scalloped and black

something borrowed scallop bow bustier swim top, something borrowed scallop hem bikini bottom

I've been eyeing these since they came out on Zalora Philippines as they reminded me of these Chloes and especially Marysia's Antibes swim top and bottom. They're on sale now, and at a really more accessible price therefore off went the clicking of the purchase button... They sadly only come in black (low-key wishing they came in nude too...) but that can be overlooked.

It's officially monsoon/rainy/wet season here in the islands but there are still enough sunny and pleasantly partly cloudy days ahead so these could still come in handy. 

P.S., they're still on sale. Also, another brand, Shapes and Curves from Zalora has something similar as well: the sexy scallop two piece swimwear.

dumaguete city 08.2017 photo diary

Geothermal rocks on the way to Pulangbato in Valencia, Dumaguete City

 Pulangbato (Red Rock) Falls

 At a private pool/resort in overlooking Dumaguete City and even the Cebu Island in Valencia

t, hanes. shorts, levis cutoffs. birkenstocks-like slippers/slides, zalora. bag, kohl's. sunglasses, dad's. 

....and this is the rest of the Dumaguete City trip. Last day of it was spent wandering around the green, mountain/hilly part of Dumaguete City: Valencia. I finally got to go to those sights I missed to go to while attending graduate school in Silliman University way, way, in the still pretty recent back. It's relieving still to have checked on a lot of those however. Pulangbato (english translation: red rock) waterfalls is one place in Valencia I've been meaning to go to since a lot of those I knew/know in Dumaguete City have likely been to it. The geothermal rocks is a new discovery. All the time I spent in the city, I never really knew its existence. Lastly, the private resort (owned by the in-laws of a traveling companion) is also pretty new to me---I only really know of Forest Camp and Tierra Alta (we only passed by this one but didn't bother going in there...). Valencia has quite a good number of hot springs, cold springs, waterfalls and private and public pool resorts that being there, more like being in Dumaguete City can't really become that boring. It's basically paradise on earth for those who love the lush tropical rain forests, natural bodies of water and the sea at the same time.

There are still a lot more things to do in Valencia. Other than the places I've been to, there are also a lot more to visit or check out when there. Valencia is only a few minutes' worth of drive from entry area, if you're coming from there, Dumaguete City. For one, Cata-al's World War 2 Museum is worth the visit for the history buffs. It's really close to the main plaza or park that's by the town center so it's hard to miss it. During the trip however, no one bothered to check this one out so I wasn't able to take the chance to either. Well, maybe next time. I'm pretty sure I'll be coming back there one day again and this time, probably for a lengthier stay than just the 2 or 3 days recently spent there. Then there is also the Japanese shrine I've always wanted to go to that's only accessible by motobikes/motorcycles. The ride used during the tour was a van and couldn't fit the road leading to the shrine so this one had been written off from the itinerary. On the next trip to Dumaguete City, I'm definitely going to look into going to this one. If one fines oneself around Valencia just for rest and relaxation, places like Forest Camp should be attractive. I've been there way back when the English college/department, students and faculty and some staff of Silliman University went for its acquaintance party. I was also new to the college and university back then. Part of the Valencia tour's itinerary was to eat lunch at Forest Camp but the entrance fee they asked visitors had us deciding not to push through with said plan. Paying the 100 Php per person entrance fee isn't really worth it if you're just there to eat lunch and not really to swim which was what we intended to do then. There are also other resorts of the same kind as Forest Camp worth checking out for r&r.

One day isn't enough to discover a lot of Dumaguete City, the town of Valencia especially, and the other places surrounding it. There's still so much to do there I haven't done and places to visit I haven't been in. Next on my list is a visit to the twin lakes, Danao and Balinsasayao. This isn't in Valencia but it is close to Dumaguete City as it is in nearby Sibulan (probably just a few minutes away from Bravo Hotel). As I'm not much of a diver or snorkeler (I don't mind trying snorkeling though!), I'm crossing off a trip to Apo Island on the list and would rather hang around the beaches in Dauin that I hear are really good. Dauin and the port to Apo Island also isn't in Valencia but they are pretty close to Dumaguete City as well. Originally, we were supposed to go to the Dauin beaches but we had fairly limited time left---the trip home was a fast craft/ferry leaving the port of Dumaguete City for Dapitan City at 10 in the evening that night---and Valencia was a pretty huge town to cover so this one was skipped. The traveling companions were also saying there wasn't much to see there in Dauin so I'll just add this one to the places, in addition to those mentioned previously, in and around Dumaguete City or rather, that part of Negros Oriental to go to next. 

....and next week, I'll go back to the more frequent outfit and etc. posts...   

almost high tide in manjuyod sandbar

In Manjuyod's pretty large, expansive sand bar.

At 3 in the afternoon, the sandbar in Manjuyod, Bais City (an hour or so's drive from Dumaguete City) is already submerged in 1-2 centimeters above the ankles of sea water. It's not exactly the best time to be there. I surmise that it's best to be at the sandbar between high noon and earlier in the afternoon. Perhaps on the next try, rather visit at the sandbar, I'd be able to catch it dry and higher above sea water than this one time I'd gone there. A full day at the sandbar might be better than a quick trip to look around it scheduled late in the afternoon. This is something people need to take note of when it comes to beach bumming---the one activity I love to do on some weekends or free times. 

The sandbar is a great place to swim in and hang out or beach picnic in however I've only done the latter after having forgotten my swimming gear at the hotel room. I didn't expect so much pool, cold spring (I'm not exactly a cold spring-preferring swimming person...they're usually too cold for me, I wouldn't think twice diving into the hot springs, however...) and beach trips on the last day spent in, around and out of Dumaguete City so I left the swimming clothes in the backpack back in the 309th room of Bravo Hotel.  

....and apparently, this snapback (the only thing of its kind I own) from the cousin's barber shop's merchandise stash back in Long Beach has been a constant thing to carry and wear much of every trip I partake in, lately. It's definitely the most useful in the heat and when one just wants the heck out of caps/hats... 

The most fitting theme for this trip? lol's (Avex JP) Blue Ocean, of course!

I therefore have to say and this is truth for me, for the eternal summer season here in the tropics...: lol's lolol album/first full length record is the record/album to have for this summer season rather, this whole damn year. Everything in the said album/full length record is summer season (whole year in the tropics) anthem.

dusty rose

shorts, mags. button up silk shirt, vintage/thrifted. ankle boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora. bracelets/bangles, vintage & Dumaguete City souvenir shop. 

View from room 309 of Bravo Hotel in Sibulan which is a few minutes away from Dumaguete City. Dumaguete City photo diary should be coming up in a few and yes, I was just there---after a good two years of not being able to go for a visit---from the 16th until the 20th of August which is just, well, recent.

08.07-08.11

 

August 7-11

I was away to Tagaytay City from the 7th to the 11th of this month hence the lack of blog entries. It's a city, that's 2 hours drive from Metro Manila/NCR, with the view of the Taal Lake with the Taal Volcano in it. Taal Vista Hotel served as home during the 5-day stay in the city.

Day 1 of the trip was for a quick trip to Robinsons Mall which was pretty bare outside of the supermarket which I pretty much enjoyed. The hours following that, spent hanging around the Coffeebean/CBTL in Ayala Serin for lunch and matcha tea latte. Thinking about it now, I suppose I should've gone for one of the two Starbucks there that had great views of the Taal Lake... I missed my chance to check them out so maybe next time. Or you know, they have a local cafe called the Bag of Beans which is worth looking into, too, when there. All of day 2 was in Skyranch next door to the hotel. It basically is just a few minutes walk from Taal Vista Hotel and the entrance fee was just 50 Php per person so it seemed worth the price to me at least. Highlight of day 2 was riding the Sky Eye during the golden hour. The ride cost 150 Php. It's great to go on it alone at that time and I recommend doing so. Or if being alone is too scary or lonely for you, then having a very good friend along would be good too. Ice cream was also had, of course. The theme/amusement park has plenty of restaurants and food stalls within it so their 'no bringing of food from outside' policy can be overlooked. The only not so good thing about this: there's not much choices for pescetarian, borderline or mostly vegetarian me so Tokyo Tokyo it was... Filipino food isn't exactly that pescetarian and especially vegetarian friendly in my experience. It's especially the worst for vegans... Well, it's long been a given that Asian food generally isn't friendly to vegetarians/vegans. Only very few are vegetarian/vegan and pescetarian. I learn to live through that by trial and error somehow, however. Day 3, which was also the last day in Tagaytay City, was just for relaxing around the hotel's view deck, planner and journal in one on hand while distracting the self from time to time with the picturesque view of the volcano within a lake up in front. The mid- to late-afternoon was for shopping around for souvenirs. Rowena's is a good place for the buko (coconut) tart and coffee or tea. I only had water with the buko (coconut) tart so I'm not at all sure how that would taste like, however. As someone who's not much of a coffee drinker as of late---I can only really drink non-caffeinated faux coffee these days and very rarely go with the caffeinated ones---I'd go with tea or some other alternative drink when eating such desserts. Anyway, I was too naive thinking this, the buko (coconut) tart is really good for something a lot of bloggers saying it being what they would go to Tagaytay for. But upon tasting it in the cafe/restaurant, the expectations set by the bloggers of it for me didn't live up to them, the said expectations. I found, taste-wise, it fell rather short and ended up being so-so/average in my book. It's basically a miniature buko (coconut) pie and one who's tasted the local and famous pie from Colette's among others know how that one tastes like already. I can't say I've tasted better either as I don't eat this kind of food much on a regular basis. The Mahogany Market is a great place to buy souvenirs like tshirts, keychains, magnets, mugs and more however I only looked around the place and didn't find anything I could bring home with me. I was also on a sort of tight budget so even if I wanted to, I couldn't buy anything from the souvenir stalls there after spending most of the money on the boxes of ube (purple yam) and apple tarts from Rowena's to take home. Pure honey and fruits are worth checking out there as well but I'd say we here in Mindanao/Region 10 have better---really amazingly sweet pineapples from Bukidnon, lanzones from Camiguin Island, mangosteen and pomelo from Davao City and etc. There's probably a lot more I missed to do in the city I rarely get the chance to visit but this, for me, is Tagaytay City in a nutshell. I'd probably love to explore more next time I'm there and spend another full day or so in Skyranch just for random fun and another chance to ride the Sky Eye. Hah.

As for the vacation wardrobe, I packed very little for this trip as I did with the Camiguin Island trip last time. The black slipdress from UrbanOutfitters (Out from Under) worked wonders for dinners and the third day's hanging out at the hotel's viewdeck as it did for sleeping in on the last night in the hotel. Vintage denim cutoffs---if memory serves me right, they were Gap---was appropriate for a whole day spent in Skyranch. The same goes for the Zalora birkenstock-like men's slippers my dad thought were someone else's rather than mine because they really were for the opposite gender. The vintage silk button up was used as a sort of jacket or cover-up and it could also have been used as a top. Airport wear, not pictured, on the way home was the rocker-chic Zara jeans in black and white H&M t. I only packed two pairs of alternative footwear which is the ankle boots from Rubi by Cotton On and the Zalora men's birkenstock-like slippers. A backpack and a flowery tote bag sufficed for the whole trip to contain everything I needed. This seems to always be the case when I do travel everywhere here, however.