Many times we want to visit a particular place. It could be a spot or resort that we’ve passed along the way or saw in a magazine or TV. Many times we have a number of excuses not to go. It could be a tight budget or a hectic schedule. Sometimes, however, the universe pushes ...
We all know that the Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire. We have volcanoes for neighbors in our communities. The beautiful Mayon Volcano in Albay, with its world-famous perfect cone. Mt. Pinatubo,which exploded in 1991, the world’s largest explosion in living memory that caused global temperature to dip half a degree (celcius).
The location of Microtel Inns & Suites (Sto. Tomas, Batangas) makes sense if we consider that it’s inside an economic zone, the First Philippine Industrial Park, which naturally holds foreign-owned locators (various economic zones scattered throughout the Philippines, under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority or PEZA, offer tax breaks and other incentives to encourage foreign ...
The larger-than-normal orange-colored chair at the lobby neatly summarizes the weird feeling one gets while checking-in at the Discovery Suites. It’s probably like having tea with Alice in Wonderland‘s Mad Hatter, except that the madness here seems to be the identity crisis of the Suites (though in a good way).
Summer. The most wonderful time of the year, for some. It’s also the time when El Nino throws an extra punch. Low in water, which in turn means less electricity supply and more blackouts. The heat . . . well, could you say more except people are dying from heat stroke? We need an antidote ...
Have a confirmed reservation. I know this much and my wife made it a point to remind me every hour or so before we headed towards Laiya, Batangas. We haven’t taken a break for some time now and my sense of adventure made my whole body itch. Just go, I thought. And so we embarked ...
I’ve been to Subic many times, but still haven’t visited the Grande Island Resort (and I still get lost in Subic roads. Maybe there’s a downside in always looking at all the traffic signs, especially the “stop” signs. if you haven’t heard, traffic laws are strictly enforced in Subic).
Many factors make a place memorable, sowing the seeds for a visit again in the future. Sometimes it’s just the place. Sometimes it’s what happened in that place. Sometimes it’s both, or some other factors. Let’s consider Hotel Dominique, found along Aguinaldo Highway, a nice hotel just a few meters from the rotunda in Tagaytay ...
Another long weekend. The past long weekend, that is, Independence Day. There’s some sense in this holiday policy of the government. Perfect excuse to go out of town; somewhere relaxing but not too far — like Tagaytay City.
Fine sand pressing against feet seemingly in a million points. Sleepy sun slowly pushing gray clouds, revealing itself to an early jogger along the seashore. And, no, this is not Boracay.
Sonya’s Garden is not easy to find (in my previous experience, at least). This is probably the reason why it was previously called, if I’m not mistaken, as Sonya’s Secret Garden. The second time we were there, we told the staff if they could probably add more directions along the main road to make it ...
The recent trend, I suppose, is to provide a place for people to relax and unwind, to leave the pressures of the city behind. This is evident in places such as Sonya’s Garden or Villa Escudero. In Indang, Cavite, you’ll find Balay Indang.
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 ...
Where to StayThe 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 ...
Places to Go, Where to Stay