Malapascua

A trial page harks here….

with photos rich in colour…

 

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 11 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Life in the Philippines

 

0      A glimpse of life in the Philippines –my viewpoint - 

 

My politically incorrect and frank view of life in the Philippines, as I see it. 

 

No sugar coated words. 

 

But with a lot of laughs and humour. 

 

Read more here - 

  http://thedifferentcapitalsthatphilippinesis.blogspot.com/

 

No tinted shades – just clear spectacles. Recommended reading only for those people who are able to laugh at life.

 

Taal volcano

 

Taal volcano trek –

While the trek is over rated (worth it only if you live in Manila – not worth it if you stay elsewhere), it was interesting as this was the first volcano I actually trekked on. Well… not as much of a trek as a horseback ride. The view  is good (not great as most tourists gush about!), but I found the cultural dance show in Taal vista hote more interesting.

 

And the stay in Royal Taal inn was so relaxing – with a view of Taal lake on one side and the foliage covered valley on the other – all while sipping coffee from our private balcony.

 

Read the complete blog here -

http://taaltagaytay.blogspot.com/

 

Camping on a desolate island –

I had always wanted to stay in a tent. This dream materialised when we made our second trip to Hundred islands – Alaminos (Pangasinan, Luzon).

 

We stayed overnight, in a tent, on the beach of a tiny island, oen of the 123 that make up Hundred islands. While we had pillows, bedsheets, food and a roof, there was no CR (open air!) and we forgot totake water (our attempts at rain water harvesting were a disaster!). Yet, having our morning bath in the sea, lounging in the warm waters of the East China sea (called Philippines sea here) and the beautiful views made it worth it. Kayaking was fun!

 

Read the complete blog here – http://campingphilippines.blogspot.com/

Hundred islands – Pangasinan

 

Hundred Islands – Pangasinan. Unforgettable trip

My first trip in Northern Luzon. And boy, did we enjoy ourselves. Stayed overnight on Quezon island – Hundred islands. Crappy accommodation, no electricity, excellent company, fantastic sights in the morning. Great snorkelling. What more can one ask for?

 

 

Read the complete blog here –  http://hundredislandsphilippines.blogspot.com/2011/10/sailing-from-lucap-to-quezon-island.html

At a speed of 300 kmph

 

    300 kmph –  Maglev Shanghai  – Riding the fastest train in the world

 

 

And it felt like I was on a smooth flying carpet! It was a short ride – barely 10 minutes, and as the train caught speed, we realised we could not feel a thing. The only evidence of our speed was the electronic pedometer (at both ends of each coach) and the countryside hurtling by us!

 

Read the complete blog here –  

http://expattraveller.blogspot.com/2011/09/maglev-riding-fastest-train-in-world.html