Laiya Beach: Then and Now

I found this picture in my computer files. This was taken in Laiya in San Juan, Batangas almost 6 years ago. We were in Laiya during the Labor Day weekend in 2004.

Fiona was just 4 months old then. Zoe had just turned 4. Trish was just 8.

It's the Labor Day weekend again and we find ourselves back in Laiya.

Fiona is now 6, Zoe is 10 and Trish is 14.

Andrea Beach Resort in Lobo, Batangas

Lobo, Batangas is a not so popular beach destination but that's where our barkada ended up last Thursday. Getting to Lobo was an adventure in itself. Google provided very little and vague information about Lobo. The website of Andrea Beach Resort (where we stayed) said that the resort is 45 minutes away from Batangas City. In reality, it was about an an hour and a half drive of mostly winding (read: zigzag) and unpaved (read: rough) road traversing Mount Liguayen.

The resort had very basic amenities. But the best thing was that the rates were very reasonable. They had air-conditioned rooms ranging from Php 1,500 to 3,500. Best of all, they allow guests to bring in and cook their own food for a minimal corkage fee. The resort owner's daughter who manages the resort and the local staff were all very pleasant.

The resort also offers dive packages. Boat rides to dive and snorkeling sites could easily be arranged with the local boatmen.

The beach was rocky but the water was crystal clear. Aqua shoes are a must. We laughed our heads off as we recounted that while we arranged for the reservations, we were told over the phone that the sand was neither white nor black. Indeed, there was very little sand!

But the sun and sea were picturesque.

That, coupled with good company make for a nice getaway.

this photo is courtesy of DH

Day 2 in Club Balai Isabel

On our second day in Club Balai, I spent a good part of the morning strolling and taking pictures of my younger girls. The resort is filled with snippets of artfully-arranged plants and the girls gamely posed for me.

There was also a bit of history lesson for my girls. We noticed that the first three clusters of the Lakeside and Lakefront Suites were named after national heroes born in Batangas.

We found this bit interesting.

Then we all had breakfast and the girls went swimming afterwards.

We promptly checked out of the resort at 12 noon as we had a lunch invitation elsewhere in Talisay.

We all thought that this was a good way to kick off the start of summer... The fresh air and cool breeze was just what we needed as a breather from the sweltering heat of Manila.

A good time was truly had by all.

Want more proof? Even Fiona's furry friend had a blast! ;)

Our Palawan Underground River Experience

(Note: This is a long overdue post. Our trip to Palawan was taken February 8-10, 2009. A major part of this post is my entry in my virtual tourist page.)

The highlight of any trip to Palawan is the tour to the Subterranean River. Touted to be the longest navigable underground river in the world, this tourist destination is currently vying for a spot in the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Our hotel made arrangements for our tour. For P 1,500 per person, the guided tour package includes a 2-hour van ride to Sabang port, a 15-minute motorized banca ride to the Underground River Park, the boat ride inside the Underground River and lunch in Sabang Beach.

Our tour began as early as 5:30a.m. when we were picked up from our hotel/resort. The ride took about 2 hours with almost half of it on rough roads. We got off at Sabang port and lined up to take a short ferry ride to get to the Underground River Park.

The short banca ride accorded us majestic views of limestone formations.

After 10 minutes, we docked at the Underground River Park. From there, it was a short walk on a trail

to get to the mouth of the cave/river.

There was already a long line of tourists waiting for their turn to get on another banca which would take them inside the underground river. We fell in line and whiled away the time by taking pictures of the girls making silly poses. After about 1 1/2 hours, it was finally our turn.

Our boatman/tour guide took us on a canoe-type boat. Motor-powered boats are banned inside the cave to preserve nature in all its glory. Our guide injected humor in his narration and pointed out the various stalactite and stalagmite formations.

stalactite formation called "Dory" (a character from the Disney movie, Nemo)

stalagmite formation called "holy family"

The trip inside the underground river lasted about 20 minutes. Upon exiting the cave, this view came into sight.

where freshwater meets saltwater

It was a one-of-a-kind and truly memorable experience. We witnessed nature at its best.

our souvenir shot

Honda Bay Island Hopping

Coming back from Palawan is now making me nostalgic about our family vacation last year. Allow me to make a very belated post about that trip as I found this narration (written in February 9, 2009) in my multiply account which is still tagged as a draft.

I'm another year older and to celebrate, our whole family hied off to Palawan. Thanks to Cebu Pacific Airline's promo fares, we were able to book our flights last October for only P6,000 for all five of us. More internet surfing made us decide to book our accommodations at Niko's Cabanas - tagged as the #1 resort on Tripadvisor.com. Making and confirming our reservations were all done thru e-mail. Our reservation was done with about a month to spare for our much-awaited 3 days and 2 nights vacation.

our room at Niko's Cabanas

Upon landing at the Puerto Princesa airport yesterday, we immediately noticed the overcast skies. Nonetheless, we were determined to go island-hopping in Honda Bay. After checking in at the resort, we ordered brunch and ate at around 11.

bulalo and sizzling spare ribs

The girls took a very quick nap and we were on our way to Honda Bay Wharf by 12:30 p.m. We rented a boat for P1,500 and the boatmen were eager to point out Luli (for "lulubog-lilitaw") Island:

and Pandan Island:

With the cloudy skies, our boat ride was like a roller coaster ride as the waves were huge. The girls were scared and excited at the same time. We first docked in Starfish Island and the girls were very awed to touch the live starfish.

Our next stop was Snake Island.

Even with the strong waves, the girls had a grand time feeding the colorful fishes with bread. After snacking and resting briefly, we hopped on the boat once more and headed back to Luli Island. By the time we reached the island, the girls were asleep on the boat, no doubt lulled by the waves. We then decided to call it quits for the island hopping and returned to the wharf. After a quick tricycle ride , we were back in Niko's.

Our planned dinner for my birthday night in Kalui's was postponed as we were informed that the restaurant isn't open on Sundays. We surfed the internet for other recommended dining places. By the time we made our revised plans, we were invited by the resort staff to join the their party. It turned out that the resort owner was celebrating his birthday and it was also the resort's 2nd anniversary. What perfect timing for us!

Next Post: Our Dinner at KaLui's Restaurant

My Macau-Hong Kong Birthday Celebration - Part III

Our adventure continued with a plan to cross Victoria Harbour and head on to The Peak. Again, we strolled down Nathan Road and turned right on Haiphong Road and turned left on Canton Road. We passed by Louis Vuitton, Gucci and other high end designer shops.

We also stumbled into the Harbour City Ocean Centre which was filled with decors for the Chinese New Year.

We went inside the mall and went to Toys R Us where I was able to purchase a My Melody watch for my second daughter. It just cost HK$ 130 (or roughly Php 819). I would have gotten a Barbie doll with a set of clothes for HK$ 99 but they ran out of stock. My youngest daughter would have loved it. Sayang!

We strolled some more and saw the Clock Tower, another Hong Kong landmark.

Then we boarded the Star Ferry, Hong Kong's popular and inexpensive mode of getting to Central and Tsim Sha Tsui and vice versa. Fare is HK$ 2.5 (roughly Php 15) per person.

The harbour views were simply breathtaking

When we got to Central, we decided against going to The Peak as it was quite cloudy. My DH thought that we wouldn't be able to see any view and I agreed. And so we just had dimsum for lunch in

That night, we ventured out into Jordan Road and Temple Street.

I wasn't impressed with the items being sold in the Ladies Night Market. We simply ended up buying souvenir key chains for our girls.

The next day, which was our last day in Hong Kong, we turned to the Observatory Road, crossed Chatham Road and ended up having breakfast in McDonald's inside this mall

which was inside this park/garden

We strolled some more and came across the Charlie Brown Cafe in Cameron Road.

Our flight back to Manila wasn't until 10pm but we decided to check out of the hotel at 1pm. With luggages in tow, we took the MTR (our first for this trip) to get to Citygate Mall in Tung Chung. The Filipinos we came across guided us in deciphering the touch screen ticket vending machine but we still had our share of bloopers when we switched trains in Lai King. When we finally exited the train at Tung Chung station, we proceeded to the information booth so we could pay the additional fare which we failed to pay when we switched trains.

Inside Citygate Outlet Mall, I happily finished off my remaining HK Dollars. Ha ha!

From there, we took the bus to get to the airport. We were finally homeward bound.

My Macau-Hong Kong Birthday Celebration - Part I

To celebrate my 36th, hubby and I (with emphasis on hubby and I only, no kids in tow!) flew to Hong Kong, stayed overnight in Macau and ferried back to Hong Kong.

As always, we took advantage of Cebu Pacific Airline's promo fares and booked our trip as early as November. We were supposed to fly in to Guangzhou, China but there were obstacles in obtaining a visa. We decided to rebook our flight and go directly to Hong Kong instead.

Arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport at around 7:40am, we were shocked to see that it was raining heavily. We knew it was winter there but almost all the internet sites we checked out prior to the trip said that it never rained during February. This is a perfect example of the global warming effect, we thought.

We went directly to the turbo-jet ferry ticketing station and paid CNY 215 per person (they accept HK Dollar and Chinese Yuan). We skipped Hong Kong's immigration and customs and they took care of our luggage transfer. We wandered around the airport shops, sat down and took advantage of the free WiFi service to while away the time as the first ferry to Macau wasn't until 10am. At around 9:30am, we entered the gate and took a short train ride to get to the ferry boarding dock called SkyPier.

The ferry ride to Macau was a comfortable one and took approximately 40 minutes. It was still dark, gloomy and rainy.

Upon docking at the pier, we quickly went through immigration and proceeded to claim our luggage. Outside the ferry terminal, we got confused as we were previously told that there were free shuttle buses going to our hotel. We couldn't see our hotel's bus and decided to take a cab then. It was a 10-minute ride to downtown Macau.

Later on, we found out that we docked at the Taipa temporary pier and that the free shuttle buses were only in Macau proper.

We checked in at the Holiday Inn Hotel,

freshened up a bit and went out to get lunch at a small restaurant across the street. I loved the lechon macau and Bacalhau Rice, which was yang chow (fried rice) with bits of dried and salted codfish.

After a short rest back at the hotel, we headed to The Venetian Resort Hotel.

DH could not resist going inside the Manchester United Experience merchandise store.

The next day, we walked 20 minutes to get to the Leal Senado Square. Decorations for the Chinese New Year were on display at the center of the square.

We followed directions going to the Ruins of St. Paul Cathedral. On the way, there were a lot of stalls selling tapas

and egg rolls.

After 5 minutes of walking, this came into sight.

We walked some more

and went up the steps to get a closer shot.

Then we asked a fellow Filipino to take our picture.

Next: Part II of our Macau - Hong Kong Trip