Archive for the ‘ Trips ’ Category

Sunny Puerto Galera (day 1)

May 20, 2011

Destination: Puerto Galera

When people say Puerto Galera, they also meant to include Sabang and White Beach, both of which are different albeit smaller towns.

La Laguna Beach

Me and a good friend, Len, went there for a weekend.This is my first trip to this popular municipality in Oriental Mindoro Island. This fact usually surprises my friends who know how much I love to travel since Puerto Galera is pretty accessible from Metro Manila. It took 4 hours to get there from my home. We didn’t make any plans. And we sent only 1 sms to each other the night before, meet up in Batangas pier at 10am. Got that. I’m good to go. ;)

I had 10pm-6am shift at the hospital so as soon as i got home, I had to finish packing, grab a bite or two then head out. Instead of joining my friend in Buendia, I headed to Alabang because I do not want to backtrack. In Alabang, there’s one big terminal for buses and jeepneys. Just ask around for a bus heading to Batangas Pier, don’t forget to ask for the (one-stop) express bus, fare is 137php. Travel time is about an hour and a half.  I’ve been to other ports and piers in the country and it was either small, unorganized or looked old that was why I was pleasantly surprised to see that it’s a big, well maintained, organized place. I got to the pier first so to while away the time (and since I was hungry too), I went to a small store and got some chips. When Len got there, we proceeded inside to get our tickets.

Inside Batangas Pier

There are 3 main destination for Puerto Galera: White Beach, the most popular choice; Calapan, the capital city of Oriental Mindoro; and Sabang, a diving destination. She asked me where I wanted to go, I said, anywhere. To help me choose, she quoted room prices. A typical room in White beach would cost anywhere between 1000-1500php while it’s around 600-800php in Sabang. Sabang won. hehehe Tickets for Sabang is 230php/pax and then you have to pay for terminal fee (30php), conservation fee (30php) and environmental fee (50php). Once inside, there weren’t that many passengers (it’s a Friday and it was almost lunchtime). We were told outside that our boat’s about to leave so finding the doors closed wasn’t gonna deter us since we saw our shipping line’s boat was already filled with passengers. We got the attention of one of the guys working there and he let us out then they escorted us to our boat. We could have been left behind if we just sat there (since they weren’t giving last call or whatever)! The boat set sail after we settled in. Travel time was about an hour.

Sailing for Sabang

Even if it was my first trip there, that wasn’t the case for Len so she was sort of my guide. We stayed at Red Coast. Owned and managed by an expat and his wife, George and Helen, we got a beachfront fan room with kitchen for 650php/night. If we’d opt to use the aircon, then it will cost us 800php/night. It’s not perfect but it will do and come on, it’s cheap. And we have yet to haggle at that.  ;)

Red Coast

Our 650php/night room

View from our place

After some unpacking, we walked around the area. We went to La Laguna Beach, some 15-20minutes walk from our place. On the way there, the view brought to mind Santorini since the hostels/ hotels built on the mountainside were whitewashed too. It was a bit crowded in Sabang so La Laguna was a welcome sight. We had our late lunch at Kaye ‘n’ Em’s. We had chicken curry with rice and mango shake (360php). Mmmm! We stayed here for an hour or two. We went back “home” to get some rest, I have yet to sleep on a bed for two days now (tsk tsk tsk). After Manila’s sweltering heat, Puerto Galera’s sunny but not hot weather felt so good! :D

Sabang :)

There were many colorful flowers in the island :)

Lunch with a view :)

Your ride to get to the floating bars

Many boats for the divers

Finally getting some sleep (even if it was only for a couple of hours), I’m ready to go out now. That is after I wake my friend up too. ;) I wanted to check out the scene at White Beach. To get there one has to either ride a tricycle, a motorbike or a jeep (last option available only during daytime). When we got to the main rode, we were swarmed by guys offering their services for us. It would have been alright but there was this one very pushy guy. We told him to back off coz we’ll think about their offer. But he followed us around even when we left the main road. That was why we took another’s offer even if it were for the same price (150php for 2pax, one way). Then he got upset about it and wanted to quarrel with us as to why we chose another over him since he offered first and they’re the same price. We told him our reason and left.  Many locals doing business there were too pushy. Didn’t want it to ruin our night. It took around 20 minutes for us to get to White Beach. Our driver, Kuya Oliver, gave us his number (0928 5963113) so we can send him an sms if we want to go back home.

After dinner where we drowned ourselves off a gallon of iced tea (we were thirsty haha), we tried to walk off the calories. White Beach was very different from Sabang. First off, there’s an actual beach (a long shore line anyways) hehe There were more people too (local tourists mostly) and the craziness that goes with it. I enjoyed watching the fire dancers. There were live bands too and a comedy show. If you want some dancing, you’ll be hard pressed to find one though. It felt like White Beach is for hanging out with a number of your buddies, the people that were there were almost always in at least a group of 4. We planned to go swimming that night but didn’t have the heart to actually do it. Didn’t want to get wet then get cold. I laid my sarong down on the sand and we lay there for a while until Kuya Oliver got there to fetch us. :)

Related Post:

Exploring Mindoro Oriental

2011
05/23
CATEGORY
Philippines
Puerto Galera
Trips
TAGS





11 comments

Bangkok and Shopping!

February 19, 2011

If you’re a shopaholic, weekends in Bangkok could only mean one thing, Chatuchak weekend market! Since we only had three days there, we had to prioritize. Shopping is definitely in the list of things to do in this city! :D

Our hosts, JJ & Richard were working that day. The girls (Diana, Rahel, Ate Lea and I) along with Ali agreed to meet up in the morning to check Chatuchak’s weekend market out as well as two other malls. We first had breakfast somewhere in KSR. The others ordered a yoghurt meal and it looked so tasty. I got a banana pancake and it’s the worst order I’ve made yet! They gave me a pancake with a banana on the side. Seriously??? huhuhu

Tasty breakfast! Mine was too lousy, I didn't even take a shot hehe

We headed to Chatuchak after. We had to meet Ali at the station there first. Many minutes of waiting later, he finally found our meeting place. hehe The things is, there are about 3 stops that will get you to the weekend market: MRT station’s Suan Chatuchak (Chatuchak Park), BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit Line’s Mo Chit Station and MRT Bangkok Metro Blue Line’ s Kamphaengphet Station. We didn’t know that so us, girls, were waiting at Kamphaengphet Station while Ali went to Chatuchak Park Station. He must have walked for 15minutes (or more) to get to us. :)

Chatuchak Park Station :)

Touted as one of the world’s biggest weekend market, it has around 15,000 stalls that sells anything (from local souvenirs to fake shirts to delicious foods to endangered animals, we didn’t check this out but we did see live animals, and everything in between) over an area of 35 acres. The market operates between 9am and 6pm. It was overwhelming to see so many stalls. Where do you start? Well, try the first thing that catches your attention then take it from there. My hosts recommended for us to try their local version of ice cream. We started with that. It was already getting hot even if it was only around 10 in the morning. It was sooo good. I wanted to buy another serving! hehe After that refreshing start, we walked around stopping now and then at stalls that catches our fancy or at foods that look and smell so good as well as at performers playing on the busy street. We have a map of the market with us but it’s just hard to follow. ;)

Pictures taken at Chatuchak’s weekend market:

Thai ice cream :)

Rahel, you're not getting any? Are you sure??? :D

So pink! hehe

I love chopsticks!

Perfect as souvenirs

Street performers, they're good ;)

Looking for a dress

We had our lunch here before heading over to other malls. There were as many eateries to choose from. My cousin and the others had noodles. They said it was plain delicious! I had phat kraphao moo (stir-fried ground pork with Thai holy basil, chillies and garlic). It was definitely the spiciest I’ve ever eaten! I’m sure that underneath all that spice, the food was good too. Maybe. My tongue was numb from the chilies and I can feel it’s spiciness all the way down to my stomach. Ack!!! Milk and soda had no effect at all! Haha

The spiciest food I've tasted! Ever!

I wasn’t able to shop for much, just enough souvenir items to give to friends and workmates back home. Then it was time to move on to the other shopping areas. ;) We wanted to ride a tuktuk to go there but the drivers wouldn’t agree to our price. They’re quoting large numbers to us that we won’t agree to also. With that, we got on and squeezed ourselves into a cab. Our cab driver informed us that he can’t drop us off in front of our destination, Platinum Mall, because the Red Shirts were holding a rally near the area. The others became concerned for our safety. While me and another were convincing them that it was safe since Thailand is earning lots from tourism, the last thing they’d want to do is to scare the visitors away (I hope). Anyways, those who were rallying seemed to be a friendly lot. They were singing songs and inviting the others to join them.

Walking towards Platinum Mall

Red Shirt supporters

Located in Pratunam, Platinum Mall is a popular wholesale market that sells clothes and accessories. It was nice being inside it after hours under the heat in Chatuchak. But the heat had already taken its toll on my companions, they weren’t in the mood to shop. :( We were there for an hour and I only got to buy 3 shirts, a pair of shoes and earmuffs. I have an entire luggage waiting to be filled and I bought so few! When my hosts saw me later that night, they were asking me as to why I only bought few when they knew that I was so eager to shop. hehe

2nd stop, Plantinum Mall

Seeing my companions drooping, I suggested that we just skip the last mall (a welcome news haha) and to just head back to Khao San. Downtown Bangkok was just too hot and chaotic that day for us. To boost our energy, we’ll have a foot massage! We got ours for 150THB for 30minutes. Not that cheap (almost the same price as the others) but I think it’s well worth it ‘coz we had a wonderful time. It was a promotional rate of one of the nicer looking spas in the area.

All smiles. :)

Having tea after a wonderful foot massage :D

Happy faces ;)

Fully charged, we walked more, mostly beside the Chao Phraya River. We came upon Santichaiprakarn Park where many people were just chilling and where Phra Sumen Fort is located. The fort was constructed to protect the people from foreign naval invasions. Now, it’s one of two remaining towers of the historic city wall. It was also here where we heard the national anthem being played when the clock struck the hour of 6 in the evening. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stand in attention to show respect for the nation.

Bangkok sunset

Ali setting up his cam...

...to have our pictures taken :)

At the park

Sketching

Showing respect by standing up

Hungry, we headed to the first place we saw that served good food. Jessie met us here. We were just hanging out well into the night then went home. We were so tired my cousin and I fell asleep in the cab. :)

Dinner time! :D

With JJ :)

Related Posts:

Arrival in Bangkok

Kanchanaburi Day Trip

A Night in Khao San

Bangkok City Tour (part 1)

Bangkok City Tour (part 2)

2011
05/18
CATEGORY
Bangkok
Thailand
Trips
TAGS





9 comments

A Night in Khao San

February 18, 2011

Coming back from Kanchanaburi, our original plan was to have dinner and check out the infamous backpackers’ haven, Khao San. It’s so different from when we left it that morning. The place is just bursting with activities. So very busy. Pulsing with life. :)

A popular rice market some twenty years back, Khao San literally translates to milled rice. It has since then became a hub for backpackers wherein guesthouse to travel agencies as well as restaurants and shops abound.

Sawasdee ka!

I thought it would be nice to meet up with locals and other travelers while in Bangkok so I sort of organized a dinner-meet up that night. Our hosts suggested May Kai Dee, a vegetarian restaurant located behind the only Burger King in the area. We figured, it’s easy to find and going vegan is a safe bet. hehe The thing was that we have to let them know where to meet us up by posting it on the thread. Problem was, we have no internet access. Solution? Look for wifi hotspots! :D There were tons in the area but it’s either too slow it’s almost non existent or I’d be needing a password. We found a cafe with free wifi so I was able to post the details.

Getting comfy

Six people joined us for dinner: A Filipino on a backpacking tour; an Indonesian lady with a Russian guy she traveled with; a Swiss lass who had been traveling for weeks; a Kiwi guy who had just arrived from India;  and an Iranian guy with an American accent who’s currently living in Kuala Lumpur. ;)  Overall, a laid back bunch of very nice people. :)

*Many pictures hereon are courtesy of Ali. Thanks!

Hmmm... What are we gonna eat? :)

Pinoys, Richard & Dominic

Cousins. Travel buds. ♥

Bangkok buddies! :)

We were there for more than a couple of hours but it was still too early to call it a night. That was why it was time we went out into the streets. Rahel wasn’t feeling well so she went back to her hostel to get some rest.  Others were wanting beers but it was a Buddhist holiday so shops weren’t selling alcohol. Out in the open that is. They’re still willing to sell though it’d be in a bucket.  We found a nice spot to hang out. But I was still a little bit hungry so Dominic accompanied me while I happily munched on “normal” Thai foods. We got some for the others too. ;)

Spring rolls

Preparing my order

Delicious banana pancake! 20THB

Just like how we make visitors in the Philippines eat balut, our hosts thought making us eat fried bugs would complete our Thailand experience. Ugh! hehehe The thought of eating insects was a (little bit…. okay, maybe not that little) upsetting but you don’t really get to taste it because it had been deep fried so you’re just chewing on something crispy yet juicy. Eew! haha Others took it in stride but the fun was in watching others squirm while sampling a local delicacy. ;)

Bugs!

There was a signage that said you should pay 10THB for taking pictures. No one did.

First bite! :D

It's fun looking at everyone's reaction :D

More? Bring it on!

It's a grasshopper! ;)

Ali, our photographer, turned white at the idea of eating an insect. ;)

Drinking beer to wash away the bug taste. ;)

Related Posts:

Arrival in Bangkok

Kanchanaburi Day Trip

Bangkok and Shopping

Bangkok City Tour (part 1)

Bangkok City Tour (part 2)

2011
05/06
CATEGORY
Bangkok
Thailand
Trips
TAGS




8 comments

Kanchanaburi Day Trip

February 18, 2011

It was already late, past 1am, and we’re to go on a day trip to Kanchanaburi around 7am. Even though we knew that, we were still chatting nonstop. Then someone turned off the lights, we went to sleep. :)

Luckily for me and my cousin, that day was a holiday. Thailand being a Buddhist country observed Makha Bucha wherein they were celebrating Buddha’s first sermon to his disciples. For us, it meant that our hosts can join us for a day trip since they won’t be working. For other tourists, it meant that entrance to all temples are for free and that selling alcohol is prohibited (it was a full moon that night to boot!). hehe

The guys arranged the Kanchanaburi day trip for us. They booked at one of the many agencies you can find in Khao San. We’re paying 550 Thai Baht (1THB= 1.45PHP) each. It included van transportation to and from Khao San, trips to JEATH musuem, Sai Nok Noi water falls and bridge over River Kwai, an elephant and train ride as well as bamboo rafting, and a buffet Thai lunch. Sulit! :D

Khao San early in the day :)

Pad thai for breakfast

We got to Khao San at quarter to 7 and I had my first Thai dish there. Drinks and snacks were bought then we waited… and waited… and waited more! Our guide met us when it was already nearing 8! We could have slept more. Oh well. When we got in the van, there were 4 other tourists inside, all Filipinas. They were on the same flight as me coming here (and turns out, same flight back too).

Bundles of laughter with these trio around :D

First stop: Don-Rak War Cemetery a.k.a. Kanchanaburi War Cemetery

My first reaction, “why are we in a cemetery?”

All the while, I can hear the others talk excitedly to each other. “We’re here at the cemetery! It’s……” They definitely did their homework. hehe

The place was the burial ground for many prisoners of war who died building the Burma railway during the 2nd World War (WWII). Most of which were Australians, British and  Dutch.

First stop: War Cemetery

A marker for an Australian soldier

There are 6.892 graves in this cemetery

Second stop: “JEATH War Museum” and “Art Gallery & War Museum”

Entrance fee: 40THB each

“The JEATH War Museum is one of two war museums in Thailand about the Death Railway built from 1942 to 1943 by Allied POWs under the direction of the Japanese. The museum was founded in 1977 by the chief abbot of Wat Chaichumpol Venerable Phra Theppanyasuthee. It is located on the grounds of a temple at the junction of the Khwae Yai and Khwae Noi rivers in Kanchanaburi. The acronym JEATH stands for the primary nationalities involved in the construction of the railway: Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Holland.” -wikipedia

Third Stop: The Bridge over the River Kwai a.k.a. Burma Railway a.k.a. Death Railway

Built by the Empire of Japan during WWII using forced labour to support its forces in Burma. More than 100,000 people died during the construction of the said railway earning for it the monicker Death Railway.

Fourth Stop: Train Ride from Tha Kilen to Nam Tok

150THB will get you a “first-class” seat that comes with some snacks (water, soda and bread) and a certification that you rode the Death Railway train ride. Otherwise, just shell out 50THB.

Thakilen Train Station

Passing beside a cliff

Handing out certificates

Pretty nice ride! :D

Fifth Stop: Lunch!

Our van was waiting for us at the end of our train ride. We were then brought to a floating restaurant where we had our lunch. Food was served buffet style. Though there wasn’t that much of choice, the foods served were good. Spicy too,  a common among Thai foods which is what I prefer. hehe About an hour later, we then rode a bamboo raft that brought us over to our sixth stop.

Heading towards our lunch ;)

Buffet

The river's current IS strong

Aboard the bamboo raft for a quick ride :)

Sixth Stop: Bamboo Camp

An elephant camp. :)

Also included in the fee we paid for was a trip to an elephant camp. We all got to ride (yes!) an elephant. However, should you want to feed them, 20THB will get you a small basket of fruits for feeding the elephants. They would also take a souvenir picture of you  that you can later buy for 100THB if you want.

Food for the elephants. 20THB.

Seventh Stop: Sai Yok Noi Falls

This was our last destination for this trip. When we got to the falls though, there was hardly any “falls” to look at. Maybe because it was dry season? Anyways, we didn’t spend much time there but we did walk around to look at some stuff and to get some snacks. I was hungry! ;)

We came upon this stall that was selling chips made of taro, potatoes, etc (in plain, salty, sweet flavors). When suddenly, the lady manning it was offering me and my companions fistful of their products to try. Of course, I ate some (I WAS hungry. haha). They were actually pretty good. We got 3 bags for 100THB. Then, she did her sales talk.

Vendor: “Khun suway. Khun suway mak mak!” (while pointing at me)

Me: “Ah… What? English? Please?” (looks toward hosts)

Hosts: “She’s saying that you’re very beautiful” (do they have to laugh while explaining this? Tsk! Tsk!)

Me: (turns to cousin since she’s got our money) “Ate, let’s buy more!” :D (I’m sooo easy to deal with! haha)

Too bad I wasn’t able to take a pic of her nor of her stall. :(

Having satiated my hunger from all that free taste, next on my list of concern was to look for something refreshing to drink. Kcia, a friend of mine, kept on telling me to try Thai iced tea once I’m in Thailand. With that in mind, I made a beeline to the first stall I saw selling it. A few minutes later, I was a very happy person! It was sweet (I have sweet tooth) and cool (it was a hot day), perfect! The rest of the other tourists were already inside the van, waiting for us. It was time to head back to Bangkok. :)

Crossing the highway

Thai English

Sai Yok Noi Falls

New job for our hosts :D

Making Thai iced tea

Love at first sip! :D

Related Posts:

Arrival in Bangkok

A Night in Khao San

Bangkok and Shopping

Bangkok City Tour (part 1)

Bangkok City Tour (part 2)

2011
04/28
CATEGORY
Kanchanaburi
Thailand
Trips
TAGS









11 comments

Arrival in Bangkok

February 17, 2011

I’m now getting used to traveling to a place on my own and then just meet the friends I have there. Same thing happened for me on this trip. I was going to travel with my cousin, Lea, but since she’ll be flying in from San Francisco and I’m from Manila, we agreed to just meet at Bangkok’s airport. We’ll spend a few days there then fly back to the Philippines together for more travels (and she has to meet up with the rest of the relatives)!

My seatmate, Richard's bilin ;)

In Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport

Waiting for my luggage

My cousin’s flight was supposed to arrive an hour ahead of mine. Due to some delay at HKIA, I got to Bangkok before her by just a few minutes. She said that it’s at the passport counter of Bangkok wherein she took ages. I was walking around the place trying to look for her but I ended up spotting our hosts, Jessie & Richard, first. I knew them beforehand from a few CS Manila events. It was because of another friend that they ended up offering to host and us agreeing to surf their place. Salamat Dawnie! hehe :D

Cousin and hosts

With Richard and Ate Lea :)

Getting in a cab to go out of the aiport

It was time to go home and try to get a few (4 tops?) hours sleep as soon as I found my cousin. We’re going to take a cab home. Thai taxis are very colorful! One color scheme equates to one taxi company which accounts for all these colorful cabs. Before we got on one, our hosts took us aside for some reminders. They said that since we look like locals (it’s not that easy to distinguish between South East Asians ^_^), we should try to be silent as some drivers have this habit of taking the longer route if they know you’re new to a locale. Uhmm… got it! We got in. JJ gave our address in Thai and then everyone was silent. I was trying hard not to laugh nor talk and so were the others. The tension inside was very palpable. Several minutes into the ride, when we got to the skyway, our driver turned to JJ, he was seated beside the driver, and asked him something. Well, it looked like he was asking as we weren’t exactly in a chatty mood.

JJ: cough “huh?” cough. (Hahaha)

Driver: “blah blah blah.” (Shoot. Our cover’s blown! haha)

JJ: “ah..” cough. then proceeds to speak in Thai (whew!)

We were all cracking up by the time we got off the cab! hehehe

My weirdest but definitely funniest cab ride ever! :D

Related Posts:

Kanchanaburi Day Tour

A Night in Khao San

Bangkok and Shopping

Bangkok City Tour (part 1)

Bangkok City Tour (part 2)

2011
04/27
CATEGORY
Bangkok
Thailand
Trips
TAGS


11 comments

El Nido Escapade (day 4)

February 25, 2011

It’s decided, another day for island hopping! Happy and excited to be back at sea! Yay! haha :D

We took Tour C. Actually, I was supposed to organize our own trip. I have already talked to someone who’s friend with a boat owner. I’ve got people joining me. Places to go to had been chosen. We’re gonna wake up early to go to the market. The works. And then, other people had to complicate stuff. I was starting to get a headache (it’s so hard to please everyone, it’s just impossible!). My friends were telling me that it’s not worth the hassle it’s causing me and urged me to just scrap it. I did though with a heavy heart coz I enjoy DIYs so much! hehe

Island hopping, day 2! :D

First stop is a hidden beach. We have to swim to get there. I used a pair of fins since I’m certain I would lag way behind the others if I don’t. The spot where our boat was docked was a place good enough for snorkeling. Lots of corals and fishes. Charlie stayed behind and snorkeled around the area. While the others and I swam ahead. In the hidden beach, the fishes were kinda territorial. You can translate that to us being bit every now and then by a few of them. Ack! hehehe

Our guide, Kuya Leo was very funny. He loves to crack jokes while sharing some infos about the places where we’re at. Though his jokes works best if said in Filipino. That was why I was usually laughing out loud while the others just looked on. Hehe He offered to be my guide for my next trip and I would love to take him up on his offer. I told him that I wanted to organize my own island hopping trip but had to cancel because the person I was talking with would always up the price or bring up another concern after a prior price had been agreed upon or after a previous problem had been solved. He told me I should have talked directly to the owner/ boatman, things would have been so much easier. I know that but… what’s done is done. ;)

Kuya Leo, cool guide!

We went next to Matinloc Shrine,  an island owned by the Fernandez clan. The place where it was built is just naturally beautiful: jagged limestone cliffs, crystal clear waters, picturesque view. We had our lunch here. The place took my breath away and is by far, my fave island there! Some pictures of the island I fell in love with. :)

Matinloc Shrine

This time around, there were 8 of us (not counting our 3 guides) and almost all were CSers, except for Emilien that is. We met the others a day or so before.

We took our time here. But soon, it was time to move on to the next island. Make that a secret beach. ;) It’s called a secret beach since you’ll have to swim in between a crack beneath a limestone cliff. The water surrounding it was very clear and you can see all the way down, around 15-20feet down. Once you made it through the crack, you’ll find yourself on a secret beach indeed.

And then off to this rugged beauty of an isle. When we got here, only few got off the boat. The rest took a quick nap or took pictures of the area.

Last stop, Helicopter Island! So named coz the shape of the whole island supposedly resembles that of a helicopter. This was a nice place to just chill. Sit/ lie down on the sand; eat snacks while chatting with friends; take a dip if you feel like doing so; take a nap by the beach if you’re tired.

rugged beauty!

For dinner, Emilien recommended a bistro named Balay Tubay, a cozy hangout place for local artists that’s quite popular because they  have local bands playing there every night. Food is good here. They have free wi-fi too. :D

dinner at Balay Tubay

Mmmm! :D

The famed El Nido soup

Last night in El Nido. *sigh* Think happy thoughts: I will go back! :D

PS: Unfortunately, I lost my phone on my last trip. That is why I can’t post Kuya’s contact number. I’ll update this as soon as I have it again.

Related posts:

Getting to El Nido

1st day of island hopping

Lazy day in El Nido

2011
04/25
CATEGORY
El Nido
Philippines
Trips
TAGS






7 comments

El Nido Escapade (day 3)

February 24, 2011

So we did a day of island hopping the day before. One of my travel companion is now sunburnt. The idea of another day of it wasn’t that appealing to him. Another wanted a break from the sea (come on guys!). It was decided then. We’re gonna stay in town. Try and trek a mountain, chill by the beach, eat, get lazy. Doesn’t sound bad really. :)

The view that awaits us upon waking up :)

After getting ready and drinking our morning coffee (courtesy of Entalula), we went out and looked for a carinderia for cheap but good foods. We’re going to meet up with  the guys at their place. We walked by the beach to get there, passing by another friend’s place first. :)

My cousin. At Entalula. :)

With newly met Estonian friends

I miss El Nido!

When we saw Nick, he was really red! haha (sorry dear! ;)) It’s a good thing we brought along an after sun spray with us to help relieve him of some pain. After applying it on, we went out on the street to get to our goal: climb a mountain. I had no idea which mountain nor what peak and neither do they. Brenda, my trusted El Nido guide, told me before if I ever needed anything, I should not hesitate to go to her mom. Also, I’ve read from other bloggers that they had a guide with them. But it looks like we have more of the come-what-may attitude so off we went. Plan: just ask the people around for directions. Very organized huh? ;)

We're going up there! But where is "there"?! :D

We walked past the main part of town. Led us to a dead end. hehe We had to backtrack and ask for directions. One lady told us that to get to the top we have to follow the trail and to always make a right turn (or was it left?), our landmark was supposed to be this very big tree (they’re all huge for me). Needless to say, we lost our trail after around, maybe, 20minutes of going uphill. The trail was lost and it led to this fork in the road and we’re not certain on which one to choose. Really should have asked for a guide to go with us! Being the troopers that we were, it was no big deal. We were (or was it only me?) getting tired and it was hot!

Charlie led the way :)

Would have been awesome if we made it up there!

Lost? Uh oh!

We’re now on Plan B. Have lunch and just hang out. Good enough for me! (I’m so easy to please sometimes ^_^). We met Emilien (our French mate) on the way back and we all had lunch at the eatery beneath the place where the boys are staying at. Where to hang out? At Emilien’s place! He’s staying at this nice place just beside Entalula. He has a big room that he got for 1200php a night. It has a spacious balcony with some chairs where we can lounge at. And that’s what we did. Sit back. Admire the view before us. Drink refreshing fruit shakes. Hang out with friends. :)

Beautiful!

A couple of hours after, we walked around town again. It was nice to stretch our legs. We spotted a stand that was selling some halo-halo and the thought of eating one was so tempting, I gave in! They followed my lead. :D

School with a view :)

A glass of halo-halo to beat the afternoon heat!

We decided afterwards to catch the sunset since we have guys with us who just love to take pictures. To be able to photograph it though, we have to go to another beach since the mountains will block  our view. Corong-corong beach is several minutes walk from El Nido town. But we each went to our place to freshen up first so we didn’t have much time ’til the sun sets. We took the tricycle where we paid 50php for the 5 of us. The beach itself is nicer than the one in town but compared to the other, this is somewhat isolated. If you’re looking for a more laid back atmosphere, guess this is the one for you then. When we got there, my companions were almost half running to get to their spot for their shot. It was fun watching them while they were at it. Their enthusiasm was plain contagious! :D

My 3rd El Nido sunset :)

Mission accomplished, we went back to town for some good food. We’re back at Blue Azul Cafe and later met up with other friends by the beach. :)

It was a good day. :)

Related posts:

Getting to El Nido

1st Day of Island Hopping

2nd Day of Island Hopping

2011
04/18
CATEGORY
El Nido
Philippines
Trips
TAGS


3 comments

El Nido Escapade (day2)

February 23, 2011

A lot of friends have said that the beauty of El Nido would be best appreciated if you go island hopping. We heeded their advice so that’s what we did!

The view from El Nido town

We checked out of Marikit so that we can stay in Entalula, they had 2 vacant rooms that morning. We (my cousin and I) really like the place and the fact that we’re being treated as family members helped sway us! Our fan room costs 1200php, if you’ll opt to use the air-conditioning unit, be ready to shell out another 600php. The boys were more practical. They decided to stay inland and shared a 700php room at El Nido Inn and Restaurant which included a breakfast  for two, not sure if they have wifi though as the 2 guys weren’t keen on it, good deal! However, do take note that there are a lot more options, just be patient and you’ll find one that will suit your taste.  After our breakfast, we quickly headed back to the beach to join other people for tour A. We booked with Entalula since theirs is 100php cheaper than the rest. It was supposed to start at 9am but they were waiting for us. It was already past 9, oops!

Tapsilog for breakfast at El Nido Inn & Restaurant

There are 2 options when doing island hoping. First is to join a tour, fixed price, then you’ll get to meet people and make new friends (hopefully) plus you won’t have to worry about anything like food, where to go, etc because they’ll take care of it but you might not like the people you end up traveling with and you’ll have to adjust to them. They have tours A, B, C and D, a mix of caves, hidden beaches, snorkel sites, etc. OR you can hire your own private boat then you’ll be your own boss, you go wherever you want, you won’t have to adjust to anyone but you have to haggle (boat rental prices start at 3500php)/ make lots of decisions, worry about food. It could be cheaper though if you know what you’re doing. Also, there’s an eco-tourism development fee (ETDF) of 200php that everyone has to pay. The money the municipality collected is meant to  maintain and protect the environment. You only have to pay it once and it’s valid for 10days. Local residents are exempted from it though. ;)

Cruisin' the whole day :)

I ‘m not exactly in a chatty mood during boat rides because 1. it’s too loud to start a conversation and 2. since I’m really interested at the sights, 3. I just want to absorb it all in. After a while though, it doesn’t matter that it’s loud so I start talking. Can’t keep quiet for so long. hehe

...and we're off for the islands!

Nick taking beautiful pictures :)

There were 9 of us (not counting our guides):  2 Pinoys, me & Charlie, 1 American, 1 British, 1 French, 1 Brazilian and 3 Estonian. They were all so nice!

us :)

Note: No pictures were taken when in “hidden/secret” beaches/ lagoons since my camera isn’t waterproof and I have no intention of getting it wet. ;)

Tour A, according to the tour operators, is the most popular choice. The small and big lagoons are a favorite amongst many visitors. I have several postcards of those places and it’s just so beautiful!

1st stop- Secret beach. :)

2nd stop- Shimizu Island. Very good for snorkeling. It’s just that the waves were a bit strong when we were there so I had a really hard time swimming, seriously thought I was going to drown and no one would have noticed it since they were all busy (sleeping by the beach, swimming, snorkeling, etc). I should have gotten a pair of fins and wore a life jacket! It would have helped a lot since I’m not exactly a good swimmer. Decided to stay on land after this. :)) Got busy taking pictures of the place and of my companions. Lunch was served here. :)

Our camera-shy Frenchie at Shimizu Island

Enjoying the island

Sleeping under the shade

Lunch was prepared by our guides

With my dear cousin :)

3rd stop- Small and big lagoon, Miniloc Island. Wanted to kayak (800php for a day’s rent) here with my cousin. But then we forgot to tell THAT to our guide so we missed our chance! Ugh! We were just too busy admiring the place and taking shots/videos. :D Even bought a rash guard so I won’t get any darker but then couldn’t find it when I was packing my stuff!

Everyone got taken in by the view at the big lagoon ;)

I couldn't capture the beauty of this place

Pic courtesy of Nick :)

4th stop- Secret lagoon. Had to get off the boat and swim to get inside the secret lagoon. After several minutes, I was just about to follow the others, when Charlie swam back and told me that he thought he saw a sea snake so the coward me didn’t follow the rest. :( Tried to enjoy swimming at the water before the secret lagoon but ended up scraping my foot. It wasn’t just me though. Another also got a wound, on his leg this time, when he was swimming back to the boat. Stones were sharp, be careful!

Sweet couple before the Secret Lagoon

:)

5th stop- Seven commando. Our last stop for the day. The rest enjoyed their buko juice while relaxing by the beach. My cousin and I kayaked ourselves all over. We had to do it somewhere, we’re paying for the kayak! :D

Next stop: Seven commando beach

We let the guys borrow our kayak in exchange for their buko drinks hehe

It felt that it ended all too soon. We’re back in town. Went our separate ways to freshen up and planned to meet by our place after to grab some food and hang out. As we’re walking about town, we (Leandro and I) spotted a fruit shake stand so we zeroed in on it! We’re thirsty and we wanted to drink something refreshing. As we were waiting for our drinks, other visitors passed us by. One of them, Ricardo,  started talking to us. He’s so friendly! He was happy to have met Leandro since he now has someone to talk Portuguese with (he’s  a Peruvian exchange student in Singapore). He got our numbers and he’d join us later.

Fruit shake stand

We can’t get enough of the water and it’s what we went there for so we hung out by the shore. Relaxation time after swimming all day. Watching the sun set wasn’t bad either. We then had dinner at Blue Azul. It’s located inland, they serve delicious foods plus they have wifi! haha My cousin and I were looking for wifi most of the time. The chicken we ordered was very good, yum! Afterwhich, we went back by the beach and hang out with the (tons of) people we met that day til it was time to go to bed. Good day. :)

El Nido buddies :)

El Nido Tour Package Infos (Standard rate):

  • Tour A/ Lagoon Tour: Lagoons, Beaches, Snorkeling – 700php/pax
  • Tour B/ Cave Tour: Snake Island, Caves, Snorkeling – 800php/pax
  • Tour C/ Secret Beach: Matinloc Island, Snorkeling – 900php/pax

*Tours usually start around 9-10am and lasts the whole day. Lunch are included in tours. Do bring plenty of water especially if you get thirsty easily. Besides, you don’t want to get dehydrated.  You have to bring your own mask, snorkel and fins, others are rented out for 100php a piece (snorkel set and fins) but try to bargain for 100php for the two. Don’t forget your sunblock and shades.

*There’s no need to book tours way in advance. You can do it once you’re in town so you can compare. We booked with Entalula coz theirs is 100php cheaper than the others. :)

Related posts:

Getting to El Nido

Lazy day in El Nido

2nd day of Island Hopping

Lagoon Tour
2011
03/16
CATEGORY
El Nido
Philippines
Trips
TAGS



10 comments

El Nido Escapade (day1)

February 22, 2011

My cousin and I can’t wait to get to El Nido coz we’re just psyched to go to the sea, chill and relax in a beautiful place and El Nido is IT. :)

Flying over Palawan

We’re going to travel with Charlie. Met up with him at the boarding gate. I’ve sort of planned for this trip but that morning, when I sent another sms to confirm my reservation with Marina Garden, they told me that they thought I made a reservation for the month of March and not February! They canceled my reservation which was really bad of them since it was done by me a month prior the trip and we’re now suddenly “homeless.” No worries though because friends came to the rescue. They gave me so many contact numbers and so many recommendations.

Charlie! My travel buddy! :D

We didn’t fly directly to El Nido because that would be really expensive. Upon arrival in Puerto Princesa, I still haven’t made up my mind on whether to stay in the capital, head to Sabang, or catch a shuttle to El Nido on the same day. We took a tricycle (50php) to head downtown to check for a room in Casa Linda Inn. I’ve stayed there before and it was really nice and relatively cheap. Unfortunately, they were fully booked. Someone also told me that it was already late to do the underground river tour (it was 10am) since we’d have to get permits first etc. That being the case, staying in Puerto Princesa as well as heading off to Sabang was nixed off our options leaving us with the decision to head straight to El Nido. The driver brought us to Fort Wally’s (09172762875)  main office downtown wherein we made reservations. We might have paid for more because from what I’ve read and from what some told us, it’s 600php to El Nido and 500php to PPC. We each shelled out 1300php (700 and 600php respectively). The reason we were given was that, it would have been cheaper if we went to the terminal and rode from there instead of being “picked up” downtown. Bummer. After paying for our seats, we made some last minute shopping for whatever necessities (bought a few snacks, withdrew money from ATMs coz there’s no ATM in EL Nido, bought sarongs and had breakfast).

Time to eat, we're hungry!

As we were about to eat breakfast, Ate Lea spotted a French guy we met in the airport the day before, Quentin. We were in the same flight from Bangkok to Manila. Also, he’s enroute to El Nido. Almost the same travel plans as us so I invited him to join us for a meal. He’s soooo adorable! He was going to head up also that same day but then his friends told him that they’d be arriving in PPC the next day that’s why he decided to wait for them. Soon it was 11am, time to board the shuttle, pick up other passengers and head over to paradise!

With Quentin in Puerto Princesa

The shuttle headed to the terminal to wait for more passengers. We had to wait long for one guy because according to the lady in charge, there were some misunderstanding about the pick up time and point. Took us about 30minutes. It turns out that we knew the guy we had to wait for, Nick! He was another travel mate visiting from Taipei. His original plan was to go to El Nido the next day but he decided to join us coz it’s his main destination anyways. :)

The drive took 5-6 hours which included a 20-30minutes lunch break at a Fort Wally eatery in Roxas, 2hours away from PPC; stopping by San Vicente to pick up some passengers; drop them off at  Taytay; and fix a broken tire. The last 2hours of the trip was kinda bumpy since the road has yet to be paved. It didn’t matter that much to me (and I believe, the others as well) since the view is more than making up for it, karst mountains, the sea, so many trees. Happy!

New tire. Flat tire. :(

Think positively: at least we got to stretch our legs and take pictures! :D

Enroute to El Nido :)

After getting off at El Nido’s terminal, we walked to town. When people say a place is small, it really is small. You can walk all over town in less than 30minutes if you pace yourself. It was around 5pm and that’s when it gets hard to look for a place. It’s easier in the morning because that’s the time that the vans filled with visitors head back to PPC. We found some alright places but it’s either we don’t like the place, found it too expensive or something else. I then decided to ask help from a friend’s mom. She looked a lot like Brenda, her daughter, that I already addressed her as Tita Emy before confirming it. My cousin and I liked her instantly coz she took us in and treated us as her own daughters. She looked like she wanted to scold us for not having planned more. haha Her place is called Entalula but they were fully booked that night with the possibility of having a vacant room or two the following morning. She made her son go to her sister’s place to check if they have room for us. They did! We stayed at Marikit for that night (800php/ room/ 2pax). Having solved the question of where to sleep at, we went out to find some food. :D

First sunset in El Nido

There were a lot of options on where to eat at in El Nido from affordable carinderias to the more heavy on the pocket places. We ate at Curry House. Not that cheap but the sizes of the servings made up for what we paid for. The place is sort of a cross between an art store and a restaurant. Pretty nice ambiance.

A large serving of vegetarian curry

The guys called it a night soon after dinner. We all went into our respective rooms but then my cousin and I can’t believe we’re in our room getting ready for bed when it was just about 10pm (or earlier). With that, we decided to head out again and to pass the time by the beach. We just want to be closer to the water. Went to bed after a couple of hours. :)

Relaxing by the beach :)

A glass of caipirinha to cap the night

Accommodation infos (as shared by friends):

beachfront

  • Rico’s – 09272588456/ 09294671632 (1000php)
  • Gloria’s cottages – 09191677870 (600php/ fan room)
  • The Entalula – www.entalula.com

for a detailed list, visit  this site

Related posts:

1st Day of Island Hopping

Lazy day in El Nido

2nd Day of Island Hopping

2011
03/09
CATEGORY
El Nido
Philippines
Trips
TAGS


12 comments

Swimming with Whalesharks in Donsol

May 28, 2010

A friend from Germany visited the country for 21 days. I took it as an excuse to tour the countryside! ;)

Why 21 days? Because that’s the maximum number of days he’s legally allowed to stay in this country without getting a visa. What to do with 21 days? Easy. Meet up with friends and tour the country! hehe

1st stop: Donsol, Sorsogon

Mission: Swim with butandings! :D

A butanding souvenir

Whalesharks are locally referred to as butandings. They are the world’s biggest fish and the funny thing about it is that they since they are filter-feeders they eat the smallest creature in the water, planktons, though that means they’d have to eat a lot! With five pair of gills, dorsal and pectoral fins, their blue-gray, spotted body reaching up to lengths of 40 feet, whalesharks are indeed a sight to behold. Despite their gigantic size though, they are gentle creatures so it’s possible to swim alongside them. It is because of them, whalesharks, that Donsol, used to be a level 5, is now a level 1 municipality which thrives on eco-tourism and and is famous worldwide as the whaleshark capital of the world. Butandings are sighted between the months of November and June with its peak from February to May.

To get there, we flew in to Legaspi, capital of Albay province. It was a one hour flight. I knew I was in Legaspi when I saw Mayon’s perfect volcano. They have a local saying that if you were able to see its perfect cone, then you’ll have a wonderful trip. I surely hope so! :)

Maon's perfect cone viewed from inside our plane

From the airport, we rode a tricycle towards the city terminal from which there are buses, jeepneys, vans and tricycles that will take you to various destination in the province. We were the first two passengers of the van bound for the town of Donsol in Sorsogon. We had to wait for at least 30 minutes before at least half was occupied.Fare was 65php per person if your van seats 14. Since my friend and I were in a bit of a hurry to get going (we’re worried we won’t see any whalesharks), the two of us along with another tourist, an American named Jeff, agreed to shoulder the cost of the last 5 vacant seats, we each shelled out 175php. It was approximately an hour before we reach Donsol’s town proper.

At the city terminal

To be able to swim with the whalesharks, we first had to register at the Visitor’s Center which is located in Barangay Dancalan. We got there by riding a tricycle (20php each) when we got off the van at the town proper. Registration fee for locals is 100php while it’s 300php for foreigners. From here, we had the choice to not wait for other tourists but then we’ll pay for the cost of the whole boat (3500php, with a maximum capacity of 6 pax) or wait so that we’d pay cheaper. We were sort of willing to wait but not for a long time. To keep us occupied, we went out to look for a place to stay at for the night.

Visitor's Center

Located just several meters away from the Visitor’s Center is Villa JoLee, a no frills inn that is not too hard on the pocket. We got an airconditioned room with two double bed for 1400php per night; 900 for one queen size bed. It wasn’t bad considering that others cost more than 1500php. Finding a room to settle in, we changed into our swimwear and headed back to the VC.

Villa JoLee

Unfortunately, there had been no other tourists who signed up to join us by the time we got back, we were out for probably only half an hour hehe. Too excited to wait longer, the three of us again agreed to share the whole cost. Having paid for the boat, a Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO) was assigned to us, Kuya Nognog (0918 4592646). We were made to enter a room wherein we watched a video presentation about the town of Donsol, its environment, whalesharks and how to interact with them. We were good to go after watching the vid! :D

Getting oriented :)

As it was almost June, I was seriously hoping that we’d still be able to swim with whalesharks. It turns out that the boat before us had no sighting after around 3 hours at sea. *sigh* It was a hot, sunny day. Our BIO wouldn’t guarantee to us that we’ll find some whalesharks to swim with but he’s also not saying otherwise. I was clinging on that. hehehe It was a quiet first half hour, we were cruising away from Dancalan; I was enjoying the view, my two companions were chatting with each other, our guide was busy trying to spot a whaleshark.

With newly met friend, Jeff

When all of a sudden everything came into action. Our guide saw something, told our boatman to get in a specific direction and he got animated and began instructing us. One question from him, “who isn’t a good swimmer?” I tentatively raised my hand. Gotta suck it up. I so want to swim with the whalesharks even if it meant having to admit to my (lack of) swimming prowess! ;) He told us to put on our snorkel gears (and fins), sit by the edge of the boat and jump into the water as soon as he says so. Once he did, we all jumped. In the water, it’s quite a different story, as bright as it was above water, down below, the water was a murky. Visibility was only several meters. I was just getting my bearings underwater when our guide pointed to something. Initially, I couldn’t see anything. Slowly though, you’ll spot a  shadow of a huge creature slowly moving towards you and as it gets nearer (it gets bigger too), you’ll see the gills, it’s spotted skin, its eyes looking at you. It was scary! But then you’ll get over your fear (attributed mostly coz of its size) and just be amaze at swimming with them! It then it swam beneath us and went on until we couldn’t see it.  Wow!!!! We actually swam with a butanding! :D

Having swam with one whaleshark, everyone got into such a good mood (I was ecstatic)! We spotted and swam with 3 more! I was hoping for at least one that when we got four, I felt blessed. ;) While the other whalesharks gently swam past us, one kept coming back and was playing with my companions. It swam so close to them that my friend, afraid of getting crushed, hold out his hands to ward it off and got to touch it! A big no-no. He later told us that it was purely a defensive reaction! I was starting to give him a lecture that’s why hehe

Gentle butanding :)

More than satisfied with our mission, we headed back to our room. Changed into dry clothes and went downtown to find somewhere to eat at and to explore the place. There are few choices of places to eat at in Dancalan, most are resaurants of the various inns/ hotels there. We prefer to eat in eateries around Donsol town. Foods are definitely cheaper and I found them more flavorful. :)

Donsol :)

Walking around Donsol town

Our BIO offered to take us on a firefly river tour (850php for the two of us with pick up from our room), with nothing much to do, we thought it’d be a good idea. People are brought to either Donsol or Ogod River. Donsol River is more popular but they say that there are more fireflies in Ogod River that’s why we chose to go to the latter. Around 6:30 in the evening, Kuya Nognog was by our door to fetch us with his tricycle. He drove us towards the river and guided us along the dark path. Another relative of his was waiting and all of us boarded a boat. They were to be our guides. The moon was very bright that night. I looked back a couple of times thinking there was a car behind us but it was just the moonlight shining past the trees and mangroves. It was a beautiful night but in terms of firefly watching, it was bad timing. We almost didn’t see any firefly. Good thing we came upon a tree that was well lit up by then, it looked like it had thousands of blinking lights. It was so pretty! I tried taking pictures but my camera’s settings wasn’t up to the task. After several more minutes, we went back to shore. Had dinner downtown with our guide and called it a night. It was a long but fun day! :D

Cruisin' down Ogod River

Kuya Nognog guiding us

If I try any sort of flash, no firefly would be seen

The moon was shining brightly

On the way back :)

2011
02/09
CATEGORY
Donsol
Philippines
Trips
TAGS







7 comments