Dive Monster

by Daisy | April 23, 2019 | Diving | 0 Comments

One of the essential gears for scuba diving is a BCD. After weeks of searching and waiting I have finally purchased my own. Want to know what a BCD is? Wanna watch me receive and unpack? Continue reading… What is a BCD? For non-diver readers, a BCD or Buoyancy Control Device is what keeps you buoyant underwater. Buoyancy is the what makes this float, sink or stay in the middle (positively, negatively, and neutrally). In basic terms, it is a device that helps you go underwater and helps you...

by Rhoody | February 2, 2019 | Diving | 0 Comments

Diving in Dumaguete is just awesome. There is so much to see, that one needs to go to each dive-site multiple times, that you even see remotely a little bit, what these wonderful dive-sites have to offer. This time we went to the Marine Sanctuary of Masaplod.  As we recently just bought a new Nokia 3110, which is supposed to be waterproof and perfect for our undertaking, we were ready to go. As a safety back/up, we wrapped the Nokia in some cling-film and secured that with some duct tape. We...

by Daisy | January 8, 2019 | Diving | 0 Comments

The Dive Monster Senior and I actually did this Dauin dive last year (back in October 04, 2018) but I completely forgot about it since I didn’t transfer the pictures from my other small camera. Just after my recent beach date last Sunday, I found the pictures and transferred them right away. So, knock yourself out for a Throwback Tuesday 😉! Diving in Dauin – Negros Oriental There are plenty of dive sites in the municipality of Dauin. The sites we dived were Masaplod and Luca. Right...

by Daisy | October 27, 2018 | Diving | 3 Comments

As many people by now know, Apo Island is one of the best diving sites in the world (well...). 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 offers 12 dive sites to go explore. Since Buglasan Festival 2018 of Negros Oriental just ended, what better way to “treat-yourself” than to go diving? Buglasan Festival 2018 is Over! The celebration of the Buglasan Festival 2018 a.k.a. the “Festival of...

by Daisy | September 25, 2018 | Diving | 0 Comments

Every day is all about creating memories. But for someone who is turning 18 years old, every second of the day is all about creating precious memories. For the first time in my life, I had the privilege to dive with the Dive Monster Senior a.k.a. 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 been about three or four...

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 | 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 | August 13, 2018 | Diving, Diving Stories | 0 Comments

Apo Island is known as the Turtle Island 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 trainings with Sea Explorers and my instructors Chris Heim & Vanela Grace Torres, I was ready to be venture Apo Island’s underwater paradise.Living in Dumageute City, I had to wake up as early as five in the morning to make my final preparations for the trip. After that, my father drove me to...

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 Daisy | March 28, 2019 | Traveling | 0 Comments

Summer time came a little early here in the Philippines. So…we decided to go on a trip and not waste the blue skies and bright sun for a picture-perfect trip at Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Nature Park. Locally known as Twin Lakes, this tourist destination is famous in Negros Oriental and is located after the town of Sibulan and before the town of San Jose. Getting to the Twin Lakes The Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Nature Park is located about 28 kilometers from Dumaguete City. My mom (Mamamonster) and...

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 26, 2018 | Traveling | 0 Comments

On my way to Kuala Lumpur, I was flying from Dumaguete to Cebu, where my flight to Kuala Lumpur departed from the New Terminal at Mactan International Airport, which is officially called Terminal 2. It opened just a few weeks ago. All international flights departing now from the new terminal while domestic flights arrive and depart from the old terminal at the airport in Cebu. Terminal 2 is just next to it and maybe a 5-minute walk. However, first things first, I am still in Dumaguete....

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 | 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...

by Daisy | 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 | 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 more impressive. It is true, I haven’t been to many airports in the world but so far Hong Kong is on my top list (it's ot a very long list I must say haha). 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...

by Daisy | 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. Yup..Hong Kong! Without a doubt, I wanted to join the “ladies-trip”. 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 Daisy | April 15, 2019 | More Fun ... | 0 Comments

What a great Palm Sunday 2019! From waking up, taking a shower, eating breakfast, buying a lightsaber, going to Tanjay City, eating a huge burger and ending the day with desserts and sweet kisses. The Dive Monsters (along with their beloved) celebrated Palm Sunday with a lot of turns. Continue reading to find out how many times I had to change in one day. 😉 Palm Sunday – Holy Week 2019 So…for those who don’t know what Holy Week is (or for those who were not listening during Sunday...

by Daisy | February 14, 2019 | More Fun ... | 0 Comments

Grab your shotguns, shovel, and your alibi because I have a boyfriend! That’s right folks. As part of my adaptation and “blending in”, Dive Monster Jr. is officially in a relationship. (intense sound effect) The very first question most people would think of would probably be “Why?”. Well, after years of observing and trying new things, I felt like I was still missing a piece of my jigsaw puzzle in me. When is a better day to reveal it to you lovely folks, than the month of love and the day of...

by Rhoody | January 6, 2019 | More Fun ..., Off-Topic | 0 Comments

There is stuff one has to put up on a day-by-day basis, when living with up to three females under one roof. They come up with the weirdest ideas. This time Miss D found in a Chinese second hand discounter some Japanese toilet paper, with the wrong wrapping, declaring it as Japanese Face Mask which is cleansing the skin, and maybe also works as a skin whitener. However, that is not really certain, as all prints are in Japanese and nobody here can read it.Well, as long she believes it is good...

by Daisy | January 1, 2019 | More Fun ..., Off-Topic | 0 Comments

Another year has passed and yet everything feels like just another day. I would like to call it a “Happy New Year”, but then that would be a lie. Don’t take it badly or anything…this year was very eventful and such a blast and I enjoyed it. However, the fact that I am now 18 makes me feel more responsible for things (or very irresponsible of things). Hopefully, I can somehow pull off the “New Year, New Me”. To all who made my 2018… Thank you! I am sure that I have not given you the sufficient...

by Daisy | December 25, 2018 | More Fun ... | 0 Comments

(Family Christmas Photo of 2018) HO HO HO! Merry Christmas! Yes, it’s that time of the year again where people decorate the tree, bake cookies, buy presents and wrap gifts with red ribbons😉. I have to be honest that I am not the most religious person and I don’t believe that going to church and praising statues will save you from hell. (Add to that is…is there really such thing as hell? Or is it just an imaginary place with people fear about?) However, Christmas is still something I...

by Daisy | 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 excited. 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....

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 13, 2019 | Munchies | 0 Comments

On my journey to become a more stable character, a vegan and an outstanding positive asset to mankind on our wonderful planet, we are allowed to stay for a short while, many people are so kind to support me. All afront the Monster-Mother and Dive Monster Junior. The first gave Junior and me the permit to join a group of divers to venture out for another trip to Apo Island with Mike’ s Beah Resort. Another Trip to Apo Island Our bags were packed and we were ready to go at just past 6.30 in the...

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

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 triple-O place definitely became a real lousy hole… but I guess that goes along with a lot of...

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. Selfie time!!! 📷 Getting to Soban Restaurant in Dumaguete City Soban is located...

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 locally available stuff which makes all taste like Adobo anyway. Quick Japanese Bite However, I was with my D-Monster downtown to record some footage about the Rizal...

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...