Last weekend, Alvin’s mom treated us to a Misibis Bay weekend. Misibis Bay prides itself to be a “luxury resort” in a private island where one can relax, “have adventures” and use their “world-class facilities”.

In short, soshal daw sa Misibis Bay. The room rates range from Php 8,000 a night to Php 25,000 a night depending on the room.

I was very excited to go because (1) it’s not very often I get to visit the province where Lolo Papa and Wowa grew up and (2) I badly needed a vacation.

I postponed writing this post kasi ayokong magsulat ng high blood ako. I want this post to be as objective as possible. So, I shall write only about the facts and how I felt that time. Fair, right?

Game. Umpisahan na ang kwentuhan.

Our Philippine Airlines flight was at 9:30 am. Kasabay namin ang Talk ‘N Text basketball team. They were hard to ignore kasi they were all really very tall and people kept having their photos taken with them.

I almost cartwheeled with joy when I saw that there was a Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory store in Terminal 3. Napaka-mahal pala nito mga bakla! Bakit sa Japan PHp 300+ lang ang box of 10 pcs pero here it’s Php 600 per box?! But since Anika loves it, I got two boxes so that my SIL and BIL can taste it too.

The flight was on time and we landed 50 minutes after we took off. Hindi na nga natapos ng mga airline crew yung pagdistribute ng snacks and drinks. I’m never taking a roadtrip to Bicol anymore. Airplane is the way.

The Mayon volcano was in its majestic self that day. Pak na pak talaga because there were almost no clouds surrounding it. Seeing the Mayon volcano always makes me feel nostalgic. I remember my childhood days. We often go to Bicol during summer breaks. I had to have a photo taken with Anika and the Mayon.

The day before our scheduled flight, I was feeling agitated. Parang something wasn’t right so I called Misibis Bay to confirm if naka-book nga kami that weekend. I called their hotline (02) 661-8888. The girl on the other end of the line confirmed that we were booked. I asked them how will we know who will pick us up. Na-confuse si Ate.

The package my Mother-in-Law got was three Standard Garden View rooms for three days and two nights. The package includes breakfasts (for adults), airport transfers (for adults) and free non-motorized water sports activities.

Yes. We had to pay for the breakfast and round trip transfer of Anika and Gabo. They are not free.

Anyway, Ate from Misibis Bay (I also do not know why they talk that way. You have to experience it to understand what I mean. Halos hindi ko sila maintindihan because it seems that they have to talk to sound like they have an accent or something. Sorry.) got confused because our round trip transfer was not reflected in their system. Wala naman kasing kumukuha ng flight details namin.

Buti kamo tumawag pala ako otherwise they will not be expecting us then next day. How will we go to Misibis Bay eh 1 hour and a half pa talaga yun from the airport? Besides, airport transfers was included in our package. I found it weird because it should be automatic for them to contact their clients for their clients’ flight details. Nobody told us to call them for it.

When we arrived at the airport, Lola Lydia and Lolo Pete were already waiting for us there. They arrived two days before us kasi and went to Sorsogon muna. We were ushered to a nice white van with a nice and very accommodating driver.

We had lunch at Colonial. Apparently, sikat yata ito sa Legaspi. Food was good but I was full from eating all those Tokyo Milk Cheese biscuits so hindi ako masyadong kumain. I tried their Sili ice cream and sumisipa talaga guys. It’s unique so I have to tell you to try it.

Don’t order their kalamansi shake. It has milk so it tastes like a liquid lemon cake. Hindi masyado cool.

The driver took us around before going to Misibis Bay. He took us to Daraga Church where I told Anika to make three wishes.

Nagdrama ang bagets before she went out of the van. Ang lakas ng iyak with matching fat tears!

“I don’t want to wish to God anymore! I keep on wishing for a baby brother since I was a baby pero wala naman!”

Kung hindi lang ako manhid na halos sa topic na yan, dinamayan ko pa siguro sa iyak si Anika.

Everybody consoled her and ayan, parang wala naman nangyaring drama.

Mayon volcano was so beautiful that day.

After Daraga church, we went to Cagsawa Ruins.

ME: Ma, ano kasi yun? Casagwa ruins?

KA LYDIA: Cagsawa, anak.

PAUL: Ate, Cagsawa. Casagwa, mukha yun eh.

Hahahahahaha! Ang taba ng utak!

After I posted the photos, I received comments that tip of the Mayon volcano was usually covered by clouds. Ang swerte daw namin that day at nagpakita ang Mayon.

We went to Misibis Bay na after that. The trip took around one and a half hours. No more riding ro-ro because they built a bridge to connect the mainland to the Misibis Bay island.

When we arrived, we were given free bracelets. Here’s Anika with the bracelet and her outfit of the day.

Top and shorts: ZARA KIDS; Sandals: PAYLESS; Sunglasses: SM KIDS

We proceeded to the lobby to check-in.

I dunno if pangitain ba yun or what but there were two separate clients there who were complaining (loudly mind you). Galit na galit sila. It had something to do with them waiting for hours already.

How was check-in?

Ang masasabi ko lang is if you are managing a “luxury” resort, you have to train your front liners to give customer service equivalent sa projection on resort. Their receptionists need more training in handling complaints. They need training how to welcome clients and make them feel at home.

Hindi namin na-feel yun when we were there. They need to freaking smile and not act as if pinagpapa-sensyahan lang nila yung mga clients.

I was watching them as they talk to the other guests. Napapa-iling na lang ako. Sayang the reputation of the resort. I can compare because malayo sila from the receptionists of say, Pearl Farm in Davao. Dun talaga, feel na feel mo ang warm welcome. Wag na tayo lumayo. Remember the Virgin Beach Resort that we frequent in Batangas? Hindi ganun ka-kamahalan dun pero naman all smiles sila sa front desk. They are very accommodating too.

When we were checking in, I was asking about how we can schedule the Eco-tour. Dial 0 na lang daw kami when we go to the room. I asked if hindi ba pwede i-book na kami right then and there because we have a specific day and time na when to go. Sige daw pero subject to availability dahil fully booked.

Lekat na yan. Ayaw niyo eh di wag.

But I still gave them the schedule that we wanted. I really wanted to go to that Eco tour. I told them paki sabihan naman kami if pwede or not. Sa awa ng Diyos, naka-balik na kami ulit sa Manila and all but nobody even bothered to call or tell us that we can’t be accommodated. That’s not something you expect from a “luxury” resort.

We requested for a room at the lower floor because senior citizens yung dalawang kasama namin. I am thankful they gave in to our request and gave Ka Lydia and Ka Pete a room at the second floor.

I checked the room photos in the website and I am not sure if they really gave us a Garden view room. Our room looks like a Standard Pacific View room.  I am not complaining because I found our room beautiful.

I raved and raved about our room in social media. I was really happy with our room. The ocean view was fantastic. They all changed into their swimming attire and lumusob kami sa pool.

Misibis Bay has three pools. One pool for kids. One infinity pool overlooking the beach and one lagoon pool where we stayed.

Anika’s swimsuit was from H&M kids. Okay yan mga muthers because kahit malayo si Anika, kita ko siya. I wore a top from Una Rosa and shorts from Uniqlo. Wowa lent me her Gucci shades for this trip without me asking for it. Alam na alam ng nanay ko na maarte ako and sa maarteng lugar ako pupunta, ano? Hehehe.

We tried the buffet dinner. It costs Php 750 per plate. The kids’ rate was half the adult rate.

Let’s go to the food. Each putahe tastes good. Masarap ang pagkain sa Misibis Bay, in fairness to them. However, for Php 750 per head, kulang na kulang ako sa food in the buffet. They only had 5 kinds of ulam, rice, cheese, bread, soup (nilaga), a few cold cuts, salad, three kinds of cakes and two kinds of fruits. Nothing fantastic. I was kinda expecting kasi nga “luxury” resort.

You can order ala cart. Mahal ang food. Ganun din halos lalabas, Php 750 per person. I asked about the special dinner that they can arrange by the beach. They do that pero at Php 2,500+ for the set up per couple. Set up pa lang yan. You have to add like around Php 2,000+ more for the food. At least that was how they explained it to me.

Together with Gabo and Anika, I went to the reception to make sure someone will make sundo Alvin the next day. I also went to follow up the complaints I had with our room.

1. Our room’s airconditioning system conked out. As in walang aircon sa kwarto namin ni Anika.
2. The hallway light in our room’s hallway keeps on flickering like those in the horror movies.
3. The room door knob/lock is malfunctioning. The door doesn’t open agad even with the key.
4. Sira ang volume ng TV. Walang sounds na lumalabas sa TV namin.

I’ve been complaining since before we went down for dinner. Anika called them twice. Gabo called them thrice. I called them twice. Wala.

Before we entered the reception lobby, Anika and Gabo had to do their dab pose. So adorable.

I like the high ceiling and interiors and the big sofas of the Misibis Bay Lobby.

What I don’t like about it is the second hand tarpaulins that they used to cover the sun roof. Ang lakas maka-jologs eh. Hopefully they will remove that and replace it with just a plain mat or something.

The lady in the reception told us that nandun na daw yung mga gumagawa sa room namin.

This is where our rooms were located. Ganda ng lighting nila sa gabi.

When we arrived in our room, hindi pa din gawa yung complaints ko. Pawis na pawis na ang Anika. Until finally they gave up. Itatransfer na lang daw nila kami ng room. I looked around our room. I wanted to cry. Sabog sabog na our things. Anika’s toys were everywhere! I had to pack everything up again.

I told Anika to stay in Gabo’s room first so I can pack everything. Awang awa ako sa sarili ko, hindot na yan. I didn’t have anybody with me.

The room where they transferred us in was smaller. Hindi na ako nagreklamo. Bahala na sila sa buhay nila. All I wanted was to be able to rest already. Besides, pagod na pagod na din si Anika. Naka-pajamas na nga eh. The manager was inside our new room when I arrived. He was apologetic, yes. Pero wala naman siya magawa. Sira daw yung previous room namin. Babalik na naman tayo dun sa “luxury” resort. I just thanked them so I can unpack again ang get Anika na so we could sleep.

The next day, Anika and I woke up early to go to the gym. Matawa tawa ako because the aircon in the gym wasn’t working and the TV was also not working. Kalokang bakasyon ito. The kind man outside opened the giant fan na lang so that we can be comfortable.

After that, Anika and I walked sa beach.

We had breakfast at the Spice Market restaurant. Breakfast was a lot better than dinner. They had Filipino and American dishes. The fried rice was good with corned beef and 3 more ulam. There was lugaw. I love the daing and the small fishes na maalat. There were pancakes and waffles. There were different toppings that you can choose from like blueberries, chocolate chips etc. There was an egg omelette area where you can have your omelettes customized. Coffee was good. There was one kind of juice (pineapple). There were still only two fruits and three kinds of cakes.

Come to think of it, pineapple and watermelon lang talaga yung sinerve nila na fruits sa buffet the whole time we were there. Bakit kaya? There were no mangoes or other kinds of fruits. Naalala ko tuloy sa Pearl Farm. Naka-half balat na talaga yung mga Rambutan eh!

Anyway, we went swimming again after breakfast. First we went to the beach and Paul went Kayaking with the kids. We transferred back to the pool kasi sobrang init na.

I wore a swimsuit from Soak Swimwear. I wore their Butterfly Monokini. Hindi ko na mga bakla i-post dito yung back view that I posted in Instagram. Nakalusot kasi kay Sombrero. Baka if I post here, hindi na makalusot. Hehe.

Alvin plane was delayed. From 530am, he was able to fly around 9am na. He arrived at Misibis Bay around 11am. We had lunch, ala cart. Like I said, food was good but expensive.

We went back to our room to have a nap. I couldn’t resist snapping this photo. Ang ganda eh.

We woke up around 430 pm and went to the beach again afterwards. Hindi na talaga tumawag yung front desk regarding our scheduled 3pm Eco tour. Wapakels sila. Sad.

Good thing I am with family. Wapakels na din kami sa kanila. As long as the kids are enjoying, keribelles na.

I wore a swimsuit from Coral Swimwear that afternoon. I didn’t go swimming. Um-aura na lang ako ng um-aura dun. Lelz!

Alvin tried to go kayaking however until 5pm lang daw ang non-motorized sports (free). Pero yung jet ski (na may bayad), pwede pa daw. It doesn’t make sense. Same area, same water ang paggagawan. Yung free, bawal na pero yung may bayad, pwede pa. Ang sakit sa bangs.

We just hung out by the shore na lang then went to the swimming pool afterwards.

For someone na nagpicture lang ng nagpicture, ang itim itim ko. I got so tanned but not as tan as Anika. I am praying her color goes back to normal.

We had dinner buffet that night. It costs Php 850 per head this time. May ihaw all you can. You can have them barbecue chicken, squid and pork.

I asked the front desk what time we are leaving the next day. Sabi daw 8am for our 11 am flight. Nagmadali-madali pa kami. The van was late. We were on time but we left Misibis Bay at 9am already. You know how I hate late people di ba? Paalis na lang kami, grabe pa talaga ang inis ko.

Maybe I expected too much? Kaso I’m thinking naman that I’ve been to other resorts in Manila and in the other countries as well so I have places I can compare them to. Medyo hindi bagay ang service nila for a “luxury” resort. Hindi naman like the worst service ever because like some of the waiters were really commendable. The people who tried to fix our previous room were very apologetic. The waiter by the pool was very diligent. More customer relations training lang talaga for the people in the front desk. Also, better after sales service for the sales agents where we coursed through our booking.

While waiting for the van, nagpictorial na lang kami again.

Our flight going back to Manila was delayed for four hours. Okay lang yata for Alvin because the Alaska and Talk N Text basketball team were in our flight again.

I don’t know these guys but nakaka-aliw because nagfa-fan mode din pala si Sombrero. Hehehe.

There you go. Albeit the hiccups during this weekend getaway, we had fun because we were together as a family. Like I said, we made the most out of it. Masaya, magulo, kwela and ang daming kwentuhan.

Thank you so much Lola Lydia and Lolo Pete for this vacation =)

A few days before the last long weekend, Toots called me if we wanted daw to go to Clark. I swear he said Clark. After that phone call, I called Wowa to tell her. She said she’ll book us a room at the Widus Hotel and Casino in Clark.

We met up at 8am at Max’s Restaurant in Total gas station in Pampanga for breakfast.

Around 9:30 am we were on our way to Clark.

Or so I thought.

We brought two pick up trucks. Wowa, LT and Toots rode in Toots’ pick up while Anika and I rode in Alvin’s pick up. Toots passed the two exit to Clark. I called him.

ME: San ka pupunta? Nilagpasan mo na yung dalawang exit papuntang Clark.

TOOTS: Sa Subic

ME: Huh? Bakit ka pupunta Subic?

TOOTS: Di ba Subic tayo?

ME: Clark tayo! Sabi mo Clark!

We turned around to go back. Toots got so annoyed at me. I told you, I swear I heard him say Clark not Subic! It was so funny. Well, for me ang funny niya. All this time, Toots thought we were going to Subic! Hahahahaha! Good thing after lunch, napawi naman yung annoyance niya. Lelz.

Wowa checked us in at Widus Hotel and Casino. The had a huge lobby with nothing in it except for the reception desks.

After getting our free drinks, we went to have lunch and went shopping at Puregold first. 3 pm pa daw kasi ang check-in.

We went back after lunch. We got a Family Junior Suite. It has a floor area of 43.5 sqm. and can accommodate up to 4 pax. There was a living area with a day bed with pull out.

There was a king sized bed and a single bed. Wowa, Anika and LT slept in the king size bed. Alvin and I slept in  the single bed while dun sa sofa bed.

The suite has a kitchenette where you can use the fridge and the microwave oven and sink. They do not have utensils so you have to bring your own.

The bathroom has a bath tub to Anika’s delight.

Widus Hotel and Casino has two towers. Dun kami sa Tower 1 kaya medyo luma na yung room.

They also have a big pool with slide.

I requested Wowa to cook the Jumbo shrimps that Pacific Bay Seafood sent. Ang sarap grabe. Like the mussels that they sent, I was surprised how fresh the shrimps were given na frozen siya. We made them baon and pinapak ko siya while Anika swam that afternoon in the hotel pool. They needed to restrain me from eating the whole thing. Haha! #ThisIsWhyIHaveHighCholesterol

Look at those garlic buttered shrimps!

I topped the shrimps on the Ritz crackers. Winner na winner!

Here are my thoughts with the hotel:

The room is big. It can really accommodate 4 adults and one kid. At Php 6,000 a night (price based on their website) it’s affordable na.

Alvin found used tissue papers under the pull out bed. It was so gross. He was supposed to sleep in the pull out kaso hindi na namin natawag sa housekeeping because Toots was already sleeping. That was why Wowa gave na lang the single bed to us. Otherwise, siksikan kami nina LT, Alvin and Anika dun sa king sized bed.

The kitchenette was gamit na gamit. We appreciate the microwave oven because we heated the shrimps and the breaded fish that Wowa made. I like that they had an electrical kettle. Nakagawa ako ng tea ko.

Sufficient hot water for bathing. Very good.

The gym was quite small. They turned one of their units lang kasi to a gym but it was okay naman.

Breakfast was okay. Food was okay. There was bacon pero ang mahal ng breakfast rate nila of Php 950/pax if you will pay for extra. Hindi sulit yung breakfast spread nila for that price, I mean. Ang konti ng fruits. The croissant was matigas, not fluffy. Konti lang ang choices na ulam. So weird din na only two breakfast was free in a four pax room. Bakit kaya? Anyway, since Wowa and LT went walking outside, they had breakfast at Starbucks na lang. Kaming apat na lang nina Toots, Alvin and Anika had breakfast dun. Bad vibes lang because their waitresses kept on coming up to our table (thrice) while we were eating asking us ilan ba daw kami. It was as if gusto nilang sabihin subtlety na for two lang ang breakfast na free. I kept on repeating 4 kami and that we will be paying for the two extra pax. Nung huling lapit nila, I kinda lost my temper and asked them what was their problem. I told them that I will be paying for the extra 2 breakfast right after we eat. And if lumapit pa sila one more time, magwawala na ako. Ayun hindi na lumapit ulit. Mukha siguro kami walang pera. Charot.

The pool was great. Anika had so much fun swimming and going up and down the slide. She made a lot of friends.

Except for those waitresses who kept coming to our table during breakfast, service was great. The other waiters were very helpful and attentive. The attendants in the pool area were also commendable.

I like that there’s a bar at the ground floor of the hotel. I wish I brought a date night outfit. Nakapagdate sana kami ni Alvin ng slight. We went but hindi ako naka-tagal kasi I was wearing a “Nanay” dress. It was backless ng slight and I was getting really cold so I had to go up na to the room. Next time siguro.

Because there’s a casino in the ground floor, amoy cigarette sa lobby. Yun lang ayaw ko kasi we had a child with us.

So there. You can try the hotel naman. Tanggalin lang yung cigarette smoke in the lobby, pwedeng pwede na siya for families =)

WIDUS HOTEL AND CASINO

5400 Manuel A. Roxas Highway,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
Telephone numbers: (+63 45) 499 1000 , (+632) 883 5271 , (+632) 584.4046

When Anika got sick a few weeks back, Alvin promised her that we’ll go on a beach trip as soon as she gets well. There were three weekends that passed but we never were able to go. So we pushed this weekend. I never was able to book rooms because all the resorts that I called were fully booked already.

Grabeh.

Alvin told me we’ll just make bakasakali. I was nervous because it was a long weekend. Good luck to us.

And so we left the house early and started resort hunting. All the nice ones were all fully booked. The ones that are not did not pass my standards. Alvin asked me what my standards are but I couldn’t put them into words. Haha! I’m so sorry!

We just kept driving and driving. Finally, nung nasa dirt road na kami, we found San Juan Ito’s resort.

You know the difference between this resort from the other resorts we inquired with? Ang bait ng reception people here. They were very accommodating. There was a resort where we went to na cheaper pero okay na sana but walang ka-latoy latoy yung mga tao. Parang ayaw ka i-assist. Such a turn-off. I cannot stress how important customer service is to business talaga.

Anyway, San Juan Ito’s is a pretty small and new resort (opened in December 2016) but had nice facilities.

We had the standard room. The room was sweet and homey. Even Anika’s piglet liked it.

It had a double bed and a twin bed.

The beddings were white and clean. The pillows were soft. I know na ano fetish ko sa resorts. They should have nice beddings. Hehe.

Our room had aircon, cable, TV, a simple settee, a closet and a small but clean bathroom. The rooms were nicely decorated. The floors just had cement finish with nice tiles. We also had a balcony but the view wasn’t really that nice though.

The room costs Php 6,000 per night plus a mandatory Php 700 each for a buffet dinner and breakfast. Anika’s meals were half priced.

Cement finish was the theme of the whole resort. Maganda. Simple lang but it looked nice.

Outfit of the day: I wore this top again ‘coz I wasn’t able to wear it out the last time. Super presko this top that I got from Tin of Manila Fashion Observer. She’s one of my mommy friends and she sells some of her fab clothes at The Closet Raiders. I sometimes buy my clothes from there.

The top is kinda sheer but perfect for the beach. I used it also for my bathing suit cover up. Yung detail nga lang sa harap is not flattering to the figure pero that’s okay.

Cute this picture of Anika relaxing while waiting for lunch.

The resort has two pools and a jacuzzi that’s perfect for kids.

Nature Covered Pool

Infinity Pool

Jacuzzi pool

Food was not bad but they can improve it more. The owners were nice. They were celebrating something that day and they shared with us some buttered shrimp and lechon =)

The thing lang in this resort is that the beach is not nice. Bato bato.

Even if the beach was mabato, the resort offers free use of the life vests and the slippers for the guests.

You can do watersports like canoeing, wind surfing, banana boat and jet ski-ing (whatevs sa spelling!) for a fee. It’s not that expensive naman.

Alvin, Anika and I swam towards the balsa. Alvin went back to the beach to get a canoe. Super nice spending time with each other like that even if Alvin had to keep on repeating that there are no sharks that will attack Anika and me. Hahahahaha!

I have to note pala that there’s no signal in the resort. As in waley. Even if you go to the beach, wala. It’s okay though. It was a good surprise. Nice to detox din from the rest of the world and just be at the moment.

The next morning, we stayed by the resort’s lounges in front of the beach and had taho.

We had breakfast and left na to go back to Manila after.

More or less, I would rate our stay in this resort at 7.5 out of 10. It was just very noisy at night because of the volume of guests vs. the size of the resort. People were also smoking everywhere lang even though there were no smoking signs. Hindi nice for the kids who were staying in the resort. But the rooms, swimming pools, how they made the free life vests and slippers and the customer service of the resort staff were very commendable =)

For a fairly new resort, San Juan Ito’s is a promising one.

San Juan-Ito’s Resort
Website: http://sanjuanitos.com
Address: San Juan-Laiya Rd, San Juan, Philippines
Contact numbers: (02)463 8308, (02)463 3731, (02)463 8305
Email address: sanjuanitosbeachresortandhotel@gmail.com

For our eighth year anniversary, Alvin and I went to La Chevrerie Resort in Anilao Batangas for the weekend.

I look at the interior designs of the resorts and its rooms whenever we travel and I love the details dito sa La Chevrerie.

Maganda, guys. Pinagisipan yung design. May class. Sosyal. Sobrang nice ng resort, kinabahan ako sa gagastusin namin here.

This is their lobby.

La Chevrerie means “The Goat’s Place” and yup they actually have goats there that you can interact with.

I love the wood, white and gray theme of the interior of the resort. Peg ko for our new house.

The resort has this football game and these three cute monkeys that I want to have in my house.

Upon arrival and check-in, they gave us a welcome drink.

Masarap. Hindi lasang “may-ma-serve-lang” drinks.

We appreciated that they took their time to decorate our room for our anniversary. Ang cheesy but I love it.

Our room was big. This is the Deluxe Room. This is the cheapest room at Php 11,000 a night inclusive of breakfast. They also have the Suite Room and the Villa.

The bathroom is also my peg for our bathroom in our new house.

Acca Kappa yung mga shampoo, conditioner and body wash! Inuwi ko. Sayang eh. Lelz.

Our room’s balcony is huge also!

It had a view of the sea and the pool.

This was where we hung out after we had lunch. It was raining kasi when we were there. I am not surprised. May balat nga kasi ako. #whatsnew

The initial plan was to arrive at the resort at 10am, go snorkeling and have a seafood barbecue buffet in one of the islands there. Bale the snorkeling costs around Php 1k+ each then the seafood barbecue costs around Php 5000 for two people. However, when we were there, ang lakas ng waves. Hindi cool magbangka. So we just had drinks right after lunch in our balcony. I like their Calamansi frozen margarita.

I actually punchlist the resorts that we go to. I look at how they constructed it and how they did the finishing. Yung ibang high end resorts, ang pangit ng finishes. Bara bara. Pero here at La Chevrerie, pulido ang gawa. They used expensive materials and inayos talaga nila yung trabaho ng pagbuild and finish. Good job talaga.

They have an open air restaurant, L’ Atelier.

It has a wine cellar na bongga din.

For lunch, I had the French Onion Soup. I was pleasantly surprised because I thought bread lang yung topping niya. That is actually a burger patty topped with mozzarella cheese. So good! Pwede nang ulam with rice.

I had shrimps with rice and mango salsa. Masarap din but I prefer my shrimps in garlic butter.

Alvin had chicken na spicy but it was super sarap talaga.

La Chevrerie is actually a diving resort. For beginners, you can have a two hour scuba diving lesson for Php 4,000. The lessons are held in the pool and then sa may shore. If you want to go sa sea, there’s an additional rate of Php 5,000 for the bangka.

Alvin really wanted to go scuba diving.

I wasn’t that keen pero okay lang for me to try. Namamahalan kasi ako sa Php 4,000 for two hours. However, they didn’t recommend us doing the scuba diving because nga of the weather. Nagkamaran na the next day so next time na lang daw, Alvin said.

After our siesta, we had our massage at La Brise Spa. It costs Php 1,200 each. Buti na lang it’s good. It costs as much as 4 home massages!

After our massage, we had coffee overlooking the sea. Hindi na kami tumayo dun. Derederecho na for dinner and drinks again.

The next morning, we had coffee by the pool. Naglow tide so we checked out this breakwater. Nice magpicture taking.

My verdict for the resort is that it’s beautiful. The service is great. Mababait ang mga tao there. It’s on the exclusive side, hence, pricey. Food’s really good pero nga mahalia. Beer is at around Php 150 per bottle. The pool’s not that big though and hindi maganda ang beach front. It’s in Anilao so you know that pang diving ang mga beaches in this side.

If budget is not a concern, gorabelles kayo dito with the family. The suite room is at Php 22,000++ per night. Or you can get their Villa. Two spacious floors daw yun. I didn’t get nga lang the price. If you like to go somewhere with the jowa, I will suggest this place. It’s quiet. Konti lang ang tao so hindi magulo. It’s very relaxing and their snorkeling and scuba diving activities are great bonding experiences. It’s a place you’d want to snuggle snuggle lang by the pool, or by the restaurant tables overlooking the sea or in your balconies.

Let me know what you think pagna-try niyo ha?

Hi, everyone.

Alvin said that he thinks I’m getting better na daw. Kumokontra na daw kasi ulit ako sa kanya. Lelz.

Kidding aside. I feel better. The anxiety attacks come sparingly in the day. Halos maximum of twice a day na lang unlike before the medicines, 24 hours para akong nagpapanic ng walang dahilan.

Pineda and I were messaging each other yesterday. Iniisip lang daw niya. She said that if I can still smile, blog and post in social media now, then I can still control myself and my mind. I told her that I am functioning because of the anti-anxiety medicine. Naka-medicine pa din ako until now. It makes you feel relaxed and not palpitate all throughout the day. Habang it’s making you relaxed, nakakapag-isip ka ng straight and clearly on how to control the anxiety. If macontrol mo na your anxiety, pwede na ma-simulan na i-pull out yung medicine dahan dahan. She said that hindi niya masyado naiintindihan. I told her, anxiety, depression or any mental illness is difficult to explain to people who do not have it. She said, she will just listen to me and support me kahit hindi niya nga masyado naiintindihan.

After a while, I messaged her again because I have not given Maeko and Mirko’s birthday gifts. Pineda said that since we stopped messaging kanina until that time (ilang oras na din yung lumipas), she was reading and reading all about anxiety disorder. She wants kasi to be involved kasi ako ito. She wants to understand so she’ll know how to handle me when I have my attacks.

Naiyak ako mga bakla. Napaka-swerte ko sa mga best friends ko. I have very few pero napaka-swerte ko. Ayan, naluluha na naman ako now. For someone who will take time to read and understand about the illness you have, ibig sabihin mahal na mahal ka ng tao na yun. I am praying na sana those who have like my illness too have people like Pineda in their lives. Si Vivian din. She insisted on meeting up with me during the long holiday. Among all of them, si Vivian kasi talaga yung nakakaintindi ng ganitong sakit. Si Janis naman made it to a point to visit me even for a short while dun sa ginagawa namin na house while we were there. Kwentuhan lang. I hope Anika will have friends like mine too.

My family, swerte din ako. Alvin, Wowa, Anika, Toots and his friend brought me to the beach the other day for an overnight trip. Everthing was fully booked but Alvin was able to find an airconditioned cottage at Virgin Beach Resort. I’ll photo blog ha? I’ll just comment every now and then.

Anika wore a dress from H&M, sandals from Payless, sling bag from H&M and her Jojo Siwa inspired bow.

Romper: MANGO; Sandals: BIRKENSTOCK; Sunglasses: RAYBAN

We had lunch at the resort na.

Posting my OOTDs and our photos for this trip in my social media made me really happy. Parang naging outlet ko siya. Mind you ha, I am still taking my anxiety medicines two times a day until now. It keeps the anxiety at bay in the morning when dun siya sobra and it helps me sleep when I take it at bedtime. Ang ganda daw kasi ng smile ko and I look happy na in the photos. Malaki ang kinalaman ng medicines. I am going to tell my doctor na if sana pwede to start withdrawing it already. I feel kaya ko na to manage if the anxiety attacks again. Wag lang yung exage ha and wag lang may magkakasakit muna.

This swimsuit top is from Coco Cabana. Yung bottom old na. String kasi yung partner niyang top. Baka pa-uwiin ako ni Sombrero pag yun yung sinuot ko.

Yes, I lost weight. I lost 10lbs. I want to maintain it na by exercising. Exercise is recommended also by my doctor. It releases endorphins that your body needs.

This trip was Wowa’s treat. Hindi din naman din kasi kami madalas magbeach. It was so much fun and relaxing. This was also recommended by my doctor. Pagmay ganito ka, you will do and try everything din to get well.

Alvin has never left my side since. Ang supportive, nagulat ako because he doesn’t believe sa mga ganito before. Pero ngayon, he talks about it with me. He listens to me. He embraces me pagnagpapalpitate ako.

My two loves

I am thankful for Wowa. Thankful ako retired na siya. She really does take time to go with me and make me kamusta often.

Anika loves the beach. I wish we can take her here often. Maganda yung fresh air sa kanya.

I forgot where I got this personalized swimsuit. It’s one of my favorites pa naman.

I got this swimsuit top naman from Topshop.

Anika is now taking interest in volleyball. Diyosko. Tuwang tuwa talaga ako. I am starting to teach her the proper form and the proper way of hitting the ball.

It’s nice because we were all able to fit in one room. Ganda talaga this vacation na nangyari. Bonding na bonding.

Wowa and Toots napped in the afternoon. Alvin, Anika, Toots’ friend and I stayed by the beach. Around 4pm, I told Anika to wake up na Wowa and her nongnong. Kako sunset na, tulog pa din sila. Hehe.

This overnight vacation really helped me a lot. Malaking malaking bagay siya for me. I am thankful we went.

Before I end this blog entry, I would like to encourage everyone to read about anxiety disorder or depression especially if you have a loved one suffering from it. Malaki matutulong niyo for them. Ang suffering nila is inside their mind. Hindi niyo yan makikita sa panlabas ng tao. There may be signs that they have na pasulpot sulpot but it’s not easy to detect if you are not a specialist. Parang si Wowa. She told me ang ganda daw ng skin ko now. San ka naman daw nakakita ng tao with this illness tapos ang ganda? Naks. Thanks Ma. I also don’t know. Baka kasi hindi kasi ako nakapag-make up ng 10 days and my skin was able to rest? Baka yun.

Do not be fooled with what other people project on the outside. You will never know what they are battling inside themselves. So let’s all be kind to everyone because we do not know what they are going through. I’m telling you, you will not like to be in their shoes. Isusumpa niyo, promise. Only the bravest and the strongest survive this kasi matinding sheer will ang kailangan.

Osha, I am praying for a good day today since I’m back to work. Update ko ulit kayo guys. I hope the doctor will tamper off na the dosage of my medicine so that I can say I have fully recovered.

Good morning and have a great day everyone!

The last long weekend (the other week), Alvin, Anika and I went to Matabungkay Beach Resort.

When I was looking for a beach to go to, almost all resorts were fully booked. Yan kasi si Alvin, he told me na go with the flow lang daw. I should stop being uptight about everything including schedules. Kaya daw ako nag-aanxiety. Hindi talaga pwede sa akin yung ganun. I need to plan everything in advance because I get terribly pissed if nahahassle ako.

Anyway, since I postponed looking for a place to go, wala na availability dun sa mga usual beaches where we usually book.

And then I stumbled across Matabungkay Beach Resort. Binook ko na agad siya basing on my recall of how it looked like before. When I called them to reconfirm, I asked the girl on the other line if well maintained ba nila yung resort. I can’t help to be nervous about it because 10 years old pa lang ako, Matabungkay Beach Resort na yan. Malay ko ba if dilapidated na siya.

The girl naman assured me that okay pa din sila. They underwent renovations daw.

So from Tagaytay,

Top: FROM DIVISORIA; Shorts: F&H; Shoes: ALDO; Bag: KATE SPADE (thanks Ate Eileen for it!)

.. we drove for another hour and a half to Lian, Batangas to the resort.

I am happy to report that the resort is well maintained. The staff were courteous.

Except for the bathroom (the shower handle was already falling off), the rooms were surprisingly okay for a 30 year old resort.

We arrived at the resort around 530 pm. Alvin wanted to lie down on the bed. Anika wanted to swim. And I wanted to have my OOTD photos taken. The girls won so Alvin had no choice but to go with us. Natuwa naman siya because he saw his idol, Asiong Salonga (character) who is now a governor of Laguna.

Pogi pa din siya. His face was well preserved. Mukhang bata. And he was nice because I saw that he was busy but he agreed agad for photos.

We went to stroll in the beach after. It was low tide pero wild yung pagka-low tide. You can walk towards the sea. Malayong malayo ka na and yet until knees pa din lang ang water. Yun ata ang hindi lang okay in this resort. Mababaw masyado yung water.

But OMG, the sunset was beautiful.

Anika swam in the kiddie pool (the resort had three pools) then after we prepared for dinner by the beach. I got kasi their Valentine’s Day package. It includes a room stay, free dinner by the beach  and flowers, bears and chocolates.

For dinner, they made us choose at the front desk ano orders namin from the selection. The food was great. Sarap na sarap ako. Again, I was surprised because hindi ko ineexpect na masarap ang food. Yun lang, hindi na namin inulit yung dinner by the beach because the service was sooooo slow. Awang awa ako dun sa waiter namin because he had to transport the food from the restaurant to where we were. Ang layo layo kaya nun. Sa sobrang bagal nila, we didn’t wait anymore for the dessert. Anika was so tired and sleepy already. They just brought it to our room.

The next day, Anika and I woke up early to go out. Atat kasi kami. Nilibot namin yung resort which was big.

Mega low tide. I wish I brought jogging attire. Masarap siguro tumakbo dito.

We woke Alvin up so we can have breakfast. Buffet was at 350+ a head and food was masarap. After eating, we rented a balsa (Php 1200 for the whole day) and stayed there from 9am to 3pm. We pre-ordered lunch and it was brought to the balsa at 12 noon.

A balsa is like a floating raft. Ours had a table, bench, a roof and a small room.

Alvin and Anika went fishing while I did OOTD pictorial using the timer of my camera. Kanya kanyang trip yan.

After a while, Anika was able to catch a fish! Grabe! Alvin and I were more excited than she was!!!

We let the fish go so technically, Anika saved a life.

Siguro sa exhilaration niya that she caught a fish, Anika was more determined than ever to catch one again. As in from 9am to 3pm, try siya ng try magfish. She knows how to put bait and she knows how to cast the fishing line to the sea. Galing. Ang tiyaga.

Sunog na sunog ang Alvin and Anika.

Ako? I just stayed in the chair under the roof away from the sun and read a book. Nahirapan lang ako because I poop and pee a lot so I had to go back and forth to the beach a couple of times. Nakikiride ako sa mga dumadaan na paddle boats. Lelz.

In between their fishing, they also swam, snorkeled and did jet ski (Php 2,000 for 30 minutes). Nagkatawaran pa nga daw sa jetski.

ALVIN: Kuya Php 1,000 na lang

KUYA JETSKI: Hindi po pwede sir. Pagagalitan kami ng may-ari eh.

ANIKA: Sige na kuya, 1,000 na lang.

KUYA JETSKI: Sorry pero hindi talaga pwede.

ANIKA (to Alvin): Sige na Babe, 2,000 na lang. Bayaran kita sa bahay.

Hanep.

It was Anika’s first time to do jetski kaya tuwang tuwa talaga siya.

ME (to Alvin): Grabe, ang mahal ng jetski.

ALVIN: Okay na yan. At least ako ang kasama niya sa unang jetski niya, hindi ibang lalaki.

Hanep again. May ganun?

So where was I when all these were happening? I was asleep in the balsa. Hahaha!

ANIKA: Nanay, ikaw lang talaga ang walang ginawa dito!

Meron noh! I rented a paddle boat. It’s like a surf board and they give you a paddle. Relax relax lang ang peg. I sat down on it and paddled just near where the balsa was. However, before I knew it, I was already so far away from them! As in malayong malayo! The more I paddled, the more ako lumalayo sa kanila until they looked so tiny to me na! That was how far I was!

ME: Babe! Babe! I can’t go back!

I was so fucking scared. Kung wala lang si Anika siguro dun, nagwala na ako sa takot! I was out at sea na! Malayong malayo promise! I was so scared baka si Jaws ay nandun! I was looking out for a shark’s fin. Alvin had to ask a boatman to fetch me. They pulled me back to the balsa. Malakas daw yung alon towards sa ocean sabi nung boatman.

Tinigilan ko nga yung paddle boat na yan, leche.

Ang dami kong sermon inabot from Anika. I should have not rented it daw kasi hindi naman pala ako marunong. What if daw wala sila ng tatay niya. What if daw walang boat to rescue me. I should have paddled daw towards them not away from them.

Grabe. Sermon levelz. May matching pamewang pa yan.

We went back to the room around 4pm after Anika swam in the kiddie pool and after eating halo halo. Hindi masarap yung halo halo.

After bathing, we walked again on the beach to catch the sunset.

The golden hour lighting was awesome.

Wish ko lang may nagpipicture din sa akin, ano?!

We asked to have our dinner served at the restaurant instead by the beach. Ito dinner namin.

Nyar, hindi ko pala napicturan lahat. Apart from the dessert (which tasted normal), the main dishes were delicious. You should try their bbq ribs. Napaka-sarap.

We went back to our room after dinner. Anika was borlogs at 7pm. Napagod.

Over-all, our experience at Matabungkay Beach Resort was nice. I would rate it at 8 out of 10. Sablay lang talaga the beach kasi super low tide all the time. But I recommend it for families. Hindi din ganun ka-mahal ang rates so recommendable talaga.

Matabungkay Beach Hotel
Website: http://www.matabungkaybeachhotel.com
Contact number: (63) 917-834-1269
Manila office: (02) 819-3080

For Wowa’s 65th birthday this year, she treated us to a two night weekend getaway in Clark. I googled and found the Green Canyon Eco Art Resort. Looks promising so we went.

We all met up at a fastfood restaurant in one of the gasoline stations at NLEX. In fairness, complete kami. The working peeps took a leave of work yesterday.

On the way to the resort, we passed by this huge bridge and I had to go down and made Alvin take my photos.

We arrived at Green Canyon resort. It’s a private resort where security is quite strict. Magaling.

The resort is quite fascinating because the lobby is also a museum. Maganda. The pieces made by Niccolo Jose are displayed there.

We arrived at the hotel at around 10am (I insisted to be out of EDSA na dapat by 7am kasi hell ang traffic given that it was a Friday work day). We weren’t allowed early check in (despite not seeing any guests) so we just unloaded all our luggage and stuff at the lobby and went out to go to Puregold and to have lunch.

We had lunch at Binulo Restaurant. Here are the food we ordered.

Lato salad which is my favorite when eating here.

Kapangpangan sisig

Rice cooked in kawayan. Binalik nga lang namin because hilaw siya.

Binukadkad na Tilapia with buro. It was the first time I ate buro and I really liked it.

Crispy pata

We went back to the hotel at around 2pm. I like our room.

There were 6 single beds and 1 bunk bed. The bathroom was huge with two sinks and a separate toilet and bath. We got the room for around Php 12k a night. Sulit siya given 10 pax kami lahat.

Everybody slept when we arrived. Anika and I woke up after an hour and explored the grounds. I shall post the other photos that I took of the resort after this. Lahat ito halos galing sa iPhone ko lang eh.

Walking distance the Palette, which is their restaurant. Okay naman their food. Medyo pricey pero expected kasi shala ang resort.

The resort has two pools. One is the Symphony pool which is beside the restaurant.

Ganda ng view kasi mountains ang likod.

The other pool is a wave pool which is located at the other side of the resort accessible via this hanging bridge.

It was scary. I wasn’t expecting it pero Anika and I managed to pass it back and forth.

After a while after they have all woken up, we met up with Niccolo Jose which turned out to be Fonz’s schoolmate in High School. Galing! He toured us to his museum.

The wood pala used in the pillars outside the lobby are all 300 years old. And those paver tiles in the photo above, they bought it in a sugar plant in Bacolod for 5 pesos per block. They had it cleaned for 7 pesos per block. Ngayon mahal na isa niyan. Astig.

He told us about how their family bought the land and developed it. They were the ones who planted the trees. Out of the 300 trees they planted, namatay yung 200. Ang sad. Pero they continued planting so around after 10 years of acquiring the land, they opened this resort.

Niccolo Jose is a talented wood worker, sculpture and painter. I saw his works and I loved it! Ang gaganda talaga. Bawal nga lang to take photos inside the museum kasi yung ibang sculptures dun commissioned na. He has a lot of celebrity clients too. Magaling nga. I wanted to buy some kaso I have yet to sell one of my kidneys. Charot. Hahaha! For the meantime, eto nagpapicture na kami kasi sikat si Tito Niccolo!

One of the things I like about Green Canyon Eco Art Resort is that you are literally surrounded by nature.

Another thing I love here is that the wifi signal is strong. May wifi everywhere the resort. May cellular signal also sa bundok. San ka pa? =)

We had dinner at Grill Seoul. Masarap dun. I recommend it if you’re here in Clark. Paki google na lang.

The next day, we woke up at 5am to go hiking at 530 am. Nung una kami kami lang. Eh nainggit si Wowa and si Toots so full cast ang hiking.

It was supposed to be a 45 minute hike up to the peak pero mahirap ang trail for a group with a senior citizen, a 4 month old baby, a reklamador 7 year old and for someone who has metal na in his ankle (Toots). We self declared our own peak after 20 minutes. Paano ganito ang dialogue:

WOWA to the guide: Ilang minutes na lang sa taas?

GUIDE: 20 minutes po.

WOWA: Ilang minutes pa hanggang sa taas?

GUIDE: 20 minutes po.

WOWA: Kanina pa yang 20 minutes na yan eh!

ME: Eh kakatanong mo lang talaga tapos hindi naman tayo umuusad!

Hahahaha!

TOOTS: Okay! We have reached the peak! We have reached OUR PEAK!

Kaloka!!!

It was fun though.

We did a pictorial na lang on the way down.

Anika’s crying there because we saw a sign that said “Beware of snakes.” Tapos tinakot ni Toots si Anika kunwari may kumagat sa legs niya! Hahahaha!

We had a hearty breakfast at the restaurant after. We had tocino, bangus belly, longganisa, eggs, corned beef and garlic rice. Masarap.

We went swimming afterwards.

Buti na lang kasama si Faye and Fonz. Meron akong mga matitinong shots na hindi sariling sikap. Love it. I shall sponsor them lagi sa trips para sure kasama sila. Ang hirap kasi magpapicture kay Sobrero, men! Pahirapan um-angle! Lelz.

Osha, papa-ahunin ko na tong si Anika sa pool so we can have dinner =)

There’s a part 2 pa of this post ha? Wait for it =)

Enjoy the weekend!

As promised, here are more photos from our Green Canyon Eco Art Resort getaway.

The super nice photos are from Fonz. Yung mga eklaver shots, galing sa camera ko.

Speaking of camera, I badly want to change mine. Ang ganda ng Fuji XT 10 ni Fonz kaso phased out na. Lech. I fell in love with Fonz’s camera because it’s lightweight and ang ganda ng colors ng output. I hope I can buy a similar kind at Henry’s pero same price range lang.

Anyway, eto na ang mga photos.

This is their reception and hotel building. Those are the posts made from 300 year old wood that I was telling you about.

There are different wooden sculptures in the hotel lobby. Parang museum lang.

And of course, the cutest member of the family now had her mini photoshoot.

The resort is filled with different kinds of trees and plants.

This is the Symphony pool. It has a lap pool and a pool na may mababaw na part for the kids.

This is the hanging bridge I was telling you about that will take you to the Wave Pool. Napaka-init lang dun sa wave pool area kasi hindi masyadong ma-puno so hindi kami tumambay there ng matagal.

This is the restaurant. It’s made of the Mt. Pinatubo ashes.

Their restaurant is an open area space.

Food is good depending on your order.

This bangus steak is good kaso naaalatan ng sobra si Wowa.

The crispy kare kare is good.

The sisig also is delicious.

I ordered their Carbonara. It’s very creamy na medyo nakakaumay. Good for sharing naman siya.

I like the mushroom soup that I ordered it again during dinner time.

I read that masarap daw yung 4 cheese pizza nila. Hindi ko siya type but maybe you guys can try it. Maasim kasi masyado the tomato sauce used and I feel hindi siya match dun sa cheese.

Breakfast was served na parang bahay style. Yung mga ulam nasa gitna: tocino, corned beef, scrambled eggs, longganisa and bangus with garlic rice. Nung Sunday, buffet style siya. I love the dilis with salsa. Extra rice talaga. Also the pandesal was really, really delicious.

Since we weren’t able to reach the peak of the mountain where we hiked, nagpicturan na lang kami ng picturan. Lelz.

So proud of Faye talaga. She’s a supermom to Isabel.

Cheers to family and to relaxing trips! =) More to come sana =)

Tara, I’ll blog about our recent glamping trip before summer ends.

Lol.

My brother-in-law, Paul and his wife, Tin treated us to an overnight glamping to celebrate Gabo’s 8th birthday.

When I first heard of it, okay naman ako. We already went glamping at Nurture Spa Wellness Village last 2015. Alam naman nating lahat na, though girl scout ako from Grade 1 to 4th Year High School, isa akong maarteng nilalang. Ang selan ko sa banyo and mareklamo ako. However, in fairness to me, when the going gets tough, kaya kong sumabay. That’s why I don’t know why Alvin wouldn’t believe me when I tell him I can survive a hard core camping trip in the mountains. Wala daw portalet dun. Eh ano. I can do it naman, wala lang gustong maniwala. Never mind that I feel like peeing every 10 minutes. Keri ko ang pagakyat sa bundok and camping.

Alvin and Anika were so excited for the trip. Nahawa ako. They bought camping stuff. They made checklists after checklists of the things that they needed to bring. The night before we left, akala mo may zombie apocalypse sa dami ng gamit na dadalhin ng mag-ama ko. Hardcore mountain climber ang Alvin before, if you remember. So siya si Scout Master namin and Anika followed him like a super dedicated cub scout. Meanwhile, I was packing all the outfits that I can wear for the OOTD photos. Di baleng walang snacks, basta maganda ang damit sa camping.

A few days before our glamping trip, Paul briefed us where we were going. The name of the glamping site is BLOC CAMP SITE.

I checked out the place. It was so pretty. The campsite was beside a lake. So cool.

And so we went.

I was so amazed when we arrived. The place was indeed beautiful. For our group, they set up 3 tents near the lake. For me, yung pwesto namin yung pinaka-maganda. It had privacy and parang we had all the space all to ourselves.

There was  a tent for honeymooners. The tent was a lot bigger that the ones they gave us. Pwede ka magtumbling sa loob. They had their own porch with hammock and griller.

Our tents had two double airbeds. Four people can sleep in a tent.

Before we were allowed to go to our tents, we were briefed about the house rules of the campsite. Briefing talaga. You are required to sit there and listen. Tama nga naman because of safety. They told us what we can and we cannot do. They asked us if we had questions. When everything was clear na, they helped us bring our things to the tent.

It was very relaxing there. As in chill in the highest level.

So chill both literally and figuratively. Ang lamig!

Pero tiis ganda para lang maganda ang OOTD there.

Mangatog-ngatog ako sa lamig

I’m not kidding guys. It was so cold there! We weren’t expecting it. I wasn’t expecting it. Kita niyo nga pekpek shorts ang suot ko.  I thought it would be super hot so I brought all short shorts with me. Good thing Alvin always nags us to bring jackets wherever we go so kaming 3, we had jackets. The rest of us, waley. Puros summer attire!

Fail ang aking OOTD attempts sana. I thought it would be as hot as it was in a beach. Hindi. I felt we were in Canada in Autumn.

I think it was cold because of the Caliraya Lake. The BLOC Camp Site is located in Cavinti, Laguna. Medyo malayo and mukhang mataas yung place. Man-made lang ang lake.

Alvin and Anika immediately prepared their fishing gadgets.

They weren’t able to catch any fish though. Malamang nilamig din ang mga isda kaya nagsi-alisan.

She dips her legs AFTER I tell her that the water is too cold.

Ellie wanted to have fun too!

When you go glamping at BLOC Camp Site, you can order food from them.

Or you can prepare and cook your own food. Clean as you go nga lang kasi nakakahiya naman magkalat ka there. So be sure to bring garbage bags. They have naman concrete sinks by the toilets where you can wash your pots and pans. Pero wag ka na magluto ng dinuguan dun. Simple campsite food lang, keribelles.

There was a lot of space where the kids can run around. It was a great opportunity for them to put down their iPads and gadgets and just be like, normal kids.

Gabo’s cake is from Cake Lane.

So nice, huh? It’s not expensive ha? That’s the reason why I got them to make Anika’s birthday cake too. Galing.

If it was cold in the afternoon, imagine how cold it was at night. Good thing there was a bonfire. God, we loved the bonfire! Ang sarap yung super lamig na lamig ka then tatambay ka in front of the fire. It was soooo relaxing. We also roasted marshmallows and made smores. Smores are so addicting! Ang sakit lang sa lalamunan ‘coz super tamis, but I love it!

The BLOC Camp Site staff were very helpful. They helped us with all our stuff, bringing them all to our campsite. They also were the ones who made the bonfire. May fee nga lang for additional wood. Naka-2 times replenish siguro kami.

Here’s what the tent looks like inside.

 It was comfortable inside the tent. It wasn’t that cold inside so we slept comfortably.

The next day, we chilled some more. There was really nothing else to do kasi the water was too cold to go swimming. The kids just kept running and running around.

After breakfast, we had our morning nap and then we left na for Manila, recharged.

Overall, the experience was great. It was a different vacation and we all had fun. Magbobonding talaga kayo dun. No TV. May phone signal naman. You will really feel one with nature.

The only thing that I didn’t like was the toilets. Mukha talaga siyang public toilets. Tipong yung inidoro na walang water tank? Ganun. The toilet was like a 1m by 2m space na nandun na yung toilet seat and when you look up, nandun na yung rainshower. No hot water.

Ang hirap for me.

I had to wake up Alvin at around 2am so that he can go with me pee. Malayo din kasi ang lalakarin to the toilets from our tent.

Alvin said I really cannot go with him mamundok. Sa bundok daw, sa hukay ka lang jejebs. Emergerd. What if something bites your pwet while doing it? Mukha nga I will not survive sa hard core camping.

For lunch we went to Aling Taleng’s Halo Halo (since 1933). Food was good and we were able to buy a lot of pasalubongs including kesong puti.

Their halo-halo is masarap nga. There’s something there that I cannot place that makes it different from the halo halo of Chowking and Razon’s. If you happen to pass by Pagsanjan and eat there, let me know ano difference ha? Hindi ako mapakali lelz. Over-all, the restaurant is worth visiting when you’re there. Food’s good =)

That’s it! Please inquire na lang at BLOC Campsite for their rates. I don’t know how much because it was a treat from Paul and Tin =)

Have a lovely summer, beautiful people!

The Hague is a city in Netherlands where you can find the seat of the cabinet of the Netherlands, the States general, the Supreme Court and the Council of State. This is the city where you can find most of the foreign embassies and many international organizations including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

In short, ang busy and important ng city na ito in The Netherlands.

Wala naman masyadong ganap here except that ang sasarap tingnan nung mga structures there especially dun sa Binnenhof. Binnenhof is a large complex which serves as a meeting place of several political groups. It was constructed in 1200 making it the oldest parliament building being used in the world. When you’re inside the complex, kung hindi ka masyadong naninigas sa lamig like me, you will marvel how nice the old architecture was dati.

Photo taken by Papa

Inside the Binnenhof complex, you will find the Ridderzaal. It is the central focal point of the Binnenhof. This building is being used as a place where the Dutch parliament is opened by the Prime Minister.

It is also in The Hague where you can find the Schevinengen seaside resort. This is only beach I have ever been to in The Netherlands. All the photos below are from my cousin-in-law, Yul Pitallano.

It was really cold here. I would love to come back with Anika when the weather is much warmer. Ang fine ng sand. it’s not white like in Boracay pero ang fine niya. Ang sarap magemote dito. Masarap din magholding hands while walking.

Along the shore, you can find restaurants and bars. Masarap tumabay dito. I remember Papa taking us here in one of the bars to watch Pinoy bands. Ang gagaling nila.

Side kwento lang.

In 2006, Papa and I went to The Hague from Amsterdam. It’s a one and a half hour drive. One the way drive, Papa let me drive because sleepy siya. He fell asleep sa biyahe. Kinabahan ako ng slight because wala pang Waze nun. But you know, nagising si Papa nasa Amstelveen na kami. Malapit na kami sa house. Galing noh? I was able to drive ourselves home because the road signs were very easy to follow. Pang dummies talaga. Malayo pa, they will tell you na malapit na yung mga exits. Galing. No need for Waze or Google Maps. Yun lang, I don’t know how many speeding tickets Papa got because of me. Hehe. Ang daming camera kasi eh and sa sarap magdrive, hindi mo namamalayan 140 kph na pala speed mo!

When you go in Schevinengen pala during summer days, ang daming naka-topless. Young and oldies, walang mga bikini tops. Keber sila sa world! Nakakatuwa din especially hindi tayo sanay makakita ng ganun right?

=)

It took Alvin and I awhile to decide where to go for our 9th wedding anniversary getaway.

He said wag daw muna out of the country because tag-tipid kami ngayon. We have travels next year that we are hoping to push. Ipon ipon kami ngayon.

I asked him where he wants to go. Cebu daw. I said we’ve been there. Siargao daw. Ang mahal ng airfare. I said Bohol. Pinagtawanan niya ako. Remember our naudlot na vacation in Bohol because I was having hard core LBM? And then Alvin suggested Siquijor. I checked out the airfare sa Philippine Airlines. Php 7,500 per person via Dumaguete. Pwede na.

I just had second thoughts because isn’t Siquijor famous for mangkukulam and aswangs? Ang duwag ko pa naman sa ganyan. I agreed still kasi it’s an adventure.

We left for Terminal 3 early in the morning for our 9am flight. We had breakfast at one of the restaurants there. Ang gaganda na pala ng mga stores dun ano? They have a Bath and Body store! I wanted to hoard hand creams kaso nakabantay si Sombrero so I just bought two tubes.

Anyway, thankfully, our flight wasn’t delayed. We arrived at Dumaguete at around 10am.

From the Dumaguete aiport, we had to rent a tricycle to take us to the Dumaguete port. Php 120 ang bayad sa tricycle.

It was a 30 minute ride to the port.

When you’re going there, ask the tricycle driver to take you to the Ocean Jet ticket office first so you can buy your tickets. Nasa harap lang yun ng port.

We chose Ocean Jet because that was the fastest boat to Siquijor daw. A one way ticket costs around Php 250. You’d just have to pay Php 14 for the terminal fee and Php 50 for the luggage fee at Ocean Jet upon check in.

You can check out the different Ferry Schedules of the other ferries here.

The Dumaguete port was nice. It was airconditioned and maraming nagtitinda ng food. I was so happy they were selling Silvannas so I bought myself 2 pieces at Php 20 each.

We were asked to board around 12noon. The ferry leaves at 12:20 pm. On time sila. I love it.

Top: MYKA LIMCHOC; Shorts: STRADIVARIUS; Sandals: HAVAIANAS; Bag: KATE SPADE; Sunglasses: RAY BAN

The ferry was airconditioned. Ang sangsang nga lang ng air freshener. I slept in that 45 minute trip. Nahihilo kasi ako.

At last, we arrived in Siquijor. I was praying wag sana ako maging victim ng “pitik” or usog while I was there. I made it a point to be nice to the locals. Ayoko sila ma-badtrip sa akin.

But you know, I have to say, the locals in Siquijor are all very friendly and nice. They are very helpful and makikita mo talaga na sincere sila. Nakakatuwa.

A little further from the boat, I spotted the Coco Grove Beach Resort representative who was fetching us.

Fleur and party talaga?!?!

ALVIN: Sino si party?

ME: Ikaw.

Bwahahahaha!

I booked Coco Grove Beach Resort because based on the reviews, that resort is the best one in Siquijor. Sabi din ng mga locals dun, it was the nicest resort na. Dun daw nagse-stay ang mga artista. Tamang tama, kasama ko si Dingdong.

In the lobby, you will meet their talking bird, Macky.

Check in was a breeze. Mababait yung mga nasa front desk until I asked to be transferred to another room. Naging indifferent sila ng slight. I requested for another room because our terrace was facing trees. As in madaming madaming tall and big trees. Takot ako.

Wala na daw standard room na available. So sad. So never mind. Our room was a Sunset Villa room. It costs Php 3,500 a night. We went there after they gave us the welcome drink. This is how our room looks like:

Nice din naman siya except we would have appreciated it more kung may view siya nung beach sana.

After settling in, we went to one of their restaurants to have a late lunch.

I ordered butter garlic shrimps (masarap).

Alvin ordered grilled mahi-mahi.

One meal costs Php 1,000 for two pax.

Mura ang beer kaya natuwa naman si Sombrero. What I like there was their frozen Strawberry Margarita. Ang sarap ng timpla, promise! I’m craving for it tuloy right now.

The beach had a lot of seaweeds when we were there. Maganda sana yung sand: fine and almost white.

Here are the other photos of the resort:

Ganito hitsura when low tide.

We saw three girls picking out something from the ocean late in the afternoon. It turned out, they were getting sea urchins.

Did you see my IG videos that time? The girls taught us how to eat fresh sea urchins. Ang dala lang nila si rice and suka with sili. Galing. Island life!

You can have scuba lessons there too.

Wala masyadong tao when we were there. I would have loved to hang out dito sa pool bar nila. Bakit nga ba hindi ako nagswimming? Naka-ilang palit ako ng swimsuit, ni hindi naman lang ako nabasa. Lelz.

The sunset at Siquijor was gorgeous.

Swimsuit: I LOVE KOI

We stayed in at the resort that day. Hindi na kami gumala. After watching the girls catch and eat sea urchins, tumambay kami sa beach ni Alvin. Naglatag ako and we sat there until we got hungry for dinner time. Alvin drank beer while nagkwentuhan kami. Okay din going out of town just the two of us. We rarely get to this na magkwentuhan ng matagal when we’re at home because Anika keeps on getting our attention.

After dinner, I had foot spa at their spa for Php 300 for 30 minutes. Alvin played billiards while waiting for me. Nung matapos na ako, I ordered their Frozen Strawberry Margarita. It’s one of the best margaritas I have ever had. Winner talaga. Nagpustahan kami ni Alvin sa billiards. Talo gagapang sa ilalim ng billiards table. I almost won. Buti hindi na niya pinush yung bet. Hahahaha!

We called it a night at around 9:30 pm. Lolabelles na! We were puyat naman kasi and we wanted to be up early the next day for our tour of Siquijor.

Stand by for the part two of my post! =)

Before our trip, I browsed the places we can go to in Siquijor. What I learned was that Siquijor is an island lang pala and you can tour the whole island in a day. Perfect.

There are two kinds of tours: the Coastal and the Mountain Tour.

For the Coastal tour, you will be taken around the island. Babaybayin niyo yung coastline, bale yung perimeter ng island. You will stop over the tourists spots including the different beaches. For the mountain tour, you will go up the mountain sa middle ng island papuntang Cantabon Cave and Bandilaan Park. I suggest that you list down all the places you want to go to before going to Siquijor. And then, discuss this with the tour guide.

You can either book your tour with the hotel or hire a tricycle to take you around. From what I’ve read, Php 1,200 yung sa tricycle. We booked our tour when we arrived on our first day sa hotel. It costs Php 1,500. Mas mahal pero keribelles kasi ang cute nung tuktuk and the drivers are endorsed by the hotel. Sure ako na maayos.

So before breakfast on our second day, rumampa muna ako while wala pang lamang ang tiyan ko and acceptable pa siya mapicturan ng naka-two piece. I loved my outfit for that morning.

Bikini top: SALT SWIM; Skirt: STYLE ANA PH

The tour was supposed to start at 10am pero since thanders na kami ni Alvin, we were up at 6am already. I asked to have the tour moved earlier at 8am instead. Okay naman daw.

Here’s the tuktuk that I was telling you. The rent was Php 1,500 for the day. This includes the driver and the gas.

It’s so comfy inside. Our driver’s name was Jetoy and he’s really nice. Major plus points pa kasi ang galing niya magtake ng photos! If you’re going to Coco Grove Resort, ask for him sulit siya.

Here are the places he took us in order.

BALETE TREE
Entrance Fee: Php 20

First, he took us to the 400 year old Balete Tree. Initially, I wanted to forgo this place na kasi masyadong touristy however it was along the way so game.

I’m glad we went here because the tree was a sight to see. It was huge! It was scary and amazing at the same time. There was a pool in front of it full of small fishes and giant Tilapias. You can put your feet inside so that the fishes can eat your kalyos away.

Sobra siya nakakakiliti, the fishes.

Medyo masakit when they bite on that part of your feet na wala namang kalyo. Nakakatakot when the Tilapia comes near you. Parang pwede niyang kainin buong paa mo. Hahaha

We stayed for around 10 minutes in that place.

On the way back to the Tuktuk, I saw this stall there selling Love Potions.

Totoo pala may mga ganito! Take note, never bring to funeral, wake or cemetery. Bakit kaya?

HAPITANAN CAFE AND RESTAURANT
Entrance Fee: none

You can skip this. Akala ko naman kung anong coffee shop or whatever that has witches. It’s just a small open air restaurant (similar to a carinderia) with a spot where you can take photos your yourself riding a broom. Naka-elevate yung stage where you will take photos with the broom so it has an effect na parang lumilipad kang parang bruha. Hahaha!

LAZI CHURCH AND CONVENT
Entrance Fee (convent): Php 20

Our next stop was the Lazi Church and Convent. Lazi Church is also known as the San Isidro Labrador Church. Too bad the church was under renovation. I wanted so much to go inside this 18th century church because it was declared as a Natural Cultural Treasure.

In front of the church is the Lazi Convent which is also a Natural Cultural Treasure. It is said to be the biggest convent in the Philippines.

When we went upstairs, we were shown the different documents, furniture, robes and statues that were from the 18th century pa. The ladies who were touring us were so nice. Ang gagaling din nila magconceptualize ng mga shots.

LADY: Sir, ma’am, tingin po kayo sa malayo.

Click!

Pak!

LADY: Sir, ma’am, diyan po kayo sa gitna ng hagdan. Talikod kayo. Parang aakyat. Yan. Yan. Ganyan. Sir, hawakan mo kamay ni ma’am.

Click.

Pak!

CAMBUGAHAY FALLS
Entrance Fee: none (donation to your lifeguard only)

Our driver took us to Cambugahay Falls next. I have not seen that many falls yet. Actually, wala pa ata akong falls nakikita upclose and personal eh. But I appreciated the three tiered falls in Cambugahay.

However, if you want anything that is beautiful, dapat paghirapan mo daw di ba? Cambugahay Falls is an example of that. From the street, our driver/tour guide endorsed us to our lifeguard. After than, we went down quite slippery steps made of irregular shaped stones to the falls. Hindi biro yung binaba namin ha? Pagthunders ka na, medyo magrereklamo yung knees mo. While I was walking down to where the falls was, sabi ko not bad. That was until I realized, we need to climb up these stairs afterwards to go back to the main street. Hindot na yan.

But it was sulit.

The falls was beautiful. The water was blue green. The sound of the water was super relaxing. There is no entrance fee sa falls. You just need to pay around Php 20 a person for an unlimited “tarzan” jump to the water.  You’d just have to give a tip na lang to your lifeguard as donation.

You can swim there. That’s what the lifeguard is for. He will also be the one to guide you when you jump. There are life vests for rent for Php 100.  Ang sarap when we jumped! Nanginig legs ko for a while but I was a great experience. Naisip ko bigla. We should travel talaga while we are young. If we wait when we are older, magagawa pa ba natin itong mga fun stuff na ito?

So after Alvin jumped for the second time (I begged off because I was wearing contact lens), we went to explore the rest of the place. Ang daming tao. After a while, we decided to go back na to our tuktuk. That meant climbing that steep, slippery steps again. It was very challenging. Nakakahingal. Partida batak ako ha?

SALAGDOONG BEACH
Entrance fee: Php 100 (with parking)

I was excited to see the Salagdoong beach. Sa totoo lang, I was disappointed with the beach at Coco Grove Beach Resort. Hindi naman siya maganda. Salagdoong beach looked promising in the photos.

And nagdeliver naman siya.

The water was aquamarine! The sand was fine and white.

There was a cliff there na overlooking

And you can cliff jump too! Wala nang bayad. Unli-cliff diving.

Grabe, crystal clear yung water. You can the fishes and the pawikan swimming. Chill na chill lang sila.

I didn’t jump anymore. First, I was already hungry. It was already 12:30pm that time. Second, I was wearing contact lenses nga. Third, tama na yung 12 meters cliff jumping na ginawa ko dati sa Boracay. Once is enough. Lelz.

I was pushing Alvin to jump so he can experience. May gusto siyang gawin na shot that took us minutes to plan how to do it. Parang cliff hanger. Kaso mukhang hindi daw kaya ng upper body niya to hang dun sa ledge with me taking a video of him falling. I was so happy when he decided not to do it. Parang aatakihin ako sa puso sa plano niya. Pabaliktad yung fall na gusto niya. Eh if he lands ng mali with his back to the water, inaykupo. So scary.

So our driver/tour guide took photos of us na lang. Ang galing niya talaga magdirect. Pro na pro. He has been doing this for quite a while already kaya kabisado na niya.

I was so hungry already so we asked the driver to take us to the best restaurant there is in Siquijor.

MT. BANDILAAN PARK
Triad Restaurant

I was actually surprised when we reached the place where we were having lunch. It was at the Triad Restaurant at Mt. Bandilaan. Kasama na kasi ito sa mountain tour, hindi na coastal tour. But I was so happy he took us there.

The view was awesome! It gives you a panoramic view of Siquijor.

The food was delicious.

We ordered Butter Garlic Shrimps (of course)..

Lechon Kawali…

Stuffed squid which I think was the best grilled stuff squid I have ever had. Ensaladang onions and tomatoes ang nasa loob with bagoong. Hanep talaga.

I forgot the name of this dish though pero specialty daw nila. Parang kilawin..

After stuffing ourselves with the fresh sea food and extra rice, tumaba ako ng 3 lbs, I swear. Lelz. After eating, our tour guide told us that we can go to Cantabon Cave. I said yes right away kasi I have never gone speleunking (I don’t even know how to spell it!) — spelunking. I’ve never gone spelunking. Si Alvin madalas bilang isa siyang outdoorsy na tao. Ako, girl scout for how many years pero ako yung tipong ayaw maniwala ni Alvin na tumagal sa pagiging girl scout.

The Cantabon Cave is near the Mt. Bandilaan Park so keribelles.

On our way to the Cantabon Cave, I asked Alvin if pwede ko bang ipa-faith healer yung right arm ko. Parang may permanently naipit na ugat na since I served overhand sa volleyball 3 weeks ago. Hindi na nawala yung sakit. As in never na ako naka-pag over hand serve ever after that. Hindi na din ako maka-spike. It makes me sad because I’m good at serving. I was awarded Best Server in one of the volleyball leagues I joined before.

Our driver suggested to take us to Mang Edol, a well known sorcerer. Kilala siya even by the Filipinos abroad. His healing method daw is bolo bolo. I never knew how it is done kasi hindi na pumayag si Alvin. I don’t know why.

We passed by the way to Mang Edol’s house. Apparently, there is a village there sa may Mt. Bandilaan where people still practice dark magic. Eh duwag nga ako so I agreed with Alvin na lang. Hahaha! Try googling Mang Edol and read about him.

I asked Jetoy, our driver, bakit kilala yung Siquijor sa mangkukulam/faith healers/albularyo. Dati daw kasi wala naman doctors dun sa island so people go to faith healers if may sakit sila. Gumagaling naman yung mga patients so naging famous siya. Kasama na din diyan yung kulam. I know you know what that is right?

We went straight na lang to the Cantabon Cave.

CANTABON CAVE
Entrance fee: Php 500 for 3 pax which includes helmets, flashlights and a tour guide

We went to the barangay office first of Cantabon to register ourselves, to pay and to get the helmet and flashlights. We were also introduced to the guides. Ang babata ng mga tour guide. They are actually students and they do the tour guiding during weekends.

I wanted to go inside the cave to conquer my being a claustrophobic. Imagine, diyan sa maliit na hole ka papasok to get inside the cave.

And then, you have to crawl your way inside. I kept myself busy looking at where I was walking to take my mind of the enclosed space. Buti may helmets kasi I kept banging my head sa mga stalactites.

I was scary inside, to tell you the truth. The water was up to my thighs and it was murky. Hindi mo alam ano yung mga nasa ilalim. There were bats. Wala pang 5 minutes I wanted to go home na.

After wading for like 5 minutes, we need to climb and go down high rocks. Talagang adventure siya. I asked to stop na when we reached the waterfalls.

It was raining outside so the water inside the cave was rising. Grabe.

Sabi ko ayaw ko na talaga. Baka ma-Thailand boys kami! I asked if we can go back na. The tour guide asked if I was sure.

ME: Yeah, sure na. Malamang halfway na din tayo.

TOUR GUIDE: Ate wala pa po tayo sa 1/4 ng cave.

Lekat na yan. 800 meters daw yung buong cave.

And so we went back with Alvin laughing at me. Hindi ako tinigilan asarin.

Ganyan talaga if tumatanda na, ano? Bumababa na yung risk tolerance.

Ang iniisip ko naman kasi dalawa pa kami ni Alvin nandun. Paano na si Anika if things didn’t go okay?! Ang morbid! Lelz. That’s the mom in me speaking.

After that we went back na to Coco Grove. We rented a scooter for Php 300 for 4 hours. We went around. Tuwang tuwa naman ang Alvin.

Nakakapagod yung day but it was really fun. Ang gandang bonding experience. We chilled sa beach na lang when we got back until gabi.

Here’s the list of the total expenses that we incurred in this trip:

Airfare (Manila-Dumaguete-Manila): Php 7,500 each = Php 15,000
Coco Grove Beach Resort accommodation: Php 7,000 for two nights
Ferry fare (Dumaguete-Siquijor-Dumaguete): Php 500 (for two) + terminal fee = Php 528 x 2 = Php 1,056
Balete Tree: Php 20
Cambugahay Falls: Php 40 (Tarzan Jump for 2) + Php 150 tip
Salagdoong Beach: Php 100
Triad Restaurant: Php 1,300
Cantabon Cave: Php 500 + 100 tip = Php 600
Tuktok rental with driver: Php 1,500
Tuktok driver tip: Php 200
Scooter rental: Php 300 for 4 hours
Food and Drinks at the resort (2 lunch, 2 dinner): Php 3,600
Foot massage: Php 300

TOTAL: Php 31,166 for 3 days and two nights for 2 pax

That’s it! I hope you guys find this post helpful!

For the long weekend, we decided to go to Matabungkay Beach Hotel in Lian, Batangas again. I told you we’d be back. You can read about our first Matabungkay Beach Hotel experience here.

We chose Matabungkay Beach Hotel again this time because it’s less expensive than our usual go-to resort, Virgin Beach Resort. In Virgin Beach Resort kasi, it feels very private when you’re there. Even though they’re fully booked, parang walang tao. Maaliwalas sa beach. The resort has a nice beach front where you can relax. Masarap maligo sa beach. However, there’s no pool so beach forever ang peg. Food’s also great and the accommodation is okay but without a television. Yun lang, medyo pricey. In Matabungkay Beach Resort naman, the accommodations are normal and presentable given that the resort is 30 years old already. There are 3 pools and the food’s good. Yun lang, madami talagang tao. The beach isn’t that nice anymore when it’s low tide which starts like at around 11am until sunset na. But this resort is affordable and it has the best sunset I have ever seen.

Dun muna tayo ngayon sa affordable.

We were initially booked at the Sunset Studio. It was Alvin, Anika, our trusty kasambahay and I lang supposedly. The Sunset Studio has a bunk bed, a double bed and a veranda. The rate for this room is Php 7,500 per night inclusive of breakfast. I think there was a promo when I booked because they gave me a 20% discount.

A few days after booking, we asked Faye, LT and Isabel if they’d want to go with us. We were so happy they said yes! So I had to ask the resort if they can give me a bigger room. The only available room that they have for 5pax is the Beach Side Villa (Garden View) for Php 12,000 a night. I just added Php 500 for Anika for an extra bed (though we didn’t need it naman) and her breakfast. The 20% discount was still offered so we got the room for only Php 9,600 (plus yung kay Anika). It’s really a lot cheaper than Virgin Beach Resort. When Alvin, Anika and I go there, we spend Php 15,000 for just the 3 of us with food and accommodation. Dito, mga 12k lang with food and accommodations for 5 adults, 1 kid and 1 infant. Pwede na, right?

So I’ll dump all the photos here ha? I took a lot!

We left Manila around 8am. I wanted to be in the resort by 10am kaya I told them to fix breakfast baon at home na lang so we can eat in the car. Tamang tama, when Alvin stopped for gas, nilabas na namin yung mga baon. I packed rice with hotdogs in plastic containers for each of us. LT boiled hard boiled egs. Faye made sandwiches with kani and Japanese mayo as palaman.

While we were all eating..

ALVIN: Nagtitipid ba tayo?! Bakit tayo dito sa kotse kumakain?!

ME: Nagbaon lang, nagtitipid na agad?! Hindi ba pwede nagmamadali lang?

ALVIN: Bakit hindi tayo kumain sa McDo?!

ME: Wag na. Mas masaya ito.

FAYE: Kami nga nina Ate dati nung nagpunta sa Paris, umakyat kami ng Eiffel Tower. Gusto namin kumain dun sa restaurant pero ang kinain na lang namin yung mga baon namin na tinapay.

ME: Ay! Naalala ko yan! Kumakain tayo ng tinapay sa taas ng Eiffel tower! Hahaha! Ang mahal kasi dun sa restaurant dun! Pero masaya naman.

ALVIN: Buti nga kayo may pa-Paris Paris pa eh. Kami sa sinehan may baon na tinapay dati! Para hindi na bumili ng popcorn. Di ba?!

Wala kayo sa Lola ko!!!!

Lelz.

We went straight to Batangas after that short gasoline station stop.

When you arrive in the resort, you will be transported back to that childhood summer when your folks brought you to this place. Parang they didn’t change in 30 years.

We arrived around 11am. Check in was at 2pm but they told us that we can go inside na our rooms if the prior occupants leave early.

This is the restaurant bar.

I wanted to go drinking with Alvin here sana that night bilang LT and Lyn were there to mind Anika. Kaso lang, borlogs forever ang peg ng lolo niyo that vacation. As in seriously, tulog lang siya the whole time. I drove from Manila to Batangas because he wanted to sleep. When we arrived, he slept. After dinner, nakahilata pa din. Ang fun fun niya kasama, grabe. Nagbabawi daw siya ng rest because sunod sunod ang puyat dun sa kakabantay sa bar niyang bago.

Anyway, while waiting for our room to free up, we had halo-halo and lunch. Yup. In that order because life is short to follow all the rules. Hahaha.

We ordered, Crispy Pata, Chopsuey, Sinigang na Bangus (sobrang daming tinik) and Yang Chow rice.

We had a lot of left overs and we appreciate the restaurant staff because they agreed to keep the left over (there was a lot!) Chopsuey and Crispy Pata for us until dinner.

Anika went swimming before the food arrived. Kaso lang, she cut her knee in the kiddie pool. May naka-usling tile or something. The first aid staff naman was very quick to take action. Nilagyan nila ng meds yung cut and Anika was up and about in no time.

While waiting for the food, nagpictorial muna kami with Isabel. Here’s LT and Faye. I love these two so much.

At around 1pm, we were told that we can go inside na our villa. A tuktuk took us to our room. Nagkasya kaming lahat dun sa tuktuk.

This is the Beach Villa.

This is the ground floor. It has a living room, small ref and a TV.

The master’s bedroom is also in the ground floor.

On the second floor, there’s a huge room with a double bed and a day bed. Anika claimed shotgun in the daybed. Ginawa niyang crib niya.

There was only one toilet and bath but it was big with hot and cold water.

There was also a veranda outside. Okay ito na tambayan if madami kayo.

We napped for a bit first para belong si Alvin sa amin. Hahaha! We woke up around 3:30 pm. Isabel had a slight fever so they rested first. Anika and I went to the pool to swim.

I have kwento.

Anika and I were in the pool. I was lounging and nagbabantay kay Anika. Anika was swimming. Medyo malalim yung water so I had to keep an eye on her. She was swimming along the perimeter where the shallow water where I was and the deep end of the pool meet.

There was a guy standing dun sa perimeter. So Anika had to swim around him to get to the other side bilang gusto niya na mahahawakan agad yung edge in case she came up for air. She did this back and forth. I noticed the guy coaching Anika while she swam. Hindi naman siya pinapansin ng anak ko kasi “Do not talk to strangers” ang turo namin sa kanya. Hindi din siya pinapansin ni Anika basically because he was a boy. Magaling ang training ni Sombrero sa kanya. Dun ko lang napansin na ang ganda ng likod ni kuya. Muscles! Tapos kalbo. Tapos dark. Lumingon siya sa akin and smiled. I wanted to smile back kaso lang baka biglang sumulpot si Sombrero and mamisinterpret na nakiki-smile smile ako dito sa machong pogi na ito. Mabatukan pa ako sa harap ng madlang people. So I just hid behind my sunglasses and gave him a quick, tight smile back. Kunwari deadmadela dun kay kuyang macho. He continued to say things to Anika. Anika kept on swimming naman. The guy put on his goggles and swam away from us. I immediately went to Anika and asked him what he was saying to her.

ANIKA: He said to breathe from my stomach.

Tama naman.

I looked to where the guy was na at the other side of the pool. Umahon.

Hindot na abs yan.

Ehnemenshekuyame-abspala..

Ang buff!

The guy went back to where we were after his lap. Naka-smile smile kasi I think natutuwa siya kay Anika. Deadma kami ulit mag-ina. Don’t get me wrong. Hindi naman siya serial killer / creepy type. Wala namang malice ang dating eh. Deadma kami mag-ina maki-chika chika kasi deep inside yan si Alvin, seloso yan. Atin atin na lang ha kasi never naman aamin si Robin Padilla na seloso siya especially sa dalawang babae sa buhay niya.

Well, actually, kay Anika lang malamang sobrang selos yun. Dinamay ko lang sarili ko para cute.

Charot.

Anyway, around 5pm, we went back to the room to get Alvin so we can catch the sunset at the beach. And another round of pictorial began.

Hanggang sa beach, tulog pa din! Hahahahaha!

We had food delivered na lang to the room and we ate at the terrace. While waiting for the food, we spent quality time…

… with our phones! Hahahaha!

Joke lang. Kwentuhan naman kami after niyan and during dinner.

At dinner, they re-heated our Crispy Pata and Chopsuey. I ordered additional Adobo and Lomi. Solved!

The next day, we were up early so we can swim in the beach. Maganda kasi sa asthma ni Anika na makalanghap ng fresh air.

The beach at Matabungkay Beach Hotel is nice early in the morning. The water’s clear and you can see small fishes swimming. Ang dami ding starfishes. Yun lang, more than one kilometer ka na from the shore, until the knees pa din ang depth ng water. Safe for kids, though.

Isabel met Mr. Starfish for the first time.

We checked out around 11am to go back to Manila.

I like our second stay at Matabungkay Beach Hotel. Our room was nicer. We weren’t able to rent a balsa anymore and go fishing because we arrived late na. Wala na ang mga fishes nun. Okay lang because Anika was able to experience it already.

So there. That was where we spent our November 1 and 2 holiday =)

MATABUNGKAY BEACH HOTEL
Brgy. Matabungkay, Lian Batangas, Philippines
(63) 917-834-1269
Fax: (02) 817-11-76

Umpisahan na natin ang pagbayad ko ng mga utang kong kwento since last year.

Lolo Papa came home early. The best news is that he has finally retired from his job in Amsterdam and will be staying in the Philippines until May.

ME: Until May ka po dito? Di ba pupunta kami sa Amsterdam sa May?

PAPA: Pupunta kayo sa Amsterdam sa May?

Deadz. Lelz.

We’ll work things out.

Faye, Isabel, Toots, Wowa spent Christmas Eve with us in our house.

Hindi ako nagover acting sa handa. Alvin cooked chicken. Toots brought isang damakmak na barbeque and Wowa brought cold cuts. I made a cheese  platter and used the smoked cheese from California Milk.

The next day, we went to Alvin’s house to visit my in-laws.

The day after, we went to Matabungkay Beach Resort again for an overnight stay. We passed by Taal Vista muna for photos.

I chose Matabungkay Beach Resort (again!) because sila na lang yung pinakamaganda na resort in Batangas na hindi fully booked. Last minute na naman kasi ako nagbook. Okay naman because it wasn’t that crowded.

I cannot remember the last time I went to the beach trip with Papa so happy ako we were all able to go together.

The next day, Papa requested if we can eat Maliputok for lunch. Sa Taal lang daw meron nun. I googled where we can eat it and Taal Bayview Bistro came up.

Maliputok is a fish that can only be found in Taal lake. That time ko lang nalaman yan. Akala ko Tawilis lang ang meron sa Taal. This is how the place looks like. Maganda siya and pwede siyang wedding reception venue.

We ordered the Maliputok and their seafood platter.

After that, Papa requested again to see this big church in Taal. Pagbigyan ang turista. Hahaha!

We went to Taal Basilica which is also knows as Basilica de San Martin de Tours. It’s the biggest church in Asia. Waddaya know?! The biggest church in Asia pala is here in the Philippines. It’s located in the middle of the old heritage town of Taal. I love old churches and this church is beautiful.

Since it was the first time we went there, we made our three wishes =) Do you believe in that saying too?

Afterwards, on our way back to Manila, we stopped by the side streets in Taal where they were selling balisongs. Taal is the balisong capital of the world.

The men had fun picking out different kinds of balisongs. Akala mo may zombie apocalypse na padating.

Ang Toots, samurai pa ang binili. Nakakatuwa.

So there. It was a good holiday trip to Batangas because we were able to go to a lot of places. Ang tagal ko na gustong pumunta dun sa Taal Basilica na yun. Next time, I want to stay longer at the Taal heritage town. I wanna go inside and see the old mansions. When I was googling it, I saw that they have tours pala. Next time siguro =)

So there. One kwento down and so many more to go! =)

Sorry for being MIA, mga mare.

Nastress kasi ako sa bleeding ko. Binabantayan ko talaga na mawala. I didn’t have the energy or the inspiration to write because I was worrying why I was still bleeding. Thank God, humupa na siya last Tuesday. Bigla lang siyang dumating ulit yesterday because I carried a sack of 10 kilo rice from the grocery to the car. Mali. Now, hupa na siya again. It’s so stressful grabe. Being a woman is stressful. A man cannot say that a woman is weak. Sasampalin ko magsabi nun. Let’s see if they can endure 9 months of pregnancy and then the childbirth. Or yung dinudugo ka every month? Or the emotional and physical strain of a miscarriage.

Naalala ko tuloy. I insisted on doing the ManCom presentation pa even though sobrang sakit na ng puson ko. Nagle-labor na pala ako while presenting our reports. I did a site walkthrough pa in 3 projects the day after and nakilamay pa ako sa patay nung gabi. Mantakin mo yan. Nobody can say I’m weak. Sa shopping siguro, yun, weakness ko talaga yun. Basta something that doesn’t have anything to do with EQ, strong ako diyan.

Anyway, that’s not my topic for today.

We went to Tagaytay for an overnight staycation to celebrate Wowa’s birthday.

She found this place called Esteraha Remils Tagaytay.

I’ll show you the place.

They have a common area where you can eat, sing videoke, watch TV or just lounge around. Dito kami nagdinner and breakfast. This is also where we did videoke and played that really funny game Toots made us play.

That yellowish structure was where Alvin, Anika, LT, Faye, Mooch, Lyn and I slept.

That is how it looked like inside. It has it’s own toilet and bath with hot shower.

The other cottage looked like that inside. I didn’t want to stay there because nakaka-suffocate sa loob with all the bunk beds na dikit dikit. This room also has a toilet and bath with hot water.

That is the view if you are standing on our room’s porch. I like the big, open space because Anika and Isabel was able to run around and play.

They had cabanas. Masarap siguro magpa-massage there. I attempted to have a nap kaso Anika kept on bothering me to play. Nakunsensya ako kaya hindi na ako nakapag-siesta. Ayoko mafeel ni Anika na pinagpalit ko siya sa tulog although nandun na ako sa point na okay lang siguro na isipin niya yung for just one time. Hahaha!

This was where Wowa and my cousins slept. There are 4 beds and 1 bunk bed. This cottage doesn’t have a bathroom. Yung structure sa tabi niya, yan yung CR nila. It doesn’t have a hot water though.

The place had a small pool. Sobrang lamig, nagnosebleed si Anika. Maybe okay mag swim dito during summer time. My concern is that, if full yung place, siksikan siguro sila sa pool.

I like the relaxing swinging chairs that they have scattered around the property. I caught Russ reading a book in one of those chairs. Ang comfy lang niya tingnan.

Here are my thoughts about the place:

1. Mura siya. Wowa paid for Php 5,000 for 10 pax. Mura yun for me because of the amenities nung venue. May pool despite being small. May mga cute cabanas. Malalaki ang rooms.
2. There is an additional charge if you want to use the airconditioning units. There are electric fans naman and malamig ang weather given that it’s in Tagaytay.
3. They do not provide towels or toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo). They have a sari sari store though that sells them.
4. They also sell a lot of things like coffee, paper plates, paper cups, de lata at kung ano ano pa.
5. You can cook there pero common ang area. If hindi niyo solo ang place, madami kayong nakikiluto. Madami kayong makikigamit ng cooking utensils.
6. Videoke is only until 10pm which was super bitin. Baranggay regulations daw nila.
7. Liblib yung place where the venue is. I was a bit scared. Hindi ko masyadong bet ang security nila because hindi ako satisfied sa locks ng rooms and access.
8. There’s massage. They can call the therapists for you.
9. No food served there sa place. Either you go out to eat (mga 15-20 minutes drive to the restaurants) or cook.

These two are so cute. Thank you Faye for their matching rompers.

WOWA: Kakagising lang ba ni Anika?

ME: Tinatanong mo ba yan kasi mukhang nakapajamas siya?

WOWA: Hindi. Magulo kasi hair.

Ah. Yun naman pala.

Lelz.

This is Wowa’s birthday crew. My immediate family, you know them na. My cousins from my mother’s side. They’re the ones sitting at the top beside LT. Matatalino ang mga yan, like promise. I like talking to them because lagi akong may natutunan na something new. Wala akong masyadong contribution sa conversations namin except comic relief.

We ate at Green ATS for lunch bilang there are no meals being served dun sa resort.

I asked Alvin to take a nice photos of me.

ME: Babe, picturan mo ako. Yung maganda ha? Kita dapat yung Taal.

Sarap niyang sabunutan.

I asked Faye to take my photo instead.

Try niyo in Green ATS in Tagaytay. Okay din. Hindi masyadong mahal.

We wanted to eat Tawilis but apparently extinct na ata. They still haven’t removed them in the menu. If you order it, bibigyan kayo ng fish na hindi Tawilis pero kamukha niya.

We went back to the resort afterwards while Wowa and LT went to the market to buy ingredients for our dinner that night. Pictorial pa more ang peg namin sa resort.

Before eating dinner, I took out the tin can cakes that I ordered from Alvin’s cousin, Nessie and Karlo.

Feeling ko ang taba talaga ng utak ko! I wasn’t able to order a nice big cake because I didn’t know how I would transport it from Manila to Tagaytay. These tin can cakes were perfect. And they look nice, don’t they?

I ordered in different flavors. Clockwise from the top: Cashew Sansrival, Dream Cake, Red velvet, Carrot Walnut and Mango Cheesecake.

Wowa took home the Cashew Sansrival because favorite niya yun. Anika took home the Mango Cheesecake kasi favorite niya. I was pleasantly surprised with the Carrot Walnut kasi ang sarap. The Dream Cake was talagang dream cake dapat ang tawag kasi oozing with chocolate inside and dream ko makain ko siya. I also recommend the Red Velvet. Yan talaga ang original choice of cake ko from them.

Mukha namang masaya yung Nanay ko =D

The next day, we just had breakfast and then we got ready na to go back to Manila. Check out was at 11am.

Top: H&M; Skirt: Styleanaph (Instagram); Wedges: ALDO

I’m cherishing these remaining moments when Anika is still happy we do twinning clothes. When she grows up and dumating na siya sa stage that she thinks sobrang baduy to have matching clothes with her mom, I hope she knows how happy and giddy I was whenever we did twinning when she was younger. Ang lakas maka-close and maka-happy talaga.

We did last minute pictorial again before left. That’s Toots by the way.

Happy 66th birthday, Wowa! I hope you had fun!!! Thank you for your weekend treat!

I just came back from our 5 day, 4 nights Tokyo trip with my family. It was the first time we traveled with Toots, Russ and Wowa all together so I was really excited for this trip. I was so praning na hindi na naman matuloy like our Korea trip kaya I was very maingat. Anika was coughing with phlegm and had colds for a week na so I took her to a pedia. Buti binigyan na siya ng antibiotics. I wasn’t worried that she’ll have fever pa right before the trip. Alvin was having severe cough and colds too. Sabi ko magantibiotics na, ayaw naman. I nagged him instead to stop smoking and drink a lot of water. I was so happy that everyone was well the night before our flight.

Yun lang when I woke up the day of our flight to Tokyo, I had severe cough, colds and was feverish.

Anak ng teteng talaga yan. It’s just coincidence. I will no longer believe in that travel curse because God is more powerful than anything, right?

Sadly, my cough and colds worsen as the days went by.

Namamasyal ako sa Tokyo ng trinatrangkaso.

Bad trip. My nose was so congested and the cold weather didn’t help. Masakit sa sinus, ilong and head. My muscles ached. I was only able to get by because I was drinking this bottle of medicine that Tito Ken recommended to me. Para siyang super powers. Thanks to Google Translate, I was able to read the ingredients on the bottle. Puros natural eklaver and madaming ginseng kaya I agreed on drinking it.

That tiny bottle costs around Php 650. It’s like an energy drink. You drink everything in one go, once a day. Pero lintek na yan sa mahal. I bought 4 bottles because after drinking my first bottle, I felt instantly better. Sabi ko naman sa inyo magic eh. That kept me going. Despite the flu, I have enough energy for the day to move (still with a congested nose and phlegm-able cough) but for a limited time only. Around late afternoon, I can feel the fatigue and sickness na so I would prefer going home instead.

Hindi ako naka-ariba sa pasyal. I wasn’t able to go shopping. Seriously. I wasn’t able to buy anything for myself.

I bought Anika an extra 20kg check in baggage for the Tokyo-Manila flight. I thought kasi baka kulangin ako sa luggage space sa dami ng bibilhin ko. You know what? We went home with a 20kg luggage space that we didn’t use plus our hand carry suitcases were only 3kgs each. Ang dami kong nasayang na kilos. Kung anong dala namin papuntang Tokyo, hindi nadagdagan pauwi. I told Alvin nga that this is one of the most tipid vacations that I took.

I was busy taking care of everyone and minding all the stuff we needed for this travel that I forgot to take care of myself.

Typical mother story, don’t you think? Hehe.

Do you know where I bought na lang the konting pasalubongs that I was able to get my hands on? I got them from Family Mart and at the vendo machine at the train station. I had 15 minutes to shop at Duty Free at the airport before boarding. Akalain niyo ba naman humilab yung stomach ko while getting items. I turned over my shopping basket to Toots and ran to the toilet. Pagbalik ko, I wasn’t able to continue shopping because boarding na. Wala. Olats talaga. Ito na yata ang pinaka-tipid ko na international trip.

Anyways, I promised you the itinerary. I also included some tips if you want to go to Tokyo for a vacation.

OBTAINING A VISA

Getting a visa to Japan was quite easy for us. We just completed the requirements and submitted them to Universal Holidays Inc. You can click that link and you will find the list of requirements you need. Just follow it. Very basic naman lang yung hinihingi nila. You can no longer submit the requirements directly to the Japan embassy. Everyone should course it through an accredited visa service provider of Japan. I picked Universal Holidays Inc because they hold office at the ground floor of Dusit Hotel. It was very convenient for me to go there and apply and go back to get the visas. The visa fee was Php 1,200 each. It’s non refundable even though you get denied for a visa. Don’t buy your airline tickets yet until you get your visa. One of the requirements is an itinerary. Wag niyong gawing complicated. They just want to see the basics. Ours look like this:

No need to book your flights and hotels yet. They just need the details of the flight (which you can see online) and your hotel and hotel address.

We got our visas 3 days after we have submitted it. Mabilis.

AIRLINE TICKETS

Mahal the tickets that Wowa bought for us. Lumalabas Php 30,000 each. Nakakaloka. We bought it kasi a little more than a month before we left. Suggestion is that you buy your tickets in advance as much as possible. You can apply for the Japan visa up to 3 months before your scheduled trip.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

This one I should have learned and did na a long time ago pa. I would have saved me all the stress especially when I booked everything for our Korea trip. For this trip, I got Alvin, Anika and I a family travel insurance package from Pacific Cross. It’s not expensive. I only paid around Php 1,200 for our travel insurance for 5 days. It includes compensation/refund in case of trip cancellation, medical coverage, coverage for baggage loss, loss of travel documents, flight delay, etc. I got it from Pacific Cross because this is where I get my travel insurance whenever I go to Papa in Amsterdam. Requirement kasi yun if you’re getting a visa. It’s very easy to get. I just called them and through email exchange na kami nagcorrespond.

WIFI

The last time I went to Tokyo, I got a portable wifi at the Narita airport which was prepaid while I was still in Manila. For this trip, Toots and Russ got one at the airport. Pick up at the airport and drop off also before we left for Manila. Me, I got my portable wifi from Flytpack. I paid through the website and the gadget was delivered to my office a day before my flight. Somebody picked it up again at my office the day after we arrived in Manila. The Flytpack was super sulit for me. It only cost me Php 280 per day. It can connect up to 5 gadgets so ang Alvin and Anika naka-internet also the whole time. The data was unlimited and the internet was really fast. I never had a problem with signal the whole time I was in Tokyo.

AIRBNB

We decided to stay at an Airbnb instead of a hotel because madami kami. I couldn’t find a hotel room that can accommodate 3-4pax na hindi expensive. It’s almost the same price sa Airbnb so Airbnb na lang. At least sama sama kami. Hindi ko masyado like our room because it was a little cramped for 6 persons. Kasya pero masikip. We should have gotten a bigger room instead. There are a few stores lang around our airbnb so we weren’t able to buy that much at 7-11. Family Mart lang ang nearby, ang liit pa. There was a tax free grocery pero it closes early so hindi namin naaabutan. Sayang nga eh because I should have shopped na there when I bought sanitary pads (Oo nagkaron pa ako nung nandun kami, kaloka talaga). Akala ko I will have a chance pa to shop kaso hindi na talaga umayos pakiramdam ko. Although enjoy naman si Alvin because there was a hotel bar nearby. Tumatambay siya dun every night. It’s a 6 minute walk to the nearest station so keribelles naman. If madami kayo, I suggest an airbnb kasi lumalabas the same lang with hotel and then sama sama pa kayo. The only downside is that there’s no breakfast.

SKYLINER TRAIN FROM NARITA AIRPORT TO TOKYO

When you arrive in Narita airport and you’re going to Tokyo, I suggest riding a Skyliner train. It’s the fastest way to go to Tokyo. DO NOT TAKE A TAXI. Php 15,000 yung magiging fare niyo. The Skyliner train costs around Php 1,200 per person. We rode the Skyliner train and went down the Nippori station. That was where we rode a taxi to the Airbnb. Nagtaxi muna kami because we had a senior citizen with us and a child. Ang daming luggage also. Mahirap. It costs us around Php 800 ata yun to the Airbnb. Sulit na compared to carrying all the heavy suitcases eh ang tataas pa naman ng mga stairs inside the train stations.

APPS YOU NEED IN TOKYO

Apart from Google Maps, I used the following apps in navigating ourselves around Tokyo:

These apps were very useful including Google translate. Yung Rome2rio, I use it in any country I’m in when I want to know where to go from one point to the next. It includes time and the fare.

SUICA CARD

I suggest you get a Welcome Suica card at the airport. This is the best one for tourists because no need na ata for a deposit and the card expires after 28 days. For the normal Suica card, there’s a certain amount you need as deposit which is refundable when you return the Suica card.

You will use your Suica card for paying for the train fare. Halos lahat ng lines naman is Suica card ang gamit. You just tap it whenever you will enter the train station. If you weren’t able to buy one at the airport like us, they have it in major train stations. Anika has a different Suica card because she’s a kid. Discounted ang train fare niya. Best if you load the card ng 2,000 yen first. I didn’t want to load a lot because baka masayang at hindi namin maubos for the whole trip. If you need to reload, they have machines naman at the train stations. They’re easy to use and merong English button so you can understand the instructions. You can also use the Suica card for buying things at 7-11.

ITINERARY

Here is our itinerary. When making one in Tokyo, it’s best to plan it one day at an area. Para lakad lakad na lang. Also the next time we visit Tokyo siguro, we will forego na the temples. Being my second time there, hindi na ako natuwa sa temples. Si Anika din deadma sa temples hahaha. Sana nagikot ikot na lang kami. Especially at Meiji Shrine ha? Kilo-kilometro ang need lakarin from the entrance to the shrine. Kapagod.

Day 1: Asakusa area

• Nakamise Dori for some souvenir shopping, food and picture taking
• Sensoji Temple which for me is one of the nicest temples in Tokyo

Day 2: Harajuku, Shibuya area

• Yoyogi Park
• Meiji Shrine
• Takeshita Dori
• Shibuya crossing, Hachiko and Shibuya 101

Day 3: Tokyo Disney Sea

Day 4: Mt. Fuji and Gotembo outlet stores tour

That was our itinerary. Toots, Russ and Wowa didn’t go with us to Disney Sea so they went around by themselves that day.

WHERE TO GO SHOPPING

Ameyoko market in Ueno – Ito yung parang Divisoria nila

Don Quijote –  This is a 24 hour department store which sells nice things that you don’t need but want to buy

Daiso – We have Daiso here also in Manila. The difference is that the Daiso in Tokyo sells nicer things for only 100 yen each.

Shibuya – So many stores here pero hindi ko alam if makakamura ka naman

Akihabara – This is where you can buy all the electronic gadgets you can imagine.

Like I said, they have Tax Free stores na pakalat kalat around Tokyo.

Basta when in Tokyo, Wowa and my advice is if you see something, bilhin mo na agad. Most probably baka hindi mo na siya mababalikan at magsisisi ka pa.

Hahahaha!

Stay tuned for my Tokyo 2019 photo blog!

On the day we arrived, we left our luggage at our airbnb because it was too early to check in. That means no bihis bihis ng pang-OOTD. Naglakwacha kami ng naka-airport clothes pa.

We got lost for a bit because kinapa ko ulit yung train system in Tokyo.

We went to Nakamise Dori and Sensoji Temple.

If I were to do our itinerary all over again, 1 temple would have been enough because deadmadela naman ang Anika and Alvin sa mga temples dun. Same with me, I have seen them na so walang effect na din for me.

Here are some photos of the Sensoji Temple and us at Nakamise Dori.

Ang benta kay Anika ay ang mga vendo machines. Yumaman ang mga vendo machines kay Anika. In Tokyo kasi there are a lot of these machines. Kada-kanto ata meron. Ayun, kinareer ng bagets.

What I like in the area of Nakamise Dori is the food. There were so many different kinds of food that we tried. I wish I was able to buy na a lot. I didn’t buy that much because I knew it was expensive in that area. Wala na pala kami makikitang stores during the duration of the vacation na may mga food na ganyan. Namakyaw na sana ako.

We had dinner at Akihabara. I think my clogged nose greatly affected my brain, I thought we were in Akihabara na. Dapat magpunta kami ng Akihabara eh nasa Asakusa pala kami. Kamote talaga. Parehas kasing starts with A. Hahaha!

We were so tired to be picky with restaurants so we went inside this Japanese restaurant that we saw. Wala pa sa hulog my tummy from my Gastroenteritis so tumikim lang ako ng Sashimi. That is the first and the last time I ate one during the trip. It was fresh. Alam talaga nila ang Sashimi nila.

We went home after that and we got lost again. Hahaha! Hindi masyado clear the instructions that the airbnb host gave us. But since I’m Nana the Explorer, I was able to find the place.

Stand by for Day 2…

Toots and Russ arrived at our Airbnb around 10pm on Day 1. They took the later flight kasi to Tokyo. The next day, we had a packed itinerary.

Or so I thought so initially.

We woke up early for our Sweet Escape photoshoot at Yoyogi park. Sabi ko we’ll check out Meiji Shrine and then go around Takeshita Dori to shop. After that, lunch at Shibuya and then shopping ulit. Sabi ko pa nga punta kami dun sa 47 Ronin na shrine eh.

However, that was the day when nagfull blast yung flu-like symptoms ko. Nilagnat na ako nung morning and it was so cold it wasn’t helping my congested and clogged nose. Masakit sa ulo, mga bakla. Parang binabarena. Sama talaga ng pakiramdam ko. But bilang ako ang reyna sa family namin ng ka-galgalan, I was able to join them. Nakasabay ako ng slight. Yun lang, come afternoon, batt empty na ako so we went home to have a nap and rest before having dinner at Ueno.

Medyo nagsisisi ako with this Stradivarius top that I wore for the pictorial and for the pasyal that day. It added 10,000 lbs sa akin. When I saw it kasi sa mannequin at Stradivarius parang ang ganda. Narealize ko lang that the mannequin was 25 lbs lighter and 6 inches taller than I was. Kaya siguro maganda sa kanya yung top. Hahahahaha! Nevertheless, hindi ko na din kasi naisip masyado what to wear sa sobrang concentration ko to deadma my sickness.

There’s the stage Wowa. May tag pa daw kasi yung top ko. Hahaha!

Top and pants: STRADIVARIUS; Shoes: NIKE; Bag: QUIRK MANILA

We arrived early so Alvin and Anika took the stow away poses nila. Ang hilig niyan ni Alvin humilata sa weird places tapos magpapicture ng ganyan.

Kan, our Sweet Escape photographer was good. He was the one who took the Tokyo Sweet Escape photos of Max Magallona and her husband. After daw namin, may schedule naman siya kay Gabbi-something. Apparently sikat na sikat yung batang yun dito sa Pilipinas. Ang tita ko lang because I was the only one in the group who didn’t know her.

Here are some behind the scene shots c/o Wowa.

Yoyogi park is nice. Maganda magwalking walking or jogging. Spot for lampungan din siya kasi nature all around. Kan said that super daming people daw here during Sakura season. Like mas madami pang tao kaysa puno.

Our shoot ended at 9am. I’ll give you tips for the Sweet Escape photo shoot in a separate entry. We had breakfast at Yoyogi park afterwards.

And then we walked to Meiji Shrine. I forgot lang that the Meiji Shrine is so far from the entrance. Napaka-haba ng lalakarin mo. We should have skipped this na lang because they sa na naman the Sensoji Temple which for me is the nicest temple in Tokyo. It felt like naglakad ako sa Baclaran church ng nakaluhod. My body was so heavy and ilang kilometers din from the entrance to the shrine itself.

They had an area where you can write down your prayers and wishes. Todo sulat naman kami ni Anika.

We were lucky because there was a wedding. It’s not everyday you witness a Japanese traditional wedding.

On our way out of the shrine, Wowa bought us mga anting-anting. Hahaha! Lucky charms daw yan. Each one is different from another. May specific na trabaho yung lucky charm. Merong health, money, peace of mind, ganern.

After the Meiji Shrine, we walked to Takeshita Dori.

We entered Daiso and 1 hour ata yung tinagal namin dun. I didn’t shop yet because sabi ko madami pa kaming madadaanan. Anika asked to buy na pasalubongs for her team mates. Mahal na mahal ni Anika mga volleyball team mates niya grabe. We bought pretty pens for only 100 yen each. Bale parang Php 50 each. So cute and affordable! I wish namakyaw na nga ako in Daiso. There were so many nice things you want but do not need but want to buy. Hehehe. Si Wowa umuwi ng may dalang napakadaming Christmas decor garland. Alam niyo yung old school na pinapaikot sa Christmas tree? Yun makati? She bought a lot. Kaloka nanay ko. Expensive daw kasi in Manila. Mga 50% less dun sa Daiso.

We started walking because they were hungry na. We walked towards Shibuya. It was a miracle that we passed by an Ichiran restaurant that had no lines! Tuwang tuwa ako!!! One, we were so hungry. Two, I wanted to eat ramen because of my cough and colds. Kailangan ko ng something mainit para matunaw yung phlegm. Sorry TMI! Three, it’s Ichiran in Tokyo, baby!

Sadly, wala akong panlasa because of my congested nose and severe cough. Inisip ko na lang na masarap. Hahahaha! The hot soup helped me and made me feel a little better.

We were so tired by the time we arrived in Shibuya. Pero we still had our photos in the Shibuya crossing and with Hachiko.

May sakit nga ako. Wala akong rampa photo at the Shibuya crossing. So weird din because ang konti ng people crossing. Nanibago ako!

Note to self: Ikwento muna kay Anika ang story ni Hachiko or any statue before going. Hindi tuloy siya makarelate. Hahaha!

We went home to rest after this. We went to Ueno for dinner with Tito Ken afterwards.

This was also where we bought the magic medicine na nilaklak ko everyday to function. Mahal pero keribelles. At least na-enjoy ko ang Disneyland the next day.

Day 3 coming up!

Day 3 in Tokyo was spent at Disney Sea.

Alvin, Anika and I went. Toots, Russ and Wowa made separate lakad on this day. In short, nagkanya-kanya kami for this day.

I was deciding if we were going to Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo Disney Sea. I asked a lot of people in Instagram and unanimous and decision: Tokyo Disney Sea daw because sa Tokyo lang meron nito. They also said that if you have gone na to Hong Kong Disneyland, halos same lang daw ang Tokyo Disneyland. And super ganda daw sa Tokyo Disney Sea.

Kaya kami dun nagpunta.

We were blessed with a very nice weather. The days before we went, umuulan daw. Kaya naman super thankful kami. Mahal din the park tickets ha? Php 10,000 kaming 3 and partida, discounted na si Anika ng lagay na yun.

We bought our tickets from Travel Recommends. I found it difficult to buy tickets from the main website of Disney Sea so pinadali ko buhay ko and availed the tickets from Travel Recommends.

When you arrive at the Maihama Station, you have to go out and get your tickets from these 2 Japanese ladies. I repeat, lalabas kayo ng station and you would have to go down the flight of stairs. Nandun sila. Nahirapan ako to find them that day so naglabas pasok ako sa station which made things complicated with my Suica card. I had to fall in line ng mahabang mahaba sa ticketing to correct it. They’d have to charge me lang pala ng 120 yen.

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Here are my thoughts with Tokyo Disney Sea:

1. I was hyped up lang siguro ng sobra with everybody telling me na super nice dun. Hindi kasi ako masyadong natuwa sa Disney Sea. Masyado kasing mataas siguro my expectations. Disney Sea is different from Disneyland in terms of walang mga princess castles and hindi masyado madaming Disney characters. Kakaiba ang makikita mo. Parang hindi masyado pa-bebe. It was a cross between a Disneyland and the Universal Studio. Pero it wasn’t that amazing. I was expecting kasi parang kasing bongga and high-tech ng Disneyland sa US or sa Paris. Hindi naman masyado. However, hindi naman siya pangit. Steady lang. Sumobra lang kasi my expectations kaya medyo I was disappointed.
2. One thing that intrigued me was kakaiba nga when you go inside Disney Sea. Merong body of water in the middle which served as the stage for the Disney parade/show. Parang may pirates chuva. Ganun. The ambience was kakaiba. Hindi mo akalain Disneyland. And speaking of the parade, kaya siguro hindi din ako natuwa masyado because it was hard watching the main show at night. You cannot stand. Dun ka lang uupo sa ground with the grilled fence between you and the show. Hindi masyado kita kasi nandun sila sa tubig. Unlike in Disneyland, the characters will be dancing in front of you. The Disney floats will pass right in front of you and you’d get to interact with the characters. Kitang kita. Dito sa Disney Sea, hindi masyado. Malayo sila kasi nasa tubig. And if dun ka sa ground nakaupo to watch (like majority of the people who were there), alanganin ang view mo. Either may ulo sa tapat mo or nakaharang nga yung grills ng fence.
3. There weren’t a lot of Disney characters na nakakalat around the park.
4. Food was expensive but we expected that. Masarap naman siya. Pero hindi ko kineri yung Php 1,500 na popcorn ni Anika. Buti isa lang anak ko hahaha!
5. As expected also, the lines to the rides were long. Meron 160 minutes. Merong 140 minutes. Nakakaiyak. Pero super sulit naman daw. We were able to ride mga 4 attractions when we were there. We queued for 50 minutes for a less than 10 minute attaction. Lelz. Natuwa naman ang Anika. Dapat napag-aralan ko yung Express Pass. I should have bought some.
6. The parade started at 8pm. Late na. After the parade, do leave yet. May fireworks show pa. Yun ang pagkakamali namin. We left na thinking that was the fireworks show already. Hindi pa pala.
7. The shows/narration of the rides are in Japanese so if they laugh, you laugh with them na lang.

Stand by for Day 4 =)

There are not much Mt. Fuji photos because I don’t know why. Hahaha!

We woke up early to join the tour at Mt. Fuji. I thought Mt. Fuji lang siya pero we also visited a lake (or pond ba yun?) and the Gotemba outlet stores.

This was the first time in our Tokyo vacation that I felt closest to feeling normal na well.

However, napakatagal ng ride to Mt. Fuji Station 5. We arrived around 1pm already. It was so cold sa taas. Nanigas buong katawan namin.

Kumain na lang si Anika and si Wowa ng mais.

Yun ang ginawa nila at Mt. Fuji in Japan.

The weather got better when we went to that pond. Kaso we were batong bato already during the bus ride that we opted to stay instead in the bus. Yung pinuyat and pinagod namin for 3 days in Tokyo, dun namin pinahinga in the bus.

I saw the Gotemba premium outlet stores. We were given an hour to shop. Utot. Di na. Isang araw ako if magoutlet stores. Mabibitin lang ako so we just made wiwi there and went back to the bus. On our way to the toilets, I passed by the stores. The Kate Spade sale was the same in Canada. 40% off!!!! Nagpalpitate ako and parang may magnet na humihila sa akin sa store. However, mabibitin lang talaga ako if I shop. Maiwan pa ako ng bus.

So there.

We went back to Manila na the next day.

Alvin, Anika and I went home with 20kg worth of luggage na hindi nagamit. And take note, our hand carry luggage were only just 3kg out of the 7kg allotted for each one of us. Wala ako literally napamili. I was thinking pa naman to buy volleyball kneepads and volleyball shoes for me and Anika. The good news is nakatipid talaga ako in this trip. Ito ang pinakahindi magastos ko na trip which made me conclude na shopping lang talaga ang nagpapamahal sa mga out of the country trips namin hahahahaha!

Osha, I’m thinking of booking Seoul for December kaso the temperature daw is 2 degrees. Real feel is -2 degrees.

Should we go or no go? =)