Yes, catching up on handfuls of missing blog posts!!!
I still remember not blogging about Bohol and Singapore, sheesh....
Other more recent events are as follows
Aldrich's Birthday
My Birthday
CIO Awards Night
BoholI think I've mentioned it before that Bohol is better than Boracay because there are so many things to do. And i guess this comment takes into account my personal *ugh* traumatic experience in Bora. Bohol was free! I only had to pay for airfare and all other amenities were money + worry free c/o my big bro! We stayed at the Panglao Island Nature Resort (6600/person/night, dang!) and it was simply wonderful!
We also toured around the area and visited historic churches, the Sanduguan site, tarsiers, man-made forest, lunched at the Loboc river and of course, had a panoramic view of the chocolate hills!
I even liked the food in our PAL flight.. aaahh, that is the life. I wonder when i'll be rich enough to do the same for my siblings and parents? *daydreams*
STAR CRUISEAnother trip which is complements of my big bro. I'm still paying for the cruise on 5k installment per month (total 45k) but that's okay since food, pocket money, plane and hotel stay are free!
I remember that it was in the middle of the cursed May Ops Release that i had to fly out to Singapore via no less than Singapore Airlines to cruise in Super Star Virgo.
We were booked into Orchard Suites in the heart of Singapore's shopping Center - Orchard Road and stayed there for the first day. We had adjoining rooms with my brother's family so the kiddies can run in and out with ease :p. The weather in Singapore was soo humid! It even rained but it didn't stop us from going to Sentosa via the MRT in VIVO mall. We went to the aquarium and also watched the magnificent Light and Sounds show!
We were supposed to ride the train back to Vivo and then catch a taxi back to the hotel but there was just too many people. My bro rented a Starex like cab instead to take us straight back to the hotel...ah what luxury!
During the night, I met up with of my friends who are working in SG and they toured me around the place and treated me to signature yummy food in the Baywalk like area. We also took pictures with the famed Merlion and then rode a cab back home.
The next day, after a hearty breakfast buffet at the hotel's resto, we headed to the Harbour City mall where the Star Cruise boarding takes place. We were booked in Star Cruise Virgo and had 2 non-adjoining but side by side rooms. I actually like the hotel better since it was more spacious than the exact measurements in the ship's room. There was also a day when i got sea sick, haha!
Anyway, there was so much things to do! There were poolside parties, a fitness center, ice cream parlor, open and covered recreation areas, a library, magic shows, casino, etc! We also had tours for every stop that we made.
First stop was Malaysia and I chose the nature trip for my family. We were taken to a Butterfly and Insect Farm (need i express my delight?) then took a tour of the Tropical Spice Garden in Penang and even drank some spice juice on the hill top overlooking the beach :) Next stop was a Batik factory with a tour of how the intricate batik is made (clumsy ol' me bumped into one of the wooden tables while a Malaysian batik maker was carefully painting the designs, sorry!) Then the last stop was a local product shop where may dad bought exotic herbal medicine. I think that was the highlight of the trip for him.
That was for an entire day and then we went back to the ship to have dinner, sleep and crusie some more. There were 3 free resto places to choose from in the cruise, The Mediterranean (mediterranean and halal food), The Pavillion (chinese food) and Bella Vista (fine dining). We were able to try all three during our stay and there was even a gala at the Bella Vista during our last night in the ship.
Moving on, the next stop was Thailand and our 2 families took the Animal Tour in Phuket. We rode an Elephant, watched monkeys perform, window shopped, and went to a mall to buy souvenirs and pasalubong.
I wasn't able to swim or enjoy 'single' people activities since i had my period and i didn't know anyone my age. The cruise was mostly a family thing except for the one time that i watched a movie on my own - The Holiday.
After the cruise, we went back to the Orchard Hotel in Singapore and visited the nearby shopping centers. We had lunch at one of the restos in Paragon and I ordered a 'whatever' drink. It's primarily made for people who say 'whatever' or 'kahit ano' when asked what drink to order. There's no mark in the can on what flavor you'll get so its always a surprise :)
When it was finally time to go back home, i didn't want to leave at all! I wanted to stay in Singapore....it felt safe there.
August 24This is Aldrich's birthday and we were both on leave. I prepared long and hard to get him as much of the gifts written on his wishlist. Mostly bags of different sizes ;p
We had lunch at Brazil Brazil (meat lovers delight) in Rockwell, hung around the mall, played Bowling and went back to Makati CBD for dinner @ Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf - their Eggs Ben is just divine!
Sept 8 , 10This is my 2 day Bday celebration! On the 8th, we met up after lunch and i got 4 of my 6 gifts! Stuffed Toy, Creative Zen Stone MP3 Player, Marie Claire magazine and 1000 worth of shopping / spa.
We hung around in Glorietta, I got a new haircut from Rex @ Mary Pauline, dined @ BedSpace and had a great massage at Lotus My Massage Place in Perea. I highly recommend Hawaiian Lomi Lomi especially for those with frequent back aches while Aldrich recommends the Deep Tissue massage for sports aficionados. Even though they don't have a wet floor, their ambiance is better than TonTon's and they even have a standard foot soak before every massage. Of course, you shouldn't mind the thin bamboo walls where voices freely flow through. It's best to go at non-peak hours for maximum relaxation!
On the day of my birthday, i got 2 more of my gifts which is Gucci Envy Me perfume and a CD Organizer! We had lunch at CYMA, watched HairSpray, shopped for beauty products @ Watsons, had myself pampered up @ Piandre (mani, pedi and foot spa!). For dinner, i had chai latte and my takeout CYMA food. Ah, it was truly a wonderful day ;)
CIO Awards NightI was able to fit in one of my old dresses - this is a personal accomplishment! The Awards night was a grand finale for the CIO commercial and video competition, value creator, business operator and people developer contributors and where girls swooned over Christian Bautista and guys ogled away at Nina. After the party at Makati Shang, Aldrich and I had a 1 hour foot
massage at TonTon's since Lotus didn't have any foot theraphy available at that time. It was heavenly too and it sent me straight to bed :)
Can i also mention that last Saturday, i finally was able to sing my stress away for 3 hours @ Red Box? I had a smile on my face after we left, now that's relaxing.
