Baguio in December

Feel the cold breeze of the air this Christmas season in Baguio.

Stroll at the BenCab Museum. Drink a strawberry shake. Eat rib steak at Kanto. Ride a pink horse at the Wright park. Sip a Coffee at Volante. Take a boat ride at Burnham Park. Roam around the busy Session Road. Try ihaw ihaw at Mines view. Get lost at the Camp John Hay. Have a hearty breakfast at Elizabeth. Watch the PMA cadets. Buy veggies at the market. Chill and Relax. These are just few of the many things you can do and explore in Baguio.

Lakaw Lakaw to Macau

*Lakaw means to "Walk Around". This is what you'll need to do to enjoy a day tour in Macau. This "Las Vegas of Asia" is loved not only by the hard core gamblers but by all types of travelers because of its beautiful buildings and casinos. 

For the casino/hotel hopping, free shuttle buses are available for the tourists' convenience. Macau is a populous region; similar to Hong Kong, you will see also a lot of jewelry stores at the city center. 

Best Season to visit Macau (from Hongkong)- during your Birthday week to avail of the Cotai Jet Birthday Discount =)

  

Hello Hong Kong

Here are some travel tips when visiting Hong Kong for the first time:

• Ready your itinerary. It is best to make your stay in Hong Kong a worthwhile one without wasting time. Here is a sample itinerary >  Hong Kong Sample Itinerary
• Familiarize yourself with the MTR (Hong Kong Train) station connections before your flight. It will save you a lot on cost and time if you ride using the train.

             

• Convert your Peso to HK dollars while still in the Philippines to save on forex conversion costs. Do this at least a week/weeks before your flight to reserve the HK dollar. You may already purchase some tickets and accommodation online (e.g. Disneyland tickets) to avoid hassle.
• Buy Octopus Card and get the tour brochures with maps at the customer center inside the Hong Kong Airport. The Maps will be handy and convenient in case of a DIY ("Do It Yourself" tour). 
• Only few locals can understand English since their main dialect is Cantonese. In case you have inquiries, best person to ask are the hotel receptionists, the restaurant/store sellers, the policeman along the road and some Filipinos living/working in Hong Kong that you can recognize by their facial feature.
• Activate the roaming application of your mobile phone. You may take advantage of the free wifi in malls/hotels/airports to save on call costs.
• Buy your water supply at the supermarket. It is cheaper than those in the convenience outlets. If you will ask for plastic from the stores, they will charge you with cents or a HK dollar.
• There are lots of restaurants and food stalls in Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan areas. No worries on where to eat. However, take note that the menu selections are often big food serving for sharing. The best place to eat dinner is at the Temple Street Night Market near MTR Jordan - the food is delicious.
• Hong Kong seems to be a hub of jewelry stores/outlets. They are like 7 11 stores in the Tsim Sha Tsui area. For jewelry enthusiasts, you may take advantage of this opportunity.
• You can have a day tour in Macau since it is just an hour away ferry ride from Hong Kong. Take advantage of all the free hotel shuttle bus rides to tour the entire Macau City and the casinos.
• You may return back your Octopus card at the MTR station customer center to get your initial deposit before going back to Hong Kong Airport.

El Nido, Palawan

In the late 1990s, El Nido is a well known tourist spot in the Philippines, mostly for the affluent and for those who are willing to spend much for their travel and leisure. The hotels and airline cost those days direct to El Nido are too costly. Nowadays, due to the road pavements from Puerto Princesa to El Nido and the booming business of affordable inns and hotels, every traveler who wants to explore the beauty of the place can go there at a lower travel cost.

Big Lagoon

El Nido is a remote town with the most beautiful beaches in the Philippines, as I must say.  It is like you are in a different country as most of the tourists are foreigners (around 70-80%). The limestone cliffs and the landscapes are breathtaking; El Nido is indeed a paradise for beach lovers.

Caramoan, Camarines Sur

180 degrees shift in traveling - From being a trip planner to a hasty wanderer.

In terms of travel personality, I am the type of traveler with the usual ready itinerary, advance bookings and complete travel stuff. Sometimes, it is good to deviate a little from this routine and just go on with the flow.

Cotivas Island

With rough information on how to go to Caramoan (by reading other travel blogs), we were crossing our fingers that we would be able to reach Caramoan without any bus booking or advanced purchased bus ticket at all, considering that this is in Bicol region. Yes, we were taking our chances for this trip since airlines are really costly if bookings are within the week of travel. Fortunately, our positivity paid off. For backpackers, Philtranco can be tried being the safe and oldest bus company to exist in the Philippines. They have routes all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with bus terminal in Pasay, Manila. In this trip, we are chance passengers on the way to Naga with overnight travel time of around 9 hours.

Camayan Beach Resort and Ocean Adventure

Want to have a souvenir picture in a beachfront with big sand castle? Then go to Camayan Beach Resort, Subic Zambales.

For environmentalists, no worries; this big sand castle is just made up of plastic material but it looks authentic in the picture. Nice work of art =)

I have featured blog articles about the various beaches in Zambales (e.g. Anawangin, Magalawa, Crystal Beach in San Narciso) and for this season, let me explore Subic. There are bats and monkeys in the mountain ranges along the subic bay area. It is advisable to bring car/van when visiting Subic. Just be ready with the toll fees of NLEX and SCTEX.

Camayan Beach Resort is one of the recommended resorts in Tripadvisor.  This resort is one of a kind since you can actually see fishes that are 2-3 inches in length while swimming/snorkeling near the coastline at the early hours of the morning (similar to Bohol). The beach is also ideal for swimming since the ocean floor is even and smooth with safety lines. Life guards are also visible within the vicinity.

Throwback: Coron, Palawan

Circa 2009.

Travelers were weighed on the scale when boarding a small airplane bound for Coron, Palawan. The air travel time was just around 30 minutes.

Palawan is the next best destination after Boracay and Coron is a must try for beach enthusiasts who are game in island hopping activities. There are some trekking activities available during the tour, thus, it is advisable to wear beach shoes. You can also bring your own snorkling gear for hygienic purposes and to fully enjoy the beauty of the sea creatures. The more you are in the tour, the lesser your expenses for sharing and the merrier. 

Acuatico

If you are living in the south and do not want the hassle of long haul flight just to swim in a nice beach, you may visit one of the beaches in Batangas.

You really cannot go wrong with Batangas. In case you google search the map, Nasugbu is at the left top part near Tagaytay while San Juan is at the right bottom part of the map near Sariaya, Quezon. You have several choices. For this year, let us try Laiya in San Juan Batangas.

From Alabang, it will take you 3-4 hours travel time to reach Laiya. Once you are in San Juan City proper, Laiya is still at the far end of San Juan, around 30 minute drive. The long stretch of Laiya coastline will welcome you. Laiya is already developed similar to Subic; there are several beach resorts to choose from but a must try is the Acuatico Beach Resort, hailed as the 2016 winner of Travelers Choice for small hotel-luxury category (TripAdvisor).

Seda, Nuvali

Staycationing is becoming a trend for the Manilenyos; even my favourite travel bloggers feature their staycation experience from time to time. If you are a sucker for beautiful scenery and want a peaceful surrounding, you may try Seda Nuvali.

Here are the beautiful pics of Seda: