How it started

Los Angeles,CA -- I wanted to cry when I saw Janice get off from the shuttle, more so when we met Risa 2 days before they left for Rio. I was so happy that the South Am plan pushed through (even though I'm not joining the girls..) We reminisced about how we actually came up with South America. I was personally asked a couple of times why we decided on South Am. I'd always tell them that it's because of a Swiss couple we met in Sagada--Jean-Philippe & Caroline.

Later on, while talking about learning the salsa and waiting for Justine at her surprise despedida, Risa looked at me and asked, "alam mo ba yung blog?" We were thinking of the same thing but didn't know how to start. Then we met Sparklemind, and "mypseudobackpack" was born.

While the girls are enjoying their adventure, I'm hooked on the Travel Channel, taking down notes on food, people & places, and planning on where we can take Lucas. I think I'll let Lucas explore South America by himself when he grows up =)

Any suggestions for baby- friendly places? Please spare Disneyland!

first stop: L.A.

Lawndale, CA - after a 13 hour flight out of manila with a 20 kilo suitcase and a 40 liter backpack i arrived in LAX on may 25...exhausted. along with the USA men's volleyball team and a pack of japs headed for vegas, immigration inspector asked me the purpose of my visit (stopping over before rio de janeiro, sir) and customs officer asked me if i brought longganisa and balut (no, but i could bring you some next time). once out of the airport, i hurriedly took my supershuttle ride which joy so kindly booked. 20 minutes on the road and i was at joy's doorstep!

i had missed joy so much it felt surreal to be seeing her, this time with 6-week old lucas and hubby rico. twas great catching up on a year's worth of life stories.

risa and i spent our last day in L.A. with joy and her boys over breakfast at denny´s and animatedly planned our next big adventure: turkey/morroco/greece in april ´09.

first things first, though - vamos a sul america!

Pseudobackpackers Packing List (subtitle: I should be working but I choose to maintain my sanity by blogging about the essentials)

Suntec City, Singapore--On a recent trip home, Reese and I got last minute tips from my fabulous cousin Cely who backpacked around South America for almost 3 months after taking the bar exams. Here's her list of what to pack:

1. two pairs of pants - 1 pair of jeans and 1 pair of cargo pants or gauchos

2. 1 mini skirt

3. 4-5 tank tops (two of which must be black and white)

4. 3 tops for going out (ehem ehem)

5. all weather jacket with hoodie

6. 1 long sleeved top

7. 1 pair of sneakers/trainers

8. 1 pair of going out sandals

9. 1 pair of flip flops

10. gloves, scarf,extra socks (folks, Peru will be in the lows of 35 F when we get there)

11. photocopies of all travel documents


I have done some pre-packing of my own and would like to add the following essentials:

12. lock for backpack (be sure to get the TSA approved ones, i.e. the ones with a digital combination lock and the keyhole that can be opened with a standard international key)

13. money belt (to be worn inside jeans..not very fashionable but oh so essential)

14. universal plug

15. anti-mozzy repellant

16. bikini

17. camera and film of choice

Words of wisdom from Cely, if you have extra space, bring more tops for going out! Wise woman, that cousin of mine.

Any other suggestions? Less than two weeks to go!!

me, prepare for brazil?

Manila, PH -- joy, i am an obedient girl so i'm posting my list.

1. got immunization shots (hepa a, typhoid, flu). bawal magkasakit! tomorrow i'm getting yellow fever shots with manay jan. apparently you can only get these in manila at the bureau of quarantine. right, hasten? (we were teasing her that because of her tiny tidy island's requirements, she'll be the only one getting the shots & falling in line with livestock & such. look who has to go now.)

2. been somewhat faithful to my brazilian diet. brazilian diet: because i need money for brazil i can't go shopping or have lunch out! hopefully next year i'll be on a turkish diet. wink, wink.

3. looking for a good 55-liter up backpack. my sister the mountaineer is using hers daw. sigh. i don't want to blow $300 on something i can't wear/take pictures with.

4. brushing up on my portuguese/spanish. i'm not doing great, though. today i learned how to ask for food in a restaurant: "�tiene comida vegetariana?" jan, if i can't remember how to conjugate i'll leave all the talking to you...unless i decide to bring my 'wicked spanish' phrasebook (and we all know how useful that will be).

5. couchsurfing! i've hosted several people here but crashing a relative stranger's house will be quite a plunge for me and the girls. the people who are hosting us are mostly from the north zone of rio de janeiro. i've got their contact details on my notebook & i'm excited to be a part of their homes for a few days. will post on how this goes.

lomo above of mutch & me: in the justine tradition of posting photos that bear no relevance to the text. by eazy of lomomanila.

About Her Recovery

Harbor City, CA -- I was searching for a tunic dress online and looking for what's new in one of my favorite boutiques back home, I Love You Store, when I came across this site: www.aboutmyrecovery.com. Although the site was intended to be therapy for a mom's loss, i think it turned out to be a labor of love. It is inspiring (and you don't have to be a mom to be inspired by some of her entries), and informative as well.

Ladies, can you write something about how you are preparing for your South Am adventure?

Me & Mr (Kelly) Jones

Fort Canning, Singapore--It felt almost ILLEGAL to walk out of the office in jeans and a shirt but as I raced to the City Hall MRT to meet my mate Nat with Dakota blasting on my ipod, I knew it was going to be an amazing night. The boys definitely know how to put on a good show--they played a mix of old songs (traffic, hurry up and wait, i'm just looking, local boy in the photograph, the bartender and the thief, and of course dakota as encore) and tracks off their new album (bank holiday monday, pass the buck, it means nothing). I didn't know all the words to the songs (unlike Nat who reckons she was 16 when she started listening to a thousand trees) but every inch of me was feeling it. And when Kelly came on stage solo to do maybe tomorrow (used in the movie Crash), it was pure bliss. Everyone needs to go wild once in a while, to let loose, jump and wave your fists in the air. Hell, everyone should take off their shirts and rock in their bras. And this is Singapore, mind you. God bless the Welsh!

Dengue fever alert

Online, World Wide Web -- Justine has an update on Brasil: there’s a huge dengue outbreak in Rio de Janeiro. It’s a worrying turn of events as we’ll be South Am-bound in 4 weeks. On YM conference, Dr. Deets explains to us non-doctors (Reese, Jan & Hasten/Justine) how to prepare for dengue before and when we’re there. Here’s the edited version of our little medical convo (suffice to say that we digress a lot, hence the need for some snipping):

Hasten: How long do these things last?

Deets: Uhmmm…years?

Hasten: 96 dead, 96 more suspected deaths. Crap.

Hasten: Bloody hell! Years?

Deets: Well, depends on their climate. The mosquitoes usually come out after the rainy season.

Jan: Now I’m really scared. Are there anti-dengue shots?

Hasten: I need to get yellow fever shots or else the Sing government won’t let me back in

Reese: That could turn out for the best.

Hasten: Reese is also setting up typhoid and hepatitis shots for me…Jan if you haven’t had these, let’s go together when I go home on the 17^th.

Reese: Jan if Dr. Kitts is away can we ask Manay to do it?

Jan: I hear the hepa shots should’ve been taken months ago

Hasten: Better late than never?

Jan: Ok I’ll schedule it with my sister.

Hasten: Jan ask Manay if we can do yellow fever, typhoid, and hepa all together and how much please.

Reese: Deets how about malaria shots?

Hasten: The thought is making me queasy.

Jan: Surely teets! There’s anti-flu as well in case you’re interested

Reese: My dad got anti-cholera. Syrup lang.

Deets: For malaria you just drink the anti-malarial drug. For hepa you get a vaccine if your titers are low. There’s no anti-dengue.

Hasten: Titers??

Jan: I’m really scared about dengue. Seriously! Mosquitoes tend to gravitate towards me.

Hasten: I don’t think I want to go to Brasil if the outbreak is serious pa in June. S***t but our tickets are non-refundable. And so are my NY tix! So dengue, please go away!

Deets: Just put a lot of mosquito repellent.

Hasten: Seriously? With an outbreak that has killed 200 people?

Deets: We had more deaths than that during the outbreak in the Philippines, but it didn’t affect you, right? They don’t give you the demographics of those who died. They’re probably those with no access to medical care.

Jan: Ah ok. That’s comforting! Thanks, Deets. What precautions should we take besides Off Lotion?

Deets: Wear protection – pants, long-sleeved blouses.

Jan: I guess we won’t be getting a tan at Ipanema too often!

Deets: Maybe we can get a travel advisory, like where exactly in Rio are the outbreaks so we can avoid those places.

Hasten: Plus the Sing government is really strict. They may restrict travel to Brasil. And I don’t want to be quarantined when I get back!

*** end of medical talk***

So Dr. Deets, what are titers?

My Baby is Here!

Harbor City, CA -- Here are the first few things that I did after Rico and I were told by my obstetrician that our baby is coming.
1) Shave my legs
2) Exfoliate
3) Plucked my eyebrows
4) Charged the camera
5) Pray
6) Try to stop giggling with excitement
38 weeks, few Tums, 40 -something pounds and tubes of anti-stretch marks later, my Lucas finally arrived.

I had to stay for a few days in the hospital so when the baby was asleep, there was pretty much time for "his pictorials"



If you'll ask me, "Was it all worth the time, pain, the drama and losing a South Am adventure with my fellow pseudobackpackers?" After seeing him all I can say is "Yes, it is." After all, training a little traveller sounds fun. =)

To the Man Who Has Everything...

And by everything, we mean good friends, great artistic pursuits, tons of good music, a mysterious-but-blossoming love life, all the toy cameras in the world and of course, Rock Band!

Happy Birthday, Sparklemind!

Year one of hanging out with you. Here's to more of those!

Live from New Jersey...

It's "Ditas Turns 28!"






With performances from all over, including Nada Surf, DMB, and Justine's favorite singer, Nyoy!

Happy Birthday, Deets! You've come a long way from your no- social security- days!

One round on us when we're all together in June. Have a crazy birthday weekend adventure ;)

* note: your song should be 'blankest year' - oh f**** it, i'm gonna have a party!

* all photos from sparklemind

Hello Baby!

an 11pm text message from Joy says:

"Hi! I gave birth last April 10 to a healthy, goodlooking, 7 lbs. 7 oz. baby boy. His name is Lucas Michael. ;) "


Welcome to Earth, Baby Lucas! Hope to see you and your beautiful mommy soon.

a lo-fi summer

summer days - phoenix

Manila, PH -- why, hello global warming! the long, hot summer on these islands has just begun. make that a long, hot, lo-fi summer. here's a preview of the next lofi issue from lomomanila, complete with soundtrack.

so nice (summer samba) - bebel gilberto

feel flows - beach boys

what i wouldn't give right now to watch bebel gilberto live, on the beach, with a cold one in my hand...

* thanks for the lomos + music, sparklemind

in this blue shade

The Huntington, Singapore-- Music for those days when you just have to wallow (but refuse to play anything that wails, drags, or just plain stretches on forever):

1. tears dry on their own - amy winehouse
2. dakota - stereophonics
3. when your mind's made up - glen hansard & marketa irglova
4. if i had eyes - jack johnson

5. feel like a woman - mary j. blige

as amy says, we should just be our own best friends. not f***ourselves in the head with stupid men.

wallowing: check.

*lomo by reese

Didn't your momma ever tell you not to go skinny-dipping

Kata Beach, Phuket -- Independence and lovely girlfriends aside, I was determined not to spend my birthday in the tidy island of Singapore. Good girlfriend and constant Sunday date Rach to the rescue, and my Phuket birthday weekend was born. The plan: a relaxing weekend of sun, swim-up bars, eight hours of sleep, good food and good wine. Just what the doctor ordered.

Day 1: We were bumped off our 8am flight and got transferred to a different airline, at a different terminal, 5 hours later. I am never flying Tiger again. I was "taking things in stride" when someone bumped into Rach's suitcase and crashed our two bottles of red wine. SGD 100 down the drain. Deep breaths, Justine. We finally arrive at the Sugar Palm Resort & Spa which was every bit the boutique hotel I had hoped for (3,000THB/night/with breakfast). Things are looking up. Trudged to Patong for a fabulous Thai dinner (over ordered and overate, of course) and wandered around for a bar to party at. No such luck. Isn't this party central? Images of Clarke Quay come streaming in. Uh oh.

Day 2: We head off to the beach bright and early after brekkie and realise--everyone on the planet had the same idea! For those of you who have read that Kata is the less touristy area of Patong, you are sorely mistaken. Sigh. But alas the sun is out and we plop onto a pair of beach chairs (30THB/day). Aaah this is the life, time for some Chico Barque. Convinced that I'm sufficiently tan (insert Chit's voice reminding me not to get too dark), we head back to the hotel for our hot stone massages. Just add a cute boy and this could be heaven.

Birthday eve: Anyone going on holiday in Kata shouldn't pass up the chance to eat at Mom Tri's Boathouse. Dinner was wonderful - scallops, fish, and creme brulee for dessert (hey no one said you could only have a birthday CAKE!). Expensive but worth it (SGD100/head/appetizers/entree/wine). It doesn't hurt that they sang for me and gave us 7 roses! After dinner highlights include: a shabby reggae beach bar, strangers getting up to dance with us (they probably got sick of watching two poor girls dancing by themselves), a whole bar singing happy birthday (to me!), fun Aussie chicks Jem and Julie, swinging 60 year olds from Jersey (the country), cute Jap boy with a penchant for posing, (cute) German birthday boy Max, a Chelsea futbol jersey, and an incident responsible for the title of this post. Boys and girls, listen to your momma and if after a bottle of vino, a couple of margaritas and five or so vodka seven-ups you can't, leave your valuables within arm's reach. Otherwise, the first voice you'll hear on the other end of a telephone line wishing you a happy birthday is a Citibank stolen card hotline operator--"Oh, happy birthday Ma'am." Indeed.

So that's it, I'm officially (gasp!) 29. Neither here nor there but definitely getting somewhere. Tough but will turn to a hopeless schmuck from time to time. Surrounded by good friends but missing the old ones dearly (biggest thanks to bestest girlfriends Bon, Rochie and Reese for sending love across the miles). Happy but wanting more. Living my life but wouldn't mind sharing it. In the meantime, as Reese so wisely reminds me, enjoying the moments. Like the ones involving kissing in the rain.

we're on a roll

Manila, PH -- happy birthday, jan! feliz aniversario coisa mais linda! shake your bunda today, alright? alraaaayt! ;)

happy birthday hasten!

Manila, PH -- * insert greeting from imp named migs *


from your naughty little nephew & everyone else, have a good birthday week! post on your celebratory beach escape ;)

pinoy postsecret valentine

Manila, PH -- it's always amusing how we pinoys can be such an open, confess-all culture. we display in the most public spaces our deepest longings, all sorts of unsolicited advice, and cryptic messages. all this, long before the postsecret craze.

take this shot of a public bus plying manila's osmeña highway:

was this just some space filler or a heartfelt plea? that's your post-valentine mystery for the day.

* another winner is what my friend recently saw printed on a jeepney mudguard: "I never said it would be easy, but it would be worth it."

yebba.

a guy, a girl & a demo

a little gem that kept me company last night.

don't watch this low-budget film unless you: a) love music, b) find beauty in heartache, or c) like pulling your broken vacuum cleaner down the streets of dublin.

glen hansard of the frames is my hero.

My NY in NY (New Year in New York)

Manhattan, NY -- I just have to share this picture.


Hahaha. Somehow, I was the only one who found this amusing. Everyone else was waiting for the crystal ball to drop. Duh...

Happy New Year!

musings by the beach

the future's looking bright ..i gotta wear shades

Batangas, PH -- a quick recap of the road trip with hasten (a.k.a. justine) last new year's day. we met up with a bunch of friends at high street for some post new year's eve drinking and chika. we bumped into friends from college and law school and met some new people. before we knew it, it was almost 6am and we had to leave to start our new year's day right - at the beach.

we had such weird weather - sunny, rainy, gloomy, bright - all in one afternoon. while desperately trying to get a tan we edited our "before we hit 30 must- do list," had a recap of the past year's (mis)adventures , and decided to make a toast for 2008:

to embracing the unexpected and to building things that last

that's partly based on our collective histories. raise your hand if you can relate.

'til next new year's road trip, hasten! hopefully it'll be with the girls. your turn to drive ;)