On Business Class Upgrade

Had a stroke of luck this morning on our flight to Bangkok... Jing and I, together with our arranger Benedict was upgraded to business class... The economy section was fully booked and they needed to ease someone out in the economy class and by random, we got selected (one reason maybe is that Jing's birthday is upcoming... =>) ...

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Coincidental??? maybe... but probably an excellent reward for all those hard work in the past few days for our funding activity... And just realised that 3 hours in business class is such a short time since you're comfortable, well-take cared off and very much entertained... I really wouldn't have minded if the plane would take a longer time before reaching our destination since our next flight had a five-hour waiting time...

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Anyway, I sure liked the treat we got and I'm now in Raffles in Phnom Penh blogging after going over the final details of our to dos... with tomorrow being another tough day with a plant tour in Kampong Cham and yet a battery of meetings... Rest is next in line after our nice drink of hot choco in elephant bar in the hotel.... ZZZZ

Meatings...

I've found another word for working lunches and dinners... MEATING... and that's my current state as of the moment... I've been back for a week at the ofice yet but I don't think I have spent no more than two hours in my room since last week cause I'm so packed with meetings...

Fridays and Sunday was spent with Jing centralized in the board room cramming for materials for the due diligence... Three Monday meetings with different banks... and marathon meetings and discussions from Tuesday to Thursday... I'm a bit tired and exhausted but I still am just half way at the task at hand...

Tomorrow, I'm flying off to Cambodia for yet another series of discussions and plant tour... but when I get back on Sunday... I'm sure, I will be relieved for I got past a hectic stretch after returning from Asutralia... and I think, there'll be less meating and eating will be more of a social activity from then on... =>

Tagaytayan Na Naman

I haven't wasted any weekend the whole month of May with successive weekends spent in Palawan, Anawangin and Sydney... then next week will be spent in Cambodia... so what's in store this week??? A road trip to Tagaytay with SGV friends Ruth and Anna...

An early morning rendezvous at GB3 and on our way to Tagaytay via "South Suffer Highway" (';) and reached Sonya's only to miss the breakfast time there so we shifted to a buffet lunch in Josephine's (I love buffet at Josephine's with their fine Filipino food choices)... It was raining so we had to let things settle down first before proceeding to Paradizoo, which featured farm animals... A unique experience nonetheles... then we visited Caleruega church with its nice overlooking view and spots to see...

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A full day on the road with the rainy weather but still it was quite an adventure.

Sydney Sum Up

On the question, is which part of the places I visited the most I liked the best... At the onset, I couldn't give a straight answer... Then what are the choices...
Day 1 Sydney Airport
Day 2 Sydney CBD - St. Mary's Cathedral, Hyde Park, Queen Victoria Building, Harbor Bridge, The Rocks, Opera House, Darling Harbor, Orbit Lounge...
Day 3 Darling Harbor, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center, Sydney Aquarium, Ernst & Young Australia
Day 4 Kiama Blow Hole, Nan Tien Temple, The Beaches and The Rainforests
Day 5 Taronga Zoo and a french restaurant near the beach
Day 6 Featherdale Zoo and Jenolan Caves and Dinner at Manong Manny's
Day 7 Blue Mountains, Three Sisters and Dinner at Uncle Ben's
Day 8 Liverpool and Roselands Area
Day 9 Fish Market and Vietnamese Restaurant in Bankstown
Day 10 Bondi Beach and Bryan's Gig in Houptown Hotel in Surry Hills
Day 11 Canterbury Bulldog Clubhouse and buffet lunch, Sydney and Melbourne airport

Here's the some items that made Sydney such a wonderful visit...

• The site I'd like best was the harbor view of the Sydney CBD from ferry rides and the various sites overlooking the harbor. The Sydney Opera House is one of the most distinguished structures in the world but without the harbor view, it would just be ordinary...
• Petting Koala's and Feeding Baby Kangaroos was quite an experience. You're not in Australia 'til you get a glimpse of these two cute creatures... then there's also other animals that's so fun to watch like the hyperactive tazmanian devil, the very much fluffy wombat, the very shy platypus and those cute little penguins...
• Then there's so many things which can be done outdoors, amidst the laid back culture in the area... Cool and Breezy Blue Mountains with the cable cars and the three sisters... The adventure-ridden treks in Jenolan Caves... The natural wonder of having a blow hole... and of course, the beaches (though this would be more on a summer itenerary)...
• The best part of the vacation was being with family (and interacting with them after all the ages that has passed)... I had a nice chat with everyone on the various drive along the different attractions as well as the barbecue dinners with both the Ramon and the Estepa side of the Family... Their warm hospitality sure was a great counter for the cool autumn whether...

So after 11 days down under, what else is there to say... A big sincere THANKS from the innermost bottom part of my heart for making sure I had a nice time in Oz... and I would most likely be back sometime in the future... for all the other areas outside of Sydney... =>

On Zoos, Roads and Families...

My weekend in Sydney has been all about Zoos, Roads and Families... Friday had me going to Taronga Zoo which not only feature countless of animals but also a magnificent harbor view of the Sydney CBD... I'm not really a newbie in Zoos but this has to be the area where the Kangaroos and Koalas were such a delight to see... Had dinner with my Cousin Becky and her family Friday Night...

On still on Kangaroo's and Koalas, had a more intimate encounter at Featherdale zoo where I got a photo op petting a koala and feeding a kangaroos... wombats, penguins and tazmanian devils are also so cute... then it was our long road to Jenolan Caves with Renato... a few long hours later... We were there with the enormous caves and had explored one with an underground stream and the formation was amazing (though I still like Palawan's underground river better)... The trek back to our parking slot was more challenging with slight rains and slippery walks... Then there was barbeque with the Ramon Family, there's so much relatives here... Auntie Doray, Uncle Nato and Auntie Basyang, Manong Manny and Family, Manong Sammy and Family, Manang Tessie, Michelle and Family, Renato, Rochelle and Rowena...

After spending the night with Brian and Tiff, we headed to the Blue Mountains with Arthur, Chelsea, Michael and Therese... The blue mountain had nice gorges and the popular three sisters... A steep rail trip down and a cable car trip up... a tour around the old miners village... wine tasting and a melted chocolate drinks... picnic... and I remembered it was freezing cold with less than 8 degrees temperature... It was a nice chilly experience spent with cousins... and followed a dinner at Uncle Ben and Auntie Yolly... Again so much cousins on the Estepa side of the Family, Auntie Esme, Uncle Ben and Auntie Yolly, Arthur, Erick, Brian with Tiff, Michael and Yehlen... Spent the night at Uncle Ben's place...

Monday was a more relaxing day with just shopping for souvenirs (how to place all those things in my bag??? hehe)... I'm a bit sleepy with a lifestyle that makes me sleep Philippine time and wake up on Australian Time... hehe... but at least, I get to enjoy the hospitality of relatives out here... Few more days before I go out of the freezer and move into the oven... =>

Sydney, So Far...

It's day 4 of my Sydney, Vacation and this is the only time that I went home early so far...

Day 1 - arrived in Sydney on a chilly night at 7 pm... Nothing much except dinner with Auntie Esme, Cousins Erick and Arthur...

Day 2 - Arthur had me tour the city - Sydney Opera House, St. Mary's Cathedral, The Rocks, Darling Harbour and had a 360 degrees view of the city at night via Orbit Lounge... Met up with another cousin Bryan and his Fiance Tiff for coffee in Paramatta area...

Day 3 - Attended Medtecs exhibit in the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center and met with Rondz for a trip to the Aquarium in darling Harbour... We weren't able to see the Platypus (so good in hide and seek)... Had steak and ribs for dinner with Ronds and his friend Nikko...

Day 4 - Met up with the Auntie Basyang, Cousin Ria and other relatives for a tour along the outer part of the New South Wales... Nan Tien Temple... Fish and Chips at Kiama... Kiama also had an interesting attraction called the blowhole (during gusty winds, the water comes out from the rocky formation)... the beach and some scenic viewing area...

Of course, it's still day 4... and then there'll be day 5 - Taronga Zoo and dinner with cousin Becky... Day 6 - Going around with Cousin Renato and Dinner with the Ramon side of the family... Day 7 - Blue Mountains with Bryan, Michael, Arthur and Dinner with Uncle Ben and Auntie Yolly...

If it's not yet obvious, I'm overflowing with relatives here... At least, I get to enjoy my vacation in the comforting presence of family and friends...

Hello Sydney!!!

It took me an 8 hour trip... and I am finally on my first visit to Sydney, Australia... My schedule is still in disarray but I'll be here for 11 days... so there'll be much time for all the travel stuff... but I'm just glad that I had a nice comfortable trip here... The plan was so spacious that I had two seats all to myself... some had four... so I guess that beats business class... hehe...

Adventure Anawangin

Tight on the timetable... but was able to squeeze in an adventure in Anawangin in Zambales with SGV friends Ruth and Anna... It's really much more than Anawangin to explore... two more islands to hop - Capones and Camara... the result, a full weekend island hopping, trekking, swimming, snorkling and just chilling in the beach... Actually, each island has its own unique feature to explore...

We took the last trip to Zambales last Friday Night... arriving Pudaquit area at early dawn... lucky for us, we were able to get a room at Aling Nora's resort even though we arrived at such an unusual time...

Early morning, we had our first stop at Anawangin... The place was so pristine, the beachfront was a long stretch... the sand was fine... the mountain-view was nice... and the trees provided an excellent cover for the sun... Explored the island a bit... had a short dip and spent the rest of the morning just chilling and sleeping near the beachfront... and then we had our lunch picnic... A real relaxing treat at Anawangin...

After lunch, our next stop was Capones, which had an old spanish lighthouse to boot... Though it took us a long adventurous trek along the island (we had to go the longer way because the waves was strong on easier side)... Aside from going around the island, we also had to trek the mountain for about an hour just to reach a peak (lesson remembered from last year: Havaianas is not for trekking)... The light house was such a unique infrastructure but the best part of it was the view from the top - seeing the unison of the ocean, the mountains, the islands and the bright blue sky... A tiring trek in Capones but was well worth it...

Next stop, Snorkling and Swimming in Camara... The area had a nice white sand beach and yet another breathtaking view of the different islands... The waves were strong and quite a scene seeing the waves crashing to the rocks and to the shore... and it was also a thrill being thrown by the waves to shore while swimming... =>

It was a great adventure exploring these three islands... and the price range is not that high... it makes you proud that there are still some areas that has its nice pristine beauty in the country... and I also came to realise that there so much wonders to explore in the Philippines... and the adventure continues...

The Great Palawan Getaway

Took the chance on a long Labor Day weekend to have our Great Palawan Getaway... and Puerto Princesa, Palawan was as quite a great getaway and has so much to offer... It was so preserved that being here is more of a nature appreciation trip and a nice relaxing vacation... but the clear air and the nice provincial ambience provides a much needed fresh air... and the food was great...

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Day 1 had us taking city tour around Puerto Princesa, Palawan with stops at Crocodile Farm (the crocs were really scary)... Butterfly Sanctury (Quite a colorful scene butterflies and the flowers create)... Mitra Ranch (A nice overlooking view of Palawan)...

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Day 2 was spent at Dos Palmas... A nice classy place to be... Had Snorkling (So many variety of colorful fishes here), Kayaking (tiring but fun) and some swimming here... It has a nice beach front and the amenities are great... After the day, had been a bit tanned and really tired but it was well worth it...

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Day 3 was a breathtaking tour of the Underground river... A long two hour van ride to the place The queue to the river was quite long as many really want to get a peak at this wonderful attraction... When we got our chance, we were awed by the natural beauty of the place and the cave is really a must see attraction in the Philippines and is in fact one of the candidates for New 7 wonders of nature... It rained on our way back but knowing how preserved the place was, the rain was a nice shower... Had Swimming after in Sabang Area...

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Had dinner at Ka Lui, also a must visit here since the food and ambience is great. In fact, you still have to reserve in order to eat here... A nice dinner to cap our getaway... The next day was our trip back much refreshed but still tired from all the exploring but it was I guess all part of what made the getaway a great breather but it also leaves us a sense of pride that there's wonderful places like Palawan is so much naturally endowed and preserved as well... =>

Jay Anne is Back

Blog Catch up... After coming back from Singapore, we were suppose to meet with the other FAA Babies but probably due to short notice it ended up in a dinner with Jay Anne in Bubba Gump... Jay Anne is home from New York for a few days... Quite a busy summer, so many people are back and yet there's still the summer sun and vacation to enjoy...

After dinner, met up with Mike, Therry, Gemma and Kinney in Starbucks in GB1... Still a nice time catching up with old times... and what's in store in the next few months... After a few hours at Starbucks... Had to bring Jay Anne home and prepare for my Palawan Trip the next day... =>

IBlog: Palawan

2nd IBlog entry... Day 1 in Palawan... City tour... Croc farm (scary)... Mitra Ranch (top view of Puerto Princesa... Amazing)... Butterfly garden (a nature's treat...).... Dos Palmas tom and underground river on sat... Ciao!!!