BOHOL

This is a beatiful view of the famous chocolate hills from Sagbayan. They're green because it was rainy season during the last week of November. You can get really close to the hill if you want:



It's not just the hills in Sagbayan, we've also got bonding moments with our dear tarsier friend:



He's so tiny I bet you can't see him. Here's a closer look:



There's only a few of them left in the wild so you can't touch him or let the camera flash at him.

Since we were already there, we couldn't miss the view from the famous site in Carmen:



We couldn't resist to fly and so we did:



Loboc is just close so we had to check it too. My sister (sporting a blue top) was kind enough to be my model for some of the shots. There's the Loboc river, museum, the unfinished bridge which is supposed to demolish the church if they get it done and of course the church and the bell tower. Horseback riding at night is thrilling especially when you have to maneuver the horse to climb a steep slope.



The car finally broke down because of too much adventure and we had to take public transporation which added more fun! Panglao island deserved to be the ultimate destination.



Thanks to my friend for making all these possible. I will definitely go back. 8-)

Antulang Beach Resort

My second time to visit Dumaguete was 3rd quarter of 2007. It's one place I can't miss. While there we visited Antulang Beach Resort. Photos are from my cousin. I can't wait to be back there!

SHANGHAI

It was Autumn so it was getting cooler and the temperature drops after every rain. My one week of work in Shanghai was good and we had the chance to check some of the cities' famous sites.

Here's a picture of me at Pudong. Right across are the beautiful night lights of Puxi (the East side):



We never missed The Bund of course:



And there were other wonderful sites:



The food was nothing so different because Chinese food is also common in the Philippines but it was my first time to be eating authentic Chinese food and struggling with my chopsticks. We had a few exotic food like frogs and black chicken since we rarely have these on the lunch table. Western food and other types of cuisine are also available. ;)

Shopping is great if you have enough RMB or Yuan. US Dollar wouldn't be hard to exchange but the charges will kill you. We had our money exchanged in Hong Kong which is our last stop to the city. They say it is best to have your money exchanged where you are from so you won't lose too much RMB.

Chinese silk purses and garments are very common and can be cheap. I bought myself purses for only 5 RMB each but it depends on your bargaining skills. At the very first store we came across, I bought the same exact purse at 20 RMB because I was too excited. Our Chinese friends helped us with the bargaining since most of the locals speak only a little bit of English. My Filipino colleague made the best bargains using gestures and calculators to communicate the price she wanted. So if you go shopping in Shanghai make sure you have a lot of energy stored for the action.

On our last day, we strolled back to the hotel and found small bookstores along Weifang Road in Pudong. Paper stationery and pens are cheap and I got myself a diary. If you love stationery then you should check these stores.

Too bad I didn't find yarn or craft stuff in the places we checked. There must be a lot of them lying somewhere. In one of the malls we visited, I saw a lady knitting while she was waiting for a customer.

Overall, Shanghai is a highly urbanized city and less traditional than I've expected. However, Chinese culture is still everywhere which makes the city very unique. I would still want to visit the place again and hopefully see more of the traditional places.