Treasures of Bolinao - Brgy. Patar Bolinao, Pangasinan

After more than a month of planning and searching for the best resort to spend a weekend together, this is the day we've been waiting for... the Bolinao Trip!

We found this resort, again...over the web. Kat and I immediately decided that this is the place we've been looking for. A nice off-white beach (they even quoted this as "Boracay like sand"), side trips like caves, lighthouse, a 400-year old church, and a falls. All of these in one places is a jackpot.

Welcome to Pangasinan, its still a long way to go!

Its a 6-hour drive from manila, so you need to have a good rest before starting this long drive trip. We left our office building at 7am and reached the resort by 3pm...(we took 8 hours going to this resorts because we have a lot of stop-over)

Going to this resort needs a lot of patience especially when entering the Brgy. Patar, because half of its road is still a rough road - I guess the mayor did not finish his project because the road leads to his competitors resorts... Treasures of Bolinao is 15KM drive from the entrance of Brgy. Patar.

Entrance of Treasures of Bolinao

The resort looks nice, but the pool is so simple and there's nothing special on it, its landscape is very simple and the place is a bit small compare to what I expected. We reserve a 2 junior Suite room located in their Main House. When we got inside the room, I was a bit disappointed. The room is just compose of 2 double size bed, plus 2 extra bed,and a small aircon that took a little longer before the room gets cold, and there is no television! - Sorry I was not able to take a photo of the room because its not really good in my eyesight.

After taking some rest, we decided to roam around the resort. You need to walk on the other side of the resort to find a beach swimming spot, since the resort created a floating cottage instead of making the beach front a place to swim for their guest.

Patar Beach

I love the beauty of the Patar beach, with its off-white sand and a cold water. This is what I've been looking for...well when it comes to Luzon Beaches.

pool at night

If you are going in this place, make sure you pack your own food, because the food in this resort is not cheap. They charge 300 pesos for a buffet dinner, a bit of rice, a bit of meat, a bit of veggies, and a bit of fruits. Well since its a buffet, you are allowed to go back. But they will still serve a bit of everything plus a one-time ice tea. After having a dinner, we play poker and videoke. We are bit frustrated with their videoke machine, because its microphone gets grounded and they don't even have spare. We ordered SMB pale pilsen since they ran out of stock for SMB Light, again...if you are planning to have a good time in this resort, you need to buy your liquors/beer outside, Because it was just 9PM all of their drinks are already sold-out. And their hard drinks are so expensive, imagine a Ginebra Premium Gin cost 700pesos in this overly expensive charge resort!

In the morning, we decided to eat our breakfast. Our room accommodation includes breakfast by the way. We were not able to avail the Breakfast buffet, because we woke up late. Only the people in the other room was able to avail tit - hindi man lang nang-gising, makasarili!...

So we only ordered a platted meal, a Pangasinan Longanisa - 3 small pieces of longanisa, egg, tomato, and rice. After eating, the waiter came for us to sign the coffee and a milo we had. And guess what, they charged 120pesos for a 3 packs of milo!!!! WTF?!

We left the resort by 11AM. Then we go on our side trips.

Bolinao Lighthouse

First stop... Bolinao Light house, its just a few meters away from the resort. They said this is the tallest lighthouse here in the Philippines.



Inside enchanted cave



Next is the Enchanted cave, you will see 3 caves upon entering Patar. Enchanted Cave, Wonderful Cave and Cindy's Cave. They said Enchanted Cave is the most beautiful cave among the 3. We only visited the Enchanted cave, the cave has an entrance fee of 50 pesos, but if you're going to swim they will charge you 70 pesos. Why is bolinao so expensive! damn!



St. James Fortress Church



We also visited St. James Fortress Church, it was builtin 1609, it is the only church bearing the Seal of Queen Isabel of Spain.

We ate lunch at Adoras eatery, just beside the church. After eating lunch we decided to go home.

We were not able to visit the Tara Falls because we need to travel 6 hours going back to Manila.

I just want to remind everyone, if you are planning to visit Bolinao make sure you have a lots of money. Because this place charge big time!

If you are planning to visit the resort, here's their web page: http://treasuresofbolinao.com/

Again, please bring your own food and drinks...if you're on a tight budget

Patar Beach

Bolinao Lighthouse

Welcome for Coming...

This blog will serve as the memory of the places I've been at the start of this year.

Memorable places full of experiences, from joy and hapiness, to pissfull moments, to super extra-ordinary moments with my family, friends, and with my special someone... ^_^

Hope this blog will also help you decide on where will be your next unwinding spot...
Enjoy!

Club Balai Isabel - Talisay Batangas

From North last week, now i headed South!

My Daddy's cousin decided to celebrate his birthday in this wonderful place called Balai Isabel. His wife bought a membership in this resort that's why they got discount.

And since me and Noel already in a Vacation Leave, we don't want to put it on waste, so we decided to get a room for us. We also got discount since Ate Cha was the one who made our reservations.

The place is sooooo beautiful!!!

bed room in Orchard lane

We rented the room Orchard Lane that can accommodate a maximum of 8. The room has 2 double beds that can fit 2 person in each bed. 2 day beds with pull-up that can accommodate 2 person each day beds. With bathroom...ofcourse. The room is also equiped with Gas Stove/Oven, electric thermos and a ref, you just need to rent for the gas tank in order for you to cook food. It also has LCD tv with Cable. There's just one thing I don't like with the bathroom, it doesn't have a bidet! As a Filipino, we are not used of using tissue paper to wipe off our butt after depositing to the bank, even a "tabo". That's why we bought a "tabo" at the nearby market.



The Infinity pool



The terrazza pool

Now let's go to the pool. When we first got into the place, I was looking for their Infinity pool. Coz I only saw there Terraza Pool. And I though that was it. But when we checked-in, I saw their infinity pool and wow! its so big! I was not able to swim from end-to-end because the distance is just so far, well unless you're a great swimmer. I alsmost drowned because I felt tired at the middle, and Noel was just infront of me watching and laughing. He thought I was joking! Well, he too almost drowned because he felt a cramp on his legs...tsk...



Floating pool



The resort also has this Floating pool in Taal Lake, its made up of the materials used in billboards (I forgot its name! crap!) We were not able to try dipping into this pool, since they require an additional 200pesos/head. It looks like no one ever tried to pay 200 bucks just to swim in this pool because it full of dirt, and I think the price is too expensive. And besides, people can swim in their infinity pool anytime they want.



The church



They also have church inside the resort. Its a great place for a wedding! I think this is where Regine and Ogie had their wedding venue.

The resort also has teambuilding facility, like army-type obstacles.

We were not able to taste their food because when I asked the price of their Halo-halo (185php?), it's so expensive...what more of their entree???

But all-in-all we had great time in his resort. The price we paid is worth of the experience and the beauty of the place!

If you're interested, you can visit their website: http://www.balaiisabel.com/

Sharing some of the photos taken in the resort:

my Mommy and I

The Deck

The Infinity pool

The Pool at Night

The infinity pool in different angle

My mommy and daddy @ the Terrazza pool

Vista Venice Resort - Morong, Bataan

The team had the first team building for the year 2011.

We invited Ed Chan, the ex-team lead of the team, and Ian from our Dev team.

This is the second time we venture out in the North side of Luzon, well for the past years we are always on the south...

We found this place Vista Venice, over the web...

And immediately liked the facilities they have.

Wall Climbing...

Rapelling...

Zip Line...

Best for team building activities...

As we enter the resort, we are all wandering, and asking each other...where's the beach? We all thought that the resort is just a few meters away from the beach. But sad to say, the beach is more than a kilometer away from the resort, and you need to pay additional 200 pesos each for the entrance.

We are a bit disappointed, since what we really love is to dip on the beach and enjoy the sand and the waves.

Since we don't have a choice, the team just check-in and rest for a while.

Before the sun goes bye bye, we headed to their adventure site... (yay, im so excited!)

We are so amazed on how tall there wall climbing/rapelling facility is...

For just 250 pesos, you can try all of the 3 adventures: Wall Climbing, Rapelling, Ziplining...



me on the wall climbing

First, we all tried the wall climbing...

Only 3 out of 10 who tried this was able to finish it up to the top (well, i'm one of the 3... ^_^)



me on the zip line

 Next is the Zip Line...

The distance between the starting point up to the end point is not that far, but the speed it takes was the one makes my heart beats fast!



me on the rapelling

 And the last is the Rapelling...

I'm a bit nervous to try this one, since I need to control my weight going down the rope. It's in my hands to control the rope for me to be able to go down. And one missed movement will cost my life....

After the super tiring yet super fun adventure, we all headed to a sumptuous dinner.

Vista Venice food is great, unlike the other resorts that only provides food just for the guess to have something to eat. They serve very delicious food!!... i love their pancit canton, beef, chicken...i can't remember the other entree. Though food service is a bit lame, because it took us an hour before we are able to have our dinner...

After the sumptuous meal, we all headed to the pool. The water is a bit cold since we are at the top of the mountain, yet the temperature eventually subsided once you get into it...

They are currently renovating the place, and adding spa services on their list. They said that when you avail their spa you can gain access to their infinity pool free of charge.

All in all our experience to this resort is the best...
Good Service...
Nice staff...
Nice place...

 

If you'd like to take the adventure, delicious food, and very calm and quiet place.

You can check there website: http://www.vistavenice.com/



Just an ordinary pool