First time got left by the plane going home (Iloilo - Guimaras bound) March 2016

Inventory count lead to Ilocos Tour (January 2016) - Part 3 of 3

Inventory count lead to Ilocos Tour (January 2016) - Part 2 of 3

Inventory count lead to Ilocos Tour (January 2016) - Part 1 of 3

Sometimes my job as an external auditor can be pretty awesome because I get to visit places where my travel, accommodation, and food expenses are chargeable, but at a limit of course. So for us external auditors who have clients that require a yearend inventory count, the period of December to January of the next year can be pretty exciting. On my first year of being an associate, I got assigned to do the inventory count at Ilocos Region, accompanied by a seasoned associate and my good friend Reg.The yearend count was scheduled on January 4-7, 2016, a day each for Vigan and and Laoag Branches. 

On my previous blog, the first adventure I had was to visit Majayjay Falls, and that was on a Saturday, January 2. I just remember while writing this, that as soon as I came home that day, I packed for my travel to Ilocos and left the same day. I left Manila by myself and traveled alone to Vigan. Reg is from Abra and had spent the holidays at her hometown. We agreed to meet at Vigan on Sunday, January 3. 

So I rode the Partas Bus to Vigan, the ticket cost P695. I took a photo of the ticket that's why I remember, lol! I left Cubao Terminal at midnight if January 3, though I had a tiresome day previously, I got to sleep and rest well on the bus ride. I did enjoy sleeping and taking rest on bus rides back then since I get to save money on accommodation, especially when I had to travel for long hours. I got to see the sunrise while on the bus and arrived at Vigan at about nine in the morning.  

As an auditor, I got my files, laptop, and clothes in my backpack, since I have no idea yet where to go, or where we should check in, I went around carrying all that stuff on my back. 

Discover Laguna: Majayjay Falls

So this adventure actually happened last January 2016, I had been busy with a lot of things mostly, work and travel that I did not find the time to continue writing and posting on this blog. 

Che and Lyza are my travel buddies on this adventurer to Majayjay Falls. I do not remember most of how much we have spent here and the timeline, but I'll make the most of my memory of this travel. 

I remember waking up really early and meeting with this two at Mcdonald's Cubao. We then boarded the bus going to Laguna, got down somewhere and road the jeepney to Majayjay. Once we were in town, we passed by this beautiful church. 

The inside of the church looked like this. There was a wedding when we came here. Lol!

Below are Lyza (left) and Che (right). I have no time to edit the photos and these were taken using my Iphone 6s. I do have social media accounts (IG and FB), photos posted there are better. 

Che and I. 

Lyza has no idea this photo is posted here. 

We took the tricycle to the starting off point of the trek to the falls, paid the environmental fee, entrance fee, I can't remember all of it or how much its cost. Sorry readers who stumbled on this blog. 

On our way to the falls. I'm just gonna let the photos do the explaining.

Nope. Not the falls. 

Now, this is Majayjay Falls. The water is very cold and the current is really strong. It was very refreshing. 

There was a hanging bridge near the falls, and we sort of tried walking on it. 

We rented the whole trike going back to town. I remember asking our driver to stop for me to take a photo of Mt. Banahaw. 

That was actually a really fast swim and trek. About 2PM we're already here having lunch and on our way back to Manila. 

P.S. This blog is more like a diary for myself. I'm sorry that I cant be of much help. 

Discover Baguio: MDR Group in Baguio

We headed to Baguio City after witnessing the sunrise at Kiltepan Peak. We had a stop over at a local restaurant and had breakfast. I don't really recommend this restaurant, I'm sorry. I did not like the food either, but the they have big portions good for sharing. It can already satiate your hunger. 

So, here is what we ordered, I shared this with some friends

We also had a quick stop at highest point in Philippine highway.  

Kevin and Ram are my friends in the firm. We have already separated ways, yet I'm still working for the same firm. Time surely has gone fast. 

It was a long trip and obviously everyone was trying to get some rest while inside the van. None of them have seen this photo. No one also know of this blog. I'm blogging this for future references, that I have done a good job living my life. 

Next we headed to the Strawberry farm and tried the popular strawberry ice cream and strawberry taho. I'm not really a fan of strawberry but it is an acceptable flavor for me. 

I apologize for not editing the photos. It's already 2018 yet here I am blogging something from 2015. Heheh!

Then we had lunch at a local restaurant near Tam-awan Village. During this trip I never researched on what to do in Baguio and just relied on the tour paid by our dear group head. Lol. I had no idea where to eat or what kind of places we were visiting. Here are my co-junior associates, Bheng, Ram, Kevin, Chin, Dion, and Den2x. Dion and I are the ones left in the firm as of this moment. Lol!

We ordered their specialty, some kind of noodle dish "pancit" but I forgot what kind of pancit this was. It was not very memorable. 

So here is the entrance. 

The place is filled with photo worthy art, yet I was using my Samsung S6 back then. 

Here is Anthony. I'll call him Anthony here, he won't read this anyway. Hehehe! He was my senior back then during this trip, then on the same year he was promoted as Supervisor, then in 2016 as Manager. He's amazing at work and he's aware of it. Sadly, after 2016 tax season, he transferred to another group so we're not on the same group anymore, obviously. He's a good manager, I like him. He ordered civet coffee here. He said it tasted good, but not interested. Nuh-uh. 

While the higher ups were having coffee, the junior associates roamed around the village. This is one of my favorite photos of us. 

We had team building that evening. We played team games and had dinner at a local popular restaurant,Solibao, of course paid by the generous MDR. It was freezing that night, I remembered it very well. We were divided into different teams for the games and my team won! We just had too, we haven't had money that time so our budget was limited. The prize was a 500 peso budget each for Tree Top Adventure. 

The following morning we headed to Tree Top Adventure. Of course, the juniors were excited for the rides, while the higher ups (old ones) had coffee at the nearby coffee shop. 

Chin was my partner here. It was fun. But writing this actually makes me a bit sad. Time surely had gone really fast. Chin and I still meet sometimes for a drink or dinner. I had my last date with her and Miss Tina last 2017. 

I had my college tour at Baguio too. But I wanted to post this mandatory photo at the Mansion. 

Then we visited the Laperal White House. It is famous for being haunted but I don't know. I'm not here to write it really was based from my visit. But I like the house design and the furnitures inside. I guess I just love old things, including old house. If it wasn't haunted, I think I'd like to live there. I don't know if it is still open to the public though. 

Bheng and I. 

 Main door with Ram and Bheng. 

On that same day we were headed back to Manila. But we had one last stop at Ebai's Cafe as recommended by Anthony. He studied in SLU Baguio when he was in college so he knows a lot about the city, like where to eat or drink. I went back to Baguio last March 2017 but was not able to visit this place again. There were just so many places to dine in this city. 

This is carrot walnut cake. I like this one. I'd love to eat this again if given the chance. 

So this concludes my North Trip with the MDR group. Next would be my experience of visiting different places due to inventory count. It's year-end, thus needed. 

Discover Sagada: The "Shangri-la of the Philippines"

So here's our adventure in Sagada, in continuation of my previous post. I don't know why it is dubbed as the "Shangri-la of the Philippines", I just thought it'll be a good title to this post. Of course, I do a little bit of research before writing my blog. All I know is that Shangri-la is a high class hotel which I could never afford to check in to. I could never relate as to why Sagada is dubbed as that. From Banaue, we immediately checked in to our inn at Sagada, I think it was Sagada Guesthouse. I like the place, it was newly renovated and mostly made of wood. The bathroom is nice and clean too, with hot showers, of course. I can't possibly take a bath in Sagada without a heater. 

After moving our bags from the car to our rooms and unpacked some clothes for our orange picking activity, we had lunch at the cafe right beside the inn. I did not particularly liked what we ordered and everybody wanted to eat there.

I wanted to eat here, at the Yoghurt House, but everyone was contented with eating at that place where we had lunch. Finny said this place have really good reviews, as you can see it is packed in the picture. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to try any of the food item on their menu.

Before picking oranges at the orchard, we first hike to these hanging coffins, which Sagada is very famous of. The trail is pretty manageable, but for those who rarely exercise, this would prove to be quite a feat. Anyway, we survived climbing down and up the cliffy, hilly, trail. I really do not want to post these photos since I want to pay my respect to the departed ones, but I also wanna share this with my very few readers. I did not post this at my social media accounts. I think currently, this place is off limits to tourist due to some unfortunate events.

 Afterwards, we rested at the courtyard of The Episcopal Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. There were plenty of pine trees, pine cones, and cow poop, so be careful where you sit. I kinda like small churches like this one. I can invite few guests who are willing to travel to Sagada to attend my wedding. But I like the Lazi Church of Siquijor more. You can barely trace any Spanish influence in Sagada, and this church is not that old.

The aisle. 

After the resting at the church, we proceeded to orange picking at Rock Farm. It costs 50 pesos for unlimited picking and eating of oranges for about an hour. I did not particularly like the oranges, and remembered it to be sour, but I did love the experience and the view. I really love cool places and the temperature was perfect. As you can see, Chin was clearly enjoying herself. Anyway, guys, if you go orange picking, make sure that you eat the oranges that you picked, and picked them carefully. You may think that you paid for it, but please don't waste any. 

The view from the farthest part of the farm before the barbwire of the neighboring farm. Haha

After the orange picking activity, we headed to Cafe Bodega for some snacks. This place was packed too. 

I ordered this fruit yogurt, forgot what it's called, but I believe, you should try all of their yogurt desserts and drinks. I love the french windows and the view of the orchard in the background. Sagada is really lovely place to visit, but very hard to reach. Life. 

 

We had our driver dropped us at the town to do some individual sightseeing. You will notice vendors selling these smoked pork. I'm not sure if these are from wild boars or just normal pigs though. I haven't tried these yet, but I really wanna go back and do all the things I missed when we visited Sagada. 

Don't forget to visit Ganduyan Museum and learn the history and culture of the people from Sagada. Taking pictures is prohibited inside, I manage to take some, but of course, if you wanna see what's inside, it would be best to go to Sagada yourself.

Our group head, treated us to a really nice dinner at Homestay Diner. He opted to have dinner at Masferre, but then of course, since it's popular the place was packed. I guess Homestay Diner  has a really good view if it wasn't nighttime. The restaurant was located on an elevated part a little bit far from the museum. After the dinner, our director treated us wine at Masferre, finally, since the place isn't packed anymore when we passed by after dinner. We strolled down South road, but most of the cafe's and bars closed at 10pm, great, not.

Anyway, I get to try these delicious crepes at this tine hole in the wall. I'm assuming the owner is French since he sells crepes with his Filipino assistants. This is probably the last one to close, and I still had to wait in line for these.

I forgot how much this cost but it felt like the price was the same with those bought in the city. The price I paid felt like it was worth it anyway. I feel like I wanna try this again when I come back.

The following day, we had to wake up early in order to catch up the sunrise at Kiltepan Peak. I couldn't even remember if I enjoyed may sleep at the inn, but who cares. OMG, the number of people on this event was overwhelming. I look creepy in the photo, but the main focus should be on those sea of clouds, which is a must see when you go to Sagada. 

Yep. Kiltepan Peak is now off the bucket list.

Our next adventure with be on the way to Baguio City. Why on the way? Because it took, like a day, rather felt like one whole day to reach Baguio City from Sagada.