The Hideout in the city

What?

• Papa's 64th Birthday

We opted to do away with our usual birthday lunch or dinner celebration today for our dear old man so we decided to look for a new place to celebrate. Glad we didn't have to go far away to find the perfect venue... 

pardon us! i know its pop's birthday -- just wanted to share a poolside snap hehe

Where?

• The Hideout - a residential house located in hillsview drive subdivision in Lahug which is just within the city. 

Place rental: Php 1800.00/8 pax (good for 8 hours) wow!

Inclusions:

Free use of swimming pool  

Free use of kitchen 

Free use of dining area

Unlimited Karaoke

Add-ons:

Php 150/pax for additional guests over 8

Php 500 = use of 1 room

Billiards table = Php 350.00 (whole day)

Php 150.00 = use of gas range

The swimming pool is not that big but is perfect for small groups with a depth of 3ft - 6ft.

You can cook your meals at the location but we just brought with us our own food provisions since we found it more convenient.

They have a number of song choices for the oddballs like me who go cray for karaoke... I must say among all of us, there's no doubt it was ME who enjoyed it the most haha! 

We had the place for ourselves from 10am - 6pm today -- which was actually the best part! The hideout is a private place for you and your loved ones to chill in the city and enjoy each other's company as if you're in one of those out of town trips. 

Digyo Island: Last Hurrah for Summer

Summer trips are fun when you travel with the fambam... It's almost like an annual tradition of the gang to go on a short yet sweet summer escapade to my mother's hometown in Inopacan Leyte for the feast of their patron San Isidro Labrador that's celebrated every 15th of May. It's something that we have always looked forward to when summer months unfold. This tradition has been an awesome opportunity for us to visit and bond with our relatives whom we only get to see once a year --- not to mention the good food and the beautiful white beaches everyone including an oddball like me would love. 

Leyte province is undeniably gaining popularity these days because of Kalanggaman Island and Canigao Island. Local and international tourists have flocked their way to these islands to marvel at nature's finest waters. However, aside from the well known Canigao and Kalanggaman Island, Inopacan Leyte also has its own pride; the "Cuatro Islas" (Mahaba, Himokilan, Apid, and Digyo Island). 

How we transported ourselves to the Island?

We had to go to Inopacan's Baywalk / Reclamation Area  which serves as the docking area for all boats going to the Cuatro Islas.

Rates:

Boat rent ranges from Php 2500.00 - Php 5000.00

Environmental Fee - Php 10.00/pax

Entrance fee: Php 60.00/pax

while waiting for our boat...

with the man - my favorite travel buddy

We have been to the other 3 islands before so we skipped the island hopping and headed straight to Digyo Island for our most awaited swim -- haha!!!

Digyo Island --- is the smallest among the 4 islands hence its called digyo which was derived from the old Cebuano word "digyot" which means small. True enough, the islet's land area is pretty small that we've circumnavigated or literally walked around it in less than 30 minutes. We rented a cottage for Php 300.00 only for the day but you can do away with the cottages if you bring your own tent with you, especially if you plan to stay for the night. 

The island offers inviting crystal clear blue waters, white sandy shores and its own sandbar that glares brightly under the sunlight. No wonder the number of beach hungry tourists have increased overnight. I used to love it here since I get to enjoy the serenity of the island with my family and a few other people who knew about the place but with its soaring popularity, it's now jam packed with a lot of tourists and I fear people may abuse this virgin island and strip off of its beauty.

Take a peek... 
#phonephotography 

the gang en route to Digyo Island :P

3 bananas underneath the big blue sky! lol!

fambam  "ohana"

sandbar :)

happiness <3

On our way back to mainland Inopacan, we had the most amazing experience with unexpected beautiful creatures. Our boat was filled with shrieks of delight as we saw magnificent and playful dolphins swimming alongside our boat. Boy we were in for a treat! The only regret I had, all our cameras and phones ran out of juice. .. :(  Nevertheless, it was one fine summer day... definitely another one for the books! 

Shells on the Shores of Lambug Badian

Beachfront

woke up like this snap! :)

Been looking forward to beach bumming since summer started this year and alas got the chance to crash an outing -- haha! Finally, Lambug Badian is another one that's off my bucket list. Heard about it from people's blog-pages but never really got the chance to see it till this weekend.

Thoughts:

Didn't expect much from this place... It was prolly my way of trying not to be disappointed if it turns out otherwise from the the blog posts I've read.  

Transportation:

We transported ourselves to Badian by taking a bus with Cebu-Bato (via Barili) route from the South Bus terminal. The air-conditioned Ceres Bus only costs php 130.00/pax to get there. Whew! It's a 3-4 hour ride, shout out to the man-friend for the good playlist we listened to throughout the entire trip. We had also taken power naps along the way and busied ourselves in munching on some chips. 

We dropped off the bus and took a motorcycle to get to the resort. Don't be deceived, the motorcycle fare only costs php 25.00/pax. 

Accommodation:

There's really not much to choose from if you're looking for nice and fancy hotels. However, they have cottages decent enough to stay and light on your pockets. 

We stayed at Magic Beach Resort. 

Standard Room Rate: php 1500.00
Air conditioned Room Rate: php 2500.00
Tent: php 500.00
Own Tent: php 200.00

The resort provides plates and utensils for their guests and a dirty kitchen to cook meals out back and a refrigerator too. The shower rooms and toilets were clean even though its common for all house guests.  

Food and Drinks:

Well, we brought our own food provisions to Lambug Badian. Buying drinks and chips was rather easy since they have convenient stores just right beside the resort. The convenient store also offers a Karaoke Machine to sing our hearts out for php 5.00 only and get to have two song choices. Now isn't that a bargain? 

Verdict:

The white sands, the blue waters, and the fine weather made it almost perfect -- But it was his company which made it complete!   

Here are some snapshots I took with my phone camera...

with my man! <3

Karaoke at the beach

Karaoke at the beach

Breakfast - shout out to mommy aimee for preparing our meals!!!

Fun on the sandy shores

Strike a pose with mother :)

Just strollin'

Kawasan Falls - #itsmorefuninthephilippines

Oh how I love being spontaneous!

Wearing our I <3 Cebu Shirts :)

Thoughts:

We had an unplanned trip down south one fine day and had the chance to dip in the cold waters of Kawasan Falls. Had absolutely no plans that day when Mama woke me up early urging me to go with them to Kawasan. Half awake, I found myself all packed up for the trip just like that. 

How we transported ourselves to Kawasan:

We took a bus at the South Bus terminal at 3am. The fare was only around Php120 to my surprise going to Badian. It was approximately a 3-hour ride to get there so I was able to catch up with sleep and slept my way through the whole bus ride. Since we left early dawn, we managed to get there at 6am in the morning which was perfect. 

The Experience:

It was my first time to visit the place... I was psyched! I gotta say I was pumped up since I got out of bed that morning! Must have been so pumped we went swimming as soon as we rested our bags at the table we rented for Php 300 which I find affordable though. The water was literally ice-cold, yet the cold did not bother us anyway.... haha! They have tables, bathrooms, toilets, and rooms for those who wished to stay for the night. It's great to know you can witness such a beauty without having to travel far away from the city and you don't even have to spend much.

Verdict:

It was nature at its finest! Will definitely go back one of these days... #itsmorefuninthephilippines

Here are a few snapshots we took with my phone camera (sorry for the low quality photos) :

moi

my love

just look at that bamboo raft!

wearing our buoyancy vests that we rented for php 50.00

Boracay Island - Travel on a tight budget

Thoughts: reminiscing paradise

 Albeit it's a little late, just wanted to share a little bout my sweet escape to paradise...


I bet most people think going to Boracay is quite expensive and would mean draining your pockets. Well, I proved it otherwise. It's a good thing there's Cebu Pacific airlines that constantly offers cheap promo flights so might as well take advantage of it. My sister and I booked our flights 3 months earlier and got a really good discounted price. We thought it would be an awesome birthday gift to our mom and to our aunt -- well, err I guess to ourselves. With the daily stress from work and the busy urban life, we all deserve to getaway right? Alas Boracay is just the perfect place to unwind.

Preparations: there's really not much

• read blogs/reviews about Bora
• checked hotel tariff rates
• compared water activities to try out
• familiarized ourselves with the vicinity maps
• checked out affordable restaurants

Fast forward to 3 months later...

Hooray! It's time to go but wait, we didn't have any hotel reservations. We figured there's going to be a lot of cheaper deals we can find once we get there. To our delight there were a lot of friendly locals who approached us when we arrived. They asked if we have hotel reservations and offered us pretty good deals which was really hard to say no. They took us to Jerome's Lounge which I may say was a very decent place to stay. It was neat and very light on your budget (fyi: room rates starts at Php 1500.00). Plus, it is located in Station 2 which is the life of the party. To top it off, it's prolly just a minute or two walk to the seafront.

Where to Dine?

Contrary to public notions, you can find affordable and cheap places to eat. I sure was surprised to see Mcdonald's and Andok's chicken at the d'mall. Yup, we ate there when we arrived... haha! We also tried other inexpensive restos where you can have a meal for Php 95.00 per person and a dinner buffet at La Carmella Boracay Hotel that only costs around Php 350.00/pax. We also bought food, chips, and other provisions from budget mart convenient store since it was cheaper compared to other commercial establishments there.



Water Activities:

There were a lot of fun activities to choose from depending on your budget though. I like the idea that they were offering cheaper prices to locals. We had parasailing for Php 1,100.00/pax while foreign tourists were charged Php 2500-3000 for the same water activity. Isn't that great? here are some activities you can try.

note: we didn't get to try all of them due to time and budget constraints. haha!

• helmet diving
• parasailing
• banana boat ride
• fly fish
• island hopping
• atv and buggy car
• scuba diving

Verdict:

Ooooommmmggeee!!! I sure love it there. I Will definitely visit the place again one day. The people were very friendly and accommodating. I call it a happy place. It's a party where people from different parts of the globe meet and get to interact with one another at the same time enjoying the beautiful white sandy shores and crystal clear waters of Boracay.