Goin' South?

It's Road Trip Monday and we are headed to Southern Leyte. It's been more than a year since we've taken a trip anywhere else in Leyte (outside Ormoc City that is) and I must admit I've never been to some places especially on the eastern side of the island. Nevertheless, our journey this time took us to a place called Hindang. We've passed by it on our way to Padre Burgos way back in 2007 for a super cheap (think P350!) summer getaway.

En route to our destination, we stopped by VSU (Visayas State University) where you can find huge statues of Filipino mythical characters Malakas and Maganda. I've taken a lot of pics of this place over the years, from field trips and excursions with visitors and guests. We went around the old dormitories that screamed of "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo". It was there that a student yelled at Noodle Boy, "Hey, American!" when we passed by. We laughed our heads off. American, huh? Whatever happened to, "HEY, JOE!"?

Then we had lunch at Baybay City where we found out that the Boulevard where several of all these really good BAR-B-Q stations were located is GONE! And I mean, *POOF!* No more. So we had to ask around where we can get some BBQs and were led to a place just adjacent to the pier where it was before. Apparently, they just transferred to the new location 2 months ago in May. It was a good thing that it was the same management who run the place so the food tasted exactly the same. I especially love their kinilaw and chicken BBQ.

Pic of me at the old location by the pier back in 2007.

 The place is actually named J&E Bar-B-Q Haus, whereas before we just simply referred to it as the "FIRST STATION" in reference to it occupying the first "stall" in a line of many BBQ houses. It lost its appeal if you ask me since you're no longer literally on top of the water anymore (like in one of those houses on stilts) because now it looks like a proper restaurant. Perhaps because of sanitation reasons, they relocated or something. But I don't know. I was too hungry to ask anyone there why.

Newly opened J&E bar-B-Q Haus

We drove to Brgy. San Vicente in Hindang for another couple of minutes and found the sign to the Hindang Caves easily.

The road up is pretty narrow and I can't really grasp how two vehicles could fit in it.

We headed straight up and it almost felt like we were driving in a scary movie film ala Blairwitch Project with all the woods and forest feel. Honestly, I didn't expect to be climbing up a mountain on foot in the first place so I wore my FitFlops! Had I known, I would have worn rubber shoes or something.

Minimal Fee for Entrance to Hindang Caves

Again, I really did not expect climbing up steps to the Hindang Caves but since they were ingenuously designed to provide traction, my FitFlops were still pretty comfortable to wear. I brought a bottle of mineral water as I already anticipated getting short of breath a lot during this whole adventure.

Innumerable steps I tell you! Just countless... So yeah!

Seriously I was in no shape at all to be walking so much so we had to take rest breaks every 10-15 steps. HAHAHA! Good thing they had seats to let you catch your breath once in a while.


And now the Hindang Caves. Take note it's plural. CAVES. With an s. I can't stress it enough. There's just too many to mention so here are some of the ones we got to check out.

Oh, look! It's covered in BAT SHIT! :P

Oh wait, I almost forgot to mention the bats... oh, the beautiful baby bats! And the mosquitoes... and all those other insects that bit me. LOL! I should have brought some OFF lotion but hey, this was a road trip that was indeed full of surprises! Next time though, insect repellent will be on my list. Okay, moving on with the glorious caves of wonder...

I think we found the BAT CAVE! :)

Aside from bats and monkeys, we found a BAYAWAK! Okay, that's HAW/HAO in our vernacular. I think it's called a monitor lizard officially. We weren't able to take a pic as it was a wild one and even if it was the edible sort, we had the sane mind to avoid being bitten instead by a carnivorous animal. And oh yeah, we found a cobra (snake), too! But the guys already killed it so it was no threat anymore.

Small but deadly Philippine cobra.

Breathtaking view of Hindang, Leyte.

A couple more steps up and we arrive at our ultimate doom destination. I could barely see the landing site as it was 600 meters in distance. They said it would take about 40 seconds to get to the other side. My mathematically-challenged brain was trying to distract my fear by trying to compute the average speed I'll be traveling when I do the zipline. Umm, so 15 meters per second? My head was spinning already.

View from the other end of the zipline.

Noodle Boy went first (according to age!) and because he had the camera so he could take pictures of us when we get to the other end. A moment later, I was shouting my Facebook password in case anything happens to me and told them to update my status. LOL!

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!!!!!

YOLO!!!!!!!!! I did it!!! It was the best 40 seconds of my life. I had no idea I would be doing this until I got there at the top (thanks to peer pressure!) and the adrenalin rush was ahhhmaaaaaaaaahhzzziiiinnnnggg! The scenery was even more beautiful going down the zipline with the wind in my face and my adrenalin pumping!

☑ Do the zipline before turning 30 years old! ✔ DONE and DONE! 

The Hindang Zipline is probably the most affordable one I know at only PHP180!!! I heard ziplines can go as high as 500 bucks. Well, this was nothing short of a cheap thrill if you ask me. I had a major major blast!!! So how about you guys? What are your zipline experiences?



P.S. Our road trip to Hindang, Leyte was made possible big thanks to Viaje International.

Trust me when I say I've tried so many hair dyes in this lifetime that if my hair could speak it'd be yelling at me to stop torturing it or perhaps it has already sued me for that matter. But since my hair is one tough cookie, ahem, like me, so for 20 years it has endured all the hydrogen peroxide and ammonia it could that it no longer really cares what gunk I put in it. Now, you know what I did the last time. I got plenty of feedbacks stating the raven hair Twilight look doesn't really suit me and even if it did, a lot of people still prefer I go brown or blonde. It's been 6 months since I colored my hair so now it's time to change my image. Omnia Vanitas.


From Wella to Clairol to Revlon and even Kolours, nothing gives the perfect shade like HBC Hortaleza hair dyes. I wanted to go all the way and make my hair as light as I can since it's really dark so I started with bleach then the lightest dye of them all, LIGHT HAVANA 8.5.


My hair looks so dry and considering the stuff I will be putting on it now, I think I'll need that hair spa treatment after all this.


I left the hair bleach cream on for like 10-15 minutes. My hair turned so light and it freaked me out just a little bit.


Then I washed it and applied the Light Havana cream with Oxidizing Lotion 12% (for maximum effect!) for about 30-45 minutes. Obviously, even though my hair is pretty long now, a tube was quite enough because I got really fine hair. The result was exactly what I was aiming for.


And all this, for only...

*

*


*

WAIT FOR IT...
That's right, barely $8 and you got yourself a hair makeover. Best of all, these hair dyes don't smell bad at all! None of that harsh ammonia-ish odor whatsoever!

So for those of you looking to make your hair way way light, then I recommend getting the Hortaleza Light Havana 8.5 shade. You know I like to take camwhoring/self-portrait shots then overlaying it with vintage effect. Look! My new Light Havana hair is just perfect.



So what do you think?


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Whenever I hear the word "scam" I would automatically raise an eyebrow then frown because the memory of the Havaianas scam I was a victim of back in 2007 comes flooding back in my mind. It's as if a dam breaks down and all of a sudden I can't help thinking about the 11K, which was a substantial amount then and even now, that I lost to a scammer! So yeah, when I read about a scammer, honestly my blood just boils. I tried not to read about scams after the incident as it only amps my insomnia but it really helps to be informed about these things. I feel truly sorry for people who get their trust abused and I especially feel sorry for the souls of the scammers who will forever be damned, imho.

A few days ago, I was doing my usual catching up with current events with my favorite iPad app, Zite. A post from Inquirer got my attention. I was glued to where I was sitting (which was the toilet, I know, TMI) but I couldn't stop reading about the PHP500M Birkin Scam. If you don't know about yet, then I suggest you check it out.

Hot items are usually a big thing for these scammers. I really don't know what goes inside the head of a scammer but they must not be totally criminal minded because they leave digital footprints. I mean, if there's anything that I learned from watching a marathon of the first season of CBS' Person of Interest, it's that if you post something online, at this day and age, it makes it so much easier for people especially the authorities to find you. I admire those private people who have so much restraint in being involved with computers and the Internet. I, on the other hand, have a life like an open book. You can even read between the lines.

Anyways, this whole scam/scandal reminds me of the one just a few months ago that involved a certain Angela Maureen Estandarte Directo who scammed about PHP50M of Apple products. Now we all know how hot these items got recently! As posted by Technoodling.net (one of my favorite tech blogs), let's be wary of buying stolen goods as Apple products can actually be traced and who wants to own an item that will sooner or later be taken away from you? Okay, well, you get the idea.

Oh look! An Apple Fangirl! This scammer even has an Apple logo tattoo! Tsk tsk tsk!

So let's get back to the more recent issue, the Birkin Scam. I'm not really a big fan of gossip, even celebrity news don't really tickle my fancy. But somehow, I do want to look at the face of this scammer who deleted her Twitter account very recently. It seems that she has been identified already by a lot of concerned parties and there are even blogs about her and lots of interesting comments to boot! Now I can't show you her face here but if you are like me who knows how to dig deep in the internet, you might just be able to catch a glimpse of this flight stewardess turned social climber and eventually a scammer. ARGGGH. The thought just irks me so much. So allow me to post some photos of @sje429 that I found online; however, since she is not yet convicted of her alleged crimes, I blurred her face.

Twitter account @sje429 already deleted but there are screenshots you'll find in the interwebs.

If I were a scammer, I would NEVER allow photos of me to be posted in the web! Pfft.

Social climbing seems to turn a person into a scammer.

Okay, so I'm affected even though I really don't get how she was able to dupe all those people just for some bags, jewelry, and art. Forgive me but those are not items that you'll ever find in any of my wish lists. Show me a Birkin and it will look to me the way non-computer savvy people deem html codes akin to LOL or BRB, so it's just a bag. Heck, I don't even own a wallet now! But I digress. I was once scammed for flip-flops, so who am I to judge. Tee hee.

If it really turns out that @sje429 is the Birkin Scammer, then I hope they catch her and make her pay for all her transgressions. I mean, I lost 11K and it almost drove me crazy... just imagine the folks who lost 11M to her! Que horror! But hey, karma's a bitch.

You know, I've always thought scammers to be males. Like the Havaianas scammer who went by the name of QUINTIN REYNOSO and got more or less 100K from all of us (yup, there was a whole lot of us!). But I'm pretty sure that was a false name s/he used. I'm now convinced that scammer was a woman! And in the light of these events.. umm, Filipina scammers??? I bet there's a lot more others on the prowl out there. Particularly those who want to keep up with the Joneses and this one other particular story I have which seems to be heading in that direction.

Oh God why... But I sure hope I don't get to read another Filipina scammer story any time soon.