The Island Explorer

The Manor at Camp John Hay has been my home for a week when I was in Baguio. For me, the Manor is the best hotel in Baguio, next to Elizabeth. Their rooms are huge, fit for a family of four. I love their walk in closet that I have transformed into my little office when I was there. The views of pine trees from the balcony does make you forget about work, as proven by my relentless efforts to keep a pace with the event we were organizing. The Manor in itself is a beautiful place. The wooden panels exude coziness to the extreme. There is a spa, gym with all the facilities. It has a quaint bakeshop as well, that serves one of the best cheesecakes. Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of the Marble Cheesecake that I had more than thrice while I was there. The Manor also takes pride in one of the best restaurants in Baguio, the award winning, Le Chef. Though disappointed during my first dinner here, my succeeding meals proved satisfying enough. I had the same American breakfast durin

The Baguio Country Club is exclusive for members only, so getting a chance to stay in this hotel doesn't come often. We stayed for a night at one of the Penthouses owned by San Miguel, our client. BCC may be exclusive, but it looks older than nearby Manor in Camp John Hay. The rooms also need to be refurbished, and the structure, well, does look tired. Though most guests are here for the golf, BCC's exclusivity gives it the class it deserves. BCC is probably best known for its wonderful bakeshop, aptly called Raisin Bread. Whenever I go to Baguio, I try to pass by BCC to buy fresh raisin and banana bread. BCC also makes tempting cakes and desserts, some of which are sold in Starbucks and Figaro in Baguio. You must absolutely try their raisin bread and banana bread, though I must say that during my last visit, the banana bread was not at its best. In any case, the popularity of their breads and pastries has truly been established. You even have to reserve your order a day in ad

It was a good thing we didn't push through visiting the Thousand Islands. I wouldn't have decided to finally make the trip to one of the destinations I had to go to before I die. Welcome to the Bromo National Park in East Java, Indonesia. The national park is an hour away from Probolinggo, a town 3 hours away from Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. Surabaya is an hour's flight from Jakarta. From Surabaya, I took a bus to Probolinggo where I checked in. The better option is to go up to Cemoro Lewang which sits on the edge of the Tengger Caldera. You can take a mini bus from the Probolinggo Bus Station to Cemoro Lewang. From Cemoro Lewang, the jump off point, you could actually view three distinct volcanoes. One is Bromo, the other and more picturesque one is Mount Batok, while the most towering is Mount Semeru. What makes Bromo stand out is the fact that it is constantly erupting and belches white sulfur smoke. The mouth of Tengger Caldera is aptly called the Se

The last time I was in Jakarta was in 2005. Most people told me that Jakarta was just like Manila. I don't know why they say that. Back then, Jakarta was yes not that nice, but was still better than Manila. The first thing that caught me were the trees. There were trees everywhere, even on their highways. I even went to warung areas (shanties) to interview some households, and was surprised that their squatter's areas were clean. Yes, there were houses made of plywood and patched up boards, but it was not as dirty as those we have in Manila. Two weeks ago, I went back to Jakarta and was able to see more of the city. I was surprised that Jakarta looked even better, more organized, more new buildings, more and more restaurants and even more trees. I was in awe in how much Jakarta has changed in just over 2 years. I went to most landmarks before, so I tried going at places I haven't been to. One was the Jakarta Cathedral which was in front of one of the largest mosques as well