The Angel at the Love Valley Owns a Phone (Part 1)

When I checked-in at my hotel in Cappadocia, I was advised by the owner that Cappadocia basically has two major tour options.  The Red Tour and the Green Tour.  The owner advised me to book and pay for the Green Tour and that the Red Tour need not be arranged with a local tour company.  He explained that I myself can go and visit the Red Tour sites since I have four days to spend in Cappadocia and that the locations of the tour spots featured in the Red Tour are within a good hiking distance.

He nevertheless warned me that the longest walk in the Red Tour option from one site to the next would take me about an hour.  That was the walk from the rock tower of Uchisar to the sensual-looking rock formations of the Love Valley.

stop over at salkim tepesi panorama

took loads of photos along the way

smile!

From my hotel, I reached Uchisar after a 40-minute walk.  The walk was not incessant and continuous because I got to stop and do some detour so as to marvel at some of the most beautiful valley formations and breathtaking geological sites on the planet.

After getting around Uchisar and decided that I have to get to my next destination, I remember the hotel owner informing me about the 1-hour hike if I want to go to the Love Valley from Uchisar.  This was confirmed when I checked the information at Google Maps.

tour groups on shuttle would not be able to get a photo like this!

entrance to the pigeon valley…

marvelous uchisar!

And since I have nothing to do for the rest of the day but to gape and admire the natural wonders of Cappadocia, I gathered a lot of emotional fortitude and decided to walk my way from Uchisar to Love Valley.  But in the middle of my hiking my emotional fortitude starts to wane and it is instead being replaced and overpowered by my physical feebleness.  On the 30^th minute of my slogging, my feet, my knees and my shoulders are starting to hurt.

Since my physical being is starting to fail me, the beautiful barren fields between Uchisar and my next site to visit has started to look like a severely distressing place to be at.  All I wanted at that time was a commuter bus or a taxi cab to pass by so that I could hail it and pay the driver whatever amount he wants as long as he will drive me fast to the Love Valley.  But except for one old rickety car that passed by, there was never a vehicle in sight during my hike. To Be Continued…

Itululoy… to bi kontinyud…

San Francisco 2017 in 2 Minutes and 17 Seconds

According to Saint Augustine, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page”.  With this in mind, let me share a short summary of my recent San Francisco solo travel.  This short video is a proof that I indeed finished at least a chapter of what this saint was talking about.

For those who endured and finished watching the whole video… Thank you!!!  Watch out for the next chapter…

Neks peydg na ko…

Interpreting Cupid’s Span at the Embarcadero

I am a big fan of art that are commonly found in museums.  The forms of art I often marvel about outdoors would be magnificent architectures and massive infrastructures.  But while having a walk along the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, one massive piece of sculpture struck me.  It’s the humongous bow and arrow monument in the middle of Rincon Park.

Upon google search, I learned that the title of this masterpiece is Cupid’s Span built in 2002.  The artists who created this gigantic piece made reference to Eros, the Greek God also known to the Roman’s as Cupid who shoots arrows into its would-be-victims.

Unexpectedly discovering this cool piece of art was great!  Perceiving and understanding the statement that Cupid’s Span makes – like any other piece of art – can be very subjective.  It is open to the personal interpretation of the individual.  You either like it or you don’t.  I happen to love it!  It blends well and stands out pretty impressive with the surrounding location.  You can actually view Cupid’s Span from different angles, backgrounds and perspectives at different times.  And this unique attribute of this masterpiece gives you different opinion and feeling every time.

It is one unique landmark in SF which I guess celebrates love and how an SF visitor’s heart can actually get stuck and held immovable by the beauty of the sights and culture of San Francisco.  For me, it is an unflinching representation of the famous line, “I left my heart in San Francisco”.

And while taking photos of this massive masterpiece, I was gleefully unashamed singing Rachel Alejandro’s song, Mister Kupido! (click the LINK to that song) Hahaha!

Ba’t hindi panain, ang kanyang damdamin ng ako ay mapansin…

Just Myself at Stinking Rose

One downside of being a solo traveler, which I realized during my San Francisco CA solo expedition, is that I am to eat alone.  Good thing I am living by myself in Manila, thus, the impact of eating solo in a foreign country is not disturbing if compared to those who are so used to sharing a thought and their food with someone else during a meal.

Because of this glitch, I avoided fancy restaurants and during meal periods I can be found in a communal table of a food court, an indie coffee shop or in a park munching a dish I bought from a food stall or food truck.

nice interiors…

crispy baby romaine, grana & croutons

main event!

main course! hahaha!

will be back!

But when my college best friend Marie (now based in Los Angeles) recommended that I should try and dine at Stinking Rose, I never had a second thought. One late lunch period, I navigated the streets of SF and proceeded to Columbus Avenue where the Italian restaurant is located.

The receptionist upon knowing that I am dining “just myself”, she was smart and gentle enough to assign me to a good and strategic table (a corner by the window) which seem intended really for solo diners.

I ordered a 3-course Prix Fixe Dinner bundle.  For the main course I settled with the one recommended by the waiter, the Forty Clove Garlic Chicken.  And when the food was served, I totally forgot about the glitches and hurdles of dining solo in a fancy or busy restaurant.

On a bright side of this experience, since my mind would not be diverted or side-tracked from this gustatory encounter, I actually was able to indeed levy the quality and taste of the food that was served at Stinking Rose.  I was more focus and conscious about the palatal attributes of the food I was devouring.  And my verdict about Stinking Rose?  Let me just say that my super friend Marie cares for my palatal satisfaction.  She indeed gave me an excellent recommendation!

havin’ a blast!

I may forget that I dined solo at Stinking Rose but the gustatory experience I had with this Italian restaurant shall be remembered for a very long time.

Salamat Marie…

Two Worthy Travel Tips for Solo Travelers

I am a solo traveler in my recent travel adventure to San Francisco, California. Prior to leaving Manila, I tried to read a couple of blogs and view a number of vlogs on tips of being a solo traveler, which I hope would help me in this first time solo expedition.

There are however two worthy items that all these blogs and vlogs seem to have missed. First, is never to arrive in your destination at night time. This is actually what happened to me when I arrived in SFO.  My flight landed at 10:30 PM and was only able to go out of the airport after about 40 minutes.

waiting for BART train at SFO. looks tired and clueless of what is going to happen…

Arriving in an unexplored location in the middle of the night somehow gave me chills and some dash of fear.  Good thing with my childhood background, I grew up in a slum-like area of Pasay.  Dealing with street weirdos is like something that I am used to. With this rich experience, I know I can handle goons and crooks out in the streets of San Francisco.

But goons and crooks of US are actually not my problem when I arrived super late at night in SFO. It was the rain!

While rolling my humongous luggage and drenched in a very cold rain, there was literally no one in the streets of San Francisco to ask for possible directions and location of my super budget hotel. Even the goons and crooks seem to have gone to some freakin’ dry and warm shelter.

Thus, may you fear lurkers in the night or dread the horrors of unforeseen weather condition, never land to your area of destination at nigh time when you are a solo traveler.

Second, when you have just arrived in your destination and it’s in the middle of the night, drenched with heavy rain and can’t seem to locate your hotel, the thing that you should do is to proceed to the nearest five star hotel. Not the police station, not a hospital neither a 24-hour convenience store. You should run to the concierge of the nearest 5 star hotel.

Concierge of 5 star hotels are more knowledgeable, more efficient and more helpful compared to bellhops and front desk beings of most non-5 star accommodations. They are always there to help, may you be a guest or a mere “tambay” (loiterer) of their establishment.

And this is exactly what I did. Drenched, tired and worried, I run to the nearest hotel concierge that I can find. The obliging concierge pointed that it’s only walking distance from their hotel but since it’s raining he volunteered on calling a cab for me. He summoned a bellman to blow his whistle and automatically a cab arrived. He even helped me with my luggage by putting it inside the trunk. I of course handed the guy some hefty tip for being such an angel towards a co-angel in distress.

still thinking of where to go next…

Though these experiences adds up to the spice of my learnings of being a solo traveler, I hope these two tips would help a lot especially those who plan to go on solo. Good luck, have fun and stay safe!

Basang basa sa ulan sa lugar na di ko alam!

 

Alone at Sungnyemun

It was our last day in Seoul.  Me and my colleagues decided that the whole morning will be spent burning our wallets out at all possible cheap buys at Namdaemun Market.  Right after breakfast we headed to the market and decided that we broke apart as a group so that we would be able to purchase what we want without wasting other’s precious time.  We decided that we would just meet up again at the hotel lobby at 11:30 AM for us to get ready for lunch together.

But an hour after searching and walking through the alleyways of this traditional Korean market, my head was suddenly spinning and everything seem to look the same.  That was the time I knew I was cloying from the sickening look of voluminous varieties of clothes, kitchenware, toys, fine arts, footware, ginseng, trinkets, Korean souvenir items, carpets and hats.

To ease this cloying feeling, I decided to walk away from Namdaemun Market.  And this was the time I reached and discovered a massive imposing structure just across the road.  I decided to go ahead and find my way to reach such a traditional Korean structure.

sungnyemun

gate of exalted ceremonies

At a very small booth near the entrance manned by a very old man, I found a brochure and learned that the commanding edifice in front of me is called Sungnyemun.

According to Wikipedia, Sungnyemun is one of the eight gates in the Fortress Wall of Seoul during the Joseon dynasty.  It is also known as the Gate of Exalted Ceremonies (which I don’t know what means but it sounds very good).  Wikipedia also indicates that it was built in the 14^th century and was once the oldest wooden structure in Seoul and was given the status of National Treasure No. 1 during the 60’s.  But in 2008 some loony 69-year old arsonist burned the wooden pagoda portion of the structure.  Restoration was done for the burnt portion amounting to whopping 14 million US dollars and was completed only in April 2013.

pikchur! pikchur!

Since its National Treasure Number 1, I of course did not missed the opportunity to take some photos of this beautiful site.  After which, I headed back to Namdaemun market, buy me some ref magnets before heading back to the hotel.

Ininggit ko sila syempre sa pikchurs ko. Hahaha!