National Gem: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

This year has been a crazy year packed with travels to different provinces. And I started the year visiting one of the places I've been dying to visit... Puerto Princesa's Underground River. Hailed as a World Heritage sites on December 4, 1999, this gem has been one of the must visit destinations when in Palawan. 

Hello, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park.

R and I booked a tour to this beautiful site and paid PHP1,800 per head which covers round trip van transfer to and from the underground river, buffet lunch, motorized boat transfer, fees and permits, tour guide and audio device you'll use while on the underground river tour. 

When in Bohol: Chocolate Hills

I'm definitely no mountaineer but I can climb hills. Well, sort of. Okay, it was far from what could be called a hike but I did witness one of the most popular tourist spots in Bohol... the famous Chocolate Hills. 

Hello, Chocolate Hills.

I visited Bohol for the first time last December and one of the places I was dying to visit was Chocolate Hills. Though I've heard that it has lost its charm throughout time, I still wanted to take those few hundred steps up to see the famous local Kisses' inspiration. 

When in Bataan: Bataan World War II Museum

While researching for things to do in Balanga, Bataan, R spotted a review on the Bataan World War II Museum which is just a few blocks away from The Plaza Hotel. R’s interest in World War II grew ever since we visited Corregidor last December 2015. And after watching all the documentary and series focused on WWII, we both became even more fascinated with the bravery and perseverance of the soldiers and made us thankful for being alive during this time of relative peace. And since we had nothing else better to do, we decided to drop by the small museum. 

Hello, Bataan World War II Museum.

It is quite easy to miss this small museum as it is located behind Balanga Elementary School compound which is being renovated. At first, we thought that the museum was closed given that we dropped by on a Sunday afternoon. Luckily, it was open. 

When in Cebu: Crimson Resort and Spa, Mactan

Since it’s Thursday, time for a throwback post! Okay, I just missed out on this entry which truly deserves to be posted.

Hello, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan! (Whew, that’s a mouthful!)

It was quite a trip from Bantayan Island to Crimson, Mactan. It took us roughly 4 hours just to go back to Cebu City and another 40 minutes or so to Mactan. We were weary from the hot ferry ride and crowded bus trip. And we were famished too since we skipped lunch. But this made us look forward to our stay. True enough, we were so delighted to see our room and the spacious bathroom (which was 6 times bigger than the bathroom in Kota Beach, Bantayan Island).

After freshening up a bit, we decided to head down to the beach area but sadly, it was already closed. So we just took a quick dip in the crowded pool (there was a Korean-Chinese event during our stay and the resort was PACKED).

While lounging, our tummies reminded us that we haven’t had a meal since 10am. And since it was happy hour, R and I ordered Mango Shake (I recall it was around PHP150 per glass) and a plate of Tuna Tataki (PHP220).

The mango shake was sour. Perhaps it was no longer in season. We also noticed the shortage of buko in the island. Bananas too! We heard that a huge company bought most of these fruits hence the shortage.