elle's tinker toes ♥♥♥

To maximize our Laguna trip, we decided to visit Taytay falls in the morning, before proceeding to Costales Nature Farms. It would be my kid's first time to see falls. Entrance to Taytay falls is just right next to the entrance of Costales Nature Farms. There are some signage along the way to point us to Taytay Falls. We reached the gate and parked our vehicle under a tree. Parking lot is spacious and there are stalls selling fruits and vegetables. Another store sells grilled foods. There are rooms for rent also.

I was in a Travel Mart in SMX, MOA this September 2016 when I bumped into Costales Nature Farm booth. With photos of their farm and lettuce as their backdrop, I got curious. I approached the lady there and asked what's in the place? I was told about their different packages and one of which is their Bed and Breakfast package. She said, this includes overnight accommodation in a bahay kubo (nipa hut) in the middle of the farm, with no television, no radio, no airconditioning, no WIFI. Package also includes guided farm tour, video presentation and unlimited vegetable snacks with drinks. I am most interested in the farm tour. Seeing photos of their guests planting, feeding chickens, rabbits and pigs.. I got really really excited!!! Added to that is that my mom loves planting and so I thought, this could be our perfect family weekend relaxation getaway!

Here's the summary of our trip and expenses. Corregidor Island: Day tour Package + Buffet Lunch Corregidor Island: Night Lateral + Sunset Viewing + Sunrise Viewing + Japanese Tunnel Short Hike Corregidor Island: Corregidor Inn Corregidor Island: Our Last Day in Corregidor + Manila Bay Buffet Dinner Cruise Corregidor Island: Itinerary and Expenses

CORREGIDOR INN After the tour, we were dropped off at the Corregidor Inn, located at the middle part of the island. It is a bit old, probably the reason why it is set to do a "major renovation".

For our remaining hours on the island, we visited South Beach, South Dock and Swimming Pool, which are very near the hotel. South Beach is just one of the many beaches in the island. I am not sure how this beach looks like during summer, but what we saw were trash everywhere. There is no way I am going to swim here in this situation. This is probably due to rainy season, waves brings trash to the shore. I remember one of the tour guides said these trash are from surrounding islands like Cavite, Bataan, Bulacan, Manila.

Philippines. US. Japan. Malinta Tunnel. Bombing. Ruins. These are just some of the words that stuck in my mind after our Corregidor trip. Hearing the terrible stories of war is so overwhelming that leaves us thinking "what if we go into war now...." It must be very frightening. More than the war stories, Corregidor Island signifies great courage of American and Philippine soldiers against Japanese Army during World War II.

NIGHT LATERAL TOUR Corregidor Inn offers different activities to try and these are shown during guests' check-in. Just tell the receptionist what activities you'd like to do. For the Night later tour, everybody must be in front of the hotel on or before 4:30 PM. The group leaves exactly at the scheduled time. The first place we visited was the Fort Mill Hospital. Fort Mills Hospital ruins. Was it eerie? No. Thank goodness I don't have a gift for supernatural things. Anyway, this is not a ghost hunting trip, alright. And Kuya Bryan made the tour light by cracking some jokes. We visited all the floors, from first to the third. We were introduced to some of the parts of the hospitals like the comfort rooms, bedrooms, kitchen and morgue.

grabbed from Wikipedia  When I hear "Baler", one word comes to mind -- SURFING!!!! Baler is the provincial capital of Aurora, located at the Eastern part of Central Luzon. Because of its killer waves, it has become one of the top surf spots in the Philippines. Best time to come is September - March. How we reached Baler? My friends rode a bus, while me and husband brought our car. Bus departed from Cubao terminal at 3AM, while we left our home in Marilao, Bulacan at 3:30 AM. Via Bus: My friends met at Genesis Bus Terminal in Cubao at around 2AM, Saturday of July 23, 2016. Bus left at 3AM, their first trip. Bus leaves every hour.

July 2, 2016. Saturday , when we drove all the way from Bulacan to Quezon Province to visit one of the most go-to places in the area -- Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort . Villa Escudero promises a feel of the Philippine culture, offers many activities and attractions. We got there quite easily. Having passed through the similar route when we went to Cagbalete Island few years ago (see post here ), this place is familiar to us. On board our private vehicle, we drove via SLEX, exited at Sto. Tomas and continued onto South until we reached Tiaong, Quezon. We left the house in Bulacan at 4:30 AM, had a quick stop in a gas station along SLEX for around 30 minutes and arrived in Villa Escudero Mc Donald's at 8:30 AM. We decided to eat our breakfast before heading towards Hacienda Escudero's main gate, which is only 250 meters away from McDonald's.

We squeezed in a side trip to Abucay Church when we were in Bataan. Reason for that is because my Aunt’s maiden name is Abucay and  that Abucay Church has a history to tell.

The first time we went to Bataan was when we did an overnight camping at Stella Mariz Beach Resort . There are other wonderful attractions in this province, but what got my interest in coming back is this hotel located at the heart of the City of Balanga - The Plaza Hotel. photo grabbed  from The Plaza Hotel's website.  http://www.theplazahotelbalanga.com/ Stunning, isn't it?

Day 3 - Nov 22, 2015 After we checked out our stuff that morning and settled our bills at Travelbee Inn, we stayed at their restaurant while waiting for the van to bring us to Dakak Park Beach Resort for an overnight stay.

Day 2 - Nov 21, 2015 We were clueless as to how the tour would go here in Dapitan. Because in my experience travelling to other provinces, usually there is a fixed price. Like in the City tour in Puerto Princesa for instance. So, that morning, after breakfast, we just stood at the corner of the street beside Travelbee Inn and hailed the first tricycle in sight.

  Day 1 - Nov 20, 2015 It was an APEC week. Most of the domestic and international flights by Airline Carriers were cancelled for three consecutive days to make way to the Delegate's arrival, utilizing the NAIA International Airport. Good thing, our flight wasn't on the list of the cancelled flights posted on CebuPacific's websites. But that didn't ease my worries. I still had to check their website up to the last minute before we left the house to make sure. Nobody wants to be stuck in the airport, anyway. Also, we had to leave early to avoid road closures in EDSA and near NAIA roads, which is also APEC related. Expected departure 1:15PM.  Expected Arrival 2:10 PM.