Finally - Avengers Assemble!

Sorry guys, but I can't hide my excitement after watching Captain America last night. The cinema was really crowded and i don't think anyone left their seats after the credits started to roll waiting for the teaser trailer.  And just like that Avengers is finally assembled. 

At first there was Captain America punching a punching bag until it blew off the wall, the came Nick Fury. The conversation has something to do with a mission and they need to prepare.The clip roll out showing Iron Man, Thor, Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlet Johanson) and the SHIELD. It was one hell of an action packed sequences from there - Hawkeye shooting arrows, Tony Stark flying out, glimpse of Thor's new look etc. And the trailer ended with,

“The Avengers — Coming May 2012.”

The crowd seriously went nuts after the trailer. Can't believe I actually cheer. And I'm one of those people who condones cheering or applauding at the movies. Everyone I overheard seemed to really be looking forward to the Avenger. Until then, Hail Hydra!

Great Expectations

Delayed as Expected

It was sunny when we boarded our flight to Caticlan. Despite the good weather condition I was already anticipating delay in our flight schedule - madalas naman mangyari to sa kahit anong domestic flight. And so it happens, the eventual 0930AM was delayed for an hour.  To kill my boredom, I  borrowed Po and Master Shifu from my kids for the weekend getaway. Just did some practice shots while waiting for our boarding time. You can tell by my pictures below that I'm really bored. :p

Master Shifu: One must first master the highest level of Kung Fu,
and that is clearly impossible if that one is someone like you.
Po: Someone like me? Look at me balancing in the edges of this seat!

Master Shifu: This is just plain stupid!
Po:  Everyone's doing it, so why can't I?

I wasn't able to sleep during our flight since we were seated in the back and the propeller was so damn noisy. Looking around most of the passengers are foreigners as expected. After running through the pages of AirPhil's inflight magazine, me and the wife we're just contented gazing through our window.  There isn't much to see but just a bunch of clouds. Until we spotted these tree shaped island..

Touchdown! Caticlan 

Malay Island

It was a good short  45min flight going to Boracay Airport. We booked a shuttle and ferry service from Southwest Tours to avoid dealing with various parties upon arrival in Boracay. .  Cost is  around Php 350/pax but it's hassle-free and stress-free so its worth it.

Godofredo Ramos Airport

From Godofredo Ramos Airport it's a 3-minutes drive to the Caticlan Jetty Port.  We were assisted by the Southwest personnel as we arrived in the port. Take note that the ferry service between Caticlan and Boracay is continuous and in short intervals. The first trip in the morning is at 0530AM while the last trip is at 0900PM. Crossing from Caticlan Port to Cagban Port takes about 10 minutes. Southwest also provided the multicab going to Hey! Jude, our accomodation. And just like that we're in Boracay.

Caticlan Jetty Port

Pure Shores

Hey! Jude

We arrived in at the island just in time for lunch. After we've checked in our baggage  we walk around D' Mall looking for a good place to eat. I think we strolled too far that's why we just settled in Hawaiian BBQ cause we're so hungry that time.

Quite expensive but it was good

With excitement on what the island can offer to us, we stroll straight to the beach and I was completely stunned and amazed! Boracay's white beach blew my non-existent expectations out of the water.

The place is simply amazing. Being there you can just enjoy the bright sun, lay down on the chair with your book all day long. Call it overrated but Boracay has to be one the best beaches not just in our country but of the world. For every unspoiled  beaches like Calaguas ,San Vicente  or any other beaches waiting to be discovered. Boracay no doubt remains the best beach of the Philippines' many beautiful islands.

As compare to the other places in the country, there are a lot of things to do here . By day you can do all the activities like island hopping para-sailing, reef walking, diving, go kart, ATV, etc. Going there wouldn't be complete without experiencing the epic Boracay nightlife. You can sing, dance and booze the night away.

The only bad thing about being in there is that sometimes it can be a bit stressing to see so many people around, specially when you are supposed to be getting a rest. After meeting up with our friends, we spent the afternoon with our one and only activities for our trip, Paraw Sailing. The day ended and we were rewarded with this awesome sunset.

It doesn't take a day to realize sunshine.

A Fine Frenzy
Teaser: Boracay - Sand Beneath My Toes Day 1:Great Expectations | Epic Boracay Night Day 2: Puka Beach | Alta Vista | Tales of Amaretto and Fire Dancers  Day 3: Sugar Rush and Windy Affairs| Sundown and Lack of Judgement Boracay: The Round-Up

View From the Upper Box: 10 Things from the SMART Ultimate All-Star Weekend

I really don't know how to start these but to sum it up, it was an AWESOME EXPERIENCE! We were actually in Boracay , when tickets for the said event were sold. Good thing a friend of mine was cool enough to buy us some tickets. Almost all the good seats were sold out so we just settled in for an UPPER B tickets. Anyway here's what happened yesterday. Photo credits goes to Yahoo! Sports/AFP.

1. I just witnessed a once in a lifetime event that might not happen again. How often do you see DRose, Kobe, Durant and CP3 suiting up for one team? Probably in the Team USA provided all of them play 2012 London Olympics. The next scenario would be DRose going to a Western team which is a remote possiblity. Or lastly to make it happen edit your roster set-up in NBA 2K12.

MVP! MVP!

2.I'm not really a fan of Kobe or the Lakers.But I admire his attitude off the court.  The All Star was nothing but gentlemen to everyone, well most of them actually signed and pose for pictures.

The Black Mamba

3. I was actually surprised that NBA players were startruck by the presence of Manny Pacquaio,
when the latter meet the players in their huddle. Most of the NBA players were caught signing their warm-ups and posing pictures with Manny after the game. 

4.Mo Twister ask Chris Paul, how long will he last if he box with Manny. CP3 answered  

“I wouldn’t last 15 seconds.” And then Paul playfully challenged Pacquiao to the delight of the crowd.

CP3

5. Basing on the crowd reaction, the Black Mamba got the most cheers. Followed by Derek Rose (crowd's shouting MVP everytime he make a shot). Ranked third would be CP3,then Durant and McGee.

6. I was actually impressed with the Smart Gilas game compare to the PBA Selection last Saturday. While the NBA stars mostly scored on close range and dunks, the Gilas drained 11 treys from beyond the arc. A good scrimmage I may say for the National team if they play against the taller and athletic Asian basketball powerhouse. The final score of the game 98-89, of course in favor of the NBA superstars. Hats off to the Smart Gilas for the competitive game.

7. Derrick Williams will be the Rookie of the Year this upcoming season. Unless Kyrie Irving take the Cavs the Eastern Conference Finals.

Rookie Sensation DWill

8. The game wasn't star studded compared to the Saturday's game. I was actually hoping to see Sam Pinto or Anne Curtis. Aside from Manny Pacquaio, there's Willie who was booed by the crowd when the camera panned around him.

2010 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans

9.Dondon Hontiveros might have been the luckiest prick that day. He was able to get Kobe's jersey while his driver caught Black Mamba's shoe. Since I can't came too close to take a picture with the NBA superstars, i just bought an overprice shirt Php 450.00.

10. I was actually pissed when I saw that some of the crowds were shooting with their SLR's and handycam throughout the game. Life just isn't fair.:/ Next time itatakas ko na talaga  SLR tsaka handycam sa venue.

McGee

An event that will be surely remembered for a lifetime. Thanks again Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan for the making the event possible. Hope there will be another one next year.

Boracay - Sand Beneath My Toes

Yay! Finally I was able to visit Boracay last weekend. Being the country's premiere summer destination, Boracay doesn't reside on the category of my "must-see island" bucket list.  I've been into some of the best beaches in the country  (Calaguas, El Nido, Coron, Bantayan, Apo Reef, Caramoan etc.) but there weren't enough reasons that would make me rave to visit Boracay  - being overcrowded and  commercialized.

It was last year when I finally yield to the call of Boracay, thanks to the AirPhil I was able to book 2 Round Trip tickets for Php 1600 from Manila to Caticlan. As soon as arrived in Boracay, it does live up to its expectation - fine white sand, clear blue waters, blue-sky, awesome sunsets, epic nightlife, charming people and lastly - inner peace. Once you set your feet in the island - you can leave the rest behind even just for a few days.

Fine White Sand

Awesome Sunset

Blue Sky Holiday

Epic Nightlife

Charming People of Boracay

Here's the summary of our recent Boracay trip:

A Fine Frenzy
Teaser: Boracay - Sand Beneath My Toes Day 1:Great Expectations | Epic Boracay Night Day 2: Puka Beach | Alta Vista | Tales of Amaretto and Fire Dancers  Day 3: Sugar Rush and Windy Affairs| Sundown and Lack of Judgement Boracay: The Round-Up

SMART Ultimate All-Star Weekend

 It all started with a tweet from Miakka Lim.

July 12 - Miakka Lim's twitter timeline

  

I was intrigued with the hash tag #NBAAllStarsinManila then I decode the initials given by Miakka,

KB - Kobe Bryant? KD-Kevin Durant? DR - Derrick Rose? 

I said to myself these couldn't be happening, Kobe has just arrived in Manila for his Nike Take Every Advantage tour, there's no way he's coming back again with his busy schedule. Then the barrage of twitter updates came in,

July 15 - Mico Halili's twitter timeline

July 18- Coach Chot Reyes twitter timeline

I can't believe it! Its finally happening this weekend. Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant will be playing in an exhibition game dubbed as SMART Ultimate All-Star Weekend this July 23-24. Completing the NBA team are Tyreke Evans of the Kings (2009 ROY), Derek Fisher of the Lakers, Derrick Williams of the Wolves (2011's 2nd overall pick) and KD's teammate James Harden of the OKC Thunder. Kobe will also coached the said squad.

The PBA team composed of  James Yap and Marc Pingris(BMeg), Mark Caguioa and JC Intal(Ginebra) Arwin Santos and Rabeh Al-Hussaini (Petron Blaze), Ryan Reyes, Jason Castro and Larry Fonacier(Talk N’ Text), Sonny Thoss and LA Tenorio(Alaska),Sol Mercado(Meralco),Gary David(Powerade), Gabe Norwood  (Rain or Shine) and Danny Seigle(Air21) will take the first crack against the SMART All-Stars on Saturday, July 23.

Coach Rajko Toroman and  Smart Gilas will get their shot as well on Sunday, July 24. Joining the national team are Jimmy Alapag and Kelly Willams (TNT), Asi Taulava (Meralco) and Dondon Hontiveros (Air 21).

ATTOW, there are no more tickets available for the event. If you want to win some tickets there's an ongoing contest in interaksyon for the event.

Good thing a friend of mine purchased 3 Upper B tickets for the Sunday 1PM game, not exactly the best time of the day to watch a basketball game but I still give it a go.

Thanks Manny V. Pangilinan for the once in a lifetime thrill for hoop fanatics like me.