Taking advantage of the long weekend, we decided to venture into the famous Taytay Falls in Majayjay, Laguna. Armed only with a friend’s vague memories of how to get there, we prepared for our adventure. GETTING THERE Leaving Makati at 2:30PM on Sunday, we hied-off to Alabang to catch any transport going to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. The bus ride (P29) via Skyway was a quick 20 minutes. Unfortunately, we had to wait for one of our friends at Jollibee Alabang so we decided to do some last-minute shopping of toiletries, etc. at the nearby 7-11. Since our “tour guide [View Full Entry]

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Cleaning up my files, I found this little article I wrote right after our trip to Malapascua in the summer of 2002. Just wanted to share it. Sadly, all our pics of the trip were in manual cameras so can't post them here. ========== Illumination in Malapascua I heard of Malapascua for the very first time in the October 2001 issue of Cosmopolitan. I was, for lack of a better term, smitten. I decided I just had to go. So I did. My boyfriend and I are avid supporters of Pinoy tourism. Once while watching CNN, we saw for the first [View Full Entry]

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SINGAPORE This is the final leg of our Singapore-Malacca-Singapore trip from October 30, 2005 to November 4, 2005. For the first 2 portions, please check my Singapore (part2) blog and Malacca blog. Friday 1. Having nowhere to go to except Orchard, we had a late breakfast, checked-out early and deposited our luggages again. 2. We went around Orchard from 11AM to past 2PM. Had lunch at the new food court at the 4th floor of Wisma Atria (unfortunately for me, it still wasn’t open the time I was there last June. We were staying at nearby Hilton and had l [View Full Entry]

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This is the 2nd leg of our Singapore-Malacca-Singapore trip from October 30, 2005 to November 4, 2005. Please check Singapore (part 2) for the days preceding this trip and Singapore (part 3) for the return to Singapore. MALACCA, MALAYSIA Wednesday After checking-out and having our luggages stored, we took the MRT to Lavender station for our trip to Malacca. This time we walked and saved the $5 very short cab ride hehe. Directions going to the Lavender / Kallang Bahru bus station: 1. From the station, exit to Lavender street. 2. From the top o [View Full Entry]

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This travelogue is a documentation of our DIY trip to Singapore and Malacca (Malaysia) from October 30 (Sunday) to November 4 (Friday). It is a compilation of our actual experiences during the travel and other tips from my month-long research on the two countries before we left. Our schedule was as follows: Singapore - October 30 (Sunday) to November 2 (Wednesday) Malacca - November 2 (Wednesday) to November 3 (Thursday) -- see Malacca blog Singapore - November 3 (Thursday) to November 4 (Friday) -- see Singapore part 3 blog This is my second time in Singapore (the first having bee [View Full Entry]

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Here is what I did for 7 days in Singapore: (Note: I was mostly travelling alone on this trip as my bf was attending a seminar. I tried to visit all the must-sees, commuting via MRT or bus.) Sunday - After checking-in at the hotel, went straight to the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari. Ang galing ng zoos nila! We bought the Parkhoppers Special at $30 (good for the 3 parks) but were not able to use the one for Jurong Birdpark as I got sick :( Monday - Orchard Orchard Orchard! Unfortunately, I found stuff really expensive even if [View Full Entry]

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Decided to chill-out with some friends at the beach -- a friend generously brings us to Terrazas de Punta Fuego, an exclusive haven south of Manila. After a leisurely two-hour drive from Manila, we arrived at Terrazas and plunked our butts at one of the pavilions facing the beach. Had lunch at the resto and basically just goofed around the place. Going home, we stopped by Bag of Beans at Tagaytay for the customary pies and raisin bread then off to a fantastic dinner at Sanctuario. What a blast! [View Full Entry]

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GETTING THERE 1. We took the Philippine Airlines Swingaround package and it was pretty neat. I spent P17,324 for a 5n-6d trip, inclusive of travel tax (P1620) and terminal fee (P550). The convenience of free daily breakfast, private transfers to and from the airport and the half-day tour more than made it worthwhile. 2. Pack light because only 20 kilos of baggage are allowed. For handcarry, maximum of 6 kilos. Don't bother bringing home anything live or fresh (fruits, flowers, etc.) because they will not be allowed in by NAIA. 3. Bangkok is stiflingly hot (as in! I was poppin [View Full Entry]

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ACCOMMODATIONS 1. Unless you can afford to stay at Shangri-la Mactan or Plantation Bay (which charge a minimum of P8K/night!) or go to the really nice but far beaches like Malapascua or Bantayan, you're better off staying at the city. The beaches in Mactan, after all, are just a 30-minute cab ride away. There is Marriott (around P4K/night) which is in the Central Business District and is adjacent to Ayala Center Cebu. This is where I stay when I'm on a business trip. If you are on a budget, there are a lot of pension inns / business hotels in Cebu [View Full Entry]

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Found these pics of my first and only trip to Baler, Aurora in 2004. It was a packaged trip so I don't remember much of the details except that I was puking almost all the way down Manila haha :) Mind you, it's about a 5-6 hour land trip to Baler, with the last 3 hours zigzagging all the way up to Aurora! The roads were so bad, travel is limited or oftentimes cancelled during rainy season because of landslides. There is only one bus company that services the route -- Genesis travel -- their buses have special tires for the [View Full Entry]

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