Showing posts with label places. Show all posts
Showing posts with label places. Show all posts

Part 2: Laiya Batangas

Posted by mintmochaformimi , Labels: , , , Thursday, August 23, 2012 5:20 PM

I'm so sorry everyone if it's taking me so long to update. I just started my new job and I'm still adjusting but I promise to still keep writing :) 

Anyway, this is part 2 of the Laiya, Batangas post. I must warn you that this post is going to be photo heavy. Here's a glimpse of today's post :)

In my previous post, I wrote there that we went on an occular inspection to see what resort, or whatever we can stay in for our departmental planning. We didn't end up in any of the places we looked at. Instead, we rented this house which wasn't exactly beach front but it was stil near the beach. We haven't even unpacked properly yet and we all ran to the beach side already :)
 It was low tide that day so it was really just blah, but at least it wasn't very dangerous to play around even if it was almost sunset
 My junior classmen relaxing :)

 My classmate Dez, threatened to throw me into the water :p
 AAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!
 ....Well he didn't throw me in the water, he just dipped my hair :p
I mentioned in one of my Spain posts that in Madrid, everyone would kill to dance. In Philippines, everyone would kill to sing. Almost everyone owns a karaoke apparatus. In the Provinces, almost everyone has this big machine, which can be rented
 Our Tactical Petty Officer grilling something for dinner...
 ....more karaoke
 ....It's dark already and still, mooooore karaoke
 The next day, there was a procession outside. I forgot what or who's feast it was but I'm pretty sure it's the feast of the patron saint of that certain area. This is very common in my country

Look what we have for lunch: Fried Frog! Really :) It tastes like chicken only a little spicier. Not bad :) I actually like it.
After lunch, we waited for a few hours until the sun wasn't as high up so that we don't burn, and we ran to the beach as usual, and saw this raft with a nipa hut above. We rented it for a few hours so that we have somewhere to hold on to if we get tired of swimming
 Imagine, I'm about 152cm or 4 feel 11.7 inches (yes people, I'm tiny), and the water is just upto there. The water will be just like that as I walk further, and about 15-20 meters away from the shore, the water just suddenly becomes so deep like a trench
 We also rented this thing (I don't know what it's called but it was fun)

 We would once in a while get out and swim and just hang on to the bamboo raft

 Some of my friends would play diving games and pick up whatever from below, like this bottle which unfortunately didn't have anything inside. We were hoping it had a message or something :)
 We all hung on to just 1 "salvavida" :)
 Behind the hut on top of the raft, there were sun beds :)
 Enjoying the water bike thing
\
Ernest wanted to feel what it was like being pulled by the water bike, so he just floated behind and hung on whenever Dez would step on the pedals

 When we got farther from the shore, as in the reeeeally dark and deep parts, the boys decided to swim around, and I was left behind on the water bike to take their pictures and I loooooved it because it looked like they were on the edge of the world :) These pictures were not modified so that I can show you how bright and blue the water really was


 The water was just amazingly super blue and I will never forget how it looked like in person. 

 Well, I'm gonna float away now and hope all of you enjoyed this super photo filled, and uber long post :) I enjoyed writing this because it brought back some memories with friends who I consider family
- mil besos y abrazos chicos!! hasta luego!! <3

9 comments

Part 1: Laiya Batangas, and Tagaytay City

Posted by mintmochaformimi , Labels: , , , Saturday, August 18, 2012 6:10 PM

I don't want to waste old memories so I'm doing another back post :) Last 2009, my friends and I went to Laiya, Batangas for an occulat inspection of prospective resorts that we could stay in for our departmental planning. 

This will be a 2 part post because this post is about our occular inspetion and part 2 is the departmental planning itself :) We ended up in this area of Laiya which was tranquil, clean and relaxing
 I guess the previous visitor went shell hunting and left these on top of the stone fence thing
 There were plenty of coconut trees and it was such a relief to have them there because we were there at around 11 am which was really hot because the sun was high up. This is my friend Ernest who came with us :)
We came to Laiya during the non-peak dead season meaning there aren't much visitors therefore, it was almost empty. We hardly saw anyone else. 
 But that made the place all the more peaceful, you wouldn't want to leave anymore. But there are of course, parts of Laiya that are very populated by locals and tourists but this side was surprisingly left out. Maybe because of the rental price?
 There were hammocks that we could rest on

 And this one is called a Nipa Hut, or the "Bahay Kubo" where we can rest, eat or just sit in. That's Crystal, my other friend who came with us

 It was evidently a provincial areas as there were cows here and there roaming or resting :)
 Crystal and Ernest found a swing and relived their childhood days by using it :)
 After Laiya, we stopped over Tagaytay City to eat, and admire the view of the Taal Volcano. The Taal Volcano is small and active, and the crater is underwater :) The lake surrounding it is called the Taal Lake and many fishermen set up fishing spots around it to catch the Tilapia Fish.
 Tagaytay is a wonderful place. It's a city in the Cavite Province just above Batangas and 2000ft above sea level which is why it's so breezy here that people visit often during the summer.

Well, that's part 1 of my Laiya Batangas post, I'll get back to all of you with part 2 as soon as possible :) mil besos y abrazos chicos!! :)

3 comments

First Snow Experience

Posted by mintmochaformimi , Labels: , , Tuesday, July 31, 2012 1:59 PM

Hola Chicos! I'm going to be doing a little back post here. I figured, I've had a lot of experiences in the past worth writing, so why waste them? :) One of my most unforgettable experiences is the first time we saw (and held) snow. My family and I went on a tour of the Alpine countries last 2008 and we were lucky because it was still the early part of Spring.  Just to enlighten some of my other friends, the Philippines is a tropical country that only has summer and rainy seasons. This photo was taken somewhere in Italy on the way to St. Moritz in Switzerland.

 I know I know it's stupid to be playing with someone's backyard snow but what can we do? :) It was so exciting to see snow for the first time :)
 Even the adults enjoyed it :) Our tour mates from different countries found joy in taking our pictures enjoying the settle wet ice of this unknown Backyard.
When we left for St. Mortiz in Switzerland, (we traveled by tour bus), we were brought to Hotel Laudinella which was on higher ground and it was reeeeally cold. 
 That evening it was just cold...
 ...and the place was picture perfect when the lights of St. Moritz are on...
 Our parents from the other room called us in the morning to look out the window and look! It's snowing!!!! Even if it was just wet snow or rain that turned into ice because of the temperature, for u, it was winter wonderland!! :)
 Temperature was down to 3 degrees celsius :)


 It was amazing to see and feel falling snow :) 
 While I took pictures, my cousins and my sister played snowball flights with our Canadian tour mate Bryan :)
 Too bad that we were on our way to another place so while preparing our things, we just admired the view of snowy St. Moritz :)

 It made everything look different. It was just....fantastic! :)
Our next destination was in Como Italy. It was the exact opposite of St. Moritz beause it was really hot. But after Como, we went to Mt. Zermatt in Switzerland which was only accesible by cable train because any non electric vehicle was not allowed up there to preserve the glaciers. But it wasn't snowing there. It was just freeeeaaaakin' cold. It was a quiet, and less polluted place which we really loved. After Mt. Zermatt, we left again for Switzerland, in Lucerne where we experienced the cable cars up Mount Pilatus. 
 From the cable car you can see a beautiful view of Lucerne :)

 The higher you go, the foggier it is

 That instrument behind us is called the Alphorn. It's a large horn that was used before by the people of the Alpine area to communicate with the other people from nearby hills/mountains.

 When we went higher, we saw a biiiiiig chunk of snow!!!!

 The adults had fun too as if they went back in time and became children again :)
 According to this sign, Mt Pilatus is 20132 m or 7000ft high :)...or does this mean we're on the 7000th feet mark?...oh well :)

 Sliding down the chunk of snow :)
 My cousin and I and the Pilatus picture thing :)
This experience is really unforgettable for us and I love hearing about other people's First Snow experiences as well. If you have one,  I'd like to know yours :) Hasta luego!! :)

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