TNT Travel Edinburgh

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Ody

Aside from the city’s beauty (even when it rained!), Edinburgh is memorable to me because I got to TNT, or Try New Things there! 🙂

While I do ~~enjoy~~ appreciate alcohol, I have never tried Scotch Whisky. Thanks to Mad Men, the drink looked sophisticated in my eyes and made me fantasize about offering Scotch to anyone who would visit me in my office. What better place to try Scotch than its origin? After hiking to the Edinburgh Castle, I went on a Scotch Whisky Experience to know more about the whisky making process, the regions where Scotch is made, and to taste-test.

The Barrel Ride is similar to theme park rides, but instead of little dolls singing “It’s a Small World”, there’s a ghost that takes you through the entire process of Scotch Whisky production.

After the tour, a Scotch expert introduces the different aromas and the different regions where Scotch comes from. To determine which aroma you prefer, there are scratch-and-sniff cards. From the regions of Highlands (there can only be one!), Lowland, Islay and Speyside, I chose the Lowland because of its fruity, fresh and citrusy aroma.

I chose wrongly. Haha. While citrusy is perfect for my mojitos, caipirinhas and gin fizzes, I didn’t quite like it in my Scotch. As it is the most light-bodied Scotch, it is usually preferred by beginners though. Maybe I should have gone with the Highlands with its sweetness with a touch of smoke. Oh well, that leaves more room for experimentation in finding my Scotch. When that day comes, you’ll see me swirling Scotch in a nice little low glass and sipping it slowly before I offer you a drink.

My favorite part of the tour was seeing the world’s largest collection of Scotch Whisky. The collection belongs to Mr. Claive Vidiz, who started collecting in the 1970s and has amassed almost 3,400 bottles!

The bottles range from the old…

the royal …

and the quirky. Yes, that’s Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster!

Okay now this is was my absolutely my favorite new thing I got to try in Edinburgh. Sometimes I still daydream about it.

The deep-fried Mars bar.

OMG. Look at it. It doesn’t look as pretty or special as other sweets like cupcakes and macarons, but it’s heaven.

Deep-fried in batter, the Mars bar is warm and gooey. When you bite in, the chocolate, caramel and nougat melt together and swirl in your mouth. It’s the best. This is coming from someone who doesn’t even prefer regular Mars bars over, say, Milky Way or Twix. I ❤ you, deep-fried Mars bar.

where the magic began

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Ody

During our trip to Edinburgh in Scotland in October, my friend Elki and I scored with the location of our hotel. Hotel du Vin is charming, cozy, and near everything. Admittedly, it wasn’t easy lugging our suitcases uphill, but it was worth it. We were a little creeped out to find out that it was also near the cemetery where we took a Haunted Graveyard Tour. While walking around to acquaint ourselves with the area, we passed a coffee shop named The Elephant House with a sign saying it’s Harry Potter’s birthplace and wondered what that could be about. Hours later, I remembered that J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter in a coffee shop in Scotland. (When I was still a student, my friends and I would ask each other trivia questions about Harry and J.K. – such geeks!) We figured it must be a really popular tourist spot, so when we passed by it at night and there was no queue, we took advantage and went in. All tables were taken, but luckily there were some free seats at the bar.

The café has a certain enchanting and comfortable vibe – a personality that lacks in the run-of-the-mill coffee chains that we see so often nowadays. No baristas shouting your name (or made-up coffee house names) across the room, and no fancy synonyms for small, medium, large. I really loved Elephant House’s assortment of teas. I ordered tea and Malteser cake made of Maltesers, caramel and shortbread. If I could, I would only eat Malteser-everything. So good. Perfect for ending a cold, rainy evening.

Unfortunately, I did not get any magical, best-selling idea for a book while there, but I did get to sneak a pic of me pretending to think while having tea.

The Elephant House
21 George IV Bridge
Edinburgh EH1 1EN
Tel. 0131-220-5355
Fax. 0131-220-4272
contact@elephanthouse.biz

travel accessories wish list + charity

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Ody

FEED Backpack, $75
This adventure-ready backpack provides 75 school meals.

FEED Health Backpack, $130
For each FEED Health backpack sold, FEED will donate an identical backpack to a Community Health Worker (CHW) working in a Millennium Village in Africa.

FEED Function Bag, $100
This functional and stylish bag provides 100 meals, and is Jessica Alba-approved!

FEED Philippines T-Shirt, $33
A purchase of this t-shirt provides 10 emergency meals to children and families in the Philippines affected by typhoon Haiyan.

I have never witnessed so many individuals, organizations, companies, groups, and countries unite for one cause. The help and the compassion that the Philippines has received after typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda struck has been extremely overwhelming, heart-warming, and inspiring. A few days after crying in front of the TV every time we watched CNN’s coverage of the typhoon, my friend Apa asked me if I wanted to sing on the street to raise funds for typhoon victims, since I like to sing in public. I thought she was joking, but when she assured me that she wasn’t, I said yes. With all odds against us – we received our street performance permit just a few days before the performance, we had no sound system, not much time, no rehearsals, minors as dancers, rain and cold weather – we went ahead and sang and (they) danced in the rain. My knees were shaking because it was too cold, it was hard to move, and I didn’t wear gloves because I painted my nails in the colors of the Philippine flag (I am detail-oriented, okay), but I kept thinking that it was just rain; it’s nothing compared to a super typhoon. It was strange seeing people stop, listen and stay, and it was amazing to see them actually dropping money in the donation box. We are truly grateful for the people’s generosity – in those two hours, we were able to raise €675 (that’s PhP 40,000!). The proceeds went to the Austrian Red Cross who provide food, clean water, medicine, hygiene kits, body bags and emergency shelter in the affected areas.

Oslo Photo Diary

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Ody

One of the amazing things about Oslo is how walkable the city is. On the map of a foreign city, places tend to look large and attractions far away from each other, but a quick visit to Google Maps, would reveal an estimate of travel time in minutes, and how close some places realistically are. Thank you, modern technology. (On the flipside, one time Google Maps told us a restaurant was a 4-minute walk away from us, when we actually just had to cross the street in a few seconds. It’s always best to use your eyes, no?) Everything was just so close. My friend Joahnna and I aren’t exactly gym rats, but all the walking during trips is the best and only cardio that we need. We were walking with a purpose, walking to explore a new place, walking to find inspiration.

I have no idea who this woman is, but she seems really happy, and I want to be like that every day. Or if I live to be a legend and someone would build a bronze statue of me, I’d want it to exude as much happiness as her, although maybe not as ladylike.

Simple, but beautiful Scandinavian packaging design.

Henrik Ibsen wearing a pop of color.

Stones and shadows on the Norwegian Parliament, right smack in the middle of the city.

Jo and I wanted to go on the river walk by torchlight, an annual event to celebrate the autumnal equinox, buuut we got lost. We saw the Oslo Opera House instead, and it’s a beauty at night. It was closed for a private function; I imagined how lovely it must have been to be inside.

Nobel Peace Prize winners

Norwegian beer to cap off a great trip

Go for the bronze: Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Ody

getting nauti-cal in Oslo

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Ody

Growing up in a city, I used to be a little envious of my friends who would visit their grandparents in the countryside during weekends. They had all these fun stories about gardens, dogs, hedgehogs, and apple-picking. When we finally moved to a province, I really missed the urban life. So it’s true, the grass really is greener on the other side. Now, however, I feel lucky to live in a quiet, but not remote part of a city, next to a river. The sunsets are beautiful, and the sunrises, however rare I experience them, cast a spectacular glow. I just love looking outside my window and seeing the Danube river. It makes me miss the Philippines and its seas a little less. That’s why any new destination with any kind of body of water really makes me happy.

I went to Oslo in late September and was so pleased with the cool, but sunny weather. Midsummer and its long days might have been over, but in the early evening the sun was still shining bright, ~~like a diamond~~ giving us so much more time to explore the city. As we walked past the Oslo City Hall, the refreshing view of the harbor said “hei” to us. And this view, well, it had me at “hei” *whispers* it had me at hei.

In other nautical news, we also went to the Viking Ship Museum, which, as a fan of the cartoon series Wickie und die starken Männer, fascinated me.

This is the Oseberg ship, a burial ship for two wealthy ladies who died in the year 834. Yes, 834.

If you’re a little lost, a trip to the self-help section could be beneficial.

sneak peek, huge guy

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Ody

Isn’t this man “inside” the Oslo Opera House super cool? I totally forgot about him until now that I reviewed the pictures from my trip last month. Looking back and discovering surprising details can be simply wonderful

Travel Accessories Wishlist

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Ody

I’m very excited to be going on three more trips soon – what a way to end the year, right? I’ll be spending the Christmas holidays with my family in the Philippines, where we have the longest Christmas season (September to beginning of January). I am really looking forward to the festivities, the warm weather, my parents, my brother, my granny, everything and ~~almost~~ everyone. My travel agent informed me that I have a whopping 40 kg baggage allowance (for which I’d have the perfect huge ass suitcase for), but have to use two suitcases for it. It’s not a problem; I’m grateful I’ve got wonderful people in my life who offered to let me borrow their suitcases. I am still dreaming of owning (but not buying) a very nice Rimowa trunk and went as far as holding one, pushing it around, looking at myself in the mirror with it. After seeing a beat-up silver Rimowa suitcase on the conveyor belt at the JFK airport, I was convinced that the price wasn’t worth it. But every time I see a Rimowa case, I just fall in love with it. Maybe I will own one that’s not in silver.

Other travel accessories I fantasize about?

1. Fujifilm Instax Mini 90

2. Minimergency Kit

Heiligenblut am Grossglockner

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Ody

Nothing like a coffee break with the freshest air and a magnificent view.

Land der Berge…

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Ody

Hey how YOU doin’? October has just started and I’m still mourning the end of summer. Mostly because the ice cream shops will close soon, if they haven’t done so already. Never mind that I was complaining about the heat ~~and the fact that I can’t wear shorts to work~~ most of the time. It’s just that despite the intense heat, this has been one of the best summers I’ve had. Turning 29 sure did me good! I went to fun concerts (some of them were free!) and festivals, visited Scandinavia, gone on weekend trips, watched a play, spent quality time with my friends and family. I might even call it an Instagram-able summer. Hashtag lame description.

One of those Instagram-able moments was our trip to Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria. Being my ever-so-unathletic self, I was happy that there was no climbing involved. My aunt, my uncle, and I were on the road before 7 AM, and with a pitstop for breakfast at around 8, we reached Grossglockner High Alpine Road by noon time. The timing was great because when we arrived, we had lunch on one of the benches, facing this amazing view:

The great thing is that even at 3,798m, a lot of bikers ride up the mountain! I really admire their fitness! I, on the other hand, got carsick from the zigzag road.

Oh hey there, groundhog!

Aside from the breathtaking panoramic view of the Austrian alps, the air is just the best. It seems weird to describe air as best, but it was just so pure, so fresh, so fragrant! So yes, it’s just the best air ever.