Category: Leisure Travel

Manila to Baguio bus with CR: Joy Bus (Genesis Bus Deluxe)

We ran out of seats at Victory Liner Deluxe Bus that’s bound for Baguio on our preferred time because we tried to reserve seats only a week before our trip, and our trip was during a long weekend. Oops! My companion’s sister suggested Joy Bus (Genesis Bus Deluxe) instead, which also provides deluxe bus with a CR (comfort room) in the bus, allowing travel with no need for stopover. The lock of the CR door was broken during our Manila to Baguio trip, as well as the one going back to Manila. It’s very inconvenient, but I would reserve a seat at Joy Bus again as long as I’m seated beside the CR so that my companion could watch the door for me while I’m in the CR. :p

Manila to Baguio via Joy Bus

Joy Bus at Avenida had the schedule we wanted and so we reserved our bus seats via iWantSeats.com.ph. We paid for the reservation via bank deposit. There’s a reservation fee, around P30 per seat, but I think it’s worth it because I was able to reserve a seat online. No need to visit a Genesis/Joy Bus terminal.

October 29 at 12:30AM was our Manila to Baguio trip schedule with Joy Bus. Our bus left Avenida terminal at 12:37 AM. The conductor distributed bottled water and blankets. No snack was distributed because according to him, they ran out.

The seats were comfortable and reclinable. They also had seatbelts. I couldn’t sleep in the bus though, because of the rocking of the moving vehicle. I guess it’s a personal issue for me. 😆 I tried to recline my seat all the way, then lifted the foot rest, and tried to sleep. I kept sliding down my seat whenever the bus would stop from a high-speed movement. ^_^ I think that if the seatbelt on my seat wasn’t broken, I wouldn’t have slid down so often.

The lock of the CR was not working. The CR was clean though. It’s like the CR you’d find at airplanes.

Baguio to Manila via Joy Bus

Time to go home! We reserved seats for our Baguio to Manila trip with Joy Bus when we reserved the Baguio-bound seats. The lock of the bus’ CR was still broken. I think we had the same bus that took us to Baguio. But this time, fortunately, our seat was right beside the CR so we could easily warn other people when someone’s occupying the CR. It would be a very uncomfortable moment to open the CR door to find a person with pants down, wouldn’t it? 😆

We also found out that the “WC” text on the CR door is the indicator whether the CR is occupied or not. If it’s yellow, there’s no one in the CR, and if it’s red, it is occupied.

Our Baguio to Manila trip was supposed to be “Baguio to Avenida terminal” but while boarding, we were informed that we will first pass Cubao to let other passengers to go down at that station/terminal. Then the bus would pass Quiapo on its way to Avenida, according to the conductor.

We left 2 minutes early, at 3:58PM.

Also, this time, the conductor gave us snack (Hansel mocha) with the bottled water. Yay! No more blankets this time though. I guess they only give us blankets if the trip is during hours when all passengers are expected to be asleep, like around midnight.

The conductor was maasikaso. I saw him fixing all the curtain gaps so that the bright sunlight don’t hurt the eyes of the passengers. 🙂

We arrived at Avenida terminal around 9:20 PM. Not bad, I think.

November 3, 2016
Rama Beach Resort – photos & review (Botolan, Zambales)

This was an old draft that took long to get published. 😆

The Travel

My bottom hurt from the long bus ride.

At Monumento, we took a bus bound for Iba, Zambales. The travel was over 5 hours, if I remember correctly. We had stopped over places several times, for not a short period of time. 🙁

Also if I remember correctly (Hehe, my bad for not posting this sooner), the fare was about 300 pesos per person.

The Restaurant

On our first evening we were told we can go to the restaurant for dinner until 9:30PM, so being tired from the 4-hour bus ride from Manila, we took a nap until 8PM only to find that the restaurant had already closed! We talked to a staff at the reception area, and they said that the restaurant closed because they THOUGHT we were already asleep. I think it’s not good to close the restaurant earlier than the stated closing time because of the “assumption” that all guests were already asleep. The good thing was that they still accommodated us — they fetched the chef from home back into the resort’s restaurant just to cook for us, so thanks!

We LOVED the Buko Pandan Shake. It was so creamy and has a distinct coconut taste. We tried mango and ube shake too and they were good too, but buko pandan is still their best, in our opinion. Their shakes are all smooth and unlike regular shakes, don’t have small crushed bits of ice that kind of get in the way when I sip from the glass. The Italian pizza was also nice.

The Beach

We came to Rama Beach Resort on a weekday – Thursday. We had the beach almost to ourselves and it was really clean. I didn’t like many “plants” floating because they kind of got in the way, but I put up with it. It’s part of nature anyway.

There were too many waves to just relax in the beach water. But we got used to it and had fun, going against the waves. 😆 The waves kept pushing us back to the shore, and it was as if nature didn’t want us to go farther into the sea. 🙁

The sand surface beneath the water was uneven, probably caused by the waves. But it didn’t feel unsafe.

The shore only became rocky on our 3rd or 4th day. Only a bit painful to step on.

Lucky us we did not see or brush against any jelly fish. There were also only a few crabs on the beach. They can be a pain (literally) sometimes when scurrying around in great number. 😆

The Room

The Deluxe room we had was for four people. If you are only two people, you have a big room for four. But if you come as a group of four, you use the same room but have to pay for the two extra people you’re with. So I guess this Deluxe room is more sulit if you’re only two persons.

It’s clean and spacious. It has a nice view of the backyard where one could see part of the beach. And cute dogs walking around. :3

There were two cute little monkeys too. It was fun watching them.

Hmm.. if I remember correctly, there were a few mosquitoes flying around the room. But I don’t remember being bitten a lot.

And oh, I like leaving the window in the bathroom for ventilation since there was no exhaust fan. Bathrooms need ventilation. It was situated in a high place, but I noticed someone passing by that window! 🙁 Good thing I was not naked during a bath back then. But that was a privacy issue in the room. 🙁 See one of the pics below for how the bathroom window looks. It’s covered with green mini curtain.

The Pool

The pool felt more cozy than the regular rectangular swimming pool with blue/white sides and bottom. This one had

Do I recommend Rama Beach Resort?

Yep! If you’re like me who likes peace and quiet, you might enjoy it more on a weekday. I guess this applies to any beach resort. Hehe.

Rama Beach Resort rates/prices are also good.

And oh, what a lovely view:

On Saturday and Sunday, more people began to arrive. We no longer had the pool (it was a bit small but it’s clean and a cozy one) to ourselves but that’s okay. We were worried that we might not get a good night’s sleep because of noisy guests at night, but thank goodness, they weren’t noisy at night. 🙂 There’s a note in the room doors in small text saying that loud music is not allowed after 10PM and that noises should be minimized at night. Thank you, Rama Beach Resort management!

And please do choose Deluxe room over Economy if you can. I think economy rooms don’t have aircon and are placed in a less quiet area. Check with Rama beach resort to confirm. 🙂

June 26, 2016
Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel – rates & review

This was an old draft that took long to get published. 😆

Our stay at Rockpoint Hotel wasn’t bad. It wasn’t one of the best hotels we stayed at, but it had most of what we needed.

This resort is in Laguna.

Holiday Rates (2015) at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

These were the rates when we went there last year during holidays:

Here’s what the entrance looks like:

Nice view here:

And the reception area was oh-so-cozy.

Deluxe Room at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

We booked a Deluxe Room for 1 night, and depending on availability, you can choose between twin beds or a queen bed.

The bathroom had a big hot tub that could fit two or three people. It can take about an hour to fill it with water though. The shower is in the tub area also, so when you just want to shower, you need to step into the bath tub which is inconvenient to me especially when I’m very tired and the floor is slippery. There were to sachets of shampoo with conditioner, two small bars of soap, and two toothbrush and toothpaste set. The tube of toothpaste was tiny and difficult to open. XD

The pillows of their beds were soft and fluffy. We found extra pillows in the cabinet under the TV but they didnt have pillowcase.

Other photos of what’s included in the room:

The light bulbs in the bedroom and bathroom were yellow, except for the one at the table which had a white light. I personally prefer white lights because I don’t feel so well in rooms that are not bright enough. That table with white light had a huge mirror too, perfect for women who do hair makeup.

Rockpoint Hotel doesn’t have hair dryer and that is another inconvenience. Not a major inconvenience because there was electric fan in the room.

They charge corkage fee for cooked foods bought anywhere aside from their Lava Restaurant. They charged 10% for the pizza we ordered. Pizza Hut’s charge was 499 and we paid the hotel 50 pesos. It’s not that big, I guess.

Pools at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

Based on what I read on Rockpoint Hotel’s site, I expected 2 pools. First pool is in front of the Deluxe rooms with warm water temperature, whose schedule is 9AM-9PM, and a second pool in front of Lava Restaurant which was said to have HOT water like you’re in a hot spring, but nope! Its pool water had the same warmth as that of the first pool.

That pool in front of Lava Restaurant opens at 7AM according to a poster, which doesn’t state up to what time we could use it.

When we checked in around 2pm, there was no one but us using the pool in front of the Deluxe rooms. Everyone else was in the other pool, until about 3pm. And at night around 10pm, we enjoyed swimming in the second pool near Lava Restaurant because not a single guest was swimming there until we came there. We can say that “nasolo at nasulit namin yung pools”, but I think we were just lucky!

Peace and quiet at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

I like how Rockpoint Hotel actually cares about preventing noises from disturbing guests in their rooms. They have this sign that says we shouldn’t make noises so that guests can rest well in their rooms. The first pool, located in front of the Deluxe rooms, closes at 9pm, probably because Rockpoint hotel doesn’t want noise from the pool from disturbing guests at bed time. The second pool, which is in front of the restaurant anf has a nearby kiddie pool, seems to be usable even until midnight since there’s no guest room near it.

And yes, we had a quiet rest at night. But not for the rest of the day because there were many kids outside our room making noise, laughing and shouting.

Kalipayan Nature Spa at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

We wanted body massage for relaxation but the spa was closed. Maybe it’s by appointment only?

Food in Lava Restaurant at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

So here’s a gallery of some of the foods that we ordered that the Lava Restaurant:

We had free breakfast included. It wasn’t satisfying. Among the available items foe free breakfast, I chose malunggay 4 small pan de sal with cheese and eggs. It’s good enough but also something that anyone can quickly prepare at home. The coffee they serve is not even brewed coffee — only instant 3-in-1 coffee. My companion chose longganisa with rice and egg. It was okay. Since we felt unsatisfied, we ordered chicken tenders with fries. The fries served was a very scant amount compared to the picture in the menu, and the thin strips of chicken didn’t look so appetizing. The taste of the chicken breading was not bad though, but reminds me of an instant store-bought chicken breading we buy from grocery stores. The fries tasted like usual packed fries we buy from the grocery too. The dip for chicken and fries was very sour. Maybe there was too much vinegar? Meh, I guess I’ll never eat at Lava Restaurant again unless it’s free food included in our room booking.

Conclusion of Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

So, to conclude this Rockpoint Hotel review… We stayed there on December 26 and 27, and the other guests seemed to be families with many kids. It got so noisy at times, but I was glad they were quiet at night. The pool near Lava Restaurant was not hot enough as described, and I hope Rockpoint can adjust the temperature to make it consistent with what’s written in their website. The Deluxe room was clean and cozy, but it would become a perfect if they provide hair dryer, and a shower separate from the hot tub.

June 25, 2016

S&R Subic Menu + Review: non-members enjoy their New York style pizza and more!

S&R Pizzas for non-members are awesome! I especially enjoyed the foods at S&R Subic during a trip.

I first tried foods at the S&R branch Bradco Avenue, Baclaran before a flight with a companion who was an S&R member. I was told that only S&R members can dine in to try their Food Services, except for S&R Cubao branch. I was like, meh, I very rarely go to Cubao, too bad I won’t be able to eat at S&R as often as I want to because I’m not yet willing to apply for membership.

We had a short trip at Subic and ate lunch at S&R near Pure Gold before heading back to Manila.

Following is the S&R Subic Menu. To find out what I think about foods served at S&R Subic, scroll farther down the menu to find my S&R Subic Review.

I should have gotten closer to the counter to take better S&R menu photos but I guess I was too tired and the idea didn’t cross my mind. 😳 But here’s a text version of S&R Subic Menu:

Southern Style Fried Chicken

S&R Subic Product	Cost
1 pc chicken with rice	P89
Extra Rice	P15
2 pcs chicken with rice	P149
6 pcs chicken	P399

New York Style Pizza

S&R Subic Product	Cost
Combo Pizza, whole	P629
Combo Pizza, whole	P109
Pepperoni pizza, whole	P629
Pepperoni pizza, slice	P109
Garlic and shrimp pizza, whole	P629
Garlic and shrimp pizza, slice	P109

Combo Meals with 16oz soda

S&R Subic Product	Cost
Pizza Cheese slice meal	P109
Pizza Combo slice meal	P119
Pizza Pepperoni slice meal	P119
Hamburger meal	P129
100% all beef hotdog combo	P119
1 pc chicken with rice	P99

Other items at S&R Subic

S&R Subic Product	Cost
French Fries	P34
Clam Chowder	P89
Chicken Caesar Salad	?
Calzone Vegetable	P129
Calzone Pepperoni	P129
Chicken baked roll with bacon	P139
Beef baked roll	P169
Bavarian cream filled churro	P49
Cinnamon churro	P49

S&R Subic Review

How about we start with an appetizer in this review? 😉

This is Clam Chowder from S&R Subic. It’s a dream for people who love thick and creamy soup. The small chunks of potatoes make the soup feel even thicker. I prefer less potatoes though, because they kind of get in the way when I want to enjoy the creamy texture of the soup.

And here’s S&R' garlic and shrimp pizza! This is what I usually order at S&R because I really like shrimp on my pizza.

Have a closer look. It will probably make you hungry. Sorry! 😳

In this close-up photo of the garlic and shrimp pizza, you’ll see the fresh shrimps, fresh parsley leaves, toasted garlic bits, cheese, and tomato sauce that make up this tasty pizza. But sometimes, the toasted garlic bits can get a little bit too bitter for my liking when I eat too much of this.

And here’s 100% all beef hotdog. At S&R, you can get dressing for your foods at a self-service counter.

Here’s a burger that looks so delicious. Say Aaaaaah~ 😆

burger-sliced-s&r-new-york-style-pizza-subic-review

Look at the thickness of the burger patty on this sliced burger! Yummm!

I liked how thick the burger patty was at S&R. We really enjoyed the meaty goodness. 😀

Will definitely dine at S&R again whenever I get a chance!

S&R Subic Address near Pure Gold Shopping Center

Ground floor, Pure Gold Shopping Center, Argonaut Hwy, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales

S&R Subic Contact Number

I can’t find it. If you have the contact number of S&R Subic branch, please let me know by posting a comment at the bottom of this post. Thank you! 🙂

November 6, 2015

Subic Park Hotel review, taxi rates, and places to visit in Subic

In August, a companion and I wanted to get away from the city during a long weekend. We didn’t want to go somewhere too far from Manila, and were looking for just a little adventure in the trip.

Because of that, we decided to go to Subic Bay Freeport Zone. 🙂 I’m going to include a Subic Park Hotel review in this blog entry, as well as a list of places that we visited in Subic. It was a fun, unforgettable Subic trip to me. Mostly because of Zoobic Safari and Xtremely Xpresso Cafe.

Without a car, we either walked (we like walking!) or took a cab (all rates are fixed per destination). Places we visited were Zoobic Safari, Xtremely Xpresso Cafe, Meat Plus Cafe, Freeport Exchange, Duty-Free Puregold, an S&R Pizza place with no membership required, and the beach somewhere behind Subic Park Hotel which didn’t seem good for swimming or dipping.

(more…)

September 17, 2015
Baguio Trip via Victory Liner First Class (Deluxe) Bus – With Schedules

*in Manila, Sunday is usually the day of the week when there’s least traffic but I think traffic is heaviest in Baguio on Sundays.

In August, we went to Baguio for vacation. Walking up and down the slopes was tiring, but the hefty servings of delicious restaurant foods in the city provided us more than enough energy for that. :3 The places we went to were limited because we didn’t have a car, but that’s okay. We just wanted to relax.

(more…)

September 14, 2014
Review: Dalampasigan Beach & Pool Resort in Guis-guis, Quezon, near Sariaya

I didn’t care for beaches… or so I thought.

In March this year, developers and designers in our company set an overnight outing at Marine Base Beach Resort (a.k.a Boracay de Cavite, or Katungkulan Resort). I didn’t want to come because I don’t like swimming and other personal reasons. After some persuasion from a few colleagues, I decided to go. And I’m glad I did.

I remember that evening when we arrived at the beach. The sound of the waves… it’s as if the waves were beckoning me. It was a beautiful evening – the wind was cool, and when I looked up, there was the lovely full moon, surrounded and partially hidden my clouds. And on the next day, the day for swimming at the beach, I really had so much fun. I realized that I actually like being in the beach. I thought, “I need to go to the beach again soon, with close friends and my boyfriend”.

And so I did. 🙂 Our last-minute search for a beach resort that could accommodate us led us to Dalampasigan Beach and Pool Resort.

Dalampasigan Beach and Pool Resort is located in Quezon, and I must say that if you just ignore the swimming pools, it’s a nice place but understaffed, and the food in the restaurant is expensive. The adult pool was dirty, with a weird taste (can’t avoid tasting pool water sometimes), according to a friend, and had spits floating (yuck!) while we were there. The kiddie pool looked worse – the water looked more yellow than blue! You can guess why.

The place is nice – the combination of many trees, flowers and huts made the surroundings look really relaxing. The beach doesn’t have white sand but we didn’t encounter jellyfish and that’s a really good thing. There were lots of black jellyfish in the Marine Base Resort, by the way. xD

(more…)

September 4, 2014
Green passport renewal at new DFA office – requirements, fees, location map near Mall of Asia

The real goal of this blog entry is to share my personal experience with green passport renewal at DFA while giving my readers some idea of what to expect as they go through the process. But since I feel too exhausted to provide complete details at the moment, I will write about my most notable experiences for now and update with the rest of the information later. 🙂

Early this morning (January 27, 2012) we went to DFA to have my green passport renewed into what we call ePassport or biometric passport. It was a tiring day, only BECAUSE we went to Mall of Asia afterwards to shop for numerous things we need… at 10AM! 😉 We had many things to shop for and so took advantage of the time since we were granted the day off from work and were right there, near a huge mall. The passport renewal application was done nearly 8:38 AM. So, more or less one and a half hour. My appointment was at 7:30AM, by the way. 🙂 (more…)

January 27, 2012
Enchanted Kingdom (Philippines) – Updated 2012 Opening Time, Schedule, Entrance Fee, Ticket Prices, Promos, Location Map, Contact Number

Enchanted Kingdom, located in Santa Rosa, Laguna, is a theme park which serves as one of the most favorite destinations in the Philippines.

In this page of my website, Enchanted Kingdom’s info should be completely posted soon including opening and closing hours, schedule for the coming months this year 2012, ticket prices, amount of other fees, directions, contact number, and location map. If possible, I might also post Enchanted Kingdom promo infos.

Disclaimer: And obviously, by looking at the page URL you’ll know that this is not the official Enchanted Kingdom website. 🙂 I’m in no way affiliated with EK, so even though I try my best to keep the info here updated, I might miss a few of their price/schedule change.

I’ve gathered various information about Enchanted Kingdom in this page, so I decided to help you with a navigation menu below.
(more…)

January 19, 2012
Manila Ocean Park – Entrance Fee 2011, Opening and Closing Time
Planning a trip to Manila Ocean Park? This post provides information about entrance fee and opening /closing times of Manila Ocean Park for 2011.

A few Manila Ocean Park pictures are at the last part of this blog entry.

NOTES:

Information was acquired May 23, 2011, and may change without prior notice

I am not affiliated in any way with Manila Ocean Park. I’m just another person who shares info on ticket prices and operation schedules. Got questions? Then please contact them directly. Thank you.

(more…)
May 23, 2011

Category: Leisure Travel

Manila to Baguio via Joy Bus

Baguio to Manila via Joy Bus

The Travel

The Restaurant

The Beach

The Room

The Pool

Do I recommend Rama Beach Resort?

Holiday Rates (2015) at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

Deluxe Room at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

Pools at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

Peace and quiet at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

Kalipayan Nature Spa at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

Food in Lava Restaurant at Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

Conclusion of Rockpoint Hotspring Resort Hotel

S&R Subic Menu (August 2015)