Lost in Beijing

It's been a while since I wrote about anything new I tried or any new place I visited. So I'll guess I have to catch up with one place I visited this year, Beijing China.

It all started last May when PAL had these crazy promos on their international fares. I was asking my friend Jane about Australia visa requirements and found out it will be too expensive for me still. I asked her instead to go to Macau but ended up joining her and her sisters and their friends to Beijing.

It's the farthest from home that I have been to. When we got there, I was quite disappointed that we did not land in the newest airport that was shaped like a dragon. Although I didn't feel too down since the view of China was already amazing from the plane. We sort of got lost in the subway trying to get to the hotel and it's quite a challenge asking for directions since not so many people speak English. After what felt like ages we got to Beijing Oriental Culture Hotel. During this trip I found one way that you can save on hotel rates. Check http://www.agoda.com/ for the lowest rates. After a really heavy Chinese lunch in our area, we headed to the Forbidden City. I didn't expect that the walk was really far. The said it was built that way so that energy flows into the Forbidden City based on yin yang. I guess they never thought that it also requires energy to get to the gate from Tienanmen Square. We ended up not being able to get inside since it was almost closing time.
We then visited the Egg, the cultural center in Beijing. The architecture was amazing and since it was sunset when we got there, our pictures looked fantastic as well.
The next day we were on a tour bus to see The Great Wall. It was quite a challenge to listen to the tour guide with his heavy accent although he was a good tour guide. We visited the Ming Tombs where we learned more Chinese customs during the Ming Dynasty.

We finally got to the Badaling Section of the Great Wall sometime after lunch. There were really a lot of people in this part of the wall and it was really crowded. I didn't really care since what mattered was being on the wall. Although a friend told me afterward that when they went to Beijing they went to a different section farther from Badaling.
We visited the Olympic park on our last day. The architecture of the Bird's nest stadium was just amazing. I wasn't able to get in though. I found the Water Cube quite cute as well. It would have been more beautiful at night when both stadiums are lighted up. I got a bit excited also when we saw the athletes residences and where my football idols stayed.
On our last night, we headed to 1949 near Sanlitun for dinner. We were not aware that the Peking Duck was by reservation so we ended up having hand pulled noodles. It was really good even if I'm not a fan of noodles. We stayed in their bar after dinner. I ordered their Mojito and it was one of the best I had. I saw how they made it from scratch and saw how fresh were all the ingredients as well. If given the chance to go back to Beijing, I would definitely visit this place again.
Overall, Beijing is an amazing place to visit. Their structures were a wonder, food is great and shopping...excellent. Just make sure you have visuals for the taxi drivers though so they would know where to take you. Have a map ready, point where you are going, if that is not enough, have images ready in your ipod or digital camera or better yet, have the names of the places you are going to written in Mandarin. This place is a must-see.

Wandering Mindanao

I was quite fortunate to be able to go around Mindanao last year. Despite all the crazy things that happened during that trip, I wouldn't trade it for any other experience.

It was crazy enough to plan on going to five places all in four days--and those places we visited were really far apart from each other. We had to fly in through Cagayan De Oro and I had the best lechon manok ever at The Barn. Off we went then to catch the bus to take us to Balingoan pier where we could catch a barge taking us to Camiguin. I did not appreciate any food we had at that place. We had a really expensive Italian dinner and got a terrible lunch at a carinderia somewhere. I'm guessing we were just in the wrong part of the island which made things a bit terrible for us.

After we left, we weren't able to catch the bus in Cagayan De Oro that can take us straight to Koronadal. We had to pass by Davao instead. Davao was part of our original plan. We decided to scrap it out due to time constraints but ended up going there anyway. I was able to see my friends from college there. We just ate tapsilog, had a bottle of beer and then have to board another bus going to General Santos City and then taking us to Koronadal in South Cotabato.

The bus rides we had were a nightmare. In the 8 hour ride from Cagayan to Davao, there was a child who puked all over the seat hence the discomfort for some of my friends. On the bus going to General Santos, a drunk guy was puking across the aisle from me which got to my stuff.

When we reached Koronadal, we heard mass, changed our clothes and boarded another bus that would take us to Lake Sebu. The place was just beautiful and peaceful and I can say that this was the part of the trip that made it all worth it. I had the best tasting tilapia cooked in different ways that we had in Aguilar Lake View. The chicharon tilapia was superb that I still dream of it once in a while. The inihaw na tilapia was great as well and Tita Zeny was very accommodating. The seem to have the best view of Lake Sebu and the cold air at night is just comforting and will really sway you to sleep.

We went to Dongon falls in a skylab. The skylab is a motorcycle were 3 or more people will ride on it and it will take you through hills and mountains to get to Dongon falls. I haven't heard about Dongon falls until I got to Lake Sebu. There were 7 falls in total. I only got to see 2 but it was still great. I had a chance to swim for the first time under the waterfalls. It was really cool and refreshing and I didn't mind the current at my feet.

Dusk and Dawn was quite peaceful at the lake. I would love to go back just to experience it again.

We had to go to General Santos City so we can fly back to Manila. We stopped by Rdex to get tuna for my sisters and my tita. If I wasn't on a budget, I could have gotten more and it made the best sashimi. I was able to catch a glimpse of Saranggani Bay where all that great tune came from.

Mindanao is not what everyone thinks here in Manila. Thanks to all the media hype of bombings, kidnappings, terrorists and anything that they can associate with Mindanao. I find the place more peaceful than crazy Manila and all the traffic jams in its big roads or the sardines set-up when you take the LRT or MRT. We even have to consider all the chaos caused by rallies of non-stop bickering by the left and right. Mindanao is one place I would love to escape to from the fast-paced life that Manila can offer. Here are the images I have of this place:

Baligoan Pier

Camiguin sunrise (view from White Island)

Dongon Falls

Water flowing from Dongon Falls

Right below the waterfalls