The Secret Lagoon at El Nido

The Secret Lagoon at El Nido

Why see the Secret Lagoon


The Secret Lagoon is hidden within an island with a pristine white beach and crystal clear water. You go there to enjoy the view from the beach, the beach itself and to explore the Secret Lagoon. This is where we had our lunch, provided by the boatmen. It is a perfect place to enjoy your lunch while in the midst of all the beauty of this island. The pictures will speak for itself.

What to expect when you arrive at the Secret Lagoon

The view from our boat as we approach the island

A boat docked on the island.
The lunch table for the tourists is set up underneath the coconut trees.

This is the view from the beach where our boat docked

From where the boats are docked, you walk through these huge rocks
to go to another beach area.

This is the other beach area.
No boats are docked in this area because the water is shallow

We stayed in the beach area where no boats are docked

The sea water is as crystal clear as drinking water.

Our kids playing around in the second beach area.

Our delicious lunch was cooked on the island by the boatmen.
The fish was my favorite because it was so fresh.

We went back to where our boat was docked and ate lunch under the coconut tree.
This is our view as we ate our lunch.

After lunch, we went back to the second beach area
and made our way to the secret lagoon.

After traversing the rocky part of the beach, we reached this hole which is the entrance to the Secret Lagoon.

The kids are about to go through the hole which is the entrance of the Secret Lagoon.

The view of the hole from the Secret Lagoon

Inside the Secret Lagoon

The Small Lagoon at El Nido

The Small Lagoon at El Nido

Why see the Small Lagoon


You experience floating in water surrounded by the majestic cliffs of the Small Lagoon. Some people ride the kayak and explore the perimeter of the Small Lagoon. Other tourists climb the cliffs and jump into the water as an adventure challenge. 

What to expect when you arrive at the Small Lagoon

Heading towards the Small Lagoon

This is what we saw when we arrived at the Small Lagoon. 
Several bancas were docked outside the entrance of the Small Lagoon. 
We're supposed to get off our banca and swim towards the entrance of the Small Lagoon.

Our kids immediately donned their snorkeling gear and life jackets, got off the boat and swam towards the entrance of the Small Lagoon.

This is the hole that represents the entrance to the Small Lagoon

This is the depth of the Small Lagoon

 Inside the Small Lagoon

Some tourists brought in kayaks inside the Lagoon. They have to carefully navigate it through the small hole.

Other tourists climb the cliffs inside the lagoon (see the tourist in the photo above climbing the cliffs), and jump into the water after reaching the summit. 

Outside the Small Lagoon where the bancas were docked.

Where to Eat Bangkok Street Food

Where to Eat Bangkok Street Food

There are a lot of places you can eat authentic Thai street food in Bangkok. But unlike in Singapore where hawker or street food centers are carefully regulated, Thai street food stalls are not. With this in mind, the only measure we had of gauging which street food to patronize is to observe where a lot of the locals eat. We decided that if the locals patronize it regularly then it must be safe. On my end, I can recommend these  stalls because for the 5 days we were in Bangkok, we ate at these stalls and never experienced stomach problems. 

Where to find safe Bangkok street food

Since we were staying at Tarntawan Place, we tried the street food at Surawong Road where Tarntawan is located.

There are 2 places near Tarntawan Place, Surawong Road where we ate Thai street food:

1. The first one where we ate most meals is beside the Pink Panther club (shown below with the pink logo), underneath the green sign. It is at the corner of Surawong and Patpong Road.

Meals cost 30 baht. This includes 2 viands and a cup of rice.
For the same price, you can choose just 1 viand but they will double the amount.

We usually order food to be taken away. They pack it in styrofoam containers.

As you can see, there's a great variety to choose from so we ate most of our meals here.

2. The other place where we ate is a noodle stall beside Kasikorn bank. Kasikorn bank is located along Surawong Road across Patpong Road. 

The noodle stall where we bought our food

This dish costs 50 baht.

You can add your own condiments:
vinegar with pepper, sugar, hot sauce or dried chili pepper

Why do I recommend trying Bangkok street food?


1. It is authentic

The spices and herbs, and the menu are what the local Thai residents eat so it's authentic.

2. It is cheap. 

We discovered that Thai food in food courts like the one at Siam Paragon are double the price of Thai street food.

Food Tasting at Chatuchak Weekend Market

Food Tasting at Chatuchak Weekend Market

I'm not really the kind of person who's into shopping. I shop all the time for the kids, buy necessities for the home, and do a lot of grocery shopping. So shopping has always been associated with errands so I don't normally like to do that while on vacation. My idea of fun and relaxation is not to go shopping.


So what am I doing at Chatuchak Market on a long weekend trip in Bangkok? Aside from accompanying my husband who's curious about what Chatuchak looks like, I decided it will be fun to discover what unusual food they have to offer. And I wasn't disappointed!


For those wondering what Chatuchak looks like, and is familiar with Divisoria in the Philippines, it actually looks like a more organized Divisoria. Items are grouped together into sections. The sections are numbered so it will not be hard to look for the items you want to buy. Check out the website http://chatuchak.org/ for more information.

Just to give you an idea how big it is and in what sections it is organized, here is the map taken from http://chatuchak.org/ 

Food we tried at Chatuchak


1. Turkish ice cream: 40 baht

Thanks to mithumonthe.net for this photo.
I wasn't able to take a picture. I was to busy tasting it that I forget to take a photo.

I tried the mango ice cream in cone. You can have it dipped in chocolate and nuts but I preferred to taste the ice cream itself so I requested only a small amount of these add-ons. Other flavors are chocolate and vanilla. 

One thing different I noticed about this ice cream is that it is thick and sticky. I wouldn't say it's creamier than the others but it's more sticky. But it tastes great!

2. Squid Eggs: 40 baht

This is the squid eggs stall.
Squid eggs are actually octopus eggs. They are deep-fried.
The vendor asks you if you want it with spicy vinegar poured on it.  

3. Nan Rolled with Beef Kheema: 30 baht

The nan bread is very good: soft, light and fluffy.
The beef kheema has a slight curry taste to it.

4. Maekang Paklad: 10 baht

The vendor gets a leaf, folds it into a cone.
Then she places peanuts, onion and lemon inside the cone....

... then adds melted sugar (the brown liquid you see),
closes the cone and skewers it into a bamboo stick.

The finished product: maekang paklad.
It tastes sweet and sour with crunchy bits of peanuts.

My tip: If you'd like to try it in another place, it is also available in the Gourmet Section of Siam Paragon.

How to go to Chatuchak


1. Go to any BTS skytrain station.

From Tarntawan place, the Sala Daeng station is just around 5-10min walk. So we went to the Sala Daeng station.

2.  Find the ticketing machine at the station.

This is what the ticketing machine looks like

How to use the ticketing machine:

1. Find how much fare you need to pay to go to Mochit. Look at the fare information.

This is the fare chart at Sala Daeng Station.
The fare chart indicates that fare to Mo Chit from this station is 40 baht

2. Buy the ticket at the ticketing machine.

Just follow the instructions on the machine.
If you don't have coins, you can change it in one of the
manned ticketing counters in the station.

3. Ride the train going to the National Stadium.


4. Get off at Siam, then ride the train going to Mochit station.


5. Get off at Mochit. Go to exit 1 and follow the crowds. 


Other photos of food stalls:

Food court

Assorted cakes at 12 baht each

Complimentary Breakfast at Tarntawan Place, Bangkok

Complimentary Breakfast at Tarntawan Place, Bangkok

I discovered lately that a wonderful feature to look for in a hotel when you're traveling with kids or with a big group is whether the hotel offers free breakfast. I remember the time when we went to Hong Kong with the kids for the very first time, with some extended family, which included my mom and my sister-in-law. I had to stock each hotel room with breakfast items because no one wanted to leave the hotel so early in the morning just to eat. It's very expensive to call for room service so the first thing my husband and I did when we arrived was to go to the nearest grocery to buy water and breakfast items.

When one of the hotels we went to included free breakfast, we realized what a wonderful convenience it is to be able to eat breakfast in the hotel without breaking our budget. A lot of budget hotels already offer free breakfast, which does not necessarily  mean just continental breakfast. So I suggest you look for one with this wonderful feature. In Tarntawan Place, Bangkok, we found their free breakfast one of the reasons to keep on staying at this hotel.

Great features about the free breakfast at Tarntawan Place:

1. It is served 24 hours.

One of the things I love about this hotel, aside from its location and reasonable room rates, is its 24 hour breakfast. At this hotel, the room rates include free breakfast that you can avail of any time of the day or night. If you arrive on a red eye flight from Manila, the earliest you will arrive at the hotel is around 1am. If you're hungry upon arrival at the hotel at 1 am, you can request and be served next day's free breakfast. Very convenient. This arrangement makes you feel very much at home in this hotel. 

2. The free breakfast menu has a wide selection to choose from.

Other hotels only offer free continental breakfast. But at Tarntawan place, you choose  from a wide variety which includes a Thai breakfast, a Japanese breakfast, an American breakfast, a Continental breakfast and a Natural breakfast. Details of what is included is shown in the menu below:

Photos of the breakfast we tried are shown  below:

American Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast

Thai Breakfast

My favorite of all is Thai breakfast. I usually put some of the spicy fish sauce shown above on the chicken pieces underneath all the rice. Yummy! I miss it already!