The Island Explorer

I don't write about places I don't like, but I just had to do this out of frustration and disappointment. I recently went to Lago De Oro in Calatagan in Batangas. I wanted to pursue my wakeboarding dreams and practice more to be able to stand up on a board. The last time I tried wakeboarding was in Cam Sur, and I lacked so much time in trying to stand up. So when JP and Liza invited me to go to Lago de Oro, I immediately said yes. Lago de Oro offered us a full board overnight package that included a whole day's use of wakeboarding facilities for P1900 per person for a minimum of 4 people. I thought it was expensive for an overnight stay. I checked their room rates, and the lowest rate was at P4,400. The accommodations in Lago de Oro are not five star as they claim. Though they were bigger, the cabanas and trailers of Cam Sur had more character and charm. The rooms of Lago de Oro looked like Matabungkay's - old and worn. The resort was old and not much renovation has bee...

I love sandwiches. And it sucks that in a country where rice is a staple, there aren't much sandwich bars around. I get most of my sandwiches from cafes. I am a loyal fan of Grilled Chicken Foccacia at Figaro and the Roast Chicken Chipotle at Coffee Bean. I have these sandwiches twice every week for my lunch or a heavy snack. So when I stumbled upon a new juice bar in Podium called Jugo Juice, I was absolutely thrilled to see that they served sandwiches and wraps that looked like those that I consume abroad. Jugo Juice is a smoothie bar, much like Fuzion. I don't know if it's a franchise or not, but the place was well designed and neat. There were sticker labels for their cups on display above the shelf. I ordered the Jugo Classico (P135 for a small size). I forgot the contents of the drink but I remembered it had strawberries and peaches plus 3 more fruits I think. Angela got the Lemonade (P125). Angela and I decided to share so we got two sandwiches, the Tuscany Wrap and ...

I live near Pearl Drive so I passby Amethyst Road going home. I noticed there was a newly opened cafe at the ground floor of Linden Suites on the Amethyst side. It was interesting, since it was looked like those bars/cafes you go to cap a day of work with friends. The place was called Mozu. At first I really didn't know if it was a cafe or a bar or a Japanese resto. But the name had the cafe label, so I assumed it would be like a Japanese coffee bar. One night, Jason and I decided to hang out and have some coffee here. The place was charming to be honest. It did feel like those after office hours bars, nicely lit, cool and had a great ambience for casual conversations. Seeing their menu, I was surprised to see a varied selection of food. There were sandwiches, pastas, cakes and rice dishes. So it was your typical cafe and not a Japanese one. The menu was priced affordably so even though I already had dinner, I managed to order a plate of Beef Kebab and some Green Tea Shake (P120). ...

Langkawi is a laid back island in the north eastern part of Malaysia. Next to Penang, it is perhaps the most visited island in the Islamic state. It is a well-known island destination in the region, where you can find a lot of high end resorts. The Datai, one of the top resorts in the world is located exclusively on Datai Bay north of the island. Upon arrival, we immediately hired a Proton Sedan for us to get around. We were surprised at the price we bargained for! Imagine, just 2,000 pesos for 3 days! Of course, without the gas, but that was one of the best car rental deals I have had. The Langkawi Lagoon Resort was our home for 2 nights. It was a beautiful resort and was affordable. We stayed at the hotel part of the resort that cost us roughly P3,500 a night. It had a nice view of the ocean and the swimming pool. The room was huge and even had a kitchen facility. You can't find anything like that here in the Philippines I think. Langkawi doesn't know time. It is such an idy...

Kuala Lumpur is growing on me. When I first came here two years ago, I thought it was a boring city. I just visited the KL Tower, the Petronas and Bukit Bintang. I was only there for 2 days. I came back the next year with my daughter, and still went to the same places. Recently I was there for 3 days, now on my own without any agenda. This post is not about KL but more about the snack times I had. Some famous restaurants I patronize in Malaysia are Secret Recipe (now here in Manila) and Seed (which is a cafe of the same clothing brand). I am not such a fan of Malaysian food, since it's like Singapore's. I like their Rendang though and their Fried Chicken which is just like ours. What I like about this is their rice and sidings! You can never get something this complete here, at the same price as a Fully Loaded Meal in KFC. Anyway, there's this newly opened mall, the Pavillon, along Bukit Bintang, in front of the Marriot. The mall was huge and high end. It reminded me of the...