Celine's Life Adventure

This post is one of the most viewed posts in this blog. Please note that I wrote this in 2014 and information may not be applicable anymore. Thank you! I've been to South Korea last October 2011. It was my first travel out of the country with friends. It was great! This year (2014), Jomar and I with our GDG friends (Mitch, Wayne, and Mama Chelle) are planning to go to South Korea for vacation. Process of Submission Jomar and I submitted the VISA application requirements last January 29, 2014: Application Form One piece of Passport size coloured picture (we went to Picture City and asked for Korean VISA size photo) - this should be attached to your application form Original Passport (should be valid for more than six months) Photocopy of Passport Bio-page (page 2) Original and photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past five years (if applicable, and Korean Visas is not counted) Original Certificate of Employment (with contact nu

Last Sunday, I got a chance to visit the National Museum in Manila. They finished renovating the ground floor while renovations are still ongoing on the levels above. All the doorknobs have N and M in it - how cool is that! I went to the National Museum back in college as a requirement for our class. I don't remember much from that visit because I am not good with appreciating paintings and sculptures. Nonetheless, I had fun going around the more than ten exhibits available on the ground floor of the museum. The entrance fee was free last Sunday (I am not sure if this is an every Sunday thing) but still few people were there.

Yes, we were in Tagaytay for less than half of a day. Last Sunday (January 19),  +Jomar , Mama  +Chelle , and I gave a tour to  +Amit Chopra  to the cold and breezy Tagaytay City. We left Manila around 6:30 AM and have found ourselves on top of the People's Park in the Sky 2 hours later. It was a cloudy day, and intense cold winds greeted us on top of the park. The view of Laguna and of course, the Taal Volcano is gloomy. The boyfriend is holding the giant pineapple. :)

It was my first out of town trip for the year!  +Jomar ,  +Wayne ,  +Chelle ,  +Mitch ,  +Reymart ,  +Alvin , +Amit  and I left Manila at around 6 AM on our way to Gapan City, Nueva Ecija! We had breakfast in one of the gas stations in NLEX. A little before 9 AM, we found ourselves in Waltermart, Gapan City. After setting up our tarps, we are all set for the event! Student Developer Day in Nueva Ecija Two hundred ninety-four students from ten different universities and colleges in Nueva Ecija attended the event for the day. After enjoying our popcorn (yes, the venue is inside the cinema) and packing up our stuff, we visited the school of AIE College of Gapan.

2013 has been a good year to me. I travelled a lot (more than I expected, actually), met new friends, and ate a lot of food as well. Just like last year , I will try to summarize my year of travel with this blog post. I've been to Bontoc, Mountain Province for the first time this year and I went there twice! It was my first time in Indonesia and Malaysia. I even went to Malaysia twice (once in Kuala Lumpur and once in Kota Kinabalu)! I've been to the Bicol Region (Legazpi City and Naga City), Misamis Region (Cagayan de Oro City and Ozamiz City), Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte for the first time! I came back to Pangasinan before the year ends and enjoyed the food there as well. I went to Baguio City and Cebu City four times this year!

I thought I wouldn't be travelling for December anymore and yet the opportunity came when  +GBG Pangasinan  and  +GBG Dagupan  organized  +Google Code-in  Meetup for the students in Lingayen and  +GDG Philippines , and +GDG Baguio  helped for the said event. Lingayen, Pangasinan We left Manila around 6:30 AM aboard the Victory Liner bus going to Alaminos. We had two stopovers and was sleeping most of the way. As instructed by our friend  +JR Padilla , we alighted in Socony and rode a mini-bus going to Dagupan. We asked the bus conductor to drop us off in front of Bangsal Suites. It is the place where we would stay for the night. Bangsal Suites After checking in and dropping off our things, we had lunch in Rudy & Jing Seafood Restaurant. We had the most delicious grilled catfish and milkfish. The meat was sweet and tender. It was the first time in a long time I had fish those delightful. 

The first time I was able to ride the plane was the year 2004. Our family is going to Hong Kong for a 3-day vacation. It was the first time I saw an airplane up close and as a teenager going up in a developing country - it's like a dream country. Below is the summary of what I remember from a trip that happened almost ten years ago: Eating hot noodles in one of the small eateries in Hong Kong. They served it in such big bowls! Having breakfast in McDonald's and was seriously shocked that they don't serve fries - they still have hash browns though. I was shopping galore at a Giordano shop which was on a 50%-off sale. Mother was asking a stranger for directions in Filipino - as it turns out the person she's talking to is from Malaysia. Riding the cable car in Ocean Park Riding the train which goes through the sea - seriously scary. I imagined a movie when the tunnel would collapse Going to their market and buying souvenirs Staying in a beautiful hotel Cold weath

On our last day in KK, we woke up a bit late and was sweetly taking our time as we prepare to check out. We had another round of delicious Malaysian breakfast then off to Le Meridien. We thought of riding the bus, but it was taking too long, so we walked going there under the heat of the sun. When we ( +Jomar ,  +Svet ,  +Mitch , and I) arrived there, Mama  +Chelle  and  +Wayne  were missing. They came around an hour later after having breakfast. We decided to chill in the room and then had lunch in the recommended place nearby Kedai Kopi Seng Hing Sunsuran . They serve good food, and I loved their Tuaran Mee (it's a dried noodle dish that originated from the town of Tauran in East Sabah). Curry, Sweet & Sour Pork, Fried Fish, Tuaran Mee, Laksa, and Tom Yum

Good morning 2nd day in the City of Kota Kinabalu! +Jomar ,  +Wayne , and I had breakfast together. I particularly like the chicken wings they served today. After preparing for our beach trip, we went down at the lobby and met with  +Svet ,  +Mitch , and  +Lorna .  +Chelle  and  +Murphy  are waiting at the lobby of the other building. We started walking going to the Gaya Street Sun day Market where they are selling all sorts of things. Some of us decided to buy this cold Malaysian drink while  +Jomar  and I were busy hacking portals. Next thing we know, Wayne started shivering, and Mitch is hugging him trying to keep him warm. We started giving out the shawl that we have ready for our beach trip. I have a cardigan in my bag and gave it to Wayne as well. Thanks to  +Lorna  and  +Murphy  for helping us find the nearest clinic. Later on, an ambulance picked Wayne up to go to Queen Elizabeth Hospital (a public hospital).

Good morning Kota Kinabalu! Magandang umaga Sabah! Selamat Pagi Malaysia! It was our first day in Malaysia and  +Jomar , and I enjoyed the breakfast buffet of  +King Park Hotel Kota Kinabalu . I particularly remember the Beef Rendang because it was the only food I am not familiar with that they offered. GDG Devfest Kota Kinabalu 2013 After making sure that we're ready for the long day,  +Jomar ,  +Mitch ,  +Svet  and I started walking towards the Wisma Bandaraya. It is the venue of the first GDG Devfest Kota Kinabalu and is two blocks away from our hotel. We saw  +Sebastian  outside the building trying to figure out the entrance. We also bumped into  +Loretta  as we figure out on which floor we should go as the building lobby is empty.

My life goal right now is to travel and see much of the world as I can. Last June, I was in Yogyakarta, Indonesia for the Google Southeast Asia Outreach Summit. Little did I know, that I would be travelling out of the country again, this time in the Capital City of Sabah - Kota Kinabalu.  +GDG Philippines  were asked to help  +GDG Kota Kinabalu  with their first GDG Devfest KK. +Jomar  and  +Wayne  discussing Java best-practices while waiting for our food in Kenny Rogers.

We were in Baguio for my birthday last November 8. Aside from celebrating my birthday in my favourite city in the Philippines,  +Jomar  and I were also speakers for the Google community Baguio events last November 9. He will be speaking at  +GDG Baguio 's Devfest while I will be sharing about Google+ and Google Search for Education for  +GBG Baguio 's gDaysXBaguio. The morning started with a round of breakfast from  +Azalea Baguio . The joint morning program happened while we moved from one room to another and we also visited the ongoing launch of  +GEG Philippines  in  +Berkeley School Baguio . We had lunch at Canto in the Ketchup Food Community. Delicious food from Canto!

I celebrated my 24th birthday last November 8. Below are highlights of the week that I had. To start, last November 4 -  +Jomar  and I had my fave Kare-Kareng Gulay from Giligan's. November 5 - for my love of Mexican food, +Jomar  and I had dinner in Mexicali

Our flight is at 10:45 AM via Cebu Pacific. The hotel service will pick us up by 9 AM going to the airport. It means  +Jomar Tigcal ,  +Wayne Manuel  and I still have time to explore Naga City and visit the parks and Churches there. We woke up at 6:00 AM to visit the places below: The closest park to our Hotel is Rizal Park (Freedom Park) . A Huge I <3 NAGA sign is there as well.

Bicol Youth for Technology Exposure 2013 +Jerome Locson  invited me to be one of the speakers for BYTE 2013. I will be sharing about Gmail (with Contacts & Tasks), Calendar, Google Search, and Google Sites.  +Jomar Tigcal  will be sharing about Android development while  +Wayne Manuel  is going to share about Google Maps API.

My previous post ended with  +Jomar Tigcal , and I on our way to the Terminal to ride a van going to Naga City. After two hours (around 3:00 PM), we got off in front of SM Naga. Tricycle, taxi, jeepney, and vans were everywhere. My first impression was it is a progressive city and a whole lot busier than Legazpi City, Albay. We rode a tricycle and headed to our rest for the night: Naga Regent Hotel . Probably a review of the hotel in another post! After dropping off our stuff and resting a bit, Ms.  +Aileen Apolo  sent us an SMS informing us that we should have snacks in her cousin's place, Casa Moderna .  +Wayne Manuel ,  +Jomar Tigcal  and I got lost because there's a branch near our hotel - we went there first, and after searching for Ms. Aileen to no avail, we asked the waitress and found out that there are five branches of Casa Moderna all over the city! Quince Martires Monument

At last! After more than two months of staying in the city, I found myself in a new place again! I could not be happier when Jerome Locson invited Jomar Tigcal, Wayne Manuel, and I to be speakers for the Bicol Youth for Technology Exposure (BYTE) 2013. It was my first time to visit the Bicol Region, and I am ecstatic to be there! The event was on the 19th of October 2013. Instead of flying to Naga, Jomar and I took the flight via Legazpi to see the beauty of Mt. Mayon and explore what time would permit in Legazpi, Albay. Mt. Mayon seen in the Legazpi Airport

+Jomar Tigcal  and I celebrated our second anniversary last August 4, 2013, in Baguio City with our dearest friends from both  +GBG Philippines  and the  +GDG Philippines . The morning started with another round of delicious breakfast from  +Azalea Baguio . Since we already checked out our room, we decided to stay in the common area of the three-bedroom suite of Mama  +Chelle Gray  and Ms.  +Aileen Apolo .

After a restful evening in  +Azalea Baguio , we woke up to enjoy the delicious breakfast the hotel served. I fell in love with the Baguio longganisa. After having breakfast and loading all the tab, I needed for my Google Search presentation,  +Jomar Tigcal  and I went to the events place on the other side of the hotel. There were almost a hundred women entrepreneurs and students! Android wood carving is their token to the speakers!

Travel to Baguio City We spent day 1 of our anniversary celebration on the road going to Baguio City.  +Jomar Tigcal  and I met up with Mama  +Chelle Gray ,  +Jerome Locson , and  +Reymart Canuel  in McDonald's near Greenbelt 1 to wait for Ms.  +Aileen Apolo  and  +Maricar Dabao  with the van. Hot Chocolate from McCafe We left Makati at around 8:30 AM. We had lunch in Max's Restaurant at SM City Rosales in Pangasinan and met with Allan Medrano there. By 3:30 PM we found ourselves in the beautiful city of Baguio. We went straight to  +Azalea Baguio  and rested a bit.