Social Icons

Friday, July 6, 2012

Island Cove, Cavite

TRAVEL DATE: July 6 - 7, 2012

After a hard day's work, everyone deserves some pampering and relaxation time. Thank God It's a Friday and thank God again because my colleague planned to have his post-birthday celebration during this day. Well his birth month was supposedly June but he opted to celebrate it in July.

6PM and we're off from work. Since our office was located in Ortigas, Pasig City, we rode a bus going to the Mall Of Asia and as expected, it took us around 1.5 hours to arrive, brought about by the ever epic traffic situation in Manila. The bus fare is around PHP 22.

 Flashes of Light

From Mall Of Asia, we again rode a van going to the Municipality of Kawit where our destination was situated. The fare was around PHP 50 and a ride that took about 1 hour via the newly opened Cavitex Expressway! Guess what? We still encountered the ever epic traffic situation! It must have been our lucky day!

TRAVEL TIP: Upon reaching the end of Cavitex, there's a nearby gasoline station and from there, ride again the local minibus, the Cavite way, and the fare is around PHP 10. 

At last, we arrived at the destination, Island Cove Resort!

Island Cove Hanging Bridge Entrance

Island Cove Resort is located beside Manila Bay and just around Cavitex Expressway. It's good to see that the place was full of lush trees and it surely was a breath of fresh air. 


My friend booked 2 rooms for the eight of us, so obviously we divided ourselves into 2 groups. The hotel room was nice and spacious but the air-conditioning unit was not that good.  

TRAVEL TIP: The room included a balcony outside for smoking and sound tripping but make sure to apply your anti-repellant lotion against mosquitoes!


You may check out the updated room rates of Island Cove Resort Hotel from here: http://www.islandcovephil.com/accommodations/.

We rented their videoke room and it was only around PHP 4,000 for a two-hour stay and good thing that it was consumable. Meaning that the 4,000 is worth of foods and drinks already! To satisfy your food cravings, check out the pics below:

 
Videoke and Chill-out Night

The next day, we had a buffet breakfast which was PHP 400 and we definitely enjoyed eating above all else. We stayed for quite some time and had about 3 - 4 rounds of food servings! The longganisa and omelet were good by the way.


Buffet Breakfast: Our Most Favorite Moment

Under the sun's heat, we enjoyed ourselves basking in their swimming pools. Do not forget to try their "death-defying" and "heart-pounding" water slides. Yes, it was crazy!!! If you opt for a smaller slide, they also have the inflatable one.

 
 
 
Fun under the sun!

Lunch by the sea was also great! Our friend treated us and we literally had a feast. There were some fresh seafoods and the Pinoy food Kare-Kare. The location of the cottage was situated on the water so you can really feel the ambiance while eating. Overlooking from the cottage also was the Mall of Asia!

 
 
 Kare-Kare Dish

 Foodies!

It was a day of enjoyment and fun. A day to satisfy our minds, bodies and of course our stomachs. If you consider looking for a nearby resort from Manila, make Island Cove Resort one of your options!


 

 Happy Birthday Sidney!

Leave a comment and I'll surely appreciate it!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Ilocos Province

TRAVEL DATES: June 22 - 25, 2012

We went off to Ilocos Province boarding the 10:30 PM Florida bus from Cubao, Quezon City. The trip was about 8 hours and it was hard to think a lot of activities to do for the 8-hour ride, so I opted to sleep for the whole bus travel. We had two stop-overs going to Ilocos for passenger's bio-break and stretching moments.

travel_vigan


6 AM, we arrived at Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

It was dubbed as the Philippine's most historic place because of its famous "PARIS-like" feel and several antique houses.

Since we arrived earlier than as planned, and our tour guide c/o Kuya Lee was a bit late too, we maximized our time to roam around Vigan's plaza while there were still few people.



vigan_01
 (Yes, we officially arrived at Ilocandia together with our tired and sleepy faces)


vigan_02
The view of Vigan's Plaza
vigan_03
Eating Ilocos' famous Sinanglao dish!
7AM, Kuya Lee arrived.

We then ate breakfast to fuel ourselves for the rest of the day. First stop, Calle Crisologo. It's a historic place in Vigan lined up with old houses, and it's like reminiscing the 1920's. Too bad we visited there while the sun was up because it should have been better to visit it by night time.

Our Calle Crisologo Moments!

vigan_04vigan_05
vigan_06vigan_07
vigan_08
...And Live While We're Young!...
It was expected to be a tough day of traveling and walking and traveling. Place after place, view after view. All of those were scenic! Some of the places visited were:

vigan_09
Baluarte Zoo by the Singson's
 vigan_11
batac_01batac_02
The Marcoses at the Palace and Sand Boarding at Ilocos Sand Dunes

marcos palacemarcos palace_02
More of the Marcoses.....

ilocos bell tower
A tourist told us that when go up the tower, we will see the view of South China Sea...

hidden garden ilocosilocos pottery
Hidden Garden and Pottery Making

On our way to Laoag, the northern province of Ilocos, we dropped by Batac and Paoay. Paoay has the famous church and it sure was magnificent. Who would expect someone to have series of jump shots at the heat of the day?!

paoay church ilocos
"Sa Paoay, Kumakaway!"

TRAVEL TIP: Never miss the opportunity tasting the local Ilocos Empanada! The cool thing was that they have their own festival and their "ambassadors" were "Empa" and "Nada"! Cool, right? :)

ilocos empanada

More views to satisfy your eyes!

bangui windmills ilocos

bangui windmills ilocos
Bangui Windmills

cape bojeador ilocos
Cape Bojeador
ilocos falls
patapat viaduct ilocos
Patapat Viaduct 
ilocos funnypagudpud skim board
  pagudpud
The art of taking pictures... naturally!

The most anticipated place on our trip was Pagudpud Beach. We arrived there though at 7PM  and too bad it was raining hard and the roads were a bit dark. Anyhow, as what they always say, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Arriving our hotel was the "light" we were looking for! Kapuluan Vista Resort Hotel was a perfect place to relax and unwind after a stressful day! The place was cozy, the air was fresh, and most of all, the food was delicious!

TRAVEL TIP: The road trip from Paoay to Pagudpud takes around 1.5 - 2 hours so be sure to go there before the sun sets because the road is kinda dark.

 Kapuluan Vista Moments
kapuluan vista pagudpud_01kapuluan vista pagudpud_02
kapuluan vista pagudpud_03
kapuluan vista pagudpud_06kapuluan vista pagudpud_07

kapuluan vista pagudpud_08
A View of the Kapuluan Vista Pool

A series of food pictures for your eyes only. Beware, the pictures below may result hungriness when viewed more than 10 seconds! :)
 

sinanglao ilocosilocos
Sinanglao and other local foods

alma's margarita ilocos
 Kapuluan's Alma's Margarita

ilocos food travel_01ilocos food travel_02
 Ilocos Kilawin and Dinakdakan

ilocos food travel_03
Another Ilocos' Best: Bagnet!

ilocos food travel_04
 Ilocos Longganisa

ilocos food travel_05
 ilocos food travel_06ilocos food travel_07
 Dinner by the beach!

Total Budget per person: PHP 6,500.00 all in and you may view our itinerary from here!


I wanna go back to Ilocos again and just drop by all the places we've been to. Hope to have another opportunity to experience warm hospitality the Ilocano way!

Leave a comment and I'll surely appreciate it!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Splash Island, Laguna

TRAVEL DATE: March 18, 2012

Next province down south of Metro Manila is Laguna. It's thickly populated now jampacked with heavy traffic and noisy jeepneys honking all the time. With all the busy life in the province of Laguna, good thing there's still a place to unwind and relax.

Splash Island is a perfect destination for you to go if you're looking for a not-so-far and not-so-expensive outing experience with friends and colleagues. Splash Island is located in the Municipality of Binan (not sure if it has been already declared as a city) , about 30 minutes drive from Metro Manila through bus. Well, the bus fare won't cost you that much though given that it's already air-conditioned.

Splash Island Laguna_01
Splash Island Map




We got a 50%-Off Deal from "Metrodeal" for the entrance fee, and it was a good deal by the way, that's why we didn't had any second thoughts to go. The regular entrance rates for adults cost PHP 500 and we got the promo for PHP 250 only. You can try all the slides as much as you desire.

Splash Island offers a lot of amenities including heart-pounding water slides and nice gigantic swimming pools and wave pool.

Splash Island Laguna_02

A View at the entrance gate of the resort for entrance tickets. Since it was summer, there were literally a "splash" of guests visiting the place! :D

Splash Island Laguna_03Splash Island Laguna_04

Spot the difference: Me vs. Totem Pole! :p Well, I only took very few pictures using my camera phone. Oops, why is my shirt having an optical illusion?
 

Popular Posts

Sample Text