Category: Luzon

DIY Puerto Princesa City Tour by Motorcycle

Puerto Princesa is a gateway to some really great areas in Palawan that require longer land travel. We planned to spend some time in El Nido and allotted most of our travel money for this. But since the city itself is a great destination, we decided to spend a couple of days there before and after El Nido with a more modest budget.

On our first full day there, we decided to rent a motorcycle to explore the city’s most popular tourist spots. If you can drive a bicycle or motorcycle, you can save costs on the standard city tour and spend more time exploring the places you want without being tied to a tour group. During our visit, motorcycle rentals cost PHP500/for 24 hours use from Alex Motorcycle Rental(Rizal Ave.) We drove around the main city, weaving through the busy side streets and alleys, passing by the port, Baywalk and at Kamarikutan Café for a quick look around. Continue reading “DIY Puerto Princesa City Tour by Motorcycle”

Shooting Range in Isabela

In the event a zombie outbreak happens (and it will), one of the most useful survival skills you will probably need to know aside from running for your life is how to shoot a real gun. Though I play the occasional first-person shooters like Left4Dead and have tried shooting games like lazer tag, paintball, and airsoft, nothing beats target practice at a shooting range.

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Corregidor on Foot

Old Manila Walks recently launched The Corregidor Walking Tour, dubbed “Of Bombs, Big Guns & Lost Gold.” The walking tour, which is concentrated on the “historic core” if the island, provides a broader, more contextual, insightful and critical understanding of World War II in the country. Throughout the tour, Ivan Man Dy, the founder and lead guide of Old Manila Walks, shared interesting stories of military strategies, enemy invasion, lost treasures and conspiracy theories on WWII. This was actually my third time on the historic island, after taking the traditional bus tour and the Adventure Challenge and overall, I found the whole experience to be a great workout for both body and mind! Below are a few photo highlights & some useful info for those who want to try it out themselves.

For more walking tours, check out my article “History on Foot: Old Manila Walks” in Zest Inflight Magazine, March 2013 issue. Continue reading “Corregidor on Foot”

Food Trip: Sagada

In recent years, Sagada has gotten a reputation for having lots of great eating places. If you’ve been there, you can probably agree that the cool crisp mountain air and all that walking around surely works up an appetite. Thankfully, there are lots of great restaurants to try out. For those who like to plan where to eat in advance, here’s a list of some of the restaurants we sampled during our five-day trip there, with accessibility ratings and distance on foot from the town center (with the hospital as the starting point).

food trip sagada Continue reading “Food Trip: Sagada”

Mt. Pulag: Expectations vs. Reality

The first rays of the sun break on the horizon and warm orange light slowly seeps through the cold cover of clouds. As the veil of the night sky lifts, a sea of ghostly mist drifts by on the grassy rolling hills of Luzon’s highest peak.

This was how I envisioned my trip to Mt. Pulag, my first trip of the year and first ever ascent up a mountain (the second highest in the country). But that didn’t go exactly as planned.

What I got was bitter cold, rain, fog and mud so thick that it blackened my feet through my shoes and two layers of thick socks. There were times while hiking that I felt like one of zombies in “The Walking Dead,” just mindlessly shambling on, putting one foot in front of the other, wondering when the misery would ever end. Continue reading “Mt. Pulag: Expectations vs. Reality”

A Taste of Baguio: Paseo Rizal Mayagay

From the wide windows of the main restaurant, the grove of pine trees and the rolling hills in the distance looked almost Baguio-like. In one corner of the rustic building made of wood and bricks, was a rocking chair in front of a fireplace. The sound of crickets chirping mingled with the tinkling of wooden chimes swaying with the mountain breeze.

It’s hard to believe that Paseo Rizal Mayagay in Tanay, Rizal is just an hour and half’s drive from Manila. Before we left, I was sweltering in the heat of Quezon City. That same afternoon and evening, I regretted not bringing a jacket. Continue reading “A Taste of Baguio: Paseo Rizal Mayagay”

Hotel-Hopping in the North (Take 2)

The year is about to end and I still haven’t finished writing about Lakbay Norte 3, the 8-day media tour of the Northern Philippines. Aside from all the activities, the restaurants we ate in and hotels we stayed in played a huge part in making the trip so great. In the tradition of my hotel-hopping post for Lakbay Norte 2 (which kick-started my whole key collection), here’s a quick rundown of the different hotels we stayed in during the trip for LN3.

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Snapshots: Sagada

Right now, I’m really missing the cool mountain air of Sagada. There’s something about this charming town that just makes you want to stay for days or weeks. Aside from all the great places to eat and exciting outdoor activities you can do, it’s just the ideal place to laze around. You wake up to the most spectacular view of mountains and flowers and can  huddle under the blankets even at high noon. Still working on a couple of articles about the different things to do there. In the meantime, here are a few snapshots from our trip:

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Motorcycling from Sagada to Banaue and back

The narrow road seemed to snake on endlessly. Before me were several towering mountains thickly covered with pine trees. Thin clouds that seemed like wandering spirits shifted in and out of the scenery.

Some sections of the road apparently had just been been cleared of landslides, but there were still boulders and rocks strewn all over. At every blind turn, I was terrified of crashing head on with a jeepney full of toploaders or a speeding truck on its way up to Sagada. More than once, I had visions of my motorbike careening off a cliff, tragically with me still on it.

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Castaway in Caramoan

Interest in Caramoan, Camarines Sur has surged ever since it was featured in the hit reality show Survivor. International franchises of the show that have been filmed here include Serbia, Israel, Bulgaria, France and most recently the 25th season of the US version, which started airing last week.

caramoan islands travelup

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