One Of My Best Boracay Trip

When the year 2012 started, I could feel an even more stressful work at the office.  That's why I am always looking forward to every vacation that I have scheduled.  First was this long weekend in January.  My kaladkarin friends and I went to Bolinao, Pangasinan.  I enjoyed this vacation although quite tiring because of the long travel time.  Come this February, I've been anticipating my Boracay trip.  Ever since I first set foot in Boracay last 2007, I am always eager and looking forward to visiting it again.

This Boracay trip is one of my best.  Simply because I get to enjoy and relax during the 3 days and 2 nights vacation.  I didn't do any water activities.  I just shop, took photos, enjoy the beach and of course eat!  For me, it was the most relaxing Boracay trip I have ever experienced.  This is exactly what I need for having a stressful environment at work.

We stayed at Tan's Guesthouse.  Rate is Php 3,000 per night for a room good for 4, inclusive of breakfast.  The room is basic with 2 double size bed, toilet and bath, an a/c, a small tv, storage area and a veranda.  Our room is located at the annex of Tan's.  The sliding door is quite difficult to handle.  It seems that the key has been misaligned so it gives us quite a hard time locking and unlocking the door.  Another concern was that the room doesn't have any mirror.  No woman can stand a room without a mirror.  So it's hard for us to just see ourselves with our pocket mirror.

Just to give on the update on the transportation expenses from the port to Boracay, please refer below.

From Caticlan airport:
tricycle to Caticlan port - Php 25 each (max of 3 passengers per tricycle)
environmental fee - Php 75 each
Caticlan port terminal fee - Php 50 each
pump boat to Cagban port - Php 25 each
tricycle from Cagban port to White Beach - Php 100 (up to 4 passengers per tricycle)

From Cagban port to Kalibo:
tricycle White Beach to Cagban port - Php 100 (or Php 25 per head)
shuttle van to Kalibo - Php 175 each (inclusive of boat)
terminal fee - Php 50 each

Would love to hear your comments or feedback in case the rates above are inaccurate.  Enjoy your summer!

How Inconsiderate I Can Be?

Following up my post on Ups and Downs of Being an Online Seller, I just had to rant about this negative feedback I have received from ebay.  I am not a frequent seller as I only sell stuff when I needed to.  I can't recall why I post that blog before but maybe because of the same buyer I have encountered in ebay.  She left me a negative feedback last December which I just read now.

She claimed that I was an inconsiderate seller, the first she encountered.  I don't wanna post details and explain further my side but is waiting for payment for almost two months mean inconsiderate?  Is texting for following up payment mean inconsiderate?  Yes, I do understand her personal reasons for delaying the payment, that's why I waited.  Still she called me inconsiderate and even posted negative feedback.  If I am inconsiderate, I should have posted her negative feedback as well as being a joy bidder.  But being "inconsiderate" me (sounding sarcastic), I didn't do that because I know she is not really a joy bidder.  But still I left her feedback though, stating that she never settled payment.  She just suddenly disappeared and no longer replied to my messages.  This maybe made her leave a negative feedback on me.

It's just so sad that she is also a seller yet she didn't understand my other side of the story.  You can never wait for a buyer forever to settle her payment.  In my case, I did wait, and still I am tagged as inconsiderate.  If I no longer receive response from the prospect buyer, shall I just be quiet about it and do nothing?  What if she's already dead and I still waited?  How will I know?

You're insights will be very much appreciated on what points did I become inconsiderate.

Update: My 366 Days Project

Since I was busy with work and almost no time to blog, I, therefore, declare my 366 days project as Fail.  Sad to admit but that's how it had to end.  I have backlogs with my writing project that it keeps on piling up.  I can no longer update my blog and remember all those blessings I have received each day.  Although as much as possible, I still keep in my little journal through iPod Touch's My Secret Diary all the things, may it be big or small; positive or negative, that happened to my day to day activity.

I just hope, someday, I will still continue to blog.  And hopefully pursue My 366 Days Project.

Roadtrip to Pangasinan

A quite unplanned weekend getaway with kaladkarins.  It all started when one of our friends sent FB message asking for our next getaway.  It has been more than 6 months since our last trip.  In an instant, we decided to set a weekend trip, just in time for the long weekend ahead.  Since its only a weekend, it must be somewhere in Luzon.  I suggested Pangasinan since I've never been here.  Besides, I've already researched Alaminos and Bolinao trips which will be really helpful with our only almost a week of planning.  We decided to skip Alaminos and spend the weekend in Bolinao instead.  Alaminos is about an hour and a half away to Bolinao.  And from research, there's more tours to visit in Bolinao than in Alaminos (correct me if I'm wrong).  And so it's set.  Kaladkarins off to Bolinao, Pangasinan.

We left Manila at around 4.30am.  Our very reliable map helped us our way to Bolinao.  Our map with pictures of road signs is courtesy of Puerto Del Sol.  We didn't get any accommodation there as it is quite expensive.  We opt to stay in Treasures of Bolinao as it is much cheaper.  We arrived at the city of Bolinao, Pangasinan by 10:30am.  This already includes 3 stop overs.  We headed to Adora's Restaurant to have our brunch and later talked to locals about the distances of the places we want to visit and maybe convince them to tour us.  Based from research, tricycle drivers can tour you in the following places: caves (Enchanted, Wonderful or Cindy's), Bolinao falls, Bolinao Lighthouse and Patar Beach.  The tricycle driver charged us Php 1,000 to do everything.  Quite expensive as we thought it is only Php 300 based from our research.  Well maybe because Bolinao Falls is farthest among these destinations.

We just then decided to visit the tourist spots on our own since we brought our own vehicle.  Aside from the info given by the tricycle driver, we also asked staff from Adora's and from Treasures of Bolinao.

Adora's Restaurant
Based from research, this is one of the restaurants you can visit that is open 24 hours.  So if you're riding the bus (with fixed schedule) and arrived in Bolinao at a very early morning, you can dine in here.  This is not a fancy restaurant, it is carinderia but with edible foods.  They have lots of viands to choose from.  And like any typical carideria, the viands are single serving.  We ordered, pork barbeque (huge serving per stick), chopsuey, kare-kare, sisig, and a fish dish.  Since I'm watching what I eat because of allergy, I only ate chopsuey and barbeque.  The chopsuey tastes good with crunchy vegetables.  The barbeque is ok, more meat than fats.  My friends say that the sisig taste good.

with owner, Aling Adora

 St. James The Great Church
After eating at Adora's Restaurant, we decided to proceed to St. James The Great Church, which is just beside the restaurant.  According to research, this is one of the oldest church in the Philippines.  The church is undergoing construction that's why we didn't stay long there due to the smell of paint inside the church.

Treasures of Bolinao
Treasures of Bolinao is located in the municipality of Patar, where famous golden sand beach can be found.  The resort is very near to the Patar beach and Bolinao Lighthouse.  It is the farthest among the famous resort in Patar.  Going here, you will pass by the resorts like Punta Riviera, Puerto del Sol, Bing's Beach Resort (one of the cheapest resort), Solomon's Beach and many others.  There are a lot of resorts alongside of the road which I think you can just walk-in in case you don't have any accommodation yet.  You will also pass by restaurants like Bolinao Seafood Grill atbp. and Tummy Teasers.  We only get to try the Bolinao Seafood Grill.  The road also leads to the caves namely Enchanted Cave, Wonderful Cave and Cindy's Cave, in order of sight.  After the caves, you will pass by the Rock Formations with an available accommodation called Rock View Resort.  The road leading to Treasures is quite rocky on some part.  There are also mini mart and sari-sari store alongside in case you needed to buy additional essentials like water.  It is really far going to Treasures of Bolinao, about 20 kilometers or more.  I could just imagine the pain in your butt and the thick dust you will encounter when riding the tricycle.

View of Treasures of Bolinao from Patar Beach

Open cottages with damaged bridge (due to typhoon)

We got a room in their newly constructed New Villa Building, good for 4 persons but can accommodate up to 6 persons.  The room is quite spacious with veranda.  There is no hot shower and we experienced clogging in the shower area.  The air conditioning is ok but some may feel that it isn't cool enough.  The resort occupies a huge land area but I wasn't able to go on tour around it.  The wifi is only available in the Main House.  Globe and Sun signal is very weak in our area (I'm not sure in the Main House) and only Smart signal is strong.  Their open cottages is picture perfect.  I love playing with my camera on that location.  Too bad I wasn't able to get another picture perfect in their bridge area.

Our spacious room with 2 extra bed/mattress provided

Enchanted Cave
After resting at Treasures of Bolinao, we decided to visit the caves.  Since its already afternoon (we got so tired that we slept first in our rooms), about past 3pm, we decided to just visit 1 cave so we can still catch the sunset in the lighthouse.  We've researched that among the 3 caves, Enchanted Cave was the most visited and liked.  And so due to time constraints, this is the only cave we've visited.  Entrance to the cave is Php 50 per head.  If you want to go swimming, you will pay additional Php 20 per head.  Parking fee is Php 25.  According to our guide, Enchanted cave has the biggest swim area than Wonderful and Cindy's cave which makes it more ideal to swim.  The waters are very clear and not so cold.  It is a surprise that the rocks don't get algae and moss despite having soaked in water for so long.  The guide also explained where the water is coming from.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear it.

Very clear and clean waters

Rock Formation
I've read that the rock formations here is similar to Batanes.  Well, I haven't been to Batanes so I can't make any comparison.  The area is picture perfect, especially when the sun is setting.  The rays of light gives the rocks a red orange color.  The huge waves splashing onto the rocks is also another picture perfect sight.  There is a small area with golden sand but I'm not sure if swimming here is allowed.  Entrance here is Php 15 per head.

Cape Bolinao Lighthouse
The lighthouse is said to be the second tallest lighthouse next to Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Ilocos Norte.  Both lighthouses are picturesque but in my opinion, the lighthouse in Ilocos can be more antique looking with sepia setting in your camera (I don't have that kind of setting though before in my camera).  I think this is one tourist spot we've visited that we didn't pay any fees.

Bolinao Waterfalls
Accoriding to research, there are 2 waterfalls in Bolinao.  One is called Tara Falls and this is the other one.  Since the most visited is Bolinao Falls, we skipped the Tara Falls.  I'm not sure how far it is from each other but it is located in a different town.  Bolinao Falls is approximately 1 hour away from Treasures of Bolinao.  If you're coming from the city of Bolinao, it is located before the town of Anda.  You will see a not so big signage leading you towards the way of Bolinao Falls.  The road going to Bolinao Falls is quite far.  It is accessible by car but the tricycle drivers advised us to be very careful in driving as it is steep and rocky.  We've asked about 3-4 people along the way just to make sure we're headed to the right track.  It was a surprise that 2 of those people asked us if we were looking for Bolinao Falls 1 or 2.  We didn't get the chance to see the Bolinao Falls 1 but surprisingly there is another Bolinao Falls 1-1/2 which we were able to visit.  With its name, it is a very small and short waterfall.  The waters are clear and its not quite deep.  There are a few cottages but I'm not sure if there's a fee for using it.  Entrance and parking here is for free.

Bolinao Falls 1-1/2

Arriving at Bolinao Falls 2, we have to pay Php 20 parking fee for car (Php 15 for tricycle) and Php 100 for cottage rental.  Swimming is free.  This falls have a wide swimming area with again very clear waters and some shallow and deep areas.  The water is not so cold unlike in other falls I've visited.  We were the first group to arrive at around 9.30am.  After a few minutes, more people arrived and some took a swim.  According to the guide, Bolinao Falls 1 is more of the "washing area" of the locals where they wash their clothes and the "shower area" of their carabaos.  It is not preferred as tourist destination especially if you would prefer swimming.  That is why Bolinao Falls 2 is more ideal tourist spot.

Bolinao Falls 2

Bolinao Seafood Grill atbp.
We had our brunch here.  I was quite hesitant since most of the foods to be served are seafoods which I am trying to avoid because of my allergies.  But nevertheless we ordered grilled squid, sinigang na hipon, grilled milkfish, another grilled fish (I forgot the name), and crispy pata.  I tasted and ate everything that is served!  Bahala na kung magka-allergy.  All of us consumed at least 2 cups of rice.  Either the food was great or we're just really hungry.  True enough, come night time, allergies are all over my thighs and arms.  So now I don't know which of those foods I ate causes my allergic reaction.

yummy!!!

Patar White Beach
Even if Patar White Beach is accessible from Treasures of Bolinao, we still try to visit the beach, which they claimed to be the Boracay of Pangasinan.  It doesn't have white powdery sand like Boracay but the beach is also a wonderful beach destination.  It has golden sand with very clear waters.  At that time, there are waves on the beach.  I'm not sure if there are waves all the time or it just depends on the season.  There are a lot of cottages available and there are also stalls for shopping/souvenir buying.  For me, it reminds me of Puerto Galera white beach minus the party crowd.  There are videoke in the cottages and lots of people are having their picnic.  There is no entrance fee but the parking fee is Php 25.  I'm not sure how much rent or even if there's any fee for the cottages.  I guess bringing of food is allowed.  Besides it is a public beach.

Overall, I spent about Php 2,300 for this weekend getaway.  This includes overnight accommodation, tours, food, transportation and toll fees.  Not bad.  Our bringing of car and touring all by ourselves seems to be a wise decision.  Everything falls into place and we didn't get lost along the way.  It maybe a long 7 hour drive to and fro (inclusive of stop overs) but it was indeed a wonderful experience.  I'd like to explore more of Bolinao and other parts of Pangasinan.  We haven't tasted their specialty yet.  Well, I may not be able to do that since I'm having skin allergies to foods which I haven't quite identify which ones.

Microblog: Day 15 of My 366 Days Project

It's always a blessing to hear Sunday mass.  Today is a special Sunday since its the Feast of Sto. Nino.  I feel touched when the priest called up all the children and sends special prayer and blessings to them.  Sto. Nino is really indeed patron of the children.  I'm also thankful this day that my pork adobo turned out delicious! Haha!  Honestly, I don't know how to cook adobo (Yes, I know. Very unusal.).  I remember the first time I tried cooking it, I failed.  Tonight, it seemed delicious since my dad ate a lot.  Or again, maybe he's just hungry.

Microblog: Day 14 of My 366 Days Project

Since we don't have a maid, my sister offered having lunch at their house so that I won't cook anymore.  Thank God for a very generous sister!  My dad and I just stayed at my sister's house the whole afternoon then later we decided to stroll at the nearest mall.  It was another blessing enjoying the company of my family although we're not complete at that time.  Another blessing when there's a senior citizen section amidst the long queue in paying the bills.  At least we no longer need to fall in line.  More senior citizen benefits and privilege please!!

Catching Up on My 366 Days Project (Day 8 to 13)

I got so busy when the week started that's why I wasn't able to update my 366 days project.  But I'll try to recall and summarize them here.

Day 8:
It was a blessing to hear mass today.  The priest gave trivia about Christmas.  He said that it was celebrated before on a January 6.  Then later, it was moved to December 25.  The importance of the January 6 was still retained thus Feast of the Epiphany was celebrated on this day.  Then eventually, the feast was celebrated every 2nd Sunday of January.  I just felt happy that Christmas or the birth of Christ was supposedly celebrated on January 6.  Same birthday as mine.

Day 9:
Eventhough this day is not a good day for me, I'm still thankful because I get to eat my lunch at a very cheap price!  We ate at a small canteen just outside of our office.  I was full with 1 and a half rice and grilled liempo for only Php 52!  Very timely as I am really on a budget.

Day 10:
Blessings for good friends who shares their food with me.  I also thank this day that I was able to finish my writing assignment with an Odesk client.  I am expecting to be paid, hopefully next week.

Day 11:
The good deed that I did today was helping out an officemate understand more details about our work.  Eventhough she's been with the company for more than a year, she is still seeking for additional knowledge.  I am glad with that attitude and I am very much willing to teach her anything she wanted to learn relating to her work.

Day 12:
It was a tiring day.  I feel sorry for myself because I had to carry a lot of stuff on my way home.  Aside from my bag, I bring along my laptop since I'm scheduled in Manila office on Fridays and then I bought dinner meals for me and my father.  By meal it means it has drinks in it.  Some have already spilled out but it doesn't become messy.  But still I am thankful for this day because we already got our payroll this early!

Day 13:
It was Friday the 13th but I was still lucky today.  I had a feast during lunch with Chef d' Angelo's Eat All You Can.  Feast equals two servings of pasta, red and white sauce each, salad greens, potato salad, two slices of pizza, and 2 viands.  Hungry, I guess.  Come early evening, when it's time for me to go home, I was surprised that I didn't have any difficulty commuting home.  LRT wasn't jammed pack and the jeepney are all available and not full.  I thought I will be stuck with "people traffic" since its payday weekend but I'm glad I didn't.  Also, its my first time to consume the stored value card of LRT.  I didn't realize that I will get almost free ride with just Php 2 remaining in my card.  Amazing! Haha!