Sean Akizuki's Personal Blog

Agnes Callamard makes headlines yet again as she confirms she will have her vacation in Tondo, Manila. She had an interview on CNN where she stated, "I can't wait to visit the beautiful city of Tondo, Manila and I want to experience Filipino hospitality in that place. Filipinos were very hospitable during my diplomatic visit. I want to prove to Rodrigo Duterte that shabu doesn't lead to violence or cause brain damage by having my vacation in Tondo." It was confirmed that Callamard herself has already booked a ticket for Manila to have her vacation in Tondo, Manila. The trip was confirmed by Marbobo Roxas, Korina Sanchez-Roxas, Cheato Gascon and Etta Rosales who will hold her welcoming party as she arrives in Tondo, Manila. Akbobo Representative Tom Villarin said in an interview with ABiaS-CBN, "The Palace is scared of Agnes Callamard. Even her vacation here will make Duterte tremble in fear." President Rodrigo R. Duterte commented, "She wants to ha...

Back in Summer of 2007, I remembered going to a family trip to China but I haven't gone to Fujian where my ancestors came from.  The places I can remember are Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing.  Speaking of Beijing, I remembered how our tour guide warned us about the appearance of swindlers in the Forbidden City area so remember, DO NOT ENTERTAIN anybody who just sells you anything.  Now for my experience at the Great Wall of China which there was once that lie it can be seen on the moon which is NOT true. Remembering the dark history behind the Great Wall, it was built by slaves of the first Emperor of China who is known as Qin Shi Huang.  In spite of its dark history, today it has become a tourist spot due to the magnificent architecture which according to some is worth 30 or more pyramids.  The whole place was a mountainous retreat from the rather busy traffic of Beijing.  The whole scenery is truly breathtaking to behold. The higher you go, the more s...

Pino Restaurant in Cebu City in Salinas is an example of a restaurant that sought to improve.  Before, it wasn't all that special a few years ago but rather than have their "Pwede Na Yan" mentality, it decided to improve overtime.  It closed down for awhile to seek improvement creating another must-try, tourist spot which gives off another slap on the face of Failipino mediocrity bringing quality Pinoy food.  Be prepared to be greeted by more than just ambiance.  Pino's new management makes you pay not just ambiance but for...

Six years ago during my trip to Bohol, the Bohol Bee Farm was a resort that I checked in with my relatives from Manila and Surigao.  Even by its name, you can tell this resort is going to be an extraordinary experience.  The place is owned by Vicky Wallace, a Filipino entrepreneur from Bohol. Here's what I can testify about my trip and check in here: The name "Bohol Bee Farm" as it suggests IT IS A BEE FARM.  Don't worry, the bees are contained in restricted areas since they produce their Boholano honey.  I would talk about some of the unique experience here that makes this a fun tourist spot. Here's just a sneak peak of what you will find... but I'll show some spots that amazed me.  Aside from its Pinoy-style architecture to give that good Pinoy experience... you can also take a look at these marvels... There is the souvenir shop that sells various products that they have made.  You can get honey, pesto and tea all ORGANICALLY made.  The...

One of the best things to do in Bohol (unless you are seasick then this trip is no fun for you, just a warning) is to ride the floating restaurant.  I remembered being there with my relatives for a family reunion. Here's a closer view of the boat.  A bit of description... it is a slow moving boat so you can enjoy the scenic view of the Loboc River.  Compared to the Pasig River in Manila, it has been well-maintained although I don't think they allow people to swim here. The Loboc River features a delicious buffet of Filipino food.  Just a bit of advice... they serve red rice from Bohol instead of the regular white rice.  It might not be so appealing at first (for some) but I did enjoy the red rice on the cruise.  Red rice is healthier and more nutritious than your regular table rice.  They serve some seafood, barbeque and the like for a unique Bohohano fun experience.

Having gone to China for a week tour, it simply isn't that surprising that my ancestral country (I do have ancestors from Mainland China) has all the awkward signs.  Stopping by Hong Kong (which I prefer over China) and having gone to Singapore (I was 13 that time), I hardly see any signs to what you are about to see.  Now I've been selective in showing these pictures because some of them have profanity.  Below are pictures I selected from here . It was funny how I landed over to a sign like this somewhere in Beijing.  In fact, I hate to think how my low Mandarin proficiency was a problem.  I think the correct translation should be, "Ripe with greenstuffs" NOT "Rape with greenstuffs". Since when was a fire extinguisher a hand grenade?! Since when did this EVER become an order to slip and fall down carefully?  The warning sign should say, "Be careful or you will slip down!"

Well the word jellyfish would create bad ideas into the head but there are varieties that exist in Indonesia, Palau and the Philippines.  In my case, I went to an area in the Philippines called Sohoton Island (it takes one ride by plane then you need to ride by a boat) to which has a rather remote place where it's hard to get a signal on your cellphone... grrrr.  Based on my experience, it was the first time I heard of jellyfish that lost their sting and being able to swim among them was a really different experience. One could try to scoop them up when they float into the surface but remember, please return them to the water ASAP because these are water creatures. There is also the transparent variety though I ran into the brown ones more. While you might think this guy is a fool, he isn't.  These stingless jellyfish are harmless and they are actually a freshwater type.  In my case, I have tried jumping into there and seeing the wondrous gathering of the s...

Stopping first at Hong Kong before going to China, I would say Hong Kong actually feels better than Singapore for a tourist destination or maybe it's because I got reconnected to my Cantonese roots. Here's a few things to check out if you are going there. If a Tokusatsu fan goes to Akihabara (which I hope to visit soon) this is my "holy ground" and this place is Tsim Sha Tsui.  Well I haven't visited any of the studios (and I respect their off-limits sign) BUT this is where I felt a little bit "at home" for awhile.  Go to the Avenue of the Stars for one.  Seeing the huge statue of Bruce Lee there, I really felt the Nobuo Akagi reaction in me.  Well during that time I went there, I was starting to have a decline in my fandom of Tokusatsu for Chinese entertainment.  This is also a shopping district in itself and well, boggle boggle. Ocean Park would be a good place if you really love aquatics.  Too bad I wasn't there for a show but still, it...

Last 2007, going there in a tour was quite fun.  Eventually I got into a few interesting places namely: The Summer Palace was of the Ming Dynasty.  This was pretty much a place to be.  Well we never did ride on the marble boat and sad to say, there were some Chinese swindlers but they were fortunately apprehended by the police guarding the place.  That's been a lot of decent law enforcement in China.  I thought it was a pretty interesting place and it was also near the Ming Tombs which gave me a yawn. The Great Wall of China was built by thousands of slaves under the rule of Shih Huang Ti.  The whole place was a big marvel, sadly it was built by slaves.  Some say it can be seen from the moon.  What I thought about the whole place upon arriving there was there were interesting souvenirs and of course, it was a spot for climbers.  I may not be the athletic type but I pretty much dared to climb up to the finish line.  Every last spot ...

Having gone to Singapore before fining a lot of stuff above makes it a real fine place.  Some people call the nation as a humans right violator but in reality, their policies actually protect freedom.  Having gone there 16 years ago for a tour with my relatives there, I have noticed how different the place was and how it makes a difference to have strong law enforcement and how it protects freedom.  It does not repress freedom.  Many things that we consider as "freedom" are actually crime at best. When you think of it, just think of how much freedom you have when there's no smell of pee in the wrong places, not much to worry about bacteria spreads, people who smoke in in appropriate places (plus it's better for the environment), water is conserved, no hoarding birds, flowers can bloom on their own, no gum sticking anywhere, the public CRs are well maintained and think of it, no garbage litter makes the place more free to enjoy its surroundings.  In fact, w...

It's a shame that China had a history of aborting unborn females because many of them would have grown to become lovely Chinese ladies, which in turn caused Chinese men to migrate and intermarry with foreigners the most common being American women and Filipino women. I have to admit that in Shanghai, every last turn I saw a pretty Chinese girl, really hot especially in the workplaces. I have to admit that I haven't seen such pretty Chinese ladies in my life.