Foreword: I’m publishing this blog in the midst of NCOV-19 crisis. I know it’s a bit untimely because I , even myself, cancelled my travel this summer and I advised everyone to do the same. But this blog has been on my backlog for a long time. And I’m publishing this with hope that few months after, this pandemic will be over and our medical experts would discover the cure to combat this virus. Few months after, we will be able to travel again without fear and this blog would finally serve it’s purpose. Let’s pray and be healthy wherever you are.
It’s been months after we went to Taiwan and I remember that on that time, I had a hard time researching for the best ways to exchange Philippine pesos to Taiwan NTD. There are youtube vlogger discussing one way another and I did find few blogsite but most of them were old. I don’t know, maybe I didn’t search enough. But just in case, you are having a hard time too, I decided to write my own experience and discoveries on the ways to exchange Philippine Peso to Taiwan NTD and compare it to one another. The process might apply to other currencies as well but this experience is particular for Taiwanese Dollars.
How to Measure if the Exchange Rate is Good?
To buy Taiwan Dollars, the lower the selling exchange rate the better. So we will compare these ways base on their selling exchange rate. Searching through google as of this writing, 1 NTD would be equal to 1.69 Philippine Peso. Let’s see which of the following ways would offer the best exchange rate.
TWD vs. NTD: Taiwan Currency
First of all, when it’s your first time to travel in Taiwan, you may be confused of the two currency being used which are TWD and NTD. They are actually the same in terms of Tawain Currency. It’s just TWD is being used more in more serious note like foreign exchange rates. NTD is more of international English name of Taiwanese currency. But their value is the same.
Option 1: Thru BDO Bank:
This option is one of the best because of low exchange rate. But this is only applicable if you still have at least a month left before your departure time. As of this writing the selling exchange rate for BDO is 1.71. If you want to check the current buy exchange rate, go to this BDO forex link: https://www.bdo.com.ph/mobile/forex
So if you exchange PHP 5000 to Taiwan Dollars in BDO, that would be 2,923.97 TWD. (Computation: 5000 divided by 1.71)
Here are the important notes on how to exchange by BDO.
1. Currencies other than USD are available in selected BDO branches only. Please click here to view list of selected branches.
2. You can only exchange money on the BDO branch where you have a bank account. So if your branch is not on this list here , it’s out of the options.
3. When you are ready to exchange your money at the BDO branch, you need to bring your passport and itinerary. It’s important to know that Taiwan dollars is most probably not readily available at your branch. So the estimate for your Taiwan dollars to arrive will usually take 2 to 3 weeks after you visited your branch.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: We only learned about this method within the week of our departure. I visited the BDO in Picadilly BGC branch and was informed that there were a lot of requirements. I don’t have a BDO account in this branch and we couldn’t wait for 2 to 3 weeks anymore. So we were not able to use this method. So I conclude, this is a good way to exchange PHP to TWD but it is inconvenient and would require a lot of time.
Option 2: Thru a Money Changer
The second option would be the nearest money changer in your area. But this require a little research since money changer sites have different exchange rates. In our experience, I exchanged money in Kabayan BGC Branch. They update their Facebook page on the current exchange rates and respond quickly in our inquiries. At that time, we chose this because it somewhat lesser in other options that we had.
TIP: Message them in Facebook first to ensure when they have Taiwanese Dollar in the nearest branch . Unlike the first option, it only takes one day. This is the private message that I had with Kabayan. At that time, 1.85 is the selling rate. We exchanged 15,000 for me and my friends.
So for example, if you have PHP 5000 , this will be equal to 2,702.70 Taiwanese dollars. (Computation 5000 divided by 1.85)
Option 3: Exchange money in Taoyuan Airport
You can also bring your Philippine peso in Taiwan and exchange it on the money changer in Taoyuan Airport itself. There are two banks which has money changer kiosk in Taoyuan which operate for 24 hours. You can ask anywhere and they would consistently say this option has the least competitive rate. However, it offers convenience and security as it is readily available in the airport.
Personal Experience: My friend decided to exchange his P3000.00 in Bank of Taiwan Money Changer kiosk. At that time of our travel, the selling rate was 1.9354. So he got 1,550.00 Taiwan Dollars. You can also view this on my vlog at 00:11.
So for further comparison, PHP 5000 would be equal to 2,583.4 Taiwan Dollars.
Take note that this site displays Taiwan to other currency rates so you should look for PHP buy exchange rate and multiply it to your Philippine Peso.
Option 4: Withdraw in Taiwan ATM
You can also bring your local debit mastercard or credit card in Taiwan and withdraw in Taiwan ATM. Since the pocket money I brought was not enough, I had the chance to use this option as well. The exchange rate depends of the bank. You should also take note that aside from the exchange rate, each bank has it’s fee which will be deducted on top of your withdrawal.
Some important notes:
1. Your card should bear a mastercard or visa card.
Personal experience: I used my BPI card to withdraw P1500.00 NTD. It’s not hard to withdraw in Taiwan as ATM have available English translation. When I checked my statement, it charged me a total of P2687.00. Subtracting a total of 180.00 from international withdrawal fee, then that would be P2507.
Computing the exchange rate I had with using BPI ATM card, that would be
2507/1500=1.67
And if we are going to exchange our PHP5000, it will be 2,994 NTD.
To summarize the exchange rate of four options:
Bank: 1.71
Money Change:1.85
At Taoyuan Airport:1.9354
International ATM Witdrawal: 1.67— the best
CONCLUSION
With these four options, I would say International ATM withdrawal is the best. But you should not rely entirely with ATM withdrawal. I believe it would be best to have cash on-hand as well before flying to any different countries. So for me the best is to exchange a lesser portion of you pocket money from Bank then for the larger portion withdraw it in Taiwan. In case something went wrong online, you won’t be empty-handed.
That’s all folks! I think we can all agree that the start of 2020 is a bit stressful. Let’s pray together that in the second quarter , the world will trample the pandemic crisis. I’m positive all of this will be over.
Before I end this blog I would also like to invite you to be my International Blogger Friend. The idea is to invite everyone in blogosphere and have at least one friend in each country so that means at least 195 blogger friends. It’s not limited to wordpress blogger, or to blogsite platforms. If you are a Instagram blogger, facebook or youtuber, you are welcome! For more details, you can check out my About Page here.
Thank you in advance!
Remember, you are awesome and wonderfully made,
GUREZU
For inquiries and collaborations, LET’s CONNECT!!!!!!
For our Day 3 and last day in Taiwan, we spent in Taichung City located in central part of Taiwan. It was a 2-hour bus journey from Taipei. For this tour, we availed “Taichung Classic Day Tour in KLOOK”. It was worth around P2,000 per person. This blog contains my thoughts in each destination and the tour itself. IS THIS KLOOK TOUR WORTH IT?
Also inviting you the tour in action here in my 6-minute VLOG.
Zhong She Flower Market
Piece of advice. If you plan to go to Zhong She flower farm in Taiwan, you better do it by DIY. A klook tour will just give an ample time to be here. And you’ll end up running everywhere. Unless you just want to gaze on flowers, 50 minutes will not be enough.
LUNCH TIME in CMP Park Lane
For our lunch, they took us in a mall with a park in front it. It was disappointing because that mall has little food choice. The park has no food stalls at all. We bought lunch in nearby 7-11 instead. Then bought Milk Tea somewhere far. By the time we already have food and drinks, we only have ten minutes to eat. Though it hurt our tongue because our food was fresh from the oven, we had to endure it. We were hungry and we needed to go back in the meet-up or else the Klook bus will leave us. We really didn’t like the experience. We felt deprived in our first destination, then felt rushed and stressed during lunch time. It affected our mood for the tour.
MIYAHARA ICE CREAM PARLOUR
The most popular ice cream parlor in Taichung, Taiwan. This building was an old bank turned into Harry Potter inspired Ice-cream parlor and restaurant. Although you can’t visit the second floor unless you have reservation.
We didn’t order Miyahara Ice Cream. We felt full from lunch and disappointed with the Klook tour dropping us off in a crowded mall with very few food choices for our lunch. We ended up ordering food in 7-11 (which was delicious btw) and ate our lunch in a hurry because most of our lunch time was spent looking where to eat. So in Miyahara, it kind of affected the mood. But I enjoyed visiting Miyahara because the interior was gorgeous and whimsical. And that means more photo ops. 😛
Rainbow Village
Appreciating this little village drawn and made colorful by one old man who wish to stay in this place when everybody left. And now, people keep going here because of his creation. I hope he doesn’t feel alone anymore.
Easily the highlight of my Rainbow Village tour is to meet the Rainbow Grandpa himself. Aged over 90 years old, he wakes up every 4am to continue painting the village. He is maybe old but he’s still strong and playful. Game for trendy poses like this and Korean heart. It’s free to take a photo with Grandpa but it is advisable to drop donations. He is also selling his sample artworks in bondpapers. Because of his creativity, he saved the village from being demolished. Every year it is estimated that Rainbow Village has at least a million visitors. Even at old age, Rainbow Grandpa saved the small village and even made his neighbor earn more by selling to tourists. Truthfully, it’s not too late to make a difference.
For our last destination, we went to Gaomei Wetlands to watch the gorgeous sunset in panoramic view.
Gaomei Wetlands Sunset
Sunset Viewing is the most popular activity in Gaomei Wetlands. But apart from that, this place is a preservation area for exotic birds and crabs. Here they roam free. I was not able to spot any exotic birds maybe because I did not finish the 800 meter walkway. However, the crabs were really plenty. I had fun taking a video of this particular one boring holes in a muddy sand. The wetland is muddy do I didn’t dare walk on it. Thankfully this one roams freely near the walkway. But I still did a risky position to extend my camera on the muddy sand to get a close-up.
I was not able to get through the end of 800m walkway in Gaomei Wetlands because it’s too crowded. But the main concern actually was the time. If I manage to get through, I might not able to go back in time for the Klook meetup time.
After the Tour
HOT SPRING EXPERIENCE in SPRING CITY RESORT
To cap the three tiring days of walking around Taiwan, we spent a relaxing hour in an authentic hot spring resort in Xin Beitou under starry night. Submerging in a hot spring water is not only relaxing but it is known for healing properties and getting rid of toxicities. Beitou is surrounded by hot springs so there is a strings of hot spring resort in the area ranging from simple to five star hotels. There was even a hot spring museum around the area. But we arrived so late to have to time to visit it. Thermal Valley or also known as Hell’s valley where the water constantly release smoke is also in Beitou. Unfortunately, and one of my regrets was I haven’t been able to see it. But enough of regrets. At least I have more reasons to go back to Taiwan next time.
This is the hot spring pool for kids. There are other varieties inside but phones are prohibited. It was quite challenging to submerge in to hot spring pools..because they are HOT! I wonder sometimes if they were really safe. I was so afraid to be cooked alive. Anyway the hottest pool that I managed to endure was 41 degrees Celcius. It was hard at first but once you were there for five seconds you can feel your body adapting on it and it was quite relaxing as promised. But I made unnecessary and annoying noises before I finally get into the waters. I really had a difficult time at first. Most of the visitors were from other different countries. But a Filipino couple spotted and chit chat with us when they heard we were talking in Tagalog. We met them again in Taoyuan airport when we were about to go home.
Overall it was really fun as this spring resort was so cozy and their amenities looks good. They also have free shuttle service. We booked this through Klook for only P579.00. We chose the “NIGHT” only pass. Other package has different price.
FOOD TRIP IN SHILIN NIGHT MARKET
After hot spring resort, we were very hungry and decided that it would be the best time to return to Shilin Night Market. So for our last activity in Taiwan, we went food tripping in this market where several authentic and exotic street food line up for the night. These are some of the memorable food I consumed. Most fave would be the eight claw octopus. Yum!
Michelin star soup standPork KebabCheese Shrimp EggDevouring on our choices. Michelin Soup, lemonade and long fries.ATTACK!
Gurezu Reviews Final Verdict
Not Recommended!
Super little time in Zhong-She Flower Farm
The tour guide assign that day was not that good in English. Aside from that , he does not wait for all the tourist to come down before walking to the destination. And he did not even look back to check if all the tourists were already in his tracks.
The lunch time drop-off which was CMP by Park Lane was crowded and has little food choices. We had a hard time looking for restaurant to have our lunch. When we finally bought lunch in a 7-11 (Thanks 7-11!) , we only got 5 minutes left to eat all of it. This definitely spoiled our mood.
There were raving reviews of this tour in KLOOK and checking all of it, they were mentioning the names of their amazing tour guide that time. Maybe we were just unlucky with the assigned tour guide that day. His name did not come up in the good reviews. I prefer not to mention his name. But I hope he’ll improve his skill in the future.
Recommended alternatives. 1. Look for a private charter specially if you’re in a group of 4 or more. You will have more savings and freedom for your time. 2. Do it DIY. You might want to try riding a bullet train going to Taichung as it will take you there for only 45 minutes versus the 2 hours in the bus. There were a lot of amazing Taichung destination that I wished we visited like the Sun Moon Lake and Famous Aboriginal Park. They look great in photos! 3. Or maybe book other Taichung Tours in Klook or KKDay.
If you’re interested, here are my other blogs for this Taiwan Series Adventures
I hope you enjoy reading my tour review blog and hope this helps in deciding your activities in visiting this wonderful country.
Also I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to be my international blogger friend. The idea is to have at at least one blogger friend in each country and build this INTERNATIONAL BLOGGER FRIENDS DIRECTORY. I wanted to diversify the people I follow or interact with through social media so I can see parts or hear anything from different parts of the world. We could do any of the following:
Simple follow each other in wordpress, blog links or other platform
Write a blog collaboration!
Send each other letter or postcards or stickers
Let’s sing a song as duet in Smule or WeSing!
Or others we can think of.
And if you’re already in my home country the Philippines, just let me know as I’m also building a directory: BLOGGER FRIENDS IN EACH PH REGION.
If you are interested to be added in my official directory and bond with me , just let me know if the comment section or reach me out via email: tumblingbot@gmail.com or in my IG/FB.
This idea has been playing in my had since last year as I’ve really want to connect more to the world. I hope you would take my invitation. Thank you in advance!
Remember, you are awesome! Don’t let other people tell you otherwise!
6:30pm arrive at GaKuDen Bakery (near exit 4 of Ximen Station)
MEET-UP at GAKUDEN BAKERY
It was a good thing the meet-up was beside a bakery. People lined up to have a quick breakfast and I must say, I love sandwich we bought from Gakuden. I was also surprised that there were a lot of Klook bus tours here. It’s important to find your appropriate tour and tour guide. Tour guides has a list of names that will be under his supervision and will be calling out names from time to time.
On our way to our first destination, our tour guide told us important things that we should keep in mind. Like it’s against the law not to fasten your seatbelts while on the bus ride. She even showed a video clip that passengers were usually being thrown out of the bus as an impact of the collision and can get hit by another passing cars. If I remember correctly, penalty was 3000 NTD. Another, it was against the law for drivers to work more than 12 hours to avoid overfatigue which will result for another road accidents. So they made a point that they are strict with time and tourists shall comply. Or else, they will leave and the tourists will have to take a taxi ride to the next destination in the itinerary. While these are very strict, I appreciate the re-enactments videos they showed on why these are important. They are entertaining and informative. And as well, made me question why rules does not exist in the PH. Or is there? Maybe I am not aware.
Destination 1: Yehliu Geopark
I have a confession to make. Whenever I see pictures of Yehliu Geopark in instagram or other blogs I was thinking “What’s the big deal about this place?” The photos of the rocks reminded me of foot warts and it honestly irked me. I was ready to scratch this place off the list when I was still planning our Taiwan itinerary. But in the end, since its part of the Klook tour that I considered then I let it be. But our Klook tour guide was just awesome and presented to us videos on what is Yehliu Geopark and why it was a national treasure before we arrived here. So the gist was due to the unique limestone composition of the land here in Yehliu, wind and soil erosion naturally formed various rock formations that can’t be found anywhere else. They refer those rocks as sculptures made entirely by nature. They have rock formation that looks like a shoe, elephant, gorilla. The most popular is the Queen’s head because it looks like a head of a lady in bare shoulders. The rocks that looks like foot warts for me were mushroom rocks. Somehow, when I was here they don’t like warts anymore because I find the land color gorgeous to look at personally. So the photos maybe just don’t give enough justice to the beauty of this place, I tried to capture it on my own but even my captured photos may not be enough. I tried my best though.
Here’s the Queen’s Head. The line for this one is soooo long and we just have little time inside #YehliuGeopark so we decided not to pursue having close photo-ops with this rock and just have photo with her from where we stood. It’s just sad to know the inevitable fate of Queen’s head. It’s neck is significantly thinner compared to ten years ago naturally because of erosion. So in the future, it is expected that the head will eventually fall-off.
In the end,I enjoyed my time here because ir’s like a museum or exhibit made by nature. BUT sadly, the alotted time by Klook was not enough to see all rock sculptures. We did not see Queen’ head up close and I didn’t see the candles rock which looks like nipples for me.
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Is the time alotted by KLOOK enough for Yehliu? A big NO! Unfortunately 70 minutes was not enough. Just walking to the site would already take you 15 minutes and then going back will cost you another 15 minutes. The time left for everyone to see the rocks will just be around 30-40 minutes.
Destination 2: Yin-yang Sea and Thirteen Layer Remains
These are some shots of Yin Yang Sea from the observation deck and the 13-layer remains which was the old copper factory that was suspected to be responsible to Yin-Yang Sea phenomenon. It was called Yin-Yang as it looks like the duality symbol from top view. Our tour guide said that it only looks like this on the surface. That if you swim just a bit deeper in the sea, it’s just all blue.
IS the time alotted here enough? Yes, We only stayed there for 15 minutes as there was nothing to do much here aside from sightseeing. We also didn’t see anyone swimming there.
Destination 3: Golden Waterfalls
The stones are coated with gold due to several mining around the area during old times. The sun was not directly hitting the waterfalls that day so it was not that obvious in pictures. Other parts on the way here though were indeed glowing in gold color. At this point, I realized that Taiwan was really big in gold mining industry before.
Is the time allotted here enough? Yes. We only spent 10 minutes here. There’s no activity here other than sightseeing also. No swimming is allowed as the water is poisonous for skin contact.
Destination 4: Jiufen Old Street
Wandering the place that inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away! Jiufen Old Street. We ate a lot of food here.
This is not for those who doesn’t like narrow and crowded spaces.
Amei tea house is a hundred years old tea house in Jiufen Old Street. It’s the most popular site because it is said to be the inspiration of Hayao Miyazaki for the design of the Bathhouse in Spirited Away. For those who are not a fan or not even familiar, you may find this teahouse very expensive. I saw a lot of pictures of this teahouse and I believe it’s more gorgeous at night because of the red lantern ornaments.
Comparison of Amei tea house and Spirited Away’s Bathhouse from Tofugu.com
Random shots food stalls. Filipinos will be delighted to stroll around Jiufen because once Taiwanese vendos see your faces, or hear you speak, they will go “Pogi Maganda, bili na kayooo!” It goes to show that Filipinos became common tourists in Taiwan after the country lifted the visa requirement.
Food tripping in Jiufen. Basically what we did in Jiufen.
In summary, Jiufen Old street is a haven for Spirited Away fanatics. For non-fans, this is haven for food trips and souvenir hunters. The streets are narrow and full of stairs. Our tour guide said to be wary of going upstairs as tourists could easily get lost in the myriad of stairs. If you are not into crowded narrowd spaces, you may get annoyed as this place can be Really crowded. Base on blogs that I’ve read it could be really hot in there too specially in summer. We’re lucky to be there in Autumn season. Klook gave us two hours to roam around here as this is also a perfect place to spend lunch time.
Is the allotted time in Jiufen Old Street enough? We stayed here two hours and I can say that was enough. We came back in time. I must say though to be careful in wandering here in Jiufen as it the narrow streets could make someone lost it’s way.
This the little Niagara of Taiwan as it resembles the popular Niagara falls. And true that statement, it was really cute. It also create a mini rainbow when directly hit by sunlight. Like golden waterfalls, this one was also barricaded and it looks like it’s also prohibited for swimming.
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And since Shifen is known for Sky lanterns as well, we found this shop selling mini sky lantern lamps. And I found them really cute and perfect for portraiture background.
Aside from gazing at the waterfalls, what we did here is …you guess it right, eat again!
Is the time allotted here enough? Well I can say yes. We had little time to finish our food but it was on us. The area was not that big. We only stayed here for 50 minutes.
Destination 6: Shifen Old Street
It’s my personal choice not to fly a skylantern in Shifen Old Street. The reason would sound “kill joy” so I woud rather not disclose it here. But I enjoyed watching families, friends and lovers as they successfully launch their sky lanterns riddled with their written wishes. I just silently enclosed my wishes as they fly it haha. Kidding aside, our tour guide told us how sky lantern started in Shifen Old Street. In times of war, a soldier was stranded in a field and desired to get help silently as the enemies were around. Given that there are no cellphones before, the means of long distance communications is through smoke. But it was night time and smoke would look rather invisible. So the smart soldier imitated the principle of hot air balloon with just papers. He designed it and successully sent a “Send Help” through the sky. He was saved after that. That’s how the sky lantern was born. It’s good to know that there are only few places in Taiwan licensed to fly sky lanterns and Shifen is one of them. In this place this is a cultural tradition. Out tour guide also noted that if ever your wishes in the skylantern came true, you should go back here and send a “Thank you” message again by flying another sky lantern. But she stressed that when you wish,you should also work hard to achieve it. Makes sense.
When I see Shifen Old Street in instagram, I thought this train tracks are already inactive. Well, I was wrong. It was completely active. And people have to rush out bringing their lanterns away when the police whistles signalling the coming train.
SO ONCE AGAIN, WE EAT AGAIN!
MUST EAT: CHICKEN RICE!
Just want to share this chicken wings with rice. This was included in our Kloor tour in Shifen Old Street. This was absolutely delicious. We thoughts it was just an ordinary fried chicken wings. It turns out it was grilled and I think it is marinated in a different way because of its rich unfamiliar taste. The rice also was infused inside the chicken wings. This is definitely a perfect meal for someone on the go.
MUST EAT! PEANUT ICE CREAM ROLL!
One also must not skip eating this Taiwanese Dessert , Peanut Ice Cream Roll. One of the uinforgettable eats in Taiwan that we had. We also availed this as part of our Klook Tour and their stall in Shifen Old Street was just beside the tracks.
IS THE ALLOTTED TIME ENOUGH? YES, 70 minutes was enough. I did not feel deprived with our time here.
This is the end of our tour. We returned to the same meeting place we had that morning in Ximen MRT. We arrived at around 6:30pm just like what they promised in the itinerary. After that we went souvenir shopping in Ximending and Shilin Night Market. We also had a memorable dinner in Modern Toilet Restaurant . Below is the link for the continuation of our Day2 adventure.
FINAL VERDICT!
4.5 out of 5 stars!
I totally recommend this tour specially for first timers in Taiwan because of the following reasons
Our tour guide Vickie is proficient in English and were able to present historical facts about the places we have visited which made the tour more enjoyable while we were on our way to next destinations.
The inclusive food (the chicken rice and peanut ice cream roll) were delicious and truly memorable. I recommend everyone to avail this version of the package.
The bus is cozy and full of safety features for the passengers.
It is affordable and it covered a lot of places in North Coast of Taiwan! As of this writing, this tour only costs P756.00 per person.
The only cons that I can think of was the lack of time in Yehliu Geopark. We missed a lot of rock structures because the area was really big. But overall, the experience was great!
Once again, here’s the VLOG version of this blog. See this magnificent places in action.
And if you’re interested to check on our Day 1 Adventure, here’s the link.
I hope this blog would be helpful to you in planning your next Taiwan trip!
For our day 1 we purchased Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass Card. This includes unlimited rides for MRT, buses and free access to 16 attractions. We bought it through Klook though these link. We only bought the one-day pass version for only P1948.00. It also has two and three-day unlimited version.
These are the 16 attractions included in the card. I highlighted those we intend to visit with our pass
A one-time visit to each attraction during the validity period
Taipei 101 Observatory
National Palace Museum
Main Building of Chiang Kai-Shek Shilin Residence
Miramar Entertainment Park Ferris Wheel
Taipei Children’s Amusement Park
Tamsui Historical Museum
Tamsui to Fisherman’s Wharf round trip ticket
Gold Museum
Yeliu Geopark
Juming Museum
Sky Lantern Police Station Electric Sky Lantern ticket
National Museum of Marine Science and Technology
Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Miniatures Museum of Taiwan
Heping Island Park
We also found out that Taipei unlimited fun-pass card comes with a booklet that contains the MRT train station map, introduction on the free 16 attractions and sample itineraries so you can maximize the card. It also comes with a book of coupons for freebies and discounts for several restaurants. That was really amazing. This unlimited fun pass card was really designed for tourist to have a hassle-free tour and added it with surprises.
Taipei Fun Pass Guide booklet and the Taipei Tourist MapCoupon Book
Opening a page of the booklet guide.
Sneak Peak on the attractions
Scanning through pages of the guide, these pages are my favorite. They have suggestion itineraries you can follow so you can maximize the Fun Pass Card!
THE BEST THING: KLOOK HAS BUY 1 GET 1 at 50% Off for AVAILING the TAIPEI FUN PASS CARD.
Because of this our expenses shrink further. Supposed to be, we should be paying a total of 5778 PHP. But because of the promo, we only paid 4920 PHP. Imagine the savings if your group is in even number.
Once you bought this through klook, you will have a choice where to claim the card, either in NAIA , Taoyuan Airport or Taipei Main Station. We claimed ours in Taoyuan Airport Klook kiosk upon landing and I must tell that Klook kiosk has a very long line! We spent almost an hour waiting for our fun pass card.
Later I will do a computation on how much we saved using our 1 Day Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass Card in our Day 1 in Taiwan.
OUR TEMPORARY HOME in TAIWAN
By the way this is our temporary home in Taiwan. I am pretty proud on booking this one. It felt like an achievement so I am sharing this with you.
I chose this because it’s near Ximen MRT Station where our Klook meet-up were also located for the next days. By near, I mean it’s 3-5 minutes walking distance away. It looks stylish with it’s French-inspired interior. It has wifi! It has refrigerator, free toiletries, towels, complimentary coffee and tea. And most of all, it is affordable, almost as same as the price of capsule hotel if not cheaper. If you’re interested to book this , this is the link in AIRBNB. The only cons that I could think of is there was no elevator and this is on third floor. But I could say that only a minor issue since we seldom took the stairs anyway since we were out most of the time. To watch my tour in our airbnb, watch it here in this link:
By the way this day 1 happened on November 14, 2019. It was Autumn in Taiwan. It was really cold but not so on the level that you will need a thick jacket or coat. The temperature only played around 18 degrees Celsius. It was like hanging around in the usual air-conditioned room in the Philippines.
Destination 1: Breakfast at JSP
Breakfast at JSP Exact location: No. 150號, Hanzhong Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108 Google map reference at number 2 of this link here.
We started the day a bit late because we arrived at our Airbnb at around 4 am and managed to sleep at around 5 am. In our ideal itinerary, we should wake-up at around 6 am. Yikes! But of course, it’s better to be recharged so we allow ourselves more time to doze-off.
Our Airbnb was conveniently located neart Ximending MRT and Shopping district. So it won’t be hard to find a restaurant to spend our first meal. With that we chose this orangy restaurant called JSP.
I have read about JSP when I was still researching on the good place to eat around Ximending. This is one of the recommendation as they offer Taiwanese breakfast staples.
As you can see above, their menu is in Chinese characters and we were overwhelmed at first. But JSP is tourist friendly. They offered us English menu and a marker so we can mark our choices. They have a wider range of choices from sandwiches, burgers and set meals.
We chose set-meals. My personal choice was the Black Pepper set which comprises of noodles,porkchop, egg and milk tea. Milk tea could be hot, ice or warm. I would have chosen hot coffee but there was no coffee in the menu. That was a real surprise! Milk tea is indeed the more popular choice here. It’s proven as we spent next days only tasting coffee through sachet packs we bought from 7-11.
My first Taiwanese Breakfast!The hot milk tea. But I still want coffee ;(Selfie before eating
I liked it my breakfast and find it really delicious. At one point though, I surrendered in spiciness (entirely my fault). My friend who was with me find the meal weird. He said it was like having spaghetti for breakfast. While eating, there was a Taiwanese who asked to share our table. Of course, we didn’t mind. He sat across me which then I saw that he was handsome. Hahaha! Such a good morning
Destination 2: Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
Entrance fee: Free How to get here: Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall has it’s own MRT station. So from MRT Ximen station, ride Songshan-Xindian-Line and drop-off exactly to Chiang Kai Shek Station. Journey would only take 4 minutes since they are just two stations away from each other.
I have seen this place quite a lot of times already but I was utterly surprised when I visited this personally. It’s so big and majestic! It made me feel like I visited an old kingdom. Something that you won’t appreciate just looking at the photos and videos. There are a lot of Taiwanese in yellow when we visited this place. It looks like they are preparing for a big event or something.
There are three palace-like structure in this memorial hall. I had thought of doing levitation in front of it. So the following is the usual photo gallery. Enjoy!
Amazing OOTD walk by my friendFeeling fresh in Taiwan
Entrance Fee: NT$ 240 (PHP 402.00) , paid through Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass Card
How did we get there: It’s with MRT station only and a little bit of walking. The journey may take around 30-40 minutes.
From Chiang Kai Shek MRT station, ride the Tamsui-Xinyi line and drop to Daan Station.
From Daan Station, transfer to the train going to Taipei Zoo Station.
From Taipei Zoo Station, take a short walk to Maokong Gondola Station.
This ride is one of the free attractions inclusive of Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass card. You just have to go to the gift shop name “CHANCE” beside the Gondola Station. Show the card and they will give you the round trip tickets.
Here we made sure we went for Crystal Cabin where the floor was glass.It’s a good way to enjoy panoramic views of Taipei before reaching Maokong station where a string of tea houses awaits. There is a separate line for it from the regular cabin so I made sure to follow the signs. There was this sign on the wall to remind everyone to assess themselves before riding the crystal cabin gondola.
Lucky I don’t have fear of heights.
You can even see the tip of Taipei 101 from here.
I did not take much photos that time because I took videos instead. But I was able to capture this one scenery. The turquoise water looks awesome and beautiful.
The only downside of this ride was we got to share the cabin with other group of strangers. So we did not take loads of pictures. Although I didn’t mind actually. I still made sure I have pictures. If you are traveling in a group of five , you’ll surely occupy one crystal gondola by yourselves. We did not anticipate this. I thought each group would have their own cabin like in Ferris wheels.
This was not my first gondola ride. I have one also during our Malaysian trip. It was one of my favorite activities because it was really exciting going up with clouds. So I made sure that I won’t miss this in Taiwan as well. I hope Philippines would have one as well because it’s not only a fun ride but a means of transportation as well. A gondola ride along Edsa? Hmm one can only dream!!
Destination 4: Lunch at Maokong
The gondola has four stopover stations. The farthest is Maokong where several tea plantation is located.
I look awkward here. I don’t know what I am trying to do.
Just below Maokong station there was a string of teahouses and food stalls. We opt for food stall for our lunch. We ate the popular stinky tofu which smells fairly normal to us, stir fried chicken and meatball soup. We are not that impressed with our lunch. If we have more time in Maokong, we would have visited a tea plantation and tea museum. Also eat in a legit tea house. But that would require a day and we were running out of time.
We did not stay much at Maokong as we only intended to ride the Gondola and eat it our lunch there. Nevertheless, Maokong offers greenery sights. It seems far already from the busy Taipei city.
Destination 5: Shilin Official Residence
Entrance Fee: Free but there is a special area which has payment which is included in the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass
How did we get here: It’s essentially going back to Gondola ride then MRT again with short walks.
Go back to Maokong Station for Gondola ride back to Taipei Zoo Gondola station.
Walk going to Taipei Zoo MRT , Daan station bound
From Daan Station, transfer to red line Shilin MRT station bound.
Get-off Shilin MRT station then take a 10-minute walk going to Shilin Official Residence
This is the place where Chiang Kai Shek and her wife spent the last days of their lives. Aside from being a home, this is a horticulture ground as Mrs. Chiang Kai Shek adore flowers, roses being her favorite. To celebrate autumn season, they are having Chryantheum flower festival. Sadly, it was still not starting when we came here. They were celebrating it around Nov 18 if I remember that correctly. We were days earlier from the festival but at least we saw some of the attractions they were preparing. I also love the tranquility and lush greeneries of this place.
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Destination 6: Elephant Mountain
Entrance fee: None
How did we get here: Through MRT again with a lot of walking this time.
From Shilin Official Residence, walk going back to Shilin MRT Station
From Shilin MRT station, ride the red line going to Xiangshan MRT Station
From Xiangshan MRT, take a 5 minute walk to the foot of Elephant Mountain trail.
Elephant Mountain is a popular mountain which you can ascend easily for 15-20 minutes through flight of stairs. This is popular because you can catch the beautiful cityscapes view including Taipei 101. But be ready to have endurance. If you hate climbing stairs, this is not for you.
I edited the stars in this picture through Snapseed.
We were supposed to catch the sunset here but arrived too late. Had fun editing stars in my captured photo using Snapseed double exposure tool. Swipe left to see the original. Meanwhile, this is Taipei101. Once the tallest skyscraper in the world until 2010. Now it falls to eleventh place. Still, it is beautiful tower to look at specially at night. Ascending the top of the tower with its super fast elevator (reached the top of the tower in less than a minute) is one of the unforgettable experiences I had in Taipei
Destination 7: Taipei 101
Destination 8: Taipei 101 Observatory
Entrance Fee: Regular price is 600 NTD or 1006.63 Pesos. W e did not pay onsite anymore as part of Taipei Fun Pass Card. All we did was to go straight in Klook kiosk. which has no line at all when we arrived. Feeling VIP in a way.
How did we get here? It’s just one MRT away from Elephant Mountain.
Alternatively, Elephant Mountain is already walking distance with Taipei 101. But because we were tired, we went back to Xiangshan MRT station to ride Taipei101 bound line. Taipei 101 has it’s own MRT station and it would just take 2-3 minutes to reach.
Once the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101 is the ultimate landmark of Taipei. Some says that you never really gone to Taipei if you did not climb your way up to Taipei 101 observatory. If you’re wondering what’s inside this skyscraper, The first few floors was an ordinary mall. Din Tai Fung restaurant is also there. The line of people there was CRAZY! I have eaten in Din Tai Fung branch here in Manila,Philippines . I think the food was great but it seems not memorable to me. I can’t help but to wonder what the original Din Tai Fung here in Taiwan has to offer. Anyway, the entrance in Taipei 101 is free. It’s just the observatory deck which is not free.
The view in the observatory
What I love about visiting Taipei 101 1. Mini-show in the elevator ceiling. The ascend would only take less than a minute and within that time, we were entertained in a magical presentation about stars in it’s ceiling . I was not able to understand the Taiwanese voiceover at all but I did not expect that elevators could be magical. 2. The 360 view of the city. Although honestly, I liked the view in Elephant Mountain more because there were no glass doors and you can still see the shape and architecture of the buildings rather than just vein of lights.
3. But my most favorite of all was when I got to see and learn about dampers. Damper like the one in our back stabilizes high structures like Taipei 101 for it to withstand earthquakes, typhoon and other natural disasters. The floor has an audio visual presentation that includes a cctv of real earthquake footage and showed how the damper moved to make sure Taipei 101 will be alright. The calculation of the mass and size of the damper are critical for the safety engineering of the building. It was amazing. That’s Science. Bitch!
4. The surprises did not end there. As we go to the elevator going to the ground floor, you will pass through a jewel and stone shop. EVERYTHING IS SPARKLING in glass cages! It was just wow!
Destination 7: Ximending Shopping District
Entrance Fee: None
How did we get here:
from Taipe1 101 MRT Station, ride red line and get-off Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
from Chiang Kai Chek Memorial Hall station, transfer to green line.
from Chiang Kai Chek Memorial Hall stat m Chiang Kai Chek Memorial Hall station, transfer to green line.
They called Ximending “the Harajuku of Taipei” because of the heavy influence of Japanese fashion culture in this area. It’s not ordinary you’ll see a girl casually wearing a full lolita outfit here. Just like in Japan!
Spending our first night in Ximending Shopping District. This pedestrian lane is popular with the tourists itself. In a way, it’s a sign government’s support for LGBT community. Taiwan already open its doors for same sex marriage. So it’s endearing to witness two men holding hands while walking in public. Although I didn’t see outright PDA.
At this point we were super exhausted with all the walking and climbing we had to with MRT and Elephant Mountain. On top of that, we were really hungry too. We came across this humble restaurant in yellow. We didn’t know how to call this restaurant but it has a partner milk-tea stand called Bubble Lee.
They only have one staff who knows a little English and he’s the one communicating with the customers.
But of course, they have English version menu for tourist like us. All we have to do is point or look out for any delicious looking food being prepared.
Dinner for tonight, noodles with sort of Egg Salad.
Best partnered with Bubble Lee’s milk tea. I love it. I am satisfied with this dinner.
We roam a bit more and there we see public performers. I’ve actually like this guy below. His perfomance was amazing.
Also here in Ximending you will see the 4-storey WATSONS branch. What more amazing, it is open in 24-hours. I bought a bottle of contact solutions here because my supply was confiscated in the airport. I forgot the rule of the size of the bottles for hand-carry. Yikes!
There were lot of souvenir shops, food , clothing and several known store. It was indeed a shopping district. But because our bodies were screaming for sleep and rest, we did not do much shopping. From Ximending , we walked our way back to our temporary AirBNB room. This is the end of our Day 1 in Taiwan Adventure.
THE BIG QUESTION. DID WE BEAT THE TOTAL PRICE of BUYING THE FUN PASS CARD?
Itinerary (Original)
This is the itinirary we plan for day 1. But due to unforeseen circumstances (aka we woke up late), we were not able to visit National Palace Museum.
Day 1 Theme: City Attractions and Historical sites
Attractions
Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
Gondola
Maokong Gondola
National Palace Museum
Shilin Official Residence
Elephant Mountain
Taipei101
Ximending Shopping District
SCHEDULE
06:30 AM-8:00 AM (PREP-TIME) get-up, prepare, breakfast
08:00 AM-8:15 AM (WALK) going to MRT Ximen station, then head to Chiang Kai Shek (Ride Songshan-Xindian-Line)
08:15 AM-9:00 AM CHIANG KAI SHEK MEMORIAL HALL (45 mins)
09:00AM-09:30 AM Ride MRT from Chiang Kai Shek Station (Tamsui-Xinyi line) going to Daan Station)
09:30AM-10:30 AM Daan Station to Taipei Zoo for Mongola ride
10:30AM-11:00 AM MONGOLA RIDE to MAOKONG (one way)
11:00AM-12:00 PM LUNCH at MAOKONG.
12:00PM- 1:00 PM GONDOLA RIDE back to TAIPEI ZOO then back to Daan MRT Station. Ride Red line.
1:00-1:30 PM DAAN MRT station (red line) to National Palace Museum
1:30-2:45 PM NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM TOUR
2:45-3:00 PM Ride R30 Bus going to Shilin Official Residence
3:00-4:00 PM SHILIN OFFICIAL RESIDENCE TOUR
4:00-4:30 PM SHILIN MRT Station to Xiangshan station (ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN)
4:30-6:30 PM Elephant Mountain climb and Dinner near the area
6:30-7:00 PM Go to Taipei 101 (can walk or via MRT)
7:00-8:30 PM TAIPEI 101 TOUR
8:30-9:00 PM TAIPEI 101 MRT station to Chiang Kai Shek hall MRT (Green line) to MRT Ximen
9:00-11:00 PM Ximending Shopping District Tour, food trip, chill
11:00 PM-11:15 PM GO BACK to Hotel by walking from Ximending
11:15 Back to airbnb, Rest
HOW MUCH DID WE SAVE with TAIPEI FUN PASS CARD ?
So I created a simple calculation on how much one can save following my original itinerary and the real expenses we had that day. Please note that I used the pricing from http://www.rome2rio.com and klook. The price is in Philippine Pesos.
As you can see, if we followed the original itinerary, we would have saved a staggering 2406 PHP (in blue highlight). But due to lack of time (aka we woke up late because we slept at 5 am :P), we did not visit the National Palace Museum and the Main Building of Shilin Residence. Even so, we still beat the total price of three Fun Pass Card. We saved a total of P132.00 (in yellow highlight)!
FINAL VERDICT
I recommend everyone to purchase Unlimited Fun Pass Card for great savings and convenience. But only if you plan and stick to it. Otherwise, this card will be more expensive. Follow the steps below.
TIPS on USING TAIPEI FUN PASS CARD
Check the location of the free attractions so you can plan your itinerary. You can look at the suggestion of the Taipei Fun Pass booklet.
I am not sure how long the line is for NAIA terminal and Taipei Main Station KLOOK kiosk but maybe you can try these two. The line in Taoyuan was really long.
Most important! Start early so you can follow your plan and beat the price of Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass
You can also take a look at the 2-day and 3-day Version of Fun Pass. Maybe you can get more savings. It was difficult to beat the card in just one day. I would like to try this option next time.
I hope you enjoy my write-up about my experience in Taipei and in a way help you in planning your itinerary. Taipei is really nice and easy to get around with their transportation. Taiwanese are really friendly and welcoming. Their immigration is also not that strict. And most of all, it’s budget friendly. I recommend this trip to everyone who want out of the country experience without breaking a bank.
Before closing this post, I would like to share with you my OOTD’s for day 1. Just like planning for itinerary, it’s a joy to plan the outfits. Would you agree?
YOU MAY ALSO WATCH MY VLOG about our Day 1 Adventure here:
Hi! I can’t believe November is almost over and I haven’t written a single post here in my blog. Not that means my life is boring lately and there’s nothing to write about. Quite contrary, I got a big kind of adventures that I don’t have time to write. To tell the you the truth I am exploring vlogging lately. That’s why I am going to share with you this newest vlog of mine, our family’s getaway to Boracay. Since this plan was a spur of the moment plan, almost an impulse, so we couldn’t book a airfare promo. Instead, we resorted to travel by sea. So here’s my vlog on our experience.
21:34 Gurezu Reviews Final Verdict for Traveling with 2go Travel
I would love to write a blog version of it but maybe soon when I got more time in my hands.
Nowadays, traveling by ship is not a popular choice anymore. But I hope this vlog would somehow change your perspective on traveling by sea. I honestly enjoyed given that I also bonded with my family while we were sailing. I recommend everyone to try this too specially for lovers or group of friends.
On our last day at Cebu we didn’t have exclusive tour since Cebu Travelers were already reserved on that day. We didn’t have time to look for other agencies. Without a comfort of a car, we took this opportunity to fully experience how to commute around Cebu City on our own. Thus having our own little adventure.
This blog is part 2 of my Cebu Adventure posts. If you’re interested for the part 1, just click the links below.
0.Going to Square Mall As Starting Point of Habal-habal
We started at the location of our hotel “Sampaguita Hotel” situated in Plaza Garcia Bldg, Magallanes St, Cebu City, Cebu. Base on our research, habal-habal pick-up point in the city is located at JY Square Mall. When were looking for jeepney rides, that’s how we learned that in Cebu, routes are often designated by codes. These codes are largely displayed on top of every jeep. Such as shown below.
Since we don’t know the right code going to JY Square Mall, we had no choice but to ask around. They answered in unison that we should look for jeeps with code “C” on them. I think we rode 4C . Maybe if you’re somewhere in Cebu city, better ask around on what’s the correct code base on your location.
It took maybe around 30 minutes before we reached JY Square Mall (Supermart). I guess the driver was annoyed at this point because I kept asking if we were near JY Square Mall already. We were paranoid and we didn’t want to get lost. So sorry about that. Anyway once we got off the jeep, we didn’t have to look for habal-habal. Several drivers approached us quickly and offered their services.
We accepted the offer P400.00 per person, round-trip. Here’s a clip of us during our trip. At the beginning, it was perplexing to be exposed in the middle of smoke and traffic. But once we approached the mountain where Sirao Garden is located, we started to see magnificent views and clean air along the way. It finally became an enjoyable ride.
1. SIRAO GARDEN
After around 45 minutes, we finally reached the famous Sirao Garden. Entrance fee is only P60.00.
There are parking lots available here so it’s pretty accessible for those who have cars.
And finally, picture taking time. These photos were all taken with Samsung A50 mobile phone.
This was the most blockbuster landmark here, the hand. The line was long for this one. I think it took 10-20 minutes before we had our turn.
I must say the views of the mountains was a bonus. It felt like you’re on top of the mountain even we didn’t trek.
I adore this life-size nest. They even have a prop egg.
Please notice the butterfly on my elbow.
After an hour of photoshoot session, we took a break by eating some corn and drinking bottled water. These stalls were just outside the Sirao Garden.
We also met the habal-habal driver once again and proceeded to another destination nearby, the Temple of Leah.
2. Temple of Leah
Our motorcycle had to climb a very steep road to get here. I thought it would be really hard to get here just by walking. There was also an entrance fee. But I can’t remember the specifics. I’m sure it was less than P100.00.
Learning the story behind Temple of Leah amused me. This was built by a business tycoon (Adarna Clan) in memory of his late wife Leah Albino Adarna. This is a testimony of his love and endless devotion to her. This temple will be the home of all travel souvenirs and collections Leah had acquired from her travels in her lifetime. As said in one of the signs there, Teodorico Adarna had to literally chop a mountaintop to place this temple. This is the reason why it is often hailed as “The Taj Mahal of the Philippines” , a testament of love to a deceased wife by grand display of wealth. The construction is still not finished but it’s already open to the public.
The design of “Temple of Leah” was inspired by Parthenon of Greece. So aside from being Taj Mahal of the Philippines, it was also called the Parthenon of Cebu.
Some rooms are not yet furnished like this one. But some Leah’s collection were already there. Leah loved figurines and vases.
This Leah’s golden statue was inspired by a photo when she won a “beauty-queen” like award in her school. I wished they displayed the real photo here.
They say that this statue alone costs millions already.
You can also have an almost 360 degree view of Cebu City here in Temple of Leah.
At last, here’s the open letter of Teodorico Adarna Jr. on why he built this temple.
Given this history of the temple, one can’t help but to be curious on what does Leah Albino Adarna looked like. She must be goddess of beauty. The clue would be her actress granddaughter “Ellen Adarna” who most likely inherited the genes. I searched the internet but I only found this one in this link.
Our habal-habal driver offered us to have another destination which hey called “TOPS” . But we opted to return to the city. He dropped us in a gasoline station and then we paid him P800.00 plus P100 for the waiting time. This already covered two of us. From there we rode a jeep going to Taboan where our friend was already waiting.
Final Verdict for our Habal-habal tour.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
3 out of 5 stars. Actually we were also offered by a taxi driver for the same tour. He offered us P1200 roundtrip for the two of us. We thought it was expensive. But as I think about it now, the difference of the price was not that big compared to overall price we had with habal-habal. Also in habal-habal, we were exposed directly by sunlight and pollution. For that reason, I think we should have took the taxi ride tour instead. But the habal-habal driver itself was nice to us. I have no complains.
3. Pasalubong Hunting in Taboan
This was our last day in Cebu so we need to do some pasalubong shopping. Taboan is a popular destination as it has string of stalls offering affordable delicacies. Most notably the danggit or dried fishes.
This is some of the notes on the price of danggit and dried pusit.
Danggit P700.00/kilo Pusit P1050/kilo
You can order up to quarter a kilo and you can request the packaging to be divided. We also bought boxes here so we can seal all “pasalubong” in one box. We sealed it heavily so it won’t have any problems in the airport.
4. Dinner at Kogi-Q at SM City Cebu
Our last accommodation was near SM City Cebu so we went there for our last dinner at Cebu.
For the last hoorah in Cebu, it was a time for Eat -All-You-Can Buffet for only P399.00. They have wide range of meat to choose from.
Final Verdict for Kogi-Q
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
4 out of 5 stars. The food and the service are great. But most memorable was their Kimchi. I generally don’t like kimchi as much. But damn, I just had unlimited kimchi that night.
5. LAST ACCOMMODATION: EXPRESS INN CEBU MABOLO
Because we had short of time to plan and book accommodations, we got to transfer again for our last night. It was a hassle but the good thing was I got to know three affordable hotel accommodations to share in my blog.
Express Inn is also located in the city and situated beside a main road. It is near SM City Cebu and also minutes away from the airport which was great because our flight going back to Manila tomorrow was super early. This hotel has many awards displayed in the reception because of its affordability and accessibility. I didn’t take note of the price when we got it. But we booked it once again through Agoda. I have shared the link below where you can check this one out.
3.5 out of 5 stars. I like the simplicity and cleanliness of this hotel. A big plus of it’s proximity with malls and airport.
Oh my did I just finished my Cebu Adventure blog? I think I got myself a little celebration. I must admit I should improve my blogging workflow. Being a blogger is not that easy. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the events and the piles of pictures and thoughts you have to organized. But I love blogging. It might be tiring but it always feel good to immortalize memories and share information with others. However, I would appreciate any tips on how to write a blog faster. Just put in the comments if you have one.
Once again I invite you to subscribe to my youtube channel “Gurezu Reviews“. I’m just starting so there were just 4 videos as of this writing. If you also have youtube channel, let me know also so I can follow back.
Again here’s the Highlights of my Cebu Adventure in ten minutes. Photos and videos in this blog were taken with SamsungA50.
Thanks everyone for hanging with me! And remember that you’re awesome!
GUREZU
For inquiries and collaborations, LET’s CONNECT!!!!!!
These are my thoughts and short reviews about our Cebu Adventure last August 2019. This will include the accommodations, places, food trips that we had in just 4 days from August 22-25,2019. Our itinerary was mostly a result of panic planning. The tour and accommodations are booked in less than a week before the trip. This might not be the best itinerary out there. But I’m generally happy with it since we still booked the tour and accommodations in affordable rates. So If you are also in a rush, I hope this would help you.
Outline of the contents. Click the topic of interest for easy jumping.
But first of all, here’s the summary video of my entire Cebu Adventure.
1. Accommodation at RedDoorz Pluz near Mango Avenue
The first thing I won’t forget about going here is that we dropped off at the wrong RedDoorz branch first. There were a lot of Reddoorz in Cebu City and this one was quite new and not exposed at the main road. My friend booked this though Agoda.com and luckily landed a 24 Hour Sale. Below was the screenshot of our reservation. We already got two rooms at the following price for one night.
This was my first experience with RedDoorz and I really liked it. The rooms we got were quite spacious! I can even dance and tumble around. We have three beds in our own room so we didn’t have to share. It was also well lit. They provided free towels,soap, bottled water, toothbrush and toothpaste. There were restaurants, convenient stores and bars nearby. It was beyond decent for me considering the price.
What I love the most were the teddy bears lounge in their mini restaurant at the reception. I never hugged stuff toys as big as these in my whole life so don’t blame if I somewhat abused them by having a mini-photoshoot. These are just SOME of the shots.Oh if only the teddy bears could complain!
Verdict for RedDoorz Pluz Near Mango Avenue
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
4 out 5 stars. Satisfied!
2. Dinner at 10000 Roses Cafe‘
We arrived late at the afternoon and a city tour would deem impossible to do. I preferred to go to Sirao Garden but it was too far and it would be nighttime already if we pushed it. But 10,000 cafe’ was perfect for nighttime and it was a cafe’ too so we decided to take our dinner there as well. It took us 1.5 hour to reach it from Mango Avenue through Grab.
You probably saw a lot of pictures of 10,000 roses in the internet. And honestly, more often that not, lead to a distorted expectations of the cafe’. In most pictures, it seems like there is gigantic field of roses lamp. But in fact, 10,000 roses only cover a small 2 rectangular areas around the cafe’. It was disappointing for most visitors as I felt that myself and overheard from a massive tourists here on that night as well. Not that I intended to eavesdrop but the disappointment was loud.
By the way there’s an entrance fee of P20.00 except for some age limits.
The disillusionment of the field of roses waned when in fact, 10000 roses has great food and beverages. We all love the food we ordered there. Plus the atmosphere here was quite romantic. The cafe’ was located near seawater where you can see the city lights too!
BULGOGI PIZZALook at those happy faces.
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Carbonara for P340.00
Marinara Pasta for P320.00
I love all the food! Marinara Pasta was my favorite.
Enjoying Nutella Choco Frappe for P155.00
FINAL VERDICT for 10,000 roses
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
3 out of 5 stars. Despite the disappointment, 10,000 cafe’ is actually a great cafe’. What other cafe’ has 10,000 artificial roses, situated beside the sea and to top it all with great food? Nothing else. So despite that it’s prone to distorted expectations, this cafe’ became a tourist destination because of it’s unique concept and marketing.
3. Moalboal Tour
The second day of our Cebu adventure was though Cebu Travelers Tour Agency . They picked us past 4am . At around 6 am, we arrived at Moalboal headquarters where we need to undergo a short orientation before the tour.
This was a snapshot from the short orientation before the tour. Sadly, due to unfavorable waves, our Pescador Island route was cancelled.
I think we traveled 30 minutes by boat before we arrived at the Sardine Area. I must say cloudy weather greeted us along the way. Thank God, there was no heavy rain. But the waves were really crazy. I have no motion sickness but our boat trip made me feel dizzy. We saw “pawikans” along the way.
I have not captured magnificent photos of Sardine Run. And I didn’t had any close encounter with the pawikans. Instead I took videos from my cellphone with the aid of a reliable P100.00 waterproof case I bought at the Moalboal headquarters. Here is the video summary of my Cebu trip. Moalboal tour is on 1:08 of this video.
4. LUNCH and CHILL at KAWASAN FALLS
After the exhausting struggle with Moalboal waves, it’s rather tiring to find out that we need a 30-40 minute walk to our lunch near Kawasan Falls. I was so hungry. But my mind became at ease at the lush greeneries heading to Kawasan. It was so refreshing not only to the eyes but to my soul. But to temporarily appease our hunger, we bought corn snack and consumed it along the way.
So here are some info about Kawasan Falls. Looks like this falls has won more awards than me. I can attest to the “Cleanest Inland Body of Water” because I am mesmerized with the sparkling cleanliness of the river.
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There are actually several carinderia stalls within the vicinity of Kawasan Falls. It was actually raining when we got there. And to tell you the truth I got a little bit discouraged to swim. I already felt cold. Much more if I emerged myself in the water. I don’t like feeling cold.
I thought I would be contented having just photos. But I eventually submerged myself in the cold waters. At first, the cold bit painfully. But I get used to it. Everybody did. By the way, the most popular activity in Kawasan is canyoneering. But I’m not adventurous enough and I am glad that my travel buddies were not game for it too. Or else I’m screwed. To be fair, I used to be excited with extreme activities. Maybe it’s the “Tita” growing inside me.
5. Teofilo Camomot Shrine
This archbishop from Cebu is under beatification for sainthood. I heard a lot of stories about him from our tour guide. But what interest me the most was he was born at the same date as my brother and he died the exactly the day after I was born. What a coincidence! Anyway this shrine holds his original casket, personal writings among others.
6. Dinner at Ayer’s Lechon Cebu
They say Cebu has the best lechon. With the advise of our tour guide, our search for Cebu lechon taste led us to Ayer’s Lechon Cebu in Mango Avenue, just few blocks away from our accommodation.
SPICY LECHON, a must try!
Regular Lechon. I preferred the spicy one.
Lechon Paksiw. Good but I think you can skip this one.
Daing na Bangus. Must try!
Lomi. Super must try!
FINAL VERDICT
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
4.5 STARS! Three reasons why you should try Ayer’s Lechon 1. Their lechon tastes great without breaking the bucks. 2. Not crowded restaurant. 3. We have nothing but praises to their other offerings such as daing na bangus, lomi and lechon paksiw.
Overall, we had a very satisfying dinner to end the day. By the way the stars lacks a half-star. Damn wordpress widget, doesn’t have a half star.
7. Second Accommodation: Sampaguita Hotel
We transferred to another hotel for the second and third night. Our number reduced to four since one of us has other trip plans. It was smaller and cheaper. A lot cheaper! It is also situated in Cebu City proper and is near from City landmarks as stated below. Surprisingly, I forgot to take a single photo while we were here.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Final Verdict:3 out of 5 stars! It is not that as spacious as RedDoorz we had the first night. But considering the price, I recommend this hotel for those who are on a budget.
Day 3
8. Whaleshark sightings at OSLOB.
The calltime for this trip is as early as 3 am in the morning. It was really hard for a morning lazy person like me. But as we arrived, we understood why we had to . Even if we were early, there was long queue of tourists ahead of us. Good thing our tour guide already had reservation number they planned ahead.
There was a short orientation on the rules and regulation for whaleshark. For one, we were not allowed to use sunblock. And we should maintain a distance from the whale shark.
I have a conflicting feelings about this experience. Sure, it was a unique experience to encounter this gigantic gentle creature. I was thrilled to see them and I had fun swimming away because I didn’t want to kick them. However I have to admit that the smell was strikingly unpleasant. I nearly vomited when I drank a little seawater. I did not regret this at all. But I might not repeat this experience.
One thing you must remember though that you need to bring action camera here for you to have assistance from the boatmen to have a photo with the whaleshark. They won’t accept mobile phones although you can bring them there. I tried to have a selfie with my mobile phone but no success. But I’m here to see them and savor the close encounter so I don’t have regrets. Here’s a screenshot of the video I took with my cellphone. I had fun taking this because the tourist was really caught off-guard that the whaleshark was already at his back. Video clip here in this link: 2:21
9. SUMILON ISLAND
Ahhhh I love this part. This is my most favorite so far. I know I’ve been a lot of beaches but everything in Sumilon was just clean and relaxing to the eye. The pristine and turquoise water was really charming. The photos I captured using mobile phone won’t need filters.
There are absolutely no store in Sumilon Island. So if you are feeling hungry, make sure you already bring snacks and water on the way.
10. Oslob Cartel
It was like mini Intramuros. Our tour guide said this used to be a headquarters for the Japanese troup.
Oslob Old Church
Oslob Heritage Park
I didn’t roamed around the park. But I love the vintage and chill vibe. If given more time and energy, I would have a photoshoot here.
11. SIMALA CHURCH
This church took me by surprise by how much big it is. The biggest I’ve seen in my life so far. Furthermore, the architecture gave me European Vibes. I never read or have seen this church in social media or anywhere else so this was pretty unexpected. The area was big it took me an hour to roam the place. Expect a lot of stairs.
Note: Shorts and sleeveless are strictly prohibited here. Trappings are available for rent at the entrance area.
If you notice, I am wearing a cloth wrapped around my waist in my pics here. There is a strict dress code upon entering here. But don’t worry, there were trappings for rent outside the church for P25.00. But Simala church itself is for free.
12. Dinner at KKD STK + BBQ
Once again, we took the advise of our tour guide for our next dinner foodtrip. They suggested KKD for affordability and great food. They specially recommended us to try Adobong Nokus(Squid) and Chorizo in Stick. Given that KKD was just near our accommodation for the night, we just walked through several blocks to reach this restaurant in M. J. Cuenco Ave, Cebu City, Cebu .
No tipping policy
They have a string of neighbor restaurants. This street of Cebu City is very much alive at night.
It’s time to eat!
ADOBONG NOKUS with ATA for P260.00 This is the star of the night. It is unlike the taste of Adobong pusit that I got used to. So I guess, there’s a unique Cebu touch for this dish. It is savory, but not too salty. I miss eating this. I hope there’s KKD in Manila.
BUTTERRED SHRIMP for P185.00 I am not that impressed at this one. It’s not that buttery for my taste.
SISIG with EGG for P140.00 I also love this one apart next to Adobong Nokus.
SINIGANG na ISDA for P185.00
CHORIZO for P25.00 I had high expectation with this one but it was sweet. I am not inclined with sweet meat or sausages. Personal choice.
FOUR SEASON PITCHER
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
FINAL VERDICT for KKD STK+BBQ
4 our of 5 stars.Just like what they mentioned int their banner, they greatly value hospitality and I do felt that with the service we have received here in this restaurant. The staff would often smile and asked us on what we need constantly. I also love the majority of the food that we ordered. Adobong Nokus is a must try. Most of all, it is indeed affordable.
First of all, this is not a sponsored post whatsoever. I just want to thank Cebu Travelers Tour Agency for their affordable tour package. As I said earlier,we started planning the itinerary less than a week before our flight. I have inquired to numerous agencies which gave me heart attack for the final quotations. So I only find Cebu Travelers as the most affordable one so far for the exclusive tour. It is owned by a couple who also personally toured and drive for us. They entertained us with their stories during long travels. And they recommended nice restaurants for our search of Cebu flavor. For that my raiting with be 4.5 stars out of 5 stars! Below this photo are the packaged we availed from them. Go ahead and explore their other packages in Facebook.
This pic is owned by Cebu Travelers Tour Agency.
DAY 1: OSLOB TOUR : 1,699php/person
⊙Whaleshark encounter
⊙Sumilon island
⊙Sandbar
⊙Oslob quartel
¤ Oslob heritage park
¤Oslob old church
⊙Lindogon, Simala Church
Add-on Php500 for foreign guest only, as part of
tourism ordinance in Oslob.
DAY 2MOALBOAL + KAWASAN 1,299php/person,
⊙Pescador Island
⊙Snorkelling/coral watching
⊙Sardines run
⊙Turtle watching(if they show up)
⊙Dolphin watching (if arrive early and seasonal)
⊙Kawasan Falls
⊙TEOFELO CAMOMOT SHRINE or LAMBUG BEACH
⊙(Full Course Canyoneering w/ lunch)” OPTIONAL add on 1,500 for canyoneering”
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
And that’s it for Part 1 of our Cebu Adventure. I hope parts of this may help you with your adventure if you’re planning. Don’ t forget also to check out the summary video of my Cebu Trip. And also please subscribe to my youtube channel “Gurezu Reviews”.
Thanks everyone! And remember that you’re awesome!
GUREZU ❤
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
For inquiries and collaborations, LET’s CONNECT!!!!!!
Nothing triggers my ramen cravings unlike rainy weather. But ramen is expensive. One bowl of authentic Ramen can cost from P300.00 up to P500.00. I’m lucky that there’s this ramen house near my house. It may not be authentic Ramen but they taste good in such an affordable price. Their regular bowl only costs P80.00.
If you’re wondering where is the location, it’s just near Guadalupe MRT station. It’s a walking distance from there. But if you’re not familiar, you can ride a tricyle from Guadalupe Andoks Chicken. Boss Ramen is along Orense St in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Complete Address would be Orense St. Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati city.
They have 6 Ramen offerings.
Tonkutsu Ramen
Spicy Chicken
Miso Ramen
Seafood Ramen
Tantanmen
Shoyu
My favorite here would be Tonkutsu, Shoyu and Tantanmen. I’m not a fan of Miso Ramen even with the authentic one’s so I never tasted it.
Aside from ramen they have variety of food to chose from. Side dishes, Rice Bowls, Bento Meals, Silog meals and Flavored Wings. I recommend the following because they tasted real good.
Sisig
Kani Salad
Gyoza
Chicken Parmesan
Boss Ramen has quite a nice motif too. I love the wall murals and the lighting looks posh. It does not look cheap at all.
Chicken Parmisan. One of my favorites.
Spicy Chicken Ramen with Ebi Tempura side dish
They even invest in this kind of displays. So educational.
<3 What I love
Affordable but good tasting ramen
Variety of side menu’s
Lovely interior design
</3 What I don’t like
Their glass for drinks is plastic. And is quite slippery or oily. Honestly I really don’t like the not disposable plastic glass.
FINAL VERDICT 4/5 stars! Affordable but not cheap. Totally recommended.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Thank you beshies for reading this. It’s been a while since I did a food review. I am starting a youtube channel too. I actually uploaded one video but I’ll tell about it more in the future. I’m still not confident when it comes to video medium.
No money for out-of-the country trip? No passport? No visa? No problem.
This resort from Cavite is a resort slash outdoor museum which will give you a chance to have a taste of around the world trip. This features the following landmark:
✈️Eiffel tower, Paris ✈️Statue of Liberty, New York ✈️Pyramids in Egypt ✈️Arabian Temple in UAE ✈️Santorini, Greece ✈️Pyramids in Egypt ✈️Garden of Morning Calm, South Korea ✈️ Disneyland Castle, Hongkong ✈️ Merlion, Singapore ✈️ Pantheon, Rome ✈️ Tower of Pisa, Italy
Others: Not able to capture in pictures ✔Netherland’s Windmill ✔Japan Arc
Opening Hours: ✈️ AM shift 8 am to 3pm ✈️ PM shift 4 pm to 11pm
How to Go from Manila ✈️Ride a bus from Edsa Pasay Terminal or PITX bound to NAIC, Cavite. Drop-off to Naic Crossroads. Landmark is Shakey’s or Jollibee. Pamasahe is around P178.00 each ✈️ Ride a tricycle straight to Torres Land Farm. P20.00 each person.
This is the basic rates for AM shift. If you don’t plan to swim, you can just opt for P180.00 entrance fee. Swimming for Adult: P200.00 Swimming for Kids: P140.00 Entrance fee is P180.00 (for picture taking only)
Pyramids in Egypt
Statue of Liberty, New York
Disneyland Castle, Hongkong
Tower of Pisa, Italy
Garden of Morning Calm, South Korea
Merlion, Singapore
Arabian Temple, UAE
Pantheon, Rome
Santorini, Greece
Eiffel Tower, France
Unfortunately, we were not able to drop by in the Windmills of New Zealand Area. They also have Japanese Area but it has special rates.
FULL RATES
Torres Land Farm resort also offers wide range if pools and overnight rooms. The following is published on their official facebook page in this link.
Base here on their map, they also have a Kayaking Area. We haven’t manage to check on that.
On our visit we availed a kubo cottage in the Philippine Area. It is worth P600.00 pesos for AM shift (8am-3am). But since there will be no occupant for the PM shift, they let us extend until we sign-off. This is the pool of the Philippine Area. Actually you can swim to other pools but since its the nearest to our cottage and we were also tired from all the picture-taking, we just opted to swim here.
LACK of FOOD KIOSK
This is very important to know. It is advisable that you bring your own food here. You can cook beside the cottage as there are a lot of grillers in the area that you can use. There are food stalls but nothing much like restaurant food to fill your appetite when you get super hungry. They have a cafe’ but the options are limited. We bought our food from Shakeys and Jollibee. These restaurants are one tricycle away from the resort. It would only take you less than 30 minutes to get there. We also bought a cake from Red Ribbon which is also nearby. I suggest you already bring food before you enter the resort to avoid the hassle. I also suggest to the resort to build a main restaurant aside from the cafe’.
FINAL VERDICT
💖What I like: Torres Land Farm and Resort is a really good and affordable place to bond with family and friends. Also recommended for team buildings because of its wide area. I also love that there are wide range of pools to choose from. The replicas are cute and detailed. I guess they will add more because there are still wide vacant spaces. And before I forgot, I also like their shower rooms and CR. They are clean and well maintained. They also have cool designs. I really love it. I should have took pictures of it.
👿 What I didn’t like about this resort is the lack of food kiosk. I suggest they build their own restaurant there. Or maybe acquire concessionaires. But other than that, I love everything about this resort.
💁 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars!
I hope you enjoy this blog as usual Would you believe , we are done with the first half of the year 2019! I hope that wherever you are, you are o your way in achieving your goals this year. And if you are lost, I hope you find direction along the way.
One of my travel goals is to visit Jomalig (pronouced as Humalig) Island. But for these past years, I was intimated with the fact that this would take a 6-hour boat ride. I don’t know if I can. But this year I finally gave in when WeekendExplorersPH invited me as a joiner on a tour group as they tailor an organized trip to Jomalig. Our group would consist of 14 people. A big group that would split the cost nicely as this is a DIY Jomalig trip.
Just a brief folktale about the origin of the name of the island. Long time ago, the leader of the island has a beautiful daughter. A suitor came to ask for her hand. However, the leader of the island gave him a challenge to win her daughter. And that is to spear 3 fishes in every seawater of the island. The man accepted this challenge but did not succeeded. As a consolation, he requested a kiss from the leader’s beautiful daughter. When the girl kiss the man, the people were shocked they started shouting “Humalik!” which means to “Kiss” in local language. Soon Humalik became Humalig and now spelled as Jomalig due to American occupation. Love these kind of tales! I have many questions though. So the girl also like the young man? What happened after that? Did they elope or something?
But that does not matter though. It’s time for the photo documentary of our trip to Jomalig Island.Our group meet-up place was in Petron along Boni Avenue. I am nervous because I know the travel time I have to endure and also, it’s my first time to be a joiner. I only know a single soul in this trip. (Main concern: Who would take my photos specially my bikini pics? :P)Our van departed from Boni at around 1am.
Some notes about the Van Rental (cost slit among 14 people) Driver: Mikel Calimag Rental Fee going to Quezon: P6,000.00 (to be split between 14 passenger) Driver Food: P150.00
Port Real Quezon
Then we arrived at Port Real Quezon at around 5 am, We took our breakfast around the area and finally got a chance to talk with some people in the group. It turns out I am not the only one who’s a joiner here. Also I felt relieved to see that our ride was not exactly on a small boat just like we had in Calaguas. We were about to ride on a ferry boat! With seats and a top load where we can lie and sleep!
Time check: Our boat departed the port at around 7 am.
Ferry at Real Quezon going to Jomalig
These are some scenes at the topload of the ferry boat. I totally recommend to grab a spot here if you want to catch some sleep. Also it’s not so hot there.
Sun rise
Someone old me that this pic looks like a drug trafficking scene. Haha!
Free lunch! I did not expect that our ride has a free meal inclusion. And I love the food. It tasted good, even better than my breakfast that morning.
The free luch aredeliverd by plate
My Jomalig Travel Buddies
Some notes about the Ferry Boat Trip (cost split among 14 people) Port Fee: P140.00 Environmental Fee: P2380.00 Boat: P5600.00
Arrival at Jomalig and Lunch at Ate Lara’s House
The ferry boat is prohibited to touch the shore. So we have to transfer another smaller boat in order to finally reach Jomalig Island. It turns out that we will be staying at the house of “Ate Lara”
In addition for the house, Ate Lara’s added service is cooked food. They welcomed us with Filipino staple food “Adobo”.
Introducing our temporary humble home
Even if we were tired and sleepy, one should not waste the opportunity the catch swimming time under sunset in Salibungot Beach.
Some cost notes. Split among 14 people Entrance Fee at Salibungot Beach 1400 Boat to Resort by Ate Lyra P840.00 Home Accomodation (P380.00 room, P200.00 papag only) P3800.00 Rice + Adobo by Ate Lyra P1010.00 Water + Ice 170.00
Home Accommodation by Ate Lyra Contact Numbers: Globe-09561048356, Smart-09307968665
Second Day: Habal-habal (Motorbike) Tour
I did not expect that the essence of Jomalig adventure is the motorbike tour. They can be acquired on the spot. Just ask a local or Ate Lyra’s assistance if want a habal-habal tour . I’m scared of riding motorbike because for me it is accident prone mode of transportation. It just feel so unsafe in the city. But of course, will I let my fear spoil my Jomalig trip? I have no choice!
1st STOP: Ang Puno ng Walang Forever (The Tree of No Forever)
The tree is lonely because it grew in the middle of a space or field. Likened to a love that will forever be unrequited so you end up alone like this tree. Due to that, it became immensely popular that it was one of the tourist destinations. Picture taking here comes with a minimal fee of P65.00.
The tree might be sad but it might be angry too. With all the tourist riding its branches for pics the whole day, it might be bottling some resentments to humans . I just hope that the tree will be taken care of. I sounded like a killjoy here somehow. Instead of climbing the tree I made make-believe photos of me riding the motorbike on my own.
By the way here some snaps of our habal-habal bikes and guys.
By the time it’s our turn to take a pic with the tree, the light rain fell causing some mist and confusion in this pic.
2nd STOP: Golden Sand
It was raining when we arrived here. So the photos are kind of gloomy. I prefer sunny days during travels. And this honestly bummed me out. I prayed that the it won’t be like this the whole afternoon.
The beach was rocky and the golden sand would have been shining under a summer heat.
But of course, we will still push through with our bikini pic plans. Although quite prankly I am not in the mood here.
Yep, totally not in the mood.
3rd STOP: Little Boracay
At last! The Lord heard my prayers. The rain went away and the sun finally shone above. Just in time because Little Boracay looks so great. The white creamy sand truly resembles “Boracay” the most popular beach in the country.
Finally I was able to proceed to take a lot of pics this time around.
Aside from swimming, you can chill while drinking fresh buko juice.
Here’s my new friend @ steffiiish who collaborated with me to have each of our own bikini photos. I am so lucky.
Free Lunch at Stranger’s Household because It Fiesta Season in Jomalig!
Now, to add our lucky stride with the weather, our habal-habal drivers invited us to eat lunch at a nearby town which was currently celebrating their Fiesta. It’s a customary here in the PH to invite and feed strangers during this times for free! We had lovely lechon kawali. If you are curious when we toured Jomalig, we went here from April 27-29. This is really a good time to visit Jomalig I must say. The household invited us for dinner too but of course, we declined politely this time. We don’t want to abuse their kindness.
4th Stop: KANAWAY
One of the most breathtaking sites here. Golden sand,clear waters and sandbar. A very serene place.
5th STOP: LINGAYEN BEACH aka LITTLE BATANES
Wow Jomalig really has something to boast about. It has nuggets of popular destinations in the country. I have never been to Batanes myself so I could not really compare. But it could have been because of the rock formation, the sight of the large waves and strong breeze why they call this the little Batanes of Jomalig. The long stretch of a golden sand is also a great sight here.
A “Lost” inspired group-pic
Photography by Pabs
End of Habal-habal tour
By the end of the Habal-habal tour, I could say that my fear of motorbikes was wiped away. For the first hours, both of our hands clinging to the driver’s shirt for our dear life. But by the end of the tour, we were taking videos and pics already. Below is the short clip of our ride. It was truly an enjoyable and exciting experience seeing vast fields and farm life on our way.
By the end of our adventure, I was thankful that this is a habal-habal trip. Because if its not, like if its inside a car, trike, or anything that has comfortable seat, I could have been tinkering my mobile phone to upload pics for myday or browsing photos in my camera. In habal-habal, we were forced to detach ourselves from mobile phones and strictly enjoy the views passing by. It also helps that there are little to no mobile signal along the way. It’s good to detach in digital world sometimes and appreciate God’s creation. Moreover, at the end, I trampled my fear of riding motorbikes.
Some Notes of Expenses. Split by 14 persons. Puno ng Walang Forever P65.00 (as group) White Beach/Golden Sand Entrance P260.00 (as group) Little Boracay P390.00 (P30.00 each per person) Kanaway Entrance: P650.00 (50.00 each person) Little Batanes: P650.00 (P50.00 per person)
Going Home
At around 9:00 am in the morning we traveled back to the port to catch ferry boat back to Real Quezon. Here we bought souvenirs while waiting. Here are some pics I captured at the port to catch some final glimpse of this paradise.
And once again, our ferry boat ride has an inclusion of free lunch. It was Mongo Stew for now. It tasted great.
Just a clip of our ride. I am just so amazed with the sights of the mountains and trees of nearby islands.
Notes on Expenditure Ferry Boat with lunch :P400.00 each Van Rental + Driver Meal: P6150.00
SPECIAL THANKS !!!
Special thanks to WeekendExplorersPH for organizing this DIY trip and doing their best to make this affordable convenient for the joiners like me. Like their Facebook Page here WeekendExplorersPH . They are team of adventure lovers dedicated in sharing weekend travel itineraries and affordable tour packages. You may like and inquire at their facebook page. Just click this link: WeekendExplorersPH
Introducing the couple behind the Weekend Explorers PH, Patrick and Ella.
Thank you all the boys of the group who did all the groceries, chores and cooked wonderful breakfast and dinners for the group.
The following photo is not mine. Credits to Ella of Wandering Explorers PH
Thank you also to Steffy for the patience of taking photos of me. Please follow her ig. She’s a certified adventurer who’s contantly conquering mountains. Read and be mesmerized by her adventure stories. This is the link of her ig: steffiiish
Here’s the summary computation for our group. As you can see below, the estimated expenses for each person was p3119.00. But bear in mind that this does not include other meal expenses we had. I suggest an individual should at least have P4500.00 and join a travel group for more savings.
Important Contact Numbers: 1. Van Rental + Driver: Fb: Mikel Calimag Contact Numbers: 09771557607,09567359807 2. Homestay Acommodation by Ate Lyra: Globe-09561048356 Smart-09307968665
And…that’s a wrapped! So is Jomalig worth the grueling 4-hour land travel and 6-hour boat ride?
A big YES! Jomalig surprised me with its variety of beach offerings; a beach with golden sand (sometimes pink),a beach one white sand , a beach with rocky formations and a beach with amazing sandbars. It boats nuggets of Boracay and Batanes. Not only pristine beach waters but it also showcases vast farm and field life sights. Everything rolled in one place that is Jomalig.
Thank you all for reading our Adventure. I hope you include Jomalig in your travel bucket list because it’s definitely worth it.
GUREZU 
