Surfing in San Juan, La Union: Getting Ready for the Big Waves

Gloomy Early Morning at La union 

After the surf in Baler, I promise myself to try surfing again in other surfing spots. Of course first thing in mind is to visit La Union. It’s the surfing capital of the North and luckily Escapaderas (My overness craziness group of girlfriends) decided for a quick getaway before the summer ends.

It’s recommended to leave Manila as early as possible. It’s almost afternoon when we arrived. It’s estimated of 4 to 5 hours drive from Manila. We went straight to Sebay Surf Resort to check for available rooms. Luckily we had 2 beach front rooms that are suitable for our group.

Sebay Surf Resort
Surfing lesson costs P400 pesos. This includes surf board and instructor. Apparently the waves were much bigger than those in Baler when we visited. We opted for smaller waves since its hard for us beginners to learn with big waves. They brought is in an area where the waves were tamer.

Walked on the other side of the Beach to watch some surfers in action
And so the surfing lesson starts, we were all excited especially me. My surfing experience were much tougher than those in Baler. I felt that the board was a bit slippery than the one I used before. And also, there were rocks on the sea bed that’s why you need to be extra careful falling because the next thing you need to avoid is not to step on pointed rocks beneath the water.

Determined friends with better waves for newbies like us at the back :) 
And since the waves were not very cooperative, it gaves me a hard time. I should lose a few pounds or work-out to prepare for this. Just kidding! Overall, the attempts paid off however since it was raining we wasn’t able to get a good shot while surfing. I still want some more, maybe another surfing spot and would still love surfing to the max!

We drained all our energies left beating the big waves after the surfing lesson. Then we finished the day with a live band in Sebay and a drinking + dancing + truth or dare session that was all happened in our room after.

I enjoyed this more...haha!
Pretty Eskapaderas in action! 
We're getting good at this, really! 


Till next surfing action! 

Launching PartyCats - Our Party Needs Business


This is not a travel post but I really want to share why I wasn’t able to blog for the last 2 months. I am really glad of what’s keeping me and my fiancé busy. Remember the business that we’re planning that I’ve mentioned here? It’s not what we had in mind at first but maybe God literally brought us here. At first we’re still in question if we will be able to pull it off but we slowly realized that this is what we loved doing and because we’re happy and passionate about it, we was able to execute it well with love and sweat. Okay, so here we go!

We officially launched PartyCats Balloons and PartyNeeds


Your one stop shop party partner. Balloon decorating is so much fun. Just try to switch your creativity on and be open for possibilities and you’ll be able to make every party brighter and happier with your balloon decoration. It’s already been 3 months since we started our business and so far we were blessed with events that we yet imagined.





We’re glad that our clients are happy of our works and we’re getting positive feedbacks from them. So if you’re from Muntinlupa and San Pedro area and was preparing for a party, you may want to check our site or visit us in our shop.

So now you know why there's a cat and some balloons picture on top. That is where the name PartyCats come from.

Here’s our website for you to check. Better to visit our facebook page for balloon packages and updates.

Hope to see you soon!

PartyCats Balloons and Party Needs
National Road, Villa Carolina 1, Tunasan Muntinlupa City 
Contact# 0933 520 8936 
Fb page: www.facebook.com/PartyCatsPH
Instagram: @partycatsph
Email: partycats.ph@gmail.com


Burot Beach in Calatagan Batangas - A Not so Secret Beach Anymore near Metro Manila

A Quick Burot Getaway

After so many reviews about this place, I’ve finally gave Burot beach a try. I am so excited to see the place as I’ve been hearing a lot about it. And since it just a few hours from Manila, with a decent budget and not so much plans. We had a perfect summer quick getaway. 

We went to Burot last May (late post). It was scourging hot when we arrived. We decided to have our trip on weekdays as I heard there are lots of campers during weekends. Apparently, maybe because its summer, the campers were everywhere. 

The beach itself is better than those that in Nasugbu or other parts in Batangas. The sand is in semi fine texture in cream color. The water is calm but there are lots of sea weeds at some parts. You can also see some Jelly fish and Star fish in the area. If you go far, some sea urchins can be spotted too. You need to be a bit careful in swimming in the area but its workable for me. 

We also saw some bigger ones than this Jelly fish 
Injured Starfish, we put it away from the shore after this shot.
It was known as a private property owned by SM Group of Companies, I assumed its true as a guard in uniform with SM logo on it is the one managing the fees. 

Entrance fee was a bit higher than those I’ve read online from other travelers and bloggers. Oh you know when the demands get up, expect this already. 

No decent comfort rooms especially if you’re sharing this to lots of campers. That’s okay since it’s an undeveloped beach. However since campers are paying for a day or overnight stay, maybe SM should at least try to build a more suitable comfort rooms for their visitors. However I am hoping that they keep the beach that way. 

One sunny afternoon

The place is more appealing when the sunset comes in, a perfect place to see the sunset. Make sure to bring lamps and flashlight as there’s no electricity in the area. It’s also better to wash ahead of the crowd or wash before it gets dark.

The sunset at Burot
I saw several stray dogs in the area, tamed and seems very used to the life at the beach
Kids playing plus the sunset is such a picturesque
Life at the beach
We did our best to wake up early to explore the place more. We went to the other side of the beach and saw a not so pleasant view. I do not know if this is still part of the private property but garbage was everywhere. Irresponsible camper’s maybe, that doesn't really care much of nature and just went there to enjoy and forgetting their part and their responsibility. 

On our way to the other side of the beach
Peaceful at far and very beautiful place to see
Yet at some parts this is what you'll see
And this 
Overall Burot beach is a good place for a quick summer getaway. I wish it will be protected as it deserves to be. The beauty of the place makes it worth raving because of its accessibility and a feeling of being away from the city. It’s recommended for those who do not have much time in going to far places for a beach trip. It’s a place that’s also asking for a little care to preserve its beauty. And also much better to be visited with your friends and love ones. 

Travelling would never be fun without them!
And another beach revealed :) Thanks for the experience!

~And the voice of the sea speaks to the soul~

What do you expect in Manila Ocean Park?

A visit again at Manila Ocean Park 
Our unplanned Manila Ocean Park trip is not what I’m expecting to see after my first visit when it was just opened. I noticed that there’s a portion that’s like a “Tiangge” mall inside, arcade games and boutiques. I also noticed that the fishes are not as many as before and the overlooking Manila bay is (as expected) not clean that makes the surroundings not very pleasant to see.

We bought the Ultimate Adventure voucher which consist of the following; Trails to Antarctica (Slide O Fun, Penguin Exhibit, Snow Village), Oceanarium, Sharks and Rays Dry Encounter, Jellies Exhibit, Acquatica Fish Spa, Birds of Prey Kingdom and Liquid Buffet for P849 per person

Though it’s not the same as what I’m expecting, I still have some shots that’s for me is the highlight of our short visit.
I'm not good in remembering fish names :) 
Also on this fish
I know it's Puffer Fish right? Unpuffed.
Hey Manta Ray!
I've seen this before, only smaller. In the dining table? :p
Mini Antarctica, with few Penguins only
It's good to read all the facts here
With my in-laws :) 
And with Hal of course!
Time to get a Fish Spa - the bigger fish, the more painful it is.
The handler told that they are not wild anymore
They were breed captive and will not be able to get back in the wild
Birds were tamed already. 
The small portion is the Jelly Fish Exhibit. 
Pink is cute
Better to see it here than up close in the sea.
Colorful Jellies ends our day :)

The place is still good for learning experience for kids, but maybe because it was running for quite some time already; the place was not conserve for its purpose. Though it was still appealing by looking at the pictures, I’m quite afraid that the marine animals here and the birds may not be getting enough care when it comes to facilities and imitating their natural habitat.


Manila Ocean Park
Address:
Behind Quirino Grandstand
Luneta Manila Philippines 1000
Trunkline: +63 2 567 7777
Facsimile: +63 2 567 2309
Email: inquiry@manilaoceanpark.com

Overnight at Royal Palm Residences

At the Royal Palm Residences
Two of my “Feb-Fab-Friends” celebrated their birthdays and we decided that our post party celebration will be just around the corner. Since we wanted to have our usual house party, we stayed overnight at Royal Palm Residence in Taguig. Some of the units here are for rent and so we arranged one. Its a cheaper option instead of staying in a hotel. Rate usually ranges from 2,500 and up. It can be lower if you’ll be a long staying guest. We got ours with a discount rate. 

Our view outside, we're on the 4th floor. 
It is a Thai-influenced and resort inspired residential condominiums, complete with recreational amenities. What I like most is they are pet friendly. They allow owners to have pets at home unlike other real estate developers. What I don’t like is because its near NAIA, approximately just 15-20 minutes away, we can hear airplanes arriving and departing the area, though it's not very loud, for me it's still disturbing. 

Sorry for not having a decent photo of the unit, I'm unable to take pictures of the rooms and others because we are too excited to eat and the unit was quite a mess already. We decorated it with balloons for more festive look.

This is all the pictures I've got inside our 2 bedroom unit.
It’s a plus that our friend work here as a Property Manager so we can explore the area so easily and she was able to arrange our reservations quickly. We decided to visit the nearby residence, the Cedar Crest for a swim, courtesy of her arrangements.

A quick swim here at Cedar Crest
It's a hot sunny afternoon
Group pic :) The girls in front are the celebrants. 

We do not have enough time to explore much but if you're a fan of high-rise or mid-rise condominiums I bet you’ll also want to get a unit of your own. For me, not much. :p
Cheers to a fun weekend celebration! 



Royal Palm Residences
Address: Royal Palm Residences, Acacia Ave., Taguig