I have just discovered the application Instaframe, which can be used to put together your photos for beautiful collages, and have found it a really practical tool for combining with the Instagram application for even better pictures.
In this post I will present two ways these applications can be combined for an even more stunning photo experience.


Example one: Add color to your photos for a vivid sunset effect.

Original picture taken at Alona beach in Bohol

Step One: Add effect with Instaframe
The original picture was taken by the sunset, but as you can see the colors are not that deep. So I opened the picture in Instaframe and added the sunset effect.

After having been edited in Instaframe the picture has the characteristic Instagram-format and a deeper purple color

Step Two: Add Instagram effect!
Secondly I opened the newly saved Instaframe picture in Instagram, and added a second effect to the picture. Voila!

Finished editing! I love the dramatic color of this one x)

Example Two: Use Instagram to edit pictures before you make your collages with Instaframe. 

Here you can see the example of two original pictures, which I added to a collage after having edited them with Instagram.

Original 1: The Chocolate Hills, Bohol

Original Two: A Clownfish spotted during our diving trips in Balicasag

And this is the final result! Hope you like it!! ^^

Collage with some selected photos from the Philippines

On our last day in Bohol Yuma and I had booked a cab for the day to take us on a trip around Bohol to see the most famous tourists spots of the island before leaving with a ferry in the afternoon.

Some of the memorable sights we visited on our trip. Made by Instaframe & Instagram

Some of the sights on our list included the so-called Chocolate Hills, and a nature reserve where one can see one of the world smallest monkey called the Tarsiers. From our hostel situated near the Alona beach in Panglao island it took us more than one and a half hour to reach the famous Chocolate Hills, and on our way we also passed the huge Human Made Forest, where we stopped for a couple of pictures.

The Chocolate Hills

Enjoying the view of the Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills do look very interesting with their special formation, which apparently have been formed over millions of years in the distant past when this part of the island lied under water. Although they look very mysterious with their three-less surface I noticed that one of the hill was only completely bare on the side that faced the tourist view-point, while the other side was covered with trees. This made me wonder if the trees on the Chocolate Hills have been cut down by purpose to make them look more mysterious than they actually are..
Anyway, the Chocolate Hills is an alright destination if you want to take a closer look at the wild nature in Bohol, but if you don't want to waste hours in the car then I don't think you miss that much by not going. On the other hand, the Tarsier reserve is not that far from the Chocolate Hills, and if you are going on a day trip to Bohol's famous tourist spots there are honestly not that much else to see anyway so why not..

On our way back to the main road we stopped by the reserve where one can see the cute Tansier monkeys, who apparently served as a model for the famous movie E.T. These small creatures are another of many species in the Philippines who unfortunately are facing a possible future extinction due to loss of habitat.

A cute little Tarsier monkey <3

Apparently the Tarsier can die from stress if kept in captivate under bad conditions, so it is important to avoid using flash. These monkeys are only active during the night, so their eyes are big and bright to enable them to see in the dark. No wonder they don't like to be flashed by the tourists' cameras. Another thing that should be avoided, is talking with load voices when near the monkeys. Lastly, one be conscious when choosing which monkey park to visit, as some places keep them under stressful conditions making them face an early death..

The tarsier is so small it could fit into your hand..

The park we went to looked nice and tidy, and I believe measures were taken to ensure that the monkeys were doing alright. I hope the staff treat the monkeys well in the evening too, when the tourists have gone home..

After our visit to the park our driver took us to another place where they were keeping various species of animals. I don't remember the name of the place, but is was dirty, the animals were kept in small cages directly on the concrete surface of the floor. They had a couple of ostrich there too, and both had lost nearly half of their feathers. Seeing animals captive like that makes me feel really sad and uncomfortable, so I couldn't stand being there for long. We just snapped a couple of pictures with the big pythons and left as soon as we could. Not a place I would recommend to anybody, unless it was as a recommendation for action by animal activists><

A big snake which luckily already had eaten lunch that day.

There is not much else to see on the island, so after a short stop at an old Spanish church we asked our driver to take us down to the harbor where we were able to catch an earlier ferry departing from Bohol. Our day trip had been interesting, with the best part being the park with the cute monkeys. The rest of the sightseeing was, to be honest, only so-so. I suppose beaches and diving is the best part of visiting Bohol;)

• All blogposts from Southeast Asia
• All blogposts from the Philippines
• Volunteering in the Philippines with Rise Above Cebu
• Volunteering with Rise Above in the Philippines: Dental Mission!
• Christmas at Ayala Shopping Center with the Rise Above Foundation
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob
• Sightseeing in Bohol: Day-trip to the Chocolate Hills & Tarsier Watching
• Diving in the Philippines: Balicasag - the Diver's Heaven and the Marine Sanctuary
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Weekend Trip to Iloilo!
• HumanHeartNature: Filipino Ecological Skincare!
• New Year Greeting from the Philippines!
• [Hotel Reviews] Philippines: A night at an aquarium - Hotel H2O

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette

One of the activities you shouldn't miss out on while in the Philippines, is diving. There are many great diving spots all over the country, and you can see things like coral reefs, colorful fishes and even whale sharks while swimming in the ocean.
Yuma and I had also decided to spend a day to go diving, and we found that Panglao island was the perfect starting point for this trip. Staying close to the Alona beach we had no problems finding a good diving company, as there are literarily a whole bunch of them to choose from. We visited 3-4of them and listened to their offers, and finally our choice fell on a company called Mr. Diver. They offered us a diving trip to the Balicasag island, which is surrounded by great diving spots such as the Marine Sanctuary (Rico's Wall), the Cathedral, Diver's Heaven and Rudy's Rock. The price for the trip was 2600 pesos per person (plus 100 for the nature conservation fee), which included equipment and two dives.
The next day we found ourselves in a group of happy divers heading for the designated island along with our crew of dive masters and other staff. Our diving spots for the day was the Diver's Heaven and the Marine Sanctuary. Yuma had dived around ten times in total and I had only gone through three, so we got our own dive master to look after us during the dive. Since I got my diving certificate in February last year I was a bit nervous about diving again, but it did not take too long before I became adjusted to the underwater environment. Both of the diving spots had a great variety of colorful fishes, and we also were lucky enough to spot one sea turtle during both of our dives! (Apparently they are quite commonly seen there though)
As Yuma had brought his underwater camera we could capture the underwater world with some beautiful pictures:

I think both Yuma and I were very happy with our dives that day (maybe especially Yuma with all the photos he managed to get). I already look forward to a new destination with new dives!!

• All blogposts from Southeast Asia
• All blogposts from the Philippines
• All blogposts about Diving
• Volunteering in the Philippines with Rise Above Cebu
• Volunteering with Rise Above in the Philippines: Dental Mission!
• Christmas at Ayala Shopping Center with the Rise Above Foundation
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob
• Sightseeing in Bohol: Day-trip to the Chocolate Hills & Tarsier Watching
• Diving in the Philippines: Balicasag - the Diver's Heaven and the Marine Sanctuary
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Weekend Trip to Iloilo!
• HumanHeartNature: Filipino Ecological Skincare!
• New Year Greeting from the Philippines!
• [Hotel Reviews] Philippines: A night at an aquarium - Hotel H2O

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette

Yuma and I left Cebu by ferry to Bohol, and after one night at a hostel in the city we headed for the southern island Panglao where we were planning to spend a couple of laid-back days in the area of the idyllic Alona beach.
After arriving at Reggae Guest House where we had booked a bungalow for the next couple of days we strolled down to the beach where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Alona beach does have a relatively big number of visiting tourists, but we still felt that the place was not too touristy yet. Not to mention that it was great to finally get away from the noisy and dirty Cebu city.. It was really perfect to just spend some time walking in the sand at the beach.
You can find a lot of small and cozy restaurants, bars and shops along the beach too, and in the evening many of them offer live music that you can enjoy while eating your dinner. For people interested in diving there are also a large number of diving companies offering diving trips to Alona's many surrounding diving spots. There is also a countless number of masseuses all along the beach who offer one hour of massage for 300 pesos.
And then I have to mention that on the west end of the beach you can find an almost vertical palm three! A great spot for romantic pictures. These are some of the pictures we have taken at Alona beach:

After having greeted the new year by relaxing on the beach in Mactan it was time for Yuma and I to begin our backpacking adventure. We had already bought a trip to Oslob south in Cebu where we had heard that it would be possible to see the great whale sharks, and because we wanted to leave for Bohol in the afternoon we had scheduled an early departure for Oslob with pick-up at the hotel at 3:30 am. The next three hours of the morning were spent sleeping in the car. Good thing the roads were relatively good, unlike the roads I experienced last year in Bolivia on my way to Salar de Uyuni..

We arrived in Oslob around 6:30 in the morning, and after a short briefing by our guide we were led down to the beach where a boat was prepared for us, I have to admit that I did wonder if we really would be able to see any whale sharks at all, but after leaving the shore it did not take many minutes before we could see the big creatures moving underneath us in the sea.

Whale sharks are huge, but they don't harm humans. Look at it, isn't it cute?? ^^

Me with one of the whale sharks

Hi again from the Philippines! The last week has been really busy in an awesome traveler's way, and I have experienced so much in these few days. After coming back to Cebu on Sunday afternoon I checked into my hotel room for the next couple of days, and waited there for my boyfriend's flight to arrive. Finally he also had gotten his holiday, and after a night in Seoul he was finally on his way to the Philippines. Since I have been living in Korea the last semester we have only had the chance to see each other a couple of times, but now that it is holiday I get to spend a whole month with him before school starts! :D
After a laid-back day on the beach we spent the last day of 2012 clubbing in an area of Cebu called Mango Avenue, which is known for its bars and clubs. It was a memorable and fun evening with a lot of dancing!
Now it seems that we are facing yet another new year, let's hope 2013 will be as great as 2012.
My goals for the new year includes: 1. Mastering Korean, 2. Finish both my thesis 3. Pass my school's comprehensive exam, 4. Graduate, 5. Find a job!!! 화이팅!
I do also hope that I get the chance to continue experiencing interesting adventures, and I hope you'll stay in tuned with my blog and read about what I'm up to in the big world.
I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year! ;D

• All blogposts from Southeast Asia
• All blogposts from the Philippines
• Volunteering in the Philippines with Rise Above Cebu
• Volunteering with Rise Above in the Philippines: Dental Mission!
• Christmas at Ayala Shopping Center with the Rise Above Foundation
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob
• Sightseeing in Bohol: Day-trip to the Chocolate Hills & Tarsier Watching
• Diving in the Philippines: Balicasag - the Diver's Heaven and the Marine Sanctuary
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Weekend Trip to Iloilo!
• HumanHeartNature: Filipino Ecological Skincare!
• New Year Greeting from the Philippines!
• [Hotel Reviews] Philippines: A night at an aquarium - Hotel H2O

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette

After two weeks of volunteering for the NGO Rise Above I decided to take the weekend off, and visit my GIP friend Ace who lives in the idyllic and historical island Iloilo. With a cheap flight from Cebu with Cebu Pacific Air I reached Iloilo a couple of hours later, and was met by my friend at the airport. We had already agreed that if the weather was bad we would go restaurant hopping instead of island hopping, and since it was already late Friday afternoon we decided to start with the restaurant hopping. According to Ace, people in Iloilo don't live long because all there is to do in Iloilo is eating. And not to mention that they have a lot of greasy food too! Haha..

By the beach in Jordan, Guimaras

Visiting Jordan, Guimaras

Although the weather forecast had predicted a possible typhoon for Saturday it seemed like we had avoided it after all, and the good weather made it possible for us to go Island hopping! We left Iloilo by a small ferry heading for the neighboring island Jordan, and were picked up by a jeepney (local bus) reserved by my friend. It took us to a beach on the other side of the island where we got into a small Filipino boat. From there we visited many small islands in the area, and had the chance to swim in the crystal clear water. On one of the beaches we stopped by I got to take pictures with a sea turtle, and on another island we visited a sort of traditional Filipino house.



When we came back to Iloilo after our little island hopping adventure Ace drove me around in Iloilo and showed me all of his city. Iloilo is a very historical place with many old and pretty buildings dating back to the years of the Spanish colonization. Unfortunately most of these buildings have already been destroyed, and the remaining ones are not being kept very well either. I hope for the future that the government sees the value in these historical buildings and do a better job in conserving them for the future generations and possible tourists.


The rest of my stay in Iloilo was spent eating delicious foods and desserts..



On Sunday morning it was time for my flight back to Cebu. I had a great weekend much thanks to my friend Ace who took so good care of me and showed me around, and not to mention his family who let me stay at their place. I hope I get the chance to visit Iloilo again some time in the future!

• All blogposts from Southeast Asia
• All blogposts from the Philippines
• Volunteering in the Philippines with Rise Above Cebu
• Volunteering with Rise Above in the Philippines: Dental Mission!
• Christmas at Ayala Shopping Center with the Rise Above Foundation
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob
• Sightseeing in Bohol: Day-trip to the Chocolate Hills & Tarsier Watching
• Diving in the Philippines: Balicasag - the Diver's Heaven and the Marine Sanctuary
• Sightseeing in the Philippines: Weekend Trip to Iloilo!
• HumanHeartNature: Filipino Ecological Skincare!
• New Year Greeting from the Philippines!
• [Hotel Reviews] Philippines: A night at an aquarium - Hotel H2O

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette