Post Christmas Wiinuman Party

Wiinuman party at Carisse's house in Pasig last December 29, 2008 with my anak Carisse, Aqui, Ross, Faye, Trina, Kat, Mark, Kit and Me.

Everyone enjoyed the party while playing Taboo and Nintendo Wii (Wii Fit, Mii Maestro and Smarty Pants).

Reunion with Sun Life friends at Elanes

Met barkadas and former officemates in Sun Life for an afternoon of bowling and fun at E-Lanes Bowling Center in San Juan last December 28. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to play because I don't have my bowling balls. Some QCBA friends also attended the get together.

Christmas Celebration at Bulacan

Christmas Day Reunion with our relatives on my mother's side in Bulacan, Bulacan.

Indonesia 2008 - Taman Safari

Day 7 (Dec. 12, 2008) - No pictures for Day 6? Yes. Because I got sick. Wala akong ganang kumuha ng pictures and this is also the shopping day. :)

Taman Safari is recognized as being one of the most successful breeding centers of endangered species in the world. All the animals (except those dangerous ones) are left roaming around the park and the visitors are the ones who are in cages since they have to ride their cars in order to see the animals. Literally, close encounters with the animals... hehehe...

Indonesia 2008 - Tour at Pakubuwono Residences

Day 5 (Dec. 10, 2008) - Restday for all of us. We decided to take a tour within the premises of Richard's Apartment.

Indonesia 2008 - Candi Mendut and Candi Borobudur

Day 4 (Dec. 9, 2008) - I really consider this as the main event of the tour! I've been really looking forward to the trip to Borobudur temple ever since we booked this trip to Indonesia!

Candi Mendut is a Buddhist temple built in 824 AD by King Indera of Cailendra dynasty. This temple is older than Candi Bodobudur and its architecture is square and having an entrance on its steps. Its roof id also square and terraced.

Candi Borobudur is the biggest buddhist temple in the ninth century. This temple has 1460 relief panels and 504 Buddha effigies in its complex measuring 123 meters by 123 meters. It is a place for praying completed on 26 May 824, almost 100 years from the time of the construction begun. It is constructed as a ten-terraces building and each terrace symbolizes the stage of human life. Borobudur was built 3 centuries before Angkor Wat in Cambodia and 4 centuries before the Grand Cathedrals in Europe.

Indonesia 2008 - Sultan Palaces and Taman Sari

Day 3 (Dec. 8, 2008) - Whole day was spent in touring the Sultan Palaces and Taman Sari (the old swimming place of the sultans).

Taman Sari was a recreation garden or a resting house for the Sultan and the family. It was also used a the hiding place for the royal family to defend against the enemy assault. It was not just a recreation place but is also a compound of bathing pool, canals, rooms and extremely large swimming pool (http://www.yogyes.com/en/yogyakarta-tourism-object/places-of-interest/tamansari/)

Indonesia 2008 - Trip to Semarang and Prambanan

Day 2 (Dec 7, 2008) - We had a change in the itenerary so that Sym and Bok won't miss anything (malas lang, naiwanan ng eroplano). Instead of Borobudur and Prambanan tour, Richard opted to do the city tour of Semarang in the morning and Prambanan in the afternoon in time of Sym and Bok's arrival.

According to the IT sent by Richard, Semarang is the capital of Central Java and the 5th largest city in Indonesia. Our first stop is the Gereja Blenduk, the oldest Christian Church in Central Java built by the Dutch community in 1753. Near the routonda is the Lawang Sewu (Thousand Doors), a remarkable building from the Old Dutch Time. On the other hand, Sam Poo Kong Chinese Temple (locally known as Gedong Batu) was dedicated to Chinese Moslem Admiral Cheng Ho.

We had lunch at Bale Bengong Restaurant which has a very beautiful ambiance and very delicious food (especially their fish dish!!). Shortly after lunch, Sym and Bok arrived, now the teams are complete.

After a sumptuous lunch, we headed straight to Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the largest Hindu temple in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia Trip 2008 - On the road going to Borobudur

Dec 5, 2008 - Arrived in Jakarta at around 11pm and went straight to Richard's apartment in Pakubowono. Got my 1 million rupiah from Richard! hehehe...

Dec 6, 2008 - Day 1 was spent on the road going to Borobudur. Had lunch at Pringsewu Rumah Makan (Pringsewu Restaurant) and the checked-in at Hotel Surya in Borobudur.

* With Richard, Pak Sugi (our driver and tour guide), Tita Lai, Ces, Tin-tin, Soki, Melanie, Sym and Bok

GLAMROCK!!! - The Headstrong 2008 Christmas Party

Headstrong Christmas Party at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza last December 19, 2008.

Wallclimbing at Power Up, Silver City, Tiendesitas

My Headstrong friends, Katitay, Aqui, Ross, Marvin and Kino (Katitay's brother), tried for the first time wallclimbing at Power Up in Silver City, Tiendesitas. Me? I'm just there to be their photographer... hehehehe... I don't think I can climb that wall... bigat ng katawan ko eh... hehehe...

After that we had dinner at a steak resto (forgot the name) in Greenhills then proceed to Megamall to buy Magic cards again... addict ba? hehehehe...

Tan-tan's First Birthday

My inaanak's 1st birthday celebration last November 22, 2008 at Nestle Ice Creamery in Aurora Blvd, Quezon City.

Haliween 2008

After 1 week, naupload ko rin tong pictures from the post Haliween Party that we had sa house nina Ekai sa loob ng National Center for Mental Health (in short Mental Hospital hehehehehe)...

I'm BACK!!!

Exactly a week ago, Philippine Airlines flight PR905 landed at NAIA Terminal 2 around 4 o'clock in the afternoon to officially end my adventure to the country across the Pacific Ocean, the US of A.

Two and a half months ago when I first stepped on the US soil to stay there to work at Headstrong office in Sunnyvale, California. During the first two weeks of my stay, I was very homesick and had a hardtime adjusting with jet lag. Things became interesting when the Pinoy connection composed of Edge, Janice, Cary, Chryshyll and I (and sometimes Rhefee) began touring different interesting places near Mountain View (San Francisco, Carmel, San Jose, Milpitas, and of course, Los Angeles!). Time really flies fast when you are enjoying and having a good time!

What really helped me feel less homesick was the fact that my friends in Manila are always talking to me in YM. It made me feel that I'm just in one of the provinces in the Philippines that is very far from Manila. Thanks to the Bash trio of Carissa (aka Rowfa my anak who is in NY right now), Juber (aka Tito Jubert/Boryong) and Kit (aka Tito Boy/Kititoy/Hali Potter) because they were always online and kept on updating me with the different activities and happenings. We shared different stories and some of which are very hard to share with other friends. Kahit na minsan busy sila, nagtyatyaga pa rin silang kausapin ako... hehehe...

Special mention also to my HS friends Trina, Kat, Paolo, Ainah, Cendy and Berns and also to my Sunlife friends Tita Os, Manang, Deo, Frank, Warner, Rinette and Francis. Mga kakulitan ko rin kahit anong oras... hehehe... Syempre, I would never forget Ekai because of her numerous stories about her BOYS... hehehe... we became really close eventhough nag-uusap kami through YM lang...

When Rhefee broke the news that we will be back to Manila on September 13, part of me felt really sad because I will be leaving my friends there in Sunnyvale. Actually, I wasn't feeling excited at all when she told us that news. Pero nung malapit na ung September 13, I can't explain yung excitement ko to see old friends and my family, of course. But, when we arrived at the airport and learned that our flight was cancelled, biglang nawala agad lahat ng excitement... I told Chryshyll then 'Kaya pala di pa ako ganun ka-excited talaga'... Bumalik lang lahat ng excitement na naramdaman ko nung talagang nakasakay na kami sa eroplano. Parang di na ako makapaghintay, gusto ko nasa Manila na ako. I want to see my family... my friends... Mas lalo akong naexcite umuwi nung nalaman ko na di pala natuloy yung alis nung brother ko pabalik ng US, I guess God really allowed that... almost 1 year na rin kasi kaming di nagkikita...

Hay... the experience that I had in US is really very memorable. Kaya ko rin palang maging independent. Kailangan kong asikasuhin lahat kasi wala namang ibang gagawa nun... Kailangang gumising nang maaga para magplantsa ng damit na isusuot at magluto ng breakfast. Pag wala nang maisuot kailangang mag-laundry (although washing machine naman gamit). Pag ubos na ung stock, kailangang mag-grocery. Masarap sya na mahirap pero sulit ung experience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we already landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport..."

I'm really here in the Philippines!!!

I'M HOME!!!

LA Adventure - Universal Studios Hollywood

In our second day in the City of Angels, we scheduled our trip to the Universal Studios. Since it is a long weekend, there are lots of people in line buying the tickets. We almost decided not to go inside because of the long line and because Edge might be late on his training session with the new Extensity members had not been to the Express Lane Machine! We noticed that the line there is not that long because you have to use credit card to purchase the tickets. We immediately bought the tickets there and our adventure inside that huge theme park began.

We hurriedly checked the map for the Studio Tours that they offer to all the visitors of the park. Eventhough the line is very long, the waiting time is short since there are lots of tour buses coming every now and then. The first stop of the trip is the different studios inside the vicinity of the park where most of the filmings of movies and tv shows were shot. Then the tour went very interesting when the bus took us to behind the scenes to where some of the movies and tv series where filmed like Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, Jaws, Bates Motel and Desperate Housewives. Seeing there places is really amazing! It's like you are really there during the actual filming of those movies!

After the Studio Tour, we decided to try the different rides - Revenge of the Mummy The Ride, Jurassic Park the Ride and Terminator 2 3-D. We also went inside the House of Horrors.

Though we weren't able to try all the rides and shows, the experience and fun that I had inside Universal Studios are really very memorable!

LA Adventure - Hollywood Boulevard

Visiting Los Angeles is not complete without going to the famous Hollywood Boulevard. Here you can find different tourist attractions like the Kodak Theather (venue for the Oscars), Chinese Theater, Wax Museum, Guinness Museum, Ripley's Museum and of course the Walk of Fame.

Going here is like I'm dreaming coz I usually see these places on TV but I'm not! I'm really here in Hollywood!

LA Adventure - The Wax Museum

One of the places I wanted to visit upon our arrival here in Hollywood is the Wax Museum. The experience here is like having close encounters with the celebrities of Hollywood! The wax models seem like very real as most of them look real depicting famous Hollywood movies.

Seeing Hannibal, Spiderman, King Leonidas, Jack Sparrow, Angelina Jolie, Linda Blair's character in the Exorcist, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles among others is very memorable and enjoyable!

LA Adventure - Guinness Museum and Hollywood Sign

The last two places that we went on Day 1 is the Guinness Museum and the famous Hollywood Sign.

After going to the Wax Museum, we headed to the Guinness Museum. I didn't enjoy the museum that much since all you have to do is read the different things on display there though it is very informative.

Finding the best place to take a picture of the Hollywood Sign is very difficult. We thought that there is a way going to the sign itself but we ended taking pictures on a street where the sign is very visible. This is where most of the visitors are taking their own pictures of the sign.

Rose Garden, Mystery Point and Santa Cruz Beach with the Cadas

Yesterday, we met Cliff and Bing Cada, my friends way back from my Sunlife days. We were also able to meet also their beautiful daughter, Marcy. We first went to their house in San Jose for lunch with a lot of kwentuhans and updates. After a delicious lunch, we headed first to the Rose Garden in San Jose. The garden is very beautiful with lots of roses with different colors.

The next destination is Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz. The place is really mind boggling cause it seems that there is really something that is happening there! As they say, laws of physics don't apply there. Or is it just a trick of the eye? Hmmm... it's hard to explain... but if you happen to be in Sta Cruz, California better go there to experience the peculiarity of the place.

After that weird experience at the Mystery Spot, we went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. What's very interesting in this place is that it is a beach with a theme park! After enjoying the rides, you can have a swim on the nearby beach, that is if you can swim on the cold water! hehehe...

I wasn't able to try the rides kasi nakakatakot sumakay :P I can't stand watching people riding the Double Shot! Nanonood pa lang ako natatakot na ako... parang maiiwan ung kaluluwa mo sa taas... hehehe... But Rhefee, Chryshyll, Cary and Cliff tried it. After that, they decided to ride the Fiz Ball.

I was really a very exciting day! Meeting old friends and going to new and odd places.

* I also added pictures taken by Cliff and Bing.

Recovered!!! Big Sur Photos

Hay... I thought I would never see again the pictures I took at Big Sur in Carmel but they are here!!! Thank God that there is a program where I can still recover deleted files! Thanks too to Ekai for telling me that there exists a program for that - the Piriform Recuva.

And because of that, I added all the pictures I took on that SD Card here so you might think that the pictures are just repeating... hehehe...

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

Big Sur bridge - by Edge

Last Sunday, we had a a chance to visit one of the beautiful towns here in California - the town of Carmel. Carmel is a small town in Monterey which I would consider as a little Beverly Hills. Why? Because it seems that everyone who lives here owns a Ferrari! Everywhere you look, you would see a parked Ferrari in front of their houses! Nakakalula!!!

There are lots of famous personalities who came from this town and one of whom is Clint Eastwood who is a former mayor of Carmel. Yep, si Dirty Harry mismo!!! hehehe...

There are lots of facinating places here in Carmel, the Mission Ranch (owned daw mismo ni Clint Eastwood), Mission Church (an old church established in 1770), and the breath-taking Big Sur located south of the town. We really enjoyed our trip here!!!

** Wonder where my photos at Big Sur are? Ayun, nadelete ko accidentally!!! Nakakainis d ba? Di ko alam kung baket ko nadelete, nagulat na lang ako wala na ung mga pictures. Pinaghirapan ko pa naman... Nagkagasgas pa ako sa hita ko para lang makakuha ng magandang shots pero ayun, nawala... huhuhuhu!!!

Birthdays + Picnic = new friends :)

Last weekend, we had a very busy schedule... hehehe parang artista!

We left Homestead early to meet Cary and Rhefee. We then went straight to Circuit City to take advantage of the tax free weekend that they are offering for all purchases! Cary, Chryshyll and I bought new cameras (I bought Nikon D80 :) - sorry Trina my sweetheart, di Canon ung binili ko) while Rhefee bought a new laptop. We got lots of freebees! I got Epson printer and a photography for dummies book! Then we had lunch in New Luk Yuen resto near Seafood City. After buying a lot of grocery items for the birthday party of Cary, Edge and Janice at Seafood City, we went straight to the party's venue - at Janice's place. I enjoyed the party since I was able to meet friends and relatives of Janice. Other headstrong peeps were also there. We went home at around 9pm since Abhishek has an early flight to Washington the following day.

Sunday came and it was Headstrong's Picnic at Saratoga Springs! I didn't realize that Headstrong Sunnyvale has lots of employees! I really enjoyed playing volleyball with the other employees as well as employees' children. At syempre, our team won two straight sets!!! hehehe... Yabang! After playing volleyball, the program started and we had fun games before the main event - the lunch! In the afternoon, we had another set of fun games but this time it's more enjoyable since participants will get wet!!! Good thing I didn't get wet in the pass the tumbler game. The afternoon ended with a raffle and Cary got the main prize - $100 gift certificate at Fry's! You know what? Cary's number is the one that Kathy gave me, she just put the wrong name on it... :(

The weekend that I had is really full of fun! Hopefully we could go somewhere this weekend... hehehe... abuso! :P

San Francisco Experience

Finally, after more than a month of stay here, we were able to have a weekend for touring around San Francisco. If not for Reshpal (Abhishek's friend) visiting California, we might not have planned to go out yesterday. Thanks to Reshpal!!! :P

First destination of the day is the world famous Golden Gate. We crossed the bridge and parked at the other end of it. We walked on the bridge and oh my! it was so cold!!! The wind coming from the Pacific Ocean is really very cold! We also went to a nearby hill to take pictures of the entire bridge. Ganda ng view!

After that, we decided to go to Lombard Street for the world's crookedest street but it seems that we can't find it at first so we decided to proceed to Fisherman's Wharf. Looking for a free parking area in this side of San Francisco is very hard! It seems that most people here in California are there to have a close encounter with the Rock, no not the Batista the wrestler but the real ROCK, the Alcatraz Island. Sad to say, tickets for the cruise that includes docking at the island is already sold out. So we just bought the second best tour, the San Francisco Bay Cruise.

Arriving at the gate, the line is already long. We have to wait for several minutes before we were allowed to enter the vessel. One of the crews there took our group picture for the usual souvenir photo. The tour includes narrations regarding the place and it was very interesting! We went first to the Golden Gate Bridge, but this time from a different perspective coz we will be passing under the bridge. Then, we proceed with the cruise around the Alcatraz Island. Seeing several people touring on the island, we promised to ourselves that we will go back for the real Alcatraz adventure. Then, we passed by the Angel Island (but I wasn't able to distinguished it from the other islands hehehe). Next, the narrator asked us to view the San Francisco's skyline. The narrator said that it is the first thing that early travellers see after sailing the vast Pacific Ocean. He told us some of the famous landmarks there, the Transamerica Pyramid and Coit Tower (shaped like a fire-hose nozzle).

We then decided to proceed and find the Lombard Street's zigzag. Rhefee was able to ask a policeman for directions and at last we found it! :P The street is really crooked and small!!! There are lots of people taking pictures at the end of the street. We decided to try it and take the zigzag. The experience is really fun! It's like you're riding a roller coaster that is full of turns.

We tried to visit the wine city of Napa but we were not successful of finding free wine tasting. We just went around the city looking for a place have a free taste of wine. After several turns, we decided to just go back to Mountainview.

The experience in San Francisco is really enjoyable! But we still have to see a lot of interesting places there and as Douglas McArthur said "I shall return!".

Sunnyvale Pictures - Outside Headstrong office

Had some picture taking yesterday outside Headstrong Sunnyvale office with Chryshyll and Abhishek. Yes! We went to the office to finish testing since we have to deliver the data to the client for their testing.

Holyweek Adventure - Singapore

Our last stop in our holyweek trip is Singapore. When we arrived there and after checking in at our hotel, Tita Sheila met us for dinner at her apartment. We had videoke sessions there hehehe...

The following day, Laiza, Manang and I didn't join the others in roaming around Singapore since we were able to do that 2 years ago and we don't want to spend our money going there again. So what the three of us did is go to Sim Lim Square and buy portable hard drives and memory cards. We planned to go to Singapore Night Safari but the fees are too expensive so we just decided to meet up at Suntec since there a Body Shop sale there. After their shopping at Body Shop, we had our dinner.

Tita Lai, Shirley and I had an extra day at Singapore the following day since our flight is 12:00 am via Cebu Pacific and the rest of the group had an early morning flight back to Manila. We tour around Orchard Road and met Tita Lai's barkada.

BTW, we saw Jet Li at one of the malls that we visited!

Holyweek Adventure - City Tour at Ho Chi Minh City

Visited famous landmarks in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) - Notre Dame Basilica and Post Office. After the roaming around the city, we went straight to Ben Thanh Market where you can find lots of things to buy, from souvenirs, shirts and of course, bags! I was able to buy some souvenir shirts, ref magnets for my collection, and 5 North Face bags - 3 backpacks, 1 belt bag and 1 body bag - all for the price of USD60!!!

Holyweek Adventure - Cu Chi Tunnel

After a nice adventure in Cambodia, we took a bus and went to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The bus trip, which crosses the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, took us around 6 hours of travel before we reach our city of destination. We didn't had a hard time completing the different forms because the bus personnel did that for us! We arrived at the hotel at around 7pm so what we did is find our hotel and eat our dinner.

After dinner, we checked the rates for the different tours that the hotel is offering. We were really interested going to the Cu Chi Tunnel so that is our itinerary the following day.

Going to the famous Cu Chi Tunnel (they featured it in one of the episode of the Amazing Race) took us around 2 hours by bus. Cu Chi Tunnel is a netwrok of tunnels that spans for at least 200 kms. These tunnel were built by Vietnamese as hiding place against enemies.

Warning: If you are claustrophobic, better not try entering these tunnels.

Holyweek Adventure - Choeung Ek Genocide Museem

After visiting the Tuol Sleng Museum, we went straight to the Choeung Ek Museum popularly known as the Killing Fields. This area was where the Khmer killed their enemies. This is a mass graveyard of some 9K plus of Cambodians. Right now, it is a buddhist memorial to the terror brought by the Khmer soldiers and Pol Pot. You can find here a stupa that contains human skulls and numerous grave pits.

Holyweek Adventure - Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is one of the two gloomiest places I've ever been. Before this was converted into prison and torture center under Pol Pot, this was originally a 5-building school complex. While inside this complex, you would really feel the hardships that the prisons felt when they were here. I got so affected that I almost throw up. You can see in every prison cell the different pictures of those who stayed here before they were brought to the Killing Fields. Some of the rooms where converted into a museum where you can see how they were tortured and killed.

I'm very thankful to God that this didn't happen to us, Filipinos.

Holyweek Adventure - Royal Palace, Phnom Penh

After several days at Siem Reap, we went back to Phnom Penh. As soon as we got back from the capital city and a little bit of rest, we started our tour riding a tuktuk. Our first destination, Cambodia's Royal Palace. Compared to Thailand's Royal Palace, Cambodia's Royal Palace is less grandeur. Though the structures inside are very beautiful, they don't have any golden temples or golden structures inside it. But still, the palace looks very interesting!

Holyweek Adventure - Preash Khan Temple

The last temple that we visited is Preash Khan Temple. This temple is very huge! It has a mini-Parthenon inside it. This is where the royalties usually conduct gatherings. This place is a very good place for photoholics!

Holyweek Adventure - Neak Pean Temple

Second to the last temple that we visited is the Neak Pean Temple. This temple is very different compared to those that we have already visited. This is a pool type temple during rainy seasons. People usually go here when they are sick. They take a bath on one of the pools depending on the person's birth year.

Holyweek Adventure - Ta Som Temple

This temple is very famous for its entrance because huge trees grow on top of its main gates. They say that previously, there is a buddha's face that is covered by roots of a tree but unforntunately the tree died so they have to remove it. It is also famous for its Apsara carvings on the walls of the temple.

Holyweek Adventure - East Mebon Temple

After the hiking adventure, we visited next the East Mebon temple. This temple is a bit small compared to the other temples that we've visited. One distinct feature of this temple is that it is guarded by 4 elephants on its corners and only one is still intact up to this time.

Holyweek Adventure - Kbal Spean

They say that when you go to Banteay Srey, you should also visit Kbal Spean. This is a place up in a mountain where you can see carvings on the floor of a river. According to Sarat, they well carved to provide holy water to the people living at the foot of the mountain. They believed that waters flowing from this river will be blessed if they passed these carvings of phallus (representation of male genitals).

Barbeque Party at Homestead

Last night, we had a barbeque party here at our hotel to celebrate Tita Chrysh Ti's birthday. Eventhough it's very cold outside and we're just five, Edge, Janice, Cary, Tita Chrysh and me, we really enjoyed the experience!!! Sarap ng food!!! hehehe...
Also in this album are pictures that I took around the hotel premises before Tita Chrysh and I went to Lucky's for a quick grocery.

Holyweek Adventure - Banteay Srey

After the not so successful sunrise viewing, we went to Banteay Srey, the citadel of women. This temple is famous because of its pink colored walls. This is also where female warriors were trained. It is very beautiful because of the carvings at the wall that is very detailed because it depicts different Hindu stories of Hindu gods like Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.

Holyweek Adventure - Sras Srang

Our second day of tour started with a sunrise in Sras Srang Temple. They said that a temple was built in the middle of this lake but now only the remains of it is still visible during dry season. We weren't able to enjoy the sunrise since it rained the previous night and there are a lot of clouds. We had our breakfast here in a small restaurant near the lake.

Holyweek Adventure - Sunset at Bakeng Mountain

After touring 4 temples, we were told that we will be having a little hiking activity for the sunset at Bakeng Mountain. You have 2 options on how to go to the top, either by foot or by elephant (which is a bit costly), so we took the harder part - by foot. It took us about 15 minutes of trekking before we reached the top but what we don't know is that we still have to go on top of a somewhat tower to see the view properly. The way to the top of the tower is a bit scary coz the steps are very small and very steep! Upon reaching the top, you would see a 360 view of the whole complex. You can see Ankor Wat here perfectly! Unfortunately, we didn't see the sunset properly because of rain clouds so we just enjoy it by taking a lot of pictures.

Note: This is also the site where Lara Croft used her powerful telescope to take a peek at what's happening in one of the temples.

Holyweek Adventure - Bayon Temple and others

After the tour around the Ta Phrom Temple, our group passed by the Leper King Terrace and Elephant Terrace, these terraces is where the king of Cambodia usually stays whenever there are parades or tournaments. After a brief stop at the two terraces, we visited the Bayon tempe. This temple is very famous for its stone faces. To know more about the Bayon temple, check this link - http://www.canbypublications.com/siemreap/temples/temp-bayon.htm . After visiting the giant face temple, we passed by the statues that depict the very famous story in the Hindu religion, the Churning of the Sea of Milk.

Holyweek Adventure - Ta Phrom Temple

After touring around the Banteay Kdei temple, we headed straight to our next destination - the Ta Phrom Temple. This temple is one of the featured temples in the Angelina Jolie movie, Tomb Raider 1. It's here that you can see huge trees on top of the temples. Very interesting! You will also see here an Apsara between the roots of a tree!

Holyweek Adventure - Banteay Kdei

After exploring the vast and complex structure of Angkor Wat, our group then went to Banteay Kdei. Most of the temples here are a bit destroyed but it is still very beautiful. We also saw a huge tree at the back of the temple. For more information on Banteay Kdei, visit this site - http://www.canbypublications.com/siemreap/temples/temp-bankdei.htm :)

Holyweek Adventure - Exploring Angkor Wat

After the viewing of sunrise at Angkor Wat, we decided to take our breakfast at a nearby restaurant. When breakfast is over, all of us headed to the entrance of the majestic Angkor Wat. Our tourguide, Sarat, explained to us the details of this temple and the different designs and sculptures inside it. The carvings on the wall of the temple depicts the different stories of Cambodia and the Buddhist religion. Cambodia's history indeed is very interesting! Actually, I was very intrigued on how this huge temple was built so I decided to buy a book about Angkor Wat.

Holyweek Adventure - Sunrise at Ankor Wat

With the holyweek addik , we woke up at around 5am in the morning to see the sunrise at the world famous Ankor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I don't know what to put here so I just put all the shots I have. The view is breathtaking!!!

Celebration at Castro

Cary, Edge, Janice, Abhishek, Chryshyll and I went to Castro in downtown Mountainview to celebrate Tita Chrysh Ti's bday. We had dinner at Pasta?, an italian pasta resto, and had our dessert at Gelato Classico Italian Ice Cream where they serve very good gelato! Happy birthday, Tita Chrysh!!! :)

Holyweek Adventure - Golden Temple Villa, Siem Reap

With Holyweek Addiks, some pictures at our hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Nice place, good service, serves delicious native cambodian food, and lots of freebies - massage, welcome drinks and internet access!!!

Holyweek Adventure - 3 Khai Islands

With holyweek addiks, our island tour on the 3 Khai Islands - Khai Nok Island, Khai Nui Island, Khai Nai Island - in Phuket, Thailand. White sand beaches and cristal clear water. Sarap mag-swim! hehehe...

Holyweek Adventure - Central Festival Mall and Kata Beach

With Holyweek addik, we visited the famous mall in Phuket - the Central Festival Mall. It's like Rustan's here in Manila. Many high-end shops but mostly are on sale... hehehe... was able to buy a pair of shoes and 2 pairs of slippers. After that we went to Kata Beach for a swim and view the sunset.

Holyweek Adventure - Phi Phi Island

With the holyweek addik, our island tour at the famous Phi Phi Island in Phuket, Thailand.

First pictures at Mountainview, California

Got a chance to take some pictures when Tita Chrysh and I went to the grocery near our hotel last Sunday, July 13. Pictures here are taken near the main freeway outside the Homestead Studio Suites. Take also a peek at my room... hehehe....

Holyweek Adventure - Kota Beach

With Holyweek Addiks at Kota Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Not all of us went to Kota Beach since some decided to stay at their respective rooms to just take a rest. We met them for the "supposed to be" sunset viewing at Rawai Beach but we just had our dinner there.