Summer Outing at a resort in Morong, Bataan

Last Saturday I was able to bring with me my family on our company outing in a beach resort in Morong, Bataan.  Although it was not our first time to go to Morong, Bataan, we’re still excited because we will be exploring a different resort.  Any place we haven’t explored yet always excites us.

I was the one who was tasked in our company to facilitate the outing wherein the time frame was short to be able to scout different resorts.  Booking a resort for a company outing during March is already difficult as most are already fully booked for the whole summer.  With the limited time that I had, I did not think of other location, but Morong Bataan because of its distance, not so crowded beaches, affordability, and availability of the resort to accommodate a big group.

I searched on the internet, first on Google, then on travel sites like Agoda, and Hotel Travel, and then on Facebook. I called up several beach resorts, which have nice reviews, but some were either too expensive or fully booked on our target date, which was either 18th or 25^th of April (Saturday).  The only one I searched on Facebook was the one which seems to fit what we are looking for, and so I booked one room for us and a big pavilion for a one day tour for the whole company at the Juness Beach Resort. 

One day wander in Lucban Quezon

"Kamay ni Hesus"  

After in hiatus for several months on the road I finally had this opportunity again to hit the road last February 21.  It was officially our first road travel this year after I had my C-section operation last December so I have to confine myself at home most of the time to recuperate.  But of course I was not 100% at home because confinement will kill me to death.. ha ha! It would already be a pleasure for me if I go walking the streets around the neighborhood to grasp fresh air, but once in a while I’m still longing for nature, clear skies, and travelling the road.

Green fields view along Rizal hi-way

We planned a day tour out of town which could be easily reached by car where we have not explored yet.  There are many to choose from actually, either North or South.  But we have decided to go to Lucban, Quezon to visit “Kamay ni Hesus Shrine” while the weather is still cold, because in summer it would be too hot and humid as you have to ascend the long stretch of steps to get to the top.  Kamay ni Hesus is a pilgrimage site and mostly visited during Holy Week. 

Snapshots of my 2014 getaways, events and reviews

Image courtesy of hin255 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2014 has ended and I must say that last year for me was lesser adventure and I didn’t focus much on updating my blog, that is because I was pressed to attend to my regular work and family matters, plus I got pregnant again for the fourth time which also limits me to travel far and often as we had to set aside some expenses for my pregnancy.

Although I had less travel in 2014 I wouldn’t say that I had less fun because I explored other areas of blogging world by attending blogger events and exploring new and great restaurants which I have not thought of visiting when I was not pregnant.  

    

I would like to share with you the highlights of my 2014 wanderings, events and bondings with my family, old friends and new friends.

A morning walk at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong

Avenue of Stars

    While most of the shopping centers open in Hong Kong at around 11:00 a.m., a morning walk along Tsim Sha Tsui is good to spend time exploring the waterfront of Victoria Harbor view where you could breathe a fresh cool air and take time to relax if the weather is good.  An impressive sight of Hong Kong’s business skyline can be seen fronting the Harbor and occasional passerby are strolling along the nice tiled pavement.  One of the tourist attractions in Tsim Sha Tsui is the Avenue of Stars where the statues and hand prints of known and award winning Hong Kong celebrities and film directors have their stars with names on this spot.

Started 2014 with a visit to a historic site in Manila

Fort Santiago

     I started New year 2014 by visiting one of the historic sites of Manila which is Intramuros.  Together with my family on January 1, 2014 we explored the old Spanish streets and buildings that are mostly closed for the holiday.  We sought for the two oldest churches in San Augustine and Manila Cathedral in the assumptions that they may be open for Catholic patrons to pray and tourists who want to witness the grandiose structure inside but we were sorry that they too were closed, but we couldn’t hide away from admiring the massive structure that are stoned art and heavily carved on its walls and pillars.   So we moved on forward to the nearest tourist destination inside Intramuros which is Fort Santiago.

Restaurant hopping in Tagaytay our last day itinerary

Time to leave Canyon Woods

    Our check-out time at Canyon Woods should be 12:00 noon but they allowed us to extend until 1:00 p.m. so we maximized our stay in our room, just in time we finished packing our things the bell boy arrived on time and carried our things on the trolley and brought it out and helped us to put it on our car.   We left the hotel happy and at the same time satisfied with the friendly approach and good service of the crews from the receptionist, maintenance and bellboy.  They deserve a commendation for their good customer service.

Dining at Canyon Woods Pavilion with stunning view

  

   I have shown on my other post the room and pool of the hotel in Canyon Woods, and this time I am going to bring you to their Pavilion where we had our brunch.  It is detached from the hotel where it has its own building which can be reached by walking and you have an option if you would want to bring your own vehicle or arrange a vehicle at the reception to bring you there, one of their vehicles are golf carts parked outside the lobby of the hotel.

Dinner in the hut at Mer-Ben's Tapsilogan Tagaytay

Mer-Ben Tapsilogan

     We decided to have dinner outside Canyon Woods after having the kids swim in the pool and also we still want to discover and try out other restaurants in Tagaytay.  Beef is abundant in Tagaytay because most cattle industries are in Batangas that supplied the freshest beef meat in most of the restaurants and markets in the nearby towns, and I guess all restaurants in Tagaytay has Bulalo and Tapa as staple in their menu.   We considered Mer-Ben because we got some positive feedback about their Tapsilog menu.  Tapsilog is a short term for Tap – Tapa, Si- Sinangag (fried rice) and Log – itlog (egg) and when it usually comes with other variants or combinations like Chicsilog (chicken,sinangag,itlog) Longsilog (Longanisa,sinangag,itlog) and Tocilog (Tocino,sinangag,itlog)and among many other fried food which can be combined with fried rice and either scrambled egg or sunny side-up.

Family staycation in Canyon Woods and food tripping in Tagaytay

Tagaytay overlooking Taal Volcano

    At long last! Our vacation pushed through which was postponed for several times due to bad weather caused by typhoons the previous months and followed by my kids’ first trimester exams last month so it took us 4 months since we purchased the vacation package from an online website store.  It was actually a 2 days stay in Canyon Woods located in Laurel, Batangas.  We got it at 50% off which was originally priced at Php6,000.00 but it can only be used on regular days so my husband and I had to leave for work as well as my kids from their school. 

My first tour in Kuala Lumpur and Hop-On Hop-Off bus ride

Magnificent view of Petronas Towers at night

     I could still recall out trip in Kuala Lumpur back in 2009 it was the last day of October then, I remembered there was a coming strong typhoon which will hit Metro Manila and its nearby towns.  On our way to Ninoy Aquino International Aiport terminal 3 we heard from the news on radio that airlines were cancelling their flights for that night, we were worried that our flight might be included.  But fate is with us, Cebu Pacific did not cancelled flight to Kuala Lumpur and leave at exactly 8:55 p.m.

Animals in the zoo at Baluarte

Entrance to Baluarte

          For many times I have been to different zoos and have already seen different animals, and what else could be common to see in a zoo are wild animals like tigers, lion, snakes, crocodiles and friendly animals like birds, turtles and giraffe, but what I wanted to see here in Baluarte and I think the difference from other zoos I've been to are the different breeds of miniature horses that are caged in the center of the zoo.   

A towering view of Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

         Our last destination in our first day Ilocos itinerary is this old lighthouse in Burgos which is one hour drive from where we came, at Malacanang Palace of the North located in Paoay.    

Vigan Ilocos Sur: An aura of cultural heritage

Calle Crisologo

  When we set foot in Vigan, it seems we were brought in a different time zone looking at those old buildings and structures that are reminiscent of the Spanish era way back centuries ago when life back then was so laid back, adding to the scene are the old mode of transportation during their time which is called "Kalesa", a carriage with a horse. 

3 days Ilocos tour – Vigan, Paoay, Burgos and Pagudpud

An itinerary guide for a 3 day tour in Ilocos which starts off with Vigan tour    

 
  This is the memorable vacation I had this year, because not only I have with me my family, but together with my friends with their families also.  This trip has been long been planned since last quarter of last year that every time we have a get together this Ilocos trip has been brought over our discussions as our next itinerary until we were able to finalize the date when everyone can join, and so the set date was last February 22 to February 25.

Family bonding at Eden Nature Park

 
     Our first itinerary in our plan is to visit Nature Eden Park which is located in Mount Talomo, Toril, Davao.  We took a taxi to drive us for our first day itinerary so we can maximize our time in each of our destination. On our way the driver keeps on describing what can we see there and the activities we can do inside, which made us so excited to reach the place immediately and my 2 kids are enjoying the conversation  with the driver, asking him if there is like this or like that, and the man is likewise happy answering their queries.  As we

The wonderful world of Disney in Hongkong

Disneyland is the magical place on earth, which is loved by adults and kids

 This is the first time that all of us including my family and kids traveled outside of the country, we chose Hong Kong as our first out-of-the-country because it's the nearest country from the Philippines and considering we have kids with us, 12 years old and 2 year old, and our first destination is the world best theme park - Disney Land!

A cozy place to stay in Baguio - Dely's Inn

Dely's Inn

               The last time I have visited Baguio was in 2005. As I have expected, the improvement has been tremendous in terms of quantity of people, establishments were everywhere, mountains implanted with houses instead of trees.   Nevertheless I’m thrilled to see Baguio again!