Ehhh @ Crystal Beach, Zambales

We had fallen for surfing that we hadn't stopped exploring places in the country to surf in. After visiting La Union, Baler and Liw-Liwa, we checked out Crystal Beach Resort in San Narciso, Zambales. I was expecting this place to be better than the small hostel in Liw-Liwa because of the price but I was in for a surprise.

Exploring Crystal Beach

We stayed in a half of our tree house for almost P500/person. It was a fun experience but it wasn't comfortable. Most of us had to lean down and crawl in order to move in our accommodation and the other r group were given a cottage to sleep in so we decided to all stay in the small tree house.

The place also offered lots of activities like beach volleyball, trampoline, log climbing and a lot more. Some of the activities required additional expense. In my opinion, those special activities are not that interesting but it was nice to have.

The bathing area wasn't a good one since it was an outdoor shower. It was still cold in that night so bathing the day when we weren't swimming or getting wet in the beach was a challenge (and may mga hindi naligo at naligo sa CR).

On the other hand, the beach was clean and peaceful, too.

Pawicare: Pawikan Conservation Effort

A few minutes from the resort, a conservation venue for the pawikan. In the afternoon of our stay, we had the opportunity to help baby pawikans on their way to the ocean. We all lined up by the seashore with a baby pawikan in hand and we let them in the ocean. It was a great experience.

Surfing

We stayed in the resort for the first long weekend of the year so all the rooms were taken and the surfing schedules in their resident surfing school was almost full. Luckily, we scored a schedule before noon.

They were strict with the inland instruction to ensure everyone's safety. Like all other lessons, the instructor oriented us on the parts of the surf boars, how to stand and how to fall. Since they over booked so the 4 (Ed, Drew, Rodel and I) of us had to surf without leashes which required the head instructors to guide us. The waves on our side of the beach weren't plenty and we had to endure some failed attempts at riding the waves since the waves wouldn't be there. But master student Ed and Drew were trying to get some new moves (kaya sila na matuturo next time, LOL) while we struggled to surf with the short surfing waves we found.

It was still a fun experience and hopefully the next surfing trip would have better waves for the beginner surfers.

We also celebrated Rodel and Raymon's birthday on that trip (Thanks sa treat!)

Hurricane Irene

I was unfortunate enough to have my last weekend in my US Trip to experience one of the worst hurricanes to reach East Coast US in years.

Meet Hurricane Irene

She is a hurricane who passed over the East Coast US this weekend.


Weekend? Of all the days... WEEKEND!

Anyway, I was supposed to tour Philadelphia on this Saturday or Washington, DC or New York again but...
Hurricane Irene came and all the plans got scratched. I was able to see Philadelphia at night but the pictures weren't that good so we went back on Saturday Morning but when we finished touring the Franklin Institute. Rain was already pouring and I wasn't able to get pictures at the LOVE park in the morning.

All is good though as we were safe and I got stuff at the bed and bath works store. Even if the store closed when we were still choosing things to buy. The People who worked there weren't rude at us, though.

And when the winds were pretty strong... We were safe inside the house and we hadn't had any power outages.

The next day, Sunday. It was still raining and some roads are flooded so plans for DC didn't follow through. But we were able to see a movie and do a little shopping.

Our KL to SG Trip Part 9: Chinatown

I was already hungry and cranky. While Jessie was overly eager to meet with his Singaporean friend, who he hadn't seen in a while. From the MRT, I headed to a store with any sort of food while Jessie went on to meet his friend.

 Photo: Chinatown MRT Map

Jessie's friend is a Singaporean local so she toured us around this part of the city.

Our first stop, the Chinatown Food Street. It is usually open starting 5pm and it was only 3pm so only a few stores were open. We had Char Kwey Teow, each at SGD 3-5 and Water Chestnut juices for around SGD 2 each.

 Photo: Me, Jessie and Hattie at Chinatown Food Street

Then, we proceeded to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple which I wasn't able to go to 'coz we went there at 7pm-ish wherein the temple was already closed. The temple had a thousand or more buddhas.

 Photo: Buddhas everywhere

at its 3rd floor, they had a museum that talked about buddha. It talked about how buddha becamed the enlightened one and how another buddha is bound to come in the future. At the end of the exhibit, it has idols that embodies kindness. So all those buddhist idols are not Gods but the embodiment of kindness.

 Photo: The Next Buddha

Jessie was jumpy at that time so he took pictures of the desriptions to read later. Here they are:

After the temple visit, we had a quick photo op at Sri Mariamman Temple. Then, dropped by a tea shop to get cold drinks since it was really hot that day.

Photo: Sri Mariamman Temple

At around 5pm, we were Marina Bay bound.

 Photo: Now, Marina Bay Bound

Our KL to SG Trip Part 8: KL to SG

We got up around 6am and got ready to leave for the airport. I already packed everything before sleepin so we were ready to leave as soon as we finished taking a bath and getting dressed. Our Hostel land lady got up early at 7am to help us check out.

 Photo: Baby Bear before leaving KL

Photo: Baby Toro before leaving KL

As pressed for time, as we were. We got to KL Sentral around 8am and boarded a bus to LCCT to arrive a little before 10am. We had no time to waste. We checked in and deposited out bags which included pasalubong at 23 kilos combined. I got scared since we are nor 3 kilos overweight for our way home but for this flight. It was okay since I got the 30kg limit.

 Photo: Brain Freeze due to Bandung Shake

Before boarding, we had breakfast. Nasi Lemak with Curry Chicken and Roasted Chicken. With Bandung for drinks. I wasn't able to gobble up the Bandung since we will be boarding within the next 20 minutes.

 Photo: Nasi Lemak

Expenses: Around 30RM for the Brunch Meal

We boarded the KL to SG flight and travelled for an hour.

 Photo: Air Asia at the background

When we got to SG, I was excited since we landed on Changi Airport Terminal 1. Too bad, the airport was undergoing renovations so the whole Changi experience was incomplete. The line was long so it took us almost an hour to get through immigration. Before leaving the airport, I got some Maps and we proceeded to the Airport MRT station at Terminal 3.

 Photo: Welcome to Changi Airport

We purchased EZ Link Cards for transportation at SGD15 and headed to our MRT Stop. The SG Subway was complicated so we had to pass 3 interchanges before getting to our hostel.

I book a room at The Mitraa, the same hostel where Ida and I lounged last 2009 so finding the hostel wasn't a problem. Honestly, nothing changed except for the new paint in Thian Hock Temple.

 Photo: Changi Airport MRT

When we arrived, the same Filipino day manager was handling the desk. But the new addition included a Filipino helper, who was extra chatty.

Expenses: around SGD200 for the Hostel Stay or PHP 6,000++ for 3 days and 3 nights

We rested for an hour in our room before heading to Chinatown where Jessie agreed to meet with a Singaporean friend.

Our KL to SG Trip Part 7: Dinner and Shopping at Jalan Alor and Bukit Bintang

Since we weren't that hungry yet, we window shopped at BB Plaza. It turns out the Malls are all connected since after getting lost, we got out in Sungwei Plaza.

 Photo: Green Veggies at Jalan Alor

By 8pm, we were already hungry and we made our way to a restaurant in Jalar Alor. We were cautious this time at ordering 'coz we had too much last time we dined in Jalan Alor.

 Photo: Roast Chicken, Duck and Pork

I ordered Roasted Duck with Rice while Jessie had the Chicken with Pork and Rice. Jessie was craving for the brocolli leaves thingie so we got that too...

 Photo: Our Hearty Dinner

Expenses for the Meal: Less than 50RM

It was a great meal, where we ended up full.

Before returning to the Hostel to sleep, I wanted to get more pasalubongs so we went back to the Giant Supermarket.

Expenses at the Grocery: Around 15RM 

On the way, we bought a dancing donkey for 25RM, which was selling at 50RM from a Sabah local who speaks Tagalog.

Our KL to SG Trip Part 6: Menara KL Tower

By the time the Matic show ended, it was raining again but so as not to waste time. We boarded the monorail to Raja Chulan and did a short 10 minute walk to Menara KL. When we got there, we rode a free shuttle to the tower's feet.

 Photo: Menara KL Tower Entrance

The driver offered us observation deck tickets for 30RM but I wanted to the some of the other activities so we got the 38RM package instead. But since it was raining, many of the attractions were closed and the other attractions weren't that interesting.

My advise is to get 30RM ticket from the driver.

So we, first went to the Observation Deck. You're pretty much covered after travelling a few seconds of 250++ meters of the 4th tallest communication tower in the world.

 Photo: Menara KL Tower Observation Deck

At the Deck, you'll have a audio visual guide, which will tell what you are looking at. The binoculars are also free of charge so if you want to look at the "puny humans" down the tower, you won't have to dig out coins.

Photo: Looking below Observation Deck

After 12 windows, we had tourists photos taken and went down for a quick snack.

For Snacks, I had Roti Prata and Jessie had Nasi Lemak.

 Photo: Roti Prata

Photo: Nasi Lemak

Before going down, we dropped by the Animal Center and the Complimentary pony ride.

 Photo: Surviving the pony ride

I didn't like horses so the ride was a little nerve-racking but I still survived it.

 Photo: Menara KL Tourist Photo

We had more tourist photos and boarded the shuttle to the foot of the hill and made our way back to our hostel.

Our KL to SG Trip Part 5: Matic

We got to Matic after a 10 minute walk.

We then found out the the show will start on 3pm so we an hour or so to kill. But Matic is a great place to relax.

We had Wifi and computer terminal to do some net surfing. There was TV. We, even, had a 3 minute chair massage.

There was an art gallery, too but I wasn't able to visit it since the show was already starting.

Photo: Matic Cultural Show

The show was a cultural dance show featuring traditional dances for Malaysian tribes, as well as the many small communities who settled in the country (Indians, Chinese, Thai).

 Photo: Matic Cultural Show

Photo: Matic Cultural Show

Photo: Matic Cultural Show

Expenses: 5RM/person for the show fee

Our KL to SG Trip Part 4: KLCC

For our third day in Kuala Lumpur was all about visiting its landmarks, the Petronas Towers and the Menara KL Tower. I also squeezed in a little cultural show to have a taste of Malaysian culture.

Our first iterinary was visiting the Petronas Twin Towers.

 Photo: At Petronas Twin Towers

After having our breakfast, we headed to Bukit Nanas and walked towards the Petronas Twin Towers. We, first, proceeded to the ticket booth since forums had said there will be a long line towards getting a ticket to the Twin Tower's skybridge ans despite being a Tuesday. The line was indeed long and the viewing time would be 1:30pm even if we were already there at 10-11am. so we opted not to get in line since the view from menara KL was better since it was higher, from advices from forum posters. We took our token tourist photos in front of the Petronas Towers and went around KLCC to find if we will be able to buy new clothes. At that time, it was the Malaysian GP Sale so everything was on sale but the question would be, if we'll find something we like so until late 12nn, we were window shopping.

 Photo: Race Car

Since we were hungry, we opted to shop another time and head off to Lunch.

By recommendation, we decided to try Nando's. Forum posters said it would be a great visit so we had our lunch there. We were there earlier than lunch so we had a good seat. I ordered the Mild viand and Jessie got the Hot one. It was super spicy so it was helpful we had apple drinks, too.

Photo: Nando's

After lunch, we dropped by cold storage to get ice cream so that we could relieve the spiciness from Nando's. Since it was still too early to go to MaTic, we proceeded to KLCC to have a little nap by the Twin Towers.

 Photo: View at KLCC Park

At 2pm, we proceeded to MaTic.

Expenses: 50RM for our lunches; 5RM for our Ice Cream

Our KL to SG Trip Part 3: Swimming at Sunway Lagoon

Back in 2009, I made it a point to visit Sunway Lagoon. Unfortunately, I made a wrong estimation as going to Sunway Lagoon took more than 30 minutes and spending the day is the only way to actually get the most of the place so for this trip, we had spent the whole day in this park.

We got up at 8:00 am to have breakfast and leave the hostel at around 9:30 am. We made our way to the Kelana Jaya MRT Station and boarded a bus going to Sunway Mall.

Expenses so far: Around 1RM/person

 Photo: Sizzling Chicken Rice

Since it was almost 12nn, we decided to eat in the Pyramid Mall instead of inside the park. We went down to the food court and purchased chicken and beef rice in a sizzling plate. Then, got our drinks in a juice stand. Jessie noticed another thing. The name in the Jusco, synonymous to JUSCO or "Juice ko" or my juice was printed in our juice cups.

PHOTO: JUICE KO? Jusco

After eating, we proceeded to the Sunway Lagoon. I pre-bought tickets using the online purchasing function of the Sunway Lagoon website, which also gave us 20% discount. I got two 3 parks ticket, which normally costs 80RM with just 60RM.

Photo: Welcome to Sunway Lagoon!

I also had to pay a wrist band deposit of 10RM/person, which I was able to refund after the day ended.

Animal Park

The three parks ticket was defaulted to the water park, the animal park and the amusement park. Since we just ate, we went around the Animal Park, first. The park consists of attractions featuring a wide array of birds, reptiles, mammals. In the pet area, I was able to hold a Hedgehog. He had hard fur which can feel like needles but wouldn't really wound you. Check out the different animals we were able to interact and see.

 Photo: My new friend, Sonic

Water Park

By 2:30pm, we had pretty much covered the animal park and we shed off our going around clothes and left all our other stuff in the paid locker, which was 5RM per opening.

We first swam at some pools in an are the park tagged as Africa. We floated and swam. Then, took lots of pictures. After a while, we decided to try the water rides.

 Photo: Waters of Africa

Our first stop was the surf slide. We went more than once since we wanted to have a video of us going down the slide.

We then made our way to that long tube slide with many circles (African Tube Slide with lots of loops) and the really high one (Cameroon Climb). We swam some more in the other pools within that section of the park until we decided to go to the Amusement Park.

Amusement Park

At around 4:30pm, we put back on our strolling clothes, headed to the World of Adventure and rode the pirate's revenge.It looks like Anchor's Away ride in Enchanted Kingdom but it swings at 360 degrees.

 Photo: Pirate's Revenge

Another 360 degrees ride is the tomahawk which is lighter than the pirates revenge Ride and the belts are much more loose, I really felt going upside down as we made 360 degrees turns.

Since the other rides weren't as adult-friendly, we went to the other amusement park tagged as the wild wild west. It was generally full of kiddie rides but has a number of adult rides wherein you would end up wet. We rode the Niagara Falls Flume Ride, Colorado Splash, and the Grand Canyon River Rapids.Which was similar to rides in Enchanted Kingdom and Star City where you end up wet.

 Photo: Grand Canyon River Rapids

After riding wet rides in Wild Wild West, we made our way to the longest pedestrian bridge where we found people bungy jumping. Thr Bungy jump costs 130RM, which was out of our budget. (so I am envious at those who did bungy jumps)

 Photo: The "Longest" Hanging Bridge

After crossing that "longest" pedestrian bridge, we made our way to the wave pool and swam our last hour.

 Photo: Presents Sunway Lagoon

At 6pm, Sunway Lagoon closes. everyone is asked to leave the pool and head out of the park. We took some last shots and changed into our going home clothes.

 Photo: At the Pool Area Display

We rode a bus back to the city but the fare is more expensive by another ringgit so the fare is RM2/person since the way back is a longer ride.

Back to our hostel

Before going back to the hostel, we took a detour to pasar seni so I could buy souvenir ref magnet which costs 10RM for 2 pieces.

Photo: At Pasar Seni

Since the hawker center was already closed since it was almost 9:30pm, we dined at a nearby Indian restaurant before heading back to the hostel.