Zambales, Philippines

It was one of our dreams to visit Mt. Pinatubo and it has kept us a while in planning the trip. We were all prepared a night before and ready to invade the Volcano just to hear the bad news that the Local Government decided to close the location to the Public/Tourist for some reasons. The Tour Agency advised and provided us other options like going to Zambales with Island Hopping package or move to other dates. We were so disappointed considering that we were so excited to see the Volcano and we have not searched or checked what are we going to have in Zambales. Since we cannot move to other dates anymore, we decided to take the Zambales Cove and Island Hopping Package Tour. We left around 3 in the morning the following day and thoughts of how Zambales will look like kept playing in our minds. We passed thru Subic and have witnessed part of the sun rise. It was almost 9 in the morning when we arrived at Zambales and was so tired due to heavy traffic. Our eyes grew big when we had our glimpsed of the beach and islands ahead of us. The excitement and adrenaline started to pump up in us.

Capones Lighthouse

Snap with Family

We took a small motor Boat from the main land and first dropped by the Capones Island. It is located almost at the outer part of the main land and the highlight of the island was the lighthouse (named Capones Island Lighthouse). It is a historic lighthouse located in Capones Island off the coast of Brgy. Pundaquit, San Antonio. The view of the West Philippine Sea from the lighthouse  was extremely overwhelming. You will feel like you we're on the top of the world. The water on the sea and the blue sky makes it a perfect view. You might just want to stay there dreaming and relaxing the whole day long.

Hidden River in Anawangin Cove

Beach Front Anawangin Cove

After Capones Island, we jumped off to our Boat and went to Anawangin Cove to have lunch. This place was a popular destination for camping and beach outing. It has white sands, pine trees, hidden river, a hill and mountains to climb. Do expect though that the place has no electricity and that Mobile Phone's signal is a bit weak. Just the perfect place to relax and disconnected yourself to all those busy and stressful days in the city. After lunch we climbed the hill near us and took photos of the whole area. It was a bit tiring plus the scorching heat of the sun. Since this was an unplanned and unexpected trip, we never got the change to swim at the beach.

We left Zambales at around 4 in the afternoon having a "Bitin" feeling but then decided to have another trip back here. Of course, should be perfectly planned ahead.

Snap at the Lobby of the Lighthouse

View from the cliff (overlooking SouthWest Philippine Sea)

Some snap I took from Capones Island

Some snap I took from Capones Island

The Capones Island itself

Some snap I took from Capones Island

A snap of Anawangin Cove with Me in the picture :)

Me resting at the top of the Hill 

Some view from the Hill

Islas de Gigantes, Iloilo Philippines

Obligatory Picture from Cabugao Island

It's been two years since we left our hometown in Visayas Island and we saw how everything has changed. New buildings built, businesses opened and beautiful malls and resorts were constructed and restored. These things mean one thing, more job opportunities for my fellow Ilonggos or to what we call "Kasimanwa".

During my vacation, we went to this Paradise called The Islas de Gigantes. It is one of the popular beaches/islands discovered in my hometown. Islas de Gigantes, is located off the coast of Carles and Estancia towns in northeastern Iloilo, Philippines. It takes at least 5 hours to get there from Iloilo City. The islands are blessed with pristine white sand beaches, bountiful fresh seafood, and jagged rock formations shrouded by mystical tales of locals. The Islas are composed of 10 islands in total. The Islands were devastated during typhoon Yolanda last 2013. Looking at the news made our hearts melt in sadness. The place was so gorgeous and extremely beautiful before Yolanda hit her. Thanks to our local government that the place was restored immediately. Tourists started to come in since then and the islands became lively again.

Garlic Scallops Overload (P1.00 each)

We did our own itinerary as usual of course. We left Iloilo at 3AM and took a Van going to Carles Port. It was a 5 hours drive and we arrived at around 8AM. We have contacted a local boatman already way before we arrived at Iloilo and he met us at the Port. We started Island Hopping tour and we visited several areas. The weather was quite calm when we started the tour but waves started to hit our boat along the way. We took a lot of magnificent and amazing pictures.

We ate our lunch in one of the Islands and the food was so great, delicious and fresh too. The locals cooked our food for a very cheap price. All you have to do is choose and tell them how it will be cooked.

In front of the Resort we stayed for the night

The place was quite remote so do not expect to have free WIFI, cable tv or other techie stuffs. We only got enough signal for a Call and Text. The place was so peaceful during the night that you can only hear the sound of crickets and all other insects. It was a perfect time to be calm, meditate and feel the sound of the waves. After our dinner, we had a couple of beers and played cards a bit before we slept. We left the Island the next morning at around 8AM and started to travel back to Iloilo City. The 1 Day 1 Night trip was a bit short but it was fun and amazing.

More pictures:

Antonia Island

Ojastras Island

Cabugao Island

Rock formations at Cabugao Island with Wonder Woman Post

The "Tangke" - is a saltwater lagoon located within Gigantes Sur. It is surrounded by cliffs. One local myth surrounding Tangke states that the waters would magically rise every year on June 24 during the feast of Saint John the Baptist

With Friends at The Sand Bar "Bantigue Island"

My Travel Partner

When in Hong Kong

I was so blessed to have experienced my first international trip to Hong Kong. Actually, it never occurred in my mind that I'll be having this opportunity (thanks to my hubby). It was supposed to be a surprise gift for our wedding anniversary but it happened earlier. One day, he told me to pack my things for a long trip to Bicol. He suggested to bring winter clothes or something to keep me warm because it was raining there and very cold that time and that we're taking a plane going there.

In my surprise as I saw my boarding pass, it says that we were heading to Hong Kong. I looked at my husband and smile at him saying "Thank you", I was surprised! That was not the first time he surprised me but that was the most memorable and expensive one (so far ^_^). Maybe for other people, this is just Hong Kong (Yeah! I know right!). But for me, this is special and I will be experiencing my first international trip with my hubby.

It was a 3 Days and 2 Nights trip so our itinerary was a bit tight and hectic. We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport late at night. The weather was so cold and reported that it was the lowest temperature in the history of Hong Kong. And because this was a surprise trip for me, my husband did the itinerary and everything else which I enjoyed a lot. Our guest house was so nice and comfy. The host was very accommodating and responsive to our needs.

We were staying at Tsim Sha Tsui area were everything was accessible. Our place was near the Bus and Train station just across the street only. There were 24/7 Stores for some necessities and food. My husband was well prepared for the trip and everything was going smoothly and perfect. We went to a lot of places, transferring from one to another. Good thing that we never get lost.

First, we went to The Victoria Peak, a mountain in the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak. With an elevation of 552 m (1,811 ft), it is the highest mountain on Hong Kong island. We arrived their earlier and thankfully we were allowed to roam around even it was not yet open. We rode the Peak Tram were you can see the city on the right side. The Peak is a major tourist attraction of Hong Kong.

It offers spectacular views of the city and its waterfront. The viewing deck also has coin-operated telescopes that the visitors can use to enjoy the cityscape. The number of visitors led to the construction of two major leisure and shopping centres, the Peak Tower and the Peak Galleria, situated adjacent to each other. If you are a fan of some famous celebrities either Hollywood or Korean Oppas, you can visit Madame Tussauds Hong Kong Wax Museum which is located also at The Peak.

We left The Peak at around 11:30am and went to our next itinerary which was my favorite, the Hong Kong Disneyland. We rode a train from Victoria Peak to Disneyland. My experience in a train was awesome. It was fast and it only took us 30-45 minutes to go there with underground and some part of the city view. Disneyland Hong Kong has its own Train waiting at the Station. I have some photos of it.

As I got there, my eyes grew big and I had a big WOW. I got teary eyed. My husband did not notice it. But I was so happy and overwhelmed. My dream came to reality. Before I started to roam around, we ate at their restaurant.

We had a free meal that comes with our Disney ticket. Even in their food I found Mickey and got a picture of it. After our lunch, we started our adventures with Mickey. We had a map with us found at the entrance. It helped us a lot not to get lost at the Park. I never let the chance to slip to have a photo with Mickey. We rode some of their rides but my favorite was their The Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. It was so amazing. At first I got scared at how it looks but at the end I enjoyed the ride. A roller coaster with a lot of tricks. It was super fun.

After the Disneyland Adventure, we went to Mong Kok for the shopping. It is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District, on the western part of Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Mong Kok is one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong. The area is characterized by a mixture of old and new multi-story buildings, with shops and restaurants at street level, and commercial or residential units above. Major industries in Mong Kok are retail, restaurants (including fast food) and entertainment. It has been described and portrayed in films as an area in which triads run bars, nightclubs, and massage parlors. Mong Kok was described as the busiest district in the world by the Guinness. We spent couple of hours there roaming around and buying stuffs. It was fun, really fun.

We went home at around 1am already and grabbed our dinner before going back to our Guest House. We had a good night sleep and woke up at 8am. Ooppppssss.. Our flight was at 10:55am and it was super late already. We race up packing up our things, took a bus, and luckily, able to arrive at the Airport just about 10mins before the plane leaves. Weeeewwwww...

Till our next trip! :) Better watch out for those Cheap Promo Fares of the Airline Companies.