“Konting kembot na lang, bakasyon na!!!”—this line has been my motivation to keep going until the last remaining working days of 2015. And to gather a little more strength to survive this year, I decided to look back and reminisce the highlights of this year:

J A N U A R Y

16. AISAS Induction of New Members~ The Association of IRRI Secretaries and Administrative Staff (AISAS) has always held a special place in my mom's heart during her long years of service at IRRI. Let me make one thing clear: I didn't join the organization to continue her legacy nor become the next "SRA". I joined it because I believe that AISAS will help me grow in my career. As of now, I'm not really that active in the organization yet, but I know that one day, I will be able to contribute significantly in this new family.

At the Induction Ceremony of AISAS held last January 16, 2015

Rain or shine!!!

My favorite candid shot for all times~

M A Y

11-12. PAB Audit~ Finally, after a series of document reviews and preparations, our laboratory was finally re-assessed by the Philippine Accreditation Bureau. And thank God, all of our efforts were not put into waste as all of the test parameters that we applied for were approved for accreditation. 

This photo was taken during our photoshoot~

The Invaders: GQNSL staff and some of the lab's previous OJTs

A U G U S T

Disclaimer: Due to the number of tourists during our visit, there wasn’t a “proper” tour conducted thus the details for each place are insufficient. I had to conduct my own research regarding the places we visited so if there are any corrections on the information, please feel free to comment. Also, due to my camera malfunction, the photos on this post are grabbed from my friends. Thanks.     

Read Part 2 here.

As always, I’m the first one to take a bath at 4:30 in the morning. While waiting for everyone to finish their bath, we entertained ourselves by watching Tiyanak (Lotlot De Leon version) and a Dolphy—Panchito movie.

After everyone was ready, we went down to the cafeteria for our breakfast. We were informed that it will take one hour for our orders to be served. In my head, “na naman?! It’s as if our igado (Bangui experience) wasn’t enough”. I was really disappointed, honestly. It would’ve been better if the breakfast was already included in the accommodation package. Then I saw the breakfast served to our other colleagues (who were there earlier), and I don’t know if I should feel relieved that we didn’t order. The one-piece longganisa was too small and it was served with sunny-side-up egg with rice.

We just decided to have another McDo delivery. Unfortunately, their delivery starts at 9 AM, which is also our check-out time. Hindi aabot and we will be behind the schedule again so we decided to just eat cup noodles and share the loaf bread that one of my colleagues brought. We waited, and waited, and patiently waited. And after about 15 minutes to half an hour, the cup noodles were already delivered. O diba. What a great way to start the day.

Day 3—11 April 2015 (Saturday).

Our first destination on our last day is the Herencia Café. Actually, we were supposed to eat the famous Pinakbet Pizza on our first day, but we arrived too early. Good thing, the manager of our travel agency placed an advance order so the pizza was almost ready when we arrived. I’m a full-pledged carnivore, but I managed to appreciate the pizza. It was really good especially when you put the bagoong sauce on top. Yummyyyyyyy~~~

After eating, we headed straight to Calle Crisologo at Vigan. I thought I would be excited but I was overwhelmed by the number of people visiting the place. Parang mas na-appreciate ko yung Las Casas kesa sa Vigan. The street was full of souvenir shops instead of historical thingies, which I didn’t really expect. I felt like I was in a market instead of a time warp wormhole. Haaaaayy.

We weren’t able to take our lunch due to shopping and picture-taking. So after an hour and a half, we just decided to take out from McDo. I felt somehow disappointed because I’m expecting to eat something different from what’s usually available in Laguna. I know the lapse is on our side, but I still feel that waaaaaayyyy… Ughh. Haha. How frustrating. I think 1.5 hours is not enough for Vigan.

 After a few-minute drive, we reached the Baluarte ni Chavit. I felt like a five-year old child excited to see the live animals up close. All the hype suddenly went down when I reached the museum, and I wish I never went to that place. Yes, all the preserved animals are nice to look at. But when I saw them dead on the pictures below their preserved bodies, it made my heart ache and wanted to cry. How I wish I never went to the gallery so that I wouldn’t feel this much regret, anger and agony.     

Moving on, our last stop is the St. Augustine Church and Bantay Bell Tower. Given the time and energy remaining, I didn’t want to go to the Bell Tower but since we’re already there, our travel manager advised that we go up there. Sayang nga naman. ANNNND, no regrets. The view and the feeling of the wind brushing my face is incomparable. We stayed there until the manager finally called us.

It’s time to leave. Back to reality. Work, work, work na naman on Monday. To sum it all up there were disappointments, a lot to be honest. But then, if you look back to all the experiences, the views, etc… you will forget those disappointments and think of it as part of the overall and unforgettable memories of this three-day journey to the North. ♥   

Disclaimer: Due to the number of tourists during our visit, there wasn’t a “proper” tour conducted thus the details for each place are insufficient. I had to conduct my own research regarding the places we visited so if there are any corrections on the information, please feel free to comment.     

Read Part 1 here.

I began our second day adventure in Ilocos at around 3 AM. Eight of us are sharing one room so I wanted to be the first one to use the bathroom since it takes one hour for me to take a bath. We were also waiting for the sunrise so waking up first is a must. Unfortunately, the sun showed up on the other side, so medyo epic fail. HAHA.  

Day 2—10 April 2015 (Friday).

We left the beach house at around 9:30 AM and went straight to Paraiso ni Anton. It is said that the water from the mountain has healing properties. The water is cool and refreshing, and the best part is, it is safe to drink.

We went to the Patapat Viaduct for some picture-taking before heading to our next destination.

The next destination is the Kabigan Falls. It took us a 30-minute walk from where we parked the van until we reach the falls. I really enjoy immersing myself with nature and having deep thoughts whenever I go to Mother Nature’s majestic wonders. However, I wasn’t able to reflect that much since there are a lot of people visiting the falls. Maingay kaya hindi ka makakapag muni-muni.

After another 30-minute walk from the falls, we finally went to Bantay Abot Cave. If the Sand Dunes is the highlight of my first day in Ilocos, I have to say that this is the highlight of my second day. Going to the cave itself is somehow buwis-buhay just like the Sand Dunes yesterday, but the view is soo much worth it.

The "lakas-maka-sexy-pose" HAHAHA~

We headed straight to the Bangui Windmills afterwards. Unlike yesterday, we didn’t stop by any fastfood chain for take-outs. We had our lunch at Amian Café, which I think was a very HUGE mistake. It was a very bad experience for us, and I don’t recommend this for travelers during the peak season. I don’t want to elaborate the reasons why as I don’t want to remember that experience or ruin my Bangui Windmills memories.

The infamous "igado"

I don’t really think April will be kind to me this year. Aside from my phone being stolen and heart being broken (charowt, HAHAHHAHAHAH), the lens of my camera malfunctioned so I wasn’t able to take pictures of the Kapurpurawan Rock Formations. Not sure if it’s because of too much heat or what. Oh well, here are some shots I grabbed from my friends’ cameras [please hover the mouse on the pics for the source, thanks!]. 

We were so behind the schedule so we just spent a couple of minutes at the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse.

After the Lighthouse, we finally went to Farm Side Hotel in Laoag to end our day. Actually, we were supposed to go to Vigan to see the Dancing Fountain that night. But since we arrived late, we didn’t push through with the plan. My other tour-mates decided to just roam around the city that night. I originally wanted to tag along but I felt like my energy was drained and somehow disappointed so I decided to give it a rest.

There are a lot of people at the cafeteria of the place so we decided to have a McDo delivery. And sure enough, the two-piece chicken meal is the perfect way to end this tiresome second-day.

Read Part 3 here.