combing boracay at beachcomber

this should’ve been posted a month ago, but i was too lazy to update hehe. summer is back, and public pools that used to be almost empty and swimmable are now swarming with all kinds of people. from regular swimmers to the pool-peeing kid, the underwater pervert, the pick-me-up teenager, and sometimes, lovers straddling each other in a secluded corner of the pool. my highschool friends and i, on the other hand, decided to give ourselves a break from our busy schedule and hit the beach. it was just an idea playing in my head; i never thought it would push through since we have never gone out of town as a group. you should’ve seen how happy i was when three of them (out of, like, 10?) told me they wanted to go as well.

so i immediately booked the flights and the resort. it wasn’t that easy looking for an available resort during the holy week, that’s why we’re so lucky to have found beachcomber. liam and i had several candidates, but the pictures on the beachcomber website were so nice we took the bait hehe. aside from the very affordable rate, it’s just a few steps from the beach and the ever-popular jonah’s shake. Continue reading »

la luz holiday getaway

ever since my folks migrated to the US a few years ago, i’ve been having crappy holidays at home because 1) my relatives are no fun and i can’t relate with them, and 2) my buddies have their own family celebrations (aside from the fact that i have few close friends). i wasn’t expecting to have fun this christmas holiday. in fact, if worse comes to worst, i was planning to finish reading the fresh-and-sealed books i bought months ago, and probably grow mold in the process. (which reminds me of the boxes of tikoy already crowding my refrigerator. they’re probably moldy by now, eek!)

anyway, i’m glad a friend of ours came up with the out-of-town idea. at first, batangas is not my idea of a perfect getaway, really. all i can think of at that time were the overcrowded resorts of matabungkay infested with subic beach jologs who bring their own karaoke machine.

la luz, on the other hand, is a complete opposite. even though we had a slightly bumpy ride going there, it was worth the minor hassle. the resort is located in laiya; clean, peaceful and far from the hustle and bustle. i suggest you bring along an extra sarong or shawl so you can enjoy the very cool breeze, and chismis under the stars hehe :)

the buffet food was not even 3star-spectacular, but it was home-style tasty (and sinfully oily) we were full to brim most of the time lol. the resort is also a nice place to wear your cute bikinis, so far there weren’t any rude oglers. (in my case, since my companions are slim, i don’t have the balls to flaunt my flabs. i still got sunburned, tho.)

i think this will be my most memorable year-ender yet. nothing beats a quiet resort, a good bottle of wine and great company :)

Other Details:
La Luz Resort
http://www.laluzresort.com/
More photos of my travels here!

visayas backpacking: bohol

the following morning, we went back to dumaguete to catch the next trip to bohol. weesam had an emergency maintenance thingy at that time so we had no choice but to get oceanjet tickets.

we arrived in tagbilaran late in the afternoon and there was an ongoing event outside the port to celebrate the sandugo festival. we decided not to stay in alona since our budget went low after siquijor, so we took a tricycle and stayed at la roca hotel. get a free city map from the port’s tourist center. this is a very informative map because it’ll show you almost all of the hotels, restaurants and tourist spots around bohol. with the map, you can easily go around tagbilaran via tricycle. fare was P6 per person. Continue reading »

visayas backpacking: siquijor

the short boat ride to siquijor was a bit bumpy due to the habagat (southwest wind, humid monsoon months), but it’s not as bad as the boat trip from iloilo to bacolod. the weather was perfect that day and you could see the many hues of blue around siquijor as you approach the island.

SIQUIJOR, SIQUIJOR ISLAND

as soon as we got our tickets in dumaguete, we immediately called emily of casa de la playa to pick us up at the siquijor port in an hour. there are three ports in siquijor: larena, siquijor and lazi. i think montenegro docks at larena. the port in lazi receives boats from mindanao.you’d probably be mesmerized by siquijor’s rustic beauty from the moment you step out of the boat. the sand there is as powdery and toasty-gold like bohol’s alona beach, it looked pretty much the same the last time i was there. there weren’t a lot of resorts (or even a hotel) in siquijor since it’s just a small island, but most of them are nice and secluded, perfect for those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle.
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visayas backpacking: dumaguete

the bus ride to dumaguete was fairly comfortable, and if it weren’t for the driver from hell, we could’ve enjoyed the trip better. there were 3 stopovers, each enough for you to use the toilet, get some snack and do some stretching. we got off in front of bethel hotel and booked a room for 2.

bethel hotel along rizal boulevard. this is also ceres bus liner’s route going to bacolod.

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visayas backpacking: iloilo & bacolod

we arrived in jaro city, iloilo around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. the vans share the terminal with the ceres buses coming from caticlan, it’s just a matter of spending a bit more on fast airconditioned vans.

we weren’t able to look around iloilo since i wasn’t able to do any research about it, the trip here was nothing more than a jump off to bacolod city. we weren’t feeling adventurous at that time and it was running a little late, so instead of riding a few jeepneys to the sea port, we took a cab and headed straight to the port.

there are 2 fastcrafts going to bacolod almost every hour, you may check their schedules by visiting their websites or call them directly if you want to be sure.

oceanjet
weesam express
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visayas backpacking: boracay

two weeks ago, my sister and i went to the visayas for a little trip. since my sister wasn’t able to join me in my past “tripscapade”, we’ve decided to go on a mini island hopping spree. here’s a sketch of our route to give you an idea:

based on this experience, i’ll be posting some tips when traveling during off peak season (june - october). you’ll know why hehe!

GETTING THERE

there are many ways going to boracay, and since we have a lot of free miles, we used it to book PAL’s business class, devoured nice plane snacks and landed in kalibo. i personally prefer landing in caticlan because it’ll save you more time and money. there are lots of vans and buses going to caticlan at the kalibo airport, so it shouldn’t be a problem. vans travel faster than buses but it needs to be filled with passengers before it leaves. if you’re travelling during off peak season, expect to wait a little longer. vans going to caticlan charge P200 per person.

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the first timer’s easiest guide to enjoy boracay

i’m back from sizzling boracay, still missing the beach bumming escapade and all those blahs. like all of my other out of town trips, expect a small trip review post. the usual rant and rave with pictures on the side.
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secrets of quezon province: villa escudero & kusina salud

we never had “food trip” in mind when we went to villa escudero, but the food and experience was so good that we decide to stuff ourselves full :D villa escudero is located at the quezon and san pablo border, about 2.5 hours drive from manila if you leave early. (WARNING: post contain lots of photos)

for a fee of P800, you can:
1) go river rafting
2) have buffet lunch AT the waterfalls
3) tour the museum
4) get a short carabao ride to the resort proper
5) swim
6) watch some cultural shows (weekends & holidays only)
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bye humans and thanks for the fish!

ok. as much as i wanted to prolong my stay in bohol, i’m now back to my cluttered little house in the big city. it was a really relaxing experience, and i’ve never been to a local destination where nature preservation is strongly practiced. anyhoo, what’s a trip without picture souvenirs? :D here are a few details and travel tips if ever you decide to visit panglao.GOING THERE

before november kicks in, airlines would usually give out cheap travel packages to tourist destinations nationwide. normally, these tour packages would take up 3 days and 2 nights only, which sucks if you intend to relax and really absorb the local atmosphere. planned a 4day-3night stay. we chose to take the route going to cebu instead of going straight to tagbilaran because there are a lot of available flight schedules. tagbilaran has only two direct flights to manila daily, both before lunch.
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