Fantasy World in Batangas as Photoshoot Venue

Published on April 7, 2019April 7, 2019 by Gurezu5 Comments

Fantasy World is supposed to be the Disneyland of the Philippines. However, due to lack of investors, the development of this amusement park went kaput. Nowadays, it is one of the the popular destinations in Lemery, Batangas for sightseeing and taking photos.

Last February 2019 I finally got an opportunity to have a photoshoot there. The client was the one who booked the place. These are the keypoints on how to reserve Fanstasy World as Photoshoot venue as of this writing.

Overall fee is P6000.00
- P5000.00 for the venue itself
- P1000.00 entrance fee for maximum capacity of 10 people.
There is no advance reservation. This is on first come first serve basis. You would visit and book the place as photoshoot venue on the day itself.
Bringing food from outside is not allowed. There are affordable silog meals available inside. I was not able to get the specific price but they were less than P150.00 each.
They have a nice dressing room or headquarter which could be a photoshoot venue in itself.

OTHER COMMENTS

To tell you the truth I didn’t like their CR. I hope they improve that in the future. The development of this amusement park may not proceed anymore but the place is still earning as tourist spot and photoshoot venue. When we were there, there were ongoing prenup and debut shoot aside from our own pre-birthday shoot. I hope it’s enough to put some attention with their CR.

But overall, Fanstasy land is a GREAT photoshoot ground. There are so much fantastic backdrops to choose from. From the lush greeneries from the sentimental feels of abandoned amusement rides. I would like to go back there myself for another fantasy themed shoot. To tell you the truth, we were caught off-guard with the weather. The sudden outpour of rain and drizzle interrupted our shoot numerous times. Photographers won’t mind being wet but our equipment were not weatherproof! I would like to have a photoshoot here with good sunny weather next time.

By the way I am the secondary photographer in this photoshoot. To have a different perspective from the main, I used 35mm fujinon lens which explains why my photos are mostly closed-up shots. Aside from photos, we also shoot the “Save the Date” video (see video at the end of this blog”. This photoshoot and video are included as a package of G2Photography Photoman and Photo Coverage which also covers the photography services on the day of the birthday party itself. If you’re interested, just click this link directing to their fb page.

Meanwhile the event organizer , props and costume including the party itself are provided by Daniela Party Needs. Click this link if you are interested with their services. Highly recommended.

I think that’s all for my short write-up. It’s time for photo flood! Please be reminded that the following featured photos were the only ones taken by yours truly.

DETAILS

Snow White

snow-white-1-3 (4) — Snow White and Her Castle

BELLE

CINDERELLA

BLUE PRINCESS

And here’s the “Save the Date” video which features more sights in Fantasy World. Videography and edit made by Zstarter Film.

Videographers/Editors: Zstarter Unciano Regino EJ Deliquina

Well of course,the crew should have pictures too!

The following photos are from G2photography, our main photographer.

Let me end this blog with a photo of a …

CAT!

I used FujiXT20 with 35mm F1.4 fujinon lens. Photos are edited through Lightroom.

That’s all folks! I hope you enjoyed this photo flood blog. Fantasy World is really a great photo venue and I think P6,000 is a affordable enough. Just be mindful of the weather so you can maximize the venue.

OVERALL CREDITS TO THE FOLLOWING:

Photographers: Gerard Dangca Mary Grace Sabado (G2Photograhy)
Videographers/Editors: Zstarter Unciano Regino EJ Deliquina (ZSTARTERFILM)
HMUA: Patricia Kyle Guintu
Event Organizer and Party Needs: Daniela Party Needs

Remember, you are all awesome!

GUREZU ❤

Let’s Connect!

FB: GUREZU BLOG

IG: instagram.com/gurezu

Bali of Batangas: Villa Jovita (A Review)

Published on March 11, 2019March 15, 2019 by Gurezu8 Comments

No doubt, I was able to spot this resort due to viral facebook posts. They were able to replicate the bird’s nest, the swing and other fixtures that I often see to almost all tourist who went to Indonesia. And the photos were really great! So when a friend from abroad came home and we needed a short getaway together, this resort easily won as a suggestion. Here are some important details and my final verdict in this resort.

HOW TO BOOK:

It was fairly easy. We just sent a message to Villa Jovita facebook page and asked for the rates of overnight rooms. At the time of our trip, only Nipa Hut Rooms are available. To reserve the room, we need to send the following details and eventually deposit P500.00 thru their BDO account within 2 days of confirming our interest to book. The rest can be paid upon checking in.

Details needed to book:

Preferred Date:

Full Name:

Contact Number:

No. of Guests: Accommodation:

HOW TO GO:

It was easy to commute too. All it takes is a bus and a tricycle. Back and forth.

Go to DLTB Bus Terminal in BUENDIA STATION and buy a ticket going to Lemery Batangas. We paid P204.00 each for the bus.
Upon arriving in the DLTB Bus Terminal in Batangas, you can easily spot tricycles around. Just mention Villa Jovita and they already know it. We paid P100.00 and that’s already for four of us.

DAY TOUR RATES:

The following rates are updated as of this writing (March 11, 2019) .

DAYTOUR : No Reservation for cottage
Daytour: 8am to 6pm

A. Weekends and Holiday Rate
👉Bali Corner P250
👉Riverside Pools P100
👉All Pools P150
👉All access P400

B. Weekdays Promo
👉Bali Corner P250 (Free Riverside Pool)
👉Bali Corner + upper pools P300 (Free Riveside Pool)
👉All access P300

C. Cottages are rented seperately
👉Table (P500)
Good for 10-12 person
👉Table (P600) River side
Good for 10-12 person
👉Open Hut (P800)
Good for 10-12 person
👉Umbrella (P300)
Good for 3-4 person

OTHER NOTES
👉No CORKAGE Fee
👉No Reservation and Room Accomodation
👉First Come First Serve

KUBO ACCOMMODATION FOR OVERNIGHT:

We got a KUBO for 2-3 persons for the price of P3000. We were four in the group but they allowed it since they think we would still fit in there. It has two bedrooms, one was an ordinary room, one was a mezzanine type room which was quite small. They provide two electric fans. It has no own C.R.

It comes with bedding and blankets. However, the towels were by request. There were no free shampoos and soap. So remember to bring them.

RESTAURANT and STORE

I love their adobo binalot! I ordered it as dinner and breakfast. They also have silog meals, cup noodles and frappe.

BALI CORNER

Of course, we came here for their highlight feature and took a lot of pictures. Here are the outputs. This would show a glimpse of the things you can see here.

PHOTOSHOOT RATES

I didn’t avail the photoshoot rates since the photos are non-formal and for fun. But since I saw debut photos in their fb page, I asked anyway.

A. Riverside Pools+Upper Pool+Bali Inspired Corner (Swing/ Nests) + Resort: P3000
Inclusive of:
👉 4hrs Duration
👉 6 Persons FREE on Entrance Fees
👉 1 Cottage

B. Riverside Pools+Upper Pool+Bali Inspired Corner (Swing/ Nests) + Resort: P5000
Inclusive of:
👉 4hrs Duration
👉 6 Persons FREE on Entrance Fees
👉 1 Airconditioned Room
👉 2pm-6pm

MORE BALI CORNER PICS

RIVERSIDE POOLS

This is not the only pools available. They have a pool with a slide but I was not able to take photos on that one.

Comfort Room

This is what I least like I suppose. I guess since this resort is popular and given the price, I expected something more. There is no any mirror in it where they could have easily install it with the big space in the sink area. There is only three shower area and one of them is not functioning. But their toilet has bidet so they got points for that. Overall, I won’t say it’s super dirty but it’s not that clean either. Their CR needs upgrading.

Final Verdict

❤️ What I like: the Bali Corner is really great for photoshoots and play-pretend you were in Indonesia. I also like that someone is closely monitoring the people in there for safety. I seriously love their binalot available in the restaurant. I also like their riverside pools because of the relaxing nature views. Additionally, It’s near Manila and easy to locate.

😠What I don’t like: They seriously need to upgrade their CR. I think with the overnight fee for the Kubo (P3000.00), they should have at least provided free shampoos or soap just like other resorts.

🙋 Gurezu rating: 3 out of 5 stars!

Hope you enjoy my another travel blog. It’s been more than a month since my last blog. February was a busy month for me and I got a lot of stories to tell. I hope my mind and hands could catch up!

Till next time beshies!

You are all awesome,

GUREZU ❤

LET’s CONNECT!

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Gurezu/

Instagram: instagram.com/gurezu

El Nido Adventure- Tour C (Palawan Day 4)

Published on January 22, 2019November 23, 2019 by Gurezu5 Comments

and Before we jump into the last day our Palawan Adventure, here’s our Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.

Hidden Beach

Off to our first destination is the Hidden Beach. Our journey going there made me realized why it was named this way. We have to swim, make our way through curves and giant rocks to reach this place. Actually we “cheated” the swimming part. The tour guides just instructed us to float and he pulled our life-jackets while swimming. If they didn’t drag us through the waves, we might have spent full hour swimming to reach the place.

.Just like before, a short time in the boat going to this island made me instantly hungry. The first thing, search for food or drinks. Here is a short clip of me ordering a coconut for P60.00 from the boat vendor.

Finally, this is me with my “buko”. Take note of the crystal clear water. Too bad we only brought mobile phone here. I did not dare to bring my camera anymore due to the damage it had from yesterday’s adventure. Also, it was kind of stressful to bring a full-blown camera. I was lucky that I had a reliable waterproof bag. If not, I would go home with a dysfunctional one.

SHIMIZU ISLAND

This island was named after a a Japanese diver who died while exploring the El Nido and eventually was found in the shore of this island. His surname is Shimizu.

The source of it’s name could be born out of tragedy but hey look at this! With its pristine water and white sand, being here is far from being tragic.

Of course, pardon me for having my photoshoot again. I travel for pictures with me in it.

Lunchtime in Shimizu Island

We spent longer hours here in Shimizu that any other island because this was the place where we had our lunch. This photo is an evidence on how my friends guarded our table. Their eyes fixated on the food. With the spoon and fork in their hands, they were so ready to attack.

What do we have here? Crabs, fish, liempo, eggplant salad, cucumber, banana , pineapple, coke and rice.

Snorkeling Area

Here’s one thing I hate about myself. I don’t like underwater activities. Snorkeling , Scuba Diving, and any other activities I might not know that involves a lot swimming and going into the deep. I’m not scared. It’s more like I easily get tired. The “I-am-going-to-die-tired” kind of way. But one thing I like about myself, I do it anyway. Who would like to miss the sight of the corals? I only lasted less than 10 minutes though.

SECRET BEACH…NOT!

What disappointed me in this trip is we have to skip Secret Beach due to large waves. A local said it should have been the highlight of tour C since it the most adventurous to reach. We have to swim through a small crevice in a cave before to enter this mysterious place. It also known as the real inspiration for a bestselling novel ” The Beach” written by Alex Garland. Although the novel was set in Thailand, Alex Garland derived the geography of the setting from Secret Beach during the time he spent vacation here in Palawan. So that’s we have missed. But safety first, right? And we can always go back.

Helicopter Island

This island was named this way because it is truly shaped like a helicopter in a distance. It is not the only thing that sets this apart from the other destinations we toured. The sand of this island is golden! A fresh sight from all the whites we have seen.

Here’s a short clip of our arrival in this island.

View this post on Instagram

Approaching the golden sand. #goldenbeach #elnidopalawan #travelph #travelclips #xiaomiyi #yicamera #yiactioncam #bloggersofinstagram #Travelph #travelgram #itsmorefuninthephilippines #travel #palawan #helicopterisland #beachplease #vitaminsea #dagat #beachph #beach #gztravels #stressreliever #stress #dealingwithstress

A post shared by www.gurezu.com (@gurezu) on Sep 15, 2018 at 10:40am PDT

And yes, photoshoot again and again!

Here’s a short clip of me just enjoying the waves and fooling around. I just let my action camera stood by a tripod. Enjoy the sound of waves that will surely calm any restless heart.

View this post on Instagram

TIP: When you feel stressed, one of the things you can do is to listen to the sounds of nature. One of them is the sound of beach waves. Of course we are not always in the beach. But we can always search online, plug our ears with earphones and close our eyes. Here is me contributing to the #soundOfWaves available online. This is captured while we are chilling in the Helicopter Island, the last beach from Tour C and our last stop overall for our El Nido Palawan Tour. It is unique among the beaches we visited because its sand is more golden than white. And that's why it is special. I'm glad I took some time to capture this moment. I miss the beach already. #goldenbeach #elnidopalawan #travelph #travelclips #xiaomiyi #yicamera #yiactioncam #bloggersofinstagram #Travelph #travelgram #itsmorefuninthephilippines #travel #palawan #helicopterisland #beachplease #vitaminsea #dagat #beachph #beach #gztravels #stressreliever #stress #dealingwithstress

A post shared by www.gurezu.com (@gurezu) on Sep 13, 2018 at 7:23am PDT

ENJOYING THE SUNSET AT THE PORT

Helicopter marked the end of our Palawan Adventure. But we couldn’t get enough. So even if we were tired, we went back to the port to watch the beautiful sunset. What a sight to behold.

But before I truly end this blog entry, I will share the awesome and affordable accommodation we had in El Nido Palawan.

St. John Island Pensionne House, Truly Affordable!

My friend booked the room thru Agoda. It has no fixed priced and is according to season.

But I just checked in Agoda now that I’m typing this and it is still around this price. You can also visit their official facebook page.

As of this writing, its P1,768 per night, 4 persons, inclusive of breakfast.

What I like about this place. It is spacious. It has t.v, aircon and clean bathroom. They also have towels for four. They also provided hot water and coffee. The free breakfast is satisfying enough. They also have other meal offering just in case you are too tired to dine outside. It is also just walking distance away from the tour ports which is convenient. And its really affordable. If you split the price per night to 4, it would only cost P442.00 person per night. However, please take note that we went there off-season. The prices may subject to change.

What I don’t like about this place is they don’t have free water. They do sell water but it was too expensive. A bottle of mineral water costs P40.00 which would normally costs around P25.00 at Manila 7-eleven. Generally, the price of groceries n El Nido Palawan was really steep. But it’s understandable considering we had super affordable accommodation here.

This is the dining area.

You can see the shore from this area.

They also have a mini-bar here which I had my self-portrait shoot. I have another blog entry for that. Their mini-bar was really cute. And it was completely empty! Here’s one of my photo. Check out more on my self-portrait indulgence on my other blog: Alone at The Bar (Photoshoot)

Finally! I finished my backlog from last year. It’s hard to pick my favorite part of the trip but I got to choose Shimizu Island because that’s where we got to eat. Haha!

I hope this Palawan blog series would help you decide to go on a Palawan adventure specially in picking your accommodation. If you are not from the Philippines and you are interested to go here, you must not really skip Palawan. This is truly a paradise.

Remember, it’s not too late for everything,

Gurezu ❤

Lets’ connect!

IG: https://instagram.com/gurezu/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Gurezu/

El Nido Tour A (Palawan Day 3)

Published on January 7, 2019January 7, 2019 by Gurezu2 Comments

Our real Palawan adventure began on our Day 3 in the island. We barely have enough sleep from the wedding event and the hours of traveling but we managed to wake up early. I mean we have to.

In El Nido, Palawan, tours are usually divided in to groups most commonly known as Tour A, B, C, and D. Each tour has its destinations. We only got two days left to explore the El Nido beaches so we couldn’t take all tours. When we asked the locals at the tour port, they recommended combination of tour A and C.

So for our day 3, we proceeded with tour A. The highlight of this tour was definitely the Kayaking Experience in Big and Small Lagoon. I didn’t help my team to row the boat because I was busy taking the video on how we entered the small lagoon through a narrow rock opening. It was specially hard because you have to wait for your turn and it took a while with a large number of tourist lining up also to enter the lagoon. But the hassle was all worth it. The water was perfect and the view was just magnificent. Below is the short clip of our Kayaking experience. The rest are some of the photos from each Tour A destination.

Big Lagoon

Our tour barely started and yet I am already hungry.

The boatmen were cooking our lunch already and I can;t help but to feel awfully hungry. — The boatmen were cooking our lunch already and I can’t help but to feel awfully hungry. We haven’t reached the first destination yet.

A Girl in a Red Bikini Manning the Ship. Well I have to divert my attention from the food. So it’s time to strut that red bikini I specifically bought for this trip.

A Lady in Red Bikini in Big Lagoon — We are already in Big Lagoon. I made it seem like its a stolen pic but it’s obviously not.

Awrahan in Big Lagoon. My beach shoes did not go well with my Bikini. But I have to wear this to avoid sharp rocks and corals.

Buko Vendor in Big Lagoon. — He’s a Buko (Coconut) Vendor sailing while selling fresh Buko to the thirsty tourists. And also some softdrinks.

biglagoon (62) — Selfie with my travel buddies. We still have the curls from the yesterday’s wedding.

biglagoon (102) — I spotted a hot looking foreigner couple kayaking over there. Damn, they got the beach bodies.

Ahh this is life. — Ahh this is life! Fresh Air! Sparkling Sea. Good weather.

Small Lagoon

Looking back to Big Lagoon while we are still waiting. — Looking back to Big Lagoon while we we were still waiting.

Finally here in Small Lagoon. We barely have photos here because I was afraid our boat will turn upside down if I move a lot. But hey, we didn’t come here for photos anyway. Just enjoy the ride.

Secret Lagoon

DSCF2092 — This is the small opening for the Secret Lagoon which is not a secret anymore because we were already here.

I found this lagoon not so special actually. — This lagoon not so special actually.

secret lagoon (103) — Maybe what made secret lagoon special is the difficulty of getting here. Our other two travel buddies did not make it due to strong waves. I was actually in the waters when I thought of backing out and swimming back to the boat. But the tour guide did not let me. Instead he pulled me into the waters until we reached the shore. It was hell of a journey.

DSCF2086 — Our tour guide which is also our photographer. He’s the one who did not let me go back to the boat when I freaked out. At least he proved that everything will be alright. And we managed to get here safely.

secret laggoon (12) — One of the reasons I freaked out was I did not trust my waterproof bag. My precious and expensive cameras were in there and I jumped into the water for the first time with it. Thankfully, it was reliable indeed. It also became my salbabida (floater).

A girl in the red bikini. — The shore outside the secret lagoon looks more awesome. It’s time for more red bikini action.

A Girl in a Red Bikini Standing Beside Big Stones

Lunch Time on the Boat.

Damn those boatmen are excellent cook!

Enseladang Talong — Eggplant Salad or Ensaladang Talong is a simple Filipino Salad composed of grilled eggplant, tomatoes, and onions. This is eaten as a side dish and is best if partnered with grilled fish and meat; it can also be eaten along with fried dishes such as crispy pata and lechon kawali. –from panlasangpinoy.com

Boat Food — Oh my God! These food were all cooked while we were sailing on the boat. Imagine the agony.

dscf2046 — It looks like I was just taking photos but I’m actually guarding the food. Waiting for the go signal to attack!

Grilled Pork! It’s no time for diet today.

7 Commando Beach

Coconut — The tour guide got this photoshoot idea.

That ends Day 3 of our Palawan Adventure. My favorite in tour A was the the 7 commando beach because it was really beautiful even from the distance. El Nido Palawan is truly a paradise and I totally recommend to all the foreigners who would want to visit the Philippines to never miss this place. But of course, we Filipinos should not miss this one too.

Tune in for our Day 4. There, I will talk about the affordable accommodation we took here in El Nido,Palawan.

Remember, it’s Not Too Late for Everything!

Gurezu ❤

Let’s connect!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gurezu/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gurezu/

Baker Hills and Astoria Wedding (Palawan Day 2)

Published on December 9, 2018January 2, 2020 by GurezuLeave a comment

Nothing much can be said with our Day 2. This day is for the wedding of our college friend and classmate. We had time in the morning and we managed to at least visit Baker Hills and Puerto Princesa Public Market to buy some goodies we can take home.

Baker’s Hills is literally the hills of bakers. They gather here to offer the best pastries and delicacies like hopias, cakes and bread at a very affordable price. it’s a shame that I had taken photos of it. But I assure you that at a price of P500.00, you can buy many goodies to take home it would be hard to fit it in a bag.

Baker Hills is not only for food but also a romantic site for photoshoot. There are a lot of cute fixtures spread all over the place. However, we were not able to maximize our time here due to we are on a tight schedule.

BAKERS HILLS — Baker’s Hills Goodies Room

Fake Bicycle. It does not move at all. Haha!

DSCF1629 - Copy — Snow White and the Seven Dwarves statues

Tree of Hearts — This is my favorite of all displays, the tree of hearts. Each heart has messages on it most of which are hugot lines. But there are sensible ones too like the one below.

ASTORIA PALAWAN

The wedding we attended happened in Astoria Palawan. I got a shock of my life and when John Arcilla was part of entourage. He’s one of the respectable actors in the Philippines today. Most notable for playing Antonio Luna, an ill-fated story of a Filipino General in times of Spaniards Colonization in the Philippines.

This is his blockbuster movie poster which is now available for viewing in Netflix.

It’s rare for me to completely doll up these days. So I took the opportunity to have many photos as much as possible. Sadly, the sea was on low-tide that day. It is a good backdrop nonetheless.

Girl in a Low -Tide Shore — A Girl in A Pink Dress in a Low-Tide Shore of Astoria Palawan

A Girl in A Pink Dress in a Low-Tide Shore of Astoria Palawan

Fabulous Comfort Room of Astoria Palawan

My Beautiful Travel Buddies — My Travel Buddies

My friend was the one subjected to the game of garter and flowers haha!

Right after the wedding we traveled straight to El Nido Palawan for our sea adventures. The travel time was about 4 hours. To say we were exhausted was an understatement. But we have to be in El Nido by the next morning if we want to maximize the tour.

Thanks for Blessed Journey Tours and Travel for bringing us safely to our destination.

And off on our next home in Palawan, St. John Island View and Pensionne House.

Tomorrow will be the Day 3 at last where the real Palawan Adventure took place! So excited to blog about the photos we took of the beautiful seas that is El Nido, Palawan.

That’s all folks for today.

Remember You Are Awesome!

Gurezu ❤

Iwahig Firefly Watching and Puerto Apartments (Palawan Day 1)

Published on December 8, 2018December 8, 2018 by Gurezu2 Comments

Arrival at Puerto Princesa

We were four in this trip but we had different flight schedules. I was alone in my flight and perhaps I arrived Puerto Princesa Airport around noon. I took a tricycle to bring me in Puerto Apartments where one of my friends was already waiting.

puerto apartments — Puerto Apartments details

I highly recommend this house to those who want a budget accommodation here in Puerto Princesa. It has complete amenities for cooking, has aircon and quite spacious. It’s near tourist attractions, markets and the airport. My friend booked this room for P765.00 per night its for four persons already. Incredibly affordable right? She booked it in Agoda.com by the way. I really liked our stay here.

Chilling while waiting for other friends

Beside Puerto Apartments was a restaurant named Coco Garden Cafe’. The place was relaxing but the food was quite expensive for me with respect to the quantity or servings.

I chose to eat Danggit to taste something native in this place. But I didn’t like it. The Danggit meat felt like a rubber and I had a hard time chewing it.

This is actually a chill day and we didn’t have particular plans. But I didn’t want to waste our time here in Puerto Princesa. So I searched the internet for an attraction nearby that we can also visit during nighttime. Iwahig Firefly Watching fits the bill. As soon as my friends arrived at around 5pm, I immediately told them to drop the bags and hit the road immediately.

Iwahig Firefly Watching

I have never seen a firefly myself. The visuals I know would only be from what I saw in movies and animations. So this got me really hyped.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

We traveled to Iwahig by renting a tricycle for P500.00 and that would transport us back and forth. We had to rent because transportation from Iwahig would be very difficult specially at night. Most people come here by car.
Firely watching is done by a 30-40 minute boat ride. Only three passengers + 1 tourguide can fit a boat. Since there were four of us, we were later merged with a couple in one package of P1800. So that would be six of us in that fee. Then we split in to two boats.
There is a buffet restaurant here for P250.00 each person.
There are a lot of mosquitoes here. I had to buy a repellant eventually because my legs were bombarded with itchyness.
There is an official photo during the boatride. It costs P50.00 per print.

Iwahig Firefly Watching — of course, the life vest is a must!

The boatride was a little bit scary because it was super dark. But once you get near with the trees and see the fireflies lit up together, it was really cute. However, don’t expect too much that they will come of as magical sight. The fireflies are quite too far and they are too small. It doesn’t looks like the movies. But still I enjoyed it. The boatman which was the tour guide as well had told as many stories about Philippine fireflies during the ride. He said that the existence of fireflies in a place means a clean environment. This was the reason why you won’t see a firefly in the city. Another interesting thing we encountered here are the sparkling planktons. If you shake the riverwater, the planktons will sparkle. However, the most memorable thing that happened has to be when the firefly flew near our boat and actually landed on my palm. It looked like a mosquito but with lightbulb on its tail. I wish I had taken a photo of it.

Like I told you, the river was so dark my camera had no power to capture anything. These are the only things that I captured while the boat was sailing. I eventually gave up and just kept my camera in a waterproof bag. I advise, just focus on watching the fireflies and disturbing the planktons when you get here.

By the way, here’s the official photo of our ride. They edited the firefly glows in the picture. That was funny. It costs P50.00 to get a copy.

After that, we retreated back to the Puerto Apartments and get ready for our adventure the next day.

That’s it for the Day 1. I hope this blog will contribute to your ideas in planning your Puerto Princesa Palawan trip. Because this is a really worthy experience.

Remember, you are awesome!

Gurezu ❤

Filling Station Bar Cafe’ is a Time-Machine

Published on November 8, 2018January 2, 2020 by Gurezu8 Comments

I just want to share how I’m so delighted with this restaurant. And it’s not hard to tell that the reason was it is instagrammable. (Well aside from the food food). We came here after we had dinner in Firefly Roofdeck Dining Firefly Roofdeck Dining. Our stomachs were already full so we were just looking for desserts and for more pictures. Filling Bar Station Cafe’ was just perfect. I heard that the milkshakes here were great. More importantly, this restaurant is popular because this is “Riverdale-inspired”. I was not watching Riverdale but it was still thrilling how this restaurant transports you to old American restaurants in the 50’s.

Restaurant: Filling Bar Station and Cafe’

Cuisine: American

Exact Location: 5012 P Burgos, Makati, 1210 Metro Manila

Opening Hours: 24 hours in 7 days

Parking: Not sure on this one.

Contact : Official facebook page

fillingstationbarcafe@gmail.com

Number: (02) 897 2053

This car fixture is the highlight of the resto. It’s actually just one of the tables which you can occupy with minimum consumable order of P 3000.00 .

and the photoshoot ensued.

Most kids nowadays probably has not experienced calling by this rotating dial phone.

Fooling around with Elvis Presley.

And now enjoying the milkshakes. I must say the milkshakes tasted great. One of the best!

My brother insisted on tea only because he’s on a diet. But he wanted to take a photo and pretend he’s drinking beer.

Will I go back here? Of course! We only spent 1 hour only here and there are too many fixtures to interact to.And there’s the food I haven’t tried yet. . I even didn’t catch the details for the milkshakes. Maybe I’ll go back with my friends next time. It’s perfect for late night chikahan since it’s open for 24 hours.

Repeating the details:

Restaurant: Filling Bar Station and Cafe’

Cuisine: American

Exact Location: 5012 P Burgos, Makati, 1210 Metro Manila

Opening Hours: 24 hours in 7 days

Parking: Not sure on this one.

Contact : Official facebook page

fillingstationbarcafe@gmail.com

Number: (02) 897 2053

No-hassle Roofdeck Dining at Firefly Makati

Published on October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 by Gurezu11 Comments

FIREFLY ROOFDECK DINING!
No reservation needed! No entrance fee. You also don’t need to leave an ID in the hotel reception. Have a taste of feeling elite while enjoying the Makati City View in Firefly Roofdeck Restaurant. Located at the 32nd floor of City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati. Complete address is 8008 Makati Avenue, Corner Kalayaan, Makati, 1200 Manila, Philippines. Super easy to locate thru Grab.

Why this place is great?

Well first and foremost, you’ll get to enjoy the skyscraper’s view of Makati. The city lights makes the atmosphere romantic. That’s why most people dining here are couples.

2. It’s not only for couples. This place is also great for portrait shoots. Just like what I did with my family. I brought them here because I was looking for a new place to celebrate my birthday. And then I learned about this place through the web. It was an abrupt plan actually. But because they are with me, they know I chose this place for instant photoshoot session.

3.Affordable food. Well of course it’s a little bit more expensive. But considering the atmosphere and the view, this is now affordable compared to most high-end restaurants. They offer different cuisine ranging from Spanish, Filipino, Japanese and Korean. They also offer beer and cocktails.

Lechon Sisig for P350.00. This is already okay for 2-3 servings.

To give you an idea, here’s a glimpse on the menu. The Japanese and Korean dishes are in buffet package in P800+. This is grabbed from zomato.com

Pasta is popular with the dating couples here.

The veranda seats has waiting list and can only accommodate up to 3 persons only. But for the seats inside, there is no waiting list. And you can freely take photoshoots in veranda as well.

So if you’re in Manila and thinking of a romantic dinner with your partner, you can now consider Firefly Roofdeck Dining.

If you have other places that offer the same dining on a roofdeck around Manila, please leave a comment below. I’ll gladly visit it.

It’s not too late for everything ❤

GUREZU

———-

Let’s connect!

Please like my fb page: Gurezu Blog for more pics.

Instagram: instagram.com/gurezu

A Rainy-day Relaxation in Luljetta Hanging Gardens

Published on August 21, 2018August 21, 2018 by Gurezu6 Comments

Luljetta is a spa-resort located in Antipolo. It promises relaxation and commune to nature spa facilities . It is getting popular nowadays so we went here to celebrate my mother’s birthday since it is not too far away from Manila. Truth to be told, it is a great place. Here’s the list of what I would remember about this place.

1. The Welcome Golf-kart Ride. Actually it’s not far from the entrance to registration area. But Luljetta don’t want their guests to feel tired. So they will welcome you with a golf-car ride.

2. The thrill of choosing our bathrobe for the day and slaying it.

3. When we can’t stop laughing with Dr. Fish. It was so damn ticklish! We were laughing our hearts out. It took a long while before we were finally get used to it.

Here’s the video of our hardship to get along with Dr. Fish.

3. The relaxing skyline view of Antipolo. The silhoutte of Manila is also totally visible from Luljetta Cafe’

That’s Manila Metropolis right there.

4. The delicious food at Luljetta Cafe’. Along with the basic package, they offer “Antipolo’s Best Suman” and lemongrass tea. The suman is something you must not miss. The rice is crispy then soaked in honey and showered with bits cashew nuts. The combination was perfect and it was truly enjoyable chewing it. I already miss it while typing this.

I love the presentation for this one but this is the food we like the least among our orders. I actually forgot what it is but I remembered it was sour. And I’m not a fan of sour foods.

Sesame Fried Chicken. Not an ordinary-tasting chicken. I also love the sesame sauce that comes with it.

Steamed Fish in Fish Soya Sauce. I also love this one. Totally recommended.

5. Of course the Luljetta Cafe’ itself is unforgettable. It has colorful interior and what I love the most is their art gallery made by our local artists.

4. The Water Spa and a sweet couple we encountered during our stay here. If you are familiar with ACE Water Spa, this is the amenity that corresponds to it. In water spa, the water do the massage. It was kind of disappointing moment though that one of their water spa machine is not working during our visit.

Meanwhile I hereby introduce to you my bitter sister. A big thanks to this couple who cooperated in our impromptu shoot.

Couples should be banned here! hmp!

Yakapin ko na lang sarili ko tutal I love myself naman e.

I will hug myself because I also love myself.

May sarili naman akong kamay para hawakan..akala niyo kayo lang?

I have my hands to hold. You are not the only one.

Ano ba ‘yan???? Isang tao lang dapat per slot e.

What the f??? Only one person should be on one slot. Grrr!

My face be like…smile lang kahit inggit na inggit na.

As for me, I only care about slaying my bikini. haha!

5. The cute cottages, kubo and houses. This places would be perfect for catching-up conversations with friends, taking a nap or even drinking a cup of coffee. Some rooms have available do-your-own coffee features.

6. The Infinity Pool.

Actually we were not the only people here. It suddenly rained at this moment (with thunder and lightning) and I was not brave enough to submerge myself in to the cold water.

7. Things we have missed. Our package is only the most basic one. It was not enough to enjoy all amenities. We haven’t tried their specialty massage, sauna and jacuzzi. They also have overnight-stay inn here but we haven’t tried that as well since we have other plans.

Sauna rooms.

Jacuzzi.

8. The free souvenirs! When it’s time to go. You can choose either bracelet or rosary as a remembrance. I chose the latter.

Overall, I truly love our stay here in Luljetta Hanging Gardens. It was generally a rainy day but that did not completely spoiled the relaxation we got here. I won’t mind going back. I’ll probably getting the more expensive package next time. Like the one with massage. However, the rooms they offer is quite expensive for me and I don’t see myself trying that in the future.

HOW TO BOOK

Officially, the booking for Luljetta Hanging Gardens is in this site https://www.bienvenidotours.com/luljettas-place.html . You would be needing a paypal account, credit card or mastervisa debit card. It is advisable to book it in 3-7 days in advance. Below are the summary of their package. This came from their official fb page in this link. I also highligted the package that we bought.

2. Once you check-out your booking, you will be receiving an email from Bienvenido Tours which includes your receipt.

3. You will now be asked on the details of your arrival and contact number.

4. It is important to keep a digital copy or print-out of the receipt upon registration.

HOW TO GO.

There are many ways to go here but here’s the one we took since we were coming from Manila. For other ways, here’s the link for route suggestions.

Go to LRT2 Recto Station. Select Santolan bound station.
From Santolan Station, ride a Antipolo Cathedral bound jeep but ask the driver to drop you off the Antipolo City Proper.
From Antipolo City Proper, ride a tricycle going to Loreland Farm Resort. Luljetta Hanging Gardens is inside this resort too.
Going back to Antipolo City Proper is also through tricycle.

See the part 2 of our Adventure: Witness No-Sweat Sea of Cloud in Treasure Mountain

Do you know a place that is also rainy-day friendly? Hit the comment and let me know!

Remember, it’s not always too late. Get the life you want!

Gurezu ❤

No-sweat Sea of Clouds of Treasure Mountain

Published on July 2, 2018January 2, 2020 by Gurezu20 Comments

The moment I saw Treasure Mountain in Facebook, I know I have to go there someday. It promises an easy pass to “sea of clouds”. You don’t have to climb a mountain so to speak. Not that I am not fond of climbing mountains. Sometimes you just want to relax, take things easy. You want to take selfies in the mountainside without looking haggard and sweaty. (This is great for pre-nup shoot actually. I saw this in their page.) Manila habitants would also rejoice since it can only takes 3 hours to get here. More importantly, this is for the people who are incapable of climbing mountains for health reasons. In my case, I brought my mother here. I can never bring her to rigorous hiking. But thank goodness , there is treasure mountain.

Allow me to manage your expectation first. There is NO GUARANTEE you’ll see sea of clouds. It depends on the mood of the nature. But on the morning of June 24, 2018, we got super lucky.

Treasure Mountain is located at Sitio May Sawa Brgy. Cuyambay, 1980 Tanay, Rizal. I will categorize the ways to go here in three modes.

A. Chillax Mode. There is less commuting efforts and there is definitely no hike involved. Straight to the mountain beshies.

Go to Tanay Public Market with this 3 options.

From Starmall in front of Megamall, ride a jeep or FX (UV express) going to Tanay Market
From MRT Cubao, ride an FX or Jeepney going to Tanay Market.
From LRT Santolan, ride FX going to Tanay Market.

2. From Tanay Public Market, ride a tricycle straight to Treasure Mountain. This will cost P500.00. I think that could accommodate four persons already, as long as you fit in one tricycle. I got our trike near Puregold, somewhere around Public Market.

B. Adventurer Mode. I called it this way because it takes a lot of commuting and it gives you an opportunity to have 20-minutes trek to sea of clouds.

Ride a van or jeepney going to Cogeo Gate 2 or Padilla
Ride a jeepney bound to Sampaloc, Tanay
Get-off at Sitio Maysawa, waiting shed or the jump-off to the Maysawa Circuit
Trek for 45 minutes or take a tricycle to Treasure Mountain

C. Detour Mode. We did this one unexpectedly.

We came from Antipolo because we visited Luljetta Hanging Garden first. The original plan is from there, we will travel to Treasure Mountain and stay overnight. I even reserved a room. But there was quite a heavy rainfall. Aside from that, all jeepneys going to Tanay were all full. Tricycle from Antipolo woudn’t even agree to bring us even in Tanay Market because it was too far. I was highly discouraged and actually decided to go home already. We stopped by in a restaurant in Morong to have dinner. We had a chitchat with the crew there and they suggested we stay in a low-cost apartelle nearby to rest then just travel at 2 am. We decided to take this advice.

This is Hanson’s Apartelle in Teresa, Antipolo and it have crazy low rates. Great for the people who went on Antipolo tour. Or people who want to have shorter travel time for their tour in Tanay, Rizal.

We took the 6 hours Aircon room. This is for two people only. We just added P100.00 for extra person. So all-in-all we spent P550.00 pesos. Not bad right?

This is the room. There’s no much facility here. No wifi, no extra outlet, the t.v was old. I But who would I to complain? It is expensive and a truly decent room to stay for a short time. The CR is okay too. It is clean.

At 2:30 am, we took a jeepney going to Tanay. We dropped-off Puregold near Tanay Public Market and immediately got a trike going straight to Treasure Mountain. Even though it was still dark, we already saw a LOT of sea of clouds along the way. I was so happy.

REGISTRATION

I am quite disappointed with this one. We arrived at around 4:30 am. But we were greeted with an empty registration area. (Well except dogs were there.) I read that the day tour starts at 4 am so I expect that it would open at this time. Time is of the essence for me. Sea of clouds may disappear And I need to set-up in a good spot for photos. Also we were also there for the sunrise. I think the staff arrived at 5 am.

Entrance fee is only P 150.00 each person for DAY TOUR.

But there’s no time for bad vibes. Sea of Clouds is waiting for us and we have to hurry!

I intentionally brought this skirt for awra purposes haha!

Nang umakyat si Inang Kapatagan sa Kabundukan…

The Sea of clouds rose up from where stood. There was a moment of zero visibility here. If this is water, we were drowned for sure. But this is clouds and we are happy to drown. Now, it’s great for coffee drinking session.

FOODS and DRINKS

After taking so much photos, it’s time to get hungry and satisfy our coffee cravings because of cold temperature. Treasure mountain has a small restaurant which is open from 6 am to 9pm.

These are the rates of the food here. It’s quite pricey for silog meals but reasonable since we’re on top of a mountain. Coffee by the way is P20.00 per cup.

Another resto option that I haven’t tried is The Lounge at Treasure Mountain.

These are some of the dramatic photos I took

Thanks to my sister for assisting me for these shots taken during sunrise.

RATES SUMMARY base on Treasure Mountain fb page as of October 5, 2017:

Entrance Fee

Day(4am to 3pm): P150.00
Over- night(4pm to 1pm): P200.00

Overnight

Tent Pitching: P300.00
Tent Rental: P500.00 / tent for a capacity of 2 persons, P800.00 / tent for a capacity of 4 persons
Sleeping mat rental: P200.00
Room Lodging: P500.00 minimum of 2 persons and maximum of 5 guests. Sleeping mat inclusive.

Side-Trip

Bosay Falls : P500.00 for tour guide, maximum of 5 guests

Cars are welcome to go directly here but be warned that there are parts of the road that has still no pavement year. This will be on the driver’s discretion.

They have decent CR too. Quite muddy and dark but understandable since this is on top of a mountain.

Going back to Tanay Public Market is easy too. There’s a tricycle terminal just walking distance away from Treasure Mountain.

That’s all for now. I have a lot of videos here that I have not processed yet. Overall, this is a beautiful place for relaxation and mountainside photo-ops. It’s inexpensive and require no long travel time from Manila. The cons are late opening of Registration area and very slow-response in their fb page. My reservation for a room took about 4 days to be processed. But still, I will definitely come back here because I haven’t roamed the area. I have missed beautiful spots for more photo-ops. And I haven’t done the original plan of Astrophotography practice here.

For inquiries, here’s the link Treasure Mountain Fb Page.

Bye Beshies for now!

I’ll leave you with this GIF.

And this BTS photo taken by mother that I’m really fond of.

And a MORAL LESSON!

RAIN is not always a bad thing. After the rain, there will be rainbows. And also SEA of CLOUDS! (Wew that was deep -_- ….)

Kidding aside, if we gave up because of the heavy rain, we would have not seen this breathtaking view. That translate to real life as well. So don’t give up with life struggles. Always looks for detour to get what you want.