January 5, 2014. Sunday
Arrived in Manila with no hassle, met Jericho, my childhood friend, and proceeded to his place in Makati. He used to play for this band. Check out their video here.
We decided to have dinner at Rockwell Center nearby. A very nice place full of lights and good food. Plus the shopping is awesome.
Some local Philippine stickers to put on my surfboard back in Brunei.
Ripcurl Shop selling loads of surf wax. I bought some for a few months supply.
Surf Leashes.
Sector 9 Longboards.
Finally settled in a fine restaurant with assorted South Asian food.
Nasi Goreng with Satay. DELICIOUS!
January 6. 2014. Monday
Makati, Metro Manila.
Woke up early at 6 a.m. to be on the road as early as possible to avoid coding where roads you can use depends on the plate number of your vehicle, Makati and Pasay implements this from 7a.m to 7p.m.
After three hours on the road, passing through pineapple fields and a view of Taal lake in Tagaytay, we finally got to Calatagan Batangas where Lago de Oro is located, approximately 100 kilometers (give or take a few, I could be wrong.) from Makati.
The staff was really friendly like they've known you for years. I felt very welcome in this place.
It is advisable to use a more advanced board to try out the kicker and other ramps. Much safer and can really feel a big difference from the free slip-ons.
Lago de Oro also has a smaller pool for first timers. Well, I was. My first try at the bigger pool was a total wipeout and had to come here to train for quite a bit. Instructors are available to give essential tips and help you through 'til you get to stand up.
After gaining confidence, I went back to the big pool and did some jump starts. With a few wipeouts of course.
When you wipeout just make sure it's very close to where you started, and not the other side, or else walking back is the only option. Tip: Strap your flip flops to your life vest if ever that long walk happens. Lots of pebbles along the path.
Secret password. 
My Tapsilog with chilli sauce all over. The cap came off. Too hungry.
Me trying out the tabletop using my friend's board.
His turn on the tabletop. Quite a stable rider.
There were two other beginners like me. Brothers on a trip from Las Pinas. After a while, we all got the hang of it.
The wake park closes at 4:30 pm. With arms feeling like noodles, we happily headed back. Stopping over chilly tagaytay for some dinner at Chic-Boy (Chicken at Baboy) and coffee at Starbucks.
Also quite common in Tagaytay are musicians who serenade tourists while eating. Here's a short video.
Long drive ahead. Coffee.
January 7, 2014. Tuesday
Hardly slept from all the excitement, I spend the morning just hanging out and enjoying the view from my friend's flat. My body was aching all over to the point of screaming in pain whenever I sneezed. It was quite funny. Walking around like a robot.
My flight for Brunei was still 11:30 pm so the rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around Bonifacio High Street. Another place for good food and shopping.
Assorted longboards, mostly Loaded at the R.O.X. shop.
R.O.X Wall climbing.
Littered with nice sculptures.
Early dinner at Brother's Burger. Best grilled burgers in that place.
Manila is known for it's heavy traffic, I decided to go check-in early.
It probably took 30 to 45 mins for a 10 minute drive from Bonifacio High Street to Terminal 3 at 6pm already.
I saw Franz, unsurprisingly at the bookshop. He is my violinist colleague back in Brunei.
A curious person striking up conversation about his violin at the arrival area.
At 2:30 am of January 8,2014 finally got back to Brunei Darussalam.
It was an awesome start of the year, and here's to hoping for more fun. 'Til next time...
Cameras used: Iphone 4s, Canon 550D.
