What I learned about Surfing

On top of my list when I was in my early 20s (Goodness! I'm saying this now!) was to surf, first was to climb a mountain. I usually have a timeline for my plans, Climb a mountain: 18, Travel abroad: 25, (both were realized before the deadline by the way. haha) but for surfing, it was just in my list but I never believed in actually doing it. 

I learned lessons from my first ride (hoping to get a chance for a second ride) that remind me on how I should look at life when not riding the waves:

1. Impossible really becomes not possible if you never give it a shot. My list doesn't say that I should be a professional surfer but for a long time, I was thinking that even just trying it... is absurd. 

The photo below shows how scared I was on my first try:

2. Patience is always a virtue. Life is not designed to be flat, it has ups and downs, right and wrong, but we have to keep the faith and keep moving. If you didn't ride the wave the first time, be more alert and try it the second time. If you fall, hug the board tight and try again. After a few try, you'll know. :)

As cliche as it is, "something that does not happen doesn't mean that it won't happen."

3. Listen & use your senses. In today's world, everyone wants to talk which oftentimes make things complicated. In surfing, you need to use your senses, don't just look, listen and feel the waves coming. Listen to the wind blowing, look at the waves beside you, quickly close your eyes to feel the waves and concentrate on your senses. You can't afford to lose a wave cause you might not experience one anymore!

4. Sometimes, you just don't have the chance to backout, so rock it! Sometimes, life gives us things that we think we don't need but is actually for us to experience and we have to be brave enough to try what's in-store for us out there. Most of the time, we need to risk then our lives will never be the same again cause it just gets better.

5. It will always be hard to keep the balance, but only the wise can do it (Read: wise- with knowledge & experience of falling and standing up over and over. haha).

6. Be prepared (you can't afford to miss one wave, remember?).

7. Enjoy the ride. There's a feeling of euphoria when riding a wave, it's addictive. The feeling before, during and after riding a wave is indescribable but you can never tell a story about only "after the ride," it needs to be a whole process to make the story complete so you have to enjoy every second of it.

FREEDOM. It was a liberating feeling to ride the waves. 

Awesome Idea: What I always do is to imagine the feeling when I was riding a wave, then I imagine my worries as the wave- scary and huge...after a few breaths, rode over my worries, then they go away! 

Maybe that's a good idea for you to try surfing, so you'll know what to imagine when worries come again!

So here is what I've found out in my hard drive, my "chimpanzee" first ride:

*This was a quick trip to Zambales, read the whole story here.

Vanity & Savings

So, the photo above is our savings! Yohoo! But as you can see, I'm not suppose to use it for shoes or dress, it says "FOR TRAVEL ONLY" and it's not even mine alone, Taku put some 10 & 5 peso coins there for the past months! 

We got a total of 3,500 pesos! I thought we have 6,000 already :( but I'm wondering where could we go with this! 

Anyway, since I always keep in mind "to save" and I don't usually buy things that are not "the basic," here's something that I do when mixing and matching with what I have:

This is my headband. I put white ribbon in it and made it a necklace. Yey!

Since this necklace is in my closet for so long (given to me by a gorgeous friend, Rochelle) and I've found a nice white top, I worn it and took a photo cause I want to remember when Taku looked at it 4 times trying not to laugh. Then he sent me a message during lunch saying "How's your curse working?" I swear he's so not into fashion!

But just last week, I had fun having Avocado foot mask with Taku (Korean experience)! Haha.

Look how the guy liked it! Probably, we'll do this again cause my feet got a bit softer. 

(You can buy this pack from Watson's)

Tagaytay: Peace & Quiet

Nothing beats a quick drive or even an overnight peaceful trip to Tagaytay to recharge and slow down from the stressful city life. I put together a Tagaytay Peaceful Weekend Itinerary that you can add in yours. Have a peaceful one!

Surfing trip: Zambales

Roadtrip. Fresh fruits. Waves. --Some of the few things that keep you high in Zambales, a province in the central part of Luzon (Philippines). For some people in Manila, it's good to go to South and wander under the sea but some prefer to check out what's there going North and ride on top of the sea. But I suggest to do both and cherish the two unique experiences with genuine appreciation of the beauty of their purpose.

With my enthusiasm to explore and experience surfing, I packed and went on a quick trip to Zambales. I just had surfing in mind with no other expectations about the sea and accommodations. But I was surprised on how that simple trip turned out as one of the best trips I had, first, because I was able to cross-out something in my long bucket list- surfing. Second, because I realized that I had explored and had a wonderful break. Who would ever think that I'll do so many things in that place aside from surfing? (Here's the things I learned about surfing).

We stayed at my friend Josh's usual hiding place, the Crystal Beach Resort. With very amiable staffs and very friendly locals, I enjoyed breathing fresh air and listening to the waves while:

1. walking around the shore and attempting to play beach volleyball.

2. Playing and climbing up in their obstacle courses with a real-life chimpanzee friend (that's a joke among us cause we look like chimpanzees when falling from the surf board), Daisuke.

3. Being one with nature and having quality time to rest and recharge my spirit in the tranquility of the place in their duyan made from tires.It was really nice to close my eyes, feel the sun shines to my face, breathe in, smile and listen to the birds chirping.

4. Campfire we met again! Yey!

5. Pretending to be a pro when checking out surf boards.

6. Playing around. Wonderful conversations.

7. Getting more and more wounds.

8. And of course, San Miguel Beer in the middle of the day with my wonderful people.

9. Becoming invisible like me in the photo below:

I will always recommend a trip to Zambales, whether you'll be trying out surfing or just simply lying on the beach while playing music all day. Even if you'll visit alone, it just feels good to be surrounded by very lively people trying to ride every wave as if it was the last.

By the way, that guy below, my Kuya Josh, was still starting to surf when that photo was taken. Look how he falls! haha. But now, he's riding unlimitedly and winning! Thanks for the fun trip Kuya!

Crystal Beach Resort

San Narciso, Zambales-Pangasinan Road

+63.47.913.4309

Taal Time Machine.

It seems like I traveled back in time when I stepped in the town of Taal in the province of Batangas. Aside from its very beautiful Church that stood strong for a long time, I am listing my few unconventional favorites in Taal!

1. I like these hair brushes, hair pins and mirrors from so-long-time-ago! I feel like there are some magical powers that will make my hair shiny and bouncy! You'll see them as you visit the ancestral houses together with beautiful vintage luggage!

2. I wonder why this eyeglasses is not in the market now, seems like a specialty to me.

3. For the growing passion in photography among us, Filipinos, you might want to visit the impressive collection in their Camera Museum!

4. Of course, the rumor is true! You can dress up and live like an Illustrado in the Spanish era at Villa Tortuga! I like the hospitality of everyone who serves the local food while wearing Filipiniana and the extensive knowledge on Philippine History of the great Camp Suki designer, Lito Perez.

5. Looks like a portrait? This is my favorite placemat in Villa Tortuga. It portrays the old Manila. Manila would be so beautiful with people walking around in "saya!" I think this placemat is also for sale!

6. Among all the things that I've discovered as we check out the museums and ancestral houses, this is my most favorite. I flew back in time as I looked down the hole and imagined how Andres Bonifacio and several other Katipunan heroes conducted their meetings there with a gas lamp as their only light. I could imagine how passionate these people were in bringing the democracy to the Filipinos. 

7. But the most memorable food I had was the Tsokolate Eh which is a thick and rich chocolate drink which used to be a status symbol among affluent Spaniards and Filipinos during the Spanish Colonial era. It was matched with suman, a native rice cake wrapped in banana leaf. Taku and I always joke around that it will just be Tsokolate Ah for us, a lighter and watery chocolate drink that is good for sharing for everybody!

The Taal fun continues as you ride the cold bus on the way to Manila. We were feeling sick with too much coldness because it was a rainy day when we visited and he tried to tie the curtain over the aircon but the most successful technique was to put some old breads in it, doesn't look good but helpful. haha.

PS. Don't forget to buy tablea and balisong!

Oh! The Japanese is young!

So here's what happened when Taku visited my hometown:

1. He worn mask in a non-air conditioned bus because it was too dusty and watched "Lie to me" Season 1 in the entire 8-hour trip!
2. He was able to use once again the words, "Mano po!" to everyone with glasses and white hair (even to some person we just talk to in the market).
3. He visited with us Dad's new home.
4. He tried to pray with the "manangs" for Dad's pa-siyam.
5. He cooked and goof around while everyone's so amazed that there is a Japanese young guy in the Philippines! (contrary to the stereotype that most of the Japanese in the country are old and likes KTV. haha).

Japanese Free Papers in SE Asia

I am a media person.  I grew up watching TV, reading magazines and listening to radios that led me to pursue some works in the media industry. I then got very passionate to advertising, marketing and to the platform that doesn't limit information only in tri-media, the world wide web.

But being exposed to publishing in the Philippines for quite a long time, I can say that 'free papers' are becoming a  trend now and unlike the former notion that since they're-free-they-don't-have-good-info, I noticed that they are now becoming 'glossier' and thicker. 

But as I started working for the Philippine Primer, I got more and more exposed to a several Japanese free papers in the Southeast Asia and I started to wonder if this trend is from Japan just like the famous Hot Pepper. What do you think?

When I had a short chat with Philippine Primer's President, Hiromichi Fujita, I realized that Japanese people are having a hard time doing business abroad because of the language and since there are many of them who are interested in investment and business in developing countries like the Philippines, the more they need information in their language that can truly assist them to maximize opportunities in business and life. 

Surely, blogs are helping (like the blog of my wonderful CEO, Motokatsu Sunagawa and the one from guy with the small eyes, Takuya Oka) but I think free papers are still the best for the Japanese to maximize their stay in the country or for the local entrepreneurs and brand to take advantage of these high-end market. I looked for some of the helpful Japanese free papers in Southeast Asia:

LAOS

They have Taste of Laos for Laos!

VIETNAM

Photo is from http://aab.co.jp

According to AAB Inc., Vietnam Sketch is the first Japanese information magazine in Vietnam that is issued monthly. The main targets of the magazine are travelers from Japan and Japanese people residing in Vietnam. It covers highlights of Vietnamese trend, cultural information and living information. The magazine is distributed to 500 and more places for free in addition to distribution to travelers via travel agencies. Their websire has obtained the wide range of readership in both Japan and Vietnam.

Heritage Japan is a media that appeal to tourists and business people who travel to Vietnam. The magazine is distributed to 1,400 Japanese companies in Vietnam and it is considered a reliable medium among local Japanese publications. 

Wise Weekly free paper is also now being distributed in Ho Chi Minh. IT was first distributed in Bangkok.

Photo from http://fujisan.co.jp

CAMBODIA




Krorma Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine in Cambodia for the Japanese residents and tourists.

SINGAPORE

There are many Japanesse in the lion city but I'm more familiar with JPlus, the Total Lifestyle Japanese Magazine published by Comm Pte Ltd. According to its CEO, "Connecting People, Communicating with the World" Through our media, COMM strives to foster the relationship between Singapore and Asia through creating "Communication Platform". We, as a leading Japanese media in Singapore and Asia, believe in bringing people together, introducing good quality businesses for the people, and creating a lifestyle that enables people to have better, and more enriching life."

But aside from Jplus, Singapore also has Mangosteen Club, a monthly Japanese magazine.

INDONESIA

Indonesia is also one of the favorite SE countries of the Japanese. In Bali, Japanese travelers and investors are flying back and forth. I was awed when I had a vacation there and noticed that most of the locals even speak Nihonggo making a vacation so much easier for the Japanese. And of course, Api Magazine always make their lives easy-riffic!

THAILAND

According to Fujita san, maybe the SE Asian country with the biggest number of Japanese is Thailand with an estimated count of 40,000. No wonder they have around 14 Japanese free papers there! And here to name a few:

Wise Weekly is a very popular weekly free paper that captures the biggest percentage of Japanese in Thailand. The information that they give is concentrated in Restaurants, Beauty, Schools, and several other industries that help businesses. They also circulate in Vietnam now in Ho Chi Minh city.



WOM is one of my favorites for its petite size and beautiful layout.





DACO is also distributed in Thailand every month.

PHILIPPINES

Philippine Primer is monthly lifestyle Japanese magazine in the Philippines that connects local entrepreneurs to the Japanese market. Launched in 2008, it works closely with the Philippine Department of Tourism in publishing various information about F&B establishment, beauty and learning info, the updates on art, sport, business, history and culture. The magazine and website are published ad moderated by Primer Media, Inc. and aims to assist the Japanese expats, residents and tourists in the country.

I don't have information on free papers in MALAYSIA, BRUNEI and MYANMAR so if you know some, just please leave a comment on this post! But in addition, there's also a Japanese free paper in INDIA, Chalo. Chalo is a free monthly free paper in Japanese in New Delhi.

Photo Source: kyodonews.jp

JPy Magazine is a lifestyle magazine for Asian women in Southern California. It was established in 2006 and the first issue was launched in 2007. Their motto is "Happiness is Infectious" in which it acts as an innovative portal connecting global women working towards achieving their goals and dreams in LA with real success stories of actual people. In addition, the quarterly issue of JPy offers the latest tips and information for enriching the lifestyle of LA's women.



Pocket Page Weekly is the famous Japanese free paper in HONG KONG.

And I've found out that there's a Japanese Media Network and the association of Southeast Asian Japanese free paper, Asia Furipe Editors, that help each country's free paper to share and recommend information about their respective countries. 

There are also magazines like Domo, J-Style, Move, Concierge, G'day Japan, KauKau, You Maga, etc which I find interesting as well. 

I wonder if there are some Filipino free papers abroad since there are so many Overseas Filipino Workers.

As I trace and research on the famous titles of free papers in the Philippines, I adulate how most of them are owned and managed by Hinge Inquirer, the magazine arm of Inquirer Group of Companies. Free papers based on interests, location and lifestyle..name it, Hinge Inquirer has it!

Note: All photos were taken from the internet.

Monchhichi is off to Great Places!

It's funny that whenever I check the stats of my blog, one of the mostly visited post is Monchhichi's New Home. I expect that my serious posts will score the highest but I can imagine how many more people were charmed by this cute fella worldwide! Since most of my friends miss her in my bag and my stories on how Taku compares me with Monchhichi, here's some of her photos while she wanders with us.

This was taken at Bonifacio High Street in BGC when we were goofing around before my bag with most of our valuable things were stolen. Here's the story and video about that learning experience.

Monchhichi wandered a lot in 2011: Singapore, Boracay, Palawan, Bali, Japan and LA. I am very petite but sometimes I wish I am just as her size so it's easy for me to fit in the luggage or better for Taku to be same with her size so I can put him in my pocket so it's always a sun-shiny day! haha.

I don't intend to collect all Monchhichi items that I see in stores (as if there are many in Manila!) since I try to live with less and basic things to save more and maximize the use of everything but I opt to keep those which are really cute, small and useful.

But I am keeping my Monchhichi from Kyoto!

Not just because it's so cute but also because it was given to me by a good friend, Eri, who always bring me Monchhichi omiyage whenever she goes back from Osaka (most of the time the yummy Monchhichi candies!) but my heart skipped when she surprised me with this one:

"There are three monchhichis in the photo!" -Taku

And as we keep the kid in us, reach for our dreams and meet wonderful people along the way, let's remember what Dr. Seuss have said (I'd like to remind my sister Charmaine about this wonderful passages cause I believe she'll go more places!):

Congratulations! Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Oh! The places you'll go!

You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

So...

be your name Bauxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day! 

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

*this is an excerpt from the book Oh! the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

I got souvenirs!

I don't usually buy so many souvenirs when I travel because I'm more focused in the whole experience and cultural immersion. But when I've seen my souvenirs from Bali and Jakarta which I think were the only things I bought in all my travels, I kinda regret not buying souvenirs from other trips and I think I should buy some important little stuffs from now on just like these two things: 

A charming hair tie from Bali. It's all over which costs 4000- 8000 Rupiah if I remember it right.

Here's the very soft and comfortable scarf from Jakarta where I discovered that 'mahal' (expensive) and "mura" (cheap) in Tagalog have the same meaning in Bahasa. I was shopping for scarf since it's very useful for traveling and I tried to for a discount by saying 'mahal' and was so surprised that they understood me! 

Here's a very memorable gift from Indonesian bloggers, Dafhy and Azaxs, from their wonderful hometown. Please visit www.kotareyog.com to know more about their rich culture and tradition. 

Note: From the Kotareyog's Official twitter account, I learned that the mask's name is "bujang ganong!" Can't wait to know more about this! 

And just yesterday, Taku got back from Japan and he brought me some rice balls which I was so amazed when he showed me how to eat it. haha. So watch it, then, we could all eat rice ball in Japan! :)

Emergency Shoes & DigiCam!

Okay, I had so much fun at Canon Night as Canon Philippines celebrated 15 wonderful and successful years in the Philippines! I had so much fun having good food, being in the beautiful Sofitel Plaza, meeting people and talking about business, wine and Filipino culture which was a very good therapy for me since I was feeling so weird lately and have delayed reaction with Dad's passing. Well, according to the psychologist, I'm still normal. haha. And it was very nostalgic to see an AA Battery-powered digital camera! It brought back my college memories! :)

Funny, another thing, since I couldn't stop talking about my 'emergency shoes' and I couldn't take a good photo of it with its add-on emergency bag, i just vlogged it. Mhe, your the person in my mind. haha. Here's Katie's Facebook Account and for each pair, it's only for 599Php! I just couldn't stop talking about it and my buddy who listens to me all the time is in a business trip! hay naku. :( 

(What's naughty in tagalog? I think I said 'Im a naughty girl' haha. My dad's gonna be mad if he'll hear that! haha)