Best of 2011

As part of welcoming 2012, I'd like to look back on the past year - the highlights, destinations and discoveries that make my 2011 truly remarkable to me. A lot has changed, and still a lot to be thankful for.

"Best Adventure Trip" - Bacolod, Iloilo and Guimaras

The much-awaited 5-day reunion trip with my college friends was just epic. We were able to cover three major islands in the Philippines: Guimaras with its pristine white beach, Negros with its ancestral houses, natural Falls, and Iloilo with its historic churches and gastronomic delights. That was a lot to cover in five days and no wonder it felt like we were doing Amazing Race throughout the trip. :))

"Best Impromptu Trip" - Corregidor

After far too many attempts to schedule my last 2011 lakwatsa in the the Philippines, because of schedule conflict and weather conditions, I can't be happier that it all worked out in the end. This historic, informative and relaxing day tour is something I'll always want to look back to.

"Best Road Trip" - Clark and Mt. Samat

I'm so glad I got another check in my travel bucketlist through the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark. The journey was a lot of fun with the instant bond between the "recruits" of the trip. What makes it even more special is our side trip to Mt. Samat, which is an underrated destination by the way.

"Best Misadventure" - Kuala Lumpur

Get Lost. The slogan of Nat Geo Adventure epitomizes this trip. To get lost is exhausting but overcoming it is the most fulfilling part. KL, I'll be back for you. :)

"Best Bum Trip" - Cameron Highlands

Malaysia's "Baguio" counterpart as their summer capital, Cameron Highlands offered the most relaxing trip I've had this year. I did nothing apart from eating, sightseeing and light and short distance walking, which was perfect for my then newly injured knee.

"Most Memorable" - Pahiyas Festival

With the creatively decorated houses, wide variety of yummy street food, and unexpected events, this is the most colorful literally and figuratively. This trip taught me a life lesson and is something I won't forget.

"Most Visited" - Merlion Park

The perfect place to catch a nice view of the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer and Esplanade, no doubt my most frequently visited tourist spot this year is the Merlion Park. By working in Singapore, at least I get to live out one of my unconventional dream jobs as a tour guide. :)) To all my friends and relatives who went here, thanks for being part of my 2011.

And some of my 2011 favorites...

"Best Food" - Kim's Place (near Kembangan)

It was my first time to try the all famous chili crab. And I got addicted to the sauce but it's a shame that I have low tolerance on spicy food. The seafood here is excellent, a bit cheaper, and the staff are really warm and friendly, which makes this as one of my favorite restaurants here in Singapore.

"Best Drink" - Baretto

Located near Outram Park MRT station, this Spanish bar, with nice ambience and excellent live jazz band, was where my friends and I tippled off the most expensive Vodka bottle I've had so far. :p

"Best Film" - Letters to Juliet

This may not be the best rom-com ever made. But I was deeply touched by the movie because of this scene.  It just makes me want to cry every time. 

"Best Gadget/Application" - iPad/FaceTime

Thanks to FaceTime we get to communicate with our family more conveniently every single day. Since we  used it, I don't feel much difference anymore (except for the huge savings from overseas calls).

"Best After-Office Gimik"

I'm grateful someone had organized a get-together for all Pinoys working at our company. There I got to meet the familiar faces, listen to their stories as their sobriety would slowly drift away. I'd missed those inuman days. Hehe!

"Best Christmas Party"

Part of getting older, this was my first Christmas Eve outside my home country, and without my whole family with me. Our christmas celebration at home was still a lot of fun. My housemates and my siblings were very generous and game. We played Pinoy Henyo which was just hilarious!

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This year I realized, life is what you make it. Happiness is not to be found in any country or in somebody else, but within you. "God dwells within you, as you" as Elizabeth Gilbert puts it. 

This 2012, I strongly hope it's not the year the world ends but I'm going to try to live like it is. I'm going to spend more time with my family, try out and learn more new things, explore more places, meet new friends, and blog more often. May we all have a better year ahead.

Our Adventure at Kuala Lumpur

It was time to spend the weekend off outside Singapore. I've been working here for two months now. And this should kickstart my streak of travels across South East Asia. Among the many options to go to, we chose Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is about 45 mins away via plane or 5 hours via coach. I've always been curious to go to the country's capital and experience it myself, having many friends who had been there already.

If there's a slogan to summarize our entire trip, it would be best described by that from Nat Geo Adventure. Get Lost. Going for free & easy is quite challenging especially if you don't have data roaming, a physical map, or a local friend to guide you. Looking back, I don't want to repeat it (the string of choices we made that led us to getting lost) but I don't regret experiencing it. It was a beautiful and enriching experience.

The city is a confluence of the old and the new, the tall and the small. It reminded me of some parts of Manila. The language seemingly comes from a familiar place. The similarities do not fail to amuse. Muka (face) for instance is similar to mukha in Filipino. Pintu (door) for pinto. Lalake (male) for lalaki. Selamat (good) has a different meaning in Filipino word salamat (thank you). Teksi for taxi. :)

But the one word I would not forget... jalan, which means street. It's the one word we looked out for while we were getting lost. :)) 

The moment we decided to go, we immediately booked our coach round trip tickets via busonlineticket.com and our hotel via agoda.com.

Berjaya Times Square

Our journey began at Key Point in Beach Road, the pick up point of our coach. We needed to be there 30 minutes before to get our tickets from our online booking. At 11:59 pm our bus leaves for Malaysia. We arrived at Berjaya Times Square at around 5:20 am. Berjaya TImes Square is a huge shopping mall, with theme park, and hotel in one building. You might want to consider it as one of the must places to visit.

One mistake we did was to not exchange for MYR before leaving Singapore. We did not consider that we will arrive before stores open. Luckily, our taxi driver allowed us to pay in SGD instead. Caveat is we charged for double the price to get to the Petronas Towers.

Petronas Twin Towers

Around 15 minutes later we arrived at the former tallest building in the world. At night, you can't help but admire the the entirely lit facade of the structure. Completed in 1999, this has been the icon for Malaysia and hence the top tourist spot when you're visiting Kuala Lumpur.

Photo of Petronas Twin Towers from outside KLCC taken using an iPad

I was told by a friend that if you arrive there really early and queue for admission tickets to the Skybidge, you could actually get it for free. We went on a Saturday, the start of the week-long holidays for the Hari Raya celebration, so admission was not free. 

We had no idea what time they would start to let people in. From time to time, the entire queue formed outside the building was asked to get inside, closer part to the admission tickets. We were asked for a representative to queue to be able to purchase the tickets. Finally, we chose which admission package and which time. The earliest was 9am and we chose the Skybridge admission. Finally the long wait was over and it was our turn to go up 41st floor, where the skybridge is located. We have had 15 minutes to admire the surrounding city from above.

Snapshots of the fascinating view from the Skybridge of Petronas Towers

After the skybridge, we went to the nearby mall, KLCC, one of the most if not the most popular shopping mall in the city for breakfast. After which we went strolling around the outside park to get a better view of the Petronas Towers.

We went back to KLCC for lunch. Then it was around 1 pm when we finally decided to leave to get to our hotel. We took a taxi, the driver was wooing us for quite some time. Funny how one decision can change the course of an entire trip... This taxi driver asked if we'd like to pass by the chocolate factory to shop for some chocolates on sale. We did not seem that interested because we were pressed for time. Then he added the company gives 10 ringgits for every passenger he recruits to go to the store whether he buys or not. We still were not convinced as this would use up a lot of time. Then he calmly said "no problem". A few minutes later, he suddenly decides to drop us in the middle of Bukit Bintang, to avoid the traffic. He points us to a direction to get to our hotel. 

Cube Hotel and Bukit Bintang

It turns out where he dropped us off was not close at all to our hotel. We ended up circumnavigating the entire shopping district of Bukit Bintang for around two hours until we finally found our hotel. Whew... Our energies were nearly drained. After checking in we rested then took a bath.

Nevertheless, I was pretty satisfied with our hotel. It is chic and clean, has good location (although we had trouble finding it) and reasonable price for a budget hotel.

Petaling Street at Chinatown

Our plan of going to Genting until evening had vanished because of our exhaustion. We decided to go shopping instead. And that would not be complete without going to Chinatown - Petaling Street, an open street full of stalls for the cheapest bargains. Souvenirs can be bought at its probably cheapest price here.

Batu Caves

For our next day we were headed to explore some caves. A major tourist spot in KL, and just around minutes north of the city, this is a place for Hindu worshippers to pay respects to their Gods. Outside the 272-step stairs to gain entry to the caves, is a very tall golden statue of their God.

Seeing the tall stairs looks intimidating but it's not as difficult as it seems. It would take around 5 to 10 minutes to get to the top. But before getting there, you'd most likely see monkeys searching for food. Do not fret. Make sure you do not bring anything that looks like a meal for them to avoid getting confronted. :p

Inside the caves, there are some souvenir shops, and going farther you'd see statues of Gods. There's also a temple one can enter for worship, you'll need to take your shoes off. I've read somewhere too that there's a snake guy who allows for guests to pose with his snake for a photo. But that time I did not see him.

Pavilion

If you want to see a more modern view of the city. Go to its newest shopping destination. The Pavilion is the place for high-end stores, a distinctive fountain rests near the entrance. If going for breakfast, you have to try The Loaf. They serve really good breads and pastries and coffees at an affordable price.

Our ride home was during the afternoon. It was relaxing to be traveling the road again. I saw lots of greens, which reminded me of the provinces I've been to back in the Philippines. Plus our coach (StarMart Express Air Asia) allowed for unlimited massage right on our seat. How luxurious is that! :)

Tips:

1. Do not forget to exchange currency before leaving country esp. if you're arriving really early when no money changers are open. Not unless if you're arriving at an airport.

2. When picking a taxi, try not to go for those who "haggle". We had not so good experiences with those.

3. If you do not want to use data roaming, you need to buy a map before going or check in to hotel first so you can ask for a map or travel guide.

4. If time permits, go to Genting Highlands, for a refreshing climate and view.

5. Always mind your belongings. That advice even came from our nice taxi driver.

Expenses Guide:

	Price per group (4)	Price per head
Round Trip Coach Transfer (Singapore to KL)		S$60
1N Twin Sharing Room at Cube Hotel	S$56 (2)
Petronas Towers Skybridge Admission		10 MYR
Taxi to Batu Caves from KL	20 MYR
Souvenirs bought at Chinatown	32 MYR

A Day of Flashbacks at Corregidor Island

Corregidor Island, formerly the strategic port and battle ground most notable during the World War II, is now a well-maintained historic site and tourist destination.

First of all, I'd like to acknowledge pakyaw.com and Sun Cruises for offering this great deal. Without them, my friends and I would not have gotten the idea of going for a day tour. The regular day tour costs Php 2150 and we were able to avail it for only Php 998.

Ferry Ride

The journey towards the island took around 1.5 hours. I wasn't sure if it was the most comfortable ride. Good thing they provided barf bags to the passengers.

We arrived at Corregidor Island at 10 am. After alighting the ferry, the guests were split into groups, each assigned a tram accompanied by a tour guide. I'm glad our tour guide kept us up by filling in jokes and  some interesting anecdotes from time to time.

The Malinta Light & Sound Show

Set under the Malinta Tunnel, this thirty minute show presents the key events that shaped Corregidor Island and the rest of the country during the World War II.

I was surprised to see it maybe because I had a different expectation. It was not a typical show where one would passively watch, it allows to do even more, that is to imagine what it was like, to relive the experience.

McArthur Statue

"I shall return." These immortal words we all remember Gen. Douglas McArthur for were uttered in this very island. I did not know or perhaps I'd forgotten.

Buffet Lunch

For our lunch we went to Corregidor Inn, the only accommodation available in the island. This was inclusive in the day tour package offered by Sun Cruises. The food was average which was to be expected given what we paid for. It was enough to recharge us for the remaining journey ahead.

Barracks

If I were to picture Corregidor Island, it would not be complete without the barracks. A lot of the ruins can be seen. They did not dub the island "The Rock" for nothing.

The Batteries

One of the main attractions and icons of Corregidor is the battery - the major artillery used for warfare. Around four kinds can be found in the island. The tour took us to Battery Hearn and Battery Way. 

The Battery Hearn, the longest and able to fire to the farthest distance

Spanish Lighthouse

The Corregidor Lighthouse may have been severely damaged during the war. But thanks to Corregidor Foundation it is now repaired and standing even taller at the top-side of the island. 

Aside from a Spanish Museum and gift shop, also within the Spanish lighthouse quadrangle is the observatory tower built around two decades ago. The tower also serves another purpose as a cell site of Globe Telecom. So Globe subscribers need not worry about the signal during their stay. :)

Observatory Tower

Pacific War Memorial

Built in honor of the Filipino and American soldiers who fought with their lives to regain freedom in the Pacific Ocean area. 

The writing on the center altar of the memorial dome

To convey what our heroes aimed for, behind the memorial is an artistic structure that symbolizes freedom. 

The Eternal Flame of Freedom

Japanese Memorial Garden

This garden was built to honor the numerous Japanese casualties during World War II. Very zen, this was the most calm and serene place I've seen at the island. We even got the chance to enter a small museum full of memorabilia, photographs, artifacts of the war.

The tour ended at 2:30 pm, it was time for us to go home and head back to Manila.

It was enlightening and at the same time heartbreaking to see the many horrors of war. Corregidor island lives on to continually remind us of how our fathers fought so that we may become free. We owe it to them. That being said, I'd like to end with a message of hope, of just how the world should be.