Ruby Loves Adventure

It's the end of the Holy Week as I type this. Four straight days of not going to work, and I was stuck at home, a staycation, if you would like to call it like that. What did I do? I read, I went online, and I watched a whole load of telly. Ugh. Not my ideal way to spend four days of free time. I should have just booked a ticket abroad and used the time to discover new places.

I thought I would love the time off, I could have used it to catch up on tv shows that I would have wanted to watch but neveer had time for, or to catch up on my reading. God knows how many books I've bought and haven't even started to read yet which are currently awaiting to be read. Well, I did manage to catch up on a few episodes of programmes I did want to watch though, and I did manage to finish two books and progress a bit on other books I've started to read but this holiday wasn't satisfying enough for me. I've lost the reading mojo.

For me, I am most happy reading when I am just passing the time: either in transit (sitting on a bus, a plane, or a jeepney) or just waiting for the morning after an insomniac night or just trying to pass the time while waiting for the next activity or waiting for something (be that a person or while in a queue).

I lost the ability to just sit down in a quiet corner (except maybe if I was hanging out in a beach, but then again that's also in a new place, right? Not sitting in my bedroom at home, whiling away the weekend hours with a book), and I've also lost the drive to go to a bookstore and pick out something new to read.

Ok, maybe the last part was a bit of a lie. I found myself in National Bookstore quite a few times this month as there is an ongoing 20% off summer sale and I couldn't resist getting some titles that I have already devoured: most of them wishlist books that I would have tried to wait for to come out in BookSale. But still, these are the books that are just tiding me over after work. Just something to do, not a real hobby or anything of that sort.

How can I get the reading mojo back? Or is it just a complete change that came over me? Maybe you only need to have one hobby at a time: books have finally been put on a back seat as travel now takes precedence, perhaps?

Summary from Goodreads:

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. 

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend. 

This is the first Dessen book I've read, and I know there are a lot of Dessen fans out there. She is one of the most famous young adult writers as she tackles real life situations, and her characters are so relatable and very realistic.

Let me just say: this book completely and utterly blew me away. The book starts off with Auden, a high achieving academic, and who, after the summer before she goes off to university, decides to go and visit her father, stepmother and half sister at a small town called Colby. It was there that she meets Eli, a loner, who helps her experience some of the things she missed out with when she was a child. She then goes on a mini-quest with him, and eventually falls for him.

Very, very cute story. It revolves around Auden trying to be her age and enjoying what life can offer her instead of acting all grown up and engrossing herself into the world of academics and trying to embrace that failure can help make you grow instead of making you feel like well, a failure. I loved Auden. I love the fact that she cannot ride a bicycle (because I can't too) and she learned how to and forced herself to keep on climbing back up the bicycle seat time and time again even though she kept falling.

I also loved the quests she kept on doing with Eli. It also shows how, if you managed to not experience something before, you could always try and make an effort to experience them, regardless of your age. The thing was, you tried, and that's what makes all the difference. At least when the time comes when you're really old, you won't have regrets when you look back and say "I wish I've done this or that, or I wonder what my life would have been like had I..." - There's nothing more sad than a life that was full of what-ifs and regrets.

Well there you go, my new philosophy in life. This book cannot have come at a better time!

Rating 5/5
Book was given by Lenore for review (thanks Lenore! :) )

I found my 39 Clues groove back!! And well, ever since I got back from London, I met up with my friend who was more than willing to let me borrow her books again rather than me buying all the books in the series. Ha ha. Plus, the most read article in my blog is about a review of a 39 Clues book so here I am, reviewing the series again.

Summary from Goodreads:


For the past five hundred years, the Cahills have silently dominated the world. Their desperate hunt for the 39 Clues lies behind some of history’s biggest enigmas – the curse of the Hope diamond, the race to summit Mt. Everest, the wild life and death of Harry Houdini. And now – finally – the secrets are out. With an introduction by Rick Riordan, The 39 Clues: The Black Book of Buried Secrets reveals the shocking truth about history’s most notorious family. 
In full, lush color, The 39 Clues: The Black Book of Buried Secrets lays bare each hidden fact, concealed strategy, top agent, lost founder, secret base and hushed-up scandal of the Clue hunt. This complete guide to the Cahills contains information on all five branches, including the notoriously elusive Madrigals. The must-know information includes: 
-Full files on the enigmatic Man in Black. 
-The true purpose of the Madrigal branch. 
-The complete story of the fire that split the original Cahill family. 
-The truth about the night Hope and Arthur Cahill died. 
-Open access to the secrets of the Lucian, Ekaterina, Tomas and Janus branches. 

It’s never too late to join the hunt – especially with The 39 Clues: The Black Book of Buried Secrets to provide complete access to the Cahill’s most deeply-buried secrets. 

So, the Black Book of Buried Secrets is a companion book to the 39 Clues franchise. It features all of the Cahill branches (yes, including the Madrigals), and some information about that branch: what weapons they like to use, where the strongholds are, and who their key members are (and they provide a brief profile of some of their more reputable members). It also features lots of pictures of the places and the members. (Although I was surprised at the supposed photo of Jonah Wizard and Ian Kabra - when I was reading the series, I never expected them to look like the photos depicted in the Black Book).

What I love most about the book? The pages - they are absolutely glossy and shiny, compared to the other books in the series which are just printed on normal paper. Add the strongholds and key character information and it mixes historical figures and places with made up ones.

I like that for such a young reader market, the publishers and writers have thought of mixing history and present: it makes history much more interesting and learning so much more fun. And yes, if I were a kid reading the 39 Clues, I would also want to embark on the adventures of Amy and Dan, thanks very much. I mean, who wouldn't if you were given such bagloads of cash to spend trying to chase after clues all around the world?

Hmmm... the beginning of wanderlust, I would say.

In the near future, these kids reading these books would probably end up blogging about their travels too and I would be stuck reading about them and going green with envy as I read about their adventures.

Nevertheless, this is a good companion book (so much better than the Agent's Handbook) and one I would splurge on to complete the 39 Clues series in the collection!

Summary from Goodreads


In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want--husband, country home, successful career--but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence

It's no big secret that I'm starting to love travelling even more. If you've read a few blog posts of mine recently, you'll find that I have deviated a bit from reviewing books to blogging more about my travels and/or reviewing travel-related stuff.

Which is why I finally picked up this book from my TBR list. I initially bought it from Booksale a few years ago as it was so cheap and just piled it in. I knew I would want to read it but I just didn't know when I'll feel the need to read it. Until a few weeks ago.

A few months ago, I was suffering from post-travel depression - I've just left my favourite city on earth, London, and was back in Manila. And boy, was I depressed. I wanted to travel again but since December is peak season (not to mention Manila traffic is absolutely horrible at the time), I was grounded at home. Frustrated, I wanted to read about travel, and that's when the call to read this book came.

It was an autobiography of Elizabeth Gilbert during her year of travel in Italy, India and Indonesia. She was suffering a massive breakdown after her divorce and she found that she needed time to herself, to enjoy life's pleasures (hence her eat), to get in touch with God (her pray), and find balance (Love - where she eventually found one in Indonesia).

There is a movie out based on this book, and let me just say: the movie is nothing like the book.

In fact, the book, for me, did not give me answers to the questions I was looking for. It did not even inspire me to pack up my bag and leave as soon as possible. I find that there's numerous other travel blogs out there in cyberspace that inspired me more to pick up my bags and leave than this book.

I think it was overhyped, and I have no idea why people liked this book so much (no offense to any of my readers though). Sure, it was about travel, and finding the courage to get up and go but it lacked enough structure about the places she's seen, it's mostly about her, her, and her.

The book for me was like a ranting ground for her craziness and depression. I find myself rolling my eyes at some of the parts about her pining over David, but then again, it's her life, it's her book, and I just picked it up at a bookstore.

I ended up giving it to a friend of mine who was curious about the book as a leaving present for her. Whether it will inspire her or not to travel (although we both think it won't inspire her more since we already have wanderlust in our veins) I'm not sure.

So, just borrow this book from a friend, or watch the movie. I think the movie was much more interesting than reading about the book.

Rating: 2/5
Book was bought from Booksale

Summary from Goodreads:

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding. 

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains - except Katniss. 

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost

Mockingjay - what can I say. I know other book bloggers have posted their review of this book 2 years ago but since I'm way behind the times and have a huge backlog of reviews and other stuff to do, I only got to finish and review the book now.

I share my thoughts with the other bloggers: I was hugely disappointed with the third book. I honestly felt that it was all over the place, and the prospect of the war between the districts and the Capitol was not entirely enticing for me. The latter part of the book and the conclusion seems written quickly: I felt it had no real structure, leaving gaps and more questions all over the place.

It was disappointing given that it was the final book of the series, I honestly thought there would be more answers, and not more questions (unless another spinoff series would be created that would address those gaps - which I'm not sure if there wold be). *Spoiler* Sure, Peeta and Katniss did end up together eventually but what happened to make Katniss change her mind when she was choosing between Gale and Peeta? Where was the spark that ignited between the two of them from the first two books?

Why kill off so many characters in a span of a few pages without giving much dignity to some of their deaths (like Rue)? Why???

What happened to District 13? And to the other districts after Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta went home? WHat happened to the other characters? I want to know!!

Surely I sound affected by these characters and events as I was reading the third book to the point of exaggeration. I find that it took me much longer to read this book than the first two. Maybe because some parts were extremely dragging, whilst some were just... plain confusing.

So, what did I think?

Rating: 3.5/5 - It was good but not good enough.
Bought from National Bookstore.

Summary from Goodreads:


Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster children for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol...

I initially read this book way back in early 2011. It was until I left for London that I had to leave the book behind (I had a hardbound copy) since it was too heavy for me to bring along. I completely forgot that I didn't get to finish the book until later in the year (after I got back) and then I got hooked to the story (again).

I was drawn sooo much to Peeta this time. I love that Katniss and Peeta were doing everything just to save each other. Awwww......

Very fast paced book, I literally could not put the book down at some parts, even if i was meant to be sleeping! The characters blended so well together, and I loved that there are new characters to get to know in this book. It makes it all the more interesting given that I also got to know more about the other districts and how the tributes lived their life there. It adds to the dynamic of the whole tale.

Spoiler - I even thought that Finnick was going to be one of Katniss's admirers. Imagine, three boys all after one girl! (Only to be proven wrong in the latter part of the book. Ha ha).

This was a good build up to the third book, Mockingjay. I've also already finished the third book and wait out for my review of it!

Rating: 4/5
Publisher: Scholastic Books

It all started with a whim to travel. Then there was a P288 sale from airphilexpress and I found myself booking a trip to Laoag and three days worth of leave.

Finally landed at Laoag Airport last sunday, march 25th at 630pm then signed up for the free shuttle from the airport to the city centre. Plan was to take a bus to Pagudpud and stay at Cathy's Homestay.

Lucky us, we caught the last trip of the mini bus from Laoag to Pagudpud! Fare was P60 for an ordinary bus and since we were in a bit of a hurry, we weren't gonna complain.

After two hours, we arrived at the Pagudpud town centre! My, it was a deserted area at 9pm! We were dropped off in front of the municipal hall and a tricycle picked us up to get to Cathy's resort in Saud Beach.

Note for those of you planning our sojourn: bring food with you! I actually bought some before the trip but left it in the car! Dohh! The stores close at 7pm in Pagudpud and there's no restaurant near Cathys place so if you don't have food, you'll end up with no dinner!

Just our luck, cathy's was overbooked and so we got to stay at Madrid Beach Resort, Cathy's aunties place. Same price but no breakfast included.

No hot shower but that's fine. It was a semi- early night or us as we were tired after the trip. We have an early day too, we have a tour of Pagudpud starting at 8am!

Photos to follow, when I get back home and manage to upload them.

I knew that on my recent trip to Korea, one of the things that I really wanted to do was to learn how to snowboard and/or ski (or both). So in my itinerary, I prepared an almost-flexible four days out of my nine days in Korea to spend at a ski resort.

Originally, I wanted to go to Vivaldi Park (Daemyung Resort) which was only an hour away from Seoul. I thought it would be better if I stayed in Seoul and just go over to the resort, take a few lessons then go back to Seoul. Then I realized: that would be just like saying I tried something - like learned a lesson for an hour or so and then that's it! And so, I did my research (hello Google) - tried to find what is the best ski resort in South Korea, wanted to find a cheap hostel within the premises where I could stay a few nights, and I landed in YongPyong Resort.

It is 2 1/2 hours from Seoul by the Express Bus (the bus stop is at Jamsil station on the East Side of Seoul) and leaves at 6.10AM and 9AM. I thought at first that I need a reservation to get on this bus and after numerous attempts of trying to email the resort and got no reply, I decided to commute there instead (another way to get to YongPyong resort). Little did I know, I didn't have to reserve a slot - you could just turn up on the day itself and board the bus and pay the roundtrip fare of 28,000 Won. Oh well.

What I did was a bit more complicated: I went to the inter-city bus station in Seoul and bought a ticket to Hoenggye for 13,800 won (good thing I pronounced it correctly when I was buying a ticket - the girl at the counter managed to recognize it and she had an English spelling of the town and got me the rigt ticket. Was stupid enough not to ask someone fluent in Korean to write down the town for me in Korean). It was quite a long bus ride in a sense. 2 1/2 hours away from the city. I spent the first few hours looking out the window at the scenery but the seat was so comfy, I fell asleep and when I woke up, I was in a Korean countryside where the trees and the mountains are dusted with snow.

Seeing as I've never seen real snow before, and only seeing ice on the streets in Seoul, I got excited! It looks so powdery soft and white! Finally, I got to Hoenggye, where the bus station was not exactly what I had hoped for. It was just a stop near a gasoline station. Ok, quite rural. Tried to go to the Post Office where the shuttle bus to YongPYong would stop but it was nearly 6pm and there was no bus in sight! Turns out the information on the website was out of date. There was no 6pm bus anymore, the next bus would be at 7pm!

Okay, panicked for a moment there but thought I could kill some time by exploring the tiny town of Hoenggye rather than waiting in the cold in front of the Post Office. I saw tiny shops along the main road, but there was a Paris cafe place so I stopped by and grabbed myself something to eat and a coffee while mooching their free WiFi. That kept me busy for around 45 minutes as I waited for 6:55pm.

Got to the stop 5 minutes before and it came on time! It just stopped, picked passengers up and I finally arrived in the resort!

Amazing scenery :) I'll update more on Part Two if I ever get around to typing it :P

While I was researching for this Korea trip, one of the hindrances I had was trying to remember (and write down) the names for all the sites I wanted to see. Just trying to write down and remember the names of the five palaces was a tongue-twister in itself.

On my first day in Korea, February 18th, after lunch at Itaewon (a Subway sandwich), we took a subway to Gwanghwamun. It was a large square, dominated by two statues. One of the statues was of the King of Korea who pioneered the Korean alphabet. My new friends and I were amazed at the structures and got a group photo in front of the statue of the King. There, a young Korean child waved to one of my new friends and we fond it so endearing!

Fter getting our photo fix and tiring of the square, we walked to the entrance of Gyeongbokgung. THis is the largest of the five palaces in Seoul, and it has a changing of the guards timed almost every hour (check the site for time schedules) - we were a bit too late for the 1:00 changing of the guards schedule, so we just paid the 3,000 Won entrance fee and went in.

I never thought that these new friends would like palaces: seriously, as they were all boys, but then again, we are all toursits so they must also be curious about what the inside of a Korean palace would be like. One of the new friends has been to the Forbidden City in Beijing and said that Gyengbukgung looks like one of the Chinese palaces. We then had this theory that since Korea is connected to China, there are certain influences within the Chinese culture that would have rubbed off in Korea.

We saw the top of a pagoda somewhere in the distance and we all mutually agreed to find a way there after we have explored the grounds first!

Saw the throne room, where hoards of people were gathered around, taking photos. Eventually explored other parts of the palace, where there were other rooms or houses of sort, which we thought would house some of the servants (or concubines!)

Then the best part: there was a man-made island and lake within the palace and it was iced over. In that man-made island is another house-type structure. It was so beautiful and amazing. With al the trees around (with no leaves, of course, it was the dead of winter) and that iced lake, it certainly was worth the admission fee.

Of course, I can't help but wonder how beautiful the grounds would also be if I went there in spring and winter - with all the changing colours of the leaves!

Entrance to Gyengbokgung is 3,000 won. It's open from 10AM-5PM (during winter)
Best way to go there is to alight at the Gwanghwamun subway station and walk a few metres to the entrance.

Its been nearly a week since I came back from my first ever solo backpacking trip abroad. At first, I was dead scared: what if I become really lonely, or what if I run out of money or I bore myself? Then comes the dread: who will take my photos??? Then: will I ever get to meet new friends?

Fortunately for me, on my first day to Korea, I met a great set of friends who I ended up travelling a few days around Korea with. I checked into the hostel at around 8AM after a long red eye flight (I didn't get much sleep so I must have looked horrible then) and was not really dressed properly (I was dressed in just a t-shirt and jeans when I left the tropical land of the Philippines), it was freezing (I had a screenshot of the weather/temperature at the time and the lows were at -11 degrees celcius), and I was alone.

I decided to stay at a hostel during these alone times. I was reading some RTW (Round The World, for those of you who don't know) blogs and most of them recommended hostels to meet new friends and well, to save on the cost of a bed per night. And so, little did I know that I would meet a few people out at the hostel on my first day!

Sometimes it just takes a little "Hello" and a smile to make new friends - most of these new friends of mine are staying in Korea for a longer period of time. I was just there on holiday for a week: others are going to be teaching English for a year, another is studying as an exchange student.

We get to exchange insights and previous travel experiences, and chat about anything under the sun. We get to play little games and experience new things!

The original itinerary gets thrown out the window because you either go with the flow (ie where the new friends will head off to) or just end up staying at the hostel and hanging out with them.

Sure, you won't get along with every one of these new friends but in the end, you get to meet some classic ones that you'll want to stay in touch with: easier now with the advent of email, Twitter and Facebook.

Who says it's sad and lonely to travel alone?

The point is: some of these people do travel alone, and some of them are looking for friends, just like you :)

My first stop in Korea after the airport was the Kimchi Hongdae Hostel, which would be home for at least four nights, on the first draft of my itinerary. Situated in Hongdae, the hostel is around a 10 minute walk from the Hongik University subway exit 2 on either the AREX commuter train or the green outer circle line, making it an ideal location.

Hongdae is the slang term for Hongik University so don't try to look for Hongdae in the subway map as you won't see it! This area is known for the all night bars and clubs where some of the younger crowd - Koreans or foreigners alike flock to.

The area is also known as a shopping heaven, full of indie stores (except for a few chain cosmetics stores that you would practically see everywhere) that offer cheap clothes, shoes, or accessories that's of a very good quality.

So, why did I choose this hostel? Aside from it's proximity to Hongdae and it's accessibility to the subway and the airport express trains, they offer cheap dorm rooms.

They're also one of the cheapest hostels around. Online, they have great deals for rooms. As of this writing, if it's a weekday, you could get a dorm room for 15,000 Korean Won (roughly 15 USD), and 18,000 Korean Won (18 USD) for weekend rates.

And so I applied for a South Korean visa a few weeks ago in line with my trip this February 18th till the 26th. It's fairly easy, so I'll share with you some of the requirements and steps needed to lodge your visa application.

The Korean visa requirements are as follows:

1. Application Form with a Passport photo pasted to the form. (you could download the form online or you could ask for one at the embassy and fill it out while you wait your turn)
2. Photocopy of your passport details page
3. Photocopy of your visas from the OECD countries (ie US, UK, Australia, etc) plus entry and exit stamps (travel must be done within the last five years) - this step is only applicable if you had visas to the OECD countries or travelled to them. Skip this step if you haven't.
4. Certificate of Employment - original copy.
5. Bank Certificate - original copy.
6. BIR Form 2316 (photocopy would suffice).

Once you have all those requirements, it's time to go to the Korean Embassy!

I have no clue how to commute there without taking a taxi so I can't be of much help. If your taxi driver does not know how to get there, you could just direct them near Market Market and go down the overpass to C5. The Korean Embassy is the first building you would encounter when you turn going to Mckinley Hill. You wouldn't miss it ;)

Once you arrive, you need to give a valid ID to the security guard and state that you are going to apply for a visa.

They will then give you an ID number and allow you inside the premises. Please note that if you're applying, they process from 9am-12nn on a first come-first served basis.

Once inside, you need to approach another desk. The guard will ask you if you have a valid visa to any of the OECD countries - and would then give you a number accordingly. They have a separate line for frequent travellers to Korea/OECD countries, and another one for first-time applicants.

At the time I applied, I had a valid UK visa, so I was directed to the frequent traveller/OECD visa holder line.

I arrived at 8.30 AM and processing started as early as 8.45AM for the first time travellers. I had to wait a few more minutes for the frequent traveller line processing to start. I didn't mind, I had a book with me to pass the time.

When my turn came, I passed my documents and the consul checked if they were complete. She didn't ask me any questions (the girl before me in the queue was asked a few questions) - so I think it is a case to case basis on what other information the consul would require from you.

The consul then filled out a form with a date - it is the date when you can come back to claim your passport. Do not ever lose this form as you'll need it to claim your passport!

Since I was in the OECD line, it only took three working days for them to process my application.

The application period was less than 30 minutes for me. Easy peasy!

Four days later, I came back to claim my passport. I was on training on the day they were set to release my passport so I came the day after. Not a problem ;)

They normally release passports between 2-4pm and it was also on a first-come first served basis. In this case, it was only one line for everyone.

Same procedure applies: at the gate of the Korean Embassy, they'll ask you to sign in, then once inside, you'll have to surrender your claim stub thingy and they'll ask you to write down your full name and contact number at the back side of the paper then give you a number in return.

Wait for your number to be called - they normally batch the claims (ie numbers 1-20) then you'll fall in line in front of the window.

Once you get your turn in the consul's window, the consul would then ask you for your full name (for verification purposes) and then they'll release your passport.

If you're lucky, you would be granted a visa!! ;)

Single-entry visas are valid for 59 days and are free!

In my case, I was granted a visa, so hello winter in Korea! :)

When you apply for a visa, an airline ticket and accomodation is not required. I did not have any accomodations lined up yet when I applied for a visa, but I do have an airline ticket already (hello Cebu Pacific's seat sale).

However, at the time I applied, I didn't bring a copy of my e-ticket and was not required to show it. Then again, it could be a case to case basis and would not necessarily mean that my case would be the same as yours.


** okay, sorry, I wrote this post before I went to Korea... It's been a week since I returned back to the PH and here's some photos!!**