My first trip this year came sooo early (January 13-15, to be exact)! Pao and I went with his best bud, and his SO to the beautiful island of Boracay.

 

 We purposely went there on a January so there'll be less people and more beach space for the four of us. Lo and behold, we got what we want! :D

Selle (who came all the way from her night shift), Justin, me and Pao on our way to Caticlan

We got there in the afternoon so we decided to hit the beach right away and watch Boracay's gorgeous sunset.

LOOK AT THAT BEAUT

 

We then headed to Astoria after sunset to fill our tummies. The next morning, we went for a tour where we got a glimpse of the thriving sea life of the islands. We went to Magic Island, Crocodile Island, and Puka Beach. Magic Island was actually closed at that time due to low tide but my being makulit and mapilit got us there. Lol! I've always wanted to try cliff diving despite my lack of swimming skills and I did it anyway! Thank God for lifejackets and a boyfriend. Haha!

I did three jumps in Magic Island, with three corresponding heights - the highest being 10 meters.

My apologies for the ugly photo :))

We had lunch at Crocodile Islands and no, there were no crocodiles there. After the sumptuous Filipino lunch, we went straight to do parasailing. Justin and Selle decided to go elsewhere and did jetski-ing instead. It was our first time to do parasailing and I must say that it has been the most thrilling yet serene 15 minutes of my life! It was breathtaking to be up there in the sky seeing how small the boats are below.

While waiting for our turn <3

This is the only photo we have

Beach bae

We went to infamous Hobbit Travern for a double date night in the evening <3

Photo with the cutest waiters and waitresses everrr

Our third and last day was spent lying on the beachside, buying souvenirs, and eating fresh seafood.

DROOL

What to buy?

You might wanna check our video below to see more highlights. Watch in HD and enjoy! x


Boracay 2016 from Lean Jess Dela Cruz on Vimeo.

I had no plans of coming to Taiwan before this trip happened.. And now, all I can think of is when I should go back.

Last September 17-22, 2015, I was given a chance by my alma mater (and still my school for my masteral studies), UP Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering, to join the annual IDEERS (Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering in Schools) Competition. The said contest is sponsored by NCREE and is held in Taipei every year. I went there with 2 of my teammates (JR and Cris) and Sir Eric, our coach.

I won't be talking much about the competition since I believe most of you is more interested with the leisure part of this trip :P But allow me to tell you that we finished on the 5th spot despite our lack of preparation and sleep days before the competition. Great job, team!

We only had a few hours to explore Taipei because of the competition. Good thing, the city is small and is very easy to navigate. Taipei is a walkable city and the main attractions are connected by its train system so traveling from one place to another is very convenient.

Chit

Rapid Trains

This is how the inside looks like

Taiwan also has very clean and artistic train stations. Some of them even look like they are temples!

See?

We toured the modern part of the city during our first night.

Their mall

Mandatory touristy shot HAHA

Homongous train station at center of their BD

A trip to Taipei will not be complete without going to Shilin Night Market. Shilin Market is their most famous night market catering to the hip and the young with a hundred shops to stroll at. Here you will find cheap but beutifully-made shoes, clothes and TDF street food. Yummmmm!

Only photo I had cos I got crazy roaming around huhu!

Being our engineer selves, we explored Taipei 101 the next day. Taipei 101 is also known as Taipei World Financial Center - and is Taiwan's landmark skyscraper. The said building used to be the world's tallest way before Burj Khalifa was completed. It is known to be the largest green building in the world and it houses the fastest elevator in the entire universe. How's about that for trivias? *wink wink*

Oh please excuse my face

How the inside looks like

The next day, we visited a few of their temples with our Taiwanese friend who toured us around as well.

Xing Tian Temple

 We also tried to score cheap gadgets in their own version of Gilmore :P

 

Our last destination (or so I thought) is Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall is one of their national monuments in memory of the former president of ROC.

White and clean

  

 Just when we were about to go back to our hotel, our coach invited us over to one last destination. He brought us to go hiking just so we could get the best view of Taipei 101. After nearly a thousand steps, thank God the view did not disappoint! We stayed there until after sunset and got the best photos we could of the city.

Baduy pose but who cares? :))

 I guess that's about it! I hope I can go back there probably with Pao or my friends just to taste more of their food. I'd love to go back on winter, especially now that VISA is lifted for those who have been to countries like Japan, Korea, etc. Til the next, Taiwan!



Check out my short travel video below:


Taipei 2015 from Lean Jess Dela Cruz on Vimeo.

Last May 2015, I was lucky to have attended Toastmasters International's District Convention in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. It was basically a 2-day seminar and so as not to waste our airfare and accommodation courtesy of my company, we maximized our stay and squeezed in a few tours around the city.

Casa Fuerte Bed and Breakfast

Our first stop was Neva's Place located at Taft Street and very near the Cathedral Church. Neva's Place is one of the most well-known restos in PP, famous for their brick oven pizza, and pasta.

Neva's Forevah!

Walkway

Haaay so relaxing!

Since we got there a bit too early, we weren't able to order their pizzas so we tried their pastas instead.

Tried their ever famous carbonara and hot choco

After having our sumptuous breakfast, we then headed to the Cathedral Church, Children's Park, and Plaza Cuartel.

Read

Short walk at Plaza Cuartel

A lot of things happened in this area during the second world war making this little piece of land a historic one. It is also a good place to take a rest and just enjoy the beauty of nature, overlooking the sea of Palawan.

Next stop is their baywalk, which I must say - is a lot cleaner (but equally beautiful) than the one we have in Manila.

Omg when will Manila Bay look like this???

In the afternoon, we continued touring the city, visiting mostly museums.

Imelda Marcos' pair of red stilettos

Battling with Ken

After touring the city a bit, we went back to the convention which was held at Aziza Paradise Hotel.

Aziza!

On our next day, we toured a little farther. We first went to the ever famous Crocodile Farm. I've never been a fan of crocs (yes, even the shoes) so imagine how I scared I was during the whole hour. But I have to admit that I was so proud of myself for being able to HOLD one and even carry it during a short pictorial.

Hello!

These babies aren't at all cute! : X

The face says it all

We then went to the Mitras' ancestral home atop Bakers' Hill.

The Mitras

Bakers' Hill

After shopping and munching pastries at Bakers' Hill, we headed to Binuatan Creations were local products from PP can be bought.

Tried weaving and IT'S NOT EASY!!!!

On our third and last day, we did a quick visit to Honda Bay. After all, what's a trip to the most beautiful island in the world without experiencing the beach?

Obligatory jumpshot with the PP crew

Cos one isn't enough HAHA

Hihihi

And to cap off out short but sweet PP trip, we went to Kinabuch's to try the most exotic food in Palawan to have dinner.

A must when you're in PP

Crocodile sisig - not your usual pulutan

Tamilok, their specialty

Okay, it was a feat for me to try Tamilok (wood worm). I was really decided that I will try this one no matter what and luckily, I was able to force everyone in our group to do too. Haha! I was just so happy to be able to try this really unusual and exotic food. Something to tick off from my bucketlist! Anyway, the two aren't bad at all. The croc meat tasted and felt like chicken in the palate while tamilok felt and tasted like tahong - two things that aren't new to my taste. Tamilok was kind of hard to swallow though probably due to it's skin being so slippery *slurrrp*

Puerto Princesa indeed has a lot to offer and I wish we had more time to tour the place. Given a chance, I'd probably go back and visit the Underground River also.