My Country

I am from the Philippine Islands, a country surrounded by water, beautiful beaches and blessed with lots of sunshine.

With the good deed of a friend, the gang was able to go and had a grand day at Anvaya Cove in Bataan and Hamilo Coast, Pico de Loro, Batangas.

Anvaya Cove Official Website

A feel of nature . . . the sun, sand, sea, trees and mountains . . . wow!

At Anvaya Cove, there is a nature trail for you to enjoy plus a Zipline ride you can try with friends.


Though, how I wish I could go for a real kayaking adventure. Have not included it in my list of "to do's".

I've tried a banana boat ride but that's far from the thrills of kayaking.

Oh well, that day of more thrills and adventures will surely come. It will.

Here at Hamilo Coast, Pico de Loro, Batangas.

Safari Experience

At A' Famosa, I captured my Safari moments in pictures. I asked a number of staff there the favor of taking my photos for I was a lone traveler, but a happy one.

We were asked to ride a vehicle that goes around the place so we can see the lions, the tigers, the giraffes, roaming around, not minding us at all.

There were birds, peacocks, crocodiles, deers, bulls, elephants, monkeys and people, yup. I was not alone for there were people in groups. There was even a religious group who took the tour. (Tourist attractions visited: Genting, Malacca City, Batu Caves, A' Famosa, Melaka)

A place was allotted where the animals stayed inside fences. You just walk around ( good exercise) and of course, take souvenir photos.

I got to ride an elephant. I missed out the camel ride.

I was hopping from one area to the next, as time flew by quickly, forgetting about Jack, my loyal "teksi" driver, who I think took his nap.

It felt good to be here.

Malaysia, In Another Point Of View, From A Helicopter

I read an interesting article about Malaysia in the Yahoo News by SZA LES MO and it's worth sharing.

It mentioned that tourists can now enjoy a scenic bird's eye view of Malaysia by a helicopter tour package and would get to see "the magnificent architectural wonders, historical landmarks, cities, buildings, villages and plantations" in Malaysia from way above there in the sky.

The report says:

"Six travel agencies will be offering the high-end tour service initially under the 1Malaysia Helicopter Tour Packages which were launched by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen at the Skypark Business Aviation Centre, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport."

"The six travel agencies involved in the tour packages include Shajasa Travels & Tour Sdn Bhd, Elite Luxury Vacations (M) Sdn Bhd, Langkawi Helicopter Xtours and Kota Kinabalu Aerial Tour."

"The tours range from 15, 30 to 60 minutes and priced from RM1,250 to RM4,950, with the helicopters able to seat three to six people," she added.

Meaning to Travel

Olive, my friend, goes back and forth to Malaysia due to the nature of her work. However, she does not have the luxury of time to go around the beautiful country, she says. She stays in Kuala Lumpur and keeps an image of the Petronas Towers in her cellphone.

After my trip to Malaysia, she saw my photos and started sharing that she has not tried roaming around. I said she should not waste this rare opportunity. There must be a way somehow.

Many have been called, but few are chosen, I jokingly thought. We can all go to the same place but not see the same things for it is how we look at things that makes the difference. It is the experience that goes with the travel that makes the travel meaningful.

From last I heard, she went to Malaysia during the holidays with her husband. Now she knows how to put meaning to her travel.

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney

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Interesting Animal Shows

Went to see some animal shows at Malacca. There were elephants playing basketball. Cats were walking on wire, lovely pink flamingos on parade . . .

This orangutan rides the bike. He is part of one of the shows.

Hoe about this big snake? Kinda reminded me of Britney Spears' music video where she had a snake hanging on her neck, singing and dancing.

Korean Food Made My Day, My Week

My son tells his encounter on Korean food beginning of 2011 . . .

In January of 2011:

So this week is definitely my Korean food week. I visited two Korean restaurants, very different, yet somehow having a common strand between them. The first is somewhere my family and I spent the weekend evening at, a restaurant we always go to, Maru. The other one is Mashitta's, a Korean-Japanese stall within the UP shopping center.

I tried three dishes, but only two were Korean. I definitely wanted to try their version of Bibimbap, a Korean rice dish topped with vegies and egg, in the order according to the 5-elements/ 5-colors. When it came to me, it looked like this.

Well, I was expecting something more pretty, but it did have all the required elements and colors, so it was fine. It tasted good enough, especially considering that the Bibimbap they have here does not have any meat! I was so horrified at first, but afterwards, I realized it was okay. It had an egg in the middle, with carrots and eggplants and of course, some kimchi. I quickly finished it up without any leftovers!

The other dish that I really had to try was the Egg Roll Kimbap. They had some in stock the day I visited, so I ordered that as well, but I was so full with the Bibimbap that I had to ask for a take out for this one. However, when I did share it with my mom and dad back at home that day, they said it was good. Personally, I thought it was good as well, with its tuna and carrot filling. My dad said it definitely needed a sauce of some kind, like soy sauce or kikkoman, and I'd have to agree on that.

Well, for a stall in UP, this was a good treat, and a peek into what Korean cuisine might be. But there really is no comparison between this and true Korean food, specially prepared in my fave Korean restaurant, Maru.

We started going to Maru last year, and there was even a point in time where my family would go there every Sunday. That's how good this place is. We love how there is such a variety of appetizers, and every visit, we get a treat of new sets of appetizers. For the appetizers this visit, we got a taste of a variety of spicy dishes, as well as some interesting palate cleansers.

The main highlight of the visit was trying so Dolsat Bibimbap, a version of Bibimbap with ground pork (yes! not vegetarian!) It was really good. It was even served in a hot stone bowl, which was so hot that it burned the rice at the bottom of the bowl. I'm usually not fond of tutong or burnt rice, but definitely this kind of burnt rice is really good. I even scraped it off the bottom because it was that good. I've heard in Korea, they would fight over who would get to scrape off the rice at the bottom of the bowl, so I guess even they appreciate it!

And the main course we had was some mackerel and some beef, which you wrap up in pieces of lettuce. It has this amazing smoky flavor to it, and you dip it in this wasabi sauce and it's awesome. It's might be salty for some people, but I think it strikes a good balance between salty and wasabi-y.

All in all, thank God for Korean food! Really a winner week for me!

Shop Discover, Suria KLCC

Suria is the native Malaysian word for Sunshine.

Suria KLCC is a "1.5 million sq. feet (140,000 m²)" shopping complex. It is located at the base of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur City Center, with anchor tenants: Isetan, Parkson Grand, Tanjong Golden Village, Signatures Level 2 Food Court and Marks and Spencer. It was opened on August 31, 1999.

It houses mostly luxury and fashionable shops, as well as cafes, restaurants, a twelve-screen cinema, a concert hall, an art gallery, and a Science Discovery Center, over 6 floors. It is almost directly underneath the Petronas Twin Towers, which is the third tallest buildings in the world (and the tallest twin towers). It is one of Malaysia's most popular tourist destinations.

Suria KLCC is accessible by a direct metro link from KL Sentral with the Kelana Jaya Line to KLCC LRT Station. It is also accessible from three major roads - Jalan Ampang, Jalan P. Ramlee, and Jalan Kia Peng. It also has a dedicated taxi rank, bus stop, and copious parking space. It is also connected to Kuala Lumpur International Airport via KL Sentral.

Birds Of Different Feathers

Yes, yes, birds of different feathers flocked together here in Malaysia. I was fascinated with the colorful birds, some big and some small. There were parrots, peacocks, ostriches, flamingos even chickens of a number of variety.