My Awesome Planner for 2012.

I've long quit collecting stickers for the Starbucks 2012 planner (and collecting calories from their toffee nut latte frappuccino). I've decided I won't join the bandwagon and get pressured buying coffee just to have this planner--which almost everybody else has. ;)

But... I got this really Awesome Planner which I think suits me! It's designed for the foodie and travel lover. Thanks to Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet who came up with this planner. :)

(Photo from Anton Diaz.)

Cover of the Awesome Planner 2012. 

Suggested travels perfect for each month. 

The monthly calendar which contains the 2012 Philippine holidays,
festivals, fiestas, and other events. It also has weekly pages.
(Photo from Anton Diaz.)

One of my favorite sections. The travel vision board, where you
can post your dream destinations for the year.

The vision board. (Photo from Anton Diaz.)

The planner also features different road trip destinations for each month and also a directory of 100 go-to restaurants. I'm already looking forward to filling this up throughout 2012... :) 

For more details of the Awesome Planner and how to order, check out www.facebook.com/AwesomePlanner. 

The Longest Way...

I came across this guy who traveled from China to Germany just by walking, back in 2007. He called this project "The Longest Way"--as it is the longest way from a daydream to a dream.

Based on his blog thelongestway.com, he did walk about one third of the initial way, from the first day (of his 26th birthday) until the downfall about a year later. Then he stopped. He got a haircut and shaved off his beard, and took a plane home.

Then he came up with a new plan: go back to university, get a degree, didn’t think about walking for a while. (Check his plan here).

His name is Christoph Rehage. He got numerous awards from film festivals across the globe and his video has been going viral since 2009. Here's his travel from Nov. 9, 2007 to Nov.13, 2008, on foot, 4646km through China, unlimited beard and hair growth, condensed to a 5-minute video.

It doesn’t matter what dream you choose to follow, as long as you have one. Go follow your dream, and laugh while you’re doing it! --Christoph Rehage

2 1/2 to 3-hour drive to Laiya, San Juan, Batangas

If you're looking for the quickest beach getaway... then the destination to Laiya, San Juan, Batangas is it.

We just had to hit the beach for my cousins Monique and Isay before the they leave again for the States. Bora escapade seems to be not feasible anymore due to our tight schedule so we drove to the nearest destination in Batangas. It's a 2 1/2 to 3-hour drive from Alabang (if there's no traffic). You can actually go if you're into those spur-of-the-moment road trip.

We went here on a cold weekend of January and stayed in Taramindu Beach Garden Inn for the day. Don't be deceived by their website though. The place looked spacious but when we saw the place, I guess it's one of the smallest resorts in San Juan with probably less than 20 rooms (more on hotel type and not cottages). Nevertheless, the food was good. They have ala carte or set menus which were budget-friendly for its quality.

Don't get too excited with the beach of San Juan, Batangas as well. It looks amazing on photos but once you step on it, it's not that great. Their sand is a combination of little stones and sand with some glass in some areas.

Taramindu is located towards the end of the Laiya road, near La Luz Beach Resort. You can go there for a walk and sneak to chill in one of their cabanas for a while. I was surprised that La Luz is overrated. Again, it looked great on photos but it's not Paradise. I cannot totally judge though 'cause I was not able to experience their accomodations.

On the other hand, I was able to take a nice snap in this resort. Cute, little naive girl she is. :)

It was cold, breezy, cloudy in San Juan, sometimes the sun peeps from the clouds... you can fall asleep lying by the shore. A good break before we get busy again the following Monday.

Taramindu Beach Garden Inn

Telephone: (+632) 448-56-11

Mobile: (+63) 0917-824-0024

La Luz Beach Resort

Telephone:

+632 726-6687 loc. 113

+632 726-4977 loc. 106

+632 726-7445 loc. 103

+632 727-7032 loc. 102

Mobile:

+63 (927) 993-8417

+63 (916) 394-4367