Let's spend tonight on top of the world: The Antipolo Getaway

It's Saturday night, you've got your homies and you've got nothing to do. Too bad, you're short on cash and under dressed to party, and all you have is a pretty loaded car, oh what to do, what to do?

Can't believe we're stuck in such a situation, especially with these guys who never seem to run out of gimik ideas. Lucky, my brother got his virtual jar of gimik ideas replenished and suggested an awesome idea: a roadtrip to Antipolo.After grabbing the car keys, some blankets and pillows, some snacks, and a large cooler, we found ourselves at Ate Kat's backseat, hitting the road to Antipolo at 10 in the evening.

Ate Kat and Dek in the front seats

L-R: Meanne, Ate Tin, Dek, and Ate Kat

All hail to 24-hour convenience stores, the ultimate party resource for impulsive party goers. We dropped by at Mini Stop Village East to get some additional stuff, and of course, the booze. Haha, just 2 bottles of The Bar since Meanne has already brought an extra bottle from her commercial shoot earlier.


Antipolo is just a 15-20 minute drive from our house, that is if you're driving at the wee hours of the night. Famous for its numerous resorts and a pilgrimage site every Holy Week, Antipolo also offers an awesome view of the metro nightlife. And that's what we're going for.

The night life of Metro Manila

We found a perfect spot with an awesome view in a parking place of a shady-looking motel. It might sound really scary, specially with just the five of us, but believe me, it's safer than strolling around at Burnham Park. Unless, of course, you got too drunk and fell into the overlooking cliff.

We spread our mats, brought out the pillows and blankets, and enjoyed a hearty chitchat over our mini snacks and drinks.

Yes, Uno can't be left behind.

Apparently, I underestimated the coldness of Antipolo at night that I deliberately left my jacket at home.
Thanks to Dek for lending me his jacket.

We could've stayed there until dawn but since Meanne and Ate Kat still have to get home, we packed up by 2 am.



Definitely had fun. I can't wait to do it again. :)

Bakit masarap ang SEX?

In the past, I've only heard about this from my best friend Nico, he keeps on talking how good it was, and hopes that someday, we'll be able to SEx ourselves. Oh and of course, the virgin that I was, I'm thrilled and can't wait for him to take me there.

Too bad, that it wasn't with him that I had my first SEx experience. It was hard to get him around since he started working: limited day-offs and conflicting scheds so Raffy took the matter into his own hands.

Yes, people. Welcome to the famous Sinangag Express, a 24-hour resto that serves the best-tasting Sinangag with various viands like beef tapa, tocino, liempo, chicken, pares, etc. and served with a sunny-side up egg.

I first heard about this one from Nico, who was a patron of Sinangag Express in Paranaque. He loves calling it SEX as Sinangag Express is commonly known by that term and probably aside from the fact that he just loves the novelty of the name.

For the first couple of months, it was a shock for me to hear him say, "Tara, SEX tayo pag-uwi natin sa Manila," but I eventually got used to it and became more curious with it. One lazy afternoon, Raffy invited me on a quest to locate the SEX Taft branch while getting Jyx's lomo films developed.

Loosely referred as located just in front of Dela Salle University, SEX Taft Branch wasn't that easy to find. We had two security guards point us at different direction, and it was a boy selling cigarettes that took us to the right way.

SEX was relatively empty when we arrived that we almost thought they're done for the day. With upturned chairs at the tables and one of the staff sweeping across the shop, what would you expect. Nevertheless, the girl at the counter greeted us warmly and took our order.

Raffy's Liemsilog (Liempo, Sinangag and Itlog)

My Tapsilog (Tapa, Sinangag, and Itlog)

I'd say, their viands are really tasty, my tapa and Raffy's liempo. It really made up for what they lacked with the garlic rice, which got me kinda disappointed. Their rice tasted like it was cooked hours before, which is quite understandable since we got there around 3 pm. Definitely not a food chain's rush hour.

Oh, and it's awesome that they have unlimited supply of service water for their customer, making service water fanatics like us happy and contented. As much as possible, we refrain from ordering drinks whenever we eat out since food establishments usually compensate their prices through the drinks.

I'm definitely coming back, there's still so much I'd like to try from their menu including the Special Pares and the Chilled Taho. Hopefully, I'll be able to write a more explanatory blog entry than this.

Check them out at their Facebook fanpage. Other branches are located at BF Homes, Paranaque and Perpetual, Las Pinas.

Catch the Last Weekend of the Last Week: San Fernando, La Union

March 27-28, 2010: Acapulco Beach, San Fernando, La Union


As a treat to ourselves for surviving yet another semester, we chose to spend the last weekend of March in the beautiful shores of Acapulco Beach, San Fernando, La Union.

It was foreseen as an awesome adventure as none of us have been to La Union for a beach outing and we're all tight on budget to afford getting lost. We even brought our own supplies of canned goods and rice just to have something to munch on.

Supposed meet-up time was 6:00am at Partas Bus Terminal along Gov. Pack Road, and yes, I was late since I'm checking on the cheapest possible resorts online. It was lucky that one of my housemates was from La Union and referred me to her aunt who knows the budget-friendly resorts around.

RR and Kuya Yow

Nathan and me


Jyx and Raffy

Student fare's 75 bucks at Partas. We left the terminal at 10 am and traveled for an hour and a half to San Fernando, La Union. If you'll be traveling from Baguio like we did, tell the bus conductor to drop you off at the plaza. From there, there's a bunch of tricycles waiting to take you to Acapulco Beach. Fee's 10 bucks each, maximum of 3 person per trike so that'll be 30 bucks when you're flying solo.


The trike dropped us off directly at the beach, just behind the rented cottages. A mumbling man, as Raffy love to call him, approached us and offered us a cottage fit for like 10-15 people and our own bathroom (minus the toilet) for 300 bucks, 500 if we're gonna spend overnight. Not bad since there's the six of us paying and the beach's free.

the awesome cottage with Coke advertising paraphernalia

One thing awesome about the cottage was the electricity supply. Yes, they have one which made anime marathons and Facebook updates possible.

By afternoon, we've realized that the food we've brought - several cans of tuna and sardines, a casserole of rice, and two loaves of bread - won't be enough to last us overnight with 3 additional people coming. Since we still have enough cash, we decided to hit the public market.

Again, we took the trike without any idea where on earth is the public market. We were like, "okay, Mr. Trike driver, take us to the market wherever that is." It seems like the standard price for the trike is 10 bucks each since the market seems quite farther than the terminal we were dropped off that morning.

Sorry, no pics except for Uno's photo-op with eggs but San Fernando's Public Market is probably the most awesome market around. The place is unbelievably clean, even the fish stalls, and everyone's friendly and accommodating. I guess it helped a lot that Jyx and Raffy are fluent in Ilocano, they were able to get us discounts and make us look less-tourists. :P


We got ourselves some additional rice, a couple of red eggs, and 2 milkfish for grilling. We also bought woods and marshmallows for a bonfire night, and of course, some liquor to spice things up.

We got back just in time to catch some awesome sunset, though not as awesome as those in Manila Bay since some clouds got in the way. But hey, it still looks great.

We were so envious of these guys: surfing and jetskiing in the summer afternoon sun.

Except for a bunch of middle-aged men casually drinking on the next cottage who left early, we practically owned the whole beach by nighttime. It was great as the whole stretch of beach was dark saved for little pinpricks of light from neighboring resort and the light of the full moon above.

From left to right: Krizzia, Aemir, Raffy, Paeng, Jyx, and me doing the Paeng pose.

Being on a beach escapade doesn't mean we have escaped our responsibility to Mother Earth. If you'll remember, it was Earth Hour at that time and yes, we did our part. When Paeng's phone alarm rang to mark the start of Earth Hour, the light was turned off and laptops were unplugged. Those in charge of cooking depended heavily on candles and the grill for light, while we were at the shore, having the time of our lives with the strong waves and sand.



After a delicious dinner of grilled milkfish, red eggs, and canned sardines, we set out to start our bonfire. It took us quite a while since I think none of us have done it before. Then came the mallows, the roasted mallows that melt in your mouth, and some gin and beer.

L-R: Paeng, me, Nathan, Aemir, Krizzia, and RR all enjoying our proudly made bonfire

By morning, we were woken up by the mumbling man, telling us that we should be ready to leave by 8 in the morning so everyone started packing things up, ready for another adventure on the way back. We took an ordinary bus back to Baguio for some thrill and cost-cutting. Student fare's 60 bucks, no aircon, cramped seats but awesome view.

RR and Nathan

Kuya Yow

Aemir and Krizzia

Bye bye, San Fernando. I swear we'll be back. ♥

BTW: Pics courtesy of RR's cam and my LG phone camera

The Overdue Blog Post

Clearly, boredom is killing me. slowly and painfully. Too lazy to do anything else aside from occasional Facebook and Plurk logins, let alone blog updates.

Today, though. I got a nice little spot here in front of the main PC, motivating me to post at least one blog-worthy entry. Heck, I'd like to make it to two. First will be a post about our little sem ender adventure to San Fernando, La Union. Awesome place, awesome people. Then, probably a guide to exploring Baguio City, the cheapest way. And more updates as soon as I remember where I've placed my trusty planner.

Random shiz: iBlog 6 at UP Diliman today and tomorrow, then Summer Komikon for tomorrow. Graduation day's commencing next week, closely followed by my Civil Service exam.

Reminds me. To celebrate our last trip to Baguio, my roommate and I decided to make a 10-minute documentary about it. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring our videocam and cameras or we'll probably end up in a video slideshow or photo story. Wish us luck though.

Boredom is dangerous, it nearly killed me.

So, summer vacation's here and I'm pretty sure everyone has their list of activities all planned out. I do admit that as early as January, I've been planning out what I'm going to do this summer and frankly speaking, it isn't turning out the way I've planned.

Because of my academic requirements, my last semester as a college student ended the moment I've submitted my almost-mediocre thesis, printed and bound, to my adviser, aka 9 days after the "official" last day of term. It sucks, I know. All my closest friends have already gone home and I was left alone at Baguio, brooding and moping over my unfinished thesis while cursing it in between.

9 days later, I found myself in my room, staring at my laptop monitor and doing nothing except sort out my clothes and books. Okay, maybe the first 2 days have been productive as I did some major room makeover, but after that, I grew tired and boredom started to sink in. Despite the scorching heat, I really wished I could go outside, walk around, see stuff, meet people, but I can't because I ain't got any cash. Apparently, my hometown isn't a city wherein everything is within walking distance. If I want to get to the nearest mall, I'd have to spend at least Php30 for the fare alone while going to the nearest 7-eleven store would cost me Php16 pesos.

So here I am, lying on my bed on a hellish afternoon and staring once again at my laptop monitor and existing to feed my Ocean Party fishes every hour. And even though I wish I could get a simple summer job that'll force me out of the house, I wouldn't be allowed since I have to make preparations for my graduation.

Urgh, I guess I have to make a review of my summer plans and mark all those feasible activities.

doray goes online

So, umm hi to everyone who's reading this. I'm Lei, a 20-year old, fresh grad from UP Baguio who suddenly had the idea to create a new (and hopefully improved) blog after years of hiatus from the blogosphere.

Ever since I had the privilege to explore the beauty of Baguio, I've been thinking of making a travel/food/culture blog about Baguio that apparently, didn't work out. Acads, lack of stable internet connection, acads, no proper digicam, acads, no friends to drag around, and did i mention, acads?

Now that all is said and done, thesis submitted, all subjects passed, and I had all the time to make a blog, it turned out that I have to say goodbye to Baguio as well. It's sad I know, sad enough to get me tempted on failing my subjects just to stay behind.

I may be leaving (or have left already) but the urge to make this blog didn't subside so I've decided that instead of focusing on Baguio, I'll just make a generic one. Bear with me though, for I'm predicting that most of my would-be early posts will be North-centric.

Oh, and another thing. Since I'm still a fresh grad with a current status of "unemployed," I'm not a well-financed person so travel posts can be very limited. I'll try to post updates frequently though.

Up for an adventure? Then come on!