The Wandering Couple

The Year That Was: 2011 in Review

2011-12-31T23:10:00.000+08:00

2011 started out really slow for us. If some of you don't know, both of us re-enrolled in College so were caught juggling our time between work, school and squeezing a few weekends and holidays for travels.

We started off with a short stay at Maribago Bluewaters Resort (Mactan, Cebu) in February then a trip to Kalanggaman Island in Palompon, Leyte by March to start off the summer of 2011.

During April, we headed to Plantation Bay in Mactan, Cebu to shoot for a photography contest. With my carelessness coupled with a bit of bad luck, my beloved Canon 1000D was swimming in the waters of Plantation Bay right in front of my eyes! 2 weeks after, we headed off to Bantayan Island for the Holy Week but then again bad luck followed us and my 2nd DSLR body, Canon 400D was stolen from our tent! Yeah, April was our month!

By June, we were in the Surfing Capital in the Philippines, SIARGAO! By August, we were enjoying ourselves and eating to our stomach's content in Davao City for the Kadayawan Festival 2011 (series of posts to follow). This was the first time we met other Filipino Travel Bloggers that were not based in Cebu.

October came and we were in "A City in a Forest", Puerto Princesa, Palawan (series of posts to follow) and checked out one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, The Underground River.

Topping 2011 off is a "one-day 3-municipalities" southbound travel in Cebu together with fellow Filipino Travel Bloggers. It was highlighted with swimming with the Whale Sharks in Cebu then ascending and reaching the highest peak in Cebu, Osmeña Peak (post to follow)!

We had more travels and more fun in 2011 (and we ended up with more backlogs) but all the experience that we had and all the people that we met was all worth every penny that we spent, and even more! 2010 was a good year but 2011 was way better!

Here's to hoping the best for 2012! See you on the road! Travel safe and let's have more fun!

Sidetrip: Swimming With the Whale Sharks in Cebu

2011-12-30T14:12:00.000+08:00

When the Mighty Creator showered natural wonders to the world, Cebu was surely was not spared.

Tourist, foreign and local, have been flocking Cebu due to it pristine beaches and cultural heritage as one of the top reasons. Lately, Cebu has been a buzzed of sightings of gentle giants in the southern shores of Cebu.

Rumors have been circulating that Whale Sharks in Cebu (Butanding in Tagalog and Tuki in Bisaya), normally only constantly seen in the deep blue seas of Donsol (Sorsogon), have been roaming the shallow sea of Oslob. Upon knowing this, we immediately planned for the trip but did not set a definite date. Sadly, the news broke out mainstream as it was featured on an environmental show on national TV so we had to redo the plan and headed to check out the whale sharks less than a week after the news broke out.

The trip to Oslob, Cebu takes 3 hours from the Cebu South Bus Terminal. It's a dizzying ride through the winding road in Southern Cebu but it is all worth it once you see the gentle giants.

I (Edcel) have visited and swam with the Whale Sharks in Oslob, Cebu twice, Sheena once, and every experience is still mind-blowing and breathtaking. The first time I was there (Sheena did not come because of work. Yes, work sucks!), I was so excited I immediately undressed, boarded the small boat, wore the snorkel and flippers and swam right away only to find out afterwards that I forgot to take off my cheap ass non-waterproof wristwatch!

Only a few meters from the shoreline, you will immediately see silhouettes of the giants. Seeing silhouettes then a glimpse of the dorsal fin makes you want to make a drop right away and swim. These giants are hand-fed by the local fishermen (this is maybe good as this makes sure that the whale sharks will stay in the vicinity but this could also be a bad practice as this deviates the whale sharks from their natural hunting and eating habit which could result to them being too dependent to the fishermen), so if you want a really good view of the whale sharks, it is best to stay near the boatmen feeding them.

This Whale Shark was banging on our boat. I was thinking it begging to be fed and throwing tantrums.

Non-swimmers like Sheena, will end up hanging on the outrigger boat but they will still be able to get a good view of the Whale Sharks but it will not be as good as the view if you are able to take short dive and swim along with the Whale Sharks.

Sheena clinging like a monkey to the boat. Non-swimmers == LOSERS!

Fellow Travel Blogger Andrew enjoying his first sight of the Tuki. He panic-booked a flight from Manila-Cebu upon knowing our planned trip. Andrew did say that it was worth all the money spent on the airline ticket though.

Rules have been implemented, though not too strict, to protect the whale sharks in the shore of Oslob so it will be best to follow them. I was inches away from the whale shark but I did not bother touching it as it was part of the rules. You have to fight your urge as it is discipline on our side that will keep the Whale Sharks to stay in the same place and not feel threatened by the presence of humans swimming with them. While snorkeling, always be weary of other whale sharks in the vicinity. You may hit or bump into one while viewing another. Again, It will always be best to stay away from their path for them to feel more secure even with all the attention they are getting. The first time I was there, there were 3 whale sharks in the vicinity, while there were 5-6 the second time I got there and we were lucky enough to get a view and swim with the 27ft long Whale shark.

Whale Shark Watching in Cebu total expenses:

149 PHP - Cebu-Oslob Bus fare

149 PHP - Oslob-Cebu Bus fare

100 PHP - Resort fee

200 PHP - Boatman fee

100 PHP - snorkeling gear rental

-----

698 PHP - total expenses

Here is one of the observation that I have that the locals have to look into to protect the Whale Sharks in Cebu. Whale Sharks have a tendency to bump into the small boat you are in expecting to be fed, hurting themselves in the process. Also, as the spot becomes crowded, most of the Whale Sharks roaming around looking for food get hit by other boats unintentionally. Though I also noticed that the boatmen are always alert if whale sharks are on their way and they shout at each other to avoid the whale sharks or maneuver the boat to avoid hitting them and I have to applaud them for that. The second time I was there, I saw one whale shark with a broken tail fin and the broken end was flailing around like a flag. I asked the boatman whether they know the real reason behind that but they could not identify what caused that. Experts must look into that to check whether the break was caused by other predators or it was an injury inflicted by unintentionally scraping into boats.

Let me point this out again. It is discipline on our side that will keep the Whale Sharks to stay in the same place and not feel threatened by the presence of humans swimming with them. So, follow the rules set and do what you think is best for the Whale Sharks in Cebu. If you see anybody disobeying the rules, it will be best to report them to whoever is in charged for them to be reprimanded and dealt with accordingly. The locals have done a good job in protecting the whale sharks and it is active involvement on our part (as visitors) to also do our part in protecting them.

Cheap Siargao Resort: Ocean 101 Beach Resort

2011-12-30T14:10:00.001+08:00

After the long journey, we finally reached Siargao.

Our first plan was to stay in Wave Cave Surfer's Lodge and Beach Bar. When we told the habal-habal driver where we were checking in, he immediately discouraged us as it was almost 2 miles away from the surf spot. We didn't really listen and told him to just bring us there so that we can see for ourselves. The place was actually really neat and cozy, but Manong driver was right. It was far from the surf spot and going to and fro places could be a problem. We were looking for cheap resorts in Siargao but we also had to consider the resorts proximity to places. Manong driver then gave us a sales pitch which we willingly listened to so he drove us to Ocean 101 Beach Resort.

Upon entering the resort, I thought we were up for some pricey rooms but this time, our thought failed us luckily. We got a fan room (good for 2) for 750PHP per night. There was a much cheaper room but it will be have a common toilet and bath but Sheena normally prefers private toilet and bath so as not to disturb her uberly long showers (Yes, girls in general!). There are more resorts lined up in the shores of General Luna, so pick whichever fits your preferences.

Ocean 101 Beach Resort just a few meters walk to the famous surf spot in Siargao, Cloud 9. Marking that surf spot is a wooden walkway and a watchtower. We hurriedly prepared ourselves for the beach and headed to the spot to check out the waves and the surfers in sight. There were a number of surfers that were there (locals and foreigners) taking turns at the swells and I was just in awe watching them maneuver their big boards through the waves.

We have arrived in GL a little late so we opted not to try surfing as we will not be able to maximize the rental time of the surfboard. So we just watched some more and surveyed the scene. Here is one thing that I realized; the spot in Cloud 9 is not for sissies. Sharp rock formations occupy the shorelines of Cloud 9 and this could spell disaster to some people who haven't tried surfing, but the local surf instructors know best, so if they say that they can still teach you and you can still surf with all those sharp rocks, then so be it.

We wasted time by just enjoying the sound of the waves and waiting for the setting sun. By sunset, we headed outside the resort to eat dinner (resort food are a bit pricey sometimes) but we didn't miss trying Siargao's famous Mango Rum that we bought inside the resort. After consuming one glass, we called it the night as we were headed for island hopping the next day.

Ocean 101 Beach Resort
Cloud 9, Gen. Luna, Siargao Island
Surigao del Norte, Philippines
Mobile: (63) 910 8480893 / (63) 919 8268837

Sidetrip: Magpupungko Beach Lagoon (Siargao)

2011-12-30T14:10:00.000+08:00

Magpupungko Beach is located in Pilar. It took us an hour to travel from General Luna (were we had tip-off point for our island hopping in Siargao) through a habal-habal.

This was named as Magpupungko because of a rock formation wherein a huge rock is seated perfectly into a smaller rock. This is surrounded by limestone and granite sculptures and is facing the Pacific Ocean.

When we did our research for Siargao, one place that was overly-raped and mentioned on articles was the Magpupungko Beach and Natural Pool. Looking at pictures alone, we were right away sold to the idea that we must drop by Magpupungko.

Before we headed for Magpupungko, our habal-habal driver told us that he would pass by a welding shop to have the broken canopy from his habal-habal be welded as this will serve as protection from the heat during the long trip. This canopies on the habal-habals in Siargao makes them one of the most unique habal-habals I have seen so far. It makes them look more like a tricycle than a habal-habal.

Magpupungko Rock (see the big rock sitting on the smaller one?)

The trip to Magpupungko from General Luna was butt-numbing to say the least. It starts off with a smooth ride in General Luna but upon entering the non-concrete curve to Magpupungko, the agony begins. The road is laid with shades from trees along the road helping the habal-habal canopy do its work. Cool breeze kisses your cheeks through out the trip, but another bump on the road makes just wakes you up to the reality that the agony ain't over yet. Steep ascends causes you to hold tight to anywhere you can get your hands to while steep descends will result to all of you getting squished to the front looking really odd if all of you are big muscled guys all cramped to the driver's end.

Bumps, wide curves, steep ascend and descend on non-concrete road summarizes the whole trip. In my mind you just hope that the whole trip be worth it once you get to Magpupungko. On my very rough estimate, 70% of the road to Magpupungko is not concrete but we saw a number of big machines doing roadwork along the road which could mean that you may not experience the same butt-numbing experience that we had when you get the chance to visit.

Upon seeing the Natural Pool, don't get overly excited to dive in. Make sure your valuables are safe and in a high place as the tide may go up while you are enjoying the natural pool. First order of business upon arriving was to take pictures then after it was all done, we hurriedly undressed and swam our to our heart content.

After almost 1 hour and a half of bumps and curves, we finally reached Magpupungko Beach. Always keep in mind that it is best to visit Magpupungko when the tide is low. Why? Because Magpupungko Beach boasts their natural pool and this will not be visible when the tide is high. Also, Magpupungko has rocky shores and waves are rough so I'm pretty sure it will not be as pleasing to take a dip here.

It will be best to bring a snorkeling gear or goggles to fully enjoy the view down low. An underwater camera will also help. Good thing Nelson brought a goggle which he didn't hesitate to lend us.

We were all laughs and talks while enjoying the cool waters in the natural pool but I just can't seem to stop the urge to climb the tall rock and take a dive. So I prepped myself, asked permission from Sheena and gave her my last will and testament before taking the dive.

Here is the video of my very awkward looking jump and dive.

Is Magpupungko Beach a must-visit? Yes definitely. So if you get the chance to visit Siargao, visit Magpupungko Beach.

Sidetrip: Siargao Island Hopping

2011-12-28T22:51:00.000+08:00

Siargao, being the Surfing Capital of the Philippines, does not only have surfing as its main bread and butter.
Siargao is surrounded by a number of islands, some turned into surfing spots, some turned into tourist attractions. We did not turn down the chance of visiting three of these islands.

Siargao is a tear-drop shaped island in the Philippine Sea situated 800 kilometers southeast of Manila in the province of Surigao del Norte. It has a land area of approximately 437 square kilometers. The east coast is relatively straight with one deep inlet, Port Pilar. The coastline is marked by a succession of reefs, small points and white, sandy beaches. The neighboring islands and islets have similar landforms.

Read more here

Naked Island

Early morning, on the day of the island hopping in Siargao, we were informed by the habal-habal driver that another guest would be joining us in the island hopping adventure. We did not hesitate to let him join in as that would mean that the expenses would be divided by 3 (me, Edcel and the guest). All 4 of us (including Manong driver), tried to fit in on his habal-habal, good thing the drive to the starting point was just a few minutes.

First island that we visited is NAKED ISLAND, a shining bare white sand bar. When I stepped in to this island, I remembere Camiguin’s White Island. These two islands have similarities, (1) they both have no shades for shelter, (2) can be toured for a couple of minutes, and lastly, they both have crystal clear waters. Camiguin's White Island is definitely bigger than Naked but its beauty sure does exceed the latter.

We stayed an hour and a half swimming on the lovely shimmering clear waters of Naked Island.

After our refreshing stay in Naked Island, we headed off to DAKO ISLAND, the biggest among the three islands we toured. "Dako" means big in the Visayan language. The island is laid with coconut trees all-over and according to Mr. Boatman, Dako Island has the sweetest coconut. Who wouldn’t want to take a sip of their sweet coconut? Tents here do not come free of charge. If you don't want to pay, it would be best to just sit under the shade of the coconut tree.

Dako Island

We did not bother roaming around the island and used the time to take lunch, rest and recharge. A conversation over lunch opened as Nelson also wanted to visit Sohoton Cove. On our first itinerary, we wanted to visit Sohoton but our schedule did not permit us. The boatman offered us a cheap price if we wanted to pursue a trip to Sohoton but I forgot the reason why we did not push through with it and that is the exact reason why we will be heading back to Surigao again, to visit Sohoton Cave and the Bucas Grande Islands.

After an hour's stay at Dako Island, we headed off to the last island on the list, Guyam Island.

Just 10 mins away from the main land of Siargao and is facing across the town poblacion of General Luna is the idyllic GUYAM ISLAND – a pleasant white sand beach.

Guyam Island

Guyam Island has far more vegetation compared to Naked Island. The island also has an entrance fee. We have read some blogs and they said that you can swim or walk to the island during low tide and can definitely be reach though kayaking..

I guess we only stayed for about 30 mins as we were heading off to Magpupungko Beach. Actually, we were confused if we will go straight to Bucas Grande from Guyam Island but we ended up going to Magpupungko Beach instead.

If you plan to go Island hopping in Siargao, I recommend you try to talk to habal-habal drivers or boatmen that lives near the market. You sure will get the bang for you buck from this people.

Fifteenth Stop: The Long Journey to Siargao

2011-12-25T15:47:00.008+08:00

There are a number of ways to reach Siargao. As I was scouring the net for promo fares, I was in luck when Airphil Express had a seat sale. I randomly searched for some available seats and ended up booking 2 seats bound for Surigao. I didn't really know much about the province so I researched and found out that it is a gateway to Siargao. Only Cebu Pacific has direct flights to Siargao while AirPhil Express only flies to Surigao, then you need to ride a ferry boat from Surigao to Siargao.

So it was set. Cebu-Surigao. Weeks before our scheduled flight, representatives from AirPhil Express contacted us that the direct flight Cebu-Surigao on the date we booked was cancelled. As a compromise, they gave us another option to reach Surigao. The trip will be Cebu-Manila-Surigao and vice versa on the way back.

CEB-MNL Ticket

We did not really know about details of connecting flights so we asked the rep questions and thought that it was still a good deal. Little did we know that the connecting flight was hours apart (long hours). We initially thought that upon arriving in Manila, the connecting flight will be an hour or 2 later but it wasn't. The prolonged stay in Manila meant additional expenses specially food (and airport food is really expensive).

Favorite time during flight is seeing miniature cities from the sky!

In time for our flight, I am just so burnt out I wanted to just lay down and forget about the trip. Then it hit me, I don't want to miss out on an opportunity to go to Siargao, the Surfing Capital of the Philippines. My spirit was slightly up caused by forcingly convincing myself that it will all be ok.

Touchdown SURIGAO!

Upon arriving in Surigao, we headed to EY Pensionne to checkin. We did not make any prior reservations, just what we also do, (Note to self: Need to change this attitude) and we were more discouraged to find out that they were fully booked. EY Pensionne looked really neat and we were dying to lay down on a mattress and doze off. Good thing we did not need to look further as just fronting EY Pensionne is Metro Pensionne Plaza.

After checking in, we headed to the public market which was a short ride away from where we stayed and bought foood for dinner and some essentials for our trip to Siargao. We then dozed off early as a reward for finally reaching Surigao and also, outrigger boats leave from Surigao to Siargao at 6AM (Bretphil Express) 10:45AM (Dapa Express and Arjie2) while RORO leaves at 12NN. We needed to ride the earliest trip so as not to compromise the to-do list on the itinerary. Boats going to and from Siargao don't have hourly trips, so if you missed them for the day, you will have to catch them again the next day.

I was up early (as always) and woke's Sheena's sleepy ass. She just responded with a groan. After failed attempts to wake her up, I started to raise my voice a little bit and off she went running to dress up. We were in the Boulevard (where outriggers normally anchor) 5:45AM and was disappointed with what we found out. The boat is full and they are not taking any more passengers as there is a Coast Guard doing the head count and he is not leaving until the boat leaves too (can't blame the officer). We found out that most of the passengers have boarded the boat as early as the night before. The sidewalk vendor then told us that there is another Bretphil outrigger boat leaving on the other side of the port in 15 minutes bound for Del Carmen, Siargao so we hurriedly hopped into a tricycle (like most of the other chance passengers) and went to the other side of the port. Just as we stepped in the to board, another Coast Guard came out of the boat and then instructed the captain to leave. We were just out of luck. I immediately blamed Sheena for waking up really late. After a few minutes of pondering, we decided to go back to Metro Pensionne Plaza. Luckily, they have not yet cleaned the room we occupied so we were able to continue our stay. As early as 9AM, we headed back to the Boulevard and was exhilirated to find out that the new outrigger boat was just still sparsely occupied.

We slept most of the time during ride from Surigao to Dapa Port but you won't really be able to sleep soundly as the stiff bench paired with the noisy roaring engine of the boat sounds more like trying to sleep in a rock concert than being lullabyed. As they slowly raised the tarpaulin (it had to be put down to protect the passengers from getting wet from the splashing sea water caused by the speed and the smash of the outrigger on the seawater), a smile was slowly painted on my face as I slowly pictured a sign with PORT OF DAPA written on it.

At last SIARGAO!

Later, we found out that missing on the 2nd Bretphil boat bound for Del Carmen was a blessing since the road from there to General Luna in Siargao is one heck of a ride and it would cost us more than the ride from Dapa port to General Luna.

Next up:
- Ocean 101 Beach Resort (General Luna, Siargao)
- Island Hopping in Siargao
- Magpupungko Beach Lagoon

Travelling: The Super Glue That Sticks Us Together. Blogging, Not So.

2011-08-24T22:39:00.003+08:00

Me and Sheena first traveled during an out-of-town together as a couple last February of 2009 ("couple" meaning romantically paired, not married or engaged. Yet.). That was also our first Valentines date as a couple. While other boyfriends/husbands/partners/et.al were busy looking for restaurants to dine in, flower shops, wine and chocolate shops, I was busy as hell looking for a place away from the hassle of the big city. A place where we can relax and enjoy 2 days off from work. This is how our "travelling together" started.

TWC @ Camotes

For two years plus now, travelling (and blogging) has been a major part of both our lives. We itch for travel, food, culture, adventure and others. And I can boldly say that travel has been the super glue that kept our relationship intact for two years plus (3 years this November 2011), the blogging part, not so as this is the part where we argue again and I have to force Sheena to blog about this and that because I will be writing this and that. This travel blog is called "The Wandering Couple", so both of us should be travelling and blogging. Am I right or am I right?

Here are a few reasons how travelling has kept our bond strong and why you should definitely consider travelling. Before that, I should say that these reasons are not only for those "couples". These reasons will apply to families, friends, new acquaintances that you would want to get to know better and not just to lovers, so read on!

TWC @ Daanbantayan

Travelling creates the "bond" - You plan the trip together, sleep on transit together, meet new people together, haggle together, get lost and get back on track together, drink the night away but may not experience the same hangover the day after together, gets ripped off together, get bitten by the same bugs/mosquitoes together and others. Some things may only happen to one of you but at least your travel companions are there to see you go through the ordeal, like having a precious cellphone stolen in the LRT, having my beloved DSLR stolen from our tent then my boardshorts and flipflops and others. These are all my experiences and Sheena was there to feel pity at me, console me for the loss and promise to buy me a new one once we get home, laugh at me or just fall asleep while I was deeply thinking of the lost stuff. All these experiences shared together creates a tighter "bond" between you and your travel companion.
Travelling eliminates "routines". - Why does life become boring sometimes? The ROUTINES! From Monday-Friday here is your routine. 7:00 AM wake-up and prepare for work, 7:30 AM Breakfast, 8:00 AM Leave for work, 9:00 AM Have to be in the office, 12:00 Lunch, 3:00 PM Break, 5:00PM At last done with work! Oh wait, paper works to finish. Saturday: Mall then party at night, Sunday: Attend Mass. Then the cycle continues. I got so exhausted just reading the schedule that I wrote. Travelling cuts off your normal daily routine.
Time flies so fast when you are travelling. - Because travel slightly eliminates routines, time flies by so fast. Have you heard of the saying "Time flies when you're having fun"? The same applies to travelling because you just have so much fun when you travel. Try putting a kettle with water on top of fire and stare at it and wait for it to boil. That is the same feeling when you try to live your life on a routine.
Travelling exposes flaws. - When you travel, you do things together and that, in some way, will expose flaws and it is up to you whether you will accept it or despise it. Travelling will exposes how stinky your partner's feet or armpit gets after a couple of hours of walking, how big he/she eats, how loud he/she snores, how stinky his/her early morning visit to the comfort room could get, how wide his/her mouth opens when he/she sleeps, how short his/her temper could be, how he treats other people, how much he/she nags when things don't go her way/ When this simple flaws are exposed and you will learn to accept it, then your relationship just made a turn for the better.
Travelling is therapy. - Had a bad week? Hate your boss? Hate your work? Had a big argument? Travelling causes you to forget such things even for just a couple of days. A little R & R will get you off the stress caused by the daily grind. In connection to that, (refer to #5)
You are happier when you travel. - Travelling takes you away from all the stresses of daily life. It makes you forget about unfinished work, your noisy neighbor singing way out-of-tune songs at night on a maxed out Videoke machine, your backbiting officemate, major exams at school, your cranky boss or teacher, bills to pay and even your debts which you have not paid yet. Travelling disconnects you from all these stresses and connects you to the happier "you".
Travelling make you smarter and wiser. - When you travel, you start to learn how to budget your money and your time, how to haggle, how to speak a few words of another dialect, how to read the map, forces you to know geography, how to research and plan a trip among others.
Travelling teaches you how to be a better person. - I was never an extrovert person, Sheena is. Travelling has taught me to talk to people, to ask, to communicate better. It has also helped me control my temper. It has helped me understand people and other culture better.

Are these reasons not enough to encourage you to travel? I am pretty sure they are. If not, we will look for other reasons for you to really consider traveling.

TWC @ SM CDO

Foodtrip: Pancake House

2011-08-12T11:06:00.002+08:00

Aside from travelling, our other hobby is pigging out to whatever we can munch on. Just in time, Oakridge Business Park in Banilad, Cebu City opened up and housed are a couple of restaurants and a coffee shop. It was a block away from where I lived and passing there everyday and imagining how the food would taste is an agony, so we badly needed to check it out.

We headed for the Pancake House in Oakridge Business Park in Banilad, Mandaue City.

Pancake House, Inc. is a modern, dynamic, and ever-growing force in the casual dining industry today. Having built its base as the first and only restaurant that offered pancakes and waffles to a market accustomed mostly to rice-based food, it continued to blaze new trails and steadily developed its house of brands to appeal to varying palates and age groups since 1970.

Pancake House (Oakridge Park Branch) occupies two floors. It has a homey, cafeteria-like ambience making you feel really comfortable.

From the name of the place itself, we knew we were up for some really good tasting pancakes, but we were there dinner time and we did not want any piece of pancakes for dinner.

After a few minutes of pondering, we ordered for ourselves Hamburger Steak, Pork Vienna, Mocha Milk Shake and Banana Split.

The Hamburger Steak was tasteful, tender and juicy but Edcel was not a big fan of the gravy and the pasta that went along with it. The gravy was just too greasy while he was not able to identify what the topping was on the pasta.

Hamburger Steak

The Pork Vienna that I ordered tasted quite good but it lacked the “OMMPHH!” that makes you go “wow!”. The serving was quite big though and it was a plus.

Pork Vienna

The Mocka Milk Shake was an “OK” drink for me. Edcel loved it though and he could have consumed it all on his own but of course I wanted to take a sip to taste.

Mocha Milk Shake

The Banana Split was a total winner. Try imagining 3 flavors of icecream, topped with whip cream, cherry and nuts, with 2 slices of banana at the side topped with chocolate syrup. Stop imagining and here are some pictures to drool on.

Banana Split

Total Damage was roughly around 800++ PHP as Pork Vienna and Hamburger Steak costs 208PHP each while we have totally forgotted how much the Mocha Milk Shake and the Banana Split costs.

Overall, we were happy with our visit at the Pancake House. Servings were quite reasonable priced. We were kinda disappointed with how the dish tasted but we know for a fact that their name is the “Pancake House” so I am pretty sure that they have one of the best tasting pancakes, so for now, our tastedbuds will be left wondering how the pancakes from the Pancake House taste.

Until next time, Pancake House. And next time, we will really be trying out your pancakes and waffles! Promise!

** We are not an “authority” when it comes to food reviews, so it will always be best to check out the restaraunts that we reviewed. Try it for yourself and enjoy! Happy eating!**

Sidetrip: Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort

2011-06-26T16:05:00.002+08:00

When we won the 5th place for Best Cebu Blogs of 2010, we won ourselves a gift check for a day stay at Maribago Bluewaters Resort.

Maribago Bluewaters Resort is located at Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. It is roughly 15mins away from Mactan International Airport.

We’ve been in Maribago Bluewaters Resort through summer parties that the BPO Companies that we have worked for organized and a couple of events were Cebu Bloggers Society is invited.We were more excited as we will now be feeling “alta sa siudad” enjoying the facilities while basking in the sun.

We headed out early morning so that we can maximize our day stay. Upon reaching the reception, we had to leave 200Php as a deposit for the beach towel. Good thing we bought a small amount as pocket money.

Compared to the last time we were there, renovations have been done to the landscaping, specially the pool, and the pool looked beautiful. We took a short glimpse of the beach but opted to dip ourselves in the pool all day.

Aside from getting the chance to enjoy the amenities that Maribago had to offer, we were more excited for lunch. The gift check entitled us 700Php consumable on food and amenities. We wanted to try the Amuma Spa, but our hopes went flying by the wind when we saw the rates . So, we opted to pig out for lunch.

Upon seeing the menu, our jaws dropped upon seeing the prices. On second thought, it should not bother us that much though as we would not be spending a penny with the 1400Php consumable that we had (we thought).

We ordered for ourselves Adobo Rice, Chicken Pork Adobo, 2 Mango Shakes, and Moist Chocolate Cake for dessert.

The food’s servings were quite reasonable. We could have eaten the Adobo Rice alone and we would have been full. Served on a bamboo, it was perfectly seasoned and it tasted really good. Maribago Bluewaters Resort’s Adobo Rice is a winner.

Adobo Rice

Mango Shake

The Chicken Pork Adobo was also another winner, if not for its sauce. It tasted as if there was pandan on the sauce which I am not a big fan of. Sheena did not seem to bother but she wished for another order of Adobo Rice instead of the Chicken Port Adobo.

Chicken Pork Adobo

Adobo Rice

The Moist Chocolate Cake was moist and chocolatey. Just as written. Need I say more?

Moist Chocolate Cake

For a world-class resort, their food were reasonable priced based on the size if their servings. Beverages are pricey though. We were not the biggest fan of their Mango Shake for 234Php each, this has got to be the most expensive Mango Shake I have sipped. The Mango Shake is overly overpriced. Yes, you read it right! Overly overpriced! I would go for another grammatical error just imply how overpriced that was.

Expense breakdown:

Adobo Rice – 290Php

Chicken Pork Adobo – 350Php

Moist Chocolate Cake – 180Php

Mango Shake (2) – 468Php

Sub-Total – 1288Php

Service Charge – 129Php

VAT – 154.80Php

Total – 1571.80Php

Consumable – 1400Php

Amount Paid – 171.80Php

If there was no Service Charge and/or VAT was inclusive, we would not have to spend any. Anyway, lunch was done. We were full and it was time to continue dipping in the swimming pool.

After a couple more hours, we headed home and we definitely enjoyed our stay at Maribago.

The Wandering Couple supports "No To Mining in Palawan"

2011-06-13T12:05:00.003+08:00

Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the southwest. It lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island, measuring 450 kilometres (280 mi) long, and 50 kilometres (31 mi) wide.

National Geographic named Palawan as one of its top-20 destinations for 2011. It has 17 Key Biodiversity Areas and two UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are at risk from mining. Palawan is not just an island in the Philippines; it is one of the world’s last frontiers. Rich in biodiversity it is home to some of the rare and endangered species both fauna and flora. Palawan is our last frontier, our last hope.

Mining in Palawan has already ravaged forests, generated flooding and caused the siltation of rivers and farmland. It has also destroyed sacred sites.

Palawan has been on our to-go lists for a long time with destinations such as Busuanga, El Nido, Coron and Puerto Princesa among others. Every seat sale, Sheena has been begging me to book for any destination in Palawan, but luck is not always on our side. We may not have a chance to go anytime soon due to time and budget constraints, but we should and we will visit Palawan.

Paawan does not need mining to survive. It can stand on its own with its biodiversity.

It's a long way to go before we reach 10,000,000 signatures. Sign the petition now at www.no2mininginpalawan.com or

Sign Via TEXT
no2miningname/age/location
Send to 2366 NOTE: PhP 2.50 per text

Send Hard Copies
Any JRS Express Branch (nationwide)
Scan and email to no2mininginpalawan@gmail.com
Fax to (632) 415-2227

Download Petitions
English Version
Tagalog Version

After signing the petition, spread the word! 1. Tell your friends/neighbors/haters/lovers/relatives about it
2. Tell your online friends/buddies. Send an email. Post a link in your Facebook/Myspace wall. Tweet about it. Use your social media power!

Vote and spread the word. NO TO MINING IN PALAWAN!

Thirteenth Stop: Finally, Calanggaman Island

2011-06-13T11:00:00.003+08:00

KA year ago was my first visit in Palompon, Leyte. Part of the itinerary was to visit Kalanggaman Island, but Sheena’s relatives opposed the plan to my dismay. So, to makeup for the failed plan, we checked out Tabuk Marine and Wildlife Sanctuary in Palompon and Baybayon ni Agalon in Albuera, Leyte. It was not a bad substitute, but I was still craving for Kalanggaman Island.

A year after, we were presented with another opportunity to visit Palompon for the College graduation of Sheena’s sister. Our plan was to visit Kalanggaman Island, then Quatro Islas in Inopacan, Leyte, then Canigao Island in Matalom, Leyte.

So there , we were trying to convince friends, colleagues and fellow bloggers to join us in our trip so that we can share the expenses of the trip. Some showed interest but had to bail out before the day of the trip.

We were still determined to push through with the plan, so we headed out to Palompon’s tourism office. An outrigger boat to Kalanggaman Island from Palompon will cost 2500Php – 3000Php. If there were no other options, we would dole out that much money just for Kalanggaman. The angels may been on our side as the Tourism Officer gave us a great deal that saved us a lot of moolah. A group of Bantay Dagat Officers and Crews will be heading to Kalanggaman the next day and we could hop in for free, and that we just need to pay the island’s entrance fee.

Then another problem occured. The day before our trip to Kalanggaman Island, it was raining the whole day and weather reports showed that there was a low pressure area in Southern Leyte.

We slept early and hoped for the best weather the next day. Lucky enough, the rain has stopped and the Bantay Dagat team is pushing through with their visit to Kalanggaman. It was not the best weather that I have hoped for as it was slightlt gloomy but it was better than having to cancel the trip again.

After roughly an hour going through rough waves, a big smile was plastered in my face seeing the water and sand up close in Kalanggaman while we were douking. Upon douking, I wanted to take a dive in the water and lay in the sand with all my gears on. That is how enticing it was. As explorra states it, its one of the islands in the Philippines with the whitest sand. It is paradise as a modest description.

Sorrounded by crystal clear waters, the team assigned by the government of Palompon are currently surveying the beauty underwater so that they can market the island as a dive spot.

Bare. Unspoiled. Beautiful. Beautiful. If you plan to stay overnight on the island, make sure you have your provisions ready. There are no restuarants and stores on the island and there are only open cottages and no rooms for onvernight stay. So, if you don’t want mosquitoes and other bugs to feast on you, bring a tent with you. There are battery-powered lights at night and no electricity so if you are bringing gadgets with you, have them fully charged before the trip.

You can just go around and explore and explore the island in 30 minutes but be careful traversing those rocks exposed by the monsson wind as they may be slippery. Shade is not a problem while exploring the island as coconut trees are all over and it will be safer to follow the pathway to and from the other end of the island. We did not follow the pathway on our first walk and opted to traverse through the rocks by the edge of the island the second time. We tried to explore Kalanggaman on a very unsafe way.

By afternoon, the clouds could not hold it anymore for us. So it drizzled. That still did not stop us from enjoying the crystal clear water of Kalanggaman as this was 1-year overdue.

If you plan to visit Kalanggaman, opt for a big outrigger boat because waves will be rough and that roughness is just normal on any given day. Bigger outrigger boats or pumpboats can withstand the beating of the rough sea and you will be able to save your "Our Fathers" and "Hail Maries" for later.

By 6pm, the team’s work on the island was done so we had to go to. It was also righgt on queue as we have consumed all our provisions. And we want to be able to survive for the night. To top it all off, we had an unexpected chance to watch dolphins swimming with the pumpboat we were in on our way home. I failed to take pictures though as I was too caught-up in the moment of seeing those dolphins.

Kalanggaman Island is a must-go and you should definitely go and visit Kalanggaman Island now!

Iloilo Heritage Tour : San Joaquin Church and San Joaquin Cemetery

2011-06-12T21:18:00.000+08:00

After the Visayas Blogging Summit and Philippine Blog Awards - Visayas, the Iloilo Bloggers Organization have organized a Heritage Tour of Iloilo for the bloggers to showcase the historical and cultural attractions of Iloilo City and Province.

The assembly area was at Museo Iloilo located at Bonifacio Drive, City Proper, Iloilo City (beside the Iloilo Provincial Capitol). After a few minutes of briefing and a few chitchats, we boarded our Starex-shaped jeepney and started the tour. The jeepneys in Iloilo features wide-bodies and streamlined designs with hoods copied from branded cars, pick-ups and vans. So If you go to Iloilo, stop your jaws from dropping if you see a jeepney looking like you neighbor's expensive vehicle.

Our first stop would go all the way to the southernmost town of the province, San Joaquin, located 53.5 km. west of Iloilo City. San Joaquin borders the province of Antique. This town is known to be one of the landing sites of the mythical Ten Bornean Datus. The crowning jewel of this southern town would be its 19th century church and its cemetery.

San Joaquin Church

The San Joaquin Church was built in 1869, under the supervision of the Spanish priest Tomas Santaren. San Joaquin Church is made of limestones quarried from the mountains of Igbaras and white coral stones from the shores of San Joaquin. San Joaquin Church is located beside San Joaquin’s town plaza.

A very simple single-level church with a broad pediment and a single tapering bell tower, the militaristic-themed facade of San Joaquin Church distinguishes itself from other churches in the Country. Intricate sculptural details depicting the Spanish victory over Moroccan forces in the Battle of Tetuan are carved on the church’s facade. The title of the composition “Rendicion de Tetuan” (The Surrender of Tetouan) is carved at the base of carvings on the facade.

San Joaquin Church was declared as one of the National Cultural Treasures by the National Historical Institute.

We were not able to go inside San Joaquin Church since there was a mass ongoing and I was too busy munching on the buko pie that we had for snacks (the buko pie was heaven!).

Next off, San Joaquin Cemetery.

San Joaquin Cemetery

The San Joaquin Cemetery is located along the main highway in San Jaoquin Town. The construction od San Joaquin Cemetery was initiated by Fray Mariano Vamba, the last Augustinian parish priest of the town (a little history class for you) in 1892. 20 stone steps aftering entering the gate and you will be greeted by the Baroque designed mortuary chapel standing on the center. Never have I been in a cemetery as old and as beautiful as San Joaquin Cemetery. TheThe capilla also, known as “Campo Santo,” is made of coral rocks and baked bricks. you will be greeted by an iron gate.

I did not bother going up to see the details of the "Campo Santo" up close. With all the bloggers around, the was this eerie feeling in the place so I did not bother going up (yeah, I chickened out).

If only the National Historical Institute can also declare San Joaquin Cemetery as a National Cultural Treasures.

Next stop, Miagao Church and Molo Church.

Twelfth Stop: Bloggin' and Lovin' the City of Love (Iloilo)

2011-06-12T20:44:00.003+08:00

Blogging has been part of my nerdy life for more than 5 years while Sheena has considered blogging after I convinced her (in reality after countless arguments and a couple of tantrums) to write for this blog to document our travels together. When a co-blogger informed me that the 2010 Visayas Blogging Summit will be held in Iloilo, I wasted no time in thinking it over. It was 2-in-1 present made in heaven. I have never been to Iloilo and I have never attended a blogging summit. To add to Visayas Blogging Summit, the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards (Visayas Leg) also had Iloilo as its venue and we were nominated as one of the finalist for the Travel category (as if we had a chance of winning).

There were a lot of things that got me really excited for our Iloilo trip. Meeting fellow bloggers(specially experienced Filipino Travel Bloggers), seeing new places and faces, trying out Iloilo food and whole lot more.We were able to score a promo fare from Cebu Pacific Air so the trip was on.

Iloilo is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Iloilo occupies the southeast portion of Panay Island and is bordered by Antique Province to the west and Capiz Province and the Jintotolo Channel to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast coast is Guimaras Province, once part of Iloilo Province but now a province in its own right. Across the Panay Gulf and Guimaras Strait is Negros Occidental. Iloilo's capital is Iloilo City.

Iloilo's new Airport is 20km away from Iloilo City. That is roughly a 30-minute drive to Iloilo City.

Participants of the Visayas Blogging Summit had a special discount to stay at Days Hotel Iloilo good for 4 persons, but after a few computations, we opted to go for a cheaper stay at Ong Bun Pension House. We did not do a lot of convincing to Jorich and Clado to join us in one room as they too were in "budget mode" just as we were.

The Wandering Yagits at Ong Bun: Clado, Jorich, Edcel and Sheena

Of course we did not just settle for Ong Bun because it was cheaper (but it was the main reason). We did our "geographical" research. Ong Bun is located in cor. Quezon-Ledesma Street, Iloilo City, at the business district of Iloilo. Within walking distance from our building are access to several landmarks including Robinson's Mall and SM Delgado. The Visayas Blogging Summit was held at SM City Iloilo (not the same as SM Delgado) and it will take just roughly a 10-minute jeepney ride to get to the place. While we were at the lobby enjoying the Wifi connection while finishing pending tasks from our clients, we found fellow Cebuano Travel Bloggers Ed and Doi were also staying Ong Bun, and I saw VBS speaker on Travel Blogging Estan on the stairs while I was on my way up to our room to doze off.

The Visayas Blogging Summit was held at SM Iloilo, the biggest and most popular mall in Iloilo, and it was just one jeepney-ride away from Ong Bun. Roughly around 200 delegates from all over the Visayan region as well as from Mindanao and Luzon attended the whole day Blogging Summit in SM Cinema 2, SM City Iloilo last November 27, 2010.

The conference was opened by Iloilo Bloggers Inc., head Marie Claire Bretana and the Mayor of Iloilo City, Hon. Jed Patrick Mabilog came to the event to welcome the delegates and speakers coming from Cebu, Bacolod, Roxas, Tacloban, Davao, and Metro Manila.

New and interesting topics where presented during the event. The event ended at around 6PM which was then followed by the Philippine Blog Awards – Visayas held at The Venue in Smallville Complex, a less than 5-minute jeepney ride from SM Iloilo.

The Philippine Blog Awards - Visayas aims to recognize the best blogs made by Visayans, or Blogs made for the Visayans. The nominees and the attendees to the awards night were welcomed by Iloilo City Tourism Officer Mr. Ben Jimena and the same time, he also invited those present to come back to Iloilo City for the Dinagyang Festival 2011. Dinagyang is held every 4th Sunday of January, a week after Sinulog in Cebu.

We were one of the finalists for the Travel Category, but when I checked the sites of the other finalists before we went to Iloilo, I knew we did not stand any chance to win at all, maybe in 5 years?

After the winners for every category were announced, a few snapshots and chitchats here and there, a couple of cupcakes munched, we headed back to Ong Bun to rest while some stayed to party.

The Avenue Complex, Smallville is where nightlife in Iloilo thrives. So if you happen to drop by Iloilo and you want to check out Iloilo's nightlife, check out The Avenue Complex.

We headed back to Ong Bun to take to doze off early for the Iloilo Heritage Tour the next day.

Read here for the continuation of our stay in Iloilo:

Heritage Tour in Iloilo (San Joaquin Church and San Joaquin Cemetery)
Heritage Tour in Iloilo (Miagao Church and Molo Church)
Ted's Batchoy and Tibiao Fish Spa

Eleventh Stop: Thrilla in Manila (Day 3)

2011-03-30T16:11:00.000+08:00

Some things just don’t end up like you want it to be. After 2 good days in Manila, the plan for the 3rd day was to check out the malls near the area and check out Makati. Time to pack up, leave our home for 2 days, Park Villa Aprtelle, and head for Divisoria first.

(This post will contain very minimal pictures due to the sequence of events that happened.)

From Examiner Street, it was a jeepney-ride before reaching Divisoria. We checked out 168 Mall first. We were hoping to get some good bargains. We strolled, and strolled aimlessly as we were overwhelmed by number of stalls inside 168 Mall. I was hoping to purchase some MMA shirts but didn’t find any. So, we decided to leave 168 Mall and decided to check out Divisoria Mall. On our way to Divisoria Mall, there were a number of sidewalk stalls/vendors. Again, we strolled aimlessly through the crowd of buyers and vendors. We also did not know the right way to reach Divisoria Mall and strolling aimlessly was the best way I can think of to find the place. The crowd in Divisoria is comparable to the crowd in Colon St. in Cebu.

After a few minutes of wandering around the streets of Divisoria, we have finally reached Divisoria Mall. Like 168 Mall, the place is filled with stalls selling all kinds of stuffs. WE wandered around a little more until our feet has decided it has had enough.

Since we only got to Divisoria Mall by aimlessly strolling, the problem now was getting to the same track that we followed. I thought I was following the correct route, but I was dead wrong. A few minutes of walking, and I knew we were lost. I could not find any security guard to ask directions from. So we just went on walking and luckily we reached a police station whom we asked for directions on how to get to Makati from that place. Before leaving, the police chief had one word of advice for us, “Yung mga bag ‘nyo, ialagay ‘nyo sa harap. E check ‘nyo palagi.” (Place your bags in front of you and do check it regularly). We nodded.

We rode a jeepney bound for Carriedo where we will ride the LRT for Gil Puyat. In Carriedo station, male and female passengers were segregated to different trains. I was not comfortable to that thought since both me and Sheena are first timers in Manila and we might get lost in separate stations.

In the car, I had to regularly check my cellphone which I placed in the front pocket of my bag, to check if Sheena sent an SMS. When I placed my phone back inside my bag, I noticed someone staring at me. I didn’t really bother as I thought he just has a man crush at me. We arrived at Gil Puyat Station and got off the LRT , saw Sheena, held her and went on. We waited for buses, jeepneys and empty taxis bound for Makati. We waited for roughly 20-30 minutes until we decided not to pursue the planned short visit to Makati and just waste time in SM Mall of Asia.

So we crossed the street and rode a multicab for SM MOA, but when I grabbed the front pocket of my bag, it was open. So I rushed to check why it was open and devastated to find out what was missing. My mobile phone was not there, Nokia 5530 that I bought a year ago. I hurriedly searched things all the garbage in my bag’s pocket but still couldn't find it. It was gone for real. I asked Sheena and texted my mom to call my number and send it a message hoping that the snatcher would have a change of heart.

Krispy Kreme as pasalubong.

Cebu does not have Krispy Kreme yet, so we had to bring home one.

Waiting for our flight.

I never expected that I’d lose an item from our travels, but it happened. Still, the trip had to continue, whether I like it or not. Off we went to SM MOA to buy pasalubongs for our family. I was not in the mood to buy anything. In my mind, I was still hoping I’d get a reply from my number but none came.

When the time came, we hurried to the airport for our flight. A funny thing is, instead of going to NAIA Terminal 3 for domestic flights, we went to NAIA Terminal 1 for international flights. We had to ride another cab to bring us to terminal 3. Upon entering, the guard had to confiscate the belt I bought from Baclaran as the buckle resembled chain knuokles. Just my luck.

While waiting for our flight, Sheena received a text message from my number. It was from the person who was lucky enough to buy my phone at a very bargain price. I tried to persuade him to return my phone but to no avail. After exchanging a couple of text, my number was then unreachable.

Fun, girly screams, long walks, getting ripped off, getting lost, and losing a mobile phone among others. These summarizes our trip to Manila.

Manila Ocean Park and Star City

2011-03-17T01:00:00.002+08:00

After a long day touring around spots in Manila, we were not done yet. Our next stop is one of the newest and coolest attractions in Manila, the Manila Ocean Park.

Manila Ocean Park is the first Oceanarium in the Philippines, located behind the Quirino Grandstand at the Rizal Park in Manila. It was just about time that the Philippines have its own Oceanarium. Philippines is the center of marine diversity in the world, but unlike Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan, it does not have an Oceanarium to boast of. Here comes Manila Ocean Park.

There are a number of attractions and packages in Manila Ocean Park which you can enjoy. The Oceanarium, Marine Life Show, Musical Fountain Show, Jellies, Aquanaut Voyage, Glass Bottom Boatride, Fish Spa and swimming and a whole lot of fun. When we weighed our choices and the time we had left, so we opted for the Marine Life Encounter for 500 PHP. It will give us access to the Oceanarium, Jellies and the Marine Life Show. The Musical Fountain Show sounded promising but we just did not have enough time to squeeze everything from our so-called itinerary.

Before we started with the tour, I had to buy a tshirt as the tshirt I was wearing the whole day stunk and it had sweat stains. I was lucky that there were stalls inside MOP selling t-shirts. Then off we went to the . There is really not much to see here but jellyfishes (well, of course!). Entering the room where the jellies are makes you feel like you are in a sci-fi movie. I felt like I entered a mad scientist's lab with all the big tubes with specimens in it. Pictured it out? No need. Here are pictures.

Next up is the Marine Life Encounter. You should check your schedule as you may miss the start of the Marine Life Encounter. The cashier will actually tell you the start time of every show upon purchasing the ticket so take note of it as you may regret not seeing the show fully. The stars for the shows were two Sea Lions (sorry we forgot their names). I was all smiles with the sea lions executing their tricks. I wished there were dolphins too but the sea lions did enough to make me clap while they were clapping, make may feet wag while they wag the flippers. I wanted to take one home as a pet. When the show ended, I wanted to stay and get have my face autographed by the sea lion.

Finally, the Oceanarium. This was the highlight of the Manila Ocean Park visit. I'm a big fan of National Geographic's Monster Fish and Discovery Channel's River Monster. I drool over Zeb Hogan and Jeremy Wade's jobs or be their assistant. The Oceanarium journey is divided into six sections and each section will carry a Filipino name: "Agos"; "Bahura"; "Laot"; "Buhay na Karagatan"; "Pating"; and "Ang Kailaliman".

The first part of the Oceanarium is Agos(flow), which houses freshwater species. Upon entering, we were greeted by 3 HUGE Arapaimas. Then I saw alligator gars,cat fishes, bull shark, tigerfish, arowana, Siamese carp, red pacu among others. Seeing all these fishes made me want to grab myself a fishing rod and hook one of them. Camwhoring is allowed but please NO FLASH Photography.

Second portion of the Oceanarium is Bahura (Reef). The feel of Bahura is again "Sci-fish" with a series of 46 tanks that feature the very colorful Philippine underwater rainforest. Here, different species of fishes are showcased with colorful coral reefs (artificial reefs). Again, NO FLASH Photography.

Third portion, Laot (Fishing Ground). This portion of the Oceanarium features big fishe in four big long tank. Feast your eyes on the school of big fishes swimming along the big tanks. Again, NO FLASH Photography.

The fourth portion is the highlight of the Oceanarium, Buhay na Karagatan (Living Ocean). Buhay na Karagatan features a 25-meter long walkway tunnel with 220-degree curved acrylic walls. So you get a roughly 180 degree view of Marine life's habitat. My jaws dropped upon entering the tunnel. The feeling of being there is just really nostalgic. That's the closest you can get to see a sting ray or a shark without your hands being bitten off. Take pictures but please NO FLASH Photography. I have to reiterate this as people don’t seem to understand signs that say this. Even with the signs plastered all over, people seem to be too in love with their flashes that they keep on using their flashes.

The fifth portion is Pating (Shark). Here, several species of sharks common to the Philippines are featured. If you want to have a better view of the sharks, go to the second floor activity area of the Manila Ocean park. The last portion is Ang Kalaliman (The Deep). There is not much featured here but gracefull sting rays flapping like birds (as per our last visit November 2010).

Upon exiting, you can opt to have a Fish Spa at the 2nd floor of the Activity Area and/or buy yourself a souvenir from the souvenir shop. Manila Ocean Park is open from 10am – 9pm, Mondays through Sundays.

We were done with our Manila Ocean Park visit, so we were off to Star City.

Our first plan was to go to Enchanted Kingdom in Laguna but we didn't want to waste precious time in travelling, so we opted for Star City, which is situated beside the Aliw Theater and near the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in Pasay City.

Star City started operating in 1991 but most if not all of their rides has gone through major renovations to catch-up with time. You wouldn't want to ride a rollercoaster and fly off your seat right? There are not theme parks in Cebu so we really made a point to drop by Star City.

We paid for the Ride-All-You-Can plus Winter Funland package at 550 PHP. Their horror booths really looked promising but Sheena did not want to enter the other booths after experiencing some minor scare in the "Kilabot ng Mummy" booth. Sissy! Anyway, we were able to check out booths Peter Pan, Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants. We started with the Viking then the Blizzard and thought that it was a Then we met Surf Dance, Star Flyer and Zyklon Loop. These three rides got me screaming like an anime fan girl. Try to picture that out. We relaxed for a bit by riding the Balloon Wheel then finished it off with Wild River and Bumper Boat.

We finished it all off by going inside Winter Fun Land. There is not much to do inside. You can grab yourself a sled and ride the slippery snow using the sled. Cameras are not allowed inside so the only chance you can get your picture taken is by asking the photographer inside, it comes with a fee though.

After all the laughs and screams, we were starving but it we have finished almost 10PM so our supposed dinner at Divisoria had to be cancelled and we decided to go back to Park Villa Apartelle to take dinner.

That wraps it up for our Day 2 stay in Manila.

Eleventh Stop: Thrilla in Manila (Day 2)

2011-02-12T20:44:00.003+08:00

The second day of our Manila trip was scheduled as the roam-around-all-you-want-all-you-can-as-your-feet-does-not-complain day based on our on-location-not-so-cleverly-planned itinerary. So were we excited? For the "tour", Hell yeah! For the projected long walk, not really. Edcel was uberly excited, he woke up ahead of the alarm clock and had to drag me out of bed.

As mentioned, we did not have any real itinerary and no map in hand so while I was readying myself, Edcel had to scour for details, geographical locations, distance between spots and the most convenient route to take using my laptop and the free WiFi from Villa Appartelle (Thank God for geniuses who created wireless internet!).

The plan for the day: Star City-Manila Zoo-Luneta Park-Manila Ocean Park-Divisoria. The first spot on the list was to start off in SM Mall of Asia, then Star City then check out Dragon boat rowers nearby. We rode the MRT from Quezon Avenue to Taft. Then took a jeepney bound for MOA then rode a cab to Star City. This first stop was a proof of how uberly under-researched this trip was.

When we got to Star City, it was still closed and only opens by 2:00 PM. Just our luck. So we headed off to where Dragon boat rowers will be seen but then again, there are no rowers on Mondays.

Good thing we were able to research other spot's locations early that morning so we had a slight clue where we were going. So we decided to head off to Manila Zoo. The long walk started from CCP Complex to Manila Zoo passing by Roxas Boulevard.

Manila Zoo
I was uberly excited to visit Manila Zoo as this was my ever first visit to zoo. I've never visited Cebu Zoo, and so I was expecting to see giraffes, elephants, lions, tigers, and zebras. I felt like a pre-schooler on a field trip. When we headed inside the Manila Zoo, my eyes grew bigger and bigger when we were greeted by the gigantic elephant just near the entrance. We had the chance to have our pictures taken with the playful Ostrich fenced fronting the elephant.

Just I was fired up to check the other animals, I was in utter disgust I wanted to go home as we checked out the reptiles den. There were snakes and other reptiles no matter where I look. I could not persuade Edcel to forget about taking pictures of the reptiles as I can see a big smile on his face just seeing the creatures (he could be smiling because he was enjoying the view or he was having fun on my misery getting near the reptiles).

We headed on with the tour to my relief and checked out more species of crocodiles, turtles, deers, monkeys, rabbits, birds, zebras, tigers and fishes! We toured around the Zoo to look for giraffes. To our frustration, no giraffes at all. Well, as a consolation, there was a statue of a giraffe.

As we were about to exit Manila Zoo, Edcel had something on his mind. Basing on the smirk on his face, I knew it was not something good. Edcel convinced me to have our picture taken with a snake. I did not obliged, of course! Edcel then went into tantrums mode hoping he could convince me but still I did not budge. As we were nearing the exit, Edcel talked more and more until I finally gave in. My body shivered when I touched the snake. My tears fell when the photographer placed the snake on my shoulder.

Edcel was again smirking as he could have been enjoying the opportunity of having his picture taken with a snake or he could have just been enjoying my misery. Picture taking was over and was finally relief from the snake. We're done touring around the Manila Zoo and we're ready for our second spot. We rode a jeepney bound for Luneta Park. Upon arriving, Edcel took some shots of the place while I was retouching my makeup (retouching is a must!). We decided to check out the National Museum, to our dismay, it is closed on Mondays.

The kalesa ride to hell

There we met a very kind old man with his kalesa. He offered to take out pictures taken in his kalesa and told us that he can tour us around and its up to us how much we'll pay him. We were the unsuspecting young tourist and since we're already tired walking, we chose to have a kalesa ride tour.

The tour started with Manong kalesa driver giving us some tidbits of Manila, the National Museum, and his life. He was showing off some of his English speaking skills that he so-boasted learned from his everyday encounters with foreign tourist. He toured us around every significant spots like the statues of Ninoy and Cory Aquino, the Manila Post Office, Manila Cathedral, Intramuros, Quiapo, Chinatown, outside Malacańang Palace among others.

He also shared bits of information about every significant landmark, street, statue, church, building, bridge, university and others. It was a very informative tour. We were able to cover a big area but we weren't really able to go down the kalesa and personally check the places. We were a bit over our planned schedule so we decided to end the kalesa tour as we still have to visit Manila Ocean Park, Star City then Divisoria for dinner.

When we asked the kalesa driver to dropped us near Manila Ocean Park, he then suddenly boasted that he gets paid $100 (4500PHP) by foreigners for the same tour that we got. He then said that since we're Filipinos and we're students, we will be getting a discount, we only need pay him 2500PHP! I was stupefied by the amount he requested. Edcel and I looked each other, thinking how much we're going to pay him. Edcel was enraged with the thought of an old man trying to rip him off. Edcel started to politely argue with the old man. Edcel stated. "Kung sinabi mo pa sana ang presyo kanina, hindi na sana kami sumakay! Sabi mo kasi, kami na ang bahala!" (If you only mentioned the price beforehand, we would not have taken the ride).

Since we do not have much moolah (and we would not have paid the old man 2500PHP for a roughly 2-hour kalesa ride if we had the money anyway), we paid him 350PHP, disembarked the kalesa and kept our fingers crossed that nothing bad happens. It was just roughly a 2-hour kalesa ride and 350PHP is more than enough. We thought he was a good kind-hearted old man but he was total jerk! A Filipino trying to ripoff another Filipino! Way to go, Manong!

The fun had to continue so we hurriedly walked to Quirino Grandstand to check out Manila Ocean Park. Before that, we had to have some pictures taken at the historical Rizal Park.

Upon reaching Manila Ocean Park, we had to choose as to the best package deal worth all the money. We decided to take the Marine Life Encounter Promo package for 500PHP each. That will give us access to the Oceanarium, the Jellies and the Sea Lion Show. Before starting though, Edcel had to buy a new shirt, not as a souvenir though as he had to replace his shirt as it was full of white sweat stains as a result of an accumulated amount of sweat caused by the humidity of Manila (yes, Manila is very humid if you haven't heard or read).

Continue reading our Day 2 adventures in Manila Ocean Park and Star City here

Continue reading Day 3 of our adventures in Manila here

Eleventh Stop: Thrilla in Manila (Day 1)

2011-01-20T03:56:00.053+08:00

Our next destination is a place where most people wants to be in before and it could still remain true today. It's the main financial, commercial and educational center of the Philippines. We're going to, Manila.

Manila (Tagalog: Maynila; pronounced /maɪˈnilaʔ/ in Tagalog, /məˈnɪlə/ mə-NIL-ə in English), officially the City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the sixteen cities within the Manila metropolitan area. It has been opined that Manila was the original Global City because it was the apex of the first complete world trade, the Manila Galleons. It is also one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world with a population of 20 million people. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay on the western side of the island of Luzon. Several cities lie on its border: Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati to the southeast, and Pasay to the south. Read more information here

This trip made us too excited that we were not able to sleep well that night until the time of our boarding by early morning.

After stepping off the plane and out of the Nino Aquino International Airport, we're both discombobulated as to where we are going and where to stay. No itinerary. No map. No clue. Just a laptop to hopefully save our Manila Trip.

Fronting NAIA Terminal 3 is McDonalds so we hurriedly walked from NAIA to McDonalds to hopefully leech on some WiFi connection, to our dismay, there was no WiFi in this McDonalds branch. So we walked towards E. Palmas Drive and Resort Drive to shake off the early morning jitters. E. Palmas Drive/Resort Drive houses the Beacon Tower, Marriott Hotel, Maxims and Resorts World Manila. Then there was a gift sent from heaven. I saw a “Free WIFI” poster posted on Shakey's glass door.

As frugal as we were, we could not find any other free Wifi spots nearby so we opted to take a pricey breakfast at Shakey's. While waiting for our order, Edcel scoured for information on the nearest spots, distance between them and jotted all the details on a tissue paper. We ate to our stomach's content and headed off.

Resorts World

As it was a Sunday, we walked and stopped by Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, which is also in Resort Drive, to ask for God's guidance. We then took a jeepney ride going to Baclaran. Both of us are and will never be confident enough to speak Tagalog, so when chances came that we had to speak to the locals like drivers, vendors and others, we had to brutally force each other to speak. Growing up in the Visayas Region for 23 years, our tongues were frozen stiff in speaking Tagalog.

We finally reached Baclaran and as I've expected, the place was indeed dirty and crowded. As part of our semi-itinerary, we stopped by the Baclaran Church and attended the mass. After which, we took a long walk from Baclaran Church to SM Mall of Asia (MOA). The vendor that we asked direction from said that MOA is just a short walk from there, so we willingly obliged.

Colorful Vendor's Stalls in Baclaran

From where we were,SM Mall of Asia looked really near, but I guess our eyes were just playing with us as we walked, walked, walked and YES, we finally saw the huge globe fronting SM Mall of Asia. After taking some snapshots of the area. we then headed inside MOA.

We roamed around and I was bit disappointed as I was expecting much from MOA. Honestly, I am not impressed on how MOA was constructed/designed. Blame it on my researching skills but I was expecting SM Mall of Asia to be taller than SM Cebu. SM MOA only has 2 floors, with its massiveness relying mostly on the land area it covers. Applying some kindergarten Math, it means that getting from Store A to Store C could mean flexing some calf muscles instead of just doing the usual escalator ride. If only our feet could talk, it would have cried gallons of tears from the abuse it took that early morning. Groceries checked. Lunch done. And so we're ready to go to take some rest.

The plan was to stay Makati Apartelle, but we have failed to make a reservation beforehand. Luck was not on our side when we called since there were no vacant rooms. So, we again used the power of free WiFi at SM MOA and scoured for information and locations on cheap Manila hotels/apartelles and we found Park Villa Apartelle. It looked neat in the pictures and it was dirt cheap, so Edcel took my phone and contacted Park Villa. Finally! A room reserved! (We may post a personal review of Park Villa Apartelle if "you" readers want one. :) )

At around 12noon, we headed to Park Villa Apartelle which is located in Examiner St, West Ave., Quezon City. Our will still wants to go out and enjoy what Manila had to offer but our eyes and feet were tired so we had to take a much needed rest.

We woke up by 6pm and decided to take a short walk before taking dinner. We walked, chatted, ate street foods, observed, walked, walked and walked. Edcel freaked out when we saw a signages saying Sampaloc, Manila. We did not notice that we have walked From Examiner St, Quezon City to Sampaloc, Manila. We hurriedly asked a local to what jeepney route we had to take to get back to West Avenue, took a jeepney and took dinner near West Avenue.

If you know how to, please calculate the distance we have walked from Examiner St, West Ave., Quezon City to Sampaloc, Manila. Since we bought a laptop with us, we checked out our online community accounts, chatted for a bit and then bid farewell to the night and we went to slumberland to ready ourselves for the next day.

Check out Day 2 of our Manila Adventure here.

The Year That Was: 2010 in Review

2011-01-01T00:41:00.003+08:00

The year 2010 started really well for both of us, travel-wise. It was the first full year of fun and travel. From eating my first yogurt, to our first airplane ride, first time being out of the Visayas Region, first time to watch a movie from a movie cinema outside any cinemas from Cebu, seeing a walkator, getting almost ripped off 2,000 PHP from a kalesa driver, to meeting Sheena's relatives in her mom's hometown, having my beloved cellphone snatched in an LRT by God-knows-who, getting nominated as one of the finalist in the Philippine Blog Awards - Visayas Best Travel Bag, to winning Top 5 Best Cebu Blogs of 2010 and many many more.

2010 was a good year for The Wandering Couple. We had to mellow down a bit by middle of the year as both of us re-enrolled in College to bag that 4-year degree but we did end the year with a trip to Manila and Iloilo. Our travels/mishaps together brought us closer and made our relationship much stronger (stronger than He-Man and Hercules but I think not as strong as Superman). Here is 2010 in pictures.

2010 was a very eventful year and hopefully, 2011 will be "unevenfuller", or better yet, "uneventfullest".

Cheers to 2010!

Tenth Stop: Playin' in La Playa (Badian, Cebu)

2010-12-27T16:38:00.003+08:00

I've always loved going South of Cebu. I do love the North too but most of the places I have visited lately was in the Southern tip of and I know what it has to offer. Blues, greens, whites, yellows and oranges.

When Sheena told me that they will have a get-together with her wavemates from the BPO she works for in Badian, Cebu, a big smile grew slowly on my face.

I have been to Moalboal and another beach in Badian and I just fell in love with the beach, sand and sun in the Southwestern tip of Cebu. With their plan to go to La Playa Resort in Badian, I could not help but give myself a self-invitation, whether Sheena likes it or not.

La Playa Resort is located in Matutinao, Badian, Cebu, Badian is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 35,876 people.

Getting there:
Badian is just a couple of kilometers from Moalboal. To get there, we take the same route going to Moalboal. You can take a bus, either Librando or Ceres Liner (via Barili), from the Cebu Southern Bus Terminal. You can also take a V-Hire bound for Moalboal from the CitiLink Terminal.

This picture is facing road bound for Cebu

La Playa Resort is located just less than a kilometer away from the chapel which is a landmark going to Kawasan Falls.

The initial plan was to spend the night in La Playa, then walk towards Kawasan Falls for an early morning dip.

The room that we occupied was two floors, had airconditioning , 2 matrimonial beds and 2 single beds, a toilet and shower and the beach is just 3 meters away and it costs about 2,000,000 pesos per night. All 10 of us fit well in all the beds provided.

The problem with monsoons in the Philippines is it causes sands to move east or west causing some ugly shorelines and I think that is what happened to the shoreline of La Playa when we were there. Rocks were just protruding making it really unsafe to swim if you are really careless. We just waited for the tide to go up so that we will just stay in the sandy part of the shore but it didn't happen until 11pm.

So we spend the whole afternoon cooking, eating and drinking. By night time, we spoiled the frustrated singer inside us by singing our lungs out in the videoke in the resort. There is a time limit on the usage of the videoke so if you want to bust your vocal chords and each other's eardrums, start early.

I did get a chance to shoot the sunset, but this was not the scene the I expected as there was too many clouds covering the the setting sun. When cloud moved out of the way, the sun was either to shiny or the foreground was just to dark. I should really consider buying a new filtering to neutralize those next time. Hate or love my sunset shots, I still need a lot more practices to do, more shutter clicks and more haters to encounter and neutralize.

Because of the conditions, I ended up playing with my camera creating a "timewarp" image which busted the autofocus motor of my kit lens. Good thing it was the kit lens, not my other lens.

"Timewarpish" Sunset Shot

You have served your purpose, but you will still serve me more even with a busted AF.

Since we spent most of the day eating and drinking, do you know what happened the next morning? We woke up by 10am which means that the planned early morning dip to Kawasan Falls is a big "FAIL"! We took breakfast and prepared ourselves to go back to Cebu as most of them still had an event to attend to (killjoy!).

If you want a place where you can spend a vacation with friends or families, you should try out La Playa Resort. With the 2-storey cottage, it can definitely fit 10-15 people inside. If you want more amenities, then you should try out other resorts as La Playa does not really offer much other than the beach, sand and sun of Badian.

Best Cebu Blogs 2010 Awarding Night

2010-12-08T12:26:00.001+08:00

Blogging has been part of my life for roughly 4 years and counting . It runs through my veins. As a blogger, one of the major things that you want is to get readers and be recognized.

Last year, when self-nomination was not yet the "in" thing, I became part of the top 10 Best Cebu Blogs of 2009. I was ecstatic to the point of wetting my pants! Then, I decided to start this blog together with Sheena and had the same goal, be recognized as one of the best Travel bloggers (and slowly we are inching our way to that (I assume)).

This year, Best Cebu Blogs 2010 is on its third year and we are glad to have made it to the Top 20. It is not something I am proud of yet though as getting to Top 20 was a Facebook LIKE contest which I honestly hate. Anyway, we continued with the contest to get to Top 20, so Sheena and my sisters had to do all the work in trying to force people to like the blog. We did not want to top the LIKE contest and I just wanted to reach Top 20 and let the judges decide as to who is really deserving.

Tasked to pick the Top 10 of the Top 20 finalists are as follows:

Azrael Deasis Coladilla (Luzon)
Stanley Cabigas (Visayas)
Avel Manansala (Mindanao)

Below are the top 20 finalists:

Aika Baylon of galleca.blogspot.com
Andrew “Doyzkie” Buenaviaje of pigginoutsessions.blogspot.com
Bert Padilla of cebutechblogger.com
Drake Danaviir Cataluña of drakieness.blogspot.com
Edcel Ceniza/Sheena Darunday of thewanderingcouple.blogspot.com
Jason Karl S. Buhia of hungitcebu.com
Jaysee John Rosal Pingkian of jayseeblabs.blogspot.com
Jomar Lanorias Lipon of jomarlipon.blogspot.com
Karlota Murillo of karlotablogs.info
Kevin Ray Chua of kevinraychua.com
Leylan Romarate of mycebuphotoblog.wordpress.com
Mark Anthony Razonable of mrtambay.blogspot.com
Mary Angeli Bas of adventurouslei.com
Max Limpag of CebuRunning.com
Nike Enriquez Cagulada of hitwheels.blogspot.com
Paolo Berdin of whatpaoloeats.wordpress.com
Philip Andrew Mayol of cebufinest.com
Reynarose G. Trasmil of faithly.com
Ricky de la Cruz of finlust.blogspot.com
Shanette G. Mancao of diy-eats.blogspot.com

Our fingers are crossed for the coming awarding night this December 12, 2010 at the Penthouse in Sugbutel.

Co-Presenter: Sugbutel Bed and Bath
Gold Sponsors: Virginia Foods, Orange Brutus,Maribago Bluewater, Amuma Spa, Yehey! , Stir.ph
Silver Sponsor: Timex Philippines Inc.
Business Partner: Mandaue Chamber of Commerce ,
Official Online Media Partners: Cebu Bloggers Society, Inc. (CBSi), Yehey!, Stir.ph
Official Photographer: Alvin Asayas Photography
Official Radio Media Partner: Y101 FM CEBU- Always First

In the years to come, we will be one of the Top Travel Bloggers in the Philippines **wishful thinking**.

Foodtrip: Dessert Factory (The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu)

2010-11-22T21:51:00.003+08:00

After featuring our stops and sidetrips and getting quite a number of comments and followings on our travels, we are adding a new "trip" on the site. There is one more thing that we love to do aside from travelling, that is eating. In every trips and stops that we go to, we get to taste different food that makes our tastebuds go "boom!", but the problem is, me and Sheena just lacks adjectives to describe food so we decided not to talk about food. Now, we have changed our mind and decided to try our luck at doing restaurant and food reviews.

Here is our first FOODTRIP, Dessert Factory.

As the name suggests, Dessert Factory specializes on.... well.... uhmmmmm desserts! One of their best-seller is the Achocolypse Now! But not a lot of people knows that Dessert Factory does not just offers desserts for their patrons, but they also have meals to boast.

We just arrived from our Manila Trip(post to follow) when we arrived in Ayala Center Cebu and we were starving. I wanted to feast on a full meal and eat a big cake after. Good thing I have heard that Dessert Factory does serve meals aside from the desserts that they specialize in. Just the place I was looking for.

We got ourselves Kinamatisang Kawali and since Sheena can't decide on what to get, she went safe and ordered for herself the classic Grilled Pork Belly.

Kinamatisang Kawali is Lechon Kawali sauteed in onions and ripe tomatoes. I was intrigued with how Kinamatisang Kawali was described so I had to try it. When it was served, I thought they got me the wrong dish. The dish smelled like Lechon Paksiw (a.k.a Roasted Pork stewed in vinegar). On second thought, I think it was the right dish as it did have Kamatis (tomatoes) and Lechon Kawali.

On my first bite, I was not awed by the taste as it did taste like Lechon Paksiw but moments after, I felt the taste of the vinegar, mixed with the juice from the sauteed tomatoes and onions and the crispiness of the outer part of the lechon. The inside part of the meat was so tender I felt it was melting inside my mouth. Evey spoonful of the dish and rice to my mouth was so addicting. I wanted one more serving but I was so full we even canceled our order of Achocolypse Now!

For Sheena's classic Grilled Pork Belly, she just has this as a review. "It's tastes like Grilled Pork Belly". How's that for a review? :)

If you want to try out their other dishes, you may visit Dessert Factory at the 3rd Floor The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu. Just one thing to note though, don't be shocked if you see people wearing clown and/or wizard hats, that's just their crews.

Sidetrip: Need for Speed in Kartzone (Mabolo)

2010-11-05T14:41:00.007+08:00

Well, we spent mother's day in Cebu Wetland Resort, now it was time to celebrate my father's "day", his birthday. You surely can't bring your fathers on a picnic, so I knew the best place to spend the afternoon and I was pretty sure that my siblings, cousins and my father will enjoy it.

Off we went to karting in Kartzone Mabolo. Kartzone is located in F Cabahug St., Ayala Access Road, Mabolo,Cebu City, near Offroads Coffee and Sykes Bldg. Mabolo.

I've always wanted to own and drive a car. I did get a chance to drive our old Tamaraw back in highschool, well I am not really sure if I did drive it since my father just instructed me to properly park it which meant I only needed to move it forward for 1 meter and a half.

Getting broke, we had to let go of the vehicle and I did not get the chance to really drive it. So, growing up, I have frustrations of owning and driving one. That's the life of an average Filipino, and if you are laughing, you may be one of those rich kids who grew up having 2 or 3 family cars which you can drive and boast to your friends. Okay, enough with the drama, the karts in Kartzone were the nearest 4-wheeled vehicle resembling a real car, so I would never miss the chance of putting the pedal to the metal.

Before I proceed though, just a random thought. While waiting for me to save up to buy my own car, I wanted to get a driver's license first, but that would leave me with "License without Driving." :)

Anyway, we arrived in Kartzone and had to pay up the fees needed. We opted for the double-seaters since it was the most affordable way for all of us to enjoy. Single-seater karts in Kartzone are priced at 300php for 8 laps while double-seaters are priced at 350php for 8 laps.

We had to wait for our turn because there is only a limited number of karts. Before the ride, safety first.

We had to let my sisters and cousins go first for camwhoring purposes. So after some short safety precautions from the instructors, off they went! I was laughing when I heard my sisters screaming at every turn and every overtakes they make. I could not wait for our turn.

And we waited... and waited... and waited for our turn.

Then, it was our turn. And again, after some short safety precautions from the instructors, and a couple of pictures, off we went, BRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Call me silly, but I had a big smile plastered all over my face and my eyes were sparkling during the whole ride. Sheena was also enjoying the ride but she grew stiff holding to the pseudo-steering wheel. But no matter how stiff she went, I am pretty sure she enjoyed every second of the ride.

Is Kartzone Mabolo worth the dough to spend on? Yes it is. To make the ride worthwhile, it is best to get the double-seater or if you want to have a race with a friend, then get a single-seater.

After the face-lifting, almost-peeing moment, we finished the afternoon of in Gilligan's Restaurant in The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu for a full dinner.

Sidetrip: Cebu Wetland Resort

2010-09-17T13:56:00.008+08:00

This is a late post about our hook fishing adventure at Cebu Wetland Resort last May. We were there for a double celebration --- our 18th monthsary and Mother's Day. Edcel invited his mother to join us and Edcel's sisters tagged along.

Getting There:

Cebu Wetland Resort is the only inland resort in the heart of Cebu City. Cebu Wetland Resort also gives you a different feel of a highly urbanized city in Cebu. Cebu Wetland Resort is a pond in the city! It is located in Tagunol, Basak Pardo, Cebu City.

If you plan to drive your own car, you can drive all the way to Basak, Pardo and upon reaching Cabreros, just ask the people around about the place. If you want travel using public transit, just go to Colon, Cebu City and wait for jeepneys with route number 11A. That jeepney route will pass by Cebu Wetland so you can never go wrong. If you plan to hire a taxi, just tell that driver that the place is in Cabreros, Basak.

A panoramic shot of Cebu Wetland's pond and restaurant. Click for a larger view.

When we finally arrived at the resort (Edcel forgot to take a picture of the entrance), I was not really impressed nor should I say, I was disappointed by the things seen at the entrance. Big or heavy equipments parked, dirty surroundings, I can say. It looked to me like a converted hacienda or an abandoned mine. Then I realized, that the resort is owned by an Engineer/Contractor that is why there were heavy equipments parked near the entrance.

The resort has a big man-made fishpond stocked with tilapia and catfish. To hook fish, you can either ride in a pedal-paddle boat for 50php or you can even stay at their floating restaurant and pay for another 20php for the fishing rod and worms. Other than that, they also have a swimming pool for 100php entrance fee. And affordable rooms to stay overnight. And they do also have a kangkong and mango farm.

I enjoyed driving the pedal-paddle boat for which I could maneuver the route within the pond. We also enjoyed fishing especially if we caught big tilapia. I was anxious to catch a fish as it was my first time to do so. We used two pedal boats, 1 for me, Edcel and her sister and 1 for Edcel's other 2 sisters and her mother.

Minutes into letting the hooks into the pond, Edcel's sister already caught a fish and another and another while we were getting none!

We paddled and paddled and let go of our hooks into the murky waters! We even resorted to letting go of our hooks into waters where they caught their fishes but we still got zero! We hear them screaming everytime the get a catch while we were wasting bait after bait and still not getting any fish.

And after a couple of minute of waiting, I caught one small fish! No matter how small it was, it was still a catch!

Edcel felt the pressure of catching his first fish as his three sisters and me has caught one. He felt the need to catch a fish before sun down.

He patiently placed bait after bait on the hook but still the was unlucky.
The small tilapia lurking around may have felt his need to prove that he can catch one so he just willingly took the bait for Edcel's sake. Then Edcel caught first small fish. We had to let it go though as it was too small. We were on the quest to catch the big one! :)

As time passed by, our catch grew bigger and bigger and in every catch, there were big smiles on our faces! We looked like preschoolers who just got a present from Santa! We felt a different kind of fun! It was hot and humid and we wanted to take a dip in their pool but the thrill of catching that big tilapia was hypnotizing us! All of us felt like anglers from the Discovery Channel or National Geographic. By late afternoon, we have almost caught two pails full of tilapia, so we selected the big catch and let go of the small ones.

At the end of the day, we paid 180php/kilo for those hooked tilapias and had it cooked for dinner. We opted to have it cooked prito and sweet and sour and we ordered other dishes in the menu as we had second thought on how the tilapia would taste.

When dinner was served, it was the moment of truth! And then we ate, tilapia does not taste bad at all. During dinner, while munching on all the dishes ordered, sun has set, sound of water from the man-made waterfalls, we felt so relaxed since there was a live band who'll seranade all guests with their country songs and jazz. We also had calamares and grilled pork belly.

Our visit to Cebu Wetland Resort was all worth it. Wish we could go back here and do the fishing again! ^_^

This post is dedicated to Edcel's stepfather-to-be, Rod Edwards, who passed away last November 3, 2010. This was the last time we bonded. RIP Ron.

Sidetrip: Tabuk Marine Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (Palompon. Leyte)

2010-09-17T13:21:00.007+08:00

Just a short introduction, Tabuk island (Tabuk Marine Park and Wildlife Sanctuary), was declared marine park and bird sanctuary through a municipal ordinance in 1995 thus protecting the island from man’s wanton abuse. Fishing was banned within the vicinity of the island, and then the depleted mangroves in the island miraculously recovered, after it was declared "no man’s land".

Tabuk Island (Tabuk Marine Park and Wildlife Sanctuary) is located adjacent to the town of Palompon, Leyte so the port where we will ride a motorized boat to the island was just minutes walk away. Tabuk Marine Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is among the newest favorite destination among tourists and environmentalists in Eastern Visayas region.

The itinerary was set for the day. First would be to check out the Bat Kingdom, then go snorkeling, then check out the Bird Sanctuary and lastly, spend the whole afternoon in the big cottages just a couple of meters away from the marine sanctuary. I did not know what to expect but from the information I got, I would sure see marine wildlife in action.

Upon checking out Bat Kingdom, I was expecting to see a couple of bats here and there, but I was awed to what I saw! On the mangroves were not just bats, they we BAAAAAAAAAATTTTS! BIG BATS! And I am not exaggerating it (maybe I am). The pictures I took does not justify the size of those bats but to give you a small idea, it would probably be as big as an eagle! Call me ignorant but those are the biggest bats I have ever seen in my whole life not named Batman (he is not a bat, he is a man). I had goosebumps and in awe that I have forgotten to take a lot of shots of those bats.

After the hair-raising encounter with the bats, we rode the boat again for a short trip to a floating raft to check out life down under. Actually we were not on the right timing since we visited the place when the tide was about to go low. Anyway, we still put on those goggles and checked out the abundance of marine life and it did not disappoint. I did get to see fishes of different sizes, shapes and colors. The fun did not last thought as I had a minor accident when I accidentally kicked a sharp rock when Sheena grabbed on me and I freaked out. Small bits of rock bore down my feet and it stung like hell. The bits were so small I was not able to pull out all of it but that accident will not spoil the fun that was yet beginning.

We then rode the boat for a short ride to the three-story watch tower which is the entrance to a boardwalk through its mangrove forest. The 3-storey watch-tower of is a perfect place to see the sunset and the migratory birds coming in. I did a 180-degree panoramic shot of the view from the top of the tower. The tour guide has mentioned that large number of fishes can be seen freely swimming by around the mangroves. Wild ducks and other migratory birds make this place as their home and stopover point. Unfortunately, the best time to get to see these birds and ducks is early morning and we were at the place almost noon time. So we just walked through the bamboo boardwalk to the center of the mangrove area and went back to the watch tower. I was limping while walking through the boardwalk but I did not mind it I was having fun looking at the mangroves around, listening to the current of the sea flow and birds chirping.

Just near the marine sanctuary are two cottages on the sea where one can go for picnics and swimming. We spent the whole afternoon in one of the cottages and raft eating our hearts out while enjoying the view of Palompon's town proper and Tabuk Island. If you want to go swimming, you must be careful as there are a number of sea urchins there. If ever you see one, just tell the tour guide and they will kill it for you (sacrificing a sea urchin for the enjoyment of many visitors, just worth it).

The tide was low but we still went swimming! If you drop by Palompon and you love bats, birds, wild ducks, mangroves, sunsets, and getting stung by a sea urchin, Tabuk Marine Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a must go! If only we were there early in the morning, we would have enjoyed it more. Nonetheless, having small bits of rock bore down my feet and getting stung by a sea urchin, was all worth it!

Sidetrip: Baybayon ni Agalon (Albuera, Leyte)

2010-09-16T22:42:00.010+08:00

2-days after we arrived in Palompon, my cousins planned to go to Albuera to discover the scenicbeauty of Baybayon ni Agalon Resort. Edcel and I went there with them for FREE! :D

Albuera is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 34,335 people in 7,193 households.

The town boasts of a semi-concrete municipal building. Streets within the poblacion are reinforced with cement along the ditches giving the town a neat look and at the same time providing security against muddy streets during the rainy months.

more info

Getting there.

Albuera is accessible only by land. If you are from Cebu, you can go to Ormoc City on a 2-hour boat ride via Supercat/Weesam. Or you can go via slow boat (Cebu Ferries) which takes 6 hours. And then from Ormoc City, you have to take another 15-minute ride via Bus/vHire to reach Albuera.

The Resort.
It was a long trip from Palompon to Albuera but once you get in to the resort, you'll surely be amazed of its green-clean surroundings. Its awesome, so wonderful! The newest and the most scenic picnic resort along Ormoc -- "Baybayon ni Agalon" literally translates to "The Shores of Agalon" is a relaxing resort of Albuera, Leyte.

The resort has a beautiful landscape, quiet, and green surroundings. There are two pools with water slides which is very appealing to the children who would really enjoy swimming in its cold waters. They also have a jacuzzi for adults. Nonetheless, I was bit disappointed of their beach. Sand is not white and there are lots of tiny rocks. What they lack on the look of the beach, they made up on the other aspects of the resort.

I was pretty much impressed with the way the resort has been set up or landscaped. Thumbs up for that! Their beautiful landscape is matched with big tree houses and they have cottages near the pond area with kois in it. The resort also has a mini zoo, with 2 monkeys, guinea foul, geese, lizard and two ostriches near the entrance. They also have a mini playground which kids can check out. Baybayon ni Agalon is definitely a resort that anybody can enjoy. From kids, to yuppies, to the oldies and the kids-at- heart! If you come to visit Albuera, you should visit Baybayon ni Agalon.

We enjoyed roaming around the resort, taking pictures with my nieces and sisters. Edcel and I also enjoyed seeing my sisters and nieces shouting every time they slide through the 2 slides setup in the pool. We all had fun at the resort. I loved it and wish I could go back there and stay overnight. This is such a great place for a quick getaway – rustic, peaceful and simply relaxing.

To sum up, this was my ever super uber unforgettable summer vacation with my family and Edcel.