Saturday, November 19, 2011

Family Day at Manila Ocean Park (bago diba? lol!)

Since Christmas is fast approaching, I'd like to share something that a family could enjoy during this holiday season. Gusto ko lang ikwento ang pamilya ko at ang once in a blue moon getaway namin at the MOP (if you consider Manila as a getaway place. lol!)


After we experienced 88 resort last April of 2010, we never had a chance to be on a trip together for that entire year. Lagi kaming kulang kulang so it's really difficult for me to arrange one. Sila na ang busy at ako na ang tambay. hahaha! Isa pa, aminin naman natin na magastos talaga pag pamilya mo kasama mo. Luckily, Chyng offered a promo tickets worth 500 each a few months ago. That includes entrance to Oceanarium, Marine Life Show and Habitat (sea lions), Jellies, Fish Spa and Musical Fountain Show. I grabbed it right away. Thank you so much girl! That's an awesome 55.36% off (may butal talaga e. hahaha!) Check out MOP site at www.manilaoceanpark.com for more details. First time ko to! Tara! Pasok tayo!


Marine Life Show and Habitat 

I'm not sure kung kelan siya naging open as part of their main attractions. We've been here last year (without my dad) to watch the Musical Fountain Show lang. Wala pa ito nun. Yeah.. technically it was not our first time but I really don't consider it because we had seen just one. Dahil 3:30pm na kami dumating.. oo 3:30 nga. Halos patapos na ang araw, chaka pa lang kami magsisimula. hay naku! Ayun, pang last full show na kami kumbaga. Haggard kakatakbo. While waiting for the gate to be opened, we sneaked in a bit on the other side which is the Marine Life Habitat...



"♫ You seem so near.. yet so far ♫"

Meet the stars...

 
Give it up for Isabel!

Claps for charming Icis (and the yummy trainer! <3)


Hanep!


Salute! (parang hindi naman. parang umaamoy lang ng kilikili. hahha!)


I was smiling the whole time. My family loved it. To give you a sneak preview of how trained they are (as if the pictures are not enough), check out this clip..



Bleh!
The lady had a chance to meet, greet, touch and kiss Isabel ONLY (and not the yummy trainer hahah! kala mo makaka-jackpot ka ha!)



Jellies


Need I say more? Well, aside from the gigantic waves, these creatures have the power to stop me from the thing I'd love to do most - snorkeling. They almost ruined my Anilao Trip last year because I saw a lot of them peeping from the water when we were about to jump from the outrigger boat. Who would thought they can be lovely sometimes..



Jelly or Janitor fish? ^_^

Red One!

Green Two!



Blue...... Uhmmm... shit ang dami nila. hahaha! Fail

Yellow four!

Pink... 10! Bwiset! hahaha!

Red blood cells up close. hahaha!
 
Beki Jelly! hihihi!


Ah yan? Ako yan bakit ba! ^_^


Oceanarium

I'm an under water fan. I guess most of my readers knew it. Whenever I capture sea creatures from my trip, I feel very proud blogging it since it's a rare opportunity to encounter such. Wowing my family and friends is such a great achievement for me specially I'm a no pro. My D10 have always been my travel buddy and for the record, I have made a total of 5 underwater entries (kala mo karamihan e no. lol!). You might want to check it out na ren. O sige kahit wag na lahat, yung Coron na lang please hahah! Ok! Enough of this promotion... hihihi!

Again, nung nakita ko sila.. I admit na naboring na ko kasi para na lang akong nagre- reminisce. Yung tipong "ah yun pala tawag sa kanya.", "ay ang liit. Yung nakita ko sa Bohol sing laki ng muka ko e". Yung ganun.. Hahaha! Isa pa.. I realized, mas mahirap pala kumuha ng shot sa aquarium kesa sa tubig mismo. Mangani-ngani kong ipasok ang kamay ko sa loob nung ibang aquarium.




Itong mga succeeding shots, mga first time kong nakita kaya kahit ma-effort silang kunan sa likot, keri na rin. Check it out!

irregular shaped fish? (sorry hindi ko alam tawag diyan e :f)
 
Rock fish it is! (prang hunyangong nakiki kulay sa environment niya)

Convict Blenny

Uod? hahah! hindi ko natingnan forgive me.. :$

Pwede! hahah!

My dad and mom (na over expose sa mga blog entries ko. hahah!)

My younger brother Kevin (at ang epal na nakangiting pagiw :D)

My kuya PJ and his gf Maggie :L
Nahilo ako sa loob ng water tube na yan! o kung ano man ang tawag sa kanya. Sumakit lang ang ulo ko. My father, as expected, also felt dizzy. Actually, ayaw pa niyang sumama talaga. Kaya lang wala na siyang choice because I already bought him a ticket. Hindi siya madiwara hindi katulad naming lahat. Hihihi!


Musical Fountain Show

What separates point and shoot with SLR is the night mode. I really had a hard time capturing the moment. Pagtiyagaan nyo na lang ang mga kuha ko last year ha.







All in all we had a great time. Ilang buwan na naman ang bubunuin para makumpleto kami sa galaan. hihihi! (Seat Sale! Paramdam ka naman o) Sana na-enjoy nyo ang entry na to! Sa uulitin! :k

Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Ruins

I asked a fellow blogger, "Ano bang makikita sa Bacolod?" He replied "Yung Ruins. Yun palang sulit na." Got my attention right away. I searched for it and was surprised by how everyone fell in love with the place. How could a ruin be so captivating? Well, I just found myself heading to Talisay during my Bacolod-Iloilo trip last month to find out.

According to Marx, to get there, you need to ride a multicab with Bata sign and just ask the driver to drop you off at the tricycle terminal going to The Ruins. That's it! Bacolod was crowned the City of Smiles so expect a lot of nice people you can trust along the way. Don't hesitate to ask. Isa pa, kung mawala ka man, hindi mo kailangang baligtarin ang damit mo at paniwalain ang sariling pinaglalaruan ng maligno :vD Sakay ka lang ulit sa jeep na sinakyan mo, babalik din yun sa pinanggalingan niya promise. P7.50 lang pamasahe pero 45 minutes sya from Ong Bun pension house. Hindi ako na-brief na nagmimistulang EDSA pala ang Lacson pag ganung oras. hahaha! Sa tricycle naman, we paid 40.00 each para sa back and forth. Depende yan sa driver mo. For the entrance fee, 50.00 for adults and 40.00 for senior and students. Mom fortunately fell on the latter dahil sa acting niya. lol!

The best time to visit the place is during sunset which is 5:30pm to 6:30pm. Same with Baguio's Diplomat Hotel. Parang nagliliyab because of the materials used and beaming horizon during sunset. We all know how beautiful it is. Nga pala, did I mention fail ang magic hour na yan. Sa sobrang pagod namin kakahanap sa dyaskeng Ong Bun, we slept. On our way, nakikita ko na ang sunset. I was hoping kaya pang habulin pero huli na ang lahat. :c

Liblib. Madilim. Misteryoso. That's how I describe it. Hindi mo aakalaing may nagtatagong ganitong ka-bonggang mansion sa masukal na pilapil na yun.

Effort na ang night shot para sa katulad kong walang tripod, may pasmadong kamay at point-and-shoot na camera. So please forgive me..

Sa 37 shots na meron ako, itong mga naka-post lang ang matino. Promise. Kahit muka siyang may hepa sa picture ko na yan, wag ka! I was impressed nung una ko siyang nakita. Nabighani ako. hahaha! Seriously. Though it was burned down decades ago, mas muka siyang under construction. Siguro nung buo pa siya, perfect siya sa taguan. Naaagnas na ang kalaro mo hindi ka pa rin niya nakikita. Honglaki!



Naki-ushoso kami dahil may nagkukumpulan na mga tao sa loob. Meron palang libreng entrance sa comedy bar. Charot! There's this cool tour guide whom I think adds up to the charm of this heritage. Para siyang mascot  na sumanib sa katauhan ng nilalang na yun. hahahah! Aliw na aliw ako sa kanya. 

According to him, early 1900s when this was built by mayamang asukalerong si Don Mariano Lacson para sa nasira niyang wifey Portuguese na si Maria Braga and all their other unmarried children. Every corner lies a lot of very interesting tales. Simula sa pagkakatayo hanggang sa dahilan ng pagkasunog niya e winner talaga. Magpa-kwento na lang kayo kay tour guide ha. Ayokong maging spoiler e. hahaha!

the original fountain is alive and dripping


That's my pretty mom



Pre-nuptial shoot here would be just perfect. Ayiiiii! sarap naman ma-inlove o :L

This is where the family gathers every 5:30 to 6:30 pm to watch the sunset

Baby James: "Mommy what's sulit."
Kris: "uhm.. It's getting something more than what you pay for"

I say, The Ruins is indeed sulit. Oh yeah.. found an interesting fact on the net. Did you know that this is included in World's Most Fascinating Ruins? Check it out here :b O diba nakaka-proud? Never miss this one out when you visit Bacolod. You'll surely learn a lot.

Till next time!

Friday, November 11, 2011

21

Wow! it's been awhile. Ang tamad ko pala. hahah! I can't think of any excuses right now. lol!

No, we won't be singing "♫Eh Eh eh eh eh eh tuweny won♫" here. And 21 is definitely not my age. hihihi! I found this fine dine restaurant in Bacolod along Lacson Street. Right after we went to the ever famous Ruins, which I will make a separate post, we headed here for a sumptuous dinner. Isa pang amoy mayaman. ^_^

Have you noticed Bob's reflection? Magkapit-bahay lang sila.

Hindi ko alam kung laganap ba ang ubusan ng pangalan dun. hihih! Ang ikli lang.

Ang dyaskeng kupita
Let me take you to there..

Pag pasok pa lang, alam ko ng alanganin na naman ang outfit ko. Casualan lang. But some of the other guests e pormal na pormal. Hindi ko alam kung bigla bang mamamatay ang ilaw pagkatapos namin kumain at lalabas ang mga DI mula sa CR para maghanap ng matronang isasayaw nila. Nakapustura halos lahat. Bawal ba talagang kumain ng hindi naka make-up?!?!?! Anyway, hindi ko naman na sila makikita kahit kelan kaya pinilit kong dedmahin. hahaha! Pero sa totoo lang, ni hindi ako makatayo sa kinauupuan ko para lang mag CR. Hiyang hiya ako ate charo. hahahaha!

Hindi pala kami nag-iisa.. Hi manong! hahah!

Minsan, kahit sa mall.. bat ganun? Kahit nakapang bahay lang ang mga mayayaman na yan, hindi maipagkakailang mayaman sila. Weird. Nasa tabas ba ng baba? Nasa kuko ba? Nasa pwesto ba ng wrinkles? Ewan ko ba..

Wala lang. Gusto ko lang magkaron ng ganito sa kwarto ko


I made it to the rest room. Pag balik, I had the chance to take a picture of the other side. Nagpose si kuya waiter. hihihi! Sabihin ko sana yung pagkain ang pipicturan ko at nakahalang siya e, pero naaliw ako sa kanila.

Sabay tanong kung para san daw yung picture.. lol!

Mango Salad (P150.00)

Herb Chicken (P190.00)

Molo Soup (80.00 each)

Yum sarap sarap! I highly recommend all those three. For the herb chicken, ayun pinalutang ko lang sa gravy. KFC?!? hahah! Just don't be shy to ask for more ok? I did. For the mango salad, that's the best I've ever tasted so far. Molo soup is also a super must try. Actually yun ang pinaka-favorite ko sa tatlo.


Happy Tummy!

We only spent a total of exactly P 500.00 for this meal. Not bad para sa bonggang ambiance, masarap na pagkain at magandang serbisyo. Woot woot! Until next food trip!