Before there were cellphones, the Internet and Wii, there was piko, sipa, tumbang preso, lakad lata, Chinese garter and patintero.

Byahilo jumping over the Chinese garter

Havaianas turned part of Bonifacio High Street into a playground for kids and the kids at heart, with game stations for different Filipino games that we played when we were kids. It was a great project, since we hardly see any kids playing these games in the streets (then again, Metro Manila’s streets aren’t the safest place to play in). It made me smile seeing young kids learning about these games, adults reliving their childhood and enjoying the games they used to play, and this one Caucasian mother with her two children, having fun playing Filipino games.

AJ and Marc racing at the lakad lata (walking on cans) station.

I’m not really into these games when I was a kid (really, I hardly went out of the house to play when I was little), so I just stood in the sidelines, taking photos and videos of my friends having fun. Things were just getting interesting over at the lakad lata section, when the guy taking videos of the event started directing the players where to go. The same thing happened in the patintero section, where he proceeded to order everyone around and telling them to let the other team pass. I can sense that the players only had fun during that brief 1-minute of play when he wasn’t ordering them around.

Eric keeps a tight watch over Fritz

All in all, it was a great and fun event. A good time was had by all, players and gawkers both. I hope Havaianas would have another Playback sometime soon. And maybe next time, we can play without a pesky cameraman directing how we should play *annoyed*

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Just to remind everybody, I’m currently running three contests on Justwandering.org. You can win a Mother Earth bag, a Wii Night at Redbox or a bag from Bratpack!

This is Viktor. He’s a Victorinox Sorbonne backpack. I met Viktor at Bratpack. I had just made the decision to go backpacking in Thailand, and I was antsy to start my preparations for the trip. I thought buying a backpack would be a great start. I chose Victorinox because it’s a brand you hardly see people toting. I’m weird like that. I believe I made a good choice; Viktor and I get along splendidly.

He’s named not after the brand, but after Viktor Krum. Really.

He went with me the first time I traveled alone to Cebu, then went on to join me in Singapore, and on to my first overseas solo travel in Thailand. He also went with me to Bohol. I didn’t bring him with me when I went to Melbourne, but he followed me soon after, accompanying me to Sydney and the Gold Coast.

On my second trip to Australia, I made sure I brought him with me when I flew out of the Philippines. Viktor was with me and my sister’s family when we went to Ballarat, through the Grampians and Horsham. He even went with us to Tasmania. When I decided to stay put in the Philippines this 2008, Viktor supported my decision, joining me in exploring Donsol, Coron, Cebu and Davao. He will join me again in my upcoming trips before the year ends.

That is our story. What is yours? Share the unique experiences you’ve had with your bags and get a chance to win a Hedgren, Timbuktu or Jansport bag from Bratpack. Tell us about the places you’ve been to together, or how it helps you express your individuality.

Contest Mechanics:

• Contestants must write about their stories in their respective blogs.
• Be elaborate and give us details; plus points if you include pictures in your entry.
• Comment here or send a trackback so I’d know that you entered the contest.
• Your comment or trackback must be in before 11:59pm of November 14, 2008. Of course, entries must be written and completed before then. No comment or trackback disqualifies your entry.
• The winning entry will be announced on November 19, 2008.
• Winners may claim their prizes at GeiserMaclang (c/o Arbee Panga) Unit 7C, 114 Tuscan Bldg., V. A Rufino St., Legaspi Village , Makati City Tel: 812.8828/ 812.9199, 0917.605.8122

This contest is sponsored by Bratpack.

My to-blog list is so long, I have pending entries from JUNE BUT! I’m slowly going to work my way through the list, provided I can still remember the details of each trip Anywhoo, I finally dug out my notebook and tallied my expenses from our Davao trip last August. This is fairly expensive for a 3-day trip. The fare wasn't on sale when I bought it, specially since it was during the Kadayawan weekend. Also, I took this opportunity to start on my Christmas shopping because hey, how often do I go to Mindanao?

The best thing about this trip was, since we were a fairly large group, we were able to divide the major expenses into 6, letting us save some money in the process.

Read the rest of this entry »

Red Box is going out of the box and has installed Wii Game Consoles in select rooms in their Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma branches. Now you can play Wii games in between your karaoke repertoire. What’s even better, you and four other friends can try it out yourselves for FREE just by answering one simple question:

Which Wii Character Are You?

Isn’t that so simple? Post your answers in the comment box, and be sure to leave a valid e-mail address. Contest open for Metro-Manila residents only. This contest is open until 11:59, November 14. Winner of the contest will be announced shortly.

Big thanks to Red Box and GeiserMaclang for sponsoring this contest!

Winners may call and schedule their Wii Party at GeiserMaclang Unit 7C, 114 Tuscan Bldg., V. A Rufino St. , Legaspi Village, Makati City. Tel. No. 02.812.8828 / 02.812.9199 / 0917.523.4624. Photo in this entry is provided by GeiserMaclang.

I’m not one for fads, but one fad that I do like is the switch from plastic bags to reusable bags (which I’m hoping wouldn’t just be a fad). Before, there was just Envirosax. Then retail stores followed, offering their own branded reusable bags in lieu of plastic, often for a fee. These bags are cute, but sometimes come with a price tag that raises the eyebrows.

Mother Earth Bags is an advocacy project of four friends Nena, Joey, Kat & Angela, who believes in saving the planet one bag at a time. It may be hard to make a dent on the trillion plastic bags used every year, but saving hundreds a year per person is still something, right? Besides, how can you resist these cute bags?

The bags come in printed canvas (Php 95) and flour sacks, both plain (Php 35) and embellished (Php 65).

Now on to the good part! I just got my Mother Earth Bags, and I’m absolutely impressed. The craftsmanship on each is superb! The bags are made at The Livelihood Shop, a program that employs underprivileged women of Taguig. Not only are you helping the environment when you use the bags, you’re also providing these women with livelihood when you buy.

Mother Earth Bags are available on a per order basis, through their Multiply site. Or, you can win a couple of bags for yourself from Justwandering.org! To join, simply tell us which one of these phrases describes you perfectly:

1. I’m a mama’s girl.
2. I’m a mama’s boy
3. I’m one hot mama.
4. I honor my mother.
5. I’m bringing this to my mama.
6. My mother loves the Village People, Gunther and Hard Gay.

Post your answers in the comment box, and be sure to leave a valid e-mail address! This contest is open to all justwandering.org readers, both in the Philippines and overseas. Contest closes on October 31st, and the winner will be drawn and announced on the 1st of November. I’m running a similar contest over at my food blog, and yes, they’re independent of each other. You can join both contests to increase your chances of winning

The 1st Pinoy Backpacking Festival kicked of yesterday with its first round of forums at the Trinoma Mall. One of the sessions last night was Backpacking 101, where Robert Alejandro and Jetro Rafael shared their 3-month backpacking trip through Southeast Asia and parts of China. It was the same story as the one they told four months ago, during the first session of Pinoy Backpacking 101 at ROX, but more polished and presented with an awesome video that takes us through their journey.

Robert and Jetro

 
They were followed by Roel Chan, ROX’s main guy, who taught us the basics of packing. He showed us different kinds of luggages, organizing your things using packing cubes, what to pack depending on the type of trip, the duration and the weather. Most of the stuff he featured in his talk are available at the Travel Club and at ROX.

Roel demonstrating North Face’s trolley bag that converts to a backpack and has a detachable daypack. And did I mention it has shiny red pole thingies? I want.

 
Back to backpacking, during their 3-month trip, Robert was kept busy sketching everything he sees, while Jetro does the same, only with a camera. The scenes they captured can now be seen through their book, Robert Alejandro’s The Sketching Backpacker and Jetro Rafael’s Backpack Photos (which is a nifty postcard book). Each book sells for Php 395 and Php 295 respectively, available at The Travel Club and ROX.

Backpack Photos and The Sketching Backpacker

 
The session at Trinoma continues this afternoon with a Travel Sketching workshop for beginners and a Travel Photography workshop for beginners headed by the two intrepid travelers, starting at 4pm at Trinoma’s Cinema Lobby. The same round of session repeats the next two weekends, the 18th & 19th at the R.O.X. store at Bonifacio High Street and the 25th and 26th at Alabang Town Center. To register, send your name, mobile number, e-mail address and workshop date to pinoybackpacking@yahoo.com or you can SMS it to 0926-6933783. For inquiries, head on to the ROX Multiply site. Oh, and if you’re going, be sure to pick up a copy of their printed schedule. There’s a good packing list at the reverse side.

These books can be yours.

 
Want an autographed copy of Backpack South East Asia and Some Parts of China by Robert A. Alejandro or Backpack Photos by Jetro B. Rafael? Stay tuned, because Justwandering.org will be launching a contest real soon!

I have been going to Ace Water Spa since 2005, and it’s still the place I love going back to when I want a massage. What’s not to love? It’s just a short taxi ride away in Quezon City, and it’s basically just one big swimming pool.

Unlike other spas, at Ace, you don’t just lie down and have someone massage you. You’d have to move to different massage stations, depending on which part of the body you want massaged. Also, at Ace, instead of hands massaging you, it’s water. It’s either water pounding down on your body or water jets hitting the pressure points.

Hydrotherapy or “water therapy” is the treatment of disease through the use of water. Hydrothermal therapy is the use of water temperature, such as in hot tubs or spas. The focus of Hydrotherapy is to rid the body of toxins that may be causing joint pain and inflammation. Hydrotherapy treatments are also helpful in managing chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Source: Ace Water Spa Website

They are very strict: each patron must be wearing proper swimming attire, up to the swimming cap (which they provide upon admission). Board shorts and t-shirts are not allowed past the entrance to the spa. If you don’t have any swim suit, they are selling suits starting at Php 250, or you can rent (*cringe*) for Php 100.

Ace Water Spa is now attracting more patrons than before, even with their price hike. When I first visited Ace, the first thing I noticed was the number of seniors using the facilities. Last Monday though, it was mostly parents of kids who were taking swimming lessons, and couples in their 20′s. Adults are charged Php 550 and kids (4ft and below) Php 250 for the use of the facility. It may seem pricey, but that Php 550 is good for 4 hours use of all their facilities: the spa pool, the lap pool, the heated herbal baths, steam room and sauna. They have an ongoing promotion: Buy 2, take 1 in the morning (6am – 12 noon), buy 3, take 1 in the afternoon (12:15pm – 8:30 pm) on weekdays except holidays.

It’s best to take advantage of the weekday promo, because it wouldn’t be as crowded as the weekends. I went there last summer on a Sunday and the place was turned into a public pool. Not fun. If you have the time before or after work, swing by Ace Water Spa and relax.

Ace Water Spa
399 Del Monte Avenue (near corner Banaue street) SFDM, Quezon City
Tel. No.: 3678041, 3678062, 4150164, Fax. No.: 4152477
Email Address: acewaterspa@yahoo.com
Website: www.acewaterspa.ph

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If you look to the right, I’ve installed an Events Calendar plugin, that basically lets me list upcoming events, which I think might be of interest to JustWandering readers. If you have (or if you know of) a travel-related event, drop me a line using my contact form.

Two events happening next weekend, which I’m particularly interested in (and will attend) are Youth Trip’s Travel Writing with Chen Mencias and the 1st Pinoy Backpacking Festival. The travel writing workshop will be held at the Hope Center, Aurora Millenium Tower, Katipuna corner Aurora Avenue, Quezon City. The event will start at 1pm, and has a Php 100 registration fee. For more info, visit YTrip’s Multiply site. The backpacking festival on the otherhand, will span three weekends in various locations in the metro. The first will be next weekend at the Trinoma Mall, then moves to the ROX store at Bonifacio High Street, then on to the Alabang Town Center. For inquiries and registration, visit the ROX Multiply site.

I was a mere spectator during the first Philippine Blog awards. I wasn’t even that interested in the local blog scene then. While the movers and shakers of the Philippine blogosphere was converging at the RCBC Tower for the awards night, I was busy catching up with friends, as I just arrived in Manila after three months overseas. This year was a completely different story altogether — I find myself involved in the awards, not only being friends with the organizers, but I was also a volunteer and a finalist.

 
The PBA as a nominee and a finalist

When the PBA website announced that nominations are already open for the 2008 Blog Awards, I wasted no time in nominating my favorite blogs, hoping at the back of my head that someone would nominate me too. When the nominations have closed, I was surprised to receive an e-mail asking me for the best 5 posts in my doll blog. To say I was shocked was an understatement: the blog is fairly young and hardly updated. Still, I was flattered, and vowed to update it more often (I still haven’t; shame on me). Soon enough, I get another e-mail, similar to the first, but this time for this blog, Justwandering.org. I couldn’t be happier — this travel blog, after all, is my passion. I sent my five posts for both blogs and hoped for the best.

Winners, organizers and hosts of the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards

 
More surprises await me when the finalists were announced. Kainpinoy.com was among the 41 blogs up for the Blogger’s Choice Awards. Then when the finalists for the best blogs were announced, I was elated to see that Life on Pinky Street and Just Wandering made the cut. The last surprise was seeing Heinji’s Adobo Bento entry shortlisted in the Single Post category.

Despite being a volunteer, I never won in any of the awards my blogs were nominated and shortlisted for (what a loser!). However, I’m glad to see two of my favorite bloggers, get the recognition they deserve: Ferdz for the Best Travel Blog and Estan for his entry, How I broke a ritual taboo in Batad, which also won the writing contest I had last year.

Doodling for the Philippine Blog Awards

 
The PBA as a volunteer

I’ve experience handling two events, and both accounts left me slightly traumatized. I’ve since been wary of event organizing, so I wasn’t too excited about being a volunteer. However, the people behind the event more than made up for it: they were people I know and they were people I love hanging out with. I have to say I was quite glad I volunteered. I was able to see firsthand how the organizers manage to exhibit grace even under pressure, and how the volunteers give their all for an event they all believe in. It’s amazing how everybody spent precious spare time and energy for a project that wouldn’t give any monetary compensation, and even got a lot of flak afterwards. It’s really disheartening, but eh, what can you do? You can’t please everybody.

The Batang Yagitt (who is not so yagit) was mobbed by the press. That’s his campaign manager, Jehz, who’s taking a video/photo of him being interviewed.

 
Closing remarks

A fitting end to this post, I believe is a snippet from Jayvee’s own closing remarks during the awards night. I barely paid any attention to it, as I was preoccupied at the dessert station. I’m glad Jayvee published a copy of it online because it’s something both bloggers and non-bloggers must read.

“But what is truth?”, asked Pontius Pilate.

What is the truth behind pay per post, behind controversies of SEO and the “nofollow” variable, about link selling or blog advertising, or attending blog events?

The truth? The Truth is Conviction. If there was a right answer, we wouldn’t be blogging. Rather, what is important is that when we are asked what our personal convictions are about these things, we tell the unbiased truth, and unlike Pilate, we should not wash our hands. As bloggers, we value our convictions and integrity the most.

Character, Dealing, and Conviction. I forgot to mention – if you translate “dealing” into a habit, it is called Prudence. These are three things that sum the totality of my message: It is not about how well we blog – it is about how well we live our life.

Source: ABuggedLife.com