Here is a photo of a whale shark with its tail tied down near the shore so people could touch it, STEP on it, crowd all over it, etc. A whale shark is supposed to be swimming in deeper water, not like this. It’s just so wrong.

The location is suspected to be in Oslob, Cebu. If you have anything to share, simply send information and photos to Dive Philippines.

Besides the ugly scars that’ll stay visible for months, the bites can be an ungodly itchy mess.

There are a number of sites out there with tips on how to treat your pets and home for fleas. I’ve even come across this article where they said banana peel is a natural and effective means of controlling fleas. I will have to give that a try as well lol :p

Anyway, here’s some tips to prevent flea bites from becoming the fugliest scar on earth.

1. Wash the bites on your skin with soap and cold water. Avoid warm water because it tends to make the bites itchier.
2. Put an icepack or cold compress over the wounds to reduce swelling and to help numb the itchiness.
3. Pour, spray or dap alcohol on the bites. This is to encourage the wounds to dry up faster.
4. Apply topical cream like hydrocortisone to help relieve itches. Other options include calamine lotion and baking soda paste.
5. In some cases, I take an antihistamine. Please consult your doctor when taking medications.

I know this might sound nuts, but you can try to resist scratching the bites. It will just make it more red and tender. Good luck! :)

photo courtesy of beyondfleas.com

We went to this resort in Bataan to attend a beach wedding. Going to Coralview isn’t that difficult since there are signs along the way, but they missed putting one at a junction– which I think is very crucial. If in doubt, just follow the Phi Phi Resort signs, they’re right beside each other anyway.

When we arrived at the resort, I was pleased to see how the surrounding looks clean, bright and semi-exclusive. The parking area is very nice as well, with its ample shade and space. There were rows of white rooms dotting the place, and we got a suite reserved for the six of us. Now, this resort isn’t cheap. For that price, the room quality didn’t meet my expectation. It is more expensive than an overnight stay at a decent Boracay STATION ONE resort.

Let me tell you why this is a freaking rip-off.

DIRTY TOILET/BATHROOM. The flush button is missing, and you can’t even touch the other button because it looks grimey. The shower room has no light and the grout has darkened. The screened window in the toilet is very dusty and can’t be closed properly, so our room was infested with mosquitoes. Would you pay P6,300 a night for this?

MOSQUITOES. We asked the frontdesk to do something about the mosquitoes because there were so many of them. They were about to use an unknown China-brand insecticide and we have a one-year-old with us. I mean, sorry to say this, but with not-so-good reports about China products going on, it’s hard to trust something like that insecticide. At least they should’ve used a known brand such as Baygon or something. Can’t they buy a decent can of insecticide with the amount we’re paying? Their resort manager, Tess, is even arrogant when we complained about it. It’s as if we have no right to do so, and was not slightly apologetic AT ALL. Wow, if that’s the kind of service I’m getting, we shouldn’t have paid for an insane P6,300 crappy suite!

COCKROACHES. I don’t know about you, but I’m not paying P6,300 for a room creeping with cockroaches.

KITCHEN. The counter-top gas range is dirty and peppered with some cockroach shit. The window blinds are dusty and a couple of the blinds are crumpled and folded. I wonder when’s the last time they cleaned the room?

EXTRA FEES. The extra bed foams are a hefty P700 each, and you have to deal with the cockroaches haha!

FOOD. OH. MY. GOD. they’re the WORST. I’d rather eat carinderia or turo-turo. They felt overcooked, recooked and made by a gradeschooler. Even the cupcakes they made for the wedding tasted like it’s made of 99% baking powder! I went to look at their buffet rate from the website, and WTF it’s P1,560 per head for buffet. Seriously?? This resort has the balls to charge that much for something that tastes like crap. If I weren’t that hungry when we first got there, I would’ve passed lunch and eat junkfood instead. It’s THAT bad.

So, now that you’re done ranting about the resort, how’s the beach? It’s a clean beach with fine, light gray sands. The resort has a breakwater so you could still enjoy swimming around the shore area. While it’s relaxing to spend the time at the resort cabanas, there were times the wind was blowing our heads off. Other than that, it’s perfectly fine. You can even rent a griller and eat there.

Pawikan Reserve. While there, grab the chance to visit the pawikan reserve, it’s only around 15 minutes away by boat. I’m not sure how much it is by land, but you can opt for that as well. You can release a baby pawikan into the sea, just give P50 to adopt one :P

We weren’t able to explore more of the activities there since we only have a short weekend to spend. Maybe we’ll try out more soon– and at a different resort haha!! Coralview resort does not deserve my recommendation. Their manager needs to learn how to be humble and customer-oriented!

1. A Detailed Final Design

never give your crew the go signal if you are still not done with your design. sure you can add and remove features along the way, but having a concrete plan will save you time and money by knowing exactly what and how many materials you’d be needing.

2. Organize Your Crew

follow a schedule. your plumber does not have to tag along the whole renovation, this also applies to the rest of the crew. the masons and plumbers would usually come in first, sometimes carpenters and an electrician will be needed during this period. after these guys are done, you can call in the next group for finishing. never apply finishing when construction is ongoing; this will just dirty up the paint and fixtures.

3. Know Your Materials

you are lucky if the crew you hired is very experienced and detail oriented. but experienced or not, it wouldn’t hurt to know what kind of materials you should be using for your house. the crew we hired were not as experienced as those who have worked with designers, so we had to do our own research.

aside from colors, decide on what paint finish you’d like your interior walls to have. there are a lot of paint features to choose from, and you can start by deciding among matte, semi-gloss and gloss. cement, wood and metal require different types of paint. the boysen website is a good repository for this kind of information.

i love having matte finish walls for my office, but since common matte finish is reportedly prone to attract dirt, i shelled out extra cash and went for boysen’s virtuoso paints. it has the elegant matte finish that i wanted and remarkably very easy to clean.

4. Canvass, Canvass, Canvass

while it’s very convenient to just buy everything from the depot, it’s still wise to canvass for fixtures and other materials outside. try asking your local hardware store for primer paints, gypsum and hardiflex boards, nails and screws, putty, etc.. basic construction items are best purchased from them because they’re way cheaper. for fixtures, you may find designs that you like from unlikely sources. a designer friend of mine suggested bangkal, kamuning, soler and even divisoria. an expensive price tag does not necessarily make things worth your money; it’s when you love how the item beautifies your home even if it’s from a swap meat.

5. Always Make Sure Everything Works

before you close up a piping line, an electrical line or even calling it a wrap, make sure everything works as expected. you should make sure of that yourself. our plumber once assured us that his pipe works are a-ok to go, so the mason sealed the walls and set the tiles. when i tried to see if the hot water line is working, i was shocked to learn that there is no water coming out of the faucet. it turns out that the plumber has carelessly blocked the pipe with pipe cement when he was gluing them together. we had to remove a tile from where the suspected clog is.

i am not an architect or an interior designer, but i hope you’d find these tips useful :)

here’s what you need:
- milk (fatty milk creates more foam. cow head’s so far my creamy choice)
- freshly ground coffee beans
- coffee machine (cheap one will do, because i’m cheap)
- milk foamer/whisker/whatever you call it

1) brew coffee. a spoonful of ground coffee for every half cup of water.
2) heat milk in a microwave. don’t forget to put cover if you don’t want to end up cleaning the mess later.
3) use the electric whisker on your milk until you are satisfied with the foam.
4) pour brewed coffee into mugs, then add your foamy milk.
5) dust cinnamon over your beverage, if you like. add sugar as desired.

voila! el cheapo cappuccino.

the family room we got was good for 6 people, and it’s HUGE. it’s got a small kitchen counter, a posh bathroom, soft beds with comfy fluffy pillows, a spacious veranda, cable and an ipod dock. our package comes with complimentary breakfast for four and land/boat transfer to and from caticlan. for a total of 15,000 pesos ($375), it’s not bad for a 3day-2nights for four in a station 1 resort, eh? and that’s during super peak season!

you have to book early if you want to try this resort, tho. it’s got 11 rooms only and i bet they fill up fast.

DETAILS

Beachcomber Resort http://www.beachcomberboracay.com/

paypal does not support local dollar accounts tho, but it’s good enough, yes? :) here’s paypal’s official list of bank codes, you’ll need it each time you add a bank account to your paypal:

ALLIED BANKING CORP – 010320013
AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND – 010700015
ASIA UNITED BANK – 011020011
BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS – 010030015
BANGKOK BANK – 010670019
BANK OF AMERICA – 010120019
BANK OF CHINA – 011140014
BANK OF TOKYO – 010460012
BANCO DE ORO (& EPCIB) – 010530667
BANK OF COMMERCE – 010440016
BANK OF THE PHIL ISLANDS – 010040018
CHINA BANKING CORP – 010100013
CHINA TRUST COMML BANK – 010690015
CITIBANK N.A. – 010070017
DEVT BANK OF THE PHILS – 010590018
DEUTSCHE BANK – 010650013
EAST WEST BANK – 010620014
EXPORT & INDUSTRY BANK – 010860010
FUJI BANK – 010640010
HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANK – 010060014
INTL COMML BANK OF CHINA – 010560019
INTL EXCHANGE BANK – 010680012
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK – 010720011
KOREA EXCHANGE BANK - 010710018
INTL NEDERLAND BANK – 010660016
LANDBANK OF THE PHILS – 010350025
MAYBANK OF THE PHILS – 010220016
METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST CO – 010269996
PHIL BANK OF COMMUNICATION – 010110016
PHIL TRUST COMPANY – 010090039
PHIL NATIONAL BANK – 010080010
PRUDENTIAL BANK – 010150018
PHIL VETERANS BANK – 010330016
RIZAL COMML BANKING CORP – 010280014
SECURITY BANK & TRUST CO – 010140015
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK – 010050011
UNITED COCONUT PLANTERS BANK – 010299995
UNION BANK OF THE PHILS – 010419995
UNITED OVERSEAS BANK – 010270189

anyway, i expressed my anxiety when we were on our way home and he said, “don’t you think you’re starting to feel left out because everyone’s getting married and having kids?” i never really thought of it that way, i said. i don’t have to do what everybody’s been doing just to fit in, but it sucks losing friends to new priorities and responsibilities you can’t relate to.

well at least i can pacify their babies by making them think i’m some puffy pooh bear. what a life.

anyway, i’m glad a friend of ours came up with the out-of-town idea. at first, batangas is not my idea of a perfect getaway, really. all i can think of at that time were the overcrowded resorts of matabungkay infested with subic beach jologs who bring their own karaoke machine.

la luz, on the other hand, is a complete opposite. even though we had a slightly bumpy ride going there, it was worth the minor hassle. the resort is located in laiya; clean, peaceful and far from the hustle and bustle. i suggest you bring along an extra sarong or shawl so you can enjoy the very cool breeze, and chismis under the stars hehe :)

the buffet food was not even 3star-spectacular, but it was home-style tasty (and sinfully oily) we were full to brim most of the time lol. the resort is also a nice place to wear your cute bikinis, so far there weren’t any rude oglers. (in my case, since my companions are slim, i don’t have the balls to flaunt my flabs. i still got sunburned, tho.)

i think this will be my most memorable year-ender yet. nothing beats a quiet resort, a good bottle of wine and great company :)

Other Details:
La Luz Resort
http://www.laluzresort.com/
More photos of my travels here!