|southeast_asia_on.a_shoestring_budget|

day 2

  

having arrived shortly after midnight, the trip to the kuala lumpur city centre from the airport took another hour or so. after getting a room, we all freshened up in the common bathroom and snoozed.

  

at 7am it was still dark. weird but i guess that's how things are in that part of the world. got a few munchies from the nearby 7-eleven and by 8am we were already queuing at the petronas twin towers ticket booth to get a view of the city from its viewing deck on the 41st floor. tourists from all over came as early as 6am to get a first glimpse of kl for that day. by 9:30am, we got our tickets, color id badges and was on our way to an exhibit hall of the feats and wonders and a short film documenting the construction of the petronas twin towers.

  

a few seconds and forty-one floors up aboard their big lifts and we were taking snapshots of ourselves, of others and all over the viewing deck of the twin towers. up, down, around, it was so tourist-like for us to do those things. too bad we couldn't stay there all day, after 10 minutes or so, the new batch of visitors arrived and we were told to take the lifts going back down. sigh.

  

we had a quick hefty brunch at cold storage and strolled around the suriya mall and the park from the towers. took more pictures and walked around the kuala lumpur cbd. it was cloudy but yet it was such a hot and humid day. i got to see the kl tower from afar and took a monorail from bukit nanas to bukit bintang for some shopping. i got to check the prices of cameras, mobile phones and others gadgets and gizmos and compared them with manila prices. it was just the same. it may have been a few pesos cheaper but not close to a hundred.

  

by 12nn we were back in the backpackers inn, fixed our stuff and prepared to go to the airport by 1pm for our trip to bali later that afternoon.

  

by 2:30pm we checked-in and had a few hours to stroll and marvel at the klia. i didn't presume the air asia flight to bali will be delayed so after a failed attempt of finding a starbucks coffee shop, we had late lunch at mcdonald's. same old me, i had a quarter pounder meal with large fries and large coke. i was too stuffed for a chocolate shake though. i had to reserve that until the next time.

  

the plane trip to bali was a fine one. i got to sit right next to mark, a fellow pinoy working in kl and we chatted all the way through. he happened to know so many people that i know. such a small world, and we got to meet at the boarding gates of an airport in another country. we got to suka beach inn, a surfer inn at kuta, about 20 minutes away from denpasar, the capital of bali. a quick grilled shrimp dinner and we prepared for the next day ahead.

for more pictures, visit my flickr site by clicking here:

kuala lumpur

bali

|southeast_asia_on.a_shoestring_budget|

day 1

  

having booked for the flights two plus months before the trip itself definitely gave the best savings aside from it being a budget airline. online booking was quick, easy and efficient. the passport number and my credit card were all that was needed for an e-ticket to be issued. i didn't have much with me but books, camera, tripod, ipod, clie, mobile phone and tons of cables, rechargeable batteries and chargers. a bus ride from megamall to clark that was fast and convenient and i was all set to go!

the flight was a bit delayed. it was no biggie for me though since it was just for a few minutes. a cold drizzling monday evening and we left shortly after 8:30pm for kuala lumpur.

  

the plane for sure isn't new but it's not worn out and it's clean. but personally, i think they can clean it more. it had been refurbished to have free seating. after the plane ascended to the right altitude, the cabin crew started moving their cart from the back and took our food orders. i somewhat had dinner before the flight hence i just had ribena and slept during the rest of the flight.

  

3 hours and 55 minutes later, past midnight, we arrived at the magnificent KLIA (kuala lumpur international airport), one of the nicest airports that i've been to. filled out the arrival card, gone through immigration, had some cash converted to malaysian ringgit got our bags from the baggage claim area and rode the shuttle to the city. no klia ekspress for us that morning, the last train left at midnight.

checked into an inn for backpackers at the back of the pudaraya bus station. got a few hours of sleep for a busy day ahead.

for more pictures, visit my flickr site by clicking here.

|i'm_back|

i'm back from my 7-day vacation to kuala lumpur, bali and singapore. it was a short but sweet time off work to relax and enjoy what these countries have to offer to me as a tourist.

i am currently uploading my pictures to my flickr site. i'm going to blog about the whole trip in the days to come. to view my pictures, click here.

|mr_sniffles_is_in_town|

early this week, amidst all the unfathomable workload, i started getting the sniffles. i don't know where i got it but for sure i got the cold bug and i was sick. the sniffles got worse and i started getting feverish within the next few days. i tried self-medicating and taking over the counter drugs to ease the flu-like symptoms: fever, bodily aches and pains, wooziness, diarrhea, etc. this morning i started having coughs.

i still managed to get to work and decided to pay the company doctor a visit for a proper consultation. she politely asked me how i felt that time, took my blood pressure, checked on my vitals and listened if i have phlegm in my lungs with her stethoscope. she found nothing serious and started writing on her notepad for the prescription drugs.

surprisingly, she asked me, "what medicine do you want to take"? gee, i didn't know i get to decide on these things nowadays. aaahhm, can i just take aspilets since they look pretty and they taste nice? i was compelled to say that but i resisted and let her do her scribbling.

|stop_|

  

so many things happening, so little time. i wish i can stop the time for me to be able to finish deliverables. with the autosys jobs being done manually, there goes the sleepless nights and long hours in the office.

i am so looking forward to next week. it's seven days of pure fun and excitement. i hope everything goes well. i need a break from this all. at least i can say i can stop the time from ticking and the world from turning even if it's just for a while.

|june_2005|

with so many things happening, i barely had time to blog about them. this is a condensed version of the things that transpired for the month of june.

|white_rock_hoorah|

the company had it's last hoorah for the summer and went to white rock beach resort in zambales on the last weekend of may. it was a rainy weekend though, the world telling me the official end of summer.

|mom's_birthday_bash|

  

mom's birthday celebration at albergus somewhere near ayala heights. i think it's in capitol hills. it was a rainy evening but nonetheless we still had fun, fun, fun!

|bubba_bump_dinners|

  

i had bubba gump dinners in two separate occasions. one was with my former teammates slash buddies with my previous company. it was a short but sweet evening, reliving the fun times as it were. we catched up on stories with those who are still with the company and those like me who chose to leave and seek for greener pastures.

the other one was a end of week dinner with allan. we failed to get to greenbelt on time to see a movie hence we just gorged on shrimps and ate the night away. it was a happy, happy, joy, joy wet friday night.

anything with shrimp in it is always a good thing. enjoyed good company, good food and good service.

Bubba Gump

Greenbelt 3

Makati City

|my_school|

  

saturday afternoon walking around my school and taking pictures all over. i've always wanted to have a picture taken of the oblation. i was able to do so, and added some drama and flair to the whole thing.

  

sitting on the front steps of the quezon hall to cool off as i covered half of the campus by foot. i initially took some shots of the oblation then the fascade and pillars of the building. this hall is where the president holds office and other administrative departments of the university. this is the first building every freshman entering the university would see as they approach the campus through the university avenue and this is the last building they'll ever be on before leaving as the graduation rites are held here and the ampitheater behind it.

  

from the quezon hall, the carillon can be seen covered by the lush green acacia trees. just following the path of the academic oval, near the up theater, before the tennis courts, the big tower holding the bells would behold anyone. it's been a while since the last time i heard the national anthem and the university hymn was played on these bells. it's either the bells need tuning, or one of the bells broke or there's no one trained enough to play the bells. bummer.

  

i miss going to school. i've always wanted to come back and continue with graduate studies. maybe someday. i miss the roads that are lined with lush acacia trees on both sides as they form a canopy over my head and their branches touch one another and give shade. the sunken garden, have been there eversince and is still sinking, a popular hangout place where dogs run around, kids play ball, and families converge for picnics. the buildings are indeed age old; they've been there before the second world war but iare still proudly standing strong. a little trivia, the diliman campus was developed by daniel burnham in 1908. he created and patterened the campus to other universities in the united states. daniel burnham also designed the city of baguio and had a park named after him.

my trip to my school will not be complete without stopping to various food establishments; from the street food vendors with stainless steel carts (fish balls, dirty ice cream, sweet corn, etc.), the shopping center, the so-called one-stop shop in the campus to the more expensive restaurants like the chocolate kiss at the bahay ng alumni.

|color_me_mine_day|

  

on one june weekend, we tried color me mine and had some ceramics colored. i got for myself a doggie bowl which i wanted to turn into an orange candy dish. though the colors look dull and not at all close to being orange, i'll wait until it's baked and glazed before the colors would come alive. this being company paid and all is a good thing to spend time with the family as the parents and the kids spend a warm afternoon painting.

|carissa's_3rd_birthday_event|

  

the birthday girl had a dora cake for her party at the seafood club in greenbelt 3 last saturday. the whole family was there for lunch which consisted of steamed crabs, seafood pasta, calamares and a whole lot more. no pictures were taken while eating. i used my fingers to scoop out the crab meat and crack the shell.

  

little by little i was able to upload all my pics into my flickr site. also, as i continue and organize the songs in my ipod, i slowly finish updating my playlists. still swampped with work but i manage each and everyday working one step at a time. more pictures to be uploaded for july. i'm so excited on things to come.