Trust Me, It WAS Paradise!!!

And I'm pretty sure it still is up to this very second that I'm pulling the creative threads out of my almost kaput brain (or not! I'm definitely thankful it's still working! Hahah!) Hmmmm... I can still remember a month ago, I was busy being anxious on the weather! Since the day we booked our (unfortunately) two-way ticket trip to paradise I've been praying for nothing else (aside from world peace, of course!) but good weather. As per RC, one of our Coron trip buddies, if God can't give us a good weather then at least a manageable one! I took my cue from her and prayed for the same thing - but God knows, deep down inside I was really, really praying for a perfect weather! Because I wanted the "bakasyon grande" to be perfect as perfect can be: picture this, blue skies against glistening crystal blue waters, birds chirping freely overhead and sea creatures playing gaily underneath! Well? Perfect smiles and clean tan lines, right? 

Oh I bet you already have an idea of what I am talking about. Since the day I came back to reality (a.k.a came back from the paradise that was...) and posted the pictures of our adventures, I've been getting numerous queries on details about the trip. So here goes. I'm spilling the beans - detail by detail so that by the time you're done reading this you'll be checking out the airlines' websites and available packages for your own travel to the Philippines' last frontier: Palawan.

Welcome and mabuhay! :p

Bonggels si Ate sa iyang pag welcome! Iyan po pala ang sinturong pangkaligtasan! I sure do love that lady's accent! It's like my jetlag LSS everytime!

I'm not sure when I started dreaming about going to Palawan. I can't even remember anymore who told me about it or how I even found out that there really is this sweet unperturbed rapture sitting somewhere in this country - amidst the chaos and RH bill protests or the unending stalking of the media to the President's lovelife, but the idea of making this dream come true came in a form of a casual conversation between bestfriends on a usual day over some beer (maybe?). Lo and behold! The wheels just started turning and the hunt for the perfect package, which could certainly help us in saving some good moolahs, began. The trip should've been completed by the end of last year, but it didn't happen as I was, honestly, too chicken to check on the flight fare rates and package prices! Because... hello?! That's Palawan! Only artistas could afford it. So I thought. To make this already long introduction not too long anymore - I finally had the guts to search, search, and search! Thanks to RC for helping me out. Now without further ado, let me introduce to you first my Coron trip buddies:

Coron-kada :)

L-R: Rc (my research partner in crime); Vito (her boyfriend and representative during GMs if she's not available - yes, GMs as in General Meetings!); Rv (the coolest boy ever because he's ok with everything that we offer him - like, sky's the limit! Hahahah! Peace, Rvs!); Me and of course, Tim (the best boyfriend ever! Ehem! Very supportive! :p).

By March we finally had our tickets booked and that's after weeks and weeks of contemplating and waiting for the most sought after CebPac PISO fare! I never had much luck on it however, ended with still lower fares but not really as low as paying for just the taxes. I've suggested to the group for us to book two separate flights since there are no direct flights from Cebu to Busuanga (Coron airport) and the connecting flights are almost ten thousand pesos more so we're really saving a lot with my suggestion. Here's a screencap:

The price we paid for our roundtrip tickets for Manila:

For Coron:

We might have paid additional P224 each for both trips for booking it online but that's still a lot of savings, right? It was just as convenient although for the time that we had to wait for our next flight we had to carry our bags around, we didn't have any check-in baggages for the same reason that we wanted to... you got it! :) But the most amazing part though is that we only got to pay P220 worth of airport terminal fee: that's 200 from Cebu and just 20 pesos from Coron - yes, you read that right! Busuanga airport only charges that very small amount of terminal fee. We didn't have to pay for the terminal fee for NAIA as our flights have been considered connecting. Just present your boarding pass and terminal fee receipt and you'll be good to go! I hope they don't change it though!

TIPS on choosing your flights:

1. If you're going to book the flights the way I did, I suggest that you choose flights with at least 3-4 hours difference from your next flight so you wouldn't have to worry about delayed flights or stuff like that. Plus, since you can go out of the airport and come back later (at least 45 mins before your flight), this allowance will give you time to explore maybe... MOA or some nearby establishments. Just be really time conscious! It's Manila you're connecting to! Hello traffic!
2. Choose a flight that will get you to your destination the earliest and the latest flight for your departure so you won't waste any moment at all! 
3. Book at least 2-3 months before your trip and never look back! Prices going down at a significant rate RARELY happens so don't fret ;) 

Here's what we did during our stops in Manila:

While waiting for our flight to Busuanga:

We ate some good breakfast at a nearby McDonald's, just right across NAIA and beside Resorts World :) The walking from NAIA to McDo was a good exercise - actually, sort of a warm up for our upcoming activities!

We lit some candles and I thanked God for the good weather!  It was really more than manageable and perfect timing! We arrived just after the storm flew out of the country!

Hung out at that park-like space in between Maxims and Genting - feeling the sun and counting the airplanes that flew by. Hahahah!

This one is during our wait-time for our flight back home. We hurried off to MOA to grab a serving of DQ and KrispyKreme! My trip to the Northern Lights will never be complete without these two sweet delights! :)

Moving on...

FLIGHTS, FLIGHTS, FLIGHTS!

TIPS: 

1. If you don't have a check-in luggage, make sure that your hand-carry must not exceed 7kgs. 
2. All liquids: lotion, shampoo and such should be placed altogether in one ziploc and each of these must not exceed 100ml. 
3. If you want free check-in luggage book with AirPhil. Hehehe... They have up to 15kgs free, I think. I am never a light packer myself and the things that I took with me on this trip were the most sorted out and I fit them all in one backpack! It was really a challenge, but if you schedule your outfits - you'll be able to pack light like a pro! :) 

The check-in process was swift and fast and the next thing I knew we were already boarding a noticeably smaller plane. Nervousness galore because I have never been on a propeller plane! The good thing was I got a window seat, the not so good thing? I have this view:

The pilot announced that we were going to land in a few minutes and look at what's below us:

PURE MOUNTAINS!!!

I was like, seriously?! We are going to land in a few minutes? A few minutes?! But where is the runway?! There was no turbulence at all, but I could tell the plane was shaking and I hope the plane crew didn't notice the fear in my face. And finally... Ka-blag-a-gadag-gadag! Touchdown Busuanga!!!

They do have a tiny, but decent runway after all! And the airport is so cute and homey:

The airport. Nothing great, but functional :)

But expect nothing more! It's a really simple airport - no electronic devices at all (well, except for the blending machines for the coffee shop there and probably plane-related stuff). Those baggages that have been checked in will be manually placed on a wooden thing (thing cuz I don't know what it's called exactly!) and you have to pick it up! No strollers or anything. Welcome to the simplicity of life! But of course, we just walked through. And right outside...

Tsadan! 

Ok. Kinsa man jud imong gisugat Koya?

Kuya Danilo, all smiles here, was very punctual with matching sign board and my misspelled name on it. Hahah! Funny! And another first! :p In fairness, the airport transfers are in very good condition SUVs and Vans. I'm already impressed! Kuya Danilo is the designated driver for our airport-to-and-from-lodging transfer only. Think you don't need one? Think again! To their description, the Busuanga airport is about 30mins away from main town Coron. That's 30mins of traffic-less travel, but it felt like traveling from Mandaue to Carcar for us! Or even farther! It was really far! 

Finally, we got to our opted lodging house - Amor & Boytek Pension House. Just right outside thebayan, literally. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take a picture of the place and its hospitable owners Ate Amor and Kuya Boytek because we were too giddy to climb the 1,400 steps of Mt Tapyas! They were very lovely people who were always ready and willing to cater to our needs and requests!

Since we want to make the most of our vacation we then hurried to Mt Tapyas. We were told that we could take a tricycle to the foot of the mountain for only P10 each, but since we were also planning to go to Maquinit Spring afterwards we decided to hire Kuya Rommel's service at P400. This already includes the drive to Mt Tapyas, Maquinit Spring (which is also very far, most especially with a tricycle with five passengers and an underdeveloped way). Kuya Rommel was really very nice to us we decided to add P100 in the end as a tip :) The dinner at the Kawayanan restaurant pretty much summed up the first day of our trip then we retired to an early rest to prepare ourselves for our island hopping the next day!

PACKAGE DETAILS:

Please click for a larger picture :)

 

We chose Option 2 out of the four packages that were offered since we were really enticed by the beauty and the reviews/feedbacks we got about the Banana Island. When we met Kat and Arnold on our first day of island hopping they also recommended us to go to the island as they've already been there the day before and they apparently enjoyed it, what with Arnold's animated narration of how they had so much fun! He was right! The place was truly immaculate with its almost virgin-like pristine and azure waters plus green lush! Here's what we call a paradise within a paradise ;)

Now the good stuff about the package:

1. Home-cooked breakfast with a very inviting aroma of danggit that wakes us up from our sweet, sweet slumber.
2. Snacks composed of native puto and kutchinta plus some bread which usually ended up as food for the fishes as we swam along with them! 
3. Sumptuos lunch of crabs, fish, freshly grilled talong (or was that steamed?), unlimited rice and refreshing soda!
4. The island entrance fees weren't included and that's a good thing because you won't be obliged to go to all of the islands included in your itinerary. Most of the places look alot like each other so you can definitely request your boatman to just take you to next spot and spend more time where you like most. My best bets: Kayangan Lake (I could stay there forever!); The WWII Ship Wreck (the experience would probably be better if you can go scuba diving); and Banana Island (we stayed there the whole day and it was well worth it!).
5. If you have more time for your trip and your have more than three people in the group adding Calauit Island to your itinerary would surely make your experience way better because you get to see Giraffes - free walking/running in the wild! It would probably cost you about 5k for the van to Calauit.

Now, here's an account of the money that we spent per day (amount estimated per person):

DAY 1:

Terminal Fee - 200

Tips - 40

Meals - 600  

Trike Service  - 80

Maquinit Spring EF - 100

TOTAL - 1020/person

DAY 2

Siete Pecados - 100

Kayangan Lake - 200

Sampaloc Beach - 100

Twin Lagoons - 100

Ship Wreck - 100

Fare - 40

Tips - 50

TOTAL - 690/person

We saved meals on the 2nd day because it was Tim's birthday and he treated us for dinner! Sweetness! Except for the cake which wasn't really sweet at all, actually, it was  more than rancid. Inedible. And it seems like Aling Lina knew that it was but she sold  it to us anyway! Good thing she offered a refund the moment she saw our upset faces the next day.

Happy birthday Tim! :)

DAY 3

Banana Island - 250

Fare - 40

Dinner - 250 

Tips - 50

TOTAL - 590

DAY 4

Pasalubong - 1000

Fare - 200 

Tip - 100

Meals - 350

TOTAL - 1,650

TOTAL: 3,950

+

PACKAGE: 3,800

+

FLIGHTS: 4,893.12

GRAND TOTAL PER PERSON: 12,643.12 

FLIGHTS: CebuPacific

Other airlines that fly to Coron:

PAL

AirPhil

PACKAGE: Coron DIY Tours

Contact person: Rhymond Vanderlipe

You can also e-mail him at: corontours(at)gmail(dot)com

If you have any questions about their packages you can go ahead and ask him directly! Don't be shy because he's really willing to answer your questions!

LODGING: Amor and Boytek Pension House

So there it goes! I hope this will help you and entice you to go to the paradise that is Coron, Palawan! The people there are really amazing and hospitable! These two are perfect examples of it:

Boatmen and friends :) Bernard and Gelbert.

Until then, Coron!

missing you already,

~tSin

Vacation Cravings.

an interesting catch.

"A mini getaway

To a place where you could lie on sands all day

A mini trip

That's surely not going to get your wallet ripped."

And yes, there are some days when I'd really want to rhyme things even though sometimes they couldn't make much sense. Lol. Anyhoo, here's an overly late post of our (Tim and yours truly) quick day out at the beach. Good thing that the weather gave us more than a couple of hours to enjoy the sun because later during the day... it rained completely... especially in the city.

Now that it's already January, despite the cold, cold weather outside I'm totally up and ready to gear up for the summer. It's not that we even need an official kick-off for a summer's day in this country where it's summer all year long, I just feel like tagging mid-March as my "official" summertime until the rainy days come back in June. And this instant, I am craving for another day at the beach or the swimming pool. I just need to swim! And oh! Did I already tell? I joined our department's own rendition of reality tv's Biggest Loser. So pretty much explains why I need a good and very exhausting and pound losing swim! Since I can't do it yet... I will have to run my fats off for the next few weeks or so. 

I wish I won't be too lazy. I really.

I should... run three times a week and get a shot at swimming at least twice. I'd risk the city's swimming pool. I would do anything to lose some pounds for my own well-being and for the upcoming activities of the year :D

Here are some photos of our getaway in Alcoy. 

relaxation is the best medicine, oh well second to laughter :)

all ♥

nagpapakitang gilas :D

The fee break down?

I'd say 200 for bus fare per person - back and forth to our place (since we opted to ride there as it won't be too practical anymore to go to the city just to catch the bus heading south)

P50 for the venue (and I don't know why we had to pay for it though)

P10 for the entrance fee

No fee for tables and chairs or cottage since we brought our own scarves and blankets. 

The place was deserted since it was on a weekday.

the boatman seeking food under the noon sun.

IT was a perfect getaway -- isolated and quiet and tranquil minus luxurious maid service or whatsoever.

But that's all good, we had fun feeling like we own the place even for just a few hours :)

wondering where next,

~tSin

Have You Never Been to You?

Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

Here are the places that I've been to this year:

1. Bonfire at the beach. Argao with my mates from my Group Dynamics class in Psychology. The trip was short and brief but it was surely fun to have met those wonderful people :)

2. Wall Climbing. Argao. Second day at the place and had to do some recreational. First time ever to try zip line and wall climbing! It does look easy when you just stare at it from afar but when you're at it you'll definitely go bonkers... well, I did. Haha!

3. Birthday trip. Simala. With the ever amazing Boyfriend to give thanks to the Almighty for all the blessings that we have received.

4. Biking to vintage. Sibonga. From Simala we stopped by and got some good taste of fresh air. It really is relaxing there!

5. When the world spins fast, it sort of breaks my neck. E.K. Sta Rosa, Laguna. Right in the middle of the cute little sidewalk of the amusement park! I really did enjoy our visit there even though it was just for some couple of hours. The roller coaster almost... killed me. But we all know, ALMOST NEVER COUNTS :) I will try to ride again soon!

6. Architecture. Makati City. Yes, I was truly in awe with all the buildings there and the cleanliness of the city is definitely superb! There's no other city nearby that was as clean and beautiful as Makati! I surely love it there and if only I can afford to live there...

7. Tiny heritage. Luneta Park. It was scorching hot but we still managed to pose! Hahaha! The Boyfriend said he really wanted to see this place so off we went and it was good. It had a different feel to it! I swear!

8. Fishes feeding on us. Manila Ocean Park. Or at least they were feeding on our calloused feet - all sore from the walking! It was very refreshing and rejuvenating! In fact, the experience made me laugh out loud shamelessly!

9. There's no "I" in TEAM. Stakli, Badian. This part of Badian is a must-see! The place is beyond words... AMAZING! I couldn't find enough words to describe it! All the beach lovers will surely love it there!

So those are some of the places I went to this year. And there are a couple more that I wasn't able to include here because I don't have them photos in this computer and also I can't access FB from here. Bummer I know. But it's all for the good, I'm surest!

take me to tranquility with the modern invention ^^,

~tSin

Christmas Wishlist 53

Meet the Sony Cybershot TX5 - Your EVERYTHING-proof camera (probably, except that it is not to be protected against theft, fire, and all other things possible to extinguish such gorgeousness!)

And yes, this beautiful and pretty one can swim, as in: you can take pictures underwater - up to 10ft!!! Would you believe?! It does look pretty ordinary to me, but this thing can definitely do a gazillion of amazing things and it takes pictures like an SLR! How'd you like that?

Get to know more about this very, very lovely TX5 right here :) It's nothing new... In fact, I've found this a very long time ago while busily browsing for a good priced VAIO (I wish, ikr). And just like Soak and everything else which I would lustfully want with just one glimpse... it has left me sleepless! :o

My sister wants THIS for herself though and retorted that that is waaay much better than the Sony one. Yes, Canon is nice enough but as for now... I still fancy this beautiful one. I just want it.

Want it soooo bad before I could even go to:

Camiguin.
Boracay.
Siargao.
Palawan.
Bali.
Bora-Bora.
Curacao.

And to somewhere-else-God-only-knows!

Gosh! That's a lot to save up, huh? Truly A LOT. Oh my! I guess I will never get to have that dream house or car for now. Oh... nooooooooooo! I am such a gadget freak... because I want to... travel? Lame. NOT.

sometimes I want too much, too many

~tSin

Saturdispatchdate: Co Jordan

Friday night surprised us with an announcement that we are going to have our quarterly (or actuallywhenever we want to have it and once the company releases our outing budget! haha!) team outing right after shift! We were like... "WHOAH! Are you serious?" It was originally scheduled for the 3rd of October. The organizers then explained to us that the place we've chosen to hold the team outing (or eating, for this matter) is fully booked on our desired deck. Bummer. Since we didn't have any other things to do that day we agreed to just go with it. It was actually an impromptu adventure! And I enjoyed the spontaneity of it. I always love random stuff! This was so random I felt my feet kicked off an hour after they told us the news... except that we couldn't go anywhere yet until end of shift; in fact, there were still a hundred calls to struggle with since the system was being upgraded.

Anyhoo, the cloudy day finally came. Everyone was really excited to go. All the company's vehicles were dispatched out for some other errands. We had no other choice but to commute. After two jeepney rides and one very rough tricycle ride -- very, very rough tri-riding on very, very rough and muddy unfinished roads towards our final destination in Consolacion: CO JORDAN BANGUS AND TALABA!

It was indeed good to know that after that very rough ride we still made it all in one piece with no scratches except for some mud stains on our footwears! (YES! There is definitely an alternative road, but I don't know where that is though.)

So here we are... the cottages (not floating) on the pond (or is that really a pond? heheh...)

Very comfortable and relaxing! No electricfan nor ac needed! It's all breezy out there! So breezy that the ceiling fans have been converted into fly-busters! There really are a lot of them there :| But my friend Julie said you really can't avoid them if you are eating near the water. So... oh well! Candle light lunch? :D

Freshly picked talabas and picked with love by Jensky (left) and Julie (right).

Fishing time! The improvised and manual fishing rods are for rent @ Php10.00 each. Unlimited time :) But be sure to return them once you're done with them. There are still a lot who'd want to rent it and it's a business so you've got to help somehow!

The fish bait also costs Php10.00 each. They're like puddings rolled on fish food powder. I think. When I found out it was pudding (one of my favoritest food in the bread and pastries section) I couldn't help thinking if I really was a fish in my previous life! :o

The Boyfriend with his catch. It took him some time to finally get one. The fishing rod wasn't too friendly to him at all :( But look what he got! Not the biggest bangus in that pond, but big enough to be grilled! Heheh... Sorry fish friend! :|

Lois got the biggest fish! Go Lois! :D Yes, there is videoke there :D For what is Pinoy tambayan anyway without one? We did rent the biggest cottage there is which is worth Php500 but good for up to four hours only during weekends. The videoke is still the singko-singko one though. It was all worth it!

Now, the most awaited part... EATING TIME! Talaba and very yummy (according to them. I can't give my own feedback because I don't eat these kinds :()

Grilled bangus. Aww... poor ones!

He's such a cute messy eater! Squid ink stain all over his mouth and fingers!

Everything was soooo worth it! We only paid a good Php3,150 -- FOR EVERYTHING. Everything as in the food: talaba, squid, bangus, shrimp, grilled pork (for me! haha!), fried tilapia, softdrinks, beer, cottage and videoke! And if you think that's too much... Well there were fourteen of us who went there. Now you can do the math ;)

Just like any other Dispatch Team Outing (or Eating) it was really, really fun! Good friends. Good times. I love how these people could be people whom you can take ANYWHERE! From pungko2x to fine dining; from simple videokeing to adventuresome beaches.

Too bad though that some of us (about four) couldn't come :( But hopefully, we'd be in another outing again soon. Christmas is almost here! I'm already working on our Secret Santa activity!

So I'll have to sign off for now y'all. It's almost the witching hour. If you're thinking of visiting Co Jordan Talaba and Bangus eatery... they are located in Tayud, Consolacion (Northern part of cebu, the town right after Mandaue. Just about an hour's travel from Metro Cebu). You can go by taking a jeepney+tricycle, a cab or your own car :D Be sure to bring along your friends and family to make the trip and fishing more fun and worth it!

eating can't be sin,

~tSin

P.S.

All photos were taken by my phone's camera :)

Reliable one, Walkie! :)