OUR AWESOME PLANET

Random Ideas for the Road Food Trip Lover

A big thanks to all those who submitted their entries to the Blog Carnival with the theme "Your Most Awesome Road Food Trip"!

To give you ideas for your next Road Food Trip,  here is a compilation of my favorite entries:

1. Quezon Province, the Next Frontier of Road Food Trip Adventure

Photo by: FoodStyling-Manila.Com

The province of Quezon is starting to be appreciated as a road food trip destination. Now, people find there's more to it than the usual Pahiyas celebration in Lucban. Three of my favorite restaurants are located in Quezon: Ugu Bigyan in Tiaong, Quezon; Jay's Kubli Springs in Dolores, Quezon, and the Crispy Pata Place in Candelaria.

Giannina of FoodStyling-Manila has a great blog series on her Quezon Road Food Adventure -- from Real Quezon's Beach Side Seafood Market to Fresh Seafood BBQ at Jualian Resort in Real to Biliran Island for Picnic and to the Malunok Falls via the Real-Mauban "Coastal Highway".  She certainly covered more ground beyond the traditional Lucban visit and stopover at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan. She even featured Dahilican Port, which is the jump-off point for the other remote islands in Quezon, like Polillo Island.

Quezon will be my next Road Food Trip destination in 2012, specifically because of the relaunch of Balesin (which is south of Polillo Island), the beautiful and laidback beaches of Cagbalete Islands (via Mauban Quezon) and BonPen, the new destination in the 3rd district of Quezon.

LEGO Pilipinas, Tara Na!

Have you seen this exhibit of the Philippine map and famous regional landmarks all made from LEGO Bricks?

8 Awesome Adventures in the Philippines!

Life is too short to waste on the usual day-to-day activities and meaningless travel. Over the 5+ years of exploring the Philippines, I've discovered the most awesome adventures guaranteed to make your hearts race and rave. These are the experiences that left indelible memories in my mind. I'm sharing these with you because these are the adventures that make the Philippines truly awesome!

Our St. Luke's Global City Experience

Early Thursday morning, August 26, Joshua had a seizure because of high fever. He looked lifeless with his eyes just staring up and his body limp, but it was a good thing his heart was still beating fast. We got scared because, earlier that week, Aidan had high fever and I was also sick and having my own chills.

We had to bring Joshua to the nearest hospital, which was St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) Global City. Now, I would like to share with you our experience there.

Secrets of North Luzon Travel in 2010

I recently journeyed with the best of the young travel bloggers and travel writers in the country on a 7-day North Philippines familiarization tour. I've been to most of them, but there were a few little secrets that I learned during that trip. Here are the top 10 secrets of North Luzon in 2010... :)

1. The Latest Attraction Travelers are Raving About: Sandboarding in Laoag Sand Dunes!

Out of all the places we visited in North Luzon, I found Sandboarding in Laoag the most AWESOME! It is just like surfing -- but on sand. You also have to conquer your fear before you can really go down the steep slope of the sand dunes. Sandboarding here is still in its infancy, and all they do is slide down the slopes -- no jumps and no complicated moves yet. The adventure starts with a 4x4 drive across the sand dunes and then you will stop at one of the dunes with the steepest slope -- this is where the fun activity begins. :)

(BTW, there are two areas of sand dunes in Ilocos Norte -- the one in Paoay and the one in La Paz. We tried sandboarding in the Paoay area.)

The Birth of Baby Raphael

A photo essay on the birth of Baby Raphael Anthony Uy Diaz...

Proud Mom Rache and the Diaz Musketeers: Ahiya Aidan, Dihya Joshua, and Syoti Raphael

Spending the Night at The Imperial Suite, Sofitel

The Imperial Suite at Sofitel is probably the best presidential suite among the hotels here in Manila because of its awesome view of the Manila Bay Sunset. It is located on the top floor of Sofitel and offers a 180-degree view of Manila Bay. We're so blessed to experience staying for one night in this Presidential Suite. It was part of the prize package for the Siete Pecados contest my brother and I joined last December.

Here is the photo essay of our Imperial Suite experience in Sofitel at the start of 2010:

Top 5 Awesome Travel Experiences in 2010!

(I'm finalizing this article to be published in EYP. Please provide comments and feedback, please. :) )

The Philippines is starting to be discovered not only by foreigners but by our local tourists, thanks to the availability of cheaper flights and more bargain options for local travelers. I believe that the upswing in local tourism is also greatly influenced by travel bloggers and social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

In 2010, it is now considered cool to travel and explore locally. Boracay will retain its standing as THE ultimate beach party place, but local tourists will most probably look for something more special and exciting -- something new to discover and experience, a way to get to know our country a little bit more.

Here are the top 5 awesome travel experiences in the Philippines in 2010: