vacation – Page 4 – Eliza Victoria

playa tropical – currimao, ilocos norte

This is my second Deal Grocer buy. Playa Tropical, located in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, “is a charming Balinese-inspired beachside paradise voted as TripAdvisor’s #1 B&B and Inn in the area.” I thought it would be a nice way to unwind, and I would love to visit Ilocos again and bring J there.

I bought two coupons back in November for a two-night stay at 50 percent off, for PhP 6,500. Each coupon deal included:

Overnight stay for 2 persons in a Suite Room
Set breakfast for 2 persons
One (1) 15-minute Complimentary Solana Signature Massage (per person per night)
5% discount on F&B (Cash Transactions)
Complimentary Wi-Fi access
Access to Game Room, Casitas, and Infinity Pool
All prevailing government taxes and service charge

I stressed out over this trip because ~~I’m OC~~ I’ve never been to Currimao before, but we decided to take a Partas Deluxe bus in Pasay on the way to Currimao because blog posts said we could just get off at Currimao Market and take a trike to the resort.

Day 1, March 14 (Thursday) to March 15 (Friday)

The 28-seater Deluxe bus to Laoag leaves every 4 pm and 9 pm. There are no reservations allowed in Partas, so be there an hour before the scheduled trip and get ready to fall in line. (I was second in line, because I headed straight to the window at 8 pm and didn’t sit down. Parang UP enlistment lang.) Bus tickets cost more than PhP 900.

Bus seats are pretty roomy, with a footrest.

I think there were four stopovers? We enjoyed the bus ride, thanks to the comfortable seats, but do bring a wrap, a neck pillow, and a pair of socks. My knees hurt because of the cold.

Currimao is a town after Vigan and before Laoag. Just tell the conductor you want to get off at the Currimao palengke, and hail a trike there (PhP 50).

We arrived really early, but thankfully the room was available. Early check-in, hooray!

Lovely suite. We had a Jacuzzi but we didn’t get to use it. Too lazy to fill it up haha. (We also weren’t able to experience the Solana massage; too lazy to wait for availability of the massage room.)

Cute Casas. They can house five people, and each Casa has its private pool.

Infinity pool, and the beach beyond.

Meals at Cafe Amarra cost around PhP 200 to 400, but can be shared.

You can eat inside the huts.

We didn’t swim in the beach because we weren’t sure we could. So we just took photos.

We had breakfast, slept till noon, and waited for the sun to go away so we could swim. Ang inet! There was a wedding reception when we dipped in the pool late in the afternoon (best time is 5 pm onwards). Kebs kung tumingin sila!

Squid stuffed with longganisa for dinner, and gate-crashing a lantern-lighting post-reception party.

Day 2, March 16 (Saturday)

Playa Tropical had tour packages, but they’re tailored for groups, so we just asked the receptionist the night before to get us a tricycle to tour us.

Julius (0928 327 7194) took us to Paoay Church, Marcos Museum, and Malacañang of the North, and back, for PhP 700 (PhP 350 if one-way.)

Both Malacañang of the North and Marcos Museum looked different. There seemed to be fewer photos and displays, compared to last year, when my friends and I visited.

Tricky Dick.

Fidel Castro.

Mao.

Marcos Museum.

Marcos’s letter saying he was running for president.

The tour took three hours. That afternoon we took a dip and witnessed the sunset. No photos, just memories.

Day 3, March 17 (Sunday)

Lunch before heading home.

We took a trike again (PhP 350 – way cheaper than Playa’s offering of PhP 1,500 airport transfer, again better for groups) to get to the Laoag Airport, where we bumped into Jobert! Before that we dropped by Paoay again, where we got delicious empanada in a small corner store, handmade-to-order.

And then home.

I’m going on vacation! Be back Tuesday.

In the meantime, if you’ve been thinking of buying my poetry chapbook Apocalypses but would like to see the first few pages first, you may visit this page and download a short sample. Email me if it piques your curiosity.

Shipping of orders will resume next week. Till then!

stilts

Maundy Thursday’s the only day the entire department is available to go anywhere as a group (no newspaper for Good Friday so the office is closed), and this year we grabbed the opportunity.

We went on a daytrip (8 am to 6 pm) to Stilts in Calatagan, Batangas. Left Makati at 4:30 a.m. We were able to arrive and leave on time, it was ridiculous. On the itinerary: lunch on the beach, swim, camwhore, dinner on the way home. Special thanks to Boss Kate for making it all happen.

Her notes: “Technical notes re this trip: Entrance to Stilts was at P350/head (daytour). Since we brought in our own food and drinks, we also had to pay corkage of P100/head. (Food at the resort was around P300/meal). We also rented an open hut good for max of 15pax for P850. How to get there:View map here. Rented a van for P3,500, excluding gas and toll fees.”

Photos from Ate Julie, Andrea and Kate, Almi, and my camera.

I was happy to see that the beach wasn’t crowded at all. (Even though we ran out of parking space.)

We were given green mango juice as a welcome drink. Sour and yummy.

research — The Research Team: Marielle, Almi, Schatzi, Lawrence, me, Kate (plus Andrea and Jaykie!)

Lunch was Andok’s chicken!

Stilts also has a pool –

Those were Jaykie's legs. Definitely Lawrence's idea.

and a raft, to fulfill your camwhoring needs.

I have never been in a successful jump shot before. UNTIL NOW BWAHAHA.

Final pose before packing up:

Wheeee wiiiiind.

The water was cold and the beach was stony but the weather was fine and the company was great and the place was beautiful. I had fun! Next year uli!

palawan – day 3 and departure

Up early for the Honda Bay Tour!

Land travel to the Sta. Lourdes Wharf.

On to the first island!

Snake Island!

WARNING: My hot and sexeh bodeh.

Boom.

I didn’t go snorkeling. Basically all I did was submerge my camera in the water, and press the button to take a picture haha. (It was incredibly pathetic.)

Richard took this picture.

The sea took Jaykie’s slipper away! A moment of silence for this loss.

Okay, lunch!

Lunch, c/o Kuya Obet and company, was scrumptious. I loved the shrimp.

Pandan Island is next!

Looking at these pictures now, it didn’t look as if it was incredibly hot on the island. It was incredibly hot. It was skin-cancer hot. Maybe that’s how I must describe myself. “I’m skin-cancer hot.”

More fishies!

The last island was Luli Island (lulubog-lilitaw). The island disappears during high tide.

There’s a rest house on the island, incredibly enough.

Dinner was at Balinsasayaw. I had nido soup for the first time! I liked it.

Day 4

Jaykie and I couldn’t be with my friends for the City Tour because he had class. I bought pasalubong at the Pension and at the airport.

That was a fun trip.

Accounting

Okay. Without the City Tour, Jaykie and I spent P2,452.22. This included the Underground River tour, the Honda Bay tour, food during the tour, entrance fees and tips. Take note that there were nine people in our group.

Accommodation was 800 per night, so that’s P2,400.

Add the price of the ticket (highest is 4k I guess, but there are seat sales!), the terminal fees (240), food for dinner (let’s say 2k), and pasalubong (let’s say 1k), and that amounts to around 12k pesos.

Recommendation

Seriously, get Kuya Obet Fallorina as your tour guide (also driver and cook hehe). He’s really nice. :)

Text him! 0912 539 8983

Acknowledgments

Me ganito talaga?! Thanks to my friends, esp. to Ghia, Grace, and June. Sa uulitin!

palawan – day 2

We had our breakfast at 6 am (so early!) at Puerto Pension’s Tribu Restaurant. It’s located on the roof deck and faces the Puerto Princesa Bay. Quite a view, really.

The free breakfast consists of 1) a hot beverage 2) an egg 3) bread and spread 4) fruit 5) juice.

You’ll need to shell out P88 for an upgrade. For a Filipino breakfast, you can add rice and a viand (like a hotdog), and unlimited eggs. You read that right. Unlimited eggs.

Jaykie had an American breakfast. Waffles and bacon!

Then off to Sabang Wharf. Our tour guide, Kuya Obet, picked us up in a van.

It’s a long drive to Sabang Wharf so we had two stop-overs.

Sabang Wharf. We’re early, so we went for a quick dip.

Ooh, look at the waves.

After lunch, we got on a boat that would take us to the St. Paul Subterranean River National Park.

I enjoyed the boat ride because of the waves! Whee!

We’re here! We now need to register, get a hard hat and a life vest.

I look like a guy lol.

The Underground River tour was fantastic! I’ve never been inside a cave before. The formations are just amazing. And! We saw a snake! (The appearance of the snake abruptly changed the weight distribution of our boat haha.)

That night, Kuya Obet drove us to Badjao Seafront Restaurant. (You’ll need wheels to get to this resto because there are no trikes to take you back to the hotel.)

We were told that all of the tables were reserved. But this cannot be! So we talked to one of the waiters (talked, bullied, whatever) and asked when one of the reserved tables was needed. He said 7:30. It was 6:30 then. So we took a menu, ordered quickly, ate quickly, and was out of there by 7:30. A leisurely dinner was out of the question, but I chewed my food enough to note that I loved the lemon chicken. Order it.

We tried Itoy’s Coffee Haus, said to be Palawan’s version of Starbucks.

I recommend their leche flan cheesecake and their black forest drink. Yummmm.

The Superior room was big enough to host an inuman session, so:

Okay! Time for bed!

palawan – day 1

This year’s trip with my high school friends was to Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. June booked our tickets, Ghia booked our rooms, and Grace Anne, who had been to Palawan before, took care of budget and the itinerary. Departure from NAIA 3 was at 3:45 pm on Feb. 5. Jaykie had class at UP till 1, and I was worried we might miss our flight. Amazingly, though, we arrived at the airport after only more or less 30 minutes. Hooray!

(Click pics to enlarge, of course.)

Cebu Pacific’s flight left a bit late (around 4 or so?), but we arrived safely in Puerto Princesa at 5:30 pm.

My travel-mates. :)

Puerto Pension offers free transpo from the airport to the hotel. Air-conditioned jeep!

Checking in.

It’s a nice place. Very homey.

Our room! (Deluxe B – with queen-size bed, TV, bathroom, AC unit, hot and cold shower.) There’s really only enough room for two, so if you want more space, take the Superior room, which can fit three people. Deluxe C does not have a bathroom inside (you’ll have to use the communal bathroom), but it’s of course cheaper.

We took the trike to get to Kinabuchs for dinner. It rained on our first night, boo.

We had crocodile! It was okay. The meat was tender and tasted like chicken. Not memorable though.

Then back to the hotel and then sleep. Loooong day tomorrow.

twelve

Jaykie and I celebrated our first anniversary together in Tagaytay. The weekend! The wind! A quiet hotel stay! Food! Alcohol!

I’ve been to Tagaytay before, but that was back in grade school, back when I still hated buses and long rides and was prone to paralyzing motion sickness. So of course I had no fond memories of the place, except that it was cold. Since then I’ve learned to love looking out the window while in transit, so when Jaykie mentioned Tagaytay months before the anniversary, I was excited. We needed a weekend away from Metro Manila. We needed a good view and a cool breeze.

We settled on Taal Vista Hotel. Around the time we were planning to place a reservation (end of September), Taal Vista had just wrapped up a promo, which was sad because their room rates were a bit pricey. When October rolled in, I called their sales office in Mall of Asia to ask if there was going to be a promo extension. I was delighted to hear the sales agent say that yes, there would be another promo. Starting October 15.

The exact day we planned to go there. This is a siiiign.

We immediately placed a reservation for a De Luxe room (3,999/night) from Oct. 15 to the 17th. Note: You’ll need an SM Advantage Card or other SM membership cards (BDO, Prestige) to avail, so go get one first. You’ll also need a credit card, because this is a book-and-buy promo. But they won’t charge you yet; they just need a guarantee. You can choose to pay in cash when you get there.

Tagaytay, Day 1

We arrived too early. The sales agent I spoke to said if the room’s available we can actually check in by noon, but the front desk was adamant in saying that check-in was at 2 p.m. FINE! Jaykie thought the front desk was masungit, but meh, we might as well just drive around and have lunch first.

Pictures!

Lunch was at Buon Giorno.

I was very very very happy with my salad. (Foie Gras Insalata.) I loved the pecan caramels. :D

Jaykie had a risotto. (Pollo E Funghi.)

We had a slice of chocolate espresso torte for dessert.

We got back to the hotel at half-past one, and we were finally able to get into our room.

Jaykie looks guilty here. What did you do? Haha.

Unfortunately the room didn’t have a view of Taal Lake. Oh well.

Dinner was at the hotel’s Cafe on the Ridge, plus welcome drinks (calamansi juice) and alcohol at the Lobby Lounge. (You can use your SM Advantage Card to get a 10 percent discount.)

Good night, Tagaytay!

Tagaytay, Day 2

Good morning, Tagaytay!

The Lobby Lounge in the morning.

After breakfast, we went out for a stroll. The weather was nice.

The wind!

It was basically just a day of lounging around. We dressed up and went back to Buon Giorno for dinner, then went back to the room and watched something scary on Discovery. We ended up sleeping with the lights on! Ha!

Tagaytay, Day 3

I woke up with this stupid vertigo, so Jaykie was kind enough to get up and buy us breakfast from McDo, just across the street. While outside, Jaykie sent me a text saying he had switched the papers between our room and the next, because we were given [a certain newspaper that I shall not name]. Jaykie snatched up the Inquirer and put it on our door handle, and I got up and took it before somebody realized this folly. LOL.

It was a day of errands, but Jaykie’s driver took care of it. Mahogany Market, then Rowena’s. You should go to Rowena’s! I sampled their tarts, apple crumble, and sylvanas.

We had lunch at Antonio’s Grill. Sizzling bulalo!

Oh, it was delicious.

Then back to the metro. We had a mall date at MOA, saw The Town (Ben Affleck, that was a pleasant surprise. You should direct more movies!), had some Mediterranean food, and bought each other books!

My anniv gifts from Jaykie:

Here are the books I gave him:

So, yes, that weekend rocked.

* * *

Love,

We should do this again.

Love,

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