Manong Calbo goes to Bicol

I was fortunate enough to visit Bicol last weekend and enjoy the best that the place can offer to a first time visitor. We went there as a group of seven and it was a good decision on the part of the organizer as this would lower down the budget. One way bus ride costs around 950php - 1200php (depends on which bus carrier you prefer) and I think plane fare costs 2000php and above. Travel time for bus is around 9-12hours and 40mins-1hour via plane. Bus trip took longer than usual because of the damaged road around the Quezon-Bicol boundary and there a long of vehicles using the alternate route. My estimate would be 2-3km vehicular traffic (one way) and 2hour traffic. It would be wise to choose bus carriers who has spacious leg room and adjustable seat rest. Number one choice for me would be Cagsawa (and their courteous drivers) and Philtranco (their return is a bit more expensive though).


We left Manila around 6:30 (Friday night) and we took a Bicol bound Philtranco bus from Pasay City. Beware of the nosy porters near the area and make sure your valuables are tucked away in a safe place.



Took a picture of what it looks in front of the bus while we passed by Quezon boundary and headed towards Bicol. Good thing we were seated in the front row.




This is where we got off after the 12 hour journey to Bicol from Manila. Naga city bus terminal and make sure your stomach is strong enough to eat the food offered at the various carinderias there. Bring any medicine like Diatabs or the likes of it. Don't expect the place to be a first class area and cowboy rules apply.

World Cyber Games 08

The olympics of pc gaming back again and this time more games for everyone to try their best at (i'd be joining c&c3 - hehehe). I'm only surprised that there's not much word being spread regarding this event. Hopefully, I can still join the Manila elimination series and do my best (I bet i'll be going up against a teenager-lol). I've been hooked to the c&c series for some time and I have some tricks to pull off a nice win.

Labor Day in the Philippines

This is the area between Holy Spirit College and La Consolacion College in Manila. Trailers are set before the entrance to Malacanang and various police were stationed around the area. Some folks high up in the government are avoiding any sudden rush of laborers not happy with the current economic situation.





Life still goes on even it's a non-working holiday in the country. People go to and from with their business. The holiday coincided with the weekly novena to St. Jude.

*****

Notice the rows of buses to the right? Those were to transport additional police officers to supplement the earlier batch who be keeping order around the Mendiola area.

White Shirt Day at the office

Management asked the whole revenue team to join the "wear something white" contest. At stake was another dinner treat for the winning team. Every team joined in and there was no sharing of pictures nor comparing notes. It's exciting to see everyone into the action and can't wait to know who won.

Can't help but reminisce those days when I used to work at Sykes Asia and we had bigger allocation for team funds. I'm also starting to miss the company outing which is quite impossible due to the number employees that my employer has. It's a daunting task for anyone from management but i'll just look forward to any development.

Exploring Bicol and Sorsogon

Here are some pictures that my girlfriend took during the trip


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Barcelona church

7th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention 2008

7th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention 2008
June 14-15, 2008
Megatrade Hall 2-3, SM Megamall
Manila, Philippines

http://www.toyconph.com

Top Shot Imaging Contest

My friend (and fellow blogger) Ace posted something about a photo contest that was sponsored by Sony Ericsson. Good thing I was able to see the announcement early enough for me to gather all pictures from my w810 and choose my best pictures for the contest. I'm attaching some of my entires here and hopefully I win ^_^.



^^Weekend night life at Puerto Galerta


^^Sunset time at Puerto Galera



^^ Random shot at Puerto Galera (panoramic shot and 2 frames were used instead of 3)



^^Afternoons at Puerto Galera



^^Lunch time at Chinatown




^^ The muse of our house

Weekends at Galera

Let me share some pics from our recent weekend trip. Three days and nights of fun and headaches. Started with our booking being cancelled because of "peak season" and "lots of visitors" excuses from the owner of our favorite place. Good thing I still have a few friends there who helped me find a much better place to stay. Aside form that I came to Galera with not much sleep and I think I only did a 10-minute power nap back at the office. The weather was crazy! Day one was packed with lots dark clouds and some rain showers. Day two was had darker rain clouds floating around and mild-strong winds the whole day. Third day was blessed for the clouds cleared way for the sun for a few hours and then back to cloudy day mode again. Trip back to Batangas Pier was crazy as well. The ferry ride was punctuated by big waves at the middle of the sea. Head count of people throwing was about 5. All "exotics" tagging along with their foreigner boyfriends. I'll be posting another blog entry about rowdy and noisy Indians or middle-east type looking people. If i had my way - i'd kick them out of them ferry boat for being annoying.

My next destination...Hundred Islands

It all started when I got curious about this place after hearing stories from my officemates about this place. I only heard about this place from my history/geography class back in high school. Fortunately, I was looking for another alternative destination to my usual weekend destinations.

The place is located north of Manila and approximately 3-5 hours via bus. Hopefully, I will survive this trip because I am not used to traveling for more than four hours.

Currently, my s.o and my former officemates agreed to go along. Planning can be quite a headache because we have no idea how much we should aside for a 3d2n trip. I'm also having a hard time getting confirmation from my officemates (good thing I have Galera as plan B). This would be my post birthday gift to myself/post monthsarry gift & post valentines gift to my s.o. Whew! 3 birds with one stone. Hehehe! ^_^

Images from Thet's wedding

12-25-2007 Christmas Day pics

Another round of out of town trips...

This year all of my out of trips will be on hold for a while. I'm trying to pay off my credit card debts. But next year will be another story. I'm expecting a close relative to visit and spend 2-3 weeks in Pinas. The keywords given to me were "beaches that we haven't been to"

I'm worried about the expenses (sobrang mahal naman kasi ng air fare dito tapos may airport fee pa) so right now i'm already looking into the options that we can try out and see where we can go to. So far it's a 4d3n trip and DIY thing.

Possible options

1. Bantayan Island (cebu)

2. El Nido, Palawan

3. San Juan, La Union

4. Hundred Islands, Pangasinan

5. Puerto Galera

6. Verde Island, Mindoro

7. Bohol

8. Balai Resorts, Batangas

9. Pagudpud, Ilocos

Oktoberfest 07 (closing party)

I sneaked out of the office and met friends from the lounge. Purps texted me earlier that the group would be going to Metrowalk to attend the closing party of the SMB Oktoberfest 2007 and mentioned that they would be there around 7pm onwards. I went to work early and checked if all my to do list is in place (i only have a 30min-1hour to be with those guys). They way going to the event was a crazy one. Many teenagers were scattered along the road even at the vicinity of the event area - they were the unlucky ones that were not allowed by the event security because they look troublemakers (snatchers and pickpockets). Their parents should have made them stay back home and do their homework instead.

Going back to where i should be...

I met Purps and the gang who were seated at the front of Iceberg and were having dinner; i wanted to join them with their dinner although time won't give me the luxury of doing it (i only have a 1 hour break for my shift). i missed being with them (yeah-close enough to being with my old barkada). After 40 mins of exchanging pleasantires - I bade them good bye since I have tons of reports to do (i even brought home some) and bought my friday night supply of caramel frapp.

I'm hoping to see them again :)

Puerto Galera 2007