Breathtaking Boracay

July 5-7 2013. I love celebrating my birthday on the beach! Scorching sun, pristine white sand and crystal clear water -- heaven! 

For this trip, we were choosing between Shangri-la Resort and Discovery Shores. After browsing through reviews and blogs over the Internet, we decided to stay in Shangri-la, which is supposed to be more family friendly. We were not disappointed, this is one of the best resorts we've been to and the whole trip was just awesome!

Ok, so it didn't exactly started out perfectly as our AirAsiaZest flight was delayed for more than three hours. Fortunately, my little angels were in a good mood and busied themselves with playing their iPods while waiting for our flight.

It was a short one hour flight to Kalibo. At the airport, we were met by a representative from Shangri-La who helped us get to a bus going to Caticlan. There are several bus companies and van operators at the airport so getting a transfer on your own will not be a problem. 

Having fun at Kalibo airport

Comfy buses

At Caticlan, Shangri-la has it's own lounge where a private speedboat will take us to the resort. 

Private lounge at Caticlan 

Aboard Shangri-La's private boat

We cruised for less than thirty minutes along the white beach of Boracay and I'm just reminded of how beautiful and breathtaking the place is.

Shangri-La Boracay is just paradise! The atmosphere is so relaxing and the view is just stunning.

Check in was a breeze (you can provide your info and IDs via email prior to your trip to avail of the express check-in). The room is spacious and gorgeous and the bathroom is huge! The veranda has a daybed and opens up to a garden. What I love also is the strong wi-fi connection in the room and free flowing bottled water all through out the resort.

Welcome treats for the kids

Daybeds at the veranda

The pool area is massive -- it's like one huge maze of free-form pools surrounded with landscaped garden and fountains. It's just absolutely beautiful. I know I can't stop gushing, even remembering the place now makes me drool. Haha. 

The beach though is a little dissapointing. The resort has it's own private beach, so it's not that crowded, but the sand is on the rough side (doesn't even come close to the one on White Beach). But of course, this didn't stop us from having a blast.

Snorkeling gear is provided free of charge at the resort. They also have sand-digging toys for the kids.

There's a restaurant at the pool area and they serve yummy and reasonably priced snacks. Me and the hubby stayed under the umbrellas while the kiddos  went snorkeling at the beach and hopped from one pool to another. 

For dinner, we tried their buffet by the beach. The spread is ok and the food is good, though (as expected) a little pricey.

The next morning, we had a hearty breakfast (needless to say it was very delicious) and headed to White Beach. The resort offers a free shuttle that runs every hour. 

We were greeted with powdery white sand and crystal clear, glistening, turquoise water. Not a single trace of lumot!

After walking along the shore and having a sip of the famous Jona's shake, we decided to try two activities -- Banana Boat and Helmet Diving. I wanted to try the Flying Fish but the kids are still too small for it. 

The Banana Boat was a little scarier than the UFO ride we tried in Puerto Galera. Both kids were screaming all throughout the ride. Haha.

The Helmet Dive is waaaay harder than it looks! My daughter was only able to go halfway through the water then decided to go back up. My son was able to go all the way down though he was not able to stay very long. He had a hard time equalizing. Hubby got a terrible headache after. There's a constant noise over your ear and at times it's hard to equalize (you just feel the pressure stuffing both your ears). 

This activity will allow you to see and feed a lot of fish. I just feel like you'll enjoy it more if you know what to expect. I thought it'll be as easy as jumping on the water, putting on the helmet and walking underwater. Just remember that there's pressure underwater and it's going to make you very, very, very uncomfortable.

Dinner at Mañana Mexican Restaurant

The next day, we stayed at the resort and tried their indoor activities:

Remember to bring socks AND long sleeves for the kids. They need both to play in the indoor play area and use the slides.

All in all, it was a GREAT vacation. I'd say Shangri-la is worth every penny you'll be spending. Just a tip, call or email Shangri-la Boracay directly and ask for their local residents rate -- it's by far the best rate you can get. Even better that discounted rates they offer online.

Shangri-La Boracay Resort and Spa
Barangay Yapak, Boracay Island
Malay, Aklan
Tel: +63 36 288 4988
Email: reservations.slbo@shangri-la.com

Segway Tour of Intramuros

October 15, 2013. For lack of better things to do on a lazy, holiday Tuesday, we decided on a spur of the moment visit to Intramuros. I've read about the "Electric Chariots Tour" on a groupon site a while back and thought the kids would love to try it. I showed them photos of the Segway and the ATV and they  both got excited to try the ATV (they don't know how to ride a bike yet and a vehicle with 4 wheels seems safer for them).

I called White Knight Tours and booked a 3pm schedule. Their website says that the minimum height for for a participant is 130cm and minimum weight is 45kg. This they say is to ensure that the kid can reach the handle of the Segway and weighs enough to control it. My skinny daughter absolutely do not meet both requirements (kinda short on the height part and grossly below the minimum weight). But I was informed by Josh of White Knight Tours that they have had guests who are as young as 7 years old and he assured me that my tiny daughter can be accommodated. 

White Knight Tours' office is located inside White Knight Hotel Intramuros, right in front of the iconic San Agustin Church. It was a weekday so parking was not a problem. 

We met Josh, our tour guide and immediately suited up for our tour. Donning our helmets, knee pads and elbow pads, we were ready to listen to the briefing. 

All ears during the orientation.

It was all our first time to ride (and actually touch) a Segway. Josh said the Segway is easier to control compared to the ATV, so we'll all be using this one. 

First thing to remember is that it's all about balance. If you put your weight forward, you'll move forward, if you put your weight at the back, you'll move backward. To stop, all you have to do is put your weight in the middle. Sounds easy piecy right? Surprisingly it is! To her delight and to my relief - my little daughter passed the practical exam so she can ride her own Segway and of course she'll be assigned an assistant for safety reasons.

All set to go.

First stop is to go around the Plaza San Luis Complex. Moving in one line, we went around the famous fountain, curiously taking in the sights of Spanish-era Manila and trying to keep our balance so as not to fall flat on our faces. We saw a group teenagers in costumes (probably filming something for school) and it added to the old Manila charm of the place.

Follow the leader.

Next stop, San Agustin Church. This is where we actually go out of the safety of the Plaza and meet more people and cars on the streets. It was a bumpy ride at first but we were all getting the hang of it by this time.

Thumbs up for a great tour.

Next on the list is the old Ateneo de Manila school which is now partly covered by the DOT's clamshell - a site for regional exhibits and events. 

We then proceeded to the Galeria Delos Presidencia which is literally a gallery of the past presidents of the Philippines. My son was so engrossed in reading all the facts about the past presidents and he kept asking our guide with a lot of questions. 

Curious tourist.

We continued going around the walled city passing Quartel de Santa Lucia, Victoria Plaza, Baluarte de San Diego and the Muralla Wall. The tour lasts for roughly an hour.

You can ask one of the friendly guides to hold the camera for you and snap away (which is what I did). This way, you don't have to worry about maintaining your balance while taking pictures while watching out for cars on the street. 

All in all it was a great experience for everyone, especially the kids. They really enjoyed it and was even planning to come back along with their friends and classmates.

White Knight Tours
Plaza San Luis Complex 
Gen. Luna St. cor. Urdaneta St., Manila
Tel: +63 2 5266539 / +63 2 5266181
Email: intramuroschariots@gmail.com
Website: http://www.whiteknighttours.com

Rainy Puerto Galera Weekend

May 11-13, 2013. I haven't been this excited to go the beach as it has been an eternity since we last travelled. I was really looking forward to the sight of pristine waters and the chance to soak up some sun while doing absolutely NOTHING. I'm far from being light-skinned, but I absolutely love getting roasted under the sun! Life for me is lying on a lounger by the pool or along the shore, sipping a smoothie :)

For this trip, we decided to go to Puerto Galera -- an easy two-hour drive to Batangas Port and an hour at a ferry and it's sea, sun and sand galore already! 

But as fate would have it, it starts to rain really hard the night before our trip and according to PAG-ASA it'll last for at least three days, which will exactly cover our entire vacation. It's been scorching hot since the start of the year (with record high temperatures being reported) and it chose to rain on the weekend of our first trip to the beach for the year. Great.

So we set out on a gloomy Saturday morning to Batangas Port and caught a ferry bound for Puerto Galera. The Port has a big parking space for vehicles and you can opt to leave it there for a couple of days. It'll cost roughly PHP100 for 24 hours which I think isn't bad. There are a number of ferries you can choose from and there's one leaving every hour. No need to bother to check the schedule or fuss with reservations.

We stayed at The Manor (near Muelle Port) during our first night and it's definitely one of the best accommodations you can find in the island. It's not exactly beach front (it's actually quite far and will cost you PHP150 to travel to White Beach via tricycle), but the comfort and great service definitely makes up for the poor location. We enjoyed the great view while lounging on the (kinda small) infinity pool and the kids enjoyed playing billiards and foosball at the game room.

The Manor at Puerto Galera

Unfortunately, we were only able to stay for one night because they are already fully booked. So the next day, we set out to White Beach and checked in at Apartelle de Francesca (which was a big mistake, more details later). We also booked our island hopping tour through the hotel (which was an even bigger mistake, again details later).

The weather was erratic -- we'll get sunny for a minute, cloudy the next few and scattered drizzles here and there, it was insane! But not wanting to waste time, we went to the beach to try some rides. We initially wanted the Banana Boat, but since we have kids with us, we were advised to try the UFO instead. 

Riding on the sidelines.

Hands up for a great ride!

Being big fans of theme parks, we really enjoyed being tossed and dragged in a rough, bumpy ocean and being splashed with salt water while we hold on for dear life. Unlike roller coasters though, this one doesn't come with a standard seatbelt and it's best to hold on tight. Do not in a any way imitate my daughter who raised her hands during the ride. A number of groups tried the UFO but I haven't seen it capsize nor seen anyone who flew out to the sea. So I guess, for kids, this is a safer option compared to the Banana Boat.

Next on our list - get a henna tattoo. A trip to Galera is just not complete without this one. The kids and I got a small tattoo while the hubby opted to have his entire shoulders inked. 

First time to get inked.

We wanted to get a quick lunch before our island hopping tour and I was surprised that finding a decent place to eat can be quite an ordeal in this island. The only food worth writing about is the PHP50 halo-halo which is brimming with fruits and all other ingredients and is just drop-dead delicious. Hubby ate two servings all by himself (told you it was that good!).

We headed back to the resort to meet our boatman for our island hopping tour. We have to ride a tricycle going to the docks as all boats going on island hopping has to depart from this particular port. After waiting for what seems like an eternity at the port, we were finally on our way to our first island. Or so we thought.

We stopped somewhere in the middle of the ocean (along with other boats) and we were informed that we have to rent a smaller banca (read -- pay extra) so we can get to the caves, giant clams, and so on. So we told him that the contract was for a 4-hour island-hopping tour and we do not intend to go to those places he mentioned as we feel the kids are not ready for those. We were told that if we do not want to go to these places, we can just do snorkeling in that area. We were fine with it and so we donned our life vests and jumped in the water. 

The kids are not particularly excited about snorkeling. From a previous trip, as soon as they saw a school of fish and massive corals, they literally run back to shore. I think the idea of being so deep scared them. This time with no shore to run to, we manage to have them peek a little under the water and then raise their head if they're uncomfortable. We manage to do this a couple of times, until they got a little comfortable and they even threw bread so the fish will go to them.

We've been to better snorkeling areas, but this one is special since this is the first time the kids enjoyed snorkeling (or their version of peeking underwater).

Happy snorkeler.

Next stop is an island (sorry forgot the name!) where we can swim. Sand here is not exactly fine. It's actually pebbled and hubby found the flat stones which you can throw and it'll bounce a couple of times in the water. The kids were still busy snorkeling -- they kinda enjoyed the headpiece, the life vest and the site of algae and small almost transparent fish that ply the shore. We stayed here for a little while and headed back to the boat for our next destination. The kids were still on a high and was expecting to visit more islands. 

To our dismay and frustration, we were told that we are heading back to the docks as we have finished the island hopping tour. I do not have my watch with me but I'm freaking sure that not even an hour has past yet. Of course, I did tell the man about the agreement but he decided to just ignore me and head back to the port anyway.

When we got back to the resort, the man I initially talked to was even surprised to see us back so soon. So I gave him the story of how the boatman he referred us to simply refused to take us anywhere else and insisted we head back pronto. He did apologize for the mishap but that can't make up for anything, especially since the kids were having fun and were still looking forward to visiting more islands. 

Since the kids obviously still want to stay in the water, we let  them swim in the hotel pool for a little while.  The pool is shaped like a footprint with small jacuzzis. It's not big, but enough for the guests. 

Our room on the other hand is far from ok. The water from the shower is barely enough to get the soap out of our body, there was a colony of gigantic ants in the bathroom, bed and pillows are not comfortable and the linens could use some fabric conditioner.  The worst part is when they charged us for non-existent stains in the pillowcases when we checked out the next day. I probably wouldn't be complaining as much if I don't have something to compare it to. The Manor has way better beddings, comes with free breakfast and costs less than Apartelle de Francesca. 

Moving on, our next agenda is where to have dinner. As I've mentioned earlier, finding a decent place to eat is quite a feat. We settled in a Mang Inasal knock-off located near the beach and has jet-ski inspired tables. We didn't enjoy the food but the kids definitely enjoyed playing on the table.

The next day, we set out early so we can be back in Manila by lunchtime. I still have a responsibility to do as a Filipino (which is to vote!) and I do not want to miss this one out.

As we head back home, hubby and I were discussing how the place has a lot of potential only if someone would invest in building a better accommodation/resort in the island and putting up restaurants that actually serve decent food. If not for new and better resorts, we don't see ourselves coming here anytime soon, or ever. 

The Manor at Puerto Galera
Yacht Club Road, Brgy, Sto. Nino, Puerto Galera, Philippines
Tel: +63926-9377908 / +63949-7681504

Website: http://themanorpuertogalera.com

Email: info@themanorpuertogalera.com