I found a best friend in Batad

Exactly a year ago today, I went on a trip to Banaue to see the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras-one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites here in the Philippines. It has been in my list of to-go local places for a long time so I made it a point not to miss it anymore after I've visited Vigan in 2014.

It wasn't a solo trip as planned as I sat down on the coach with one of my workmates (thanks to my convincing prowess). As far as I know there's only one bus company with a direct route to Banaue (Ohayami Trans). We boarded at around 10pm and arrived in Banaue at 7am. They'll provide you with a free transfer to Banaue town proper once you get there. Then, from the town, you have several options on how to get to Batad.

After breakfast, we decided to just take the jeep to Batad. It will take approximately another hour or so from the town to the heart of Batad or to the saddle point.

Since we only have a limited time or shall I say that we went there for a day trip, we decided to just take a trek to Tappiyah falls. This is one of the must-do when going to Batad. The hike was very challenging for me since I haven't had any daily exercise routine. Felt like my legs were not prepared to do it but I knew then that I can. It wasn't for sure an easy trek but it's all worth it. Truly one for the books! The views will just make you wander where you are and how beautiful the place is with its natural wonders. It was a good decision for us to hire a local guide as the balancing on the rice terraces and the climbing would be very hard. You can also rent a stick that you can use during the trek especially when the path ways gets muddy and slippery or else you'll end up on either side of the terraces which is a shallow, muddy pool or some feet of another muddy pool. The trek back was more difficult as it was like mountain climbing without any gears. To cut the story short, we survived the hours of trekking after seeing the beautiful Tappiyah falls up close.

We had an early dinner in town, bought a souvenir and headed back to Manila at around 7pm. I honestly had a great time during the entire trip and having a travel buddy made it less boring as anyone would agree. And that workmate of mine? He's now one of my best friends.

This is a view from the window while having breakfast in Banaue.

This photo was taken just outside our guide's house after a long and tiring hike from Tappiyah falls..

My photo of the trip, which can't be posted for privacy, shows me and my best friend together and still smiling after the trek with some fogs and the mountains of Batad on the background just adjacent to the photo above.

Birthday blessings

When I became a mom, my every birthday wish is no longer for myself but for my son so I made it a point that he would enjoy the day rather than me enjoying it. So the unplanned trip to Angeles City was a simple way to treat myself on my birthday. The time out from work was all I really need to spend the day with this not so little one. And soon it'll be his birthday.

This was indeed a surprise that I never expected because the 'bespren' gave this to me weeks after my birthday. Thanks for the greetings and for all the love guys! By the way, the birthday card says: Some gifts you hold in your hand.. Some you hold in your heart.

Of course who would have thought that I got one of the best post birthday gift ever! I can't contain any emotions when I finally held this in my hand. There's just too many stories to tell on how I managed to get this.

Thanks to my family and friends who would always take the time out to remember me on my birthday--much love and hugs from ME..

Places of My Year 2015

2015 is indeed remarkable as I've been to two places that I've always wanted to go and in fact they're now marked out in my bucket list.

1. Corregidor Island, Philippines- this historical place that I've only read in books and heard stories about. You just can't compare the emotions you get once you step into this island.

2. Banaue, Ifugao- mud-walled or stone-walled rice terraces were both majestic. Forget about taking photos as you can see them just the same in postcards but totally grand up close.

Of Bulalo and Bullchef

Are you looking for the best bulalo in Pasig? Then head over to Bullchef in Kapitolyo. A lot of food bloggers discovered this blossoming food business in the said area. I also got curious about it after I've seen a program on TV about food tripping in Kapitolyo. I heard as well that even a few celebrities already visited this food hotspot. 

It was after swimming at Ace Water Spa that my friends and I went to Bullchef. I suggested to have our lunch there as it’s one of the closest to go to from Ace Water. We’re all very hungry after spending almost 4 hours at the spa. 

We’re lucky that there are still vacant tables even if it’s lunch time. The place has dining area on the first and second floors. The wall paintings including the guest signatures and names made the restaurant unique with a friendly vibe. As expected, they displayed the photos of those celebrities who has visited and tried their special bowl of bulalo.

I like how they named their dishes in the menu. There’s F na F for fish and fries, Burger habang may Gulay if you want to have burger with vegetable patties, Bang-Bang into the Bull for daing na bangus set meal, Estapa, Tapa Don’t Preach, Tapa ko Mahal Ko and Tapang-Tapangan for tapa lovers and many more.

Aside from bulalo, we also ordered a dish that really caught my attention. It’s called Sisig na may Nacho pa!-a plate of bulalo sisig, nachos, shredded lettuce, onions, cheese and dressings which is good as starter or appetizer.

Then there comes one of their many signature dishes. The Ultimate Bullchef Special- classic bulalo with meat and ligament, corn cob, pechay baguio, baguio beans, of course the bone marrow served in hot bulalo soup. Right there and then I know why it became popular. The taste is one of the best plus they have a generous serving. Just when I thought that nothing beats Tagaytay for bulalo then I’m glad I found Bullchef.

Happy 5 long years anniversary to this page. I promise to be more expressive and relevant in my future stories and of course to discover more places.

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My Travel Must-Haves as a Solo Traveler

Traveling is always fun and exciting. Here's a quick peek of what's inside my travel bag.


cellphone/iPod with waterproof case. My phone will not just let me connect with my friends and loved ones back home but will also provide entertainment just like the iPod while traveling. It is very important for a phone to have a pouch bag that is waterproof as it keeps my phone safe wherever I am.

Check out this cool Universal Waterproof Case I found on Amazon.



camera with extra memory card. I used to have that big, silver cannon camera as you can see in my previous travel photos. But a handy camera will still serve its purpose especially when you need to save some space.

adapter/Charger. When you've traveled overseas then you already know that every country has completely different plugs. These are the things I check first to make sure I have them ready on the day of my trip.

Looking for a great Adapter & Charger All-In-One?





care kit. My travel-sized toiletries that includes soap, shampoo, wet wipes, sanitizer, repellants (optional), toothpaste, toothbrush, femme alcohol, lotion, sanitary pads and feminine wash. I usually add my nail cutter, eyebrow liner, lip balm, moisturizer and sunblock cream inside this bag. Some items like soap, shampoo, cotton buds and even toothbrush are being provided at the hotel or you can easily get them at your destination but it is wiser to bring your own so you don't have to worry about them.

Please always remember the 3-1-1 rules for carry on liquids and gels. 3 ounces or smaller container goes to your carry on bag and more than that should be in your checked in baggage. 1 quart sized, clear, zip lock bag to hold the containers. 1 bag per traveler.

water bottle. I like the idea of bringing my own water bottle especially on long trips. I can save my extra cash and time for buying bottled water and makes me earth friendly too.

travel pillow set- Be it traveling by air or just sitting in a car, couch or train, an inflatable neck pillow that can be folded neatly is always useful. There are sets available now that comes with a sleep eye mask and ear plugs like this Travel Pillow.





sarong or mandala. Though the mandala is more stylish, I prefer to bring my sarong. I use it as my blanket, as towel, cover up, sheet and many more. It's very light and dries up easily.

portable luggage scale. If you are good at estimating the weight of your stuff (like me) then you don't need this one. A very useful scale to carry if you want to save yourself of the embarrassment for removing items from your luggage in front of people at the airport.

medication. I tend to get headaches when I get too much sun exposure so I make sure to bring my necessary tabs.

snacks. Who would want to go somewhere without some munchies?





Credits: amazon.com for the photos (universal waterproof case, adapter & charge all-in-one, Aeris travel pillow)

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Helpful Tips to Create a All for Free website

I am no expert in creating the best website in the world. When I made mine, I started from scratch. From reading books in Kindle to watching videos on Youtube, I also found other sites online that helped me along the way in order to create http://lingzilifelessordinary.blogspot.com.

The first thing to do is think of a good URL or simply the address of your web page. From there, you can choose a domain host. There are a lot of them available online wherein you will need to pay every month once you register and choose one of their plans. I was able to try this before but found it costly and not practical for me so I revived this travel blog I created almost 5 years ago.

Guess everyone knows about Blogger. Everything works with this tool and you can publish your site for free in less than 5 minutes. Aside from Blogspot, you can also manage your free website or blog through Weebly, wordpress.com and many others.

Then once you have a free domain host and website builder, you are now almost ready to publish your first post. However, you may also wonder if there are other things you need to know in order to create a successful blog or website. I never knew all of them before if not because of my eagerness to learn the dot com world.

Here are some:

Logomakr. Yes without the 'e'. This is where you can customize your logo and it's all for free if you'd like to put one in your browser. This is very helpful for someone like me who's not really good at making digital logos.

Unsplash. This is where you can get free high resolution photos plus you can do whatever you want with them. There's no need to ask permission. Isn't it cool? One disadvantage for using photos from this site is that you might see the same photo on other people's blog.

Niftybuttons. Nowadays, social media is a key driver to gain traffic in any pages especially if you are monetizing your site. Well, Niftybuttons will make it easier for you to embed free social media icons or buttons on your website. There are social buttons that require a small donation if you'd like to get a complete set. I am trying to maintain an 'all for free' site so as you can see my social media buttons are not complete but still served it's purpose once you click each of them.

Olark. For me, this is a very good tool if you want to have visitors on your site to leave questions easily or when you want to interact with your readers and followers every time you are online.

Paint.Net. If you can't have Photoshop, then just go to getpaint.net. This is a free software that you can download for digital image and photo editing for Windows OS users. Very useful if you want to put watermark on pictures you want to publish online to prevent someone from using your personal photos. I just knew this recently so as you can see, I don't have watermark on all of my photos.

Powtoon. Do you want to put animated videos or add unique visuals on your site? All you have to do is sign up with Powtoon. It's also for free plus they have a free mini-course tutorials to guide you.

I'm sure there are still a lot of sites and information out there that I haven't discover up to this time. I've been blogging for years now but I still consider myself as a newbie and I will not get tired of learning everyday.

Do you know any sites or applications like those mentioned above that will help one to create a all for free website? I would appreciate if you can share them.

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