Corregidor and the Manila Sunset Cruise

After going to Villa Escudero and Tagaytay (my favorite get-away that's close to Manila), our next stop was Corregidor.







It was January 22, 2013, Tuesday. We got to the port at around 6:45AM because I booked the 7:30 AM departure and we're supposed to check-in at 7:00AM. I booked the earliest departure because since it's a whole day tour, I want to make sure we make it back on time for the Sunset Dinner Cruise (Php550/pax) that I booked on the same day. I booked the guided tour with lunch which is Php2,200/pax (weekday rate) thru Sun Cruises.

the sun cruises tour bus with the
lighthouse in the background

signs by the light house

 A word of caution, if your guest is not a history buff, specially if she's a female, don't take her here, most specially, don't take her inside the Malinta Tunnel Light and Sound show (Php200.00/person). That was the mistake I did. I took my sister-in-law in the Malinta Tunnel Light and Sound show and she started shaking. I had to take her out even if we just got in. She later on recounted that was the only depressing part of the trip. I just thought it would be cool to bring them there because they have heard of Corregidor and ofcourse because of of MacArthur and the famous "I shall return" and all world war 2 stories associated with it.

The hubby and our best man, on the other hand, liked it. They thought the sound effect in the Malinta Tunnel is cool. The hubby also enjoyed the lunch after the tour and he thought Corregidor island is really nice.

inside the Malinta tunnel
(photo by sister-in-law)

battery

They saw all the memorials and battery parks and barracks and even the light house. We didn't climb the lighthouse except for our best man. It was also in Corregidor when the hubby first encountered the "makahiya" (shy plant).



makahiya from bluemarlinfish on Vimeo.

longest barracks

After the Corregidor trip, I took them to a Manila Sunset Dinner Cruise. Nothing fancy, just a table with musician and the view of the Manila Bay and the surrounding areas. It was cloudy that day and we didn't see too much of the sunset but they still enjoyed their very modest dinner cruise. The food is good and they have live music on board. It was a male guitarist with a very nice voice. My sister-in-law said that cruise was so relaxing it wiped out the depressing Corregidor trip, lol. Yeah, she really hate that trip, lol. I think she still doesn't understand why someone would bring someone to a depressing place like that, lol. But hey, to each his own. Like I said the hubby and our bestman enjoyed that trip.

the very modest Manila sunset dinner cruise

So far, they saw bits of history by touring Old Manila by riding a Segway and going to Corregidor. They saw the famous Manila sunset (they saw this also during their Old Manila Segway tour). They dined by the falls and experienced sleeping in a cottage made of bamboo overlooking a serene river in Villa Escudero. They got to watch a cultural show (which I was so proud they saw, thanks Villa Escudero) They saw the tiniest (which could very much also be the largest) volcano called Taal Volcano. They had their first Bulalo and tried my favorite restaurant in Tagaytay. Saw how the Philippines are so obssessed about their malls (lol) and how awesome we do our malls. They saw what our wet market looks like, how we haggle and got to eat at Dampa. What's left is to show them what the Philippines is really famous for... THE BEACHES!



 coming up next, El Nido.


note: all photos by yours truly unless otherwise specified...please do not use any photos without permission