiscing. I’m sharing with you these photos taken from the same event last New Year 2006.
The skies were clear that time and lots of cars and people were on the streets. We joined the other residents watching the spectacular display while exclaiming our ‘wows’.
Photo credits: Bytes of Cookie
