Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippines. 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

100th Post! 114th Philippine Independence Day

Posted by mintmochaformimi , Labels: , , Saturday, June 23, 2012 12:44 PM

Hola a todo! :) 100th Post Baby! yeah! And because the Philippine Independece Day falls on the month of June, I shall dedicate my 100th post to my beloved country. 

The Philippines was a colony of Spain for 300 Years, and 30 years under the Americans and 3 years with the Japanese. 12 June 1898 is the official Independence of the Philippines from the Spaniards. When we were under the Americans they changed it to 04 July but it was changed back to 12 June. This year marks the 114th year of Freedom for us :) Despite the cranky weather, I went to the Quirino Grandstand, walking towards Luneta Park in Manila to see what went on in Manila
In Luneta park you will see the Rizal Monument which is still visited pretty often by foreign and local tourists.

 He usually has 2 guards standing by except during bad weathers where they stay in their little "hideout"
 The Independece day was celebrated in 3 places simultaneously. One in Kawit, Cavite where the first president, Emilio Aguinaldo's shrine and old home stands, and in Bulacan. Before, there used to be parades of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at the Quirino Grand Stand but now, they don't do that anymore which is a little sad. But they do have Static Displays of the different branches of service but I was only able to catch the booths of the Navy, and most specially, my buddies from the Naval Special Operations Group.

 I was able to take a picture of the tanks of the Philippine Army that were displayed though. 

These are the amphibious vehicles that the Philippine Navy uses for a lot of purposes including rescues missions in flooded areas.
 The weather finally started to cooperate and shining down on the monument of our first Philippine Hero, Lapu-Lapu
 This is called the Kalesa or the carriage pulled by a horse (obviously). You'll see lots of these in Intramuros, Manila
 This is one of the most typical mode of public transportation, the Jeepney
 This guy over here is the barker / unofficial traffic enforcer who halts cars for crossing pedestrians and halts jeepneys for people who need to ride :) 
 What I really wanted to see this day was the Silent Drill performance but they said it was still going to be in the afternoon and I only had the morning free. But I did see this little parade thing being assembled
 The Philippine National Police were very visible that day making sure that the day's event goes smoothly and hopefully crime free. Which made me feel safe lugging my large camera around.
 My favorite part of Parades and Precessions in the Philippines is the music. Whether it's by these xylophone players, or by singing nuns or lay people, that's the part I enjoy the most :)
I'm not so sure where these guys are associated with but they were front liner in the parade/

 As I walked some more, I realized that it wasn't the celebration that made the Luneta Park semi-packed with people but it was actually because of the Job Fair. This just shows that a lot of Filipinos  are still unemployed. But I guess this day is about the Filipinos so might as well help them :)
 The Philippine coast guard had a small booth there so as the others like the Metro Manila Developent Authority and the Department of Interior Local Government and The Philippine Boy Scouts were there too! :)
As I continued to explore the place for interesting things, this caught my eye as I very seldom see people playing the Philippine Instrument called the Kulintang, which is a native instrument played by the Maranaos and other tribes of the Philippines. They are made out of gongs placed side by side.



 It was nice to go people watching that day but compared to the Philippine Independence Day Celebrations here and by the Overseas Filipino Workers abroad, well, I guess to some, it's just going to be another one of those "hey there's no work today!" or "no classes!" kind of days. But I still thank our heroes for our freedom. Belated Happy Freedom Day! :)


- Mil Besos y Abrazos Chiquititos! 

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