The Island Explorer

If you read the title, how many of you would think this post is a rant? I guess, a majority. But I'm not going to write about how useless our government is. I am here to share a recent experience. I was on flight 5J 143 bound for Manila from a recent 5-day 3 country tour. I was with my 10 year old daughter who would be leaving for the US the next day. We arrived at midnight, and we breezed through immigration and baggage collection. We had to pass the customs desk, so I gave the declarations form to the officer. I checked the electronics part, since I bought a Mac Book Pro in Hong Kong. I've always bought my macs in HK, and I have probably brought in 4 pieces already in the past 5 years. I was supposed to buy an iMac, but settled for a Mac Book Pro since it was just really such a hassle to bring home.  Because of my intention to buy an iMac, I asked a friend who knew someone from the Customs if it was indeed legal to bring in an iMac. I mean, a laptop could be easily be kep

I was getting bored of the food in Cebu, so I asked for something different. I was looking for a place that was not fancy and non-Filipino. After some researching, we decided to head off to Guadalupe in Cebu City, near the capitol building for a hole-in-the-wall Spanish restaurant called Arano.

The Grand Quartier Suites is located in the upscale residential hillside community of Crosswinds. The hotel takes its design inspiration from the Swiss Alps, hence, makes it try unique from the other hotels in Tagaytay.

When we were walking back to our room, we took a wrong turn and ended up in the garden villas near the poolside. We were able to catch a glimpse of these villas, so we curiously approached the front desk and asked how much the villas were.

It is often said that the "flaw" of Shangri-la Boracay is the beach. Well, if one compares the sand quality of the resort's private beach to White Beach, then it is really inferior. 

We took too long in our lovely room so we pushed ourselves to explore the all-inclusive resort. We wore our swim suits and headed straight for the beach area. As soon as we left the room, we were greeted by their friendly personnel who was fixing the other room. I asked for the fastest way to get to the beach.

Last June, a close friend of mine got married in Boracay. I actually recommended him to Asya Premier Suites, so that was where the wedding was held. I was with my daughter who lives in the US, so we decided to splurge for our first night in Shangri-la Boracay. This begins my journey back to Boracay, now older and not really after getting drunk every night (though this still did happen). 

So, after hearing all the hype and raves, I finally made some time to score tickets to the first Cirque du Soleil show in Manila - Varekai. 

So where did we go after that horrific experience at Casa Ibiza? We left Ibiza and headed straight to a nearby resort, Loreland which was one of the most popular resorts in Antipolo. I was really hesitant at first, but some of my colleagues told me it was nice there.

As you can see by the title, this will be a rant blog. It's been a while since I've written something bad about a place, because I try to censor my articles already (don't write anything when there's nothing good to say about it).