Melancholik!: 2011

31.12.11

Trip to a Tropical Paradise: Philippe Tarsier

Visited a beautiful place in Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines-- Philippe Tarsier. It has a botanical garden, animal sanctuary, art museum, and cafe. We went on a tour around the area where we were shown around by our guide, May (who was a great guide), for just 300 pesos per person. Since we are locals, we get to pay lesser; for non-residents of Bohol it costs 500 pesos. I tell you, the fee is worth it. Not only will you feast on the beautiful sights of the place, you get to learn a lot of things the guide will be telling you along the way during the tour. The Philippe Tarsier has three areas-- Tarsier Botanika, Tarsier Exotika, and Tarsier Artistika. Tarsier Botanika is a lush garden with many species of plants and and animals found locally and from different parts of the world. Tarsier Exotika is the resort's very own cafe with a menu which specializes in European recipes, particularly French pastry and bread making. Tarsier Artistika is a gallery of Asian, European and African artworks ranging from tribal, classical and modern movements. A restaurant is to open soon which is overlooking the seascape of Panglao which will be called Tarsier Paprika. There is also an arena where you can go horseback riding. The Tarsier Boutik is the reception area cum boutique where you can choose from a variety of souvenir items and collectible trinkets.
One more thing, the service is excellent. The personnel are very courteous and polite. They will give you their warmest welcome with their best smiles and greetings.
The sights to see will get you leaving in awe with the eagerness to come visit again. Get your cameras ready, you won't stop clicking at every turn because it is a photographer's haven as well. This place is a must-go-to for locals and tourists alike. It will be an escape in a tropical paradise.

Tarsier Botanika

Tarsier Artistika

Tarsier Exotika

Tarsier Boutik

28.12.11

Half Frame Galore

Loving the half frame wonder of Superheadz, the Golden Half. This little guy doubles your shots so you'll have the pleasure of clicking away without having to worry too much about running out of shots after the 36th. When the film gets scanned you get a diptych; the photos would turn out nicely if you plan on what to shoot to have the two frames well paired. Another plus is it has a hotshoe, you can use whatever flash you want. In my case, I used my Holga mini flash. Here are a few of my shots:

21.12.11

Inked

After years of planning and wanting to get a tattoo, I have been inked just this morning at Black Rose Tattoo Shop by Dino Lezama (awesome artist, you should check him out). Since this was my first tattoo, I was not sure what to expect. I've been asking my sister and friend who had their share of ink and they said it was sorta painful like a blade cutting through your skin. Oh well, most of the time I over react (in a funny way at least). This led me to have mixed feelings but as soon as I sat there to get tattooed, everything was alright and tolerable. Considering my design was very simple and little and I, having a history of a few too many surgeries, knew it wouldn't hurt so much.

The design I had for my tattoo was a coffee stain turned bike wheel. Was looking around the net for bike wheel designs and came across one which suits me very well. What I had in mind was to get a very simple one which wouldn't catch too much attention but at the same time mean something to me. I wouldn't want to get a tattoo just for the heck of having one, I wanted it to be significant. I am so in love with coffee and I ride my bike a lot, and this design I found fitted perfectly. I integrated two of my loves in life and let it stay permanently on my skin.

Was glad to have my two friends around (Ia and Lyka) for moral support. Their company made those 40 minutes much more entertaining.

This was an awesome experience to have before this year ends. Will be planning for the next design, pretty pretty soon. And Melanie is finally inked.

12.12.11

Designs of the Heart

Weddings are not just a source of beautiful love stories, the set up and designs are too awesome to ignore. From vintage, garden, rustic, victorian, beach concepts, everything falls into place to make the ambiance as whimsical and enchanting as possible. Such are precisely inspirational that these could be suitable as excellent design ideas to be incorporated at home or other certain events. I came across greenweddingshoes.com and found absolutely admirable concepts and arrangements.

Moana... The sea is where my heart belongs

As a beach lover, I feel at home by the sand and salty water. When I have the time, I make sure to visit the sandy paradise. Thank God, I live in a place with beautiful white sand beaches.