Resort World Manila After Watching The Sound of Music

This photo was taken right after watching The Sound of Music play from the Resorts World Manila hotel's state-of-the-art auditorium. They have the biggest LED screen in Southeast Asia as of this post.

Resorts World Manila

I would say Joanna Ampil and Ed Feist played their character well as Maria and Captain Vonn Trapp consecutively. Every actor in the play did great actually.

An Audience Posing In Front of The Sound of Music Backdrop

It was a busy day but thank God He allowed me to watch the play as it is one on my wish lists this year. It has been a favorite since the first time I watched the 1965 movie version.

Ice Skating at SM Mall of Asia

SM Mall of Asia

A friend's birthday treat made me try ice skating in SM Mall of Asia (MOA) on one Sunday. It can be tiring but fun.

View in Front of MOA

The weather was really fair and it seems like that was the first time I saw the blue sky while being in MOA. Blue sky is one of my favorite image backgrounds and it's good I took a photo of it before spending the whole afternoon until the evening inside the mall.

MOA Skating Rink

I just want to post this before going back to MOA and spend time ice skating again tomorrow I think. :)

Blurred Christmas Decoration in MOA

The image above is a Christmas decoration. Hmmm it just seem more beautiful when blurred than when looking at the actual thing on the images I took.

Malunggay Leaves in Los Banos

Got this new Horseradish tree leaves screensaver just this previous long weekend from the yard of my apartment in Los Baños, Laguna.

It is known as Malunggay in Tagalog, Marunggay in Ilocano, Kamunggay in Visayan, Malungge in Kapampangan, and Kalunggay in Bikol Language.

Recently did I know that Senator Loren Legarda campaigned the popularization of Moringa oleifera in 2007. Weight per weight, the Bureau of Plant and Industry stated that
Moringa leaves have the calcium equivalent of 4 glasses of milk,
the vitamin C content of 7 oranges,
potassium of 3 bananas,
3 times the iron of spinach,
4 times the amount of vitamin A in carrot, and
2 times the protein in milk.

Interesting!

The UPLB Main Library

The Main Library obviously houses the biggest number of books among the libraries in the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) campus.

The structure resembles the Cultural Center of the Phillippines (CCP) building as they are both designed by the same person Leandro Locsin, a proclaimed National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture.

I remember getting updated with free, offline news there during my undergraduate times as they are subscribed to a number of national newspapers and international magazines.

I believe many UPLB students share a lot of memories with this house of books as it is utilized both inside and out. Students read literatures inside and sometimes even use the calm surroundings to spend time sleeping at a library desk while waiting for their next class. Outside the library is another good ambience while reviewing undergrad notes, holding meeting with project team mates and conducting Bible studies.

The sculpture of the bold Pegaraw is located in front of the library. It was created by Napoleon Abueva, a Philippine National Artist for Sculpture. The term Pegaraw is a portmanteau of the two words "pegasus" and "tamaraw".

Not sure if it is still during Friday that they allow visitors to enter the building by just showing their identification card. Anyone who is currently not enrolled, even a UPLB alumnus is already considered a visitor. It was three years ago and I still wonder when can I enter my favorite building in UPLB again.

Orchid Flowers of My Apartment Landlady

The flowers reminded me that there are flowering plants around my apartment. Most of the time I only see leaves and forget they are orchids that my landlady keeps.

I just hope those beautiful blossoms will not be disturbed as there are constructions happening near us.

I live in the end part of Makati and the next lot is already in Taguig (Global) City. I think the digging and transferring of soil there is too much as even the second floor of my apartment become dusty sometimes.

Works of Art at Luneta Park

My second visit at the Luneta Park was a wet, cloudy day. But I guess it should not matter as I still had the time to look closely to the the following beautiful works of art:

The carved metal plate says:

Dancing Rings
by Olympic Artist / Sculptor Jose "Joe" F. Datuin

Grand Prize Winner of the 2008 International Olympic Committee Sport and Art Contest (Sculpture Category). Winner of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Poster Design Competition, USSR, A Proud Dagupeno, A proud Thomasian.

This work is a replica of the "Dancing RIngs" sculpture which won 1st Prize in the 2008 International Olympic Committee Sport and Art Contest (Sculpture Category) at Lausanne, Switzerland in the celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, besting 35 countries around the world.

The winning piece is now permanently housed and exhibited in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

This Replica, which represents Filipino ingenuity and global competitivness in the arts, immortalizes the artist's original work in the very home
of its creation.

"Ang Pagbabago" Mosaic Murals

These artworks represent the positive results achieved after the Filipinos have improved and reformed themselves as individuals and as a people. The results are peace, love, unity & prosperity! The murals challenge and inspire viewers to keep on renewing themselves for the better. The execution of these two masterpieces is timely, as Filipinos today hunger for change.

"Love"

Love is the greatest virtue. It encompasses all things and people. The intensity of the emotion that love brings is emphasized by the abstracted warm flames of orange and red in the mural. The abstracted images symbolize love in the form of ideas, beliefs and acts.

Closeup View of the Love Mosaic

As you can see, there's a lot of hard work done to assemble the tiny tiles to create the abstract word being represented.

"Peace"

True prosperity in one's nation is achieved when there is peace, our nation's quest for long-lasting peace is depicted by the glying dove. In the mural, the dove flies in the horizons of certainty - Tuwid na Daan. The cool colors exude serenity.

Metal Plate Embossed with the Artwork Details

Hmmm... I think the raindrops did a great job in adding more style to the steel plate and made it look more dramatic. :)

Beyond Limits Concert at Music Museum

Who'd not say the production was a success?

It's a wonderful experience watching the three young divas Julie Anne San Jose, Frencheska Farr and Jonalyn Viray in one concert last weekend at Music Museum in Greenhills.

As the concert title signifies, the three performed in a way different from what is usually seen on national television. I leave the proof to the videos available from YouTube.

One of the audience is Jalynna Magadia - a fellow member of Julie Anne to the now disbanded young singing group Sugarpop of GMA 7.

One thing I can say about the audience:
They should have at least wait for each song to finish before finally screaming to show their support to their favorite artist/s. It was a concert; not a TV show. Just thinking out loud what I expect in a concert to really enjoy the live music....

Desserts at Yakimix

Was privileged to be invited by a friend on her birthday celebration at Yakimix, Trinoma. Everything was okay except for the fact that we have to leave at a specified time set by the resto.

The desserts remind me of the saying that we can eat unhealthy food while we're still young. I don't believe on that notion as the food we eat also accumulates in our precious body. Now this requires one's discipline to his own body.

Too bad I ate everything on the plate. Good for me I have a whole day of activity during that Saturday to burn all those sugars I took in.

Speedy - Mountain Bike in the City

Near my apartment, I visited the bike shop one afternoon and bought this yellow mountain bike. It's semi-alloy built makes it quite heavy but I'm satisfied with it.

Vehicles in Makati City are always on the rush that I have to consider safe biking. Bright colors were the first that popped out of my mind:

(1) The bike must be bright colored so it can be seen easily on the road at night,

(2) The lock of the bike must be bright colored that it can be detected easily by stealers and thus intimidate them at least, and lastly

(3) I must wear bright colored clothes when biking to increase my visibility on the road.

I call my new bike Speedy by the way. :)

Boulder Beach of Batanes

The Chadpidan Boulder Beach is another popular tourist spot in Batanes. It is known for its numerous, massive, round boulders stretching along the shore of the whole beach.

Historically, the boulders are spewed from Mt. Iraya, a now inactive volcano.

Strong waves from the China Sea helped to smoothen the boulders over time.

 Not only to tourists, the place also serves as a leisure place for the Ivatan, the people of Batanes.

Word of Life, Calauan

Word of Life at Calauan, Laguna is really good for camps, retreats or conferences as you'll just be like visiting a resort with the accomodation they provide.

T'was fun being able to visit Word of Life of Calauan last month. The Jubilee celebration kickoff of South Luzon Navigators was held there. Aside from meeting with fellow Navigators, one thing that made me so eager to attend the event was the venue.

They have a pool that I think is large enough for a hundred people. They also have sports facilities like table tennis, soccer field, billiards, zip line, basketball courts and many more that makes whatever amount you've paid worth it.

What more? The place has so many facilities but it's distance from the city helps you relax especially with the help of surrounding greeneries and nature that encloses its vicinity.

Vayang Rolling Hills, Batanes

One popular place for viewing both seascape and landscape in Batanes is the Vayang Rolling Hills found in Northern Batan.

It boasts for being a great place for tourists to see the other major and inhabited Islands (Sabtang and Itbayat) of Batanes.

The land in Rolling Hills Batanes was once divided and marked by fences by a public official but the Ivatans prefer their native communal lands preserved. Only the concrete fence posts now remain in the place.

Marlboro Hills of Batanes

More popularly Known as Marlboro Hills, Racuh A Payaman serves as a communal pasture land for the cattle and horses of the Ivatan people in Batan Island of Batanes. Racuh A Payaman literally means wide pasture.

An Ivatan can choose to bring his own herd of cow/goat to the pasture land or just tame some wild animals that can be found freely roving in there.

"Alongside with numberlessness, Filipino space is also boundless. Indigenous culture did not divide land into private lots but kept it open for all to partake of its abundance." - Ed Lapiz

It's too good the area is wide enough to accommodate tourists that can safely explore a big area of it since many of the animals found there are really undomesticated.

Many agree that the movie Sound of Music should have been shot in this beautiful place of Batanes.

A Weekend in Batanes

Just visited Batanes, the northern islands of the Philippines, last weekend. It is the only place in the Philippines with four seasons in a year. And I still feel the same excitement I first felt if ever I visit there again.

After a less than two hours of plane travel from Manila to Basco in Batanes, the cool breeze of spring welcomed me along with the majestic mountain of Iraya near the SEAIR airport.

Unexpectedly, my friend and I saw the "Mike Pua & company" sign waved by one person in the waiting area. He and Ryan, our tour guide, accompanied us to to ride in their tourist van and dropped us by at the hotel afterwards.

Within a few minutes, we were already ready to start the tour to compensate the one hour we've lost while waiting for the delayed arrival of the plane in Manila.

One thing I've learned is to keep taking pictures while the tourist van is moving. There are so many great sceneries we passed by that I won't let a single one not to be captured by my camera.

From time to time, the tourist van stops for our closer view of the culture and community of the Ivatan people.

Plant Pictures at Los Baños, Laguna

These white squash (upo in Tagalog) sprouts remind me of the time I was planting its family member squash at the backyard of my house in Isabela. Only one of the squash seedlings survived and it produced only one successful fruit but I think it's the best squash I've ever tasted.

The cone shape of this ornamental plant right beside the UPLB Navigators Center caught my attention while strolling around. I'm sure it already spread the next time I visit Los Baños again.

After looking for this pink flower for a couple of months, I finally saw it again. The first time I saw its kind was when I took a picture of the post entitled Wild Flowers at Los Baños. Saw it twice already and too bad I still don't know what name the plant is called.