to butuan with a backpack (part 2 of 5)

When I told a friend that I was bound for CARAGA, she told me that I should visit Sohoton National Park. I thought that she had geography mixed up since the Sohoton I knew were the caves in Samar that I had visited a year ago. So I researched about it and found that we could squeeze a trip to Bucas Grande in our itinerary.

On our second day, we woke up at 0600 and got ready for our day of exploring the islands of Bucas Grande, including Sohoton National Park. Bucas Grande Islands are located South of Siargao in the province of Surigao del Norte. We took a short walk to the Claver Transport Terminal and had breakfast at a small carinderia. We then took a van going to Hayanggabon Port which took us about 20mins. When we alighted, we proceeded to the Tourist Center and got a bit confused when we saw that it was more of a sari-sari store than an information hub. A very accomodating man, whose breakfast we just interrupted, referred us to the local boatman and asked if we had anything else we need. We assured him that we had enough food and water and walked with the boatman to the port.

Hayanggabon Port

yay or nay?

I interrupt the second installation of my CARAGA adventure to share with you what kept me up late last night.

I had first read House Bill 4244 or the Reproductive Health Bill last year when it gained popularity and had been for it since. In the wee hours of the morning, it finally passed through the second reading in the House of Representatives by a margin on 9. Honestly, I had no idea where this will take the RH Bill, and fortunately, the Official Gazette (PH Government's official website, yes we have one) has published a flow chart on how a a law is made.

 

Photo taken from here
Click link to learn about our legislative body


Based on the diagram, the RH Bill will now go to the Third Reading (scheduled for next week, I believe) and once approved, shall be transmitted to the Senate to go through another three readings, before going to the President for final action.

So I went to dinner with my friends and got home at around 2300. I open my twitter just in time to catch the beginning of the individual votes. I follow ANC on Twitter and they were tweeting lines of the Congressmen addressing the house and voting. After the fifth ridiculous tweet I read (which I couldn't retweet since 140 chars aren't enough for the line, and my reaction) I decided to simply write a wrap-up post to release my frustrations, musings, and/or appreciation. I compiled my "favorite" tweets from last night's preceedings. 

This was all I could say last night



to butuan with a backpack (part 1 of 5)

More than a month after I had taken this vacation, I am ready to talk about it. Or what I remember from it.

Mid last year, my travel buddy emailed me with a simple question: "Nakapunta ka na ng Butuan?". I replied with, "Kelan? Magkano?". Turns out, one of his batchmates had over booked a Butuan trip. By mid-September, we had drafted a loose itinerary but the group head count had gone down to around 5. A week before we were set to leave the detailed schedule was finally completed. But there were still no final confirmation from the group. Two days before our flight we had learned that none of the original people set to travel were going. The pair of us decided to go through with it, not being ones who would throw away free plane tickets. Since only 2 of us were going, we didn't pre-book any of our lodging or activities and decided just to wing it once we got there, in true backpacking style.

Butuan is located in the province of Agusan del Norte, part of the CARAGA region. We arrived at Bacasi Airport in Butuan at 1500, without any clue on where to go. Fortunately, there was Tourist Assistance Desk near the entrance and a very helpful man gave us instructions on how to get to the bus terminal and gave us a beautiful Butuan map. We rode a multicab outside the airport which will bring us to the Butuan Bus Terminal. When we got to the terminal, we searched for an airconditioned bus going to Mangagoy which will pass by our destination, Claver. Some locals told us that it would be easier to take a bus going to Surigao and alight at Badas junction, then take a van going to Claver, especially since it was going to be near nightfall. We took their advice and bought some snacks before riding a non-airconditioned (seemed to be the more popular choice) bus bound for Surigao.

Bus bound for Surigao at the Butuan Terminal

surprise shopping

I can't get into my vacation posts (a whole month's worth) because I am still reeling from the surrealness of it all. I plan on accomplishing it during the holiday season (read: tamad mode for all office personnel), once I get an idea on how to start. So for now, I shall bore your with my spur of the moment shopping adventures.

We had our group christmas party last night, and the theme was "White". Yes, just white. Do not get me started on how "white" is not even a color, let alone a theme. The invite asked us to "come in our white outfits", and I forsaw a gaggle of employees looking like nurses and caregivers. My boss also hated the idea and loathed the unglamorous theme. Since our formal event in August, she's been wanting to don fascinators. Not letting a moment of kalandian pass, I suggested that the ladies of our department wear fascinators to spice up our white outfits. So last Thursday, she sent me and our office mother on a mission. To go to Divisoria and secure fascinators for the 9 ladies in our department, and phantom masks for 5 of the men.

We took the LRT from Katipunan to Recto and a jeep to Divisoria. We arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon and loads of people, clothes on hangers and on the floor, and the sweltering heat welcomed us. The last time I had gone to Divi to shop was when I was still in first year college, so I was hot on the heels of my companion, otherwise I will be a lost duck.

We first ventured onto Tabora Street (farther end) and quickly found Phantom masks for the guys in our department. We found white full face masks for Php30, and asked the kind kuya to cut it into phantom style for free. We continued on, but had no luck finding white fascinators. We exited the street and went to the entrance of the famed 168Mall. But before we entered, my Divisoria Seasoned companion told me to cross the street since there was a small two-storey shop on the other side who sold lots of accessories. We climbed to the second floor and I saw walls and racks and shelves filled with earrings, bracelets, rings and other accessories. I momentarily forgot my mission and beelined towards the rings. To cut the long story short, I had purchased the following items for myself.

 

We left that store without any fascinators (they didn't have white ones) and proceeded to venture into 168. We searched high and low, without any luck. Our office mother called a friend (a veteran Divisoria shopper) and asked a better place to look for the fascinators. She told us to go to 999 Mall the newest (I think) mall in Divi and just across 168. As we entered 999, the first accessory stall thankfully had fascinators! In white! So while my companion was busy selecting 9 (although there weren't a lot to choose from), I was distraced by the display of cocktail rings that were priced 3 for 100. Needless to say, we accomplished our mission and I got to score some Php34 rings!

I had bought two other nail polish bottles one in glittery green and one in matte crimson for Php70 each. Clearly, these are imitation OPI products but I didn't care.
 

rainbow rings (Php50 for 6 rings), rubber bracelets (just last Sunday, I saw some in SM although I doubt the price can compete with my Php18 bargain), cocktail rings -- including a 'stache ring! (3 for Php100), rose metal ring (php50 for 3 rings), silver and blue slim rings (Php20), stone gray matte polish (Php40), "OPI" Polishes (Php70 ea)

metal madness

A few months ago, I saw silver foil nails on Pinterest and I knew immediately that I had to have those nails for the holidays. I've found several distributors on Multiply, but I have yet to place my order. A couple of weekends ago, I saw a Sally Hansen Stick-on Metallic Nail Polish set that retails for more than Php500. It's not as if it's something that is reusable, and by computation that would amount to Php50 per finger. It was just too much. Luckily as I walked on, I saw this Bobbie Stick-on Metallic Nail Polish Set for only Php65! The designs were a bit more cheesy but it was worth a try. So I bought 2 sets, and decided to bring one of the sets along on my trip to Baguio. It was written in the package that it's "Easy to apply anywhere and anytime" so I decided to test their claim and did it on the bus as the daylight was already streaming through the windows.

True enough, it was very convenient to apply, but you do need to have some fine scissors on hand, especially if you have smaller nails. My application wasn't so bad, considering I only had a self defense blade on hand, and I had to do it in a moving vehicle. Another plus side to this is it is easy to get rid off, no more need for cottons, removers and none of thosesmudges and traces fo polish left on the cuticles. Perfect for night when you need to be back to your prim and proper fashion the following day. Over-all, this is an easy way to color your nails for a fun night out.

crisp climate

My "Vacation Marathon" was jump started by a weekender in the Northern part of the country. My cousin invited me to a trip to Baguio, because her friend (who has also become my friend) had a coupon for a night's stay in a new establishment in the city.

 

I was last in Baguio in December 2010 and January 2011, and I doubted that much had changed so I wans't really craving for much activities. The long bus ride, the change in scenery and being away from the regular things I do was really already enough to scratch my "itchy" feet. We planned to take the night bus from Cubao so we'll arrive very early the following day in Baguio so that we can maximize the time. We left Cubao Victory Liner Terminal at 2:00AM and arrived at Baguio around 8:00AM. I was wearing clothes from Friday night which was a dress, and slippers. We unboarded the bus and a cool gush of wind welcomed us. I quickly put on my jacket to combat some of the cold. We decided to look for a place to stay for one of our companions. The coupon we had was only for 3 people and we thought that we might have to pay a large sum for an extra person in that hotel. We walked to Hotel 45 but found that there were no available rooms. I suggested that we have breakfast first because I was getting hungry since we only had strawberry taho as we left the terminal. We ate at Jack's in Session Road. We finished eating by 9:30 and the sun was shining so brightly. The wind was still cold, so it was a really pleasant time to be on the street, save for the backpacks we were lugging. We decided to go to the hotel, even if we couldn't check in yet, we could just leave our bags at the reception area. So we took a taxi and headed to Azalea Residences.

 

A few minutes later, we pull into this beautiful driveway and I cannot help but smile. I wasn't expecting a swanky place like that. We went in to ask the receptionist if we can leave our bags. Lucky us, the room is already available and we could check in already! Yey. So we went to our room, and it was beautiful! Plus it could fit 4 since it had a queen size bed and a sofa bed that can accomodate 2. We washed up (since it's been 24hours since our last bath!) and went out to explore.



Day One: Burnham Part, Orchidarium, Good Taste



light and ladylike

So last Friday, I met up with my lovely cousins (from my mother's side) and had a salon day at Azta Urban Salon in Katipunan. My eldest cousin and I have been talking about having our hair colored (she does this regularly, but I, on the otherhand am a hair-color virgin) for months already. We finally found time to meet up (our offices are about 10mins away from each other) and do it at the same time. We invited our younger cousins to join us and have dinner after. My other cousin who was not a stranger to having her hair colored, just recently dyed her hair blue but went anyway to get a treatment.  

 

I am so thankful that I chose Azta to be my first color-er. Saves me the trauma of a blotched dye job and the staff were so friendly and gave a lot of information. Plus, they had a promo when we were there. BOGO on Lycopene Treatment (something that would condition colored hair and keep the color looking good) for Php700. It was worth it because my hair is relatively still softer even after almost a week. Plus I have the free treatment I can use before my grand vacation. Yey, me! So after three hours of sitting in the salon chair, loudly catching up with my ladies (we had the salon to oursleves, probably because everyone else was friday night partying to celebrate the beginning of sembreak), here is the end result:

top (l-r): lian, shanta, me, laura (yes, her hair is a confused shade of green; it was bleached then dyed blue by her bf [obviously, not a professional stylist] a month prior)
bottom (l-r): after, before (should be the other way around. my editing mistake. haha)