Goodbye 2017 and Hello 2018!

Another year has passed .. The earth is about to orbit once more to another 365 days. 2017 has been a wonderful year for me and as I look back.. I couldn't be more grateful that God knows my heart and showered me with overflowing blessings more than I could ever ask or imagine. The best thing He'd blessed me with this year? Our Father in heaven miraculously saved and protected Jan from an accident last February. I am eternally grateful from the bottom of my heart for another chance given to us to spend many, many mooooreee years and create beautiful memories together. One thing more.. we also finally reunited & spent a good quality time with my Dad whom we have not seen for a decade. Im healthy.. my lovedones' safe and healthy.. we have everything we need.. I couldnt ask for any thing more. Thank you, Lord!  And hello 2018! I'm excited for all the new adventures this year will bring! 

Always,

Rica ♡

Bantayan Island: Story of our travel gone wrong 😊

When I first visited Cebu 2 years ago.. we only stayed overnight & did a little City tour of our own visiting the old churches, temples & pigging out to our heart's content with Cebu delicacy. I promised to myself next time when we come back.. we would definitely check out its famous white sand beach, The Bantayan Island. 

However though, our trip to this Island  was a bit.. well.. it's safe to say that things didnt just go according to plan after all the series of unfortunate events we encountered : First, The airline company we flew with spoiled our trip with 5 hours of flight delay causing us to .. Second,  miss the last ferry to the island (Ferry is only until 5:30pm) and travel time from airport to the pier is another 4 hours. Third, Because of this, we had no choice but to stay overnight in another resort and travel the next day. Fourth, Only to be disappointed in the end with a terrible hotel service of Anika Island Resort upon our arrival and.. Fifth and most importantly.. we experienced a very risky and scariest boat ride in Bantayan! Our supposed "20 mins boat ride" to a nearby island became an hour gripping onto our seat in fright! There's just so much "what-ifs" going on in my head  & wished I should have planned a trip to somewhere else more accessible. But thank God, we made it to the island safe! 

While I was stressed, scared, guilty.. totally mix of emotions with all the mentioned above.. suddenly everything became a blur.. I looked at Jan and  I realized one thing:  I am one lucky woman to be loved by a very kind, patient & understanding man.  He could  just easily blame me for all the hassle, inconvenience , for the life we might have lost and all the extra cost he had to pay for this trip etc.  But he didnt. Instead, he made me calm, comforted & showed his love to me. Sure, it was totally not the most romantic moment to reflect but It's in this crazy situation that I realized how much he loves me and that I also love him more than words can say. I've heard many times people say that "The greatest feeling in this world is to love and be loved" .. and I couldnt agree more to this statement! 

Oh well Enough of my mushy-gushy-ness.. hehe.. Allow me to share with you some of our photos in Bantayan & Cebu City-- a travel gone wrong but somehow we managed to hide our worries and stress in the camera 😊 -- And make the best out of it too anyway..

 But yes, Bantayan is really beautiful..

 The sand in this area is so powdery ..I must say it could be compared to that in Boracay..

 Our packed lunch..

 Our worries fade as soon as we arrived in the Island.. 

The next day we went back to Cebu City..

 We stayed in Waterfront Cebu Lahug.. 

Ofcourse we wouldnt leave without having a taste of Cebu's famous roasted pig. Love the Pinoy interior, very good service and delicious lechon of House of Lechon.

 Yum! Look how cute they present their Lechon with its piggy wooden plate..

Thank you for loving and supporting all my crazy ideas my love :P

Before we head to the airport.. we re-visited the Taoist temple.

Always,

Rica ♡

Coron stole our hearts..

I've always known that my country, the Philippines, is endowed with so many natural beauty. From the lush tropical forest, beautiful mountain ranges, lakes, volcanoes, world-class coral reefs, unspoiled white sand beaches, surfing spots and so much more. But it was only a few years ago when I started earning my own money (and was legally allowed by my parents to travel) that I get to explore my home country. The more I travel, the more I realized that my country is indeed a piece of paradise on earth.

With that said.. If there is one destination in the Philippines that I would be proud to recommend to my foreign friends.. Coron will probably be one of my top list. Like El Nido, Coron absolutely lived up waaaayyy more than our expectation. This beautiful Island stole our hearts instantly. And seriously,my pictures doesn't give any justice to how beautiful Coron is. It is 10x more beautiful in real life!

DAY 1: Arrival in Coron ❤

Inside the plane! Excited for another beach adventure!

First time to fly with Skyjet! Our honorable mayor Dino Reyes Chua of Municipal of Noveleta is the President of this boutique airline.

Our spacious room in Haven 1916 Bed & Breakfast. We were upgraded to a family room which has 3 beds (1 king, 1 queen & 1 double bed) and we have it all for just the two of us. 😊 This lovely bed & breakfast is one of the best accommodations you could probably find in the laid-back & sleepy town of Coron. It may not have the best amenities but what makes them apart from other hotels is their very attentive & helpful staff. As a Side story: When we were already at the airport for our return flight to Manila.. I realized that I left my watch at our room & informed the hotel staff right away. Good thing, my boyfriend's mom was also in Coron that time for a business trip & our flight was one day ahead of her. I really appreciate that the hotel staff went an extra mile to deliver my watch to my boyfriend's mom hotel (which is around 30 mins scooter ride) without charging us an extra cost! I would really feel guilty if ever I lose that watch because it is Jan's christmas gift to me sooo thank you, thank you Haven 1916 B&B for being my savior! 😊 

We capped off our 1st day in Coron by soaking in the therapeutic hot spring of Maquinit. 

This is a natural salt water by the way. Perfect way to relax after a loonng and tiring day!

I have been wanting to dip in a hot spring for so long. Finally I made it!:)

DAY 2: Start of our First Island Hopping Tour ❤

For our first island hopping adventure in Coron..We chose an island hopping package tour called "Coron Island Tour" . Our hotel arranged our 2-days tour thru their affiliated Tour operator, Calamian Travel & Tours. This tour is said to be the best Island Hopping Package because it covers the 7 highlight & must-see Islands in Coron which includes: Kayangan Lake, Twin Lagoon, Siete Pecados, Beach 91, Skeleton Wreck, Malwawey Reef & Coral Garden & CYC Beach. The cost of this tour is PHP1,600 which includes buffet lunch.

Coron is ❤

The crystal-clear water of Kayangan Lake which is dubbed to be the cleanest lake in Asia.

See how clear the water is! 

Beach 91 where we had lunch

Lunch was served buffet-style. 

My love already sun-burned! :P

DAY 2: Second day Island Hopping Tour ❤

For our second day Island hopping tour.. we chose "Island Escapade Tour" which comprise of visiting 3 beautiful white sand beaches that are so picture-perfect namely: Malcapuya, Banana & Bulog Dos Island. Cost of this tour is PHP1700 which also include lunch.

Malcapuya Island

Under the shade of tree with this gorgeous view

And I tell myself.. "This is the life!" 😊 

Banana Island. This is where we had our lunch.

Lunch time!

In case you're wondering.. I bought my one-piece swimwear online at Cesa PH

 And finally Bulog Dos Island

 With a view like this.. I cant help but to pretend to be a model. LOL This view could be a perfect spot for filming a mermaid role :P

Breathtaking view!

 Sorry for my fats! Hahaha. As you can see.. I enjoyed my time in Coron so much!

There is really no need to go far to see a paradise.. it's right here in our islands!

Given the short time we spent in Coron.. we were already dead tired and sunburned with all the water activities we did.. and even if it has been 2 months since then.. my tan lines are still very much visible  Hayyy.. while blogging this trip I really wish I'm at the beach at this moment. We look forward to visit more of the Philippines' paradise Islands.. My list are: Siargao Island, Amanpulo in Palawan, Bantayan Island in Cebu, Caramoan in Camarines Sur & Calaguas in Camarines Norte.. I cant wait to go for another beach vacay!!! Where to go next?

Always,

Rica ♡

Our short trip in Singapore

Our first trip in Singapore was short but sweet. We only stayed for 4 days & 3 nights as our main agenda was to show our support to Jan's younger sister who competed and represented Philippines along with her schoolmates in the International Global Link Issues which was participated by different schools in South East Asia. While at the same time, we also took this opportunity to visit the Lion City's famous landmarks.

I have no wonder why many expats chose to live in this little nation despite for its reputation to be one of the most expensive countries to live in. Singapore is multi-cultural and no race discrimination at all. Having said that, there are a lot of local & international cuisines everywhere that cater to its local & foreign residence such as Malay, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Western Cuisines etc.. you name it. For me, Singapore is like a country that celebrates United Nation everyday. :P And I love that the locals are very warm & friendly, too!

Day 1:

Yummy Inflight Meal of Philippine Airlines :)

Just Arrived at Changi Airport with Jan's beautiful sister

We stayed in Hotel G located near the busy street of Bugis. The hotel has modern design with the most comfortable bed, serves delicious buffet breakfast & also provides its guests with complimentary use of handy phone equipped with internet and free local calls & texts. It was extremely hot during our stay in Singapore so the phone was really useful for us in booking our taxi using grab a taxi app & communicating to each other thru messenger. In addition, the hotel staff are always very helpful & friendly. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who are looking for a hotel to stay in SG.

Our lovely King Room in Hotel G. See the cute dreamcatcher accent light?

 In our first night, we had a leisurely walk around Marina Bay Sands.. the LV building catches everyone's attention with its glittery-shinny-shimmery interior which screams glam & class!

 We were also able to witness a beautiful fountain show along the bay.. 

 The Marina Bay Shopping Mall which is home to hundreds of high-end & luxurious brands.

With mi-amor 

Day 2:

The competition was held at the Singapore University. And here we are all sweaty locating for the auditorium. Haha. We didnt expect how huge the Singapore University is! Every department has it's own building with first-class facilities and the student's dorm are like luxury condos. I wonder how expensive it is to study here..

The football field of Singapore University is sooo huge and well-maintained...

The Bansud Elem School Students . They are the only school (out of 200 schools & Universities in South East Asia) who won 3 major awards and one of their team was also given a special invitation to visit Japan. Isn't it these kids are so cool?

The proud Mom & Kuya!

Ofcourse, we wouldnt leave without experiencing Singapore's famous chili crab..  I was surprised how expensive their chili crab is.. for a 600 grams one piece crab.. price was SG$68 .. that's totally a rip off! hahaha

After the presentation, we visited Singapore's most iconic landmark.. the Merlion Park with the famous Merlion Statue 

 Under the scorching sun.. There are absolutely a lot of impressive and futuristic architecture in SG.

 Merlion Park is always jampacked with tourists and locals alike even under the extreme hot temperature

I should train my boyfriend to take a shot in the camera. Look just how unfair our shot to each other with the Merlion Statue... :D

And then we headed next to Gardens by the bay with Jan's mother. It's so beautiful to stroll around the garden at night with it's vibrant and colorful lights..

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel & Casino

Dead tired but happy :)

Day 3:

Our third and final day in SG was spent in a day of exploring the Universal Studios.

  

Singapore version of Halo-Halo.. Cha Cha Bobo..

So that's about our short trip in Singapore. I hope to visit some of it's flea markets.. Bugis (yes, I was not able to visit it despite its close proximity from our hotel :P ), China town & little India and also check Singapore's museums, Clark Quay & East Coast Park when we come back. 

Always,

Rica ♡