Aethen

I am a very beach or outdoorsy person, but there’s one thing that excites me, a world-class tourist destination in my beloved hometown in Mindanao. Paraiso Verde Resort and Water Park has been teasing the public with the promise of a world-class resort and water park that will be the biggest in Mindanao and one of the best in the world. Paraiso Verde boasts of four exciting water attractions: Moby Wave Pool , the largest wave pool in Mindanao that features a giant water bucket; Adventura River Rapids which will take you on an adrenaline filled watery ride; Wiggles Kiddie Pool for your little ones; and Freestyle Swim Pool for no-frills swimming for fitness and recreation purposes. Sounds absolutely fun, right? Paraiso Verde spells pure fun for everyone. Paraiso Verde is now open to the public and is having regular events every week. This is one of the best barkada / family get-away for a big fun in Mindanao! My personal favorite among the water attractions is the wave ...

Fickle weather over the weekend. Bantayan Island with English friends A solitary shot - don't ask me why.

Skimboarding is cool and it hurts not that much since you got to fall in water or sand. Getting throated like sooooo would not convince me to put down this sport. I cannot even distinguish the last time I had a perfect ride. For I always got bruises…bloods! Baranggurangan tricks! LOL. Skimboarding at Puka Beach and Boracay Island I'm always amazed seeing friends raised up in waves and barrel. Gliding the roof and standing straight up with slight arch on their back. Like a little kid who happened to have a new toy, I set aside ...

I’ll be back to Malaysia again soon! I need to taste different curry more.   Petronas Tower Here are few reasons why I need to visit Malaysia again: You can haggle to get to the fabled “best price". Go to china town and enjoy bargaining! It has a good mix of westernization and the exotic east. You can smoke cuban cigars in the Havana Club. If I’ve read the laws correctly, the legality of Americans smoking cuban cigars even in foreign countries is questionable, but happily, they don’t check your passport when you smoke one. It’s inexpensive. Malaysia is Not So Great Because… Your freedom of speech is in question. Though you’re not likely to be hassled in any way by the authorities (they love tourists), I’d advise against doing your Che Guevara impersonation and loudly announcing your anti-establishment leanings. The taxi drivers will gouge you. This is a weak one, but I’m all out of bad things to say about Malaysia. Must places to go are Paneng and Kuala Lum...

  Last October 1, 2010, I attended the 2010 Blogfest.asia and was the only representative from the Philippines. It was held in one of the top tourism spot in Southeast Asia – Unesco Heritage Site, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. Blogfest.asia is a festival for bloggers in Asia. This is the region’s 2nd cross-border gathering for blogger community. Everyone was welcomed to join the festival and meet hundreds of bloggers from the neighborhood community. Participants were able to learn blogger / blogging activities in perspective countries / territories, and interact with key bloggers in Asia.   During the 3-day event, on the 2nd day, I gave a talk about Organising people in the cyber and real world (Room 11). I shared how Mindanao bloggers society and Soccksargen Bloggers Society were formed to promote the peace, understanding, and identity in Mindanao. The 3-day Blogfest.Asia ’2010 event program at-a-glance was consist of: one day Penang Familiarization Tour (1st Oct) one...

No doubt many have noticed that I’ve been on a blogging hiatus. Between attending to Global Xchange commitments and traveling and enjoying vacation, an overwhelming schedule, and taking some much needed time off -- blogging was put on hold for a while. Now, finally, I can see some light at the end of the tunnel after visiting the land of Big Ben. Couldn't ask for anything else. I’m sure to come back in London soon. I don’t want to bore you with blah blah adventures that I have had in the UK, so I hope the visuals below will serve its purpose :)

Oioi, everyone! Greetings from London! I'll be temporarily inactive in blogging for the next few months. I'll be updating this blog soon. I miss Pilipinas. I miss you all.

Global Xchange Team 107 A single butterfly flapping it wings can cause a hurricane half across the globe. This may sound poetic, or even implausible, but some volunteers of the Global Exchange Program (GXP) believe that they can help create that spark and start the fire burning for youth volunteerism in the Philippines and around the world. Putting the internet to good use, this year’s volunteers or Team 107 created the first ever GXP volunteers’ project dubbed as The Butterfly Effect Project. “We based this on the chaos theory. A single butterfly flapping its wings in this particular place can cause a hurricane. The same with this project, that no matter how small it is, this would ultimately make a difference for somebody, a group of people and ultimately for the world.,” explains 24-year-old GXP volunteer Anthony Ross Zuniga. GXP is a project of the Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) in partnership with the British Council Philippines. Participants do a three-month volunteer ...

I'll be back in the Philippines soon. I'm having a good time here in London Borough of Hounslow but I can't get online 24/7 so I might be not virtually present for few weeks. I miss rice, adobo, and talking in tagalog. STRESS! Sigh. See u soon all guys.

The Butterfly Effect Project- Global Xchange Team 107 It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway across the world. GX Team 107's campaign focuses on the power of small, seemingly inconsequential acts that, if properly situated, can bring about wide-ranging effects. There is no limit to how an individual can change the world. As the butterfly effect illustrates, it can begin with one flap, a single step, one act. It can begin with you.

Nine young Pinoys. Nine young British. Six months. Living and working together 24/7. Two countries. Outside your comfort zone. One life-changing experience. GX Team 107 (From left to right): Marvie from QC, Mike from Ilo-ilo, Trixie from Leyte, Karl from Cainta, JoEd from Ilo-ilo, Toni from here (LOL!), Josh from Legaspi, Aethen , April from Manila, Des from Manila, and KC from Pangasinan. Above are the young pinoys who will be representing the Philippines in this year Global Xchange Programme of British Council and VSO. I was fortunate to be part of the nine (9) young pinoys who will be sent to Hounslow, London as Youth ambassadors and volunteers . The programme has two phases: first phase will take place in London for three (3) months and another three (3) months will be in Cebu, Philippines. Each one of us will be having a British counterpart as buddy throughout the programme and each pair will be housed to a host home. As Joed said, the "Hunkslow" haha! The exchange wi...