My First Out-of-the-Country Trip - Hong Kong Adventure!

This year I acquired my passport together with my friend (and travel buddy) but we didn't have any plans of going out-of-the-country at that moment, all I have in mind is just to get a passport to serve as one of my valid ID's.  Then lo and behold, we got to book ourselves a trip to Hong Kong for two (actually it was four but the other days were allotted for flights only) days!

Last week we finally  had our first out-of-the-country trip, I shared all the details of this exciting journey with my family.  Planning the entire trip is a bit difficult so we decided to just have a free-flowing itinerary so we could savor and enjoy the moment and the place.

So let's start with the list of documents we brought with us for the immigration (I didn't know we really had to pass by the immigration):

Documents:

1. PASSPORT - obviously the number one priority and the most important of all.

2. AUTHORITY TO TRAVEL - since we work at a Local Government Unit, this is a requirement.

3. IDENTIFICATION CARD - just in case, the immigration officer asked for another valid I.D. hehe

4. BOARDING PASS 

5. PRINTED COPY OF THE HOTEL BOOKING.

We arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3 around 3 o'clock in the afternoon for our 7 o'clock flight in the evening. Then we proceeded to pay our travel tax so we can go straight to the check-in counter before proceeding to the immigration.

PRE-DEPARTURE IMMIGRATION PROCESS AND FEES:

1. Paid the TRAVEL TAX which cost Php 1,620.00 then proceeded to the check-in counter to get our boarding pass.

2. After getting our boarding passes at the check-in counter, we proceeded to the immigration.  We took this small slip near the entrance, it is a small form where you provide personal details and destination information. 

3. After filling-up the information needed, we went to the immigration counter (I wasn't asked about my trip though, I was lucky).

4. Last is the final security check.

ARRIVING IN HONG KONG

 

Waiting for the train to take us to the airport lobby!!

 

We arrived in Hong Kong before 10 p.m., after getting our baggage we went to the immigration counter (again, I wasn't asked by the immigration officer. I just gave him my passport and the small form I filled-up).  We were then told to take the train going to the airport lobby where we bought our Octopus cards for transportation purposes. We took a cab going to our accommodation, it only costs us more than HKD 200. 

Octopus card costs HKD 150.00

We arrived at Asia Travel House around 10:30 p.m. Upon checking-in to our room, we decided to just take a rest and reserve our remaining energy for the next day. 

DAY 1 (Disney Day)

We woke up early to grab breakfast before heading to Disney Land.  Since it was our first time, we got lost trying to find the train to Yao Ma Tei which is actually just around the corner from our hostel. Luckily, someone from the Shamrock Hotel helped us.

     

We arrived in Disney at 9:39 a.m.. After taking some pictures, we proceeded to claim our tickets. We didn't expect that day to be so sunny and hot. 

We went around and had fun riding their rides.  We consumed all our energy for that day but hey, it was all worth it.  I never once imagined I'd be able to go to Hong Kong's Disney Land. Most especially, meet face to face my favorite Disney Princess - Cinderella. I can't describe the feeling... I almost cried at the sight of her, much more when I talk to her. I was so speechless. This is by far the best experience I've ever had.

Disney at night. Luckily, we were able to catch the Disney Paint the Night Parade which they only do on holiday season.

Up the Mountains we go... (The Buscalan, Kalinga Experience)

It is really nice to get away and unwind from the hustle and bustle of city life, even if it's only for one day.  After seeing a documentary about Apo Whang Od, my friend and I decided to visit her and have our first tattoo. I have always wanted to get a tattoo but scared of what the outcome will be.  So we decided to take a trip to Buscalan, Kalinga.

Going to Buscalan Village is really tough and pretty much "buwis-buhay".  I can no longer recall how long was the trip going there.

 The safest way of going up the village is by foot. The hike begins with a dirt road wide enough for a jeepney which turns into a cemented footpath comprised of moss-covered inclines and very steep staircases. Regardless of the difficulty, the trail unveiled astonishing view that got my mind off the pain that we endured. (Mind you, I'm an Acrophobic so looking down the path we took was such an accomplishment for me.)

If conventional tattoo uses electric-powdered machines, the traditional tattoo artist is called a Mambabatok which utilizes a pair of bamboo sticks, while those skin-piercing needle are replaced with a cingle citrus thorn.  Those permanent markings came from pine soot instead of regular tattoo ink.  These tools in the hands of the Mambabatok equipped with an exquisite backhand tattooing technique are the key elements to the thousand-year old cultural practice called "Batok."

My parents didn't know that I'm going to have a tattoo. 

 I was having second-thoughts about getting a tattoo. Seeing the process and the blood coming out of the skin of the others made me nauseous and nervous at the same time.  I don't know if I could handle the pain and seeing my own blood.  But of course, sayang naman if I will just let the chance pass.

Back then, these skin-deep markings symbolize rank, power and respect among warriors.  Some tattoos were even believed to protect the individuals from evil spirits which may cause them sickness.  For females, lasses were transformed to lovely ladies through tattoos which merely served as ornaments that beautifies these women.  These are like modern day bracelets, earrings and necklaces for us, but of course, those tattoos are irremovable.  The art of tattooing has played a major role in the culture and tradition, not only to the people in Kalinga, but also the many people of the Cordillera region.

I can no longer bear the pain so I asked Emily (one of Apo's granddaughter, I believe) to stop. I was so scared that I told her it's okay not to have it so inked since I really have some skin problems and I'm not sure how long it will take for it to heal.

My oh-my. It really looks painful though. (It took me two weeks for it to be completely healed.) 

The sumptuous breakfast we had the next morning before heading home.

  

                  

 Just being able to see Apo Whang Od is an accomplishment for me. 

I got chills just by looking down the trail.  But it's easier now that we're going home. 

A week after getting the tattoo.

The first question I got from the people I know is "Did it hurt?". Yes, for me it hurts.  But maybe the pain is just psychologically because for sure, machine tattoo hurts more than this.

Hugot lines from A Second Chance movie that will give you all the feels

When the teaser for the "A Second Chance" movie came out, I knew I had to see the movie on its first day or else I'll regret not watching it for, surely, there'll be lots of spoilers coming. Yes, Popoy and Basha nailed it again, pretty much this time.  This movie is a must-see and if you haven't seen it yet, well go ahead and buy those tickets.  Share with us what you think afterwards!

I, together with my friends and co-worker, went to the movie theater at 4:50 in the afternoon.  We were allowed to leave our work a bit earlier! *Yay!* It didn't take long for my tears to start falling. I can totally relate to Popoy and Basha, though I'm not yet married. The pair reminds me of my mom and dad. And I'm such a hopeless romantic so that must also be considered as one of the reasons why I couldn't help myself from crying.  I took notes of their hugot lines while watching the movie so if I got it wrong please feel free to correct me.

THOSE HUGOT LINES FROM THE MOVIE "A Second Chance" THAT WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE FEELS

1.  "Ito na yung huling gabi na mayroong ikaw at ako.  Simula bukas, ang meron na lang ay tayo, tayo habang buhay."
- It's the night before their wedding when Popoy ask Basha to meet him.

2. "Lahat ng mahal, tulad mo, worth it."
- Popoy to Basha

3. "Poy, you made me feel like I'm your life's biggest mistake.  Tangina, tanong ako ng tanong. Ako ba? Ako ba ang problema? Yun pala, ikaw ang problema!"
- Basha to Popoy when she found out they had financial problems.

4. "You want me to trust you, but you don't even trust me."
- I'm not sure, but I think it's with the financial problem they had.

5. "Gusto na kita iwan, Poy.  Gustong-gusto ko na, Pero hindi ko gagawin kasi nangako ako, na kahit ang hirap mo nang mahalin, mamahalin kita.  Kahit nasasaktan ako.  Kasi nangako ako.  I promise to love you even when it hurts.  I love you more when it hurts."
- Basha to Popoy

6. Popoy: " Why is it so easy for you to see the worst in me?"
    Basha: " Why do you make it so hard for me to see the best in you?"

7. "Your love story is what you make it."
- Basha to her friends.

8. Popoy:  "I lost him. I lost the man you married, and I'm so sorry. This is me at my worst. Kaya mo pa ba akong mahalin? Can you honestly love a failure?"
    Basha:  "Kung kailangan kong maghintay hanggang makita mo ulit ang asawa ko, maghihintay ako."

9.  "I was best at loving you, but the worst in letting you love me."
- Popoy to Basha

10. "And I'm also saying goodbye to all of my what ifs.  That it's brave to ask 'what if', but I think it's braver to ask 'what is' - and Bash, I know - you're my 'what is'."
- Popoy to Basha

11.  "I promise to love you at your best, and at your worst."
- Basha to Popoy in a flashback scene

12.  "Two years, Poy.  Kahit may nararamdaman akong mali, I chose to ignore it.  Kasi ang nagmamahal, naniniwala. Nagtitiwala."
- Basha to Popoy

13.  "Our marriage is everything we never hoped for.  Masaya siya, minsan malungkot, minsan masakit, minsan ang pangit.  Pero yun siya.  That's marriage."


Do bring your hanky with you or at least a tissue roll because it sure as hell will make you cry at the end of the movie.  I hope they make another one sometime in the future.

Lessons from Inside Out - Disney Movie

ICYMI, Inside Out is the latest movie produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, it is Pixar's 15th feature-length animated film. If you haven't seen the movie, then I advise you to bring some tissue with you.

The imaginative adventure of different feelings namely: Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger is set inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley.  As baby Riley is born, one of those feelings asks: "Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head?" Joy spontaneously appears - a shimmering, big-eyed Tinkerbell-like pixie - and observes Riley's view of the world on a surveillance screen.  In no more than 33 seconds, Joy is joined by Sadness followed by other emotions - Fear, Disgust and Anger, the latter characterized as a sponge that bursts into flame when being provoked.  Each emotion has a defined purpose in Riley's life: Joy keeps her happy, Anger keeps her life fair (well for Riley's sake), Disgust keeps her from being poisoned both physically and socially, Fear keeps her safe and Sadness... doesn't think she has a purpose in her mind, or that of the other emotions so as a result, she is being ignored by the others. 

The most relevant memories of Riley are housed in glass spheres known as Memory Orbs and power up her five "islands" in her subconscious, each reflecting different aspects of her personality: Family Island, Friendship Island, Goofball Island, Hockey Island and Honesty Island.

When her father gets a new job, Riley's family relocates to San Francisco.  The emotions try everything in their power to make everything a pleasant experience. But then Sadness turns a happy memory orb into a sad one by accidentally touching it and causes a core memory to fall out, Joy decides to keep Sadness preoccupied.  Joy even orders Sadness to not touch anything and let the other emotions do their job on Riley's first day of school.  But there are things that can't be controlled, Sadness touches a memory that causes Riley to cry in front of her new class, creating a new core memory.  Joy then desperately tried to dispose of the new core memory but a struggle with Sadness leads them to being thrown out of their head quarters, leaving Disgust, Fear and Anger to deal with Riley.

Joy and Sadness both agreed to find their way out of the labyrinth-like place called the Long Term Memory, where Riley's past memories are kept and restored.  There they met Bing Bong, Riley's imaginary best friend - a cotton candy-elephant-cat-dolphin pink creature.  Bing Bong is originally a happy and cheerful creature but the pair discovered that he is secretly longing to feel loved again, having been out of job since Riley was about four years old. He said that if he has no purpose anymore in Riley's life, he will cease to exist.  Sadness then comforts the crying Bing Bong, making him feel that everything will be okay and making Joy more confused than ever as to how being sad can help Bing Bong move on.

Okay, I cannot further tell what happened to the trio because it just makes me feel sad to think about what happened to Bing Bong. **spoiler** If you're wondering about what I'm talking about then it's time you see the movie so you can also relate to what I'm feeling.

In this movie, we'll learn that in every joy that comes in our life behind it is great sadness. Without Sadness, we cannot let our frustrations out, we cannot feel any pain. Without sadness, we cannot appreciate life.

To sum it all up, the movie is quite superb. It's nothing like compared to other Disney Pixar movies we've seen before. It makes extraordinary use of knowing cuteness. Don't be afraid to come out of the cinemas crying or wiping tears off your eyes, you can always say that "It's okay to be sad."

Girl's Generation rock their Lion Heart MV with fab designer dresses

From Versace, to Dolce and Gabbana, to Valentino and Gucci; pretty much all the fab designer clothes were in this video that recently caught the eye of the netizens.

Let's take a look at the girls' clothes in the video:

As we all know, Pink is the signature color of the Girl's Generation and so in the first dance scene the girls can be seen wearing outfits from Versace's RTW 2015 collection.



Some members chose to wear dresses from the Dolce and Gabbana collection for the date scene.

         

                                                    
 


                   



But then not all of them have the taste for D&G or Versace, some chose to opt for different high-end designers.  Like Sunny and Hyoyeon who opted for a Valentino dress

  Tiffany (my second favorite after Jessica) opted for a Gucci dress.

Yoona in a Chloe matching top and trousers.

Here's the full Music Video of their song "Lion Heart" for you to see all their high-end outfits.

#AlDubAgainstAllOdds

Looks like we've got something to celebrate for over the weekend as the infamous Yaya Dub and Frankie's (#YaKie) Wedding was considered null.  The pair was supposed to be married in the August 22, 2015 episode of Kalye Serye, before the time hits 2:30 pm, as it was Lola Nidora's dying wish  who was, according to her Dr. Tan-ning, was set to die on that same day and same time.  

Here's a recap of what happened earlier at the wedding: *all pictures courtesy of Eat Bulaga*

Yaya Dub can be seen begging Lola Nidora to call off the wedding.

Lola Nidora begs Alden not to stop the wedding as part of her dying wish.

And here's the most heartbreaking part of all:

They're like saying good-bye to each other!

We're all hoping that Alden will go stop the wedding!

Breaks our heart into million pieces:

Alden got up to his feet when he saw Yaya Dub crying!*feels*

Alden tried to go to the wedding venue to stop the wedding but he couldn't get out of the studio because of the Rogelios! (Gesh! Where did they came from? Nag-multiply sila dahil sa ulan?)

Anak ng tipaklong! Sana nakisama man lang mga Rogelios ngayon o.

And then I cannot...... *grabs tissue*

Flashback to Day 1: When Yaya Dub first saw Alden on TV. *cries*

The pastor then pronounced Frankie and Yaya Dub as "Mr. and Mrs. Arinolli", but before the couple could kiss, Lola Nidora asked Frankie to sign the check worth P51,000,500.00.

Our pambansang Bae can only cry as he heard the pastor say "I now pronounce you husband and wife"

Atat naman pumirma tong si Frankie -________-

But before Frankie could finish signing the check, sirens can be heard over the background. Cops barged into the wedding venue and accused the pastor of being fake - stating that Frankie and Yaya Dub's wedding can't be considered real.

This is not what we were expecting but we're glad for the interruption!

It was then revealed that everything was just a set-up. Lola Nidora is not sick, she just wanted Frankie to give her the P50 million pesos so she could pay the ransom needed for her "Secret Diary" that was stolen few episodes before.

Lola is a genius! *beastmode*

Ang pag-ibig nararamdaman, hindi binibili, pinaglalaban, ini-ingatan at at ipinagkakaloob sa tamang panahon. - Lola Nidora

Lola Nidora apologized to Alden and Yaya saying that love will come... sa tamang panahon.  The show ended with the two being cheesy and sweet again to each other.

Do I need to put caption to all these pictures? Their smile explains it all.

 Now let's see what will happen to this split-screen couple in the next days.