Having A Great Time at Cagayan De Oro

Cagayan De Oro has been giving me a blast so far. Just came from Dahilayan Adventure Park at Bukidnon. I was still sleepy on the way to Dahilayan and wanted to take a nap while on the road. But the day was bright and the clouds are so fluffy. I also knew that we'll be able to pass by Del Monte plantations like pineapple so I decided to stay awake so as not to miss the view. I actually felt like on an African Safari trip because of the beautiful clouds, fields, and trees like the ones I see on photos. Ok that's only based on the photos I saw so I was just somehow fantasizing I was on a Safari trip. lol

Dahilayan Adventure Park reminded me of E.A.T. Danao in Bohol. It's just mre beautiful and it felt like Baguio too because of the pine trees and the cool temperature.

Togeher with Paul, I conquered the 840M Zip Zone, dubbed as the longest dual zipline in Asia. I also tried the Drop Zone, a free fall from 120ft level. It was a version of E.A.T. Danao's "The Plunge". But I prefer the latter because I was Dropped in the middle of two mountains with a river in between.

The fluffy morning clouds went gloomy at noon though and it rained in the afternoon. It just made the temperature colder and I even felt like freezing already. But we were actually lucky with that rain because it gave us a beautiful rainbow just before our schedule to leave.

Dahilayan Adventure Park is really a beautiful place with scenic views that you'll want to take pictures everywhere. The activities are also fun so it was all worth our time going there. 

Tomorrow we're going for a white water rafting and we're just so excited! :D

(I'll be posting more details about this trip soon...)

More about our CDO trip:

Dahilayan Adventure Park
The Drop Zone Experience
CDO White Water Rafting
Road To Dahilayan (in Photos)

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Self-Pampering Day at SM City Iloilo

I just turned a year older last thursday, 12th of July and celebrated it with my bestfriends over the whole weekend. We went to Bacolod, partied for 2 nights, strolled, videoke, watched movie, etc.

Now before I start my work week, I thought of pampering myself first!

Posh Nails at SM City Iloilo is pricey but their service is commendable. The advantage here is that the place is quiet unlike in hair salons because they only specialize in nail/hand/feet care services. They have wi-fi too! :D

After pampering my feet, I then went to Forever Flawless for a body scrub. They give 50% discount for non-medical services if it's your birth month so I grabbed the opportunity! :D Body scrub at Forever Flawless originally costs PhP2000 but I only paid PhP1000. 

The body scrub made my skin feel lighter and smoother and I was quite satisfied with their service. But honestly, I don't think I'd do it again for PhP2000.lol Spa Riviera also has body scrub services for less than PhP1000 but it wasn't that great. They only scrub your body with "rice scrub" - that's all. I could have just bought a body scrub product and did it myself. Unlike with Forever Flawless, they use salt scrub, put a "mask" after it and finish it off by putting lotion all over your body. 

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Ocean City Iloilo

Ocean City is a well-known seafood restaurant here in Iloilo City. I haven't been to any of their restaurants until yesterday. I was only able to taste their food at SM City's food court section. But I only get to really appreciate them yesterday.lol Our virtual team makes it a point to meet once in a while so we had lunch at Ocean City yesterday located at General Luna St. It was also an advance birthday celebration for me! ^^ 

 The restaurant is divided into two parts. There's an airconditioned section and an open area. Though it would have been great to stay in the airconditioned part of the restaurant because it was hot outside, we chose to sit in the open area because we could freely talk a bit loud without being a nuisance to other customers. They have the same menu anyway. 

Ocean City offers a variety of food from chicken dishes to pork, beef, and seafoods. We ordered a set meal worth PhP2500 which was already good for a maximum of 12 persons. There were 9 of us and I could say that it was more than enough because we had leftovers which we took home. :D 

Here are some of their dishes. 

Bird's Nest Soup

Roast Chicken

Chopsuey

Chicken (Sweet & Sour?)

Fried Rice

Pork

Pancit

The Verdict:

Food is definitely delicious! The price is not cheap but not too expensive as well. I guess it's cheaper if you are in a group. Our bill was around PhP2,800 because drinks were not included in the set meal. 

The service wasn't very satisfying though. We asked for plates for the cake and they gave us only 4 when they can clearly see that there were 9 of us. I don't know if the restaurant closes in the afternoon or not because the waiters were already cleaning our table even if we were still busy chatting and video calling. They also asked us if we'd like to take home some of the leftovers but I just said "later" because I was still eating. 

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The Majestic Mayon Volcano - Behind The Fluffy Clouds

There are a lot of beautiful spots to visit in Bicol and one of them is the famous Mayon Volcano, known for its perfect cone shape. It was included in our original itinerary for our CamSur trip but we just moved the schedule. Instead of going there on our first day at Naga, we decided to visit Mayon Volcano the next day so that we won't be on a rush and that we could really enjoy the trip. 

From CWC, we rode on their free shuttle service going to SM Naga and across it was the bus and van terminal going to different points in Bicol. So there we rode a van going to Legazpi for PhP180 per person. The trip took more or less 2 hours.  Before reaching Legazpi City, we could already see the Mayon Volcano.

The Van dropped us off at the terminal near SaveMore. We rode a tricycle going to Cagsawa Ruins for PhP200. I was a bit hesitant about that but we just took the offer to avoid wasting time since we need to go back to Naga after 2 hours. The driver said that he can wait at Cagsawa Ruins so that he can take us back to the terminal which means we'll be paying him double = PhP400. But I didn't agree because the site is just walking distance from the main road or the highway and I thought that we can commute from there. Besides, there are tricycles outside the Cagsawa Ruins. Entrance fee at the site is PhP10 per person.

Unfortunately for us, it was a gloomy day and the Mayon Volcano is hiding behind thick fluffy clouds! 

I gave myself almost an hour to wait for the clouds to show the full beauty of the Volcano but this was the best view I've got! I even tried whistling to call some wind to blow those clouds away but to no avail. lol It's what we do in the province especially at my grandparents' place whenever it gets too hot during the day. So I tried it out of desperation.lol Nevertheless, I could still say that the Mayon Volcano is indeed majestic and beautiful! I was awed by its natural beauty that stands gracefully and quietly in the middle. I've seen different photos of the Volcano in different phases from the local guides. I couldn't imagine how such beauty could burst out a very destructive explosion.

It was almost 4pm and the clouds got even thicker and darker so we just sighed and decided to leave. Though I still kept looking back at the majestic volcano half-hoping that the clouds are gone.lol

Outside Cagsawa Ruins are different pasalubong stores. We bought a few and walked our way to the main road. Then waited for a bus bound to Naga. That's when I realized that maybe you can actually get off the bus or van at Cagsawa Ruins if you're from Naga. 

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Legazpi Expenses

CWC to Bus/Van Terminal                                                      0.00

Naga to Legazpi City (via van)                                             180.00

Legazpi City to Cagsawa Ruins (via tricycle)             

     (tricycle rent is 200 divided by 2 persons)                        100.00

Cagsawa Ruins entrance fee                                                   10.00

Cagsawa to Naga 

     (I forgot the exact amount but it was less than 180)          180.00

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Total Expenses Per Person                                            PhP 470.00 

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Summerscape at CamSur

Summer was scorching hot here in the Philippines. But it already started raining at the end of May which was unusually early. It doesn't mean summer is over though! Just came from Camarines Sur last weekend. There was no definite plan and I didn't make any reservations either. Here's my original itinerary for our CamSur trip which was not really final due to time constraint:

June 14 - CamSur and Legazpi
Check-in at CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC) at Naga
Head to Cagsawa Ruins at Legazpi Albay then bak to Naga
Wakeboarding at CWC

June 15 - Caramoan
Leave Naga at around 3am and head to Sabang Port (about 2-hr ride)
Ride a boat from Sabang Port to Guijalo Port
Check-in at Caramoan
Island hopping around Caramoan

June 16
Should leave Guijalo port at around 3-4am by renting a boat (public boat trips starts at 7am) to catch our flight back to Manila at 10:45am. 

Apparently, upon checking in at Villa Del Ray, we were so tired that we decided to take a nap before going to Legazpi. Since we didn't have enough sleep the night before, we decided to cancel the Caramoan trip and head over to Legazpi the next day. I think it was a good call since we may have never enjoyed the Caramoan trip in just one day and it would also be very expensive for us to rent a boat both for island hopping and for dropping us off at Sabang Port on Sunday just to catch our flight. I guess squeezing in Naga, Albay, and Caramoan in just 2 nights wasn't a good itinerary at all.lol 

As I have said, I didn't make any reservations for this trip because our itinerary wasn't final. Upon arrival at Naga airport, there were taxi drivers asking us for our destination. One driver asked me if we're going to Sabang, I said we might go there the next day. He gave me a calling card and said that he can drive us there for PhP1500! I asked if there are public vans, he said none. But I didn't believe him because according to my research, we can commute going to Sabang Port. Then I said we're heading to CWC and fortunately, he directed us to the free shuttle service provided by CWC.

We didn't expect the free shuttle service so CWC was already making a good impression on us by that time. We chose the trailer or the Villa Del Ray Containers since there were only 2 of us. Rate was PhP1500/night.

Villa Del Ray

Villa Del Rey Wood Cabins

Villa Del Rey Cabanas

Villa del Rey Containers

Inside The Container

Massage Huts

There's Miss Kris Aquino Shooting for KrisTV

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Trying Our Wakeboarding "Skills"!!! 

It was not easy but it was totally F.U.N.  How I wish I could wakeboard like a pro. I really want to learn how to flip in midair. lol We planned to wakeboard again the next day when we get back from Legazpi. But our body, specifically the arms and neck, are really really sore! 

Free swimming at the clubhouse pool after wakeboarding

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HAPPY ENDING BAR

I personally like the name of their bar. lol Who wouldn't want to have a happy ending after your body got sore from wakeboarding? It's just beside the clubhouse and the ambiance was a bit cozy, perfect place to chill.>

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According to a weather forecast, there was supposed to be a typhoon entering the country on June 14 at 6pm. But I guess it didn't push through. Otherwise, we wouldn't have these blue skies and fluffy clouds! I just love taking pictures of this scenery. :D

_______________________________________________________________________________

CamSur Expenses

Manila-Naga Roundtrip Airfare      1177.12    

     (Cebu Pacific Promo Fare) 

Airport-CWC                                      0.00 

2 nights accommodation       

     (1500 / 2persons x 2nights)     1500.00 

1-hour wakeboarding (night rate)    175.00 

CWC-Airport                                             0.00

___________________________________ 

Total Basic Expenses Per Person    2852.12  

Note: I didn not include the food expenses here because you have the option to dine at the clubhouse or go to other restaurants at Naga City. CWC also provides free scheduled shuttle service to SM Naga and vice versa.

_______________________________________________________________________________

P.S.

The Legazpi trip will be covered in my next post. :)

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Life-Trotting in Photos

I've been doing DIY photo editing lately using photoshop. I used the photos I took for my friend's Baby Bump photoshoot last February. I don't feel too proud about my work but I think I had a good start. :D I won't be posting the photos here. Instead, I created a new section of my blog where I will be posting my photo works. Please head over to Life-Trotting in Photos for my photos and check out my first and only post so far, Baby Bump. I'd really appreciate it if you could leave some feedback about the photos. :)

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MAY is Frappuccino Month

I've recently made changes to my lifestyle. I started to jog frequently, minimize eating rice, and eat more fruits. BUT, I cannot seem to let go of frappuccinos! lol Frappuccino is admittedly one of my guilty pleasures.

Starbucks Frappuccinos are very pricey but undeniably great-tasting. I especially love its Christmas blend, Toffee Nut Frappuccino. Since the Christmas season is over, the Toffee Nut Frappuccino is no longer available so I now settle for the Caramel flavor. Because of its price, I used to content myself with Red Ribbon's Mocha Frappe. It's already phased-out though so I have no better choice than Starbucks. Coffee break's frappe is really bad. I'm not sure if it's not blended well or it has something to do with the ice they're using.

May is Frappuccino month for me because of these three reasons:

1. Starbucks 2012 Planner Coupon for May. I was able to get 3 planners which means that I have 3 "buy one take one" coupons for this month! ^^

2. Starbucks Frappuccino Happy Hour ever Monday. And I have been consistently availing of the half-priced Frappuccino since April 30.lol

3. Starbucks Rewards Promo.  I don't usually use credit card when purchasing over-the-counter items to minimize shopping expenses. But now I'm charging items of at least PhP2500 to my HSBC mastercard to avail of the frappuccino freebie. ;)

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Travel Guide: Isla Gigantes in Less Than PhP2000

Ever since we have posted pictures of our Isla Gigantes Adventure, friends started to ask a lot of questions on how to get there, how much did we spend all in all, etc. So I thought I'd post a guide on how to get to Isla Gigantes and some tips on what to expect at the island.

Gigantes Group of Islands is accessible via Estancia (Iloilo) port.

How To Get There:

1. Estancia is just 2 hours away from Roxas City, Capiz via Ceres bus. Fare is PhP81.
    From Iloilo, bus ride is approximately 3.5 hours. Fare is PhP145 via Sara/Balasan-bound Ceres bus.
    Estancia-bound bus fare from Iloilo is PhP152.

2. From the bus terminal, you can go to the port of Estancia by riding a tricycle. Fare is only PhP10.

3. Passenger boats leave from Estancia port at 2pm so make sure you arrive early. Boat travel is approximately 1.5-2hrs and fare is PhP80 per person. From Isla Gigantes to Estancia port, passenger boats leave at 9am.

4. Once you get to the island, you will have to ride a motorcycle going to Gigantes Hideaway Inn. Fare is also PhP10 per person.

Important Notes:

*For those who need to travel by plane, nearest airport would be in Roxas City. But flights are very limited. If there is no flight to Roxas City from your area, next option is Iloilo or Kalibo. But I am not sure if there is direct bus or van routes from Kalibo to Estancia.

*Sara/Balasan Ceres bus will only drop you off at Bani-an corner where you will have to ride a tricycle going to Estancia port which is about 5-10 minutes. Tricycle fare is also PhP10.

*I think there are also L300 passenger vans that travel to Estancia but I'm not sure about this.

*It is best to contact someone from the Island to know if there is a boat trip when you get there. They may also arrange a boat service for you.

*It is best to go there during summer as it may be difficult or may not even be possible to go to the island when there is low pressure in the area.

Electricity

Electricity in the island is limited. It is only available from 4pm-11:30pm. Though the resort uses a generator after the electricity is cut off. But i think they only turn the generator on for a few hours.

Mobile Networks

There is no mobile network signal in the island. You can try hanging your cellphone on the tree. You may be able to receive some text messages. If you are desperate to make a phone call or send a text message, the resort caretakers can accompany you to a higher area within the mountains where there is a signal. They call it their "call center". ^^

Water Supply

The resort owner, Mr. Joel Decano, boasts of their unlimited water supply which comes from a natural spring. You can even drink water straight from the faucet. We brought our own mineral water but we were also able to drink from their supply. It has a taste so you may not get used to it easily. :)

Gigantes Hideaway Inn Expenses

Accommodation

Accommodation is PhP200 per person per night. You can take any of the rooms they offer. Our group occupied the whole house which has 3 bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, and 1 restroom.

Food

The resort can provide food for you. They will charge you with the same price from the market. Then you will just give their cook, Manang Anggay, a tip for her cooking service. Seafoods are very cheap in the island and our sumptuous dinner on our first night was only PhP745.

Island Hopping

Boat rental is PhP2500 including the tour guide fee. This activity will take you to seven beautiful islands including Tanke, a natural pool.

Spelunking

The tour guide fee for spelunking is PhP200.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breakdown of Isla Gigantes Expenses (Accommodation, Food, Activities, Tips):

Dinner: 

3kgs Scallops (Shell-on) @35/kg - 105
1kg Scallops (meat)                       100
1.5kg Fish @ 80/kg                       120
2kgs Crab @190/kg                       380
Soup                                               40 

Total                                             745

Breakfast:

7 Eggs            56
Hotdog           25 

Total              81

Lunch:

.5 kg Scallop (Meat)    50

Dinner:

2kgs Scallops (shell-on)     70
.5kg Scallops (Meat)         50
1kg Fish                            80
2kgs Crab                         380
1.5 gantang Rice              120 
Total                                 700

Accommodation (2nights)

7pax @ 200each - 2800

Activities & Misc.

Boat Rental - 2500
Spelunking Tour Guide Service - 200
Cooking Service Tip - 358

Overall Total Expenses at the Island: 7700

Total Expenses per person: 1100

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Here is a breakdown of the overall total expenses for each person (in a group of 7) for the Isla Gigantes trip:

Bus fare from Roxas or Iloilo: 80 (Roxas) / 145 (Iloilo)
Tricycle Fare from terminal to Andok's Restaurant: 10
Andok's Restaurant (lunch): 40
Tricycle Fare To Pa-on Beach Club (Side trip while waiting for the boat schedule at 2pm):10
Pa-on Beach Club Entrance Fee: 20 (consumable)
Tricycle Fare to Port: 10
Boat Fare to Isla Gigantes: 80
Motorcycle fare to Gigantes Hideaway: 10
Gigantes Hideaway Inn Expenses (Accommodation,Food,Activities  + tips): 1100
Boat Fare Back To Estancia - 80
Tricycle Fare to Pa-on Beach Club - 10
Lunch at Pa-on Beach Club (No entrance fee if you eat there or maybe order something) - 145
Tricycle Fare To Bus Terminal - 10
Bus Fare to Roxas or Iloilo - 80 (Roxas) / 152 (Iloilo)

Overall Total Expenses Per Person:

From Roxas - PhP1685

From Iloilo - PhP1822

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Isla Gigantes Contact Information:

Joel Decano

Proprietor/Tourism Officer

09184685006

09155796612

Facebook: Isla Gigantes

email: isla.gigantes@yahoo.com

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