291: Hotel Review: Saved by the Bell!

Image from PH Hotels

Hotel in Focus: Red Planet Hotel at Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City

I booked on this hotel very spontaneously. I was in the metro and have to pick up my sister and since I had no place to stay, I decided to book in this place. Why? I could not afford any hotel at the heart of Makati as they are too expensive for my spur-of-the-moment-stay. This is not the first time that I had been in Red Planet Hotel. The first was at Aseana place. What I love about this hotel is that it's affordable. This is the type of place a traveler would book if you only need a roof above your head without exposing yourself to risk because you opted to choose a low budget lodge. For 2330 (as of April 2016) a night you get the following:

an air conditioned room
two fluffy pillows
a ginormous bed
a glacial pace wifi

Also, for that price you can choose between a large bed, or a two single bed. There's no actual difference in price.

All in all it's not bad if you just need a place to sleep, and nothing fancy.

cross post from my TripAdvisor review: Here

283: the Coast Calls: A Quick Get Away to San Juan

If I can move out from the city and live a provincial life, I'd definitely choose to move to La Union. This place is starting to get its way into my heart. In Urbiztondo, I found my other home.

What I particularly love about Urbiztondo is its people. The people there are friendly. It was easy to find friends with the easy living surfers, and local people. In fact, I've made too many errors in riding the right jeepney to my destination but these drivers were nice to take me nonetheless. These drivers didn't even accept my additional payment for the hassle.

So last week I found myself back in this wonderful place. I went there with my good friend to celebrate her birthday. While I stayed twice at Sebay surf, this time I told myself to stay at San Juan Surf School Resort.

If you want to know, the San Juan Surf School Resort is just next to Sebay Surf. The reason why I chose not to book myself here initially is because judging by exterior it looks expensive, so I didn't bother. But when my other friend said that Sebay and San Juan Surf School is almost as the same price, I told myself to give it a go.

.. and I'm glad I did.

While I like Sebay Surf, the San Juan Surf School Resort offers a modern, and classy style. Just as Sebay, the San Juan Resort rooms have a cabled t.v, air-conditioning, fridge, and their shower has a cold and hot temperature dial. For 2, the room was priced as 1,986 PHP (as of July 2015 see prices here). But what I particularly love about the place is its restaurant-bar.

I swear I have weakness for good aired restaurant and bar. I love that some of their tables allows you to have a (partly) view of the beach (but this is where the Sebay beats them in terms of beach view from the bar).

 

I wish I took more photos! Forgive me though because I swear after the 9 hours travel all I wanted to do was to lie on the bed. So apologies I never thought about taking a picture of the room, and it never crossed my mind. But I would next time. Rest assured though those that you will see in the tripadvisor was enough to give you visual projection of what to expect.

All in all, it's not obvious that I will be back in La Union soon enough, and if you are going to ask me where I will book myself, it's no brain-er because I'll definitely book myself at San Juan Surf School Resort again -- again just because I am a sucker for a good restaurant - bar.

282: Finding the One in Caramoan

Last weekend my friends and I went to Bicol, then to Caramoan for our summer get away. This vacation is my 3rd and my last summer vacation. Having this place as the last is a great choice for a conclusion.


Before we settled in Caramoan, my friends and I arrived in Bicol last Saturday through Cebu Pacific. We were able to book our flight for 1,700++ (again, thanks to the Promo). I'm not sure how much is the regular cost, but the 1,700++ price to get a once in a lifetime experience is a winning case.

Before we proceeded with activities, my friends and I ate in Bigg's Diner at Albay. The place was a decent restaurant and with a good diner ambiance. Although the location does give you a local ambiance, it however, serves local favorite dish. The one I had was a pork chop with laing. It was the best! I love the laing and amazing soft meat of the pork.

Our first stop in Bicol is the Lignon Hill. This hill was supposed to give you a great view of the Mayon volcano. The ever shy Mayon volcano was not in humor that day, she hid her peak with the clouds all through out our stay. But it was such a majestic view to see her beauty in person.

here are my friends and I in the Lignon Hill

I believe that there are few activities that you can do in the Lignon Hill. I saw that there's a zip line activity and there's map for travelers to check out. We just passed by because it was so hot during that time that we cannot afford to stay longer in the place.

After the Lignon Hill, my friends went to Cagsawa Ruins. The Cagsawa Ruins is actually the historical place that we often see in our books in high school whenever we talk about Bicol. It's great that it's being preserved and kept clean in spite of the many visitors that it had.

During on the Cagsawa Ruins, there are these guys who roams around the place looking for interested tourist who wants to trek the volcano using an ATV. We paid 800 per person, but you can haggle if you are in large group. We were lucky enough that we are 13 and we were able to get the best deal.

The 800 would allow you to trek only on the foot of the volcano, but there's this 1800 price per person that will allow you to trek the 'lava trail'. We travel for a few kilometers and honestly, you'll enjoy the scenic view that you'd want to go even farther. If you'd ask me, we should have gotten the 1800 instead. But the 800 was not bad, at least you get to ride the ATV and have a decent view of the volcano.

My friends and I in the ATV

The one day trip in Bicol was great. The activities that we did were just the tip of the iceberg. I believe that there's so many things that Bicol can offer. It's just unfortunate that we did not stay long as our real goal was to get to Caramoan.

I hope you'll have your chance to immerse yourself in Bicol and get to know it as better as we had because it really deserves to be checked out.

When my friends and I got into Caramoan, one of the things that struck me the most is the scatted little islands, and rock formations. In fact, My friend, who had been to Palawan, said that Caramoan looks like a little 'Coron' . I, however, were in silence as I was trying to marvel on what I am seeing.

Oh, hi there!

Indeed, Caramoan is one of the place that one should visit, as it offers different variety of activity and at the same time experience. In spite of its found fame, thanks to Survivor Franchise, Caramoan remained commercialized. I really pray that the place would keep its provincial, and quiet look and not follow the footsteps of Boracay.

If you are wondering how much I spent for the whole journey, it costs me around 5 thousand++ (not including the airfare, and we are 13 in the team). This 5 thousand includes the stay at Rex Inn (read the review in the tripadvisor here), payment for the island hopping, eat in a hut in the middle of the sea, and souvenir shopping.

What I particularly love about my experience here is that this is where I experienced free diving, riding on top of the jeep, eating in the middle of the sea, and incredible happiness with my friends. I think so far this adventure in Caramoan  is one of my memorable experience ever.

“Joy is what God fills us with when we trust in Christ.” — John Piper

Taken from my current trip in La Union

“Have you ever wished that you had nine lives, and that you could live them all differently, but in one lifetime? Or you could follow each thread of your theoretically alternate life in a theoretical multiverse, just to see what it was like, and where it would lead?”

280: Travel on: the Sunset of Palaui

Long overdue! My good friends and I went to Tuguegarao and to Palaui, Cagayan during the lent week (March 21 to 25).

If there's something that I can remember about Tuguegarao it's how generous the servings are when they serve meals. And of course, the temperature. It's scorching hot. If you want to experience raw, undiluted summer, if you want to experience the 'real' summer temperature go to Tuguegarao. But besides, the heat, the place was extraordinary. I hope I had time to explore it thoroughly. We went to Tuguegarao as our first stop towards our real goal -- Palaui Island in sta. Ana, Cagayan.

First, how did we end up on the idea of Palaui -- of all islands! To say, Palaui was featured as a spot for Survivor. So yeah, they had a season Survivor: Cagayan. Thank God for seat sale we were able to book Tuguegarao to reach the Palaui Island for only a thousand and few hundreds.

On the Palaui Island, we've hiked to Cape Engano Lighthouse, and I swear the great view of the island didn't fail to take my breath away. The faint sound of the waves crashing below, and the wind with a hint of saltiness from the sea, you'd wish you can take the moment on your pocket so you could relive the moment every time the world becomes unkind. This is also the moment that you can marvel on God's creation.

The view on the lighthouse

One of the fields that we crossed going to the lighthouse, reminds me of the Hobbit

On sunset: whenever I go to an island, I always take time to see how the sun sets there. The sunset in Anguib beach (somewhere in Palaui), is quiet.  It's not as grand and as boastful as the sunset in La Union, but it was quiet and placid. The sun hid behind the clouds until it finally and quietly waved good bye. The unobtrusive sea accompanied the quiet goodbye of the sun, is a perfect time for someone to meditate. Hence, it was the moment that I talked to God.

There are many things that the Palaui island offers. You can snorkle, and dive. Also, Palaui has a mangrove that you should not miss. When you get there make sure that you savor the moment because you become one of the nature. The place takes you to its 'paradise', and allows you to experience it if only you'd allow yourself. It's quiet, unassuming beauty is humbling. This journey is a wonderful chapter of my life. It allowed me (again) to experience things I haven't experience before -- something to take with me when I grow older.

See more of my photos in Tuguegarao and Palaui Island on my Facebook

279: "Be not afraid. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him." - Mark 16:6

Photo taken when we were in Palaui, Cagayan

Jesus has been risen.

Finally we have reached the Easter Sunday after 40 days of sacrifices and of spiritual journey, we have finally arrived at this moment. I finally have arrived at this moment. I ended my Holy Week by attending the Easter Vigil in Manila Cathedral last night (and it was presided by his eminence, Cardinal Tagle). Attending the mass in Manila Cathedral became a devotion ever since the Holy Week kicked off. I go there to attend the mass on early Saturdays (as time permits). So far, during the lent, I was able to carry out the devotion and had concluded it yesterday.

Additionally, since the 40 days had ended, I had the Facebook application re-installed on my cellphone, and I started browsing my notifications.

Back to Facebook

To say, I should feel more relieved now I got back to my old self, but to be honest I felt unfamiliar with who I was before. After the 40 days spiritual journey, I felt like a different person. Looking on my Facebook, it felt like I wasn't the person who was in there. I even felt like a stranger to the people whom I have seen on my newsfeed because of my lack of updates on their lives. It's a strange feeling. It's something that I guess I need to ponder at. But if there's something that I am sure of, it's that I lost my interest in Facebook. I even wonder why I could not live not checking the notifications before.

What are the things that I did during the Holy Week and what Jesus revealed to me?

Saturdays with the Immaculate Conception

Inside the Cathedral, during one of my visits

One of the things that maybe non-catholics wouldn't understand (and I believe this would remain a discussion) is how Catholics are devoted to Mother Mary. I, myself, also wondered about her significance. However, through my prayers, I was lucky enough to get the answer (you may read here). My answer, of course, came through other's better knowledge, and me seeking.

In here I pray for Mother Mary to pray for me to Her loving son Jesus Christ in order for my soul to be forgiven, I also mention to Her to pray to Jesus Christ my petitions. I talk to Mother Mary as how I would talk to my mother. I treat my relationship to Her as how I would treat my real Mother. However, of course, I still have failings. But I know in my heart that She continues to pray for me as well.

Honestly, ever since I upped my relationship with Her, during my most heartfelt prayers, I would end up crying for no reason. There's one very significant moment that one time after my work (my work ends at 12 midnight) I decided to stay for another 5 hours in the office in order to attend the 7AM mass. When the time struck 05:20AM I left the office in Quezon City and arrived in Manila Cathedral by 06:30AM, when I arrived on the church, exhausted from lack of sleep and travel, I uttered "Mother" in relief, and wept. It was an incredible weeping (here's an info how far I work from Manila Cathedral). I prayed the rosary and my tears continue to fall every time I say my prayers.

Under the Starry Sky

When I was reading the book The Jesuis Guide to Almost Everything one of things (among many things) that I adopted is how St. Ignatius would pray among the stars. I felt that I should also do the same.

my caption

There's one thing I have learned while praying at night under the many stars that's scattered in the black ink sky, it's so quiet. You know the saying, 'in silence we find God'? -- it is indeed true. While everyone is asleep, when I go outside our terrace (right after I take my shower), I would pull out a chair sit there look up at the stars and would utter 'Lord Jesus look upon your lowly servant as I say my prayers to You',  and for some wild imagination, I would imagine that Lord Jesus would turn His head down and would indeed look upon me.

I've mentioned earlier that to Mother Mary I pray for Her to pray for me to Lord Jesus, what I say when I pray to Jesus is how I would talk to Him as my savior. I talk to Him of my gratitude, of my weakness, of my sins, of the Christian community and how the Christians are being persecuted, I talk to Him of my relationship with Him, and I pray for Him to help me that 'I may be able to live on His words and His teachings in order for me to bridge others to Him', and of course for Him to strengthen my faith.

During this quiet times at night, a bucket of tears would be shed. This is even the first time that I cried while talking to Him about our brothers and sisters in other countries who's being persecuted for their faith. This is something that I never thought I'd be able to do, and every time the prayer ends it always makes my heart at peace.

Find God in Nature

My friends and I recently went to Palaui, Cagayan (more on that next time). When we went there my goals were actually to pray during the sunset, pray at night, and enjoy with my friends. I almost didn't go because of Financial constrains but because I really, really want to try to pray among the nature (this is also mentioned in the Ignatian Spirituality -- praying among the Nature), I pursued.

Circumstances made it hard for me to pray during the travel for one thing: our first few days ended up staying in Hotel (so basically not yet in the nature). Second, the shore was too far where we first stayed. Third, when I was already underneath the stars, there was a rain. However, one time I found a perfect moment to talk to Jesus, while walking on the shore and the sun was setting I ended up talking to Him. It was a perfect solemn and quiet moment.

There's something I have realized, that when I talk to Jesus it's hard to stop! Sometimes I even feel chatty that maybe I was already confusing Jesus because I keep on jumping from one topic to another. But it was amazing.

When I was about to end my talk to Jesus, I closed my eyes as a tears rolled down my cheeks and said 'Jesus, thank You. Thank You for this moment.'

This was taken after my 'talk' with Jesus

A Conscious Decision

I remember before during my college years, while talking to this person I admired, and our eyes met I told myself that I love that person, and I will love that person. It was the first time that I realized that love is also a conscious decision. I learned that Love is not only an emotion, but it's a decision, and that I will love that person.

When I made the decision to be in relationship with God, it was like that moment too. It was a conscious decision that I will love Him, when I laid my eyes on Him.

But like any relationship, there will be a trying times, challenges, and temptations to stray and for me to continuously disappoint Him. But like what I say in my prayers, I pray for Jesus to 'not to let my eyes wander away from Him'.

The Holy Week might have ended, but this is just a beginning for my spiritual Journey.

Let's pray for each other. :)

“As long as you are proud you cannot know God.” ― C.S. Lewis

"I want you to know that I love you even when you are not yet born." Letters from the past. While decluttering because my dad will repaint my room, I found these stacks of letters I had written to my future children and husband 2 years ago. The message was so poignant. ❤

Father, let not my eyes stray away from You, my Lord. For it is You to whom I draw comfort.

Sail me on the sea of clouds. #airplane #travel #letsgo ✈

Should I, should I not? 😊

256: Sunrise @ Kuala Lumpur

Sunrise @ Kuala Lumpur, if there's something that I have noticed in (where I was) Malaysia it's that the life begins at 7AM. In fact, I have a photo where in by 6:00AM their street is still clear of cars and just few people are around. I'm not sure if it's because the sun rises quite later than in Manila. But whatever the reason maybe, I find it really tranquilizing. Soothing from the usual busy early mornings in Philippines. This is even more evident when we went at Putrajaya and stayed in Marriott; the hotel itself is dead by 5.30AM. The lobby is clear of door man, no staff in the reception area, and the lights are dimmed. Believe it or not, I think I didn't even see a guard roaming around the entrance of the hotel.

Don't take me wrong there's nothing wrong in busy mornings and relaxed ones. It just amazes me how different things are. This is what I love about in what I do, waking up in the morning and just experiencing foreign cities and I can do a comparison on where I currently am and where I live. Countries, cities have their own uniqueness. Didn't Marcel Proust once said that 'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes'? And I found that quote true. Where I live in the Philippines, and where I was in Malaysia was like looking and experiencing an unfamiliar color for the first time.

Looking forward in waking up to a different city again next time.

See the rest of my photos on my Facebook

255: Putrajaya, Malaysia: Marriott Hotel - Business as Usual

This is the Marriott hotel that we stayed in at Putrajaya, Malaysia to attend a training. I wish I could say something that will do justice of how it felt like to spend time here in this five star hotel. The service is incredible. The food can't be compared. The amenities is superb. It is indeed an experience worth to share with friends and love ones. The Marriott hotel in Putrajaya (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/kulpg-putrajaya-marriott-hotel/) stays true to its promise to give its guests an experience that is unforgettable. It's location, albeit a bit far from the city, the hotel has free shuttle service to bring their guests to different cities (like KLCC, Alamanda, etc.,). If I could say anything about the place, it's the fact that it confuses me if I am in indeed in Malaysia or in Dubai. Not that I have seen Dubai personally, but if I compare it to the pictures that I have seen of what Dubai is, then Putrajaya is at least in my opinion at par. It is absolutely breath taking!

This is what I love about what I do -- part time -- to say. I mean, if I get to enjoy a luxury vacation, get paid to live a lifestyle, and be surrounded with great people, why not. I love my choices. It is indeed an amazing experience bar none. I am looking forward to next travel experience again!

 

 

 

 

See the rest of the pictures on my Facebook!

253: The Curious Traveler : In the Shy Islands of Cagbalete

When the summer had finally kicked in there were too many people interested to have a get away. Most people headed to the famous beaches such as Boracay, Palawan, Baler, and Puerto Galera. Who wouldn't be tempted to plan a little escape since during the summer since the temperature went so high that going to the beach or a pool resort is necessity suddenly?

I am not immune to such fad. I myself ended up planning, and booking. However, despite how enthusiastic I got there are just certain circumstances that's preventing you from enjoying your escape that led me to do a last minute cancellation. But despite all that, I found myself forcing to at least have one get-away. How can I not? I had a total of 8 international vacation last year, I should at least have one escape plan to the reality.

So what we are really looking for our type of get-away is something that could be traveled within a day, low cost, and not too crowded. We are lucky enough that we live in the Philippines that beaches, islands are not too far. Arent we an archipelago after all?

We had a lot of various choices until we are beckoned by the lovely and shy island of Cagbalete. Cagbelete is an island near Quezon Province. We traveled going to Buendia Station to Lucena and finally to Maubay Quezon, where we took our ride to the island.

Going to Cagbelete

There are fews ways to get to Cagbalete island. But first we had to get to Lucena city. We had our choice between going to JAC liner in Kamias, Quezon City or in Buendia Station, Metro Manila. Since we live in the South, we opted to go to Buendia. By the way, the JAC liner has a busy schedule during Saturdays and Sundays so you can expect that there are trips almost every minute.

We left San Pedro, Laguna at 3:30AM and arrived in Buendia almost quarter to 5. By 5:00AM the bus was already on its way to Lucena. The bus fare costs 254.00 (as of May 31, 2014).

I have to admit that going to Quezon is a long travel. According to the conductor it usually takes 4 hours to reach the Lucena Grand Terminal, and 5 to 6 hours if there's a heavy traffic. But we reached the Grand Station 4 hours after.

In the Lucena Grand Terminal we had our breakfast. There are choices of fast food restaurants where to eat at, but the famous ones is Jollibee, and Chowking. They also have food stalls there like the Master Siomai.

We were expecting that there are vans to take us to Mauban, but according to the locals if we wanted to get to Mauban via van we should have went to the SM Lucena or the Pacific Mall. But since we are in the Grand Station, the only choice we had is the Provincial Bus - NCR bus lines - to take us there.

The provincial bus is the bus that I expected in the movies: crowded, narrow, and hot. Going to Maubay fishing port will take an hour or so. I have to admit that during the trip, it almost blew off my patience because of the crowd and the temperature inside.

When we got to Maubay there's an initial stop that the bus did. For starters, or newbies this is where everyone gets off. But actually this is not the last trip. For someone who is a tourist in the place, I would have gotten off and rode the tricycle honking to get our attention to take us to the Maubay Fishing Port, but according to the local who sat with us, this is not the final destination. So we stayed.

The last trip is near the Maubay Fishing port, although I have to admit that we have to take a few meters 30 meters to get to the port itself. But compare to taking a tricycle who would probably be taking advantage of our ignorance in the local fare price, we took that choice. The walking distance was not too long though, you can survive the walking.

Maubay Fishing Port

In the Maubay Fishing Port you have two ways to get to the Cagbalete Island 1.) Private Boat 2.) Passenger Boat. How different they are? -- not so much. The Private boat is just the same fishing boat as the Passenger's but will take you to the island right away and on the resort . The passenger boat has time interval and would not be able to take you to the resorts thus you have to take a good 15 minute walk to get to there. Since we arrived 2PM the only available boat there was the private one. For a two way (going to the island and back to the port) it took us 2,000 Pesos. This 2,000 by the way was divided by 5 people. Plus, 50 pesos environmental fee.

If you want a cheaper way to get there I highly recommend the Passenger boat. It's just tricky when you get to the *station* where the ladies in the counter would sell you the private ones. But I think if we demanded to take the passenger type we could have saved a few peso since it only costs 50 to 100 pesos per head.

The Island

When we got to the island we had few choices of resort to check in: the Villa Noe Beach resort, the Villa Cleofas Resort, the MVT sto. Nino Island, and Donya Choleng resort. These resorts, by the way, almost shares the same price. Donya Choleng being the famous of all. We took the Villa Noe Beach because it was the nearest where we arrived and was not too crowded for us to place our tent.

The stay in the Villa Noe Beach was definitely a-okay. Although, you cannot expect convenient type of accommodation because the electricity only runs at 6:00PM until 12:00MN, and for the people who stayed on the tent like us, we had to use a common bathroom. BUT, I have to admit that even though the comfort rooms are shared by everybody, it was definitely clean. The stay in the resort for someone like us who had tents costs 250.00 per night, and an entrance fee of 50.00.

What I loved about our accommodation on a tent is being able to sleep near the shore, plus the view of the mountains, the ocean, and the sky was good as reachable. It made me feel closer to the nature. It was definitely something I preferred.

The only thing that you should be concerned about if you decided to sleep in the tent is that you have to have a power bank for your gadgets, and at night it can be a bit hot depending on the season. Plus, the resort where we are in does not have a canteen, thus we had to bring our own food. But there are few locals whom you can pay to buy stuffs for you in the near community without leaving the resort. We asked if they can buy us a pack of hotdogs (costs 240.00 pesos) and a cooked rice (15.00 each).

The Shy Island of Cagbalete

You might wonder why I call it *shy*, the reason why I call it that is because at peak hours of afternoon (12PM) the low tide there is so incredible that the ocean literally had to shy away from the shore for a good of few meters (about 40 to 50 meters away). When we arrived there by 3:00PM we literally had to just sit around near our tent, relaxing, and having a good laugh because there was no ocean to swim to. We had to walk far to get to the water.

So during our stay, there are few locals who would offered us for an island hopping. We had 2 choice for island hopping: 1.) to the Caves 2.) to the White Sands

We took the ride to the cave because according to the local the white sand during that time is also on a low tide thus we'll experience the same thing. So we opted to go to the cave.

Going to the cave took us an hour. It was literally a long boat ride. But we are happy with our ride because the boat was big enough to accommodate at least 8 to 10 people. Since my friends and I were only 3 in count we were able to enjoy the boat to ourselves.

By the way it costs us 1,200 for the island hopping because of the size of the boat that took us there.

The Cave and the Dive

We got to the cave, it wasn't big enough but it was amazing enough to see. I have never been inside a cave before so it's new to me. But it was a good thing to witness and experience. There was also a lighthouse where the cave was. The rocky mountain had sharp stones so we had to be really careful climbing. I had a few scrapes because of it.

The view on the top of the rocky mountain was priceless. In my traveling life I was able to fall in love with what I see, but being on this rocky mountain it reminded me to be amazed of how beautiful the nature is. It was so vast, and beautiful that it literally left me breathless and in awe. I am left without words in how I can explain to you what I have seen but I'm just telling you to go and see it for yourself.

On our way home, we were able to bargain with the boat driver if they can stop us in the middle of the ocean where we can snorkel and enjoy swimming in the deep ocean. They agreed as part of the 1,200 package. Besides, all they have to do is to stop the boat in the middle of the ocean. How bad the bargain could be? - lol.

Taking a jump in the deep ocean, and enjoy a good stroke is something that I have been wanting to do ever since I learned how to swim. Whenever I enjoy a good laps in the pool, I always wondered if I can really swim in this type of water. I have to say that it isn't definitely the same as swimming in a deep pool. Floating is effortless, but the vastness of the ocean, the waves can be a bit daunting that it somehow frightened me. But I wanted to do it. So I did.


The Vast Night Sky

Whenever I get closer to the nature -- that is by hiking, camping, beaching, I am always amazed during at night. This trip showed me again how beautiful the sky is during that time. It was so wonderful, so beautiful: The stars exploded like diamonds in the vast sky, scattered out to all the space available. Then there's the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, serenading along with the crickets. I wish I could take a photo, show you, and share with you the wonderful feeling of again re-witnessing the beauty that our God had solely created for us. *sigh*

The Ending

When morning came, it was like a cold shower of reality blasted to my face. I was dreading it. The hassle of going back to the reality is sinking in and almost erasing the feeling of euphoria that I felt in the beginning.

Since we paid a two way trip, the private boat who brought us to the island is the same one who brought us back to the fishing port. There, we were able to get to a tricycle (10 to 15 pesos each) which brought us to the van station.

The van ride taking us to the Lucena Grand Terminal costs 65.00 each, but it was more comfortable compare to the bus ride. A good 45 minutes is all that it takes to get to the terminal.

In the terminal, there are few rides going to take you to the city: Buendia, Alabang, Quezon City. We took our ride to the Buendia, the cost is also the same: 254.00 each.

All in all, the overnight stay we had was worth every minute, every sweat, price, and exhaustion to again rekindle that feeling of being in awe of witnessing God's gift to us, and the wonderful time to relax and have fun.

So if you want to enjoy a local beach trip, I'd definitely recommend for you to consider Cagbalete while it stays commercially free.

Check my Facebook Album to see more of the Island