Listed below are the man-made New7Wonders of Nature in alphabetical order:

• Amazon Rainforest (located in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, France (French Guiana), Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela)
• Halong Bay (located in Vietnam)
• Iguazu/Iguaçu Falls (National Park) (located in Argentina and Brazil)
• Jeju Island (located in South Korea)
• Komodo Island (National Park) (located in Indonesia)
• Puerto Princesa Underground River (located in the Philippines)
• Table Mountain (National Park) (located in South Africa)

The New7Wonders of Nature was an initiative started in 2007 to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll. It was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation, a Swiss-based, government-controlled foundation. The initiative followed the New7Wonders of the World, which attracted 100 million votes from around the world. Voting continued until Nov. 11, 2011, when the list was announced.

Cheers,

Photo credit: Google Image

Calle Crisologo (Crisologo Street) is undeniably one of my favorite destinations in Vigan, Ilocos Sur as this place have provided me with a lot of information regarding the Philippines in the 18th century time.

This haven of cultural heritage is a time capsule that completely brought me back to the Spanish era. It was like magic to me as I personally see the famous cobblestone-covered street, the Spanish houses and the century old churches. Being here also fulfilled my childhood dream of touring the entire Crisologo Street riding the calesa. The experience was totally awesome!

Actually, I have been here twice but I will definitely come back to experience once again the rustic beauty of this place.

Until next time Vigan…

Cheers,

Grand Villa Mansion

Planning to have a family summer getaway without going far away from Manila?

Then, I would suggest that you go to Grand Villa Resort and Butterfly Centre in Laguna to have a much needed rest from the metropolis. Don’t be fooled by the one and a half hour drive because once inside the resort, you will feel that you are completely detached from the congested atmosphere of the city.

The Olympic swimming pool

Here’s my review:

The rooms
My family (party of 10) stayed on two hotel rooms located at the Grand Villa Mansion during the Lenten season. Personally,  I have these doubts that the assigned hotel rooms will be a little tiny for 5 people each (I was actually planning to get one more room) but my hesitations were all gone when I saw how each room looked like. Then, our rooms were strategically located at the covered private pool as well. The location was just right for us, yey!

Olympic swimming pool entrance

My son enjoying the water at the covered private pool

The covered private pool
We took advantage of the chance that our rooms were strategically located near the private pool. It was actually the best thing that happened to us during the first day because there was an ongoing summer outing for Goldilocks bakeshop!  We loved the privacy of this pool plus it was so near the Adventure Kamp side of the resort.

Spa Garden Room

The food
Too bad, the resort strictly prohibits bringing food so the entire family decided to avail of their offered buffet meal. During the first day, my family had a welcome snack that was served at the private pool and a managed buffet dinner that was served at the Olympic poolside of the resort. Then, we had managed breakfast buffet, morning snack and a managed lunch buffet on our second day.

The dishes served were all okay. Very home cooked meal. Memorable dishes that they served were the yummy fish fillet, the chicken arroz caldo, the tomato soup and the salad cabbage. It was quite a surprise because I didn’t expect that they’ll serve such yummy dishes. The quality of the food was a far cry from our first visit here at Grand Villa sometime in 2010 as the crispy pata and the adobo doesn’t taste that good. But after a year, the taste of the food improved a lot.

Relaxing Jacuzzi

The Spa and Jacuzzi room

The owner must have loved Bali so much as one can clearly see how it was executed in every corner of the resort. It was not actually the Jacuzzi that I liked here but the furniture! The big Buddha wall décor that will greet guests was just enough for me to be relaxed! I also liked the big comfy chairs because it made me suddenly fall asleep while we were waiting for our Jacuzzi attendant. Our rest and recuperation was almost perfect if she was not too late that night – geez, we waited her for almost an hour before we were allowed to enter a Jacuzzi room.

Adventure Kamp

at the Butterfly Centre

So glad I didn’t booked  my family at the tree house because it is so far away from the ‘heart’ of the resort proper!

The ostriches at the mini zoo

The mini-zoo and butterfly centre tour
If you plan to go here, I strongly recommend you to avail of the mini-zoo and butterfly centre tour because it’s a good family activity. During the tour, you will have a chance to see the other amenities like the Adventure Kamp, the tree houses and the owner’s magnificent collection of roosters! The butterfly presentation at the Audio Visual Room was quite entertaining too because the oldies were given a feel of a ‘field trip mode’ before touring the butterfly garden.

Resort Name: Grand Villa Resort and Butterfly Centre Laguna
Address: Purok 2, Barangay Tranca, Bay, Laguna
Website: http//www.grandvillaresort.ph
Email address: Go to this LINK should you want to email inquiry
Contact Number: MANILA OFFICE (632) 643-7261
Recommendation: Overall, my family and I enjoyed our Lenten vacation here. And since my son is not yet ‘ready’ to ride a plane for a semestral break this October, my husband and I may booked a weekend here soon.

Cheers,

Photo Credits:
My Canon IXUS 75 Camera (all labeled with my site) and the rest Grand Villa Resort Website

Richard (Rich) Herrera, a 31-year-old actor, and Richard Hardin, a 34-year-old basketball player (aka ‘The Riches’) from the Philippines have just won The Amazing Race Asia 4. The two also took home the cash prize $100,000 and also made history as they were the first Filipino team to finished first on ‘The Amazing Race’ Asian edition. Previous Philippines teams Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez finished third in season 2 while, Geoff Rodriguez and Tisha Silang finished second in season 3.

‘The Riches’ also bested nine other duos, including ‘rebel pals’ Claire Goh and Michelle Ng from Singapore and father/daughter team Hussein Baron and Natasha Sutadisastra from Indonesia. Fellow competitors and another Philippine team tatto artist Jacinta James and model Lani Pillinger ranked fourth in the reality show.

The Amazing Race Asia is hosted by Allan Wu and exclusively aired on AXN.

Congratulations!

Cheers,

Photo Credit: AXN-Asia

Malta's Mjandra Neolithic Temple

Photo Credit: Howard Bloom

Where is Malta located?

The Republic of Malta is lying in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea between the south of Sicily and the northern tip of Africa.

The country is located in the heart of the Mediterranean. Malta is a melting pot of civilizations with a history stretching back thousands of years. The small European country has been inhabited since around 5200 BC. In fact, a significant prehistoric civilization existed on the islands prior to the arrival of the Phoenicians who named the main island Malat, meaning safe haven.

The island loyally supported the United Kingdom during World Wars 1 and 2. The country even remained in the Commonwealth when it became independent in 1964. A decade later Malta became a republic.

The island has transformed itself into a freight transshipment point since the mid-80s. Malta became a financial center and a tourist destination. Malta became an EU member in May 2004 and began using the euro as currency in 2008.

OTHER FACTS ABOUT MALTA

Location: Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy). The country is slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC.

Climate: Mediterranean; mild, rainy winters; hot, dry summers

Government Type: Parliamentary Republic

Capital: Valleta

Official Language: Maltese, English

Ethnic groups: Maltese 95.3%, British 1.6%, other 3.1%

Independence: From the United Kingdom: September 21, 1964

Republic: December 13, 1974

I have been to La Luz Beach Resort for 2 times now and this romantic getaway always don’t fail to impress me whenever I visit the place.

The beach is calm and very relaxing with coarse like coral sands that make up the beach. There are lots of fish and picture perfect views on the entire resort. In fact, I can’t hardly see any bad angle.

One must not also worry about the food while staying at this resort. If you are staying overnight, La Luz Beach Resort has buffet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Day trippers too can taste their sumptuous lunch and merienda. Personally, I must say that the food is superb, it’s not exotic nor fancy. As for me, eating the food they served after a long day of beach swimming and walking along the beach is just perfect! The experience feels just like heaven! (Or closer to heaven, I guess)

La Luz Beach Resort being 3 hours away from Manila, is definitely a great escape. It is also a great getaway to anyone who is living in the  metropolis. Yeah, the resort is a good stress reliever too if you are super tired of the city life. It worked for me and the rest of my family. Gosh, my son doesn’t even want to leave the place.

Resort Name: La Luz Beach Resort
Website:http://www.laluzresort.com
Email address: info@laluzresort
Contact Number: +63 (927) 993-8417
Recommendation: One of the best resorts in Batangas! Courteous staff, yummy dishes and superb service. My family and I will definitely visit this resort again…and again…and again…

*Pictures courtesy of La Luz Beach Resort

Welcome Signboard

Nothing beats the summer heat than having an outing with the family. This year, my family and I went to Aguila Beach Resort in Batangas. Here is my review on the resort:

The Cherry Room

My Mom and I opted to rent for a picnic table and an airconditioned room because we do not want to share bathrooms with so many people. We were there during Black Saturday (April 11, 2009) so, go figure how many people trooped there from the Manila area. To be honest, I find the 4,000 pesos room very small even if they claimed that it can accommodate 5 people inside. The picnic table on the other hand was great! The setup can let you chat with the other people who were also there to enjoy the heat of the sun!

Aguila Beach Restaurant

Though we brought some ‘baon’ to ensure that we have enough food during our outing, we also tried eating some of their ‘specialty’. We tasted their pork steak, chicken adobo and grilled tilapia. Guys and gals, I must encourage you to bring food instead of dining at the resto because I find their cooking below my standards. Enough said!

This is me wearing the life vest! ^_^

Since we saw a lot of people along the seashore, we decided to have a boat ride first to see the other beach resorts around the area. Here I am chatting with my sisters while wearing the life vest.

View of Aguila Beach during the boat ride

The boat ride was very relaxing. The wind was just perfect! It was also fascinating to see a lot of people like us enjoying the beach and having a great time. Aguila Beach was literally overflowing with people from all walks of life!

the boat ride

We initially want to go to Sombrero Island as we heard lots of good things about the island. However, my Mom and I became dizzy on board. So, my husband instructed the ‘Manong’ to bring us back to Aguila Beach after the 1 hour ride.

We went back from our boat ride only to find out that our picnic table was taken by a group of people. I asked for a refund from the reception area but they refused to do so. I was trying not to spoil our outing so I have decided to stay cool about their poor service! Grabe, 900 pesos for a picnic table that was not even used made me want to throw a tantrum talaga! Good for them because if it was not a Black Saturday during that time, I have insisted for a refund. *Sigh*

Swimming Pool

To be honest, I find the resort with lots of potential but the owners does not seem to take care of the place because the swimming pool was an exact opposite of the beach. I did everything to stop my son from taking a dip as the adult and the kiddy pool have lot of molds! Goodness, I just hope they will manage to clean it in the future.

Overall, I would say that Aguila Beach Resort is just okay if you want to experience  a family-oriented experience away from Manila. However, if you are looking for better amenities, this should not be in your list because the resort is not that great when it comes to customer service.

Resort Name : Aguila Beach Resort
Website : http//www.aguilabeachresort.com
Email address : aguilabeach_resort@yahoo.com
Contact Number : +63 (43) 410.0135
Recommendation: Nice summer getaway if you have a big family but not recommended if you are inclined with resorts with ‘posh’ amenities.

Related post:

• Summer Heat Is On: Batangas Here We Come!

Batangas: Here We Come! ^_^

Dear Bloggery,

I will be taking my day off today from blogging as my family and I will be heading somewhere in Batangas!

Yehey, I am so excited…

Finally, another quality time with my family!

Bye for now – I will be back right after Easter for more updates…

Cheers,

Related post:

• Aguila Beach Resort: A Review

The Puerto Galera vacation I had last January 24 and 25 was a planned trip from my team as the trip served as my treat to them because I will be celebrating my birthday on the 31st of January. Below are the things that happened to me and my colleagues in pictures. Sorry if I have posted a lot of pictures huh? Resort reviews and other experiences to follow soon:

First day – January 24, 2009 (Saturday)

image courtesy of lakbaypilipinas

THE BUS RIDE GOING TO GALERA

We opted not to bring our cars to Batangas because I am afraid that it will be gone when we come back. So, we rode a bus going to Batangas City which cost P150.00 each. I’m sorry guys I don’t have any personal pictures here as I was chatting with my friend the entire bus trip. I didn’t bother to shoot!

BATANGAS PIER

our boardmates!

The bus dropped us all the Batangas Pier. We have chosen the M/B Commandos. We all go on board at around 8:00am. I bought our tickets along with these two cute French guys!

THE BOAT

M/B Commando

M/B Commando’s staff was friendly yet strict. Our trip was an interesting one since there were at least 4 nationalities on board. There were Koreans, French, Americans and Filipinos so it was really quite exciting to see the facial expressions while inside the boat. The Captain shown in the picture scolded an American to sit down because he happened to imitate ‘a surfing USA’ style while the boat runs!

THE SEA

I was sea sick!

The only scene I have seen throughout the boat ride. Gosh, the boat ride was so dizzy.

ARRIVAL

Your dear Snow checking out the stalls! ^_^

One of the very first pictures taken by my hubby right after the boat docked on the seashore. This is me checking out the stalls! Whew, I have found out that one can actually go to Galera without any clothes as the place have it all!

OUR ACCOMMODATION AND THINGS WE SAW IN PUERTO GALERA

Apartelle de Francesca

Apartelle de Francesca

We stayed in Apartelle de Francesca. We were a group of 6 people and occupied 1 room with 1 bathroom and a small kitchen. It was just right for us since we were usually outside checking out the sea, the grilled foods along the path, the girls in bikini and passionately taking pictures of the place! Ito bale yung share ko sa Galera trip namin!

Swimming Pool

The footprint swimming pool

This was our main consideration why we have chosen the place! My entire team and I fell in love with the footprint swimming pool when we checked  out the Apartelle de Francesca’s website! Isn’t it cute?

Banana Boat

try the banana boat for a thrill!

A lot of the bakasyonistas tried the banana boat. Our group decided not to try it because I had a dreadful experience while riding a banana boat in Grande Island! I nearly drown because I was dunked too much that time!*lol*

THE NIGHT LIFE IN PUERTO GALERA

The show at Mikko's Bar

the food we ate & the famous mindoro sling!

We drank 2 pitchers of Mindoro sling, a couple of San Mig Light, ate a lot of barbeques, isaw, peanuts, grilled squid and grilled tilapia at Mikko’s Bar. Goodness, this hot bar was such a hit because of the “Gay Show”. Their presentation was splendid! We were hanging at Mikko’s until 2am and saw a lot of interesting people too along the Galera shores! Ang saya-sayang manuod! Isa lang masasabi ko “What happens in Galera, stays in Galera! Hehehe…

The day after – January 25, 2009 (Sunday)

MOUNTAIN TREKKING

the scene above the mountain

My group was literally drunk from the last night’s gimmick but we managed to wake up at around 7am to eat our breakfast meal in Apartelle de Francesca. We started trekking at the mountain at around 8am. Hey, this activity is a must try! It has taken my group to finish the trekking for 4 long hours because of the numerous photo shoot we did. Sorry guys, I can’t share them. *wink*

Aninuan Falls

Instrans daw oh! ^_^

The falls is located at the heart of the mountain. We also went inside for some buko juice and picture taking. Entrance fee is P20.00 each. Super fresh buko juice cost P35.00.

THE DEPARTURE

goodbye galera!

We’ve got a bumpy ride maybe because of the strong wind during that time. Unfortunately, as we are about to reach the Batangas pier, our boat suddenly stopped due to some ‘gas problem’. Yep, it was a little terrifying as the boat unexpectedly became an ‘Enchanted Kingdom-like Anchors Away ride’! Well, this incident gave me a lesson that I should ride the SuperCat next time.

I must say that it was a well-spent short break because we managed to do our stuffs within the 2 days/ 1 night stay. Overall, I had a memorable time. I will surely go back again because Puerto Galera charmed me with the hospitality of the people, the food, and the tranquility of the place. It was indeed a nice short get-away from the city life and a stress buster for us living in the metropolis.

Plan a trip now!

Related post:

• Puerto Galera…Here I Come!