The Venice Grand Canal in Taguig

Landed at NAIA Terminal 3 at 11:45PM from Cagayan de Oro, the 3 of us went directly to booked dormitory in Quezon City. Still, thinking we’re to spend our whole day the following day. 

 

The next day, with the trip to the beach cancelled, the three of us decided to spend our whole day in the Metro Manila. Jef wanted to shop at Divisoria, while Jessie and I were waiting for feedback as to where to get the auto parts in Banawe. Since, it’s too early to do both we decided to visit the newest picture perfect destination in Metro Manila. 

Getting to Venice Grand Canal Mall, into McKinley Hills is pretty much easier, thanks to the detailed directions in the internet. As much as we wanted to take the easy ride by “taxi”, we opted to take the cheapest public transport, the MRT + the jeepney. 

We strolled our way to the nearest MRT station, the Quezon Avenue Station after a quick breakfast at the Seven Eleven (easiest and cheapest place to find something clean and decent to eat). Way back, MRT is the best transport when you want to go places quickly, but this time around, we waited for 30 minutes before the lady guards allowed us to go inside, and waited another 10 minutes for the first train to arrive which unfortunately was fully loaded, we waited and waited and the area became crowdeswith so many commuters, good thing an empty train came was sent to our station, and all of us currently in the area were able to get in. 

We disembarked at the Guadalupe Station and rode a jeepney enroute to AFP Housing. Not really sure we’re going to, I switched “on’ the GPS tracking our location at the same time looking for pokestop to gather pokeballs. J

The Venice Grand Canal Mall is easy to find, all you have to do is follow the alleys and read signs, 2 hours after our very long travel, we arrived at the entrance of the mall that’s due to open in 10 minutes (11AM). The sun was pretty harsh, but still we positioned ourselves anywhere possible, trying to get the best photographs. Though I haven’t been to Venice or in Macau, I believe this place is stunning just like the original. 

There are gondolas too, but there were all parked under the bridge, I think the gondola rides are open at night, not really sure. 

It was a good decision, to visit the place before heading for a cheap shopping spree in Divisoria, it felt like we’re in a romantic setting. I even posted this photo in my instagram, and some even thought that we actually went to the real place. Cool to daydream!

Lunch? Nah, the restaurants in the area are quite expensive and we don’t have the budget for an expensive food tripping. J

So if you are in the Metro, take time to visit the Venice Grand Canal in Taguig.

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8 Tourist Spots to Visit in Camiguin Island

The last time I was in Camiguin, was like 10 years ago. I already forgot how this beautiful island looks like, until last week when we had our division’s in-house seminar at Villa Paraiso Apartelle.

It was a two-day seminar, that we squeezed everything in one day, stayed until 11PM, just to finish all scheduled activities and topics to be discussed, to make room for an island tour the following day and visit the Eight (8) Must See Spots in Camiguin. 

1. White Island

The most awaited day for all of us, after our hard work the previous day, started at 5:45AM. We went directly to Barangay Yumbing, where the boats are located to take us to White Island or the White Sand Bar. Since, we are a group of 16, we were divided into 3 sub-groups. The small motor boat with katig that will take us to the island can only carry maximum of 6 passengers. Juggling which boat to take, I decided to go with the youngsters. Yep, it is good to be surrounded by younger generations once in a while, I felt younger too.

Ten minutes later, we’re on the island. As expected, tourists were already everywhere, because the best time to explore and enjoy White Island is between 6AM – 8AM, when the heat of the sun is still bearable. Yep! Lucky enough to catch the sunrise and have a photographed taken.

There were also a few vendors on the island. Some sell, coffee, sweet potato or egg for breakfast, while some also are selling freshly caught sea urchins. If you haven’t tried sea urchins, then you must. Best eaten with vinegar, but you’ll appreciate the real taste behind when eaten raw.

The remaining one and a half hour was spent swimming in the clear water. With the water level only to my waist on the far side of the island, it was indeed perfect for swimming even for a non-swimmer like me.  We swam and posed non-stop searching for that perfect pose using the GoPro action camera of one of our colleagues, yet failed. Haha!

2. Walk Way to the Old Volcano

Two days more, Camiguin Island will be jam-packed with devotees and tourists for the Panaad 2016. Along the slope of the Old Volcano also known as Mt. Vulcan are the life-size statues depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross,the sacred destination during the holy week.

As of this time, the foot of the Walk Way was still calm, with few busy locals, preparing for the much awaited yearly event. Souvenir items were everywhere.

We decided to just take some snaps on the spot above, then, went for a refreshing fresh buko juice. Thanks boss for the free treat!

Next stop is the

3. Sunken Cemetery

Approximately 5 minutes ride from the Walk Way to the Old Volcano, is the Sunken Cemetery. The devastating eruption of Mt Vulcan in 1871, submerged the coastal area of Catarman (now known as Barangay Bonbon) undersea including the old cemetery. It can be seen, though during low tide, but after a series of volcanic eruptions in 1948 to 1953, the Sunken Cemetery was pushed down further, it is now said to be 20 feet below the surface. As a reminder of the destructive past, a giant cross was built in 1982 marking the spot of the Sunken Cemetery.

Summer + El Niño, the heat of the sun was already too much, thus, we decided only for some photo ops from the viewing area without bothering getting across to the giant cross.

4. The Guiob Church Ruins

Also located at Barangay Bonbon in Catarman and another remnant of the destructive eruption of Mt. Vulcan in 1871 is the Guiob Church Ruins or better known as the Old Church Ruins. Built in the 16^th Century, these remains (Church, Bell Tower and a Convent) are some of the oldest structures in Camiguin.

The old ruins are most of the time covered with moss, refreshing greenery, but because of the El Niño phenomenon, the place was brown and dry. But still cannot hide the fact that these structures are worth seeing and photographing.

Oh wait, beside the remains of the convent is the towering century-old tree. This tree really did stand the test of time, after all the catastrophe it has been through.

Because of its height one cannot take a photo of the whole tree in on snap. Thanks to technology today, equipping our smartphones with panoramic mode, look, we were mesmerized how the branches and leaves sway from afar.

5. Sto. Niño Cold Spring

It was already midday, we were all very hungry. Carrying with us our packed lunch, we headed to Sto. Niño Cold Spring for a two-hour lunch break and cold swim.

Camiguin is blessed with springs, whether cold or hot, the island has it. The Sto. Niño Cold Spring is a favorite picnic destination of locals. Tourists are also welcome to take a dip in this 20°C crystal clear water coming from the ground.

Lunch done, it’s time to go to the inland...

6. Tuasan Falls

Katibawasan Falls was originally in our itinerary but since the group agreed to take it out off the list. The waterfalls might not be that great this season because of El Niño so we decided to go to Tuasan Falls instead.

About 9.8 kilometers from Sto. Nino Cold Spring, Tuasan Falls is very much accessible because of the ongoing road construction. Only 30 meters from the dropped off point which previously took about 30 minute walk to reach the waterfalls.

Though the drop is not that high, Tuasan Falls is a beauty that Camiguin can also offer, surrounded by rocks and greeneries, definitely a must see. Oh, wait until you dip in the clear cool water, it was totally refreshing.

7. Soda Water Swimming Pool

Also located in Catarman, an extraordinary spring water that can only be found in Camiguin, the Bura Soda Spring. Developed with large pools, the Soda Swimming pool is inviting and refreshing, I was tempted to splash in the water, but hesitated, instead, I satisfied my curiosity by tasting, rather drinking the fresh soda water at the side. 

The taste, well, it was different of course compared to fresh spring water, it somewhat tasted like a diluted Sprite or a flavored mineral water. According to the locals, the water used to taste sweet like those well-known soda drinks, but the soda source underneath the pool has degraded over time.

8. Ardent Hot Spring

Because more than half of our team are already of age, the hot spring pool was saved as our last stop for the day. They wanted to take a dip in the hot spring water at the foot of Mount Hibok Hibok. Not much have developed in The Ardent Hot Spring since the last time I’ve been here, though, there are few cascading pools (I think) than before, and each pool has different temperature, tourist has the option to choose which one they like.

Just like before, Ardent Spring maintained the laid back atmosphere, with trees and greeneries in the area, soothing and relaxing.

Overall Camiguin is one of the best places when you want to get away from the busy city life. There are a lot of memories to remember in our 2-day stay in this beautiful island, though there were issues during the seminar proper, but were peacefully resolved, after all we are all professionals and no stored grudges, separating work related issues to personal life.

Camiguin has gained popularity not only to local tourists but as well as foreigners, in fact, there were a group of Canadian missionaries on the same boat we’ve boarded to the island. 

And this 100 passenger, Cruise Ship was welcomed by the locals on the day we left the island.

Camiguin has so much to offer, the 8 listed above were the only places our group managed to visit in just a very short time. Although it was short, yet overflowing with photographs and memories.

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Exploring Davao City: The Philippine Eagle Center

I was supposed to write this post in continuation to my Davao series of adventures but my offline job is so demanding lately that I already had another trip to Davao City last week and this post is still on my draft. Huh!

Life has been very busy for me lately. Anyway, now that I got a chance to continue writing and eventually publish this post, I hope you’ll read and joined me and my colleagues in our day trip to the habitat of the mighty king of the sky the monkey-eating Philippine eagle.

The Philippine Eagle Center is located at Malagos, Baguio District, Davao City, the Conservation Breeding Facility of the Philippine Eagle Foundation about 300 meters from the Calinan Highway.

With an entrance fee of P150.00 you’ll get to explore the place and get up close with the Philippine eagle as well as other animals, in the conservatory.

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4 Short Stops Along Bukidnon - Davao City Road

I can’t remember the last time I travelled to Davao City using one of our service vehicles. Every time I am tasked to attend a meeting in Davao City, I always take the fastest means of transportation, the airplane.

But because my supervisor doesn’t want to take the ATR 72-500 Cebu Pacific aircraft, we requested for an available service vehicle to take us to Davao City on October 7, 2015. A Nissan pick-up was given to us, just enough for 3 passengers.

Some parts of the Bukidnon highway are undergoing repair, that means the traffic in the area is very unpredictable. Hence, we decided to start our journey from the home base Cagayan de Oro City to the “Durian Capital” of the Philippines as early as 7 in the morning.

Fortunately, the vehicle flow along the areas of Mangima, Bukidnon was very smooth, that is why by 10:30AM we already had our early lunch at Jollibee Valencia.

Since we were ahead of schedule, we have so much time for some side trips along the way. Our first stop was...

The Overview Park

Located at Kipolot, Palapacao, Quezon, Bukidnon. As the name of the park implied, it is the best area overlooking the beautiful landscape of Bukidnon. Enhanced with big statues of indigenous people plus the cool fresh air, the park indeed is a best place to relax and unwind.

The Over View Park is located along the national highway, thus if you are travelling from Cagayan de Oro - Quezon, Bukidnon to Davao City route, pulling-over and taking a few minutes in the area is very convenient.

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Exploring Philippines: Visiting the Island Province of Guimaras

The main purpose of visiting the Province of Guimaras is the site visit of the newly installed Wind Farm.

We started off, by taking a pumpboat from Iloilo to Jordan Ferry Terminal. Since, we’re a group of 11 and with no time to wait for other passengers to fill-in the ferry, the bosses (because there were 5 managers with us) decided to pay the single trip with only the 11 of us on board at P500.00. 

Ten to Fifteen minutes later we arrived at Guimaras Island.

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Exploring Philippines: Eight Things I Did in Iloilo

On June 15, 2015 on board Cebu Pacific 16:40 flight, my boss and I flew to Iloilo City from Laguindingan Airport to attend a work related meeting. We arrived at the Iloilo Airport 30 minutes ahead of schedule, but had to stay about an hour waiting for the service vehicle assigned to fetch us who unfortunately was stuck in the traffic. We arrived at the booked hotel at 7:30PM, had our dinner and called it a day.

The following day, it was all about work. One whole day of meeting and discussions,after all, that’s the very reason why we are in the city. But the good part was, we still had a chance to explore places and eat interesting foods while in the city.

So here’s the summary of what I did (sometimes with companions) in the city;

1. Stayed at Diversion 21 Hotel

We were booked in one of the best hotels in town located at the Diversion Road, Mandurriao Iloilo City just a walking distance from SM City. The hotel offers the best amenities so far, I occupied an air-conditioned matrimonial room with 40” LCD Cable TV, free internet (which I haven’t used because of my mobile data), hot & shower, private phone, fridge and a safety deposit box. Because it was an all-expenses paid by the company, I did not bother about the price. You can check it out at their FB page, if you want to.

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