Adventure Accounting

Cubao memories... When I was a kid, my mom took me to Fiesta Carnival frequently. I don't remember every ride we took but I remember we were there frequently. (RIP Fiesta Carnival). When I was a teenager, my highschool classmates and I used to hang-out in the new Gateway when we were all sick and tired of SM North Edsa (Trinoma wasn't around back then). Over the years, Cubao just became a crowded MRT spot and a hotbed for pickpockets. An adventure in Cubao is not enticing. I did not want to explore. I did go to Cubao Expo once to check on the boots on sale in Janilyn but that's it. In my adult life, I just go to Cubao whenever there's an event or concert in Araneta Coliseum - oooh, it is now Smart-Araneta. :P   This time, a new attraction put Cubao back in the map. Art in Island is an Interactive Art Museum located right beside the Cubao Expo complex (or is it really part of it?). The museum allows visitors to interact with the art pieces. I've had my fai...

This is a "pakyawan post" on my first three days in Los Angeles, USA. I learned how to drive in college. Driving caused me stress before I even stepped in the classroom. I had no issues taking the jeep anyway, so there was no need to drive. When I started working, I learned the ropes how to be a bad-ass MRT commuter. There's no need to drive in EDSA. But when I changed work , my mother hounded me daily that I should start driving. I finally gave in and tried to give driving another chance - after 11 years.  C5 at 10:00PM, Northbound. Huhuhuhu. I've been proficiently driving (or so I say) for about a year when I travelled to a city where everyone should know how to drive. Driving is a survival skill in Los Angeles.  *I hopped off the plane at L.A.X. with a dream and my cardigan / Welcome to the land of fame, excess...*. Yeah, I let a Miley Cyrus song in one of my blog posts. I had less than three hours of sleep in that 12-hourflight . I spent the fli...

Jose Rizal, the Philippines’ national hero, introduced me to Madrid. Rizal studied at the Universidad Central de Madrid and took up medicine. Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. Aside from the touristic spots the city offers, it can also serve as a base to nearby cities suitable for daytrips, such as Toledo and Valencia.   Our train from Barcelona arrived at lunch time. We had to navigate the multi-level metro station of Madrid and find our way going to U Hostels in Calle Sagasta.  Madrid's super underground metro system Took us another hour to get there. Check-in was still at 3pm and we were famished. We asked for a recommended restaurant, better fuel the body first before exploring Madrid. We grabbed a map to mull over lunch.   Went back to the hostel to check-in first, refill our water bottles then started to conquer Madrid. The busy streets of Madrid. Not as picturesque as Barcelona though. Plaza Mayor was e...

I wanted to make an everything-Gaudi in Barcelona post. But after sorting the photos, that’s gonna be one long blog post. Because of thechange in flight schedule , our time in Barcelona was just limited to two days (was supposed to be three, but changes happen). We had a couple of hours sleep and woke up to a sunny and promising vibe of Barcelona. We had to walk a block away to find a nearby cafe. It was a nice walk. The blocks here are huge and long. So when they say “a couple of blocks away”, that is not exactly “near” by walking standards. And by this time in the trip, our walking standards are different for Philippine walking standards.   Barcelona Breakfast Breakfast: €1.80 for a cup of coffee and a croissant. Super plus: the cafe has a toilet you can use. Our hostel gave us some maps to navigate around the city. We also booked our Sagrada Familia tickets for a slot that afternoon. Lines were terrifyingly long, they said. Our hostel did not have a print...

According to our guide from the Athens City Tour , there are three museums that we have to visit in our lifetime. 1) The Smithsonian in Washington DC, 2) The British Museum in London and 3) The Acropolis Museum in Athens. These museums are the most important. He’s the archaeologist. We had an extra full day in Athens because our flight got moved to a later time. We gained one day in Athens and lost a day allotted for Barcelona. Boooo. I had to book another night in the AthensBackpackers. Ugh. We checked-out and left our luggage the proceeded to brave the sun of Athens. The Acropolis Museum   was just walking distance from the Acropolis. Luggage area of Athens Backpackers The museum had a modern structure. For me, it was quite an eyesore amidst all the ruin surrounding the Acropolis. The museum was built above some ruins. Or... the ruins were put underneath. You can view some from the glass floor. There are ruins beneath that glass The muse...

Two days of my Davao adventure were happily spent in a paradise called Isla Reta . With only 36 hours, I ditched my planned Samal Island daytrip plan and opted to check out the museums, restos, and of course... shopping. I only have one whole day for all of these. I chose another place this time: MyHotel, located in the very busy San Pedro St. Dinner: some random buffet place On the night of my arrival, I randomly picked a buffet resto near my place. The restaurant was wel-lit, and the diners were decently dressed (like they came from an event). Seems like a good choice.  For Php 139.00, I had two whole plates of the main course and one small plate of dessert. Hina ko no?  I wanted to try some local sushi buffet ( meron ba??? ) but I didn’t get to research on that. The kilawin was enough to fill that craving. Comes with a free glass of iced tea.

It was 6:30 when we arrived at the front entrance of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It was already closed. I resigned myself to just taking photos of the sign. But our driver said we could still get inside. He drove us to the entrance. True enough, there were some guys hanging out ( read: tumatambay ) at the front. Kinda scary scenario for tourist girls, in this old high-school-turned-prison, at night, with a bunch of guys. I didn’t feel safe at that moment, but I wanted to see the place. We were charged $3 because it was already past the museum hours. I knew the fee costs $2 so I smelled that this was not exactly legal – ala colorum na tour itoh teh . We bought the tix anyway. Our driver went with us inside. He kept on apologizing that he didn’t speak a lot of English because he didn’t go to school. We smiled and said that was okay – he was so helpful. He toured us around the deserted prison. The ten commandments, the prisoner's version He said he was a sma...

Or Saigon, as I’ve known since my kindergarten years. Kinda harder to spell now. We landed in Tan Son Nhat International Airport past midnight. Normally, I’d like to camwhore around a new airport, but it was already past midnight. It was a toss between arriving a new land and wanting to rest my head in the nearest pillow available.  Group pic time! We headed to the foreign exchange desk to change our dollars. The forex rate then was 1USD=20,700 VND. We changed $50 = VND 1,035,000 for our 5nights/4 days stay. Our accommodations, the bus fare and tours all accepted dollars so the Dong will just be for food, tips, minor purchases and some souvenirs.   The forex counter After being millionaires, we headed to our pick-up service. I booked the pick-up service from our hotel (Bich Duyen Hotel) for $14. I didn’t want to deal with taxis after arriving in a foreign country after midnight. After all, we are millionaires now, so we deserve some royal treatment...

I learned about Chateau de Versailles before I learned how to multiply fractions. Not at school, but from this thick blue book entitled “How? Where? When? Why?”; I think it was a supplement book from of encyclopedias that we had.  Yeap, you read that word right – encyclopedia.There was the good ol' encyclopedia those days where you could lose your thoughts into. Probably what remained in my young mind when I read about Chateau de Versailles was that castles were real. The castles of the Disney cartoons were just...moving pictures. This picture in the book was real. In the far country of France in a continent called Europe, there lies Palace de Versailles. It didn't become my dream goal at that moment, but it was rather a pipe dream of sorts back then. Childhood and castles Today,Imma see a castle. Palace, castle, whatever, I'm gonna see it. I’ve seen Doge’s Palace in Venice and Palazzo de Vecchio in Florence but this is the one that palace that I was really...

Boujour Paris! It was another cold morning in Paris. Although I was in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, I wasn’t exactly springing out of my bunk bed when I woke up. Felt like I was waking up to a morning going to Simbang Gabi – read: anlamig. I had a lazy morning. Took my time in eating my breakfast and getting ready to conquer Paris. The Louvre is also covered by the Paris Museum Pass. So I can skip the line to buy tickets. However, there is still the line to enter the museum – which can be quite long, if you enter the Pyramid entrance. If you want to skip the long lines, use the side entrance in Passage Richelieu. Get off at metro stop Palais-Royal Musee du Louvre. I’ve gotten hold of the metro by now. I still need to consult the map of course, but as long as you have your destination in mind, you’ll eventually figure out which trains to ride and which stops to get off. It is like solving a puzzle every time you  ride the metro – finding the easiest route from po...

Replete withfood , I headed out walk to Cluny Museum a.k.a. National Museum of the Middle Ages. I’ve mentioned many times that I am not a fan of museums but heck, I am in Paris! Time to do some art appreciation. I bought the 4-day Paris Museum Pass for €50. You can get the pass at the airport and some shops mentioned in their website. How to use the Paris Museum Pass : Fill-out the name and “valid from” fields at the back of the pass. The date is the first day that you will use the pass. You will show your pass every time you enter a museum covered by the pass. It is important to plan the schedule of your museum visits. Some museums are open on some days of the month so it might be cheaper to get a 2-day pass if you visit some museums on their free days. For an art enthusiast, this is a good choice – you can just go back to the museum as you fancy.

Vatican is a city within the city. You can step foot on a different country without leaving Rome. Vatican has its own flag and its own coat of arms.  I woke up with slightly aching legs from all the walking I did the day before . Good thing the metro was in full operation. I had no plans of walking to the Vatican City. How to go to Vatican City: I took the metro line A and got off Cipro stop (closer to the Vatican museums) – €1. If you plan to head off to St. Peter’s Basilica first, your stop is Ottaviano – which is closer. I initially planned to ride a bus going there but I was warned by my roommate in Florence about the pickpockets in the buses. After losing my Ipod , I was not gonna take a chance this time. I read how the queue can be extremely and excruciatingly long so I booked my ticket online (via this website ). Vatican museum tickets cost €15 plus a “pre-sales”/online booking fee of €4 = a total of €19 . Before booking, note that the tickets are non-re...

Florence is the land of artwork – must see for the art enthusiasts out there. You will get dizzy with the art your eyes can feast on in this city. Museo di Palazzo Vecchio Cost of ticket: €4,50. The PaIazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. I read about this but I didn’t plan going to the Museo because there’s just so much to do in Florence. However, I wandered off from the Duomo and found this brick fortress-palace. It was quite interesting for my eyesight as we do not have a variety of brick structures in the Philippines. They have this fake statue of David outside. I repeat. It is a fake. A FAKE. The purple camera case with a fake David