Embracing Detours

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Oh darling, adventure awaits

[littlemissmaroon5er]

New York City— July 5, 2017

Wall Street-Guggenheim-The Met

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San Remigio, Antique

It was last May 6, 2017 when our fam decided to have this "Panay Tour" and we ended up in this place called Aningalan.

The place is known as the "Little Baguio" of Antique because of its cool weather and strawberry farm. Going up to this place, you can also pass by pine trees that make the place colder. The place offers more than just the strawberry farm and the cold ambiance. It has a cave called "Igbaclag". You can enter the cave but be more careful of the very sharp rock formations and very narrow passageways. Little kids are a no-no. It also has a lake called "Danao" but in our case we haven't visited it because of the very muddy road.

Going to the strawberry farm, you can take an ATV ride to explore the place more. The view is very worth it, feels like in New Zealand because of the vast landscape.

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Roadtrip 2.0

Kuliatan, San Joaquin x Nogas Island, Antique Apr 6-7, 2017 Music used: Firebird by Galantis Music Copyright 2015

Click to see the full video!

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Silay City Day Trip 

 It was January 29, 2017 when we set foot to explore Bacolod and Silay in Negros Occidental, together with my upclass friends, nong Geuf and nong Tristan. Technically, I was tasked by my History of Architecture professor to plan out a trip to Silay City. Silay City of Negros is best known for its rich heritage culture when it comes to architecture, next to Vigan. The city is filled with heritage houses, most especially in the center of the city. Heritage houses are just neighboring with each other and you can explore it by foot. Bacolod is just 45 mins away through fastcraft and 2 hours if “RoRo” or also known as roll on, roll off. And from Bacolod to Silay, you can take a bus or a jeep and you can get there for 15 minutes. 

We got off in its plaza and there you can notice heritage buildings surrounding the plaza. It houses establishments and businesses but still got to preserve the essence of being lived for 100 years or so. We visited The Balay Negrense, El Ideal Bakery, Café 1925, Bernardino-Jalandoni Heritage House, San Diego Cathedral, Hofilena Heritage House, and Maria Ledesma Golez Heritage House. Each houses are unique and has its own peculiar backstory. After which, we drop by the Ayala District located in Talisay City and had our taste of Calea pastries, the famous bakery in Bacolod. The District is similar to Atria in Iloilo, it is might as well the same to the District I also visited in Cavite. Then we headed to our last stop: The Ruins, the “Taj Mahal” of Negros.

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Give, not take

I’m not really a fan of Korean stars since the only Korean star I know is Lee Min Ho, however I am fond of watching KDramas since high school #noshame.  And since it’s summer, I wanted to have a break from stress and watch one.

             I watched the Korean drama Legend of the Blue Sea starring, well my crush, Lee Min Ho (okay if you’re a fan and you’re still watching, I just have to apologize ahead because this entry might contain spoilers for you), anyways what I really admire about the series was the loyalty of Nam Doo to his friend, Joon Jae.  Nam Doo may be a vile person because he’s only after money and even tricked a lot of people to get money to the point where Chi Yeon (Joon Jae’s evil half-brother) asked him to join his murder plan against Joon Jae and Chi Yeon will pay Nam Doo a lot of money in exchange of their friendship.  At first, he agreed with Chi Yeon because he said, he was only after Joon Jae because of money.  But lo and behold, he told Joon Jae about Chi Yeon’s plan and Joon Jae asked Nam Doo why he kept his loyalty.  He said, he has only three principles in his life: money, more money and manners to value; and Chi Yeon doesn’t possess the manners he seek. Additional to it he has another principle (I find this funny, really) and that’s to let those who have debts pay and since Chi Yeon has a debt to Joon Jae, which he considers his own and his family, he let Chi Yeon pay his debts by framing him up and surface his plans to kill Joon Jae.

               This touched me a lot, you rarely meet those kind of friends in your life, those loyal and honest ones.  Those friends who will say straight up to your face that you’re wrong and that what you’ve done hurts them, they are difficult to find.  It seems that life has challenged us to find and keep these people.  If ever you found this kind of friends, take care of them, they are worth the life bestowed. You may not keep them beside you as you journey and continue to grow but remember to take care of them as these people will always come back to you and also take care of you.

As what they have said, “don’t cross oceans for people who wouldn’t cross a puddle for you.”  

“No, do it.  Do cross oceans for people.  Love people, all people.  No conditions attached, no wondering whether or not they’re worthy.  Cross oceans, climb mountains.  Life and love isn’t about what you gain, it’s about what you give”

above is Nam Doo and Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho)

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‘January Roadtrip’ Photos

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January Roadtrip

Going home and revisit our very own tourist attraction in Anini-y, Antique was something I did not look forward to kickoff my new year, but thanks to my upclass friends, Nong Mimi and Nong Tan, who called me one random Friday afternoon inviting me to go to Nogas Island. 

 We set off last January 7, 2017 and it was so spontaneous and unplanned, I love it.  

Together with Ng Genevieve and Zen, we left at around 8 in the morning, if I am not mistaken. Then we bought our breakfast first at Jollibee, Molo. We had our first stopover at ‘Bambuko’, it’s a bistro located in Miag-ao, Iloilo across the University of the Philippines Visayas—Miag-ao Campus. The bistro was known for their ice cream and its amazing different flavors. I forgot what I ordered but I am sure of one thing, it’s delightful. 

 Our next stop was Kulyatan Marine Sanctuary in San Joaquin, Iloilo. I’m pretty sure it’s a budding tourist destination because my cousins always keep on endorsing the place for me to go. Welp, I won’t deny it’s a must see place for those folks who would love to go crashing with the waves and climbing up the large edgy boulders. Kinda lookout for “different” ocean species while swimming, it’s called Marine Sanctuary for a reason. 

We also dropped by in a place called Punta Nasog (trust me I am not sure of this but this is the name I remember). It’s a place where a rocky mountain meets the sea. 

 Then of course, we headed to our main reason why we had the hasty road trip, the Nogas Island. We arrived at around 11 am I guess? I forgot, I’m really sorry haha. I have to admit, the island was different the last time I went there for my debut photoshoot. There were only cottages around but when we went there, I was surprised that there’s a ‘tiangge’ and a comfort room already. I’m a bit bummed about what I saw because it fails to justify the ‘Nogas Island’ that I’ve known since I was a kid. The island itself is just a 15-minute pumpboat ride across our shores in the mainland of Anini-y. I grew up with the idea of its pristine nature and clear waters that’s why I’m a bit sad and disappointed with what I saw. 

 Anyways, moving on. We had our mini picnic there (courtesy of Nong Tan, who was really prepared of our food and utensils, thanks nong!) We decided to walk around the island after that. I must state there’s really a lot of shooting Mangroves at the rear part of the island and I guess it’s a good sign of the enriching biodiversity around the island. We passed the very old Balete tree and the lighthouse then we exit through the famous Kalachuchi aisleway. The corals in front beach are very vibrant and I can’t help but giggle inside, you know why. We ended our Nogas excursion with balancing rocks mehe. 

 It’s really nice to discover new places and look back to those that made you feel home. Always looking forward to more travels this year! 

 p.s. Thank you so much Zen for the ride! *wink wink*

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The World Awaits!

Hello there mate!

Welp, this is kinda late for an introductory post because I am supposed to write last January but it is already March and yes, I am 3 months late already. Anyways, let’s move on.

First, let me introduce myself first. I am V.A., Architecture Student from the Philippines. Thy passion is architecture though I also love photography, music, literature, astronomy and art.  I am also into car racing but the calling’s not there yet, kidding.  This is actually my 5th blogsite already because the first 3 were meh and the 4th one is a little bit messy and since it’s new year, I decided to make a new one.  

The title’s “Embracing Detours”, means I’m up to exploring places and setting courses to the roads less traveled.  I will fill this with all the wonderful excursions I will take, be it near or far, with the people I love or doing it alone, as long as I will not forget to jot it down and post it here.  

Finding thy wild is my goal in here.  So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!  

Oh darling, adventure awaits!