KTA Finals in China

this is it guys, the final stop for the Kiteboard Tour Asia 2013.
wow that was a long journey, but very well worth it.



i was soooo excited to come here to China, and yes it's my first time.
I've heard so much about the food in china that got me to panic buy oatmeal and protein shake before i headed out here. and you don't wanna be around me when am hungry. my luggage was packed with these and my new freedom dolly cruiser arrived on time for my flight!


Also facebook is not available in China which was a good thing for me for a week, but i didn't like the fact that youtube, vimeo and other cool websites like pinterest is also not available here. i was looking forward to catching up on watching kite and wake movies on the net and download some fun stuff. but o well everything turned out for the best. i spent the afternoons skating around with some of the riders at the boardwalk while we waited for our heat.


unfortunately on this tour stop my long wetsuit didn't arrive on time so i didn't do the twintip race because the water was freeeeezing.
i was ok with my shorty during the freestyle heat because it was only 7 mins.
but not with racing so i decided to drop out from that before i freeze to death.

again had the same problem from thailand and boracay of not having a sail big enough to race with, compared to all the rest in their 11s/13s and even 15s.
so next year i would really have to get a bigger kite than a 9m

The trip coming here to Pintan was long, but since i was traveling with the whole Philippine Kite Team it made it seem like its only 3hours long, hey it was almost 24hours.

I love that our team had matching shirts and we are all helping each other with our luggage, visas, etc.

i love my teammates. we have a good mix of every discipline and we did quite well on this tour stop as you can see in the podium.

this stop, we stayed in a really nice hotel and i was also sharing a room again with rebecka, our norweigan speed queen who flew in all the way to compete and defend her ranking.



I also got to hang out with the Pingtan kiters on their very cool shop just right on the boardwalk.

The Chinese Government and the Pingtan Sports Committee was very well organized especially with the meals. the dinners were held in nice big halls for banquets and there are people reminding us to go to dinner. haha that was great. reminds me of helpers from the philippines



i was a bit picky on the food, although it seem yummy i was extra careful with my consumption to avoid any allergic reaction especially with shellfish




Plus, China is known for big extravagant things.
The opening ceremonies resembles a celebration of a national holiday which i think the government did declare it as such. Complete with daytime fireworks, military representatives, high school girls holding flags of each nation ( where the participants are from) and paragliders







The wind was a bit light on this tour stop so we did a LOT of racing. i probably spent more time skating than kiting in this tour stop, which was of course also good. i havent skated in awhile.

plus
I was able to squeeze in a run through the beach with rebecka my running buddy and am so glad i did. the view was amazing. and since it was cold, i had a nice time running.


PS: DC sent me this really nice running shoes, yes DC now has running shoes with ultralite for that really lite feel on each stride. and it comes in funky colors too



the whole tour was a great experience for me, i learned a lot of things kiteboarding wise and on myself. i realized that i do not like to be in the middle of race protests and would only be racing on twintip and for fun. i also realized that i really am not comfortable riding straps, and will stick to my boots which is what ive been used with from wakeboaording ,and when practicing or going on heats ill be sporting a cute white helmet to protect my head. i do not care of people think i look like a korean tourist trying to kiteboard. lol


i would also like to give props to all the people that believed in me and helped me get here.
without you guys this will not be possible.

thank you to my support crew, loveyah guys!

Roxy and DC Shoes
Tribu Outdoors and Headware
GoPro
David Salon
Mango Riders
and
Kasbah

So now it's time to party again, for the last time for the season, KTA style.

i hope you guys enjoyed following us on one great season! til next year.

love Paula

Tea Anyone?

The Tooth Fairy

My impacted wisdom tooth is finally out.

hurray!

after 3 years (since it first erupted) of contemplating if it should go or not

i finally decided that now is the time!

--

last week was the last haul of the wind and i didn't get to kite for the last 2 days because 

the pain was just insane that i booked a flight 

the next day and went to see a dentist in Manila.

Yes, i had to fly to Manila to get my wisdom tooth

extracted because nobody can do it here in Boracay.

The travel to and from Manila was exhausting as i am nursing a toothache

and takin the trike (tuktuk) to the port, sleepover at Bahari Kite Resort (Thank you Marc Nelson)

catch a van to kalibo at 2am, fly to manila at 530am and go the dentist at 9am.

the 530am flight was the only choice i had considering prices, its insane how can a 1 hour domestic flight cost you 7k php 1 WAY! wow! it's like going to Bali or something.

plus some flights you'd have to fly through Cebu then Manila.

now that i say is very exhausting.

and the ferries crossing to/from boracay stops at 10ish so yes, i had to sleep in union bay.

which turned out good in the end for the change of scenery away from the bright lights and hard pumping music of Station2 in Boracay.

I also got to see the new baby of Jemma and Bacchus of Mango Riders Union Bay. he is just so adorable.

I also got to hang with the kids there. it was a nice little break with an awesome sunset peaking from the clouds. sunsets from the east side of our spot is just amazing especially when there are a lot of clouds around.

I've been wishing that one day, i can spend the entire season in Asia being based in union beach instead of Bulabog beach, just to enjoy a less busy beach.

and finally work on fixing our sliders

PS: please somebody who has the same liking for sliders,
please spend some time to help me with this. 

anyways, am usually good at keeping my patience with flights but not with a toothache. 

I only had a backpack with me with water, pain killers and my Ipad (for my amusement).

i didn't bother to bring ANY clothes, as i can just ransack my old closet in Manila.

when i got in to town i went straight to the dentist and told him to hook me up with strong anesthesia for my tooth and take it out.

i really didn't feel a thing during the procedure but when the anesthesia wore offf.....

that was another story. I went back to the dentist after spending the whole day in pain just to get a prescription of stronger pain killers.

am not usually a fan of pain relievers but F*ck that, sorry for the language but it was just too much pain for me to handle at that moment.

i imagined it to be less painful. 

also am really pissed about not being able to move so much while am recovering.

am a bit bored now, i might say. 

i cannot swim, go underwater, do yoga, surf, kite or even just jump up and down. 

well, now i guess the body needs to rest for a bit and enjoy just being lazy. although, the fact that i cant really eat anything either is killing me...and i love to eat 

i've been eating oatmeal cereal for the last 2 days..ok i had a fish brochette and pita bread and hummus but it had to be cut in bits and easy to chew. and it takes me 2 hours almost to finish a skewer for dinner.

--

i feel like a sick baby.

but over the 3 days that i've spent in manila,

i managed to see all the brands i work with

since am working remotely in Boracay, technically.

they don't really see me often aside from my Facebook and Instagram updates 

plus the occasional blogging.

i had a nice lunch with the awesome peeps at Roxy/DC 

while my face was still double the size after the surgery . it was quite funny and sad

to have me eating miso soup and small sushi while everyone is chowing down their tonkatsus and tempuras.

-

PS: i always get extra excited when i enter this place

the next day, which was the most painful day of all, i was trotting around high on pain killers

when i met with Jeena and Jason from Headware and Tribu  - i finally saw my big mural in their office, and look, even a smaller one from my last snowboard trip from tahoe with my filipino flag

headware.

i also spotted the new package and marketing stuff for The New Body BAg which i personally adore, plus the mural of my kite friends too!!!

the new headware stuff drove me crazy! the prints are amazing!!!

And THANK GOD for DAVID's SALON! 

who gave my hair a lift as usual! 

i am so stoked to be an official endorser now for this amazing company! 

Laura is one of my favorite hair stylist,

we worked for a David's Salon AD a few years back where she dyed my hair pheonix RED!

now we are collaborating for a new look on my hair for the summer. 

I was also hoping to catch my Boss from GoPro philippines when i passed by his office, who i know is extremely busy, to personally thank him for the new GoPro 3 plus the sweet mounts he stashed me with and also for aiding me in shooting for my 2013 season movie BLUSH #2. 

and, believe it or not i thought i was gonna eat elsewhere when i was in Manila but i still ended up in Kasbah - The Fort - just because! it's so sick to hang out there and the food is really great, seriously! 

I can live with Kasbah food for life!

i had din din with my wondertwin danielle

This is when i had the fish skewer.

a lot of chatting, since we are not neighbors anymore, havent seen her since my last manila trip.

The next day, i went back to Kasbah to Have lunch with my fellow Roxy Girl, Jo who i also havent seen for ages except on TV,

coupled with a fun chat with my amazing Boss,
the lady behind Kasbah - Madonna -
who is RAD in her own sophisticated way!

a few sick plans for the next season plus many more! so watch out for that.

Am personally very excited!

this moroccan cigars were yummy but i can't chew on them so well :(

--- 

To Summarize it,

i love all these people that i work with one way or another.

Looking back on how our partnerships started it was for a common interest

PASSION.

The BRANDS that i represent are not only good products/services but also looking at the people behind them, they have the passion to deliver to you (consumers) a product with a purpose and working with it with a lot of Passion, plus of course a genuine love for the environment and embodies an active lifestyle.

To all of you thanks for the laughs (to distract me from my aching tooth) and ideas.

Am excited for what the future brings to us! 

and also to your RAD new products
it's always to difficult to choose just one,
can i not get both? lol

PS: Thank you for the best "CARE" package in the world my Tooth Fairy, or should i say Tooth Faries!

Everyday i feel so blessed and loved!

Forgive my poor iPhone photos, i think i need to dust my lifeproof case clean

I am really high on pain killers right now...
Thanks for reading this long Post guys
and i really hope my tooth surgery gets better soonest.
i miss being in the water.

Peace.Love.Good Vs
Paula

Last session + Heat Wave + Toothache

we are on the last blow of wind in our lovely beach

and i am a bit sad about it.

i wish i had an 11m or just for the wind to stay for a few more weeks.

but altogether it's been a great season! 

I am actually surprised that i used my 5m sooo much, i thought i would not be needing it too much

but i did!

Now i have a few weeks to endure this heat wave.

And i tell you it's freaking humid as hell and since it's the peak of 

summer in the Philippines, Boracay has been going off the hook with tourists!

I've been going nuts because there is toooo many people in the beach and one of the reasons i moved here is for the "laid back" life.

April is not laid back in this place.

--

Well, on the other side of things, parties are going on everywhere, even here in Kasbah.

so in the end it's still fun.

 i've been busy organizing parties here and there, can't even update my own blog, running around like crazy, can't even find time to hang out.

and i really wish for it to be over soon.

Today i get a day off because i am heading down to the city to get my first surgery ever.. and  am scared.

i've been trying for a year now, NOT to have my impacted wisdom tooth removed but the pain is just insane, i can feel it in my head and until the tip of my fingers.

Last night i was in so much pain, i had to drink mefanamic acid, anti bacterial and anti-histamine 

(because i just found out that am allergic to mefanamic acid, it makes my eyes and lips puff)

that i was knocked out at 7pm and missed the season closing party at Hangin Kite Center, what a bummmer. 

i also woke up at 1am because of the pain that i had to take a 2nd batch of pain killers :( 

and i am not really a fan of meds.

and i didn't stop taking the mefanamic acid, so now i feel like a dying puffer fish :/

o well,am gonna go to the doctor and be brave and get this tooth out. 

I'll try to post some pictures of my "first" surgery.

----

Here are some photos from my super lightwind last session in Bulabog.

(it was such an effort to even jump with my 9m being my biggest sail.)

but i was persistent as the next session i might have is in China

PS: this NBI e-clearance thing is driving me nutZ! 

why is it so hard to get a visa to china?!

Taken by awesome Micheal Webb

Thank you sooo much!