Baler is a Beauty (even if photographed on an iphone, on an overcast day. sorry.)

View from Ermita Hill.  Obviously, my iphone didn't do it any justice.

 There have been numerous trips and travel opportunities that have not pushed through in my quarter-life-- trips that are so well-planned, detailed and dreamed on for days but then something happens and then one thing leads to another and then, the trip ended before it even started.  I believe this happens to most of us, and it doesn't even have to be out of town travel.  It could be simple trips or quick get-together with friends that goes awry after you have exhausted time (and sometimes money) to plan it out.  And then there are things that you don't plan for, things that are just of the moment and then it all falls into place.  Is careful planning a jinx in itself? But before I further discuss this and bore you to death, let me just say that our summer trips here at QLT for this year are rather unplanned and yet they turned out to be the most fun we've had.  But then again most of our trips are unplanned AND fun.  What am I even saying? Yeah this is just regular stuff.  I might actually bore you to death.

Or not.  Because we went to Baler.  You cannot be bored at Baler.  You just can't. 


Though we've been there before, as saplings wanting to learn to surf a little, we can't say no to a quick text from Istokewa surf tours asking P if we want to join another Baler surf trip (STILL as saplings wanting to surf a little). I mean, if you were stuck in a quicksand and Ryan Gosling appeared near that pool and offered you to grab his hand, wouldn't you take it? (Or if you're a guy, Miranda Kerr is applicable or whoever Victoria's Secret Angel or Sports Illustrated swimsuit hotness you can think of. Pfft...) In this analogy, the quicksand would be your proverbial "stress" and Ryan Gosling would be Baler.  It can be any other person of course but well, we are talking about Baler here and Baler, my good friends, is a beauty.

Gone for the weekend in Hong Kong (The Lazy Girl version)

Ah, Hong Kong!  A cultural melting pot of East meets West, with great shopping, good eats and good-looking people.  It's a big city with people running around, streets that are gloriously confusing and a vibe that can only be exciting.  Having said that, a 3-day jaunt on "Asia's World City", seems like a taxing endeavor especially when you are going to do it all by yourself (i.e. good riddance, boring tour packages!).  However if you are well-traveled and have been there once or twice before, it should be fool-proof, right?  Probably true.  But sadly, not for us  We admit that once we've been to a place before, we tend to be pretty stubborn in our ways.  And lazy.  Big time.  This could be due to too much sun and salt water exposure.  Or  you know how you seem to be good at Physics and you think you got it so you end up not studying for the exam and then when you take the exam you "surprisingly" fail? Well, that's kind of what happened on our Hong Kong trip (And I really thought I was good at Physics!). So we end up missing the last cable ride to see the Big Buddha in Ngong Ping, not having time to see Takashi Murakami's exhibit at Gagosian Gallery in Central HK and (gasp!) having our dinner at Mc Donald's (a first in our international jaunts, mind you. KFC is of course another story).  When will we ever learn that in big cities like Hong Kong getting from point A to B will take a lot of perseverance and time?  This is a whole lot true when about thousands of people are also wanting to do the same things as you are planning to do and  you are taking mass transportation-- because you are not on said boring tour package.  Such are times when an itinerary is kind of important and time is sort of golden (aren't I the epitome of adulthood?)

Secret's out: Calaguas, Camarines Norte

Sorry guys, I just realized that it has been quite a long time since we have posted anything on your favorite blog (can I get high fives for that?).  But its summer!  and we are very sure that you are too busy frolicking on some beach or catching flights overseas to even bother with a blog-- we are on the same page as you.  Luckily, I get to have a bit of a downtime today to actually do a bit of writing about a place called Calaguas in Camarines Norte.

Coron: Simply Paradise

 "I often wonder about people who live in tropical destinations.  What do their screensaverslook like?" -  Comedian Derick Lengwenus

 In a country where exotic summer destinations are aplenty, it will be quite rare for someone to easily

choose a favorite.  But for your consideration, ladies and gents, how about, Coron?  From the deep

abyss of its waters to the  peak of Mt. Tapyas-- you could say that Coron is gorgeous from head to toe.  

If you haven't been there yet, then you are missing big time on probably one of the most beautiful  places 

on Earth.    Not that we've ever been to all the places on earth, but Coron is just too amazing for words. 

Too amazing that I'll just shut up right now and let our captured photos do most of the talking.

Food Tripping in Singapore

Hawker centre.  Image by Clarisse Hernandez.

We do realize that you, our loyal two readers, may think that this blog is having an Australian twang what with all the NSW tourist spots and that bit on Kylie Minogue.  But be rest assured that Quarter-life vices is still committed to bringing you our meanderings from other places as well.  Today, we felt particularly hungry and thought about all the gastronomic delights that one teeny city-state offers.  Singapore may be small in size but it definitely measures up on our list of places to go on a shameless and delicious food trip.  With influences from the Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures (not to mention the modern-day Western investors that have called it home in Southeast Asia) Singapore is indeed a culinary melting pot and the results are all the way yummy.

Our food-trip guide for the best chows in the Lion City, after the jump...

Sand Surfing in Stockton Beach

(Part 3 of Exciting New South Wales series)

I long have been amazed and been into the water sport of surfing that when someone mentions the word "surfing", I instantly know that they meant getting stoked on the waves out at sea; whereas before I would link surfing as synonymous to browsing the WWW.  Can you imagine what a complete dork I was?  Not that it changed, obviously I am still an Internet junkie.  But now it seems that a new kind of surfing is here to haunt me: Sand Surfing; and of course, Australia has a place to do that (act surprised).  As that country/continent where riding the waves is a natural past time, it is inevitable that those surfing skills will find a way in the massive sand dunes of Stockton Bight in Port Stephens, NSW.

Dazzling Orient Cave at the Jenolan Caves

(Part 2 of Exciting New South Wales Series)

Image capture taken from http://www.jenolancaves.org.au . All rights belong to jenolancaves.org.au

There was a  previous post about Blue Mountains in NSW last month and in it, I mentioned Jenolan Caves as among the national parks you can visit in The Blue Mountains Heritage Site Area.  The Jenolan Caves is one of the world's oldest and astonishing cave systems in the world.  It consists of ten caves open for tourism but there are also many other caves in the area only accessible to cavers as they are quite complex .  Some are even believed to be undiscovered.