Fantasy Land

We went home to visit my mom's place and since Dapitan City is only one hour drive we decided to visit Dapitan City. It was the opening of the Palarong Pambansa 2011 and there were many athletes from different parts of the country.

My nephews are really exited to get to Gloria De Dapitan because of the Fantasy Land. Just like its name its really entertaining especially for the kids because there are different rides. Since I am not in the mood to join my nephews because I already did that in Enchanted Kingdom, they were the only one who got the Ride All You Can and my mom and I got the Sight Seeing ticket.

Entrance Fee:

Php 500.00 - Ride All you can w/ food
Php 200.00 - Sight Seeing

At the Entrance of Fantasy Island

I really think that having Fantasy Island in Dapitan is a good idea because people who lives in the nearby places can experience these fun and enjoyable rides like what the Star City and Enchanted Kingdom offers. For those who are just near Dapitan, its more cheaper and affordable if you can't afford to go to Manila to visit Enchanted Kingdom. 

Behind the picture was the flying ball ride. I was watching my nephews enjoying the rides while and mom and I were busy taking pictures. 

How to get here:

There are direct ferry boats to Dapitan City if you are coming from Visayas. Or you can take bus from and to Dipolog City and tell the bus driver to drop you at the Dapitan Rotonda. From there, you have to take a tricycle to the city proper. Tricycles will take you to Fantasy Island and to otehr tourist attractions they have. 

So, if you want to enjoy and relax then just visit Fantasy Island.

Its nice to be a child sometimes! =)

Promo Fare of Cebu Pacific

Yesterday, March 27, 2011 when I open my twitter account. The first thing that I read was about the Piso Promo fare of Cebu Pacific. So I immediately look for available schedules so that I can avail for a promo fare.

I booked for a Cebu trip this coming June and Manila trip this August. Though this is not my first time to travel in Cebu and Manila but I am just excited this time because I'll be visiting Mountain Province and Sumilon Bluewaters.


I just wish that the weather condition is good when that time comes.

So excited...

Unplanned Banaue trip

It was an unplanned trip for Banaue because of my mom. Mom was expecting to see the Banaue Rice Terraces in our Baguio trip which unfortunately you cannot see. So, we went to Banaue to let my mom see the famous Banaue Rice Terraces.

The trip was seven (7) hours from Baguio. We took the van instead of the bus because of the time. Bus will leave at around 4am but it will take awhile because they need more passengers before they will go. That is why we took the van because they leave every two hours even if they have limited passengers. So, as expected we were the only passengers in the van going to Banaue. We did not pay for the whole travel, we pay as per head. 

This was taken while we are on our way to Benguet Province. Before reaching Banaue we need to pass by at Benguet, Mountain Province and Bontoc. This is the view of the road we took going to Banaue. 

 We had our stop over in one of the restaurant in Benguet and I took this picture from there. The same also

with this picture. In this picture, you can see already the terraces style but its not rice plants. Its vegetables that they plant in that terraces. After we ate, we left and continue to our travel. We were still in the half part of the journey.

 We stop over again at Bauko because the driver bought something to the stalls installed in here and I took this picture on the other side of the road. In here, as you can see are the list of what we can see along the road. I was curious about the Mt. Clitoris and was hoping to see it but along the way I did not see it because there were no labels along the road.

I took this picture of the direction while we were in Bauko, stil part of the Mountain Province. Since we are heading to Banaue Rice Terraces, we turn right going to Sabangan and Bontoc. The driver said that we are getting closer when we see Sabangan. Below are pictures that I took when we already left the place named Bauko. 

 I was really looking for that Mt. Clitoris because I got curious what it really looks like but I haven't found it.

When you travel on this side, you can really say WOW because of the beauty of the nature. Very green and there were no houses along the road and even "talyer." So if you will have to bring your own car, make sure to check your car and prepare it for a long trip before leaving.

It was around 3pm when we reached the Mt. Polis and next to it is the Banaue Rice Terraces. Banaue Rice Terraces was awarded as one of UNESCO World Heritage for how many years. My pictures was not that 

Finally reach at the entrance of Banaue Rice Terraces

 really good because when we reach Banaue Rice Terraces, the fogs were covering the view. I got my phone

 only to took this pictures because my battery was drained and my other phone with a good pixel was drained also.

We stayed overnight at Green View Lodge. Green View is near at the Police Station and the Market. Don't be surprise if you will see foreigners in this lodge and in their streets. There are many foreigners visits  Banaue. We stayed their because it was highly recommended in the Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor.com. We check-in at room for two (2) for Php250.00 each.  When we reached the lodge, there were locals who approached us and offer a hiking trip, taking them as our guide. They charged as Php2,500.00 but since I find it expensive and we are just there for a night, we decline there offer.

Also, the local offered me a map where you can see trail to other rice terraces of the villages. I was interested with the map and asked him how much, he said it was Php50.00. I doubt if it was really Php 50.00 because it was a mere paper with a sketch and its not even colored. So, I did not bought it and when I asked the receptionist in the restaurant (picture shown below)  if they have a copy of the map being showed to us. The receptionist showed it to me and said it Php10.00 if I'm interested. What a big difference from the price of the guide.

Taken at the terrace of Green View Lodge
Those buildings there are houses in the village, church and  school.

Green View Restaurant

The pictures below were taken early in the morning at around 6am. We were taking a short pictures because we will leave at 10:00 in the morning. The same van that we took but now it is a bit different because the van was full because there were other passengers coming from Banaue that will go home to Sabangan and Benguet.

Taken at Aguiyan Rice Terraces, the one that you can see in the Php 1,000.00 bill.

The view up there was very nice and magnificent. I can't imagine how the ancestors of Ifugao built this. According to Mr.Aguiyan, they have no land title for this. It is inherited from their forefathers and same thing will happen in the next generation. Although, the trip was so long, we enjoyed it very much. We reached Baguio City at around 4PM and preparing for our the next day for our trip to Manila.

So try to visit our own wonders of the world instead of looking it only at the books.

Baguio Trip

My mom and I planned to go have a Baguio Trip for the December. All the way from Gensan she flew to Manila to meet me and to be in our Baguio trip. So as it was planned, we went to Baguio. We took the Victory Liner Bus in Pasay. My mistake, I did not book a ticket for Baguio trip because I was confident that there will only few passengers who will take the morning Baguio trip because we plan to leave at around 4:00 in the morning. So, I advised that you purchase or book your tickets for Baguio trip first especially when you are coming from outside Manila and peak season. You can book your tickets at their website http://www.victoryliner.com/reservations/ .

Also you can check the fares of victory liner here at http://www.victoryliner.com/fares/ . My mom got a discount because she use her senior citizen privilege. Nice one! In Manila they have to terminal, one in Caloocan and Pasay. If you are coming from the airport, you can ride a taxi and tell the driver to drop you at the Victory Liner Terminal in Pasay. 

If you are a budget traveler, you can check-in transient houses in Baguio. When you reach Baguio there will be persons who will offer you with different packages of accommodation. But I suggest staying at Tuvera Pension house. 

This is the front view of Tuvera Pension House. It is affordable, clean and mostly it just a walking distance from Victory Liner Bus Terminal. Also, this is near to SM Baguio City and Burnham Park. You can walk or ride a jeepney or taxi. The jeepney fare is only Php 7.00, very affordable. You can also check Tuvera Pension house at their Facebook account http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tuvera-Pension-House/110215342368785 for more inquiries.

This was taken at the stairway leading to the door f Tuvera Pension house. I am actually preparing to leave for our Banaue trip.

Baguio Trip was really fun and very relaxing. If you would like to explore more on Baguio, then prepare your feet for walking because it will be more enjoyable. 

College - Being Independent

My messy room

College was one of the memorable part of my life. I became independent.

I was having a school haunting after my highschool life. I went to Davao City to take entrance exams in different universities and then to Cagayan De Oro. Until such time I finally decided to pick Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan as my school. At first, it supposed to be San Carlos University (Cebu) or Siliman University (Dumaguete) but the convenience in traveling was difficult. My mom is left alone in our house. At that time, she has no companion yet in the house.

Summer of 2004, I went to Cagayan De Oro already to have a boarding house haunting and I finally found a dormitory.

I studied in Cagayan De Oro City, a ten (10) hours drive away from home. My first semester in there, I stayed in a dormitory and then I transferred in a room for rent the following semester. In there I met new people and gain new friends.

Ate Luan & Me

The above picture is Ate Luan. She was a medical student in Xavier also and my house mate. Our room was next to each other and she's my closest house mate. We ate out together during weekends and go to church every Sunday. The picture above was taken during our graduation ceremony. We graduated on the same year, it just happened that her graduation ceremony was in the afternoon and mine was in the morning.

NCPF Friends

This picture was taken at Jasaan, Misamis Oriental. These are my friends, I became close to them because of an organization named NCPF in our school. Its like an environmentalist group in our school ad because of this group I was able to fight back when homesick struck me. We usually go out with the group and do nature tripping.

NCPF on River trekking

I have lots of memories and pictures in Cagayan De Oro and I will not forget them even though I haven't back Cagayan for almost 2 years now. After graduation I left Cagayan de Oro already.

The experience was worthy!

1st time to Travel alone

Since my sister was studying in Cagayan De Oro. Quite far from our place, when she went home every sembreak and summer break she used to bring me to the bus terminal. She taught me to ride a bus at an early age on my own.

Since there was no any cellphone at that time to check if I arrived safely, she trust her instinct that I arrived safely. Heheheh....

From that moment, I use to go to Gensan alone because I'm confident that I knew how to read the bus ticket. Maybe I was like 8 years old then when I start to travel alone. Another thing that maybe contributed to my adventurous lifestyle.

Traveling: A healing process

What I remember was when my Father died, we always go to other places to had our vacation. My mom's doctor advised her that during Christmas break and summer break we should visit to other places so that we can easily recover from my father's death.

It is a good thing that we did that. It was fun and enjoyable and I became more enthusiast in traveling. Thanks to my mother who exposed me earlier to the world of traveling.