FAS OUTING @ CORON, PALAWAN

…whew! It has just been three days since our vacation / team-building at Coron, Palawan and I still can’t get over the breathtaking beauty of the place…I know, I know I have said it already when we last went for a vacation in Puerto Princesa, Palawan but boy…oh boy…the beauty of Coron is far, far different! I could not actually start to compare both places because they both have an innate beauty that is uniquely their own. The office started entertaining plans when the summer season of March came in …and since the unit FAS had already used up all the nearby places to visit – from Batangas, Tagaytay, Quezon, Pangasinan, Bicol, Ilocos Norte (Pagudpud) and many others – they decided to cross the vast oceans this time and travel someplace which has not yet been travelled by any other unit before – the paradise of Coron, Palawan.

Our only problem was that we would not be able anymore to avail of any promo by Cebu pac since we have about a month or two more to go before summer ends and at this late date, we can’t anymore get a discount like the ones we got when we went to Puerto Princesa last February…oh well, so I guess I’m the only one who can join the FAS outing this time since we just recently had a family trip to Palawan (that severely depleted our expenses). We just promised the kids that we’d bring them to Coron some other time… when budget and time constraints allow. So on March 11, 2 days after they made the booking for their own personnel, I got a booking for myself which cost me about PhP2500.00…a bit steep than our usual plane fare rates, but oh so very well worth it…

The group excitedly left early on the 22nd of April for our 9:30 am flight… the flight left as scheduled and no one was late! Our problem was that our destination was rainy and a bit cloudy so our small plane could not see the landing site…oh dear, and so the pilot made about five or more circles around Palawan just to while away some time and hopefully to allow the sun some time to peek through the dark clouds…in fact, we were a bit fearful since the cabin crew said we only had enough gas to return to Manila and in a few more minutes if the plane still can’t land, we’d be forced to turn back to Manila. Oh no… but thankfully I guess God heard all our prayers and so we finally made a touchdown at Busuanga airport.











Upon arrival, I immediately called up the contact person for our van transfer and we travelled over mostly rough roads (I think for about an hour) before reaching our rented cottages for the night at Coron Village Lodge. It was around lunchtime already when we arrived and so we headed out after checking in to our respective rooms and took trikes to the town proper…we chose a relatively large carinderia and had lunch there. Then, while waiting the others went off na to the market to buy some food stuffs for our dinner tonight. We returned to the resort and got busy preparing the food for our dinner while the others just rested in their respective rooms.














We ate an early dinner and off we went to Matictic Hot Springs to dip our tired and weary bodies in their steaming hot pools…and indeed it was sizzling! At first, we had a difficult time lowering ourselves in the water and so we started out with just dipping our feet first. Then, slowly, as we got accustomed to the heat, we waded in to our waist and finally until our chests were in the water. It feels good but we can only stand to stay in the water for a short time because it was just too hot! The boys literally felt that their balls were being hard-boiled already! hehehe












It was already dark when we left…all wet and we boarded the jeeps that we rented for the trip. We returned to Coron Village Lodge, showered and dressed…but the others felt hungry again and so they had round 2 of dinner before calling it in for the night. The others drank a few beers just to tide them over in sleep. But many of us rested early because we have an early call time tomorrow for the highlight of our trip – the island hopping tour.

The next day, we were all up and ready early to go to the pier. We proceeded to the Discovery Divers office and after ensuring that our boats were ready (we rented two)…off we went for island hopping! Our first stop – Siete Pecados – a marine sanctuary where some scenes of Dyesebel were shot, or so our ‘bankero’ said.












After a short swim with the fishes at Siete Pecados, too bad we didn’t meet up with Dyesebel eh? …off we went to be awed by the breathtaking beauty of Kayangan Lake… but before we got there we passed by pretty limestone formations and very calm waters along the way.








Kayangan Lake is the most photographed area of Coron and it is usually this place that is taken to represent Coron in may travel magazines and blogs. But to get there we had to climb up some steep flight of stairs (actually just steps carved out of the mountains where flat stones are placed with wooden railings) and then down again to reach the lake. It was tiring but the view from atop is just worth it…I guess I wouldn’t have the experience any other way…it was just so apt to see a perfect view of calm and clear waters after such a long and arduous climb. We were excited to immediately jump into the water the moment we reached the bottom of the mountain…but we had to catch our breath first and just take in the beauty of the place before truly diving in.
















The water of the lake was so clear that we could easily see some small fishes swimming underneath the surface. We brought with us the life jackets from the boat and so we were able to venture out to the center of the lake and find out what’s underneath …and we saw nothing but sand. We thought the bottom was just near so some of the boys tried to dive to touch it, but the bottom looked truly deceiving because it was much much deeper than we thought. We enjoyed ourselves immensely just floating on our life vests while the others used the bamboo poles just floating near the side of the lake. We would’ve wanted to stay a bit longer but our stomachs were clamoring for food so we had to leave since the place didn’t provide any place to eat or stay long. Maybe this was deliberate to ensure that no trash would be left behind. Reluctantly we left Kayangan Lake thru the way we came in and this time, however, we opted to pass by Kayangan Cave and have our pictures taken with Kayangan Lake in the background… just to prove THAT WE WERE HERE…








Our next stop was Smate Point beach…a cove in one of the islands of Coron. I guess it was another privately owned isle since it had an entrance fee of Php 100 per person. We spent the rest of the morning there, preparing our lunch – a la Survivor since there were no basic amenities – we had to make do with just firewood and setting up some stones to create a makeshift stove. The place was inhabited by an old guy – complete with graying beard and straw hat (like an ermitanyo) and he left us mostly in peace living in his small hut (that looks more like a bird’s nest really) and we just gave him some lunch (that seemed forever to cook…well, with the makeshift amenities, what would we expect?!?) But we had fun eating SRO nga lang because there was only one cottage and so the others ate on the sand or standing up…but still it was so much fun eating all together like that!













After eating, we rested awhile and posed for photos before leaving once again for CYC beach. We stayed there for only a short while though because there were too many spiked sea urchins so though the water was clear we only swam at a point where we could not reach the sand. Next stop was the Twin Lakes and it was just apt that we made it our last stop for the day because it provided a truly eerie ending to our island hopping adventure. The initial write-ups I read on the Twin Lakes never really prepared me for the real thing… When we approached the place, the towering cliffs protecting it seemed dark and foreboding. And I guess it was truly an unwelcoming place but we refused to heed the signs and plodded on to reach our destination. There were only a few who went down to savor the cold waters of the first lake… there was some sort of rock coral that one could stand on and explore but when you venture a bit farther from there…there was nothing but darkness and it would be like a huge drop into a vast unknown.












But we did not stop there… we ventured further on to the second lake which was only passable during low tides thru a small opening/hole in the rock mountain. Only a few of us dared to enter and once inside we were welcomed by cool and black waters… one of the swimmers who ventured to the middle of the lake said he felt a cramp and went outside immediately. We, meanwhile, opted to just swim near the mouth of the cave …too cowardly to venture any further inside. We left na din soon after wards and it was only then that we learned that the first one who went out did not really feel a cramp but rather a tightening in his chest and a feeling of being closed in so he went out na…the other officemate who dared to dive under to take a look at what’s underneath the black waters claimed he saw a huge school of barracudas beneath us…but it was several feet below…and he could not even fathom the bottom of the lake. Good thing nothing untoward happened to us in that lake but it was truly an eerie experience being there as if something was with us…some ancient creature waiting for us to make one wrong move…whew!...quite a close call!

When we finished our island hopping…or maybe it would be more apt to call it lake-hopping don’t you think? …we headed off to Discovery Divers resort to have dinner. They prepared a huge feast for us which took a bit long to prepare so we were quite ravenous by the time the food arrived…in fact, I could not even recall if the food tasted good or not?!? After eating, we hopped back to our boats and travelled back to Coron Village Lodge where we took our bath and settled in for the night.







The next day was our last day at Coron and some of us got up early to go up to Mt. Tapyas and witness the breathtaking view of Coron from atop a mountain. It was good exercise going up the many steps (too many to count e!) and the view from above was just worth it! When we went down, we visited some souvenir shops muna for pasalubong shopping before returning to Coron Village Lodge. We then packed our things, boarded the vans that would take us to the airport and bid goodbye to one of the most beautiful places in the country. Truly one we wouldn’t get tired of returning to once again especially with our kids in tow…so it isn’t really Goodbye Coron…but till we meet again!

SWIMMING AT MATICTIC


Last April 18, we went with Ate Ne and her family to discover another cheap thrill for the summer, what’s good about it is that it’s just close enough to our place in the boondocks so we could visit every so often when the constant summer heat gets to us…or if we just want a quick dip in fresh (not chlorinated!) although a bit dirty water…well, beggars can’t be choosers so we might as well take advantage of whatever freebies are out there! Well, not exactly free but we had to pay a minimal rental for the hut and the salbabidas that the kids used.

We just brought over our food/baon and barbecued some meat that Ate Ne marinated overnight…yummy lunch! There were many people who frequent the place; I guess it’s quite popular among locals there. In fact, after lunch the place was teeming with so much kids they’re like ducks in a pond hehehe. At least, the water is a bit higher than the previous one we went to in Pugpog…they needed to use salbabida pa nga to keep afloat e. The kids had fun playing with the big salbabida which they use as some kind of raft. The week after (on the 26th), we took the family and some neighbors with us and we all had fun…really a great yet cheap way to beat the summer’s sweltering heat!

A NEW POOL!

To show our appreciation for finishing well in her first grade at VMS, we decided to buy a new pool for our daughter…anyway she had been hankering for it already in the past e so I guess it’s about time to finally grant her wish…anyway, it was on sale and we had a new fence already so the privacy of whomever swims in the pool would not be much concern. We wanted sana something bigger just so we could also swim in it but alas the space requirements just could not be filled and so we took the next best thing… it was big enough to fit in three or even six kids (if Kit isn’t there!) and it was quite deep enough if ever adults (like me) would want to take a dip in the scorching summer weather. Here are some pics taken on the very next day after we bought the pool at SM Department store… I wouldn’t be surprised if our water bill would suddenly jack up this summer, but hey it would definitely be worth it keeping all the kids (who usually vacation in our house) preoccupied and happy!

BEST IN WRITING! Today we attended Kaye’s recognition for the primary level…nope she did not get any honors this year because after her good standing as Top 1 in the first and second quarters of the school year she slid to just being Top 3 in the third and last quarter so all the more that she was unable to make it to the entire batch Top Ten circle…but that’s OK! I guess her teacher felt she needed to give her some kind of award, any award just to keep her encouraged to strive harder and so despite not being named Best in Writing for the past three quarters of the year, she became Best in Writing for their class this year…that is also despite her very-hard-to-decipher handwriting!!! Hehehe…I guess I would have to thank Ma’am Armida for that…I just hope that when she becomes part of the cream section next year, she won’t get bowled over by the competition and instead strive even harder…congratulations baby! Here’s hoping that next year when we do get up on stage, it will be for a real medal this time!!! Keep it up girl!

VISIT / SWIMMING AT AUNTIE JING’S POOL

This year, the family decided to hold the monthly kita-kits/ get-together for birthday participants at Auntie Jing’s new house which she bought just recently. It’s a very big house with (I think) five bedrooms and a driver’s quarters located at the garage. What’s more…the place had a pool! So COOL! The ground floor had a receiving area, a sala where a TV is located, then a dining area and a kitchen with a center island (I like!) From the sala, you can go out thru French doors to the patio and the pool. From the kitchen, you can also go out to the dirty kitchen, pass by the laundry area and to the gazebo that overlooks the pool. This is where we ate lunch since the dining area can only seat up to ten people and so we opted to stay outside where it is a bit cool. Besides, it gave us the opportunity to also look over the kids while they are swimming.

The downstairs bedroom was used as an office/tambakan of some of the stuff they still failed to unpack from their house in Norway…they say the house came with some free furnishings but I found the sofas a bit ostentatious for my taste (it had some carvings kasi e…) I wished they would buy a bit of modern furnishings like leather sofas or soft fluffy ones na lang… Then, going upstairs the first bedroom you will see is the kids bedroom, it’s not yet located on the second floor but more of like a mezzanine. This is because the kids bedroom is actually two floors. It had a big double bed and a double deck where the bed is placed on the top bunk while the lower space is actually a study nook with a small desk/storage area for toys…pretty neat huh? Then beside the wall to wall cabinets is a spiral staircase that leads to a loft…it can be used as another place to store toys or even a place for their yayas or guests to sleep.

Then on the second floor is the master’s bedroom with huge wooden double doors. The floors are wooden parquet and it had a huge bed (well, understandable considering the size of the people who sleep there). There was also a big flat screen TV and a desktop computer inside the room. All the bedrooms had its own toilet but this one is the biggest because it also had a big bathtub! Then outside the master’s bedroom there is a den which can be made into a TV room (but at present contained more unpacked boxes!) then further on is another blue bedroom obviously for a boy and at this time it was occupied by my cousin Mike. At the den, is another spiral staircase leading up to the attic and it is a huge place that the maids use as their bedroom.

Indeed it is such a huge place and quite ideal for gatherings of big families like ours, having the pool is such a bonus because it would surely keep the kids occupied from morning till night! I guess this house would be quite a favorite place for gatherings from now on…I guess our only problem here is accessibility since we have to take another jeep ride from EDSA to go to Pasig and then another trike to go to their subdivision in Greenwoods…truly quite far! Sure hope the hubby always consents to take us here otherwise it would be difficult to commute…But in all, I really like Auntie Jing’s house…with a little redecorating I’m sure it would be even better! Here are a few pics of the kids frolicking in the pool…I guess I was too awed by their house to get any pics e…maybe next time.

NEW FENCE FOR THE HOUSE

Over the weekend, the hubby and a few relatives (Kuya Ric and Rely) came over to start work on the fence…he renewed his loan from Pag-ibig and from it he got around 17K, just enough to start buying materials for the fence like steel rods (for the posts and flooring), cement, hollow blocks, gravel and sand. It was supposed to be just Jun and Kuya Ric but just our luck that Rely (our pamangkin and Ditse’s eldest son) got into a fight with his wife and so he took off bringing a big bag of his clothes with him. And so he provided a much-needed extra pair of hands so that the fence construction will go along smoothly. You see, what I really wanted was to have a small bedroom constructed on top of the garage/extension but our budget was quite limited. In fact, the 17K would not be enough so that the hubby had to take out another loan (from their office COOP fund this time) since we had to pay a teeny bit pa for labor and food of the workers while they are working. But all the expense is just OK…at least we’ll be able to get a bit more privacy and even security with the construction of our new fence…the only bad thing was…all our plants were destroyed!!! See that small shrub on the right side? They tried to move it to a different location but made the mistake of not including a bit of soil when they took out the plant and so some of the roots were cut…and it withered and died after just a few days so I guess we weren’t meant to have a shrub like that – sayang! We just trimmed it and shaped it a few days ago and then it died lang! Even the palmera (the plant given by Mama when we moved in) had to be sacrificed because the tree itself lay on the path of the left wall…oh well, I guess that means we just have to plant new ones na lang… there’s still some space left pa naman on the left side of the house e…

A DIFFERENT BIRTHDAY GIFT

It’s my birthday today but I am not at home cooking up a storm for my family…and neither am I out shopping till my feet hurt…nope in fact I spent the entire day at the hospital – the National Kidney Transplant Institute – to give myself a unique birthday gift… the gift of health! You see a few times last year, I felt some bit of pain in my lower abdomen and also at my lower back and back then (when we didn’t have a medical health card yet) I shouldered the doctor’s fees gamely just to ensure that the pain would go away. And it did but he recommended some tests which I was unable to follow through since I didn’t have the money for it e! This time around, since we already have a card, I decided to take my leave of absence not at home but undergoing a thorough checkup for my kidneys…

In the morning, when I arrived at the office I immediately left for the hospital to see the doctor who then prescribed some tests for me to undergo – I had urine tests, blood tests, a KUB (Kidney, ureter, bladder) x-ray, CBC and some kind of ultrasound wherein I was made to drink lots of water before they checked out my bladder then made to pee and checked once again…truly a one-of-a-kind experience. It took me the entire day to finish all my tests but I am glad that I finally did it because at least now I would truly know what it was that had been troubling me…






P.S. It was about a week after that I learned that there was indeed a stone in my kidney but it was nothing to be truly alarmed about…or so the doc says. He says it did not require any surgery but that I should just drink more water and jog a bit so that I could pass the stone out thru natural means…it’s that small! So I guess it’s good knowing my kidneys are still OK…

Family vacation @ Puerto Princesa, Palawan (February 3-6, 2009)

…at long last after such a long wait, our family is taking another vacation…by ourselves again (not an office outing or a family affair) just like what we did way back in 2007 when we all went for a short weekend trip to Baguio city…just the four of us… this time, we decided to take the kids on a plane ride to visit Palawan since after Jun and I visited the paradise last year, we vowed to take them there…and we are just staying true to that promise…

And so last year when we I saw the opportunity to avail of discounted tickets for Palawan I decided to take the risk and bought tickets for our dream destination even if it’s still around four months away! I reckoned the time spent waiting could be spent saving up for it din naman e…SO GO! Our departure from Manila was at 8:30 AM and so we all got up early because we have to be at the airport at 6:30 am (2 hours before boarding!). Thankfully, we didn’t have a problem waking up and getting there on time…(so excited!) We reached the spanking new NAIA Terminal 3 (for Cebu Pac flights) and it was indeed very clean and sparkling. We had fun while waiting for two hours for our flight, we had breakfast at a Jollibee kiosk there before we boarded our flight that left as scheduled at 8:30 a.m. Our flight was quite uneventful…had a good laugh though coz our daughter (her first time to fly!) almost squealed in delight when she saw the plane slowly taking off…all the time saying (ayan na! ayan na! tumataas na!) She was just a joy to be with…


















DAY 1 – CITY TOUR

One hour later and we made our touchdown at the Puerto Princesa airport in Palawan. We rode a trike to our hotel/inn beside the famous Puerto Pension, the Audissie Pension(because it was much, much more affordable!) After checking in, we went to the city proper and contracted a trike to take us on our very own personalized city tour. But first, we ate lunch at Elmer’s Pares, the same turo-turo that we went to last year before we went on our Island Hopping. After we were full, we proceeded to our first stop…we opted to go the farthest place first in our itinerary – the Iwahig Penal Prison. There was no entrance fees here…it was in fact, a very wide open expanse that did not seem at all like a prison! There were walls but only superficial ones. The prisoners can freely roam around and interact with visitors – they are allowed to farm, breed animals, do crafts and other sorts of livelihood. But there are still some hardened criminals that stay behind bars. We stayed awhile and talked with them and bought some of the souvenirs they themselves made – like keychains and T-shirts. Key chains here had the same price as in the market priced at 12 pcs for PhP100 while ref magnets are PhP50 for large ones and 3 pcs for PhP100 for the small ones.











Next stop was the Crocodile Farm, it was another place we weren’t able to visit the last time we were here because it was a bit far…entrance fees were PhP40 for adults and PhP20 for children. We marveled at their display of the skeleton of the largest crocodile captured in the country. The also had live crocodiles in cages and we saw them lazily sleeping the hot afternoon away. The highlight of the trip is the picture-taking session with a real-live crocodile (but it was just a small one! Hehehe and its mouth was even sealed shut with tape!) The experience was still kinda creepy holding the ‘creature’ with your bare hand. The photo op just cost us PhP30 per pic.











After buying a crocodile stuffed toy for Kaye and a T-shirt for Keith, off we went to our next stop – Mitra’s farm. The place was one we already visited a year ago and it was still just as relaxing and refreshing to visit. It reminded me a bit of Tagaytay or Antipolo with a great view overlooking the city. The place is owned by the Mitra family, whose most famous member is former congressman who ran for President Ramon Mitra. The place seems to be neglected though, maybe they don’t really live there anymore but it’s good that the caretakers allow visitors to enter and rest a bit (without charging any entrance fees!)





Next was a visit to Baker’s Hill – where we bought some snacks and lots of baked goodies - some for pasalubong and others for munching as we go along. The kids also took the opportunity to have their pictures taken among the numerous animal and cartoon character statues that littered the restaurant cum bakeshop.











Final stop for the city tour is the Butterfly farm…more pic taking and we watched a short video presentation on how butterflies evolved…the kids had fun taking pics of the fleeting butterflies. Entrance to the place was PhP25 for adults and PhP10 for children. After awhile, we went back to the pension house, paid our trike driver PhP500 – how’s that for a half-day city tour eh!?! We rested for awhile in our bedroom before dinnertime.







We had dinner at Chicken Inato – their specialty is BBQ chicken and the kids truly enjoyed it! It still tasted great and I still liked the same warm cozy ambiance that we enjoyed here last year. Since we have our kids with us, we can’t take them to that popular resto here that serves the Palawan specialty – tamilok! Anyway, even I am not brave enough to try eating it…maybe next time when they are a bit older and much bolder in their food preferences. Our entire dinner cost is around PhP800 but truly, truly worth it! After eating, we decided to shed away a few pounds by walking along their Baywalk…the place was quite near our hotel and my daughter already saw earlier that the place was teeming with youngsters and had bikes for rent! And so we let them rent out bikes while we just sat around in the benches after walking a bit. After awhile it was time to retire for the night since we had to be up early tomorrow.







DAY 2 – UNDERGROUND RIVER TOUR

The next day we were up early at 5:30 to bathe and get ready for the Underground River tour. We ordered two breakfasts from the Audissie kitchen but found it wanting. Last night, we passed by Jollibee on our way home and ordered burger steak takeout as the kids’ breakfast while for us, we had their so-called Filipino breakfast (na kakaunti!) at least now we know that we should not order from them again!

The van picked us up at around 7am and we passed by a few more places to complete the other members of our tour group then it’s off to Sabang we went for the Undergound river tour. Of course, there was the usual stop-over at Buenavista viewdeck for more souvenir shopping. Then, after two hours of bumping along the still-unpaved road (well, after a year and so many visitors they should have been able to fix the road diba?) we finally reached Sabang. We waited for our turn to ride the pump boat that would finally take us to our ultimate destination – what is touted to be among the new wonders of the world!








Thirty minutes of riding a pump boat finally brought us to a cove in St. Paul’s Mountain … the entrance to the Underground river. From the beach, we passed a wooden walkway that is littered with monitor lizards and playful monkeys… at the end of the path, we found people queuing for their turn to get on a paddle boat to traverse the wonders of the caves. Finally, our turn came and I could sense that my daughter was a bit fearful she may fall off or that the boat may capsize…but I held on to her hand firmly and reassured her that it was safe. Soon enough she was overcome by awe at what the caves had to offer.











The tour finished at around 11 and we returned to Sabang beach to have lunch once again at Taraw resto…After eating and while the adults rested, the kids took a dip in the beach. At around 2pm, we all returned to the van to go back to Puerto Princesa. There was one more stop at Vietville where we ate Chao-lung and toured their facilities including the souvenir shops and old houses where the Vietnamese refugees used to live. Now, I guess there are just a few remaining which is why most of the houses seem abandoned already. We got back to the pension house at around 5pm, very tired but still happy and satiated with the day we spent. The tour cost PhP1500 inclusive of the van rental, boat transfers and lunch at Taraw resto…a bit steep but at least we didn’t have to worry about anything much! Besides, they gave a discount naman for my daughter so I only paid half-price for her.









We retired to our rooms to rest and nap for awhile. We went out again at around 7 to eat at Ka Lui, I made prior reservations since the place is almost always fully packed but thankfully it wasn’t full naman this time. It was our first time to visit the restaurant and it was very homey and cool. Upon entering, a person is required to take off his footwear and place them inside cabinets located just after the main door. Inside the resto, one is given the choice of dining in regular tables but we opted to be seated on the floors, atop cushions. We placed our orders and while waiting we marveled at the beauty of the place, it was so rustic and native-looking with all those polished wooden floors and carvings. Then, the food arrived and we were treated to a feast we would never forget! Almost all of the food we ordered tasted great and was worth every penny…just check out the pics!



















After our fully satisfying meal (which cost us PhP1100), we passed by Baywalk once again to try to shed off all the calories we just consumed. After the kids had their fill of biking, we returned to our room to go to sleep.

DAY 3 – ISLAND HOPPING

The next day was another early day for us because we were going Island Hopping at Honda Bay! We had breakfast of luncheon meat and rice…which the Audissie kitchen cooked for us…now, we know better instead of ordering breakfast meals from them we bought a can of luncheon meat and rice from a nearby grocery. Then, we asked the kitchen staff to cook them for us this morning so we could have breakfast before leaving for Honda Bay…they even cooked us an extra pot of rice for our baon later. If I remember it correctly, we only need to pay them around PhP50 for the cooking…how’s that for a cheap breakfast, huh?

After eating, we rode on a trike that would take us to Honda Bay. (BTW, we rode the same trike that we had during the city tour. We even took them with us island hopping since the poor guy says he’s been in Palawan for more than a year and yet he hasn’t been there yet so we brought him and his wife along rather than just let them wait for us at Honda Bay). We passed by the market first to buy hipon and alimasag costing just PhP150 per kilo. It was much cheaper that way coz last year when we were here, the fresh seafood cost around PhP200 a kilo already and we had to pay for the cooking pa. So armed with lotsa lotsa food and water, off we went to Honda Bay.



















We paid PhP1300 for boat rental (we used a bigger boat than the last time we were here) then we also rented 4 snorkels and masks (PhP100 each). And we were off to our first island – Pandan island. We stayed for only a short while, snorkeling and feeding fishes, with the island entrance @ PhP25 for adults. Then, we proceeded to Snake Island where we would stay for lunch. We bought another fish, more rice (because our baon was kulang pala) and drinks. Good thing this place did not ask rental for the cottages, we are only asked to give donations. But more than the good food I guess the kids just truly enjoyed feeding the fishes at Snake Island…even Kaye forgot her fear of the water and was totallu unaware that she was already too deep just because she was having the time of her life. We took underwater pics…something we learned from our last visit here and we forgot to bring an underwater cam. The shots were a bit dark and blurry but I’m glad we still got some that just showed the underwater beauty that Palawan had to offer.












After the kids had their fill of fish-feeding, we went next to Luli Island for some diving! The entrance here is PhP50 per person (because they say a foreigner owns it!) All of us took a dive, except for Kaye (because she was already sleeping at the time and so we just left her on the boat with the boatmen). Anyway, we didn’t stay for very long and just took one dive each just to get the feel of it! Final stop was Pambato reef and though it was not really as spectacular as our experience feeding the fish at Snake or Pandan island it was still exciting to swim in open water and gaze at fishes in their natural habitat. I was just a bit apprehensive that we may encounter a shark or something but the boatmen assured us that there were none in this area…or so I hoped! After some time, we headed back to the boat and back to Honda Bay to bathe and get dressed.
















We were all tired from all the swimming and eating we made the entire day and so we just decided to have our dinner delivered to us (from Chowking). We all slept early that night knowing that tomorrow would be our last day here in paradise. The next day, we let the kids sleep in late, only Jun and I left at around 7 to buy breakfast at Jollibee and marketing for some fish and shrimp for pasalubong. When we returned to the pension house, we checked out (I paid about 3K for the accommodations including the breakfast we had on our second day and paluto for the 3rd day), packed our bags and were at the airport by 9am…we all left with a wistful smile on our faces…quite content and blessed to have experienced what we did the past four days and knowing Palawan would always hold a special place in our hearts.

IF ONLY (A movie review)

This is another good love story…in fact another fave if not for its tearful ending…it tells the story of a businessman, Ian (played by Paul Nicholls) who lives with girlfriend Samantha (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Ian tends to take Sam for granted and the movie starts with a typical day in their life together. The day however, ends badly with Sam and Ian getting into an argument while dining at a restaurant so Sam leaves in a huff, boards a taxi and while Ian is running after her to apologize, she gets hit and dies in a hospital. Ian goes home, finds her notebook and sleeps clutching it tightly.

The next day, Ian is surprised to see Sam standing in his apartment and concludes that what happened must have been a dream. And so he goes on with the day, happy that Sam is alive and by his side…As the day progresses, however, certain events that occurred in his dream (or what he thinks as his dream of yesterday’s events) begin to happen again – like Sam being burnt on the hand (in Ian’s dream due to a kettle and due to hair straightener today), Coke is also spilt on her, and then he gets on the same taxi cab driven by the same man whom he talked with yesterday (in his supposed dream).

By then, Ian gets convinced that yesterday was not really a dream and so he tries to stop the next succeeding events from happening. First, he convinces Sam to go with her to his hometown…they take a train and he brings Sam to a mountain spot he used to visit as a child. They enter an abandoned cottage usually used as shelter from a storm…inside Ian notices that his watch has stopped (just like in his dream) Ian asked her what she would do if she only had one more day to live and she answers she’d spend time with him, just being together.

The two return to London and as another surprise Ian takes Sam to the London Eye. They return to the apartment and Sam gets ready for the violin concert. While she is distracted, Ian takes a page from her notebook and photocopies it. He then gives copies to the other members of Sam’s orchestra. After the concert, Ian gives Sam a bouquet of flowers, gets up on stage and calls an obviously confused and nervous Sam. The orchestra begins to play the song printed on the photocopied sheets and Sam sings the song she made for Ian and the audience applauds her performance.

The couple then have dinner and Ian gives Sam a charm bracelet with different symbols depicting their happy moments together – a violin, a musical note, a flower, the train (to symbolize the day they had today) and the Eiffel tower (which Sam always wanted to see). As they leave, it rains and while waiting for a taxi, Ian realize they are in the same spot last night when the accident took place and so Ian professes his love for Sam and says that if it weren’t for today of her…he wouldn’t have known true love at all… Sam begins to cry and says she doesn’t know what to say.

Then, a taxi pulls up and the two get inside. Ian sees it is the same cab man they take a ride in and so when the clock strikes the ominous hour of 11, he grabs Sam tight for the last time. Sam’s screams is heard and the next scene shows them in the hospital with Lottie (Sam’s friend running towards a hospital room). Inside she sees Sam sitting on the bed and she tells Lottie about Ian’s premonition and how she refused to believe him. But in the end, it was Ian who died in the accident instead of Sam.

This is a really good and touching story because it gave Ian the chance to have just one day to do something special for the person he loved before she dies…not knowing that in the end it is him who will actually die…making the ultimate sacrifice for the person he loved so much… It tells the lesson that one should not take his or her partner for granted and treat her special each and every day because one never really knows when he or she will be taken away from you.

PAPA’S 60th BIRTHDAY!

Papa celebrated his 60th birthday today and just like what we did with Mama…we planned a ‘surprise’ party for him…this time though we decided to hold it at his office because it was a weekday and since he won’t be going on leave naman. We connived with his officemates to make sure that he will be going to his office in Pasig, you see for the past few years since Union Bank merged with Ibank he has been holding two offices – one in Pasig and the other in Makati. And since the Makati office is just near his residence, he usually spends his time there and just goes to the Pasig branch once a week. So this week, we made sure he will be going to Pasig today and I connived with Norie (his secretary) to make up some excuse (a meeting maybe or some important papers to sign) just so he’ll be there…

They were also the one who prepared the other stuff for the ‘surprise’ – like the food for the staff and us to share, the tarpaulin announcing his turn to becoming a ‘senior citizen’, and we brought the cake – his favorite chocolate cake from Aristocrat. We came there early and waited… we took some pictures around the office, but surprisingly…I couldn’t find them na??? I remember I even took pics of the food…but they’re all gone! All that’s left is a pic of the cake… and the memory of happiness that I saw in my father’s eyes when he saw us there at his office…waiting for him! I know it could’ve been better organized – but the lead organizer (Tita Espie) wasn’t here but at Dubai …his 60th birthday should’ve been held at the hotel with many of his friends – specially ones that he has not seen in a long time all there to greet him and recount wonderful memories with him…but it wasn’t meant to be…maybe when he’s 70 na lang! At least, we made some kind of effort to make him happy on this special day! Happy Birthday Papa! Thank you so much for always being there for me… I love you!

A funeral and a wedding

I don’t know why these two so very disparate events are often lumped together …maybe it’s because of Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts’ movie back in 1994...or maybe because these two events have in common the capability to turn people emotional though in totally different ways. Before the year 2008 ended, I had the misfortune to attend the funeral of a person quite close to my heart.

The funeral happened in the beginning of December, I woke up one morning to find a text from my mother asking for prayers for her sister Ate Fe. She was my mother’s closest sister – her confidante, the one she turns to in times of despair. Despite the many times that Ate Fe has conned her…my mother has forgiven her many times over and has welcomed her back with open arms. Ate Fe has become a semi-permanent fixture in our lives – especially there in our times of trouble – like when our babysitter just quits and we had no one to accompany us at home while both our parents are at work… she would willingly leave her abode and be there for us. Or when our weekly labandera/plantsadora failed to report for work…she’d be there and do the laundry and ironing chores (for my mother’s sake!) Or when an older relative dies or suddenly falls sick and my mom had to go to some far-flung province to take care of said ailing relative – she’d be there always willing and able to accompany Mama as they accomplish their earthly missions.

When I finally saw her body …I couldn’t believe it was actually her… no, it isn’t that I didn’t want to accept that she was dead (or maybe that was a bit part of it) but because her picture in death was not exactly as I recalled her to be – always fun and lively – with a kind word or two to everyone she meets. In death, she seemed sad, desperate even – as if totally unwilling to let go of the people she knew would be left behind… The people who were with her in her last moments recall that she kept praying to God not to take her just yet. But I guess God has other plans … and it’s for us to just accept it.

Though I lived so far from them and was often not able to visit them during family affairs … I decided to attend her funeral rites to pay my last respects to a woman who has stood by my mother no matter what --- and at the same time be her rock of support. As the last cries of Ate Fe’s sons, daughters, nieces, nephews and grandchildren echoed on that fateful afternoon, I heard my mother whisper words of comfort to finally let Ate Fe go in peace and accept what happened --- I just hope she takes these words to heart and not dwell on her grief and sadness too much.

The second event was a wedding of a close friend in the office – both of them are our officemates and no…it wasn’t a sad occasion for us that they got married but rather a truly poignant one. They have been together for quite some time already – maybe as long as we have been together – they have three kids na together and they all stood as sponsors to the event. It was a pretty picture that the family made…and why am I writing about this? Well, I was just wondering why they got married at all…no, I don’t mean that in a bad way…it was just that I figured the cost of having a church wedding is so high these days so I was thinking why they had to bother when they were already married in civil rights in the first place???

If you ask me, I wouldn’t waste money on a church wedding…maybe if we renew our vows in like…fifteen, twenty or even twenty-five years, maybe that’s the time I would get married in church or have a priest solemnize our vows…Sure, every girl dreams of walking down the church aisle in a long white dress and the man of your dreams at the end of the altar with a choir serenading in the background…but I don’t have the extra money for it…I’d rather spend it on the kids’ education and the regular upkeep of the household…but that’s just me! Back to the couple friend of ours – I wish them luck in keeping their marriage…it’s gonna be tough-sailing…well, that’s what every marriage has to go through, even one like ours. Here’s wishing all of us lots of luck and love to keep the flames of togetherness alive for many more years to come.

New Year resolution

I know, I know it’s another late post but please bear with me… I’m still not a hundred percent back in writing mode--- I guess this writer’s block (if you may call it that) is a bit more complicated to cure and even quite harder to simply ignore… I guess that should also explain why I do not find the need to write a whole bunch of promises for the year…which I never really get to keep anyway. In fact, this piece’s title should be self-explanatory – there is only one promise to myself which I intend to make – just one… and that is to not push myself to do something that I don’t intend to finish; not to bite any more than I could chew --- just take each day as it comes… maybe I can write in this blog everyday…maybe once a week…maybe once in a month… It doesn’t really matter – what matters is that I find the time and the inclination to write – without any pressure from me or anyone else…