CARAMOAN: 5 ISLANDS, 2 DAYS

Gad, this post is looong overdue.

Hang on, let me just put my earphones on and play my beach playlist before I start writing this entry.

Ohkay, here we go.

I could tell you that Airphil kind of ruined our itinerary by changing our ETD for Naga to 850am instead of 6am.  You see, travel time from Naga to Caramoan takes 3-4 hours.

The view from Sabang Port

Naga to Sabang Port: 1 hour
Sabang Port to Guijalo Port: 2 hours
Waiting for the boat to get filled up, finding a cab, bathroom breaks, etc: approx. 45 mins

The view from Guijalo Port

We were told that the last boat going to Guijalo Port would leave at noon, so instead of going to the van/bus terminal from the airport, we decided to hire a cab so we can get to Sabang Port faster.  Super bummer because we ended up spending so much more.  The van fare from the terminal to Sabang is only Php100. Cab fares from the airport to Sabang is usually Php1500 but we were able to bring it down to Php1100.

When we got to Sabang Port, we couldn't find the boat to Guijalo. We were told that because of the waves, the boat to Guijalo had to dock (?) somewhere in the middle of the sea.  So for Php150, we had to rent this little bangka to take us out to sea.

Our little boat

Koyaaaa!

When we got to the boat, we had to wait for a little under an hour for more passengers.  Then we started the 2-hour journey to Guijalo Port.  (Sabang to Guijalo boat fare: Php120)

We got off the port of Guijalo a little past 2pm, where we were met by our tricycle driver  (Kuya Mike) and he took us to our home for the weekend, Traveler's Camp.  We loved our stay there!  The package we got (Php4500 per person) included accommodations for 3 days and 2 nights, full board meals and island hopping.  They did not disappoint.  AT ALL!  The meals were sooooo good!!! It was just me and Carla but the servings could feed 4 people. May unlimited coffee and milo pa! Winner!

Our "soshal" room with LV sheets and LCD TV (not in photo). Hahaha!  Was not able to take photos of the food because we ate it all!

After checking in, we had a quick lunch, changed into our beachwear and took off!

ISLAND #1: Matukad Island

I've read about a secret lagoon in Matukad Island hidden behind a rock wall that you need to scale.  So I asked our boatman about it and he showed me where it was.  The wall was approximately 20-25 feet.  I was up for the challenge, so up up and away I went.

This gave me an adrenalin rush that I haven't felt in a long time

This is what greeted me when I reached the top. Gorgeous, right?

   

ISLAND #2: Cagbalinad Island

I didn't take a lot of photos here because I was busy drinking wine. Sorrryy! Hahaha!

HULI!!!

ISLAND #3: Cotivas Island

Possibly my favorite island because of it's soft brown sand.  Plus the water is blue in different kind of hues.

May beach na, may buko pa!

ISLAND #4: Manlawi Sandbar

The largest sandbar I have eveerr seeeen!!!

High tide

Low tide

 

Aiming for a jumpshot

Ayun!

ISLAND #5: Sabitang Laya

It was drizzling on our way to this island and it didn't stop. Since we couldn't laze in the sand, we decided to just walk around the island.

Off the beaten path.  

Another beach at the back of the island

These rocks were sooo huge!

We had a really good trip.  Caramoan is pristine and gorgeous and everything Boracay is not.  I intend to take Joaquin there next year. Magsawa siya sa beach! :)

This trip really gave me the diversion I needed.  It reminded me of how much life my life has.

And so, I'm baaaaccckk! Sooo back! :)

P.S.
If you would like the contact information of Traveler's Camp, see photo below.  Ask for Jun Padua.

9 DAYS

I need a vacation.

The kind where you don't do anything but lie down.

With a good book.

Or with an ipod.

Or a book full of crossword puzzles. (Yes, I'm a sucker for crossword puzzles. The easy ones lang, ha? Hehe!)

With an ice-cold bottle of beer within arm's reach.

The kind where you don't hear the hurly-burly of the city or the voices of your agents on the floor.

The kind where all you can hear are the sound of the waves hitting the shore.

The kind where all you have to worry about is how to shake the sand off your clothes and your sarong.

Thankfully, I will have that kind of vacation in 9 days.

My soul sister, Aina gave me round-trip tickets to Coron for my birthday. We are leaving in 9 days. Amazing Race partner, Gea is arriving from Singapore next week just so she can join us.

I miss the feeling of sand between my toes.

And I miss getting tan lines.


See you soon!

The Big BANGkok Theory

This post has been long overdue.

From March 19-23, I was in Bangkok with 4 girlfriends and a Tita (my friend's mom tagged along) and while I was on the verge of crying everyday because I missed Joaquin sooo much, this trip was a much-needed break from everything.

ACCOMODATION

We stayed in Budacco, a hotel I found online. Read the reviews on Tripadvisor (i always check this site before making a reservation at a hotel/resort I'm not familiar with) and was satisfied with the feedback so we decided to book.

Love love love Budacco! We got 3 rooms for 4 nights and this was how much we shelled out per person: Php 3,200!

The lobby of Budacco


We got a yellow room. The rooms were clean and were kept clean everyday!


They serve buffet breakfast but it was the same everyday--rice, eggs, sausages, ham, fruits, coffee, juice and bread. We didn't mind because the food was good and we all fell in love with the orange marmalade. (We asked the manager for the brand of the marmalade and we were told it was "Best Foods" so when we went to the supermarket, we bought some to take home!


Amazing staff! They helped us with everything! They even lent us a weighing scale when we were packing to leave so we wouldn't worry about going over the baggage allowance. Great great service!

The absolute best thing about Budacco was the location. Only a hop and skip away from the Pratuman Wholesale Market. And because we were all Bangkok virgins, we didn't discover this until we got there. It's located in the heart of Pratunam area, which is basically, the divisoria of Bangkok. And just like Divisoria, everything was less expensive and if you bought 3pcs or more of anything, you got it at wholesale price and since there were 5 girls shopping together, wholesale it was! Pratunam was such a bargain that when we visited the supposedly cheap malls such as MBK and Platinum, we still found their items expensive. I plan on visiting Bangkok again and will DEFINITELY still stay in Budacco.

THE EATS

The first thing we did when we got to Bangkok was eat. Tita's friend who is based in Bangkok brought us to Sukhumvit Soi 11(soi=side street) near Ambassador Hotel which is where the club scene is. But we were not going to a club. We were going to get the best street food ever! I swear, this was the best meal I had this year. We went here twice and all agreed that suddenly, the food in Som's wasn't very good. Haha!


This is the restaurant--on the sidewalk!


Getting the table ready






Best Pad Thai EVEERRRRR!!!


Tom YUUUMMMMM!!!!

We ate food from the street everyday.


Seafood Pad Thai for only 40 baht. Not as good as the one in Soi 11 but pretty yummy as well


Papaya Salad while shopping.


Tilapia stuffed with lemongrass and rubbed with lots of salt, then grilled to perfect yumminess!


Grilled Prawns that cost 50 baht per stick. Cheap, noh?


Spring Rolls from the Floating Market


This one, I didn't like so much. Inside the taco shell is grated coconut and its covered with icing. Too sweet!


Our ultimate favorite-- Sticky Rice with Mango!


Tastes like Gyoza but healthier as it just had vegetables inside. This was one of the things we ate off the street and only costs 10baht. Soo good!


Iced Thai Milk Tea. It was hotter in Thailand compared to Manila but this drink made us forget all that. Where can I find good thai milk tea here?

We also found street food we didn't want to eat:





THE TOURS

At the very last minute at around 7pm on a Sunday night, we booked a tour for the next day at Thailand Tours Center . We loved that they could accommodate our request at such late notice (unlike this other tour guide who totally rejected us. He was more expensive pa!).

First stop was the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.

I thought the floating market was just...well...a floating market. Turns out that it was like this entire village on water...with street names pa! We found the items sold here really expensive. All we ended up buying was food! Hehe! I guess you just come here for the experience.


The boat would stop at these stores on stilts...




My friends bought saffron from this pretty lady.


LAMON!


Spices!


After lunch, we headed to the Tiger Temple. We were already warned the night before that we couldn't wear anything sleeveless or short at the Tiger Temple. So we all brought extra clothes. I was wearing a tanktop at the Floating Market and when we arrived at the Tiger Temple, I decided to just throw my black shirt over it, thinking that when we got inside, the tigers would already be there. It was just a temple, wasn't it? WRONG! It was scorching hot and we had to walk/trek for about 10-15mins to the Canyon where the tigers were.





It was all worth it though because I have never seen so many tigers in all my life. It was siesta time so almost all of them were asleep.

There were 2 lines--one for those with cameras and the other for those without. If you have a camera, you get 2 guides. One will hold your hand while walking through the Tiger Canyon and the other takes pictures. Here are some of my pictures:








After the Tiger Canyon, we walk a little more and we see more tigers and a few other animals--deers, horses and water buffalos.





Next destination, Saiyok Elephant Park.



This wasn't included in the package tour but since we really wanted to ride an elephant, we paid an extra 300 baht for this.

First we watched the elephant show, where the elephants did tricks.


Like standing up

Then they asked for volunteers for the elephant massage...


I raised my hand and here I am! The elephant gave me a smooch on the cheek before the massage


I also got a nice long hug!

The elephant ride was scary at first. It got particularly scary when the trail she was on would go up and down (Our elephant was a girl called Bob) . Our only form of seatbelt was a long nylon(?) strap which we tied to the end of our seat. Haha!

I felt so bad for Bob because she was tugging along her baby with us. This was the only thing I didn't like about that trip to the Elephant Park.




Manong said I could ride in front




Love love love this group shot! Soo cute that baby is snuggling close to Mom

When I have some money saved up again, I will go back to Thailand. Or maybe Vietnam :)

P.S.
My very good friend, Aina, gave me round trip tickets to
Coron in June. I'm soooo excited!!!