Author: Kara Santos

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

After searching through photo archives of previous trips where I know I drank beers abroad, checking out several places that serve imported and craft beer in Manila, and raiding the alcohol section of a LOT of grocery stores, I finally completed my 99 Bottles of Beer on the (Facebook) Wall collection! I thought about seriously doing this sometime in October 2011 after thinking to myself “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” would make a cool post, and am happy to say that I have completed it as Oktoberfest 2012 is coming to an end.

  • MISSION: “99 Bottles of Beer”
  • GOAL: Try 99 different brands of beer from as many countries as possible
  • STATUS: 99 / 99 collected (as of 10.20.12)

Here are the beers in alphabetical order:
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Regatta de Zamboanga & La Hermosa Festival

Zamboanga City’s La Hermosa Festival which was held last October 7-12 was one of the most colorful festivals I’ve witnessed in the country. From the hundreds of vintas with their rainbow sails racing on the sea in the annual Regatta de Zamboanga, to the festive flurry of activities, it was like a gigantic box of crayons just spilled over the whole city. Beyond the elaborate floats and vibrant costumes of the street dancers, it was great to see the community spirit as locals took part in the different festivities. Here are a few snapshots from the event.

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Meeting a Princess in Basilan

The Princess welcomed us to her home warmly, apologizing and shooing off several barking dogs who came running to greet us at the gate. As we entered, I was overwhelmed by the contrast of colors and items in her house.

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Video Game Inspired Cocktails

Since I’m nearing the end of my 99 beers collection sidequest, I was thinking of branching out into cocktails and mixed drinks. One of the coolest resources for this that I’ve come across is The Drunken Moogle, a blog devoted to the “two best things this side of Hyrule: geek culture and booze.”

The Drunken Moogle contains an extensive collection of nerdy cocktail recipes inspired by video games, anime, movies and as well as geeky drinking games. They even have a listing of gaming bars around the world that makes me just want to open up one here in the country. Here are a few cocktail recipes that I’d like to recreate from the games I’ve recently played. I think these would all be great for a video game themed Halloween party.

Bloody Alice (American McGee’s Alice Cocktail)

Though I finished playing Alice: Madness Returns last year, I’ve been replaying it in an attempt to get the 100% completion rate for pig snouts, bottles, memories and radula rooms. Bloody Alice, a modified Bloody Mary concocted by The Drunken Moogle, looks as delicious and twisted as the game is.

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Zamboanga: Merloquet Falls

From afar, Merloquet Falls looked like a white curtain pinned to a lush forest wall just flowing in the wind. Up close, the waterfalls was even more dramatic and grander than it looked. I kept the photo-taking short, as I wanted to join the locals who were relaxing under the cascades.

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Siargao: A motorcycle and the open road

The dusty road stretched out as far as I could see, its rock and gravel terrain framed by towering coconut trees. Farmers and construction workers on the side of the road gave a friendly wave as I passed. Every so often, a habal-habal, with two or three passengers aboard would rumble by sending a cloud of dust and debris at my face.

I was traveling solo and I wanted to see Siargao’s less-beaten paths. So I decided to rent a motorbike for the afternoon and explore the island on two wheels.

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Castaway in Caramoan

Interest in Caramoan, Camarines Sur has surged ever since it was featured in the hit reality show Survivor. International franchises of the show that have been filmed here include Serbia, Israel, Bulgaria, France and most recently the 25th season of the US version, which started airing last week.

caramoan islands travelup

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Amazing Harry Potter Cake and Cupcakes

The Regali Kitchen designed the most amazing treats for my nephew Eli’s Harry Potter-themed 3rd birthday! Since Eli started going to school this year, this topsy turvy stack of Hogwarts spell books represent Harry’s first year at Hogwarts. Kudos to Chef JB Cada and Stephanie Santos for the wonderful treats!

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Snapshots: Siargao

Siargao is the kind of place that you can just spend days and days in enjoying the sand, sun and surf. Though it’s known primarily as a surfing destination, even non-surfers can appreciate the simplicity of island life here. Here are a few snapshots from my solo trip to the beautiful island last week.

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Solo Tripping in Surigao City

It feels strange to be sitting still in front of the computer back in Manila after several days of being constantly on the move. During a very unplanned solo trip last week, I found myself hopping from plane to jeep to boat to van to bus to habal-habal with no clear itinerary, making decisions on the fly, encountering very helpful people on the road, and ending up in places both weird and wonderful.

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