CieLJ Travel: Bohol Itinerary

We are sharing our Bohol itinerary from our recent summer weekend. It's a bit sad that a lot of the churches were destroyed by the recent earthquake, and even the platform at the chocolate hills is now just a third of how it used to be. 

Part of the chocolate hills platform

Loboc church split in half

Despite this though, it's still a very beautiful place to visit. 

I booked our tours through Travel Buddy, the good thing about Bohol is that the tour and rent rates are almost the same across the different agencies and groups. So it will all just boil down to quality and credibility. You don't need to be too stressed with the haggling.   

CieLJ Eats: Hayahay Pizza, Alona Beach

Just like in our other trips, we were curious about the home grown restaurants along Alona Beach. I've read about Hayahay's restaurant, apparently they were made famous by their pizzas so we decided to try it on our third day in Panglao. We ate at around 4pm and we were the only one seated at the beachfront. I noticed that most of the choices had seafood in it, I'm not convinced that my pizza should have seafood so I asked the server what is their best seller and she suggested "Carne." A Hayahay pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella, ham, salami and chicken, priced at Php270 for medium and Php380 for large. We ordered the large sized pizza and waited anxiously. 

We then got our first piece of not so good news, you have to buy your drinks, there's no free service/house water here. We just really wanted to try the pizza and then hop again to a different restaurant but since we don't want to choke, we ordered a small bottle of Coke each, priced at Php 30. They also don't sell 1.5 liter soft drinks unlike other restaurants along Alona.

CieLJ Eats: Jasz Bar and Restaurant, Bohol

It was our first night in Alona Beach, the last "meal" that we had was a very thin and tasteless ham and cheese sandwich from a kiosk at the airport 3 hours ago. Sobrang gutom na, waiting for food to be grilled isn't exactly appealing, but we were willing to try. 

We picked Jasz because of the clean display, the prices were clearly shown with the food so we were assured that we will not be surprised by a sky high bill. This is right next to Hayahay which also has a restaurant.  

We ordered, liempo, grilled squid and skewered chorizo. The viands were reasonably priced, but just like with any other restaurant along Alona, the rice and the drinks will be on a more expensive side. They do offer a 1.5 Coke for 100 pesos, so that helps cut the dining cost a bit. 

The grilled liempo and squid were cooked well, service was fast enough. There was a good sized crowd but they still managed to attend to us when we asked for ice or to clarify our order. 

Jasz Bar and Restaurant will be a good choice for those who would like to try freshly cooked seafood along Alona Beach. The waiters are nice, food was tasty, and given the location the price can be considered reasonable. 

CieLJ Weekend: The Lost Horizon Resort

I've wanted to take LJ to Bohol before, but what pushed me more was the recent earthquake that damaged a lot of the old churches. The original plan was December, but since the province was still trying to recover then, I delayed the trip and waited for a promo. I chanced upon a good deal with Philippine Airlines and booked the trip right away, sakto for summer! *big grin*

This was supposed to be a no nonsense trip. Not really a backpacker type of vacation, but I've decided that our choices will be practical. I've narrowed my hotel search to at least include the following:

1. Price should not be more than Php 3,000 per night, even better if lower than Php 2,500. 

2. Beachfront location, alam nyo naman si LJ anak dagat

3. Breakfast is already included in the rate. Less stress on deciding where to eat. 

4. Lastly, with Wi-Fi, hehe! Yeah, we are high maintenance, like that. 

Some nice to have in my list that helped me decide to sway in favor of another

1. Trip Advisor reviews

2. Balcony? :) 
3. Can be booked through Agoda

We walked in to Lost Horizon, and it wasn't love at first sight. It's not the usual type of hotel that we are used to, and as mentioned in other reviews, there's a little bit of age in it. It did slowly grew on us. One  advantage of an older hotel is the room size, unlike the modern box rooms, the deluxe room that we got has a lot of floor space, even the bathroom is not cramped. The king size bed was very comfortable and it even had a duvet, not your usual resort style beddings that just gives you a flat sheet for a blanket. There are safes inside the room. We never really use hotel safes, but for Lost Horizon, I felt that we need to. There were no unfortunate incident that happened, but the door knobs were a bit difficult to lock. 

CieLJ Weekend: Taal Vista

Taal Vista located along the Tagaytay ridge, is such an iconic hotel. It’s definitely one of the most popular places to stay in Tagaytay. I’ve always wanted to try to book a room here but since its rates are at a premium, it’s not something that you can pick at a whim. 

We had a couple of good reasons to stay overnight in Tagaytay last February, and I was thinking this is perfect timing to book a room in Taal Vista. 

CieLJ Weekend: Arriving in Korea and our AirBnB

I've booked our plane tickets to Korea waaay in advance, but it took me quite a while to look for a good hotel. I usually read reviews through Trip Advisor, but somehow for this trip I couldn't get the confidence that I need. Popular hotels in Seoul are either too expensive or ridiculously small that doesn't have a window or enough daylight. There were also some that were described as love hotels, and it just felt weird. I delayed booking a hotel so much, that with less than a week till our trip then, but we still don't have a place to stay.

I was browsing around and got to AirBnB, whoa! they have a list of cheap apartments , so tempting!!! but are they real? I mean what are the chances that we might get fooled in a foreign country, right?! haha!  

With my husband half asleep, I told him that I'll book a flat, a nice little studio type apartment for our trip to Korea. I guess he had no idea what I was talking about and uttered "sige lang." I browsed some more and found this really cute and reasonably priced flat. Best. Decision. EVER! 

Owner: Sam Woon and his wife 
Apartment: Studio House(S1):Myeongdong&Itaewon

CieLJ Weekend: Anyoung Haseyo, Korea!

Ah, Korea! Such a popular 'thing' in the Philippines, isn't it? K-pop, Korean drama, the hairstyle, and of course, make-up. However, despite it's popularity, my dear husband and I have never really joined the bandwagon yet, and continued to be... let's say, oblivious to this trend.

We booked the trip to explore the country and I immediately became overwhelmed with the options for the tourist. It was such a blessing that an officemate is headed to Korea too, and she was kind enough to share her itinerary to us. The only concern left was that her trip is for 5 days, while ours was only booked for four days so I had to trim it down.

Airline

We booked our tickets through Cebu Pacific. Just a fair warning that this is a budget airline, and despite the 4 hour flight, there's no food that will be served unless you are willing to pay for the rice meal. We ate some early dinner at the airport and got some chips from the convenience store which we brought on-board. We still had to buy the drinks, but we are ok with the 50 pesos per can. We just really can't bear to pay the 350 pesos for such a small serving of rice and viand.

We entered Korea via Incheon -- which was great, this has been awarded the best airport for some years now.

CieLJ Tips: Getting a Korean Visa

You can get a Korean tourist visa for free. It's good for 59 days, and it's fairly easy to get one …well of course, as long as you complete the requirements.

Here are the requirements that we've prepared and some tips:   

1. Application form - you can download the Visa Application form for Korea here. There are some instructions on the second page, take the time read it. There will be available print outs at the embassy and you can use that, but just to relieve you from the stress of standing and looking for the pen, TIN#, etc, just download it and fill it up in advance. 

CieLJ Weekend: Club Punta Fuego

We wanted to go out of town, but since it’s too late in the game for me to book tickets, airfares were already crazy expensive and I had to settle for a place that will just be a drive away. 

My husband wanted to drive North, while I am more loyal to the South …of course I won, teehee!  

I narrowed my choices to three: 

Laiya resorts (just because there will be full board meals and I’m lazy like that)
Pico de Loro, and 
Club Punta Fuego

Pico de Loro got crossed out because …I honestly can’t remember, probably because of the reviews; 

Laiya got booted out since we will be going there 2 weeks later anyways, 

so that leaves us with Club Punta Fuego. Excellent Choice! 

I booked our rooms through Expedia, it was also available through Agoda, but at the time Expedia had the room type that I want, and it was cheaper by a couple of hundred. 

We didn’t really get lost; it’s a fairly decent drive. We took the Tagaytay route, on to Nasugbu Town Proper and it will be an easy drive from there. Slowly the houses will be replaced by landscapes, and the road will be a bit more uphill. Canyon Cove will be to your left, as well as Terrazas de Punta Fuego, just keep on going,  follow the signage for ‘Pico de Loro,’ to make it easier. Probably 10 minutes more up and down the hill, and keep your eyes peeled for that one small sign for Club Punta Fuego where you’ll need to turn left. A word of caution the road humps are high in that area, drive slowly. Just stay on the road and you will reach the gates of Club Punta Fuego, luxury and exclusivity begins! 

We parked in front of the main clubhouse and checked-in to our room. We booked a sunset suite, there are casitas also available and I think those are more popular because of the floor space, but they got me interested to the hotel like suites because of the ‘balcony.’ I’m such a sucker for that small space with a view. The sunset suite rocks!!

awesome view!

Happy Anniversary to Us! :)

It's been a year since we got up at the crack of dawn to prepare for one of our happiest day ever! I can't believe it... kase feeling ko ten years na with all the wrinkles and konsomisyon, LOL! 

Seriously though, it's been a fun ride... exciting and challenging, absolutely no dull moments... kase sa kin pa lang he already had his hands full. I'm sure he didn't expect me to be such a matigas na ulo partner, so I'm thankful that he still haven't left my side. Well either he's the most patient man ever, or magandang quality ng helmet ang nakuha ko, hehe! Swerte nya kaya, jackpot na jackpot sya ...sa sakit ng ulo, haha! 

The past year has been good to us, it was fair in giving us our share of happiness and tears. We've grown up a lot, from handling the simple day to day tasks of cleaning and eating, up to the more complex tasks that I personally used to depend on my parents like plumbing and maintenance. We are starting to handle grown-up problems now, and I think we are still doing 'ok.'  We do fight, though not as much as when we were just dating. We've matured in handling challenging conversations, though it's still a work in progress. We don't see eye to eye in a lot of things, but we do compromise when needed. Some health issues are in the way, but for now we will choose to celebrate our small and humble achievements. 

To my dear hubby, thank you for being crazy and laughing with me, for not leaving my side, and always cheering me on. I'm always a princess when I'm with you. 

Happy Anniversary to us :) 

CieLJ Cravings: The Original Hawaiian Bar-B-Que Tagaytay

I can't get a good review about the food at Punta Fuego, so to make sure that I will at least have one good meal on my birthday I've scouted for some restaurant options in Tagaytay with a few requirements 

> I wanted it to be on the way so that it will be easy for us to spot, 

> A bit commercial, so that we don't need to reserve in advance and have the option to be flexible with the time, and 

> have great, consistent reviews to save us from disappointment

The original Hawaiian Barbecue immediately became part of the list because of it's location which is just along the highway. The rave reviews in various blog sites just made me even more curious and I took note of the best sellers. 

CieLJ Weekend: My Kind of Birthday

The last few weeks have been difficult, with the new role, transitions, migrations at work, health concerns (still finding the strength to blog about it) and some repairs due at the condo, there's just zero time for me to plan or even imagine what I want for my birthday week. I waited too long, and as expected, all the good deals are gone. LJ insisted that we should still try to get a good vacation, so I went back to Google and searched for possible options. With just one week to go, I entertained the idea of us just driving someplace na pwede kami tumunganga, both of us just really want to rest and eat good food... at tumunganga :) 

So here's what we came up with... semi-road trip to the South :) 

I said 'semi' because it was basically a free and easy drive, if we want to stop we will stop, if we want to keep on driving we can. Absolutely no pressure to stop at the regular touristy pitstops. 

Woke up early (well at least, by our standards) on the day of my birthday, took care of the laundry and packed our bags. We were out the door at around 1030-ish. 

12pm we visited Greenfield, Sta Rosa to check out the progress at Solen. You can read back about Solen here. We are very excited with the idea that we will eventually be moving to a house. So many design ideas are crossing our head, but we still have time to figure that out, so those scrap images are reserved for Pinterest for now. 

CieLJ Weekend: Theme Park Edition

LJ recently celebrated his 30th, and instead of having a party we packed our bags and decided to head back to Singapore and tour some parks! We are getting old, so we didn't fill our schedule to the brim like the last time, but I'll be posting suggested side trips as well just in case you guys are interested. 

Day 1: Chill, Zoo, Chill 

Well that was the plan, but then it became... got lost... Singapore Zoo.. aaand we got lost again, LOL! 

We left Manila at around 5am. Fearing that he won't get to drop-by Duty Free when we get back, he went ahead and started his shopping even before we got on-board. 

I came home late from the office the night before and had to finish packing so I got zero sleep. I spent the 4 hour flight snoozing while LJ tries to keep me from rolling to the floor. 

We checked in at Value Hotel Thomson near the corner of Thomson Rd and Ballister. It's quite a long walk from the MRT and I wouldn't recommend this for tourists, especially if you have kids, unless you plan to take the taxi everywhere or you know how to take the bus since the bus stops are nearer. You can read my full review and the room photos here.

Tip: If you are planning to explore the city on your own, you could get the tourist pass card or a regular ez-link card. It's easier than having the need to prepare change. We have ours from two years ago, and just added credits once we got to Changi.  

On our first day, we got acquainted with the bus system and we failed miserably. After a couple of attempts we got to the Singapore Zoo, finally! 

CieLJ Tradition: MYOH 2013

...aaaand we're back! I had to take a little break from blogging to get my swing back at work and keep the household in working condition ...heck! who am I kidding, I've been out talaga because of Candy Crush! LOL! anywaaaay, so we are back now, I promise to make the post more regular again, and I still owe the ratings for our wedding suppliers, we'll post those soon. 

CieLJ Cravings: Vanilla Cupcake Bakery

Passing by this cute and newly opened Vanilla Cupcake Bakery you will easily fall in love with the decor. The drapes, the Daphne chairs, the cozy sofas and of course the line-up of cupcakes to be served on a cute white saucer along with a wooden fork. You can almost hear the place screaming "Instagram me!"

Alas, the pleasant experience for the eyes, becomes a stressful game for the mind. Despite the long display of yummy treats at the Vanilla Cupcake Bakery in Glorietta -- wrongly labeled cupcakes if I may add, there's no one to assist you on what you are supposed to do. Apparently the cashier is on the side, you are expected to tell her your order, pay and step aside. There's no clear menu aside from the cupcakes, I was so unsure on what I can order, I can't see any coffee list and the girl didn't up-sell any drinks so I assumed there was none. 

What's next? 

You'll have to wait for your name to be called, a good 5 minutes if you are lucky. We were unlucky, they totally forgot our order! 

CieLJ Cravings: Quiznos

I went through a sandwich phase, and I craved for subs almost every other day to the extent that I meet up with LJ at Glorietta late at night to get my Subway fix since their store is open until 1am. 

I was excited when Quiznos opened a branch along Bonifacio High Street, as this means I can get subs without going to Makati anymore. 

Duty Free Love

I was deprived of the Duty Free experience when I was younger, LOL. Apparently LJ shared the same sentiment despite being a son of an OFW himself. So when we got back from HK last December, we agreed that we will go to Duty Free! Ma-cancel na lahat ng appointments namin wag lang the Duty Free trip! 

We'll be coming from Laguna, but I was too lazy to drive. So we decided to take the jeep. It was a long and dusty ride, but we made it, and it wasn't so bad… 

In case you'll be taking the jeep as well, here's how we did it: 

Ride the jeep to Sucat,

Transfer to another jeep bound for Baclaran. 

The jeep will pass right in front of the Duty Free Fiesta mall, just tell the driver so they can be on the look-out for you too. 

Get off the jeep and skip to the front door! Yey! 

CieLJ Wifely Duties: the Kitchen Novice

It's been a month of married blues, err, I meant bliss! LOL! 

LJ's not really expecting a domesticated wife, he claimed. I want to do it though, at least practice. So as much as I can, dinner is home-cooked. naks! 

http://www.cookingmama.com/

CieLJ Wedding Ring Plate

Middle part of the year, LJ and I decided that we will not have bearers and flower girls. We don't hate kids, we actually have an overflowing list of cutie nephews, pretty nieces, and lovely inaanaks that we really wanted to be part of the line-up.

We had to be realistic though, being that it's a morning wedding, there's a high probability of sumpong and an epic fail walk.

Along with dropping the bearers, also went my plans for the DIY pillows. We don't want to embarass our secondary sponsors by telling them to bring the usual pillow. However, it just seemed too plain to just hand the priest the box of rings, so I browsed for alternatives, and I found this....  

It's a wedding ring plate or dish, that can be ordered from the US. I was a bit hesitant to ask LJ's mom to order it for us because of the hassle, and to top it off... for such a small plate, this costs around $40, nye! So the plan to get the plate was axed. 

Two weeks before the wedding, I still haven't given up. I was browsing for a local supplier or at least another alternative for the ring pillow when I chanced upon a sulit.com.ph ad! Yahoo!! 

They were even nice enough to accomodate my request with just a week of prep time till our wedding.   

I wanted the scribble to be like the one from the US, but after reviewing their past creations, it may not work out. The one from the US had laser cut precision letters, while the one created by Designers Avenue had a more rustic look.

I just settled for a fancy letter 'M' instead. The initial of our last names. 

Here's the finish product...

It turned out a lot better than what I was expecting! It was also very photogenic, and it matched our impromptu arrhae box as well.

Here's their contact details if you want to order

Janess Ojeda
Mobile: 0939-9075560
Email: janojeda@designsavenue.com

Wedding Duties: Our DIY Wedding Cord

There was absolutely no plan to make our own wedding cord. Tito Boy assured me that he will provide us the rope that we can use for the ceremony, and I was totally fine with that. 2 months before the wedding, I was toying with the idea of making our own. No reason in particular, I just want to do some DIY, it's sort of a way for me to de-stress I guess. 

I did a bit of research and found some blogs that suggested to go to Wellmanson. You can read more about how we were able to get there, here. 

The original plan was for us to get raw materials so we can make a big rosary. True enough they were cheap at about 30 to 60 pesos per strand. We picked the colors we liked and started to compute how much we'll need. We walked around the store and I was looking for some nicer ones that I can use for the "Glory Be" beads when we spotted some bracelets. 

LJ was already tired, so guess what he did... got the bracelets, linked them together and proudly said "ayan! tapos na!" I was in shock, and a little sad about the idea that I won't make it from scratch, but he did have a point. The last thing we wanted is for me to be stressed about this DIY cord and be covered by strands of beads... and of course, crying.

The beads were already nice, and all I need to do now was to link the hooks together. So we did get the bracelets, and I also got the pliers and some extra rings,