The Heights of South - Mt . Maculot

Several mountains on the southern part of Luzon are destinations for hikers . Some of these famous hikers destination are Mt. Maculot , Mt Famy ,Mt. Malipunyo , Talamitam and Pico de loro .

Mt. Maculot

Jump-off point- board a van/bus going to Lemery Batangas and get off at Cuenca town proper. There is a market nearby that can supply your needs for an overnight’ stay at the summit. The trail begins near the Mountaineer’s Store. There is another trail but less frequently used going directly to the summit passing by the grotto. The main trail goes to the shoulder of the mountain. A portion of the trail is well cemented leading to the more rugged terrain. The trail gradually becomes steep as you progress on your climb. Two thirds of the climb is on covered forest. The steep terrain needs both hands to hold on to the roots and branches of trees. The trail is quite slippery if you climb during the wet season. The last third portion of the mountain approaching the final destination, which is the campsite on the shoulder of the mountain, is a cogonal area. Assaulting the Rockies is the highlight of the climb, where you get a spectacular view of the lake.

Mt. Maculot is a famous destination for hikers. The climb is actually not that easy but the climb is worth the effort due to the majestic views of the famous Taal Lake. The lake itself has a soothing effect on one’s nerves due to its calmness. The serene surroundings make it a complete getaway from the stressful environment of the city and work. Try to make it to the summit before nightfall to get a glimpse of the spectacular sunset. This mountain is visible from Tagaytay and as far as Mindoro. The mountain’s shape resembles an igloo, with a rounded summit and a shoulder resembling the entrance of the igloo.

Climbing hours up to the campsite is from 2 -3 hours and it depends on how many stop over or rest time by climbers. Campsite is above sea level and it is so cool. Since you're on top of mountain at night the sound of the wind can break inside the tent .

The main destination or feature of this mountain is its shoulder campsite overlooking Taal Lake, Makiling and the Batangas towns. Near the shoulder is a place called "rockies" since it is a rocky hill/peak separated from the shoulder by a deep gorge. It’s a popular vantage-point for viewing the lake as well as a good place to have your picture taken. The trails are steep but Maculot is one mountain where you can appreciate the visual rewards of nature .

Low Tide or High Tide

The Hundred Islands National Park is located in Alaminos City Pangasinan. As the name implies "hundred islands" actually its more than hundreds and naturally it depends
if its high tide or low tide.


Only three islands have been developed for tourists namely: Governor, Quezon, and Children's Island.

There are several different activities that can be enjoy : snorkeling , swimming , boat rides , island hopping , night camping , taking pictures and my favorite kayaking.

I enjoyed this summer trip last April 6th even I got tan and sacrifice my gluta consumption -it's really worth it. Having to enjoy your time with friends and after super hectic schedule at work and school for masteral projects and exam. After exhausted months of February to March at least I did enjoy our summer outing with my few close friends.
We stayed in Quezon Island where we have all the fun filled activities.

I was race in Pangasinan and I can say that it is the one of the best place to visit in my province , furthermore there are nearby places like Bolinao with white sand beaches which is also great .The islands have already been rehabilitated and improved for tourist and I was able to see many changes for better. Go and visit Hundred Islands.

26 Things

May 2nd -marks my 26th birthday and it so happened that I had business trip where I stayed in a hotel - Carlton Hotel in Hsinchu Taiwan. I had busy day in the office plus I'm so tired for days not sleeping well for many reasons. One reason was my decision to finally resign on my current company to venture into the new career opportunity.

With all these thoughts in mind , I have note down my 26 thoughts that night.

1. Cheesecake is the best cake in the world .(Thank you Carlton Hotel).
2. You cant have everything .
3. Life is full of irony .
4. Celebrating birthday alone -so sad .

5. Writing a resignation letter is far difficult than making a resume.
6. Appreciation comes when its gone.
7. Crying is a form of healing.
8. Patience is a virtue , its so hard.
9. Letting go of love and habits -- the cross roads you wouldn't want to take/decide.
10 .Thank you is kindest word of appreciation.
11. Shawn T is cooler than Billy Blanks.
12. Don't chase when its gone - tennis is different from badminton.
13. I never hit a tennis ball . Never learn it .
14. Know the difference between green and red light . Go and Stop. Never forget the yellow -- in betweens but near to stop .
15. Driving is not easy.
16. Friends are blessings -just true friends.
17. You can't be friends when you still have feelings for each other.
18. It hurts the most when you least expected it.
19. It feels a million of happiness to be in real love than to be rich .
20. Love is not just feeling . Love is respect.
21. Ito galing sa mga veterans kina kuya Jon , Kuya Deck , Kuya Sonny and Kuya Rolly.. fyi girls.. "pag nahuli wag aamin .. unahan mo sya ng galit"...lines na.. "sinabi na hindi ko alam " ..
22. Before I thought I can be a nun and be old maid.. Now I realize --no I cant . Dont want to be alone again. . At least I realized.
23. It's good to be back in grade six mode. Think ..think
24. Fireworks dont normally last that long.
25.What we think , what we feel ...what will always manifest.
26. Prayers can move mountains.

Jumper

I have watched the movie Jumper last week.I can't say it 's a super great sci-fi movie because I have some no-no and big questions on some part of the movie. But the movie visuals are awesome and having to roam the world in less than two hours is superb, I would say I appreciate shots taken from different parts of the world.I think we all dream to travel the world . Jumper is a movie about having the power to teleport to one place to another.

Awesome visual and interesting places were presented on the movie Jumper. So I came to write something about our Window on China adventures in Taiwan last year in the month of November. I was with my friends Gracie, Rroy and Ria. Window on China is a theme amusement park in Lungtan near Shihmen Dam. The park has miniature structures of different great places
in the world.

Window on China had two distinct parts- Mini Taiwan and Mini China. The Mini Taiwan section was purported to represent the entire span of Taiwan’s history- from the colonial days to the present. The replicas included those of Fort San Domingo, Lung Shan Temple, the Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen memorial halls, and Chiang Kai-shek International Airport.
Mini China had replicas of the Great Walls, some parts of the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Lungmen Caves.

Window on China soon included famous landmarks around the world and it has miniature of famous structures across Asia, Europe, Africa and America.
Apart from opening the window to China’s landscape, Window on China also provides wonderful view of its culture. There are traditional folk dances, Chinese music performance, aboriginal dance and other Chinese folk arts that are shown in the park.

I don't have much to say except that Window on China is recommended for kids and kids at heart.

Inside Bangalore INDIA

Inside Bangalore INDIA

Inside India - truly rare and exotic . Living there for 4 months, I had seen significant uniqueness and I can say that they have preserved their cultures and religions through time even they were colonized by British .My place in India is Bangalore - the capital of Indian state of Karnataka . Bangalore is the third most populous city and the fifth largest metropolitan area . As an engineer I would say Bangalore is the silicon valley of India where all semiconductor companies are there including AMD , Philips , Cypress to name some .It is where Bill Gates used to visit every month for different possible reasons like businesses and of course India has great programmers.


I stayed in apartment located in Benson town with my officemate near cinema house called Naga theather.We used to ride an 'auto' going to office. We preferred 'auto' since it cost us three times cheaper than taking a taxi of Mr. Morthy. I had several road experiences in Bangalore like books are being pirated in MG( Mahatma Gandhi) Road India .

In the Philippines we have pirated DVDs but in India I got several pirated books completing my collections of Harry Potter, Sidney Sheldon collections , Dan Brown books and Archies .There have unusual piece and my personal favorites like Body Language by Allan Pease, different culinary books and the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul. I almost forgot the famous book from India -Kamasutra. Another 'road experience' was driving without using side mirrors , vehicles side mirrors are all folded . Imagine that how they turn left and right. In India 'cows' are sacred , they are priority over a vehicle crossing streets.

Religion plays an important role in the daily life of Indians, Hinduism , in particular is extremely complex and continously evolving. Hindu is the largest major religion in India. Approximately 80% of the population practices various forms of Hinduism but there are also Catholics in India . We meet several Filipinos and Filipino nuns at St. Patrick Church.


I had rare meaning raw and unique experiences in terms of food , music ,holiday season's and movies. When we talked about food , I gained 20lbs in India because of carb , Basmati rice which really taste good and of course sea foods that I used to cooked. My taste began to savored several spices like oregano which is good with pizza and curry and other tomato based dishes. My favorite Indian foods are only handful which include lamb burger, lamb steak and gobi machurian made of cauliflower but taste like meat. Most of Indians are vegetarian so there are many veggie foods that taste like meat. One Indian dish I can cook that is gobi manchurian.

Speaking of holidays we spent Christmas 2005 and New Year 2006 in India , it was so sad and I really missed my family . Two things because they don't Christmas and second no new year blast - it was so ordinary day.

What more I got?I remember we've been to Banerghatta mini safari where I got to see huge sizes of animals. I saw hippopotamus as huge as elephant , siberian tiger and bengal tigers.Another thrilling experience was elephant ride.

As our officemates in India would say Bangalore is 'westernize city' of India where malls are also everywhere like in any other city .


Clothes like Nike , Benetton and Adidas were extremely cheap in Bangalore because other than semicon company they also have several clothing factories.

To wrap it all I can say India is definitely unique and interesting and I'm looking forward to see it again and next time I'll check Taj Mahal .

Sayonara Butch

Good bye Butchy! Now an AnGel Dog.

Third Stop -Strawberry Farm

Last February 9th of this year (2008) I went to Baguio with my Cypress friends. Baguio, the place known because of cool weather, fresh strawberries and different roses here in Philippines. The same place where I spent my 5 years in college. After I got off the bus around 4AM it was so cold outside , which I expected since it was February.

Barely 2 hours sleep , 6AM I needed to wake up to make it for the so-called " Baguio tour" . Some of my office friends were first timer and they were excited. Strawberry farm was actually our third stop where I got these sweet strawberries macro shot.
The strawberry farm is located right in the heart of La Trinidad, Benguet. It has a very nice setting, with mountains surrounding it, so the climate is really nice. We rode a jeep going to La Trinidad (near center mall) which I honestly don't know even I stayed in Baguio for 5 years.I emailed my friend from Baguio to checked on how-to and where-to- stuff. I think roughly it would be a 15-minute car drive from baguio city.The other landmarks near the farm are Bell church and La Trinidad public market.
Picking strawberries can be very fun as long as you wear a good hat and apply enough sunblock on your face and at the back of your neck if it's too hot outside. Picking your own strawberries will cost you more than to buy strawberries which were already picked. php300 if you want to pick them yourself and php150 if you'd just buy them right in the basket. The best time to come to La Trinidad for strawberry picking is early in the morning, between 6am and 9am.

Around the farm are the flower shops and garden stalls where different varieties of roses are being sold. The prices of different plants from cactus to roses were very cheap. Truly different flowers are captivating to take a pictures.

With my 5 years stay in Baguio from 1998 to 2003 it was my first time to be in Strawberry Farm. Sure yah, I almost miss this beautiful place and I'm glad I joined them on our "Baguio tour".