Most of my holidays are spent by doing household chores then travel afterwards. And so last Christmas vacation while cleaning our book shelves in the house I saw a book titled “Heritage” and I don’t exactly know why I got interested in it. I immediately stopped cleaning, took a sit and scanned the book and right there and then I saw this beautiful picture and review of Kaangrian Falls which is found in the town of Burgos, Ilocos Norte. I’ve grown in the province of Ilocos Norte but I never heard this falls. Since I’m the travel initiator and organizer in the family, I decided to visit this falls for our Christmas family outing.
Oops let’s have a trivia first. Do you ever wonder what does the word kaangrian means? “Kaangrian” came from the Ilocano term “naangri” which literally means “stinky or smelly” in English. Well this sounds Ironic for such a wonderful place that lay hidden amidst the forest of Barangay Paayas Burgos, Ilocos Norte. According to the residents of Burgos, this falls is well preserved and continues to be a must see spot in Ilocos Norte because no doubt that it really looks like a paradise-so calm and very natural scenery. But before reaching the said falls, you have to go through a non concrete, non limestone road and just a piece of advice, use a car recommend for adventures or else you’re going to face difficulties because it is really a rocky road and only good for one way. After that rocky road you will see a vacant lot wherein you can leave your car and start now the 15-20 minutes trek before you get to see the jaw dropping beauty of Kaangrian Falls.
The place was very peaceful. The water was so blue. All the stress in travelling just to witness this creation will all be eased out. More photos below:
Worth the climb to the top!
Way up going to Kaangrian falls, you will be able to see the full view of the famous Bangui Windmills.
More adventures to come! #JamilaGoesAround
Who would believe that this trip is free, yes this trip is free because of the prize I got from the Travel Expo last March 2015 in SMX Convention Center. My family are really planning to have a vacation then suddenly this plan came into reality after I attended the Travel Expo. I never had been to Visayas that’s why I don’t know much of the places and the people in there. As I’ve noticed during our stay in Bohol, people there were really friendly and kind. They really deserve their title to be the “City of Friendship”. There are a lot of churches and tourist destinations to be seen in Bohol plus sumptuous foods. I was truly amazed when I saw the Chocolate Hills even though it was a little bit damaged because of the earthquake but they are trying to recover. The really highlight of our tour was the Eat all you can in Loboc River Cruise. It was really affordable to try the Loboc River Cruise, with just the amount of Php400 you can eat whatever you want (seafoods) plus a serenade and different entertainments and experience the river cruise. It was really an amazing experience.
Special Thanks to Villa Belza Resort for the accomodation.
The church is under renovation because of the earthquake last 2013.
According to the tour guide, you can form a picture of Padre Pio if you would look closely to to the wall.
buffet lunch at Floating Restaurant
After the consul approved in my application for US Visa, the first thing I did was to do my travel bucket list and New York City was on the top of my list. If you have read my previous blog, you will notice that I always say that my wish is to see New York City and have a picture on the Statue of Liberty and here you go that dream came true (teary eyes hahahaha). We had a long walk going to Ellis, Island to buy tickets for the ferry going to the Statue of Liberty. Actually, It’s my first time to ride in a ferry and it’s very awesome even though it’s crowded because we stayed on the view deck of the ferry to feel the ambiance. I actually grabbed the opportunity when I was there, I stayed there for about 2-3 hours just in the Statue of Liberty and took a lot of pictures and feel the moment with Ms. Liberty. Well, Statue of Liberty was a worthy place to visit and I will surely visit this place again!
I can now see you Ms. Liberty ❤
OUTFIT DETAILS:
Dress: Plains and Prints
Shoes: Rusty Lopez
Bag: Kate Spade
Months before my flight going to United States of America, they always ask me what are my travel plans after my work and travel program and this is what I always answer “No matter what happens I will step on New York City” and there you go I made it to New York City! I was able to see the Big Apple City. I never thought in my entire life that I will be able to step on United States of America and be there independent. But this program helped me a lot in terms of decision-making, household chores, giving importance of money, to your family and loved ones and most especially embracing the blessings that God had given to us.
Going back to my my tour in New York, I didn’t sleep in the bus until we got there because the Greyhound bus was very beautiful so the travel was not tiresome. We had a long walk going to the ferry in Ellis Island but it’s quite good that we had a long walk because I was able to took pictures on the streets of New York before riding a ferry going to the Statue of Liberty. You can see in the pictures how happy I am that day. Well New York City is same as Metro Manila in terms of population where in you can see people on rush and busy.
OUTFIT DETAILS:
Dress: Plains and Prints
Shoes: Rusty Lopez
Bag: Kate Spade
It’s my first time to ride in a bus in the United States so I was a little bit scared going to Philadelphia from Baltimore, Maryland. We took the Megabus and it’s very affordable and convenient. We only paid $17 going to Philadelphia which is about 3 hours drive from our state (Maryland). I was able to see also the 30th Street Philly Station of Amtrak which is very classy inside. Good thing my supervisor grant my four days leave, lucky me to have a nice supervisor. Shopping here and there was my peg during my stay in Philly and New Jersey. I spent all my salary for that week. I think New Jersey was meant to me because of free tax, so I was able to buy clothes, shoes and bags in my favorite brands and they are all on sale like Forever21, H&M, Aldo, Kenneth Cole, Guess and a lot more.
OUTFIT DETAILS:
Sabrina top: Alex Bitong
Vest: Guess
Cardigan: Never Been Kissed
Bag: Kate Spade
Pants: Grand Celebrity Bazaar
Boots: Burlington USA
HELLO SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE AND SAFARI NEW JERSEY!!!!!
One of my travel plans is to see and experience the rides in Six Flags. I was able to see a lot of attractions inside the Six Flags such as Movie Town, Lakefront, Adventure Alley, Frontier Adventures and many more. Honestly, I am not fund of any extreme rides but thanks to my friends who pushed me to conquer my fears and I’m happy I did it! Wohoooo!!!!
We got a free entrance, ride all you can and unlimited foods because of the Filipino’s working there and it was really a big help to us because we got to save atleast $100. We had the right timing in going to Six Flags because that day was their opening so they have a lot of promos.
Sorry I don’t have pictures while on the rides because they do restrict bringing cameras and take pictures for the safety of our gadgets.
What I enjoyed the most was riding in the Green Lantern even if I had a hard time on that ride because in that ride you must be standing and I remember I was wearing a dress and everyone’s looking at my legs and good thing I am wearing a cycling so I don’t have to worry enough what I look like. Maybe you are all wondering why I am wearing a dress in going to this kind of place, well the reason is for me to have an acceptable and varied reason not to join my friends in having rides like what I’ve told you earlier that I am not fund of extreme rides. But that kind of reasoning didn’t worked to my friends.
OUTFIT DETAILS:
Hat: SM Accessories
Cardigan: Never Been Kissed
This is jam goes to…… Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which is the City of Brotherly Love and the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania. The city contains lot of art museums like Rodin Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and most of all the major art museum in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum Art. I was able to see the statue of Rocky, the famous boxer and the very beautiful Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Don’t you know that Philadelphia is known for its cheesesteak which is developed by the German and Italian immigrants. Everyone should try Philadelphia’s very own cheesesteak a.k.a Philly chessesteak because of its thin sliced pieces of steak by combining frizzled beef and onions with melted cheese in a long bun.
I really had fun in Philadelphia because of their attractions and it is a pioneering city when it comes to commercial establishments for being one of the oldest cities in the country.
So, if you want a complete experience of history and culture in modern society and fall in love with the places as much as the residents have, visit Philadelphia.
