We were supposed to go to Thailand last weekend. But that trip was cancelled because we were not able to book flight tickets. So Dihia and Achie Pin treated Mama and I to Boracay! Pictures are here.

Before that… On May 19, 2006, I had a much needed rest and relaxation at home. I already asked for leave from ci-tech because the trip was supposed to be from Friday to Sunday. But I’m not complaining! I was looking forward to the cheap shopping though. *hehe* That evening, hunbun and I exercised with our personal trainer. We then had dinner at QC.

We left around noon the next day for the domestic airport. We boarded a 50-person Asian Spirit airplane. I was quite apprehensive because of the “fly as an Asian and land as a spirit” joke. The flight was okay and the Oishi Bread Pan snack was yummy! We landed at Catiklan where the Friday’s Boracay employees were already waiting for us. We had a short car trip to the Fairways and BlueWater Resort Golf & Country Club’s high class port. (I remember that lounge because we stayed at that exclusive resort way back when I first went to Boracay so many years ago.) We then got on a fairly small boat to go to Boracay main. When we finally reached the shore, Friday’s welcome committee gave us seashell necklaces and cool drinks. They really know how to make the guests feel welcome. Well, for the price that we paid for - they should!

When I first stepped on the sand, I felt how pillow-y smooth and white it was. Really, no other beach I’ve been to compares to it. It’s like walking on baby powder. After checking in, mom and I immediately headed towards our room. It was really spacious and gorgeous - reminding me how much I wished hunbun was there with us. I fell in love with the room and that’s a lot coming from an extremely hard to please girl! *lol* We rested for a while while waiting for the sun to set. When it did, we quickly changed to our swimsuits and went to the beach. (Our mini-hut was just a few steps from the beach.) The water was uber clear and shallow too. We were quite a distance from the shore and yet the water was only waist-deep. With the starry sky above, smooth snad below, warm water and family around, it really was paradise. It would be perfect if hunbun was there…

Later on that night, we went to D* Mall to shop and have dinner. I saw a pretty pink and brown bikini set with matching skirt but I didn’t buy it because I’m too self-conscious to wear a belly-bearing swim suit. That’s one of my main motivation in exercising. *lol* We ate yummy ribs and seafood on the beach. For desert, we had crepes at Le Saint Michel Creperie. (Oh, Friday’s gave us little chocolate truffles to wish us good night. How nice!)

Mom woke me up early the next morning to have breakfast with her. The food at Friday’s is divine! Just the way I like food to be: classy and delicious! Afterwards, I went back to bed. Around noon, we all went to D* Talipapa. We shopped and bought some beach wear there. We also had a late lunch around 3PM. We bought fresh seafood and had a lady named Thess cook for us. She cooks extremely well especially with her sauces! We had a whole lot of food for so low a price! We took a stroll because all of us were so full.

I think we started from Station 3 all the way to Station 1. Of course, we didn’t walk all the way. We rode the tricycle for most of the part. You can really see the class difference in Boracay. The atmosphere in Station 3 was different from Station 2 and totally set apart from Station 1. Our resort was on Station 1 were the finest sand was. The difference in the type of people and stores per station is striking. There were also less and less people as we approached Station 1. I really prefer the soothing and more private feeling there. Station 2 was really hip though with a lot of happenings.

Anyway, we finally got back to our beach and swam again. Of course, that’s what we were there for. *hehe* We had lunch at Friday’s own restaurant. We had sea bass with risotto, special salad, and salmon pizza. Yum! Afterwards, we played in the sand. I really felt like a kid and I love that feeling. That night, the three of us girls had soothing massage from Nigi Nigi Nu Noos ‘e’ Nu Nu Noos Beach Resort massage personnels. Needless to say I had a lovely sleep.

It was a very rainy Monday morning, May 22, 2006. It was so hard to get out of the comfy bed. We were kind of rushed since the boat taking us back to Catiklan was scheduled at 7:30AM. We had a quick breakfast where I had salmon over hard bread. Anyway, the airplane ride back to Manila was horrible… It was gliding all over the place with so much turbulence. I got a major head ache.

But it was a great Boracay weekend. Hunbun and I must really save up a lot of money so that we can go back in the next few years. *hehe*

For this year’s Holy Week, we went to Batangas. I went with mama, sahia, and hunbun. Lots of pictures in Memories .

On April 14, we made our way to Batangas. We stopped over at Chowking Lipa for lunch. Then we headed to Blue Coral Resort. There were a lot of people taking their vacation there! *hehe* The place was small but nice enough. Our room was clean - with TV, DVD player, mini refrigerator, and aircon. Oh, the four of us stayed in one room only. We transferred all our things from the car and finally got settled around noon. It was way too hot at that time to swim just yet so we spent the afternoon playing tong-its. We got around to changing into our swimsuits, putting on a lot of sun block, and went to the beach around 6pm. Night swimming is fun especially when you have your own salbabida. It was nice to star gaze too… Dinner followed but I really don’t like the food they served. Then, we sang on the karaoke machine (Php5.00 per song) and watched The Longest Yard before going to sleep.

We all woke up really early the next day. Mom bought us all taho to eat as pre-breakfast. Hunbun and I swam a little bit while mom bought some pearls from the vendors there. At around 7 in the morning, hunbun and I rode the jet ski. It wasn’t as fun as I expected because the water was really choppy and we couldn’t go too far. I prefer the one in Subic better.

Lunch was really a let down at Blue Coral… We checked out shortly afterwards and switched to Laiya Coco Grove Resort. The lunch there was so much better - and so was the service! Well, Coco Grove was more expensive so that came with the price. Our lodging there was atop a tree house and surprising comfortable. Around 4:30pm, a tour guide my mom knew fetched us from our room to bring us to their White Beach extension. We went there to ride the Flying Fox. It was incredibly hard to go up the tree but the ride was fun. I was scared but the ride was too short to really get freaked out. Besides, I rode it twice. Then, our tour guide took us on a mini jungle trekking. We crossed the rope bridge and helped each other out on the “tilting cooperative bridge”. It was fun since I rarely go adventuring. Hunbun and I then took a walk on the shore while mom dipped in the water. We took another jeep ride back to the main resort. Upon arriving, I quickly jumped on the trampulin. I felt like a kid! *haha* I like the feeling of being bounced around. After dinner, we all went for a night swim in the heated swimming pool. I almost drowned in the shallow water - trying to sit atop the floating device is not good. *lol*

April 16 was our last day of vacation. We started the day by going snorkling! The last time I went snorkling was way back in Boracay. I was hesitant at first to get into the ocean since I don’t know how to swim but I managed to get over my fear. My nice snorkling gear and life vest obviously helped. We brought some food to lure the fishies and there were a lot of them. We all had a really nice time and we were all reluctant to get back on the boat. After lunch, we got ready to leave for Manila. But mom wanted to resort hop a little and check out other vacation spots. We toured La Luz Resort and the ambience there was really relaxing. Afterwards we finally drove back home. We stopped over Chowking again for merienda and I bought hunbun his favorite One Red Tea at a gas station. We had a nice dinner at Little Asia.

Still, nothing beats home sweet home.

First of all, belated merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone!

My brother finally bought a new digital camera. It’s the Canon IXUS 55 with 5.0 Megapixels and I love it! That’s why this post is a bit overloaded with pictures. *hehe*

Last December 17, 2005, I had lunch with the girls. Jen, Steph, Vassy, and I met at Teriyaki Boy. We caught up on each other’s lives and as usual shared gossip. Talking with them made me realize I really want to go to Beijing for the 6-month crash course on Mandarin. I heard it is an exceptionally good experience and a venue to foster business contacts. Not to mention, it’s a lot of fun especially with friends. *lol*

On December 20, 2005, hunbun and I had merienda at QCSC. The next day, we went to Eastwood for the CompSAt EB dinner at Fazoli’s. I shopped a little and bought cute tops from Plaids and Prints - the clothes there fit me well. We also watched King Kong. It’s a really long and depressing movie. I found that man is really selfish and greedy. Poor King Kong…

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