Cebu - June 2015

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

This is a dream come true for me, taking my family in an out-of-town trip to enjoy the beauty of the Queen City of the South. To celebrate my dad's birthday which happens to be this year's Father's Day too, I decided to bring my family in Cebu to have a short but great time. I realized that it was my first time to treat my family on a vacation because of financial concerns. Fortunately, Cebu Pacific Air always have seatsale every month and I got the ticket for only P1,200 (roundtrip) per person last February 2015.

 

 

 

 

Our Day 1 (June 19) was arranged by Safe Car Rentals in Cebu. The itinerary includes twin City tour (Mactan - Mandaue) for 8 hours and it only costs us P3,500 per van inclusive with fuel and driver's fee. Though it was a gloomy day in Cebu then, the weather did not stop us from enjoying the places we've been.

 

 

 

 

Magellan's Cross is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese, and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on  March 15 , 1521.

(source: wikipedia)

 

Santo Niño Church, is a minor basilica in Cebu City in the Philippines that was founded in the 1565. It is the oldest Roman Catholic church established in the country on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú, a statue depicting the Child Jesus was found in 1565 by Spanish explorers led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
(source: wikipedia)

Fort San Pedro, Cebu. This was built for military defense of the Spaniards in Cebu. It was named to honor the ship of the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi – “San Pedro”. Later on, it became a National Shrine where tourists and locals alike visit the place to know and learn its history.

Ships used by the Spaniards when they first land in Cebu.

 

Portraits depicting the founding of Cebu.

 

Paintings of the famous people battled in Cebu. Lapu-lapu, Magellan and the Sultan & his wife (which I forgot the name. sorry.) 

 

Fort San Pedro Entrance Fee:
Regular – P30
Senior – P 24
Students & Children – P20

Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod. I can say that this is one of the most beautiful 'modern' chapels I've ever seen. The architecture is very different from other chapels/churches, and the white interior makes the whole place feels more solemn.

 

FACT: The chapel was designed by A US-based architect Carlos Arnaiz and can be found in front of the SM Seaside Complex. (source: philstar)

 

Chinese Taoist Temple

 

 

Where to Eat:

 

On our Day 1, we had our lunch at CNT... my verdict? I did not enjoyed the food because of several reasons. First, they don't have lechon sauce. Though Cebu is known for the best lechon, I want my lechon partnered with 'Mang Tomas'. However, the only available sauce for lechon that they had was vinegar. Second, the menu was very limited. I was looking for veggies and some chicken or seafood so that we can have choices on our table but we ended up ordering lechon, lechon paksiw and pork adobo and the taste were very salty. and lastly, the ambiance was not so good, it was hot inside and it looks more of a big carinderia rather than a restaurant. As for the price, it is cheaper than Zubuchon, Lechon cost P480 per kilo. 

 

We had dinner at AA's barbeque house in downtown Cebu (near Osmena Circle). I'll give a two thumbs up for this one because not that they only serve the best inihaw, pancit and sinigang but also the prices were very affordable. We only spent P800 for 9 persons. Oha! ^_^

 

Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu - Day 2-3

 

Movenpick is one of the best resort hotels in Mactan. It is located near the airport (beside Shangri-La Mactan Resort).

 

 

View from our room

 

Me with dad and bro.

 



 

This Deluxe Twin Bedroom is good for 2-3 persons at P9,000 per night. They added a bed in between the two beds in this picture to accommodate 3 people.

 

 

I am in loved with their bathroom.

 

 



 Ibiza @ Night

 

I hope you had a good glimpse on what Cebu has to offer with you. I can say that Cebu is a good place to visit, with their rich history and culture up to the best resorts you can choose from, Cebu is definitely should be included on your bucket list. Next time, we are planning to visit Malapascua island because of the best beach resorts there or Oslob to see the whale shark, both are also in Cebu but far from Mactan. We also plan to have a side trip in Bohol when time permits us. 

Baguio 2014

Weekend with my favorite girls in Baguio!

After our Quezon Province trip, me and my best buddies decided to celebrate our 10 years of friendship up in the north. 

One Saturday morning, we woke up at 8am, took a bus in Cubao (via Joy Bus - fare is P750 each for one-way deluxe) heading to Baguio and hola! Hello, flowers and strawberries! ^_^

 with my pretty girls inside the cozy room we rented for a night...

(not in the picture is my friend's bf/photographer :p)

Yes, we just rented a room for only P2,000.00 pesos per night, with two double deck beds for four (4) of us, a kitchen (you can cook since it was equipped with all the basic kitchen appliances), hot/cold shower, and a nice veranda. 

Our itinerary during our first day wasn't that jam packed because we arrived in Baguio at around 4pm. We strolled in the busy street of Session Road to have our early dinner and then checked some 'ukay-ukay' items (sadly, I didn't found anything to buy because I prefer Divisoria in terms of buying cheap clothes, though my friends enjoyed it because of the bags on sale)

Our second day was a bit busier than the first, first stop was the "Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto".

From the home we stayed, it was only one jeepney away (10 minutes) so we opted to head here first.

From the Grotto, we took a cab to The Mansion....

At the Botanical Garden...

Mines View Park...

Camp John Hay...

admiring the beauty of these orange and yellow flowers...

Before ending this blog post, I just noticed that my photos from PMA - Philippine Military Academy, Good Shepherd and Benguet Strawberry Farm were missing! :(

Anyway, here is a sample of a 2-day Baguio Itinerary for your guide, I edited this one because our time of departure from Manila wasn't highly recommended.

The best time to visit Baguio is during December to February, though there will be so many people around but the weather is definitely good!

Leave Manila @ 11pm (Friday) and you will arrive in Baguio the next day before sunset (Travel time is 6 hours from Manila).

You may want to have breakfast at Pizza Volante (open 24 hours)

After checking in the hotel...

Option 1: If your hotel is within the city, the best way to start is to visit the Baguio Cathedral, Burnham Park, Botanical Garden, The Mansion, Camp John Hay, Mines View, Good Shepherd then end it with Night Market in Session Road and Harrison Road.

Grotto, PMA, and Strawberry farm will be your destination on the second day.

Option 2: If your hotel is on the opposite side just like ours, you may opt to visit the Lourdes Grotto first, followed by Baguio Cathedral, Burnham Park, Botanical Garden, The Mansion, Camp John Hay, Mines View, Good Shepherd then end it with Night Market in Session Road and Harrison Road.

PMA, Bell Church and Strawberry Farm will be your destination on the second day.

Hope this helps. ^_^

Melai

Sagada, Mountain Province 2014 - Day 1

Up in the north!

When I heard my friends that we will be going to Sagada, the first thing came to my mind is 'oh! no... it's cold there!' Yeah, I am not fond of cold places because I prefer tropical islands. I love the beaches and sunlight! (isn't it ironic that I am a die hard fan of glutathione and whitening products?). To further explain myself with that, I prefer humid places because I can wear comfortable clothes and enjoy the water (may it be outside the beach or inside the hotel room). But since my friends are very eager to spend the weekend in the chilly mountains of Sagada, I gave it a shot.

We left Manila at exactly 10pm and arrived at 6am.

Before we started the activities listed in our itinerary, we had our breakfast at a local restaurant in Banaue located near their market, it was a bit foggy so we waited for the sunshine to say hello before we continued our journey.

First stop, Banaue Rice Terraces. I told you!!! it's foggy.. :(

 The weather didn't allowed us to take a picture of the mountain, too bad I was so excited to see the rice terraces as it is 1 of the 7 wonders of the world. Although, technically I saw it but the camera lens can't capture it, I still put a check on my bucket list now. ^_^


And I really tried hard to get a nice shot to show you the beauty of the rice terraces but this is only I can get...

So we opted to have a 746745274837 photo along the highway! :))
nice view though.

After capturing hundreds of photos in the highway, we decided to start the trekking when the sun greeted 'hello' to us.

 

Trek Aguid Rice Terraces.

 

More trekking!

and more.....!! haha. but mind you, the weather didn't cause any sweat in spite of the kilometers we walked down to see the marvelous falls.

...and finally! Swimming at Bomod-ok Falls (aka Big Falls)

The brave souls who went for a dive to experience how cold the water was... Don't look for me in the picture coz I didn't tried. Let's just say that cold water + me = don't click *wink*

After a short swimming in the cold water of the falls, we headed to our hotel to have our dinner and inuman session with the gang! :)

 

 

How to get there:

We decided to get a Tour Package from http://www.touristas.com.ph/ 

(highly recommended, they can also take your pictures for free, manong driver has his own DSLR :p)

 Pick up (and drop off)  point is in Trinoma (Quezon City).

 

Inclusions:

*Round trip van transfer (Manila-Banaue/Sagada/Baguio-Manila)

*Driver, Tour Guide, Diesel, Parking & Toll fees

*Hotel /Lodging stay (either of the ff: Sagada Homestay, Misty Lodge, Residential Lodge, Igorot Inn)

 

Sample Itinerary c/o of NEC tours:

http://www.touristas.com.ph/uploads/1/0/9/3/10932380/sagadatour2015.pdf

 

 

Melai











Quezon Province: Villa Escudero 2013

It' been so many months since I last signed in on my blogger account. And here I am, staring at my laptop for more than 10 minutes thinking how to start this little adventure of mine at Villa Escudero...

Ok... so, to start my ranting let me honestly tell you that at first, I wasn't that happy when we decided to go to Quezon Province. This is because the initial trip is Cebu-Bohol, tickets were booked, itinerary was done and voila! due to some fortuitous event the trip got cancelled. But since I was born with an itchy feet, I asked my friends to look for another place where we can stay for a day or two. Quezon Province came first thing on our mind. And after seeing the whole place... ohlala! t'was so relaxing! :)



Celebrating 9 years of friendship... Tres Marias invades Quezon Province!



Meet Mahinhin, the carabao who was responsible in pulling the cart from the reception all the way to our cabin.

 Villa Escudero has several reception areas to cater all the tourists in the place. Photo above is the 2nd reception area where we got the key to our room for the night.

Welcome to the long house...

The long house has several loft-type cabins which is good for 2-8 pax. It has 1 single bed and 2 Queen beds plus 3 extra mattresses. It does not have an air condition unit but since the weather is nice and cold enough (specially at night) for us to have a good sleep it is fine with us.

On our way to the man-made falls for our buffet lunch...

Lunch Time! One of the best part of our weekend getaway is having our lunch here, because aside from the fresh sea foods and inihaw dishes, the ambiance is so amazing. Also, it is the first time that I ate while my feet are soaking under the cold water. Great new experience indeed!

 

Labasin Lake. After having our lunch we started walking and exploring the whole hacienda, we watched a cultural show (haven't got a decent photo because the stage is dark) with some kids who were there for their Educational Trip. Then we went see the balsa, but we never tried it since our clothes are not appropriate for river rafting. :p

At the park. Catching up with the old times...

 While strolling along we saw this plane which is similar with those in Baguio. Forgive me if I can't give some facts about this plane because as you all know, the blog is already long overdue.
*cge palusot pa...hihi*

This pink church is now a museum of so many artifacts and personal collection of  Don Plácido Escudero and his wife Doña Claudia Marasigan.
Note: No camera is allowed inside.

Coconut Farm

Restaurant inside Villa Escudero where you can find the best french fries (screw McDonalds, love your own!) and coffee (kapeng barako) in the world! :)

How to get there:
Land routes: Take the South Super Highway and exit at 50 (Lucena, Legaspi, Batangas exit). Turn to left at the Sto. Tomas junction. Head straight down, by passing the town of Alaminos and San Pablo City Proper. Slow down upon seeing Quezon arch and turn left immediately after. Use caution when running left.

Rates: 

for their rates, it can be found in their website: http://www.villaescudero.com/accom_rates.php

Thanks for spending some time reading... and hope you'll visit the place and enjoy!

Melai