CDO – Camiguin – Bukidnon 2012 – Day 1 (Part 1)

I cannot wait to share with you my recent trip (October 12 - 15) in Cagayan de Oro, Camiguin and Bukidnon. It's the only time I got to see a beach after a year. My last trip (before this) was in February 2012 (Macau) and our itinerary there didn't really include chillin' by the beach. lol.

Our flight to Cagayan de Oro was booked a year ago via promo fare of, none other than, Cebu Pacific (Php1, 000+ / roundtrip)

Originally we're booked for September and in fact there were 5 people confirmed on this trip, but something came up in September and we thought of cancelling the trip already, good thing there had been some flight changes. 

Now some people do not actually know this - but any MAJOR flight changes by the airline you can have the trip rebooked without a fee within 30 days from the original flight schedule, but on the same destination, so we had to rebook it in October. 

Fast forward to October 12 2012...

Two of our colleagues had to cancel their ticket. Good thing another friend of ours was interested to buy one of the two tickets and come with us despite being there just last year. Thanks Mark! 

Our flight was at 4am from Manila, that means we have to be at the airport as early as 2am. The flight was surprisingly on time. We arrived at the City of Golden Friendship - Cagayan de Oro at 5:20am. 

Okay, we don't know what we were thinking at that time, but why the heck did we even take a jeepney going to.... I don't know! lol. We found ourselves in a gasoline station and from there we have decided to take a cab to bring us to Macabalan port. The travel time from the airport to the port was like 20-30 minutes.

(L-R from the top): At the CDO Airport, The Paras Beach Resort welcome necklace, My bed at the loft, The family room with loft, Port of Macabalan, View outside our room, Taking picture before take-off, Waiting for boarding with Val and Jaydee and again waiting for boarding with Mark. lol.

We arrived at Macabalan port at 6:00am. When we got there the ticket booth was still closed and since we're starving, we had to look for a place to eat. We saw some diners just across the port. It's not the usual diner we go to back in Manila as most of their food we saw there are new to our eyes and the only thing we recognised was the grilled pork. lol. 

By the time we got back to the port the ticket booth has opened and lines were starting to build up. As of writing, there are only two (2) ferry schedules from CDO to Camiguin and vice-versa, (8:30am and 4:00pm) The one way ticket costs Php600 /per pax. Travel time is 2hrs.

Reminder: The ticket booth closes 30mins before the departure time. Make sure to be at the port as early as 7am to catch the first and only ferry to Camiguin in the morning. 

I was really surprised that day, everything was running on time. The ferry left at 8:30am and arrived at the port of Benoni, Camiguin at 10:30am. 

As soon as you got off the boat you'll be swarmed by tour guides or drivers at the exit to book you for the city tour or hotel. Some will be very persistent even though you tell them to leave you hastily. lol. 

It really wasn't hard to negotiate with them though especially when I start to talk to them in their dialect. They speak ilonggo in Camiguin. Eversince I was a child, I have been introduced to this dialect as it is our household language, my mom happens to be ilongga/bisaya//muslim. lol. So, I am 1/4 of those. lol. 

My friends and I had a quick meeting under the tree.. lol. We called the resort to ask a few of their services. So if we're going to take the city tour service of the resort it's gonna cost us Php3000+ same tourist spots but with an air-conditioned van, plus Php800 to pick us up at the port, whereas at the port we were offered Php1,700 and then eventually went down to Php1,500 (Php375 each) same tourist spots but with a non-airconditioned multi-cab. The driver even offered to bring us to the hotel without extra charge, just to leave our things, when it was supposed to be an extra Php400. So you go guess which one we took. lol. 

The multi-cab wasn't so bad actually. The vehicle is so open, you get to see everything (360°) besides the weather wasn't so bad either, so we get to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine! The travel time from the port to the resort is 30-45mins. We told our guide that well just have our lunch at the resort and so he said he'll just wait for us outside. Wasn't that nice?! lol. 

Checking-in to the Paras Beach Resort at 11:30am, we were greeted with some welcome drinks and necklace, really lovely! The room is definitely suited for a family, Family-loft (Php3,500/per night - Php875 each) - It has a loft, 2 queen size bed and one sofa bed, refrigerator, TV with cable and safety box. I had to check the bathroom to check if it has a tub. hahahah! Yeah, I have this thing with bath tubs okay! lol. And no, it has no bath tub, but it's fine as long as it is clean and has tons of tissues. lol.

(L-R from the top): Me and Val, Approaching Camiguin Island, Done with our lunch, Lunch is served, The resort's pool, Buttered veggies and Praws in batter, View from the Gazebo and the infinity-ish pool  of the resort.

My friend had to call the room service to order our lunch and had it set up at the gazebo in front of our room. She ordered Camaro Rebosado (prawns in batter), Buttered Veggies and Pork Sinigang (tamarind based soup with pork and vegetables). A friend of ours who has been to this place before told us to try their fruit shakes, particularly the watermelon, so we ordered some.

While my friends unpacked their things, I was outside admiring the view - Bluish-white sky and clouds are scattered, green bermuda grass, and sort of 5 shades of blue I can see in the ocean. A fresh air is something you can barely experience now a days in Manila, and I can feel my lungs are thanking me for letting them experience a clean one in Camiguin. lol. 

Our lunch at the gazebo was so fantastic. I cannot help admiring the view. The resort boasts a picturesque ocean view and infinity-ish pool. From the gazebo you can see the famous island in the area "White Island" and I cannot wait to share with you the pictures we got there. 

We started our city tour as soon as we finished our meal. I'm so excited to share it with you but I had to make a part 2 of our day 1 as we did a lot of things that day. I'll shall post it as soon as I'm done. =)

The Great Microwarehouse Sale Is Sooooooo Back!!!

And yes it is back! No need to explain more guys! The picture says it all! 

Visit the Decagon Silver City - Frontera Drive corner Julia Vargas Ave., Frontera Verde, Pasig City

See you all!! 

Image courtesy of The Great Microwarehouse Sale Facebook Account

Coming Soon..

Oh yes.. And it is coming soon.. really soon.. I am excited!

Image courtesy of The Great Microwarehouse Sale Facebook Account

Why I Travel

“To travel is to live.” 

― Hans Christian Andersen, The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography

If there is one thing I want to do for the rest of my life it would be traveling. Unfortunately, I'm not a millionaire to do it. Have you seen George Clooney's film Up In The Air?, I really like that movie. He gets to travel anywhere (just to fire people). That's really cool yet very despondent. I felt bad for those people who got fired, I swear. But the thought of being able to see different places, just excites me. 

I don't mind waiting in a long line to check-in or delayed flights, even if I have to sleep at the airport to catch the earliest flight or even the last flight out, as long as they're not gonna cancel it. My love for traveling brought me to work in a US Airline company. That's why somehow, I get to have knowledge on some airline policies or codes as well as the DO's and DON'Ts on traveling. 

I have come to embrace the idea of traveling because of my mother. We always get to travel on different places on my early years. Remembering 2001, we traveled almost all over the Philippines, and I am talking about country's "edges"- from Aparri to Cotabato. That was a busy year, oh yeah it really was, to the point that I would plead to her that I be left at home as it's really exhausting going with her, you know when you are a teenager the only thing you wanna do was just to be in front of your computer. 

However, mother wanted me to experience the adventure, she wanted me to see a different life and not be ignorant with the other culture. That is why she make sure to bring me wherever she goes and thanks to her, through that, my zest for adventure has left me wanting more. 

Bataan 2004 and Tagaytay 2006

Zambales 2008 and Baguio 2010

And true enough, traveling, in my opinion, is more than just about the place or the locals, but also about the experience that it entails. 

The following are the reasons why I travel...

1. I love traveling because it teaches me the essence of adventure - Taking risk and being street-smart. The experience is my teacher, the place is my school and the locals are my schoolmates, that's how I grasp it. 

Activities I have performed on different adventures have helped me overcome aversion. 

• Zip-lining -  I have always been afraid of heights. You'll never see me standing on the edge of the escalator in a mall nor stand on the edge of the railings. But thru zip-lining in Palawan, I would like to believe that I somehow conquered my fear of heights.
• Bargaining - When you travel the last thing you wanna do is to overspend on "pasalubong" for friends or families. Thru traveling I have come to understand and appreciate the essence of negotiation or compromising. 
• Diving - I'm still working on that being fairly claustrophobic. Though my life and death experience with it was partly not inviting for a second round but at least, I tried. I took risk. 

Taking risk is what makes me a person today, one who does not live in fear. So try doing some risk, experience it and embrace it. 

Zambales 2009 and Cabanatuan 2011

Boracay 2011 and Palawan 2011

2. It makes me grounded and compassionate - You know, whenever I travel I get to realize that the world is more than just me. Other people are also encountering suffering more than I do, so stop complaining like you got the whole world on your shoulder. Traveling makes you recognize what a tiny place you occupy in the world, therefore it makes you to remain humble. 

• You may be the most beautiful girl in your place but on another world, you can be an another ordinary face. 
• Or you can be filthy rich in your hometown but on another town, you are just another pauper. 

And since you are able to travel it can only be attested that you got the means to pay for your needs or should I say more than what you need, and it would just hit you that you are indeed blessed to be able to do what you want. 

Batangas 2011 and Laguna 2011 (Company Outing)

3. Another thing about traveling which I turned to love is that it teaches you to be understanding and respectful - Being able to see and understand other culture makes you appreciate every tiny bit of difference you see on them. 

People sometimes can be very judgemental, we all are, especially on the issue of culture thus creating dissolution between people. 

We pass on judgement on people we see beyond norm, that's true. And it is not a good judgement, either, is it? I doubt. Especially if you are a fancy city slicker who has limited knowledge of other cultures. 

To think that we do not even make an effort to educate ourselves or understand why is the person is what he/she is. This is what happens if you are just in your comfort zone, you don't go out and see the world, your mind is closed to every possible existing civilization.

Therefore, let's stop passing judgement and try to be more understanding. 

Bohol 2010

Cebu 2010 and Bohol 2011

4. Oh and do not let me start with the food. Yes, I travel because of the food too. Every celebrated food on every places has a story, being a person who has always been allured with history, it makes the trip more interesting. 

• The Sisig of Pampanga, do you have any idea how it was created? 
• Why Puto Calasiao of Pangasinan is called "White Gold"
• And why there are a lot varieties of Adobo in our country?

A local on one of my travels have told me that, one could not claim she have been to a place unless she eats their food (delicacy) - Wood worm (Tamilok). Oh yeah, I did eat it. 

I think food is also what labels every place in a country. Like in the Central Philippines, when you talk about Cebu what else can you think about but their famous Lechon Cebu. Bicol, is known for its Bicol Express or when you say Laguna, Buko pie!! is what you say to your friends as for "pasalubong."

Food is something you do not want to miss when you travel. Take time to do research on things to eat whenever you are going to travel as it is also another way of showing respect to their culture. 

Hong Kong 2011

Macau 2012

Cagayan De Oro 2012 and Bukidnon 2012

5. One needs to loosen up, find herself and gather thoughts. I am not saying that I got the most stressful job, in fact I love my job, but one can only take so much. Everybody needs to destress. A city life can be very exciting. In fact very exciting, you have everything within your reach, one click of a button and everything moves without you getting a sweat. That's true. But don't you ever get tired of it? 

I like traveling especially on the country side because it is quieter that it makes you easier to hear yourself or your thoughts. There's just too much going on in the city, every thing is moving fast, you have keep up the pace just to be able to go with the flow of the city life.  

Well, just so you know, it doesn't hurt to keep things slow every once in a while. Turn off the data of your BlackBerry, leave behind your laptop and if you can do it, try not to watch a television. 

Get a pen and paper, write a song, poem or draw, rekindle your creativity. Make use of the surrounding as your inspiration. After all, God didn't create those grand mountains and spectacular ocean view for nothing. 

Camiguin 2012

I am not a traveler as what other people see me. Just like you I got obligations that needs tending. I only get to travel if my time permits and if I have means. 

Travel while you are young. Whenever I hear people booking flights to go somewhere, I get excited for them, especially if they go to places I have been, sometimes I offer to make an itinerary for them for free because I love doing it. 

What am I trying to say is that, life should not be filled with regrets and fear, you do not want to be looking back in your life and say, "I should have", "I could have" or even "I would have." If you have an opportunity to see other places, GO, as one should not be deprived with favourable circumstances. 

There are so much out there to discover and with today's life expectancy, I doubt you will be able to see all of it before you die. 

“It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way!” 
― Penelope Riley, Travel Absurdities

Images courtesy of Facebook friends and close friends :)