just some collection of photos and videos during our recent trip to the Philippines.
here you would see and read about our experiences while visiting Tagaytay, Bohol and Boracay.
Day 0.
(Feb 11). Our trip started with a very pleasant surprise, from Premium Economy, we got upgraded to Business class for free. It's funny how that turned out, because the hubby was trying to do their bid thing from Cathay Pacific where Business Class seats are up for bidding. He bid for $1,000 per person (one way only) and didn't win so just imagine our surprise when they told us we got upgraded. Yep, that means bed, baby! For a 16-hr straight flight. We also got upgraded to Business Class from Hong Kong to Manila and we're hoping it would be the same deal coming back to the U.S *wishful thinking*.
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| champagne welcome drink |
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| nyt-nyt |
Day 1. Isdaan
(Feb 12) We arrived in Hong Kong at 5:30 am and left Hong Kong for Manila at 8:36am. We were at Manila Terminal 3 (which looks very nice, by the way) at 10:38 am and didn't leave the building until 11:18am. From there we went straight to Isdaan floating restaurant. We rented a van and I instructed the van to pick-up my family first so we could go straight to Isdaan from the airport. It was a good hour and 10 minutes drive. We had our lunch there and ordered some favorites and a few intriguing dish. There were 6 adults and 2 kids and we still ended up with left overs to take home.
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| sangbalde at isdaan |
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| isdaan |
I have been to Isdaan before but the one in Tarlac, which I believe is the original one, and it's amusing to see that the one in Laguna is
almost the same as the one in Tarlac. Like, they also have Tacsiyapo (anger management thingie, lol) and Sangbalde (cross a bridge and win 1k of fish). They don't have the monkey game though and the big buddha but the Laguna location still has a lot of photo selfies to offer, lol.
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| some of the dishes we ordered from isdaan |
By 2:41 we left Isdaan. I wanted to make sure we make it back to Makati in time for my sister-in-laws work schedule.
Day 2. Tagaytay
(Feb 13) We stayed at New World Hotel for a night. I chose that hotel because it's just across Greenbelt, my favorite mall. The next day we drove to Tagaytay. I forgot to mention that the reason we were in the Philippines is to attend a friends' wedding and we decided to make a vacation out of it as well. They're both used to be my co-workers in the Philippines (they live in Chicago now). The wedding is in Tagaytay, one of my favorite get-away places.
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| cant get an elevated hut so this would do |
Our first stop was Leslie's. I really really want to get one of their elevated huts because the hubs have been obsessing about it during the first time he'd been to Leslie's. Unfortunately, no elevated huts were available so we just contented ourselves to a hut on the ground. We still have a very good view of the Taal Volcano so we're still good. We just ordered Bulalo and some drinks and it was just the hubby, our van driver and I. We didn't eat too much and didn't stay long because we had a lunch plus massage reservation from Nurture Spa.
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| bulalo with a view |
I've been to Nurture Spa before but I was doing solo that time and I remember getting their body scrub and flower soak. The flower soak was fantastic. It's a bath tub filled with rose petals. Anyway, I didn't get that package this time because I booked for their "Magkasintahan" package instead. It comes with a full-plated lunch, a couple's massage, use of room for 4 hours (which we really didn't use because we opted to just check-in at our Tagaytay hotel for an uninterrupted nap). The lunch is very good. The ambience, so peaceful. The massage, relaxing.
We booked two nights from Lake Hotel Tagaytay. They're hotel is overlooking the Taal Volcano but unfortunately our room isn't facing that way. Their dining area is nice though. It's always a treat to have breakfast there because of the beautiful view and they serve good breakfast buffet too with someone playing the piano while you sip your morning coffee. Ahhhh. That's life.
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| breakfast with a view |
Come dinner time, we went to Antonio's Farm. I have fond memories of this place and I even have a friend/co-worker who got engaged here after I suggested this place for him to propose. I like this place for it's ambience and attention to food quality (but my ultimate favorite is still Sonya's Garden). Antonio's is famous for their steak, so make sure you try that.
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| the inside dining room. i prefer the outside where you are right next to a pond. |
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| Lanai lounge. I suggest you come to your dinner reservation early enough to sit here for some wine or cocktail drinks during dusk. |
Day 3. Tagaytay
(Feb 14) Wedding day! My friends, that is.
The church is at Don Bosco Batulao or more commonly called as "Chapel on a Hill". I've been to this church as a teenager and as a young adult back when I was still part of Don Bosco Makati's Rondalla group. We would do retreats here or just hang around with our favorite brothers (priest-to-bes). So it's really nice to see this church again. Brings lots of fun memories.
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| friends' wedding |
The reception is at Villa Ibarra, which is just a stone's throw away from Lake Hotel Tagaytay. Villa Ibarra is nice too, also overlooking the Taal Volcano. We actually initially planned to book at Villa Ibarra but later found out the bride and the groom already booked all the rooms for their family, which perfectly makes sense. That's what we did with our reception venue at Peter Shields for our family and entourage. Although with us, we were'nt able to book all the rooms because two of them have already been booked way in advance. I digress, Villa Ibarra is a lovely place and it was a lovely wedding. Rustic and romantic with a touch of "under the sea". Just lovely.
After the wedding we rested for a bit and went to our dinner reservation at Purple Owl.
They had a Valentine Special called "In Our Stars", where they have tarot card readers. Not our kind of theme, but whatever. I really wanted a travel theme but they can't accommodate me because of their Valentine special but usually they can set up your table the way you want it.
Some people love this place, but for us it was so-so. Maybe because we got turned off when we saw a man's brief under our table (honest!). But give them a try, you can tell them what theme you want and they can work with you. I've read about couples getting engaged here as well.
On day 4,5,6, 7 (feb 15, 16, 17, 18) we were in Singapore and day 7, 8, 9, 10 (feb 18, 19, 20, 21) we were in Thailand so I'll skip that and write about it on a different blog and just continue with day 10 to day 17 , 11, 24 (feb 22-28).
Day 10. Bohol
(Feb 21) We arrived in Manila on the night of Day 9.We stayed at Holiday Inn, again it's close to a mall (Glorietta, this time). We only stayed there for a night. It was late at night when we checked-in and we were starving. Good thing there was this night food market thing going on that time (in front of Rustans and Hotel Ascott, where the dolphins are) and we chanced upon this rows after rows of Pinoy food.
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Day 11. Bohol
(Feb 22). I've been to Bohol before, but I wanted to come back with the hubs. I want to show him the Chocolate Hills and the nice beach of Panglao. He's also mesmerized with the tarsier the first time I showed him my photo of one, so I want him to see that in real life too.
We booked 3 nights (Feb 22-25) from South Palms (DeLuxe Garden View) . Our stay includes Breakfast and Dinner. I stayed at Alona Kew the first time I was in Panglao and South Palms is farther South (maybe 10-15 minutes away). We arranged for transportation (Php800/way/van, good for 2-6 people) and tour (Php2,900/pax for one day country side tour) and instead of going to our hotel right away for check-in, we decided to go straight to our countryside tour.
Side note: our countryside tour is expensive, you are better off finding another tour organizer outside South Palms. We just bit the bullet and booked them for convenience.
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| our transpo to and from hotel and our ride for the tours |
So we went to the usual touristy stops, the Sandugo, the place where they make those balisongs, Baclayon church (it was still under renovation because of the earthquake in 2013) but the highlight of our tour was ofcourse the Chocolate Hills, the Loboc Cruise and the Tarsier Sanctuary.
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| chocolate hills |
Now, the Tarsier Sanctuary is a little disappointment because the Tarsiers are really far and hard to see. Maybe I just got used to the time when the Tarsier is just 5 inches away from my face, lol. I know, I know, it's better for the Tarsiers to be out of reach because I read they easily get stressed out and are suicidal. So the further away they are from annoying tourists (like me, lol) the better for their sanity.
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| thank goodness for my zoom lens |
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| and this is back in 2004, when you can get really close to the tarsiers (but you're not allowed to touch them).. all tarsiers now are in the Tarsier Sanctuary (at least that's what our guide told us) |
Of course a visit to Bohol is not complete without the Loboc River Cruise. I don't know how many offers Loboc River Cruises with buffet lunch and wasn't sure if this is the same place I've been to a decade ago (wow, has it really been that long?!) but the food is still good plus we have extra entertainment from the Rondalla kids.
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| cruising by the river with buffet lunch and entertainment |
Then it's time to check-in to our hotel and we were greeted by this!
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| South Palms, Panglao |
Day 12. Panglao
(Feb 23) Like I mentioned, we stayed at South Palms for 4days/3 nights. First day was spent doing the city tour and chilling out. On the second day we did nothing. Just lounge around their outdoor bed or their beach chairs or their swimming pool just drinking margarita or pina colada or fruit shake.
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| this photo was actually taken on Day 1 in Bohol but wanted to show you their swimming pool with me on the photo, lol |
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| and that's me with my nook (guess what i was reading) on one of their outdoor beds |
Day 2 is also massage day and the nice thing about it is, even if you get the best massage package, it's still cheap compared to the regular massage in the U.S.
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| the massage area |
Day 13. Panglao
(Feb 24). We booked a dolphin watching and snorkelling tour for our Day 3 in Panglao, Bohol. This is the highlight of our South Palms' stay.
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| look!! there's so many of them!! unfortunately, this is the only decent photo I have and was just using my panasonic camera for this (was too lazy to take my DSLR out of my water-proof bag) |
Our day started waking up really early (timing is everything for dolphin watching). We picked up our breakfast from the concierge. Since it was too early to have breakfast, they just packed the breakfast for us, which is very convenient. We did get lucky and saw dolphins. It was funny though, because every time a group of dolphins appear, the boats would all follow the dolphins like how a cat would run after a mouse. I'm surprised we never bumped into another group's boat.
Below is one of the videos of the dolphins that is somewhat OK to share, lol
I think we spent a good 30 minutes chasing the dolphins. It made me wonder though if the dolphins ever get annoyed or if they're used to it already. Anyway, when we had enough, we asked our guide that he can now take us to the snorkelling site. We thought we'll get a head start if we leave ahead of the other boats.
Below is one of our snorkeling videos. This reminds me of Apo Reef (near Pandan Island), but twice the number of fishes. How I wish I can go back and see that island again. The marine life there is sooo amazing!
We snorkeled until our heart's desire and then head back to the resort. We rested for a bit, came out for something to eat and chill out for more margaritas. pina colada and fruit shakes. The hubby is so in love with South Palms that the only thing that comes from his mouth was "this is paradise". I was teasing him that he says that to all the places in the Philippines I took him to see (ie: Villa Escudero, El Nido).
After we got rested, we decided to finally avail our one free amenity ticket. I really wanted to do paddle boarding, but was feeling too lazy at that point so we decided to just do the kayaking instead (because then i could cheat and just let the hubby do all the paddling, lol)
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| this gave us a good arm exercise, lol |
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| did you notice that "drop" |
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| ahhh....halo-halo in paradise |
Day 14. Boracay
(Feb 25). Now, I really, really, really do NOT want to take the hubby to Boracay. I have been to a lot of places in the Philippines and if you are going to ask me where to go, I will never suggest Boracay (i'm sorry Boracay fans) but I made an exception on this one because the hubby keeps showing me pictures of Boracay and some Boracay's reviews and how wonderful the place is that I had to suck it up and just take him there just for the sake of telling people he had been to Boracay.
I've been to Boracay twice, and this visit was my third, and don't get me wrong, Boracay is nice (even nicer 10 years ago) and nothing can beat the powdery white sand, but now, I see it as another Puerto Galera. Anyway, we stayed at Red Coconut and only booked for the night. Yep, just one night, just to satisfy the hubby's curiosity.
I was a bit surprised at how Boracay transforms at night. The hubby and I are suckers for outdoor dining and we love how there are rows and rows of outdoor dining selections. All resorts/hotels has this set-up during night time.
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| dining under the stars |
By the way, I have to warn you that summer months is when the algae are in full swing in Boracay (i didn't go anywhere near the water during this visit because of this). We went there in February and it's starting already. The algae comes out when the water is calmer. The calmer the water, the less likely the algae gets washed away by the waves, therefore the accumulation. If you visit during the off-season (typhoon season) you won't see those algae, if you do, it would be very very miniscule.
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| algae that gets worst at station 1 (that girl seems to be enjoying walking on that slimy algae though, eww! but hey, to each his own *pukes*) |
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| year 2004, during the off peak season yep, no algae! |
Boracay still has it's redeeming points. You can still get the white powdery sand (go to boat station 1) and the turquoise blue waters and I was kinda looking forward to come back for my Jonah's shake and to eat at "Talipapa".
Day 15: Manila
(Feb 26) Flight back to Manila. The hubby discovered this new hotel called City of Dreams and requested that we stay there. We stayed at Nobu Hotel for 2 nights. We were underwhelmed but atleast we get to experience staying at one of City of Dreams' hotels.
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| the view from our room |
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| our room |
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| the lobby (we got scolded for taking photos with the slot machines in the background..so be aware of that) |
Day 16. Manila
(Feb 27) We spent the day just doing last minute shopping and errands, agh, errands.
I wasn't feeling well during the end of our trip (I was actually not feeling well since we left Tagaytay on day 4) but the last night we spent it with friends. I met with my college friends for dinner at Mall of Asia's Gerry's grill. Lots of good food that I have missed so much, it's just a shame that, like I mentioned, I wasn't feeling well and my appetite was acting weird.
Update: I found out I was pregnant during my Philippines, which explains the not-feeling-well part and appetite is weird...
Day 17. Flying back to the U.S.
(Feb 28). Time to fly back to the U.S. Unfortunately, the only time we got upgraded was from Manila to Hong Kong. I was upgraded to First Class (seat number 1) while the hubby was upgraded to Business Class (yeah, we got separated). Then from Hong Kong to Newark we stayed at Premium Economy.
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| First Class treatment the first and probably the only time I would get to experience First Class, lol |
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| First Class (Manila to Hong Kong) i can fit in 3 more people here! |
notes:
all photos here are by yours truly, please don't use without permission...please give credit where credit is due.
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