My A-Z Of Travel

I have been tagged! Traveling Ange challenged me to answer 26 questions about myself as a traveler… Well… CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Apparently this meme has been circulating around travel bloggers for a while. Some of these questions are thought-provoking but I had fun! Here goes…

A: Age you started travelling?

With my family – 10 years old, and we went to Hong Kong.
By myself and for leisure (meaning not work related) – 23. My two girlfriends and I went on a fun trip to Singapore before I moved from the Philippines to the US.

B: Best beer you’ve had and where?
I’m not really a big drinker, so I wouldn’t know the first thing about how a beer should taste. I did, however, enjoy Czech beer in Prague, and the beer they were serving in Oktoberfest in Munich.

C: Cuisine (favourite)
Anyone who knows me will know the answer to the question, “What is your favorite food?” --- It’s BACON.
But since we are talking about Cuisine, it’s a little more difficult to answer. I am Filipino and will always love Filipino food. Apart from that, I’d have to say Indian food is a close second.

D: Destinations, favourite, least favourite and why
Why are these questions so difficult to answer?!
I haven’t been everywhere yet (but that’s the plan), but I do love visiting the UK…
Scotland in particular, I think is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. It’s majestic, picturesque and overwhelming. Like my eyes constantly drown in its beauty… I would get lost there on purpose. I’ve explored big cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow, and have seen the Ben Nevis and went on the Loch Ness River Cruise. I’ve also been informed of the REAL story of William Wallace, about how he’s really NOT Scotland’s Braveheart, but Robert the Bruce! The next time I visit, I fully intend to go full-on Merida and run through the forests, climb waterfalls and shoot arrows. I am in love with Scotland…
Least favourite – honestly, I don’t have one!

Lush Edinburgh

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”

Probably watching a live sex show in Amsterdam… it did not just make me say, “wow”… I probably uttered all the superlatives known to man. There was an act involving a banana that I’m trying to block out from my memory.

F: Favourite mode of transportation
I love planes. I really do. I love flying…

G: Greatest feeling while travelling
The best feeling about travelling, to me, is the excitement of not knowing anything… apart from the fact that anything could happen.

H: Hottest place
Easy! My home! The Philippines!

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where
Best service, hands down, was in our hotel in Boracay – Discovery Shores. When my girlfriends and I arrived, they had a welcome banner for us in our room and a free foot bath/massage for each of us. We had complimentary snacks and wine, plus a ton of freebies (like flip flops and a beach bag) for us to use during our stay. Every time we laid out on the beach, an attendant would magically appear offering us food and drinks. By the second day, they’ve figured out our “usual’s” (which were mojitos), and they would bring them over without us even asking! I was impressed, not by their efficiency, but by the warmth that emanated from them. Filipinos are generally known to have good customer service to begin with, but the ones we encountered in Boracay just brought it to a whole other level. They were just so sincere, that every time they said “Good morning,” or “You’re welcome,” or “Hello,” they placed their hands over their hearts and smiled. It seriously made me want to hug them all.

Our Hotel Room with the banner, freebies and snacks!

J: Journey that took the longest
The 26 hour journey it took to get to San Antonio, TX from Manila. It was brutal!

K: Keepsake from your travels
Post cards! I ask whoever is traveling with me, or whoever I meet in a new place to send me a post card! I love reading them when I get home…  

The post cards from all over on my fridge

L: Let-down sight, why and where
This may sound surprising, but Venice, Italy disappointed me. It’s a beautiful city, but I guess I just expected a little more from it. It was too touristy for my taste and not as photogenic as I thought it would be. I want to go back for the Venice Carnival though… maybe that would change my mind!

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel

There wasn’t just one specific moment. I think it’s more like a love that grew over time. My first trip to Europe via Contiki was 5 years in the making, and the moment I set foot in London, I knew I was hooked… And my insatiable thirst for travel just became a constant in my life from then on.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in
Shangri-La Mactan in Cebu, Philippines, courtesy of my company. I was sent there a few times when I was assigned to work in Cebu. It’s a resort hotel, and the beach is amazing! White sand and clear blue water, with the yummiest breakfast buffet I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while travelling?
Castles. I. Love. Castles.

Clockwise from top left: Dunguaire Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Dublin Castle, Windsor Castle

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?
I have no idea. My Filipino passport currently holds more stamps than my new US passport. I think I may have visited over 20 countries thus far.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where
The Peeing Statues in Prague. And what makes them even quirkier is that they’re not just peeing – they’re actually writing. Their penises swivel up and down, left and right, writing famous quotes with the stream of water. There’s a phone number displayed next to the sculptures, and if you send it an SMS, they ‘write’ out your text message before carrying on with their quotes. Haha!

Curious... Very curious...

Jake, April, Claire and Phil!

R: Recommended sight, event or experience

A fun experience worth sharing (and something I’d do again) is attending the Edinburgh Fringe with my friends. The Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world celebrated the whole month of August in Scotland’s capital! It is an explosion of creative energy that makes Edinburgh come alive! There are street performers on every corner, and fliers… fliers everywhere! There are over two thousand performances/shows to choose from… performances that range from musical and dance theater to physical comedy. My friends and I ended up watching (and secretly enjoying) a performance patterned after the show, Glee!  (The boys will deny it, but we still talk about how we think Claire should have won the singing contest, and not April.)
I think attending The Fringe is a great way to experience Edinburgh. It’s fun, you get to see different ‘artistic’ performances, and it’s a good excuse to take copious amounts of alcohol. Two thumbs up!

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while travelling

More plane/train tickets? :)
I’m a budget traveler so I hardly ever splurge… but I don’t mind paying extra for excursions or fun tours… especially if it’s something only that specific country can offer (i.e. Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, The Guinness Storehouse tour in Dublin, The Harry Potter movie tour in England)

T: Touristy thing you’ve done
I can be SUCH a tourist and I’m not ashamed! Best touristy thing I’ve done ever --- The Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria! My travel buddy, Karen and I sang songs on the bus, ran around the movie locations (including twirling around in Liesl’s and Rolf’s gazebo), and stayed at Villa Trapp – the real house of the real Von Trapp family! Beat that! (Read my blog post about it here)

U: Unforgettable travel memory
When I met my hero, Danny Wallace, in London. Danny is my favorite writer (you may know him as the writer of the book, Yes Man) who has a breakfast show at a radio station called, XFM. My friend Lea and I waited for him outside the station, met him, and he in turn gave us tickets to see Paul McCartney playing at the Royal Albert Hall that night. They say, “never meet your heroes” but I’m glad I met mine. It was incredible to have met him and that encounter was one of my favorite moments in my life thus far! (Read about my encounter here)

V: Visas, how many and for where?
Having a Filipino passport made it really difficult to travel. I had to apply for visas EVERYWHERE I went… I needed the following: US Visa, Schengen Visa, UK Visa, Ireland Visa.
It was annoying, not to mention – expensive, to have to apply for them every single time. That’s why I’m so thankful for having a blue passport now. I plan to take full advantage and fill it up to the brim!

W: Wine, best glass of wine while travelling and where?
I’m no wino, and I have a tendency to like the sweeter wines… so I really liked the Ice Wine we tasted in the cellars of a wine bar in St. Goar.

The Cliffs of Moher and The Grand Canyon

X: eXcellent view and from where?
It’s a tie between The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and The Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Y: Years spent travelling?
On my own, I’ve been doing yearly trips since 2008. But starting next year after I quit my job to travel full time, who knows?

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?
I haven’t been to any football or rugby matches in the UK where fans are meant to be overzealous… I really want to experience it though! The only game I’ve been to with hyperactive over the top fans (myself included) is a Lakers game at the Staples Center :)

Do you have an A-Z List? Let me know and I'll share! If you don't --- make one! It's fun! :)

My fave A-Z Lists that you should check out:

Traveling Ange
Solo Traveler
Julie Dawn Fox
There's No Place Like Oz
On The Luce
The Travel Bunny

The Color Run San Diego

On Saturday, November 3, I participated in The Color Run in San Diego!

The Color Run is basically just a fun 5K run where you get blasted with color powder. I personally am not a runner. I suck at it. I have poor endurance and I itch. That’s right. I itch. I think it might be an allergic reaction to sweat. In fact the only reason why I signed up for it is because of the colors! I wanted to be doused and saturated and smothered with color! I wanted to come out of it looking like a tie dyed shirt! There are zombie runs where you get chased by zombies, and there are mud runs where you toss and tumble and gooey mud. Not my cuppa tea. I’m more of a colored woman so to speak. Bring on the rainbow!!!

It doesn’t say it anywhere on their website – but I have a feeling they got the idea from India’s Day of Holi – or the Festival of Colors! From what I understand, this is a celebration of the coming of Spring, and they throw scented colored powder to each other! I saw this in a movie a long time ago, and I remember wishing we did something like that here in the States… And now – VOILA! The Color Run! Another dream come true! Whoopeee!

A photo from the Indian Color Festival - The Day of Holi

OK. It’s really easy to participate. Just register online (I paid cheap because I registered early) and you will be given instructions, which is basically just – wear white. The more white you have on you, the better and more colorful you’re going to look at the end! People came in wearing white afro wigs, white boa’s, white tutu’s, white tube socks, the works!

(Click on the photos to enlarge)

New friends with White Boa's

Creative white costumes!

They also give you tips about washing yourself and your clothes after. For example – smothering your hair with olive oil or leave-on conditioner at the beginning will make it easier for you to wash the color off. I didn’t bother because I wanted the colors to stain my hair. :)

I didn’t want to have to worry about ruining my fave clothes, so I bought a 4 dollar white shirt specifically for the event, so I can feel free to color it however I want!

You can run as an individual, or you can run as a team. I put a team together and I called ourselves – “The Pigments of Your Imagination!”
I know! Really smart, right? 

My Team - The Pigments of Your Imagination

Right. OK I will stop talking now – and just show you my awesome multihued photos.

Orange really is my color...

Bumped into my friend, Amy and her team!

My sister - the photographer for the day!

Look at them! They're my favorite Couple!

So every kilometer, you go through what they call a “Color Zone”. It functions as a marker to let you know how far you’ve gone, but also – and this is my favorite – it is an opportunity for you to get colorized! A group of volunteers literally throw a pail of color powder over you! It’s the funnest part of the run because each color zone has a different color assigned, and they have blaring music to accompany the fun color drenching! So you’re there in the blue zone, screaming at the volunteers to blast you with powder, jumping up and down to One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful! Seriously, if you’re going to look like a dork rocking out to that song, might as well be in a cloud of blue smoke!

Blue Zone!

And at the end, right at the Finish Line, you run towards the Color Run After Party! Every few minutes, a burst of color erupts from every corner... so if you hadn't satisfied your color fix yet, there's your chance!

Colors Colors Colors!

Color Run After Party!

My Team

Don’t the photos look amazing? I totally recommend The Color Run to anyone who's looking to have some good clean (well, sort of) fun! Do it! I’ve never had so much fun running in my life --- and I hate running! It truly is the Happiest 5K on the planet!

While I am waiting to leave for my big trip next year, there's no reason why I should stop living like a tourist in my home in California, right? I will do anything and everything in the name of merriment and pleasure. And you should too!

They are expanding and adding more locations --- including Australia! Take a look at their schedule here.
They actually have another one coming up in Los Angeles this February!So If you live in SoCal – I’ll see you there!!!

Mandatory Jump Shot

West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval

Ever since I've moved to Los Angeles in 2006, I've attended the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval! I love Halloween!

On October 31^st each year, Santa Monica Boulevard between Doheny and La Cienega turns into a melting pot of creative freedom, mostly coming from the gay community. It is their (and everyone else’s) chance to truly be themselves: big, bold, bright and beautiful!  Seriously, the creativity that goes into these costumes and make-up blow my mind! The first year I went, I was so floored by what I saw, my mouth was open the whole time (which really didn’t go well with my Pocahontas costume).

Pocahontas from 2006 with Two Evil Disney Villains

The WEHO Carnaval or the “parade” as we call it, is the biggest Halloween street party celebration in the world.

The thing is – it’s not really a PARADE parade. They just close off that one mile stretch, and people show up in costume, and that’s it. There are certain areas that have a stage where musicians perform, some have DJ’s, etc… All of the bars are thriving and open for business and the atmosphere is always more fun… but mainly, what you do is just walk. You walk to see and be seen! I know it may sound lame, but TRUST ME. It’s anything but. It’s freaking AWESOME! I didn’t realize it till now, but I’ve actually never missed Halloween on West Hollywood. I’ve been to every single one of the 'parades' ever since I moved here! In fact, if you are planning on visiting Los Angeles, I'd recommend that you time it so that you're here for Halloween!

These are my costumes through the years…

Pocahontas, Queen Gorgo from 300, Bavarian Beer Maid

Laurie Jupiter from Watchmen, Esmeralda, Sweet Pea from Sucker Punch

 As you can see, I like choosing characters that go well with my long dark hair. This year – I went rogue and dressed as a blonde! Khaleesi from The Game of Thrones!

Danaerys Targaryen with a fuzzy Dragon!

My costume choices are pretty ‘safe’ compared to the ones you see at the carnaval… Actually, I go specifically because I like seeing what kind of costumes other people come up with… My favorites are usually the drag queens and their overly elaborate shining shimmering outfits. There’s also typically a common popular costume/theme that everyone seems to wear, depending on the pop cultural or political events that happened on that year. For example, one year, everyone came as Lady Gaga, another year it was Steve Irwin and a sting ray, and another year it was the Swine Flu – people dressed up as sick little pigs.

This year, I thought it might be the PSY Gangnam Style guy but I was wrong. I did see a couple of them though, but I didn’t see any recurring awesome costumes.

My favorite of the night was Queen Elizabeth and her parachute! It's so smart!!!

She even has her guards to hold her scepter! 

Here are some other note worthy costumes.

Thriller Michael Jackson and Edward Scissorhands (I think that actually might be Johnny Depp)

Chic-Fil-A Cows!

Julia Child! Bon Appetit!

Just some good old fashioned drag! :)

I did not find a Khal Drogo - but I found myself a Ser Jorah!

And as they do every single Halloween I’ve celebrated in Los Angeles, my poor feet have died once again. My legs, like Jell-O… And my body, sore as a thumb. But my spirits? High as the eagles fly… 

And my Halloween fix? Completely Satisfied!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

Kath the Vampire from the Underworld, Eartha the Khaleesi, Jackie the Alice in La La Land, and Christel the  Crying Nun

Remembering Oktoberfest in Munich

When I signed up for the Contiki tour I went on in September of 2008, I didn’t even know that it was in the itinerary. How was I supposed to know Oktoberfest started in September anyway??
Later on, I found out that most of my tourmates chose that tour specifically because of Oktoberfest! Out of 51 people in our group, only 16 of us opted to see a little bit of Munich. The other 30 went straight to the fairgrounds to… well, to drink!

I’m glad I got to spend a few hours exploring the city though, because Munich is beautiful and I’ve never been to Germany before. Besides, if I hadn’t gone, then I wouldn’t have been able to buy this authentic Bavarian beer maid costume (called a Dirndl) that I absolutely adore!!! 

With Alicia and our tour guide, Sandy

I’ve worn this outfit at least 10 other times after I’ve bought it (for Halloween or local Oktoberfest celebrations) and it still does its magic (read: they make your boobs look amazing).

After the short pit stop, the other 15 and I set out to find the group. The fairgrounds were HUGE! There must have been thousands of people in there that day.  

Reminds me of a carnival!

When we finally caught up with the rest of the gang, as expected, most of them were already drunk. What else is there to do in a festival celebrating beer after all? It’s hard not to when the steins are this huge!

Got Beer?

Apart from the beer, my tourmates and I delighted in some of the traditional German staple food. There was the Schweinebraten or roast pork, Wurstl or sausages, Saurkraut or red cabbage (I’m not a fan, unfortunately) and my favorite, Schweinsaxe or Pork Knuckle, the German equivalent of Filipino Crispy Pata. Mmmmm…

Cav and his Pork Knuckle!

The atmosphere was incredible, and everyone was friendly – especially the locals. It didn’t hurt that they were cute too. Who would have thought that I’d think a lederhosen was a turn on??

The ones I’ve met taught me a few things. First, never wear sandals (or open toed shoes) to Oktoberfest because a stein drops and breaks every few minutes, and you don’t want wet and bloody feet to ruin your vacation. Second, when you toast, you say, “Prost!” – which means, “Cheers”. Third, when you toast, you have to look people in the eye, or else it’s seven years of bad sex. (NO BLINKING, PEOPLE!)

 

Me hanging with my two new cute German friends in Lederhosens ;)

Sandy, our tour guide, pretty much gave us free reign over our activities for that day. I mean – there really was only one activity if you think about it. Anyway – she only had one rule, and it was, “Make sure to be back in the bus by 10pm sharp, or else you’re going to Italy on your own.” She was serious. Our hotel was more than an hour away from the fairgrounds, and there weren’t any taxi’s to take us all the way there at that hour. It sounds harsh, but to be fair, she made us a little sheet with the names of all the nearby hotels, plus the train schedules for us to be able to catch up with the rest of the group in Venice, in case we get left behind. Whenever Sandy said, “sharp”, she meant “sharp”. No exceptions.

I didn’t think it was going to be a problem – until it was 9:30 and everyone was drunk out of their wits, and our driver was parked about 3 miles away from where we were. When people started to realize this, panic ensued. Suddenly, there was only one thing in our minds – We needed to GET TO THAT BUS!

It’s all a little hazy, but I remember a lot of running. Lots and lots of running. It was only then that I realized what it meant to ‘run for your life’. Imagine about 30 people falling over, throwing up, dodging the crowd, scampering to get to the bus… my roommate even lost her flip flop (just one) amidst the chaos. It wasn’t pretty.

By some miracle, we made it in due time, all panting like we’ve run a marathon as we hurried to our seats. I remember right when I sat down, Sandy started counting heads. I was a little nervous. It didn’t look like all the seats were filled and I found myself feeling bad for whoever was left behind. I’d honestly hate to be in their shoes because how the heck could you find a hotel in the dead of night with that much alcohol in your system?

Then Sandy came up to the front, turned her microphone on and said, “Guess what? WE’RE ALL HERE!!!”

And the bus erupted with cheers loud enough for a pork knuckle to crack!

A bus full of inebriation!

How we all managed to get there in one piece is beyond me! (It turns out, the seats I thought were empty were occupied by people crouched down, throwing up.) Our driver roared the engine to life, and we started our journey back to our hotel in high spirits – both literally and figuratively!

Sandy played our tour song (which she chose for us on our second day together), “You Shook Me All Night Long” by ACDC, and all of us sang it at the top of our lungs word for word, albeit a little slurred. I think we were all just so relieved to have made it, most of us lost our intoxication that when we got back to the hotel, the drinking continued. No surprises there! :)

After our action packed day and the exhaustion started to kick in… one by one, we started to head back into our hotel rooms… but not before grabbing one last glass, to stare into each other’s eyes and say one final, “Prost”. :)