Summer-Ender Vacation: Baguio II

July 04, 2011

One activity that we wanted to do in Baguio was strawberry picking. So we went to the strawberry farm first thing in the morning by riding a taxi. Our fare from the hotel to farm was barely a hundred pesos so it was really a good thing that we didn't take Manong's tour offer worth Php2500. Unfortunately though, it was not the harvest season for strawberries. lol We still went to the strawberry field though and just saw a single pair of it.^^

From the strawberry farm, we went to Camp John Hay and had a sumptuous lunch at a Chinese restaurant which name I forgot.

After filling our stomach, we walked around the area, took pictures, and looked for the Tree Top Adventure. They offer some adventurous activities like the canopy ride, silver surfer, and the tree drop. The canopy ride was only scary at first but the view was really breathtaking. I was a bit trembling as I was going for the tree drop. But seriously, it wasn't that thrilling. They dropped me, yes, but I was just like sliding at the rope. I only screamed because the guy didn't warn me that he was about to release me. It was nothing compared to The Plunge at Bohol's E.A.T. Danao Extreme Adventure Tour. ^^

From Camp John Hay, we then went to Burnham Park for some biking and boating.

From Burnham Park, we went to SM to grab some dinner at Gerry's Grill. The food was good but Dencio's was better. ^^ After dinner, we planned to watch the last full show of Transformers 3 so that we can pack our things after and head directly to the bus terminal. Unfortunately, we were late for about 5 mins! They wouldn't allow us to go inside the cinema because the movie already started 5 mins ago. Duh! It was our loss if we missed 5 mins of the movie but they didn't let us in. So we just went back to the hotel and took a short rest before going to the bus terminal.

We took the Deluxe bus with wifi and CR on our trip back to Manila. It was the most expensive trip they had but if you're thinking about safety and fast travel, it will all be worth it. We arrived in Manila too early but we just went straight to SM Mall of Asia hoping for some open restaurant. Some fast foods were open 24 hours so we took our breakfast at KFC and waited at the bay area until 10am for the mall to open.

Since our flight back to Iloilo was scheduled at around 5-6 pm, we just stayed at MoA and watched Transformers 3. I felt asleep on the later part of the movie not because it was boring but I just really lacked sleep that time.lol Anyway, on our way to NAIA terminal 3, we were wondering why the taxi driver didn't turn on his taxi meter. He told us that he's charging us a fixed rate of PhP350! Richy demanded we'll just transfer to another taxi because it won't really cost us about a hundred if he turned on the meter. But Gracey agreed with the fixed rate to avoid trouble. Though we just paid PhP300 to the driver. What a scammer!

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Summer-Ender Vacation: Baguio I

From EK Shuttle Service's drop off point at Makati, we then went straight to Victory Liners Bus Station. We took the DeLuxe Bus to Baguio, aircon with WiFi (w/o CR), for PhP 700/pax. There were a few passengers in the bus and it was sooo cold. We arrived at Baguio around 3am, freezing! At the bus station, there was a man who offered us a selection of places to stay. He accompanied us to the different cheap hotels and we later checked in a family room at Ferrione II located at Fil-am Road. Since the sun hasn't risen yet, we slept for a few hours first before we explored Baguio.

We had our lunch at Baliwag Lechon Manok located near Burnham Park. We then looked for an internet cafe to check for emails and searched for things to do in Baguio. The man who helped us find a hotel offered us a whole day trip for PhP2500. Since the taxi fare at Baguio was cheaper compared to riding a jeep (for a group of 6), we decided not to take Manong's offer. It was raining so hard when we were at the internet cafe so we set aside our plans yet and went to SM City Baguio.

Living in a tropical country, we were really amazed with the weather in Baguio and that the mall needs no air-conditioning system at all. LOL Anyway, when the rain stopped, we decided to start with our itinerary by going to Mines View Park. We bought some souvenirs, took photos at the beautiful "mines view" and with Doglas Baguio, and ate banana que and corn cob.

Doglas Baguio

From Mines View Park, we went to Good Shepherd Convent but they were already closed. Fortunately, there was a good spot for picture taking in there!

From Good Shepherd, we then went to Wright Park where Ernestus rode a horse for 30 mins. Then we went up at the long stairs that led to The Mansion, the official summer residence of the president of the Philippines. Well, all we had to do there was to take pictures!^^

From The Mansion, we went back to SM City for dinner. It was a long day for all of us so we thought of a nice indulgence at Dencio's. ^^ The places we visited that day were all included in the usual tour itinerary of travel agencies or contractors. Fortunately, we didn't accept the PhP2500 offer. It was fun walking and commuting at Baguio because of the cool weather. 

Our 2nd day at Baguio will be covered in my next post. ;)

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Summer-Ender Vacation - Laguna

* July 02, 2011 marks our 42nd month.^^

We rode on a Jam Liner bus bound to Laguna for our first destination of the day - Splash Island. We bought Splash Island coupons from Metrodeal for only PhP250 with an original price of PhP500 for an all-day access to all its amenities. Their lockers were small and our baggage cannot fit in so we just kept our important belongings in it. Locker rent was PhP100 for the whole day.

The slides looked scary but once you're on it, you'll feel bored.lol The only thrilling slide I've tried is the Magellan's drop (the one at the middle). The slides also have specific schedule and you also have to fall in a long line most of the times. At the end of the day, we can still say that we enjoyed the whole experience.

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We left Splash Island at past 5pm and called for a tricycle to drop us at the jeepney stop going to Enchanted Kingdom. It was late afternoon already and the traffic was a bit heavy. After the jeepney ride, we had to take another 2 tricycle rides to reach EK. Due to a minor car accident along the way, we arrived at EK at around 7pm so we just paid for the entrance fee and didn't buy ride tickets. :( Thankfully, we were able to reserve seats at EK's shuttle service.

 

Since we were not able to try EK's rides, we just strolled around and enjoyed the place. A few people told us to go to Star City instead of EK because they're almost the same. After going to both places, I can assure you that EK is way too beautiful than Star City. Their names fit them both because star city is just like a "city" compared to EK's "kingdom". 

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Summer-Ender Vacation: Manila

Summer was a bit lousy for me. Thankfully, we had a summer-ender vacation last weekend. We already bought a PhP465 worth of roundtrip AirPhil tickets last April and we were lucky that typhoon Falcon left the country before our scheduled trip. Places of destination in our itinerary were Manila, Laguna, and Baguio which we all fitted in 6 days! For this post, I will be sharing our activities in Manila or specifically, in places near Manila (Sorry, I'm not so good in geography).

First destination: GREENHILLS MALL!

As soon as we arrived at NAIA, we went directly to Greenhills Mall as per Sun-sun's request. We rode a taxi at a fixed fare of PhP650. 2nd hand cellphones almost dominated the 2nd floor of the mall or maybe just the part where we went. Then Paul & Sun2 stayed at Shogun hotel which location I have already forgotten.lol 

The next morning, Paul, Sun2 and I went to MOA while Grace and her hubby, Richard, went to Robinsons Galleria. We just strolled around Moa. The two guys wanted to try ice skating but it was way too expensive. PhP300 for 30 minutes and additional payment for renting the ice skating shoes. We had lunch at Tokyo Tokyo and we were not really satisfied with the food.lol Peanut Butter Company, on the other hand, served great food but it was very expensive! Sorry but we're really picky and we always want value for our money. In the afternoon, we tried Wowowheels at the Seaside Boulevard at PhP80 per 10 minutes with one free picture souvenir. We had fun with wowowheels which was a good way to kill time.

In the evening, we headed to Star City.  The Viking ride was the first and the lousiest we ever tried. The big "ship" will slowly swing like a pendulum before it gives you the thrill. The boredom was actually longer than the thrill. It was a total waste of time. But the Star Flyer, Wild River, and the Blizzard were exhilarating. We rode the bumper cars thrice! Needless to say, it was addictive. The winter funland though was not very satisfying. We just went inside in a "snowy" room, slid in an icy slope, and that was it. Not even worth the PhP120 we paid. The time tunnel was also not too interesting. It looked liked we only walked inside for an educational tour. Gabi ng Lagim was fun because of the scaring, suspense, and the screaming.

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