Microtel Hotel Boracay

There are lots of hotels that people frequent in Boracay and one of my favorites is the Microtel Hotel which is located on the southernmost part of the Island. Microtel Inn and Suites in Boracay is just one of the Hotels that Microtel has made with other branches in Baguio, Cavite and Puerto Princesa just to mention a few.

The place is nice and the price is affordable for upper class c onwards who want to have a great hotel in a secluded place. Three years ago when I first visited this hotel I was quite disappointed knowing that it was far from stations 1 to 3 and that a one way tricycle ride will to the busiest part of the island would make me pay P 100. But the people of Microtel have vision, the clients that they have are people who simply want a quite place to rest, enjoy and just do their usual things without much fanfare.

After visiting the main part of the Island which was crowded by so many people it made me understand why being at that part of the island is a blessing. The serene look at the beach and the ethereal bliss that goes with it when you want some quiet time is something that cannot be found in the main beach.

To address the transportation concern, the hotel has shuttle schedules for their clients which really helps a lot. I remember going to D'Mall and shuttling back just to get a glimpse of the wonderful sun that sets beautifully on this part of the island. Truly seclusion is a nice conclusion.

Above is a sample of the room that awaits to be slept in or used. As you can see each bed has three big pillows so you don't need to call housekeeping to ask for additional pillows. What made me happy was the fact that free WiFi can be accessed in any part of the hotel. Truly it is a great experience to be in this hotel.

Cristina Villas in Antipolo

Lying just in the heart of Antipolo City is a place called Cristina Villa Mountain Resorts. Here are some snap shots of the Hotel and Resort that amazed me considering the bigness of the place and its somehow still a big secret to the people in Metro Manila.

THere are so many pools but we stayed on this side of the pool. Here it is shown being cleaned by the crew.

It is a perfect place for a picnic since you can bring anything you like and there are places where you can grill. As shown here there are a lot of people preparing and grilling their food.

Plans for expansion are also underway as this pool as shown here is on the finalization stage. Well if we plan to go back then there will be more pools to go to. The trip was quite okay considering the entrance fee is just P 150 per head. Value for money.

Callospa Resort in Antipolo

During the time that I went to Antipolo i remember having to be one of the people who were walking on the eve of May 1 from Ortigas avenue to Antipolo church. That was so long ago and my image of Antipolo is a place that is not really that developed. But then again that was a long time ago when we frequent the place for a little booze a top the hills over looking Metro Manila. Now that is a thing of the past.

Along the way just a tricycle from Unciano Colleges are various resorts where one can hold a wedding reception or just a great hideaway to unwind during the weekend. Luckily my galpal Zerina Tiangco, one of my angels invited us over to share here 20th birthday in this nice weekend getaway - the place is called Callospa.

Callospa is a sanctuary for the mind, body and soul in the midst of a stimulated rainforest surrounded by flora, waterfalls mistings all over the place. It is a place to relax since the pool is great, the badminton area is okay and there is also a spa in the place. Numerous functions were already held in the venue and I am happy that I have discovered another place to nest.

Luckily I got the numbers of the place. 0917-8334351,09228007889. YOu can actually rent the place form 8 am to 4 pm for P 10,000 and even have an overnight stay for P 12,500. This is great for a party of 10 to 30 people who are looking for fun. Hope to go back again here.

Zerina's Birthday Party

I blogged about the sTI All Star Dancers before here. Now lets see some pictures of the birthday swim party of Zerina Tiangco. It's in a resort in Antipolo, the name of the resort is Callospa It's a nice place to wind up and relax since not only does it have a pool but you can actually hold functions, weddings, badminton games and enjoy the place. Here are some pictures of the birthday of Zerina.

Yours truly and RJ

enjoying a dip

on the cool pool

The Gurls Zerina, RJ,

Rynee and Bujoy show

how to pose

in front of a camera

Yours truly and the Birthday Gurl

Pose and Pose and

smiling on the my camera!

Let's go Gurlz!

L Fisher Hotel

Six years ago, we were having the STI National youth Convention here in Bacolod at the number one hotel in the city - L Fisher Hotel. That time the hotel can only accommodate 500 people so when STI College Bacolod grew to be a bigger school we left the place and found other places to hold the convention. Although we found an0ther home for the convention I always wanted to go back to this one of a kind hotel which gave me great memories. Today was the chance I longed for and it did not disappoint.

The swimming pool upstairs

Tara Na, Lets take a dip

SamPaguita Gardens

Precious Moments store

Boracay is the beach destination that a lot of Filipinos enjoy going to. Just an hour from caticlan is a resort that you would never think is there, Sampaguita Gardens. One thing that makes this different is that the place is actually owned by the owner of Precious Moments. Here are some pictures of the place.

The Hotel which is affordable

The Coffee Shop that offers

Manila tasting coffee

Sampaguita Gardens theme

Everday is Christmas

As usual there are also

affordable Pasalubongs

Casa blanca in Tagaytay

In a person's life, they consider their wedding as the most important day of their lives. As they say a man's life is incomplete until he gets married, after that he is finished. Kidding aside, Filipinos are romantics at heart and they usually use their hard earned money to make their wedding the most important day in their lives.

Just recently I got to witness a wedding of a friend in Tagaytay. This is most probably the third time I've been to the windy city and I am quite happy that the venues vary everytime I am here. This time around the wedding reception of the wedding I went to was in Casa Blanca which is just a stone's throw away from the Starbucks coffee shop. The place as seen here is quite breath taking.

As seen here, there is a swimming pool in the middle of the house which is actually the reception area. The organizers have placed a catwalk in the middle of the pool going to the presidential table. I was told that for 30k you can sleep over and have your reception in the area. We were already here the night before the wedding and had dinner with the bride to be and her family.

Here is another view of reception area as more than 15 to 20 tables can be placed which is perfect for guests around 150 to 200 people. The only drawback in this place is the parking. It should be noted that someone should take care of the parking specially when the affair is over because what one must do is park at the driveaway which will definitely block the way to the entrance. But the place is indeed a sight to behold. The view of the lake makes it all the more romantic.

My thanks to Romeo and Mina Concha - Consignado who got married here and made us see the beauty of Tagaytay. Best Wishes.

Casa de Carlos

When the killer earthquake of 1990 struck Luzon, one of the places in danger as they say were Marikina because of a fault line in the place and the city of Tagaytay. I remember the prices of land going down and the properties then were being sold since they believe that selling was their only way of disposing properties is termed as dangerous because of the fault line. Its almost twenty years since the memory of that is only on the minds of the people who got bargains from the land they got.

Lately, Tagaytay has reemerged as one of the premiere vacation spots in the country for places you want to have an overnight or two nights stay for the weekend to unwind. One of the places where we spent the night this time around was at Casa de Carlo. For only P 3,000, six people can stay overnight in this palce. If you are a small barkada, this is right for you since it has two rooms, a sala, refrigeratos, microwave oven, plates and utensils and you can cook there also.

One thing distinct about this bed and breakfast getaway is the theme that the whole place has. I was able to talk to the caretakers and they told me that this place actually started as a weekend getaway for a wealthy family. Eventually they transformed the place to what it is now. In front of the house for rent is Casa de Callejo which is some sort of a recreation room and restaurant. Upon entering you will notice that the place is theme inspired and that even the music is in line with the Spanish theme that the place has adopted.

I am just amazed with the many fixtures you can see, the Antique collection and the Spanish inspired collections that the owner named Carlo Calleja has in this place. I was told that like other restaurants, houses turned into business establishments in Tagaytay, the place also accepts weddings and other functions. So if you are gearing towards a Spanish inspired getaway, Casa de Carlo is the best place for you.

I never met the owner but as they say good news travels fast, I got a copy of their calling card so if you want to inquire then just go to their website at http://www.casadecarlo.com. Spanish filled adventure in Tagaytay.

Subic Tambay

Lou Ann, Louise & RJ holding STI fans that has Lou Ann as the model

Out of town games are great and its the best way to invite friends and bond together. Just recently I invited six friends to join me in the STI College Olympians game against Informatics. I was nursing a fever and coughs but since it was my duty to watch the games and attend the meetings of the board in Subic I had no choice but to go to subic.

Louise, Lou Ann and RJ

With me are the three mommies! Louise, Lou Ann and RJ who all hold a special place in my heart. Joining them are the three babies who are my new friends, Mana, Grace and Ysa. It was a fun filled trip to Subic since all we did was share stories, eat, watch the game, take pictures, travel and have some laughs. Unfortunately some of it was at my expense.

Grace, Mana and Ysa

The week before the games were in Cavite and we had a blast teasing each other since the Olympians lost, this time the Olympians won so we were happy going back to Manila. I am honestly looking forward once again to the other out of town games of the NAASCU. I just hope that this time around I can bring more friends.

Fun time inside the vehicle

After the game we had lunch at Gerry's Restaurant and went off sight seeing and took some pictures. Unfortunately, because of the unpredictable weather and the rains that were slowly creeping in, we cut short our pictorial to just one sight, the Lighthouse. As they say, all is well that ends well.

Aga, with my "gurls" and my "Babies"

EK new hit - Pop Noggins

While wandering at the Enchanted Kingdom,

we stumbled upon a fun shop that records this funny video.

We had so much fun recording this "Pop Noggins" Video

The Star in the City

Star CIty is one of the major theme parks here in the Philippines that has a knack to improve on whatever it has. I remember 15 years ago when my sister in law was still pregnant with her 4th kid, we went to Star City to ride its main attraction then, the Zyklon Loop. It was one of the first roller coasters here in the philippines that has a loop. Interesting.

As years passed, the park has included numerous attractions that made it a big hit among the locals and foreigners as well. One major inclusion is the Aliw Theatre which gives weekend guests a glimpse of wonderful ballet performances. At one point you can even chance upon watching the very talented Lisa Macuja-Elizalde perform.

Shown here is their very recent show which has been running the past eight months. The show High School Musikahan. It is a the Filipino rendition of "the High School Musical" and this one is done in ballet. The event is a nice rendition of dance and comedy that will surely tickle the fancy of first time watchers and of of people who are very fond of dance. For now I am still awaiting the next show that they will come up with. Its truly a wonderful experience.

NAIA Terminal 3

Its my first time to travel going out of Manila trhough the NAIA three airport. Needless to say the Airport impressed me. It somewhat looked similar to the Airports of South Korea, Malaysiaand Thailand.

The only funny thing was that when we were about to board, we were led to a bus that transported us to the old domestic airport to board our plane. Hahaha I thought we were going “RORO” to boracay.

Well, I hope these pictures of the Terminal 3 would suffice for the moment. I just hope they can have good maintainance for this very nice airport so that all efforts to make it nice will not go to waste.

Boracay Regency

Three years ago I already asked for a quote from Boracay Regency for the 19^th STI Leaders convention. Unfortunately it was not meant to be as we decided to hold the event in Hong Kong instead. This year we were lucky that the Boracay Regency gave us a good price and that we all were excited to be on the new Garden wing of the Boracay Regency.

According to Pan Euro Travel, our official Travel Agency for the event, the Garden wing was constructed two years ago. That means it is quite new and has nice rooms. Lo and behold Boracay Regency did not disappoint as almost all our friends liked the rooms and the food that had for the event.

The Premier rooms have LCD flat screen televisions while the suites have added freebies for the guests coming. The Boracay Regency has three pools and the Garden wing pool is definitely the best among all the pools.

Staying there is a luxury and if the chance permits I will definitely hope that at one point I can go back to Boracay and bring someone to Boracay Regency. I only hope for the best!

The best part here is that I am the one who recommended the hotel! Its great to know that my efforts are appreciated.