Cute Stuffs in Korea

Even before landing in the land of the cute stuffs. I am both excited and nervous, I can hear my piggy bank hailing me to stop buying useless stuff. Super cute stuffs that in the end I might regret buying, or I’ll ask myself WHY? Why did I give in to temptations. Haha.

I have decided to list down the things I want to buy…

Credits: http://seoulistic.com/just-for-fun/40-cute-must-buy-things-in-korea/
http://www.thekoreanbaby.com/sections/category/hanbok/

1. Socks – cute socks!!! Can’t wait to replenish my socks.

2. Hanbok for Edward.

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3. Planner / Notebooks – for what? I don't know yet, I'll have use for it eventually.

4. Couple stuffs – I’ll try to look for something cute and useful.

5. Erasers… I’ll see if I can resist. After all, I collect it.

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6. Korean Figurines – I’m not really sure about it but it looks cute. So, let’s see.

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Places I Want To Visit

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] There are some places where I think I need to visit. Not now but I really hope that I’ll be able to visit these places.

Santorini, Greece – I fell in love with Santorini after seeing it in Love at the Aegean Sea. It looks peaceful and romantic.

Hampshire, England – I’ve read about this place in the romance books and I can’t help but wonder what the place really looks like.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Orlando – Being a fan of Harry Potter, I would like to see for myself how the world of Harry Potter looks like.

Scotland – Reading about castles make me want to see them live. It’s always a wonder how royalty live their lives.

Empire State Building, New York – This is inspired by Percy Jackson, I would like to see for myself the entrance to Mount Olympus.

Xian, China – Since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated with the Terracota Army, I can’t imagine each having their own unique features.

Forbidden City – Beijing, China – Being a fan of costume drama, it’s a must to see where the emperors were living during Tang and Qin Dynasty.

Coron, Palawan – I like seeing Paradise-looking island. Although I’m not really a beach-loving person.

Thailand – I was once fascinated with the culture of Thailand.

Las Vegas – Of course, this might be a bit bias, I like gambling. Not really losing money, but I like watching people gamble and win. And Bellagio is where Hana Yori Dango final shot the fountain scene.

Ebisu Garden Place, Japan – Of course, the famous scene for Hana Yori Dango. Super romantic.

Athens, Greece – Land of Greek Mythology. I would like to see the ruin temples. This place is rich with Greek Myth influence. O hail Poseidon!

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February 2011 – Travel Updates

I saw a cool website to pin all the countries you are able to visit. And voila, here’s mine.

I’ve visited 9 countries so far, well, Hongkong is not in the list. I just realized, I’ve been to Taiwan 9 times also. If only I’ve visited other countries… then I’ll be able to pin some more countries. No regrets though, I super love Taiwan.

create your own visited country map

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Wregent Plaza Hotel, Bohol

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] This hotel is a great find. I just realized that a lot of the hotels are not available via expedia. That’s why you really have to be resourceful to find great hotels such as Wregent Plaza Hotel. We found this hotel via Google Map, looking for a hotel near the port that looks decent enough. Reservation was made via phone. Long distance to Bohol, but it was easy. And the reception was really nice to talk to. Very helpful and informative.

We took the cab to reach the hotel, 45 Php, it’s really near. Upon arrival, in less than 5 minutes of check-in, we’re on our way to our room. The elevator is a bit small, just enough for 4 people with gym bags to fit in. So if you have more baggage, multiple trips might be necessary. Our room was located at 5 floor, room number 9. At first, I was a bit nervous of how would it look like since I was the one who chose it. But it turned out better than expected and I was really glad.

The room is really spacious with 2 queen size beds sprawled in the room. We also had a TV and a minibar. Lots of space to walk and place your things. We had a small table and a chair. The room was air-conditioned. It was a bit cold at midnight that I had to get up and wore a jacket while sleeping. We spent 2,700 for the room and breakfast for 4. Initially, the breakfast was good for 2 people only but we only have to add 140 Pesos and the 4 of us can have breakfast.

The bathroom was beyond expectation, it looked pretty decent. The only boo-boo was there was a small cockroach. Aside from that it was perfect. To think we even had a tub. Thankfully, there was hot water. It’s basically clean. The bathroom door even has its design.

 

Breakfast was a bit disappointing, not really the food but the service. It was super late. Michelle even pre-ordered the food at 7:30 AM so that when we go down we’ll just eat and go on with our tour. Even if it was pre-ordered. It took more than 30 minutes to get the food at our table. Nothing special with the food. The coffee and hot chocolate was a bit funny. They provide instead coffee and swiss miss, you have to prepare it yourself. This is the first time I encountered this kind of breakfast.

The location of the hotel was really good, it’s just infront of a busy street. It’s walking distant to a nearby mall. With McDonald’s near the place and a lot of ATMs nearby. This is also frequently visited by tricycle drivers so if you plan to go around the area using tricycle. You’ll be able to get one just in front of the hotel. Even taxi cabs, but it’s a bit rare.

The lobby of the hotel was air-conditioned, they also have a comfort room nearby. The guard was nice, he even took our picture in the lobby. They are also selling tarsier inspired products as souvenirs. I wasn’t able to inquire on the price though.

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Jet-setter for 2011

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] Kalvin and I would be jet-setters for year 2011. It’s not even the end of the 1st quarter yet, our travel plans for the year is already complete I think. We need to save up soon.

May 29 – June 10 – Manila-Tokyo-Hongkong-Macau-Hongkong-Manila
June 29 – July 3 – Manila-Davao-Manila
September 4-7 – Manila-Legaspi-Manila
November 14-19 – Manila-Seoul-Jeju Island-Seoul-Manila

How I love travelling. Tokyo, Davao, Legaspi and Seoul would be first time for me. Looking forward to travelling with Kalvin.

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Bohol

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] Land of the Chocolate Hills and Tarsier. I had a lot of fun in Tagbilaran, Bohol. The perfect opportunity to visit this place was after our teambuilding in Cebu. Originally, 6 of us would go to Bohol but due to last minute changes we’re down to 4. Still, it was fun to travel with my team.

We got here around 7:15 PM coming from Cebu via Super Cat. Upon stepping out of the terminal, there are lots of people offering transportation services. We looked for a cab and the first driver attempted to fool us by charging 100 pesos for the ride. We insisted that we travel via the meter. In the end it was only 45 pesos. After all, when we selected the hotel, we knew that it was near the ferry terminal.

We checked in Wregent Plaza Hotel, the place was better than expectation. How we got to know of the place? Thank you google map. We are looking for nearby hotels from the terminal and we tried to see the pictures of each of the hotel. Wregent hotel pictures seemed decent and we went with our instinct to book it. I was not disappointed. I think it was a good value of money really. Imagine, we got the room for 2,700 Php with breakfast, located at 5 floor room number 9. The room was good enough for 4 people. 2 Queen size beds. It was spacious and mind you, it has a tub. Thinking we’re settling in a 3-star hotel. I never expected to have a tub.

Since the hotel is located in the city, a short walking distance, we found the mall where we had our dinner. Their mall closes at 9 PM. Since we arrived a bit late, the time was not enough for us. We tried eating in Wok Express. It’s a mixed cuisine of food and it’s rather cheap. Imagine, a 5-pieces salmon sashimi for 90 Php. They also serve Pad Thai and Pancit Canton. Their serving size is really small. So expect to spend at least 100-200 to get a full meal. We had our desserts of Buco Halo Halo in Payag, a local delicacy. It was good. But you have to add on milk and sugar to make it taste better.

The next day is when our city tour began. We had a lot of  places to visit but all was done within the day. Approximately 7 hours of travel. Our designated driver was Kuya Jun. He’s fun and he even takes our photo.

1st stop was the Chocolate Hills, this is the farthest location of all. It took approximate 2 hours to reach it from Tagbilaran City. When I saw it, it’s not really a Chocolate Hills since it’s color green, I call it Greenhills. Still, it was a sight to see. After studying it in elementary. It’s nice to actually visit and see the place. There is a viewing deck at the top of one hill. It’s about 150 – 200 steps. It’s a bit steep but there are lots of rest area along the way for the people who lack exercise, like me. If you plan to take good picture, then I suggest you go this way. Go up the hill using the stairs. and go down the path using the hiking trail. This way you’ll be able to capture different views. Both are magnificent by the way. Near the chocolate hills, there’s a place where you can get your photos taken with a tarpaulin. Each picture cost 100 Php, you can act like Harry Potter. Flying through a broomstick. We got a good bargain. We paid for 800 Php and we got the soft-copy version of the pictures around 26 pieces. 🙂

Next stop is the Butterfly Garden, they offer free tour for all visitors where you would be educated on butterflies. Their life span and even their mating routines. Did you know that butterfly eat rotten fruits? And their lifespan is only 21 days and they can mate for 24 hours. I’m not sure if these are useful information but the tour guide was freely sharing these things.

In the Butterfly Garden, they sell natural fruit ice cream for 35 Php. I tried the peach flavor since it’s not normal to find that flavor of ice cream in Manila. The first bite taste like peach but the next few bites, it tasted like Mango.

The man-made forest is another sight to see. I literally got goosebumps when I saw it. It was so beautiful that it reminded me of Twilight. This place reminds me of the woods in the movie. How I wish Edward appeared when we were there. The history behind this man-made forest is also incredible. It took 20 years for it to grow. Volunteers started a tree-planting event and voila, the start of the forest. It’s hard to take pictures in this place as it’s in the middle of the street. You need to carefully time the picture taking as cars are passing every minute or so. So set your camera on a fast shuttle mode.

The hanging bridge was so scary. But crossing it was worth the experience.

Only 10 people are allowed to cross the bridge at a time. It’s for a good reason, it was shaking tremendously as we were crossing. Since, I’m acrophobic, I had a hard time crossing it. The end of the bridge? You’ll be able to buy cheap souvenirs and peanut kisses. The problem in visiting the place is that you have to cross it two times. One going in and one going out. There’s no other way you can leave the place. They also have an exhibition, for 100 Php, Buko King would peel the coconut with his teeth.

There’s really nothing special with the lunch set for the Loboc River Cruise. Instead, it’s the experience that’s worth trying. In the middle of the cruise, there would be a show in one of the river docks. And the view is magnificent. If the water was cleaner, it would be better. It’s a buffet so you have to act fast if you want good food. It’s also fun to see how they refill the food, they have a floating kitchen on a separate boat. You can move to the front of the boat in the middle of the cruise. Ours had a singer, but he’s not good at the diction and the songs are old. Really old.

No flash, no touch! That’s the rule in the Tarsier sanctuary. They were around 8-10 tarsiers. It’s super small and scary. I like this picture of the tarsiers. If you would put your head in the bottom, it’s like a headband of tarsiers. Haha, sorry it’s a bit morbid. Anyway, they are scary because they keep on jumping from one branch to another. Scaring the wits out of me. At the same time, when they’re stressed out, their eyes are growing that it seems that it would pop out. Eww…

Baclayon church has it’s own museum similar to San Agustin. It’s sad however that we weren’t able to visit it due to time constraint. But we were able to see the interior of the church. They are a bit strict. In fact, if you are wearing something revealing, they would give you a cloth to wrap yourself in. This is something I won’t worry about. The interior is nice.

The last stop is the Blood Compact shrine,

this is a 5 minute stop in the middle of the street. Honestly, I didn’t remember that the blood compact happened in Bohol. My memory fails me. Anyway, it’s nice to take a photo here. A lot of street vendors selling tarsier souvenirs.

We went to Aproniana Souvenir Shop. They have a large variety of food and souvenir items. At the door, they are giving discount cards (more like paper) 3% for food items and 10% for non-food items. The quality of the goods are not that good and it’s a bit expensive. The quality of souvenirs were better in the hanging bridge and even cheaper.

I think this is our trip itinerary. We just meshed up the order and decided to let go of the Python tour due to time constraint. This wraps up our Bohol trip with my NEA colleagues. If you can see, they are all wearing summer outfits except for me because I don’t want to get tanned. Despite looking weird, I had a lot of fun. Until next time.

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Cebu Food Trip

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] In the recent P&G FAST Teambuilding, it felt like we were on a food trip. No matter what time of day, it seemed that we kept on eating and eating. And if ever I gained some pounds, there’s no other excuse. There were tons of food and I like to try them all out.

From the airport, we were delivered to Mc Donald’s Asiatown IT Park, where we had breakfast and business briefing. The waiting time in the airport made our appetite grew larger. By the time we were at Mc Donald’s we ate without a care in the world. I got the muffin set, where the Sausage McMuffin was separated and served.

Right after the debriefing, we were brought to Waterfront Hotel, Lahug – Uno Restaurant for our lunch. It was a buffet. There was a wide selection of food that I had a hard time choosing what I want to try out. The buffet costs 700 Php. But I think it wasn’t worth it. Majority of the food looks nice but none really stood out. In fact the Chinese food selection falls below expectation. It tastes weird really, and being a fan of Chinese food. I didn’t like it at all. Some other food are also bland. For the desserts – cake was good and pretty but the chocolates were pretty and taste really weird.

Next stop, we were given a Julie’s bakeshop assorted pastries after our Amazing Race game. Julie’s bakeshop first originated in Cebu.

For our dinner, we had it in Chika-an. I liked the food here better than the lunch food. It offers fewer selection but the taste of the food was better. And we also had Cebu lechon. It’s not served in the restaurant. A corkage of 600 Php was needed for us to try to lechon. The fish fillet in banana leaf is really good. As well as the longanisa. The rest are normal tasting. I didn’t enjoy the spaghetti.

The next day breakfast at Waterfront – Uno was better. This time around, almost all of the food I’ve tasted were good. This was way better than the lunch buffet they serve. The price of the breakfast was 300 Php  I think. It was super worth it. I had a hard time choosing which food to try again. But overall, I enjoyed the food and was super full.

 

Last part of the Cebu Food Trip was the best I think, in STK Ta Bai. This serves Sutokil aka STK for Sugba(grilled), Tinola(boiled), and Kilaw(raw seafood in vinegar). The first time I tried Sutokil, I didn’t like it much. I guess it would really depend on how it was cooked. We were served with Panga ng Tuna. It was my first time to eat this delicacy it was scary at first because I didn’t know what it was. And then Nadj told us to take out the bones and a lot of the meat are hidden below it. That’s how you eat it properly.

The food trip was worth the experience, I was glad to try out a lot of Cebu delicacy. Certainly, I wasn’t able to try those out in my first trip to Cebu.

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Super Cat Ferry

[tweetmeme source=”ibethyap”] I had the opportunity to try out the Super Cat Ferry from Cebu to Tagbilaran, Bohol. In the transfer from Cebu to Bohol, our schedule was delayed by 30 minutes but we didn’t experience the same thing in our transfer from Bohol to Cebu. The travel time is approximately 2 hours. I would suggest that if you are a bit claustrophobic, better select the middle seats, near the exit doors. As the rest of the ferry is a bit cramp. If the ferry is not full, you may also change seats into a more comfortable one.

Light packing is suggested when taking this ferry. Or else it would be better to check in your baggage. There’s really no room for baggage in the seats area. It’s really cramp. Especially the back portion of the ferry. The cons of the front part? Well, if the waves are big, it would really be a bumpy ride. So people who gets dizzy riding buses or boats, don’t take the front seats. Middle seats are the best! With enough leg space and luggage space.

If you are a bit hungry, you may avail of the food they are selling. You can also rent blankets if you’re a bit cold. During our transit, it was not cold. It was so so.

Booking the ticket is easy but there’s waiting time. First, you would go to their website and create an account. After which you would enter the travel details and wait for Super Cat to approve your reservation. Once approved, you can go to any 2Go Express to claim the tickets. You can get both tickets immediately. I was surprised to find out that the round trip ticket is cheaper than what is said in the website by 200 I think. The lady in 2Go said, normally round trip is cheaper but the price is not reflected in the website.

Upon checking in, they would scan the tickets and take your photos. It’s cool and really high tech. You can opt to check in your baggage. I wasn’t able to try that service yet.

Super Cat is a decent and safe way to travel between Cebu and Bohol. In Cebu, they also offer free shuttle service to SM. That’s where you can take a cab.

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