Discovery Travel Mart 2014 [Discovery Shores Boracay, Discovery Country Suites Tagaytay, Club Paradise, Discovery Suites, Discovery Primea]

The Discovery Leisure Company Inc is inviting everyone to check out their “Travel in Style” in the 2nd Visit Discovery Travel Mart at SM Megamall, happening on 10 to 12 October at the Mega Fashion Hall and another on October 13 to 16 at the Mega Atrium. This exhibit will give guests the privilege to get special offers and huge discounts in the group's portfolio of destinations.

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Binondo Chinatown Photowalk

If you get an invite that involves a tour, lots of food, and a chance to do street photography, it's going to be pretty hard to turn it down unless you really are booked already. We were invited by the PR of Western Digital here in Manila for a Binondo photowalk food tour with the main purpose of trying out their newest product, the Western Digital My Cloud.

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Inside Fishermall: Photos and Store List

Last weekend, I went to Fishermall to look at what's inside and decided to take some photos as well so I can share it here. It's a nice mall but definitely has room for improvement. The materials used and finishing (in some parts) is not as nice compared to other experienced mall developers like Ayala and SM.

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Restaurants in UP Town Center

Earlier today, I went to UP Town Center to check out the restaurants there. It was my first time to visit the place and like any new up and coming place, let me share what you can expect at the UP Town Center.

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Sterling Fitness Gym - Z Square Mall Banawe

Is part of your Chinese New Year's resolution getting fit? For those living near Banawe / Sta Mesa Heights area, check out this gym called Sterling Fitness Gym. They have been operating for some time now along D Tuazon but their newest branch is in Z Square mall. If you want to know their rates and monthly fee, check out the price list below.

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Solaire Chinese New Year Celebration 2014

Chinese New Year this year is on January 31, 2014. You can visit Solaire to check-out their lion dance in the resort's Porte Cohere. It will be an authentic experience accompanied by drums, cymbals and exhibition of firecrackers. Also, dancers will be performing in the lobby and will move throughout the different areas of the resort.

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Quezon City Chinatown: List of Banawe Restaurants

Last January 31, 2014, Quezon City celebrated the Chinese New Year in the newest Chinatown in Metro Manila. You won't miss the start of it as you'll see an arc similar to all other Chinatown in the world.

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Z-Square: One of the Newest Places in Banawe

Growing in this part of the metro, Banawe Street has been a friend to me eversince I was a kid. I remembered how this small street of cars parts and accessories managed to live with restaurants.. I guess it was because people who wanted their cars repaired also thought of eating something while they wait, hence the birth of the famous Banawe Street. 

Just recently, more buildings and structures have been developed in Banawe, some for residential purposes but most new buildings are for commercial use. What everyone is looking forward to is the Z-Square which is located at the corner of Banawe and Del Monte Avenue. It has been a while since this building has started and residents from nearby places has been looking forward to seeing the establishments to open in this building.

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Our Plane and Boat Ride experience to Boracay during Monsoon Season

Our Boracay trip has been booked last year when Cebu Pacific offered their piso-fare deal. We weren't very much aware of what our schedule will be but since the total amount that we paid for was only around Php 600 including also the surcharges, we decided to push through anyway. 

It was Sunday when Maring came and left by Tuesday but monsoon rains were still pouring come Thursday morning. Upon arriving at Terminal 3, the usual empty areas were packed with people. Some sleeping, some waiting for flights and a lot of people have been stranded the day before.

Since we had companions who had earlier flights that have been moved, we were aware that our 1205 flight to Caticlan might be moved to a later time. Because of this, we went to Mrs Fields and had a relaxing meal while we wait for further announcement on our flight's status. The boarding areas were actually packed with people who should have left earlier. 

We were surprised to hear that our flight was prompt. We actually caught up with our companions who were supposed to leave 45 minutes earlier than us. We were happy though that there wouldn't be anymore waiting time when we reach Caticlan.

Because the plane was small (propeller type), we were aware that it may be a little bumpy. Our take-off was good but when we were going through the clouds, the turbulence was much worse than expected. It was a good thing that this was a short flight and there were no meals, otherwise, I'm pretty sure that a lot of drinks would have been spilled because of the really turbulent ride. We thought that after that one set of turbulence, everything will be okay. But during landing, we didn't expect it to be just as bad! As much as I want to be as calm as I can, I could help but pray for our safe landing because for a moment, I thought we were about to crash. I couldn't define how awful it could be but my husband who was seated 2 rows behind me shared that Japanese people who were sitting next to him was showing each other their wet and sweaty hands because of the tension. After we landed, everyone just cheered and I thank God we were able to arrive safely to our destination. You might say that it's a little discriminating because the weather that day was really bad but, our companions who landed about 5-10 minutes earlier (same airline company as us) didn't experience the rough turbulent ride that we did. Maybe because their pilot was more experienced than our pilot? Not too sure as well but it would really be better if they let more experienced people handle smaller planes so that people won't be scared to death on their plane ride.

and so, I searched for scary landings on Youtube...

Ours was not as scary but I got interested and watched several more "crosswind" landing videos -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMvLuUJFHYk

Going back, our package included transfers. We easily made our way to the ferry port via a private van from the airport. After reaching the port, we waited for 15 minutes until we were requested to board the vessel that will bring us to the island. After the tough plane ride that we had, we didn't realize that being at sea will be more challenging. Other than the boat not being as clean and tidy, the waves were stronger than usual. Good thing that it didn't take more than 15 minutes for us to reach the island because we didn't have sea-sickness medicines with us!

Seeing the island though, it was very much worth all the hassle that we had to go through. It was a one-of-a-kind experience that we will never forget! We were all very happy though that we were riding PAL on our way back to Manila - their pilots are really better!

LaNnA

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Boracay Unique Activity: Trick-Art Museum

Our Boracay trip this time was a more relaxed one, we weren't planning to do anything since it wasn't our first time to go to the island and so we decided to plan our activities as the day goes.

Since our trip was on a "Habagat" Season (monsoon period), rains were expected everyday and since we went there right after typhoone "Maring," there were even times where it rained morning until evening. 

Look out for the falling Boat!!

There were not much indoor activities because being in Boracay means having fun outdoors and enjoying the beach but when we went to have ATV/Buggy, we saw this Trick-Art Museum and checked it out. We first saw "illusion" photos of these in Korea's Trick-Eye Museum and we're so happy that they also have it here in Philippines. Too bad that not a lot of people know about this place but it's really a "to see" place that adults and kids would definitely have fun.

Beside the drawings are photos where you could see how to pose in order to have the illusion effect, below are some of the illusion photos we took: 

Wine anyone?

Relaxing...

Upside-down pose

You can try to blow Mona Lisa up!

See Pacquiao in Action

Oh no! His pants are falling!

You can also take a gondola ride

Or help her pick up bills and coins?

The trick-art museum is located at Happy Dreamland.

Entrance for the Trick-Art Museum is Php 110.00 per adult and Php 60.00 per kid

We rode the tricycle going to this place and we were charged 75 pesos per tricycle.

It's actually a mini-theme park where you can find a lot of things to do but most of the rides were not operational when we went not to sure why but probably because it was off-peak season.

LaNnA
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Tested! Blaupunkt CN-112 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones

A few months back, we visited Balesin island in Quezon, an exclusive resort operated by Alphaland. Going to and from the island located by Quezon's Lamon bay is just 25 minutes via plane ride. To date, no commercial flights go there so the only way to fly to the island is via your own private plane or via one of Alphaland's helicopter or plane.

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Balesin Island Club: Balesin Spa and Sports Center

The Balesin Spa:
For those who wanted to experience wellness and relaxation, The Balesin Spa is your perfect destination especially when you need to rejuvenate after a stressful work-week. They actually have a wide array of services that will definitely meet your specific needs. 

Spa entrance

You can conclude what the theme color of the spa is - White

Sports Center:

They have a separate building that houses their sports activities within the island. Other than the billiards that are located in the Balesin clubhouse, you could also head to the sports center to burn those extra calories or just have fun with your family. Here are some of the activities that they offer in the indoor area:

By the entrance of sports center

Wood accents made by Ifugaos

Badminton - courts:free of charge,
racket: free of charge,
shuttlecock: old-free; new-with charge

Basketball court/Badminton court with wall-climbing by the far-end. 

Too bad we weren't able to try their wall climbing as one of their requirements were closed shoes and all of us only brought slippers with us. Maybe on our next visit we could do this activity. Wall climbing is safe as there will be a guide who will be helping you out on your climb.

Tennis Area by the far-end of the sports center

We weren't able to take a photo but there is a gym at the second floor of the sports center and it oversees these courts down below. What I loved about this place is the service that they offer to the guests as each one of us was given a towel each and glasses of water even though our badminton session was free of charge.

There are also outdoor activities that were available, too bad we weren't able to take photos but these activities include basketball courts, tennis court, golf, archery. You could also borrow mountain bikes so you could easily navigate your way to the different parts of the island without waiting for golf cars.

Other related Balesin articles:

Mykonos Village

Phuket Village

St. Tropez Village

Costa Del Sol Village

Balesin Village: Clubhouse

Bali Village

Balesin Spa & Sports Center

Introduction to Balesin

LaNnA
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Balesin Island Club: Bali Village

Bali Village is the place that we stayed during our overnight trip to Balesin. Situated by Lamon Bay, this village has the best view of sunset in the island. Too bad that it was cloudy during our stay, we didn't get to see the sun bid farewell, but if you want to catch it, make sure that you head to the Bali Clubhouse area at 5-5:30 and have your cameras and tripods ready.

          Bali is a mystical place that enchants through the sheer natural beauty of its majestic 
          volcanoes, beautiful white-sand beaches and lush terraced rice fields. The Bali Village 
          will embody the harmonious composition of nature by means of tropical landscape settings, 
          generous open spaces, water features and courtyards with wooden decks. Delight in 
          stilt villas stretching above the cool waters of Lamon Bay or experience the villas set in 
          paddies reminiscent of Ubud, Indonesia. (source: www.balesin.com)

The Villa:
It is suggested that you wear flipflops/slippers when you are staying in this village because it is located by the beach area and you will be walking in sandy walkways towards your villa and wearing shoes will be uncomfortable.

The King-sized bed 

Toilet with 2 sinks

Soap, Shampoo and Lotion

Toiletries and Vanity Needs

outside day-bed where you can relax

Fixtures inside the room

Yes, we had our own coffee machine!

Outside living room

Jacuzzi area for two

Definitely one of the best villas I've been to. Would definitely love to go back and check the other villas in the rest of their villages.

Other related Balesin articles:
Mykonos Village
Phuket Village
St. Tropez Village
Costa Del Sol Village
Balesin Village: Clubhouse
Bali Village
Balesin Spa & Sports Center
Introduction to Balesin

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

LaNnA
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Balesin Island Club: Balesin Clubhouse

As this clubhouse is named after the island, you can conclude that this is probably be the biggest and best clubhouse in Balesin Island. Located just a few meters away from the runway, this serves as the check-in and check-out venue of all guests staying in the island. The entire village being Filipino-themed, the clubhouse itself looked more of a giant nipa hut housing modern amenities that people from all age-groups would enjoy. Even though there are only selected sections in the clubhouse that has air-conditioning system, wind circulation has been great because of the design of the clubhouse. Ceiling fans are also installed in areas that may get warmer during summer days. In addition, this clubhouse also has the best swimming pool in the island with the infinity pool concept. Because of the lovely scenery and calm waters from the pool and the sea, there are actually a lot of people who relax by the pool area and read books while enjoying a glass of fresh fruit juice.

Below are some photos of the Balesin Clubhouse:

The main clubhouse/ reception area of the island for all guests

Nicely done ceiling

Walkway

Balesin Clubhouse houses the best swimming pool in the Island

Filipino-inspired shower located along the swimming pool area

Walkway by the Pool Area

Infinity Pool concept applied

You can always relax and take a nap even when under the water

Their 5-feet pool

billiard area at the basement level of Balesin Clubhouse

The hut by the far end is also the fishing area where you can eat your catch of the day

Other related Balesin articles:
Mykonos Village
Phuket Village
St. Tropez Village
Costa Del Sol Village
Balesin Village: Clubhouse
Bali Village
Balesin Spa & Sports Center
Introduction to Balesin

Cheftonio
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