The aftermath of "Basyang"

Even if the Philippines is frequently visited by typhoons, it is still hard to predict the scenarios it will bring despite how prepared people are in certain weather conditions.

Typhoon Basyang was within the Philippine Area of Responsibility on July 13 and having slow movement towards North Luzon. The weather bureau had a last minute forecast of the storm heading its path in Manila. Strong winds began whistling around Manila and nearby areas around 12 midnight of July 14. A little prepared though because of the shock brought about by Ondoy last year, the city reported slight damages particularly bended billboards and uprooted trees.

Some of electrical devices and equipments of MERALCO (Manila Electric Company) were affected by the high winds having them decide to cut the power supply of the city as well as nearby provinces.Apparently, no heavy rains coincided with it although in some parts of Luzon, there were landslides and floods.

Due to a total blackout that morning, trains of Light Railway Transit (LRT) and Metro Railway Transit (MRT) cancelled their operations. Thousands of commuters were left stranded on that day. All classes were suspended. Business establishments continued their operations, coping with zero power supply. Electricity was restored in different times within that day.

Garden paths: "Escapade to Baguio part 2"

The cool breeze of Baguio woke me up with a smile and turned myself to be excited for the next journey we had. A cup of coffee will really start your day to ease the coldness of dawn until you feel the first rays of the sun. On the second day of our escape to the summer capital, we visited the Mines View Park.

There are lots of picturesque scenery you can find there. Actually, you will be amazed of different spots for picture taking. Also, you can find lots of goodies for memorabilia and for the nostalgia, all showing the rich culture of Baguio City. The photo below shows a view of different houses that looks like a connected Lego pieces.

A view of the mountains just very near the clouds and fog. Imagine the top of the mountain kissing the cool breeze of clouds. Rains fall down easily in Baguio and that helps a lot in maintaining its cool temperature.

Many jewelry lovers will also love a place of silver choices and ornaments for accessories.

Next stop is the Wright Park wherein I myself got fascinated with the horses. Horses there comes in different colors, really amazed me a lot. The staircases are also picturesque, much of a really good experience.

I also had a chance to see the front view of The Mansion. This is the official residence of the president whenever he is having a visit to Baguio or in some nearby areas attending functions and gatherings.

In the Botanical Garden, feed your eyes with different plants and flowers and enrich your sight with spots and scenery.

Shopping! There are lots of stores wherein you can buy different native products, all capturing the culture of this city. Delicacies such as strawberry wine, peanut brittle, strawberry jam and others are surely mouth-watering.

The Philippine Military Academy is also situated here. Here you can find a very large camp and training area for the country's future defenders.

Alright, so enough for the second day. I will now ride this white horse to drive me in this sunflower path to look for 'zombies on the lawn.'

Manila Day: "Escapade to Baguio"

June 24 is declared as a non-working holiday in celebration of the 439th Araw ng Maynila (Manila Day). With much anticipation of a vacation, me and my fellows decided to make the most out of it for a holiday. And we decided to travel all the way to Baguio - the country's summer capital!

Quite awkward, isn't it, that it's already rainy season? But this is really so much fun. We will stay at the coldest part of the Philippines for four days so you can read most of my entries about it on the following days to come. So in the mean time, let me share you my first day here in Baguio City.

The following photos were shot at the orchidarium. I was never fascinated with flowers until I saw different kinds of it in rows and columns, with different colors and sizes. Totally, the place will enchant your eyes and overflow your sight with beautiful hues.

This is the herbal plants section. Not so colorful in pictures but I'm so happy to learn how they magically cure simple illnesses that commercial drugs also do. Below are samples of the flowers you will find in the orchidarium.

It's the frog actually, not the plant.. Well, anyway, we got some solemn moment there coinciding with the heavy rains of the city. I had the chance to climb the 100steps stairway to the Baguio Cathedral of the Our Lady of Atonement and the experience is quite rewarding. This is my first time visiting the church in my second time of travel to Baguio.

This is the most fun of the activities we did today. We enjoyed the boat riding at the Burnham Park. It is my first time to row a swan-boat with three passengers. I was so thankful that i drove the boat smoothly.

A lone branch of a tree. Actually, no significant event that I can associate it with. Just to end this post, expect more to come in the succeeding entries.

Green mind

Yesterday is not so cool. I just received an email of an advertising portal rejecting my application for them to display ads in my blog. Well somehow, they accuse my blog as inappropriate because it has little content plus they don't accept exchanges to site which has auto-generated content.

Alright, so I removed the newsreel gadget from my sidebar as I thought that may be the one the support team is referring to as auto-generated content. I requested another application for ad placements but still they rejected it with an unclear reason. Right now, I am still figuring out what content made them rejected my application. I am now in the process of looking for another ad service. And, also I am still waiting for Google Adsense snail mail for me to start displaying ads again. Another roll of patience coming right up!

For a different topic: This morning, it so happened that I heard a song by Michael Jackson entitled "Earth Song." And just for a nostalgia, I recalled some visions of its music video wherein trees are falling and lands are breaking apart. Such a heart-breaking scenario for our mother planet. Every time I hear it my mind thinks green, I mean thinking the trees and how they sway with the air breeze and tasting the full sunrise at dusk. Wow...

 grasses and trees just few steps away from home