I'm LOVING this book. Seriously. It opened my eyes up to the world of Ancient Egypt like it never had.
Granted, I'd always been biased to British history and literary figures but this book has blown me away.
Though it does have it's ups and downs [more of which I'll post when I've finished reading the book, I'm about 1/3 there], I constantly have to google and research to create a visual interpretation of what Michelle Moran was saying in the book.

So, hence, for myself [and any others who might be interested in Ancient Egypt], I created a virtual tour and guide of the times as based from the book of Michelle Moran. Well, mostly I did it to avoid having to google everything again, so I'll just post everything I come up here and credit as necessary. And basically I just want the readers of my blog to appreciate the same things I did whilst I was reading the book!

No spoilers below! But if I do slip, let me know in the comments so I could update this post!

First up, who are these characters from the Hellenistic Egypt times? Well, there's Kleopatra Selene. As per the book, she is the only daughter of Marc Antony and Kleopatra VII.

[Photo on the left from http://www.bible-history.com/] The book is told from her point of view [hence the title "Cleopatra's Daughter". No, it's not about the famous Cleopatra VII talking about her daughter] She was only 11 when her mother and father committed suicide when their empire was falling against Octavian's forces. [Previous sentence is not a spoiler because everyone pretty much knows that they killed themselves -- its part of Ancient History!]

She has a twin brother, Alexander Helios, whom I can't find a decent portraiture on the internet right now, who is more level-headed and is an excellent horseman like his father.

She also has a younger brother, Ptolemy Philadelphius, described to look a lot like Marc Antony [now, I really have to look for photos of Marc Antony!!! Is he that much of a looker? Really?? I couldn't imagine although the bust pieces of him from the museums kinda look interesting -- he's got wavy [or curly] blonde hair, doesn't he?]

Anyways, the book was initially set in Alexandria, where Selene was recounting how lovely the place was. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was located there: The Lighthouse of Alexandria, to which Selene has drawn many wonderful views of the city [painting by Salvador Dali on right].

 Alexandria is on the top of Egypt, it is also known for their sea ports and was the capital of Egypt. Alexander the Great had founded this city when he conquered Egypt!

This city is also known for the Library of Alexandria, it was also stated in the book that it's filled with thousands of scrolls and Selene and Alexander loved to read through them. The book also describes the mausoleum of Antony and Kleopatra, and I would've loved to see the mausoleum as well as the Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse, but unfortunately, they're all destroyed now :( Well, who would've thought it would survive after 2000 years [except for the pyramids of course]

My, my, who would've ever thought that people in those days would ever think that their works and legacy would still live 2000 or more years on?? Hopefully I would love to make at least a tiny bit of impact to the world as much as they did.

I left out my notes at home so I'll create a virtual tour part II when I come up with more interesting bits and bobs. I'm at the part where Kleopatra and Alexander are already seeing the sights and structures of Rome, so the next part would probably be longer than this!

Hope you enjoyed :) I'd already included Alexandria as one of my places to visit in my goal to see the world!

So, last Sunday, October 18th, I went to SM North Edsa's The Block atrium to catch a show by a new British band called Raygun.

Well, I don't really know them much, except that a good friend of mine is totally addicted to them [esp the bassist] and begged me to come. Well, since I had nothing to do that Sunday afternoon and I'm curious to see if this band is cute good, I am happy to oblige with her request.

I arrived at SM North around 4:15pm -- the show was at 5pm and I'm not really expecting it to start on time given that no one really follows the exact time here in the Philippines.

Calallilly [sp?] started the set by singing a few songs [not a big fan of them, sorry, don't know any of their song titles] followed by Raygun.

Raygun setlist [many thanks Dez!]

1. Can't say no
2. Rocketblast
3. Waiting in Line
4. Just Because
5. Lord forgive me
6. See you later

Just bloody 6 songs? Come on! The event was only around 30-40 minutes long!
Meanwhile, enjoy some photos I shot at the event. There's probably gonna be more uploads once I have the time to upload them.

At the end of the concert, there was a meet & greet. Oh, I actually won a contest from a local music channel here in Manila and I got a free t-shirt and poster [which I got signed] from the band. I also got my photos taken with them too [but no, I'm probably not going to upload my photos with the band here].

The next day, the band went to a radio station. I was initially slated to go but since I've also got to work, I decided to choose the latter. Hey, I don't want to get fired! I need the money to pay off my bills & necessities lol. The band would have to wait.

Hopefully the band would come back. Until then, I'm off to enjoy my life! :D

Since I don't have any bookish related things to share, and since a friend of mine wanted me to blog about some of my travels, I might as well start off with a long overdue post from a trip to the UK last June-July 2008.

After a long plane ride from Manila to Dubai and finally to London, I landed on June 1st, Saturday, around 8AM.
[More info in another blog post]

After resting in my apartment in Smithfield, unpacking and cooking my lunch, it was time to go sightseeing with my friends!

First up was North Greenwich.

** Map of the different areas in Central London's East Side. Taken near St. Paul's Cathedral by myself **

From Farringdon station, I bought myself an Oyster Card [tip: buy an Oyster card! It is accepted in the bus and the Underground and you'll get fares that are so much cheaper than the typical single fare rate]. I honestly have no idea which station or line of train we rode in and where we stopped! I was at a daze! I think we went down the Circle/Metropolitan line [again, I don't remember] in Westminster [or was it London Bridge?] but when we headed for the Jubilee line, we found out it was closed! Good thing there were free bus services that were shuttling us around the areas where the Jubilee line was supposed to service.

Note: If travelling in London, most underground lines or stations could be closed during weekends because they're under maintenance service. Before you enter the train station, always read the advisories first to make alternate routes. The underground station is quite confusing to understand at first, but every station has free maps in it, and most station has an interchange or another station within walking distance so you could easily find your way around it, easypeasy! :) Also take note that some stations or train lines close earlier than the others so do make your research and you'll be fine :)

We went down the O2 Arena.

Map of London's underground. Confusing? Not really. The different colours represent the different train lines and the circles are station names.

The O2 Arena is a large multimedia arena that used to be called the Millennium Dome. It is the venue for some of the concerts hosted in London. At the time I was there, The Osmonds were playing, and two days before were Boyzone [more about Boyzone later]. It was such a huge venue, it houses a cinema [called the Vue], an exhibition hall [called the O2 Bubble -- King Tut was exhibited at the time, it was actually their first exhibition in this venue, and again, this will be elaborated on another post], various restaurants and bars [Entertainment Avenue], and some other stores. Plus, the dome itself is very distinctive -- you could easily see it from aerial shots of London. *sigh*

There is no entrance fee to go around the O2 grounds, but separate entrance fees if you're going to watch a concert or go see an exhibition in the hall. If you're going to convert from peso to pounds, be sure not to be shocked at the prices cos some of them are absolutely outrageous! At the time, the pound-peso exchange rate was nearly P90 so do the math :P

** me at the O2 Arena **

After the O2, we also went around the North Greenwich area, which will be covered in another post!

Tah for now!

The mosque during my trip last month. Good times.

This is a photoblog of our fifth day in Hong Kong, one of our itineraries included going over to Sha Tin, in New Town Plaza mall to visit Snoopy's World.

A brief background: it is actually the first outdoor Peanuts playground in Asia.
To go there, ride the MTR and go down in Sha Tin Station. Then a short 5 minute walk through a mall & follow the directions to Snoopy's World.


**entrance to Snoopy's World**


**Snoopy & friends camping out**


**a more close-up view of the camping**








**Snoopy and Charlie Brown boating**


**Joe Cool**




**Shroeder**


**Snoopy playing the guitar**


**Snoopy & Woodstock**


**Sally Brown**


**Psychiatric help? Ask Lucy!**

Originally uploaded by rubybabydoll

This is the train going to HK Disneyland from Sunny Bay.
Look at the detail of the windows -- they're mickey ears! Now, can you find the hidden mickeys? :)

More photos to come from my HK 2009 trip!

I am overwhelmed at the number of things I could do in this place! It's less than 2 wks before I leave MNL for a relaxing [but quite an expensive] experience with my mum! I am trying to plan our itinerary [we're doing a DIY trip] and hopefully we'll get to go to all the places we want plus some shopping along the way, after all, we are going there during the sale season!

I'm gonna be broke but happy!

I'll try to post photos and my final itinerary during or after my trip :)

So far, here's our proposed itinerary, we'll be staying 6d 5n in HK! :D Trip next year would also cover HK but more on Macau & Shenzen. This is it! I will be a jetsetter! :D

July 8th
-- arrive at 11am in HKIA via Cebu Pacific [booked via their sale last May :) ]
-- grab bags & head on to shuttle service of hotel [will be staying at Evergreen Hotel in Jordan] OR go around the terminal for a while & grab some lunch.
-- Check-in at hotel
-- After check-in, go to Sha Tin District: 10,000 buddhas, Snoopy's World, New Town Plaza & other areas of interest in Sha Tin
-- Evening: TST/Mong Kok/Avenue of the Stars/Symphony of Lights [subject to the time we arrive back]/Jordan Night Market

July 9th:
Hong Kong Disneyland [10am-8pm]
9pm onwards -- more shopping. Where exactly is subjectie.

July 10th:
Ocean Park
TST/Avenue of the Stars [subjective

July 11th:
Noah's Ark, Park Island. [10am onwards]. Nan Lian Gardens.

July 12th:
Ngong Ping 360, Lantau Island, Giant Buddha, Tsing Yi Bridge, Citygate Outlet Shops, The Peak

July 13th:
More shopping/TST/HK Science Museum [subjective]
- 6pm - leave hotel for airport
- 9pm - leave HK for MNL


Happy Happy! :) Can't wait for more adventures!

Davao 2009!

Two weekends ago, I had a chance to go over to Davao. It was a 3day-3night trip. Our itinerary are as follows:

May 22 09:
- 7pm -- depart Manila for Davao via CebuPac
- 9pm -- arrive in Davao.

May 23 09:
- 7am -- very early call to Crocodile Park for our Wild Water Rafting Adventure.
- 5pm -- arrived back to the city;
- 7pm -- dinner at the bbq place beside Croc Park
- 8pm -- Jack's Ridge

May 24 09:
- 8am -- off to Malagos Bird Park
- Philippine Eagle Sanctuary
- Eden Nature Park
- mass at Assumption Church
- shopping for souvenirs -- pomelos & durian candy

May 25 09:
- Paradise Beach Resort, Samal Island
- Aldevinco Shopping Center [shopping for souvenirs]
- Outland Adventure Zipline [longest zipline in Davao]
- SM Davao for merienda/early dinner
- Davao International Airport. 730pm departure via CebuPac

I'm currently posting photos via multiply now. Will upload more details in a separate post once done! :)

**I know I'm currently behind on my book blog but bear with me, I haven't been reading that much though I'm desperately trying to catch up!

Adventure/Travel list:

2009:

• Pasig City River Ferry
• Davao 2009 [itinerary only]
• Hong Kong 2009 [initial itinerary]

Hong Kong 2009:

• Hong Kong Day 1 - July 8, 2009
• Snoopy's World, Sha Tin, Hong Kong - a photojournal.
• Hong Kong -- The Posts

Malaysia 2009:

• Malaysia -- The posts

England 2008:

• London - North Greenwich: O2 Arena
• London-Related Posts

One of my favourite things to do whilst on leave from work is to go out and just have adventures within Manila or outside Manila.

Last April 13th, since I was bored at home, I went to Quiapo and Divisoria with Yam, my friend.
Instead of the normal route we usually take, this time, we decided to take the ferry.
I first read about the Pasig River Ferry at a book club in Shelfari and immediately decided to try it for the sake of trying everything once :)

We met at Guadalupe, the ferry station is within 5 minutes walk from the MRT station, and it has strict times on when the ferry will arrive. We arrived at around 9:15, and the next ferry would be at 10am.

We decided to go to McDonalds first and eat breakfast then headed for the ferry after.

When we went back to the station, we paid P35 for the fare from Guadalupe to Quiapo. And who did we bump into at the station? None other than Iya Villania and Chesca Garcia -- they are doing a shoot for Us Girls Lol.

The ferry station is very clean, nothing like I first expected. Only downside? No airconditioning, so bring a fan if you need to wait for a ferry longer.



The ferry arrived at around 10:10 and I was surprised it was airconditioned! :) We passed through several churches on the banks, Malacanang Palace [we're not allowed to take photos because of security reasons. boo] and we also saw other ferries. Some of the ferry stations are nice, but when we reached the Quiapo station, I was disappointed. It was just a dingy piece of plank that was a makeshift stop! It didn't look like a ferry station after all.

Overall, I throughly enjoyed the ride! I can't wait to ride again, although a bit of a suggestion would be to renovate the Quiapo station. Seriously.

And off to a friend's house tonight. Yay DSL! Hello long-delayed posts of videos on YouTube, reviews about events and photos.

Have a happy weekend everyone! :)

Latest hauls:
-- Taking 5 DVD [OMG been waiting SOOOOO long for this! Hello the Click Five!]
-- The Duchess and Carnivale [season 1 and 2 DVDs] --> is it just me or am I being biased to buying only period films?
-- Ronan Keating Live DVD [hurrah hurrah]
-- another copy of Boyzone: Back Again No Matter What Live 2008[because I'm scared the other one would be scratched the way I keep on playing it]

**Just wanted to post this --- OMG I shaked the hand of Joey Westwood. He's such a babe:**

That's right. Zero fare for international/domestic flights for CebuPac.

I'm very tempted to go to Vietnam. Hmm..... Gotta check the trusty old bank account if I've got funds

Just checked, I've got none =)

But nevertheless. Will that stop me? I sure hope not!

Will post again if I've *gulp* booked a flight already!

OMG so many foreign acts are coming to MNL!

Vanessa Carlton at the Ayala Malls on May 9-11. Er... dunno if I'll watch since I might have weekend plans to go out of Manila. If that weekend plan won't push through then I'm definitely going to Vanessa Carlton. It's FREE of charge [if you have the Ayala card, of course]. How cool is that?
James Blunt on May 19 -- dunno if I'll watch. It depends on my budget.
The Click Five on May 30th -- SOOOOO STOKED for this. I postponed my London trip for a week just to watch this concert :P Secured my tickets last March [excited??]
Daughtry -- sometime in July. Gosh. I hope I get tickets.
Paramore -- rumoured rumoured.
Alicia Keys on Aug 5 -- dunno if I'll watch :)
Panic at the Disco on Aug 14 -- i will deffo watch, just need to secure tickets by Tuesday, May 6th, perhaps.

Oh My. I can't wait for them. They'll be new concert adventures [if i find the money to pay for them].

On another note, I am going off to another adventure. I am going to England on June and won't be returning till July. How cool is that? I hope to post some experiences/photos when I've got them around :P

My life has been quite boring lately. I haven't found myself some new adventures.

Oh wait. Last weekend [April 26th], I went to Fort Santiago, Intramuros, and just walked around the ancient wall. Downside? I left my camera! Shit.
I also went to SM Mall of Asia [MOA for those of you who don't know it] and watched U2 3D. Awesome, awesome show. For those of you who still hasn't watched this, go and do so to experience [an almost] U2 concert experience. Quite a hefty price to pay P500 for MOA, but well worth it.
Did you know that there were also fireworks at 7pm around the Bay area behind MOA at the time? I watched it too, 'twas awesome.
And did I mention that I forgot my camera when all this was happening? Another shit moment.

April 27th -- Gossip Girl marathon. Did I mention that this tv show is also awesome??? Definitely something worth watching.

Recent addictions for the month: cosmetics. Just bought myself some goodies from MAC's Fafi collection since I love all things cute. Can you blame me if I bought them for the packaging? Oh, may I add that I love the quality of their products as well. If i'm not too lazy to post then I might as well post FOTDs and product reviews and make this blog alive. =)

I am also trying to sell some mineral makeup. So buy if you can! haha.

Gotta run, will post more updates soon =)

Am listening to Vertical Horizon right now and it totally slipped my mind that I wasn't able to blog about my adventure!

Here goes...

Was surfing the ticketnet website (my day isn't complete without checking if there are new tickets available for upcoming concerts here in MNL) and I came upon the Vertical Horizon concert.

Immediately IMed my concert buddy, and he was game to watch =)
Called the ticket hotline and reserved 2 tickets for upper A (this isn't the front block), but we were front row -- albeit not in the center area.

A colleague of mine happened to drop by my computer and saw that I was arranging for the tickets. She called up another colleague and convinced 2 of their friends to go with them in the concert. Funnily enough, my teammate also learned that I was going to the concert and also wanted to watch.

So, the next day, we got tickets -- row A seats 1-6 of upper Box A area 302.

Only prob was my teammate had a different seat reservation -- i believe area 301, seat 7-8 row D.

The day after that, he was able to exchange his tickets for the ones beside us. So now we occupied Upper Box A area 302 row A seats 1-8. Fun, huh?

So, day of the concert. December 7th, 2007.

Plans of leaving work at exactly 6pm was thwarted since there was this user from London who needed attended to.

Ended up leaving the building at 6.15pm and traffic was hellish! It took us an hour and a half to get to the venue.. Yes... that long. We arrived at the Araneta Coliseum at around 7.45pm.

Sheryl was feeling like we were in the amazing race.. Wanting to beat the time because she wanted to watch the front act, a local band called Rivermaya.

We were able to see a few of Rivermaya's set while eating overpriced Wendy's takeout that we had for dinner.

Jamie Kennedy was also there. He was funny.

Then a LOT of waiting before Vertical Horizon came in.

They started playing at around 9.30pm and the show started around 10.45

Nice yeah?

I don't really remember the setlist but i'll probably edit this post once I do remember -- IF i do remember :P

Off to bed now...