Trip to Dumaguete

I can't believe that almost a month has passed since our trip to Dumaguete.  Time is really so fast and it is quite a shock to see that we are almost halfway through 2012!  Anyway going back to our vacation...   

Dumaguete's famous Baywalk

This was probably our most relaxed trip to date.  No pressure to go see the tourist spots at once since I told Erman that we had 6 days to spend here (actually just 3 days in the city since I had a surprise planned for him but more on that in another post).

We stayed at the newly opened Go Hotels which is conveniently beside Robinson's Mall.

Our room was small and simple but that was expected because the rates of Go Hotels are very reasonable.  Our room only cost us P1,200 a night :D  I reserved just a few days before our trip but had I booked earlier it would have been a lot cheaper.  At some days the rates can even go as low as P800!  I'll book earlier next time :D

We had a wonderful lunch at Dumaguete's famous Sanrival... and yes they have other food aside from Sansrival and cakes :D

Rizal Boulevard

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking and hanging out at the Baywalk where we saw many interesting things...

a green house

a stranded boat

 Scary looking nuns on a boat (LOL).  This is actually monument to commemorate the arrival of the sisters of St. Paul in 1904

newlyweds posing for wedding photos

and lovers.  So romantic :D

Where is meow?

 Actually, we are home now :P  Just sharing some photos of the trip we took last 2 weeks ago.

Missing the sand and the beautiful blue water

Our home for 3 days

Beautiful sandbar.  Hope to come back soon (and stay longer).

Hello, Siem Reap!

I've been planning a trip to Cambodia (and India, Nepal, Maldives, EASTER ISLAND...and the list goes on. LOL) for the longest time.  I've always wanted to see the temples in Siem Reap - especially Ta Phrom where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed.  After reading countless posts on travel blogs and sites on educational trips to Siem Reap, we decided that we should finally make those travel plans a reality this year. 

sleeping at the airport

Usually people do an Asian tour (Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand) but we decided to just concentrate on Siem Reap for now.  I also wanted a really relaxed  trip.  Our adventure started in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (the airport to be exact) where we waited 12 hours for our flight.  There were no direct flights yet at the time of our trip but I just heard that Cebu Pacific now offers this route.  Erman was able to sleep on the benches but sadly it was not the same case for meow.  It was a bit uncomfortable for me so I kept my self amused by reading e-mail, browsing the internet and going around taking photos.

Yes, we are in Kuala Lumpur :D

And we are finally in Siem Reap!  We hired a tuktuk (driver was recommended by a friend) for the day ($15).  Our driver picked us up from the airport and drove us to Pub Street for lunch.

Our tuktuk

Pub Street in the morning

fried noodles

I was looking for a Khmer restaurant but the two shops that I spotted were both closed so we just decided to have lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant called Soup dragon.  I was so sleepy but suddenly felt awake when I heard a faint "meow".  I looked under our table and guess what!?  There was a kitty!    

Welcome to Cambodia, meow!

After a nice leisurely lunch we asked Narim (our driver) to drop us off at the hotel.  I looked at several hotels online and picked Tara Angkor since they had a lot of good reviews in terms of price, service and location. 

Our home for the next 5 days

And I was very happy with my decision since the hotel was really nice!  We were given lemongrass tea and cold towels while we were waiting for our turn to check in.

Lemongrass tea with bamboo straw

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the bed :D   Thankfully I was able to wake up before Narim arrived to drive us to Phnom Bakheng Temple to watch the sunset.  More on that on my next post :)

Beautiful Batanes

I have always dreamt of going to Batanes.  My dad had a lot of photos from his trips there in the early 80's and I have been curious ever since.  So when Erman asked me where I wanted to go after our wedding the only place I had in mind was Batanes :)

Batanes is the northernmost province in the Philippines.  Airfare is quite pricey (I even stalked the Seair website for weeks hoping for a seat sale) but it's definitely worth it.  I kept looking out the window during the 1.45 hour plane ride.  I was so excited when we could finally see the islands!

Seair's 32 seater Dormier plane lands in Basco airport in Batan Island, Batanes.

I think this is the cutest airport I've seen so far...

and the most beautiful hotel I've ever stayed in! 

Our room was perfect!  We had to transfer to another room on our 3rd day though because someone had already reserved our room in advance.  This happened because I booked our trip late!  Haha.  But it was just okay because our second room was just as lovely.

I love that all their rooms have nice big windows

Human Heart toiletries

Amazing view of the island!  I can stay here forever :)

Amorita is Love

I have been thinking about going to the beach a lot these days.  Work has been really hectic and our wedding planning is getting more complicated as the date grows closer.  There is also Christmas shopping and of course holiday traffic!  These are the times when I wish I could go on a trip and just detach myself from all the chaos.  It would be really great if I could go to a nice sunny place like Bohol and just relax.  Actually, Erman and I were supposed to go to Bohol this year but we had to cancel because of work :( Boo! 

It would have been really cool to be back here at Amorita in Panglao island.

And just sit down on one of the lounge chairs and just relax.  No computers, e-mails, text massages and phone calls :)

Or just stay in bed and watch TV.  

Btw, this photo was taken from Yummy.com because my room shots were blurred :(

You can also take a dip in your private jacuzzi

Lovely spread to greet the day

where I had the best champorado I've ever tasted!

You can also make your own omelet and order Filipino favorites like Daing na bangus or Chicken Adobo 

and if you still have space for dessert there is suman topped with Bohol's famous peanut kisses :)  Yum!  I really hope we can go back soon.