Boso-Boso Highlands Resort and Convention Center - A Hit Treat!

I know, I know summer's almost over, but I guess it'll never be too late to hit the water! (As much as I'd like to say we hit the beach, unfortunately no beach for the wicked this summer -_-)

Let me start this with a question. Do you have that thinking that you have to leave your city to see better or more exciting resorts? 
I did - guess you already know how this review will go.

Boso-Boso Highlands Resort, located along Marcos Highway in Sitio Cabading, Brgy. San Jose, Antipolo City, is nestled in the lush Sierra Madre ranges perfect for adventure seekers, nature lovers, and swimmers (and frustrated swimmers) of course. As of the moment, and hopefully for longer generations, the place is still free from pollution, the amazing view is quite picturesque it is impossible to leave without a photo taken (that is if you have a cam with you).

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW:
Is it affordable? Yes, just the usual rates these days.
Is it clean? Yes, the place is quite refreshing (although I think peak season's over, so...)
Is it worth the money? Yes!

WHEN DID WE GO:
Just yesterday, June 7, 2015, so details as to the entrance fees and all are the current ones.

HOW TO GET HERE:
Coming from Manila/Cubao:
Ride the LRT2 to Santolan, then ride a jeep/fx to Cogeo Gate2. From there, ride the jeep to Paenaan, then just inform the driver to drop you off at the resort. Easy peasy! Travel time from Cubao might take you 1 1/2 hour.

HOW MUCH ARE THE ENTRANCE FEE AND COTTAGES:

As of June 2015

Their 150 rate for kids are available for 3-7 years old. 2 years old and below are for free. You can also add 70/50, adult/kid, for an extension of 3 hours.

For other queries, you may check here, especially since their facebook page is not that active and updated.

SOME RULES:

Unfortunately, this is not indicated in their website nor in their facebook page. What caught my attention is the prohibition of dark colored shirts; you might want to bear that in mind, although I don't know why they did not call my attention as I'm wearing all black. 

WHAT TO DO HERE:

So here's the fun part!

#1 - Of course cherish nature!

I'm really a nature lover so this is already worth the money for me!

#2 - Enjoy your company - have a social media detox for a while!

Places become better a thousandfold if spent with your loved ones!

Who doesn't have a jump shot?! Ugh, me.

And random poses?!

Grill and chill!

Take selfies!

And groupies!

And brothies! What?!

#3 - Zipline!

Doesn't get too old!

#4 - Hold your events here!

The place is quite vast they have lots of spaces, rooms and amenities for events like wedding, teambuilding activities or conferences. Here are sample photos I grabbed from their page. 

Here's a vicinity map for a better overview of what amenities they offer

This resort boasts off their Convention Hall, cottages and villas, open fields for activities, basketball court, playgrounds, and of course their swimming pools, which leads us to the next thing to do!

#5 - Swim, slide, have a massage and a workout!

They have 6 pools, save the private and hotel pools, of different depths, which is really nice and safer. 

The first pool that'll welcome you is their awesome kiddie pool! 

This is by far the best kiddie pool I've ever seen, it makes want to be a kid again even just for the time being! Kids will definitely have a very good time with this one. The round arcs squirt sort of cold water so staying inside is really a must try!

Then the 3 other pools are strategically placed in terraces form, if you may call it that. Hehe

This is the topmost pool. it has a small slide and an even smaller slide with water
sprinkling above. I stayed here for a little while 'cause it's just relaxing.
This is around 5 feet in depth I think.

Then these are the 2 lower pools. The 2nd and 3rd pool is 4 feet and 6 feet in depth
respectively, I think. Poor in measurement, sorry. Haha I just know I already
 tiptoed on the edges and I'm 5'2" in height. I can barely reach the center area, poor me.

I love the fact that it has differing depths so you'd feel free to choose which one you'll dip into. The topmost and the lowest pool have slides which are pretty awesome. I slid down the longer slide for more than 5 times just because it was really fun! (even if I have to ask my dad to wait for me down the pool and grab me to the edge 'cause I told you I can't reach the flooring :( )

Then, a little too far from these 4 pools are the 2 others. You have to go down the 250-step stairs or use your 4x4 vehicle 'cause that's the only car they allow down here.

A glimpse of the *gulp* stairs

This is the pool in front of the Paradise Hotel

And then the wave pool!

So just when you think they're still the usual pools! It's pretty cool and not bad for the 170 entrance fee we paid! Too bad I wasn't able to use this slide 'cause the area with the wave ball is 7 feet in depth I think. Will surely drown!

Don't fret if you can't swim, the long and tiring walk is still worth it because the area near the, sort of, breakwater is more shallow, while that with the 2 dolphins are really shallow just enough for you to sit, relax or have a massage on the 2 dolphin fountains, if you may call it that :D.

OTHER QUESTIONS:
Do they have a canteen? Yes.
May we bring in food? Yes, but take note of the corkage fees for some drinks. Check here.
May we bring in electrical appliances? Yes, but they also incur electrical charges.
Are the hotel rooms nice? I'm sorry I don't have an input 'cause we only rented a cottage. You may check their website or check reviews.
How is their customer service? Well, let us just say I don't care so much about it, but we noticed that they seldom smile, they talk to us with a poker face, but maybe I just don't mind too much about it since I'm there to enjoy. Let's just keep our temper cool, shall we? Hehehe


FINAL THOUGHTS: 
I surely loved the place! I recommend it. You just really have to pace yourself for the strenuous walks and slides, but for the price you pay, you'll definitely have a lot of things to do here!

~~

I live in Antipolo City and going here just took us more or less 30 minutes! This outing was actually unplanned, and we really doubted if we'll like the place just because it isn't located in the usual summer destinations such as Laguna or Batangas. Sorry for not being localistic, but I surely learned a lesson. This makes me want to try some more of the nearby resorts. It pays going against the bandwagon sometimes! I think this resort is somewhat underrated because they're quite hidden in the mountains, but I think that's what sets them apart from the usual pool resorts! I guess this is going to be my next place to just hang out and relax! Hope you'll like it too!

Thanks for reading! :*

Daranak Falls and San Ildefonso de Toledo Parish in Tanay, Rizal

Hi guys! :)

So here's a quick post regarding our Holy Week getaway in Tanay, Rizal. If you want to know more, just keep on reading. :)

As their Facebook page says, Daranak Falls is a natural resort in Tanay, Rizal about 9 kilometers away from the Tanay proper with 14 meter high falls and almost 30 foot deep.

Their page: https://www.facebook.com/DaranakFallsinfocenter

First thing, I live in Antipolo, Rizal, so Tanay is just a 2 hour drive tops from our place. We left at around 12 noon and arrived in Daranak Falls at around 2 in the afternoon (that is because we kept on asking for the way since we're not familiar as well). We brought a private car so I'm not sure of the fare, sorry for that.

How to get here:

If you're coming from Cubao, you shall ride a jeepney (pangharabas), fx (medyo sosyalin), taxi (yayamanin), or you could walk (nah, just kidding), to Cogeo Gate 2, which will be an hour ride or less.

From there, there are available jeepneys going to Sampaloc, Tanay, which I suppose will be a 2 hour travel. Drop off at Tanay market and from there you will be fetching a tricycle to bring you to Daranak Falls.

As to how to get out, tricycles camp out the entrance so there could be no fuss about that. Just fetch one to take you to the main road again.

Just an additional information, there may be a season when Daranak is not that crowded, so I will suggest that you inform the tricycle from Tanay market to get back to you at an agreed time, so you don't have to worry about going out.

How much is the entrance fee:

As of April 2015

Adult and children have the same entrance fee of 50 (Philippine) pesos unlike before, which I think is a bummer, since some in the family do not prefer to swim anyway, specially the adults.

As to the picnic tables/sheds, there are places where you could just stay to eat if you do not like to rent, like the 'cafeteria'.

So here is the 'cafeteria', well I do not know how to call it. Hehe.. beside this is a store selling some food, and the bathrooms are also near this place. I am not sure if you need to pay to occupy a table, but we didn't, we just asked the attendant if we could just eat for a while, to which he agreed provided we clean afterwards, and so we did, of course! It's something my family always do anyway, we do not leave trashes wherever.

What time is it open:

As you can see, it is open from 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. It is worth noting that they do not entertain overnight stay in here.

What to do here:

Of course one thing you could do here is swim!

Jaraaan! It's the dry season in the Philippines so that explains why the falls does not seem to be abundant. I personally would like to see this not during summer, and maybe during an off peak season.

Please don't mind the guy, I do not know him. Hahaha.. I just want to show you this picture since this is another reason why the water is deeper on the plunge pool area; they close that part for a larger swimming area near the falls. If you want to swim on shallow waters, you can opt to stay on the other basins through the stretch of the river, such as this part:

You could also have a full body massage on this area right here, I actually wanted to try this, but I did not plan to swim (kj, I know). 

And of course, take lots and lots of pictures while you savor the feel of nature and the company of your loved ones!

Who doesn't have an 'emote' pic?

We occupied this for free since nobody's asking us to pay anyway. :D

Roots!
This is quite a scary place to take a picture on but it's also very
beautiful I actually wanted a pic there too!

I just love this picture of my mom and dad! <3

Hi! ;)

I know there's not much of information in here, but there really is not much to tell, what is in here is too much to feel and savor! Our nature is just very inexplicable in simple terms. What I could assure you is that it comprises every thing you could see in nature, river stretch, a waterfall, mountains, this is also near a cave named Calinawan Cave (which we failed to visit, maybe next time. :( ), so if you're a nature lover like me, you'll surely love this place. :)

Additional Information:

I'm not sure if it's just the weather, but it's very (verrrry very!) humid here, I feel very uneasy not wearing a cottony top. So a suggestion would be that you should wear very comfortable clothes when going here.

Also, you might want to go here on an off-peak season, since the place was crowded these days due to the summer vacation and the holy week.

Aaand, there is another waterfall on top of this, named Batlag Falls, but we're disappointed not seeing it 'cause they're charging us 50 pesos per head even if we're just going to take a look at it; and since it's already 4:30, we didn't anymore bother pay and visit, tsk..

Here are the rates in case you're wondering.
Also, this is open for an overnight stay unlike in Daranak.

For inquiries please contact Tanay Tourism Office at 736-1059/ 655-2195 loc 212/213 / 0998-9881590/ tanaytourism11@yahoo.com (Info as of April 2015)

We left the place at around 4:30 to attend the 5pm mass at the San Ildefonso de Toledo Parish also in Tanay. Just a good 20 minute ride from Daranak is this 400 year old parish, though this structure is only around 260 years old.

Sorry for the low quality of the picture, my camera found it hard to take a pic since it's already 7pm when this was taken. :p

The structure looks really big from the outside, but this is what it looks inside.
I suppose they already reinforced it and opted to do it from the inside since the least we'd like to do
with old structures is to disturb its image, ayt? :)

The church's retablo looks spectacular!

Upon entering the premises, you will be welcomed
by this very nice carving of an acacia tree made by sculptor from Paete.

Churches like this just amaze me so much so I wanted to share a little sneak peek as well. I might do a separate post on churches next time. 

For other places to explore in Tanay, Rizal, (and I tell you, there are lots and lots!) you may take a look at these ones:

So there it is! Hope this helps. Let's keep on exploring! Just always bear in mind, nothing beats being safe during travels. Until next post! ;)

Hundred Islands National Park, Philippines! (^__^)

 For the Chinese New Year holiday, my boyfriend and I decided to go to a trip. 

So this post will be about the well-known Hundred Islands, including some tips to come in handy. :)

First thing, I will really appreciate if you'll add/follow me.
Thank you so much! :)

WHERE: Alaminos, Pangasinan, Philippines
WHEN: We went here just this February 19, 2015

FIRST THINGS YOU WANT TO KNOW:
HOW TO GET HERE:


Our way from Manila is to ride a bus to Alaminos, particularly Victory Line in Cubao.
Their earliest trip is 4am, and the travel will last you for 6 hours.
The fare amounts to 390 pesos.

TIP No. 1 - If you are a student (like me!) bring your school ID to avail of the discount. It only costed me 315  pesos, neat, huh?! :)

   You do not have to worry about where to drop off, since the drop off point in Alaminos is where exactly you should be. :)

   From there, you can still buy some stuffs on the nearby market and grocery stores.

   Then proceeding to the tricycle terminal just nearby, you have to ride to Lucap wharf.

   A special ride will cost you 80 pesos (or 60 pesos if you can bargain-we did!); or 20 pesos each if the tricycle will wait for a total of 4 passengers before leaving.
   The entrance fee, which you'll have to pay in the Tourism Office in Lucap wharf, is 40 pesos for day tour, and 80 pesos if you'll stay overnight, children 5 years old and below are free of charge. (Note: You only pay one entrance fee to be anywhere on the islands, you do not pay every time you drop by an island)

Here are the boat rates:

WHAT DOES THE REGULAR/SERVICE MEAN?
- The Regular Boat will only tour you to the 3 developed islands - Governor's, Children's and Quezon. Those are the only islands where you can roam around. The boatman will drop you off and wait for you, depending on your agreed time, then bring you back to the wharf after the tour. The boats are only allowed to sail out to sea until 6pm, so that means that Day Tour is only until 6pm.
- The Service Boat will tour you to 'all' the islands, that consists of the developed and undeveloped islands. That way, you could also roam around the undeveloped islands.
- If you avail of the Day Tour, the tour will only last until around 5.30pm, because the boats have to be back at the wharf by 6pm.
- If you stay overnight, then the boatman will leave you at your desired island (we stayed on the undeveloped Marcos Island, and we're all alone!), and will fetch you the next day upon your agreed time.

A zoomed in pic of 'our island' with our tent. See, goin' solo, :)

IMPORTANT INFO No. 1 - Upon drop off, you may encounter somebody offering you the packages you could avail from them. They will show you the rates for the boat service, and tent rentals. They may seem strange (and sort of creepy, sorry), but they will inform you that through them, you could actually avail of discounts.

FUN FACT: Here's the rationale :D The Tourism Office of Pangasinan set the standard boat rates, and other rates, including, of course, the accommodations available on the developed islands. Now, if you transact 'inside', or that is, from the Tourism Office in Lucap wharf, the charges are strict, there is no chance for haggling. But if you transact 'outside', or that is, from the men I mentioned above, you could actually arrange some terms in case you want some modifications (like we did). The reason for this, as they claim, seems to be a bit controversial, so I rather not discuss it here, hehe. My point is, you can fairly trust them, just don't forget to be really cautious, and really inquisitive just to be sure you're dealing with the right persons.

TIP No. 2 - If you don't mind spending so much, you are really free to transact 'inside', so you feel more secure. :)

WHAT ABOUT THE ROOM RATES?
- I suggest you call these  numbers:

- (075) 551-2505
- (075) 205-0917
- 0928-2449011

WHAT IF WE HAVE A TENT?
- The fee for pitching a tent is 200 pesos per tent.

TIP No. 3 - If you want to pay nothing for pitching your tent, stay on the undeveloped islands (like we did, it's free!). Nobody is there to charge you. Hehe :)

DO THEY HAVE TENT RENTALS?
- Yes.
- Small (1-2) - 500 pesos
- Medium (3-4) - 750 pesos
- Large (5-10) - 1,000

WHAT TO SEE AND DO HERE:

#1 - First thing to see, of course, are the islands (or the sea? hehe). The main activity to do here is to go island hopping. They have what they call 'developed' and 'undeveloped' islands.

The developed islands include Governor's, Children's and Quezon Island. It is coined 'developed' because they already constructed some hotels with different room rates of course, it has electricity which I think is through solar panels (neat!), cottages and picnic tables. For inquiries as to the room rates, I suggest that you call the following numbers since their rates are subject to change without prior notice.
- (075) 551-2505
- (075) 205-0917
- 0928-2449011

The undeveloped islands include Marcos, Romulo, Lopez, Braganza, among others. They are coined undeveloped since they have not disturbed the islands too much, aside from putting solar-powered lights, and some cottages and picnic tables which you can also rent.

When island hopping, the boat can only drop you at the developed islands and some undeveloped islands above-mentioned, depending on the boat service you availed of.


IMPORTANT INFO No. 2 - If you plan to stay on the hotel rooms, then I suppose you have the luxury of freshwater for you to wash yourselves after swimming. BUT if you plan to avail only of the cottages, picnic tables, or just stay on your tents, their public bathrooms only have saltwater on the faucets as well. Hahaha!

IMPORTANT INFO No. 3: Only their developed islands have a public bathroom, on the undeveloped, there is none, you just have to wash yourselves on the beach, then dry yourselves thereafter. :D



TIP No. 4 - Here is the benefit of availing the 'outside' transaction, because they offered their transient house (for free) for us to take a bath in before heading home. I suggest you ask this to your boatman before finalizing your charges. :)

We stayed on Marcos' Island, therefore, we have no bathroom to clean ourselves after. Good thing our 'outside' accommodation gave us a container of freshwater for free! (See, they are nice! :))

Marcos Island at around 6pm. We have it all by ourselves. :)

#2 - Another thing you can do here is to avail of the zip lines.

In Governor's Island, they offer a 546m zip line for 250 pesos only! We wanted to avail of this one, but the first time we went, they already have 18 persons in cue (they can only accommodate 18 persons in a batch, then you have to wait for the paraphernalia to be returned. Haha). The second time we went here, their service boats left for an errand, sad. Good thing our boatman is so nice, he offered to bring us back to Quezon Island for the other zip line.

Here's the 546m zip line. Pangarap na naging bato. -_-

In Quezon Island, they offer a 120m zip line for only 100 pesos.

The best part on these zip lines is that you'll glide above the waters! :)

My boyfriend on the zip line, too bad I don't have a pic on my first zip line cause I glided first-excited. :D

#3 - Another thing to do is go wall climbing and rappelling.

For only 175 pesos, it includes wall climbing, rappelling, and the 120m zip line, all in Quezon Island.
We did not try rappelling and wall climbing though, we're not that athletic. :D

#4 - Next, kayaking!

Is there even a word such as 'kayaking'? Anyway, we also rented a boat for kayaking, for only 250 pesos for an hour rental. You are free to go anywhere you like, as long as you'll be able to return on time. Haha. As much as we want to go far, we couldn't, 'cause it stressed my arms too much, but it's really fun! :) Too bad we weren't able to take a pic, since I have to leave my camera with them for safety reasons.

#5 - Cliff diving/jumping!

The cave is only available in Marcos Island, an undeveloped island. So you could only go here if you availed of the Service Boat (unless you could haggle with your boatman). This is the Imelda Cave where you could go cliff diving. :)

Here's the view from above the cave - quite scary since there are lots of bats above.
But we managed to jump here twice! Yeey!

Note: Jumping here is for free, in case you're wondering. Hehe.. Just be really careful, a spot here has rocks.


#6 - Snorkel!

Pangasinan is also known for their bred giant clams. The boat will settle near the area where you could snorkel, and you have to swim going there. The view under the sea is quite nice, although it's not as diverse as the others, it is still something you do not want to miss. Again, it's for free, it's part of the tour. :)

#7 - Of course, swim and camp!

Need I say more?

We bought this tent for this outing for practical reasons, of course. This means we'll have more camping to come! :)

  
#8 - Hunt for rocks/pebbles/corals/shells. :D

#9 - Bury yourselves - and try to get up as fast as you can! :D

#10 -Go chick-hunting. :D

TIP No. 5 - Bring enough food and water! Anything edible here is expensive. :D I just ate the most expensive instant cup noodles here - for 50 pesos. :( Hahaha

TIP No. 6 - If you could haggle with your boatman, (or try with the Tourism Office - this I'm not sure), instead of paying 3,000 pesos for the Service Boat-Overnight, you could pay 1,400 Service Boat-Day Tour, and pay 1,000 Regular Boat-Day Tour to fetch you the next day, totaling to only 2,400 instead of the 3,000. :D (hahaha, this worked for us!)

SOME QUESTIONS:
DO THEY HAVE VEST/SNORKEL RENTAL?
Yes.
- Mask & Snorkel - 150
- Vest - 50

IS THERE AVAILABLE MARKETS TO BUY FRESH SEAFOOD FOR GRILLING?
- When you're on the islands, I don't think there is. There are only small eateries (which can be pretty expensive) on the developed islands. I suggest you buy first at the Alaminos town proper before riding the tricycle to Lucap wharf.

DO WE HAVE TO CONTACT THEM FOR RESERVATION?
- For the boats, you do not have to, you transact with them upon arrival.
- Although for the room accommodations on the islands, I suggest you first call the numbers above, specially during peak season.

DO YOU HAVE AN ISLAND TO RECOMMEND?
- Whatever floats your boat! :)
- If you prefer to feel more secure, you may opt for the developed islands, since they have their personnel there, and more tourists like you.
- If you prefer a more private, and more adventurous stay, I suggest you stay on the undeveloped islands. We have no regrets staying at Marcos' Island, the fact that nobody was with us during the night made it more special and exciting! The whole island was ours! :)
- If you prefer activities, I suggest to stay at Quezon Island since they have zip line, wall climbing, rappelling and kayaking.
- If you have kids, I suggest to stay at Children's Island, since the waters are more shallow as compared to the other islands. Although it has been under renovation, so you better ask your boatman if it is available by the time you visit.

HOW MUCH IS YOUR TOTAL EXPENSES?
Around 5,500 pesos.
Here's the breakdown:
390    - Regular bus fare to Alaminos (my boyfriend's fare)
315    - Discounted bus fare (I have my student ID :))
200    - McDo lunch upon our arrival at Alaminos town proper
60      - Tricycle to our transient house near Lucap wharf
100    - Vest rental (50 pesos each)
80      - Entrance fee (as I said, we 'modified' our payment, despite the fact that we stayed overnight! :D)
1,400 - Day Tour Service Boat on our first day (to drop us off at any island we prefer to stay the night)
1,000 - Day Tour Regular Boat to fetch us the next day. Not bad being practical, right? :D
250    - Kayaking
200    - Zip line
100    - Instant cup noodles (really expensive, and the water's not even that hot!)
300    - Tip
60      - Tricycle to Alaminos Town Proper
300    - Chowking lunch before boarding the bus
390    - My boyfriend's bus fare
315    - My discounted bus fare (I saved 150 pesos for the bus fare! :))
100    - Taxi on our way home
= 5,560*
*Expenses for packed meals are excluded.

- There you go! I know you could do away with the McDo and Chowking lunch if you brought packed meals, but we only brought some for dinner, breakfast and some snacks, then also with the 300 peso tip, so you could deduct a total of 800 pesos on that 5,560. :)



HOW OUR TRIP WENT:
Unforgettable! It was like a dream come true for me. We went kayaking, glided on a zip line, we snorkeled, we camped out. We settled on an island with nobody else, stayed on a tent, we watched the waves as the waters go higher, we savored the darkness of the night with unknown animals just around us, we watched the sunrise, we watched the stars twinkle at night, we watched people leave and arrive on 'our island'. It's the best thing that ever happened to me! I wonder what awaits me on our next trip!

So romantic watching the sunrise. :")

View from the top of Governor's Island :)

On the bus going home. :)

So there it is. Thanks for reading! I hope this post helps! Feel free to leave comments if this helped you, or if if you have queries, I'll try to answer them as much as I could! God bless! :)

Until next post! :)