Category Archives: Places

Summer Fun at Balite Falls, Amadeo

Posted by Jay on November 22, 2009 8 comments


It’s the start of summer here! And when it’s summer, swimming is the next best thing to do. The kids we’re all begging me since last week to go swimming. Here’s this new place that I’ve been hearing for a while, Balite falls at Amadeo Cavite.

Entrance – P75.00
Cottage – P350.00 – 750.00
Parking – P30.00

Since we have only heard of it this month, we went there to look and see what the buzz is all about. The place looks good. But the falls I am expecting was not that high, there was a falls alright, but not that kind that I would go gaga over. Anyway, the owner of the land had really made the place look really attractive, kind of eye catching, it’s all about nature here, and they had sort of “magnified” nature, landscaping here and there. Cool water, yep really cool, good for that oh so hot weather.

They have a hall for those special occasions, where you can rent the place for P5,000.00/day. They have catering too, but you can bring your own foods if you like.

Entrance, parking and the hall

The have made the place beautiful, more like a forest resort. Landscaping are all over the place. It was said that the mayor of the town had spent for the beautification of the place, and he did it right.

There were two small pools (or ponds?) there, rent the cottage near it for750, and you can have that small pool for yourself, more like private pool for the kids.

The cottages and the two manmade small pools

The shower is not manmade, the water coming from it comes from the mountain, like spring water shower(?) hehehe.

The shower

Aside from the cottages, there were swings, basket swing shaped like an egg, there were also wooden bench swings. The place looks so relaxing, felt like I’m one with nature.



I’ve taken so many shots, my favorites were the wooden benches and the water from the rock shots. It was raining when we went there and the wooden benches were all wet, and there was one there that had filled with water. I saw a leaf full of ants that was floating on the water and took a shot of it thinking, uh uh you’re all in trouble. There was also a something there that looked like a small cave, didn’t went there as it was above and I’m not up to climbing, I have a one year old child with me.

The place is highly recommended if you are looking for nature kind of outing. Although the water is not that clear, as this is spring/river water compared to swimming pools treated with chlorine. The water here is really cool.


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Free Cell Phones

*j- arpil 2,2009

Martabak Cafe @ SM Mall of Asia

Posted by Jay on February 12, 2009 2 comments

Before my sis-in-law went back to Japan, she treated us out, and we went to SM Mall of Asia, said the biggest shopping mall in Asia. There, we went to the Science Discovery Center, which to me was pretty lame, considering the high entrance fee, not worth it for me. We also went to this playplace, we had fun, especially me at the giant slides… lol… The kids had sooooo much fun there, 7 kids in all. But it’s not what I want to blog, what I want to share is the resto where we had lunch. It was Martabak Cafe, an Indonesian restaurant.

It was cloudy that time so my sis-in-law decided that we ate outside the restaurant, the tables outside looks comforting, their chairs are nice to look at and they provided throw pillows for each of us for our backs. There was also a big umbrella and some colored lanterns. So eating out seems to be a perfect choice, but halfway eating we found out it was a bad idea, because while we were eating the sun came up.

They gave us menus, we choose the foods that we want. I’m surprised as they were all affordable, unlike the other restos we’ve been through there at MOA (Mall of Asia). And the food, they all look soooo good at the pics. We all gave our choices, and my sis-in-law made the orders.

the foods

They are offering combo meals, and combo platters. we had shrimps, barbecues, fried chicken, and I forgot what the fried rice was, we had also the beef dish (which I forgot the name too), and others. As honestly as I can say, the only dish that I liked was the shrimp. the others are not that good, or maybe my palate is not for indonesian dishes. none of the kids ate the barbecue as it really didn’t fit their taste buds. The barbecue had peanut butter on it, ugh… I didnt liked it either, but knowing that it would be such a waste to throw foods and not ate all, I forced myself to eat all the barbecues, until I feel like I’m gonna vomit from it… yep…


Eventhough we didn’t like most of the dishes, we were still filled. Oh, they had bottomless iced tea offered too. and I drank too much, for every mouthful of barbecue I drank iced tea. This was my first time to eat Indonesian foods, and I consider this an expererience that will never happen again. No offense meant to the restaurant owner though and Indonesians out there, but it’s just that I am not into Indonesian dishes…. or maybe there are still more foods that they can offer that would suit my taste. But as for now, no Martabak resto for me =P.

Isn’t he cute, with his annoying smile… lol. he do this all the time grrrrr….MARTABAK CAFE, at SM Mall of Asia

Davao City

Posted by Jay on December 22, 2008 1 comments

Sooooo…. last month (Nov. 2 to be exact), we went to Davao, the place where I was born and grew up. At first I was’nt excited to go there because the purpose was not of a vacation but to visit an ailing father. Ok, hush now about that since this blog is my happy blog, nothing about grief, sadness or anything negative to be posted here. I went with my mother, nephew, sister. I brought along with me my youngest child as he is free from fare.

So back to where I was. The place where i grew up, half of my childhood, my memories, it’s still here (points to head and heart) =p. I left the place in 1983, and was never able to come back again. So this year, to count it, it’s been 25 years. I so missed the place so much. Davao reminds me of beaches, friends, moonlights playing hide and seek, the military camp where we always place, the coconut tree where I always climb, the roof of my neighbor where we always take a jump (hahaha, yep I did that all that), i can never forget the roof chapel where I climb and got suspended in mid air because my shorts sort of got tangled on the nail, fortunately my grandpa was there and helped me to get down, and boy did I got the scolding I so deserved =P.

Those are just some of the memories… and there are plenty,it would take pages if I will write it all.

We took the Cebu Air Pacific flight because they sell the cheapest plane ticket, we were on tight budget, since this visit to Davao isn’t planned. They have this Go Lite promo.

Roundtrip ticket – 5,600++

(this was during that time, prices change from time to time, so if you have plans on going there, check regularly their website)

Just some advice if you dont know it yet, if ever you’re going to buy a round trip ticket, be sure that if you’re gonna extend your stay, call the airline office two days before rebooking your date, so that you’ll just have to pay the minimum charge. We had rebooked the date of our flight at the same day and were told to pay 1,700.00+, rebooking charge.Royal House Hotel have an affordable rate, it’s located at the Davao City central, just near the San Pedro Church. And the food…. the food there is sooooooo very affordable, compared to Luzon’s price. Heck chicken and rice cost only 23 pesos I can’t believe it at first, and the cut, the size is big enough. At Jollibee, McDo, KFC, that would cost me 80 pesos and chicken cut is small. Other foods are very affordable there too, there’s this barbecue restaurants just beside the city hall, their prices are good on your budget, for the fruits you can go to Bankerohan. You can eat all you can without causing you pain in your pocket. Jollibee at the back of SanPedro church is open 24 hours a day. Some computer rental shops there are open 24 hours a day too.

Royal house triple room – 300 pesos /day
Computer rental – 10 pesos / hour

 

When we got there, after taking some rest, I proceeded on visiting the places where I used to go (just me and my little Kichiro), I did’nt took a ride, I just walked and kept on walking. I went to San Pedro church, the church where we used to go, it’s still the same, but the space in front of it is smaller now. Went to the park in front of it, there were some changes too, I looked around for a specific tree and found it. It was still there, I almost hugged it. Why was this tree so important to me?

Here’s the tree, it’s a “duhat” tree, lumboy in our language. This tree bears fruit like berries, it’s color is dark violet, and if you eat too many, your teeth will become violet too =D, i dont know what this tree is called in English, searched it on the net but found no correct translation. Her branches are not that many now, I checked it, she’s very very old. I have kept the memory of this tree. I remembered we always played here, climbing when there were fruits… and there was this one time we were climbing this tree, and there were other kids too, I was counting the berries that I have been plucking from the branches, 1…2…3…4… at exactly 10, i heard this loud crack close to me, and down the other boy fell, the branch got broken. Well, the boy didn’t got hurt but we did laugh so hard, thinking it was my fault because I was counting.


My son Kichiro, played and ran around following the pigeons that were there, I got tired from following him. From the mini park, to the front of the city hall and to the front of the church… We went back to the hotel with my feet and legs aching so much. If my feet could have talked, they would have begged for mercy to just stop walking.


We also went to people’s park. Sculptures by Kublai Milan are numerous in this place. The Philippine eagle on top is one of his creation, it was spectacular. The park opens from 1 in the afternoon till 10 in the evening.

People’s Park entrance – free

There were plenty of flowers too… and the fountains come to life in the evening with different colors of light illuminating it…



My mother bought this really huge mango, it’s called an apple mango but it’s the biggest mango I’ve ever seen in my entire life, a little bit bigger than my son’s head.

We also went to my father’s province, some 2 hours drive from Davao city, it was in Padada, Davao del Sur. They have a place there very near the beach. There was this one time that I remembered when we went there, they have this beach house (it was a small hut, exactly on the beach), it was still there. My father had made sure it will be always there. I already forgot the place but when I saw that hut from a distance, I knew already we arrived.


My father’s ancestral house is in front of that hut, it was big as I remembered it, but it was also very very old. And they have this big land at the back too, where I explored to look for something to take a picture of, did found something interesting. There were still bamboos, when I was a child they said a monster lived there and everynight his sounds will be heard. I took a picture of it too.


We slept at the beach hut and the next morning we said goodbye to my father and the other relatives that were there. Two days after that, my father died. We stayed another one week for the wake and the burial.

I missed the place so much, at my free time, I just walked, kept on walking, retracing my steps to where my childhood was. I wasn’t able to visit my schools, my friends’ house, as our time is limited and we went there not for a vacation. It wasn’t planned. I would love to go back there again, and visit the other places that I remembered so much. There was this shrine that I want to go back to, the durian plantation in Calinan, Times beach (this is where we always go for a swim), Bukana, and so many other places. I hope by next year we will have the time and finances to go on a vacation there, and by that time, I’ll bring my family with me, so I can show my kids the place where I grew up, the places I loved to go to…

For now, another memory of Davao City is added in my heart… i can never say farewell to it as my heart always long for the place…

The day before we were to go back to Manila, me and my little son went to a barber shop for his first hair cut. I was so proud of him, he was really behaved while having his hair done. And oh by the way, hair cut costs only 25 pesos there. Going to a salon/parlor there to have your hair done whatever you want it to (color, relax, rebond, etc) is soooo very affordable, too bad I haven’t got that much money in my pocket, i could have had my hair colored =(.


Hidden Vega

Posted by Jay on August 24, 2008 4 comments


Hidden Vega Resort Located in Manggahan, Gen. Trias,Cavite.

Entrance – 120.00 (same for adult and child)

The place is okay, there is a public and private pool. The public pool is big enough, with one slide, there’s a place for kids where the water is very shallow, for them to walk/run without worrying if the little ones will get drown, but of course little children should be supervised all the time, it doesnt matter if the water is deep or not.

The road that leads to the place is really bad, not concrete with lots of bumps, stones, holes, (lubak-lubak talaga). It’s inside a subdivision, you’ll have to pay an entrance fee at the gate, just a little amount (5 pesos only).

They should do something about the road, the first time we went there, I feel like I don’t want to go back anymore, there are other resorts with nicer roads, and cheaper entrance fees.

Rooms are also available, for a fee, so if you really want to hide for awhile, from whatever is bothering you, or you just want to relax, escape the city or something, you can try this place. But be warned about the “lubaks” bad road.

My family went there just to take a swim, it was still summer, but it was’nt really hot, the sky was a little bit gray, but the kids wanted to go swimming, so the resort we headed. But before we went there, we made a deal, that each one of them will pay for the entrance, since we are broke at that time. They all agreed (good kids), so they took off some money from their savings, my daughter and son, and one of their cousin. My husband already checked out the place and have asked how much the entrance is. We did’nt brought food, because we had just eaten our lunch.

When we arrived there, there were people at the private pool and none at the other pool, well, thank goodness we have the pool to ourselves, it’s like renting it for private use too… =).

Everybody was having fun, there was a slide, but there werent water running on it, so the kids, my eldest daughter started it, were bring water by the plastic bag up the slide then slowly sat on the slide and thrown the water then slide right away.It was so funny, especially with my 7 year old son, he found this big plastic bag filled it with water, and carried it to the top sideways.

We played some games too, they were asked to fetch the stone that my husband have thrown in the pool. they played different kinds of diving too, there was a sideways, back diving, jumping diving, making an ugly kind of diving, and the real diving.


We got hungry at the last minute of swimming, and lucky i bought some biscuits, that made it for four hungry stomachs.

The little one had fun swimming too, he was walking and all over the pool, the water is just above his ankles, and i got tired following him. But it was still fun and we all enjoyed the swim.


This is one great way to bond with our kids, lots of memories to share when they get older.

The resort is good but is not recommended due to the bad road, but once the road is fixed, this is one good place to visit.

Batangas Summer Fun

Posted by Jay on May 18, 2008 None comments

This was taken last month. My niece’s birthday, this was her treat, a birthday swimming party.

We went to JohnDel Beach Resort in Nasugbu Batangas. They have 2 pools – one each for adults and kids, and 3 slides – 2 for adults and 1 for kids, and there’s beach too, which was perfect because kids can go from pool to beach, play in the sand and play slide in the pool. There are plenty of cottages to choose from, near the beach and near the pool. And there’s this henna tattooing place where you can have henna tattoo at a reasonable price so if you want to have one, you can ask the artist and he’ll paint you black… lol.. no, he have this album where you can choose what to put on the part of your body where you like the tattoo put. Anyway, I am not a fan of tattooes so I didn’t got one, but my nephew had. The entrance fee to the resort is not that expensive.

Adult – P100.00
Children 11 years old and below – P50.00

You know how it is with kids, they want to be there whole day, so we went there early in the morning, and came home at 7 in the evening. No wonder my daughter has turned dark from swimming. There were 11 of us who went there. There were suppose to be more than that, but Uncle Tato’s family were not able to join us because he had work that time, and his 4 kids are not allowed to come with us if he is not with them =(.

The celebrant
I was kind of tired from following the kids all day wherever they go, especially with my 6 year old boy. Hey there’s a beach there and you’ll never know, it might be fun but it is dangerous. There were 3 teenage boys, 2 nephews and a cousin of my husband, but you know how it is with teenagers, they have their own time, talk, and you can never tell them like hey, will you watch over these children. So I was like going back and forth to the pool and the beach, my husband was in charge of our little one, except when it was time for eating… Oh, by the way, there were lots of foods, really as in lots of foods, too many for us, we even have  some taken back home.




I had asked my daughter to cover me with sand and sculpt it into a fish, so i became a mermaid… lol… we rented “salbabida” (the interior of a tire), the kids were allowed to go a little farther from the shore, of course with adult supervision, and an adult was behind them. My baby was sooooo all out in swimming, he likes to be in the water all the time. Everytime my husband brings him to where the cottage is, to take a rest, the little one would always point to where the pool is, with all the gibberish talking he’s doing. And if his daddy will not stand up and bring him there right away, he was like talking a lot… dadatatanomdom.. haha and he would cry… lol… poor daddy, he told me he was already tired.


I did help a little, we kind of exchange parts, he took charge of the three kids while i took charge of the baby, but after a while we exchange again because i saw him sitting near the cottage, he said it’s more tiring watching and taking care of the kids than taking care of the baby… lol…


There’s one thing that’s not nice about the place, the beach/shore is not that clean, the water is not that blue. I saw about 2 diapers on the shore eeewww… but that was a little bit far from where we are staying. Saw a lot of plastic bags and wrappers too. The resort owner could have at least hired someone for a minimum wage to clean the place, at least theirs. It would only take half a day to clean it *sigh. It’s not like you will still want to come back after all those trash scattered. They could also put a big trash can, and put coconut tree so at least it can add to the view, something like that… oh well just a suggestion…

We had soooo much fun that day, my eldest daughter asked me to go swimming again… talk about getting sunburned. So I said, let’s go back next week? Then my niece (the celebrant) replied, not there, it’s dirty.