Dive Monster

by Daisy S. Barredo | October 27, 2018 | Diving | 3 Comments

As many people by now know, Apo Island is one of the best diving sites in the world! I personally think it is indeed a great place to go diving. Whether you are a beginner or a well-experienced diver looking for adventure, Apo Island has 12 dive sites to go diving. Since Buglasan Festival 2018 of Negros Oriental just ended, what better way to “treat-yourself” than go diving? Buglasan Festival 2018 is Over! The celebration of the Buglasan Festival 2018 aka the “Festival of Festivals” in Negros...

by Daisy S. Barredo | September 25, 2018 | Diving | 0 Comments

Every day is all about creating memories. But for someone like me who is turning 18 years old, every second of the day is about creating precious memories. For the first time in my life, I had the privilege to dive with the Dive Monster Senior aka my Papa. With both of us having a busy schedule ahead, Dive Monster Senior and Dive Monster Jr. only had one dive. One dive that motivated us to dive more! Dive Monster Senior Back Underwater The Dive Monster is back! It has...

by Rhoody | September 17, 2018 | Diving | 0 Comments

It has been forever and a bit more, since I was under water. The reasons are manifold and I don’t wanna go into details, but the Dive Monster was on the dry. However, after my little one became Dive Monster Jr., I simply got highly motivated to get back on track, somehow. Search and Rescue - My Equipment, that is… We searched the house from head to toe and saw what was still in order. Surprisingly, a lot of stuff was in great shape. Of course, an Apeks regulator is just one of that brilliant...

by Daisy S. Barredo | August 29, 2018 | Diving | 0 Comments

I actually got my PADI Advanced Open Water Course already since last week, but I had so many things going on and I couldn’t find the time to write about the awesome experience. It has been almost a week since I finished the course with the special courses of Navigation, Night Dive, Enriched Air Nitrox, Deep Dive and Drift Dive. Day 1 - Navigation Dive & Night Dive After the knowledge review and paperwork, I had my first physical class on Navigation. I was busy that morning so I started my...

by Daisy S. Barredo | August 13, 2018 | Diving | 0 Comments

Apo Island is known for the hundreds of marine creatures, especially the turtles in the Philippines. It is located just about 7 kilometers from the nearest shores of Negros Oriental. After my three confined water lessons and four open water training with Sea Explorers and my instructors Chris Heim & Vanela Grace Torres, I was ready for my first scuba diving in Apo Island’s underwater paradise.   Living in Dumaguete City, I had to wake up as early as five in the morning to make my final...

by Rhoody | August 17, 2015 | Diving, Diving Stories | 0 Comments

Dr. Guy Garman – also known as “Doc Deep” did not return from his world record attempt to dive to a depth of 1,200 feet (365 meters) in the waters of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. 38 minutes after he descended he was supposed to be on his way back and meet his deep support divers in about 360 feet (110 meters) where he should have made his first stop. He never made it there. My heartfelt sympathy for the family and friends of Dr. Guy Garman While there are no further details about the death of...

by Rhoody | December 12, 2018 | Traveling | 0 Comments

Batu Caves just outside Kuala Lumpur Malaysia are a fascinating place, which I like to visit. The cave is probably the most famous and popular Tamil shrine outside India. I have been there a few times. The Gods know I am not religious, but I am interested in cultures, their roots and history. I can sit in a church the same way and meditate as I can enjoy the glory of a mosque, the Buddhist monasteries I visited and the fascinating statues of an Indian Temple. These are places like a lonely...

by Rhoody | November 25, 2018 | Traveling | 0 Comments

It was mid-November, where one of that typical local Know-It-All (*KNIA) really got so on my nerves with her back-stabbing, lying, and generally talking bullshit, that I decided in a split second, that I needed a break from the IQ-monsters here, to get in contact with some humans which have a few brain cells more than the average outside temperature at the north pole. Where to go was answered in 5 seconds. Kuala Lumpur was the target. I just recently bought a new GoPro Hero7 Black and needed...

by Daisy S. Barredo | November 19, 2018 | Traveling | 0 Comments

Did you miss the rest of the story? Read Hong Kong Trip (Part 1: Packing & Flying) & (Part 2: Getting Around Kowloon) & (Part 3: Lantau Island & Peak Experience) here   After a long day of traveling to Lantau Island to see Buddha and going up the Peak of Hong Kong Island, we were tired as hell. After getting down from the Peak, we took a taxi to our hotel and immediately started packing our things for tomorrow’s flight.  We made sure all our shampoos, lotions and creams were in...

by Daisy S. Barredo | November 17, 2018 | Traveling | 0 Comments

Can’t relate to the story? Read Hong Kong Trip (Part 1: Packing & Flying) & (Part 2: Getting Around Kowloon) here!   The reason why we had to sleep early was that we had a long day ahead of us. We planned to go to Lantau Island, another island a little bit further from Hong Kong Island. The day was not as sunny as the preview’s day; however, we made the most of it. After waking up and having just a cup of coffee, we took a subway, train, MTR (whatever you guys call it) to the Central....

by Daisy S. Barredo | November 15, 2018 | Traveling | 0 Comments

We finally arrived in Hong Kong! Did you miss the first part of the story? Read Part 1: Packing & Flying here. Compared to the Philippine’s International Airport, Hong Kong’s Airport is way bigger and impressive. It is true, I haven’t been to many airports in the world but so far Hong Kong is on my top list. We arrived in Hong Kong late in the afternoon (around 5:30 pm). Still on the plane, we saw the sun setting across the horizon. It was a beautiful sight to see. Airport - Hotel - Food -...

by Daisy S. Barredo | November 15, 2018 | Traveling | 0 Comments

For a Filipina who has never been outside the Philippines, a trip to any destination can be both super exciting and nerve-racking. A friend of my mother offered to pay for our accommodation and food while we pay for our plane tickets back and forth to Hong Kong. Without a doubt, I wanted to join the “ladies-trip” to Hong Kong. I mean who would let go of the opportunity, right? Our rather short Hong Kong Trip only consisted of 4 days and 3 days but we were able to visit Kowloon and Lantau...

by Rhoody | March 20, 2018 | Traveling, Videos | 0 Comments

I go since a few years to the municipality of Basay to celebrate their annual fiesta there. Of course, this year was not different and I made it just in time for the Kapaw Festival 2018. Our friends from the tourism office there booked us like the last years into the Cañamaque Royal Suites 2 which is at a very convenient location and everything is within walking distance. One can’t expect a 5-Star accommodation in Basay, but the place has almost all one needs for a few days of stay. The rooms...

by Rhoody | March 2, 2018 | Traveling, Videos | 0 Comments

Like the last years, we decided to go on a trip from Dumaguete to Bayawan City to enjoy the annual Tawo Tawo Festival. I went there in the past 4 years and always had a great time. This year was no different. My trip from Dumaguete to Bayawan started early in the morning with packing and heading to the Ceres Bus Terminal, where I caught a bus right away heading for my destination. You can get from Dumaguete to Bayawan in different ways. If you are not driving with your own vehicle you can jump...

by Rhoody | February 14, 2018 | just some private notes, Traveling, Videos | 0 Comments

Some of you may know by now that my Missus has 2 lovely kids. While they are physically not mine, they are my absolute pride. They both developed into great young adults with each of them developing a great personality. On a little bit quieter the other one a little bit showier. They start living their own life and it is awesome to watch that they get along more than fine. My boy is working as a young chef at the moment in a resort in Siquijor, the first time he is for weeks away from home....

by Rhoody | December 10, 2017 | Traveling | 0 Comments

Just went on a quick trip to KL in Malaysia. My purpose was actually to find some electronic stuff for my camera which is either not available in the Philippines or simply incredibly expensive. It is actually cheaper to fly out, buy the stuff and come back than buying it in the Philippines. I only had 2 days to find and get my stuff. Additional I wanted to see some places. I booked a Hotel in a great location at Bukit Bintang which is somehow the central shopping district. After arriving at...

by Daisy S. Barredo | September 3, 2018 | More Fun ..., Off-Topic | 0 Comments

For some, the idea of reaching your legality may be exciting, scary and maybe even both.  As I approach my birthday I feel more and more scared than exciting. Being 18 years old means you are more or less free to do whatever you like. But being 18 years old also means having responsibilities and taking care of one’s self. The “Birth Month Sickness” I call it the birth-month-sickness because unlike the other months of the year, my birth months usually tend to freak me out in so many emotional...

by Rhoody | January 12, 2018 | More Fun ..., The Daily Why | 0 Comments

I am struggling to understand some prices and announcements here. I am aware that one does not need to pay the prices announced at most places other than groceries and supermarkets. Many times you simply say that the other job has it cheaper, and the salesperson goes down with the price... at least when the person somehow does his/her job. That has to be said, because many here need a job, but they actually don't do the job. Of course the employer is the bad person when firing them. However, I...

by Rhoody | December 30, 2017 | More Fun ... | 0 Comments

It is not really a secret that many people in this country I reside at present are overwhelmed with the challenges every day puts in their path.  And let’s be honest, with an average IQ of only 86 it is 3rd grader math that half of the population is in the area what was in the 1980th still considered something like “borderline retard”. Of course, that is a term which is not politically correct nowadays, so let’s call them people with special needs or people who need special attention. While...

by Rhoody | August 22, 2015 | 2 Cents, More Fun ... | 0 Comments

Sometimes I am sitting in front of my box and are supposed to work for a few hours but a headline pops up in my newsfeed and I am disturbed, unable to focus on my work. Exactly that happened this morning. An one month old headline came up again. As I was just about to start modifying pictures of a beauty contest it was a weird coincident. The headline was about Mary Antoniette Acedo who died in a hospital from an overdose of slimming pills just before the coronation night of Miss Dapitan 2015....

by Rhoody | April 18, 2015 | More Fun ... | 0 Comments

Chicharon - an awesome, unhealthy spanish snack which goes along perfectly with a lot of alcohol and a bad-ass movie on the sofa at home. Now it wouldn't be the Philippines if they would not try to invent something new. The Vegetarian Chicheron No more greasy fingers, the taste of old fat which need to be washed away with beer or rim 'n coke. Just a boring crunchy chew without any taste. I run into it at Manila Airport when coming back from Germany. My intention was to get into my pinoy-mood...

by Rhoody | April 17, 2015 | More Fun ... | 2 Comments

Another great chapter of Dumaguete Journalism at its best and the level of intelligence you can expect here everywhere. Real World scenario: Two people have a small traffic accident but with rather costly damage and it is not clear whose fault it is. So police is called takes some pictures and other evidence, then clears the street and usually insurances taking over the costs (at least partially). Dumaguete scenario: Two people have a small traffic accident and it is not clear whose fault it...

by Rhoody | August 10, 2018 | Munchies | 0 Comments

While I am on an everlasting diet, I also work hardly on excuses why to interrupt it. This time my excuse is DACA, the Dumaguete Academy for Culinary Arts. While I was sitting in Casablanca teaching German, Culinary Instructor saw me and asked, if I would be willing to be one of the judges. I asked when, and she said in an hour. That would be 11.00 in the morning, and perfect, as by accident I started the German lesson earlier as usual and therefore was perfectly in time to judge some food. It...

by Rhoody | July 29, 2018 | Munchies | 0 Comments

Mooon Cafe- How Low Can You Go So I went to a place I didn't go for a while due to not that good experience last time: Mooon Cafe in Silliman Avenue. They have a new menu, raised the prices (fair enough, things just get more expensive) and lowered the quality. Food was already quite low cheap-shit quality since a while that I didn't think it could get lower. US beef my ass..That is cheap local crap I would not feed my dog.  The tripple-O place definitely became a real lousy hole... but I guess...

by Rhoody | February 4, 2018 | Munchies, Videos | 0 Comments

Facebook jumped in the way of my Missus and Miss Daisy and I were somehow sidelined at home as it appeared that no dinner was to be in sight. Surely, we understand that an “important” “Let’s eat”-Chat makes for some more sense than actually doing it. However, being a kind of conservative, I still go for the real thing and prefer to stuff some food in my mouth instead of just texting it. So Miss Daisy an I changed quickly. Considering Miss D is a 17-year-old Teenage Girl, she must have been...

by Rhoody | February 3, 2018 | Munchies, Videos | 0 Comments

Our boy who is at the moment working in a resort in Siquijor as a Chef came for a surprise visit the other day. This are the pleasant surprises which make the whole house including our old lazy dog smile. As we didn’t have much bonding time during the day, we decided to go for a family dinner and let him choose. As he decided to have Korean food, we headed around 6pm to Soban Korean restaurant in Dumaguete. Getting to Soban Restaurant in Dumaguete City Soban is located across the Negros...

by Rhoody | January 20, 2018 | Munchies, Videos | 0 Comments

Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t have ulcer and need a kind of special diet or need to recover from food-poisoning due to some horrible stuff some people offer here in this City and call it  food. Food Rehab is the rather clever name of a kind of Fast Food Outlet/Burger Joint. As I saw some pictures of their stuff a few weeks back -and it didn’t look bad- I wanted to grace the place with my body odor to make a critical analysis which you are about to read. My two ladies and I were at the Rizal...

by Rhoody | January 12, 2018 | Munchies | 0 Comments

Nah, I am joking…. There is no real Japanese Restaurant in Dumaguete, at least not if you actually did eat Japanese Food in Japan or in Japanese Restaurant which has access to the ingredients and the chef appropriate training. Some actually had once the original Sauces. They still kept the little bottles and filled it with the local available stuff which makes all taste like Adobo anyway. However, I was with my D-Monster downtown to record some footage about the Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete as...

by Rhoody | December 20, 2017 | Munchies | 0 Comments

After 2 years or so and a not so good experience at this place, my missus asked to give it another chance. Back then their Gnocchi was the only dish I really liked. However, it appeared that the cook there (certainly can’t call it chef) is on the lazy side of the employee scale, as miraculously they “just served the last portion” and are out of stock. I even called Pasta King multiple times. Even 30 minutes after opening: “sorry, out of stock”. Pasta King Dumaguete – My Re-visit experience...

by Rhoody | July 22, 2015 | Munchies | 0 Comments

Italian Pizza at the Boulevard in, that was what we were hoping for when entering La Bella Pizza Bistro in Dumaguete. It appears to be a franchise of the Cebu's Origin “La Bella Napoli”. The Bistro is just across Bethel Guest House at the southern part of the boulevard. The building was some years empty and after a few month renovations the new Pizza Bistro was announced already a few months back. The spacious veranda offers a nice view of the boulevard. However, due to the stinking trucks and...

by Rhoody | December 21, 2014 | Munchies | 0 Comments

So there has a new place opened at the boulevard in Dumaguete called Awesome Desserts. Like with each new place opening it appears that the friends of the house are asked, or volunteer to spam each related website and internet forum or facebook page to write down their one line “wow, best thing since sliced bread, you need to try their…”. Well, anyway, not knowing the owner or anybody involved I believe that he/she/they certainly didn’t do any kind of market research to see if a place for...

by Rhoody | June 25, 2013 | Munchies | 0 Comments

Last Sunday I went with my Family to Mifune, a Japanese Restaurant in Dumaguete for a revisit. I have been there a couple of times, but I think this was the second time, or so, we went together. They adjusted the interior a little bit and it is more “Japanese”, although the seats and benches are a kind of “cheap-ish” hammered together. Nevertheless a big improvement to our former visit… We arrived around 6pm and were the first guests. First positive note, the aircon is working !!! For a fat,...