I’ve recently been to South Korea and had a great time. Learning how to read Hangeul helped a lot, even though I don’t know the meaning of most things that I read!
One of the things I liked about traveling to South Korea was that many establishments accepted credit card for payment. When traveling abroad, I prefer managing my finances with the help of a credit card, so most of my expenses in Korea were charged to it.
The only challenge was figuring out which establishment charged which bill entry, because the labels can be cryptic.
It took some effort, but I’ve finished deciphering where each credit card charge came from.
I thought it would be nice to share them in case anyone faces the same challenge. Though I don’t know if this blog entry will still show up on Google search results. Ahh, fall of blogs’ popularity… (And years of me neglecting this blog :-p)
Credit card charge labels from South Korea:
Anyway, here are the credit card charges from South Korean establishments that I was able to decipher:
“KOLEILYUTONG(JOO)ÝR.FJ Seoul KR”: This was from an Etude House cosmetics vending machine, which was located in a Korail subway station. I had already flown back home when I realized that we got double-charged by the vending machine that only released one item. T_T Anyway, I have read elsewhere, that someone was charged “KOLEILYUTONG(JOO)NAM BOOSAN REF# MISC/SPECIALTY R” for baggage deposit at a train station. So I think that if you see any “KOLEILYUTONG” charge from your credit card, it could be a retailer that you transacted with in a Korail subway station. Fun fact: If you search for “코레일유통” (KorailYutong) you may stumble upon the “Korail Retail” website, which is currently at korailretail.com as I write this post!
“SSIJEOIIOLLIBEUNETEUUE SEOUL KR”: Olive Young
“AK PLAZA SOOUEONJEOM Suwon KR”: SPAO in AK Plaza, Suwon City
“OLMASHUKEUSHUTORI 4HOJ SEOUL KR”: All Mask Story in Myeong-dong, Seoul City
“7-ELEVEN Suwon KR”: Self-explanatory 😛
“INISEUPEULI MYEONGDONG Seoul KR”: Innisfree in Myeong-dong, Seoul City
“E-MART 24 SUWON STATI SUWON-SI P KR”: E-Mart convenience store in Suwon Station
“LODDEOIJIALENJEOILINEO SUWON-SI KR”: ANGELINUS, formerly known as Angel-in-us Coffee, in Suwon Station
“LIGIMBABAKSOOUEONJEOM SUWON-SI P KR”: Lee Gimbap, in Suwon Station
2025 update with some more credit card charge labels from Korea:
“AK PLAZA Suwon KR”: This is a purchase from the AK Plaza Mall, located in Suwon City, South Korea.
“CJ OLIVE YOUNG GANGNAM DAEJEON KR”: one of the Olive Young (a health & beauty store) branches in Gangnam.
“CJ OLIVE YOUNG GANGNAM SEOUL KR”: one of the Olive Young (a health & beauty store) branches in Gangnam.
“CO.,LTD ART BOX SUWON SUWON-SI P KR”: This is a purchase from Art Box, a “lifestyle and stationery” store in Suwon City, South Korea
“SSIYU(CU) INCHUNGONGHA INCHEON KR”: SSIYU is CU, a popular CVS (convenience store) in South Korea. This one is specifically a branch at Incheon Airport.
New! Credit card charge labels from Japan:
“Mujirushiryohin” is from MUJI!
“Junkudoushoten Ikebuku”: A branch of Junkudo Shoten bookstore in Ikebukuro
“Toraberazufuakutori”: This is Traveler’s Factory, a shop that sells stationery such as Traveler’s Notebooks and other retro-vibe tools!
“Toraberazufuakutori” is from the NAKAMEGURO Traveler’s Factory branch.
“Jr East Shopping Cente”: Traveler’s Factory STATION branch in Tokyo Station. I think the charge is labeled as such because the shop’s operation is tied to JR East (a railway company).
On a side note, I had to fix this WordPress site because an update broke it! Good thing that my host’s support agent was able to point me to a way to restore my site to a previous state. Phew. I don’t like WordPress anymore but I can’t be bothered to plan and actually do the moving to another platform. Maybe someday, on a day, far faaaar away. Or, in a parallel universe.
My main workout before the pandemic was swimming, while my husband also swam regularly in addition to his gym sessions. Not being able to swim for exercise forced me to do only indoor HIIT exercises and I often hurt my joints in doing so.
The pool in our neighborhood has reopened this year, since swimming is allowed in GCQ, but it’s quite difficult to reserve a slot. Sometimes the slots are 3 weeks away. When we search for a list of open public swimming pools in Metro Manila while in GCQ, we can’t find anything. So here, I’ll try to gather a list myself.
Do note that these are not public pools where anyone may swim. You either need membership or need to stay as a hotel guest. I know it’s a hassle. We swim in hotels in time for our socially distant event celebrations (just me and the hubby staycationing while avoiding everyone else). I know almost everyone else are tired of being socially distant. We are too, but we believe that avoiding gatherings is still the right thing to do. So yeah. Too bad the public pool at Makati Aqua Sports Arena is still closed.
List of swimming pools in Metro Manila that are open during GCQ:
Joy Nostalg Hotel
We have personally tried checking in at Joy Nostalg and swimming in their 20-meter 4 ft. 6 in. pool. Only 3 people are allowed in the pool (covid-19 health safety protocols!) so it feels safe. Their swimming pool is temperature-controlled so you won’t feel cold even if it’s indoors and you swim in the morning or evening. Plus: there’s a jacuzzi too! They have a pool locker room, shower with shower gel and shampoo, and towels you can borrow for free. The pool also has an underwater sound system. How cool is that? The only problem we encountered was that they lost one of our pool reservations for unknown reasons. Upon arrival to the pool area on our scheduled slot, someone else was swimming. They made up for it by extending our stay for free until 4PM. By the way, not swimming related, but the food at the hotel tastes amazing, especially their croissants and other pastries. We had them delivered in our hotel room.
Fitness First RCBC Makati
The pool at Fitness First is open during GCQ but it needs membership. We haven’t tried it because they are so difficult to contact! What if we need to schedule a swim session but we can’t reach Fitness First?
Aruga Hotel by Rockwell
We booked a room here for an isolated birthday celeb, but they ran out of slots for the pool so we canceled and switched back to Joy Nostalg. Their slots fill up easily because the swimming pool is shared with residents.
If you know of a pool that we can access during GCQ in Metro Manila, please let us know!
My husband had a scholarship in Tokyo, Japan and studied there for 2 years. For our coming wedding anniversary later this year, he wants to tour me around Tokyo! In this blog entry, I shall talk about the documents that I prepared and how I applied for a single-entry Japan Visa.
This blog entry will only cover information about Japan visa application for people with Filipino nationality. I won’t be familiar about how foreigners in the Philippines may apply for it.
How early can you apply for a Japan visa?
You may apply for a Japan visa 3 months before your trip.
When can you re-apply for Japan visa if your application got rejected?
If a visa application is denied, applicant may only re-apply for the same purpose after (6) months.
Reason for the denial of visa will not be disclosed even if an inquiry is made.
How much is the Japan visa application fee?
1200 Philippine pesos.
Requirements to get Japan Visa for Philippines Passport in 2019
The following are needed to get a Japan visa as a tourist:
Philippine Passport
Visa Application Form
ID Picture
Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate, if married
Schedule of Stay in Japan
Without Guarantor:
You also need the following if you are shouldering your own expenses during your trip to Japan:
Bank Certificate Validity of Bank Certificate is three (3) month from the date of issue
Applicant’s Income Tax Return (Form 2316) clear Photocopy (latest)
With Guarantor:
If you have a guarantor residing in the Philippines (another person who is paying for your expenses on your Japan trip) then he/she will have to provide the following too:
Guarantee Letter
Proof of relationship between applicant and guarantor (e.g. Birth Certificates etc.)
Bank Certificate (original) and Income Tax Return (ITR Form 2316) (clear Photocopy) of Guarantor
Other info on the requirements:
Document size for Japan visa application form should be A4
You are exempted from submitting birth certificate and marriage certificate if you can submit old/valid passports with used Japan visa.
Submission of any supporting documents not listed above is encouraged (e.g. applicant’s economic or social ties with the Philippines, urgent reasons for visit: medical certificate, wedding invitation).
Where to apply for Japan visa
It is required that we apply for Japan visa in accredited travel agencies. Several years ago I got my Japan visa from Reli Tours & Travel Agency in Mall of Asia.
This time, I applied at Friendship Tours and Resorts Corporation which is located at the 3rd floor of Dusit Thani, Makati. Other travel agencies accredited for Japan visa application in Dusit Thani are UHI, and Reli Tours & Travel Agency.
Documents that I submitted to apply for a Japan visa at Friendship Tours and Resorts Corporation
A 4.5×4.5cm ID Picture with white background (just tell the photographer it’s for Japan visa application and they should know how to set it up) — mine was taken 1 week before I submitted my application
I did not submit a Birth Certificate because I have an old passport with a used Japan visa
Guarantee Letter (I resigned from my office job and am still in the middle of setting up my own business, so I could not submit a Certificate of Employment or Income Tax Return. Even if I currently have income, I can’t submit any document to prove it. The solution was to make my husband my guarantor for the Japan tour.)
Proof of relationship between applicant and guarantor: this is also our Marriage Certificate
Original bank certificate of guarantor (His bank printed it in a Letter size paper instead of A4, but we had no problem — I was still issued a visa! I think only the application form is strictly required to be on A4 paper.)
Photocopy of guarantor’s Income Tax Return
Submission of documents to Friendship Tours and Resorts Corporation in Dusit Thani, Makati
We went to Friendship Tours and Resorts Corporation on a Saturday and arrived around 9AM. Their Saturday schedule is from 8:30AM to 12NN. The office was moderately crowded. We took a printed number for the queue at the Visa Application counters. It wasn’t a long wait since there were only about 2-3 persons ahead of us.
When it was my turn, the staff in the counter examined my documents. She stuck a label into the page of my old passport where there’s a used Japan visa, and then bound it with my valid passport using a rubber band.
This is what it looked like when they bound the 2 passports together — the pink label is where my used Japan visa is. (Photo taken on the day I got my passports back from the agency.)
The staff in the counter asked for my payment, which was 1200 pesos, and then gave me a receipt in return. She told me that it will be filed by Monday, and I there should be a result 1 business week after filing. The “1 business week” is probably the maximum time because many applicants get their Japan visa earlier than that.
Before I left, the staff also gave me a claim stub. Do not lose it!!
I walked out of the travel agency hoping that they grant me a visa. I think that the documents I submitted were all valid, and can’t think of anything that may cause the Japan Embassy to decline my visa application.
Japan visa was ready after 2 business days!
I submitted my Japan visa application on a Saturday, and then on Tuesday I already got a text from the travel agency that the result is ready. That’s 1 business day after the day of filing, or 2 business days after the day applied for a visa.
This was the content of the SMS:
This is an Auto-Generated SMS Doesn’t Support Replies/Calls
Good Day from FRIENDSHIP TOURS & RESORTS CORP. ! Please be informed that you may now claim the passport/s filed in our office for Japanese Visa, kindly present your receipt and/or valid ID to the RELEASING COUNTER.
FOR CLAIMING BY AUTHORIZED PERSON: Please BRING the following; 1) By1st Degree Family Member: (Parent,Spouse, Sibling,Child) **1Valid ID Original & 1Xerox of the Authorized Person 2) Relatives from 2nd degree, Acquaintance/Friend etc. Authorization letter with ORIGINAL specimen signature of passport holder. 1 Valid ID of Authorized Person (Original & Xerox) STRICTLY * RESULT/S will be given upon claiming of the passport/s. & NO LATE CLAIMANT/S
Schedule for Claiming: Mon.-Fri. 8:30AM-5:00PM Sat. 8:30AM-12:00NN For queries please dial; LAND LINE: 8109622/8938180 Thank you.
I couldn’t claim my passport because I got sick, so I asked my husband to claim it for me. He brought the original and photocopy of both of our valid IDs: his postal ID and my postal ID.
Embassy of Japan granted me a visa! Yay!
Even if I prepared my documents for the visa application meticulously, I was worried that my application might get rejected for whatever unknown reason. If it got rejected — what about the flight tickets and hotel booking that we already paid for? And places we planned to visit… 😱
Well, I got my Japan visa!
It looks a bit different from the Japan visa issued to me back in 2014.
Time to review some Japanese words and writings for our trip in a couple of months. <3
Rain… ☔🌧️ This is what we have now most of the time this month of August. A person who likes sunshine and beach such as me should be feeling down because of how the rainy season has come to end summertime, but not this year!
I already feel satisfied with the summertime, because me and my hubby (my adventure BFF!) just had our best summer so far:
We went to various Batangas beaches to swim and snorkel. This year I had the confidence to swim in deep water without fins and life vest, and gained a few new friends in these excursions.
I got licensed for Scuba diving and my hubby dived again after several years of not doing so.
We went to the lovely white sand beach of Boracay for the first time — I’d like to go back there again someday.
And finally, we finished a 2.5KM swim at theSwimjunkie Challenge VIP Lobo 2019 open water swim event! We are self-taught swimmers who were not physically active until recently, so this means a lot to us.
What is Swimjunkie Challenge ?
Swimjunkie Challenge is an open water swim race that is held at various destinations in the Philippines. The one we took part in was on June 9, 2019 in Malabrigo Beach, a pebble stone beach in Lobo, Batangas, but there are also other swim destinations such as El Nido and Caramoan. Even when it’s called a race, the hubby and I just swam hoping to finish. 😅
Me and my hubby are not triathletes, nor are we trained swimmers… so why did we join an open water swim challenge?
He says “gusto ko lang i-try” (I just want to try).
My reason for joining may be a bit corny. I learned how to swim front crawl (freestyle) last year in a pool that opened near home, and on our succeeding beach outings, I often swam that stroke in the sea and it really made me feel good, even when I only did it in shallow areas and short distance. I wanted to swim a distance in the sea because I could imagine how great that would make me feel, but being the scaredy cat that I am, I always hesitated to do so. I’ve always been fearful that there may be unknown creatures that may brush up against me. I hate crowds but I enjoy crowded beaches because it makes me feel safe. But the people in the crowd won’t swim with me to the distance that I want to cover, of course. A little dream began to form in me: To enjoy a distance swim in the ocean surrounded by many other swimmers to feel safe.
Being exposed to the online world, I eventually I stumbled upon the Swimjunkie Challenge open water swim race. Numerous swimmers would race against each other in the sea… that would be an amazing experience, I thought. Of course I don’t even think of actually racing, being the slowpoke that I am; I simply wanted to finish the distance! The VIP Lobo event’s shorter distance was only 2.5KM and I thought that maybe I can do it. At that time, the longest I was able to swim was only 1KM. When I told my husband about the event he immediately got interested and so we decided to really go for it. 😀
How I prepared for Swimjunkie Challenge open water swim:
Endurance / General Practice
We decided not to ask a swim coach for help yet because we wanted to test our “raw” skills first. People say that 2.5KM is for beginner open water swimmers anyway.
A couple of months before the Swimjunkie Challenge in Lobo, I began swimming in a 30-meter pool 2-3KM per swim session. I did that at least once a week.
One month before the event, we did our very first 2.5KM swim at Camayan Beach Resort. It was exhausting, and mentally challenging to me because I was frightened by the huge fishes that were leaping out of the water there, which may be mullet fish, or “banak” in Tagalog. When swimming against the current, unknown things brushed against my skin and I have this fear of the unknown that I had to fight back then.
And then one week before the actual event, we went to practice in All Hands Beach Resort in Subic. The photo above was taken while I was resting on a floatie. I was actually just recovered from viral exanthem then so I didn’t want to overexert my body. In that beach resort, aside from the fun inflatables, they have lane lines where triathletes usually train for swimming. There’s a very deep part in there where I did kind of lose my sh*t but that’s okay, because I read a lot of tips about open water swimming prior to that experience. If you begin to panic in fear of deep water, try to look at the sky as much as possible!
Navigation
Like the majority of open water swimmers, I do the front crawl (more popularly known as “freestyle”) stroke. When I breathe I get a glimpse of landmarks on my side, but what I need to see is what’s in front of me. From YouTube videos I learned about what we call “sighting”. During each of my swim training sessions, I practiced sighting by lifting up my head just enough for my eyes to be above water in time with the “pull” phase of my stroke, to see landmarks in front of me. Maybe I looked like an alligator/crocodile.
In Camayan Beach Resort, I was able to practice this well. I set a tall green “house” as my reference point on one side, and a “pole” on the other side — we swam back and forth within a 70-ish meter lane-lined area to complete 2.5KM, and I made sure that each time I did sighting, I was headed to the house or pole’s direction.
The pole that I was talking about
Fear of Deep Water
My Level 1 Training for deep water: Do it while enjoying the view of underwater life:
This was around Bauan Marine Sanctuary, near Bunker Dive Resort, during one of our summer outings with friends. This helped me build confidence in my buoyancy while swimming, that I will not sink in the water because my air-filled lungs act as a buoy.
My Level 2 Training for deep water: Do it in an environment similar to the actual event, where you’ll see nothing but BLUE in the water.
Before the actual Swimjunkie Challenge in Lobo, we practiced at All Hands Beach in Subic. We found out by doing online research that many triathletes train there.
At All Hands Beach Resort, there’s an area that seemed like the best spot to practice distance swimming. It is enclosed by lane lines, forming a square shape. If I remember correctly, each side of that square was around 300M, so we swam along the sides of the square 8-9 times.
Take note that the resort prohibits solo swimming within that square, probably because water in every corner of that square is deep and the feet won’t reach. When we get tired we hold on to the yellow floaters of the lane lines. There were spots inside that square where water was soooo deep that all I could see was blue. I started panicking when I realized how deep the water I was swimming in. And there were no other people there, just me and my hubby who is already so confident in the water and was swimming far away from me. 😱I was eventually able to control myself when I recalled what I read from an online article: When you begin panicking in the deep water, keep looking at the sky as much as you can, then you will start to calm down. Focus on your strokes and get moving, instead of thinking about what’s underneath! I did exactly that, and to my relief, I was able to calm down little by little. Each time I took a breath on my side during my front crawl / freestyle swim, I looked up at the sky. And each time I would lift my head up to sight ahead of me, I also looked at the sky to feel safe. I focused on my strokes, just wanting to move ahead and cover the required distance for my swim practice.
I didn’t get frightened of the deep water in the actual Swimjunkie Challenge VIP Lobo event because of the fear I conquered during training, and knew how to overcome the fear of deep water should it start to kick in. I’m also thankful for what Betsy Medalla (founder of Swimjunkie Challenge!) said during the race briefing: you only need to swim forward, not downward. 🙂 Simple words, but made perfect sense, right?
What it was like swimming 2.5KM in deep open water
Tow float
We bought tow floats for safety as we swim in deep open water. Swimmers may hold on to tow floats when they feel tired and need to catch their breath. It became a little bit annoying during my swim because my hands kept hitting it at the end of my stroke’s pull phase. Maybe I just need to figure out the best adjustment for it.
Sea urchins
At the starting point, I saw sea urchins where the water begins to get deep. Good thing the water is already deep there. Sea urchin stings are nasty so never touch or step on those!
Race start
We took it easy during race start, because we were really there just to have fun swimming. 😆We let most of the swimmers swim ahead of us. Then my goggles got flooded with water when I was already in a deep part. How lucky! I leaned on my tow float as I tried to fix my goggles. It wasn’t easy 🙁 but I got through that.
My hubby and I agreed that we wait for each other at each raft.
I looked at the water where we were about to swim. It seemed calm, but we were warned that current and swelling of the water will rise 1 hour after the start.
The rafts with marshals
This is one of the flagged rafts that served as reference points while we navigated during our swim
The rafts with colored flags served like checkpoints for swimmers to make sure they’re headed to the right direction. We memorized the colors of the flags in order, just to be sure we don’t do unnecessary detours during the swim.
Swimjunkie Challenge VIP Lobo: The raft at Turnaround Point with candy cane flag
I wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for the rafts where we could hold on to to catch our breath, and to take a sip of water. The Swimjunkie marshals on the rafts let us drink water from bottles. There were lots of water bottles used during the event, especially in the turnaround point, which I hope were all disposed properly. 🙂
The man who did breastroke all throughout his swim at Swimjunkie Challenge VIP Lobo 2019
My husband always swam ahead of me despite the fact that he did breastroke all throughout the swim event! It’s either because I’m too slow, or he’s too fast… but let’s just say he’s too fast! 🤣🤣🤣
Halfway from starting point to turnaround point
A huge percent of the areas where we swam at Malabrigo Beach was so DEEEEEEEEP that all I could see was blue… and jellyfish! 😱The deep water did not frighten me because I came prepared (more on this later) and the numerous swimmers and Swimjunkie marshals that were around made me feel safe. I was lucky because I had minimal jellyfish stings, just a few minor itch here and there.
At this point we saw that some swimmers were already making their way back from the turnaround point! We swam with many amazing swimmers — it was an honor. <3
Chafing from swimsuit
At one point, I thought I got stung by a jellyfish on the side of my neck. Turns out, the strap of my swimsuit began to cause chafing on my skin.
The Swimjunkie Challenge swim cap might be part of the challenge
The swim cap distributed among swimmers did not fit well in our heads… maybe the hubby and I just have large heads?! lol. We overheard a foreigner complain that the swim cap didn’t even fit. I turned to glance at him and saw that he had thick, curly hair. 😆There were times during the swim when the cap slipped off my head. I fixed it when I arrived at the next raft. A moment before the swim started, we saw one swimmer wearing a non-Swimjunkie swim cap. I thought we were all required to wear their cap. 🤔I wonder if she was exempted for some reason.
The solution to headaches and panic attacks during a long swim
When I was already swimming halfway from the turnaround point to the finish line, my head was already hurting. This usually happens when I get so worked up while swimming and “forget” to always exhale when my face is underwater. I tried to keep the headache from getting worse my attempting to always breathe out when my face is underwater. I think it’s pressure buildup in my head that is triggered when I’m not breathing in and out regularly.
There were also a few times when I had a panic attack. What helped was the same thing: keep breathing at all times. Breathe in when your mouth is in the air, and keep on breathing out while your face is underwater by doing slow controlled exhalation.
The current at Swimjunkie Challenge VIP Lobo 2019
The waves/swells in the actual event were bigger than the ones in this photo
The greatest challenge in the swim was the current! That feeling when you keep on swimming but don’t feel like you’re moving… 😅
The swim started around 6AM when the water was still calm, and around 7AM we were on our way back from the turnaround point — that was the time when the strong current kicked in.
I’ve heard from regular Swimjunkie Lobo swimmers that it’s the strongest current to date on a Swimjunkie Challenge VIP Lobo event. Wow… and we casual swimmers got through that? How can we be not proud of ourselves? 🥰
Just keep swimming forward despite the wave of anxiety
Race Finish
The finish line was already in my line of sight, and yet the current kept sweeping me away. Eventually I was able to reach it. YAY! 🎉
Ms. Betsy, the organizer, shook my hand to congratulate me. I think she shakes each and every swimmer’s hand when they finish. That’s a really nice gesture and makes me respect her even more.
Frog-faced me near the finish line.
Post-Race
We were awarded with a beautiful finisher’s medal.
They also gave us finisher’s shirts and we really like the design!
We also received free Arena swim caps, given in random colors. xD
Best-so-far summer experience
This is a video of me swimming during Swimjunkie Challenge in Lobo! I minded how my strokes looked like because I noticed that Mr. Robert Suntay was filming the swimmers who passed him. 🤭🤭
The unknown scares me. It was what triggered an injury on my toe back when I tried to snorkel in Samal Island. I was wearing a life vest but still felt nervous in the water… not only because I didn’t know how to swim back then, and I did not know what aquatic creatures I may encounter while snorkeling. What if there were sharks or snakes that may attack me? I have no clue (and still do not) what I should do when I encounter such creatures, and so when the life guard began shouting unintelligibly at us just as I was trying to make myself comfortable in the water, I had a panic attack and tried to swim back very nervously to the stairs back to the land. My foot hit some stone underwater in the process and only realized that I was injured when I saw the pool of blood under my big toe.
I may still be afraid of unknown marine creatures that I may encounter underwater up to now, but I believe that I have made significant progress in building confidence in sea water. Though always anxious when I do it, I’ve recently been enjoying swimming on the surface of the sea water while enjoying the sight of life on the coral reefs below me… also known as snorkeling. 😆 I even actually saw a sea snake, or eel (not sure which one it is) during my first successful injury-free snorkeling at Anilao, Batangas. Good thing it was only lazying on the sand when I passed it. Otherwise, I might have panicked again. Lucky I saw it when I was just about to go back to the shore. If I had seen it at the start of my snorkeling session, I might have backed out right away. Yeah, yeah. I’m such a scaredy cat!
The comfort I now have in the water all started with swimming practice in a swimming pool near my home, and the snorkeling experiences that I’ve been gradually piling up over time. 🙂 I’m actually recently interested in naming the marine creatures that I see when I snorkel. I’ll try to name some in this blog entry!
You will love the view of the sky, mountains and ocean
My most recent snorkeling session was in Subic, specifically at Camayan Beach Resort, where fishes could be seen easily in the clear waters near the shore.
fishes in Subic, (Zambales Philippines)
These were the sergeant fishes in Camayan Beach Resort, which I think are one of the most common types of fishes in Philippine reefs. They have black stripes that start from the top of their bodies, and ending just above their bellies. Many of them have a yellowish color on their top too.
This is the closest I’ve swam with fishes!
Diamond scale mullet (banak)
I noticed that there were these larger than usual fishes that liked swimming by pair near the surface of the water. Of course I got a bit anxious about them 😆 They’re a bit big and swim right where we snorklers do!
A parrot fish swam right in front of me! Lucky I was shooting pictures/videos at that moment.
These look like parrot fishes too
I’m not sure if the purple fish and its company are parrot fishes too. Help, anyone?
Speaking of parrot fishes, I’ve read somewhere that we should discourage consumption of parrot fishes. They help maintain coral reefs by feeding on the reefs’ algae.
What’s this dark fish called, anyone?
I think snorkeling can be fun when you get to swim so close to fishes and are able to identify some of them. I should read more about common reef fishes in the Philippies for my next snorkeling adventures!
What else besides the unknown makes me panic while snorkeling? It’s when sea water gets into my snorkel, and usually into my throat! My snorkeling partner tells me I should just blow it out, but seawater gets in my throat and that makes me cough uncontrollably. I usually go back to the shore right away to calm down when that happens. 😆
Next time we visit Baguio, I’d like to eat a meal and dessert at Patch Cafe again! And possibly stay at Bloomfield Hotel, since that’s where Patch Cafe is. 😆
Our third day in Baguio last long weekend was our last day. We weren’t sad to be going soon because we were already satisfied in our adventures.
Burnham Park strolling in the morning before lunch at Patch Cafe
Before heading to Patch Cafe for lunch, we visited Burnham Park first.
I was so happy to see flowers blooming all around Burnham Park on that Baguio visit. Both my companion and I were happy to watch a samoyed and a golden retriever pass by too. We were too shy to approach the owner to ask if we could pet them though. 😆 A few years ago, we visited in August and Burnham Park barely had any flower. Actually, we wouldn’t have planned to visit Burnham Park if I hadn’t seen a friend’s Instagram post of the park with lots of flowers! 😆
Our satisfying lunch and dessert at Patch Cafe in Baguio
Patch Cafe’s ambience
Look at Patch Cafe’s interior:
I liked this kind of ambience. To me, this kind of interior arrangement made me feel like I’m in a cozy house with lots of comfort food waiting for me. 😀 Two other tables were occupied near ours, and I noticed that they’re tables full of Asian foreigners. One table seated several Koreans and 2 locals, the other seated another group of foreigners who I’m not sure if Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese — definitely not Japanese or Koreans. 🙂
Food at Patch Cafe, Baguio
We had chili tuyo pasta and buffalo wings plus banana cookie shake. Then later, for dessert we had chocolate praline and tiramisu cupcake. Also iced latte and brewed coffee.
Our lunch at Patch Cafe
Buffalo wings with blue cheese dip and battered fries, chili tuyo pasta, and banana cookie milkshake at Patch Cafe, Baguio.
I had been craving for some creamy banana dessert for days, and at first sight of “Banana Cookie Milkshake” I ordered it right away (like dessert round 1, lol). No regrets! It’s very creamy with that delicious flavor from the banana. The cookie on top was so yummy — crunchy with tasty chocolate chunks. <3 I know the caramel sauce that’s dripping all over the glass is supposed to make the milkshake more yummy, but it made my hand so sticky when I held the glass. I guess one should use napkin when holding such that. xD
We loved the chili tuyo pasta! Very flavorful, according to my companion. The shredded tuyo is where most of its flavor came from. This tuyo pasta is oil-based, with just a hint of sourness, probably from calamansi. There’s a slice of half a calamansi on the chili tuyo pasta’s plate, in case you want your pasta more sour.
Buffalo wings from Patch Cafe in Baguio was only slightly spicy and not sour. The flavor was on spot on for what we’re looking for in buffalo wings. 😀 Blue cheese was easy to take out of the blue cheese dip, which was good cos we don’t like blue cheese but like the white dip itself. The fries were battered and crispy which we also liked. These thinly battered fries reminded me of similar fries that I tried at Baguio Craft Brewery. So is thinly battered fries a thing in Baguio or something? 😆 I like it.
Our dessert at Patch Cafe
Patch Cafe’s desserts are of good quality and they are very affordable.
Hehe. I think the cupcake matches my shirt! And you know what, looking at the colorful plates and cups of somehow Patch Cafe puts me in a better mood. 😀
Let me start with the drinks we ordered for dessert time:
This is iced latte, which my companion called “perfect”. The blend of flavors was perfect that we didn’t add sweetener to it.
And this is brewed coffee and it’s really good. The taste reminded us of Dunkin’ Donuts’ brewed coffee, which is our favorite brewed coffee in Manila.
This dessert called “chocolate praline” was very interesting.
The texture is weird on first bite, but that’s because it’s an uncommon item in dessert stores. The coating was like chocolate ganache that is a bit gelatiney in texture. Inside it is like dark chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline. I’m not sure, but there could also be some sort of wafer layer inside. I loved it too! If I had the chance I would buy a chocolate praline again at Patch Cafe in Baguio. 🙂
Tiramisu cupcake was nice.
Its cake part is basic vanilla cupcake. My companion didn’t like it because to him, it’s not moist. To me it’s not a problem. I know it’s not easy to make moist vanilla cupcakes. 😆 The center and bottom is soaked in coffee syrup. The tiramisu cupcake is topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting.
This is the kind of cupcake that is good quality to me. Larcy’s Cupcakery also makes good quality cupcakes. On a side note, I really don’t know why some people go crazy over Cupcakes by Sonja — their cupcakes are too expensive for the quality (frosting is either too greasy or too gritty with powdered sugar).
I loved everything I tried at Patch Cafe in Baguio! <3
So yeah, like I said, I definitely want to try other items at Patch Cafe when I go back to Baguio someday. From ambience to food quality, Patch Cafe is a comforting place to go in Baguio.
I even ordered some of those chocolate chip cookies for take-out. Hihi
These cookies were crunchy, but still a bit moist inside. And I really liked the choco chips they used. OMNOMNOMNOM~
On our second evening at Baguio City last long weekend, my companion wanted to taste some beer at Baguio Craft Brewery. It’s in Marcos Highway, and we took a taxi to get there from Microtel. I’m not good at handling alcoholic drinks, so food was main motive at Baguio Craft Brewery. hehehe. I only sipped on my companion’s beer glasses just to taste, and yes I was able to enjoy them too because they go well with the food. We were put off to order more though, because a female staff sighed with a displeased expression on her face when we asked for free taste of beer before ordering our 3rd glass.
I liked the ambience at Baguio Craft Brewery. It’s a cozy place that’s dark, but with enough lighting to be able to see things around you. 😆 The music has too much bass for my liking but my ears were able to adapt. xD I was able to totally ignore the bass when our food arrived. Told ya it’s my motive.
The view from the 2nd floor of Baguio Craft Brewery. Beautiful, isn’t it?
The second floor only has a few table with seats. You can try the third floor where there are more seats for groups.
Strawberry beer (Lagud) and India Pale Ale (Hop Attack) at Baguio Craft Brewery
We ordered Lagud (strawberry) and Hop Attack (India pale ale). Lagud was good because it was not too sweet but still had a hint of strawberry. Hop Attack had a complex flavor and was our favorite.
Then our food was served!
Fish and chips: The fish was crunchy on the outside, and nicely tender and moist on the inside. The chips seemed to be sliced potatoes dipped in thin batter before frying. I loved it! I actually liked the chips better than the fish, but that’s only because I generally like fries more than fish. hehe. This item is served with tartar dip, ketchup and some sort of vinegar dip (dunno what it’s called).
Beef nachos: This was so tasty and I loved it too! Aside from the cheese sauce you usually see in cheese nachos, they put this cheese that I think is mozzarella. It’s so yummy. 😀 The salsa dip served on the side makes it even better.
Baguio Craft Brewery’s fish & chips and beef nachos really go well with beer.
And so we ordered more.
Rolling Fog (wheat beer)
Rolling Fog is “weak compared to hoegaarden” according to my companion, but we think that this characteristic makes it go well with almost any food. My tastebuds are not that good but this beer reminded me of San Miguel Pale Pilsen. Twin Peaks beer
“This has a strong punch” was my companion’s comment on Baguio Craft Brewery’s Twin Peaks beer. I thought that Red Horse is the beer I’m familiar with that is close to the taste of Twin Peaks. 😆 Dark and mildly sweet, but too bitter for my liking.
On our second day in Baguio last long weekend, we went sight-seeing at Mines View and Wright Park. After enjoying the views, our feet brought us [with growling stomachs] to Ketchup Food Community. We wanted to try Canto but were not willing to fall in the looong line of people waiting to be seated. We took a peek at the menu of the other restaurants there, and decided to eat at Green Pepper because we were interested in trying their Kiniing Chicken.
I know I said in my previous post about Microtel by Wyndham – Baguio that I prefer other cuisines while traveling because I already eat Filipino food everyday at home, but we were really interested in the “kiniing” dishes at Green Pepper. I also wanted warm soup like sinigang that time because my throat felt sore, and my lungs had an uncomfortable feeling. (My nasal allergy was triggered while strolling near the body of water surrounded by flowers near The Mansion in/near Wright Park).
Mines View sight-seeing before dining at “Green Pepper”
At Mines View, we just took a quick stroll around the area with lots of tourists with a nice view. Then we had a picture taken with a beautiful St. Bernard dog named “Sky”. We also had some sweet, warm strawberry taho before leaving the Mines View area.
Pasalubong shopping at Good Shepherd–Mountain Maid Training Center
We don’t have a car so we don’t buy boxes of Mountain Maid products. xD
There, I posted a receipt with some item and prices just for reference 🙂
Strolling at Wright Park and The Mansion before having lunch at “Green Pepper”
Wright Park is the place to go if you want to do horse-riding in Baguio. We also climbed that high stairway. I hated it! 😆 Not because of my low stamina, but because I was scared of making a wrong step on the narrow and uneven steps. I’m a klutz. 🙁
We took another way to go down. hehe. I’m lucky that that stairway wasn’t the only way down. :3
All the strolling made us hungry and we headed to Ketchup Food Community. The menu at Canto seemed interesting but there’s a long line of people waiting to be seated. We were starved and tired, and were not willing to fall in line there.
We chose to eat at Green Pepper instead, since we wanted to try the kiniing meats.
Lunch time at “Green Pepper” at Ketchup food community
The view beside our table at “Green Pepper”, overlooking other establishments in Ketchup Food Community
This was our lunch:
Kiniing pork sinigang, kiniing chicken, rice, and lemon-cucumber drink
Green Pepper’s Kiniing Pork Sinigang is sinigang with the usual vegetables in it, plus grilled kiniing (preserved) pork. We really enjoyed this dish, because it’s like delicious pork sinigang but even better, having that extra smokey flavor from the kiniing.
And here’s the interesting chicken dish:
“Smoked chicken simmered in ginger broth and served with peppered strawberry glaze”
We ordered this kiniing chicken dish because it was not something we’d easily find in Metro Manila. Kakaiba e. Besides, it has strawberry glaze. I like strawberries, and I tend to crave many strawberry-flavored things when in Baguio.
So, was the kiniing chicken with strawberry glaze very good? Mmmm I’ll be honest. I didn’t like it that much. The chicken meat was dry and tough — okay, it may be because it’s all breast part, but I often get moist breast part of grilled chicken from Andoks!
The strawberry glaze didn’t taste that good, until I actually get some of those few small strawberry bits and mix it into my spoonfool of chicken, glaze and rice.
I also wish they could brown the chicken skin by grilling it. Look how pale it is.
So yeah, sorry but I didn’t like the kiniing chicken that much. It’s not a horrible dish, it was alright. It’s just that I expected it to be better than that. But hey, remember that we all have different preferences in food. 🙂
The lemon-cucumber drink was not that enjoyable until we added ice in it. Why? Because it’s not cold enough, and the flavors are too concentrated (too sweet!). A Green Pepper staff gave us a pitcher of ice. We put a good amount into the drink and once chilled and watered down, we really did enjoy the refreshing combination of citrus and cucumber flavors.
Dessert at “Green Pepper” in Ketchup Food Community
The nasal allergy attack earlier that day drained a lot of energy in me and so I told my companion I want to have coffee and sweets. We ordered chocolate cake and brewed coffee. If I remember correctly, we really wanted apple pie but it wasn’t available. 🙁
“Chocolate Indulgence: A slice of moist chocolate cake, salty caramel and rich fudge frosting”
Green Pepper’s chocolate cake was made of dense but nicely moist chocolate cake layers, with caramel filling, and coated in choco fudge/ganache. I could not taste the caramel, but it’s no big deal. It still was a nice chocolatey dessert.
The brewed coffee had a faint flavor of hazelnut. This reminded me of the hazelnut-flavored coffee that I bought from Bag of Beans, Tagaytay a few years ago.
Conclusion
Next time we’ll definitely try Canto at Ketchup Food Community! ^_^;
2 years ago I had my first dinner at Glenn 50’s Diner. I ordered fried chicken, expecting it to be just enough amount for 1 person, but they served me 3 huge pieces of chicken. Sulit, right? Their foods are also delicious, and having their ice cream milkshake with your meal is mandatory. :3
This year, we had another dinner at Glenn 50’s Diner. We came a bit early for dinner, around 6:30PM, and yet, there was still a waiting list. How can Glenn 50’s Diner not be that popular with the low prices and good quality, right?
“You and I” meal at Glenn 50’s Diner
“Deep fried breaded ground beef and ground chicken, topped with tartar sauce and mayo sauce ala croquet.”
I really liked the breaded ground beef with chili con carne on top. It’s extra tasty because theres’s beans in the chili con carne. The ground chicken one was not as good as the beef, but it’s still good.
Glenn 50’s diner did not mention the chili con carne on their description of this product though.
“Gambler’s Choice” meal at Glenn 50’s Diner
“Hustler favorite, marinated pork spareribs, then grilled until golden brown topped with our special white sauce and 3 pcs. of grilled shrimps in BBQ sauce, sauteed vegetables lying on a bed of rice.”
Gambler’s Choice was pork ribs, served sliced and without bones. Glenn 50’s Diner’s menu description says that the pork should be topped with special white sauce, but the sauce is only drizzled like decoration and I could barely taste it.
On my first piece of pork spareribs, I loved it because the meat was so tender! But the next pieces I ate were not as good as the first. My companion said the pork spareribs of Glenn 50’s Diner tasted like adobo.
Also take note that the BBQ sauce are on the shell of the shrimps. I don’t like eating the shell of shrimps like some people enjoy doing, but I still ate it. Sayang yung BBQ sauce e! 😆
Okay, the photo below has poor quality. I used the front camera of my phone for that. hehe.
As always, their ice cream shakes are yummy! We ordered vanilla and strawberry ice cream shakes this time. I loved both of them. <3
Happy companion is happy!
I wasn’t able to take a photo of it, but we ordered their 100-peso burger for take out, which came with fries. They also included mustard and ketchup in the take-out box. Hmmm I think the fries from Glenn 50’s Diner was the only fries we tried on our Baguio trip without batter. Still delicious though! The burger tasted alright.
Glenn 50’s Diner shall remain as one of my favorite places in Baguio. <3
On our first day in Baguio on a recent long weekend, we went strolling at Camp John Hay. After the tiring walk, we helped ourselves to a brunch at Everything Nice Cake Shop and Cafe.
Before I talk about the food at Everything Nice Cake Shop and Cafe, let me share some Camp John Hay photos first:
We went to Mile High, an area with lots of ukay/tiangge, and also went for a short trip at The Manor and its garden.
Mile High
Near entrance to The Manor
Gardens at The Manor
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The Manor garden was where we sat on a bench to catch our breath and enjoy the view. We felt hunger coming and decided to try Everything Nice Cake Shop and Cafe, which was one of the shops below Camp John Hay that we found online. Thank you, Globe for good mobile Internet!
When we arrived at Everything Nice Cake Shop and Cafe, we were seated right away by an attendant. It took long for someone to give us a food menu though, and we had to request it, otherwise, I think it could have taken 30 minutes for them to notice that we didn’t have their menu. Almost all tables were occupied that time.
We ordered brewed coffee and Cappuccino for our brunch, longganisa omelette with toast, and beef tapa with sunny side up egg and red rice. They only serve red rice, and have no plain rice. I realized that red rice actually looks violet. 😆
Our coffee was starting to get cold and yet our foods hadn’t been served yet. They were delicious foods though! I noticed that there were only 2 staffs going around the shop to tend to customers. I know it must be a tough job. I myself won’t be able to do that kind of work. Kudos!
This was the omelette we ordered. It was served with toast, butter, and strawberry jam! Yay, I love butter on my toast. 🙂 And wow, strawberry jam makes me happier because I felt the “Baguio vibes” even more. Tee-hee. The omelette was very tasty, and I liked the parts with longganisa. The omelette also had bell peppers, onions, olives, and mushrooms. Okay, I must confess. I personally didn’t like it because even though I like the flavor they give, I don’t like munching on onions, bell pepper, and olives. 😆 It’s my fault for ordering this item without considering the ingredients.
And here’s beef tapa with sunny side up egg plus red rice. It’s nothing special but was truly enjoyable. The beef was tender, the egg yolk was runny just the way we like it, and the red rice was just fine.
They had cakes and other baked goods too. I would try those if I wasn’t full yet. 😆
