Our next stop after Nuwara Eliya was Yala National Park. It was a far drive, and by the time we arrived to our accommodations, our driver, Roshan, asked us to take a really quick lunch, as we needed to be ready by 2.30pm for the Safari driver who will fetch us. We had half an hour to freshen up and to eat lunch! Result? We had sandwiches and of course, french fries.

For that day, I was wearing red. My friends were teasing me that animals can spot on people specially when they are wearing red. That was all I had for the day! I was getting really paranoid, and wanted to change my attire, but one of my friends advised me against it and said that everything was going to be fine. Oh well, bahala na!

Well, the 4×4 jeep proved to be an adventurous ride. We were gripping to the rails, and good thing we brought with us small towels, hats, and shades, as the road was very dusty. We were told that from our accommodations, it was a two hour drive towards Yala National Park. We passed thru houses, and even bodies of water upon our view. I was getting excited as I started seeing exotic creatures like these that early,

Our jeep looked like the photo below. I actually took this photo as the jeep was just in front of us. Haha! Continue reading

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As we departed the beautiful city of Kandy, we headed for the tea plantations in Nuwara Eliya. The drive would be quite long, for two hours or even more, as we were heading towards the “highlands.”

I was actually getting excited to visit the tea plantations as it was a dream of mine to visit such. Since I was a kid, I would read about the famous tea plantation of Ceylon from encyclopedias, and even from romance novels that used that as a setting, and it was such a romantic place for me as it was very old-world. The tea plantations of Ceylon ( which is now called Sri Lanka ) have existed since the 1800s, after the coffee plantations were destroyed by disease. For a precise history of how the tea plantations came about, you may read it from here.

Sri Lanka is the world’s third largest tea producer, with its economy relying heavily on its tea produce. Ceylon tea is definitely famous around the world because of its quality and exquisite taste. Know the brand Dilmah? It’s being exported all over the world and tastes divine.

Anyway, the van was actually driving in circles, up to some sort of a mountain, and we just thought that the drive would never end. It was such a “high” drive! The scenery was full of lush greens, almost nothing but greens. It was mint to the eyes. Just one sore spot that caught my eye was a spot on another mountain that was balding because it seemed to be up for development. Sigh. I was so accustomed to the beautiful greens here in Sri Lanka that I was getting upset with Mother Nature being destroyed. Sri Lankan countrysides are such precious places, that I encourage everyone to go there and just enjoy the fresh, cool air ( specially in Nuwara Eliya ), and reflect. It’s the perfect place.
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After the tiring day climbing Sirigirya Rock and Dambulla Cave, we slept quite nicely in our accommodations in Serene Garden. We were to wake up extra early the next day because we needed to be early to visit the tooth Relic Temple which was nearby, and head off to Nuwara Eliya. Yes, responsible Sophie woke up extra early, got ready, and ran her OC streak in running back and forth to make sure that nothing was going to be left behind.

As Kaths and I were already almost done with our packing, we were startled with a loud bang on the sliding door towards the mini balcony. Ahhh!!! We screamed! So, what was that sound?
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I’m back, I’m back!

Now that I’ve finally restored all my blog entries, let me go on with my travel tales from my trip last January to Sri Lanka. Until now, I’m missing the place alot. Such serenity never escapes the soul.

Well, the Sigiriya Rock climb was the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life ( and the most impulsive, I believe, ) and my knees were shaking, unable to go further as we climbed down, and walked back to our van. The adventure of the day was far from over, as we were about to “climb” up the Dambulla Cave Temple. I was praying really hard that the drive would take hours for my feet to be able to recuperate and rest before the next climb, and the drive bought me an hour ( or at most, a hour and a half ) to rest.

We arrived at the Dambulla Cave Temple Complex just in time for sunset. The day was almost over, and we thought that it was the perfect time to go up the temple complex, as it was the most romantic, and soulful time of the day. Continue reading

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So you must be groaning for me, as city girl Sophie is “roughing it” in Sri Lanka. I was actually scared of day two as my friends were teasing me about the “climbing” that we were about to do! But let me tell you my tale of Day 2 of our Sri Lankan adventure!

Waking up to a glorious view of the lake at MPS Village, my friends drank coffee ( and I did not – did you know that I do not drink coffee? it screws up my nerves big time ), and I drank milk, and the thoughtful staff packed us breakfast as we needed to leave MPS Village by 7am to catch up with our itinerary, which was to go to Polonnaruwa, which was supposed to be during day 1, but the van broke down. So, we hopped in the van, and started our adventure!

It was at least an hour drive (or two), we arrived at the entrance of the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, with a licensed tour guide waiting for us by the guard’s station. He hopped in the van with us, and started talking about Polonnaruwa.

The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa is declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site, as this city has well-preserved its history. According to Wikipedia, it is the second most ancient of the kingdoms in Sri Lanka, and this kingdom had so much improvements in technology such as irrigation systems, thanks to one one notable king that Sri Lankans really look up to, King Parakramabahu. King Parakramabahu advanced Sri Lanka in terms of irrigation systems, and made Parakramabahu Samudra ( Sea of Parakramabahu ), the largest reservoir surrounding that area. It was like a beautiful, mirrored, man-made lake that I gazed on the right of my seat inside the van as we travelled around Polonnaruwa.

What’s in Polonnaruwa? Well as we got out of the van, we started exploring. I carried my heavy DSLR camera ( on rare occasions, I bring it out with me, specially during travels ), and started walking around the palace complex.
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Hello everyone!

I’m terribly sorry for the hiatus of Beautynomics, as when I came back from my trip, I couldn’t find myself moving on without blogging about this trip!

Now as you see, as much as I want to maintain more than one blog for my other stuff, I just find myself unable to, and regretting not documenting fun trips like this! So from now on, Beautynomics will not be JUST a beauty blog anymore, but it will focus more on my life, and how I find beauty in it. You’ll definitely get to know more about me, and it will still be mostly about makeup as I really love makeup and skincare, but you will also see food posts, travel posts, and just random crazy posts! *smiles*

Going back, early this January, as I was dead beat from the bazaar season, I was also very excited as ( let me just reveal ) my friends have booked us a trip to Sri Lanka on January 2012, and I think it was booked during February of 2011? Really crazy right? The reason behind that was, my friend Kats, who is a real bargain hunter in terms of seat sales ( we share the same passion for traveling ) , chanced upon an Airasia sale, and she just picked “Colombo” ( Sri Lanka ) out of nowhere and just asked us if we were game. OF COURSE! My group of friends from college are just too game for anything that we’re so easy to talk to, no matter what the destination was! Last year, it was Cambodia, and I’m glad to have survived it despite my thinking that I’m a city girl. As the days drew near to our Sri Lanka trip, I was actually getting nervous so as what to expect. Is it more challenging than Cambodia, in terms of walking? Too many questions, that just caused me to overpack lots of baby towels – as I have read that it’s scorching in Sri Lanka!

If the Philippines is the Pearl of the Orient, Sri Lanka is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. (I reseached it! Haha! ) It’s right below India, and about 45 minutes away travel time to Maldives. It was part of the Silk Road, has a really rich history (recorded!) and culture. It is also one of the important places in Buddhism if you want to trace the history of the said religion. Sri Lanka means “venerated (Sri) land (Lanka,) and almost everyone is a Buddhist here, with a minority of Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. One of Sri Lanka’s old names is Ceylon, in which I would read about it from history, and even romance novels! Ceylon was famous for its tea plantations, as they produced ( and still do ) one of the best teas in the world. Oh wow, so much to see there, don’t you agree?

Overpacking – Sophie Style

So a week before my trip, I really, really thought so hard about what to pack! I researched about the weather and it was hot – so I was encouraged to bring the most comfortable clothes – jogging pants, and my airy blouses from Bench ( I LOVE them, I can wear them everyday! ). It was a Buddhist country so conservative clothing was encouraged (goodbye, shorts) – so my getup for this trip was loose top, jogging pants, and a really comfortable pair of rubber shoes that I borrowed from my..baby sis. Hahaha! I also brought the hat that I previously bought in Cambodia. Oh, I love that hat!

I also brought with me tons of medicines for headaches, fever, and for allergies, and also packed a big bottle of insect repellent, as it was written in Tripadvisor to do so.

I didn’t bring alot of makeup – I didn’t see the point – just a concealer, pressed powder, a lipbalm, and a powder blush. My toiletry kit, on the other hand, was really heavy – soaps, shampoos, sunblock and all that jazz! I also overpacked with wipes! I neeed wipes for travel! I think I brought with me 4 huge packs!

I was close to 13 kilos after packing all these. Goodness gracious.

Well without further adieu, let me tell you our story about our trip to Sri Lanka!

How We Went There

Well, there is still no direct flight from Manila to Sri Lanka ( or if there were, it must’ve been expensive so we wouldn’t consider it anyway ), so we booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur when Cebu Pacific had a seat sale, then flew to Sri Lanka from Kuala Lumpur, via Airasia. Airasia is a new airline that has really low-priced seats that lets you fly to really good destinations, even to France or London! I love this concept as I dream of traveling the world, but I would not be able to do it with exhorbitant plane ticket prices! So thank you, Airasia! You’re making my dreams come true one trip at a time!

We spent a few hours at the budget hotel near the airport in Malaysia, Tune Hotels ( also owned by Air Asia, I believe ), as we arrived there around 1 am and our flight wasn’t until 6am. The rooms were really inexpensive, but really, really small! I didn’t even get to sleep, and just rested there til the clock ticked three thirty am, and started taking a shower. It was a blur, as everyone was just so tired and it was just such an ungodly hour, so all I could remember was we were already at the airport, waiting for our flight. Sri Lanka, here we come! Continue reading

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Last weekend was just a blast, as I spent it going to one of my favorite local destinations – Cebu!

I was just so drained from work that I needed a break, that I was so happy that a friend was also seeking the same, fun, relaxing weekend, that we decided to book this trip.

Here’s me without makeup, wearing shades to hide all my traces of stress. Yes, wearing shades really help hide you from the world, sometimes, specially when travelling! I love it!

I was looking like that the morning I was bound for Cebu, and my first few hours in Cebu. But then, I had beautiful agendas that day that required me to doll up, so… Continue reading

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While everyone’s enjoying the chilly, snuggly rainy weather, let me share with you something about my beach trip last week. Boracay has got to be my favorite beach in this entire planet, and I’d gladly go back to the island every time I can. Well, when I was there, it was rainy, but I was so glad to be spared for a few days of radiant sunshine! Call me lucky, my Independence Day weekend theory still is valid. Proof? My tan. My next posts will surely reveal how tanned I am right now from my Boracay trip!

Anyway, I’m writing this blog entry to share with you an amazing product discovery. With my newly colored hair, I have tried to be extra careful to maintain it. I do have my hair products just for colored hair just like Pureology and Kerastase, but knowing that my scalp is ultra sensitive, I usually stick to Physiogel Shampoo on a daily basis, and just condition my hair using an intensive hair masque daily. But for the beach, that’s altogether another story!
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It’s the time of the year again, when all Citizens of Summer ( a.k.a. summer lovers ) flock to the Rockwell Tent, to fall in line patiently, and excitedly make their own, personalized pairs of the official footwear for summer , and for those who always have summer in their hearts ( like me! ) – Havaianas!

Yes, it’s time for the Make Your Own Havaianas 2011! This May 12-14, from 10am to 5pm, it’s time to make your very own special pair of Havaianas, just the way you like it!

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It’s the season of warm sunshine again, and with temperatures rising, one would feel the need to warp into the world of powdery sand and turquoise seas. Tis the time of the year when everybody wants to be carefree, have a good time, and toss their worries away like a beachball. Haha!

Havaianas, or Havs as I fondly call them, play a significant role in my summertime. Although I love wearing them all year round as I am a very laid back person, I excitedly show off the limited edition pairs I buy, and proudly wear new pairs to the beach like a girl going to the prom. Yeah, that’s just me! I remember buying fancy Havaianas designs all year round, just keeping them, and laying them out when it’s time to beach, to make my “beach debut” of my new pair!
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