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A prince is stately and gold is one of the most expensive metals, as is. Putting the two together may conjure an image of something expensive and stately, but as they say, never judge a book by its cover, er, name?. The Golden Prince Hotel is not one of the more expensive hotel in Cebu City, although it’s also not the most grand like, say, Shangri-La Mactan. Continue Reading »

The rain came midway our trip to Leisure Dive Resort. It was still raining when we arrived in this Batangas beach resort on Friday night. It was really a bad timing for Typhoon Cosme to enter the Philippine area of jurisdiction this weekend. I mean, c’mon, we’ve planned the outing for more than a month and, besides, May is still summer. We should pass a law banning typhoons, at least for the summer season (that sounds like daydreaming, but what would you do with rain and wind messing up your weekend vacation?). The good thing, however, is that it stopped raining the next day, Saturday. The sun came out and the waves toned down, allowing us to enjoy the seawater. By the way, when I said the waves “toned down,” here’s how it looked like: Continue Reading »

Clear waters are normal in the province way back then. A stream ran beside our old house, for instance. With clear and clean water, we could wash plates in that stream if we choose to. It was not too deep so we could go fishing and take a swim. It’s now gone, killed by overpopulation and pollution. No, not just the fish, but the stream itself. Continue Reading »

There was plenty of space to park and move around, maybe because we got there when the rest of those who spent their Holy Week vacation are on their way back to Metro Manila. The place, with huge trees generously dotting the entire landscape, is a welcome breather from the suffocating pollution in Metro Manila. Brown leaves of Mahogany, occasionally punctuated by twirling seeds, fall to the ground, sometimes gently hitting the windshield as you drive by. This is summer in Montevista Villas (Mimosa Leisure Estate, Clarkfield, Pampanga). Continue Reading »

I never previously imagined sharing travel experiences, such as in this blog, specially in places where there’s a home to go to. Having spent years in Cebu and having a home in this city, it always feels weird to stay some place else, like in Tambuli beach club, which is located in Mactan Island, just a few minutes from Cebu City. Continue Reading »

“Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, “Shangri-La” is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia—a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. The word also evokes the imagery of exoticism of the Orient. The story of Shangri-La is based on the concept of Shambhala, a mystical city in Tibetan Buddhist tradition.” Impressive write-up, but that’s courtesy of Wikipedia. Continue Reading »

With sustained daily stress on the job, relaxation is important. There are a number of options to relax, one of which is having a good, soothing whole body massage. One of the recommended spas is the Nurture Spa, located in Tagaytay City. Continue Reading »

I never had much chance to travel while studying, at least not as much compared to the time when I was already working. Villa Escudero is one of the exceptions, a place I first visited at the height of the bar exams review. Continue Reading »

I’ve heard about Plantation Bay, but I didn’t know what’s inside it. It was only when we went there that I learned about its man-made waterways. According to the Plantation Bay website: “Set in 11.4 hectares of secluded grounds yet only 30 minutes from downtown Cebu City, Plantation Bay offers one of the largest privately-owned waterways in the world, with the clean elegance of colonial-plantation architecture. Continue Reading »

There are no pearls cultured in the Pearl Farm, which is the first thing I discovered when I got there. There’s a fish farm in the middle of the sea on the way to the Pearl Farm, but there are no pearls. Before I went there, I always had this notion that pearls are being cultured in the Pearl Farm. Not that it matters, anyway, because you go there to enjoy the resort. Continue Reading »

Yes, there are eagles at Eagle Point Resort (Anilao, Batangas), but these majestic birds are in cages. Unless you’re a diehard animal rights advocate, it doesn’t really matter because you go there not for bird watching, but to enjoy the clear and clean waters, the secluded atmosphere, and the surprisingly good food. You go there to unwind and relax. Continue Reading »