My free trip to Boracay

Our little fleet. Seair’s Dornier 328

Gusto namin bumack out nung nakita namin  to. FTW!? Buwis buhay pala pag libre!!! hahaha

This is how it looks inside. Kitang kita ang pilot at walang cabin crew. Nung sinara yung door ng air plane omg natakot talaga ako. Pero according to Seair’s staff this is their safest plane. In case it crashes it will glide unlike the big ones.

Fast forward: Here we are again in Boracay. It’s been almost 2 years since we’ve been here. It feels great to be back here last January 7-9 2012. We flew from Clark-Caticlan. I like Caticlan airport because it’s near the Island of Boracay unlike in Kalibo 2 and half hours is wasted in travelling.

We have a 2 nights free accomodation at The Tides Boracay in Station 2. Yeah Baby!! I love everything that is free.

Tip: If someone offers you free lunch or dinner in exchange of a “short” presentation, decline. Because it isn’t “short” it’s loooooooong. A lot of you’re time will be just be wasted. It isn’t really free.

During our last stay here in Boracay we were not able to enjoy   the beach by swimming alot because we had a lot of activities do like helmet diving, banana boat, island hopping etc. So we spent most of our time relaxing and swimming at the beach or the Hotel’s pool.

Boracay will always be breathtakingly beautiful. You will never get enough this Island even if you come here every year.

The tide’s infinity pool at the roof top

It’s hard to take photos when there is just the 2 of you. It was raining when we were swimming. It was so cold.

No trip is complete without shopping

On our second day we decided to do more swimming, strolling and avail our free zip line

 even if its gloomy and raining a little.

 

This is my favorite photo that he hates so much. Pat is not a fan of couple’s shirts or clothes but I made him wear this in exchange of a surprise. hahaha! Actually the shorts does not fit him but I told him that he has to wear them just for a picture. Good thing is that my boyfriend loves to please me 🙂

While we were taking this photo we saw Koreans lurking in Station 1 wearing couples clothes too..haha!

This is at Club Fairways, Blue and water Resort. We also have free zip line from them. Unfortunately I’m fearless and he’s a chicken. He didn’t have the balls to do it. In fact he was trying to stop me because the wind was so strong and it was raining a bit. But nothing can stop me from having fun :p

See those two people wearing red and white. That’s me and my guide. This activity starts from this point all the way down to the beach grounds.

The wind was so strong and I could not shift my body to go forward.

I was tring to smile but I was screaming out loud. It was so fun! I would definitely do this again 🙂

Chicken and I. The view here is so beautiful. But Only guests from the hotel can swim here

Night life in Boracay: The famous fire dance

Oysters buffet along station 2. Beach front

Unlike the last time that we were here, We didn’t party so hard because there’s just the 2 of us. We drank beer, listened to good live band,  and talked about the future.. chos!

On our last day I woke up early sneaked out and I bought us some breakfast.  We decided to do more swimming in station 1.

May pagka Christian Grey itong boyfriend ko. Sinaktan ako kagabe kaya may bugbog hita ko..haha

Which is fine with me kase ang tipo kong lalake yung mkhang sasaktan ako..haha

When I was taking photos of him, there was a man who approached us. He claims to be in authority and he’s charging Pat for smoking along the beach because smoking and drinks is prohibited. We didn’t have our wallets with us and we were clueless. I told him that ” that laws should first be promulgated before you can impose them” he said that it is the responsibility of our hotel to inform us. But since we didn’t have our money, He just took our hotel room number and names.

 We had coffee at Cafe Del Sol before we left. We wore shirts saying “I’m a fined tourist in Singapore” We were joking about it. He said that we hould change Singapore to Boracay.hahaha

Then again we said goodbye to this beautiful Island. I will always be back 🙂

Our flight was on time. Yeah! I was able to catch my night classes.

Thank You Seair for giving us an opportunity to experience Boracay once again. Before this trip Pat and I had a promise that someday we will come back here together. Just me and him alone. It did happen. Dreams do come true you know 🙂 That’s why I’m dreaming of a honeymoon in Paris. Chos! 🙂

Boracay never failed to mesmerize me.   In fact I want to be one of its protector. I love this place as much as I love my country.  It’s definitely no wonder why I love to wander in Boracay.

P.S. If you’re wondering why I got my free trip from Seair read this post.

The Kingdom of Chocolates

TAGBILARAN CITY, BOHOL—Tagbilaran is just 2 hours away from Cebu City via Ferry.

Tip: To get 50% off on your ferry tickets, purchase your tickets a day before your your tour to Tagbilaran. When we got at the port the hotel service is already waiting for us. We decided to spend the rest of our tour in Tagbilaran because we really got disappointed with the accomodation that we had in Cebu. Bohol Tropics is very nice and comfortable and the price is not bad for budget Travelers.

Sabi nga ni Paula from rugs to riches daw kame

We were then able to purchase a P750 per pax half day City tour. Luckily we arrived around 12:00pm and it was time for lunch and it was a perfect time for some river cruise for 3 starving couples.

I never expected to see something this beautiful. The view looks like those rivers being shown in Discovery Channel. It looks like a scene from Anaconda.hehe But I’m not worried to be bitten by large snake any time because the place is really nice and relaxing. I like the music that plays while cruising.

kung maka emote yung dalawa wagas!-Paula

It’s time to meet some real life Tribes.

Trivia:These people originally was from Mindanao but due to food scarcity, they decided to migrate see! I listen to tour guides. Travel not only to amuse yourself but also to learn.

I can’t imagine a life living without hi-technology but these people live a simple life and I guess they’re happy with what they have. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like living in their world. haha!

After we got back, we hit the road again. It was already raining but this didn’t stop us from continuing our tour. Finally I saw the famous Tarsier. But I’m a little disappointed to learn that we cannot have our photos taken with the Tarsier posing at our shoulder or head. It was now forbidden. My mom is lucky to experience touching a Tarsier. I don’t blame them. These little cuties are suicidal. I don’t wanna see them killing themselves after I touch them. :p

Parang mag ama lang! 

Everytime I get near this guy, he sqeaks and close his eyes like he’s scared. If he kills himself then it’s my fault.. :p I hope not.

Matinding akyatan pala ito grabii

 Kapagal ne che??

Nice view.. It’s worth going up here

Next stop Butterfly Farm house

Trivia: Butterflies has a defense mechanism wherein they pretend to be dead when they’re caught but when you put them down they’ll fly away from you.

cute caterpillars

My friends got really tired from our last destination. So it was only Gab and I who entered the butterfly house. They’re really pretty. I wish I could have a lot of them in my room.
After a little Shopping we went home and we got really really tired. We wne back to the hotel and after dinner we had a full body massage,slept and forgot about night life.
On our last day, we decided to hit the beach and  swim for a few hours.

Panglao has beautiful beaches 🙂

Hindi talaga mawawala ang sweet pics pag kami magkasama :p

Swimmin pool at Bohol Tropics

that ends our summer trip to Cebu and Bohol. We almost missed our flight because we enjoyed swimming so much. It’s a good thing that Cebupac’s flights gets  delayed. Even waited for another 2 hours at the airport before we left.

Barkada Trips are always fun. Even if something goes wrong or bad, the fun never stops!That’s what I like about travelling without parents. The Adventure, danger and Wandering gets more exciting because of the challenges you need to surpass. Our Cebu/Bohol Trip is a mixture of Big City and country side trip.

As a lover of history and literature, I saw something from my past in Cebu. It’s one of the  puzzle piece of my country’s history picture. While Bohol is another strong evidence that the Philippines is beautiful, rich and a lucky maiden in the east.  It’s definitely no wonder why I wander around the Philippines.

**UPDATE: This trip is said to have been cursed.

A month after this trip we found out that Paula is pregnant and that answers why she’s getting a lot of heartburn during the trip.  Which means that I will be having my first pamangkin. Few months later Marga also got pregnant and eventually married Tohc in November of the same year. And  for me and Pat? We got two  additional babies to give gifts/aguinaldos during Christmas 🙂

Just kidding! Of course It’s not cursed but it’s actually a blessing because Paula prayed for the baby in every Church we visited in Cebu and Bohol. Marga got a gift from God even if  her ovaries were malfunctioning. Pat and I enjoyed a free vacation to Boracay after this one. Wag na kayong umasa mabubuntis din ako hehe! Sabi nga ni Pat hindi pa panahon. 

Toodles! 🙂

Pacific Pensionne ~The real hotel review

Well it sucks! Sorry to be rude but this hotel accommodation almost ruin our vacation. Maybe you wanna say that you get what you pay for but here? No you don’t get what pay for, you get less than what you pay for. Firstly, it ain’t clean. They won’t clean your rooms unless you say so. Second, The shower knob is broken, you can’t shower properly with a broken shower knob. Thirdly, there are plenty of ants in the room. Fourthly, Don’t expect that you will be served like a guest. Fifth we asked for water, it seems like they don’t wanna give us some water. If it’s for sale then say it, don’t give us some warm water and expect that we’re going to drink it. Sixth, we asked for extra pillows and sheets and it took them forever to give it. As if we’re not going to pay. After staying there for a night we decided to just move to another hotel in Tagbilaran which is Bohol Tropics. Yes it’s cheap but if you don’t want a hassle free vacation do not stay here. The staff are not even hospitable. Here’s one thing I learned during this trip: Do not settle for less. You’re on a vacation, get something that you deserve. You’re suppose to have fun. Spend your money wisely.

Note: I made an online booking and paid in advanced but when I got there, they didn’t even bother to check if I really made a deposit nor ask for identification if I’m really their guest. They just know that someone did, but they’re not sure which guest made it. I think they’re online booking is fake. I was there in a holy week, what if they ran out of rooms? Then maybe we’ll end up looking for a hotel in the middle of the night.

Butterfly meets the Queen

CEBU CITY—- the crowned Queen city of the south. We went here for a 3n/3d tour (Dapat talaga 4d/3n to). I’m not an expert in online booking sa katangahan ko I failed to look at the flight schedule. We are flying from Clark kaya limited ang choices sa flight schedule.

Shall we proceed with the tour? Thanks! 🙂 Last April 22-25 some of my friends and I went to Cebu and Bohol.  We waited for four months before this trip because we availed of the early bird promo. Our fare tickets costs only P2000 (700 bas fare) each.

I was so excited for this trip. I can’t even sleep few nights before this trip because I was trying to plan a D-I-Y tour. I was excited because I will be with another 2 pair of crazy couples. Plus we have no parents to look after us it is the first time I was allowed to travel without my mom or dad!

But my parents were compelled to let me go because I used my mom’s credit card and there will be no refund. HOWEVER my 100% annoying and smelly brother accompanied me with this trip.

Patentado mag aaway kami nito

we arrived at night in Cebu. There was nothing much to do so we just decided to have our dinner at McDo and have a good night sleep because we will hit the streets at 7:00 am the following day.

City Tour

Paula, me, Mac, Tohc and Pat

We took the jeepney to our first stop which is Magellan’s Cross and the Bassilica del Sto. nino. (Ang inet grabeehhh)

Seeing this makes me remember my favorite subject in my first year in High School. History 🙂

One of the oldest Church in the Philippines. I like anything ancient. they make me feel I’ve seen them or experienced them in the past 🙂

On our next stop we decided to go to Fort Santiago. Unfortunately it was closed since its Holy Week. But we saw something more interesting than that lurking around  fort Santiago.

Presenting the Divas of Cebu City’s Next top Model on their first photoshoot WITH Tan tananan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Man who claims to have conquered Pilipinas Got Talent. :p

Tyra: So are you ready to see your best shot with the snake?

Krizzy: Hell yeah Tyra!

Andre Leon Talley : This is high fashion! I’d put it in my salon!

Nigel Barker: I don’t like it but I  love it!

Krizzy: I’d love to have a photo shoot with your snake Nigel :p

Tyra: Marga are you ready to see your best shot?

Marga: Love to.. 🙂

Tyra: You don’t know how to smize. When you smize you don’t do the lips. This one looks like a smirk to me

Nigel: I don’t totally love it. I like the way you held the snake fearlessly

Andre: Are you looking at the snake or at the camera? (peace Mac! haha)

Sa tingin ko dito natuto si Mac humawak si Mac ng snake noh Tohc 🙂 hehe

Tyra: Paula, I heard you had a problem with your photo shoot. Let’s see your best shot

Andre Leon Talley: Dreckitude!
Nigel: I hate it! This is not fashion. It’s horror!

Tyra: Only 1 of you will be declared as Cebu’s Next Top Model and the winner is

Ok enough with the man-eating snake!

Our next stop was at Cebu Taoist Temple:

It’s kinda tiring to wander in this Temple. It’s really high. But I think it’s cool. Coz it looks like those we see in Chinese Movies or cartoons like Dragon Ball Z

Cebu City from above

Looks like great wall of Cebu

–End of Cebu City Day Tour

Next Activity: NIGHT LIFE

One thing I noticed about the food in Cebu is that you’ll see barbecues everywhere.

Here you can use your hands for eating. you can use the plastic which I do not recommend because you’re not gonna enjoy the food unlike pag nag kamay.

Sabi ni kuya picturan namin sya

We went to Crown Regency to experience Skywalk! I’m so excited! Until we saw the super long cue. :c We waited for about an hour, Until The boys’ balls vanished! They wre too scared and they wanted to leave us girls and get the party started.

Guys getting drunk and crazy

–And that ends our trip to Cebu. Next stop Bohol, Philippines Read the continuation of this tour here: https://gagaymartinez.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/the-kingdom-of-chocolates/

La Union Philippines

This 2011, we started the year with a vacation in my father’s home town in La Union, which I consider as my second home town. The province of La Union is 5 hours away from Angeles City.

I got so excited because the last time I was here was 7 years ago. My father’s home was in San Gabriel which is approximately 45 minutes from Urbiztondo. No one lives there anymore and there’s no water supply. That’s why we stayed at Sebay resort. Indeed, there many had changed during the past years. The Philippines is now the latest surfing spot and one of the most popular destination s is La Union province. Its 2 seasons of surfing is from July to October and November to March, which is really unique compared to other surfing arenas in the Philippines. This in Urbiztondo San Juan La Union, Philippines.

When I saw the beach, I was stunned because it was my first time to be in a beach which is a surfing area. It was beautiful and cool! But I didn’t dare try to surf and take my lessons. It’s so cold that time and I was scared to swim in the beach because the waves are so strong and a bit high. It seems like the waves can take off my 2 piece swim suit. I’ve been to different beaches in the Philippines but this was really different. I enjoyed watching people surf. And that is enough to make me happy. I’d rather watch than die during the first day of the year 2011.

See how this guy surfs. I think he’s a local. The people who surf here are mixed foreigners and locals. Cool isn’t it! But I couldn’t see this thru my naked eye. Even was glasses, it was hard to watch. I had to peek through the camera. For first time surfers, there are paid surfing tutorials just along the beach. You can approach them anytime you want.

Here’s another photo of a local. There are so many of them just wanted you to see more pix.. =)

Here is a shop of surfing boards where you could borrow or buy one. I even saw photos of famous people who visited the resort, Including the former president. I ywas thinking, why didn’t the waves took her so she could stop controlling this country even if she is no longer the president. :p

Breakfast in bed isn’t the best. But rather it is breakfast along beach side. I ate something like Spanish omelet plus coffee. =) And Of course I love seeing people enjoy the beach and the sun like me. Here is a photo of morning surfers taking their lessons

Another thing that I love about the beach is the smell. And the romantic view especially when I’m with him.I love to walk along the shore. and of course, the sunset..=)

OUR NEXT STOP…

SAN GABRIEL LA UNION

San Gabriel is a barrio within La Union. It is where my fathers grew up and were we used to go home every year. I love this place because it’s peaceful, beautiful, free from noise pollution and the people here live a simple life. Sometimes, I get pissed off with all the chaos in the City that’s why when I’m here, I forget about all the problems. Because you can’t bring them in here. Before, there’s no network signal unlike now. Back then when I’m here I could actually tell myself this” ahhh.. “Finally I’m out of reach. No phone calls, no unwanted text messages, and no internet and there’s no way they could contact me about school stuff” but now the barrio has developed a bit. Network connections are high now. Nevertheless, there still no internet connection available. At least, I can forget about facebook for a while =)

Barrio is a Spanish term meaning an urban district. This term is widely used in the Philippines too.

This is what you will see once you are inside the barrio. This is Farmville in real life. If you want to live a simple life, Be a farmer. I guess you’ll have fewer problems. But first, you have to be contented in being farmer.

This is what they call “KARAYAN” it means ilog in Filipino or river in English. When I was young, we never missed a chance to swim here. Then you’ll also see the carabaos taking a bath with you. haha!

There is an improvement with the “TAYTAY” or hanging bridge. It freaks me out to pass here when I was young because the bridge back then was only pieces of wood. Now it’s safer because they used iron or metal. But it’s still shaky when you walk along it so I still freak out.

It’s so beautiful here and very peaceful. People here doesn’t get hungry because the nature is providing for their needs. Ate Susan, the care taker, told us that there aren’t beggars in this place. In fact the ingredients she used for cooking are food were only given by some of our neighbors. Guess what, someone even gave us a native chicken for free.

And so that ends our trip to La Union. I’m hoping to come back in summer with my other friends. I had so much fun. I wish I could travel more. It relieves me from all the stress. Someday, I’ll be a traveler, then I will write a book that can bring a reader to many places in the Philippines and the whole world.It’s gonna like a one way ticket to the world.

See you on my next trip! Goodbye for now =)

-xo Zzy Martinez

FTEVAT7HGVMG

Swiper’s Inn Review

Swiper’s inn is located along station 1 beach front of Boracay Island. It used to be a vacation house until it was converted by the owners into a commercial establishment. Now it is an inn that provides accommodation services. The ground floor of Swiper’s inn is a restaurant named Kasbah. While the second and third floor are large rooms which costs P6, 000 per day.

These rooms can accommodate around 6-8 persons. Since these rooms face the beach, the designs of the rooms are perfect because beautiful scenery of the beach can be seen from the windows. The place is beautiful, but chambermaids won’t clean your room if you don’t ask them to. The CR’s structure is not also good because the floor gets wet when someone take a shower. I guess the shower curtains are too short. I hope they do something about that because no one likes a wet floor. Ours was even flooding with water when we stayed there.

Swiper’s Inn is also too far from everything. You have to ride a tricycle because It is far from d’mall, where people shop, it is too far from d’ talipapa where the market is located. If you’re looking for Night life, you will also have to walk far enough to get to Guilly’s island or Paraw.

Note: This blog is not created to advertise the accommodations posted here. The Author is not affiliated with any of them. The Author’s purpose is only to provide the readers an overview of the establishments and share the experience she had. If you wish to avail the any of their services, she is not the right person to contact Or if you wish to post complains, she is also not the right person to talk to.

FTEVAT7HGVMG

It’s Boracay please, not Bora

My professor once corrected my classmate when he heard her say “Bora”. “You mean Boracay?” he said. From then on, I dared not say Bora unless I refer to Bora Bora of Tahiti.

In summer 2010 our destination was within the bounds of the Philippines. One of the famous tourist spot here is Boracay Island. It is located in the province of Aklan. They say that it was a hidden paradise  until it was accidentally discovered. Now it is one of the best beaches in the world.

Boracay is indeed a paradise. It’s place where you can actually forget the rest of the world. The beach is spectacular, powdery white sand is wonderful, great restaurants, cheap hotels and fantastic people. There are loads of things you could do here. The locals offer water sports like, helmet diving, para sailing, banana boat, flying fish, snorkeling and many more. If you want to be amaze with nature go Island hopping which costs around 2,500 per group.

If you crave for sea foods, d’talipapa is the place to be. lobsters costs around P1500. Buy all the sea foods you want, and find a restaurant located along the area that will cook for you. And if you want to shop, visit d’mall where you’ll find almost everything that you’re looking for.

The Adventure:

Our Travel Group. We Were with some mama’s friends

Tip: Before purchasing anything or closing a deal with the locals, try looking for cheaper ones, there are hundreds more offering the same, and they are definitely cheaper. Men selling hats at the shore offer their hats for P250 but you could buy them ind’talipapa for only P100. Helmet Diving costs around P800 per head but we were able to close a deal with another, for only P400. remember to get their contact no. so when you get back, you get discounts or refer them to your friends. Find Mang Danny, he lurks around station 2 in front of the Yellow Cab pizza. He offer varieties of cheap. water sports

Island Hopping

Our first adventure is Island hopping. In this activity you will visit 3  Islands. One Island is enough to startle you with the beauties of nature. You’ll see how wonderful the ocean is. You’ll see so many things that will astound you.

Cave in one of the Islands

Beautiful Isn’t it?

Banana Boat Ride:

No one fell! It was so fun!

Flying Fish

 guess this is everyone’s favourit. I saw my group’s smile on their faces after doing this. They love it and they said they’d do it over and over again. I did not try this one because my boyfriend and I just had our time together and swim on the beach.

Helmet Diving

This Activity is Superb. You’ll actually go under the sea and join the fishes and feed them. But don’t be afraid because you’ll have an orientation of what are the dos and don’ts under the water. Well your ear will hurt because of the pressure but the view is amazing. All the pain will be worth it. When I did this I was singingÜnder the sea” while feeding the fishes and for some weird reason a fish bit me.

BEACH PARTY

The famous fire dance

The best thing about being young and being in Boracay is— THE NIGHT LIFE. You’ll meet a lot of party people. Beers are expensive, but when you’re already having fun and going wild. It’s all worth it! Experience beach party around Boracay, get drunk, get high and wake up without remembering anything. We attended so many bars for 4 nights that we were here so I can’t enumerate all of them anymore. But Guilly’s Island is our favorite.

Overall the experience is FUN! FUN! FUN! You haven’t seem them all. There are loads we haven’t tried and experience. What I love about being here is nobody cares about you. Wear what you want, Act how you want, Say whatever and no one cares which is not really a Filipino Culture so It’s like being out of the country too.  It’s definitely no wonder I love to wander.

Watch this short clip I made that summarizes my trip here, this video also won in a travel contest that brought me back to Boracay for free:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9DMC4a1VOI&feature=g-upl