Paradise in Palawan

"A tropical Shangri-la nestled upon a coral jewel set amidst Palawan’s sparkling turquoise waters. Comely and idyllic, this island resort is a perfect hideaway for those who seek both relaxation and discovery. Club Paradise is on Dimakya Island, Municipality of Coron. A part of the Calamian Group of Islands, it is situated at the Northern tip of Palawan, the Philippine’s last frontier. Where possibilities are blissful, endearing and endless." - Club Paradise

Our trip to Palawan was planned about 3/4 months ago.We gotta get a breather:D For "alone time", to relax, perhaps recharge and to have some time off from our work:) We invited my husband's cousin Bambi & girlfriend Ria to join us. We had the best time of our lives!
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Ricky, the resort coordinator at the Busuangga Airport. We loaded inside this big jeepney and off we went to a lake for our boat transfer to Dimakya island, where Club Paradise is located.
We arrived at the resort an hour and a half after. The resort employees were all waiting to greet & welcome us. They were so warm & pleasing. There were only about 20 guests in the resort including the four of us already. Talk about privacy and solitude. That was it :)

They served us refreshing drinks upon arrival. The PR officer had this quick orientation. We were accompanied to our rooms thereafter. Everything else is indeed beautiful. We were served buffet meals all the time at the Kamalig restaurant. A fusion of Filipino, Asian and International cuisines were served for lunches & dinners. Really, the food were very filling & satisfying.
After lunch that Saturday, we just lazed & grilled ourselves under the beautiful sun. The weather was perfect. The sun was up and it was windy at the same time. We were able to get that perfect afternoon siesta in a far far away private island :)

We went to an island tour to Calauit early morning of Sunday to check out the Philippines' prime Safari. We were back at the island around lunchtime. Husband and I tried the Detoxification Massage at the Island Spa late afternoon. It's a combination of of swedish & shiatsu massages. It says in the spa menu that this is equivalent to an hour of strenuous exercise. It stresses out elimination of body toxins. Rejuvenating and relaxing! Perfect! They say that a good massage makes you fall asleep. Oh, husband and I fell asleep during our treatment.

We had another perfect dinner on our last night at the island. We surprised Bambi with a birthday cake and the servers sang him a birthday song too!It's his birthday the following day!:) We shared the cake to all the other guests duing dinner time. Some of the resort staffs performed during the cultural show too. The foreign guests had so much fun watching them.

It was hard to leave the island. The island is entirely perfect.There's nothing bad to say. Something that we can really recommend for couples and families to try. We were able to save so much for planning this trip really early. Just so I can share some saving tips, our plane fare to Busuangga, Palawan costs only about php3,400/person. PAL Express had this Book & Buy promo last April so we grabbed that very good deal. We had about three months to plan & save for our resort. Euro Pacific Resorts (Club Paradise & El Rio Y Mar) had this "post-summer getaway promo" for June and July.It's somehow wise to wait for resort promos like this after the summer season. It's a gamble though because these are the typhoon/rainy months already but we figured, Php4,000/person discount is really a big amount that we can save. (Oh btw, the sun was shining so bright the whole time :)) Thanks for families & friends who prayed for good weather :) Our damage was about Php20k/couple and that's already inclusive of the roundtrip airfare, land and boat transfers to the the resort, 3days/2nights seaview room accommodation, full-board meals for the 3days stay, use of all resort facilities and... having the island to ourselves since we went on an off-peak season :)

More about Club Paradise here :)

Kyle will finally meet the mountain kisses & tarsiers on his birthday :)

Calauit Wildlife Safari Tour

We had the hardest time deciding if we should take the CORON TOUR or the CALAUIT SAFARI TOUR. Ria & I wanted to see the giraffes and zebras first hand so we were able to convince our spouse to take this trip instead. :) Our tour started 7am. We still had enough time to enjoy the sumptuous buffet breakfast at the resort. Calauit Island is an hour and fifteen minutes away from Dimakya Island by boat ride. Bambi & Ria slept during the cruise while husband killed time playing PSP. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the mountains and seas while listening to my Jamie Cullum & Maroon 5 favorites :) Ricky, our service coordinator was very pleasant and smart. He told us so many stories & information about the islands surrounding the resort. He was smiling the whole time when explaining this & that. I must say, he was that passionate and sincere about what's he's doing. Admirable. It was worth the experience :) Imagine being able to feed these animals up close & personal. Parang hindi totoo :D The giraffes were so tamed. Lemuel, one of the giraffes who fondly ate all the leaves that we brought for feeding is very very big. At first, he would get the leaves that we tried to feed him and leave. Later on, we saw him sharing the leaves to the other giraffes. Gestures that will really awe you. We had the chance to feed the bearcats & porcupines too. The Calamian deers (Philippine born & raised), zebras & giraffes were freely roaming and it looks so natural & delightful. You'll fall in love with nature :) Not every Filipino knows that this safari actually exists. This, according to Mg Jun (the tour coordinator) was a project of Marcos during his term in 1970's. It's disappointing to hear though that this habitat has not been developed since then. No funds nor attention from the government I guess. As Mg Jun says, he feels sad and worried because he knows sooner or later, it's possible that the country will have to kiss goodbye to this wildlife sanctuary. :( So many stories to tell and so many photos captured. Look at the first row photo of the giraffes above. The giraffes actually do a split when trying to get food from the grounds. Yeah, they have to- for being that tall. I've learned that these giraffes are very picky with what leaves to eat. The zebras, on the other hand, eat either fresh or dried leaves. That's why the zebras are heavier and more " mataba" :) The deer's horn falls off after mating season. And apparently, they use this horns to fight against fellow deers for a doe. They have a celebrity giraffe in the Safari named Athena but unfortunately, we didn't have the chance to see her. We saw this mommy giraffe who just gave birth to a baby giraffe two weeks ago, but look how big it is already? Half day safari tour to Calauit is Php2300/person. This is inclusive of of the safari guide, boat ride from Dimakya to Calauit, safari ride, snacks & drinks. You will leave the resort around 7am and you will be back around 12nn. Just in time for another great buffet meal at Club Paradise. You can make reservations at the resort front desk upon arrival.

Frank

I went to Zambales for a supposedly company outing/team building two Saturdays ago. It was the same weekend that typhoon Frank hit our country. Many people died and it was really sad. Our office rented half of Punta de Uian but it's frustrating that everyone ended up staying inside the rooms waiting for the haevy rain to stop. It was already raining when husband brought me to the office that morning but it became sunny when we were in Subic. The moment we arrived at the resort, it began raining. In the afternoon, electricity was out already & it rained so hard. I missed Jp & Kyle... :( Some of my officemates played outdoor even if it was raining. I, on the other hand, read my book & waited for time. I wanted the day to end and wake up the next morning and go back home to Manila.

The next morning, we still played games before lunch but decided to end early so we can leave and travel back to Manila by lunch. We were advised that it was signal no 3 already. We got stranded for more than 3 hours. bored & worried. We heard bad news here & there. Sulpicio lines ship sunk, a Dagupan bus mishap in nclex, floods everywhere in Manila, Mountaineers lost in Pundaquit (a nearby mountain from where we were staying). It was too much to learn/hear that day. I was really eager and desperate to get back home and be with my family. I arrived home past six already. I was very very tired. Husband and I heard mass, ate dinner really fast & slept. Not my typical weekend.

This photo is a view of the resort from our room. This is the only good photo of the resort that I was able to take. Punta de Uian is a nice place to go to. I still wish to go back on a summer and enjoy the place- hopefully with my family next time.

rainy sunset at Punta de Uian
(photo credit: CJCM)

Sonya's Garden

I've been to Sonya's Garden a couple of times already. I remember going there when it was still a "secret garden" full of really beautiful flowers. I've tried their massage and food already and i've tried attending a wedding too. I must say, I was a witness to how it evolved from just- a woman's garden to a commercialized tourists' destination. Personally, I like it better the first time i've tried going there. There were only few people who knows the place so it wasn't that crowded as much as it is nowadays.

We passed by Sonya's that weekend that we were in Tagaytay because my mama wanted to see the place. Nothing surprised her at all. In fact, she kept commenting why there's no flowers. Oo nga naman! Garden should have beautiful flowers :D


If there's one thing that I like about Sonya's now is their shops. More so because I love trinkets and country decors for the house. And yeah, their spanish bread is sarap but kinda expensive :P

What more can we do other than photo ops??? :D

Barangay Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines
(near the vicinity of Tagaytay City, Philippines/Royal Tagytay)
+63-9175329097 or +63-9175335140
info@sonyasgarden.com

travel

I love to travel. This is peace and serenity for me. No work,no problems, no nothing. My husband and I agreed to set aside extra budget that will serve as travel funds. When finances are better & more secured then maybe we can travel abroad also but for now, we are trying to enjoy what our country can offer. I am surprised and proud to discover wonderful places in our homeland. Yes, I work in the travel industry but I haven't been to all the tourist destinations in our country. Little by little, I am exploring her treasures and loving it more! I hope to visit places at least twice a year with my husband or family. I honestly think that we both deserve it for working so hard the whole year.

This year we both experienced Boracay the first time.We went to the island last January for our honeymoon. It was a very different & memorable experience for us. It was our first time to go to the beach together and travel on our own.




We have planned another trip sometime in July this year. We are going to an island with my husband's cousin and his fiance. We are looking forward to another exciting experience.:)



For short travels, we were able to explore more of Tagaytay with both our families last weekend and hopefully we can find time & extra cash to visit other places in Luzon. Would exciting and memorable for everyone! We can visit Ilocos (again & again! much love!), Baguio, Subic, Bicol & Quezon. One at a time of course :)

weekend

FAST FORWARD WEEKEND!!!

I can't wait for tomorrow. My family is spending the weekend at Tagaytay. My mama & mother in law already left this morning with my two brothers & Kyle but since husband & I still have t work today & half day Saturday, we'll just follow. I'm excited

I hope to have time to pass by Greenhills tonight after my work. I plan to get a case for my digicam at golla. I hope to find something like this later The color is very me HAPPY & surely lovin my life!

Unlike our usual Tagaytay weekend with Jp's family, I planned something productive & fun for my family & my adopted friend.

Saturday: visit Sonya's Garden ,dinner at home (my mama will prepare dinner) 8pm, we can have coffee/tea @ Starbucks One Destination or BAG of BEANS .

Sunday: breakfast at home, Sunday mass @ Calaruega or Chapel on the Hill,visit Honeybee Farm/ Gourmet Farm, lunch at home for my mama's cooking and swimming at RoyalTagaytay in the afternoon(para magamit naman ang consumables nila Jp) ...or just laze at home

We plan to leave for Manila around 4-5pm , have dinner in SLEX or early dinner at Mushroom Burger Restaurant or TAJ of TAGAYTAY.

SANA DI UMULAN! I'm excited!

My Trip to the LION CITY

This is ME in SINGAPORE! :)

The famous roti bread in SIN that I s0oo love! I usually to have this in Manila
every weekend at kopi roti (w/ hubby on our routinary Sunday Breakfast) and
breadtalk (w/ officemates).
SELOSO BEACH inside SENTOSA

Dolphin show inside SENTOSA. I was really feeling bad that kyle wasn't with me then :(
pink dolphins were amazing! and really cute!

who's this again?! :D

...inside SENTOSA, goofing around Merlion

newly constructed VIVO CITY, the biggest mall in Singapore
(well, that's according to the lady cab driver who drove me there... she was really very pushy that I go there instead of ORCHARD RD.)

with my cousin almira and her super generous husband :)
(taken inside the NIGHT SAFARI while waiting for the tram train)

Really big beef burger from Chaw-Chawang inside the night safari

Yes, this is my favorite hot caramel machiato (extra hot/skimmed milk). I had to look
for a coffee shop on my first night! hehe :D I needed to... Thanks to STARBUCKS for being worldwide!

ESPLANADE view from Pan Pacific, the hotel where I stayed. The hotel location
was perferct because of its accessibility to the "everything" and
of course the location of our clients (I was there for a business trip actually).