Zambalove

When somebody asks you " Do you have any plans this weekend? " My eyes usually brights up and I immediately ask why. Are we going somewhere? Usually the answer is yes! As an ultimate kaladkarin, I just have to pack my clothes, my gear and all my bags and leave. Im going to embark on a trip to one of my favorite places in Luzon, Zambales. Where everything is chill, fun and wet. Welcome to Liw- Liwa! A weekend trip that is hard to forget! Join me in my journey! 

Zambales sand is not white but its fairly fine. What i love with Liw-Liwa's beach is that the sea shore is very wide.  Free of coconut trees that usually causes debris. It means you can do a lot of things like pitch a tent, play frisbee, or do team building activities or maybe just lay a beach mat, bring out the cooler and drink all day! 

Drinking  ice cold beer at the beach is one of my favorite things to do in life. Its almost like a bliss when you bury your feet into the sand as it massages you while you sip and listen to the sound of the waves. Its like a barrage of emotions rushing into your head! You just wanna close your eyes and savor the moment. 

Wanna get wet and stoked? Go surf! Liwa's waves are really nice. Wether you're an expert or a beginner, pretty sure you will have fun riding it. I think for less than 500 pesos, you can already rent out the board and get the surfing lessons. Board rental is 250. If you wish to have an instructor with you, 450.

The kuyas out there are really nice and friendly. Pretty sure you will learn surfing asap. We even went to their workshop and we saw them refurbishing a beat down surf board. Its pretty gruelling stuff but perfection needs patience and great craftsmanship. It's nice hanging out with them. 

We stayed at Le Quvoh Beachfront Resort. I love it there. Its super chill. They have this suite room for only 5,000 pesos where four of you can fit in. You can actually get an extra bed where you can fit up to six. Its really nice. It has its own bathroom. You have a balcony. Its aircon. Pretty decent for 5k. 

Its a great place to hangout. Have deep conversations... haha. I dunno. Mingle. Have a glass of wine. Or drink booze by the balcony as you stare at the beach. Life is good. 

That is actually Black Label on a wine glass. Im just out there chillin. I think I was starting to get wasted early. Like wer drinking as early as 1pm. We had.., black label, some Jack... we had beer, and yes i also brought some wine. By the way that wine glass is actually made of acrylic. Bought it at Crates and Barrel specifically for times like these. I used it a lot of times but never brought it to the beach. This is actually her debut beach trip. =)

If you're on a budget, you can actually pitch a tent for a small fee of 250 pesos. You just have to pay an extra 100 pesos each for the entrance. Theres a common bathroom. Theres also a cooking area. You can bring food if you wish. Let me whisper this to your ears come close, theres no corkage... Hell yeah! I saw a large group there. They had like 10-12 tents! It was crazy! They pitched just beside the beach.  They were all having drinks...partying like crazy. They'r having the time of their lives. 

I saw this FJ Cruiser having fun at the beach! Cruising with friends as they circle around the shore! I even saw this ford ranger around while the girls on their bikinis at the back! Oh yeah. hehe. I dont wanna be the driver of that pickup, i just wanna be the dude at the back of the truck along with the girls...wet and crazy! haha :P Jk lang.  Im a good boy. 

Watching the sunset is something I really love doing. Its proof that no matter how rough the day went by, it will end beautifully somehow. Liw-Liwa's beach has one of the perfect vantage points if you want to see the sunset. Its mesmerising. Bro can I get a tissue, i feel like crying... joke! 

I met a couple of people there at Liwa. They were sitting by the shore looking at their friend as he was busy surfing. I noticed the girl, is using a Fuji camera. I was thinking, it would be hard for her to take pictures using the kit lens. I was kind enough to offer my telephoto so she can take pics of her friend. We had a long chat about photography. About manila traffic... and a lot of stuff. It was pretty nice convo. She was a physical therapist. (I'd love to have therapy that time though). She was like a regular at Liw-Liwa. So regular that she actually  knows the locals out there! She knew the surf instructors. She knew ate who sells keychains and souvenirs. It was amazing! Sad thing about that moment was, I never asked for her name. Nor her number. Nor her facebook account. Nothing.  We just talked like we knew each other without knowing our names. How stupid could I be? 

Im almost at the end of this blog. Its really nice blogging again. I dunno, last couple of years was rough for me and its like i dont give an F to the world anymore... why blog about it. I realised that, the world is full of changes. You may be down but you can always go up. Its like a wheel ran over some dog shit.  As the wheel roll, shit eventually goes off. So as in life, just keep on rollin' off the shit out of you. Just dont stop and move forward. Its pretty disgusting analogy thou...

Im leaving you with this short video that I made. Forgive me since im still studiying making videos though. Im not good flying a drone for now... These four clips actually took a lot of re-takes. Well, its ok to make mistakes. Thats life. You can always try again. Just make sure you have a lot of batteries  or you'll fish out your drone at the sea. 

Anyways, I would like to thank my friends Mark and Jinnie for inviting me. It was crazy of you guys to make it last minute. Also to Le Quvoh Beachfront Resort over at Liw-Liwa Zambales. Specially to Ate Mhy and Kuya Ferds. Thank you so much. We will be back soon. And most specially, to our Lord almighty who continues to shower us  with blessings, talents and beauty all around us. Thank you for always keeping us safe at our travels. Salamat Zambales. Salamat sa Dagat at Alat. Till next time!  

Goto Believe Team Building 2018

I do believe in an organization... teamwork, camaraderie and getting along with each other is the primary goal to survive. Everything will fall like a stack of cards if each one of them doesn't settle their differences and work as one. Thats why it is important for companies to have team buildings to keep the team spirit alive. I was invited to photograph Goto Believe's Team Building activities at Blue Pavilion Resort in Infanta, Quezon. Through my lens I witnessed hardwork, patience, and the love for each other in facing their challenges. I have to give my appreciation to Buklod for facilitating this wonderful event. 

They have this activity where they are asked to squeeze out all the contents of the toothpaste from the tube which for me is probably one of the most satisfying thing I wanna do in my life. Coz you don't do that at all unless you're a psychotic person who eats toothpaste for breakfast. Squeezing that out gives you an undescribable feeling that really feels good. Then after doing so, the facilitator asked them to put back all the toothpaste back in the tube!!! Which for me is quite hard thing to do. The team who gets the most toothpaste back inside the tube wins... The lesson for this is that its easy everytime you want to say something to someone but its really hard if you take it back. Thats why its important to mind what you say to other people. If you have nothing good to say, just shut up and  keep it to yourself.

Then there is this activity where one of your teamate  needs to reach a toothpick without stepping, crossing, falling nor touching you body parts onto  the sand. Its impossible to reach it alone so your teamates have to hold onto you and support you in order to gain balance and stability. Being flexible is not enough. You still have to rely on your teamates to finish this task. This is a great learning experience where one must support each other in order for the team to achieve its goals. Its not easy but when you have each others back (or torso or leg), any task is possible!

Any obstacles is manageable if you just work together and if you work smart. That blue marble should travel from one half-tube on to the another. It seems to be an easy thing to do. But if you dont talk, dont listen or simply dont cooperate well, that marble will easily fall. Proper coordination + teamwork and working smart is the key for a team to be successful. Add also to have a pair of steady hands as well...

Besides all the activities, there are also lectures worthy of listening. There was this part where they teach you how to save money. Everytime you want to buy something like shoes, clothes..that phone. You have to save 3 times the amount of that thing in order for you to buy it. For example, if that phone costs  20,000 pesos, you must save at least 60,000 pesos in order for you to buy it. In that way, you still have enough savings just in case you really need the money. It also adds a feeling of guilt buying that gadget. To the point that you dont want to buy it anymore. If you can live without it, dont buy it. Just save it. If you really want to have it, you must pay the price.

I learned a lot from this team building. Teaches you how to talk to each other. How to be sensitive. How important to suggest what to do not just criticise. Its really about the delivery. How you communicate well. How to say it properly in a peaceful manner.  I am so grateful being there. Even though Im only at sidelines listening. Its an eye opening experience. To the staff of Goto Believe, What they have as a group, as co-workers, as a company, they have something really wonderful. They just have to hold on to it dearly.  

I envy them for having people who backs you up when you need them the most. Its not really an organization. You dont call them just workmates nor co-workers. You call them family. Something that you will truly cherish for life.


Many thanks to Goto Believe specially to the beautiful Ms. Sandra and her awesome staff. To Sands, its her 2nd family! She dreamt of something. Believed in it. Worked hard to achieve it. Now its a reality!  And it's growing bigger and bigger! Im so proud of you Sands! Keep it up!  To Sir Gary and the all the staff and facilitators of Buklod, thank you for the knowledge. Such a great experience. And to Blue Pavilion resort for the wonderful venue. To Sir Jelo and Mam Sharon thank you so much. You have been really accommodating inspite of tthe storm. Thank you Thank you Thank you! Its been a great honor. Till next time.