Here’s a summary of where I’ve been (literally) in the past
year. Short review and travel tips included!
January
Flew to Iligan City from Manila to spend a few days with my
friend. Went to see Maria Cristina Falls for the nth time. Got on a Rural
Transit bus and traveled six hours to Davao City and spent the night at Costa
Marina Beach Resort in Samal Island.
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| Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City. Costa Marina Beach Resort in Samal Island, Davao del Norte |
Costa Marina: Nice cottages, reasonable price. Food is okay.
What I like about this place is that they have maintained the nature-y feel of
the beach and “forest” instead of clearing the land to build concrete
structures. If you like, you could also bring tents and camp at the beach.
February
I had friends from Manila visiting me for a few days! Yay!
They did the usual tourist-y day-trips—Paradise Island in Samal, Eden Nature Park,
Malagos Garden Resort, Philippine Eagle, Jack’s Ridge. I threw in a few not so
usual eating places in their itinerary—Coffee for Peace, Casa Munda, PonceSuites, Backyard Burgers, Bankerohan Market. We also visited the Davao Contemporary Art Gallery! They stayed at Green Windows Dormitel.
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| Buying fruits at Bankerohan public market |
Green Windows: Rooms are kind of cramped for four people
with two beds but price is okay. Not for the claustrophobic. The room they
stayed at in Green Windows ironically did not have windows. I'm not a big fan.
April
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| Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan |
Went to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan for a day
trip of visiting heritage houses. I like old things so I had a lot of fun. This
place is a bit pricey but we got a voucher from MetroDeal or CashCash Pinoy (I
can’t remember). We also went to Mt Samat; there’s a memorial for the soldiers
during the Death March. Overall a good day of history. It's a loooong drive to Bataan so make sure you have a good driver. My awesome father was our driver. :)
Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar: They have a batis-inspired
pool which focused more on aesthetics rather than safety. The pool looks really
beautiful but it’s slippery and you can easily bump your head in the big
decorative rocks. There were also some corners of the pool where water was
stagnant. The heritage houses looked really well restored.
June
A friend from Manila spent a weekend in Davao. We went to a
resort in Samal owned by the family of my former workmate. It was a chill,
beach bumming weekend. The resort is also near Hagimit Falls so we did a little side trip. Just make sure that it didn't rain the previous day/night to have a better appreciation of the falls.
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| Fernandez Beach Resort is well-known in Samal, accessible by public transport |
Fernandez Beach Resort: Accommodations are cheap, nice, and
clean. The beach is okay, though waters are not as clear as in the parts of
Samal Island I frequent. The resort has a lap pool! Food is delicious and cheap
but food service is not very efficient. The resort can get crowded and noisy on
weekends.
July
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| Lawyer friend visits me and stayed less than 24hrs. Haha. |
Another friend from Manila spends a weekend in Davao! We
went to the default touristy place—Paradise Island. I have been to Paradise
Island countless times for a day trip but this is the first that I actually
stayed the night.
Paradise Island: I really liked how they took care of the
small details showing they have really studied the behavior of Filipinos who go
to the beach—foot wash at the entrance of all cottages, clothes line in the
yard, plastic bags to store wet clothes, etc. Paradise Island is the default
tourist destination because their food is good, their beach is nice, and their
accommodations are very comfortable. Good value for money. Just be prepared to
be with a lot of tourists though.
July
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| Blue Waters Beach Resort in Samal Island |
I did my mid-year retreat at Blue Waters Resort in Samal. I
always do a mid-year retreat as it helps me “get away” and take stock of the
year so far.
Blue Waters Resort: Accommodations are okay, nothing
spectacular; structures are quite old. I had a good view of the sea though so I
wasn’t complaining. They have a saltwater swimming pool! Food is forgettable, nothing special.
This resort is not as accessible as Paradise Island.
September
I went to Bohol with friends visiting from China and Nepal.
Bad time to travel by sea because of the monsoon rains. I was traumatized
riding the SuperCat from Cebu to Tagbilaran, Bohol. Worst time of my life, I
really thought I was going to die. Best thing about this trip? Free food and
accommodation! It’s always fun (and cheap) to have a friend who is a local. Had
a lot of fun snorkeling. We arranged for a boat and snorkeling guides with
Panglao Tropical Villas. We travelled to Panglao by finding random motorbike
drivers willing to drive us. Haha. We haggled for a bit and settled on a good
reasonable price for bringing us over to Pangalao and fetching us after our day
of snorkeling. We also did the customary Bohol city tour—Chocolate Hills,
heritage churches, tarsier, man-made forest, Loboc River cruise. This was a couple of weeks before the big 7.1 earthquake that hit central Visayas.
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| Chocolate Hills, Loboc River cruise, Panglao beach in Bohol |
Panglao Tropical Villas: Staff is accommodating. The
snorkeling fee (gear and guide) was only PHP300/head. We snorkeled at the
Bellevue side of Panglao because the winds were too strong to go over to
Balicasag Island. I did my first dive in Balicasag Island three years ago and I fell in love
with marine life so it was sad that our friend from Nepal couldn’t experience
that. We also went over to the famous sandbar. Two years ago it was a public
place, now it is fenced with a sign that says the name of the guy who has
bought the island. Sad.
City tour: We booked through a car rental service. It was a
good deal with five of us splitting the expenses. The Loboc River cruise is the
height of being touristy, I think. But it was entertaining enough so it was
okay.
September
I did a side trip to Cebu on my way back to Davao. I visitedthe Cebu of my childhood. For the most part, Cebu has changed a lot. It has
become a highly urbanized city. The Cebu I know is Jones Ave, St. Theresa’s
College, and Urgello-Aznar only. Interestingly, these places haven’t changed
much. I find it funny that tourist-friends go to Cebu and when they find out I
am Cebuana they assume I know the Cebu they know. No. The Cebu I know is small
and unassuming. I’m still the small-town Cebuana, not the flashy party girl
Cebuana most tourists know. Stayed at Cendet.
UCCP Cendet Guesthouse: Straightforward backpackers
dormitory at PHP300/night, along Jones Ave.
November
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| Diving group (big picture), the view from our villa, intro/discovery divers with master diver/instructor, swimming with turtles! |
Went to El Nido for a few days to accompany a couple of foreigners visiting the Philippines. We went diving; were also
supposed to go island hopping but there was a storm on the first day we were
there so the Philippine Coast Guard cancelled all boat trips. The diving was
amazing! El Nido unseated Balicasag in my heart. Haha. The dive was arranged by
Submariner Diving Center/Habibi. The dive masters were awesome. I really
appreciated how they weren’t just doing it as work but were really passionate
about marine life. Saw a hawksbill sea turtle, green sea turtle, and a huge
stingray. I am a "master" intro/discovery SCUBA diver because all my dives in the past three years are all intro/discovery dives and still no money to
actually get certified. Haha. We ate all our meals at the “strip.” Nothing
spectacular, everything is sort of the same. Spent a couple of days in Puerto
Princesa and discovered Casa Nieves owned by director Dante Nico Garcia. Lunch
at Ugong Rock was the best food we had in the whole duration of our Palawan
trip.
Makulay Lodge, El Nido: Great view of the bay! You’d have to
walk up almost a couple hundred steps though. The villa we stayed at was
spacious and quaint. I really liked it. Plus, it wasn’t in the “center” of El
Nido so it wasn’t as busy.
Princess Armicha, Puerto Princesa: Nothing fancy here.
Straightforward “locker room” in the city. Good cheap accommodations if you
just need a place to sleep in and are not really prissy. Staff is accommodating
too.
December
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| On the speedboat to neighboring Malipano Island, snorkeling, "birthday" dinner, sunbathing :P |
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