adventures.misadventures.non-adventures.

caution: student driver

coffeeatyosi — Fri, 4 Apr 2014 17:11:00 GMT

i've always wanted to learn how to drive but never felt the need to. when i was in college, i used to stay in a condo right in front of the school. my friends lived nearby or they had cars which allowed us to get to places. then i started working, but my office was also quite near where i lived - so much so that i can walk home if there aren't any cabs. i moved offices at the fort, but that was still relatively near - 15 minutes when there's no traffic. singapore, hmm, not much chance of driving anywhere there. now i'm back home again, and its the fort and makati again. easy-breezy.

unstated, but i suppose i didn't want to learn how to drive because i figured i'll probably never be home. there are always new places i want to check out, or some place i want to see. if i learned how to drive, then nothing's gonna stop me from getting there, right?

fastforward to now: my younger brother has been based in NY for several months now. my dad's car, which he lets him use, is just parked in the garage collecting dust. yes, i felt the car is mocking me every day i go home and i see it just parked there. i thought it would be a good time as any to start learning how to drive. and so i did.

now, to draw out that list of places to check out :P

chasing the sun starts here

coffeeatyosi — Sat, 25 May 2013 20:16:00 GMT

The sun chasing starts at NAIA Terminal 3 airport where my friends picked me up from an overnight trip to Kalibo for an event. The flight was delayed for about 15minutes but I didn't check in my luggage though so I was able to exit quickly. My friends were waiting for me at Bay 3 Arrivals, all raring and eager to go.

We had some 'problems' navigating out to the highway from the airport and ended up stuck in slow moving traffic at the east service road for a good hour. But once we exited on the highway, it was blue skies and sunshine all the way. Incidentally, I already updated my CityMaps app and downloaded the CALABARZON region map so yay for GPS. Gotta love that blue dot and knowing your place at any time, no? :D

A quick gas up, ATM withdrawal, bathroom break and stock up on snacks at the Petron SLEX and we were on our way to our first lunch stop at San Pablo, Laguna. From the highway, we were supposed to exit at Sto Tomas, Batangas and head on east towards Laguna, cutting through several towns - all of which had 'San' so apparently, we were also San chasing - San Rafael, Santiago (it counts okay?), San Bartolome, San Miguel, San Vicente, San Pedro, San Pablo, San Felix, San Jose, San Juan, San Andres, another San Juan, San Agustin, San Benito, San Nicolas, San Rafael, San Roque, and finally San Pablo!

Fortunately, the first lunch stop is just by the city outskirts. We didn't need to enter the town proper, which would most likely be congested with jeepneys and trikes. We were already so hungry because it was almost past 1pm and we only had crackers and a can of tuna for snacks.

My friend called ahead to advise the restaurant that we will be going for late lunch. Sometimes you never know with restos outside the metro if they only have limited opening hours. They said they were open all throughout the day so everything's well and good. We were so hungry we could eat a cow (a dugong or possibly a whale for the other two because they're steering clear of meat).

the way of the sun

coffeeatyosi — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:59:00 GMT

Being self-confessed wanderers, me and my friends 'hate' staying in. As long as we're out and about, it doesn't matter where we end up going. It could be just within the city for dinner, drinks or coffee, or as far out as a road trip or a plane ride away. We'd mostly do everything to nothing and talk deep, philosophical musings to random, mundane, shallow quips. After a long day at work, to unwind and destress, we stay out instead of in.

A road trip is exactly what we all needed - a break from city-living, get away from the stress at work and the usual mundane problems of day-to-day life.

Viaje del Sol combines all the things we love: travel, coffee and art. We love going to unfamiliar places, trying out new restaurants and tasting the specialties and local delicacies, appreciating and discovering local art, meeting new people, and just being out in the open road.

I did a little bit of research on "Viaje del Sol." It is an alliance of entrepreneurs from the CALABARZON region actively promoting local tourism through cuisine, arts and crafts, culture and tradition by way of interacting and meeting the townsfolk. Every year, more and more sites are being added to the route, which is great because it encourages local businesses to build better bed & breakfasts, serve good food, create quality art and improve their artisan skills, which makes for better travel. The program not only targets foreigners, but also the new breed of yuppies who are keen to discover and explore the Philippines.

Aptly named, the Way of the Sun is designed to tour the sunny Luzon countryside. The whole itinerary is made up of a gamut of stops ranging from retreat houses by mountainsides or lakes, restaurants serving the local cuisine, artist studios, lakes and falls, and architectural gems like restored houses or entire towns, artisan towns and century old churches.

Since we're just doing an overnight trip, we had to trim the itinerary down to just a few choiceful stops. Key criteria were good art, good food and great coffee :)

The final itinerary was:

San Pablo, Laguna

lunch stop at Sulyap Gallery Cafe and Restaurant
coffee break at Casa San Pablo

Liliw, Laguna

shoe shopping in town proper
dinner and coffee stop at Arabella

Majayjay, Laguna

overnight stay at Majayjay Bed & Breakfast

Paete, Laguna

lunch stop at Saranggola Cafe
appreciate local art in town proper
coffee stop at Kafe Kesada

Then Manila-bound after. But, as per our usual, some adventures and detours led to pleasant discoveries.

I suppose that with any plan, travel (or life), its always good to have an itinerary (goals). This guides you on your journey, but it need not be as strictly followed. A missed exit or a slight detour (mistakes and wrong judgments) can oftentimes lead you to somewhere unexpected. Of course, it may not always turn out to be pleasant, but it makes for an interesting journey (story) just the same. Its one for the books - an anecdote or maybe a chapter, that you can always look back on and have a good laugh or a rueful smile.

in the calendar no more ;)

coffeeatyosi — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:33:00 GMT

for my birthday this year, me and my friends couldn't decide what to do. well, mostly my fault since i was so fickle-minded.

our options were diving, windsurfing, beach, tagaytay drinking sesh, staycation or just as plain and boring as drinking out.

it was pretty hard to decide what to do as a group because:

1. not everyone dives and dive resorts are usually not swimming beaches

2. can't do windsurfing because i don't swim. yes there's a life vest but i still can't stop the wind from taking me to the deep part of the ocean

3. an overnight stay in one of batangas' beach resorts but didn't have time to research for places to stay

4. borrow a friend's house in tagaytay, but found out most of the group have saturday work so we'll get there late evening

5. staycation wasn't fully explored coz its expensive and boring

6. drinking out and partying is always a safety net if all else fails

and as much as it should be All About Me because it IS my special day, i want everyone to have fun :)

another perfectly valid reason was that i got busy with work to check for any accomodations and confirm to the group what the final plan will be. so most of them already made new weekend plans, leaving only the partying til the wee hours as the option.

i was ready to throw in the towel, even got tempted to celebrate alone in boracay, when suddenly, my friend furnished me with a map and an itinerary...

Photos: paris

coffeeatyosi — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 07:25:00 GMT

work-in-progress. more photos to be uploaded soon.

Photos: venice

coffeeatyosi — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 10:25:00 GMT

Photos: milan

coffeeatyosi — Mon, 8 Oct 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Photos: berlin

coffeeatyosi — Sun, 7 Oct 2012 12:24:00 GMT

Photos: parma

coffeeatyosi — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:41:00 GMT

Photos: modena

coffeeatyosi — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 11:09:00 GMT

Photos: bologna

coffeeatyosi — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:31:00 GMT

the long way west - down a bit, waaay up, then down again

coffeeatyosi — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:48:00 GMT

It was a loooooong travel time. No kidding.

First leg was Manila-Singapore that took three and a half hours. I had a four and a half hours stop over in Singapore - okay my fault because I really booked the flight that way. I wanted a buffer in case the PAL flight gets delayed.

The next flight was Singapore-Helsinki which took 12 hours non-stop. I've already gotten 'proper' sleep for 8 hrs and we're still faar from our destination. Good thing the stop over was only 2 hours.

Next up was the Helsinki-Milan flight, but it still took 3 hours. It was nice though because we flew over the Alps. Not much snow but I can imagine how it looks in winter.

All the flights done, next were the trains.

The train from Milano Malpensa airport to Milano Centrale took an hour plus when it should just take 40mins normally. There were some unusual stops, plus a passenger felt sick so they had to call an ambulance to bring her to the hospital.

Then, when I reached Milano Centrale train station, I couldn't anymore get the 1245pm train because I had 5 minutes left to buy and go on the train. I opted for the 120pm one instead. This was the regional (slow and cheap) train, and they weren't kidding when they say it is. The fast train should take about an hour to reach Bologna, but the slow train took three hours!!

Finally, I reached Bologna. I knew that the train station does not have any lifts or escalators. Last year, our Madrid-Florence flight got rerouted to Bologna due to a storm so I was 'familiar' with the station. The first thing I did after I got down from the train was to grab a ciggy and prepare myself for the strenuous descent to the exit. Okay, it might not sound so bad because it's going down anyway. I just dragged my trolley all the way down on the steps. I hope its as durable as it was advertised before.

When I got to ground level, I noticed that both (!) my shoelaces were untied. Imagine me, with a backpacker's backpack, obviously on my back PLUS my small camera bag and my bulky personal bag slung across the front, trying to kneel down on one knee so I can tie my shoelaces. The first shoe went fine without a hitch. The second shoe, when I finished, I almost couldn't get up. Grrrr. Yes I know, pack light next time.

After that's done, I texted the landlord on which bus to take to get to his place. He texted back saying its a 5 minute walk from the station. Like I still have the energy to walk, I texted back saying I have a lot of stuff so it will be difficult to walk. Also, I checked googlemap before, I knew it was kinda far. Even farther than 'average' Singapore walking standards. He texted back with the bus number and how much the cab will cost. When I checked the waiting shed, I couldn't find which bus to get because I can't find the stop in the listing. Also, I was too damn tired to take the bus. There's still a bit of a walk from the bus stop, not to mention carrying my luggage up the steps again.

I then took the 'cowards' way of cabbing. So sue me, I just went through a 33 hour trip and I am dead tired.

home sweet home

coffeeatyosi — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:51:00 GMT

I know, I know, I haven't written anything in such a long time. The last two weeks went by in such a rush, with packing and shipping out the boxes, not to mention farewell parties the entire month. For the most part, I think we were just looking for reasons to party and go out :D

Both 'official' despedidas were successful because everyone got properly drunk. The first despedida, we were shoo'd out of the bar because it was closing time. The second despedida, our neighbors complained about the 'noise' :P

After all the fun, I am back home and in a constant state of packing and unpacking. Let's see:

1. I'm partially unpacked with my SG luggages

2. I've packed and yet to unpack my weekend beach luggage

3. The two boxes have arrived so I have to unpack these too

4. I have to start packing for my Euro Trip

I love going on trips and all, but its unpacking that I hate the most :(

Gaaaah!

Tourist mode on in two weeks

coffeeatyosi — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:30:00 GMT

Mixed emotions about leaving. Some days, I think it's not so bad, but most days, I can't wait to be home. I'm supposed to (HAVE to, actually) pack my stuff and ship it back home by next weekend. I can't start because my room will feel so empty without my bedside table, lamp, pillows, etc. The bookshelf in the living room will have gaping holes and empty spaces. It's like I'm here but I'm not living here. I will again just become another tourist visiting a foreign land.

But then, such is the life of a foreign worker. You uproot yourself, start a life somewhere else, but it'll never be home. I never really saw myself living away for long or for good. My heart is in Manila, cheesy as it may sound.

Sure, life may be more convenient here - efficient transpo system, safe environs and low crime rate, work stress at a minimum. I've no reason to complain, really. But for some reason, this country just sucks the creativity out of me. I should have more time to work on my photography because I get to go home from work on time and I don't have weekend work. But still, all my cameras are gathering dust on the shelf. I haven't taken my dSLR out in ages, I don't even know if it's still working.

However, this country does have its merits. One thing that I'm grateful for is how easy it is to meet new people. Singapore's openness to foreigners living and working here, and the airport being a central hub for travel to the rest of Asia makes it a pit stop for people from all over the world. I suppose since a lot are fellow foreigners or travelers, people are open to chatting up random strangers.

For people who know me well, they'd say I'm not a chatty person AT ALL. It actually depends on my mood - whether I feel like making small talk or not :P I'm convinced that for a Gemini, I am probably the most unGemini-like person I know. Obviously not an extrovert and the life of the party type, but being here made me practice the art of small talk. Conversations are always interesting, ranging from superficial or philosophical: "debates" about religion, beliefs, etc can be had as much as where's a good bar or restaurant to recommend. It doesn't matter that you don't see again most of the people you've met the night before. It was an exchange of ideas and thoughts, intangible, but nonetheless, proves to be valuable.

But at the end of the day, I go back to the transitory feel of Singapore. People stay for a day as a stopover, a couple of years or a decade for some, before you move on to another place. It just doesn't feel like home or a place to set down roots.

on conquering Everest

coffeeatyosi — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 11:39:00 GMT

Being the sucker I am for seemingly 'cheap' buys, I've subscribed to the iPad edition of National Geographic and NatGeo Traveler. Don't get me wrong, I still love print - I'd rather read an actual book over a digital copy any day. But, the digital edition is soo fancy with videos, RSS feeds and animated stuff, it just made reading more fun haha

So anyway, they had this special feature on NatGeo's expedition team to Everest for the past couple of months. There were daily blog updates from the team members so you'll feel like you're part of the trek and going on the climb with them. This month, they had a closing entry from one of the expedition team members:

"Climbing Everest is not curing cancer. It is a narcissistic pursuit, not a noble one. But, there is grandeur in the endeavor. Because Everest is so high and so indifferent, it calls upon every mountaineer, at some point during the climb, to rise to his or her better self — that person inside us all who has unquestioned courage, who will sacrifice without doubt, who will commit without complaint, who will put life on the line. This is the answer to the inevitable question: Why? Because: The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, expects of you, demands of you, to reach for the highest qualities inside yourself."

For some reason, this just resonated with me so much that it led me to think what my Everest is, or why we do ANYthing, for that matter. Yes, I'm turning existentialist here hahaha

The writer's right though - conquering something and living to tell the tale is a narcissistic exercise. There is bragging rights to be had in any pursuit you've set yourself to achieve: like an 'elite' group who dared and ventured out to do what they've always dreamed of doing.

Maybe because by default, people like living within the confines of their comfort zones. People are such control-freaks that even if there's no problem, they've already thought out a solution for whatever may arise. There's pensions, life insurance, health insurance, even insurance when you die. Nobody likes being confronted by the unknown - to be thrown in a situation that you know nothing of is stuff nightmares are made of.

But really, what's so bad about the unknown? If you don't know, then how do you know its 'bad'? It can turn out to be good. So yeah, there is a 50-50 chance of things going either way but isn't that the way of life? You never know what'll happen no matter how well you planned things anyway.

The critics will say, what I don't know can't hurt me and ignorance is bliss. I'm sorry if I don't subscribe to that.

But the thing is, the only way you'll ever really know if you can do it is when you actually try and do it. Yes, one can argue that if they're forced in that situation, then they have no choice but to do it, rise above it all, man's instinctual need to fight and survive.

There is merit in going out of your comfort zones every once in a while. If you stick to doing the same thing day in and day out, then you fall into danger of becoming predictable, automatic, boring, uninspired.

It doesn't have to be anything drastic or grand. I am not evangelizing that everyone should quit their day jobs and go after what they've always dreamed of doing. Of course we have to be rational and practical, but little victories can go far in stimulating new life in our humdrum lives:

eating food you thought was disgusting and swore never to try - if it tastes as bad as you initially thought, then at least you confirmed you really hate it. you can stay clear of it forever and ever
learning a new language just because - even if you don't get to speak it often, you learn something from it - like word origins, or similar words in English but can mean differently in another language. it also increases your vocabulary. plus its good brain exercise.
beating your personal best time in running or whatever sport or game you're into - it gives you motivation to become better and better every time. you think of different ways to improve on your game. it improves your strategic thinking
trying a new restaurant or cafe, or the same restaurant but a new dish - old habits and favorites can still be made into new experiences. its all about shaking things up a bit.
taking a new route going home - you may discover a shorter way to get home. or find a new favorite shop or nook to hide when you're feeling anti-social and just want to hibernate
picking up a new hobby like pottery - you can start with beginner's classes. if you find you're good at it, then carry on. if it bores you, then find the next new thing to learn

I dunno... maybe i get myself into things because i'm always thinking what do i have to lose, or what's the worst that could happen, or always wonder what will happen if i do this. and true enough, i fail maybe 80% of the time but it always makes for 100% interesting stories later on.