Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Exotic Restaurant Kalayaan, Laguna






Exotik Restaurant, as the name implies, offers exotic food like sting ray, frogs, and the like. But they also serve non-exotic food. The entire menu there is delicious

How to get to Exotik Restaurant:

The Exotic Restaurant is located at Brgy. Longos, Kalayaan, Laguna. Take the South Luzon Expressway, exit at Turbina. Head towards Calamba, turn right at the Old National Road. Go straight ahead, passing through Calamba, Los Baños, Victoria, Bay, Sta. Cruz and Pagsanjan. The end of the Old National Road is at the Pagsanjan Church. Turn left and go straight ahead. You will pass through Lumban and Kalayaan. Along the way you will see the Caliraya Power Plant. The Exotic Restaurant is along this highway, and you will see a sign (and a quite volume of traffic).

Zoobic Safari, Subic Bay Freeport













Zoobic Safari is nestled in the jungle and built on the site of the former US Naval Magazine, so they tell me that no clearing or destruction of any of the jungle habitat occurred.

The Zoobic Safari is split into 5 different attractions, but I wanted to see the tigers in action, especially since I had a vague idea what was going to happen. However that would have to wait.

The admission price is P295 for Monday to Thursday and P395 on Friday to Sunday, if you can get there mid week I would highly recommend it as it was very quiet, whereas the weekend is suppose to be quite frantic.

In the main building you also get your first glimpse of a tiger which is in a large cage, they also keep tiger cubs here just in case you want some photos.

Zoobic Safari Attractions
Before you get to charge off and see the tigers in action, your group is assigned a tour guide who takes you through the entire Zoobic Safari. The lady we had was extremely knowledgeable and you could tell she had a passion for what she was doing, without her, the safari would have been quite boring.

The five attractions are Zoobic Park Petting Zoo, Zoobic Serpentarium, Tiger Safari, Tiger Close Encounter and the Savannah.

Majestic Mt. Mayon- Cagsawa

Cagsawa – originally kagsawa derived from the two words “kag’ which means ‘who does or owner’ and ’sawa’ means a ‘python’it become a tourist attraction since then, the sight of an old kampanaryo with a beautiful backround of mayon volcano is what tourist keep coming back.





Isdaan & Tacsiyapo Wall Gerona, Tarlac

February 26, 2010

Isdaan is a sprawling restaurant complex in Gerona, Tarlac by the Ongpaucos' Barrio Fiesta group. This floating restaurant has a large fish pond, Asian-themed interiors (complete with giant Buddha statues and Balinese designed huts), and several physical activities befitting of a theme park.

Upon entering the restaurant, you’ll find floating bahay kubos for dining. There’s a lot to see around the place. There are some giant urinating/spitting monkeys. It’s a multi-player game where the players try their luck staying dry. The winner (the one who stay dry until the end) gets 1 kilo of fish cooked any way the winner wants.

The tacsiyapo wall was featured many times on TV and on print. Guests buy a mug or plate (P8-15) or even a functioning TV (P1,500). Once you’ve chosen your “weapon”, take a deep breath, then throw your weapon unto the wall, break it into pieces and release your tension along with it.






Imperial Palace, Mactan Cebu

In November last year, Phil BXT's latest project and newest business development Imperial Palace Cebu Waterpark Resort and Spa, was declared a Tourism Economic Zone under Presidential Proclamation 1681. Officially inaugurated as an eco-zone, with the tourism chief himself unveiling the commemorative marker, Imperial Palace Cebu in Maribago, Mactan is a welcome addition to address the increasing requirement for more tourism accommodations.

Imperial Palace Cebu Waterpark is located on an 8-hectare property in Maribago, Mactan Island, Cebu, and features 557 contemporary, luxuriously designed deluxe rooms, suites, and pool villas. It also boasts of grand amenities such as a 6,188 square meter pool, a spa, and a private beach. This new attraction is among the biggest investments in tourism development in the country; the first among international chain of hotels set to flourish in the Philippines.









February 22-27, 2010

Aguinaldo Shrine Kawit Cavite




The shrine is the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the First Republic of the Philippines, and it was here that Philippine independence from Spain was proclaimed from a window of the home on June 12, 1898. The proclamation of Philippine Independence was read, though this was subsequently replaced by another declaration written and signed in Malolos, Bulacan).

The Philippine flag was formally unfurled to the people, although it had been flown during battle in late May of 1898 (now celebrated as Flag Day on May 28) and the Philippine national anthem was also played as incidental music (the lyrics were written in 1899 by José Palma) by the marching band of San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias, Cavite) on that date.

Puerto Princessa Palawan
















December 15-19, 2009








Puerto Princesa City is the capital of Palawan and is a pleasant, albeit busy, commercial center. It is often merely a stopover for tourists heading off to other famous Palawan holiday destinations. I have found many things to like about this city, including some fantastic restaurants and cafes. Puerto Princesa City still has some of its exotic character as an old port and fishing city.

Navigating your way around “Puerto”, as the local call it, is simple. The main road is called J. Rizal Avenue and almost everything of interest to you is on it. It runs EW and the part of interest to you starts at the Airport entrance in the east and ends at the pier less than 3km away to the west. On Rizal Avenue you will find most of the restaurants and cafes, the immigration office, banks, souvenir shops, the tourist office, etc. Although the walk down the main street is interesting, it is not particularly pleasant because there is no footpath as such and you will end up having to walk amongst the traffic which can be heavy at peak times, but certainly not heavy by Manila standards.

Transportation around town is mainly by tricycle. The cost is P7 per person for short trips around the city center. From the airport to your lodgings, expect to pay about P50 for the tricycle. You can also just walk 100 meters out of the airport to Rizal Avenue and catch a tricycle there for the P7 per person. There are no taxis in Puerto Princesa, but vans can be hired if you want to go around the city, or anywhere else in Palawan.

Puerto Princesa is the name of the municipality which covers about 2,540 square kilometers. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City. To the locals, the city center is called Poblacion. When something is stated as being in Puerto Princesa, check that it is not some 100 kilometers away from the city center


Underground River
Probably the most popular activity out of Puerto is the day trip to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Sabang which is 80km away. The underground river day trip is P1500 fixed price and includes all costs - hotel pickup, park entrance fees and lunch on the beach. Any guest house or hotel will gladly book this for you. If the park is not too busy, you can expect the whole trip to take about 7 hours. If you are on a tight schedule, beware that bad weather or peak season can stretch out this 7 hours to many more. If you have the time, I would highly recommend that you spend at least one night in the seaside village of Sabang and do the underground river tour from there. For more information click here - Travel Guide for Sabang and the Underground River

Honda Bay Island Hopping and Snorkeling
There are a number tour packages to Honda Bay where you can choose your own islands you wish to visit. It is a full day activity. The tour package costs P1100, and for that you get picked up from your hotel or guest house, and includes lunch on the beach. Most people speak well of this tour but it is most popular with tourists who have only a few days to spend in Palawan, which is often the case for Filipinos. Maybe skip Honda Bay if you are going on to Port Barton or El Nido.