Boracay Day 1 (February 2012)

When group-buying sites were offering great travel deals last year, we immediately bought this Cash Cash Pinoy Trip for 2 to Boracay deal, complete with round-trip airfare, airport – hotel transfers, hotel accommodation and full board meals for two. We got that deal for Php 14,999 .

It was our first time in Boracay so we didn’t want to hassle ourselves with the planning. It was intended to be an out-of-town trip of relaxation.

After paying for the voucher, we contacted the travel agency handling the promo, Simple Travel and Tours. We set the date, received our hotel confirmation and plane tickets and we were all set.

We didn’t know most people’s preferred airline going to Boracay but I know it’s definitely not Zest Air. Zest Air only offers Manila to Kalibo flights, which leaves you an hour and thirty minutes land travel to Caticlan pier.

The bus ride to Caticlan Pier was comfortable. But then again, it was a very long bus ride. Z_Z

From the pier, we boarded on a boat then rode a multi-cab, which took us to our hotel, Hey! Jude. But when we got there, they were still cleaning our room so we decided to have lunch at I <3 BBQ.

Even during my first visit to Boracay, this has been one of my favorite restaurants.

We both had very big and heavy lunch and technically, that was a very bad move considering you are on a vacation by the beach. But nonetheless, the food was delicious. I ordered a separate mashed potato but unlike the first mashed potato I tasted last December 2011, my second mashed potato was… fake. It was gooey, tasted like bubble gum. It was no mashed potato.

After a hearty lunch, we went back to the hotel to check in, freshen up and change into our beach wear.

Included in the Cash Cash Pinoy deal is one (1) standard room good for 2 pax courtesy of Hey! Jude (Station 2).

Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of the building’s façade but I am sure that the Deluxe rooms are better. The room is big enough for the two of us, but one thing that I find odd is that the bathroom (not shown) is… how should I say this… You have to take the stairs (well, 2 steps actually) to get inside the bathroom. It’s fairly clean, complete with shampoo, conditioner and bath soap. But it’s weird that it’s “higher” than the rest of the room.

And oh, the standard rooms and the hotel’s restaurant are at the 4th floor of the lobby.

After securing our valuables and changing into our swim wear, we immediately hit the beach.

The time was just perfect. We got to the beach just in time for the sunset. We took photos, hung out and people-watched. There are definitely more people in Boracay last February than the first time I went there last December.

The very fine sand, cool waters, the warm breeze – everything’s just perfect.

That night, we had our dinner at Bistro Valhalla (Station 2). It’s smack in the center of D’Mall Station 2.

You can check their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/valhallaboracay

And look! I found this blog entry about Valhalla: http://www.thepickiesteater.net/2010/10/boracay-chronicles-hallowed-halls-of.html

Our first free meal coupon for that night was spent on their delicious Chicken Kebab.

Look at how happy he was with the food. No sarcasm involved – he doesn’t know how to look happy. Kidding.

It was delicious. The chicken was cooked perfectly. It was tasty and juicy, and (for us) the portions are just right. It may look small but after our first stick, we’re full. The meal comes with a free glass of iced tea.

Before going back to the hotel, we decided to take a walk by the beach. Fortunately, the night gave us a cold breeze to enjoy. We walked far enough to see these beautifully made sand artworks. Did you know that most of these sand artworks were done by kids around 10-15 years old?

They’ll ask for some coins though if you want to take you picture taken near the artwork. But you know, whatever, they did a great job.

We were going back to the hotel when we encountered the same group of fire dancers we saw last December. It was Travel Buddy’s first time to see them. We were both entertained by the gracefulness of these she-males.

Bolinao, Pangasinan (May 2011)

We badly needed a vacation last year and because I went to Bolinao a few months before, I insisted we go here for our summer outing. With each paying Php 2,000 for accommodation, food and transpo expenses, we had one of the most awesome summer trips we’ve always wanted.

We rode a northbound bus to Pangasinan and I slept throughout the trip so I don’t know where exactly we got off. But here’s what I’m sure of: we went to Kevin’s house where we had breakfast while waiting for our hired van to take us to Bolinao. Our group stopped by the market to buy water and food to cook and grill in the resort. I was still dizzy from the lack of sleep so I stayed in the van while they shop. Hehe.

We originally planned to stay in Bing’s resort but we changed our mind because:

1. The room was still unavailable
2. The room was not beach front, you have to cross the road to reach the beach
3. My contact person was not available when we got there
4. Beach was small and kind of dirty
5. Grilling station was a bit dirty
6. There is only one available hut in the area
7. There is also a big group having their team building / outing and we’ll be overpowered and annoyed if we stayed there
8. We felt it was not our beach.

So we apologized for the inconvenience and left, and looked for another resort. We went back to the start of the resort-filled beach front stretch and stopped by SCL Garden Paradise Resort. We were so happy with the place (you can check out the video below for proof)! They gave us a room big enough for 7 people. We unpacked the shopping bags and started cooking lunch.

We had salted eggs and tomatoes, grilled pork chops, hot dogs etc. Just thinking about what we ate that day makes me hungry.

 After lunch, some of us decided to take dip, others played frisbee, some volleyball.

That afternoon, our frisbee friends taught us how to play the game. I initially thought that frisbee is just a catching game. I thought you just have to catch the disk. But you actually have to RUN and pass the disk to your side/base to get a point. I was not ready for this. It was a rough fun game though.

After a tiring game, we hung out and talked and took photos!

We just had to do a mini-photoshoot!

I forgot what we had for dinner but I was really glad we stayed in SCL because the staff were so nice and friendly, they let us use the cooking utensils they have there! I guess it’s open for all the guests because when we left, another batch of visitors went to the dirty kitchen to prepare their dinner. I love it!

They have a videoke machine too but a group of teenagers was using it so I can’t say if the songs were updated or not.

Nope, we didn’t go night-swimming because it was too dark and dangerous, but you can opt to sit on the sand, listen to the waves and watch out for falling stars with your cold beer!

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Day 2 is a going around Bolinao day.

We said goodbye to SCL Garden Resort

We’ll definitely go back there.

I want to stop by the gorgeous rock formations but the sun was still high and too early to take pictures, and well, we didn’t think we’d have enough time . Instead, we passed by the Enchanted Cave:

From what I remember, there is a different entrance fee for those who want to take a bath inside the cave. We didn’t plan on swimming so just paid for the cheaper fee. The water is really cold down there so if you have a lot of time to spare, I suggest you have your lunch there and experience the icy cold water inside the cave.

We also stopped by Cape Bolinao:

And took a looooot of photos. The lighthouse itself was a beauty even if it’s small. Good thing the sky was clear, we had a lot of good photos

We had a hearty lunch at Bolinao Seafoods Grill just for over a thousand pesos. We ordered chopsuey, a plateful of sizzling mushrooms, pakbet, liempo and my favorite, crispy bangus! YUUUUM!

This photo above I took last March 2011. This is the sign inside the restaurant but they have a different name posted outside the gates. I’m a bit confused too. But you can immediately see this place (right side) before you reach the main road (coming from the resorts area).

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Perfect weather, awesome beach, great company = epic weekend!

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Check out our Bolinao Trip video and outtakes here, compiled and edited by Kizia

*Photos above by everyone

Escape to Seoul Day 7

Day 7.

The most dreadful day when we drove back to the airport and say good-bye to one of the most amazing countries I’ve been to. It is the day to buy last-minute pasalubongs to all our friends and family. It is also one of the most challenging moments in my life where I have to pack and re-pack my luggage to fit everything and keep it within the allowed check-in baggage weight!

We spent our last hours in Seoul in Insadong and Ssamziegil since they are closest (less than 2 minute walk) to the hotel.

We bought hair accessories, tried the huge quirky glasses:

and bought poop bread!

We went back to the hotel and waited for ride to the airport. We were expecting to see Mr. Yoon but someone else drove us to Incheon Airport. As we were leaving Hotel Sunbee, my heart was so heavy but I managed not to cry. Kizia managed to catch some sleep but I woke up several times (again with a heavy heart). I just shot every interesting bit with our Flip.

Incheon Airport is the greatest airport I’ve been to (so far). You can visit a loooooooot of stores inside – coffee shops, bookstores, fast food places, food courts and more. We even saw a group re-creating/performing a traditional Korean wedding – again, INSIDE Incheon Airport.

One of our must-do’s in Korea is try some of Dunkin’ Donuts’ donuts.

Ha! What actually made us want to do this is because of Simon and Martina’s video. To read more about their review, go here. We tried to create a video on our own but we can’t grab a table inside Dunkin Donuts, and the waiting area was crowded, we had to share a seat and make the video. I will edit this soon, I promise. But here are  photos from my iPod.

I can say half tasted great, and the other half’s just okay. But we enjoyed doing the video, that I can tell you.

So we boarded Korean Air and we were welcomed with a scrumptious on-board meal

with dessert!

I’m not familiar  with the types of planes but I sure know we were inside a big one. Each passenger has access to a screen and one can listen to music (Korean or not), watch music videos, and watch Korean movies! Amazing. I started Hello Ghost first but the first part was a little dragging so I changed to Cyrano Agency and apparently, Kizia was watching this one too! The movie was a bit long so we weren’t able to finish it. Don’t worry, when we got back, Kizia grabbed a copy of the movie and shared it to me. THE MOVIE WAS AMAZING.

…

Escape to Seoul Day 5

Day 5 was short and simple. Kizia got in contact with Mo the night before (I think that was before we went to Hongdae) and they finally pinned down the time and location of the meet up. We woke up late (again) so we hurriedly

We met her at Itaewon and we grabbed a traditional Korean lunch nearby. Sorry I don’t have pictures, but what I have is this:

It’s a wet tissue/towel. If you read it, it says: CLEAN TOWEL (cu-lin to-wel)

After lunch, Mo brought us to this really great waffle place: The Waffle Factory.

The place got huge forks and knives!

Everything’s delicious.

Huge untensils = huge servings. Unbelievable. I never had waffles that big.

Until now, I couldn’t believe that we finished our waffles (we had separate orders) even though we were still full from our lunch.

After waffles, we went to a book store nearby. Sorry I wasn’t able to take pictures, I was too preoccupied with the wide range of books available. I was also hypnotized by the smell of a mixture of old and new books, with little dust on the wooden shelved tingling my nostrils. Even if we don’t know each other personally, you’ll know what to get me for my birthday or Christmas: books.

Then we grabbed something to drink at the Standing Coffee.

In here, you … stand and drink coffee. Haha! Mo said she usually buys her coffee here.

Sorry I don’t have a picture of the whole place but what I have is this:

The cute baristas who agreed to let us in their counter to have our picture taken with them. Nope, not our idea. It was Mo’s.

While we were walking we passed by an Italiani’s and I just find it amusing how it is called in Korea.

Mou brought us to her place and gave us a tour around the base.

We were still full so we skipped dinner and grabbed another cup of hot drinks while going around the mini-mall inside the compound.

We had such a great time around a different side of Korea, all thanks to Mou! Let’s see each other soon!

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So you know how we went to Club Cocoon the night before and we were actually hit on by people and how we were amused with the night life in Seoul? Well, we decided to hit another party place on our 5th day.

 

We went to Club NB that night. We were pretty scared because the place is darker than Club Cocoon. The place has that misty and eerie feeling maybe because there’s too much smoke. But then again, it was really dark, we couldn’t see anything clearly, so 20minutes into the club, we decided to spend the rest of the evening in… Club Cocoon. Hahaha!

Partying in Seoul is non-stop. How did I know that? Because that night was a SUNDAY. Unbelievable.

I don’t really recall that much about our 5th night in Seoul. The music that night was not really our thing so we just observed the people around us and had a blast just doing it. People watching FTW!

Seoul Day 3 – Changdeokgung palace

(Photos taken by me and Kizia. Photo editing by me)

To show you how much I love this Palace, here are amazing photos for your consumption (so formal!)

Thank God for the awesome weather during our Day 3. Everything’s so picturesque!

(Dear Kizia, I am not a fan of slanted photos but I LOVE what you did here ^)

You can sense that the place has a very dramatic feel about it. I was so affected with the story shared to us by our guide Nana the day before. Maybe that is why I felt so sad and emotional when we returned here.

Escape to Seoul Day 3 (Part 3 of 3)

(Read Day 3 Part 2 here)

After Deoskugung Palace, it’s time for shopping! Day 3 is scheduled for a get-lost-in-Myeongdong trip. It’s Kizia’s turn to educate me in what stores to go to in Myeongdong. We immediately looked for our most researched ones: Every Sing and SPAO.

I love SPAO because Super Junior’s endorsing them. Haha! Look at how cute Heechul is here:

Don’t you just want to find a similar jacket because of that?????

Which I did eventually. I found a dark gray hoodie jacket. Too bad they only have it in Men’s size. But that didn’t stop me from buying one (for BF) and a light gray for me! Close enough! Yay!

After that, we went up to the third floor for Every Sing to look for Kpop merch. (SPAO and Every Sing are in the same building. They’re not hard to find.) We almost jumped and screamed out loud when we found the place.

But we’re on a budgeted shopping spree. Well, I am. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything that made us go gaga over it.

So we explored Myeongdong instead. We got hungry…

ate corn dogs covered with fries…

and went shopping in Kosney! We were kind of ‘ended our friendship’ back here when we went separate ways and savored the cute stuff in Kosney. I swear. Get ready for an hour or so of cuteness overload!

They have accessories, clothes, shoes, art materials, stationaries, DVDs, magazines, CDs and a lot of stuff. Was tempted to buy a magazine (in Korean) with Jang Geun Suk as the cover and buy a set of You’re Beautiful Drama Series. I thought about them really hard, but I thought 1. I can’t read Hangul yet, and 2. I haven’t seen You’re Beautiful so I wouldn’t know if buying the set would be worth it. I also saw Kim Sam Soon and My Girl sets. Eeeep!

If you’ve got lots of money, and you happen to pass by Kosney, I say GO AND BUY THEM ALL, MY FRIEND.

Of course, I won’t let this wonderful opportunity pass with Jang Geun Suk:

… and because Kizia pushed me to do it. (Blaming it to others eh?)

Well, as you can see, I have a Uniqlo paper bag with me in the above photo. So this is to certify that we also went to Uniqlo that day.

We also passed by Forever 21, and believe it or not, it was Kizia’s first time to go inside one. Early last year (2011), a Forever 21 store opened in Megamall and Kizia hasn’t been in it before we went to Seoul. So to remember the moment:

When we were finally finished roaming around Myeongdong, we grabbed hot drinks and let our feet and legs rest at Cafe Benne (near the entrance to the train station).

It was our first time to see the vibrating thingy that will light up once your order is ready. No more shouting barista!

When we got back home and tried the new Holly’s Coffee near DLSU – Taft, they were also using this disk. And then Coffee Bean started using it. And then Coffee Prince, another café near DLSU is also using a disk. Oh, Seattle’s best in Greenbelt is also using them. Who knows, maybe Starbucks will start using them too.

Going back…

We were supposed to board the train after we had our hot drinks when we learned that there are underground shops in the area that sells clothes, shoes accessories etc. And there is one shop in between the clothing stores that sells DVDs, albums, posters, stickers, stationaries, stuffed toys and OMYGOODNESS KPOP AND KDRAMA MERCH. An underground store that serves semi-fan girls like us.

Aaaand another hour passed by while we searched for goodies and DVDs to take home. We have no proof that the shop existed BUT I am hoping it’s still there since the price is cheaper there compared to other shops “above.” And besides, our hands are already full of shopping bags and our mind’s very much overwhelmed with the rows and stacks of Kdramas and albums.

We were too tired to look for a place to eat dinner and besides, we already splurged a bit that day so we decided to just buy street food! We bought Mandu (again, and they’re still huuuuuge) and grabbed a cup of ramyun/bokki, some bread and chips from the nearby convenience store.

I got the cheese bboki while Kizia got Ramyun. And in Seoul, you can survive by just eating these. Or just buy street food. Or eat along the sidewalks (with the tents and all) – like a carinderia here in the Philippines. I was already full when I reached half of my bread, with my chips untouched.

Happy happy day 3! <3

Escape to Seoul Day 3 (Part 2 of 3)

(Read Day 3 Part 1 here)

We left Changdeokgung and went to our next destination, Jongmyo Ancestral shrine. It was supposedly ‘near’ Changdeokgung because all our research and maps told us that it was right in front of Changdeokgung. So we walked… and walked… and I think we walked towards the wrong side of the palace. We were walking AROUND it. I was thinking the whole time that when we cross the street, we could easily enter the palace. But I think (please correct me if I’m wrong) there is only one entrance available. Boo.

The entrance fee comes with a free tour. But you have to check the schedule first. It’s better to go inside with a guide to learn about the place, than going on your own. Unfortunately we missed the last available tour for the day (by 10-15 minutes). Boo.

Lesson: take into consideration the scale of the map. OR: get a taxi, spare the walk, you’ll get plenty of that inside the palaces.

Or you can walk, and take photos of the neighboring houses around Jongmyo. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the walk. I love the walls of the palace! But I was too preoccupied looking for the entrance I didn’t get to enjoy it that much. Too few photos..

Photo by Kizia

We saw a lot of ajusshi there playing chess, smoking or just sitting down, looking around. It’s a bit scary though because they look like a mob at first glance. Haha!

Jongmyo is a 5-minute walk away from Exit 11 of Jongno 3-ga station subway line 1 or Exit 8 of Jongno 3-ga station subway line 3.

Since we don’t have anything else to there (anymore), we  headed to Deoksugung Palace.

We were walking towards the entrance when we saw this man carving wood at the side walk. His work looks absolutely beautiful.

We arrived at Deoksugung the exact moment of changing of the guards. It takes place three times a day (11 AM, 2 PM, 3:30 PM for about 20 minutes) in front of Daehanmun or the main gate. There were a lot of people watching outside as well. The Royal Guards Changing Ceremony is one of the things tourists look forward to in this side of the city. This experience feels like you traveled back in time and you’re seeing the actual changing of guards several decades ago.

Had to sit down (after that looooong walk) and re-think about our next destination.

Like a scene from a K-drama, waiting for oppa:

I saw this old couple walking around the area, holding hands. And I remembered my parents (not that they’re this old now). Love love <3

If you visit the palace during fall, you can see spring cherry blossoms and yellow ginko leaves. Great place for couples to have a romantic and historical walk.

And of course:

Deoksugung is closed on Mondays. You can reach it through Exit 2 of City Hall Station on Line 1 or Exit 12 of Jongno 3-ga Station on Line 2. The Palace is a good 5 minutes walk from both exits.

 

Escape to Seoul Day 3 (Part 1 of 3)

Day 3 Itinerary:

• Brunch/Lunch
• Chandeokgung Palace
• Jongmyu Ancestral Shrine
• Deoksugung Palace
• Myeongdong!

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As usual, we woke up late (because it was really hard to get up – our room was nice and cold and the blankets are so soft and warm) and decided to eat brunch/lunch before going around the city and palaces. We decided to go back to the palaces to take decent pictures and follow our own pace.

We stopped by Mr. Pizza (61 Jong-ro, Insadong) but line’s too long so we decided to try another pizza place.

Pizza More is still in Insadong (if you found Mr. Pizza, you have to get across the street and get lost. You’ll find it sitting quietly between bars, norea-bang and restaurants)

Located in a quiet corner, this place offers the best cheese and corn pizza and sweet corn soup I have ever tasted.  The place is cozy and the food is delicious!

We also ordered pasta, marinara was it? The surprise here is it was a bit spicy. But delicious. But the corn pizza was something new to us, we gobbled it down until it’s finished. Love it.

We decided to walk to our first destination, Changdeokgung Palace, which is nearest to our place. We passed by Insadong to see what we can buy and explore around there when we get back. We saw a couple of young adults doing a street show and there were a lot of people around them. There was even a camera crew filming them – maybe from a broadcasting network?

We passed by the famous Ssamssigil, looked around for a while, grabbed a cup of hot choco for the road and bought a ‘poop’ bread or ‘dung bread.

And headed to our first Palace: Changdeok-gung or Changdeok Palace.

Changdeok-gung or Chandeok-gung Palace literally means “The Palace of Prospering Virtue.” It is often referred to as the East Palace as it is located East of the Grand Palace, Gyeongbuk-gung. It was the second royal villa built after Gyeongbuk-gung Palace.

Yes, we walked from Insadong to here. It’s a bit far, but manageable. We’re avoiding taxis. Haha!

“One such notable difference is the fact that the architecture of Changdeokgung harmonizes beautifully with the surrounding nature without appearing intrusive or destructive in the process.” 

GETTING THERE: Take subway Line 3 to Anguk Station and get out at Exit 3. Changdeokgung Palace is open from 09:15~17:45 (April ~ October) and 09:15~15:45 (November ~ February). In March, visiting hours are from 09:15~16:45. Entry is permitted every 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. The palace is closed Mondays. Entry to the palace is only permitted with a guided tour. Visitors do not have to join the tour on Thursdays. Admission is 3,000 won.

- From Visit Korea

I love this palace because of the way it was built. The buildings and the garden goes well together. Although we didn’t go to the Secret Garden, you can sense that the plants around the area are well-maintained. For me, this is my favorite. It’s very feminine.

We saw a monk (?) on vacation, maybe, going around the palace just like us.

It’s really nice.

I will post a lot of pictures of Changdeokgung after this!

And oh!!! When we’re leaving, we saw some snow at the side of the road. <3

<3 love love!

Seoul Day 2 – Korean Barbecue

This post is about FOOD. And our first authentic Korean Barbecue in Korea with Narae.

To start this off, here is Kizia getting ready for the meal:

Seoul Day 1

Here are some photos of our first day in Seoul. Please excuse my vanity.  Haha! Enjoy!

After our breakfast/lunch in McDonald’s. Taken around 4-5 PM. Crazy right? Crazy for us at least.