My name is Hannah Villasis, and I am addicted to surfing.  Check all of my surfing blog posts here.

picture by Philippe Villareal and Cheryl of LittleRunningTeacher.com

There was a time when I would surf every week for 3 months.  All my savings went to surf trips.  It was a whole lot of fun… I WAS BROKE haha!  I do sound like a legit addict.  I got busy though and I had to forego surfing to earn real bucks travel and stuff.

The sea has been calling me lately.  I do think that I’m a mermaid or a gypsy in my past life.  I just love to travel and I love the ocean especially.

You know what, I just realized that I don’t have to spend so much on surfing anymore.  I can just drive 3 hours to Zambales, stay at a cheap hostel that fits my budget and worry about nothing else – just fun, surf, swim oh and a whole lot of art and friends!

Oh thank heavens for The Circle Hostel.

It’s not your ordinary accommodation.  Here, you don’t get a fancy room with A/C, TV, fridge and all the fancy things a regular hotel room offers.  Nope none of that.  But let me tell you something, it was an experience that surely brought out the best in me.

 It’s not your usual hotel accommodation, but it definitely has its charm!  It is ranked high on TripAdvisor as well!

Typical budget for overnight (including gas or bus fare, accom, food, etc) – P1,000!

This was my bunk bed. It was surprisingly comfortable!

I often sleep alone at my solo apartment – it was quite lovely to share this huge cabana with friends and new acquaintances!

If you’re iffy about your belongings, they have a locker for you 🙂

An alternative to the luxury you get from a regular hotel accommodation is nature, art, fresh air and new friends.  On our stay at the Circle Hostel, I didn’t even get to use my gadgets!  Poor iPad – I never touched it at all.  It’s a shame how we have so much to enjoy in this world – and they’re free.

– The smile of a stranger

– The laughter of friends

– The air that we breath

– The sea that gives us a good ride

– Creativity through art and painting

– Good food

– and awareness of our body through Yoga and meditation

It’s also amazing how you can create a game out of throwing a plastic disk – Ultimate Frisbee time!  My glutes were activated so badly, they were swollen the next day – good work out! I should do this more often!

I brought my hoop to take a few videos of me hooping by the beach – just for vanity’s sake really.

I can share with you my experience about this place all I want but bottom line is, you need to experience it for yourself 🙂  Spread and share the love!

First-time surfer Cheryl got some good rides! woohoo!

The Circle Hostel Contact Details

Email: thecirclehostel@gmail.com, lu@thecirclehostel.com, zambales@thecirclehostel.com

Website: www.thecirclehostel.com

Twitter: @thecirclehostel

Cel: zambales 09178611929, la union 09178326253

Facebook: facebook.com/thecirclehostel

The Circle Hostel Directions and Location: https://www.facebook.com/thecirclehostel/notes

The Circle Hostel, Zambales Accommodations

Bunk bed: P350 / night includes bananas and toast for breakfast

Hammock: P250 / night includes bananas and toast for breakfast

The Circle Hostel, La Union Accommodations

Bunk bed: P400

Hammock: P300

Mommy Phoebe’s Place, Sitio Liwliwa, San Felipe, Zambales

Contact no.: 09173200700 and 09185458007

Surfboard rentals: P200 per hour

Surf instructor: P200 per hour

His name is Garfield and he lives to the song of Bruno Mars

translated to lolcat language:

“Ohai! Todayzzzz I dun feel like doin anyyything”

“Me juz wanna layzzz in my bedzzzz!!!”

The girls are ready to surf!

\

Vanity shots by the artful rock cubes!

Okay fine! It looks better without my face in the photo!

POSERS!  There weren’t any big waves on our first day, except for some little bumps by the river mouth good enough for the beginners.

Thank you Nivea and Watsons for this awesome SPF spray! It’s water proof and when you’re super in a rush to get on that surf just spray away!

Easy application – especially when you need to retouch some sun protection!

Once again, thank you to Watsons PH for this Water and Sweat (coz I’m a sweaty one) resistand SPF 50 sun block!

This is best applied 20 minutes before basking in the sun.

Oh and thank you Celeteque for the awesome after-sun gel!

Everyone in the team loved using this after getting a little burn from the sun

Eli loves it so much he wants to drink it for sustenance! Crazy guy Eli >.<

Chow time!!! Our meals – homecooked with love by Mommy Phoebe’s

Here’s the facade of her humble canteen

This was where we had our meals because we were a big group!

Team WhenInManila!

Thank you foor the good food!  We felt so at home 🙂

My favorite!  I couldn’t get enough of this!

I forgot to ask where they got the garlic longanisa – it was yummy!

Sunset by Liwa beach, Zambales

Thank you Sanuk for these cute designed play cards!

We had a fantastic night playing card games and random games

Thank you Raf of The Circle Hostel for hosting our games and drinks!

Here’s another cute kitty from Mommy Phoebe’s place.

Everyone was doing their own thing in the beach – surfing, skim boarding, swimming, chillin’, frisbee, sunset photography etc…

It was quite a relaxing sight!

‘Til the next surf trip!

Backpacker surfing, backpacker accommodations, Zambales, Liwliwa, Liwa, San Felipe, The Circle Hostel, Circle Hostel, Budget accommodations, hostel in zambales,

Everyone knows that I’m simply a beach person!  I’d love to imagine myself at the beach even when I’m in a busy city.  Since I daydream about the beach so often, and I dream so much about it… I sometimes find myself in one!

One day I woke up and found myself in one of my most favorite beaches in the world – Boracay.  I know it’s commercialized and all but that’s the way I like it!  Boracay has a special place in my heart and so does photography, sports and being healthy all the time!

So guess what? all the things I love was in one place!  Beach.  Frisbee.  my DSLR. and Hygienix!

I went to Boracay last weekend to cover the Boracay Open 2011 Ultimate Frisbee competition with Jane and Saab.  I know right? I was hanging out with online and offline celebrities!  Anyway, it was really a fantabulous experience hanging out with Jane, Saab, the people from Hygienix and many other people along the way.

I love taking sports shots so I bought my DSLR and long zoom lens to capture the action.  One of my rather hidden ambitions is to become a sports photographer.  I think I can do it, just give me the proper equipment and I’ll snap those memorable sporting moments away!

 

The Hygienix Booth – Worry Free Zone!

Hygienix has a booth near the Ultimate Frisbee games.

The booth looks really simple promoting a more hygienic way of life <3

After hours of walking, me and Jane got some fab (unlimited time) massage at the Hygienix booth!

Worry-Free Zone 🙂

 

The foot massage was surprisingly good!  I would like to have this machine all around Boracay in case I need a pit stop.  Boracay island stretches at around 4km and it’s no joke walking from one end to another!

 

Frisbee Clinic with Hygienix

On our first day, they had a Frisbee clinic.

Left to Right: X, J, H, W

Seriously, our Frisbee coaches were named X and W – WHADDUP?!?!

And so, Jane and I renamed ourselves J and H too!

That guy above of us is my friend MM 😛 6 pack abs? IKR!

 

X teaching me how to throw using Forehand.  It’s a pretty simple game really, but like any other sports – practice means perfect!

Jane catching the Frisbee I just throwed.

Thank you W and X for teaching us how to play Frisbee!

See you in next year’s Boracay Open! Me and Jane will be joining the Hygienix team and compete! 😛 AS IF lol ^_^

 

The Boracay Open 2011 Ultimate Frisbee Competition

And the games begin 🙂

This is one awesome shot of Derek Ramsay that I took using my Nikon D40 and zoom lens.

Capturing his muscles at work while throwing the Frisbee! *faints*

This was one of the games that I really stayed to watch.  It’s Boracay Dragons vs Pharmaton!

It was one exciting game indeed!  both teams were really good and it was a close competition!

Just a random, clear shot of Derek Ramsay who was playing for Pharmaton

How awesome is playing Frisbee in Boracay?

Pretty AWESOME!  Lose or win, you’re in one of the best places to chill at.  I find Boracay very relaxing and friendly 🙂

Catching the game in action as the competition tightens up!  It was a very intense game!

Got a nice portrait shot of this guy.

Before the game started…

It was actually pretty hard to follow the Frisbee wherever it goes and capture the game.  But patience is a virtue and I just kept taking shots until I captured really good ones 🙂

When you play, SPRAY!

This is their dashboard.  And as you can see, the games are pretty hectic and they have 4 courts set-up.

Fan girl alert at the background 😛

Derek Ramsay getting interviewed right after winning the game.

Found this really big sombrero that’s bigger than me! lol

Ohai! this is me, getting a super tan!

Just some random picture of a lazy dog somewhere…

Nothing beats Boracay sunset with a Red sun 😛

 

Party at One MGM and Summer Place

Your Boracay stay won’t be complete without the beach parties!

This is the booth of Hygienix at One MGM area where the party’s at!

Bloggers me, Jane and Saab at the Hygienix photobooth that prints not just an ordinary 4×5 picture, but a BAG TAG!

Check it out!

On the second day, Hygienix and the athletes of Boracay open partied at Summer Place.

Spotted: DJ Mike of Jam 88.3 at Guilly’s!

Thanks for letting us gate crash your party! 😛

 

More Artistic Photos

Boracay Sunset at Station 1

Lifeguard posts are now built and put everywhere!

This is me and the sunset!

Me, Derek and Jane <3

 

 

This picture is worth one DSLR!

Coz I was clumsy and we got super excited to have our pictures taken with Derek, my camera fell to the concrete ground 🙁

Oh well, at least the picture above is way better than the one I got with him a year ago.

Which was a total fail because I take crappy photos when I’m drunk.  And obviously, at this time – I was! >.<

*photo credits to Jane Chua

Thanks to Nuffnang, Hygienix and people from Splash who invited us to cover this event!  It was a blast!

And oh, next time you see a Hygienix booth, drop by and say Hi!

Till the next adventure,

Hannah 🙂

 

*This post is sponsored by Hygienix. 🙂

Touch Football

Clash of the Athletes… Focus on the ball ladies ^_^

N-nnnnnnnnn-nOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Touch!

Pass 🙂

This sport is actually good for your abs ^_^

Legs

very sharp images from my 70-300mm G Nikkor lens… If you want to know what settings I used, click on the pictures and be directed to my flickr page and view the details 🙂

UP team – group hug!

Nice tattoo 🙂

 

Beach Volleyball

Practice

Sand, Sun and Competition

^_^

“I look like robocop”

out-of-focus … but I love the shot what the heck

Notice the dragon racing event also happening

Beach Ultimate Frisbee

I don’t know who this dude is, but love the abs, the tan and the shades ^_^

“I can hazzz a Halo” 🙂

Karylle photo shoot / video blog

SPOTTED: Karylle at the Nestea Fit Camp Hot

 

I was excited by the thought of blogging while on the bus and uploading the pictures I took in the plane.

I just realized I left my connector on my big bag (which is inside the bottom compartment of the bus).

So here I am – ranting T_T

 

Anyway, good vibes 🙂

 

I am very happy I have a friend with me on-board.  His name is Aaron.  I am not sure if he will read this or not.  But since he reads my blog as well, I think he would lol.

Aaron and I met at La Union when I had a surf trip before.  His barkada just oozed out a “good-vibration” kind of Aura.  Meaning… their group reminded me of Reggae… but I am not even sure if they even love reggae or what not…

 

Aaron is a surfer as well… and he has gone to different surf spots in the Philippines with his group of friends.  They have gone to San Juan – La Union, Baler, Real – Quezon, and that surf spot in Camarines Sur that I couldn’t remember.  He told me how great it is to surf there in Cam Sur in that particular surf spot.  Beach break.  Friendly, Continuous waves… that’s what I want!  I need to plan this trip fast.

He has been inviting me to take my “Ultimate Frisbee” beginner’s course with them.  Either that or I could take pictures of them playing Frisbee.  I love taking sport shots as well.  Notice my F1 photography and surfing photography.  :D  I use my 70-300 mm lens 😀

Anyway, if I have time… I guess I could try this…

but since I am becoming a sports junkie already…

Surfing

Longboard Skateboarding

Bowling

Cheerleading

Volleyball

Swimming

and of course Dancing….

I need to prioritize… before my bank account gets drained again from satisfying all of my hobbies…

Hobbies are another thing… and to list them”:

Blogging

*all above sports are hobbies as well

Photography

Travel

Gadgets (learning to minimize expenditure on this… no wait what? oh that’s right – I JUST BOUGHT A NEW LAPTOP!!! **/wrist**

Games (I stopped a li’l bit)

Movies

Malling

Shopping

Makeup

*and almost each month, the list is expanding **gulps**

 

Anyway, I am thinking sports, because I am so excited in covering the Nestea Fit Camp event in Boracay that I just want to call superman and ask him to deliver me there by himself…

But, since the man doesn’t exist, I need the plane… and now stuck on a bus going to Caticlan… I wanted to sleep at first but I can’t coz I’m WAY … WAY… WAY… TOO EXCITED!!!

 

So, I just channeled this special dose of energy to writing 🙂

 

That’s it… I love sports… and now, I am obsessing on getting fit… 😀

 

In the meantime, I will upload the pictures once we land on Boracay island itself and check in the hotel

 

Okay, I have 1.5 hours left… what to do?

Sun Broadband isn’t working here in the roads of Aklan or Kalibo btw and my Globe Tattoo Prepaid doesn’t have a load… so I am using my phone’s mobile unlimited internet by Smart.  It costs P1,200 per month for unlimited mobile internet (that you can use to browse through on your laptops/desktops)

I am also testing the Sony Cybershot TX1 (YAYE!!!)

That’s why I’m excited to upload the photos ASAP…

so far, completely SATISFIED with it… like I wanna buy one… or beg SONY to give it to me *ahuk… ahuk… ahuk…*

So please come back after like 3 hours to check out the pictures.

I am surprised that I am not yet dizzy even if I’m blogging on the bus… Geeky science friends… dare to explain why?  I get motion sickness all the time… but for now… no motion sickness!!! This is AWESOME!!!

Pictures taken by Sony Cybershot TX1

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