Down South

A long overdue post on our Northern Mindanao adventures by way of a photo diary

Saddle Ridge Ranch

A landscape of towering trees will make sure you wake up on the right side of the bed.

The two dashing male models of the ranch

Up bright and early to tarry with Asia's Longest Zip

Starting off with baby steps at the 320m and 150m lines, terrified nonetheless.

Time to take on the 840m line

The part where D hemmed and hawed and the technicians threatened to go on breakfast break if she didn't get harnessed in pronto

* Check out the video at the end of the post to see if she got on.

Massive Zorb at the top of a 150m downhill track

The "Zorbitero" strapping us in

It's all downhill from here. Nausea and screaming to follow. Good thing D opted out because this takes motion sickness to a whole other level.

Last adventure of the trip was a 3-hour "basic" white water rafting course in Cagayan de Oro. 

All strapped in and ready to go before boarding.

A rafting expert in a kayak was kind enough to document our sojourn. Out of 500 pics, this one encapsulated the thrills and spills of the ride.

Slightly bruised, quite sunburnt and fully exhausted, yet all smiles at the end of it.

P: Please try to ignore my womanly screams .What may appear to be bushes and talahib are actually the tops of those trees we saw earlier.

How was your long weekend/semestral break?

Hope you all had a blast!

SuperSale!

SuperSale Bazaar would like to invite you to a 3-day weekend shopper’s haven. 

This is our way of saying goodbye to the year’s trends and present the Holiday 2010 collection of over 100 brands including our usual suspects and new names in the industry through the biggest sale to cap off another year of great fashion. To help you transition in style into “Winter”, we have orchestrated brands like Charina
Sarte, Diamant, Moonshine, BeCe Manila, Glitterati, Renegade Folk, Wishlist, Giacca, NJ
sneaks, Bijoux de Lou, Cosmopolitan, Suelas, Posh Pocket Shoes, Code Limited, Pearl&Eve
and much more just for you.

November 19-21, 2010

Friday to Sunday

11am-10pm

At The Grove by Rockwell, Ortigas

The organizers of the SuperSale Bazaar are offering free entrance to all the readers of this blog. Just leave your full name in the comments section so we can ask them to add you to the guest list! 

Have a fabulous week!

Snicker

 Look what's in store now!

New Jeffrey Campbell styles are available at Fashion Forum in SM Makati.

They only have a few pieces per style so stop by this weekend!

Love the woven flats at the far right! So cute!

 So the toss up was between the leopard print Foxy Wood and the Snicks wedge. 

Although the Pixie wedge was pretty tempting as well...

Can you guess which one I snapped up?

 The trademark, fun JC box opens up to reveal...

 the tan Snicks!

These are actually much lighter in real life but the lighting at home is pretty bad. 

These won over the Foxy Wood because a) the size 6 of Foxy Wood was huge on me; 

and b) P says that I have a pair that looks 85% like the Foxy Wood so fine.s

Thank you to manilafashionobserver for the heads-up!

Head on over to SM Makati and share your shoe fix with us!

Sights and Sounds of Northern Mindanao

Over the long weekend, we went on a different kind of adventure in the region of Northern Mindanao.

Random place, you say? Well, we were surprised to discover just how action-packed their tourist offerings were. This long weekend, we got to enjoy the laid-back provincial pace and the adrenaline rush of all things thrilling and adventurous.

Read on...

We started off with a visit to the Ostrich and Crocodile Farm in Cagayan de Oro and stared down these quirky birds in the eye.

The crocs, not so much.

  The meat from these birds go for P700 a kilo because of the optimum health benefits they provide.
P: I really wanted to try some of the meat but it was only available fresh and in large quantities. They only sell eggs as decorations too, not to go with your breakfast.

Worst case of chicken skin we've ever seen. We actually saw one do its business as it was happening, which we didn't expect to be as gross and visceral as it was.

Kind of strange to feature just ostriches and crocodiles. We were debating whether they fed these crocs the ostriches or the goats that freely roamed around.

Not one croc moved a muscle the entire time we were there. The one on the upper left remained absolutely still with his mouth gaping wide. So weird...

Look at the adorable little piggy! Check out the folds in his legs! 

A gorgeous croc skin men's wallet

The workmanship and stitching were so beautiful! 

P1500

 D: I wanted this ostrich skin wallet so bad! 

It smelled so nice and the leather was sooo supple and rich. It was also masterfully done. 

I regret hesitating and I should have just grabbed it when I had the chance.

Oh well, at least the ostriches still like me.

P2000

More Mindanao adventures in the upcoming posts!

Beijing Foot Spa

 A few weekends back, my mom asked P and I to accompany her to this new foot spa she read about that was near our place. Since she offered to foot the bill (pardon the pun), who were we to turn down a free foot rub?

The receiving area looks like someone's living room.
A bit of a mish mash but you're not here for the waiting room.

Their short and straightforward spa menu

 

A little bit gaudy, a little bit cheesy but what lies inside is the setting for the best foot spa I've ever experienced

 

You can book this room if you want to go with your friends or with a big family.

They had a room with exactly 3 chairs so it was perfect for our little group.

The seats were pretty comfortable and you can adjust everything (recline, the tv angle, etc) to your liking at anytime. If you aren't wearing shorts they have satin board shorts or skirts to lend you free of cost. 

We suggest you come in shorts to avoid the hassle though.

 

The personal screens are a good touch if you'd like to be entertained. 

I'm not sure if you can choose your own show though. 

We weren't given the option and it got really awkward when the movie shown had a few extremely racy scenes with matching sound that caused us all to shift uncomfortably.

The screens are really bright through so you should turn them off or away if you want to get lost in the massage.

D: They start off with a scalp massage which automatically calmed me down and sent us into la-la-land. While our scalp and necks were being tended to, our feet were soaking in foot baths.

They moved to our arms and shoulders and put these comfortably warm pillows under our necks and lower backs and let me tell you, the pillows were absolute bliss. They were also being sold at the counter for a very reasonable price.

I liked all the potions they used on us and I love how professional the ladies were. They always asked whether the pressure was okay and if the temperature was too hot for us. I'm usually extremely ticklish during foot spas which causes me to tense up but I didn't end up giggling uncontrollably with their massage. Another thing I really appreciated was how well they sanitized everything and how hygienic their processes were. I'm a stickler for that sort of thing so I would say that it was definitely worth every peso!

 

That's a look of satisfied relaxation right there. Some of the techniques they used took some getting used to (i.e. pounding your soles with wooden hammers) but they were surprisingly effective. It feels like an age because time moves slower in the relaxed, serene mood you're put in. The massage was perfect after a long day of schlepping about.

* Sorry for the poor picture quality!

Beijing Foot Spa

Silver City, 2F

(right above Starbucks)