travellingd: a glimpse of shanghai

Just a week ago I got the opportunity to go to Shanghai for 7 days. Majority of the trip was spent doing work, but I was able to sneak in a few side trips to the Bund, TienZiFang, a few malls, and the old French Concession. 

On the day we arrived, we decided to go to a mall and walk around our hotel neighborhood. We stayed in Caobao road, and in that area there were no shopping malls close by so we had to take a 10-15 minute cab ride to get to the closest one. We saw a lot of street food in our area being cooked along the sidewalks outside different stores. We wanted to try because the aroma of the food being grilled was very inviting, but our Chinese friend suggested we don't eat any of it.

This is one of the high end malls called IAPM we went to on our second day. It had all the good brands like Chanel, Balmain, Louis Vuitton, and also had shops like Nike, Mango, Muji, and others. 

I made a KFC run for 2 or 3 nights because I was craving for something non-Chinese (after all the Chinese dishes we had the whole day).



TienZiFang. A shopping area recommended to us by one of our Malaysian friends in Shanghai. If you're a fan of random cool stuff, accessories, kuchi-kuchi, and art, you might enjoy this place. A lot of the shops carry the same things so try to look for the shop that gives you the lowest price. You could bargain with them, though if you don't speak Chinese it's a bit difficult.

There were many eating and drinking places inside (which I heard are really good), but we weren't able to try any. Some restaurants had pretty cool and unique designs so I enjoyed looking around.

I fell in love with this leather store that sold everything leather--bags, wallets, notebooks, and small pouches. The store smelled of genuine leather and all the bags looked well made. If i'm not mistaken the bag prices were around Php 3,000 - Php 6,000 depending on the size.

On our 6th day, we wanted to check out The Bund (which is a must when visiting Shanghai). So we took the Metro from Caobao and got off at People's Square. 

We walked around a bit to check out some shops, then headed to East Nanjing Road. Usually people take the Metro to The Bund from People's Square, but our Chinese friend suggested we walk the whole East Nanjing Road from People's Square because the whole road is filled with shops and malls. 

East Nanjing Road

The view of LuJiaZui from the Bund.

My shopping buddies that day.

By the time we reached The Bund, it felt like a different place. The whole road was lined with beautiful European style structures (which held offices of banks and expensive stores). Despite the number of tourists there that day, it was still nice to walk around and take photos because the area's really big.

The Bund.

The day after we were able to explore the old French Concession, which was also really beautiful because it looked like Europe and had some really good eating places and unique stores in the area. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take photos of the place because we were rushing to do some last minute shopping. But there will be more updates of this trip to come!

valentine's

A gift from my forever Valentine.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day! 

she cooks: anniversary lunch

Last Sunday my sisters and I decided to cook lunch for the parents' anniversary. Since my dad couldn't eat several foods (for health purposes), the menu we were able to come up with was Roka Salad, Telefono, and Glazed Salmon. 

We wanted something light to match the heavy pasta, so my sister suggested glazed salmon. She got the recipe from a cook book here at home (I have yet to figure out which one), but it was as simple as making a marinade for the fish and cooking it on a grill after. Just make sure not to overcook the fish!

This Greek salad from Cyma is a favourite of my mom's, so we decided to add this to the menu. Unfortunately we didn't have Parmesan, so we had to work with Gouda cheese for this.

Recipe here.

I don't have a good photo of my Telefono, but I could say that this time around, the pasta turned out much better and everyone enjoyed it. It's really not a difficult dish for cooking newbies!

Recipe here.

the pulag experience

Last weekend I hiked up the second tallest mountain in the Philippines. It was a challenge, and probably one of the hardest things I've done in my life so far, but I loved it and I'm itching to go back.

The trip started out with a bus ride (Victory Liner) to Baguio, then a jeepney ride to the ranger's station with stopovers for meals and bathroom breaks in between. My friends, sister and I joined the Trail Adventours group for the trip, so everything was pre-planned by them (the bus ride, jeepney ride, 3 full meals, tents, and porter arrangements--though you have to pay for the porter when you get to the ranger's station).  

On the way up (from Manila to Baguio to the ranger's station to the camp site--camp 2 extension to be exact), everything was perfect. The view was nice (sitting atop the jeepney let us enjoy it more) and the weather cooperated--sunny with a cool breeze. 

The hike wasn't bad either. If you've climbed Pico De Loro, then you're definitely going to be fine in this hike. They said it would take a maximum of 4 hours to get to camp 2 extension, but we made it in 2. It was breezy as we ascended, and the trail was prettier than I expected! There were some flowers and a wide variety of plant life that it looked like you were going through a garden in some areas. 

Camp 2 Extension

This was where we set up camp. Or where Trail Adventours set it up. We just chose a tent, rushed into it and immediately put on our layers because the weather up there was intense. Though we were expecting the temperature to hit negative, it never did throughout our stay. But the immensely strong winds and mist/rain that hit us was a bit unexpected. 

We were freezing at night, our tents were shaking and on the verge of getting blown away, water started coming in, and our stuff got wet. We had layers to keep ourselves warm, but once the clothes got wet, nothing could keep us warm. Unfortunately for my sister and I, we didn't have waterproof bottoms so from 3AM up until we reached the rangers station, our leggings + warmers + sweat pants + underwear were soaking, and we were freezing the whole way down.

And after all the trouble of getting to Baguio, hiking up to the campsite and barely making it through the cold temperature, strong winds and rain, we didn't get to go to the summit. The tour guides said that the weather was not good and it would be unsafe to bring all 38 of us (if i'm not mistaken) to the summit. It was so disappointing at first, especially after freezing throughout the night (really, I can't even explain how cold it was. It was the most uncomfortable (almost painful) thing i've ever experienced). But after the struggle of it all, there were some things I learned and realised from the trip:

- Getting to see the sea of clouds (what Pulag is famous for) is not an everyday thing. Not everyone gets to see it, and if you do encounter clear skies on your first visit, you're actually really lucky. Some people do several hikes before actually seeing it. Our tour guide even told us of a hiker who lives in Palawan and flies to Manila just to hike Pulag, and it took him seven hikes to finally see it.

- Once you see the sea of clouds on your first hike, you're really lucky. But will you want to go back? I realised after that our tour guide was right. It was somewhat a good thing that we didn't encounter it on our first hike because that would mean we'd have to go back. And despite the discomfort I felt during my stay there, I'd have to say that I would go back just to see it. I'm itching to go back so I can see it.
- I've always been so eager to travel and visit many places, learn about different cultures, try different food, and meet different people. I still am. But this hike has opened a new door and made me realise that there's more to just city exploration. Nowadays, everyone can go online, book a flight, book a hotel, travel around via cab/bus/train/ship/plane, and learn and experience. But not everyone can say that they've hiked the mountains of (insert place here), or surfed the waves of (insert place here), or even dove the waters of (insert place here). It takes a little more effort (in my opinion) to be able to do things like that, because it's more than just comfortably sitting or walking or enjoying what you see or put in your mouth. Though these things (hiking, surfing, diving) are done for pleasure, it doesn't necessarily mean it's comfortable. And straying away from comfort is not always the first choice. So this year I hope to travel still, but also hope to have the courage to immerse myself more in these active experiences.

If you'd like to try this out, check out Trail Adventours. I suggest you do! 

the little things

new read

There's a lot to learn from this.

it's the new year

La Union

This year, I am hoping for more travels, more firsts, and more risks.

I am feeling now more than ever the need to take advantage of my twenties, to start whatever it is I've been thinking of starting and to do whatever it is I've long delayed.

I've become complacent. Too comfortable and boring. Too filled with dreams, each accompanied by an excuse not to pursue them. It's sad really.

But this year I'd like to step out of my cave to do more and be more for myself.

Start small.
Spend wisely.
Do.