Posts Tagged ‘blogsherpa’

Posted on February 4, 2010

O Boracay

This little island is quite amazing. The emerald, sea green ocean, the long stretch of white sandy beaches paralleled with an abundance of restaurants of various cuisines …. and of course, buffets with “bottom-less iced teas” that try to under price and out smörgåsbord each other (we found one for as low as PHP 250).

One restaurant in particular where we had some of the best Greek dishes was at the Cyma Boracay Restaurant (the calamari and moussaka was awesome).  Watch out for anyone who orders the flaming cheese as the staff screams out “Opa” as soon as they light the fire (scared the crap out of me).

We stayed at the Le Soleil de Boracay – a delightful beach-front resort with excellent rooms and services (no complaints here, well except for the included breakfast, I wouldn’t recommend their salads from a can – eat out).

Of course, as soon as you step outside your hotel you will be “politely” bombarded with people trying to sell you sailing, ATV, and water sport activities, pearls, sunglasses, and even on-the-beach massages and pedicures (hmm, that sounds like a good idea).  For PHP 2,500 (a little over 40 bucks, yeah, I overpaid) I got my own sailing boat tour and crew.

Tour guide cuya Don-Dong and crew members Jun-Jun, and Eric (yes, Eric has the weird nickname) took me out for a spectacular sail and snorkeling tour around the island. It was indeed a little “hardcore” as the four of us manned a single-driver, dual sail outrigger. Each of us had to periodically balance-out both sides of the boat as we “raced” around the island, jumping over whatever waves that we could find (the crew noticed I was having a pretty good time dangling off the edge).

Crocodile island, one of the sights the tour guides will say you have to see,  remarkably looked exactly like a crocodile floating on the sea. Crystal Caves is the other tour highlight but unfortunately I wasn’t able to see them due to the high tide (Cuya Don-dong failed to mention that high tides part). My rented snorkeling gear kind of sucked but I managed and was able to see many tropical fish (even a 2-foot long sea snake).  The tour shortly started after 9:30 and I was back just in time for lunch. It was definitely worth it.

If you are interested in a “physical challenge” (for which the BG boys would appreciate) try swimming from one end of the beach to the other (Station 1 to Station 3). I managed to swim from our hotel at station 2 to station 3 and got totally wiped out by the end of it.

The 3 days-two night package offered by Zest Airways was a pretty good deal and the airline has many more options for travel in the Philippines as well as in Singapore and Korea.

Boracay, done!

…scratched that off my tabo list (offline, my own Filipino joke).

Posted on January 31, 2010

Baler – the hidden gem of the Philippines

We literally only had less than 12 hours in Baler but I can share this much, we’ll definitely be back again to explore this hidden gem in the Aurora province.

The drive from Manila to our relatives place in Quezon was not bad – 6-hours through beautiful rural settings, rice fields, arid landscapes, and even intimate close-ups through narrow dirt roads between small houses.

We stayed at the Bahia de Baler, which was quite a delight since it looked fairly new with modern decor as compared to the local competition (Baler Inn, etc.). To our surprise, welcome coconut drinks and evening cookies and warm milk  was included with our room (also included breakfast for P2,500 a night).

First thing in the morning, we noticed that we were not that far from the beach (we could even see people surfing from our balcony view) and the resort also offered bicycle and ATV rentals. The area had this sort of “Tofino-like” feel.

Our room had coffee-table book entitled “Baler, Aurora” by Senator Edgardo J. Angara, which I had to get (it was more expensive than a nightly room rate. I would really recommend getting your hands on this book before you visit. After reading the first few chapters (the history, the beautiful scenery), it really made think about ditching my parent’s itinerary and stay just a little bit longer in Baler.

Ah well, until next time (hopefully).

Posted on January 25, 2010

Mahalo Maui

It was our first time in Hawaii and more significantly our first reintroduction to North American culture. When we landed at the airport it felt so surreal that we were actually here. I quickly had to get used to driving again as well as not worrying about power outages, water shortages, an abundance of rich, American-sized food portions and lots of “options” to choose from…(more about that offline).

Anyhow, here are some highlights,

The best beach that we found to have the best of everything (a nice sandy beach, deep clear blue waters, reefs for snorkelling, and no crowds) was Po’olenalena Beach in Makena. It was such an amazing beach to swim in and it was also the same beach where I met Bob the sea turtle and “Big Momma” (more photos and videos coming soon). Also, we hear that end of Jan and all of February are the best times to see humpback whales but we did see a lot breaching from our condo (suite 126 at Menehune Shores was a great find) and we definitely heard them singing while snorkelling (we can even hear their songs on our captured underwater videos).

Pa’ai is one of those small hippy towns with funky shops, boutiques, and great local restaurants. There is also beach with guaranteed waves and surf.

The historic Lahaina town is where we spent the evening at the Old Lahaina Luau for some traditional hula dances and pa’ina ahi ahi (evening meal feast). Lauaina is well known as the quant little town on Maui’s leeward coast, full of sites, shops, and restaurants – quite spectacular sight.

Finally, the local cab drivers have been a great source of information for finding the best places to see and visit (including when, where, “why”, and “HOW”, etc.). However, the book Maui Revealed – The Ultimate Guidebook by Andrew Doughty that seems to be the unanimous choice for in-depth info about Maui.

Swimming with Bob

Aloha!

Posted on January 15, 2010

Best book store in Kathmandu

You will see Mandala Books on Kantipath Road and inevitably stumble upon Pilgrims and but United Books is underdog book store in KTM.

The owner of the shop was extremely friendly and really went out of his way to try to find a particular book that I was looking for. Like most stores, this one also buys and sells used books and offers competitive prices.

Yet, what makes this stand out is character…. any guy who posts up a smiling photo of themselves in front of their shop gets my thumbs up.

Posted on December 11, 2009

Fair Trade Shops in Kathmandu & Patan

There are many shops in Kathmandu and in Patan that are fair trade, locally made, and supportive of small communities and women’s groups. Here are some of the most popular stores and our favourite ones both big and small.

Mahaguthi – Craft with a Conscience – in Lazimpath (small store), Kupondole, Patan (main store)
One of our favourite stores to visit with a wide range of heritage and cultural products.

Above: Photos from the Lazimpath store. Below: Photos from the Kupondole (Patan) store.

Dhukuti – Kupondole, Patan
Dhukuti is also a member of ACP – the Association for Craft Producers. Providing training, employment, access to health care and other benefits to over 1200 women, ACP employs and empowers women from severely disadvantaged backgrounds.

Photos: second floor of Dhukuti. Ooops, I only saw the “Please do not take any photos” after I took these photos.

This multi-level store pretty much has everything to decorate your home and to remind you of Nepal.

Third World Crafts – Lazimpath
They also provide international shipping.

Folk Nepal – Lazimpath
Metal & Wooden Crafts, Decorations, Fashionable clothing and more in this 2-level, spacious store.

Kumbeshwar Technical School – Patan
provides vocational training opportunities with allowance to women and young men in hand knitting, carpet weaving and furniture making. In order to fund and sustain these activities the school also operates income generating programme producing high quality knitwear, carpets and furniture.

See quiz contest video below from their local programmes…

I also hear they provide great deals on carpets!

Jawalakhel Handicraft Centre (The Tibetan Refugee Camp) – Jawalakhel, Patan
one of the Nepal’s largest manufacture  of carpets…huge collections of beautiful carpets by Contemporary, Traditional and Persian types of designs.

Photos above: outside the centre, it was a little hard to find at first.
Below: inside the work area and the carpet showroom.

An amazing, friendly place with lots of selection and you can also walk through the carpet making facilities. However, it is a little on the pricey side.

Women’s Skill Development – Pokhara
“Established in 1975, the WSDP has been committed to providing the women of Nepal with the finest vocational skills training possible.”

You can find their products in almost every fair trade shop in Nepal. The father in-law got an excellent side bag.

Fibre Weave Nepal – Kupondole, Patan
This is a new store that we stumbled upon and coincidentally stumbled upon a workshop where the owners were teaching local Nepali women how to weave. Interesting and beautiful hand-made woven products.

Related Organizations in Nepal

Fair Trade Group Nepal – Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTG Nepal) is a consortium of fair trading organisations working with the aim to uplift socio-economic status of underprivileged and marginalised producers of Nepal. It was informally established in 1993, was formally registered as an NGO in 1996 and in 1997 the FTG Nepal secretariat was established.

Association of Craft Producers - a non-profit group that provides design, marketing, training and technical services to low-income artisans of all ethnic backgrounds – 90% of whom are women.

Ten Thousand Villages

World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)