Bali photodiary [part 2]

[read part 1 HERE]

Had late lunch/dinner at a really cool beach club, Potato Head. We had to line up for a good 30 minutes outside to get a table but it was worth it! 

the girls: me, Alyanna, Erika, Patty & Sam 

boys: Jason, Marc, Marco, Gab, Roy

Another really beautiful beach club- VUE

Headed to our villa after to catch the sunset 

It was PERFECT!

Sam got these at a local pharmacy for her colds since she got really sick the day after surfing... Don't they remind you of NERDS?

Visited the Uluwatu Temple on our last day & there were so many monkeys! We were given bananas to feed them... 

The bananas were useful if you didn't want them to steal your earrings and sunglasses... We witnessed a girl's glasses getting snatched and it took some slingshots to force the monkey to throw them back to her!

Had an awesome seafood lunch by the Jimbaran Beach

Swam again by the time we got to the villa and had some failed attempts at taking underwater photos using my iPhone + Otterbox Armor case. It's great for taking videos and photos underwater, but I got it mainly for the crush-proof factor (need it for mountaineering- I dropped by last phone over a cliff last February). 

❧

This trip was one for the books! 5 days just isn't enough.  We all can't wait to go back to Bali, there are just so many beautiful spots and great restaurants. We even enjoyed some hole-in-the-wall types with really good food. The price for fine dining ain't bad either, sometimes it turns out cheaper than our restaurants in Manila! 

We booked a villa at Eden the Residences by the Sea. It's good for 10 people and it comes with free breakfast each morning. We went around Bali riding taxis but we rented a coaster on the last day since Uluwatu was about an hour away. Everything else is just 15-25 minutes away so it's not hard to get to places. We didn't prepare an itinerary either- we relied on restaurant reviews online, as well as the villa's suggestions on where to go. Overall, Bali is a great place to go to if you want an easy trip. Great place to surf, swim, eat and lots of beach clubs to enjoy! Will probably have to add elephant rides and a good spa experience on my next visit! 

❤

Bali photodiary [part 1]

BALI, INDONESIA

October 1-5

Our villa was just PERFECT. White on white is just so ME! 

Chose the room with 2 beds since I had to share the room with Marc. The others who came were couples. 

The view from my window 

The T&B which was big enough to have a party in... Across the shower there were mirrors which concealed the cabinets.

Our roof deck with a hot tub 

We all chose to swim on our first day before taking naps since most of us didn't get to sleep before our 4AM flight.

Found a really good beach/pool-proof eyebrow technique: 

1. Prime with Urban Decay's original primer potion
2. Fill in brows with a MAC eyeshadow (applied MAC eyeshadow in Brun using a Real Techniques angled brush)
3. Draw thin hair-like strokes with K-Palette's 1-day tattoo brow pen
4. Finish off with a brow set (I used a clear one from MAC but this is optional since it'll wash off anyway).

My brows stayed on after a couple of dips but you have to make sure that you don't touch them. I just had to use what I already carried in my kit since I didn't have time to look for a really good eyebrow tint (Make Up For Ever's Aqua Brows would've been a good choice but all their stores closed down in Manila!)

Apart from brow stuff, I was able to use the Dream Matte Mousse Maybelline sent me. That was the only makeup/foundation I used in college and I never applied concealer back then. I think they were discontinued for a while and were replaced with whitening ones. I'm so glad the normal mousse is back!!! They're perfect for the humid weather- light but buildable enough to create a flawless, airy coverage. I used my favourite Chanel Purete Mat pressed powder to set it. 

We had dinner at this really nice restaurant called Metis... The rest had steak for dinner while I had my usual favourites... We all enjoyed our food, I would definitely recommend this place! Too bad I couldn't take nice photos cos of the lighting but the interiors were really fancy. 

Then had drinks at KuDeTa which had the most awesome lounge set-up ever. Again, no photos cos of the lighting but you can Google it instead. 

Every morning we had private chefs to cook us breakfast (included in the villa package)

Went to Kuta Beach to surf the next day...

[continue to PART 2] 

Parrot's Peak, Mt. Pico de Loro [via iPhone]

To reach the peak we had to walk (and climb) for about 3 hours  I didn't want to bring a backpack so I brought a fanny pack instead. I got too excited about this nerdy accessory because it's anti-theft!  2.5 hours up brought us to the campsite where we could buy drinks and take some photos. Here's David risking his life for the sake of a good Instagram pic. L-R: my brother (in the most inappropriate hiking/climbing outfit), me, Ayen, David, Steph, Ces and Jed

frugal fitness fashion: sports bra- Jockey, shorts- Nike, shoes- Adidas, top- Forever 21, sunglasses- Ray-Ban (polarized Caravans) Struggling to reach the highest peak... It almost looks like flat ground on this photo... ...but the blogs were correct in saying that you'd have to grab on to grass to climb up!!! The most beautiful view that greeted us

Parrot's Peak!   The rest of the group at the Parrot's peak  My brother and I at the other peak ❧ My friends and I have been dying to go on another hiking trip so we agreed to reserve last weekend for a short one. We've been wanting to go to Mt. Pulag but we didn't have enough time to prepare and organize a bigger group. Jed suggested Pico de Loro in Cavite, so Ayen researched about the hike. I've only heard of Pico de Loro as a resort, so I didn't expect anything from this trip. Even David thought the hike was going to be easy- like going around in a park or something. Ayen even mentioned people talking about grabbing on to grass to climb up but we all laughed when she said that and thought nothing of it.  I wore my Adidas Boost running shoes and thought that the thick sole was going to cushion my feet from the rocks, but as the hike progressed I started to realize that it was a bad idea. I couldn't feel the ground at all so I was being careful the whole time as the paths were all inclined or going downhill. I was also suffering from cough so I was careful not to have an asthma attack (I haven't used my inhaler in 6 years). This definitely slowed me down and made me realize that it was time to buy decent hiking shoes! The Boosts are the best running shoes and are also great for plyometrics but NEVER wear them for hiking.  Other than my struggle to keep my balance with my shoes, the hike was so much fun. It's a bit of a challenge as it is the highest walkable trail at 665 meters above sea level so it's more like mountain climbing but with more rugged trails (the hike to the summit isn't paved) . It takes 3 hours to climb with rests in between, and another 3 to go down. We spent an hour on the peak and on the Parrot's Peak, and the climb definitely made the view more worth it.  There were lots of campers but this was also doable as a day trip if you go early. We arrived around 8:30 AM and left almost 4:00 PM.  The funniest part of this trip was expecting nothing from it... We were all underprepared (except for having enough water) and we didn't really know that it was going to be that much of a climb. We only slept for 2 hours since we stayed at my uncle's house in Cavite and spent too much time catching up and exchanging stories. The two guys in the group were scared of heights, my brother wore flimsy sneakers, we didn't have a guide and just followed the other hikers and we also didn't know some hiking etiquette. As we were walking all the hikers would say "Ingat!" or would greet you a good afternoon. It was really nice to be amongst friendly people since it wasn't that easy and it was our first time there. Whenever someone would ask about our group, my friends would always plug my site (LOL) and I would just sit there, face-palming. The Raleene.com Mountaineering Club was born on that day! Highlights of the group include laughing at our disbelief in climbing mountains and ADHD attacks after two sips of pop. We paid Php 40.00 for registration and the rest of our money went to buying Gatorade (Php 50) and Mountain Dew (Php 30) at the camp sites out of desperation. And because it's a business, they didn't have water, just sugar-filled drinks that make you want to buy even more!  My brother might've had the most complete backpack with the essentials my dad packed for him (he trained for the army or something. LOL Hi, dad!). You should have these basics: plastic bags, lots of water, face towels, alcohol, first-aid kit, sunblock (I used Nivea's Protect & Refresh SPF 50 with Invisible Cooling Mist. Water-resistant and non-greasy, i didn't get sunburnt like my friends!), tissue, moist towelettes, swiss knife, salt (one of us got cramps so this is actually important), painkillers, umbrella, packed lunch, snacks, chocolate/crackers. As for what to wear- proper shoes,  a hat, sunglasses, leggings/compression pants  and long sleeves (or a shirt with armbands) are the safest options since tan lines aren't so nice when you wear sleeveless tops, plus you're prone to have gashes and cuts especially when sliding downhill. It was harder to go down from the highest peak since everyone's been grabbing on to the grass and the mountain's bald because of all the uprooting!  I'd recommend hikes like these to those who want to try out something else this summer. You can even do this to overcome your fear of heights! It's so much fun, especially after discovering what your body can do if you're willing. For adventure-seekers, this is a beginner's course but it's definitely not easy. You can read more about it on other blogs so you'll know what to expect.  ❤