Short Family weekend trip in Bohol

One of my New Year goals for this year is to treat my family an out-of-town vacation because it has been a while since we went on a vacation together as a family. Bohol is the first thing that crossed into my mind when I was planning our trip because I just thought that Bohol is a friendly tourist destination for families traveling with young children (and senior citizens like my mom). Hihi. 

And so when PAL announced their 75th anniversary promo last March, I immediately grabbed the chance and  booked my family a roundtrip ticket to Tagbilaran (Php575 one way). It was  also our first time in Bohol and so we were so excited to see the  Chocolate Hills and the cute little Tarsiers which Bohol is famous for. We stayed in Alona Northland Resort located in Panglao Island in our 3days and 2nights in Bohol. Our room is very spacious with duplex room, kitchenette and a balcony facing the resort's pool. They also offer family room with kitchen & complete cooking utensils for a lesser price so you have an option to cook in your room but we availed the one with breakfast[ good for 4 pax] for Php5,500.00 per night. 

Family room of Alona Northland Hotel

 Adjacent room (1 king size bed and another 1 queen size bed)

View from our room

In the afternoon, we went to Dumaluan Beach for a swim but it was lowtide when we arrived in the beach so we didn't appreciate it that much. But during the high-tide (judging from its fine white sand), the beach could have been beautiful. 

Sunset of Dumaluan Beach

With my sister, Ate Ycai

Our sumptuous dinner of Grilled pork belly, chicken & corn with ceasar salad. I forgot the name of the restaurant but it is located near the Hennan Resort Alona.

The next day, we woke up early to prepare for our country-side tour. The hotel offers complimentary plated breakfast at their restaurant which has a very cozy ambiance by the pool. 

Plated breakfast of Alona Northland Hotel

We also availed the hotel's car for rent worth Php2,200.00 and just paid the entrance fees and Loboc river lunch buffet separately. The hotel provided us a red Innova Car. We first headed to Centuries-old Baclayon Church which is still under construction after its facade collapsed in a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in 2013. The Baclayon Church is the second oldest church in the Philippines. Adjacent to the church is its museum which showcase some interesting religious relics and artifacts.  No photos are allowed inside the museum. Entrance fee is Php50.00. 

Altar of Baclayon Church

Next, we headed to Bohol Python and Wildlife Park .. a home to the late python superstar named "Prony" which is said to be the country's  biggest snake in captivity. Prony died in 2013 for an unknown reason. She was 17 years old. The wildpark is now home to prony's daughter, grandchildren and other wild animals. Entrance fee is Php20.00

Prony's daughter

Xian with Prony's albino grand daughter python snake.

A short drive away from the wildlife park, we went next to the butterflies sanctuary. For a Php45.00 entrance fee, a guide explained to us the life cycle of butterflies. We were also able to touch a cocoon for the first time and have some picture taking with the lovely butterflies.

Our next stop is our lunch buffet at the Loboc River. I forgot how much is the entrance fee but it is around Php500+ . Since Xian is only 5 yrs old, his entrance fee was free. The food served to us in the boat is just so-so. While having lunch, a group of cute children entertained us with traditional Filipino dances.

 The jade-green water of Loboc River

 Cute Little Children entertained us with a traditional Filipino Dance

Lunch time with the Fam bam

And then we headed to our highly anticipated Chocolate Hills deck viewing at the town of Carmen. It is only then that I learned that there are 1,776 chocolate hills in Bohol. What a shame! hahaha. How come I didn't learn that in Elementary?! Seeing the chocolate hills for the first time somehow fulfilled my childhood dream.

 On the way to the chocolateeyyy. :)

 Exhausting 200+ steps to get to the viewing deck but so worth it!

Ofcourse, we wont miss the chance to see the cute little tarsier. They reminded me so much of my chihuahua dog named, Calix. Hehe. I didn't expect that they were so little. The Tarsier are venerable to extinction due to their extremely shy behavior. They tend to commit suicide when they are stressed so taking pictures of them with flash and loud noise inside the conservatory is strictly prohibited. 

The cute Tarsiers

Along the way, we had a short photoops to the Bilar man-made forest which made me feel like I was in a setting of an American film

Our last and final stop, a monument of Blood Compact or Sandugo. It is said that the exact same spot of the monument is where the first friendship treaty sealed thru blood compact by Bohol Chieftain, Datu Sikatuna and Spanish Explorer Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565. This was also where we bought our ref magnets for souvenir. Kuya Juning said that this is where we can find the cheapest pasalubong in Bohol.

Blood Compact

We ended our day with a night swimming in the resort's pool and ate at a famous restaurant in Bohol called "payag" which offers Bohol's version of Chicken Inato. The difference from Bacolod's Inato? Bohol's Inato is a little sweeter in taste and instead of the usual toyo-mansi, they used fish sauce-mansi as condiments.

Bacolod's version of Chicken Inato

So that's sums up our trip to Bohol. Our third day was only spent for our flight back to Manila. It was indeed a short but relaxing and fun-filled weekend trip with my family. I should plan another trip for us before this year ends .. where will we head next? hmmmm...

Always,

Rica ♡

Indochina Travel Tips for Filipino Travelers

Hello everyone!

Last January, My boyfriend and I went for a 10days DIY Indochina Tour to our neighboring countries in Asia-- Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. An indochina tour can be quite stressful if not planned carefully because I warned you.. you will be so lucky if you wont encounter scams and shady deals along the way most especially when you start to cross-board from one country to another. Nonetheless, the experience is all worth it and will definitely leave you with memories and stories to tell. We spent the whole 10 days wandering, exploring and getting exposed to different people,  culture, beliefs, religions, cuisines, lifestyle etc and its indeed so interesting to discover that while they are so close together, each of these countries have their own distinct charm and beauty. 

Thailand

Ayutthaya, Thailand

As mentioned in my previous blog, we decided to have Thailand as our starting point for our Indochina tour  because my boyfriend has an aunt who lives with her little family in Bangkok. Our trip to Thailand was the most relaxing trip of all the 3 countries we visited because of their warm company. We dedicated one day to visit the Ruins of Ayutthaya and visited quite a few temples, ate a lot of cheap but very delicious Thai food (we went to the nearby market one day to  try local street foods such as Thai BBQ, Bami Nam, Soy Milk and other coconut milk-based dessert). We also went to the malls for souvenir shopping and experienced their very own Thai massage before we leave. Since we stayed in my bf's aunt in our 4 days stay in Thailand, I could not advise any hotels to stay there but we always relay to reviews from Trip Advisor and agoda.

Cost of our 4 days trip in Thailand: Php15,000.00 (because we splurged for shopping!)

Cambodia

At the border of Cambodia

The temples of Angkor Wat is undoubtedly amazing but sad to say, we had a first bad impression of this country after all the series of scam attempts, overpricing tour we availed from a tuktuk driver [who we thought was a nice a guy], aggressive vendors and violent locals we encountered while we were there. It could may be because we trusted people right away. To avoid this,  I highly suggest that you book your direct bus trip to Siem Reap from Bangkok located at Mo Chit Terminal ahead of time so you wont have to deal with a number of  scammers who would try to convince you with their dirty tricks right from the border. You may book your ticket in advance at this website.   Also, I would like to stress that you should book your Angkor Wat Tour with your hotel. Many of the tuktuk drivers overcharged tourist double and even triple the price of what an Angkor Wat Tour should be. Plus, booking your tour w/ your hotel is a lot easier, safer and cheaper.

Where we stayed?

We stayed in King Rock Boutique Hotel in our 3 days in Siem Reap. I love this hotel. We get to experienced a 5 star service and amenities by only paying a mid-range hotel costs. For only Php2,100 per night (taxes not included and booked via agoda), we enjoyed a very comfortable king size bed with big comfort room that has a fab bath tub, living area and a veranda. And the best part? They served big and delicious breakfast. Despite our disappointment w/ what we experienced.. we enjoyed Cambodia because of this hotel. 

King Deluxe Room of King Rock Boutique Hotel

Cost of our 3 days trip in Cambodia: Php20,000.00 (because we were scammed by our tuktuk driver)

Vietnam

Notre Dam Cathedral, Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam

I fell in love with this country immediately because of its people. The Vietnamese are nice, approachable and helpful. Not to mention that they are good-looking people, too! We only stayed here for 2 days since we need to check out early for our 1am flight back to Manila on our 3rd day. We spent our short stay in Vietnam by visiting the War Remnants Museum (the best museum I have ever been to). Dont miss this when you're in Vietnam. We also checked the Notre Dam Cathedral, nearby Post office and ate pho, tried out Vietnamese coffee and went shopping at Ben Than Market and Saigon Square.

From Cambodia, we booked our bus transfer to Ho Chi Min thru a travel agency called Virak-Buntham Express Travel & Tour. The bus transfer costs Php1800.00. I highly recommend booking your bus transfer to a travel agency if you're in Cambodia to avoid scam.

Also, commuting around Vietnam thru taxi is cheap. Bloggers suggest that you only ride the two reputable taxi companies in Vietnam -- Mai Lin and Venasun -- We followed this advised and never had any issue with our taxi experience in Vietnam. They also give back change in exact amount, too.

Where we stayed in Vietnam?

Suite Room of Dragon Palace Hotel

We stayed in Dragon Palace Hotel in our 3 days in Vietnam. The hotel is so-so and located at the busy street of District 1 which gives you easy access to the point of interest around the City. A Plus factor is the complimentary buffet breakfast but the menu doesn't change in our 3 days stay so we ate the same breakfast every single day. 

Cost of our 3 days trip in Vietnam: Php15,000.00 (because we shopped a lot, too)

Total Cost of our 10 days Indochina Tour

Php 30,000.00 Airfare
      15,000.00 4D3N in Thailand
      20,000.00 3D2N in Cambodia
      15,000.00 3D2N in Vietnam
-----------------------
Php 80,000.00 or (Php40,000.00 per person)

Note: We had a last minute plane ticket booking w/ Cebu Pacific. You could save cost if you book your tickets in advance. In our case, we only booked our tickets days before our trip. I also think that our budget is pretty descent for a 10days Indochina itinerary.. we  splurged in  shopping, food and also stayed in mid-range hotels during our trip. Mind you, the "few thousand bucks that was scammed to us by our tuktuk driver" was also included in the total budget expense. You could add up or lower your expense depending on your travel needs and budget. 

Money Exchange:

We exchanged our peso to dollar and also exchanged some of our peso to baht by buying in PNB Bank because its way cheaper to buy dollar in local banks. Dollar is highly accepted in Cambodia than their own currency, Cambodia Riel. While in Vietnam, we exchanged our dollar in a reputable Money exchange in Ho Chi Mihn

What to bring in your Indochina Tour

-Camera

-Comfortable shoes

-Sunblock

-Umbrella/hat

-Mosquito repellent

-Alcohol

-Wet wipes

-Medicine ( paracetamol and loperomide coz you never know :) )

For detailed posts of our Indochina Trip for each countries, please click links below:

Part 1: Indochina Tour to Bangkok & Ayutthaya Thailand

Part 2: Indochina Tour to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Part 3: Indochina Tour to Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam

if you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to ask me at the comment box below. Hope this helps!

Always,

Rica ♡

A First-Timer Travel Guide to El Nido Palawan

Shimizu Island, El Nido

Hello everyone! So I thought I would share with you some helpful tips I gathered from my research while I was planning our trip to El Nido Palawan and give you honest reviews of hotel/tour package that we availed during our trip [that is solely based from our own personal experience] . I hope this post would somehow be of help to those who are also planning their next adventure to this beautiful Island. 

How to go to El Nido?

I've heard that The fastest and most convenient way to get to El Nido is thru taking a direct flight from Manila from an airline company called AirSWIFT. Fare is a little hefty though compare if you book a flight via Puerto Princesa. But at-least you wont have to endure a 5-6 hours of land travel from Puerto Princesa airport.

For a cheapest (and most popular) option, take the latter like we did. From Puerto Princesa Airport, we hopped a van parked outside the airport that travels directly to El Nido.  Fare is between Php500-600.00. It is best to book your van transfer in advance with your hotel in El Nido.

Where to stay in El Nido:

Aqua Travel Lodge --We stayed in this hotel in our recent trip in El Nido and  I could say that we had a pleasant stay in this hotel.  The hotel is very basic, nothing fancy but clean accommodation and the rate includes daily plated breakfast. The hotel is located in the beach front where the main action happens and near to many famous restaurants in El Nido. 

Rate: 2,000.00-2,500.00

 Aqua Travel Lodge Standard Room 

Mansion Buenavista --This was our first choice to stay in El Nido when we were planning our trip. Unfortunately, they're fully-booked when I inquired with them. If you're looking for a quiet place to stay in El Nido but still has an easy access to the main interest, I think Mansion Buenavista is one you should consider.  When we come back in El Nido, we would definitely stay in this hotel and ensure to book in advance to secure a room. Not to mention that they have 5/5 rate in TripAdvisor so I guess the hotel must be doing something good that makes their guests feel very satisfied. The hotel is also walking distance to the famed Marimegmeg beach which is said to be the perfect spot to watch the sunset of El Nido.

Rate: Php3,000.00 for rainy season promo & 4,000.00 for regular rate

Swiflets Inn- This hotel is also one we consider when we were planning our trip. The location is also accessible to the main action with the beautiful view of the mountain in your terrace. The hotel has high rate (8/10) in agoda review.

Rate: Php3000.00 and up.

Where to book your Island Hopping Tour

Servant Tours -- I've read a couple of good reviews about this tour operator when I was searching for "the best Island Hopping Tour Operator" in El Nido and so we decided to book with them as well. Although the local government standardized the rate of each tours but Servant Tours offer cheaper tour packages (about Php200-400 off)  compared to the standard rates around. The package usually includes lunch, free use of snorkeling gear and clean towel. Most of these inclusions have additional payment in other tour operators. In addition, the staff are very nice, honest, helpful and accommodating.

Other tour operators in El Nido that have good reviews are Northern Hopes, El Nido Art Cafe and Alternative tours.

What to bring:

Sufficient cash for your stay. Majority of establishments in El Nido only accept cash. 

Aqua shoes 

Underwater camera, 

dry bag or waterproof gadget bag,

Mosquito repellent

sunblock

cap/hat

battery-operated handy fan (to keep you cool from power interruption which is a common occurrences in El Nido)

How much did our trip costs?

For our 4 days 3 nights stay in El Nido, we only spent less than Php20,000.00 (Mind you, we splurged a lot for food and souvenir shopping). Airfare is not included. 

For more detailed post of our El Nido trip, please click here and here.

I hope you find this post helpful! Till next time!

Always,

Rica ♡

Part 2- Unbelievably beautiful El Nido, Palawan

In case you missed the first part of my El Nido Travel Diary, please click here

---- 

Day 3

It was a relaxing last day in the paradise. We took our usual breakfast in the hotel, had lunch at a nearby restaurant and in the afternoon, we went to the Twin Beach-- Calitang and Nacpan--which is now gaining popularity among the international travelers recently since Christian LeBlanc, a popular Canadian travel blogger, tagged Nacpan as the most beautiful beach in the world. We hailed a tricycle and was able to haggle the Twin beach and sunset viewing in Calaan beach for Php800.00. The travel time takes about almost an hour from El Nido town proper and the roads going to Nacpan is unpaved and muddy but once you're there, you will be rewarded with a beautiful & unspoiled long stretch of a fine, golden sand and turquoise water. 

Nacpan Beach

From the top of a nearby hill at the left side of the beach is where you will see this panoramic view of Nacpan and Calitang beach. During the afternoon, the beach is usually lowtide (but is good for swimming because the current during hightide is too strong and not safe for swimming specially for young kids. )

The view from the other side of the hill

There were only very few people around during our stay that we felt we have our own private beach. So ofcourse, we took advantage of it to beach-bummed and took a lot of "selfies". hehehe~

After two hours of lazing in the beach, we hurriedly rode the tricycle to catch the sunset in Marimegmeg beach or also known as Calaan Beach which is said to be the perfect spot to watch the sunset of El Nido.  

This restaurant right at the entrance of Marimegmeg beach has an eye catching quotes. We decided to order Mango and Watermelon shake as we wait for the sunset.

 It's so beautiful.. I could stare at it all day!

So that ends my El Nido travel diary series. Our 4th day was spent for travel alone and endure another 5 hours of land travel going back to Puerto Princesa  & 1 hr plane ride (and dealing with hours of delayed flight) +crazy traffic in Manila. 

 Last glance of the sunrise in our room's terrace before we head back to Manila.

As I look at our pictures, i could not help but to miss El Nido already-- the simple and laid-back vibe, the fresh air, the perfect scenery around me and ofcourse.. the friendly and accommodating Palaweno. All these and more are one of the reasons why El Nido is a truly paradise on earth --and now my most favorite destination in the country. I could not wait to come back! 

Always,

Rica ♡