If you've been checking out my Travel Photo Friday series, you'd know I love to capture sunrise and sunset photos. But this, I think, is one of the most awesome sunset moments I've seen.
If you've been checking out my Travel Photo Friday series, you'd know I love to capture sunrise and sunset photos. But this, I think, is one of the most awesome sunset moments I've seen.
The Coffee Shop Restaurant in Olongapo City, Zambales is famous not for its coffee but jumbo tacos. This is probably the biggest taco I've ever seen and tasted, hence, their tagline "Home of the Jumbo Tacos".
Jumbo Taco Salad with Sour Cream
While researching for a budget-friendly accommodation in Coron, Palawan, I stumbled upon the name of Patrik & Tezz Guesthouse from Pinoy Exchange forum. By budget-friendly, I mean cheap hotel that costs only about P600 and less per night. I didn't hesitate to book with them after learning that their cheapest room only costs P450 a night for two persons.
Lovely view from the window of Patrik & Tezz Guesthouse
Dahilayan Adventure Park in Bukidnon is famous for its dual zipline which is said to be the longest in Asia at 840 meters long. So when we decided to take a trip down in Northern Mindanao, we made sure to include it in our list of must-do activities. I'm actually not a fan of ziplines simply because I have a fear of heights but the little daredevil in me said that I should do it. Besides, I didn't want to go home as a loser without trying the Asia's longest!
I survived Asia's longest dual zipline at Dahilayan Adventure Park!
Finally, I get to share one of my unforgettable and exciting trips last year which was visiting Mindanao for the first time. We experienced a series of misadventures but Northern Mindanao gave us loads of fun, surprises and adventures that we don't mind coming back again.
Exploring Northern Mindanao
From our accommodation at Jaydees in Alaminos City, Pangasinan, we walked down to Lucap Wharf hoping to see some beautiful scenery to photograph at dawn. We woke up very early but did not really expect the sun rises in this part of Pangasinan.
Unknown to many tourists, found in the northern part of El Nido in Palawan is one of the best beaches in the country I've seen, the Nacpan and Calitang twin beach in Barangay Bucana. It's one of the many off-the-beaten-path destinations you will find in El Nido that's worth a visit. It's isolated, scenic and breathtaking that it truly defines paradise.
Scenic view from the top of a grassy hill in Calitang, El Nido, Palawan
If you're looking for accommodation in Cagbalete, there are only three resorts found in the island namely, Pansacola Beach Resort, Villa Cleofas and MVT Sto. Niño Resort, so there's not much of an option basically. I've first heard about Pansacola and wanted to stay there but their accommodation is quite expensive for solo travelers. Between the remaining two, Villa Cleofas got more good feedback although I was pretty much interested to check MVT when I get there as well.
Dining hall cottage of Villa Cleofas
One of my solo trips this year was going to Cagbalete, a remote tropical island in Mauban, Quezon Province. I've been reading a lot about this place from various blogs for quite some time and after being convinced that it can be done solo, I finally decided to visit the island in March. Cagbalete Island is famous for the occurrence of low tide where water can recede up to one kilometer from the shore, exposing its compact white sand, corals and rocks.
Amazing sand ripples during low tide in Cagbalete Island, Mauban, Quezon
You've seen them in Filipino horror movies. Balete trees, also known as balite or baliti in some provinces, are popular in the Philippines and have been associated with the supernatural. Due to its gargantuan size and entirely bizarre looks, folks believe that it is home to mythical and scary creatures like kapre and engkanto.
Two oldest and largest balete trees in the Philippines
Despite the gloomy skies and morning drizzle, we made a quick visit to St. Michael The Archangel Church before leaving Caramoan island on our last day. The historical church, which is one of the century old churches in Camarines Sur, is located just a short walking distance from Rex Tourist Inn where we're staying.
St. Michael Archangel Church in Caramoan, Camarines Sur
I've been to Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro for a quite number of times, let's say, to a point that I got bored of the place. Visiting Puerto Galera's white beach once or twice a year for the past five years, every trip is not as exciting as the previous one. My recent trip, however, was unlikely similar to the past ones. I got a little surprised by our newly discovered attraction, the underwater cave, which we all experienced for the first time.
Beach cove near the underwater cave where boats dock
Our two days of island hopping adventure not only made us discover and enjoy the spectacular beauty of Caramoan but helped us get to know the people that made our experience memorable. I've mentioned Kuya Ramil, our tour guide and boat man, several times in my previous posts regarding our island hopping activities but didn't talk about the kind of person he is. I'm sure you're itching to know about the budget accommodation but let me share to you about Kuya Ramil first. He is the very reason why the place is worth recommending. :)
Paniman Beach in Caramoan
The cold weather in the past few days made me think of Baguio and strawberries. Taho, or sweeten soybean curd, is one of my favorite comfort food. And strawberry is probably my most favorite among the varieties of taho. In this particular variety of taho, strawberry syrup is used instead of arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup).
Have you ever dreamed of traveling to El Nido, Palawan? I know you do, and I certainly know the feeling. El Nido easily became one of my dream destinations the first time I heard about it from my college professor way back then, but the impression as an expensive destination had always scared me off. Anyway, I still placed it on top of my bucket list while wishing and hoping that I could set foot in this place someday.
My Travel Photo Friday is back (which I really hope becomes a regular thing) and here I'm featuring the spectacular view of the sunset at Mt. Tapyas in Coron, Palawan. Mt. Tapyas is another popular spot in Coron where you need to climb more than 700 steps to reach the top. At the summit, one is treated to the stunning panoramic view of the nearby Calamianes islands and Coron bay. Aside from sunset, Mt. Tapyas is also the best spot to catch the sunrise.
The last time I've been to Alubihod Beach in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras was probably about ten years ago. I've been here for several times already so I wasn't really excited to see the beach after all those years. However, the memories of how it looks are still fresh in my mind -- the beach is short, just a bit better than the ones we have in Iloilo but not half as good as Boracay. Having been to the best beaches in the country such as El Nido and Caramoan, Alubihod Beach was nowhere in my list of top ten. Heck, there are even better beaches in Guimaras than Alubihod.
On May 23, 2012, Meet Manila held its launch party entitled "Tertulia Night for #ThoughtfulTourism" which is an advocacy to promote thoughtful tourism and to take Philippine tourism to the next level. Being an ordinary person who just love to travel, it was truly an honor to be chosen as one of the Empowered Travelers during the event.
Our 5-day trip in Palawan was capped off by Puerto Princesa City tour. When we arrived on our first day, we immediately headed to El Nido and never had a chance to explore Palawan's capital city. So the morning before our flight back to Manila on our last day we had a few hours to visit the famous tourist spots Puerto Princesa City is known for.
Puerto Princesa City downtown
Apart from the famous Chocolate Hills and tarsiers, Bohol is also popular for its white sandy beaches, caves, waterfalls and bee farm - most of which can be found in the island of Panglao. Panglao Island is one of the islands in the province of Bohol that offers various amazing attractions for different types of tourists and travelers. Recently, Panglao Island made it to the international scene after being recognized as one of the "15 Best Secret Beaches on Earth" by the New York City-based travel magazine Travel+Leisure.
April 2012 - Palawan’s best-kept secret, Arena Island in the town of Narra invites everyone to help spread awareness on its conservation efforts for the endangered pawikan or native sea turtles by joining its 'Click to Save’ Facebook contest. Participants in turn get the chance to have a free vacation to the island.
Where to stay in Baguio City? Having been to Baguio City myself numerous times, let me share one of the accommodations I've stayed at. Safari Lodge is one of the affordable lodging houses in Baguio City and its close proximity to most tourist attractions makes it a perfect place to stay.
Entrance to the main house and the Hunter's Bar
Our second day in Caramoan was intended for another island hopping adventure to more distant islands, which is why it is called the long trip. If you read what happened on our first day, we did the short trip which took us only a half day to explore the islands closer from Paniman. The experience that we had on our first day was more than enough to say that the 12-hour road and boat trips to Caramoan were all worth it. Caramoan Peninsula is, indeed, paradise.
Beautiful countryside view along the road
The sight of the awe-inspiring coastline of Guisi beach in Guimaras was a wonderful reward for my toilsome journey upon my arrival to this secluded part of the island. While on the way to the entrance of Guisi lighthouse and ruins, I was already seeing a scenic view of white strip of sand and crystal clear, emerald green water below the hill from the road while on-board the tricycle. It's like there was an enchanting voice seducing me to come down and take a closer look at the beach. I thought I would only be watching it from afar since our destination was only the lighthouse.
It was a night of visual spectacle as the fireworks from two competing countries lit up and painted the sky with varying and amazing colors. I was able to witness the fireworks showdown of United Kingdom and Spain during the second week of 3rd Philippine International PyroMusical Competition held in Mall of Asia on February 18.
Guisi Lighthouse was the first destination in my solo day trip in Guimaras. According to my driver, it is the farthest spot in my itinerary so we decided to visit it first while the rest of the places to be visited on the way back. The first half of the drive to Guisi was smooth while offering some nice countryside view of Guimaras. The second half was bumpy and sloppy due to bad road conditions. This gave me an impression that Guisi Lighthouse is still off the radar of most tourists.
View of Guisi Beach at the top of the old lighthouse
In order to maximize my stay in Iloilo City, I decided to go for a solo day trip to Guimaras Island two days before the Ati Tribe Competition which was the highlight of Dinagyang Festival. I've been to Guimaras Island numerous times since my high school years but never did I hear about Guisi Lighthouse until about recently. Also, another discovery that led me to embark on this trip alone was the island hopping activity, which I'd never heard of before too. The only thing that I knew Guimaras was famous for were the sweet mangoes. :-)
Guisi Lighthouse
I did not have any plans of attending the Dinagyang Festival this year but I was bound for Iloilo City the same week the celebration was happening. I had to attend my cousin's wedding but since the highlight of Dinagyang was only a few days away, I decided to extend my vacation in Iloilo a bit longer. It's been several years since I last joined in the event so I was interested to see some changes and improvements over the years.
This is the first entry in my Travel Photo Friday series for this year. I just came back from Iloilo City for the Dinagyang Festival and thought of featuring the church of St. Anne Parish found in Molo, Iloilo City where I was born and raised.
Wow, time flies so fast! So fast that 2011 ended even before I could finish writing about all the travels I did in that year!
It had been a wonderful year for me. A year ago, I remember how I planned to travel every two months as part of my New Year's resolutions. But soon after my first travel escapade in January, I found the urge to travel more too strong to resist. I was bitten by travel bug, they say. And that travel bug brought my feet to different Philippine destinations almost every month.
It was only in September that I realized to put up my own travel blog. Yes, it took me some 9 months to realize that I should not keep the experiences only to myself. I've learned a lot and discovered so many things about traveling that sharing is the least thing I could do to inspire others to travel as well. Also, it's because of these experiences that I learned to appreciate the beauty of the Philippines. This blog is my little contribution in helping promote the local tourism industry.
I wrote a blog post last September on where I have been so far, but this year-end post completes the rest of the destinations I've been the whole year.
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