Bantayan Island : A Paradise

"Summer Breeze Makes me feel fine,blowing through the jasmine in my mind.." 

That time of theyear,Summer!.Summer!..Time to get out and be in your skimpiest,sexiest,teeniest,weeniest,yellowest Polka Dot bikini!..and what other place to do just that ?!...Smile and Say ...Beach..

Summer is not Summer without going to the Beach!!!.

Tara na ,Beach Tayo..Who can ever resist the tempting and refreshing water,I know we are all ..son/daughter of a beach,we have that beachy-feel in all of us...spelled it right,or wrong?! I myself is a self-proclaimed Beach Addict,though I don't put on my Yellow Polka Dot Bikini..Lol

I should have blogged about this last year but you know,Procrastination hit me..as always..haha..so after almost a year ,we had the trip Last May 4-5,2013, I now have the chance..very long overdue but still a memory worth to blog about..So How did we explore Bantayan Island..hmmm

Bantayan Island is situated to the west of the Northern end of Cebu Island. There are buses,Ceres Aircon Buses in North Bus Terminal (NBT near SM Cebu going to Hagnaya (Drop-off Port for Bantayan) daily. From NBT ride a bus to Hagnaya Wharf in San Remegio ,Cebu then board a Shuttle bound for Sta. Fe Port. Buses leaves evry hour from 5.30 am to 7:30 pm and costs Php. 150.00. Travel time is 3 hours ,normal traffic . The bus does a couple of stop overs ,so passengers can refresh themselves with snacks, go for CR or do stretching.

Once in Hagnaya Wharf , there are 2  Ferry lines to get you to Sta. Fe., Island Shipping Lines and Super Shuttle Ferry,  we arrived JIT for the 10.30 am schedule.

http://bantayan.gov.ph/tourism/transport-schedule Click the Link for Ferry Schedule.

Regular Fee Rate is Php. 170.00 plus Terminal Fee of Php. 10.00

Upon Arrival you will be surrounded by a wave of men waving their rates and fares to where you want to have your accommodation. Lucky us we already booked for our accommodation and already asked about the going-rates for trikes . Drivers tend to overprice so haggle as much as you can and tell them in a matter-of-factly-tone like you know the place and you have contact already . So we ended paying Php.30.00 each for a group of 6 since we really don't know about the place and we made stop-over in their market to buy some food and have Manong wait for us...hehe

Tip: If your Resort/Stay doesn't have Corkage for bringing food or you don't have free meals , buy as much food from Cebu City,Prices here are really expensive ,we understand why but If you are on a budget-trip it's a great way to cut expenses.

For our 2D/1N beach adventure in Bantayan ,we stayed at Bantayan Cottages. A very nice,comfortable place with hospitable people. It's a few-minute walk from the port but since we don't know the place yet we opt to ride a trike. It is located at F. Roska, Talisay,Sta. Fe .

The place is not a beach front but very near to the beach approximately 200 meters from the famous white sands of Bantayan. Also,the place is surrounded with plants and flowers,and it's a nature-type of stay,we even have foreigner neighbors .

Our Room has its own CR, and it's quite big ,plus  table and chairs,a cabinet, a Cable TV,AC and we have our own little Veranda ,where in our case was made into a clothesline..haha, You can buy food from the market and have it cooked there,they don't have corkage and all..It's really so free there.

Plus you can use their Kitchen and other utensils and you can also ask for your food to get refrigerated ..and there's more ,they provide hot water and coffee free of charge. For Php. 650 good for two but it can accommodate more than that  plus  150 / extra person person,mattress provided ...you get all that! You can even ask for additional pillows or sheets,isn't it amazing! You can freely roam around the place,and security is never a problem .It's really a very homey stay but with a beachy feel huh!..hehe

Please check link : http://www.bantayancottages.com/ 
Contact them for reservations and other details.


They are very hospitable and they'll treat you like their own family. It's really a home away from home .

Beach Time!!!!

Bantayan has that magic allure that makes you want to jump and swim in the sea the minute you set foot on .The sand is so powdery white ,it looks like Polvoron,I haven't tried if it tastes like it too ...Lol..The water is really so blue you can see the bottom .There are no rocks unlike some beaches where you got your toes or nails punctured .

 

The beach is for everybody,you can walk right through different resorts,meet new people and chat with them. Even if you stay in a posh Resort ,the beach is still accessible for everyone,there's no exclusivity like other resorts here in Cebu. You can  get past some foreigners,Koreans,Caucasians and others and enjoy the beach with them. 

We had the best time of our summer in Bantayan.We will definitely be back again. Same Place,more fun. 

Bantayan Island will rise Again. No typhoon can ever bring its beauty and grandeur Down! #BangonBantayan

We can never really define,spell and think of summer without thinking of Bantayan Island!

Ali na,Adto Nata Sa Bantayan!

Ciao,

Gail

Around Negros Oriental

I am from Cebu South, Boljoon specifically, but I have never been to the Southest part of Cebu or even its neighboring Islands ,Negros Occ/Negros Oriental and Siquijor , so when we attended a  party last September 2013 in Samboan,and seeing the grandeur right before my very eyes ,the Sumilon Island, Negros,etc. , I had this sudden rush,the excitement of traveling and exploring these places soon. So 2 months after ,November 2013,we traveled and conquered Bacolod..Weeehoooo!!!.. a very nice place indeed, I'll be telling you about it but for now,I want you all to hear that I've set foot and explored Negros Oriental,the Sugar Island,the City of Gentle People and places where nature is still in slumber, and I love it soooo much! So I'm crashing them out on my Travel Bucket List..

So how did we made this a fun-packed,jam-packed,sulit to the hilt One-day Negros Oriental Adventure? Well,thanks to the ever-trusted Google, Google Map ,some travel blogs and a little expense estimation..haha

So,to start,my highschool friends were planning to do some adventures outside Cebu and what better place to start it with is by exploring our very close neighbor Negros Oriental,and I invited my workmates to join on our little adventure,and as always they are on-the-go.The initial plan was to stroll just around Dumaguete and "saag" all we want , but since Negros Oriental is such a great place to discover, we then changed our Itinerary ,explored  Sibulan,Dumaguete and Valencia.

We always consider how "sulit" our trip will be so before doing it,I do a lot of research on the places where heading,read blogs and everything with useful in formations and most especially how budget-friendly it is, you know getting the best out of the little budget. So since I'm from Boljoon,(but I work in the city,I go home mostly every week), from there we took a bus and head to Lilo-an Port,took us 40 minutes and since it's a regular bus we only paid Php. 40.00. From Llilo-an to Sibulan, it only took more or less 15 minutes and paid Php. 62.00. We strolled a little around Sibulan, took pictures,since it's not 12/24/36 shots anymore ,took tons of pictures rather. haha

At Sibulan Church 

Sibulan Port

I run thirsty,need to drink!..Lol

After taking pictures and satisfying our eyes on Sibulan's beauty we headed to Dumaguete City," The City Of Gentle People", we have a long list of places we want to see ,so to start of ,we went to ..tada!.. Jollibee Dumaguete,..Lol...we automatically told Manong Driver to stop at the sight of Jollibee's smiling face..haha, someone's got to eat breakfast ,right?!..haha,From Sibulan to Dumaguete we paid Php. 10.00. We then strolled around their City's Capitol Building ,took a lot of pictures yet again even under the heat of the sun, climb ,and posed with big smiles.

In Front of  their Capitol Building

So Green and Colorful huh!..

Bossy Pants..

Their Jollibee store is different..hehe

After taking pictures millionth time,we headed downtown where most of our "to-go-places" are located, we took Pedicab,in which a student from Silliman ,strongly advised us to pay Php. 9.00 only  no matter what ..(with Coño-like Accent..hehe, thank you Miss ). First Stop,Silliman University, we were so amazed by the vast land area this school occupies ,a total of 527 hectares (33 hectares main campus,remaining 494 farm land ) imagine that?!.. It's the 3rd University in the Philippines with the Biggest Land Area ,but nothing in comparison to UP Los Baños with 15k Hectares, top that! I bet students here have no worries on studying, the school is so serene and so quiet, unlike Universities here in Cebu,teachers' voices competing with the traffic noise outside,downside is ,when you're running late,you really got to be running literally,talk about hectares and Exercise eh?!..haha..

Forget all your troubles,forget all your cares and go Downtown..and so we went!.. Next Stop,Quezon Park,Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries,St. Catherine of Alexandria Church and Old Belfry,Rizal Boulevard and Colon St. They have Colon St. too..We strolled under the heat of the sun looking for shops listed in my " Must-Visit Place ",took a lot of pictures and strolled again..haha..I just noticed there are  a lot of foreigners in Dumaguete , it's a tourist destination indeed. We were so happy we were able to attend mass since it's Sunday the church is full and as much as I want to take a picture of the Church in its tranquility I have to settle with a picture with lots of photobombers...Lol..What do you expect, a church with no Parishioner?! hehe..

Taking pictures and strolling got a toll on us,with rumbling stomach we searched for resto's on my list but some of it are close.on Sunday?!..I've read a travel blog recommending Atong Kamalig ,so we gave it a go,and Voila! It's really worth a try , it's a kind of relax-chillax-resto where a band plays at night with food spot-on our budget plus Wifi. Common Scenario when a wifi is available: Upload/Update Gallore..haha..

We managed to squeeze in another destination ,and that's Forest Camp in Valencia ,it's a 12 -15 minutes ride from Dumaguete ,minimum fare for Pedicab is Php. 9.00 plus fare to Forest Camp Php. 12.00 .Forest Camp has an entrance fee ,Php. 80.00 Adult,Php. 60.00 for Children but I guarantee you ,it's all worth it ,we even want to take a dip but we didn't bring extra clothes.

Forest Camp is a nature-type of resort with river and cascading pools with fresh water running ,it's like a terraces of pools with lots of trees around, you are an inch closer to nature really. They also has other activities like Zipline and Rappelling for only Php. 50.00 but with a big signage " Zip at your Own Risk"..haha,..You can also try the hanging bridge and jump on it..haha..While Strolling you can ask for Refreshments,Buko Shake,Buko Juice at Php. 35.00 and 25.00 or have your meal there,or try their sumptous native chicken dish and it's in generous serving!

 They have very cheap Cottages at Php. 300 with spacious area already,you can choose from tree cottages and many others.

You can also opt to stay overnight ,pay Php. 2,500 for the stay but you can already call 10 of your friends/family and have your Barkada or Family Time together plus No Corkage! Lots of nice areas you can take pictures on,surely your cameras will be at it's highest performance when in Forest Camp.

Caution: Upon entering Forest Camp you will meet " Mr. Mischevous Monkey",warning ,don't let your hair near Him,He will pull every strand he gets his hands on...as in,saw him did that to my friend,she almost lost a part of her curly-hur-don't cur!..haha..

We weren't able to go to Casaroro Falls , since we ran out of time but be sure to visit it since it's really a great place ,I've read a lot about it on blogs and most people recommend it too. you can also check Tejero, though some part of it is still under Construction ,it's a great place still,and entrance fee is cheaper than Forest Farm.

We head back to Dumaguete City to buy some Pasalubong and stroll yet again on Rizal Boulevard,picture again ,eat,stroll,pic again and the cycle goes on..haha..We ate at Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries and they're really good.

One day is really not enough to stroll even one part of Negros Oriental but at least we got a glimpse of their place,we'll surely visit again and if time permits ,stay longer..(Not mentioning Financial Side)..hahaha..

You'll be shocked just how little we spent with this travel..that's Travel-Lite..haha..we were even able to buy pasalubong..Extreme Cheapskate eh?!..No,..sabi nga nila..Diskarte lng Pre!!.hehe..

Daghang Salamat!

Ciao,

Gail