standard chartered marathon singapore 2013

yey...! another milestone for me :) that was when i crossed the finish line.

yes! i was able to crossed the finish line of 42km after 6 hours 42 minutes. my first full marathon, standard chartered marathon singapore 2013 which was held last december 1. i really didn't expect to make it 'cos i haven't diligently followed my training schedule. but then, my friends encouraged me every time that i can do it. that i just have to be motivated. i haven't had run for the last two months before the event.

in the middle of the marathon i was craving for something to eat. but i wasn't able to buy anything 'cos i don't have cash with me and they will not accept my debit card if i will not purchase minimum of s$20 :(

with preggy lerie, she purposely waited
for me at the finish line

at 30km point, i was so excited to see bananas. i grabbed two and ate all of it... my tummy was so happy, hehehe...

with fritzie,she ran 10km 

i felt so great to cross the finish line and so touched to have friends waiting to congratulate me. lerie & fritz, thank you so much! it meant a lot to me :)) 

yey..! to finisher tee and medal

i hope that this will not be my last full marathon. another bucket list ticked off :D

kuala lumpur, malaysia - may 2012

last may, laurence brought his parents on a trip here in singapore and kuala lumpur, malaysia. i joined them on their trip to kl... 

we left singapore saturday morning by bus, it's a 4-5 hours travel... but it's fine as the couch's seats were comfortable.

the petronas tower

we went around the city, shop a little, stroll along bintang walk and of course, not to miss the petronas towers...

fun at bintang walk

we went to batu caves and kl bird park...

giant statues at batu caves

kl bird park

we also took a few hours bus trip to genting highlands and took a ride on the cable car. it was a cool experience, seeing the nature from above and feel the cold...

nice and cold genting highlands

i had fun joining them, and lau's parents were so nice to let me join them...

with lau and his nanay & tatay...
happy faces :))

home - july 2011

i was home for 3 weeks last july 2011. i celebrated my birthday there along with the blessing/thanksgiving of my baby. 

sunrise

nadette & me...

nadette, a friend and a former colleague came all the way from cebu to visit me and spent few days there. we went to coco beach at gumasa, glan with the mariano family and had a good time at the sunny white beach...

view from above, the best shot i've got :)

one of the seven falls at lake sebu

laurence  & me, we're flying...

we also spent a day at lake sebu together with laurence. it was an unforgettable experience. it was my first time to zip line. it was just so amazing and the view of nature is so wonderful from above. it's the highest zip line in south east asia. 

lunch at the floating cottage

we had a wonderful time... 

universal studios singapore - march 2011

the mariano's visited singapore again. and i've got a chance to go with them to universal studios 'cos they've got a spare ticket, yehey..! and it's jasmine's day-off so she went with us also… 

it was a bright sunny day and we had fun inside the theme park and the rides. yes! we took the chance to get on battlestar galactica: human vs cylon, but only on 'human'. i wanted to ride the 'cyclon' but nobody will join me :( another roller coaster ride was inside the ancient egypt temple and i was so thrilled because it's dark. 

celebrity moment...
oopppss!!! there's a paparazzi...

betty boop

with anne & jassie

the shows/attractions are just so amazing that even the adults will enjoy. i'm looking forward for another fun-filled day here with their newly added attractions... 

my moment ;)

ayutthaya, thailand - february 2011

lau's so nice to brought me to ayutthaya on the next saturday of my stay at bangkok. it's a few hours trip from the city. we had a good time exploring the ruins of ayutthaya kingdom under the heat of the sun. it was quite an adventure also, from alighting at the terminal to finding our way to the ruins. 

ayutthaya kingdom was a siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. it was a day of all walks around the place and not to mention the pose here and there :)

bangkok, thailand - january/february 2011

shortly after phuket, i was on my way to krung thep. where is that? bangkok, the city capital of thailand. i went there for a long week holiday in time for chinese new year. 

nabs picked me up at the airport and we head straight to the church and had a wonderful sabbath. i stayed with them over the weekend. i also had the chance to meet blissyl and her family. 

with nabs, bliss & their cuties :)

monday, i met up with laurence, who was then working at united nations-bangkok hq, and stayed on his place for the rest of my stay. as laurence was working so i had the opportunity again to wonder and to explore the city on my own. 

ananta samakom throne hall

vimanmek mansion

riding the bus and train and alighting on the place where i wanted to go was quite an adventure for me. left a city zoo and wandered around nearby tourist destinations and walked until i arrived at laurence's workplace at un hq having only a city map with me, was a cool experience. 

wandering after lau's work

i went on board a small ferry along chao phraya river and visit wat pho, the grand palace, wat phra kaew and temple of dawn.

wat pho, the temple of the reclining buddha

the grand palace

wat phra kaew

temple of dawn

this trip was not all smiles and laughters, shopping and wandering. there were also tears and decisions made that make me a stronger person. but i did not let it spoil my long week holiday, i just put it at the back of my mind and enjoyed first. thankful for all the very good friends i have from all over for the comfort that time... 

anyway, i still had a good thai experience... the crowd, the massage, the food and very good friends.  

phuket, thailand - january 2011

laurence, my very good friend, spent his christmas last december 2010 at london… thinking it would be very cold there, he planned to be somewhere hot when he comes back to bangkok… and so he asked me if i wanted to go with him to phuket. without a doubt i said yes..! he knows it's been my long dream to see and experience phuket... 

kata beach, right in front of club med

i flew to phuket from singapore early in the morning on the first day of the year... laurence booked our accomodation at clubmed. 

club med's pool and dining hall...

club méditerranée, commonly known as club med, is a french  corporation of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in exotic locations. (ref: wikipedia) 

laurence, looking like a don...

i arrived there first as lau travelled by bus from his another friend. while waiting for him, i found myself a spot at the bar, had something to eat and drink. when he arrived we had our late lunch. 

cheers..!

one thing i really liked on this trip was our experience of international cuisine. everything's just there that you don't know what you're going to have for a meal. it was my first time to choose not just a few but a lot of dishes for a meal. and you can eat everything as much as you want... 

beautiful sunset along kata beach

we strolled down the shore of kata beach in the afternoon until sunset. after dinner, we joined the party and had fun... 

top: it's a red carpet dinner
below: party, party, party..!

on our second day we went to phi phi island on a tour. we took the ferry tour, had we known that we can't be at the maya bay, we could have booked that tour by speedboat. 

on board the ferry to phi phi island

top: maya bay from afar
below: viking cave

maya bay is where the movie of leandro dicaprio, the beach, was shoot. and even from afar you'll see how nice the beach is... but we still enjoyed our self snorkelling. the water was just so clear, but we can't go far from the ferry as we're both scared. we're both not a good swimmer... 

phi phi island

we had our lunch at phi phi island. we enjoyed the scenery of the hot blazing sun along the seashore... 

and then, we went back to our respective origin on the third day...

if given another chance, i would love to go back there...! lau, thank you for dragging me along on that trip... and for these nice photos as well ;)

hong kong & macau - july 2010

i was wondering where would i be on my 31st birthday. it would be nice if it is something different from my 30th, in which i worked part time on my boss' internet café… 

and so early that year i asked aynee, a very dear friend based at hong kong if they can spare me a space. i was so happy that she would be glad to... i left on the 8th of july from singapore and lo i fly to hong kong... yay! i was so excited... i stayed there until the 13th... 

left: at the old city hall
right: on our way to witness dancing of the lights

as aynee is working on daytime, so i had the privilege to explore the city alone... my adventure began from getting out of the airport to hong kong central station. i was able to made it, but i had a hard time, i didn't know at first how to get out... but glad i was able to figure it out... 

at kowloon island; that's my hands

bruce lee's image

during the days i went out and roamed around the city alone and be with aynee during dinner... every dinner were just so special. she brought me to her favorite places around the corner and everytime was just yummm... 

at lan kwai fong, night life district of hong kong

hong kong island, a view from the peak

the weather was so hot that time of the year but i had a good time spending few days there. i want to be back there on a cold weather though :) 

centro de turismo de negocios de macau

i also went to macau for a day. it's around 45 minutes ride by ferry. it was not hard touring at macau, there are some pinoys waiting at the pier that can be your guide. i was with one nice filipina... 

st. paul's ruins

macau tower
why live on the edge when you can jump off?

and of course i had my birthday at disneyland... wow! i've never thought i would be at disneyland... though i was alone, it was one of my most memorable birthday :) thank you to dandy's friend for the free entry...

hong kong disneyland  ( '._,' )

a pose with minnie & mickey the mice

birthday dinner with aynee 

though you may travel alone, it is still fun...