Ramblings of a Self-Diagnosed Eclectic

DIY Double-Purpose Mini Vanity Lampshade from Scratch

Posted by eclectic-me on March 7th, 2012

I’ve been really obsessed with the idea of making light fixtures these days. That desire has grown on me when I started planning on my future home, and those of my friends’ as well. I really take pride in bargains and elegantly inexpensive stuffs. Also, why buy if you can make one?

DIY Double-Purpose Vanity Lampshade

After buying basic crafting materials, I started working with this project. By the way, this is actually my 3rd crafting project. The first one I made was a jewelry storage, but I will probably post that later.

The original plan was to make a light fixture, but I realized that the bulb socket that I bought was too big. I can however, use that for a bigger lampshade. I just happened to get the smallest ice cream container that’s sitting in my kitchen. YES, the lampshade itself is made from an ice cream container. That one was a Selecta Hershey’s Ice Cream.

used Selecta Hershey's Ice Cream bucket for lampshade - it's the top one that's shape like the conventional lampshade if inverted

Going back, so I decided to just skip the lighting part. I am still planning to work on the lighting some other time. I’m planning of using some of those tiny Christmas lightbulbs, probably 10pcs of those.

Wondering why it’s called a vanity lampshade? The lampshade stand holds the answer. It’s a perfume bottle.

I have a lot of perfume bottles since I’m into perfume business. The Issey Miyake L’Eau D’Issey is perfect. The clear frosted bottle gives it an elegant look. The shape of the bottle is perfect as its wide base slims upward as it meets the lampshade itself.

So anyway, these are the materials that I used to make this Double Purpose Mini Vanity Lampshade.

Materials:

Used ice cream bucket including the lid
craft paper of your choice (I used a pink craft paper with bronze zebra pattern for P15 or 33 US cents)
white faux pearl beads in 2 sizes (I bought the big pearl beads in a craft store for P15 or 33 US cents)
lace of your choice (I just used a piece of a lacey fabric that I had cut off from an ongoing blouse alteration project)
glue stick
glue gun
perfume bottle (Issey Miyake L’Eau D’Issey)
perfume cap (I used Burberry Brit Sheer cap to secure the lampshade on top of the perfume bottle)
metallic acrylic paint in platinum (I just used a cheap platinum nail polish)

I don’t want to elaborate much on the procedure. You simply just have to cover the surface of the ice cream bucket with the craft paper. Cut the excess paper and leave enough paper to fold in the inner top and inner bottom of the bucket. Make sure it’s snugly covered.

Line the bottom of the lampshade with your chosen lace, then adorn it with pearls. Do the same with the top of the lampshade. It’s up to you if you want to add lace on it as well. I used seed beads on top from an old chunky bracelet.

The ice cream bucket’s lid will be used as the platform or lampshade base. I painted the surface of the base with platinum nail polish that I already have. It was cheap anyway and it seemed more like a paint to me. I still couldn’t get it off my nails with an acetone. I left the side of the base as it is. The bronze zebra pattern on my craft paper matches the bronze colored lid.

The tip or the lid of the Issey Miyake L’Eau D’Issey perfume bottle is shaped like a ball. The material is metallic. So what I did is that, I secured the square shaped lid of of Burberry Brit Sheer on the center, inside top of the lampshade. The lid has a circular crevice made for the spray control mechanism so that’s where the tip of the Issey Miyake will lock into place.

If you want a taller and slimmer lampshade, you can put an old disc (CD) at the opening of the lampshade, then stick the tip of the Issey Miyake perfume inside the hole of that CD. That itself secures it.

DIY Double-Purpose Vanity Lampshade Tall Version

This project gives a new twist to your old perfume bottles. You can re-purpose or reuse those perfume bottles that will also serve as a decor on your vanity table. You can also put this beside your vanity mirror in the bathroom. You can spray this perfume as soon as you get off the shower. It’s just within your reach. I, personally, will put this in my bathroom.

I’ve only spent 60 pesos or around 70 US cents for this project. With that kind of price, I can simply say I didn’t spend anything at all. I have only used 15% of the craft paper and I used just half of the pearl beads. So let’s say, I’ve only spent 20 pesos or around 40 US cents.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this project. I’d also love to see your creation if you decided to give this project a try! Please send me an e-mail at cherrey_westlife@yahoo.com using the title of this blog as an e-mail subject.

By the way, if I finally add light to finish this project off, I’ll soon update you all!

Anti-Hair Fall Product Review: Rejoice Shampoo and Sunsilk Conditioner

Posted by eclectic-me on March 1st, 2012

I’ve been getting really worried with the hair fall-outs that I’m experiencing. The last six months had some bothering effects that sometimes I imagined the worst; going bald.

To Know the Causes of Hair Loss - click here

I’ve used numerous local brands that claimed to lessen hair falls, but nothing had been really that effective. If I remember, Pantene did seem to minimize hair fall for awhile but it wasn’t able to maintain that wonder.

With my recent drugstore haul, I was able to buy two local products showcased in Metro Ayala beauty and body care section. Rejoice Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo and Sunsilk Co-Creations Hair Fall Solution.

Rejoice Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo and Sunsilk Co-Creations Hair Fall Solution

Rejoice Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo

I decided to make this review because I think I finally found an anti-hair fall product that works. During my first use of this product, I did notice the lesser hair strands resting on my skin when I take a bath. It didn’t seem to be that way every time I bathe before.

The best time to test this product’s effectiveness is when I brush my wet hair. Normally, I get bothering amount of strands in my comb even though I’m using the hair doctor comb. But this time, the amount of hair falling out has finally lessen. Thank goodness!

Other than its anti-hair fall qualities, this certain Rejoice shampoo helps your hair become tangle-free. It moisturizes the hair almost the same way that a conditioner does. I think all Rejoice shampoo does it for me. Sometimes, I skip the conditioner every other day because having both can sometimes make my hair become more oily than the usual. In fact, when you use the Rejoice shampoo, you no longer need a conditioner.

Sunsilk Co-Creations Hair Fall Solution Conditioner

I am not so fond of Sunsilk’s shampoo because I find them to cause my hair to break and become brittle. I, however, decided to give this conditioner a try. I think, conditioners and shampoos don’t necessarily have the same formula.

It’s kind of hard for me to tell if this conditioner works or it is the Rejoice shampoo that might be in the works. I use Rejoice shampoo all the time because I need to remove the oiliness the shampoo itself gives me throughout the day, and for that reason I am not able to use the Sunsilk conditioner without the Rejoice shampoo.

At least, this conditioner is not causing me to get annoyed with Sunsilk again.

By the way, I’m not paid to write this review. And I don’t know if Rejoice or Sunsilk use online reviews for marketing anyway. I just think that I need to share this for those people especially women who have been experiencing hair fall problem that doesn’t seem to have a solution.

If anyone of you has tried Rejoice Anti-Hair Fall Shampoo and Sunsilk Co-Creations Hair Fall Solution, please let me know how it worked for you or how it didn’t. If you have tried other anti-hair fall products that worked for you, kindly share them as well.

Messy Sock Bun Tutorial

Posted by eclectic-me on February 21st, 2012

I had gotten tired of wearing ponytail and my usual bun. I recently learned about sock bun and tried it out first thing for my errand today.

Messy Sock Bun

All you need for this hairstyle is a hair tie and a sock. For the sock, you simply just had to cut-off the toe part of it. See the illustration below.

sock for sock bun hairstyle

For shorter hair you may want to use a thick cotton sock for a fuller bun. Mine is so thin which is good enough since I really have long hair.

To start:

Without combing your hair and by just using your fingers, tie your hair into a ponytail. You can have it high or low whichever way you prefer. Mine is just mid-high.
Roll your sock into a donut shape.
Place the sock around at the end of the ponytail.
Divide and tug the hair at the ends around the sock.
Roll the sock down along with the hair. Don’t worry if those strands of hair doesn’t seem to hold, just keep rolling it down. You’ll notice the bun gets tighter and sturdier until it meets the start of the ponytail on your head.
If extra strands of hair keeps jutting out, then you’ll need bobby pins to keep them in place. Otherwise, you’re done.

Messy Sock Bun

Messy Sock Bun Up Close

If you can’t understand why I consider this messy when it doesn’t seem to be that all messy, it’s because there really is a perfect sock bun like here in The Perfect Bun.

A messy sock bun is perfect for malling or casual dates with friends.

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Night On Top, Mr. A Restaurant and Blu Bar Marco Polo Hotel

Posted by eclectic-me on February 19th, 2012

It had always been a tradition among my friends to wind up and hang out during weekends. It’s the only day in the week that everybody is in their days off, or at least everybody will be able to get-together.

I’ve known Mr. A Restaurant way back when I was in college. It’s under the same management with that now defunct El Garaje. Anyway, I’ve been to Mr. A Restaurant twice when I was in college. It was only until last year that I was able to dine there again. Last night was the second night I’ve reconnected with this place.

The place is overlooking the city. It’s a great dining place for tourists or for someone who would like to impress their dates in a budget.

overlooking candle-lit dinner in Mr.A

The food isn’t expensive at all. It’s just the same price as Chikaan’s, STK, Golden Cowrie, etc. They serve equally the same kind of food. Don’t expect anything as exquisite as Italian or Spanish cuisine.

Candle-Lit Dinner at Mr. A, Busay

If you want light food or if you just want to chill and relax, Mr. A has a separate cafe beside their parking lot.

Twilight time at Mr. A, Busay (before dinner)

Mr. A is located in Brgy. Busay. To go there, you can hire a taxi or ‘haba-habal’ (motorcycle) in JY Square, Lahug.

Part of our friends’ tradition is going to hit the mic or a bar every after dinner. Doing just that, we decided to try Marco Polo’s Blu Bar located at their penthouse. Marco Polo is located in Nivel Hills, just a 2-minute drive down from Mr. A.

Blu Bar Marco Polo Hotel, Nivel Hills, Lahug

Blu Bar is located in the rooftop so most of it is an open area. You can really feel the chill of the night. The entire bar is protected by glass panels so that guests can still enjoy the overlooking view without the risk of falling off the building.

city lights w/ Blu Bar's reflection... an intimate after-party with friends couldn't be more 'chillaxing' than this..

Let’s get to the price once and for all. We were kind of nervous when walked in especially when we noticed that almost all the diners were foreigners, so our head just flashed neon with ‘dollars! dollars!’ And we saw the menu at the entrance that had P1,000++ but there was no going back. We found ourselves seated and been handout with individual menus. And God how relieved we all were! It isn’t pricey at all. If you had been to Y.O.U bar, they almost had the same prices for cocktails and pica-pica. I would prefer Marco Polo if you really wanted to just ‘chill’ compared to the smell of cigarette and rowdiness in Y.O.U.

Blu Bar Marco Polo Cebu - Margarita, Gin Tonic, Black Russian

We were given two complimentary servings of cashew nuts for that night for our 2 sets of orders.

My friends and I now think we found our McLaren’s!

DIY Project: Dress That Skirt, Brown Empress Dress

Posted by eclectic-me on February 13th, 2012

Last 2011, I decided to de-clutter my closet and dispose my old clothing. I really didn’t want to let go of those ones which I think were pretty fabulous considering the price I had to pay for them. I hardly ever had a shirt, dress or blouse that costs over 300-400 pesos or $6-8 (yes that’s how stingy I am) so it wasn’t the lofty price that was keeping me from letting them go. In fact, it was the other way around for me. I consider the most fabulous yet the cheapest clothing that I had to spend on as my best items. I take pride in getting fabulous clothing pieces in bargain prices. Not a lot of people had the knack for those things, nor had an interest for those things. For others, the pricier the better.

The visualization of the design to guide me with the project.

So much of those babbles, let’s get on with the whole she-bang. So I had this brown, chiffon skirt that I purchased when I was still working in a call center. I loved wearing flowy skirts, cami tops with cardigan over it to work. This brown skirt seemed outdated and I couldn’t find an occasion or event where I could wear them again. Getting rid of them crossed my mind until I decided to just turn them into something else.

For this project, I just relied on my hands and imagination alone. The sewing was done by hand. I, unfortunately, don’t own a sewing machine.

My work area, tools and sketch.

Sketching the design is very important. This will help you keep track of the measurements and the design itself.

Finished upper back part of the dress with the zipper

Attaching the first half of the front piece of the dress.

I started this project last March 21, 2011. I have only spent a single night to start it and spent another night at December 15, 2011 to finish it. So I actually spent just a couple of days to finish this project. I know, it took me nine months to get started with the second half.

I really thought I wouldn’t be able to wear this dress. In my first attempt, the dress got stuck halfway when I had both my hands up with my head inside the upper part of the dress. I was struggling to get out because I couldn’t get half my body out nor get the dress all the way down. That was really a struggle until I had someone pull the dress up for me.

I tried it the second time when I realized I had nothing to wear for a Filipiniana themed party. The dress I just made was perfect! I had even thought of making the left-over abaca-like fiber into a shawl, but I had no time to sew the edges. I finally got myself in the dress by just a little help in tugging the dress all the way down. It just fits perfectly and I could still breathe, thank goodness!

The neckline was so low that it caved out and had gotten too revealing. Unfortunately again, I had no black tube top, and I couldn’t find my black cami top so I came up with an ingenious idea to cut a black leggings that I already own and use the piece where the hips should be as the tube top.

Me wearing the Brown Empress Dress in a Filipiniana themed party of Flaminia Realty

I have another chiffon skirt in flush pink that I’m planning to work on for the next DIY Project: Dress That Skirt. Below is my visualization.

My next DIY Project

Please let me know what you think of this project and don’t forget to share if you have created something of this sort. If you have DIY Projects that you’d like to share, please feel free. I’d like to see them!

“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

A Day Aboard MV Logos Hope, The Largest Floating Book Fair

Posted by eclectic-me on February 12th, 2012

"Life is a journey. We're all going somewhere, but where are we going?" - MV Logos Hope

My friends and I managed to spend the rest of the January 23rd afternoon inside MV Logos Hope, the largest floating book fair. MV Logos hope dropped its anchor and currently gracing the port of Cebu just behind the Malacañang of Cebu. The Logos Hope community of 400 unpaid volunteers from over 45 different countries lives and works together for one purpose – to bring knowledge, help and hope to the people of the world.

MV Logos Hope - a long line of hopefuls

With just 25 pesos entrance for each person, we were able to bargain for books, witness the crowd of book-loving people and tour the important areas of the ship.

We were given booklets at the entrance

As soon as we entered the ship, we were summoned to watch a 2-minute video about the ship. Then we were ready to hit the books!

MV Logos Hope Book Fair

if I hadn't gone over this pic to show you what I bought, I wouldn't know what I missed to get! Look at the books behind me, NANCY DREW!!! I didn't know there were Nancy Drew books at all until NOW!!! I might had to go back and get those!!

chow time in MV Logos International Cafe

We got to tour the important areas of the ship with the help of one of the unpaid volunteers named Evelyn Schroder from Paraguay. We were told that we can request any of those volunteers wearing a blue shirt for a tour around the ship, she happily obliged our request.

MV Logos - (left: on deck, right: bridge)

We learned that the volunteers admitted to the ship must all have the will to spread the word of God. You can think of them as missionaries. She said that they all have different religion but they simply just had to live by the fundamental teachings of Jesus and share those teachings to everybody. She mentioned that it’s not about telling people what’s NOT to do but showing them what to do by leading the best examples.

MV Logos - Evelyn Schroder and my friends April and VJ

We learned a lot of things from Evelyn. We talked about a limited and almost impossible entry to Muslim countries. She also told us the fate of the much older MV Duolos which is rusting away in a dry dock at Singapore.

MV Logos Hope will stay in Cebu until today, February 12. It is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.

An entrance ticket is sold for P20, but children under 12 years old can enter for free. After Cebu, Logos Hope will visit Manila and Subic Bay.

My MV Logos purchase: The Big Book of BBQ and Just 10 Minutes Cookbooks

Whatchamacallit? Oated and Coated Hotdog Bread Roll

Posted by eclectic-me on January 13th, 2012

I haven’t gone out from the house for 10 days. Tonight I finally gathered myself together and went out to buy some bread and egg for this recipe. I haven’t eaten my dinner and there isn’t any rice left, so this easy recipe is what I decided to make.

: Oated and Coated Hotdog Bread Roll - finally cooked!

Oated and Coated Hotdog Bread Roll - fresh and without coating

Oated and Coated Hotdog Bread Roll - with the exquisite coating

Ingredients:

3 pcs medium-sized hotdogs
cheese
6 pcs of sliced loaf bread
1 egg
1 cup Japanese bread crumbs
2 tbsp Crispy Fry breading mix
1 tsp cheese powder
4 tbsp unflavored oats
1 tsp dried basil
frying oil

Directions:

Remove the brownish outer portion of the bread because that will keep your bread from flattening out entirely.
Flatten out the bread. I used a drinking glass to flatten it. If you have a rolling pin, that’s a whole lot better. Set aside.
Cook 3 pcs of hotdogs in the oven. I used an oven toaster. Once cooked, cut hotdogs in half.
Cut cheese into half inch sticks by not exceeding with that of the width of the sliced bread.
Put the cheese and hotdog on top of the bread parallel to its width. Then roll them snugly together. Don’t put too much force just to make it tight so that the bread won’t tear apart.
Beat egg in a bowl. Set aside.
Mix breadcrumbs, Crispy Fry, cheese powder, oats and dried basil in a shallow and wide container. Set aside.
Soak fresh rolls in egg and coat them with the mixture in #7.
In a frying pan, pour generous amount of oil then put in low heat.
Once oil is hot enough, put the rolls gently. It usually just takes 3-10 seconds for it to turn brown. Watch over it closely.
Put freshly cooked rolls on a plate with tissue to absorb the excess oil.

If you don’t have hotdogs, you can use ham instead. You can also use tuna with mayonnaise instead of hotdogs or ham and cheese.

I’m glad that I’ve actually decided to use the Crispy Fries and cheese powder, without them the coating may be a bit bland. I love the oatmeal coating. It makes the bite more enjoyable!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Chops Recipe

Posted by eclectic-me on January 12th, 2012

I decided to finally put this recipe up in this blog because a lot of people have already been asking for it. I think today’s the best time to do it before laziness and procrastination take a toll on me.

Cordon Bleu Chops

Ingredients:

2 pcs of whole chicken breasts
ham
Quickmelt cheese
1 pack of Japanese bread crumbs
1 cup flour
3 pcs whole egg
McCormick’s dried basil (optional)
4 tbsp. olive oil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
vegetable oil for a deep-fry

Directions:

Cut chicken breasts as thin as you possibly can, it’ll be easier to roll and fold them nicely with the ham. Set aside.
In a separate container, mix olive oil, salt and pepper.
Mix # 2 with #1 (chicken breasts). You can use your hands to mix them well. Set aside.
Cut the cheese into sticks. The width should be half an inch and the length will be the longest width of the cut chicken breasts.
To make the rolls, place ham over a layer of chicken then place the cheese stick at the end of the ham then roll the same way that you would roll a pencil on a paper. Lock and secure the roll with a toothpick. Repeat the process with the other chicken, ham and cheese. Set aside.
For the breading, beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Set aside.
Place flour and bread crumbs in two separate plates.
Sprinkle a small amount of dried basil in the bread crumbs. Mix to evenly distribute.
Then we will now proceed with FEB process. That is to coat the rolls with Flour, Egg then Bread crumbs. Do the same process to the rest of the rolls.
In a medium-heat, put the rolls in a deep-fryer. Fry until golden brown.
Put napkins/tissues on the plate before you put the freshly cooked rolls to absorb the excess oil.
Cut all the rolls into smaller portion. Make a 1 and 1/2 inches of diagonal cut.
Plate and serve.

Just a trivia, Cordon Bleu is translated as “Blue Ribbon” in French. Cordon Bleu must not also be confused with a prestigious European cooking school. Although this dish is named in French, it is known to be an American innovation.

Mactan Oceantown, Cebu’s Next IT Park

Posted by eclectic-me on January 12th, 2012

Let me walk you through on how I stumbled upon this promising information. It’s just one of those weird things that leads to another.

I decided to play around with Google maps focused on Mactan so that I can get a clearer picture of how a couple of the properties that my friends and I had invested there are laid out in the island. I tried to familiarize myself with the roads going in and out the area of our respective places. I am also stoked that one of those subdivisions, Fleur de Ville Subdivision, is just 3 minutes away from the beach! Shangri-la Resort and Spa and Crimson Resort and Spa are the nearest to my area.

But anyway, to cut to the chase, I noticed a wide and well-paved road that looked like a half-opened zipper shaped like a letter ‘Y’ with an attractive rotunda in one of it’s fork ends; inside a vast spacious piece of land between Fleur de Ville Subdivision and the Shangri-la Resort and Spa complex. It’s labeled as Mactan Oceantown in Google Maps. I find it weird and interesting at the same time. There’s hardly anything in it so I was thinking, what’s will all that fuss. It took me another day to actually research about that area.

Mactan Oceantown, a future IT Hub?

Mactan Oceantown Information Technology Park and Commercial Complex will rise on a 25-hectare complex (a hectare bigger than Asiatown IT Park, Lahug) between Fleur de Ville Subdivision and Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa. It will have BPO offices, hotels, a convention center, commercial and retail centers, skills training center, recreational facilities and a transportation hub, all at the heart of the new growth center in the Visayas. The project will be home to high-tech offices, a retail center, residential villages, leisure facilities with a beach resort frontage to boot.

Megaworld Corp., one of the leading real estate developers in the country, and Oceantown Property for Mactan Newtown Center, signed an agreement with Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza. Mactan Newtown Center is a commercial development consisting of six buildings..

Mactan Newtown Center will probably rise here, near the rotunda or what also looks like the entrance to the park

Mactan Oceantown View from the Rotunda Main Entrance

Mactan Oceantown View from the Ocean - The entire Mactan Oceantown complex may include the land that snakes out to the ocean, between Shangri-La and Portofino Beach Resort, basing on this development plan.

The commercial site is located behind Mactan barangay hall and in front of Sto. Niño church. Megaworld Corp. vice president Jericho Go said they are applying for certification from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

He said their development will complement the existing Mactan Export Processing Zone (Mepz). Go said their site will house business process outsourcing companies and call center firms.

Radaza said the commercial development will prioritize hiring of Lapu-Lapu City residents. Oceantown Property vice president Virgilio Carsido said a substation will be build inside the Newtown center for the site’s power needs. (source: Inquirer)

Michael Dignos of the City Attorney’s Office said these investments bring Lapu-Lapu City closer to becoming an international gateway for business and tourism by 2020 as indicated in the Mactan Island Integrated Development Plan.

Below is a video of the site development plan prepared by MJF Scale Model for Megaworld Corporation.

I never really knew about this project during the harrowing months of making sure that I’d choose my future home wisely. I just cared about my budget and the track-record of the developer; not to also mention that I want a home near the airport for my future travels and near the beach to relax and unwind. And knowing that there is going to be an IT Park outside the comfort of the subdivision walls, is amazing! I know that Asiatown IT Park in Lahug isn’t the most relaxing place but it CAN be a good place to unwind. I’m not the most social and most outgoing person that you will ever meet but there is something in the BPO atmosphere that makes me feel a lot sociable. I am hoping this future development will just be as inviting as that of Asiatown IT Park.

Assuming and hoping that Obama’s House Bill 3696 or the US Call Center and Consumer Protection Act will not affect the BPO sector in the future, the Mactan Oceantown will surely open employment and business opportunities to Mactan residents.

There are only few articles written about Mactan Oceantown, so I need to gather more information to support the details I put in here. If you have more information or corrections, feel free to share it.

Spelunking and Zipline in Ugong Rock, Puerto Princesa

Posted by eclectic-me on December 15th, 2011

On our 4th day in Palawan, we were bound for Puerto Princesa Underground River. On our way there, our tour guide gave us an option to try Ugong Rock when she found out that it was open for that day. My friends and I were up to adventure so we decided to give it a try. I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy it because Ugong Rock wasn’t included in our itinerary nor was I even aware about such place existed.

at the base of Ugong Rock

From afar, Ugong Rock looked just like a mound of rock with specks of vegetation around it. It didn’t look so exciting from a distance. It was also located near a ricefield so who would’ve thought something spectacular was waiting for us.

We stayed for a few minutes inside a “kubo” with other tourists and foreigners. We were required to register our names. We also paid 450 for both spelunking and zipline. Then we went to another hut where we had to put on gloves and helmet. We were also given towels to wipe our sweat off for later.

my darling friends, the lovely couple Evz and Raymond

A passageway was carved at the base that opens a channel from and out to the other side. It’s 8ft-10ft stretch to the other side. You can actually see the light shining through the crevices at the top and also from the exit. It still amazes me how nature carved the sides of that channel.

The complicated part of spelunking was on our way to the top. We had to squeeze ourselves in small gaps, climb and push ourselves up. The gloves and helmet were really useful. This activity got us really perspiring. The face towel came in handy too!

curtain formation in Ugong Rock

my brother Voltaire and my friend April

There were exquisite rock formations inside Ugong Rock. We also were also told to tap on other formations so that we can hear a resonating hum, where “Ugong” got it’s name from.

my best buddies going up to the viewdeck

The only way down for tourists is to get on a zipline. A view deck was propped on top of Ugong Rock. That’s also where the zipline starts. You can also enjoy a 180 degree view of the other limestone formation including the view of Saint Paul Mountain where Puerto Princesa Underground River is located.

at the view deck of Ugong Rock

waiting for our turn

The zipline was steep so you’re really going down fast on to the other side. You’ll pass through a rice field on your way down. According to our guide, a dispute on the air space causes the zipline to be closed at times.

my bhessy on the zipline

Our van waited for us in the other side. Our perky tour guide got ahead of us in the zipline so that she could take our pictures while each of us were in it.

I enjoyed the spelunking a lot, and the zipline was quite fun. I’m glad we tried Ugong Rock. I think tourist should also include that in their itinerary.