My first Royce' experience

I've always loved eating potato chips. I even handle marketing of potato chips products for a living. So I didn't need a lot of convincing when a colleague of mine told me to try Royce Potato chip Chocolate. And the raves from so many people made me stop and take action.

I remember asking my brother to buy me 'THE' Royce' Potato Chip Chocolate when he was at Greenbelt with my family. Little did I know that I was in for a surprise. I went home looking forward to try the new snack, but my thrill was watered down when my brother asked me to reimburse Php540.00 for the box of Royce' he bought for me. I knew it was expensive, but Php540.00? Sheesh... Had I known, I could've just walked past the stall and asked for a sampler. Hehe. I was still in disbelief, so I didn't rush to eat it. I even told my mom I'd just put off eating it 'til Christmas (ang mahal eh...).

Seeing that the box won't last 'til Christmas, I opened it the following day. I was excited at the sight of the chocolate. Chew... chew... chew... Hmm... I waited for that something... after around 5 chips, it still didn't come. Nope, no wonderful burst of flavors here. I know the product has a lot of following, but my own opinion is this... The potato chips are good and the chocolate is good... but on its own... At some point, I felt the chocolate was too overpowering that the saltiness was a bit negligible. But maybe that's just me. It fell short of my expectations from all the hype Royce' Potato Chip Chocolate got.

Try it for yourself. It's different, but maybe not my kind of different.

Man-made breath-taker in Bohol

My fiancé and I went to Bohol recently and found ourselves in awe of this little island tucked away in the Visayas region. More than the infamous Chocolate Hills, white sand beaches of Panglao and the provinces’ resident Tarsiers, Bohol had so much more to offer. One of which is the point of my raving today.

We took this countryside tour that would bring us to the popular tourist sites of Bohol including one with less hype than the others, but of equal or maybe even more beauty (subject to the author’s own perception) - the Man-made Forest in Bilar. When we were passing through it, I felt like I was looking at some stored Microsoft Windows screen saver. It was such a pretty site. It had the charm of the countryside and the soothing feel of paradise.

To add to its charm, the forest is a site to behold and historic in its own right, with the thousands of Mahogany trees painstakingly planted by the Boholanos since the start of the 50s. I know, I know… What’s so special about just lots and lots of bundles of trees? Maybe it’s the breeze or the endless shade it offers… I really don’t know, but it has that something that merits it as a special place. Try seeing it for yourself when you visit Bohol and maybe you’ll feel the same way as I do. Of course, the photo can’t compare to the real thing. Maybe we could replicate something like the Man-made Forest of Bilar somewhere here in Manila… I’m pretty sure it would be another site to behold. =)