The Islands of Caramoan

February 15, 2013 - After 2 outbound flight cancellations, one return flight schedule change, and series of itinerary changes, I was able to finally come up with an itinerary for our long awaited Cam Sur trip. The expectations were not really set and not enough information was gathered through my research, so I have to blindly draft whatever is available for a temporary getaway.

We left NAIA at 9:30 a.m. and arrived at WNP (Naga - Pili Airport) at 10:25 a.m. I have arranged our Caramoan trip with Traveler's Camp. We were picked up at the airport at 10:30 a.m. and went straight to Sabang port.

After an hour trip from the airport to Sabang port, we had to wait for another 2 hours for the next motorboat to Guijalo port. It wasn't a good idea to have us wait for that long (Two thumbs down for Traveler's Camp). There was not any activity in the port that can be offered for tourists in order to kill time, so we had no choice but to entertain ourselves by eating lots of junk and taking pictures (poor kids lol).

After an hour and 45 minutes, boarding finally commenced.

The boat ride to Guijalo port took 2 hours (as opposed to an hour ride set at the start of the trip) and was not so convenient because the boat was small and the leg room is not enough for an adult traveler (another two thumbs down).

At the Guijalo port, we had another transfer to Traveler's camp and we arrived at 5:00 pm. We were scheduled to have our island hopping on that same day but we were all so dead tired because of the long transfers, so we decided to reschedule the trip to the islands the next day and rest after our late lunch.

Dinner was set at 8:00 pm and it was a feast of sea foods (Okay, they're trying to get even). After dinner, we spent time at their videoke area over some bottles of beer.

Lights off (End of our last set): 12 midnight

February 16, 2013 - We woke up at 4:00 am to start our Island hopping. We left the camp at 5:00 am.  

This is the most unique island hopping experience that we've all had as we had no visibility of the ocean. The boat man only used a flashlight to check if there are barriers on our way  to the next island. It's like an escape from Alcatraz. After 45 minutes boat ride, the sun started to peep and we have started to see some of the islands from afar.

It was still dark when we arrived at the first island, but this did not prevent us from taking pictures. The island was the best. The sand is white and powdery and is so perfect that I don't have enough words to describe the place (thumbs and toes up for the white beach). Our trip has finally paid off. It was all worth it.

We stayed at the first island for 30 minutes and moved to the next island where we had our breakfast.

After our kamayan breakfast, we headed to the next island for swimming and snorkeling.

The last island was 15 minutes away from the third and we played, swam and took pictures with the rock formations.

The trip was all worth the long wait. We sailed back to the Caramoan proper to prepare for our next destination: CWC

A Visit to the City of Pattaya

January 31, 2013. After our amazing Bangkok trip, we headed straight to Pattaya. We hired a hotel taxi and it took us almost 3 hours to reach our hotel, Royal Orchid Pattaya. It is 0.5 km from the beach, has an outdoor pool and a 24-hr restaurant.

There are several interesting places to do in this city, and we were lucky because we are close to the venue of the WTA Pattaya Open where Ana Ivanovic played and competed with other great tennis players from all over the world.

Among the many interesting places, my favorite is the One Million Years Stone Park where we have met the elephants, giraffes and zebras up close and personal.

Another attraction that amazed me most is the mini Siam. It is a mini version of Thailand in one and has almost all the attractions in the country and some famous landmarks from all around the world.

An Amazing Bangkok Experience

January 29, 2013 - It was a crazy Tuesday morning as I had to rush on almost all things and to make sure that all are accounted for before my 5-day vacation. My long list of New Year's resolutions had wise money spending on it so I had to consider taking a shuttle to the Clark airport instead of adding mileage to Blued or Silverwind and save possible conversion of potential to kinetic energy. I went straight out from Monday shift to check a Philtranco shuttle service to Clark to bring us to DMIA. It was only 1:00 pm when we arrived at the bus terminal and our flight is at 8 in the evening. We took the 2:30 pm trip and arrived DMIA just on time - three hours before flight. We arrived BKK at 11:00 pm and had stayed at an airport suite for an overnight stay. The locals are friendly but only few of them speaks and understands English (which somehow made our trip complicated and inconvenient because we need to always ask for someone who understands English). 

We took the airport link (MRT) to our next hotel, The Baiyoke Sky Hotel, which is close to one of the train stations. It is the tallest hotel in Thailand and we stayed there for a night. It is close to almost all the shopping areas and is very accessible to public transportation.

The hotel has a revolving roof and an observatory deck where you can view the city in a 360 degrees perspective.

We spent the hotel day within the area of Ratchaprarop where most shopping areas are located and where the Baiyoke Sky Hotel is. The hotel is very well recommended. There are several things to do inside the hotel - boutiques are located at the lower floors where you can shop all day long. Thai food and coffee are best enjoyed while mastering your swing and shots at the golf area. They also have fruit buffet located at the 18th floor and will surely satisfy your taste buds. Bathing under the sun on the 20th floor combined with a relaxing thai massage and an hour in the gym will truly make you stress and worry free.

The relaxing stay at the Baiyoke Sky Hotel started our great Thailand experience. There, we met a Filipino receptionist and has given us tips and contacts to our next destination, Pattaya. After checking out, we visited the temples, also known as "wat". The Grand Palace is simply amazing and so are the rest. 

After roaming around the temples, we had to bid goodbye to Bangkok for a while and say hello to our next destination, Pattaya. On our way there, we passed by several good monuments situated in almost every street intersections and they are all amazing.

Next stop: Pattaya