Twin Rocks, Planet Dive, Anilao

I can't get over how good our dives were at Twin Rocks in front of Planet Dive in Anilao.  We did 2 dives and both were amazing.

Before diving, we had a briefing and our dive guide told us what we can see and where we can expect to see them.  He was joking that he will text the jacks and the turtles so they will show up when we descend.  Oh gosh, they did showed up as if choreographed!  A school of possibly a thousand  jacks were swimming where they were supposed to be.  The turtles appeared right on cue.  The Moray eels did the same.  It was fantastic!

Planet Dive house reef

The dives were very easy (15 meters max depth) and we saw a lot of things.  The most memorable were the purple giant clams, nudibranches, moray eels, a school of jacks, a turtle, clown fishes, and a big lapu-lapu. 
The visibility that day was bad because the weather was cloudy but the corals and marine life at Twin Rocks fascinated me still.  I want to go back when the weather is good.

Planet Dive house reef

 We paid about 1500 pesos for 2 dives in the house reef  including lunch.  We have our own gear so we didn't have to rent those.  We just rented the tank.  The lunch was good.  I really like their adobo, yum yum.  I didn't see the rooms but from the outside it looks okay.

Pictures above were taken using GoPro Hero 2 with a Polar Pro red filter.

Guide to Talipanan, Puerto Galera

I'am not very familiar with Puerto Galera but I've been told that Talipanan is a more peaceful place to relax and enjoy the beach than White beach.  I also heard that Talipanan have a more upscale feel to it. So, off to Talipanan we went to enjoy the sun and the sea.



I had to book two rooms in two resorts because when I booked in Agoda, it was not possible to book two rooms in the same resort. Our family stayed in both the El Canonero and Luca's Miramare at the end of Talipanan. This arrangement was not so inconvenient because the two resorts are very close to each other.

The beach was nice. It's not Boracay nice but it was nice. Since the beach is public, it's not so well maintained. You know, plastic stuff , old slippers, and PET bottles scattered on the beach. I was not so disturbed by this but it would have been better if someone cleaned it.

We stayed in Luca's Miramare with my Mann leaving what I thought was a better room to my mom and daughter at El Canonero.  The room at Luca's was very basic. The important thing is it was clean. For 1500 pesos, it is a good deal.  El Canonero is more expensive (about 2500 pesos) but the rooms are very small. My mom was complaining that the room smelled like a toilet. This is because the toilets are just separated by a thin sliding door from the room and it is only half a step from the bed. At the end, Luca's was the better choice and we are thinking of going back next year. ( Tip: Ask for room no. 1 and and the room above the restaurant if it's available). I will never consider to go back to El Canonero.

The restaurant at Luca's was a revelation.  The pizza ( we mostly took margarita) really tastes like Italian pizza. I believe that it is the best Italian pizza in the Philippines that I've tasted. The portions at Luca's are huge. If you're staying at their lodge, they can keep it for you and reheat it for your next meal if you can't finish it. We also tried Mengie's a few meters away because my mom was craving for pancit. That was good too.



There are few other resorts in Talipanan beach.  I was not able to take a peak at their accommodations so I am unable to tell you if they are good or not.  From the outside, Bamboo House and Mountain Beach Resort seem to be offering basic native cottages.

My Mann and I are divers. We wanted to improve our diving so we subscribed for the Advanced Diving Course from PADI at El Canonero. We started the course but unfortunately there was a typhoon passing nearby which caused the sea to be a bit rough. It's a very bad feeling to be seasick while diving ( I didn't understand why we stayed at 1.5 meters where the sea was very rough. If we moved deeper, it would already be better. Also, we started at 5pm just when the tides are changing because the instructor was busy). I got very nauseated. The water was still rough the next day so I got seasick again while diving.  I decided to stop the course because the weather did not promise to improve. I understand the fact that we had to pay something because we started the course and then stopped. What pissed me off was that they made us pay for 1 full course as a punishment for our lack of motivation. The full course consists of 5 modules. We barely finished 1 module.  Diving is a lot about planning.  It's not about forcing divers to dive in bad conditions just to earn money. At the end, the instructor proposed to continue the course in  a more peaceful bay ( with extra charge of course) but at that point I would rather pay than continue diving with an instructor who can't plan.

Talipanan beach in Puerto Galera is okay.  If I live in Manila, I will be happy to go there for the weekend every weekend.  If I arrive in Talipanan directly from Europe for a holiday I think I will be slightly disappointed.

Hightlights:

1. Massage on the beach.  There are massage ladies stationed between Luca's and El canonero.  Victoria is my favorite. 300 pesos for 1 hour .
2. Pizzas at Luca's.

Getting there:

1. I was told that it's better to take Minolo Shipping Lines because they have a free shuttle to Talipanan. They will also pick you up when you are ready to leave.
2. We did not take Minolo so we had to take a tricycle.  Tricycle to Talipanan from Muelle costs 160 for a special trip or 40 pesos per person if you are 4.

Sotto

I just finished reading this article:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/264818/oops-sotto-did-it-again

Gosh. That woke me from my blogging slumber.
How can we even wonder why our country is backward? How can we even hope to achieve progress when we elect senators who are not able to grasp concepts?  Nevermind that Sotto is anti- RH, I can forgive that. I can easily blame that on misguided principles. His inability to understand a simple concept is another matter and  is completely unforgivable.

Tito Sotto is a senator. He is responsible for making laws that should benefit the people. If he cannot grasp such a simple concept, how can he even identify what the people need.

This fiasco is like a rerun of "Iskul Bukol". 

DLNA is cool

l just found out how to connect my Samsung Galaxy Note to my PC! It is so cool! Now, I can access media in my PC with my phone and vice versa. I guess you could always have done that with an i phone but since I am not an apple person, I am not motivated to learn what one can do with a mac.

Anyway, if you want to connect your Galaxy Note to your PC, here is a simple tutorial:

1. Make sure your phone and PC is connected to the same internet network. I have a wifi router where all my devices are connected.
2. Open Windows Media Player in your PC and turn on home sharing under "streaming".
3. On your phone, open the app "Allshare". ln Allshare, under "remote devices", you should be able to see your PC.
4. After step 3, you should now see your phone in the Windows Media Player.
5. I have my PC connected to a TV so now I can watch at my phone photos and videos on my TV.

20 things I hate about the Philippines

I admit that I agree with some of his points but some points can be attributed to cultural difference. For one I don`t agree that all the beautiful girls in the Philippines are lady boys ;-). I guess the thing that annoyed me the most about this video is not the content but how much conviction the host showed in his delivery of the reasons he hate the Philippines. If he truly hates it there then he should go home. What say you?

Taho nga!

I had a big taho craving today.  Several blogs posted a few interesting taho quick fix recipes but I decided to follow the recipe from "Panlasang Pinoy". It is very easy to make!  I didn't make my arnibal though but used maple syrup instead. The key ingredient is the soft or silken tofu and the tapioca balls. I boiled the tapioca balls for about 1 hour then put in on top of the silken tofu that I heated in the microwave then poured a generous serving of maple syrup and I have my taho! Brilliant! Yummy!

Bestfriends

50 things to do before I die

On 8/28/09, in a moment of introspection, I listed the 50 things I wanted to do before I die.  It's only 50 because I couldn't find enough things to extend the list to 100. Now, barely 2 years later, I halved that list!  Here are the stuff that I still need to do:

1. Go to Egypt and see the pyramids;
2.Write a bestselling novel;
3. Own my dream house;
4. Tour the Philippines;
5.Learn German;
6. Learn French;
7. Learn to drive;
8. Be 42.0 kilos;
9. Get a Master's degree;
10.Dye my hair blond;
11. Run a marathon;
12. Get toned abs;
13.Stay in a really expensive hotel for a weekend;
14. Go around the world for a year;
15. Adopt a homeless child;
16. Offer a college scholarship grant;
17. Ride a camel ;
18. Have a nude artistic photograph of myself;
19.Own a house on the beach;
20.Go to Thailand;
21.See the Grand Canyon;
22.Plant a tree;
23.Own a Mercedes Benz;
24.Get an MBA;
25.Cut my hair really short;
26.Travel around Europe in a mobile home.

Plus, I got a tattoo! It was not on my list but I mentally added it.  It was 51st on my list. See:

Bohol Beach Club

 

If you have time to go to only one island in the Philippines, I would definitely recommend Bohol.  I  love Bohol.  I think it has the best of what the Philippines have to offer. For our second trip to Bohol, we wanted some peace and quiet so we decided to stay in Bohol Beach Club instead of Alona Beach.

The beachfront of Bohol Beach Club is very photogenic.  The sand is white though not as fine as the sand in Boracay. The resort is quite exclusive so it is quite peaceful to rest on the beach.

The resort offers diving, kayaking, and free glassboat rides!  In Kenya, we paid 35 dollars per person for the glass boat ride and we saw 1 brain coral.  In Bohol Beach Club, the glassboat ride was free and they took us to their wonderful house reef  just a few meters off the beach. The reef was full of beautiful colorful coral and fish . That was a highlight!


My only problem with the Bohol Beach Club was that their rooms were not so nice. Their avid use of fluorescent lights did not do the rooms any favor aesthetically.  I would suggest using less fluorescent lighting and more soft yellow lights. I am all for energy conservation but energy saving bulbs come in different hues too. The white tiles in the bathroom made the room feel quite cheap. On the positive side, the garden was beautiful, the pool was great, the food was good.

Since we were busy learning how to dive.  It was only during our last day that we realized that we can go out of the resort to eat.  Immediately next to the resort is a public picnic place where there are stalls that offer grilled treats.  There is also the Dumaluan Beach Resort nearby with a pretty decent restaurant.  We spent 6 days at the Bohol Beach Club, even though they have 3 restaurants, I got tired of it that I was very glad to go somewhere else to eat.

Bohol Beach Club -http://www.boholbeachclub.com.ph/

Bengal Cats

What breed of cat looks like a leopard, barks like a dog, and loves water? Answer: Bengal Cat! They are a relatively new breed of cat that came about by cross breeding a house cat with an asian leopard cat. I am so in-love with them! I first saw them at the Animalia in St. Gallen last weekend.

Below is an Animal Planet documentary about this wonderful breed of cat:



We are on our way to getting ourselves one. If you also want one, here is the link of the club of reputable Bengal cat breeders in Switzerland: http://www.igbengal.ch/IGB_ZuechterCH.php