North bound 2013 Vacation! :)

I am not really the adventurous type. I get scared easily. I am afraid of heights. I cant swim. I am unable to relax on a long drive because of a previous vehicular accident I had a year ago. I pray and pray continuosly whatever means of transportation I'm into-- a car, a boat or a plane name it! I wasnt like this before. I am carefree, happy go lucky type of girl. But one thing hasnt change, my love for nature will forever be in my heart defeating all my fears and inhibition, coz we only live once, I wanna make it last. I wont let my worries to rule my world. So let me share you my summer vacation that I wont ever forget. :)

April this year my boyfriend and his family had a vacation here in the Philippines. Theyre from Australia and they want to explore other places that they havent been into. Lucky me, I was invited to join their 4 days 3 nights trip bound to North of Luzon. <3 

His family loves taking pictures. While Im not really fond of striking a pose behind a breathtaking landscape, they were able to convince me to join their family picture! (Blush) (Shy)

Our first stop is at Baguio City. Just 3 hours away from Tarlac City. We headed north at 4am and arrived there at 7am.:) We visited the tree top adventure at Camp John Hay unfortunately it is time consuming because we have to be in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur before dusk.

We left Baguio City past 1pm via Naguilian Road. We arrived at Vigan City at 5pm. We didnt have long stop overs except bladder breaks. :) We stayed at Hotel Ilocana (if Im not mistaken). It is in front of Vigan City Plaza just beside Greenwich fastfood chain. It was a nice and cozy place to stay after long hours of drive on the road. It is clean and people are friendly. At night we went shopping and sight seeing at the famous Calle Crisologo, where I find the experience as nostalgic, I imagined myself wearing "baro't saya" while walking. I literally went back in time through the walls of old houses and pavements.:)

Me looking haggard as ever. My boyfriend in gray polo and his brother in black shirt. :)

Morning of April 3, I woke up fully rested and fresh from a hot shower. :) We all had a free breakfast at the hotel dinning area wherein we waited at least an hour for our food to be served. Wifi is also poor in the hotel and Im dying to check my facebook and update my status. Haha! So after checking out we headed to a place called "Baluarte" where you can see many animals roaming around and you can take pictures with them. Entrance is free. :) 

And this is me feeling like a human butterfly. Haha! :)

We didnt take long to lavish our time at Baluarte. We headed to our next destination-- Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. I think its 6-7 hours away from Vigan City. I didnt take note of the time. And besides we visited some tourist spots a long the way. :) First stop is the house of the Marcos Family where Former President Ferdinand Marcos' cadaver is in display for public viewing. Taking pictures is prohibited. Next stop is at the Malacañang of the North where the first family (the Marcos) lived. The house is built where you can appreciate the view of the sea since its elevated. Entrance fee is 15 pesos per head.

 Striking a pose at their grand staircase. 

This is at the entrance of the house. :)

We also saw the historical Paoay Church but I havent had the opportunity to take a picture and besides it wasnt my first time to see the church's unfaded beauty. So instead of taking a picture on the actual church I saw this painting inside the Malacañang house and striked a pose.

My boyfriend's "angas" pose.:) This is at Former President's study room. Its classic and cozy inside.

We had a late lunch at Max's Restaurant in Laoag City then continued our butt sweating trip to Pagudpud. On the way you will pass by Bangui, Ilocos Norte where the windmills are slowly rotating their blade like propeller. You can buy souvenirs of miniature windmills along the way. :) 

Yes, this shot was taken at 3 in the afternoon! Scorching hot since its summer! I dont wear any sunblock. Yes Im not afraid of getting tanner coz Im naturally born tan. But yeah I forgot that in two weeks I will be attending my cousins wedding. Good luck with that. 

Jumpshot. Weeeee...

At last welcome to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. Hmm well honestly, it was a nice place but it failed to exceed my expectation. I had fun though, specially when we were trying to catch big waves while swimming with a lot of seaweeds that tangles around my legs each time. But fortunately I had my piggy back ride during a walk towards nowhere and I slept on the car for the first time. Don't ask me, I had a terrible back pain afterwards plus lots of mosquito bites! :(

You can actually do surfing here as the waves are constantly high. :)

This is Pagudpud's amazing sunset. :)

We left Pagudpud past 9am of April 4.  But before anything else we also went to check this rock formation shaped like a table or something along Ilocos Norte. It was a rough road going there and we passed by a stall offering an adventure package such as sand boarding and the like.

Yes that is the white rock formation behind us. Haha! After our short visit here, we headed straight to our last destination-- Alaminos City, Pangasinan. We will go island hopping at the so called Hundred Islands.

We spent the whole day on the road. I always check my butt to make sure I havent gotten any pressure sores yet (seriously). Past 8 in the evening, we arrived at Dagupan City, Pangasinan where we decided to eat our dinner at Silverio's. It offers variety of cuisines that can satisfy your appetite plus the sea side ambiance is so relaxing. There is also a live band playing. I did enjoyed my food even though I lost my appetite due to exhaustion. The band played good songs and it was really relaxing! A Complete entertainment indeed specially the band that played reggae and do some funny stunts whenever they receive  a tip from a happy customer. :)

Shot at Silverio's Sea Side Restaurant. :) 

At 10 we continued our endless drive and at 12 midnight (sigh) finally were in Alaminos City, Pangasinan. We just had a few delays coz were looking for a good place to sleep after long hours on the road. We stayed at Romanz Garden Inn. I was fully rested and excited to go home as I woke up morning of April 5. We had a sumptuous breaky provided by the inn. After that We headed straight to the port where we will ride a boat for our island hopping and snorkeling adventure. We made sure we had our packed lunch ready coz there arent any available eatery in there. We spent the whole day swimming, snorkeling, sight seeing and having fun under the sun which made my skin go darker than ever.

This is at Governor's Island where you will hike to reach the top and take quality pictures overlooking other small islands nearby. :)

And this is my haggard face after eating our lunch at Children's Island. I am wearing my boyfriend's oversized jersey. :)

This is him, excited to jump and have fun snorkeling with his dad and brother.

 Finally our picture together on a crazy boat ride going back to the port. :)

To sum it all up, this trip is one of the best trip that I will treasure and remember for ages. Basically it was tiring, but the fun that goes in each adventure is definitely an energy booster! Hope you can visit these places and enjoy yourself as much as I enjoyed mine! Till my next sharing! Bye! :)

Puerto Princesa, Palawan Philippines

This is my first time to blog. I was having a hard time on what to post that can capture the interests of readers, and I came up with my unforgettable adventure trip and hopefully it will inspire you to visit this particular place in the Philippines soon.


Actually this trip happened a year ago of November. My mom booked our package tour at a particular agency two months earlier. Since we live in Tarlac City, Diosdado Macapagal International Airport is a better choice for us instead of NAIA Terminal 1 since it is just 45 minutes drive and it isn't crowded unlike other domestic airports in Manila.  

I can't believe I am afraid of riding planes. I think this fact is a delayed realization for me. It wasn't my first time, but I don't know what gotten into me the moment I sat down my legs are shaking uncontrollably , and it grew worse when we took off and when we were about to land. I think it is because of fear and the very cold air conditioning inside AirPhil Express. My fault coz Im wearing something that looks like Im ready to hit the beach. 

This is me with my mom's friend from Australia, Tita Ivette at the waiting area in DMIA.

This is Puerto Princesa Airport with my little sister, my mom and her friend. Thank God I was able to capture a decent shot even if I am still suffering after shocks from my shaking syndrome inside the plane.

And so our itinerary started and this is our Day 1. We checked in at Corazon's Hotel and Inn located in the city proper. We started our city tour at exactly 1pm. These are some of our pictures.

Mitra's Ranch with the three of us.

Baker's Hill where you can eat and buy souvenirs as well.

Crocodile Farm

Day 2 is purely Island Hopping.Our guide debriefed us on the way that if we want to go snorkeling we can rent some snorkeling gears at a reliable shop where the gears are sterilized properly after use. You can also rent an underwater cover for your digital camera to capture pictures underwater. Sadly, if you're bringing your DSLR camera, you have to protect it from strong water waves that crashes the boat on the way, since the store doesn't have any cover protection for it.

I think we went to 3 or 4 islands that day. Our first stop is at Pambato Reef where we went snorkeling for the first time. There is a so called LULI Island meaning "lulubog lilitaw", it vanishes during high tide and appears on a low tide. Pandan Island is where we had our lunch prepared by our very kind tourist guide. 

The three of us yet again.

Underwater shots while snorkeling

A shot of me c/o our diving guide

With our snorkeling gears on

Me and Kaye at Pandan Island

Our lunch prep by our very kind tourist guide (delicious)

Day 3 is our last day and it is in the famous Underground River which was proclaimed as one of the 7 Wonders of the World. From City proper, we have to ride at least 2 and a half hour going to Sabang Station. After we arrived, our tour guide queued our trip, made us sign  a waiver for environmental purposes and get the number of our boat since we have to ride at least 45 minutes to reach the corner of the mountain where the underground river lies. There were a lot of tourists, both locals and foreigners waiting while others were buying souvenirs. The sea possesses big crashing waves that's why swimming is prohibited and for me that sight is frightening. The moment I sat down on the boat, I instantly felt sea sick. I harnessed myself snugly on my orange life vest and faced big crashes of waves that made me grip on the boat too tight that my hands turned white. By the way, while I was still on the boat I noticed a zip line stationed above the mountain that slides across the sea all the way down the station that we've been to, similar to Hanna's Resort Zip line in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. 

Stop over to take pictures along the way

Limestone formation

A decent shot of me

About to enter the cave

I can't seem to find the wooded sign board of PPUR so I settled with this tarpaulin instead

Plane ride bound HOME.. Do I look calm here? Hell no.

Touch down Clark. Empty airport.

So to sum it up, this trip is one unforgettable memory for me. I wasn't that adventurous, but I am open to new explorations and experiences ahead of me. Though I have a lot of fears, conquering them is one of my goal. Surely, Palawan got a special place in my heart. From virgin forests, good food, nice beaches although big crashing waves on boat rides frightens me a  lot, nice and kind people, cheap  souvenirs and a wonderful trip on a river underground exceeds the value of your money. So visit Palawan soon! I hope the next time I'll be there, I'm with my boyfriend and we will conquer Coron and El Nido, Palawan. ^.^

Ciao! <3