On Day 2 of our trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan last year, our primary destination was the famous Underground River. After all, how can one not go to Puerto Princesa and miss this specific tour. Whether it lives up to its reputation or fails to measure up to its own hype is irrelevant. You must go here. We woke up early as instructed. We were picked up from the hotel and we made the long van ride northward to to jump off point to get to...

I had been to Ilocos Norte several times in the past, but I usually just stay within the area of Laoag and surrounding towns. On this weekend, I flew in at the request of the Computer Science Department of the Mariano Marcos State University to give an IT Career Talk. After the talk, I had myself dropped off at Pagudpud for an overnight R&R before returning to Manila the next day. En route to Pagudpud, my hosts from MMSU asked if I...

Another trip from my backlog. This is one of the trips that pre-dates this blog. A day trip to Baguio, and the discovery of a great theme restaurant in Gerona, Tarlac, Isdaan. One of the driving forces behind The Lakwatsero is that trips need not be complicated. It should be a simple task to just say… let’s go there… NOW!. But for many people, a trip is such a complicated matter. On the evening of May 23rd, I was having an IM chat...

Intramuros. The famous 16th Century Spanish Fort, one of the many structures Manila is known for. (more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intramuros). I have been to the walled city a few times in the past, though it isn’t of those destinations I frequent. Or at least not something I bothered to really appreciate before. Together with some friends, I used to play night golf there. I also used to help out a retreat there...

(see day 1 here) HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Bantayan Island has three municipalities. Santa Fe, Bantayan, and Madrilejos. Today, with the help of Johnny’s friend Paul, we were able to visit the enitre island… In just around 3 hours. I got up early, leaving a snoring Johnny to go off to take some sunrise pictures. After snapping several photos, I went up to make sure Johnny was awake. Before settling on a place to eat, we roamed around...

This is my second trip to Anawangin Cove this year. I made the first trip in January of this year. (Directions can also be found on that blog post.) I made the trip again with my officemates at work. This was our team offsite. A great opportunity to discuss a number of work-related matters in a very far-removed office setting. What makes this trip also interesting is that this takes place on a weekday… which contributes to some...