Best of 2011

As part of welcoming 2012, I'd like to look back on the past year - the highlights, destinations and discoveries that make my 2011 truly remarkable to me. A lot has changed, and still a lot to be thankful for.

"Best Adventure Trip" - Bacolod, Iloilo and Guimaras

The much-awaited 5-day reunion trip with my college friends was just epic. We were able to cover three major islands in the Philippines: Guimaras with its pristine white beach, Negros with its ancestral houses, natural Falls, and Iloilo with its historic churches and gastronomic delights. That was a lot to cover in five days and no wonder it felt like we were doing Amazing Race throughout the trip. :))

"Best Impromptu Trip" - Corregidor

After far too many attempts to schedule my last 2011 lakwatsa in the the Philippines, because of schedule conflict and weather conditions, I can't be happier that it all worked out in the end. This historic, informative and relaxing day tour is something I'll always want to look back to.

"Best Road Trip" - Clark and Mt. Samat

I'm so glad I got another check in my travel bucketlist through the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark. The journey was a lot of fun with the instant bond between the "recruits" of the trip. What makes it even more special is our side trip to Mt. Samat, which is an underrated destination by the way.

"Best Misadventure" - Kuala Lumpur

Get Lost. The slogan of Nat Geo Adventure epitomizes this trip. To get lost is exhausting but overcoming it is the most fulfilling part. KL, I'll be back for you. :)

"Best Bum Trip" - Cameron Highlands

Malaysia's "Baguio" counterpart as their summer capital, Cameron Highlands offered the most relaxing trip I've had this year. I did nothing apart from eating, sightseeing and light and short distance walking, which was perfect for my then newly injured knee.

"Most Memorable" - Pahiyas Festival

With the creatively decorated houses, wide variety of yummy street food, and unexpected events, this is the most colorful literally and figuratively. This trip taught me a life lesson and is something I won't forget.

"Most Visited" - Merlion Park

The perfect place to catch a nice view of the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer and Esplanade, no doubt my most frequently visited tourist spot this year is the Merlion Park. By working in Singapore, at least I get to live out one of my unconventional dream jobs as a tour guide. :)) To all my friends and relatives who went here, thanks for being part of my 2011.

And some of my 2011 favorites...

"Best Food" - Kim's Place (near Kembangan)

It was my first time to try the all famous chili crab. And I got addicted to the sauce but it's a shame that I have low tolerance on spicy food. The seafood here is excellent, a bit cheaper, and the staff are really warm and friendly, which makes this as one of my favorite restaurants here in Singapore.

"Best Drink" - Baretto

Located near Outram Park MRT station, this Spanish bar, with nice ambience and excellent live jazz band, was where my friends and I tippled off the most expensive Vodka bottle I've had so far. :p

"Best Film" - Letters to Juliet

This may not be the best rom-com ever made. But I was deeply touched by the movie because of this scene.  It just makes me want to cry every time. 

"Best Gadget/Application" - iPad/FaceTime

Thanks to FaceTime we get to communicate with our family more conveniently every single day. Since we  used it, I don't feel much difference anymore (except for the huge savings from overseas calls).

"Best After-Office Gimik"

I'm grateful someone had organized a get-together for all Pinoys working at our company. There I got to meet the familiar faces, listen to their stories as their sobriety would slowly drift away. I'd missed those inuman days. Hehe!

"Best Christmas Party"

Part of getting older, this was my first Christmas Eve outside my home country, and without my whole family with me. Our christmas celebration at home was still a lot of fun. My housemates and my siblings were very generous and game. We played Pinoy Henyo which was just hilarious!

-----------

This year I realized, life is what you make it. Happiness is not to be found in any country or in somebody else, but within you. "God dwells within you, as you" as Elizabeth Gilbert puts it. 

This 2012, I strongly hope it's not the year the world ends but I'm going to try to live like it is. I'm going to spend more time with my family, try out and learn more new things, explore more places, meet new friends, and blog more often. May we all have a better year ahead.

BAILORAS Day 1-2: Survivor Guimaras

This is the first in a series of posts about my 5-day pre-summer reunion trip with college friends covering three islands in Visayas: Bacolod, Iloilo and Guimaras.

First, I'd like to acknowledge Cebu Pacific Air's seat sale June of last year, and my manager, from whom I've found out Iloilo flights still had open slots, as we were struggling to find any place available. And that brought about this trip, our first ever out of town vacation as a group, which took more than half a year of anticipation and planning. :)) I'd like to thank all my friends who encouraged me to carry on with this trip which I initiated anyway. Thanks to my family, officemates for letting me... :)  I now know what I would have missed.

Our first destination after arriving at the Iloilo Airport was a resort in Nueva Valencia in Guimaras, a separate island only 15 minutes away via pump boat.

Getting There

The Iloilo Airport is around 30 minutes away from the city, thus, the transportation cost would be higher. Thanks to the really friendly locals from the airport who gave us tips on how to save on transportation costs. Straight from Iloilo airport, we hired a van to take us to Ortiz Port, the terminal of boats going to and from Guimaras. Our desired destination was the Jordan Wharf, which can be found in the town of Jordan (pronounced as 'Hordan' :p). If you're going to the town of Buenavista in Guimaras, then the desired destination would be its McArthur's Wharf which is accessible via Parola port in Iloilo.

Ortiz Port, Iloilo

After registering and paying P13, one of the cheapest boat fare I must say, we rode the boat going to Guimaras. 15 minutes of tranquil ride, we arrived at the Jordan Wharf. We then registered at the Guimaras Tourism Board, where one can also get contact info of hotels and attractions found in the place.

We found the cost of renting a multicab  exclusive for the group quite expensive given that we were few relative to its capacity, so riding the jeepney was the more practical thing to do. Our luggage were taken to the jeepney's topload. It was too late for us to realize they try to squeeze in as many people as possible  by adding a bench in the middle of the jeepney. It was a fully packed one hour journey to the town of Nueva Valencia.

Kenyama Beach Resort

We stayed at Kenyama Beach Resort for one night. The rooms were pretty decent and have reasonable price. It had a restaurant, videoke machine, and billiards table.We arrived at almost 1pm and had our late lunch there. 

  

The only problem was we all forgot to buy some supplies first before going to this rather distant town. No bottled water, no snacks, we had no choice but to fill our tummies with what we order at the hotel, and that's it. And for someone who gets hungry every two hours no matter how much she eats, this is a survival challenge. :)) We tried to check for restaurants or stores nearby and the closest thing we could get was a sari-sari store at the adjacent resort which had very limited supplies for sale. We found the food a bit pricey for the quality. But it was gotten even with by the really accommodating, reliable and friendly staff. :)

Beach Bumming

The beach in Guimaras was superb - white, pristine, relaxing. It was disappointing to visit it on a rainy day though. Thick clouds covered the sky and we were not able to witness the beautiful sunset tourists purposely visit, the hotel staff says. But we still had a great time to swim, play and chat by the beach.

Island Hopping

The resort we stayed at offers an island hopping tour for just P1200 good for 2 hours. I'd consider it more of island traversing since we did not really go to separate islands and only got around a big one. We woke up at 5am in order to take a 530am breakfast to prepare us for the 6am tour.

Our first stop was this cave (forgot to ask for the name).  There's not much to see inside, no passageway to take you farther inside the cave. After some group photo ops, we head back to our boat.

First stop: Cave #1

Our next stop was another cave. This is a narrower one and there's not much light inside and similar to the first one the inside also is a deadend. We ran out of ideas on what to do this time. We tried doing some jump shots (inside the cave!) And sorry friends... take a peek on my impeccable sense of timing. :))

Second Stop: Cave #2 a la 127 Hours

Our last stop was the white beach. The sand was finer. It was still raining though. But it was okay since our goal was to get wet anyway. I forgot to wear my aqua shoes this time, so I decided to not take off my life vest to ensure I never step into the rocks. Yes, I'm that paranoid. :p We spent almost an hour enjoying the beautiful white beach.

Third Stop: White Beach

Guisi Lighthouse

The old lighthouse, only 5-10 minutes walk from our resort, opens at 8am and closes at 5pm.  Because we did not know it closes at 5pm, we were only able to visit the next morning after the island hopping.

Going up the lighthouse is dangerous, not allowed (?)

It looked antiquated, the staircase were covered with rust.  We were pressed for time so only some of my friends were able to go up. What you would see is a panoramic view of the beach and the island.
It would have been nice to capture it during sunset. But oh well, it's never easy to get along with the weather especially while you travel.

Getting Out

We asked the hotel to find a multicab for us to pick us up going to Jordan for our tour. We left the resort at around 10am. Details of our Guimaras tour to be posted soon. Hehe ;)

Despite the scarcity of food and water, and the  continuous rain, for the impeccable white beach, the fun company of friends, going to this southern town in Guimaras was indeed worth it. Some pictures grabbed from Steph Buena (galing mong mag-document). ;)

Tips:

1. Items added to list of things to check-in to the airport: umbrella, tripod

2. When going to the outskirts, don't forget to stack up on drinking water and snacks/emergency food.

3. It's always safe to bring aqua shoes.

4. Bringing of hairdryer turns out to be more than just for vanity especially after getting things wet/swimming.

5. It helps to bring a flash light in case there's a brownout. Good thing our resort had a generator.

6. Ask the tourism board for tips and contact info of known places to visit.

Expenses Guide:

	price per group (6)	price per head
domestic terminal fee		200
van tranfer from Iloilo airport to Ortiz Port	500
boat ride to Guimaras (Jordan Wharf)		13
jeepney ride to Kenyama resort		50
Family room (+extra mattress)	2060
lunch at Kenyama		144
dinner at Kenyama		199
KTV	100
Billiards	25
breakfast at Kenyama		130
island hopping (includes boat and guides)	1200
Guisi Lighthouse admission fee		10