NOT FEAR FACTOR

lunchbox goodies

tom is a seasoned traveler and he loves to go off the beaten path. he has been to isolated places like the solomon islands, where spent two weeks alone fishing. nine years ago, he and his assistant have braved the jungle of mount kanlaon, negros occidental to shoot a hundred year-old tree for the department of tourism. and in 2008, he traveled to freezing mongolia where he found inspiration for his last 'frozen II' exhibit and experienced eating yak testicles. *bleech* lol! basically, when it comes to tom and traveling, anything goes.

so on this batanes trip, his advice to aryanna (and adventurers alike): "keep an open mind and an 'open' tummy!" 

the rations
according to aryanna, eating yak testicles or any other reproductive parts of an animal is not an option on this trip. she made sure that her dad packed something, uhm... familiar. ha ha ha!

lunchbox restaurant, basco, batanes
notice the big smile on tom's face? he's happy that there are restaurants now in batanes! lol! according to him, when he first visited the island twenty years ago, he could only buy food from sari-sari stores and fresh seafood from fishermen.

i wonder what's in the 'curly tops salad.' curly tops chocolate? ha ha ha! so cute!

ichigo's first meal: mixed seafood...

...sinigang (her favorite!)...

... and mocha frost! what a treat!

mr. roboto's meal: chicken curry...

... and pineapple orange juice

ichigo is happy to report that the food they ate in batanes are all "familiar". ;D

AIR RUN SERIES: BATANES EDITION

the sky's the limit!

it's been awhile since the eppersons did an air run. what better place to do it than in batanes where the air is cleaner, the grass is greener and the sky is higher, er, i mean bluer?

mr. roboto

ichigo

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE BATANES

"toto, we're not in manila anymore!"

you know you're in batanes when...

...cars don't rule the roads or according to aryanna, "where people walk their dinner". hahaha!

ichigo: "so, this is beef?"

...you can leave your bike anywhere without any locking mechanisms...



...you can take a (real) breather...



mr. roboto: "why did the chicken cross the road?"
ichigo: "because the chickens outnumber the cars?"
lol...



...you can be silly because no one, as in, no one cares!



...you can speed up and take photos at the same time because again, no one, as in no one is on the road!

ichigo: "batanes, i'm ready for you! are you ready for me?"

BATANES

dad and daughter adventure

it's been an annual tradition for tom and aryanna to go off to some (local) exotic place and have a dad and daughter bonding time.  they have been doing this for the last three years. last year, they went off to pansukian resort in siargao, surigao. it's actually our favorite family summer destination. it's where we surf, hang out, and tan. we've been going to the resort for almost six years! sadly, the resort will close down this year and a new management will build another resort. so it was perfect timing that tom and aryanna were able to stay there last year. we will miss owner nicholas rambeau, his girl friend gae, and their dogs napoleon and chocolat (french accent pls.)


this year's destination is... batanes! as early as august 2009, we all planned a trip to visit the island as it is one of my husband's favorite place in the world (he's been to batanes many times working in the past with the dept. of tourism.) but since we have a new baby, only tom and aryanna were able to go. it's ok, dylan and i are having our own little adventure at home.

tom really loves the phillipines. i think he has been to more places in the philippines than me and i've always been embarrassed about that. anyway, i should try to travel around the my country more.

my husband and daughter are now in batanes as i write this. they are doing a bike trip! yes, they ride a bike almost everywhere in batanes. i wonder how they could spend the whole day biking around. the pictures that they emailed me answered my query:

mr. roboto is free wheeling!

the hills are alive in batanes! what! a! view!

ichigo rocks!


i will update all of you about tom and aryanna's bike trip in batanes. all i can say for now is... there is a book involved. so exciting!




stay tuned!