There is an annual hot-air balloon festival held in Clark Field, Pampanga. The only time I was able to make it there was the one time the balloons didn’t come, and was replaced instead by an aerosport show. I find myself looking wistfully at pictures taken from the festival, always wondering when I’ll be able to see hot-air balloons on flight. So for my 27th birthday, I wished for a hot-air balloon ride. I must have been a good girl, because my wish came true this morning!

There are three or so companies offering balloon rides over Melbourne and the surrounding countryside in Victoria. My brother-in-law picked Global Ballooning. The starting and ending point of the balloon ride was at the Hilton Hotel (Hilton on the Park). We met up at the foyer around 4:30 in the morning. Passengers were asked to fill in a form and sign a waiver. Afterwards, we were broken into groups, and assigned to a pilot. We boarded an SUV, towing the basket, balloon and propane tanks.

We drove to a field 15-minutes away from the Hilton. We were told that the take off and landing fields change every flight, as it is dependent on the direction of the wind. As stated in their website, hot-air ballooning is a hands-on activity. Passengers are asked to help with setting up the balloons for flight and packing it up afterwards.

There were six balloons in the field that morning, three of which are from Global Balloons. It was amazing to watch as the balloons inflate, and eventually lift off the ground. Nick, our pilot, said that ballooning is all about the landing. Landing requires concentration and precision in managing the hot and cold air to get the balloon to land in the target landing field. Taking off, on the other hand, was so gentle, we hardly noticed that we were already off the ground.

Once you get over the initial excitement of being several hundred feet above the ground (and several hundred pictures), you find yourself just taking it all in: the view, the experience and just drifting wherever the wind takes you. Unless you have a terrible fear of height (why go on a hot-air balloon ride if you’re scared of heights?), ballooning is quite relaxing when you’re up in the air.

We flew high and we flew low. On the highest ascent, we reached about 4,000 feet (I would guess what’s when my ears started hurting a bit). We dropped altitude a couple of times, low enough to shout greetings to people on the ground, and hear their response.

After one-hour, we were instructed to go into our landing position. The landing position kept us balanced, preventing us from toppling all over the basket. The basket absorbed most of the impact, but you still feel it as the basket touches the ground. Once we have scrambled out of the basket, we were given new directions on how we can help pack up the balloon. First, the basket was lifted unto the trailer while there was still enough hot air inside. Then the pilot opens a flap to release all the air inside, deflating the balloon. We take up position along the lenght of the balloon, squeezing out the air and folding it in. Once the air is all out, we line up again, carrying the balloon and stuffing it back to its bag. Once everything was packed up, we head back to the Hilton for breakfast and champagne.

The balloon ride costs AU$350 for adults and AU$245 for children ages 6-12 years. It includes the ride and the champagne breakfast. It’s pricey, yes, but it well worth it.

More pictures after the jump, or if you can’t get enough, head on to my flickr.
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I woke up on my 27th birthday, and my first thought was “what the crap? Is that sunlight streaming through my window?!”

Not the best way to wake up, I admit, but there’s a reason for that. You see, I have something grand planned for my birthday, but due to weather concerns and scheduling conflicts, I had to re-schedule it. The weather bureau have forecasted thunderstorms for the 28th, so I cancelled my original plan.

Despite my ruined plans, my day turned out nicely. I had a great lunch with my sister and her husband (if ever you find yourself in Melbourne, head on to Kobe Jones over at Docklands. The food is simply fantastic), and got to explore parts of Melbourne that I haven’t seen before.

You see, I got lost. The plan was for me to take the ferry up the river from Williamstown to the City. However, I changed my mind and opted to check a couple of shops and ride the bus home. After shopping for some gifts, I went to the nearest bus stop and found out that it was going to a suburb that I only heard of, but don’t really know where it’s situated. I wasn’t really familiar with Williamstown’s shopping centre; all I know is that the train station is a long walk away so I opted to ride the bus and get off somewhere that looks familiar.

If there’s one thing you should know about me is that I am paranoid. I hardly ever go anywhere unfamiliar without checking the map first. And checking it again. And again. And downloading another version of the map. And studying it with fervor I never showed for my classes in college. So for me, riding a bus bound for a place I don’t know is very terrfying for me.

Surprisingly, I was calm. I actually enjoyed getting lost and finding my way home.

Over the years I’ve come to accept things as they come. I’ve come to believe that there is a reason for everything that happens. I stopped trying to blame my parents, or my schools, or the society I lived in for what I am now. Instead I am thankful because they made me into who I am now.

I have come to appreciate life more. Last Sunday, while I was sitting on the swing at the playground, I felt a sense of peace and being content. Instead of waking up and dreading another year of life, I am happy because I have another life to live.

I’d like to think that I am lucky: I have a family that supports what I like to do and friends who believe in me. No matter how corny that sounds, there’s no other words to express the gratitude I felt for being blessed with this life.

You can stop blinking now, this really *is* JustWandering.org

I got bored with my previous theme and wasn’t really happy with it anymore, so here’s a fresh new one to match my mood. Today’s my last day as a 26 year old, so I guess it’s fitting to make the necessary upgrades today, no?

Just Wandering’s latest theme is based on ShinRa House‘s Breaking News, modified to fit my advertisement blogging needs. I wanted lighter colors this time, hence the blue and green. I like to think that it shows the color of the sky, the sea and the earth. My friend however, said it reminded her of Boracay’s shores with its green seaweeds and blue sea

A month after WordPress 2.3.1 was released, I finally upgraded. I was hoping that by now, the plugins I used to have that weren’t compatible with the latest version would be upgraded as well. So far, so good, except for the SEO Title Tags plugin that keeps on giving me database error messages gah

This layout has been tested on Opera and Firefox, my two main browsers. It also works fine with Internet Explorer 7, but it’s being uncooperative and doesn’t align images and text properly.

Before I forget, I’ve installed a new plugin, WP-Polls. My first poll: Do you already have travel plans for 2008? I know I do If not, maybe this will help: Cebu Pacific is having another Piso promo, starting November 28 (tomorrow) until December 2, for travel in January – March 2008. You know where I’ll be first thing tomorrow

After all my talk about missed opportunities and knowing the events happening around Melbourne, I totally missed out on David Beckham coming to Sydney gah gah gah

David Beckham says he is been surprised by the reaction to his trip to Australia.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player is in Sydney for an exhibition match with his team LA Galaxy.

The game at Sydney’s Olympic stadium will be played in front of a sell-out crowd of 80,000.

Source: ABC.net.au

LIKE countless millions of others, soccer star David Beckham got off a 22-hour flight from London to Sydney worn out, red-eyed and in trakkie daks.

Having your own Lear jet apparently does not shield you entirely from the ghastly effects of circling half the globe in a single bound.

Beckham managed to avoid some of the paparazzi at Sydney airport when a fake “Posh” lured the cameras in the wrong direction while he made good his escape.

However there was no avoiding the glare at his first Australian press conference, where 16 television cameras followed his every eye-rub and neck-stretch, and the flashguns popped like fireworks every time his mouth creased into that shy smile.

Like anyone else who’s flown that far, he looked like he wanted nothing more than a cup of tea and a good lie down.

Source: Herald Sun via News.com.au

Crap. And I was having such a lovely day! Why did I have to miss Becks?! Gaddamit! *shakes fist*

Le sigh. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Oh well, I just have to keep on reminding myself I have an awesome birthday gift waiting to be redeemed. It’s not as cool as seeing David Beckham, but awesome, nonetheless. Yep, keep on telling yourself that Nina… Awesome gift…awesome gift… awesome gift… *cries*

When you travel, you try to take in as much as you can in the limited time you’d be in one place. You’ll try to visit all the attractions listed in your guidebook, dine at all the restaurants friends and acquaintances recommend and buy all the native trinkets you can find.

We try to cram everything in a day or three, because we don’t want to miss anything. After all, who know when you’ll be back in that place again?

Unfortunately, there are times when you’ll miss something — a concert of your favorite artist, performing just before you arrived; a festival that wouldn’t start until after you’ve left; or in my case, missing the chance to see Marcus Schenkenberg in person gah

That’s why this time, I made sure I know what’s happening in Melbourne, and I take careful notes to the events I want to join. I purposely gave the Melbourne Cup a miss because even though it’s the biggest event here, I find that I’m not really interested in it (the Flemington Racecourse is just 10 minutes away, whereas I flew 800 kilometers for the Mardi Gras). One thing I didn’t pass on was the chance to attend the WordCamp Melbourne, and a chance to meet my favorite travel writer, Peter Moore.

Initially, I planned on attending the formal launching of his latest book, Vroom by the Sea, but schedule conflicts meant I’d have to stay home that night. Luckily, Peter invited his readers to join him for drinks at the Espy, along with fellow travel writer, Brian Thacker.

I was actually hesitant to go at first, fearing that I’d feel ill at ease, but Peter and Brian were a couple of really nice guys. They both have travelled to the Philippines, and I am so ashamed to admit that they’ve travelled to more places around Luzon and the Visayas than I have. I was glad that I went to the Espy instead of the book launch, because it was more informal and I was able to chat with my favorite travel writer.

I remember my friends lining up, just so Neil Gaiman can sign their books last year. This year, Anna found out that he’s coming back, but the book signing this time would be at Subic, and it would only be limited to a hundred or something. And me? I just went for a chat over drinks and steak burger. Now, don’t you wish more author-reader interactions are like this?

I seemed to have come to Melbourne at a great time – Priscilla the Musical is still on going, one of my favorite travel writer Peter Moore is launching his latest book in Australia, and the event I attended last Saturday, WordCamp Melbourne.

WordCamp is a gathering of WordPress users talking about (you guessed it) WordPress and blogging. Among the speakers were Alex Shiels of Automattic (who quite succinctly told us how big WordPress is), James Farmer of Edublogs (who organized WCM07 and quite a jolly person), Darren Rowse of Problogger.net (how can this be a blogging event without Mr. Rowse? He’s a very nice, down to earth guy, by the way, and he even granted my odd request of posing with my Pinky St doll), Christine Davis of Neato.co.nz (developer of the Ultimate Tag Warrior, which I’m currently using), and Alister Cameron, the self-proclaimed blogologist (who was wearing a TinTin in Vietnam t-shirt, which had me racking my brains whether TinTin ever went to Vietnam).

Darren Rowse mentioned in passing that Melbourne bloggers have been talking about having one of these gatherings for a long time, and this is the first time it has pushed through. Also, when I asked him if he gives talks on blogging a lot, he said he gets invited to talk overseas, but hardly in Australia.

Apart from the talks given by the speakers, there were also round table discussions, where in participants get to talk among themselves regarding a topics pertaining to WordPress or blogging. Topics like choosing a blogging platform, selling plugins, online reputation management, themes, and blogging as new media. I joined the plugins table, reputation management and new media.

The online reputation management discussion was facilitated by Gerry McCusker, a Public Relations Analyst. We discussed how organizations can optimize blogs for better public relations. I found myself drifting off at certain points, thinking of how certain individuals can hurt their reputation through online self-publishing.

When the time came for the last round table, I eagerly headed to the table set for the new media discussion. Disappointingly, there were only three of us there. Hmmm, as I told Gerry, who was also at the table, this table would’ve been full had it been in Manila.

Overall, it was a great, enlightening event. I was able to see the “blog culture” in Melbourne, and how people are utilizing it. It was great to meet people with such passion for blogging. Oh, and Lucio, too bad you left early…you could’ve won a WordPress shirt :P

Pictures from WordCamp Melbourne

Darren Rowse talking about how to make money by blogging

Alister Cameron telling us about all the fun to be had with Sandbox

James Farmer sharing his trick for increasing your multi-user blog from 1 to 1,000

Christine Davis differentiating between tags and categories

The panel of speakers with Alex Shiels answering question from the audience

Savers, is what we’d call in the Philippines as an ukay-ukay – a secondhand shop. Unlike the ukay-ukay in the Philippines, which are cramped and sometimes found in the sidewalk, Savers has a spacious interior. The clothes are grouped by type, size and color, which makes it easier to look for something that might fit you.

Apart from clothes for men, women and children, Savers also sell accessories like bags, scarves and shoes. There are household items like cups and saucers, plates and serving dishes, couches and chairs, even draperies for your windows. Inside the bins at the cashier’s booth are DVDs and videos in VHS. There’s also a number of music CDs available for sale, starting at 0.99 cents each.

My favorite section at Savers though, is the corner where all the books are. I’ve bought more than a couple of books from Savers, priced usually at $2.99 or $3.99 each. Today was no exception. Amongst a stack of coffee table books, I see one Loney Planet title:

Time and Tide by Peter Bennetts and Tony Wheeler, like new.

Inside are a beautiful collection of pictures, and quite possibly, a nice collection of words as well (I’ve yet to start reading it). On the title page though, I find this:

The best bit? The price.

Oh yes, only $2.99.

With the opening of their 3rd hub in Davao, Cebu Pacific announces international flights from Davao to Singapore and Hong Kong starting May 8 and May 9, 2008. Of course, this can only mean one thing: seat sale!

Grab these fantastic deals and be on your way to fabulous locations!

Now that we have a hub in Davao, fly direct from Davao to Hong Kong and Singapore for only 999 PESOS or to Iloilo for as low as 98 PESOS!

Direct services from Davao to Singapore and Iloilo will commence on May 8, 2008 while the service to Hong Kong will start on May 9, 2008. The seat sale wil l run from November 13 to 20, 2007 only.

Fly from Cebu to Bacolod and Manila to Laoag for only 1.00 PESO!

The seat sale will run from November 13, 2007 to February 29, 2008, and is good for travel for the same period. There are more than 20,000 seats available for this promotional sale so hurry!

Source: Cebupacificair.com