#IloveMKH | McKinley Hill: Mediterranean Living on the Rise

Beautiful row of pastel colored houses flank the wide up uphill street of Upper McKinley Hill road. Most of the time when I pass through this opulent neighborhood in McKinley Hill, it always feels like I’m in a different place. Where structures are elegantly adorned in Venetian Gothic architecture. A faux Venice Piazza stands at the rotunda. The pace seemed to channel the holistic vibe of the people in Venice having a focused environment where they can easily live, work, play, learn and shop. A few bloggers where in for a closer look-see of this burgeoning development from Megaworld Corporation and get a feel what its like to live in a Mediterranean-inspired neighborhood mixed with the dynamism of people of Manila.

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RAVE Pasig Rainforest Adventure Experience Park

It’s funny sometimes that destinations within the neighbourhood can be off our radar I guess it’s the same case with the locals in the provinces. We admire places and their attractions, however for them, they rub it off as they see them everyday. Same case here in Pasig where I live, I never thought our RAVE Pasig Rainforest Park has been getting a lot of interest from the city folks especially this summer vacation.

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Binondo Chinese New Year | Starting the Year of the Horse in China Town

All I see is red in a good way in the somewhat beautiful chaos of crowd on the first day of the Year of the Horse in Binondo China Town. I think it was two years ago when I last experienced the Chinese New Year celebration in Manila. I thought it would great and hope would bring good vibes to welcome this year’s Chinese calendar which coincides with mine, who is also born in the Year of the Horse. So off I go to Manila and met some friends who joined me chase dragons, shop for lucky charms and get some authentic Chinese bite or two.

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Cocoon Boutique Hotel | A Nest for Relaxation in Bustling Manila

There’s this distinctive charm I find in Cocoon Boutique Hotel that I can’t really put into words clearly. This small boutique hotel by the corner of Scout Tobias near Timog in Quezon City looks unpretentious from the outside with only about six floors (including the rooftop) and stretching wider on the Scout Rallos side. It was a different story once I got into the lobby. Like going through a rabbit hole, the high-ceiling lobby, the gorgeous vintage grand piano, the excellent woodwork on the walls, touch of color and life from the indoor plants and then there’s the genuine smile as the staff welcomed us.

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A Year in Travels October 2013 | Manila Oh Manila

I never got out of town this stormy month because I was gearing for bigger things in November 2013. Nonetheless I was able to savor my time going around the old walls of Manila some to shoot for a project and some to test around a new gadget. October is Museum month so it was the opportune time to see Juan Luna’s celebrated work “Spolarium”, an impressive piece of work despite its dark and macabre theme.

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A Year in Travels August 2013 | Inked by Fang-Od

Manila was dumped by more than a month’s rain in August, finding it a bit difficult to go around. The unusual habagat (southwest winds) rains caused major floods in the Metro but that didn’t dampen our eagerness to travel. Once abated, a window opened to travel to Kalinga, a province I have longed wanted to visit, not only to see the famous mambabatok Fang-Od (Whang-od), but the curiosity to see the land of the head-hunters.

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A Year in Travels June 2013 | North Luzon Photo Tour and a Humble Book Museum

June is always an exciting time as I get to join and become a part-time guide to a Jim Cline Photography Tour in the Philippines conducted by international photographer Karl Grobl. It’s nice to know that the Philippines is gaining ground as an international photo tour destination. They were telling me it was unexpected that the Philippines Tour was filling up fast. And this year we had a full house so it was an exciting 6-day North Luzon leg from Vigan to Sagada (via Cervantes) then to Baguio and Manila. It’s great to be with different photographers and see their photographic styles and vision.

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