The Dumaguete Food Trip

Date of Travel: July 2010

We used Dumaguete as a jump off point for our Apo Island adventure. We were planning to just arrive in the evening so we wouldn't have to rush to our morning flight back to Manila. But after a little research, we decided to spend more time in this charming university city to satisfy our curious tummies.

Sidlakang Negros Village for the Bodbod sa Tanjay.

Sidlakang Negros Village is a cultural park with huts that represent the towns and provinces of Negros Oriental. Some towns sell local crafts, while others, like Tanjay, sell delicacies. 

Bodbod (pronounced as "budbod") sa Tanjay is suman with a stripe of native chocolate. You eat it by dipping it in more native chocolate. The bodbod and the chocolate are so yummy that all the bodbod usually get sold before 11AM.  

Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries

This is one of the main reasons why we wanted to spend time in Dumaguete City. True its name, this restaurant serves  the best Sans Rival and Silvanas that I have ever tasted. I loved them so much that I handcarried 20 boxes of Silvanas and 10 boxes of Sans Rival to Manila. Their Sans Rival and Silvanas had the right blend of textures with its smooth cream and crunchy (or powdery as in the case of their Silvanas)  nuts. The butter-cream that they used was light but it felt so silky on the tongue. And with its subtle sweet taste, I couldn't help but eat some more slices. Dumaguete City is worth the visit even if you just get to eat at this place. 

Panda's Fried Ice Cream

We learned of this by reading Cebu Pacific's inflight magazine. It was okay. The concept was interesting but the taste was just so-so. We tried 3 flavors and we so missed the "cream" in ice cream.

Jo's Chicken Inato

Jo's Chicken Inato traces its roots in Dumaguete City. So, we headed at one of their branches for lunch. Their  barbecue chicken was perfectly cooked with crunchy skin and tender meat. The flavor was well-distributed on the huge chicken slices served on barbecue sticks. The affordable price made our meal even more enjoyable.

Ana Maria Bakeshop

They served yummy cakes! I loved the brazo de mercedez. It was fluffy and the filling was creamy and not too sweet. Really perfect at P40/slice. The chocolate cakes were also moist. Hubby also loved their bottled boquerones.

Hayahay

For dinner, we went to Hayahay. Our table had a wonderful view of the sea but we hardly enjoyed the view since we were all focused on Hayahay's delicious food. We loved their shrimp and bacon pizza which they served with onion slices, mushrooms and lots of cheese.  We also enjoyed their steamed fish.

We wanted to sample the food served by the rows of barbecue stalls along Rizal Avenue, but we had no more space on our tummies. I guess we have a good reason to go back to Dumaguete!

Whale shark interaction in Donsol

Travel dates: 24-25 February 2011

Budget: 

• Airfare Manila-Legaspi-Manila or bus to Legaspi and back
• Transfers: P1500/van per trip if hiring a van from the airport. Approximately P200 for a Legaspi-Donsol-Legaspi trip if taking public transportation  
• Overnight stay at Vitton Beach Resort: P2200 for a room for 4. P1800 for a room for 2
• Whale shark interaction: P3500 for the boat (maximum of 6) + P100/person; P200 for the use of a mask, snorkel and fins (we brought our own)
• Firefly tour: P1250 for the boat (maximum of 5) + P200/tricycle
• Meals: P100 to P300 per person per meal

Travel mode: Plane from Manila to Legaspi, land trip from Legaspi to Donsol

Donsol is an unassuming town 1.5 hours away from Legaspi. It gives you the classic Philippine scenery of  fields, cows, mountains and nipa huts. Tricycles are the only mode of public transportation. But as charming as it is, it is no match for its gem of a tourist attraction: swimming with the whale sharks!

Whale sharks are huge as they are the largest living fish specie -  the ones we encountered were at least as big as buses. But they really are so gentle and I can really believe the statement that humans can swim with them without risk, apart from unintentional blows from its large tail fin (which fortunately, didn't happen to any of us!) Swimming with them was such an awesome experience. It was so exciting that for our first few whale sharks encounters, I would always forget that I had a camera with me. Since the whale sharks swam slow, we were able to follow some for at least 10 minutes. We would only lose sight of them if they choose to swim deeper into the waters. We really got a high from swimming with the gentle giants that we never felt tired until we got back to the boat.

Another attraction in Donsol is their firefly watching tour. It's not as awesome as the whale shark interaction but it was interesting to go boating in the dark and to find trees lit up by a colony of fireflies. The tourism officer also gave a good introduction to fireflies and their mating habits.

Travel tips:

• Best time to visit is from February to May when the chances of swimming with whale sharks are high.
• There are a lot of choices for accommodations in Donsol. Some offer homestays for as low as P150 per head per night. Some resorts offer more luxuries. We chose to stay in Vitton Beach Resort as it was right next to the Butanding center. Vitton's rooms were clean but very basic - they have airconditioning, hot water, soap and towels. They only had small flat sheets for blankets. They also have a couple of restaurants, a bar and a pool. The manager, Annie, was also very easy to deal with. I would stay there again.   
• The Butanding center is open from 7:30 to 5:00 PM. Be there as early as possible. They only allow a maximum of 6 passengers per boat and only a maximum of 30 boats are allowed at the Butanding area at any given time. If you arrive late afternoon, you can still register and watch the training video so that you wouldn't have to do so the next morning.
• If you don't fill up the 6 slots, you can invite people to join your group. We chose not to and we thought it was a good decision since the Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO) was able to take good care of me. I'm not a strong swimmer so he held my hand the whole time and pulled me along.
• You don't need to be a strong swimmer to swim with the whale sharks. You don't even need to know how to swim! You can swim with a life vest and if you swim slow like me, the BIO would just pull you with him. You just need to be brave enough to literally jump into the dark waters of Donsol.
• Most resorts would charge a pick-up fee of P1500 from the Legaspi airports. That's the same rate that taxi drivers in the airport gave us. (Yes, there are now a lot of taxis in Legaspi.) Since we wanted to keep our costs low, we took a tricycle to the van terminal and took a van from there (all the tricycle drivers know where the van terminal is). The tricycle ride costs P50/tricycle. The vans charge P65/person but if you want more room, you can pay for the whole row. In our case, we paid P780 for the whole van. What's nice about doing the tricycle+van route is that there's a SaveMore at the van terminal where we had snacks and bought some groceries.
• There are 2 options for the firefly tour, one in Donsol and another in Ogod. People say that the tour in Ogod is better as there are more fireflies and the trees are lower.
• For our firefly tour, we just hailed a tricycle on the road and asked the driver to bring us to Ogod. He waited for us and charged us P250 (other tricycle drivers charged P200).
• There are no ATMs in Donsol. Bring cash.

More photos taken in Albay are here.

My Manila: Kinder Zoo at the Manila Zoo

The Kinder Zoo is the one thing that you shouldn't miss when visiting Manila Zoo. I missed it last week and went back to see it. The return trip was so worth it.

Kinder Zoo only occupies a small area but every meter gives a dose of animal fun. As soon as you pass through their  arc, you will be welcomed by a snake and a crocodile on a table, colorful birds perched on a tree and a couple of pot-bellied pigs lazily walking around. Following the cemented path, you will find small turtles in a pond, more birds perched on branches, a tamed ostrich and an enclosure for giant turtles.

There weren't that many animals and the Lego figures for picture-taking purposes were faded but I still enjoyed the mini-zoo. What I loved about Kinder Zoo was that it was highly interactive. Birds gamely pose on visitors' shoulders, kids can ride the giant turtles and the ostrich and you can have a picture taken with a snake draped on your shoulders or a crocodile on your lap. A lot of the animals are not in their cages and their handlers encourage visitors to touch them. The friendly handlers seem genuinely fond of the animals and show them off as if they are children. I had so much fun watching a bird fake its death when the handler says, "Bang!" Even the pot-bellied pigs know how to turn around and bow. I even found it funny when the smaller pig, Benjie, started crying when the bigger Jackpot stole its food.

I was planning on being there for just an hour since I was planning to take shots of the Manila Bay sunset. I stayed there for 2 hours as I really enjoyed watching the animals. I can always watch the sunset another time.

*** Kinder Zoo charges an entrance fee of P75.00 on top of the P40.00 entrance fee for Manila Zoo.
*** While the Kinder Zoo try to keep their animals clean, people should wash their hands every time they touch the animals.

More pictures are here.

My Manila: White Moon Bar at Manila Ocean Park

After our Manila Zoo adventure, we just wanted to sit and relax. When we're in Manila, we usually have ensaimada at the New Diamond Hotel. But since we were on adventure mode, we decided to try something new.

I remembered seeing a feature on White Moon bar so we headed to Manila Ocean Park. White Moon Bar is an open-air bar with a gorgeous view of Manila's famous sunset. It has huge, comfortable white sofas, low tables and capiz-decorated speakers. Last Sunday, they were playing 80s music, which was probably perfect for most of the customers. It served really cold beer (a bit pricey at P80/bottle) and other cocktails. Our waiter nicely suggested that we also order food and swore by their beef nachos, but we had to decline as we already had dinner plans. Most of the other customers also just ordered drinks, which the waiters efficiently served.

The atmosphere was very relaxed. Some of the customers were a couple, 2 small groups of tourists (4 or 5 persons in each group), and a group of men. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves with drinks but the place was never noisy. I couldn't even hear the laughter from the group of men who were 3 sofas away from us. The gentle winds probably carried out the sound.

With the comfy chairs, the magnificent sunset, the 80s music and the perfectly cold beer, we forgot all our cares and snuggled deeper into the sofa. For that moment, there were no bills to pay, no global warming to worry about, and the world was in peace.

Tips:

• If you're bringing a car, park inside the gate of Manila Ocean Park. There are plenty of parking spaces inside even on a Sunday.
• Go early. The sofas get filled at around 5:30 PM.
• If you get there before 5PM and you can't stand the heat, you can explore the complex first.
• You can catch the Musical Fountain Show after sunset. If you pay online or get an SMS coupon, the ticket is only P99. Check out http://www.manilaoceanpark.com/promos.php?id=96&l=indexnews for details. Promo is valid until 31 March 2011.

*White Moon Bar is at the second floor of the Manila Ocean Park complex. You can take the main entrance, take the escalator near the food stalls at the left side of the mall, then walk right, heading towards Hotel H20. You can always ask the guard for instructions, they're very helpful.

My Manila: Manila Zoo

7 Feb 2011 - B and I have decided to see Manila as if we were tourists. First stop: Manila Zoo, the field-trip destination when we were in elementary school.

Manila zoo has improved over the years. Only the chimps' cages retained the broken tile and cement flooring. There are now huge cages for our eagles and other fowls. There are lots of picture-taking opportunities - you get to carry a snake or a bird on our shoulders, you can ride a horse or ride a boat. There are also several play areas for kids. It's still not as nice as the public zoos I've visited in other countries, neither does it match Avilon Zoo on the other side of Metro Manila. But it's not a bad place to spend your P40.

Travel tips:

• We went on a Sunday afternoon and while there were a lot of people, the place wasn't too crowded. 
• Bring lots of coins or small bills for the toilets and the other stuff that you may want to purchase (ice cream, bottled water, soft drinks, etc.)
• Be patient - a lot of kids are running around.
• Read the signs.
• Wear closed shoes. With kids running around and parents running after them, someone is bound to trample on your toes.
• Look of the Kinder Zoo - I didn't so I now have to go back to Manila Zoo!

Batanes

I've always wanted to photograph Batanes. So, after having so much fun in Backpack Photography - Banaue, it was only a matter of time before we signed up for Backpack Photography - Batanes.

Batanes did not disappoint - it had power outages, our inn had problems with water supply, bottled water was a precious commodity and the sun was blazing so hot it activated my dormant sweat glands, but the views were so magnificent that I was always torn between just standing and breathing in the beauty of the landscape or attempting to capture them in photos. And the food, specially the daily serving of lobster and coconut crabs, was a treat to my  sleep-deprived body.

Here's the album I ordered from Artscow.com (you may also visit this site to see the album):



More pictures may be viewed here.

Remembering Batanes - travel notes

Travel dates: 24-27 July 2010

Companions: joined a Backpack Photography workshop organized by Ferdz Decena (ironwulf.net) and Oggie Ramos (lagalog.com)

Budget: P22,500 ALL IN (this includes airfare, inn, food, tours and photo lessons/tutorials) ; or P12,500 without airfare.

Travel mode: Plane - SEAIR

Travel Tips

• Places to visit: Fundacion Pacita (if you're not staying there), Radar Tukon, Viang rolling hills, Ivana church, House of Dakay, Honesty Coffee shop, Basco lighthouse, Valugan Bay, Marlborough hills, Mahatao Lighthouse, Imnajbu, Diura fishing village, Song-song ruins and Sabtang (Savidug village, Chavayan village, Tinan and Nakabuang beach).
• Fundacion Pacita still remains the nicest place to stay but for  other alternatives check out: http://www.ironwulf.net/2009/05/13/batanes-accommodations-and-places-to-stay-in-basco/
• It would be good if you can find an air-conditioned vehicle for your tours. There's very little shade in the places to visit in Batanes. Summer in Batanes is quite severe. I normally don't sweat even after 2 hours of exercise (I just get red and oily) but Batanes woke up my dormant sweat glands. On the third day, sweat kept pouring out of my legs. We went around on a jeep and every time I stood up, I'd see pools of sweat on the area where I sat. So bring a hat, hand towels and lots of sunblock. Or ride on top of the jeep (which I did!). Or choose to go there in December or January, when the weather is much cooler.
• This year, Seair's lean season started mid-June and ends mid-October. You can get roundtrip airfares for 6T. You can still go to Batanes in June and July. According to our tour guide, there aren't much typhoons during these months. Or wait for the promos around the time of Seair's anniversary (end-March). Better still, click on the Like button on Seair's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/flyseair) to get notified of their promos. (Note: I don't work for Seair.)
• Wear hiking sandals specially if you want to explore Marlborough and Viang rolling hills and Tinan. I survived even if I just wore flipflops but it would have been a lot easier if I wore hiking sandals.
• Eat lobsters and coconut crabs! They're cheap in Batanes.
• Eat at Pension Ivatan - they serve native dishes. And their lobsters and coconut crabs are cheap. (But don't go there with an empty stomach. Service is terribly slow.) We also had delicious lunches at the Diura fishing village and at Nakabuang beach.
• Avoid going there during the fiesta - they have rotating brownouts.
• Bottled water is a precious commodity - probably because locals are used to drinking tap or spring water. I did, and I didn't have tummy problems.
• If you plan to visit Sabtang, bring a wet bag - there are times when the waves are so huge, you can really get drenched. We were lucky when we went there in July, the boatmen said that the waters were relatively calm.

Rate the trip: 9.99 out of 10

It would have been perfect if we didn't go there during the town fiesta. The rotating brownouts were so irritating since the generator of the inn we stayed at (DDD Habitat) couldn't power their air-conditioning units. I understand that Pension Ivatan has a more powerful generator. I guess it would have been better if we stayed at an inn or resort by the sea, at least we would have the sea breeze. Another participant liked Shanedel's Inn better.

Batanes is really beautiful. The views are so awesome, looking at them becomes a religious experience. We were joking that even blind people can take beautiful pictures of Batanes. The people are also so nice and helpful (I don't believe in the guide's zero crime rate spiel, though. We got to visit a small courtroom and there were a few hearings on the calendar, one of which involved serious physical injuries. But still, the list of hearings is so much shorter than the lists in Manila courts.)

And a free-plug for Backpack Photography (http://www.backpackphotography.net/) - I like joining their tours. Aside from Batanes, I've joined their Banaue and Lake Sebu Backpack Photography sessions. The tours are far from luxurious (but still far from roughing it out) and we're always up before sunrise but the trips were always so much fun! Ferdz and Oggie plan the itineraries so that the views are seen in their best light (sunrise in Valugan Bay, sunset at the Viang rolling hills, etc.) and we always have lots of opportunities to interact with the residents of the places we visit (the Ifugaos in Banaue and the T'bolis in Lake Sebu). Both of them are also very generous with their travel and photography knowledge. And since the participants are all photo-enthusiasts, we always have enough time to explore and take pictures, and we always have nice portraits as we also take pictures of each other. I'm just thankful that I have a nerd of a husband who doesn't mind that I travel with friends once in a while.

My Batanes album is in: http://www.artscow.com/share/Batanes-Batanes-Philippines-travel-Ivatan-landcapes-Basco-Sabtang-Abie-Co-tn58np9m5tuu?Ref=FB879828

More photos are posted here.