Sweet, Sweet Pain!

After a very long time, I was back on the saddle last weekend.  I knew only a couple of people from the group we rode with but I still had fun.  And since I am not in good riding condition, I asked for a backyard ride but as expected…it turned out to be an exploration trip.  So I had all the souvenirs in my shins and thighs…all black and blue. J

I cannot believe that it took me this long to get back to riding.  Told them that I’ll be back in 2 weeks, ayaw na nila maniwala. L  But I can feel that they missed me.

What I loved about this ride were the 2 river (sapa?) crossings, the bamboo tiniks na super sakit, the chance encounter with a herd of carabaos (may baby carabao pa!) and of course when there are carabaos around, expect a lot of…poop!  We literally braved the ride and kept this in mind…pedal away but keep your mouth shut! J

It’s still amusing to note that after all these time, locals still find it amazing to see lady bikers.  Kaya super kilig ang Lola C ko (who by the way is turning 53 in March!).

I can still feel the post-ride pain, even after a 2-hour massage.  I think that I’m already good in dealing with it and perhaps I do want it to linger because that pain is a reminder of the good day that was.



Amazing view after the scary DH portion for C and me




Sinasabi ko na nga ba eh...buhat na naman!




Bayanihan---Bike Edition!




Chismis stop





ASTIG!




O said that C planted this tree. lol!



Instant bike wash!



Playing tarsier!



My Lola C...wasted!

 



After ride food

Happy Birthday! (and Happy Valentine's Day!)



Photo credit: Google



I want you to know how much I appreciate you

And I am sorry for not being an “Ate” most of the time

Thank you for always filling in my shoes

And for always being there

I wish this lady who was born on Valentine's Day

Who is not just a sister but a dear and treasured friend

All the happiness in the world.

I love you, J!

Travelers, BEWARE!

I put up this site as a reminder that I have so many things to be thankful for so I vowed never to blog about anything negative.  But I’m going to make an exception today.

This is a warning to unsuspecting travelers like us of the unscrupulous ways of some fellow travelers.  What’s alarming is that the perpetrators in this incident are travel agency staff who were doing their ocular inspection for their internet-based company.  I mean, how can potential clients trust that company when it is run by people with questionable characters.  We found their website and they call their company, Vacation Island Travel.  It is founded by Ann Cresilda Tagle who happened to be one of the girls who ripped us off.

The incident happened during our recent trip to Pandan Island in Occidental Mindoro.  We researched and did our homework so we pre-arranged for a boat to take us to Apo Reef.  The tourism office made us sign a contract after we paid P6,500.  Impressive diba?  We also asked the tourism officer to send a huge boat because there might be more people who would want to come.  And that’s when the tourism officer asked us if we could accommodate 2 travel agents who wanted to go to Apo Reef also.  Without batting an eyelash, we said, “Okay lang, basta they show up at the jetty at 4am.”

The following morning, we were up at 3am, all excited to go to Apo Reef and by 4am, we were all seated at the bar and waiting for the boat.  True enough, the 2 travel agents were already there waiting for us and they again asked permission if they could go with us…we said that it’s okay as long as we could fit in the boat.  It was already 5am when the boat arrived and the boatman said that there’s something wrong with his boat.  As I understood it, there was no way that it could be fixed so I was really worried that we would not be able to get to Apo Reef.

He tried everything to fix the boat while we were there watching him.  By 6:30am, the boatman gave up and said that he got in touch with another boat to pick us up but curiously he invited the 2 travel agents onboard his boat to have coffee.  And in a few minutes, we saw them leaving the island with the “supposed” broken boat.  

We had no idea that we could be robbed in broad daylight.

Since we were advised that there will be a replacement boat, we just waited by the beach and it arrived 7am.  My jaw dropped when I saw that it was a fishing boat with no proper seats or shade but it was okay since all we wanted was to get to Apo Reef. I thought that we could rush to Apo Reef since it was already late but the captain of the fishing boat said that we needed to gas up in town.  Apparently, he was made to believe that he would get his fuel from the “supposed” broken boat.  And since it was nowhere to be found, we had to go all the way to Sablayan town to get gas and were on our way by 730am.  Though extremely uncomfortable, it was nevertheless an enjoyable trip. 


The fishing boat!



Now, I know how the boatpeople felt.



And when we finally got to Apo Reef, what did we see?  The “supposed” broken boat…with the travel agents snorkeling already.  Can you imagine how furious we were? 


Ate L cursed like crazy upon seeing the boat.

Did these travel agents think that we’d back out and forget about Apo Reef?  Were they really stupid enough to think that we’d never find out?

We wrote to the Sablayan tourism office to report this incident, I hope that they do something about it.  It’s just wrong that we were the ones who paid for the boat and yet these travel agents were the ones who travelled in comfort.  So who’s to blame for this upsetting incident?  Is it the boatman?  Because if he thought that there’s too many of us and that we would not fit in his boat, he could have just told us so that we could have arranged for another as early as possible.  We lost precious time because of what he did.  It’s not easy to get to Sablayan, we spent money and made sure to schedule all our activities but we were so disgusted with the kind of treatment that we received.  Or is it the travel agents who knew right from the very start that it was OUR boat and that they were just “chance passengers”?

I had to let a few weeks pass before I wrote about the incident because I was really angry.  At ayoko ng nega sa buhay!  Pero come to think of it, I am writing this because I am thankful that no unfortunate incident happened to us while on board that fishing boat.  We travelled a total of 6.5 hours under the scorching heat but thank goodness that it was already the worst part.  And I am also thankful that we got to see Apo Reef even if it was just for a very short time.  And that’s no thanks to you, Ann Cresilda Tagle.

Travel Towels: Aquazorb and Sea to Summit Tek Towels!

I never dared pack a full-sized bath-towel in any of my trips…a mistake frequently committed by my travel companions.  Aside from the fact that they take so much space in their luggage, these bath towels become a smelly haven for bacteria because they never dry properly.

So I purchased a travel towel as soon as I was hit by the travel bug many, many moons ago.  Travel towels are made of microfiber fabric which results in not only super soft feel to the skin but also makes it highly absorbent.  You are guaranteed that the towels will absorb water or sweat instantly.  And as a bonus they are lightweight and quick-drying which is ideal in travel.

I’ve had this large Sea to Summit Tek Towel for years which I got from The Travel Club in SM Megamall.  It still feels soft after all these years.  The color has not faded one bit despite the many machine washes it has endured.  Packing is also a breeze because it comes in a handy zippered mesh pouch so it doesn’t take that much space in my luggage and even the linen cabinet.  I’m so happy and I thought that nothing will ever come close to my satisfaction towards this product…until a friend, C, gave me an Aquazorb towel last Christmas as a gift.

The Tek Towel and the Aquazorb are both soft to the touch, lightweight and quick-drying.  I just can’t prove it because I didn’t actually weigh both but the Aquazorb felt much lighter than the Tek Towel, considering that the Aquazorb body towel is 2 inches wider than the large Tek Towel.  Hmmm, interesting eh!  It gets more interesting if you’re budget-conscious because for the price of one large Tek Towel, you can already get three Aquazorb body towels. 

Personally, I really can’t choose between the two because both brands serve me well.. Though, I just have to mention that I recently visited the Aquazorb kiosk in Megamall-Atrium and in Landmark to get a few more towels for everyday use.  I decided to ditch the bulky terry-cloth bath towels that take forever to dry and tend to smell funky overtime. I suggest you give them a try!  J