Summer Getaway 2010 #1: Potipot Island, Zambales

Potipot Island

View of the whole island.

Potipot is an island situated in the province of Zambales specifically in Candelaria. I can't quite remember how we got there since had our own van for our transportation though it took us about 6 hours including our trip to the market which took us 1 hour and our stop over which took 30 minutes and we had to wait for another 30 minutes for the boat which took us from the shore of Zambales to Potipot island.

Church in Candelaria, Zambales

Just across the Church. It's like a plaza.

The public library in Candelaria.

The boat that we rented.

One of the boats which you can hire.

The boat as far as I can remember, you need to rent for 600 pesos one way but can accomodate up to 10 persons so that's 1200. The entrance fee in Potipot is 300 pesos for overnight stay and 250 if you won't be staying there for the night. There are no hotels on the island so you either bring a sleeping bag or tent but there are toilets and shower rooms.

This one I believe is for display purpose only.

The island is really small you can tour around it in less than an hour. The sand is almost white more on very light golden brown and the water is clear and there are lots of trees.

Shadow play.

A bit grayish, golden, white sand.

I felt relaxed while under this tree.

What's unique on this island is the dead trees. As would observe from my pictures, there there quite a few trees along the shore but again, they are already dead but since they are so big they can't be moved from their place and people would usually take pictures on top of those trees.

One of the dead trees there with my shawl hanging. Picture courtesy of sir Allen from EMSPH.

The huge dead tree.

My friend walking towards the tree to take pictures.

There is one particular tree there that if you search Google, you'll notice that it's the favorite spot of tourists and photographers because of its size where you can walk on top of it and the color unlike most trees which are brown, this one is gray or white since its just dead which suits the blue sea and sky. It looks pretty especially if you take black and white pictures of it or if you place a contrasting color such as what I was wearing that day which was blue or what my friend wore which was orange.

My friend and I under the giant dead tree.

My friends on the giant dead tree by the shore.

 Another part of the island is very rocky but quite shallow so you need to walk like 30 meters from the shore to reach like a waist high water level but a few meters beyond that you can already snorkel and see fishes. Unfortunately, I don't know how to swim so I didn't dare snorkel but there are also fishes near the shore as you can see from my video.

It's still shallow from here.

There are also lots of starfish there like the blue starfish we found and another kind of starfish which is bigger but is colored brown and has some thorn like features.

Underwater shot of the starfish that I saw.

Thorny starfish.

Blue starfish.

You can also bring liquor there like what one of us did. Sir Hajji was our bartender in Potipot and made us drink B-52 cocktail or sometimes called Blow Job.

B-52 also known as Blow Job.

Sir Hajji doing his stuff.

Sunset in Potipot is very beautiful as you can see...

Sunset in Potipot.

A different view of the sunset.

Not just the sunset, take a look at the sunrise too!

As if I was holding the sun.

Overall it's a beautiful island and I really recommend going there but I think like any other resorts or beaches, better go there during off peaks where there are only a few people so you can fully enjoy the place without the noise of other people. We went there during the month of May so it was a bit crowded.

Restaurant Review: Yellow Cab Pizza

HOT!

Since they serve great tasting New York style pizza, you won't think that Yellow Cab is Filipino owned. Because the ambience of their restaurants are simple and very casual, it's nice place to hang out with your friends and eat one of the best comfort food you'll think of which of course is pizza.

YUM!

Their pizza is delicious and the serving is really great for large groups especially for parties. Unlike other pizza parlors, their pizza are not bland, has lots of toppings, especially the cheese, and even though the crust is not that thick, it's not too crispy nor too soggy. What's even great is that even if you reheat the pizza the next day from the fridge, it still tastes great! The price for me is reasonable enough coz of the flavor and serving.

New Shoes: Disney Sneakers from Primadonna

I bought new shoes yesterday from Primadonna, a local boutique. 

I actually had plans on buying shoes but I was thinking of which shoes to buy. I want comfortable shoes like sneakers and so I thought of buying Chuck Taylor shoes but then while at the mall last weekend, my friend showed me these pair of Disney shoes from Primadonna. I was like,"Wow! So Cute!!! I want those!"

The shoes come in different Disney designs like Mickey and Minnie, Mickey and Pluto, and they also come in different colors like blue, green, gray, white, navy blue and black and white. These shoes look good especially when you're wearing shorts.

The shoes are priced at 1099 pesos if I remember it correctly though they are on sale right now (799 pesos) because I think they are running out of sizes already. I was lucky I was able to get a size 6 for this pair and by the way they are in US sizes. I got a size 4.5 US which is equivalent to our size 6. I am actually a size 7 but I usually I get one size smaller if it's from US.

The soles are the same color as the shoe itself.

the box with a pair of Mickey hands holding it.

Movie Review: Easy A

 
Easy A is a comedy movie starring Emma Stone (Super Bad, House Bunny, Zombieland and Spiderman). The movie is about the life of high school students particularly the ones who aren't popular and how they struggle with it. Emma Stone portrays Olive Penderghast, a nice, smart girl and though pretty, she is a very unpopular and is almost invisible in her school until one day she lied about losing her virginity to her best friend and it spread like wild fire. Things got even worse when she gave her gay friend a favor and lied even more. The rumor spread and desperate virgins who know about her secret started asking for her help as well. Olive became famous for her promiscuity and at first she did not like it until she realized it made her popular and even enjoyed it but of course it took its toll on her. Olive relates her experience to the book The Scarlet Letter which is about adultery though she kind of took it the other way around.

I personally like Emma Stone even with her previous movies such as Super Bad and House Bunny. This is her first starring role and I really think she did great. The movie is really funny in my opinion and you can learn quite a lot of lessons from it.

Pacquiao VS Margarito

I watched the live streaming of the fight and Pacman won over Margarito just a few hours ago.

The most awaited boxing fight of this year: Manny Pacquiao VS Antonio Margarito. Margarito is taller by Pacman therefore has a longer reach but it did not stop Pacman. Pacman used his speed during the fight. Margarito was like a punchbag though sometimes he would corner Pacquiao at the last ten seconds of every round. During round 5, Margarito was already bleeding due to the cut in his right eye. Margarito fought well even with all the wounds on his face, he did not give up. I was actually waiting for Margarito to get knocked out because you can clearly see how exhausted he was already. Pacquiao on the other hand just kept on moving and punching Margarito.

The first seven rounds were won by Pacquiao as stated in the scorecards but Margarito gave his best during the next two rounds but of course those two points did not affect Pacman's standing.

The fight lasted until the last round and obviously Pacquiao won by unanimous decision. Even with his blood shut eyes, and purple face, I salute Margarito. Even though it's very clear that he cannot beat Pacquiao during the first half of the battle, he still fought and did not give up. With his right eye bleeding and purplish and his left eye red and almost closed he still stood and fought.

This type of sport can either boost your career or make you lose it while risking your life that is why I salute all those boxers who take the risk like Margarito and Pacquiao. For sure all Filipinos are celebrating now or still watching the delayed telecast of the fight. I will be expecting voices of screaming people later. LOL!

Restaurant Review: Taco Bell

Taco Bell has been in our country for like five years but surprisingly I haven't tried eating there once even if it's just a ride away from our place and I always pass by Taco Bell every time I go to Cubao. I remember even meeting with my high school friend there but I did not eat there. I even buy breads at BreadTalk which is in front of Taco Bell.

One time my colleagues and I agreed to watch Step Up 3D in Gateway Mall and they are fans of Taco Bell for its nachos and the potato. I was like, "Sure! It'll be my first time to eat at Taco Bell!" So my colleague and I bought this Grande Meal for two which contains the nachos, 2 chalupas, 2 potato side dishes and 2 drinks. They said the nachos are good and so I couldn't wait to try it. The Grande Meals costs 285 pesos.

Grande Meal for two

  So while watching, I ate the potato and then when we were about to eat the nachos, my colleague accidentally dropped the nachos on the floor. I understand that it's dark inside the cinema but I was like. "Huhu... It was supposed to be my chance to taste those nachos." Oh well... at least I was still able to eat the chalupa.

The nachos!!!

And because of that I was not able to get over it... when my high school friend went out to shop for clothes, I asked if she wants to try Taco Bell. Even though my friend stayed in New York for five years, she has not tried Taco Bell yet. We bought the same meal and so I was able to taste the nachos at last. The nachos are indeed good especially the toppings which include the ground beef, cheese, tomatoes and sour cream, but nothing special. It tastes like taco but the nachos alone tastes really good.

Mmm... potatoes!!!

My friend liked the potato very much and so did I. The chalupas are also good but again, nothing special. It has bacon and cheese inside a soft flat bread.


My friend and I were so full just from the nachos and the potatoes that we had to take home the chalupas. Overall I might go back to Taco Bell for their potato or maybe try their other food.

T-Shirt Shopping

My friend wanted to shop for new clothes so I accompanied her yesterday. I also wanted to buy some new shirts coz it's been a while since I bought one. My friend, Dyan, wanted some Korean style clothing. Usually we shop at Sta. Lucia Mall in Marcos Hiway because it's near our place or in St. Francis Square in Ortigas because it's a big bazaar and you can buy cheap clothes there but I thought of trying Landmark in Ayala, Makati coz it's like a big department store and they also have some cheap clothes there plus we can easily hop to SM Makati, Greenbelt or Glorietta if we want to look for more options.

We went to Landmark and shopped for shirts. We saw this over-sized shirts, almost like a dress and I bought the one in blue and white with panda prints for 199.75 pesos. I have noticed that there is a trend on pandas relating it to nautical theme. I also bought a shirt before from Just G that has a nautical theme with a cute panda in a sailor suit (499.75 pesos).

We bought more shirts in Landmark, and we bought this Korean themed shirts from a company called X Cute Me. My friend and I think it should be read "Execute Me". LOL! We're not sure but anyways, the print is cool, one says Made in Korea and the other one has a Yin Yang design. These shirts are cheap but good in quality (169.75 pesos each)!

After we bought these shirts in Landmark, we went to SM Makati and bought MORE shirts. I was supposed to buy Pucca shirts but I saw these Disney shirts and Spongebob shirts. I don't have any Disney nor Spongebob shirts yet and the quality of the shirts and their prints are very good. I bought Donald and Daisy Duck shirts which came in a box. Each shirt costs 349.75 pesos.

I think they have this promo where any shirt that you buy will come in a box or small bag ready to be given as a gift because of the Christmas season.

I bought this pink Spongebob shirt, sooooo CUTE! It came in a small yellow bag.

Next time I might buy for new pants since I already have lots of shirts.

Restaurant Review: Greenwich Pizza

Before my friend and I shopped for shirts yesterday at Ayala, we met at Robinson's Metro East and ate lunch there. We ate at Greenwich. I am actually not a fan of Greenwich because I really like tasty pizzas with lots of toppings somthing like Pizza Hut or our famous local pizza restoYellow Cab. Anyway, Greenwich has this Big Meals where you can choose from four meals which may contain a combination of pizza, pasta, rice, chicken and drinks. We chose meal B where it already has chicken, rice, spaghetti and a slice of pizza and your choice of softrdrink.

129 pesos for this meal.

Before we ordered I saw their advertisement for their MooShake. It's, of course, a shake but it's cream based. It only has two flavors, double chocolate and strawberries and cream. I chose strawberries and creamand my friend chose double chocolate.

 The MooShake is priced at 59 pesos ala carte but you cna upgrade your drink from softdrink to MooShake for 35 pesos which we did.

Double Chocolate has Nestle Crunch pieces on top.

The shakes tastes good, not too sweet, not too thick though there is nothing special. I am curious though on the double chocolate flavor but my friend did not react to it that much coz usually if we eat something great we react. I might try their double chocolate when I eat there again if it's still on promo.

Restaurant Review: Don Henrico's

Checking the menu? No. I was actually looking at my camera. xD

 My friend and I went to Mall of Asia to watch the concert of Justin Timberlake. After the concert we were starving and there were a few restaurants open left and good thing Don Henrico's was open. I haven't really tried eating there even if there's a branch near us at The Brickroad in Cainta. My friend and I shared the seafood fettuccine, pizza and a slice of blueberry cheesecake.

Lots o beers! And an aquarium!

The seafood fettuccine was great, creamy and not too heavy.

This one is actually good!

The pizza was also great but we had to take half of it home coz we were already full eating the pasta and a slice each of the pizza.

Pizza!

And of course, you have to eat dessert when dining out and so we ordered a slice of blueberry cheesecake. It was kinda expensive I think for 100+ and the serving was really small that I can finish it in 3 bites so my friend and I had to eat it bit by bit so we can savor the taste or else we won't even feel we ordered dessert.

Blueberry cheesecake

The prices are quite expensive, we paid almost 800 pesos for 1 pasta dish, 1 pizza and a slice of cheesecake. Good thing we didn't order drinks or we will be spending almost 1000 pesos just for the two of us. The food is good but too expensive in my opinion. If I crave for Italian food I think I'll go for another restaurant instead.