happy steps

Visiting castles would always be on the travel itinerary of tourists when going to Europe. It’s like stepping into the days of kings and queens, or imagining you’re part of a fairy tale. Getting inside the medieval castle of Turku acquaints the visitor of Finland’s rich culture and history, each stair or doorway leading to more interesting rooms and displays.

The Renaissance castle exterior (or bailey) was constructed during the 15th to 16th centuries, while its main building (or keep) dates back to the early 14th century. The castle was subjected to some damage during World War II, but was gradually restored to its original grandeur through the years, afterwhich its ownership was entrusted to the Finnish state and presently managed by the City of Turku.
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What do you do when you only have few hours to spend for sightseeing around a picturesque place such as Turku?

Along the Aura River

It was late in the afternoon when we arrived, so we lost no time in dropping by one of its famous landmarks, the Turku Castle. Being the oldest city of Finland and one of its former capital, Turku (Abo in Swedish) boasts of a rich history particularly in the Middle Ages as well as being designated as one of the future European Capitals of Culture (2011).
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Situated in the Satakunta Province, in the western part of Finland, Old Rauma is a UNESCO World Heritage site since it represents the history of Scandinavia’s early towns constructed in wood. Notable buildings/sites are the Old Town Hall, Marela Museum, Kirsti Museum, Rauma Art Museum, Church of the Holy Cross and the Ruins of the Church of the Holy Trinity.
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We’ve been thinking of touring Pori during weekends and even possibly going to Helsinki. Too bad my big sis got sick and I got the rashes. Another concern is going around the area with a bigger vehicle since all of us can’t fit in their car. Good thing my big sis’ flat is located in the city center and everything is just within walking distance – the shops, grocery stores, market square, schools and other tourist attractions, though the idea of car rental for weekend family holiday trips is also good.
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Finland, being one of the members of the Schengen states was easier for us (Dad, Mom, cutie sis, baby C and me) to travel from Czech Republic without needing a visa. Since it’s where my big sis is based with her family, going there from Prague was an idea we were toying about and we’re glad to have finally visited this part of Northern Europe.

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Hiya all! Just sharing to you some photos from where we are staying here in Prague, at the 15th floor of my cutie sis’ flat, specifically in Praha 4.

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After watching four movies and a TV show, trying to sleep snugly and browsing over KLM’s in-flight magazine, I decided to fight away boredom during the long flight from Manila to Amsterdam by taking some photos of the view outside the plane’s window.

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Over all, my trip from Manila to Prague was just ‘perfect’ and I am thankful for the little things that made it such a breeze.

The night before my flight, I was still busy trying to organize my luggage and bags while chatting with my cutie sis in Prague and finalizing things. With just few hours of sleep, I woke up drowsy and tired, feeling so tense and excited at the same time. After a quick breakfast, securing my techie bro’s condo (tidying up the place and turning off the main power switch) and getting everything ready, my companion and I waited at the lobby for a taxi to pick us up. I was a bit worried that I would be late for the 10:45am flight.
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Woweee, time flies really fast! Just last month I was busy purchasing our travel tickets online and now we’re catching up with the trip requirements. The past few days, we were also in the malls buying stuff to bring with us especially the pasalubongs. Oh well, even if it was a weekday, SM Bacolod was packed with many shoppers. I commented about this to cutie sis and she replied, “It’s summer!” Yeahhh… how could I forget? That means more students on vacation and since the weather’s been really hot (it’s currently at 34 degrees Celsius), you can see more people hanging out in the malls.

At SM Bacolod, looking down from the end of the bridgeway

It was a spur of the moment decision for Mom and I. Whatever reasons we had in mind, business or vacation or a mix of both, we decided to head on to Baguio from Manila after talking to an old friend who resides there. She instructed me to just take one of the late night bus trips in Cubao and she’ll meet us at the terminal upon arrival. So we slept the night away in the bus and arrived in Baguio early the next day. After finding a room for us and having breakfast, off we went around the city. First we stopped by the Baguio Cathedral and then to Session Road (my favorite area) where many shops, banks, hotels and restaurants are lined up.
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With our passports expiring this year, cutie sis and I went to the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) office in Iloilo for the renewal. We chose Iloilo since going there from Bacolod takes just about an hour via fast ferries compared to Cebu where another DFA office is located. We took the early morning trip via SeaJet and arrived before 8AM at the DFA. At the pier gates, you can see a line of trisikads (bicycle-driven carriage) asking if you want to go to the DFA. I guess they assume that most of the passengers arriving in Iloilo are going to the DFA. :) For Php10 per person, cutie sis and I rode one and got to our destination within 15 minutes.
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One of the simple pleasures of going on a trip is finding some great shopping spots along the way – be it food, souvenirs, clothing or…how about this?

The road along Sum-ag highway with pottery products on display

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Continued from The Punta Bulata experience: Sky, sea and sand

“There are times when we experience great achievements and inspiring moments just before being beset with misery or pain. Like the sunset, our life’s glorious moments strengthen us to what lies ahead. We know the darkness won’t last long, and we will always have another beautiful sunset to look forward to.”
The Irony of Sunsets by ideasnpink

I’m always fascinated with sunsets when the sky plays a blend of different hues in varying shades as the day ends. How often do we take for granted this natural yet stunning phenomenon which happens daily, but there at Punta Bulata beach resort, away from my hectic schedule and piled up tasks, I have witnessed again the different colors of the sky at dusk.

It was like seeing the sky being painted in colors that change as the minutes passed - from light yellow to brownish orange to deep red - until darkness shrouded the earth.

Sunsets have their way of telling me not to dwell so much on life’s miseries but to look forward to the many possibilities that lie ahead.

Continued from The Punta Bulata experience: Going there

After we settled reservation matters with the resort manager, we headed to our chosen accommodation, the Beach Casita (Php4,800/day or US $180/day for 6 persons) since it has a kitchenette for cooking (too bad there’s no ref) and is situated in an isolated part of the resort which was what we really wanted. An added bonus is that the house is just few meters away from the beach. It has two air-conditioned bedrooms (though not so spacious) with two single beds provided with beddings. Beside the dining area, there are two additional beds as well.

After lunch, we lost no time exploring the resort, walking barefoot on the white sand and taking a plunge in the clear blue waters. The rough and worrisome ride on our way to the resort was worth it after all.
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One reason for travel is to learn and appreciate the culture, creativity and art of other places. This is why I enjoy dropping by trade shows and exhibits displaying locally made handicrafts and souvenir items. When we spent our holidays in Thailand, we took time to visit the OTOP (One Tambon One Product) trade show at the IMPACT in Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi.
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After listing Punta Bulata as one of my dream destinations in Negros Island, we finally had our date with this white sand beach resort last week. As with all travel tales, the trip to the place itself was part of the experience. Since we rode in our trusty van with Dad as the driver, we had the liberty to bring more stuff. While we were busy packing up, sis’ hubby teased us that we were bringing half of the house. LOL. Yup we brought the rice cooker, kitchen knives, pots, plates and other utensils plus all sorts of food for our overnight stay. We left home at about 8AM, dropped by few minutes at the meat shop and the nearby convenience store.

Punta Bulata is situated in the municipality of Cauayan, about 152 kilometers far from the city of Bacolod. Going there, you have to pass by Pontevedra, Hinigaran, Binalbagan and other municipalities.

Sugarcane plantation with Mt. Kanlaon in the background
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Nothing beats hitting the road with your own car. The convenience and comfort are just some of the pluses especially if you’re going to visit another province with your family. In our case, we always travel with our trusty van, loading it onboard an interisland vessel or barge when we visited another island. We’re just glad we bought a vehicle that’s big enough to accommodate our things (and food!) for the trip. This is why some travel bugs find many ways to buy their own vehicles too. At least, with your own car, you can go easily go places with the road becoming a familiar friend.

Most car owners on a budget got their vehicles from used car outlets or through car loans. For those whose cars still needed to be paid off, they can consider car refinance options to get better loan terms such as a lesser monthly payment and lower interest rate. I’ve been browsing the rateGenius online marketplace where borrowers and lenders meet to get the best funding opportunity such as car refinancing. Hmmm…travel bugs could find some good deals here to refinance their cars so they can happily go on their next trip with more budget for gas and meals.

Thailand is a not only an exotic and interesting place with its majestic temples, ancient ruins and modern buildings; it’s also a place of non-stop shopping. Everywhere you look – in the busy sidewalks, inside huge trendy malls and crowd-filled markets – anytime of the day (and night), you’d always find something to lure the shopper in you.

The Thais are very artistic and creative with their well-crafted bags, accessories, décors which are great for souvenirs and gifts.

Decorative vases and table pieces

Knitted goodies!

I want that bag please…

R-jed posing with some ladies accessories

These Thai bags are the usual pasalubongs and gifts for friends

Photos taken at the Chiang Mai night market. Thanks to dviewfinder.com for some of the pics.

Here’s another island paradise for me… Lakawon, a small island strip of white sand off the coast of Cadiz Viejo in Negros Occidental. Personally, I think it got its name from the Cebuano word “lakaw” meaning “to walk” since you can spend just a day touring the island which is relatively small in size.

These photos sure bring back some wonderful memories of our family escapade to this laid back resort few years back.

We rode a small speedboat to get to the island. Here’s how Lakawon looks like from afar.

Enjoying the sand with Tony, Leen, Anzel and R-vin

Travelling baby R-jed

Dad and Mom with the ‘Tres Marias’ – Ck, Cy and Dy

Going home… bye Lakawon! *sob*

Just some infos:
Location: Cadiz Viejo, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental
Travel time: About 1 hour and 30 minutes from Bacolod city to Cadiz Viejo

I’ve already heard our neighbors and friends talk about the restaurant and spa in Talisay. Our family had actually dined once in their restaurant which is now moved to another location within the compound beside the main building. Aside from their spa facilities, they also have some cozy rooms for rent. Photos were taken during our community’s Christmas party last year.

You can’t miss this big globe within the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) outdoor complex especially at night when it reflects the changing of different colors of light every few minutes. I enjoyed watching it amidst the groups of shoppers rushing to catch any of the late night buses passing by.

This landmark symbolizes the size and advancement MOA represents being the third largest shopping mall in the world.

Despite the heavy dark clouds looming above the sky, Mom and I were able to catch a breath of fresh air at the rooftop of the Amvel Mansions Condominium Tower 2 in Parañaque. We enjoyed the great view of the surrounding districts and nearby establishments including ongoing road constructions and some foliage and even a lake.

Nearby establishments such as the SM Sucat buildings (center and rightmost) and the Avida Towers (left)

Aside from natural and historical tourist attractions in Manila, who would have thought that a mall would also be on my list of must-see places to visit during my stay there? Well, I’ve been reading and hearing lots of raves about the SM Mall of Asia (MOA), and of course, considering it IS one huge work of architecture, I just had to include it in my itinerary. Too bad, we can only go out during evenings since we had a hectic daytime schedule, but nevertheless off we went to MOA for three consecutive evenings to buy important home décors and accessories. Despite our limited time, here are some photos taken at the MOA:

The view from across the Main mall façade

Inside the Main mall: the curved ceiling reminds me of outer space vehicles

A shopper sitting comfortably beside the fountain

The walkway in-between the Main mall and the Entertainment mall

By the way, MOA is so huge you need to have at least a day (or even more) to explore what it has to offer.

Arrived safe and sound from Manila today! Whew…thank God, Mom and I were able to catch the 8:25 AM Manila-Bacolod Cebu Pacific flight given the limited time of preparation for the trip.

Anyway, it’s good to come home to the newly opened Bacolod-Silay airport. I’ve been in this airport before, during my flight to Manila but didn’t have the chance to take a photo of the building though. Here’s a view from across the road.

The government is proud that this new domestic airport is of international standards, and compared to the old Bacolod airport, it has better facilities and bigger parking spaces.

What I like most are the covered passageways when boarding the plane. No more going down the tarmac and climbing the high steps of the plane during boarding.

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

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

Merry Christmas!!!

I just want to share with you the holiday attraction at the Silay City plaza with their trees adorned with lights and the numerous artistic pieces displayed around which were actually entries for a Christmas art competition. We’ve heard about these creative works of art being showcased and we’ve been planning to visit it earlier during the week but got so busy and finally had our chance yesterday.

A life-size Christmas Belen (nope, this is not part of the contest entries)

Christmas lights encircled around trees

Christmas angel (1st prize)

Christmas angel (2nd prize)

Christmas king or one of the wise men (1st prize)

Though I don’t know the contest rules but just by observation, the materials have to made of indigenous and recyclable items. Anyway, here’s a pic of the facade of the Silay Cathedral taken that night.

And look at these Christmas lights outside Uncle J’s residence… very artistic as well!

It’s that time of the year when you see houses and buildings spruced up with holiday trimmings and blinking lights. Yup, Christmas is here again and I felt the spirit of the holiday season as we drove through Bacolod city this evening. You can see most of the buildings lighted up with all sorts of lanterns or adorned with blinking and dancing lights. Despite feeling sleepy, I managed to take shots of some buildings along Lacson Street.

The PNB (Philippine National Bank) building and the dimly lit lagoon in the foreground. The red and green lights are usually activated during special events such as the Masskara festival and now the Christmas season.

Doesn’t that brightly lit building look familiar? That’s the favorite hangout of families especially if there are little kids in tow.

Christmas lights gracing the facade of a building.

Here’s how the city lagoon looks like at 10pm.

Christmas puppet show at the Robinson’s Place mall.

Yes, I do agree, Thailand is such an amazing country, being one of Asia’s top tourist destinations with its grand combination of beautiful ancient temples, historical ruins, contemporary buildings and busy malls. Its international airport, the Suvarnabhumi Airport (pronounced as su-wan-na-poom) is one of Southeast Asia’s busiest, accommodating numerous flights within the region and worldwide, and boasts of having the world’s highest air traffic control tower.

I consider Thailand as my second home country having taken up my graduate studies at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in the province of Pathumthani which is about an hour away from the capital city of Bangkok. It was also my first time to be stepping into another Asian country, though adjusting to the new environment was not a big thing since the weather and surroundings are pretty much the same as my home country, the Philippines.

The only thing that gave me a bit of challenge was the language barrier since most of the Thais don’t speak English. It’s not a big problem though since most of them are polite and friendly, especially the sales people at the malls and shops who try their best to accommodate your needs. Even if I have stayed and worked for some years in Thailand, and oftentimes visiting whenever I have some projects (I’ve been there twice last year), I still can’t get enough of this place, and there’s always that sad and wistful feeling whenever I am about to go home. Yes, there are still so many things to learn and discover about this country.