July 14, 2012

The Bonga-Villa Liloan Beach Resort

As part of our team’s summer outing activity, we had an overnight stay at Bonga Villa Resort last May. Basically, we stayed here out of the many resorts here in Cebu for two reasons. First, because it’s situated in Santander, near the Oslob Whale Shark Watching area which was actually the main highlight of our summer activity. It’s only 10-15 minutes drive from the resort to Oslob to be specific. Second, considering our team’s headcount, no resort or pension house in Oslob could cater us.


What’s “bongga” in Bonga Villa



Their Villas
•    The villa we stayed is somewhat separated into two parts, thus we made it one for the boys and the other for the girls. But it also has a common area through the terrace.
•    It has four rooms in total; all air conditioned and with a capacity of 6 persons per room.
•    The beddings and towels were all fresh and in good condition.
•    Four Rest Rooms with hot and cold shower
•    Two spacious living rooms with TV and stereo.
•    Two small sinks and a mini ref.
•    It has access to the pool.
•    It’s clean and properly maintained.


The Location 

It’s perfect as far as serving its purpose as our Oslob accommodation though it’s actually located in Santander. We were able to relax, bond with the team and enjoy swimming in the pool while not worrying about the long travel we would have early in the morning if we came directly from Cebu City.

The Scenery



The resort offers a nice view of the ocean and the sunset. We were also able to witness the simple ways of living of the local residents; there were a number of children looking for seashells for them to sell or will serve as their food and there’s also a number of fisherman doing the traditional way of fishing.


And did I mention that the nearby island is already a different province, yes it’s the Negros Oriental and the view during nighttime is beautiful.

The Staff

They were very helpful in any way they can.

What’s the not-so-“bongga” in Bonga Villa

•    There are some algae on the pool – The pool actually is of sea water which is fine with us but I guess they also need to properly clean it to get rid of algae.
•    Pool not suitable for children and no life guard on duty – They have only one pool and though its depth of about 4-5ft is safe for adults, it’s not safe for children at all. Children need to be accompanied by adults when swimming.
•    Kitchen utensils are a few – considering that it’s a “villa”; I’m expecting at least we can have the basic but too bad that only a few glasses and cooking utensils were available. It’s also not allowed to cook inside the villas and there’s no electric or gas stove available. They have however, grilling area where we made used to cooked everything from rice to lechon paksiw..hahahah!

The Verdict

Bonga Villa Resort is a good venue for group gatherings and sweet escape. Just be sure to bring the necessary cooking utensils when you’re planning to cook your meals. I would also recommend this as a perfect place when you’re looking for an Oslob accommodation especially if you’re a group since it’s only about 10-15mins drive from the resort. But considering its pool, I don’t think it’s ideal for family outing though.

July 11, 2012

Oslob Whale Shark Watching: Up close encounter with the Gentle Giants


Whale Shark Watching in Oslob, Cebu is becoming another tourist destination of the province and is getting very popular these days. And yes, we’re lucky to finally experience it last May! Even luckier since it’s our monthly anti-flat out (anti-stress) activity, meaning all expenses was paid by the company *grinning*

The original plan was to do it on a Saturday but since it’s located in Tanawan Oslob, probably around 2-3hrs ride from Cebu City, our team decided to stay overnight in a nearby resort, at Bongga Villa resort to be specific, on Saturday and then we did the viewing on Sunday morning. This way, we visited two attractions plus we don’t have to wake up and travel too early.

Actually, the resort is located in the next town, in Lilo-an, Santander, but only 10-15mins ride from the whale shark watching area so travel time was never a problem. You can visit this post for details about our accommodation.

Came Sunday


We arrived in the watching area around 10am and it was already crowded with tourists, locals and foreigners alike. There were also a lot of tourist guides offering their services in assisting visitors from registration and ticket purchase.

The place is also becoming commercialized as there are already a number of restaurants and food stalls, souvenir shops and newly constructed rooms in the area, which can be rented for those who want to have their accommodation there.

Rest rooms and shower areas are also available for a minimal fee of Php5 and Php10 respectively.

Fees
Whale Shark Watching only – Php300 (life vest already included)
Whale Shark Watching plus swimming  - Php500
Notes: Viewing time is 30mins only and schedule is from 6AM-12NN.

Rules First
After registration and payment, we had a short briefing about the rules to be observed.
·         No swimming within 5m from the whale shark's head and 6m from its tail.

Getting Ready

After we’re done with the briefing and putting our life vest, we were guided to a small Bangka (boat), which has a capacity of 5 persons plus two boat men/guide.


Covered with our sarongs (since we can’t use sun block and Mr. Sun is mightily reigning that day), we only sailed a few meters from the shore to the viewing area. I was actually surprised that the viewing area is just so near the shore considering that these creatures are so big but when I checked the water, OMG it was already so deep.

The Close Encounter

We were told by our boatman that there were already 6 whale sharks at the moment (lucky for us as there are days that no whale shark is showing in the area). And just a few seconds after we arrived in the viewing area, we were amazed and thrilled at the sight of these giant creatures. The feeling was unexplainable, I tell you.




There were also several smaller boats in the area, with a single boat man who were in charged in giving food to the whale sharks. They were lured with food that’s why they followed the boat man.


And though we only paid the “watching only” amount, our boatman was kind enough to let us swim with these lovely creatures. *wink* Nervous as I was as the water was so deep; I conquered my fear and jumped out of the water. The sight of the whale sharks under water was even more amazing, they get even bigger! But when I saw one whale shark approaching our side, I panicked and clung myself to the banca..hahahahah! It was really a close encounter, like an inch or two. No matter how I remind myself that they are gentle creatures, the size of it was just overwhelming for a coward like me. ;)

The Verdict
It was by far, the most amazing creature I’ve seen. I just hope that the people, tourists and especially the people of Oslob, to be kind to these gentle giants. I would also like to commend the local government that there’s already system in the area and that they had set rules to regulate the visitors as well as consider the needs of these creatures.

Note: Photo credits to Dutch’s and Rodrick’s camera J

June 16, 2012

A "loaded" Sightseing at Burnham Park

Loaded with our bags already, we can’t help not visiting this famous Burnham Park before heading back to Manila. It’s a shame if we will not visit this anyway as the park is in the City center and in fact just few kilometers away from the transient house we stayed.


And so, with heavy luggage on our backs and shoulders, we explored the Park. It was under renovation then but still there are a lot of tourists.



Burnham Park has man-made lagoon with a range of water boat ride option. Bike riding and skating is also available in the area. A lot of food stalls can also be found. But since we’re fully loaded then (hahahah), we chose to stroll the area and of course we can’t forget to have photo op. :p


What's in in the PMA Grounds?

It’s known to be the school and training venue of the best Filipino men and women aiming for military service, and like many of us, we also would like to witness or at least have a glimpse of what’s in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) grounds. That’s why on the 2nd day of our exciting Baguio escape, we had PMA tour as our first stop.


Located at Fort Gegorio del Pilar on Loakan Road or at least about 10km from Burnham Park, we headed to PMA few minutes after 8AM. Since it was peak time and on a Monday, our travel time were more than expected, about 45mins to be specific when on normal time and days you can get to the place in 30mins.



The area is very huge and we requested the taxi driver to drop us at the midpoint.
We strolled the area and glad that it’s very clean with properly maintained landscaped.  There are vintage tanks, weapons and helicopters too!




How we wish we could witness drill exhibitions of the cadets, but due to our schedule and time constraints, we didn’t have one..but at least, we had our photo op with the very accommodating cadets.



The PMA grounds are open to the public all year round but it’s said that the best time to visit is during weekends for drill exhibitions and just before lunch time when the cadets would walk to their mesh hall.

P.S. Don’t forget to bring ID when visiting the place as it’s required upon entering the grounds.

There's more to "The Mansion"

Coming from the Wright Park and just we were about to cross the street towards The Mansion, we spotted three big tourists buses also heading towards the famous tourist spot. Yeah right, a lot of tourist in this area at the same time would mean no chance of taking good pictures..argh!


And so, without further delay, we literally ran to at least get ahead of them. J And guess what; we managed to get a number of good shots just before they get in the area. Lucky isn’t it?


But hey, what’s really in it about The Mansion that everybody would like to get a sight of it when in Baguio City? Well, it’s the summer residence of the President of the Philippines and also its official residence when in the City. As an official home of the highest leader in the country, I think it’s merely understandable why everyone is just curious about it.
 

But wait, after visiting the place, I just learned that a lot of historical events took place in this area, giving more reasons why indeed one would visit it when in the City of Pines. As to what these events please see picture below.


For security reasons, tourists are only allowed to enter a little past the gate though but enough area to have a picture perfect shoot of the well known spot.

Wright Park in Baguio City

After about a 10-minute walk from the Baguio Botanical Garden, this Jollibee riding in a horse signage welcomed us to Wright Park Baguio City.


There are several horses which can be rented for at least 15 minutes and can stroll around the park. Funny how imaginative they could get to make their horses attractive as possible and lure each tourist or visitor to rent it..see, they even dyed one in pink!


Plants for sale could also be found in the park.


After taking some photos and a short stroll around the area, we headed through this stairs to the other side of the park.



We rested for a while after the somewhat long walked and hiked by sitting beside this long ornamental lagoon until we had a sight of “The Mansion”.


We didn’t realize that the other side of the park is actually just in front of The Mansion and we were just a few steps away from it. And yes, needless to say, we stood up immediately and walked towards the famous sight. Please click here for my entry about The Mansion. J

May 27, 2012

Baguio Botanical Garden

I love flowers, who doesn’t by the way? :) And I mean not just flower bouquets but the blooming ones, just like growing in a landscaped garden setting. That’s why I was so excited to visit the Botanical Garden when we had our Baguio tour.

The weather was unpredictable that day that it actually rained an hour before we visited the place. Still with rain showers, we visited the garden and we were welcomed by the natives who were so pushy to draw us to take pictures with them, with their costumes and of course for a fee.


The area was relatively huge but I was disappointed that the garden had only few blooming flowers.



We roamed around the garden and we found some cute structures too.




There’s also a horse where in you can ride for a photo shoot. There were also some stores and souvenir items for sale in the area but I wasn’t able to take photos as I was busy searching for blooming flowers which was ironically a few in this famous garden. *sigh*

Lourdes Grotto in Baguio City

Lourdes Grotto is another famous tourist spot in Baguio City, especially among Catholics.
There were vendors in the area if you’d like to buy some candles and flower garlands to pay homage.

The grotto is located uphill so one must climb the 200+ steps to reach the top. Yeah, it’s quite a long hike but who says we can’t stop to catch our breath and took some photos?!

After reaching the top, we had our moment of silence and said our prayers. We also spent some time appreciating the view uphill of the City of Pines.

And yes, we had our photo op with the natives also. Charged is Php5 per person, Php5 per native and Php5 per shot!  And if you’d like to wear head dress like us, it’s another Php5! So, how much we paid with this photo? Just do the math, okay? :D

Just as we were thirsty from the hike, we were delighted that Manong Taho was just downstairs ready with his famous Strawberry taho for only Php15.

 
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