Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife

It's been so long the last time I wrote something for my online journal. I've just been to bored or busy to write. I really miss blogging... so much!
Anyway, one Sunday, we (my bro, sis, hubby and I) went to Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife. It is located somewhere at the end of Quezon Avenue all the way to the end of North Avenue. Entrance fee is 15pesos per person *if I remember it correctly*. One part of it has a mini-zoo where there are , osome wild animals and the other part, I mean the big part is the park. Years back when I was doing some research about Metro Manila's zoo I came across with this place, but haven't got the chance to check it out, just until a Sunday last June.
The park could've been a hit only if the government will increase it's fund and give more time on making the place looks better. This might be a great place for kids to visit and for family to spend their weekend with. The zoo is kinda untidy, the part where animals kept are also stinky, there are few name plates for each kind and some of it are wrong. the Zoo is more of an aviary since most of their animals are birds. the zoo have musang, turtles, rabbits, a lot of monkeys, hawks, eagles, crocs, etc. there's also an aquarium part where there are few fishes donated by people.
There's a portion of the park where many people planted new trees, this is a good sign knowing people actually care about the park. There are also many signs where you'll be reminded to keep the place clean and green, throw trash on it's proper place. There is also a Lagoon, the water may not be clean and blue but there are no trash, it's really nice to hung out and just sit back at this side of the park especially when you are already tired from walking. There's also a Fishing area, with a nice Pavilion. Pavilion's are for rent for parties and other events, this is according to the guards.
We spend almost our entire afternoon walking at the park. It's nice to know that there is still a place where you can just walk around the park and smell the fresh air from many trees. I just hope the park will always have it's place on our city, especially at the times like this where everything is almost already computerized and pollution is part of our daily lives.
Just a few tips if you planned on visiting the place:
bring a cap or a hat as the sun is hot and humid during afternoons.
apply off lotion, the zoo-part have lots of insects and mosquitoes.
bring camera as there are nice place to just point and shoot.

click here for more pics

Supplier's Rating W/ Pix

It's my time to write down my supplier's rating... and I really do hope this will help soon to be brides like the other ratings from previous brides help me! Thanks sympre to w@w dahil everyday and for the entire preps kasama ko sila! bawat advice at bawat opinion!

My wedding will not be possible without the help of my family, siblings, relatives and friends. We didn't hire an OTD, My Mom and Dad, friends and siblings and some insan volunteered to help, I know I put a lot of stress into them and I really appreciate all the effort they gave. kaya to insan Jackie, Jay, Hen, to my brother Garry, Oli, sis Carol and my friends, Giselle, Joyce, Blue, Jays, sobrang Thank you! Sympre to my insan Karen who fill in as Veil Sponsor, love you Kar! To my parents I love you and Thank You! Words are not enough to describe how happy I am, that I got you guys!


Church: Santisimo Rosario Church - UST compound
--SUPER HAPPY and SATISFIED
We waited 9 months to booked this church... We started our preps by mid January 2007 and it was only last October 2007 that we get to book this church. They don't allow early bookings according to people in charge. We waited, because I don't want to get married to other church. I will be happy to walk on this church aisle. The Seminar is boring but informative, the connonical interview with the priest was light and funny. Manny, church coordinator, was hard to reach but was nice enough to accommodate my questions. He guided the whole mass. No big problems we had encounter. the a/c can accommodate the whole church.

Reception: Palacio de Maynila - Roxas Blvd.
-- SUPER HAPPY and Very Satisfied
If i'll do everything over again, future. The place is really really nice. When we book Palacio they still don't have drapes which made me think to hire stylist but when we got back for the final payments we were shocked to see the new Palacio the place is really nice really nice. The a/c was on it's highest and everyone was raving about it. The place is simply wonderful. Joy, our AE, was I will still book this venue for my wedding, in fact, i'm thinking to get them again if there's another big event in the so helpful, from the time we book the place to our wedding day itself! Parking is not also a problem to my guest, there are enough space to accommodate all of them!

Caterer: Robert Camba Catering
--- Set-up --- Super Happy and Very Satisfied
--- AE Connie and Neneng --- Happy and Satisfied
--- Food --- The best
--- Head Waiter --- Very Disappointed
--- Waiters --- Very Sad and Very very Disappointed
The Food is great, nothing as fancy as Hizon may offer, like a dessert buffet, but their food are much much delicious than the other caterer we have tried. Their AE's are wonderful, they accommodate us to their very best. Robert Camba, himself is very nice. The set-up was wonderful. Except, they did not follow the set-up arrangement they gave me earlier that causes all Emer's immediate family to be seated at the far left of the venue, far from the couple's table. The head waiter didn't set-up the additional tables we request and the fact that he told my brother "bakit nagbayad ba kayo?" is so damn bastos! The waiters ask tips from my guest, my auntie saw a waiter hiding meat portions of lechon. We saw them took the fresh fruit grapes of our cake. My brother caught a waiter trying to hide a bottle of wine, he scolded him and he had no choice but to give it back to my brother. When we are already paying up the bill, I was so damn angry when the head waiter was asking me to pay for the additional table they did not even set-up in the first place, That I needed to talk to them pa just to set-up the table and they are asking pa for an additional 1500 daw for the set-up fee! SOBRANG badtrip the fact that a good caterer will have a bad feedback just because of his damn and not good waiters.
Sayang sobrang sayang talaga!

Gown Designer: Jorge Palmos - shop located at Makati
--- SUPER HAPPY and Satisfied
Jorge and Olie Palmos are really really nice couple, from the time we were just inquiring to time we got the gown they never fail to satisfy me. I never felt any stress or worries for the whole time. Every gown fitting, I love my gown more and more. minor prob lang cause they weren't able to fix the parang tupi on the body of the gown, which they promise to fix, pero ok lang not picky naman ako basta the gown fits well pwde na! minor lang naman so A big NO MAJOR problem encounter.

Photographer: Kix Tavora
--- so far --- SUPER HAPPY and Very Very Satisfied
--- AVP of our pre-nup pics: I love It!
--- Pre-nup Pics: so HAPPY, we love love love the work
I didn't meet a lot of photographer, in fact, I only met up Kix, we love his work and decided to placed down payment on the spot. The pre-nup pictorials are lovely, the creative shots are unique. Kix is so easy to work with, after few shots of being uneasy, we felt at ease. He is a funny but man of few words, sobrang ok at sobrang galing. On the wedding day, hindi siya napapagod mag take pictures of us, he is everywhere trying to capture moments! I am so so so glad I read Kix at w@w groups. I'll just wait up for the final output, for the final ratings. Highly recommended! thumbs up!

Videographer: Playback Videos
--- so far --- SUPER HAPPY and Very Very Satisfied
--- Onsite: The best! so nakaka-cry (for me ha!)
We book them because aside from being affordable, we find their works good good. They are the first supplier we had placed DPs with. We booked them about a year ahead of our wedding, and as time goes by, as I always checked up their site, they are becoming better. I request the song Secret Garden by Bruce Springsteen, I wanted the words to be changed to our vows. I am very confident that Bim can do it without any problems, but I was happy to watch the video that the words are clear enough like it was recorded at the recording studio. All my friends and relatives are raving about it(until now po!) I love love my onsite. It was the only reason that made my tears rolling because of joy. I love it and no questions ask! Highly recommended! Big Big Big Applause!
CHECK OUT OUR ONSITE AT Playback Videos look for Emer and Mel


Hair and Make Up Artist: Val Villarin
--- SUPER HAPPY and Very Very Satisfied
I undergo a lot of trials until I find Val, just as I was already loosing hope. I have tried several HMUA, some are ok some are not ok. It was only 3rd week of January when I finally booked Val on the spot. No one did a better job on my super liit na eyes except Val! I was so happy, he made me a very beautiful (walang kokontra please! :P) bride on my day! he was beside me all the time, retouch on every chance he had and take note though I was teary eyed the eyelashes was still in tact. He left just as soon as the reception starts rolling! He left making sure that the final retouch will stay until the end of the reception. He is really good with his craft. Thumbs up!

Florist: Angels of Hearts
--- Ok lang! medyo disappointed
The mock up flower was not followed. My motif was pink and violet. The flowers were ok but the problem is that the color was not followed. Instead of Pink and Violet the color was Pink and Green, far from my supposed to be motif. My friends are all praises on how the flower was neatly arranged but most of them are wondering why it is not within my motif. Badtrip diba? pero ok lang, hinayaan ko na lang cause I don't really wanna stress myself on that day!

Wedding Cake and Ninong Ninang's Cake: Gervy's Amazing Cake
--- Super Happy and Satisfied
I love how it taste and I love how it looks. It's an all edible 3 layer cake! I love love it! After trying out different cake makers we finally found Gervy! honestly, Joy San Gabriel's cake taste better but Joy's cake are much simpler, mas maganda un kay Gervy. I also love Joy and how she handle clients maybe i'll book her next time I get a chance or if I will sponsor another big party.
Gervy's cake are also affordable. Thumbs up and Apple Walnut Cake and Chocolate Cake!

Ento Gowns: Farley
--- Happy and Satisfied
Farley is good, the problem is lagi siyang late. as in an hour or more evry time he does home service, like measurement taking, second and final fitting. Aside from that no other problem encounter.

Barong: Divi
Tailor: Mang Bert
--- Ok naman!
Mang Bert is always late parang si Farley. But he really sews neatly. hindi na kelangan ng 2nd fitting.

Hotel Preps: Manila Pavilion
--- Ok lang
We booked one Ambassador Suite and one deluxe room. Mainit un Suite, we requested for a fan but they couldn't provide any. Super stressful because for the whole preps mainit talaga. we ask for room transfer and they only granted it nung Sunday ng gabi na! no use! kaya ang suggest ko if you can request for suite located at 16th floor much better. In return for the stress they cause they allow us to stay until 4 the following day!

Lights and Sound Supplier: Rejektcrew
--- SUPER HAPPY and Very Very Satisfied
Elmer made my venue so so beautiful. the Venue was wonderful, the set-up was great and plus Elmer's mood light equals lovely! the sounds are very clear, the lights are perfect! besides Elmer's very nice set-up he is also very polite and He is the only supplier who continuously gives me reminder and he reports his plans and set-up. Highly recommended!

Emcee: Mallory Cosio - Through Robert Camba
--- two words--- the best!
She made the party lively and fun!

Lechon: From Bacolod
--- Ok naman
The only problem is since it was ship here in Manila medyo makunat na un balat, but it taste really good.

I got a lot of my supplier's through weddings at work and I owe them a lot. I hope in return I could help them with my very own supplier's rating.


For More Pix you can check out EmerNMel's Multiply

A Different Experience in Anawangin Cove

Who said we are a couple of lakwatsera and lakwatsero? That person was definitely right! after our 3 outings we just didn't have enough. Well... This time we did a little different, opppsss... let me correct that, we try something that is TOTALLY NEW (or at least to me!), something I've been wanting to try yet so afraid that I just can't even last a day. The solids, Jays and Joyce, Kiam and Giselle, Emer and I decided to go camping this time and our destination, Anawangin Cove. It is located off shore of Pundaquit, Zambales with a 30 min boat ride. We travel 4hrs (with an hour breakfast stop) coming from Quezon City. Just a week after Holy week, the gang decided to push through our long planned out of town. Been reading a lot about the said place and I was really really excited. Away from hustle bustle city, the place was so nature, no resorts, no advance technologies, no cp signals and no electricity.
We left our place around 230am, no traffics still. Jays volunteered to drive. We had a quick, excuse me, an hour breakfast at Total Gas Station at NLEX. We reach Pundaquit around 7am, Jays, transact with the boatman and ended up paying 700 pesos for each boat, 1 boat for the 5 of us and another for our things and Kiam. We reach Anawangin Cove 30mins after we leave Pundaquit. When we got there we were amazed, green grass on mountains, pine trees on sands, plus the clear waters of the sea.
Trivia: according to caretaker Marlon, Anawangin Cove is a reclaimed area, the sands came from Mt. Pinatubo's lahar yet still the place is awesome.
There are 2 areas, the P150 side and the 50pesos side. There are already few tents set up at the 50 area, and knowing that it might soon be crowded we decided to stay at the other side, oh by the way, the 150 area got more trees to cover up the heat of the sun. We took few pictures as the guys set up the 3 tents. Get ready of our early lunch, we prepare the food. We had Inihaw na tilapia wrap in foil, lotsa LOTSA kamatis, skinless Longanisa and Inihaw na talong for lunch! all of us got only one thing to say "SOLVE!" we had a very satisfying lunch, and as like I always said there's no way you can beat having lunch/dinner with a group of people dear to you.
We had a power nap after, I woke up around 1pm, the girls got up after few mins. The boys were still sleeping soundly. Kiam and Jays are sleeping on their respective tents while Emer slept at the hammock we brought. While the guys was sleeping there is an instant Anawangin tourist spot (opppsss... kami kami lang ang nakakaalam nun pasensya na!)
The 3 of us decided to take pictures and thanks to Joyce and my tripods we were able to get good pictures with all of us in it. We were like models having a pictorials from different angles, Anwangin is so photogenic.
It was already almost 4pm when we decided to call the boys for a nice swim. While we swim Emer took some pictures, we really had loads of fun, playing and laughing. But because we left all our things inside the tent we just can't leave em too long, so we got up and get ourselves ready for a bath. Girls first while the boys get the ihawan ready. It was the hardest bath I ever had. Kelangan namin mag igib sa poso then bring the water to the self made (by the caretakers) shower room, as in I never imagine myself taking a bath in that kind of place (sorry, medyo maarte), fortunately, there are 2 guys who help us "igib sa poso" and bring the pail near the shower room (? can i call this shower room??? hehe), so we finish taking a bath at the longest time, ang hirap kasi as in super hirap and what's scary is parang people outside can easily see you, so you have to take a bath with your swim suits on. After taking a bath, we went back to our site and took over the ihaw session so the boys can take a bath, it's already starting to get dark when the boys got back and it was only past 6pm. Before 7pm came, the place was already pitch black, the only source of light we got was our flashlights and gasera.
Our dinner was liempo, inihaw na talong (ulit! pero still yummy), syempre we shouted "solved" again after the meal. Getting ready for our inuman session, the guys lit the bonfire, before the session began, we took few pictures (pic addicts kami e, sensya na po) and Emer and Jays dance the hula hula tribe dance (hehe, syempre kami-kami lang nanaman ang nakakaalam nun!) Our liquor for the night is a bottle of Jose Cuervo Tequila and lots bottles of San Mig Light, panghimagas daw according to Kiam (hehe), while drinking we are all playing ice breaker, sharing sentiments, opinions, experience, problems and memories this were the main topics, every answer we shared makes us know more about each other.
Our friendship started with the AIR group, the friendship grows at the end of August 07, the friendship deepened last Nov 2 at our Bataan trip, as time pass by we know that we have each other no matter what happens and this time as we have a camp at Anawangin, we knew we are now inseparable. Our friendship has gone deep, a beautiful friendship that has bloomed, we treat each other like brothers and sisters, I never knew I will have friends from different race (walang masamang ibig sabihin to a) since I grow up w/ Chinese crowed, from nursery to college. I never knew I will feel the sense of belonging to a group of whom I only met a little over 2 years ago (Kiam is not included a coz I met him more than 5 years ago). That night as I got drunk and as we finish our last shot we knew that our friendship will have a long long way to go more laughters, more outings, more gimik and more tambay, there maybe more problems, more tears and more trials but as we have each other we knew everything will be ok.
I woke up 6am the following day, feeling all the body pains, hindi talaga sanay mag tent but heck! so what? anyway, Giselle was not feeling ok, Joyce and I are having a headache, bad dose of hang over, I got back to sleep and around 8am, I woke up feeling great, I ask Emer to help me prepare our brunch while we let the guys sleep further. Everyone was up around 930am, we finish our brunch and pack our things coz the boatman will pick us up by 11am. We left Anawangin almost 12nn, sensya na mabagal magimpake, thanks to Manong bangkero he patiently wait for us (actually, wala siyang choice hehe). got back in Pundaquit and paid the 40pesos parking fee and the 1400 rental for 2 boats. We had our lunch at Caltex NLEX. Reach our place around 530pm. We had more kwentuhan before Jays and Joyce finally bid goodbye.
This trip was definitely worth remembering. Aside from this is my first time to camp, this is also my first time to go to a place where there is no electricity and no cp signals (on any network ha!), it is also my first time to pump water out of "poso", my first time to actually stay overnight at a cove and my first time to get drunk. Aside from all those, this trip is so much fun because of the people we are with, every single person we are spending our time with are valuable to us, every person we came to love and every friend we came to treasure. The whole trip was a memorable trip. An experience to remember and friends to cherish. To sum up, all I can say is "Thumbs UP!"

Laiya, Second Time Around

My brother, Emer and I have been to Laiya before but we didn't actually stayed there since we don't have a prior reservation and all decent hotels are already fully booked.
So when we're told that we will be spending our holyweek at Laiya, the 3 of us got so excited. We called up almost all resorts that we have checked before sadly all of them are already fully book. We're so late in booking it was already mid of February. and We ended up booking Triple G resort. At first, I was really hesitant because as I said nga "bakit hindi ko siya napansin nun unang time namin pumunta ng Laiya?" meaning I was in doubt that the resort might turned out to be a disaster. There are a lot of bad bad resorts in Laiya. But because we don't have a choice all of us just hope for the best, oh by the way, we checked out their website and pictures are really really deceiving.
Come Holy Thursday, we are all so excited. Woke up 3am and get ourselves ready, we went to pick up Mom and dad, gar, car and oli. Around 430pm we leave Pureza. We stop by Petron gas station for a quick snack and stretching, the roads are already packed with cars, slow moving as early as 5pm. We reach Laiya around 10am, waited up for the rest of the gang who arrive later around 12noon. We were a group of 30 btw. The owner ask us to wait for our cottage as they prepare and tidy the place. We were shock to see the cottage so small. they told us that it can accommodate 15pax but when we reach the place they said that lying capacity is 12 and max capacity is 15pax. it got 3 double bed and an extra double size matress, HOW THE HELL DO THEY THINK WE CAN ALL FIT IN? we booked 2 cottage, they are fully book so there is no way we can ask for another room, AGAIN, we don't have a choice. For many year our family goes to vacation, this is by far the worst resort we have ever been to worst than you may think. The crowed is so scary, that when you walk at the shore people will look at you like they have never seen Chinese and also when you wear you swim suit it seems like they haven't seen someone wearing one ever. Dang! The whole beach front is stinky because of the liquor smells.
The cottage on the other hand doesn't have a lock, the windows are broken, a/c is not cold enough to make the room at least tolerable, kelangan may maiwan to look after the place, we cannot even eat together, swim together or just walk at the beach together. They said they have restaurant so we didn't bought food for lunch and dinner but when we reach the place, they said they don't have time to cook, we just go to the nearby resort and have our meals there. grabe diba?
The place is really terrible, so so terrible. I really cannot recommend the place, nakakahiya pag irerecommend ko kasi baka mapahiya lang ako.
One good thing is wherever we go, how bad the accommodation we had, all of us enjoy each others company. That's one thing I really love love about my family and relatives, we enjoy, we have fun!
We go to the Laiya Rest house and Kabayan beach front to walk. We stayed "tambay" at the sand bar right across. We had so much fun playing with the sands and so much fun doing nothing but laughing and telling stories, taking pictures like there's no end. I really love my family.
And so, 3 days ended, we had fun, regardless how bad our experience were with the accommodation, we all had fun and that's the bottom line. We enjoy!

Honeymoon at Puerto Princesa Part 2

We woke up early in preparation for our honday bay adventure. I bought my Coppertone, Snorkeling Gears and Aqua shoes. Woke up around 530am and get ourselves ready. We had breakfast at the hotels resto. Exactly 7am, our tour guide Lotlot arrived, everyone is set to go. 45mins of land trip until we reach the port. During our trip Lot gave us few trivia, Honday Bay was originally called as Hunda Bay, Hunda is a spanish word that means deep sea. Since Americans who colonize our country were having a hard time pronouncing the word they change it to Honda. We road our boat and the island hopping begins. We pass by LuLi Island, it is now rented by Koreans, It is called by that name because it is know for "lulubog-lilitaw", during low tide you can see the whole island while during high tides the island was covered with waters. Our first stop was the Starfish Island, and because it is not yet season for mating we didn't see any single starfish, according to our tour guide we can also go snorkeling and fish feeding, but since we find the water full of seaweeds we decided to just pass it up, we stayed at the island for around an hour. Emer and I just spend time taking a lot of pictures.
Our next stop was the Snake Island, or what locals popularly called biglang lalim, only few meters from the shore you'll see the deep deep dark side of the bay. a little safe there because they put some boundaries, current is gentle. This island is know for fish feeding, and since I bought a small loaf of tasty for the agenda we hurried and snorkel. There are a lot of fish but only few kinds, no corals and the sands is not as fine. We enjoy fish feeding though. It was already lunchtime when we finish snorkeling, we now have to feed ourselves (hehe), the food was not again something special but sometimes having lunch with a group of nice companies makes the lunch fun. After a short rest, we proceed to our last stop.
Pandan Island, our boatman ask a local to guide us on snorkeling so he can show us different species of fish and marine life. We saw popper fish, an octopus egg and a lot of different species of fish, it is also my first time to touch a soft coral. The island was a victim of dynamite fishing before it became a marine sanctuary, that's why they are having a hard time recovering the beauty of the place. There are some dead corals. There are a lot of colorful fishes, nice coral formation, sadly this dynamite fishing thing have to happen. Well... hopefully, years from now they can be able to maintain the marine. In return for the nice guide, we give him a tip.
Our ride back to the port was so scary, the waves are again humongous, worst than the waves at the south china sea. by the way, honda bay is located at the sulu sea. our ride back was a little bit long since we have to go a little bit slow to prevent the boat from the big waves.
We got back to the hotel early, it was only 330pm. Our dinner at the Badjao Seafront was scheduled at 6pm so Emer and I decided to roam around the city AGAIN! 6pm, we contracted a tricycle driver to bring us to the place and wait for us to finish our dinner and paid 150. The place was exceptionally awesome, it is like a balsa floating at the sea, mangroves around the place, very very nice ambiance. The food was a little bit expensive compared to the resto we have tried at PP, again we ordered 2 dishes that was good for 3-4 pax, PP's resto serving are always good for 3-4pax. We ordered grilled blue marlin at 195, buttered garlic shrimp at 175, a soup that was called something like mariscus for 75, a rice platter (ang takaw) and two drinks, they have 10% sc. the food is great, the ambiance is superb, the service is neat! a nice nice nice place to dine in. definitely worth the visit.
The following day will be our last whole day, so plan to do nothing but relaxing and shopping for pasalubongs. We woke up 7am, have our breakfast and went back to the room chilling, around 1030am we decided to have coffee at Itoy's, I read again at GT forum that this is a place worth visiting, their coffees are great, I ordered Guiles Frap for 110 and Emer ordered Mocha Frap at 95, and because my baby was tempted to order their bulalo rice he ordered a serving for only 90 pesos!!! Ting!!!! ang mura diba? and take not their bulalo is good for 2 pax, big big big serving. Already full we decided that that will b our lunch, too bad our schedule of having lunch at Jo's Inato was crossed out of the list (we wanted to compare sana with the Jo's Inato of Cebu e). As we got back to the hotel we met Mr. Ceasar and Mrs. Estela, they invited us for a quick city tour, they hire a van that will bring us to a hot spring and a quick tour around the city. 1pm we left the hotel, after a short drive we arrived at kim's hot spring, for 250 each pool (small pool, not the hot spring like the one's in Laguna), we spend few minutes soaking the hot hot hot spring water. We left the place around 330pm. roam around the city, visit the biggest university and check out PP's baywalk. After that we ask them to drop us off at the palengke since I still have to buy a lot of pasalubongs. We bought Lamayo, dried tahong, Pearl accessories and some tshirts, walk back to our hotel after. It was already 6pm. Have a quick rest and off we went to Ka-Lui, according to our guide, the most popular resto at the city. The place got a nice concept, you have to leave your shoes, slippers or sandals before going to your table. you can also sit at the floor and eat like a japanese style. The ambiance is cozy. We ordered their most expensive dish, Lobster and another dish the waiter suggested sizzling seafood. Before serving the main dish they got a complimentary Clam soup that got a taste of a lot of luya (libre lang kasi, no right to reklamo), I didn't find their food great, akala namin mali lang ang order namin but then again lobster is their most expensive dish, dapat lang masarap siya hindi ba? the taste is not even so-so, walang lasa, not worth it. sizzling seafood is ok. I heard a couple of fil-chi across our table talking about how not edible the calamares are, matigas and walang lasa according to them. Well... Ka-Lui was owned by a retired tour guide. The place's ambiance may be so nice and cozy but I won't go back for another meal because it is not worth every single peso we spent. not a good restaurant, sorry kanya-kanya po ito ng opinion ha!
On our way back to hotel, Emer not satisfied with our meal bought a whole chicken at Pinoy Litson Manok, 210 pesos. Better than Baliwag but not as good as Andoks.
We slept a little bit late and watch tv all night. We woke up 6am and have our last breakfast at the hotel, last order of Lamayo. Get our things ready and pack up. 8am was our call time and 10am was our flight.
Our trip to Puerto Princesa was so tiring yet so fun. Never enjoyed as much. PP is definitely a place worth visiting. A very beautiful place I just can't imagine the beauty of Coron and El Nido as locals said they are much much better.
Being a beach and sea lover, I really enjoyed our trip. I really had fun, this is the first time Emer and I spent together for the longest time. Indeed, a honeymoon to remember.

More Pics: Around PP
and Puerto Princesa

Honeymoon at Puerto Princesa Part 1

We booked piso fare trip to Puerto Princesa way back last December, that's why we are so sure that this trip will be a part of our honeymoon. last March 4-8, 2008, we went to spend our 5d/4n trip to Puerto Princesa. We stayed at the best hotel (for me and for our tour guides ha!) in PP, Hotel Fleuris. It is located at the heart of the city, near Rizal Avenue. There are only 3 class AAA hotels in PP Legend hotel, Asturias Hotel and Hotel Fleuris. Legend Hotel is located at the city but it is somewhere at National Road which is a tricycle away from Rizal Ave. Asturias hotel on the other hand was located at the end of the city. Palengke is just a few mins walk from our place, famous resto is just around the corner, supermarkets and department store is just across the street, every place is accessible. The hotel itself is very very nice, they got a pool where you can relax after tiring day of adventures and tours, they have 3 resto where you can choose to dine if you're not up to going out. They have games where you can borrow such as scrabble, boggle, dominos and more. The staff are so friendly, service are very very nice. The room is lovely, spacious and relaxing. The breakfast consist of American and filipino, we always ordered their Lamayo, nicely cook and so delicious, a PP's pride.
We reach PP around 915, checked in at Hotel Fleuris, enough time to rest and have lunch. Our City tour will start at 1pm. After a short rest we ask the front desk on where do they suggest tourist to have lunch or dinner, they suggest Ka Lui, Kinabuch, Badjao Seafront and Balinsasayaw.
We choose Balinsasayaw for our first meal since it is the nearest suggested resto from our place. I had grilled Tuna and My hubby ordered Tanigue ala Pobre, both cost only 65 pesos each, cheap ayt? the serving is not impressive (maliit kasi, pero what could we expect super mura diba?) dibale the foods are good! we had Watermelon and Green Mango Shake for drinks that cost only 35 per glass. Emer also ordered Pineapple rice, 25/cup, which is really really to die for. The service is quite bad, too slow and waiters aren't friendly enough to heed customers need.
Our tours are arranged by Sanctuary tours c/o our hotel, we got the whole package na kasi. The agency got really nice, very informative and friendly guides, plus the van assign from us is really well maintained 1pm. Our tour guide Doc arrived at Hotel Fleuris at exactly 1pm, the tour begins, our first stop was butterfly garden, the place is ok, i'm not really interested since I am afraid of butterflies though I find them lovely creatures. The place is small yet full of colorful butterflies. After few minutes, we went straight to iwahig penal colony, where prisoners are free to rome the premises, they got souvenir shop where they sell stuffs made by the prisoner themselves. Next is the Crocodile farm, at the lobby before going to the hatchlings and the adult crocs, there you can see the carcass of the biggest salt water croc captured alived. We also have photo ops with the crocs but everyone who wanted to have pics taken holding a croc are required to pay 30 pesos each. Next stop was Mitra's Ranch, it is the ancestral home of the Mitras, it is located at the top of a mountain, they open the vicinity for viewing, the wind is very cool up there, the view is very nice, from top you can see the view of Honda Bay. Our Last stop before our run tour was Baker's Hill, near Mitra's Ranch, there is a bakeshop who's hopia and breads are just so delicious. too bad we can only bought few of them because we are just on our first day, no pasalubong guys, sorry baka masira.
We pass by the Cathedral and the plaza (forgot the exact name). The tour ended around 5pm. Emer and I decided to buy chips at the nearest supermarket, on our way to the place we spotted Manong who sells fried Isaw, being an isaw addict, we decided to have few sticks. for 2.50 each we bought 10pesos. It is the best isaw we have ever tasted so.... Emer and I decided to buy 40 pesos to go, ANG TAKAW!
We decided to try out Kinabuch for dinner, we ordered halabos na hipon for 180 and sizzling tuna for 150. We ordered 2 dish yet it can serve up to 3-4 pax, grabe we're so full. Their Halabos na Hipon is the best among all the resto we have tried in PP. Service is Ok, Food is GREAT!!!!
We slept early in preparation for our Underground tour the following day.
We woke up 530am, get ourselves ready for our breakfast before our tour begins. The food is yummy though it is a complimentary bfast!
7am, tour guide Anne arrived at the hotel, everyone are all set to go. there's a 2 hr drive going to Sabang warf and another 30min boat ride to reach the Underground River. Along the way Anne, gave us few trivias about the place. The underground river is previously called St Paul's Subterranean River but was later on changed to Puerto Princesa Subterranean River. The road going to the warf was tiring, rough roads, zigzags and long ride, but everything was worth it. The boat ride was worst, the waves are humongous, scary yet an experience. The view, the limestones, the stalactites, the sea, the wind are spectacular, nice and unique.
The 30min tour at the underground river was awesome, I've never seen anything so beautiful and so well formed stalactites, this is indeed the pride of Puerto Princesa. The underground river is a cave of a big big Karst. We had lunch at sabang warf after our undergound river tour. The food prepared are so-so, but there's one unique dish we have tried and that was the coconut soup. After having lunch, we are all ready to go back to the hotel but before that we went to Vietnamn Ville for side trip. Bought few bread and head home.
We got back at the hotel around 4pm, walk around the city for clothes and shopping hunting (hehe). For our dinner we decided to eat at Bilao't-Palayok, (i read this one at the internet Girltalk forum, thanks for the tip girls). The ambiance is so nice, they have a hammock where a guest can sit and relax while waiting for their table. We ordered butter and garlic shrimp, 150, that is a lil bit overcooked. Steam crab, 150, that is so delicious, and strawberry soda and orange apple soda for our drinks. The service is nice, the ambiance is nice, and the food is good!
We had a room service massage after the whole day of adventure, paid 350/pax for a combination of Hawaiin and Shiatsu Massage. We slept soundly after that.

Part 2

More Pics at Puerto Princesa
and Around Puerto Princesa

Boracay Trip - Honeymoon Nga Ba?

Last Feb 27-March 1, we went to Boracay for our honeymoon part 1. Pero teka honeymoon nga ba siya, since meron pa kaming kasamang 5 friends, my brother, 1 baby and 1 yaya? well... We arrived Bora a day ahead of them, reason? wala to spend sana a whole day with my hubby (naks! hubby na). The problem is waaaa..... umulan the whole day pati whole night!!!! huhuhu
so... anong masasabi ko about Boracay? well... I expect a lot! I always thought Boracay was a paradise but I am wrong... or at least in my own Point of View (para sa akin lang po ito mga peeps!) I admit I love beaches and I have never seen as fine as powdery as cold as white as Boracay sand, No beach as wide as Boracay shoreline (during low tides). Maybe Boracay was a paradise, 5-10 years ago, but now it is so crowded. Parang tuloy pag Boracay=Gimmik! I am not gimmikera kaya I didn't enjoy the Disco Bar as much as my other friends did. You can make me go to a bar and sit back and drink and get drunk but for me to dance that's one thing I'm sure I'll not do hehe I can sing but I can't dance. Actually, there are still some nice things to do than gimik lang, there are a lot of affordable beach wears, you can sit back and enjoy the sea during sunsets, walk from stations to stations. If not for the people we are with, Boracay will not be the same. Siguro if there's only Emer and Me baka not that fun.
Here's my kuwento: First day we arrive Kalibo around 1115am, we look for the one who arranges our land transfer, ride a bus to Caticlan for around 2 hours, the road is already cemented but there are a lot of narrow zigzags which is so tiring and can cause headaches. When we reach jetty terminal, we paid for the 50pesos environmental fee and another 50 pesos for the terminal fee and rode an estimated time of 10mins boat ride to reach Boracay Port. We arrive Boracay around 2pm, check in at Boracay Peninsula and look for a resto for our lunch, we walk going to station 3 and decided to eat at Casa Pilar, this is a certain no-no for recommendation coming from me, we hate the food, we ordered a sinigang that taste just like a nilaga. We paid 420 pesos for the 2 of us and we are so not satisfied. So we look for a dessert for "pampalubag loob", we walk muna sa beach to at least enjoy the water and bought halo-halo (50pesos), before going back. After that, we stayed at the hotel the whole time super lakas ng ulan, it was already dinner time when the rain stops, so we decided to walk going to station 1 this time to look for a nice resto to dine. We found Gasthof, and for the same price we paid for our lunch, we love love the food. We ordered Inihaw na Pusit and Korean Liempo and it was so worth it. we had a good dinner that night but again the rain pours so badly that we have to run all the way to our room. tsk tsk... malas talaga our first day was so boring!
Day 2 was when the fun began, my brother and his friends arrived past 12nn, in time for lunch. We had lunch at d'Mall's Mang Inasal. Emer paid 223 for the two of us na! super mura diba? the food is sympre ok naman. After Lunch, we didn't waste anytime na, lakad lakad, chickahan and swimming. after the fun, we had snack's at St. Michael's Crepe, crepes cost around 130-200 and it can already serve 2 person (for snacks lang ha), they serve crepes nicely and most, their crepes are heavenly! After a long walk, the group decided to have dinner at Discovery Shores. We paid 671 per person for an eat all you can salad and pasta. Honestly speaking, for a seven star hotels you'll expect more, and their pasta taste just ordinary, I'd rather eat at aVeneto. Emer and I went to sleep around 12mn while the others went out for a drink!
third day was our last whole day so we decided to make most out of it. after breakfast, nagpa-henna kami and because most of us paid for 2 henna's umabot kami ng lunchtime. So before doing anything else again we had our lunch at Paraiso Grill... sobrang not recommended ito, they cheat on people kasi, our friends had a 150g tuna and they charge for 250g, instead of explaining in a nice way, super bastos at nagdadabog pa sila, super not friendly ang mga tao! thumbs down so after lunch the gang decided to try Jonah's Fruitshake, which a lot of friends and forumers testify that they have the best fruit shake in town AND GUESS WHAT??? they are indeed the best of the best! kaya nga sabi ko boracay = jonah's fruitshake ang maaalala ko later on. since our hotel is located just beside Regency, and since my brother and his friends said that Regency buffet is a must try we decided to have it for our last dinner together. for 550 pesos each, every dish is superb! After that, we bought pasalubongs and lakad lakad para d lumai ang tyan!
Last night nga e, so... everyone decided to enjoy the last moments together, tumambay muna kami sa napakawide na beachfront, had Artic Vodka, played dare or dare, When we had enough we decided to check out one of their bar. We settle for beachcomber bar, we ordered 2 pitcher of their cocktail drink. said that it is a mixture of rum, vodka, tequila, orange juice, and it doesn't even taste like it has these alcohol. Walang tama! pero pwde na rin and lasa! so, after hanging around, we decided to have a walk, then nakita namin un guilly's na super daming tao, and the crowd seems having fun, so the guys decided to have a drink again! pero Emer and I decided to just go home and have a rest. Along the way, grabe we saw people having sex by the beach, ala live show. and pangit tingnan. Sobrang commercialize. there are also a lot of prostitutes. parang ang dumi na tingnan. Then I realize, if not for my sister (who wanted to go to bora) hindi na rin ako babalik. I'd rather go back to bohol or cebu. So, we retire to bed around 3am.
Last day, or I mean, last morning for Emer and Me. We woke up 7am and had a quick breakfast, we rode a bananna boat ride for our last Bora Adventure. It was already 10am and we need to pack up, the rest went off for Parasailing, and we need to go home.
Sobrang hirap pala ng feeling na aalis ka na while others are still enjoying the day. ok lang sana kung sabay sabay kaming uuwi pero the time you have to say goodbye para sa mga naiwan grabe kakainggit! hehehe
We had our last lunch at Bacolod Chicken Inasal, it is a lot expensive than Mang Inasal but it also taste more delicious than the other. It was already 12nn and we have to get going... our flight was still 450pm and we are really wondering why they fetch us early, siguro dahil sinabay na nila kami with others who have an earlier flight, para makatipid? badtrip no? we could've stayed until 1pm sa bora kesa spend almost 3 hours waiting for our flight! bad bad!
Anyway, the whole trip was really fun. It was my brother's barkada ang kasama namin pero dahil super saya nila kasama at dahil close na rin, every day spend sa bora was great because of friends. Last year we went to bohol-cebu with Mike and Arnel na so we know ok sila. Cole and Jules are also super fun kasama, Ruth is also fun to be with. Syempre my brother na sobrang masaya rin kasama, kaya right after the trip lahat kami nagplaplano na for our next destination... san nga ba? dumaguete o road trip!

And so for the wrap up, honeymoon ba to or Bora trip with friends.....
See you soon Maginoo, Mapagbigay, Matipuno, Mapagisa? and Marahas family-- Masagana Couple signing out!

pics here