Pattaya City Plus Bangsaen (Part 1)

Note: I should have posted this three weekends ago.

Because I was so determined to prove to my friends that I can reclaim the former glory of being a true, unattached single adventurer, I decided to go on a spur-of-the-moment trip to visit two places which I have been eyeing to discover for some time now.

So one, boring Saturday night (after I ran out of things to do in my apartment), I put on my fave travel clothes (specifically, a hooded t-shirt and a pair of shorts), slipped into my havies, packed Iko, some much needed toiletries plus snacks, and stashed my passport in my back pocket. After making a quick call to a friend, I was off to Pattaya City on my own.

My first dilemma was getting to Victory Monument. Although I have passed through this route countless times, I was still unsure. I checked google maps so to know which bus to take and since this supposedly fail-free site failed me several times in the past, I decided to call a friend as well to inquire about the bus number. After 20 minutes on Bus 39, I finally arrived in Victory Monument.



The second dilemma was finding the cheapest transportation service in the area. The last time I went to Pattaya City, we rode on a van and paid 130 baht but when we went back to Bangkok from there, we only paid 90 baht. We discovered too late that there were several transportation services strategically stationed around Victory Monument. When I got there, I couldn't find the van with the 90 baht fare but I was able to get on a van which asked for 100 baht. Once I was comfortably seated on the second row, I logged into facebook (my account then was still not deactivated) and anxiously waited for three hours to get there.

Travel time from Bangkok to Pattaya City is approximately 2-3 hours and it will help if you have a book or an ipod to keep you preoccupied. If you think that technology is too much of a nuisance, then you can enjoy the astonishing change from Bangkok's sky scrapers to the countryside's crop paddies. The safest stop in Pattaya City is Walking Street. Safe in a sense that you are right in the center of everything --- you have easy access to hotels, restaurants, bars, travel agencies, and the beach.



When the driver dropped me off in Walking Street, I went to the nearest travel agency to inquire about Mini Siam's location. Thailand's addresses are a bit tricky. The spelling you will see online may not be the same spelling you will see in the actual place, and the language barrier will only make matters worst. You can try as hard as you could to speak pasa-Thai but in the end, you'll only get a "mai kao jai." Being just a few months old here, I am still groping with getting the right accent. People here always say that I speak funny.

The manager of the travel agency told me to get on a song teaw (a converted pick-up truck used for public transportation which can accommodate about sixteen people in the back and two in front) and get off in Sukhumvit Road then get on another song teaw going to Mini Siam. Song teaw fares are usually 10 baht per person. The driver (after seeing my camera and map) tried to scam me by offering to take me to Mini Siam if I paid 170 baht. I opted not to take the offer and waited for other passengers which I am thankful for because Sukhumvit Road from Walking Street was just a 15-minute ride.

I met a motorcycle driver while I was searching for my first stop - Mini Siam. After asking seven other motorcycle drivers, we finally bumped into someone who knew where Mini Siam was. People here are more accustomed to the Thai names so it will be best if you knew both Thai and English names of the places that you plan to visit. This same driver (oooppppsss, too lazy to continue this now...)

Exit To Laos Day 1

I wrote this at a hotel with peeled eyes, blood-shot as they already were, I fought off sleep for the fear that a ghost-child might decide to sleep beside me (as per my new-found friend who has seemed to have developed a fetish for scaring the wits out of people).

Anyway, my then current location (if we can call it that since using then and current in the same sentence seemed illogical) was Laos - Vientiane, Laos to be more specific. Since I was residing in Bangkok, Thailand at that time, I took the midnight bus going to Laos. It took us almost 11 hours to get there. The quoted time of course, includes the mandatory stop on both countries' (Thailand and Laos) borders where you will need to get your passport stamped. After that, a quick stop-over at the Immigration Office and then off to the hotel. As soon as we got to the hotel, I told my friends that we should make the best of the trip and discover the quaint country as soon as possible but sadly they have other things in mind at the moment. Since we just arrived, they have opted to chill and fiddle with their lappies instead. As a compromise (since I didn't stop bugging them), we decided to take the hotel's tour at 5pm around Laos.

Fast forward to 5pm (since there really was nothing much to say about the time before that), the other guests of the hotel were not yet ready and I was starting to get irritated. The hotel staff wanted to wait for the others so to save gas as well as to earn more income. What time did we leave? 7 fu*!ing pm! I hated waiting and anyone who has made me wait in the past has been listed in my little black book of insignificant beings.

First stop was Mekong River and I was so disappointed. This was what we paid for? This was what we waited 2 hours for? It was after sunset so I was not able to capture great shots of the river and I couldn't get a decent shot of the park with people running around and my co-guests bugging me to take a group shot using Iko.

After several failed shots of the statue, I decided to give up, dragged my friend to walk some more so I can take better shots of the park. Sadly, I only had a few good ones as it was dark and I badly needed a tripod to help me get a clear picture. After walking a kilometer's length of the Mekong River, the group decided to pass by the little temple near the Night Market. The temple was not that impressive since I have been introduced to other temples before. Besides, my mood was not helping as well. So thereafter, I relied mostly on the Night Market to perk me up and tested my bargaining skills which I thought has gone rusty. I was able to convince the lady selling Laos dollies to sell three of them for 100 baht. The trick of the trade was: ask how much, haggle and if they do not agree with your price, pretend to walk away (trust me, it always works!) After I stashed my new goodies safely in my sling bag, my friend and I decided to walk farther along and fortunately, no more wears caught our eyes or else we would have ended up out of bounds with our budget.

By 9pm, most of us were complaining of starvation. So the leader of the pack (the supposed itinerary creator) brought us to a pub where we were surrounded by other foreigners enjoying cold beer during a hot weekend. Call me an old lady but I was probably the grinch that night. Other than the time I consumed playing pool, everything else left a sour taste in my mouth. The smoke in the place was making my cough worst and like what I said, I was in such a foul mood that I could not force myself to party. The ending, I convinced my friend to come with me downstairs so we could just wait in the van and chat. FYI, we had to wait for one more hour for the others. Yes, the agony of waiting again.

On our way home, two of the hotels' guests decided to extend the party all the way to the hotel by inviting two local girls whom they befriended in the pub. I was itching to tell them to buy rubber for their own safety but decided otherwise because I secretly wanted them to be rewarded with any kind of sexual disease since they were having difficulty keeping their pants zipped. We were supposed to drop by Patuxai Gate of Triumph but these two jackasses were itching to get it on and have convinced the group leader to go to the hotel immediately as their lady friends were on a motorcycle right behind us. Imagine my dismay (my eyes could not stop rolling) when the group leader said yes, partnered by the howls of support of the other guests.

When we arrived at the hotel, we immediately went to our rooms and I told my friend that on Day 2, we will not take advantage of the hotel's crappy tour.

And It Was A Big Splat

I have been asking if Zhengzhou is even worth blogging about. I thought, why the heck not? I may have more bad things to say about the place but I'm quite certain I can relish the bad taste in my mouth with a few good ones.

Zhengzhou, location: mainland China, climate: still freezing cold, (snowing even), people: not too friendly; in fact they do not have time for chit-chats and are too busy doing just about anything that they can get their grubby hands on. The streets are not safe since the traffic rules are as useless as that china survival book I have carried around since last year. And the funny thing is, you will more likely end up being ran over on a pedestrian lane than on the expressway. Hygiene: non-existent. I literally see and smell crap everywhere and they said it gets worst during the summer. If spitting was a problem in India, in Zhengzhou it's a way of life. They expectorate just about everywhere, even in restaurants and when I say restaurants, I am not talking about the dodgy ones. I am talking about the assumed fancy or shall I say 'classy' restaurants. The children, cute as they are, are made to wear these funny-looking pants with slits on their behind so that they can easily pee or take a dump just about anywhere. Believe me, my friends and I can attest to that.

Ooops! It looks like I have more bad things to say today. I will stop here before I get carried away. My attempt to make my article neutral was a failure and I will make another attempt maybe tomorrow. For now, I will leave you with a photo of a shot I took while I was scouting the area. This is proof of how Chinese people drive in Zhengzhou.

Biyahilo - Bohol

I decided to add an entry to my 'Lakwatsa' chapter. Why? Because I though that my Baguio-Intramuros entry felt lonely. However, I have to set your expectations first before I proceed. The last time I was in Bohol, the year was 2006 and obviously a lot of things have changed such as fares, day tour/hotel rates, new spots to discover and alike. If you are wondering why it took me this long to add my Bohol trip as an entry? Simple, I was not maintaining a blog then (if I had, I have already deleted it) and I was too lazy to write about my trips locally and abroad. I discovered that writing such entries take time and energy. And since we are already in the topic of setting expectations, some of the facts that I will mention may not be that specific as my Baguio City-Intramuros entry and this is not due to my lack of care but because I just can't remember the exact details anymore.

Here it goes.

Bohol is located in the middle of the Philippine archipelago, specifically the Visayas Region, that can conveniently be reached by boat or plane. In my case, it was by boat. My friends and I took the morning trip and two hours after, the ferry docked at its pier. As soon as we were off the boat, we were greeted by eager drivers-cum-tour guides who offered their services for PhP2000.00. This offer included the van that will take us to/from our hotel and gas money for the various tourist spots we visited). Not that bad since there were 9 of us who chipped in on that rate. Please take note though that this rate was back in 2006 and it has changed. I heard from a friend who recently went there that the offer now is ranging from PhP3000-4000.00. If you will be traveling with friends then this rate is just fare.

From the pier, it was just a 20-minute ride to our hotel. We checked in at the Dumaluan Beach Resort in Panglao. The rate then was PhP1,200 per night but if you want to know their recent rates then you can check their website http://dumaluanbeachresort.tripod.com/home.html for more details. The booking already covered our free breakfast however try not to expect too much from that breakfast. But our rooms were clean and the sheets/towels were fresh which were all we needed. The best thing about staying there, the hotel was just right beside the ocean and Bohol is well known for having the best beaches in the country. You can enjoy long walks on its white sand shoreline that stretches as far as the eyes can see.

Anyway, here are the places that you should not miss if you take a trip to Bohol.

Loboc River Cruise. I think we paid PhP300 per head for our eat-all-you-can lunch while cruising along the river. You have the option to choose which boat you liked. There were some boats that cater specifically to vegetarians but it was a good thing that I was not in one of those as I was with friends who preferred to sink their teeth on meat. These local floating restaurants also arranged singers to serenade the guests while enjoying the food.

Tarsier. This is the only place in the country where you can see out in the open one of the smallest primates in the world - the Philippine Tarsier. We all know that because of its size, spotting them in the wild is quite a chore but the Philippine Tarsier Foundation has made it possible for tourists to see and touch the tarsiers. A little advice though, please avoid the tarsiers in the Loboc River area. (Those people have no shame at all! All they cared about was the money they were getting from showing off the captured tarsiers in cages or when they made decorations out of them in miserable make-shift habitats.)

Baclayon Church. This church is the oldest church in Bohol, dating as far back as 1596. However its current structure as how it is today was started in 1727. When we went there, there was a funeral so, out of respect for the mourners, we did not really go inside the church to take pictures. Let's just say, we took a quick peek inside and went directly to the museum where the curator(I forgot her name) sternly advised us not to take photos. What we saw: hymnals in latin supposedly using paper made of animal skin, vests with threads made of gold, old ivory statues and of course, the infamous 'tribuna' where the tight-ass important people in the Spanish period prayed without being seen by the commoners.


Blood Compact Site. This is the spot where the First Treaty of Friendship was sealed by Legazpi and Sikatuna. The event is referred to by the Tagalogs as 'Sandugo'. Once there, we saw 5 sculptures created by the Boholano Artist Napoloeon Abueva and as soon as we stepped up on the dais, we were treated with the generous view of the Bohol Sea. In front of the site, we found shops selling all kinds of gift items which and knick-knacks that the city was known for and you can haggle your way into purchasing the items at the most practical price.

Sadly, these were all the places that I was able to visit while I was in Bohol. I never got the chance to see the most celebrated attraction - The Chocolate Hills because my friends were in a hurry to go home (They were not too excited to see it since they have actually seen it before) and I was also scared to roam the outskirts of the city on my own. I plan to go back to Bohol next year and the Chocolate Hills will definitely be the first in my itinerary. Also, I have heard of the newest attraction they have been promoting which is part of EAT Danao (Eco-Tourism Adventure Tour) program that highlights a unique zip line amongst others.

Until my next visit then.

Biyahilo - Baguio City and Intramuros

A month ago, a friend told me that Cebu Pacific's fare has plummeted to a 0 fare rate, we immediately jumped on the bandwagon and purchased two round trip tickets to Manila from Cebu. After a few minutes, I was able to confirm my reservation over the internet for a total of PhP872.00 only! Imagine that. After printing the tickets, it suddenly dawned on me---Heck! We did not have an itinerary. What will we do in Manila??? No offense to all the Manileños out there, but there really is nothing to see or do in Manila (other than go to theaters, strip clubs, malls, pubs and alike or the over-rated Ocean Park, take photos of endless city lights during wee hours of the morning which other people have already done, not to mention the timeless torment of taxi drivers), hmmm...I guess there are things to do in Manila only they are not the things we want to do...so again, there really was nothing much to keep ourselves busy with that may be worth our time. There, I think I phrased that right.

Maybe, we can do a side trip to EK (Enchanted Kingdom). Maybe. I was not that excited since I have gone there back in 1997 and wanted to keep my memories of the place exactly how I left it. But I really wanted to go back to Baguio City and revisit places that I loved and finally visit the places that I have not gone to despite of staying there for four years back in college.

And so, the decision to go to Baguio City became final and everything else was just an add-on to the itinerary.

Day 1:


We caught the 4:50AM flight out from Cebu and arrived in Manila at 6:00AM. Since we also took advantage of the Go Fare (Php200 discount on all trips without check-in baggages), there was no reason for us to linger at the airport. Being the cheapskates that we are, we hopped on the airport shuttle and paid PhP20.00 each so that the driver can drop us off at Tramo. Since the Victory Liner Pasay Terminal was just a 15-minute walk from where we were dropped off and it was still not that hot yet, we decided to walk instead of hailing a cab for very practical reasons. We were able to catch the 7:00AM trip to Baguio City. The last time I checked (which was 4 years ago) usually, it took only 5 hours to get to Baguio City but our bus was traveling slower than usual, hence, we arrived at 2:20PM which was two hours later than the expected time. With nothing but our backpacks, we decided to walk from the terminal to Session Road for a late lunch since we already made reservations at the Blue Mountain Hotel. However, we were greeted by a very persistent little man who was promoting some nearby transient houses which we can get for 200 pesos less than what we will be paying the hotel. And so off we went into his van and jumped from one transient house to another. In the end, we decided to rent a room at the DPS Compound and got a cheaper rate for our 2-day stay in the City of Pines. The rate---PhP 600.00 per night and it will be good for two people only. I am quite sure anyone can find a cheaper place if they still had the energy to go "shopping" for a room but if you were hungry, tired and anxious to roam around like us then a PhP600.00 room will be good enough. After checking in, off we went to Session Road for our very, very late lunch.

On our way there, we decided (actually, I decided since I dragged my boyfriend with me) to visit UP after 7 years. It sure has changed a lot. Well, Oble was still standing the good old Audi, Breha, and 20's are still there but everything else looked brand new. It did not feel like UP anymore. Oh well, we can't expect UP to stay rotting like a corpse as years passed, right??? After bothering Manang Violy for a copy of my TOR and to be so kind as to send it via LBC since I was not sure if Kuya Humpz can do it for me, we left UP without looking back. Gone is the feeling of being 'home'.

While walking, we dropped by the Baguio Cathedral. What can I say. The Church is definitely the grandfather of all successful businesses. I will not elaborate on this for fear that I might offend some readers. Plus you have to see the old Baguio Cathedral and the current one to understand what I am trying to point out.

Burnham Park was the next in the list. Yes, I have been here before. In fact, this was where my bestfriend and I used to go skating in college. I just wanted Rez to see the place since a visit to Baguio is never complete without a stroll in the said park or at most, an experience paddling like loonies on a swan or sea horse-like boats (whichever you prefer). While there, we were lucky enough to find a man who was selling my favorite "Binatog" for PhP20.00 (fu*k!ng) pesos. Talk about being ripped off. I guess we looked too obvious.

Wait, what happened to the lunch? To the very, very late lunch? By then, Rez was already complaining and was very grouchy because he wanted to eat already. So we walked to the nearby Abanao Square since that was where the old 50's Diner was located. After walking for almost forever (you know how it is like when you're hungry and tired and two crossroads felt like 30 miles away),we found out that the diner has relocated. And so off we took a taxi ride to the new 50's Diner. It was smaller. The food was more expensive. The crew can hardly manage. The food was bad. So again, another disappointment.

After lunch, we decided to walk around town and have some coffee. We ended up at La Fondue, me with my much-deserved ginger ale to help me with my cough and Rez with his hot corn and mushroom soup. We lingered for a little while and decided to hit the sack at 9:00pm since we still had places to go on the next day.



Day 2:

We woke up at 9:00am because we were supposed to meet Kuya Humpz at 10pm in Session Road. Guess what???He was still sleeping at 10pm and texted us 30 minutes after that he may be late since there was no water in their area. Hmmmm...this excuse sounded very familiar. We can't blame him though since there was always a water problem in Baguio City. Well, at least, the last time I was here that was the case. I had hoped that they have fixed this problem by now. Because I knew that he will not get to us (he lived in La Trinidad) in an hour or so, we agreed that we'll meet up at 12:00noon instead at the old Steaks and Toppings (yes, I preferred the old and the original...the new ones gave an impression of "trying too hard") for lunch. Rez and I, just went to Camp John Hay instead.

While at Camp John Hay, we (guess what?) walked and walked and walked still until we got to the Butterfly Sanctuary. Entrance fee was only PhP40.00 per person so it was no big deal. It was a very small nook in the huge camp, canoppied by a dog-eared net and mush of vines and poppies with black and white butterflies cooped everywhere. Top it off with a mini pond and a supposed nymph in the middle. Perfect. We even got to take pictures with the not-so-shy butterflies. And guess what we did again after that???Yup, we walked and passed by the Conventon/Cultural Center, took pictures again like typical tourists and finally hailed a cab to town for lunch.

As mentioned a while back, we were to meet Kuya Humpz at Steaks and Toppings in Session Road. I forgot to specify which one as there were now 2 of them both located in the same area which caused a little delay later on. When I was in college, my friends and I loved to eat at the original Steaks and Toppings (it's the one near the Baguio Cathedral at Upper Session Road) for three good reasons---it was cheap, delicious and it has an ample serving! Whether it was clean or not, we didn't care as long as we had our money's worth.

After lunch, with Kuya Humpz assistance, we went to Mines View and about a hundred or so tourists also had the same idea. While there we got to see one portion of Baguio City full of greens, whilst the other portion is jammed with both tattered,rusty and some new roofs. The contrast was inargueably a Filipino trademark. Of course, we did not stay there too long as we had to practice proper ettiquette and give considerations to the other tourists who also came all the way from whichever part in the archipelago just to see what the park was able to offer, which was not not much. Well, except for the PhP10.00 costume we donned to look like fools and the photo with Douglas, the St. Bernard who was kind enough to stay put while Kuya Humpz tried to take a snapshot of us with him for the lame price of PhP25.00. Yes, everything has a price in Mines View Park (even those who strongly demanded for a so-called donation).

Our dearest tour guide decided to tire us even more by making us trot all the way to Wright Park where the colorful horses were found. But not a single complaint came out of our mouths as we were quite appreciative of his services (I guess I am complaining now) despite of our calves screaming "STOP!" already. After sniffing around a bit, we walked to the Presidential Palace called "The Mansion". I have nothing significant to say about the Mansion other than it has a beautiful ironed gate and a perfectly mowed lawn.

We hailed another cab to take us to the Easter Weaving School where you can buy not-so-cheap souvenirs and watch in amazement the weavers. You'll be amazed alright, you'll be amazed at how unfriendly the weavers are. They all hated being there and whoever disagrees with me, can shove his opinion up his ass. Our time there was approximately 18 minutes. We all wanted to get out of there.

Next stop was the Chinese Temple or Bell Tower in Buenget. Have you visited a Chinese Temple before???Well, you'll see the same thing plus a bronzed statue of a warrior. I forgot the statue's name but he was supposed to be very important back in his days. That much I can remember.

After the Chinese Temple, we left for the Strawberry Farm. By then it was already around 3:00 in the afternoon, so the fog was thickening and it was getting colder. When we got there, countless tourists were already there picking fresh strawberries for the unbelievable price of PhP200.00 pero kilo. Because I did not want to pay that much, I asked (or maybe Kuya Humpz did?) the lady if I can use her portion of the land and pretend that I was picking strawberries while my friend took pictures. She said yes but she added with this statement "Ading, baka gusto mo bumili ng strawberries ko---PhP40.00 la-ang." Do you get it???And so off I went to pretend that I was picking strawberries for the price of PhP40.00. Fair deal I guess since she deserved to get something out of it as well.

Last stop was Tam-awan Village. For a fee of...errr...I forgot the fee but there was one, but it was not much so I willingly paid for it. Once you were inside, you will see huts---traditinal huts where you can stay in for only PhP900.00 per night. And if it gets too cold, a bonfire can be requested. A group of artists will also sketch your portrait for PhP100.00 only. I was lucky enough to have 6 sketches, although not all of them looked like me, I took all 6 home with me for vanity sake.

After our visit to Tam-awan Village, we were lucky enough to have caught a ride on a jeepney going straight to the wet market so we can buy our goods like strawberry/ube jams, choco flakes and alike for a bargained price. And since it was getting late by the time we were done with the shopping and we were all hungry, not to mention, tired, we agreed to have dinner at the Tea House but first, we have to make a quick drop of the items we bought at the Transient House where we were staying.

Dinner at the Tea House was wonderful. Delicious food for a reasonable price and let us not forget the huge slice of Blueberry Cheesecake they gave me. We were all so full and bloated after dinner that we thought maybe coffee will do wonders to our condition. We hiked up to Upper Session Road to drink coffee at Oh My Gulay but they closed early. That was our sign then to call it a night and bid farewell to Kuya Humpz who was generous enough to spare his Saturday with us for the tour. Thank you Kuya Humpz. I owe you 1 kilo of danggit.

Alright readers, I am tired of typing and although we still went elsewhere after that and I still want to tell you more about our trip, I just can't go any further. I am already tired so here is a summation of what we did after.

We passed by Victory Liner first to buy our tickets back to Manila. Went home and slept like babies. Woke up at 5:00am for the 6:00am trip. Was on the bus for 7 hours. Got off and checked in at Malate Pensionne. Had lunch at Robinsons Place. Went back to sleep again. Had dinner with my big brother at Friday's. Went back to sleep for the night. Check out at 12nn and backpacked through the Walled City of Intramuros where you will get to experience how Manila was like when Spain was still the boss and the Filipinos were merely branded with the name 'Indio'. Ate lunch. Went to the airport and waited for our flight which was delayed like always.

There. I am done. Whew!!!