18th Philippine Travel Tour Expo 2011

February 9, 2011


18th Philippine Travel Tour Expo 2011



Highly recommended!!!
Why you shouldn't miss this event:
It's the biggest annual event in the tourism industry. All participants, the airlines, the travel agencies and the resorts, all give huge discounts. You get the best travel deals during this 3-day event.

A few examples of last year's discounts:
1. Batanes SEAIR (Southeast Asian Airlines) early bird promo rate of 2835 pesos ++ per way
2. 50% off Corregidor day tour by Sun Cruises
3. Zest Air 50% off domestic airfares
4. Cebu Pacific and PAL discounted fares.


To see the promo fares available at the 18th Philippine Travel Tour Expo, see here


Here is the list of exhibitors and participants to this expo


When: 
February 18-20, Friday to Saturday
10am to 9pm

Where:
Halls 1,2,3 & 4, SMX Convention Center
Seashell Drive, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City

How to get there: 

View Larger Map

For more info on how to get there by public transportation, check out this blog


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Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour with Kids

January 26, 2011

Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour with Kids

What Kids Will Learn
1. This is where my kids first experienced snorkeling. The advantage of snorkeling in the islands of Honda Bay is that the snorkeling site is very near the shore. Unlike snorkeling at Balicasag island, the snorkeling site at Honda Bay is deep and undercurrents are strong. 

2. Aside from learning to snorkel, we discovered that swimming in the sea/bay is very different from swimming in the pool. Knowing how to swim in the pool does not guarantee your safety at sea/bay. Because of the strong undercurrents in deeper parts of Honda Bay, the technique that our boatman used to move from one point to another is to use a walking motion with his legs underneath the water rather than staying horizontally on the water and kicking with your legs on the surface of the water. You stay in the same place when you use this technique at sea.

Word of Warning
Do not allow your kids to take off their life jackets while wading in water in the islands of Honda Bay. There are  parts of the  of the islands that suddenly deepens just a few meters from the shore. The undercurrents are strong and could easily pull you into the deep parts of the bay. As I mentioned above, the swimming technique learned at the pool is not very helpful when swimming at sea with strong undercurrents.


Our Itinerary
6:00 AM           
Wakeup

  •  what to bring to the island hopping:   

    waterproof backpacks, extra change of clothes, cellphone, swimsuit, sunblock, off lotion, coconut oil, hand sanitizer, underwater camera case, underwater plastic case for gadgets, cellphones, wallet, toilet paper, emergency medicines, slippers, bottled water, cookies or biscuits
My tip: for feeding fish, tear the white bread in small pieces and place it inside an empty mineral water bottle. Then while snorkeling, fill the mineral water bottle filled with bread then feed the fish so you can see them up close. It's easier to hold the mineral water bottle than the plastic bag containing a loaf of bread. See pictures below:
Mineral water bottle filled with bread for fish feeding
This is how it is used to feed fish




7:00 AM          
We were picked up at Casa Linda Inn by Wildrock Tours. Before proceeding to Sta. Lourdes wharf, we made a stop to pick up the cooked food that we were supposed to bring with us during our island hopping. Our lunch was included in the fees we paid Wildrock Tours

8:00 AM 
Arrival at Sta. Lourdes Wharf. Sta. Lourdes Wharf is the place where we take the boat to go island hopping at Honda Bay.


Customer service center at Sta. Lourdes Wharf. 

Waiting for our turn to board the boat

This is the boat we used. 
Note the orange lifejackets ready to be used. Palawan is strict on the use of lifejackets.

Boarding the outrigger boat

8:30 AM 
Arrival at Pandan Island



11:00 AM-1:00 PM 
Buffet lunch at Pandan Island


This is where we ate lunch at Pandan Island. A tent was reserved for our use.


2:00 PM 
Arrival at Starfish Island for more snorkeling.


3:00 PM 
Arrival at Snake Island


Approaching Snake Island

Huts at Snake Island



Walking the sandbar of Snake Island

This is what a sandbar looks like



4:00 PM         
Leave Snake Island  and head back to the wharf


5:30 PM      
The Vietville restaurant is along the route going back to Puerto Princesa city. So we requested our guide to stop over at Vietville restaurant to take out Vietnamese food and view what used to be the refugee center of the Vietnamese boat people in Palawan.







6:00 PM 
Arrival at Casa Linda Inn


7:00 PM 
Dinner at Casa Linda Inn


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How to go from El Nido (Lio Airport) to El Nido Town

January 24, 2011


How to go from El Nido (Lio Airport) to El Nido Town



Distance from El Nido Airport to El Nido town: 
around 4 kilometers


Travel time from airport to town: 
10 minutes


Ground transportation: 
Only tricycles are availble for hire when you arrive at El Nido airport. Tricycle rental costs 200 pesos per way from El Nido airport to El Nido town, or 400 pesos roundtrip. The tricycle has a maximum capacity of 2 persons.


See my post " El Nido (Lio) Airport: How to get a tricycle to El Nido Town"


My tip: If you're 6 or more in a group, ask the resort you booked how much are their airport van transfers. We were charged P600 per way for airconditioned van transfers. Since we were 6 in a group, the cost is already equivalent to hiring 3 tricycles. So for our situation, hiring a van  is the better option. The additional advantages of hiring a van if you are a big group are:


1. If the 6 persons in your group is composed of a couple and 4 kids, you won't have to think about who among the 4 kids will have to be together in 1 tricycle.  Remember that I tricycle can only accommodate 2 persons. By hiring a van, you can be together in one vehicle.


2. Since the van will be hired by your resort, you are sure that the driver of the van knows the location of your resort even before the driver picks you up.


3. You don't have to look for a tricycle and haggle the price upon arrival at the airport. Price is already fixed before you arrive at the airport.


The map below will show you the distance from El Nido airport to El Nido town. 


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Henna Tatoo at Alona Beach

January 22, 2011



Henna Tatoo at Alona Beach

In the Philippines, a beach vacation is not complete without getting a henna tattoo. It's part of your outfit as much as your swimsuit is. It's a form of self-expression.

First, you choose the motif from several pages of sample designs. The price depends on how complicated the design is. The cheapest is at 100 pesos

Then you choose where to place it.
On the arm
On the chest
On the hand
Where to have it:
There are a lot of places along Alona Beach where you can get a henna tattoo. But we got ours at Baywatch Divers. 

Baywatch Divers is at no. 12. Check out http://jimspears.net/alona/map.htm for more details. Thanks to jimspears.net for the map

How long does the henna tattoo last: 
One week

Caution: 
When my daughter was 8 years old, she got an allergic reaction from the henna tattoo. The part where the henna touched the skin became inflamed. So even after the black tint was gone, the motif remained and showed on the inflamed skin. I suggest you test the henna first on a small area of the skin to find out whether or not your child is allergic to it. Years later, my daughter outgrew her allergy and was able to have a henna tattoo on our Bohol trip.


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Bohol Bee Farm

January 21, 2011



Bohol Bee Farm

Where it is located
Dao, Dauis, Panglao Island, Bohol

Unique Experiences at the Bohol Bee Farm:

1. Eating homemade ice cream of unusual flavors like malunggay, pandan, tisa, durian, spicy ginger. The more common ones that they are those we usually encounter in Philippine supermarkets are buko, mango, langka, avocado and ube.


2. Free tasting of their products. My personal favorite is the pesto spread and the native chocolate tablets sweetened with honey. The latter is easy to cook. You don't need a batirol to achieve a smooth consistency. To see what you can taste inside the shop, see http://www.boholbeefarm.com/shop.

3. Dining in their restaurant. To check out the menu, see http://www.boholbeefarm.com/menu

Note: Since we were accompanied by children, Tatsky didn't bring us to tour the bee farm because the farm is not a controlled environment. He went on tour with a family once, and the child was bitten by a bee, suffered severe allergic reaction and had to be hospitalized. Ever since that experience, Tatsky doesn't bring his guests to the bee farm anymore, especially when children are part of the tour group.




See previous post:

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Hinagdanan Underground Cave

January 20, 2011




Hinagdanan Underground Cave

Where It Is Located
It is located in Bingag, Dauis. Dauis is one of the 2 towns of Panglao Island. The other town is named Panglao


What Kids Will Like
If you want your kids to have a taste of how it's like to be inside a cave without intimidating them, this cave is a perfect place to introduce them to caves. The cave is not too deep or very hard to navigate. But it has the same air of mystery that bigger caves have. 


For the elderly: They will not find it difficult to enter the cave because there are no slippery steps. But you have to be very careful since the cave entrance is not well lighted.


Note: Tatsky, our guide for the city tour, hired another person to guide as through the cave. He is very adept at adjusting our camera to the right settings to be able to capture photos inside the cave. 




Entrance of Hinagdanan Cave

Stairs going down to Hinagdanan Cave

The cave opening

Inside the cave

The belly of the cave

Drawings made by a movie production who shot a movie inside the cave


This is the cave stairs that leads to the entrance of the cave

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Dauis Church

January 19, 2011


(Photo taken from Original uploader was Pinay06 at en.wikipedia)

Dauis Church
(known as Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption)

Where it is located
Panglao Island is the island where Alona Beach and most of the beaches of Bohol are located. Bohol is a province and Panglao Island is part of the Bohol province.


The island of Panglao is divided into 2 municipalities: Panglao and Dauis. Because the island is named Panglao, it is often forgotten that Dauis is also located in Panglao island and is one of its municipalities. 


In Panglao Island, there are 2 major churches, each one located in each municipality. They have Panglao Church and Dauis Church. If you are staying at Alona Beach, Panglao Church is  around 15min tricycle ride from your location. Dauis Church is nearer the bridge linking Panglao Island and the main island of Bohol




In 2009, Dauis Church was declared a national historical landmark by the National Historical Institute. The historical marker above is translated as follows:


"Dauis Church Complex: It is composed of the church, the convent, the watch tower and the belltower made of corals. 

1697: It was built by the Jesuit priests as visita of Baclayon and became the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption.

1753-1758: The convent was built by Fr. Joseph Nepomuceno, S.J., which became the official residence of the Jesuits from Loboc from . 

1768: It came under the Recollects. 

1774: The belltower was built by Fr. Santiago del Corazon de Jesus, O.A.R.

1885: The fences was strengthened as defense against the invasion of the Moro.

1863-1879: The present church was built by Fr. Julio Saldana, OAR.

1919-1923. The church was finished by Fr. Natalio del Mar with paintings by Ray Francia and Canuto Avila.

August 23, 1923: It was inaugurated by Msgr. Juan Gorordo of Cebu.

During World War II: The convent became the shelter of nuns from Tagbilaran City.

August 15, 2004: The church was declared the Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption.

This is an example of neo-gothic and neo-classical architecture.





The convent

The side of the convent

The back of the convent, also at the back of the Church.
The land beyond the waters in the foreground is the main island of Bohol.
Remember, we are at Panglao Island right now.

The large tree forms a huge canopy. Wedding receptions and parties are held here underneath the tree. Lamps are hung on the tree to illuminate the guests dining underneath it.





See our next stop: Hinagdanan Cave

See previous post:

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