Season 2 of quarantine birthdays and my eldest turned 17. Away from the usual Shakey’s, we went on a day trip out of town to relax and chill.
Refreshing break from lockdown.
xx
DMV
Quarantine Birthday
36th | Life on Pause
I had my whole year planned before this pandemia broke out.
I was going to South Korea with my girls to set crawl all the Kdrama locations we’ve watched, we had a long list and even rented a traditional Korean House (Hanok) to level up the feels, was also contemplating on extending my stay to catch that BTS concert.
I was looking forward to singing my lungs out at Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill tour in Manila with my best friend.
I was really excited to celebrate my birthday with my boys in Singapore, it would’ve been our first international trip that’s just the four of us.
I was booked to go back to New Zealand, together with my sister and brother-in-law this time, to see our cousins and we had half of a month’s worth of road trips and hiking mapped out.
Cancelled.
And along with the rest of the world, my life’s been on pause since March.
The country was put on quarantine and it was a scene out of a dystopian movie. The streets ran empty. A daily dose of deafening silence. There was little to no movement at all and police and military visibility made it a little bit more intense.
Businesses started closing, a chunk of employees were retrenched, a number of companies filed for bankruptcy and every morning, on my way to work, passing by boarded up stores, closed down shops, countless checkpoints and empty roads, I would feel my chest tighten. It was so disheartening and frustrating to sit with a government unwary of what to do, a total shit show run by a couple of clowns with misplaced priorities.
Even when the quarantine was lifted, whenever I see people wearing masks and face shields, I get emotional. It’s just so different from how life was and it gets depressing.
Claustrophobia slowly choking, I’ve somehow developed really bad anxiety and it doesn’t help that we’re surrounded with so much negative noise and slammed with constant uncertainty. We are made to tread on thin ice, waiting for some sort of disaster to surface and it’s suffocating, sometimes a little too overwhelming, other times a too little heavy it might crack.
Never imagined I’d be dating Melatonin on weekend night outs instead.
August.
It has always been “my month.”
I’m supposed to be somewhere unexplored doing something crazy or borderline stupid enough to scream what the fuck did I get myself into, and those have always been the best times.
But I have to settle with home for now. And surprisingly, the slow pace is kind of refreshing when the calm sets in. I have so much time on my hands that I run out of time, if that even makes sense.
And to those who understand my need to get away, thank you for taking me out even if it was just a quick flight up steep stairs to a cold dip in the pool under the rain with a foggy view,
or a short drive up North to grab coffee,
or a brisk 10-minute hike to the Twin Falls…viewing deck.
Those brief moments really meant so much to me in more ways than you know.
Keep safe.
xx
DMV
35th | August Encore
I feel like this has become an annual August thing and I love it!
Finally some quiet time with my best friends. Well, not so quiet.
Photo set | Punta Bulata, Danjugan
Just the four of us. Road trip!
Punta Bulata
Arrived at Punta Bulata and felt like we owned the place. No one here and yay long weekend!
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Day trip to Danjugan on our 2nd day and since it’s habagat season, the waves were seriously crazy. I was just waiting for our boat to be wiped out.
But we made it!
Ramram, our guide briefed us about the island. It’s a 43 hectare island and marine sanctuary that is made up of 90% limestone forests. It was once a threatened and over-fished area but with the efforts of The Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc., the island has been restored to maybe it’s purest form, providing asylum to many wildlife species.
Me and Jobelle trekked while Miel and Pam took the boat to Moray Lagoon.
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And we went snorkeling! Saw some sea snakes, moray eels, giant clams and lots of different fish and corals.
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I’ve been best friends with these crackheads for almost 3 decades now. They’ve seen the best and the ugly and the great and the nasty parts of me. They have suppressed strangling me countless of times because of my stubbornness and my twisted way of thinking because we are all weird somehow, but I know despite, they will always have my back. They hear my silence, they see my shadows, and they never judge.
We may not always see each other or talk to each other, but we’ll always have August. (CHAROT!) Virtual hugs!
No dull times with my soul sisters, always.
xx
DMV
35th | Bag Raid
As I’ve said, I stopped celebrating my birthdays when I turned 20. And ever since family and friends would throw me surprise parties where, for the most of it, I would come under-dressed or unprepared, obviously. I am not really big on surprises but I’ve always appreciated their efforts, even when it’s also finding a good enough excuse to see each other and get drunk.
Every year, on my birthday, for the past couple of years, I leave and go on an adventure. This year, I was gone for 12 days so when I came back, friends were planning to get together as we haven’t seen each other for months. Honestly I was still so tired from all the hiking and chasing missed flights that I did not respond to text messages or calls. I seriously just wanted to lie in bed. They kept planning and I kept ditching, I had so many excuses.
But then, they know me too well. They asked me to have dinner at this new ramen place, Nezu, and I caved.
xx
DMV
35th | Middle Earth
Photo set | Northern Island, New Zealand
I stopped celebrating my birthdays when I turned 20 for silly reasons most people wouldn’t really understand. Not that interesting so don’t be curious.
Every year, on my birthday, I leave and go on an adventure and for the last leg of this quarter life crisis, I went to Middle Earth. 12 days full of missed flights, stairs, bottles of wine, herds of cow, flocks of sheep, steak, steep trails, fish and chips, broken luggage, sorting baggage, magnificent views and loads of fun!
Flew Qantas. Flight from Manila was delayed so I missed my connecting flight and was stranded in Sydney airport for a few hours. Booked the next available flight to Auckland. Fortunately, my Wellington flight got moved to a later schedule so I did not miss it. Good thing there was also free booze on board, good enough compensation to the exhausting sprint I had to make to my connection only to arrive to a closed gate.
After 13 hours of flying…
Northern Island winter road trip
The places we went to on our 10-day road trip from Wellington to Auckland.
My cousin and her husband cooking me up a feast at their new home and what a coincidence that a friend of mine from way back also lives in the same suburb as them! She saw my Instagram stories arriving in Wellington and messaged me. Chance meet up of course and she also brought me 3 bottles of wine haha!
Cape Palliser
Road to Cape Palliser, such picturesque views outside my window!
We passed by some wild seals too! Stopped by the side of the road and took some pictures of these cuties. Careful enough not to get too close as some curious pups were growling at me haha.
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Mount Victoria lookout
360-degree scenic views of Wellington. Always chasing sunsets.
Te Papa Museum
Did not finish exploring and will need to go back!
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Weta Cave
When you love Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, you just have to visit this place. Home of the talented people behind these amazing conceptual designs and visual effects.
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Martinborough – Poppies
Passed through this town going to Castlepoint. The town features over 20 wineries, most within cycling and walking distance of the village square.
We stopped here for late lunch and some wine tasting. I am not a wine person but this place is definitely a must go to. Wine and food, superb.
Castlepoint
This small beach-side town on the Wairarapa coast is just beautiful.
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Dessert Road
Road crossing to Ruapehu district. Landscape of the Northern Island is so diverse. Majority of the road trip, all I see is lush green forests and cattle and sheep ranches. Then we come to this. Both sides covered with low scrublands and snow capped Mount Ruapehu, Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe as backgrounds.
Mount Ruapehu
It was snowing when we arrived and first snow fall experience for these kids in the 7 years they’ve been living in New Zealand haha! Pretty winter wonderland.
Parked our car by the hotel. We took a bus up to Mount Ruapehu as the road was very slippery and we did not bring chains.
Huka Falls
The Huka falls—largest falls in the Waikato river. The flow rate from the water drop of the falls could fill up 8 olympic size pools in roughly a minute. Amazeballs.
Wairakei Terraces
Relaxed in the silica enriched thermal pools as we were dead tired from all the walking and hiking. There is also a walk where you get to experience a recreated Maori settlement, said to have settled some 1,000 years ago, drawn by the thermal activity and the abundance of food. They believed that the hot pools contained healing powers and therapeutic benefits. Amazingly, the houses are so small and considering that most Moari are largely built people.
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
Wai-O-Tapu (Māori for sacred waters) is an active geothermal area by the Taupo volcanic zone, some 27 kilometers south of Rotorua.
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Whakarewarewa Forest – The Redwoods
Magnificent stands of towering native and exotic trees in this beautiful forest.
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Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake)
Lake Tikitapu is also known as “Blue Lake” because of its gorgeous sapphire waters.
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Rotorua Museum
This magnificent structure used to be an elegant spa retreat called the Bath House in 1908 and was later on converted into a museum and art gallery. Sadly, this beauty closed in 2016 for seismic strengthening and remains closed til now.
August 6th, BIRTHDAY!
Matamata – Hobbiton
Where else to celebrate the last leg of my quarter life crisis but at the lush pastures of the Shire in Middle Earth?
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
I swear we went. They just did not allow us to take photos. According to our Maori guide, the glowworms are sensitive to light and sound which is why they prohibited use of cellphones and cameras and also, said gadgets are expensive and they do not want to be spelunking the caves just to retrieve these.
Grabbed some pictures from Google Images (maybe back when it was still allowed to take photos, I dunno).
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What an awesome day! Ate truffle burgers and truffle fries for dinner, lazed at our Airbnb by the lake and downed 2 bottles of wine. Happy birthday to me!
Cathedral Cove
These familiar scene out of Narnia. Shorter way by boat, Longer way by hike. We took the latter. Even found a few blooms of Sakura. View was worth it.
Hot Water Beach
An underground river of hot water flows from the interior of the earth to surface in the Pacific Ocean at this beach, thus it’s name. Visitors can dig large holes and soak in the thermal water.
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Disney on Ice
Because we are never too old.
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Last stop for this trip. Met up with friends who are based here and was so happy they celebrated my birthday with Korean food and ramen!
SEA Life Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium
Killed time and went to the aquarium while waiting for our Korean dinner.
8 Colors of Korean Bbq Buffet Restaurant
Thank you for indulging my Korean obsession!
Sky Tower
It was really nice that the guy by the escalator going up the tower told us to check the skies first before deciding to pay more than $20 and just be disappointed. It was raining nonstop and was really cloudy. We did not go up. We went shopping instead lol.
Last day (huhuhu)
Breakfast at Kreem
Went shopping at Dress Smart and had dinner at Ramen Takara because it’s my last night and everybody knows how much I love ramen hahaha.
Homebound
Arrived around 10pm in Manila, stayed at my best friend’s place, was so exhausted fell asleep the moment I went to bed and was snoring. Went to church the next day (thank you LORD for my awesome vacation), had lunch at Soru (always) and flew home to Bacolod in the afternoon.
And I feel like I’m still hungover.
Thank you to Krissy and Alvin for my room (haha) and for going on this trip with me, Micmic for seeing me in Wellington and bringing vino, Aubrey for meeting me in Auckland, Ching and Patrick for letting us stay at your ginormous place and Ilaine and Bambi for coming out for ramen and dessert. 12 days is tooooo short! I wish I was on vacation 24/7.
Photos from:
Krissy & Alvin of Knotting Wong Photography
My DJI Osmo Action camera (yes I switched from GoPro)
xx
DMV
34th | Birthday Encore
Stick with the people who pull the magic out of you, not the madness.
Vacation from my vacation (lol).
My best friends are home and it’s been too long since we’ve been together in one place, us four, so no matter how exhausted and hungover and sun burnt I was, I just had to fly over because it’s always refreshing to be with my walking diaries and I needed to write down a few more stories. 😂
But first…
From a week long of drinking to a weekend of tea dates. I look like shit hahaha 😂
It was just a weekend of catching up and swimming parties and pool wars and competitive racing and cards against humanity and heads up. 😂
And we were 10 again.
Hung out with Tita Chiqui at her cafe, Tilde in Poblacion. Best merienda place, everything is just so yummy!
And dinner with these lovely ladies.
Fourth grade all over again (plus two pitchers of Mango Mojito, one pitcher of Sangria, one bottle of Cabernet and one bottle of Cuervo).
August babies 🎂
Short but sweet, I still have sepanx up to now. No dull moments here. Thank you so much for the weekend! I’m missing you guys already. ❤️
xx
DMV
34th | Keeping up with the SObelles
If you weren’t there, you won’t get it.
Spent my 34th with these crazies in breathtaking Siargao.
Photo set
Day 1 | Cebu
And off we go!
We had to wait for April to arrive from Manila so we killed time at the Casino just across the Mactan Airport.
Literally pigged out at a Yakiniku for lunch
and chilled at Politics Cafe for the night.
Day 2 | Siargao
Almost 1 hour plane ride from Cebu to Sayak Airport and we went straight to our first stop for the trip (which is just like 5 minutes away). We booked all our tours with Galatea.
Kawhagan Island
Pit stop for lunch since eating/cooking and drinking is no longer allowed at the Sugba Lagoon.
Sugba Lagoon
Very picturesque turquoise waters. Definitely a must see. Nice that when we went, it was not that crowded.
We left around 4pm to go to General Luna which is like 45 minutes away from the airport and checked in at the Bravo Hotel.
We had dinner at Harana and at 9PM they cleared the dance floor. Apparently, every night there is a different party at a particular venue. Saturdays are for Harana.
Day 3 | Siargao
Woke up around lunch time and headed off to Kermit. Food is really good, did not disappoint.
And we started our salubong sesh by the beach. Sundays are for Bravo. Super fun night, thank you friends!
Day 4 | Siargao
Party boat by Galatea. Happy birthday to me!
Daku Island
Clear blue waters, fine white sand, beer in hand, soaked up the sun. Lovely.
Corregidor Island
Island is not as crowded compared to the others. You could snorkel and hike here too.
Naked Island
Toilet break.
Cloud 9
Regularly rated as one of the top 10 surf sites in the world. Bonus for beautiful sunsets.
WILD. But we’ll keep that to ourselves.
Thank you universe for yet another year of awesome.
And thank you too to this crazy bunch. Hugs!
xx
DMV
33 Yipee | Mt. Pinatubo
If everyone should know, my birthday falls on a month dubbed as tiempo muerto meaning dead time. August is that time of the year where your funds are low, harvest season is months away and skies are always gloomy. Chinese even believe it’s not the best time to move to a house, start a business or get married. I’m not Chinese though, but still..
I always have a hard time planning what to do on my birthday because what I usually want can’t be done during this time of the year BUT I always end up spontaneously doing something fun. 😄
So anyway, me, my sister and her husband booked a flight to Manila for the weekend to celebrate my birthday and since I like to hike every once in a while, I signed us up for a Tinipak River trip with Jeron Travel. So timely that we will be in Manila during the trip and I’ve always wanted to visit the place.
Day 1 | August 3
Since I’m with Chinese people, dimsum and congee in Binondo and of course can’t miss Masuki’s mami, yum!
After that feast, we went to Banawe to my BIL‘s friend’s store to buy us some car parts to bring back to Bacolod then chill for a bit and from there we were talking about if he wanted to join us in our Tinipak River tour. Last thing I know, we booked a trip to Mt. Pinatubo for tomorrow.
For this year’s birthday, the original plan was to go to Masungi Georeserve but they have a minimum number of people per group and it was only three of us. If we wanted to pursue, we have to pay for the minimum number of people so it was quite expensive. Next option was Mt. Pinatubo but a couple of tour operators I inquired with do not book tours from July to mid October because of the rainy season. They wouldn’t want to risk because bad weather would mean sudden landslides and flash flood so those two were off the list. Tinipak was a blessing and I was like–I get to do something cool for my birthday this year.
While we were talking about Tinipak and other plans, Pinatubo came up and RC, my BIL’s friend’s secretary said that she knows someone who could give us a tour. I was like I’m game, is everyone else game? And wow, they all said yes. 😂Lucky me! Imagine, Pinatubo and Tinipak back to back! So we parted ways, got things prepared for the hike and slept early.
Note: These people haven’t exercised for a long time and it would be my sister’s first time to hike in her entire existence. 😂
Day 2 | August 4
Left for Capas, Tarlac around 3:30 am, stopped by 7/11 for coffee and Mcdonald’s for breakfast then headed off to Tito Danny’s place.
Registered at their tourism office, signed a waiver and off we go.
Trek to the Pinatubo crater consist of an estimated 1 hour jeep ride and 2 hour hike.
And the views were just awesome!
There is an aeta community living in the area, they usually watch cattle of ranchers who bring them there to feed. Our guide, Kuya Ricky, told us that some Koreans have set up a church and school to help them out.
After the more than 1 hour jeep ride, we start the 7km hike to the crater.
Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, making it the 2nd largest eruption of the 20th century. The eruption produced high-speed avalanches of hot ash and gas, giant mud-flows, and a cloud of volcanic ash hundreds of miles up. Volcanologists said that this eruption had a worldwide impact and has caused global temperatures to drop temporarily.
Trail up the crater was lahar covered, soft and rocky (lahar is a mix of volcanic ash and rocky fragments) and mountain walls showed traces of landslides. I remember slipping a couple of times because it was raining. Crazy weather because well, it’s rainy season. One minute it’s scorching sunny (yes we got sunburnt) and next thing you know, it’s pouring.
This was our first stop. There is a little hut of an aeta family and they sell food, drinks and souvenirs. I asked Kuya Ricky what they do, if the children even go to school since I notice a lot of little kids running around. Our guide said they are different from the aeta community we passed earlier with whom the Koreans helped out, these ones usually harvest wild bananas to sell. They sell really cheap and since Mt. Pinatubo has become a tourist spot, they set up their little tiangge where hikers/tourists could rest and buy food, drinks and souvenirs. Other than that, they live a very routinary life. They wake up, sit, laze or play around, sleep. They don’t have electricity. I’m not sure if they have support from their local government. There’s an ongoing dispute between the locals and the military from what I’ve heard.
This was our second stop. They set up portalets and cottages where you could rest. From this point, it’s just 20 minutes to the crater.
My buddies brought with them a ton of food hahaha. Like literally too much for a day hike, can’t go hungry. I was even joking to sell some at the crater since everything costs a hundred bucks.
The trail up isn’t lahar covered anymore, more of river streams.
Just some of the flora we passed along. I didn’t really see many flowers.
Then steps to the crater, not sure how many steps there were.
Then this.
Pictures just can’t do justice to what my eyes saw. It was magical even if it was raining. What more on a clear day?
You can actually go down to the crater but you are not allowed to swim. Wanted to go down but the fog was setting in and they advised against it because it might start pouring and we could get stranded.
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I was so happy that I got to hike up a volcano on my birthday weekend! Been wanting to since last year hahaha. And so happy everyone was game despite the crazy weather.
* We paid P2,000 per person for the Mt. Pinatubo trek, that’s already inclusive of the Jeep rental, guide and permits.
Reward! This place was featured in Rated K so we decided to try it out. Sisig did not disappoint.
Day 3 | August 5
We missed our Tinipak trip the next day because everyone was sore and feverish. Sorry! ✌️✌️✌️ We roadtripped instead to Tagaytay, had breakfast at Breakfast and coffee at Starbucks, the one on Calamba Rd.
All homemade.
That mandatory Taal volcano photo. Would’ve gone volcano hopping if weather wasn’t bad haha! 😂
Foggy view but at least they spelled my name right (because the barista asked how it is spelled 😂).
Stopped by the Marcos Mansion for some buko juice on the way back. It’s actually become a sort of bike rest stop.
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Then for dinner, thank you Arnold and Christine for my salubong feast! 😂😂😂
No plans are the best plans. Thanks for an awesome birthday weekend!
Day 4 | August 6
Flew home for my birthday. Had lunch with the most important people, blew my candle and spent the rest of the day lazing around with my boys. 😊
xx
DMV
32nd
Hello August!
So what went down last week.
Bukid kick off
Went up to Michelle’s farm and stayed for the day. Chilled, hiked for a bit and had some incidental digital detox because there was no signal there (haha).
This and Risa’s cansi FTW!
What’s awesome with the farm’s area is that it includes a 20 minute hike to this hidden treasure.
And nice that the fam and some friends put up these signs along the way.
This is part of the Lunao sulfur river. Entry point is on private property and the owners decided to not keep it open to public to preserve this precious gem. It used to be open and shared to everyone but sadly lots of irresponsible tourists would leave their trash behind.
Portiko Trivia Night
First time to go and it was so much fun! Good brain exercise.
Team R-18! We’ve to stock up knowledge for next Wednesday.
Check out Portiko Cafe & Lounge
Eat like a Viking
Celebrated with family before flying to Manila, us August celebrants 🎉 Yay for free buffet!
My loves!
Check out Vikings SM City Bacolod.
Manila bound
Originally my flight out was 9am but Cebu Pacific moved it to 1pm.
Flight was 3 hours delayed and I was stuck in Manila traffic for 4 freakin hours. Hell.
Had late dinner at Gringos with Jobelle, mojitos and lights off by 12 midnight.
Happy birthday Surf trip
Road trip to Zambales to catch us some waves. First time to try surfing. Left Makati round 4:30am, arrived Crystal Beach 9ish, I think. Way to north was so picturesque and I made super cool new friends.
Good morning 32!
Such an awesome day to go to the beach, weather was great!
Who’s under your table?
They make surfing look so easy but it’s really exhausting! So got out of the water, bought me some beer and chilled on the beach. Perrrfect.
Sunset sesh.
Check out Crystal Beach in Zambales. The place is really nice, the instructors are so friendly and accommodating and the resort’s rates are affordable too.
Got back to Taguig around almost 10pm and had late dinner at Burgers and Brewskies (always) with this bunch. I just can’t miss their burgers, sorry.
Home bound
Brunch at Locavore. The food is soooo good!
And off to go find some Pokemons (lol). This craze.
Grabbed coffee with these crazies before my flight. Sooooo bitin! I wish I could extend another week haha!
Amazingly traffic wasn’t bad, my flight was only delayed 30 minutes. Super awesome birthday week!
Cheers!
xx
DMV
Encore
I feel the love! This from my friends and colleagues when I got back to work.
Kids’ day out
Instead of throwing a party, me, my sister and her husband decided to take the kids to theme parks in Manila for Lily’s 2nd birthday.
July 1 – MNL Bound
All set! So many firsts for these kids.
From the airport we went straight to Enchanted Kingdom.
Nice that we still got to avail of the weekday rate plus government discount plus student discount.
Happy birthday Lily!
Enchanted Kingdom rates here.
We had Lily’s birthday dinner at Mandarin Sky complete with birthday cake and Tagalog birthday song (haha).
July 2
Mark took the boys to buy car parts up at Banawe and had them try Mamonluk.
Then we met up with fam for Lily’s birthday lunch,
And went to Dreamplay at the City of Dreams in the afternoon.
Tired chipmunk (haha).
Dreamplay rates here.
Sneaked in a couple of slots at the Casino while the kids were playing (lol).
Dinner with fam at Dampa and went home at exactly midnight.
July 3 – HOME
Our flight was supposed to be at 5:30pm but was very very lucky to be chance passengers for the noon flight. Yay!
Such a great weekend! Kids really enjoyed, weather was really good, flight was a bit bumpy but we all got home safe and in one piece. Thank you God, thank you universe and Happy Birthday Princess!
xx
DMV
Density Runs 