A month in Bangkok

It has been a very long time, like eons I should say, to not have blogged. Hmmm.  Well, I think things are not really the way we want them to be but thankfully it will always be where we can grow and learn.  Last 2016, I left Cebu for Bangkok.  I accepted a job in the city.  I was kind of bored and frustrated in Cebu so yeah, I quit my high paying job.  My managers were asking why I had to resign.  I was doing great, I had good pay raises every year, I made friends and got along with my peers. But I just had to quit. Well one reason was I felt the place was really conducive, I felt boxed.

Last June 9, 2016, I landed in the beautiful city of Bangkok.  It was a strange feeling of excitement and bravado.  I'm gonna start work on a Monday. The company paid for my travel and booked me for a week in a condotel.  Since I have a friend who has been working in Bangkok, I thought that things are going to be fine.

Monday came and a week has ended.  I knew something terrible is brewing.  I felt not up for the life in Bangkok.  I find it inconvenient and I felt lonely in the city.  I like their food though but it was not enough for me to be happy.  I guess, we just need to be honest with ourselves to come into terms of the things which are acceptable or not.  In short, I do not see myself living in Bangkok.  I thought the excitement was what it was, but wasn't ?  I felt like I was having some anxiety and I began to miss home terribly.  Not that I did not do anything about it but I felt like I do not belong.  The people are nice but it was not the place for me.  Then another week came, and I heard through my brother that my dad was hospitalized (again).  That did not sit well with me.  I was a bit helpless and depressed.  So the next work week, I resigned. I booked my one way ticket and left Bangkok.  The company did not want me to go.  They wanted me to be on an unpaid leave and just work part time with them. And I thought it's pointless because I can't concentrate with all the things going on.  Don't get me wrong, even if I stayed in Bangkok for just a month, I actually went to see Bangkok around and also managed to visit Pattaya :)

 

When I arrived in Cebu, I gave myself few more days to think through about the job I left. The moment I left, that was it so I just made my declaration to my company that I am officially resigning. What a month!  Since I did not have a job and good thing I still have some savings, I decided to travel around.  I went to Surigao and Siargao. Visited a friend in Surigao, went to enchanted river and went to Siargao.  Beautiful places I should say.  Oh my dad was already okay, he was discharged from Chong Hua hospital two days after I arrived in Cebu.  I barred him from eating oily food, salty food - unhealthy food in general.  

In my three weeks stay in Cebu, I started to apply jobs for either Cebu  or in Manila.  The pay and offers were competitive but not what I expected.  So I was up to another adventure. I talked to friends so at least I'd be able to evaluate things better.  So I decided to fly to Singapore! And that's for another post.

The passing year ....

It's been a while that I've not blogged.  All I have might be lame excuses to justify that but here are the things which kept me so busy.

The company -  The company that I have started with friends is in a limbo right now. I wished it were with a soothing and exciting music but no.  Things got difficult to handle.  Aside from my day job, I have MBA.  Mamul was right, joggling beyond two interests will choke you.  That's a lesson learned.

People: friends and associates - I learned to know who are those that you need to waste time with and not feel guilty about it. To know those who are to have with good terms with you and to those you can just let pass by.  It's quite difficult to discern but experience with people makes you have that skill.  Oh well, enjoying the company with others is exciting but it's important we determine which matters, which gives us lessons to be had and inspire us to pursue more of our goals.  Now, family is different ;)

MBA - The first subject I took is one of the toughest.  Quantitative Analysis, is synonymous to business Mathematics.  I admit, the road was full of learning, bumps and humps - enjoyable!  MBA is one of those great decisions I have aside from the fact, that my new company is paying it for me.  I just need to get a grade of 85 and I need not repay the company and luckily,  I got a really good rating.  If I am not mistaken I got 90-95 range :) Anyway,  meeting new people and establishing relationships is one of the perks in studying MBA. Learning from their experiences will surely equip me for anything I'll venture out be in business or corporate career.  You see, I am planning to be really an awesome businessman so there, Ateneo de Manila University's MBA-Regis will be another ticket to more success.... Tagay !!!

Vacation - My last vacation was like ages ago. Hmmmm ... 6 months ago.  We are talking here of local destinations as my budget honestly do not permit me to go overseas.  Even if I'd like to go out of the country, as much as the yearning, I just can't at this moment.  Oh well, it's summer and I am having some great plans in my bag :D

Cars - I bought a second hand Mazda 2 with the help of my who works at Mazda.  I love my car, just like how I love our pet dog.  It's colored white and runs in gasoline.  Yeah, it's automatic.  Whenever I go to my day job or if I am leaving the office, I am so excited because I get to pass by the grand old bridge of Cebu - Marcelo Fernan bridge.  This bridge brings old memories with my mom, like when we go to the Lapu-Lapu Church. You'd also love the sunset, the mountains and the open sea which separates the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.  The towering buildings in Cebu is another sight to behold, as to how the island is progressing will surely captivate the onlookers.  Maybe next time, Id bring my Leica with me to point and shoot.  I should be doing this though with somebody else in front of the wheels :P

House - You've read and heard me at the back of your mind, yes I bought oh not like in cash but as a form of debt a new house and lot.  I have been paying for it this past few months and they'll be building the house after I paid some 10% of the total amount of the house. I am a bit worried though of my ballooning expenses but quite challenged and new happy for this new property.  This might be a good asset and investment in the future.

Investment - I am currently investing in the stock market.  I have learned a few tricks because of my MBA class.  It's fun to trade as I always and if you want to learn from my experience, just PM me and I'll be willing to help you out of your financial management. Though I cannot rule out you'll be successful with it, but I  promise you, it will give you enough confidence in handling your budget - putting your financial obligations and wants in order.

Project - There's a new start up that I am planning to build and that's one of the reasons I am not enrolling in Operations Management subject at AGSB.  Though I am not quite 100% sure of this to not enroll, but my personal calling of becoming a successful technopreneur is way on top of anything right now.  This self actualization has been bugging me and I believe the universe will help me out with this.  The Almighty will absolutely give me the fuel to drive me to my success and world domination :P

These are the things which made me busy...!

Bohol Adventure

I went to Bohol for a weekend getaway!

What better way to relax than to hop unto the nearest beautiful island of Bohol.  I did not have to sleep on a Friday after some board meeting - a colleague called our regular meeting at coffee bean IT park as our board room :))  Well, it was an early morning trip and we agreed to meet at pier 1.  After work at around 2 AM, I went home and there I just packed and was set to go.  Jomes was waiting for me at Jollibee A.S. Fortuna.  I was waiting for a tricycle but nothing came and good thing a taxi came and I fetched Jomes at Jollibee then we headed our way to the pier.  We were waiting for another vacation, Kaneko - a Japanese student/businessman in Cebu.  We rode the ferry for an hour and our first destination after arriving was the Sagbayan peak where we would see the magnificent chocolate hills.  The weather was not that great as it was drizzling.  We were tired and hungry actually so we bought bread along the way.  Oh we hired a private car for 2300 pesos for the whole day tour and that's with a driver already, so it was pretty much convenient.  After the Sagbayan peak, we headed to the actual chocolate hill and it was a better view, but the steps were tiring :D  We had our breakfast there and it was good eating pasta bolognese and bam-e paired with beer.  After that, we were heading to the man-made forest.  The place was cool so much that you would a jacket and it was drizzling :)  After taking some pictures, we went to the mountains for the zipline and the cable car ride.  It's my first time to ride a real zipline and it was fun and exciting.  I thought I was going to be scared to death  but was surprised that I liked the heights.  There's freedom and it's amazing.  The cable car ride was actually not that scary as well and compared to the zipline, I'd try the later again. Hehehehehe.  Anyway, after the rides, we headed to loboc river for our lunch river cruise.  The food was nice and there was music serenading the cruisers.  The view is beautiful, and there were some stops where kids perform the traditional visayan folk dances.  It was fun and really entertaining.  I had visited Bohol before but some of the attractions were not there yet and some, I did willfully not try.  This time around, the experience was nice.  After our lunch, our driver took us to Baclayon church.  It's one of the oldest, historic church in Bohol.  It's a 400 year old structure, you see!  After that, we headed to Alone beach resorts.  It took us well another hour ride.  The sun was still at its peak so it was really hot. We arrived at the beach resorts area and almost all of the accommodations were filled. Good thing we found one near the beach like a few walking distance and the price was reasonable.  The room was prepared for us and we settled there after.  It was a tiring day tour and so all we could do was just sleep the whole afternoon.  We woke up around 7PM and it was dinner time.  We walked out of the hotel and looked for a nice place to pigout.  We found one near the beach front and it was kind of cool.  The food was ofcourse expensive but I was able to haggle a bit :) We had beer on the side and drank out of it while waiting for our food.  After some few minutes, we had our food ready and everything was really fresh and tasty.  We were full and satisfied.  After that, we walked by the beach side and looked for a place to drink.  Redhorse was the staple for the rest of the night.  There was some booze, some singing and some swimming by the beach.  It was a fun night to relish.  We went back to our place drunk....

Getting up around 9AM, and had our breakfast.  Checkout was 12 noon by the way.  So after some few morning rituals, we decided to take our leave and off we went to Tagbiliran port to head back to the beautiful, fun, exciting and crazy paradise island of Cebu.

We love you Bohol !!!!

Back in Cebu !!!

Last week, I arrived in Cebu with a heavy load :D  I had two luggage and a hand carry.  All of which weighed 50 kilos.  My check-in was okay but had to pay around 200 SGD.  My other stuff is still in sea freight, and will be arriving anytime sooner (I guess). Good thing my dad fetched me at the airport so it was a relief.

Dad and I arrived in our humble abode and our dog was the first to jump from the doorway.  It was good to seeing our pet? Hehehehe.  Anyway, I was tired and at the same time I caught some colds.  I immediately took some medication and chatted my friends online, buzzed some other friends and planned to go out with them. Another Cebuano friend of mine, who is based in Singapore, was inviting us (high school friends) to their mini party (they had a CNY vacation).  Well, I was tired so I decided to take a nap first.  Woke up after 2 hours of sleep and then prep up, and went to go.

There was some singing, booze and really tasty Cebuano Food.  I miss home cooked meals. Oh, I actually had some food at home because there was a baptism of my nephew and there were some food left (from the caterer).  Even if I was a bit full, I still devoured lots of food :)) We were feasting pigs and I guess I'll be overweight?  Anyway, we were a bit drank already at around 10PM. After some more karaoke, we decided to call it a night.  I was rather tipsy and not drank :))  We part ways going home you see, and Miggy oh Miggy, my friends kid is so fun to play anything with :) Thanks Tilay for such a warm and great friend.  Wish you all the best for your family.


Anyway, I arrived home quite late and went to wonderland. Zzzzzzzz.


The next day will be a great day to battle it out for my next adventure.  One is applying for a new job and the other is to setting up a company. I am still having this feeling of nostalgia for all the people and events I had had in Singapore. I somehow realized, that I am not the luckiest person but I am so happy that I am blessed and always be blessed and loved.  Thanks to God, family and friends :)   

Gardens by the Bay {feeling like a tourist}

This is probably the last part of me feeling like a tourist here in Singapore.  Yes, I am saying adieu to Singapore as I will be going back to Cebu.

I have already bought my tickets with silkair.  I have packaged my books and some outfits via LBC (freight).  So I am off to go.

Gardens by the bay was buil to create an artificial exposition of various flowers in a tropical setting within a controlled environment.  It was Mamul who suggested the place and since I have never been there, I agreed without any protestation.

Though thee place was man-made, its actually a nice place to visit.  I just do not have enough dollars to get inside though but the view outside is equally pleasurable.

Anyway, here are the last pics I took when I visited the Gardens by the Bay.  This man-made garden is actually just a stone throw away from Marina Bay Sands.  You just to alight from the Bayfront station and find your exit to the gardens.

Welcome 2013! It's a new day, It's a new Life =))

my Leica ;)

Bring it on 2013!

Well, my Christmas and New Year were celebrated here in in Singapore with friends.  I went to dawn masses to celebrate it spiritually and thank goodness the sermons were very refreshing to the soul.  I would say the yuletide was memorable and fulfilling.

The biggest news for this year 2013 is actually my resignation from Gemalto.  You heard me right. I resigned from Gemalto and it has been a week of me here in Singapore without a job.  I have been submitting my resume here and there :) But personally, I'd like to go back to Cebu and find work in there or maybe somewhere else.  My heart is actually telling me to explore other things - schooling, MBA?  My former Japanese teacher posted a job ad which says about an IT Engineer in Japan.  So yeah, I sent my resume to him actually and if things go well, I might consider it actually just for the experience ;)

Well, experiences are really life changing.  It makes your story meaningful.  It gives you opportunities to know yourself better and in a way tell the world of your existence.  Perhaps, meeting people whom you'll share some of your best or worst ....

Anyway, I haven't bought my ticket back to Cebu.  I was planning it over this weekend but I was waiting a reply from a friend about her SG trip this Feb.  Good thing I remembered because I promised her about the accommodation last December, otherwise I would have booked my ticket.  I am still open to any good opportunity in Singapore though which is the other reason why I haven't book a ticket.   But, my stay in Singapore will only be valid until the second week of February so I need to get a confirmation or maybe a good job.  I hope I'd get replies the soonest time possible....

And finally, I bought my first ever camera, which is a Leica.  Just for point and shoot stuff :D  This is the first ever digi-cam I bought and I am so happy about it.  The first digi-cam I had was a Panasonic Lumix which I won from a raffle draw =)).  You see,  I got a good savings after I resigned because of the last pay.  And so, the good thing to do is gift myself with a new toy to play.  My week will be filled with tourist mode and cam whoring I guess, so don't be surprised if the next entries will be mostly pictures.  Oh, don't worry because I'll try to make my post interesting.

Ciao and happy Sinulog to the whole of Cebu!!!

Cooking up in Singapore

I will always be with you my baby :)) I mean this blog.

Abandoning is not the right term, maybe a cool off.... But I am the weaker being or maybe the one who has lesser pride for coming back.

The past months have been really dragging :(  Yeah, it felt suffocating a bit.  But yeah I just had to find time to enjoy and thank God's angels for surrounding me with really really nice friends.

Anyway, I joined the Singapore Alumni Association of CIT.  Spent a couple of gatherings with the alumni and had fun - specially the food.  I think I am having a bulging belly and I needed to exercise and for that, I regularly join my friends hiking Macritchie reservoir.  And I've got two very interesting encounters in those treks :)  One was I took out the m&m's from my handy bag since I noticed that there were no monkeys - Macritchie is a not so dense forest in Singapore which has a huge population of monkeys I suppose.  Yeah, I nibble a couple of almond coated chocs and suddenly a middle sized monkey jumped in front of me and to my surprise I threw the nips unto the monkey's face and put the other nips back into my bag.  I guess the monkey was also surprised of my hoarse voice as this monkey was not able to show its fangs.  The other incident was when I had a trek and was like so care free drinking my plus energy drink and as I took the bottle down on my left side there was this monkey suddenly jumped from behind grabbing the plus bottle and I was so horrified because it showed its fangs and next thing I knew was I shouted and threw away the bottle which actually worked because that monkey did not attack me.  It was horrible and my heart was beating to a chase... .  But don't get me wrong, I do not hate them :)) I guess next time I have to be very careful - part of which was my fault so it was all on me :P

Last Thursday, which was the Singapore National Day (Happy birthday Singapore, my 4th time... .) went out on a hiking session with my friends, I met some new friends I guess and they're pretty nice :)  I am a bit silent at first but I think I'll get noisy after I'll get to know them all... .

A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I went to another friends' hide out to celebrate their first child's birth month wahahha I do not know what it's called :P  Yeah there was some singing and of course feasting some home cooked stuff :) All of the food we had were delicious and I got bloated and had a sudden urge to take comfort at the loo =))  for over eating .

For my next vacation, I'll be going back to Cebu (again) this coming October. This vacation will be all about birthdays :)  my brother's, my dad's and my cutie Theia, I hope she will not be scared of me anymore but yeah she's still a kid so I guess I'm an Ogre =))  I am also meeting my friend to push through with our planned charity organization helping some poor kids in our city - hopefully this works :D

Oh this coming September, MJ is visiting me in Singapore and we will surely have some fun!  I am uber excited I can puke =))

I have bought one of the greatest RPG - Diablo 3!

And I still get bored ... .

Cebu and Palawan :D

Well the longest vacation for the year was in Cebu and 5 days trip to Palawan.

I went to Cebu for my brother's university graduation :)  At last, he will be able to sustain himself and create some of his own adventures!

After some few days in Cebu, I went to Palawan with some of my closest friends from my university - Ate Mars and Jayka.

I was happy when I was in Cebu and I was amazed at how beautiful Palawan is.  The rock formations at El Nido were grand comparable beauty to that of Phuket.  Palawan is more pristine though :)

After Palawan, I spent some few days in Cebu and enjoyed the company of my family and friends.  Never mind the finances involved as the experience was priceless :D

This is quite long overdue same as other travel blog entries I had.  I am actually not sure of how to go through already about this blog.  At some point it felt boring, honestly... .  At some point I missed writing some personal accounts, great or utterly lame.   Maybe because of a lot of things that's going on inside my head right now, that I lost track of some of the things I want to do.  Anyway, this blog is not exclusive of the travels I made but rather those experiences I enjoyed and had managed to put a smile on my face ...

And for that, three weeks ago, I had my first dragon boat experience.  It was super fun and but then I had to be a bit disabled from the body aches I got :)  I was also following the Spartacus series - really gory which makes me sick but after a while I got used to all the blood and spilling organs.  I met old friends from Cebu here in Singapore.  Also visited my friend's house for some catching up - we played mah jong! lols :P

This week would have been another vacation for me.  I was booked to go to South Korea to visit Seoul, Jeju and Sorak mountain but then I had to cancel for some personal reasons - Mamul and Epoy enjoy your trip!

Lastly, I am actually in a dilemma of quitting or not from my job. Or maybe going back to the Philippines :(  Or going for an MBA?  This has bothered me for quite sometime already.  All I am asking for is God's guidance and blessing or wisdom... .  But yeah, I still have lots of financial obligations so, that will be a major factor in this decision which I'll be making. 

According to Francois Bacon, "A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds." Well the question right now, if I am that man he points out if not then I will first have to strive harder to be that wise folk :))  Just kidding!

I think I just need to stop over thinking and just believe in the Almighty that things will come at the right time and place.

Have a happy Saturday guys!

Long over due

The Europe vacation that I had was quite too long to have come up in this site. Imagine I wrote it for what, 3 months ? I guess I was just busy doing a lot of things other than blogging.

After my Europe vacation, I went to Cebu with some of my friends to attend a wedding. I also went with my office mates/friends to Jakarta to attend another wedding. Will I be attending weddings my entire life ? I'll never know :( The reason I love attending weddings is that, aside witnessing two happy people sharing their future together, I get to shop and buy clothes for myself :)) I'm not sure if it's the later which has more weight though - ooops just kidding.

Anyway, after all the parties I had attended to, I booked a last minute flight to Cebu. I guess with all the busy life I had here in Singapore, I just missed my family and our dog :D

Yeah, I brought a lot of chocolates....

When I arrived in Cebu, I dined with my family in some fancy restaurants. Actually, we have never been to these types of places before because money was not that easy to come by. Thank God I have a decent paying job now and I get to bring my family to nicer and fancier places in Cebu. I hope we can go to a nice vacation outside the country. But seriously, I still love my dad's bam-i (noodle cooked the Visayan way and prepared during special occasions). Though my dad travels a lot in nearby islands in the Philippines, but mostly it's about family stuff and we don't usually go with him. So yeah, I'd like to bring them somewhere out of the country ....

I also had a great time meeting my friends and spending some catching up with them. It's fun to see familiar faces whom you have shared some of your life's wonderful experiences. And so I thought I had to plan for my next vacation....

One big event was the Sinulog in Cebu but I had a limited vacation which was just a week and so I left my natal land without experiencing the grandest festival in whole Philippines. Anyway, I am hoping not to miss the next year's celebration....

After a week of celebrating life the way I felt and wanted celebrating it, here I am poking my Vaio over spilled thoughts and not knowing what to write next. It's actually nearing 1AM and I better have a good sleep for I shall conquer another day :D Ciao!!!

Oh happy valentines day to God, my family and friends :)

Schengen visa, how to get one ?

Schengen visa is your ultimate ticket to the EU member countries. But how to get one? What are the hassles and yeah how to be prepared?

In Singapore where I am currently based, all EU member countries has their embassies. For us, we got our luck at the Spanish embassy. Well, to be honest, we had a bad luck at the Italian as well as the German embassies. It felt that they were not just compatible with what we had planned for. Simply put that our initial plan was to stay the longest at Germany but then our point of entry was Spain. At first we filed at the Italian embassy but then the officer noted that technically we are staying longer in Germany because of the number of nights aka sleeps we will be making. So our first try was a bust. Then we applied at the German embassy and it proved useless as the officer told us that we should apply at the first point of entry which was Spain and for that we were not served - poop busted again. We actually called up the Spanish embassy and made clear that our first of entry is Spain but then we will be staying longer in Germany so where do we have to apply? And the Spanish officer over the phone told us that it has to be Germany. But then we had no choice right? We have been there (hello German embassy) and we got a refusal from our application simply because of the first country of entry. Anyway, we have booked everything and it's frustrating on our part to back out. What we did was we rescheduled our hotel and train bookings and made Spain our still first point of entry and now the country where we will be staying long. Good thing we we were rather early filing for the visa because the approval or rejection will take 3-4 weeks if you are from the countries like the Philippines and Thailand. We went to the Spanish embassy and we were able to submit our application and we have to wait for 3-4 weeks to get our visa.

For those who are interested to know the requirements, here are the list:
1.) Schengen visa application form which you can download from the embassy's website or alternately here : http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/IMG/pdf/visagb.pdf
2.) Photo attached to the application form
3.) Passport - original and photocopy.
4.) Singapore Identification (for foreign professional/permanent resident)
5.) Flight reservation or booking which has to be roundtrip.
6.) Medical insurance worth 60K Euro
7.) Employment certificate which states the status, salary, position etc. your HR should know what to write.
8.) Financial guarantee - at least two bank accounts which showed transactions for the last three months
9.) Hotel reservation from all the countries which you will be visiting

That's it, if you have some clarification or specific inquiries then you are free to call the respective embassies :)

As a final advise, try to file a month earlier so you will have more time to prepare and they very key is proper planning. Take note that the French embassy has this website where you can reserve for an appointment and usually it's almost always filled all the time.

Good luck to would be travelers to Europe ;)

In Rome, our last day in Europe

The next day was our last day in Europe. Not a bit on a rush since there was one last planned excursion for the day. We actually woke up a bit late and finished up around 9AM because usually, we start our day at around 7 in the morning.



Well, we were planning to go to the Vatican museum. We were going to see all of Vatican's glorious masterpieces. We commuted through train still and arrived at the station a bit drenched of Rome's summer. Don't be mistaken, the sun was not that scorching.... Well we arrived at the queuing area and there was a huge crowd. The servicing at the queue is quite fast so we went inside so unharmed and less sweat.



Our main target was the Sistine Chapel and so we had to walk a mile long I guess. It was a pleasure walk though seeing the different paintings, sculptures and some iconic epitaph of the Romans. The chapel was located at the far end and so we needed to walk a bit faster.

We arrived at the chapel and it was hugely packed. And seriously, no picture taking, and silence must be observed. Well, as human as we are, there are those who are so undisciplined and took pictures and the guards had to apprehend them. Since the place is crowded, you will hear from time to time some hushes and the guards will make it worse by shouting, "silence please". But yeah, the alfresco was really amazing. Imagine all the formidable forces of Italian renaissance joining forces with Michaelangelo. I would say Michaelangelo's "The Last Judgement" is really amazing. Sigh again, we were not allowed to take pictures. Well, consider this that camera flashes will destroy the paintings in due time so yeah we have to respect their rules.



After the tour at the chapel we were heading out. There will still many displays at the exit hallway. I was using my iphone most of the time because it was really handy. It was another long walk actually and we had to take a good pace because it was already lunch time.

We dined out at a nearby restaurant and I had tortellinis and some of my friends had other kinds of pastas. It was a huge meal as I have said they've got really huge servings.



After satisfying lunch, we headed back to our hostel, packed up, took the train going to the airport and viola, we were taking the Qatar Airways' 747 plane bound for Doha then to Singapore.

And that my friend was the most expensive travel I had(good luck to my savings {cough2x}) . Yet, it was the most amazing vacation I took and words and even photos are still not enough to describe the whole journey. I am planning to actually visit other countries in Europe and hopefully I win the lottery!!!

Ooops, some of the photos were in my external hard drive and I left it in Cebu when I had my new year vacation :(

Euro tour : Venice and Rome :)

From Paris, we went to Venice!



We arrived early in the morning. There was an Italian guy who rode with us. He's Andrea and he works in a bar and at the same time studied to become a cop. We asked him what to try in Venice and he suggested we try the Spritz and ofcourse the pastas.

We alighted at a wrong station, in fact we had to stop at the next station. So we waited for Kay and Elaine as they went to the counter to get another train tickets going to Venezia.

We arrived at Venice rather fast and the ride was smooth. The sun was bright and the sky was blue - very relaxing to start the day. We looked for our hotel and it was just a few meters walking distance from the station. Since we arrived too early, we left our luggage at the hotel's store room and we decided to look for a restaurant where we could eat. There were a lot of choices but we were particular for a place which has a wireless connection for the internet - it's the only way for us to upload our pics you see. We found one near the church and the fun part was there was a procession of bride and groom obviously for their wedding. The street was filled with lots of tourists taking pictures at everything fascinating and the well the famous masks of Venice were all over the place. We sat and ordered food. I had a spaghetti bolognese and God it was so good, thank you ;) We ordered Spritz and it had the strong one and it was really strong. I got a bit tipsy. Since there was free wifi, we had to browse and update our facebook. After the sumptuous breakfast, we decided to go back to our hotel, and prepare for our day trip. We cannot allow to waste time here because we will be staying just overnight :)



After we had our keys and stuff in order inside our rooms, we decided to go to the Plaza San Marco. It was a few minutes ride of the water taxi. The sun was blazing which I loved. I really like Mr. Sunshine and the tan will just be very perfect. Anyway, we reached San Marco and it was really crowded. Well obviously the gondolas were parked everywhere, and so it never escaped our cameras. We just had fun watching stuff sold by vendors and really nice masks and shirts. Before we decided to buy or anything, we just explored the place together. It felt like walking my entire life but it was fun though seriously tiring. I would recommend you to really wear a good pair of shoes.

We got tired of all the walking and hungry at that so we decided to dine. Their serving was huge and I had the pasta with squid ink. After that, the girls bought some HardRock stuff. I'm not a fan of the shirts so I did not have one with me. Anyway, the highlight of the long walks was to witness the sunset and it was really beautiful. Leme-leme an application in my iphone is really helful in making my photos a bit dramatic.

After the long walks and all, we decided to go back to our hotel room and some of us wanted to still check out some stuff so there we strolled the nearby streets and alleyways in our hotel. Peter went to our room first to take a rest while the girls went somewhere while I stayed outside just people watching. I have with me some book so I read at the same time. It was getting dark outside so I decided to walk around. I saw Kay and other girls coming so I caught up with them. We decided to leave our belongings and look for some place to dine :D




Then we called it a day!

The next day was we went to see the glass factories at Murano. They actually call the glass as Murano glass. We went to there through the taxi cab and it was interesting coz they showed us how it was made. Oh my the glass masterpieces were expensive. It was scary to even touch them or transport them or anything. After the tour, we wanted to eat but then there was no restaurant so we decided to go back to the plaza and stroll again until we found a place to eat. It was another pasta adventure. So yeah, after that we strolled and strolled. My feet ached. There was one moment that we just took a seat at a corner. Wahhahaha. Honestly, Venice was more expensive than any other city we just visited and I think there was not much other things to do. Staying there for two one night and two days was good enough :)

We left Venice at around 9pm and the couchette we had a a first class so the train ride was really great. It was the first time that I was able to sleep really well on a couchette. Darn the trip to Rome was rather short like 6 hours....

Rome we were on the next day and it was a bit cold in the morning of 7.

From the Eurail station, we took the mrt and from there began walk. Our hostel according to the map was a walking distance actually from the MRT. But we got lost (a bit) and just asked some people around and good thing we found our hostel. It was too early and the attendant was not really expecting us to be there on time. So yeah we had to ring the attendant before we can settle. There was an old elevator system in that building which was interesting and a bit scary if you'd entertain some of your imagination that seriously. Anyway, we had a light breakfast, we paid the owner whom we thought as the attendant and viola we were able to use our rooms. If my memory served me right the room which would be for Peter and I was still occupied till 10 am was still being used so we had to park our things at the girls' room. Since we have to visit some interesting places in Rome, we had to start to wash up and prepare.



After everyone had their turns in freshening up, we decided to start our excursion. Our first stop was the Colosseum. Their train station was convenient in fact the ancient structure was a walking distance .... We took the group tour of the Colosseum. Even though the queue was discouraging, it did not stop us from enjoying the tour. Well, sad to note that the Italian tour guide was heavily accented and that proved really a bit annoying when she began explaining things. Anyway, after the group tour, we were allowed to explore the whole structure and it was fun taking pictures. It's indeed a wonderful experience.



Our next stop was to visit the ruins of the Palatine Hill. It was a walking distance from the Colosseum but we couldn't find the entrance, in short we got lost. We had to turn back and head to the opposite direction and from there found ourselves at the right entrance. It was fun walking and climbing up the hill. The ruins were amazing. I was walking the paths of the gladiators again. Well officially, the first one was at the Colosseum :) At the top of the hill there was a spring water, so we tried it and it was really fresh. I managed to fill my water bottle twice as I finished the first one. The 500ml of water bottle is actually expensive as it can range from a euro to 3. Anyway, we went up to the hill top a good view actually and there was a museum. We did not get inside and just waited for the girls there who were using the loo. After that, we decided to descend and our next stop would be the St. Peter's Basilica. We took the MRT then alighted at the nearest station. It was another long walk and our tummy were calling us of the hunger. So we decided to stop at a restaurant and ate to our hearts content. After that, we also bought some ice cream ala Rome. The servings were huge just to remind you guys. After that, we continued walking to the Basilica. It was my first time to see the Swiss guards and they looked like clowns because of their colorful costume during that time. Anyway, the entrance of the Basilica grounds was amazing. All the huge pillars lining up with all the Catholic Saints on top. We took some pictures and all. Then we decided to get inside the Basilica itself. Wearing of shorts and sleeveless is not allowed in this holy place and since Bud (our Thai friend) was wearing sleeveless, she could not have entered the heart of the Basilica but the good thing was, we had scarves to cover her.



When we got inside the Basilica the feeling was really great. It's really spirited and holy. I had this unexplained happiness and feeling of peace.

After the Basilica tour, we got out of the place and saw this small post and gift shop. We entered and bought some stuff. I bought two nice rosaries for my aunts in Cebu who are really devout Catholics.

After we had a great tour at the Basilica, we then decided to look for another Bernini masterpiece the fountain of Trevi. We saw one but it was not really the fountain we were looking for but it was a replica but still made by Bernini. Then we had to ask for directions again and after some few minutes of walking we found the real one. It was so crowded and all we could do was appreciate the beautiful fountain. The lights, the water splashing, the sculpture was really beautiful. I think it's one of the most beautiful fountain I saw in my life. The girls where busy throwing coins for their wishes (a bit superstitious). After the fountain trail we decided to call it a night and we headed back to our hostel.