Subic and Baguio with the Tans
Family
and the lovely El Nido
enjoy!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Slideshows
Here are lots of pics that start from the beginning of our trip. You can click on them to enlarge I think.
Subic and Baguio with the Tans
Family
and the lovely El Nido
enjoy!
Subic and Baguio with the Tans
Family
and the lovely El Nido
enjoy!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
El Nido was beautiful!! Sorry to sound like a travel brochure but if any of you ever have a chance to go, don't hesitate for a moment! We loved it. We loved it from the moment we boarded our tiny little airplane. We got front row seats, which meant right behind the pilot and the co-pilot! There was no door or anything between us and the cockpit, so we could watch the take-off and landing. Guido even took a video if it (we'll post it later). 75 minutes later we landed on a dirt airstrip, greeted by a small singing group of islanders and met by Ace, a guy from the Art Cafe, a little place in El Nido by Judith, a (tough) Swiss expat and her Filipino husband. They organised everything, from the airport pickup to accommodation, island hopping tours and our tickets back.
Our cottage was very very basic, but cute and directly on the beach. From there, we could easily get into and around town . The first two days, we spent cruising through spectacular limestone islands, snorkeling, swimming, relaxing and eating on the beach. We saw lots of fish and even a couple of sea turtles. On our third and unfortunately already last day, we rented a kayak and paddled to the nearest island from El Nido, where we found our own private beach!! Yay! And finally, we were taken on a gorgeous sunset cruise. Lovely stuff.
Here's some pictures :)
Our cottage was very very basic, but cute and directly on the beach. From there, we could easily get into and around town . The first two days, we spent cruising through spectacular limestone islands, snorkeling, swimming, relaxing and eating on the beach. We saw lots of fish and even a couple of sea turtles. On our third and unfortunately already last day, we rented a kayak and paddled to the nearest island from El Nido, where we found our own private beach!! Yay! And finally, we were taken on a gorgeous sunset cruise. Lovely stuff.
Here's some pictures :)
Me and the tiny plane
The Small Lagoon
The Big Lagoon and us
Our beach (and kayak)P.S. Sorry there aren't many pics(the internet is expensive where we are right now), but more will come soon!
Monday, December 10, 2007
El Nido Part I
Greetings! We just arrived in El Nido, Palawan, a beautiful island paradise in the southeast of the Phil. We've got a really cute little cottage on the beach and we're going on the first of two days of island hopping tomorrow. Wanna know what we've been doing for the last week?
We were in Baguio for a whole week, staying with the Tan family, as we mentioned before. It was a nice, easygoing start to our Filipino vacation. We'd go do a couple of touristy things during the day (saw lots of mountains, went to the market, checked out the view of the silver mines, etc) then eat, drink, and Wii into the night. Very relaxing and unadventurous. It was great.
After that, we stayed a couple nights at Willierose's Aunt Melanie's house in Kamias (Manila area). We were introduced to one of the biggest malls in the whole world, the Mall of Asia. It houses the only Olympic-sized ice skating rink in SE Asia and the only IMAX theater in the Philippines, as well as a gazillion stores. Willierose was very excited to be there, Guido was... not as excited, but very supportive. He admits he had fun though! Anyway, last night (the 9th) Guido met the Natividad side of the clan (about 25 of them!!!). Aunt Melanie and her cohort cooked up a huge feast. We ate, we drank, we slept. And G played a lot of pool with the uncles. Of course, everyone loved G, and complemented on how tall he is and how much he could eat. Bravo! (and everyone keeps asking what part of America he's from... hahahaha)
Today, we boarded a 19-seater Dornier to get to our present destination. We'll post pics and videos of everything soon. Love love love - G and W
We were in Baguio for a whole week, staying with the Tan family, as we mentioned before. It was a nice, easygoing start to our Filipino vacation. We'd go do a couple of touristy things during the day (saw lots of mountains, went to the market, checked out the view of the silver mines, etc) then eat, drink, and Wii into the night. Very relaxing and unadventurous. It was great.
After that, we stayed a couple nights at Willierose's Aunt Melanie's house in Kamias (Manila area). We were introduced to one of the biggest malls in the whole world, the Mall of Asia. It houses the only Olympic-sized ice skating rink in SE Asia and the only IMAX theater in the Philippines, as well as a gazillion stores. Willierose was very excited to be there, Guido was... not as excited, but very supportive. He admits he had fun though! Anyway, last night (the 9th) Guido met the Natividad side of the clan (about 25 of them!!!). Aunt Melanie and her cohort cooked up a huge feast. We ate, we drank, we slept. And G played a lot of pool with the uncles. Of course, everyone loved G, and complemented on how tall he is and how much he could eat. Bravo! (and everyone keeps asking what part of America he's from... hahahaha)
Today, we boarded a 19-seater Dornier to get to our present destination. We'll post pics and videos of everything soon. Love love love - G and W
Sunday, December 2, 2007
So far, so good!!!
It's been years and years since I've been back to the Philippines, so I was really looking forward to this trip. And we've been having a great time so far. After we spent a couple of nights in Manila with my Aunt Emmie and cousin, Kate, they drove us to Subic.
We stopped over in Bataan, where we'll be spending Christmas! We were immediately greeted by some tasty ice-cold homegrown coconut juice. Then, we met up with the Tan family, close family friends, in Subic city. Subic used to be home to an American naval base, but now it's just a freeport city. There are still a few old American veterans hanging around, though. We did a few touristy things, such as going to the marine park, seeing the city and walking around the beach. We stayed at a funky hotel that was built in the 70s and is owned by Aki Tan's wife's family. Unfortunately, there was a huge earthquake as well as a volcano eruption nearby in the early 90s, which destroyed a lot in the area. The effects can still be seen and the hotel was never renovated, which makes it look a little grungy. The grooviness is still there, though, as you can see in the pictures below.
Last night, we came up to Baguio with the Tans and are now staying at their place. Baguio is about 1500 meters up in the mountains. What's great about it is that it's a smaller city, so it's not as crowded, noisy, nor polluted as Manila. The air is cleaner and the city is slower-paced. What we, and especially Guido, have been enjoying most here is the food! We're being fed like there's no tomorrow, and really enjoying it. You guys all know how much Guido loves food, and how he loves trying new dishes, so he's really loving it here. It's really fun to see him try all my favorite food for the first time. We can only hope we both don't gain too much weight while we're here! Wish us luck! Here are some pictures: 
(from right to left: Willierose's aunt Emmie, her cousin Kate and Kate's uncle)
The view in Bataan. It's in the country. 
We stopped over in Bataan, where we'll be spending Christmas! We were immediately greeted by some tasty ice-cold homegrown coconut juice. Then, we met up with the Tan family, close family friends, in Subic city. Subic used to be home to an American naval base, but now it's just a freeport city. There are still a few old American veterans hanging around, though. We did a few touristy things, such as going to the marine park, seeing the city and walking around the beach. We stayed at a funky hotel that was built in the 70s and is owned by Aki Tan's wife's family. Unfortunately, there was a huge earthquake as well as a volcano eruption nearby in the early 90s, which destroyed a lot in the area. The effects can still be seen and the hotel was never renovated, which makes it look a little grungy. The grooviness is still there, though, as you can see in the pictures below.
Last night, we came up to Baguio with the Tans and are now staying at their place. Baguio is about 1500 meters up in the mountains. What's great about it is that it's a smaller city, so it's not as crowded, noisy, nor polluted as Manila. The air is cleaner and the city is slower-paced. What we, and especially Guido, have been enjoying most here is the food! We're being fed like there's no tomorrow, and really enjoying it. You guys all know how much Guido loves food, and how he loves trying new dishes, so he's really loving it here. It's really fun to see him try all my favorite food for the first time. We can only hope we both don't gain too much weight while we're here! Wish us luck! Here are some pictures:
In Bataan.
(from right to left: Willierose's aunt Emmie, her cousin Kate and Kate's uncle)
The view in Bataan. It's in the country.
Willierose and Guido in Bataan. She cut her hair and he's drinking coconut juice.
The Westbay hotel in Subic. 70s ahoy!
The pool at the Westbay; the view from our room.
The Tans and us. From right to left: Aki, his wife Trisha, Tito Tony, Arnel, Alan and us
Here also with Tita Evelyn in the middle and baby Ariana
Friday, November 30, 2007
We're in the Philippines!
On Wednesday, we finally got moving: After some initial baggage problems (they made us repack 4 times and then we still had to pay $60 because Willierose brought 30 kg of chocolate as souvenirs for her relatives) and a totally packed flight we arrived safely in noisy, lively Manila at about 11.30pm. Willierose's aunt and cousin picked us up and drove us to their nice home in the burbs, where they gave us a whole condo to live in! Very nice indeed. The next day, there was the coup that you might have heard about. A senator and a general tried to oust the President, which ended in both of them and all supporters being thrown in jail and business as usual the next day.
Been eating lots of tropical fruit (mangoes and coconuts! as well as papayas, mangosteen, lanzones, etc.), delicious Filipino food and all of that pretty much non-stop. I hope that I won't come out of here 20 kg heavier. Love,
Willierose&Guido
Been eating lots of tropical fruit (mangoes and coconuts! as well as papayas, mangosteen, lanzones, etc.), delicious Filipino food and all of that pretty much non-stop. I hope that I won't come out of here 20 kg heavier. Love,
Willierose&Guido
Saturday, October 27, 2007
hello
welcome to our travel blog!
we're off to explore tropical asia for 2 months and will keep you updated as we go. we shall eat, swim, relax, take pictures, marvel, gawk, shudder, be utterly delighted, frolic and more and you can read all about it here. stay tuned!
love,
w&g
we're off to explore tropical asia for 2 months and will keep you updated as we go. we shall eat, swim, relax, take pictures, marvel, gawk, shudder, be utterly delighted, frolic and more and you can read all about it here. stay tuned!
love,
w&g
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