Happy that the Underground River in Puerto Princesa, Palawan made it to the list! So far, we have been to 3 out of the new 7 wonders of nature:
We are all set for a trip to Palawan before the year ends and another visit to the now-world famous Underground River is definitely part of our itinerary!
Summer is almost here! The grade school graduation ceremony I witnessed in Xavier University in ‘hottah hottah Cagayan de Oro City’ a few days ago is a strong indication that yes the summer heat is upon us soon enough. And with the summer heat naturally comes a craving for one basic lifeline – WATER. This was the topic of an exhibit currently up in Trinoma Mall Cinema Lobby (4th Floor, Trinoma Mall, Quezon City) as part of the World Water Day celebration.
The exhibit by Tupperware comes with a ‘water bottle drop bins’ for used plastic bottles.
The good news is Tupperware will match the amount of collected plastic bottles into donations to ensure safe drinking water for communities in Payatas and to support a reforestation area within the La Mesa Watershed.
The exhibit also features a ‘pledge board’ for people to sign up their commitment for a greener planet. We didn’t just sign up, we even had our photo taken as a sign of our pledge to lessen our carbon footprints and use refillable water bottles as much as we can.
It was great that Tupperware introduced its Eco Water Bottle during the exhibit opening. This new product line are reusable and ergonomically designed drinking bottles that can be refilled anytime thus minimizing the need for disposable plastic bottles.
Photo courtesy of www.greenphils.com
I have been using a Tupperware tumbler for the past days and it’s so easy to carry! And I like that the size is not too big and that it is sealed tight, safe enough to put inside my bag. I can definitely bring it with me in travels I will be doing this summer. The heat may be ON, but my Tupperware Eco Water Bottle will make it easier to bear.
Extra! Extra!
We landed a space in the news for this event!
THE PEPPER MILL By Pepper Teehankee
The Philippine Star, 19 April 2011 (page C-10)
Just like we did last year in 2009, we dedicate this blog entry to reviewing our travel footprints for the year that was.
2010 was a great year for us mainly because we made a huge step of stepping out and living on our own this year. Getting domesticated was an adventure all its own but that still did not stop us from taking time to do our bit of exploring the outdoors this year. Here are some of our travel highlights in 2010 :
1. Trekking the Himalayas was an A-MA-ZING experience and definitely one for the books! As ‘amateur’ hikers, we feel that this story is one that speaks of human triumph and endurance. We are humbled and awed by the majestic Himalayas but proud to have an exciting tale to tell others today and years to come.
2. Boracay, has always been and will always be, a favorite holiday destination no matter how expensive and commercialized it already got – starbucks? check! yellow cab? check! – over the years. We sometimes reminisce those days when my sisters and I can actually camp out overnight in one of the beaches (now known as Shangri-la Boracay) so we can see the bats at dusk when they go out by the hundreds to forage for food. We are also first-time visitors to the neighboring island of Guimaras this year where we had a close encounter with a sea snake while swimming inside a cave!
3. This year, I managed to go to Singapore 5 times. For work. And one weekend getaway to spend holidays in Singapore with Mr. Rono where I MISSED MY FLIGHT BACK TO MANILA. Yes, for the very first time in my life, I arrived at the check-in counter for my flight to Manila 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. The consequence of waking up late? I had to wait around the airport to see if I can get in any of the next 2 flights to Manila. FAIL! So, I had to stay one more night in our hotel in Sentosa to go back to the Changi airport again the next day. I was finally given a seat on PAL’s midnight flight to Manila. It was such a big hassle! I missed work, wasted time and money shuttling back and forth Sentosa and Changi Airport to haggle for a seat and did not enjoy my extra day in Singapore at all. Moral lesson of the story? Never be late for a flight!
Thank God I have happy memories from Universal Studios Singapore in this trip!
4. Arriving at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka was a pleasant surprise. I was bracing myself for this trip to Sri Lanka not knowing what to expect as a first-time visitor and, to my surprise, landed in a pretty rich airport of Colombo. Much better than our own, I daresay.
5. Going south of Thailand for the very first time! This year, I was able to steer my path from the usual Bangkok scene and stayed a few days in the coastal town of Hat Yai. Since Hat Yai is very near the border of Malaysia, the food is noticeably different from your usual fare in Bangkok (even the pad thai is different!).
The calm and quiet beach of Hat Yai, South of Thailand (near the Malaysia border)
It’s a very quiet university town, almost like Dumaguete City, where most of the people either work or study at the huge Prince of Songkhla University. The Princess was also there on the duration of our trip and the organizers kept adjusting our itinerary to accommodate the royal schedule (we had to avoid being stuck in traffic while the royal caravan is passing). This little gestures really shows how highly respected the royal family is in Thailand.
6. For the first time in all the years we’ve been travelling, we had the unfortunate experience of losing some valuable items in our check-in luggage (read: a brand-new iPad, an iPhone charger, etc.) through a Cebu Pacific flight from Ho Chi Minh. I hate that Cebu Pacific still do not claim any accountability over the loss. Cebu Pacific sucks big time!
Speaking of airports, we appeal to the government to please, please fix NAIA 1 – or better yet, transfer all non-PAL international flights permanently to NAIA 3. I shudder every time I fly in and out of the country through NAIA 1. It just looks so…old and dingy and poor. Where do all our travel taxes go anyway? Did you know that the Philippines was listed #6 in the Top 10 Best Value Destinations for 2011 by Lonely Planet? Give these foreign backpackers a chance to have a great first impression of the Philippines by improving the airport security, airport amenities and public transport facilities please!
7. Moving on to a more calm scenery in the Philippines, we absolutely LOVED that we got to accompany my siblings who are members of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines to Candaba, Pampanga for some birding action!
8. Memorable short trips for Mr. Rono are mountain-biking in Killer Loop trail in Bataan and doing a night ride at La Mesa for the very first time!
9. We also got to showcase WOW Philippines to foreigners from cultural dances at Barbara’s Restaurant to simple conversations over coffee while soaking in the sights of Taal Volcano from Tagaytay City. We even managed to help a Spanish guy who is travelling the Philippine islands on a BIKE(!) by giving some extra bike parts we have on stock. Our country really has so much to offer to tourists and all its thousand islands never fail to be part of our travel destinations. You really do get value for money here! WOW Philippines talaga.
10. And lastly, about this blog. We obviously do not have the time and discipline to write all our travel footprints but we seem to be doing ok, which we are grateful for. We had a lot of firsts for www.roamingronos.com this year: we were featured as Nuffnang’s Blogger of the Month and was able to launch our first-ever blog contest!
It was a year filled with fond memories. We’d also like to thank all those who supported our love for broadway musicals and making our playdate of Xanadu The Musical a big hit! We are excited to see what 2011 has in store for us. But this much we can say at this time, we will be doing a lot more walking in some foreign land this year! 
A beautiful dawn approaches….
A blessed new year to everyone! Cheers to more travel adventures this 2011!
*Photos taken at Mt. Pulag Grassland Summit on the early hours of 28 December 2010. Mt. Pulag is the second highest mountain in the Philippines at 2, 922 meters above sea level. For more details on how to climb Mt. Pulag, visit this website.
Mr. Rono and i watched the sneak preview of Xanadu last night and it is a certified rollicking, roller skating L-A-U-G-H-T-R-I-P! Xanadu the Musical runs at the Carlos P. Auditorium at RCBC Plaza starting September 3 up to September 19!
Xanadu cast on ASAP. Photo by GR Rodis via Facebook
Rachel Alejandro’s brilliant performance as an Australian lass and a Southern belle blew us away! Catch the Xanadu cast do the whole shebang on September 4, 8pm. Tickets are still available –
Orchestra Center (P1,500) – last 3 seats left!
Orchestra Side (P1,300)
Center Loge (P1,100) – only 1 seat left!
Upper Loge (P800) – no seats available
Balcony (P700) – last 6 seats left!
Onstage (P400) – only 1 seat left! [onstage seats are quite an experience, i tell you!]
Don’t miss out! Visit http://xanadumanila2010.blogspot.com to reserve your seats!
We just got back from a long road trip today and made a beeline to the laptop where Mr. Rono and I are set to declare the winners of our first-ever blog contest (yes, that’s how excited we were :p) No matter that it was a long day tour to and from Pangasinan! We went to Our Lady of Manaoag Shrine today to petition our uncle who is stricken with cancer. He’s flying from the US (where he underwent chemotherapy) to Fuda Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou, China this week for alternative treatment. We kindly request you to say a little prayer for him as you read this latest blog entry as well. It would mean a lot to us
Now, on to the good news! Thanks so much for all those who visited our blog the past few days and actively participated in our contest. We hope this will not be the last time we will be seeing you in our blog! We weren’t sure how to organize the raffle entries at first but thanks to random.org, we now have our top 8 winners –
CONGRATULATIONS! You are now proud owners of P1,500 gift certificates from Slimmer’s World Face and Skin Clinic! I will still be notifying each of you via email for details of claiming the GCs from us. I’m quite sure a lot of the winners are actually members of W@W (Weddings at Work) so thank God I have a little something to help you brides-to-be get prepped for your BIG DAY!
Happy pampering girls! And stay pretty!
The -ber months are fast approaching and Christmas carols will be echoing from malls soon enough! We have not been blogging actively lately since we’re pretty much having a different kind of adventure fixing our crib in the heart of the metropolis. It’s a whole new exciting way of exploration. Believe us, being a household handyman is not a walk in the park at all!
Anyway, we thought we should have a little something to kickstart this blog after months of hiatus. And we are actually attempting to pull off our very first blog contest! We are feeling mighty generous because Christmas season will be here before you know it and we want to be in Santa’s nice list 
So, up for grabs are eight (because August is the 8th month of the year!) gift certificates worth P1,500 each that you can use in Slimmer’s World Face and Skin Clinic. It’s the perfect pre-holiday gift we can offer so you can have a pampering treat for your skin before all the hustle and bustle of shopping and Christmas travelling get to you.
To score one of these P1,500 Gift Certificate, just leave a comment on any of our earlier blog posts. All comments posted between today until midnight of August 30 will be qualified in the raffle draw. We will be notifying and posting the names of the eight winners by August 31!
Good luck you guys and have fun! Take note, more comments posted means more chances of winning!
In one of our earlier blog post, we mentioned Xanadu – the 80s-inspired, roller-skating, Tony-nominated Broadway musical that’s bound to be Manila’s next big theater phenomenon! Well, the musical is happening soon and theater seats are filling up fast! Rachel Alejandro and Felix Rivera stars as Clio (Greek muse) and Sonny (artist) in this broadway remake of the 80s film with the same title, Xanadu.
This surprise broadway musical hit features Olivia Newton-John songs, which includes: MAGIC, SUDDENLY (our personal fave!), SUSPENDED IN TIME, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN MELOW and of course, XANADU! For ticket reservations, go to http://www.xanadumanila2010.blogspot.com or e-mail xanadumanila@gmail.com
Our photo is among the TOP 40 Photos selected for the Where Have You Been in the Philippines Photo Contest of R.O.X. Yipee!
As finalist of the contest, our photo will be part of the Philippines travel photo exhibit that will be unveiled on June 25 (Friday) at R.O.X. in Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City. This is a BIG suprise for us since we only decided to send in a random photo from our laptop (we were limited to sending a photo entry with size of 4MB) while attending the R.O.X. Travel Talk Series a few weeks back. We heard there were more than 200 photos submitted for the contest which makes us all the more grateful for being invited in the Awards Night as finalists.
Judges for the contest are Raoul Floresca, Creative Director/Primer Group of Companies,Dexter De Vera/Creative Director Travel Life Magazine and JayR Romero/Mktg Supervisor- CANON Philippines
P.S. To answer our blog title above, we have been to Boracay and Quezon for summer holidays the past month. Just haven’t got the time to blog about it…but we’re still lovin’ travel around the Philippines!
We had dinner at The Atrium in Megamall last night and had the chance to see the Manila, City Beautiful photo exhibit. It basically showcased Burnham’s master plan of the urban development of Manila as a city – evoking mixed emotions of both marvel and grief at the what was and what could have been.
As Daniel Burnham once put it “Possessing the bay of Naples, the winding river of Paris, and the canals of Venice, Manila has before it an opportunity to create a unified city equal to the greatest of the Western World with the unparalleled and priceless addition of a tropical setting.” I dearly hope it’s not too late to still make this happen!
This exhibit reminded me of the recent e-mail I got from a friend romanticizing the Old Manila :
Pasig was very clean. The photographer must have taken this photo (below) October to December timeframe. But Pasig, during summer would have beautiful water lilies, tiny Quiapo’s floating amidst white, yellow and purple water lilies that I remember. Water from our rich and abundant rivers were emerald green and blue. Napakalinis and walang amoy.
Manila was just a beautiful place.
If you’d take an L5 plane or a Piper Cab and take pictures of Dewey Boulevard (now Roxas Boulevard) from above, you’d be so proud to say, that the place is much better than Cote’ d Azure. Environment was just so very clean, air was refreshing, and take a look at the sea….wasn’t that a gift given to us during those days?!
Manila, City Beautiful will be on display at the SM Megamall Atrium until June 9 and The Block at SM City North EDSA from June 10 to June 30.
More information at:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/257990/city-beautiful-exhibit-sm-supermalls
