Island-hopping in Palaui and Cape Engano Lighthouse

Day 2: Island-hopping in Palaui and Cape Engano Lighthouse

On the second day of the Lakbay Norte tour, we headed off to the port of San Vicente in Cagayan where boats were waiting to take us on our island-hopping trip to Palaui.

After a 40- minute boat ride through relatively mild waves, we made it to our first stop at Siwangag Cove, a marine sanctuary in the northwestern part of Palaui island. The rough sandy beach was covered with tiny white corals and hermit crabs.

Then, we boarded the boats again towards another island where Cape Engano, a Spanish lighthouse completed in 1892 stood majestically on top of a hill. This time, the waves were much stronger and the swells made our boats drift almost like a roller-coaster. At times, we lost sight of the boats in front of us. Continue reading “Island-hopping in Palaui and Cape Engano Lighthouse”

Cagayan Food-Trip + the Luxurious Sun City

Earlier this year, I joined the second leg of Lakbay Norte 2, a media tour around provinces in the North. The six-day tour, organized by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB) took us to the provinces of Cagayan and Ilocos. I’ve written about the whole trip for Sunday Inquirer Magazine titled 10 Things to do in Cagayan and Ilocos so now I’ll be posting a series of blogs and more photos from the trip.

Day 1: Cagayan food-trip

A delay in our morning flight to Tuguegarao from Manila caused what was supposed to be a leisurely morning snack, lunch and dinner spread out during the day to be jam-packed into a series of meals after our mid-afternoon arrival. Continue reading “Cagayan Food-Trip + the Luxurious Sun City”

NORTHBOUND: Adams, Anuplig Falls and an Exotic Meal

Check out NorthBound’s latest issue featuring “100 Reasons to visit Pangasinan.”

The eighth issue also includes a short article I wrote about our trip to Adams Village and Anuplig Falls during the Lakbay Norte 2 Media tour earlier this year. I also wrote about the  trip highlights for SIM  and will be doing a series of more detailed posts on this here.

 

The handy magazine (which includes a calendar of festivities and directory of places to stay) is published by the really cool people of North Philppines Visitors Bureau (NPVB), a non-profit group promoting tourism in the Northern provinces.

For more information or to download previous issues, check out their site here.

5 Unexpected Food Mashups

The Philippines is no stranger to bizarre food. One of our delicacies balut (boiled, fertilized egg) is considered Fear Factor-worthy, while other seemingly scary snacks like adidas (grilled or sauteed chicken feet), betamax (solidified pig’s or chicken’s blood) and isaw (skewered chicken intestines) are regular fare for most Pinoys. Continue reading “5 Unexpected Food Mashups”

How to throw a Mario-themed party

Ok, so this isn’t exactly a travel-related post, more like a how-to party guide. However, I did travel to Singapore to celebrate my nephew’s first birthday there so technically it counts. 🙂

My sister Lorie wanted to throw an “old school” party for my nephew Eli’s first birthday last year. Since she was based in Singapore at the time and didn’t have much time to buy props, we decided to go D-I-Y. We settled on Mario as the main theme for the details. Continue reading “How to throw a Mario-themed party”

Animal Bread from Antipolo

Ever wanted to eat a crocodile for breakfast?

animal-bread-antipolo-crocodile

You can find this cute animal art bread in Domalaon Bakery, an unassuming roadside sari-sari store in Antipolo City. It’s been sold there for years now and has been featured in various newspapers and blogs. The bread is popular during Christmas and New Year, when people buy them as edible centerpieces. Continue reading “Animal Bread from Antipolo”

Camarines Norte: Pabirik Festival

You have to admire the creativity of Pinoys when it comes to fiestas. Imagine coming up with unique costumes, dances and props centered around a certain theme every year. Multiply that by the number of groups competing in street dances that have become a staple of any fiesta.

Continue reading “Camarines Norte: Pabirik Festival”

Rose-Red City of Petra

Travelife Magazine’s Feb-March issue features “Old Rose-Red,” my trip to the stunning city of Petra in Jordan. The elaborate stone carved entrance to the Treasury is probably best known for being the “entrance” to the final resting place of the Holy Grail in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

Continue reading “Rose-Red City of Petra”

Lakbay Norte 2: Hotel-hopping in the North

Six days, five hotels

During the six day tour in Lakbay Norte 2, we got to stay in five different hotels, often arriving late at night from a long drive just ready to crash on the bed with our backpacks and souvenir bags/media kits in tow.

Here’s a quick rundown on the inns where we refreshed our HP/MP during the Lakbay Norte 2 adventure (sorry, gaming reference). Continue reading “Lakbay Norte 2: Hotel-hopping in the North”

Travel Firsts: Lakbay Norte 2 (Cagayan and Ilocos)

As part of the second leg of Lakbay Norte 2 (around the provinces Cagayan and Ilocos), a media familiarization tour organized by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB), I was fortunate to get to see a number places in the North that I’ve never visited and try out some new activities. Here are a few travel firsts from the trip:

Exotic eats. I got to taste tukak (deep-fried frogs), bu-os (ant eggs) and palos (stewed eel) among other dishes during a native Ilocano lunch served by the river in Adams, Ilocos Norte. Though I was afraid to taste the frog because it really looked like a frog’s body despite being fried, the meat actually tasted good (sorry for the cliche – but it tasted just like chicken). The ant eggs were interesting and a little on the salty side. Unfortunately one journalist developed a bad allergy after eating it.

Continue reading “Travel Firsts: Lakbay Norte 2 (Cagayan and Ilocos)”