Travel Footprints

Since we have more than 12 hours of transit in Bangkok en route to Kathmandu via Thai Airways, it was important for us to find a place to stay where we can rest and have a good night’s sleep. We found out from the internet that there is a day room hotel just within Suvarnabhumi Airport called Louis Tavern Day Rooms. We’ve never stayed here before (which was probably a good thing) but like they say, there’s always a first time for everything.

We got a double room good for 10 hours which looks like this –

Pretty cozy eh? Especially when you compare the atmosphere to the airport scene just outside our room’s window –

The room also comes with free snacks and buffet breakfast –

as well as a hot shower right inside the airport!

The catch? This little airport luxury sets your travel budget back at USD197 for 10 hours. Minimum allowed stay in the Louis Tavern Day Room will cost you around USD115 but only for stay of 6 hours. Not such a good idea when leisure travelling on a budget but great for stress-free business travels! Hehe. We will definitely stay in another hotel on our way back to Manila :p

I have little idea what to expect island-hopping in Guimaras. Before this trip, I only know Guimaras for two things – export-quality mangoes and the unfortunate oil spill in 2006! I had the chance to go for a very short vacation to the quaint island of Guimaras – lest I miss the famous beach scene of sunny Philippines while Mr. Rono and I take the summer path less travelled in the Himalayan ranges this year. I was firstly surprised how easy it was to get to Guimaras from Iloilo. For only Php13, you can take a boat from mainland Panay to the island of Guimaras. Boat trips for Jordan, Guimaras are readily available at the port area until 7:00pm. No need to worry about schedules because there are always trips available as long as the boat capacity of 46 persons are met.

From the port of Jordan, you can catch any of the public transportation to take you anywhere within the island. The most convenient (and exciting!) would be a taxi motorcycle. We happened to arrive at Jordan around 5:30pm and had no idea that the beach resort where we are staying was about 15km from the port (about an hour’s ride from the Jordan Wharf), we opted to go for a motorcycle taxi to bring us there faster. I can only count the number of times I’ve actually ridden a motorcycle taxi (also called habal-habal in the Philippines) and this one in Guimaras is naturally memorable for me. It doesn’t help that our driver would talk about witchcraft in the Panay area during the ride. The fact that we were riding off with a spectacular view of the Guimaras sunset is especially unforgettable. Here I am trying to document the sunset while on the motorcycle as best as I can!

We stayed in a beachfront resort called Raymen Beach Resort found in Brgy. Alibuhod which was highly recommended by locals in both Iloilo and Guimaras. I am guessing it’s the most famous and reliable (maybe most accessible as well?) resort in the island. One good thing about the resort’s location is that it is not directly in the area of the oil spill and, of course, the fact the beach is just a few steps away from our simple cabana. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a fisherman by the beach on my usual morning beach walks hawking his catch for the day. He was trying to sell to me his harvest of fish and lobster (which looked really big and yummy!) for only Php 1,600.

Since there was no way I could take those home with me to Manila or eat it all during my stay in the resort, I graciously declined (meaning, I had to say NO over 10 times!). But I have to admit that the seafood selection in the beach of Guimaras is much more exciting than what I have witnessed in Ilocos Norte almost 6 months ago. Raymen Beach Resort offers accommodation ranging from Php600-Php2,000 per room, per night. They also have a restaurant that serves good food at decent prices (considering they almost have a monopoly of sorts in this area!). We had to try the world-famous mangoes which was sold a bit expensive at Php80/kilo –

and sampled the available seafood in their menu such as this crabs in garlic and butter for only Php 130 (half-kilo) –

Yum! As far as I know, Raymen is the only place where you can get food this good in this part of Guimaras. We tried looking for other options along the beach but the only other place we saw was a small shack which only served mostly instant noodles and 3-in-1 coffee mix

I’ve always had pleasant visits to Davao in the past and I knew this time would be no different as soon as I boarded the PAL flight and saw this –

The airline’s inflight magazine had featured Davao as its cover story! Definitely a useful read during the 1 hour 30 mins flight to Davao from Manila. While I was not in Davao for leisure, it’s always nice to squeeze in a good dinner or two, take time to go out and explore the largest city in the Philippines. Of course, nothing beats recommendations from the locals. I was fortunate that a college orgmate was able to take time out of her busy schedule from Davao Doctors Hospital to show me around her beloved city.

I’ve always preferred staying in Apo View Hotel while in Davao, not entirely because of the room rate or strategic location (it’s a big plus, though!) but also because of their cheap massages at Php250/hour. Imagine my surprise when my friend brought me to a ‘hole-in-a-wall’ restaurant that serves Italian just behind the Gaisano Mall (walking distance from Apo View Hotel). I’ve walked to Gaisano Mall from the hotel several times not knowing that there was a gem of a restaurant right behind it.

The place is called Picobello Ristorante Italiano, up on the 9th floor behind Gaisano Mall from the basement parking. I love places like this! Breaking into the dining scene of Metro Davao mostly through word-of-mouth, it’s an artsy little space that serves, well, pasta and Italian main course. The ambience is definitely cozy with a window table that overlooks most of the city.

It was a short stay in Davao but I’m looking forward to discovering more in my next visit! I was pleasantly surprised to see the bustling nightlife of Davao City on a weekday while visiting more coffee places around. It does pay to go out of the hotel room sometimes. It is also comforting that the locals would really extend their assistance if you need help with directions. Taxi drivers here are well known for giving back the exact amount of change down to the last centavo, or even returning wallets left in cabs.

Davao’s charm also lies somewhere in the streets called Madrazo, where crates of sweet, juicy pomelo or marang and other fruits are sold. I could never go back to Manila without my family expecting to receive some flavors of Davao, especially now that it’s Durian season –

Of course, the best farewell to Davao is to fly PAL business class going home

After a long, long road trip we arrived in Laoag, Ilocos Norte and made our way to Fort Ilocandia, probably the best hotel you can find in this area. We arrived late evening and the hotel staff were very courteous to us weary travellers.

The next morning, I was greeted by the sun peeking through this hallway on my way to Cafe Ilocandia of the hotel. What striked me most during daylight was the vast and healthy gardens of Fort Ilocandia. Several staff tend to the gardens and with it comes the sprinklers on the pathway and smell of freshly-cut grass in the morning

GRAND. That’s my best description of the whole compound in all 3 relaxing days of stay in this hotel. I guess that also sums up the lifestyle of the Marcos – Fort Ilocandia was built to host their daughter Irene Marcos’ wedding reception a few decades ago.

View from my hotel room in Fort Ilocandia

There are a lot of amenities you can choose from to while away time during your stay in Fort Ilocandia. The sand dunes of Suba is also very near. Here is a picture of the area for golfing, horseback riding and the trail for the offroad ATV in Fort Ilocandia. As you can see, the beach isn’t too far away either.

Around Fort Ilocandia

Fort Ilocandia is easily located from the National Highway. They also offer free shuttle service to and from the airport. If you want to reach Fort Ilocandia place faster than usual by land, we discovered a shorter and more scenic route via Paoay if you’re coming from La Union. Along the Ilocos Norte National Highway, keep your eyes peeled for the sign ‘Batac Police Station’ on your right. That’s a crossroad with a stoplight. Turn left towards Paoay and go straight on, pass the historic Paoay Church and until you see the billboard of Fort Ilocandia. You’ll get to see a glimpse of the man-made Paoay Lake along the way too. I swear, this route cut down our travel time by about 45 minutes!

I’ve always equated La Union with surfing and fun. At least, that’s what me and my friends did last time I stayed in La Union so I was looking forward to going back again this year even if it’s mainly for work this time around. Due to some scheduling conflicts however, I had to travel to La Union by bus for the first time. So on this early Tuesday morning I brought myself to the highly-recommended bus line, Partas, to their Cubao-Arayat terminal for the 6-hour trip to La Union.

I needed to get off at Oasis Hotel which I was told was near San Fernando, La Union and, more importantly, could be spotted along the national highway. That should be easy, I thought. But as a first-time commuter to La Union, I was still a bit apprehensive so I decided to call on the assistance of the bus conductor –

Mrs. Rono: Kuya, pakibaba po ako sa Oasis Hotel sa La Union ha.

Conductor: Saan sa La Union?!

Mrs. Rono: Sa San Fernando. Sa Oasis (o-wey-sis) Hotel po.

Guy sitting beside Mrs. Rono: *speaking in Ilokano*

Conductor: Ahh…sa Oasis (o-wa-sis) Hotel

Mrs. Rono: Ah opo. Sa Oasis (o-wa-sis) Hotel

Needless to say, the bus did drop me off in front of the Oasis (o-wa-sis) Hotel. As the saying goes: In Rome, do as the Romans do The next day, I met with my group to go further up north to Laoag. Before leaving La Union, we stumbled upon a discovery – a cottage industry of woven fabrics! I like the soft woven fabric of bed sheets, pillow cases and towels, usually seen in Vigan shopping areas.

We had to ask around for directions looking for the house that sells ‘inabel’ (as shown in the picture above) and we finally found the area of inabel weavers tucked inside some houses of the town of Bangar, La Union.

It was a delight watching these elderly women in their workshop. The repetitive movements in the weaving actually reminded me of a scene in the movie ‘Wanted’ when Wesley Gibson tried to catch the moving steel out of the loom machine while training under Fox.

Mr. Roño and i attended a short travel writing workshop at Fully Booked in Boni High Street, Taguig City today. Organized by the Center for East Asian Languages, the session focused on some basic strategies for keeping a travel journal which we thought will be useful as we continue to populate our www.roamingronos.com with our travel adventures.

The session started with a simple lecture on dos and donts of travel writing and then we were assigned some independent work on writing about a ‘dream vacation.’ I didn’t have a particular destination in mind and found it more difficult to imagine a ‘fictional’ travel. So, I scribbled some notes about my last out of town trip. I’m sharing to you the article which was written for roughly 7 minutes before we had to break out into group discussion:

Braving ‘Typhoon Emong’ in Mimosa Leisure Estates

Aside from the lack of internet connection, being stuck in Mimosa due to a typhoon is pretty much like hanging out at home on a severe rainy day. It’s just a wee bit more expensive since it sets you back at around Php8,000 per night. But, we brought books and there’s a cable connection so we were kept abreast with the news. It turned out to be quite relaxing even if there was a big change of plans. If it wasn’t for the stormy weather, we could have done more outdoorsy stuff like swimming or golfing but hey, anything can happen when going out of town. Yes, including a typhoon.

After a rigorous bike ride, checking in at the Hotel Vida in Clark, Pampanga was one of the best decisions for our weekend trip because we love everything about the place!

Hotel Vida, managed by Fuego Hotels, is probably one of the newest hotels in this block and it sure looks and feels new. It was a little disappointing that the only available rooms were two single beds instead of the double bed we requested when we booked our room. The concierge explained that the limited rooms with double beds were occupied by an airline crew. Anyhow, the deluxe room we got was nice. Its design is Contemporary Zen-inspired with a patio and a view of the surrounding vegetation by the side of the hotel.

I like that everything in the room is personalized for Hotel Vida (bath towels, pillow case, etc.) with a superb attention to details. Containers of their bathroom toiletries are all biodegradable. They also put a Ladies Set in the bathroom which includes some napkins and hair clip for swimming.

The food offered in the room service and the breakfast at SALT Coffee Shop were absolutely yummy. We were totally relaxed in our stay and we spent most of Sunday morning unwinding by the pool area.

There’s a MALT Bar by the entrance of the hotel compound for drinks and some cool, eclectic music to cap the night. One-hour massage is also available as an in-room service or at the Ylang Ylang Spa.

Hotels usually are generic wherever you are so I tend to look for a place to stay in that has a bit more character when going out of town. My discovery of Hang Tuah Hotel in South Jakarta is no different. From the road, you might just see it as a posh two-storey house. It used to be, in fact, occupied by a family who decided to convert it to a quaint boutique hotel. So quaint, it only has 17 rooms in total but exudes a very confortable home-like ambiance.

The room on the ground floor comes with a porch

I love the room because it is elegantly furnished with hardwood closets, desks and bed frame. They have free internet connection and cable TV. Staying overnight also comes with the staple complimentary breakfast which is your usual local Indonesian fare.

Challenge in staying here would probably be the fact that it is not situated in a commercial zone (few neighboring business establishments, more residential) and lack of access to public transport like bus or train. The hotel guard and the receptionist are always there to assist me if i needed a cab though. Senayan City, a newly-built mall, and Plaza Senayan is about 3 blocks away from the hotel. I could have walked going there if it wasn’t raining during my stay.

Hang Tuah Hotel
Jl. Hangtuah I No.2 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tel. No.     +62 217 237323    
www.hangtuahhotel.com

You don’t always find gold when you look for treasure . . .

We just came from a weekend getaway at Treasures of Bolinao in, well, Bolinao, Pangasinan. My friend blogged about this site so I thought why not give it a try. We were supposed to stay until today but opted to check out early because we were completely unsatisfied with this place.

Anyway, to be fair, let’s start with the few positives:

1.) The location is nice. The view is good. Sunset was definitely breathtaking. However, the beachfront of Treasures of Bolinao is not really a beach but rock formations. Good for sightseeing perhaps, but not for swimming. The picture shows here the nearby Patar Beach, which is a public beach area.

No need to check in at Treasures of Bolinao to enjoy the Patar Beach

Now, for the rest. Let me just outline some key things:

1.) After we have checked in, it looked like the room was poorly prepared. Never mind that our name was taped nicely by the doorway. There were no tissue/shampoo/soap in the bathroom, no towels, heck not even any pillow casing for the bed. And the room was pretty spartan. This would be fine if the rate was Php2,000 or so, but they called this room The Maharlika Suite, which was about Php7,000 to Php8,000/night.

2.) The bathroom lock was not working. They had to get someone to try and fix it while we were already checked in.

3.) The food takes forever to serve. At least 1 hour. Our mom was very frustrated when she ordered way ahead for dinner (like around 4pm pa lang) and still dinner get so delayed. So she ordered while in the pool and then went and showered, got dressed, rested a bit, hoping that when we got to the resto food would be ready. But lo and behold, we still had to wait for more than 1 hour. Same thing with breakfast. They asked us to inform the resto staff way ahead, but breakfast was served pretty late. And the food they offer is not even that great (over priced and under quality).

4.) Around 10pm or so, we heard loud bangings coming from the floor above. Like there was some ongoing repair and maintenance. At this ungodly hour. At first we let it pass, thinking it might be just a short while. But it went on and on for a couple of minutes, and not just with hammering but also with what sounded like furnitures being dragged across the floor. Wifey couldn’t take it anymore and asked me to check out what’s happening so I stormed the floor above. They were fixing a room, moving the beds, hammering the bed together etc. and the sound was being echoed completely along the hallway and to our room below. And again, this started at 10:00 in the evening.

5.) Unreliable running water. There’s a pail inside the Maharlika Suite. Guess what it’s for?

Again, at a price of Php2,000-3,000 maybe, we would let this pass. But we were paying for Php7,000++/night (+10% service charge), would you blame us if we expected a lot lot more? Goodness, if we shelled out an additional Php1-2,000, we could already have gotten a 2 bedroom suite at The Manor in Camp John Hay, Baguio or a villa in Sitio Remedios in Ilocos or a room in Nami Hotel in Boracay - where you get super pampered and with super excellent food to boot. Anyway, we thought it wasn’t worth our while to stay in this resort for another day, so opted to leave earlier than planned.

We weren’t the only group apparently. I think 2 or 3 more families were checking out early as well. Everyone as unsatisfied as we were. We know because we were able to talk to a family during breakfast and a lady was checking out (enumerating their group’s complaints) just as we were leaving the front desk.

Upon check out, they asked us to pay 30% of our bill for the second night. They tried to weasel in 10% service charge more for our penalty but Wifey was quick enough to point out that it should just be the room rate. Dapat nga daw full price pa since we reserved for 2 nights and “we are running a business here.” they said. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind paying in full if the place was really nice, but we were leaving early because we felt they didn’t hold their end of the bargain of this business deal.

Anyway, I wanted to leave that place immediately so we just paid up the 30% of their published room rate just to go. We just enjoyed the fact that, after our experience in Treasures of Bolinao, we were able to hear Sunday mass at the Our Lady of Manaoag (where we got our newly-acquired car blessed) and had a great meal at Isdaan Restaurant in Gerona, Tarlac.

So if you want to see the beaches of Bolinao, allow me to list down some of my alternative suggestions:

1.) Check out the other cheaper resorts in the area. I know we should have at least checked out the nearby resorts but we were just so pissed off with Treasures we really didn’t want to stay in the Bolinao area much longer.
2.) Treasures claims its the only resort in Patar Beach. True, but they don’t say that you still have to walk around 1km to get to the nice area of Patar Beach (harap nila puro bato, great if you want to go snorkeling and see the fishes, but if you want a long stretch of beach, you really have to walk far…)

Walking along Patar Beach to go back to Treasures of Bolinao, which is almost a speck on the horizon

3.) And walk across public beaches. So might as well check in to one of the resorts and drive to this public beach. Bring your cooler, umbrella, and head on to the most desolate part away from the videokes.

I’m writing this post for my sister. Because she is going to Thailand for the summer with friends, and i had to answer endless questions about their itinerary and details. And so, for my sister’s benefit, here is a snapshot of where i have stayed in Bangkok so far:

BACKPACKER’s PLACE: Suk 11 Hostel (http://www.suk11.com/) Price range: 10-20 USD

I love this hotel. The backpacker’s capital in Bangkok may be Khao San Road where you can get uber-cheap accommodations, but i like the urban serenity and unique character Suk 11 has to offer. The room rate is cheap too. The last time I was there we only had to pay for something like Php500/night (room with own T&B with free breakfast). Right outside the hostel is a local restaurant (must try!), two massage place (the luxurious version and your normal run-of-the-mill thai massage place), post office, a bar called cheap charlie, parlor etc. Basically, it’s a comfortable zone where you can interact with locals and foreigners alike. And it’s walking distance to the BTS (Nana Station) along Sukhumvit Road, the main thoroughfare in Bangkok.

AVERAGE: Asian Institute of Technology Hostel; Price Range : 20-40 USD

You read that right. i stayed here for about 3 weeks in 2007 and again in 2008 and this falls into my category of average accommodation. It IS a campus hostel anyway. It is clean and it is cheap. I love the fact that they offer free Internet though. Just ask for a LAN cable from the reception desk. Food is available in the restaurant too but there is a time limit for orders in the evenings. Oh, and it’s FAR from the Bangkok city center! Taxi from the airport cost about 700THB one-way. Definitely not ideal for a Bangkok holiday trip.

MODERATE: Ambassador Hotel; Price range: 40-60USD

This first hotel in Bangkok i’ve ever stayed in. It is old, nothing really fancy. A Thai-Canadian friend i met in this trip to Bangkok even shared that they used to go to this hotel when they were young to see the pet zoo they kept there. No zoo at present but it can be a jungle in there especially when you find yourself in a crowd during some trade fairs/exhibits. No regrets for me, though. It was during my stay in this hotel that i found Suk11 hostel. Yep, the Ambassador Hotel is located right across the Suk 11 hostel. I discovered it when i decided to try the local restaurant right outside the hostel. You just have to find your way inside the cul-de-sac behind the 7-eleven store.

MODERATE: S.D. Avenue Hotel (http://www.sdavenue.com/) Price range: 40-60USD

Located somewhere near the old Bangkok international airport, this hotel felt to me like it was in the middle of nowhere. Too many roads (and a flyover!) in the vicinity of the airport and not much to see. Since hotel internet is way too expensive, I found a cheap place for internet one block away from the hotel in what seems like a row apartment converted to stores. The owner do not speak English but we got by thru punching in number in the calculator when i asked for the rate per minute. The nearest mall is an obviously newly-built Tesco so at least there is a place to buy your usual Thailand souvenirs (tamarind, etc). The good thing about the hotel, though, is its proximity to Chao Phraya River where we were able to enjoy a sumptuous dinner crusing by. 

MODERATE: The Grand President Park Hotel (http://www.grandpresident.com/) Price range: 40-60USD

This is the third hotel i stayed in within Soi 11 (where Ambassador Hotel and Suk 11 Hostel) is located. You can say this is the little strip in Bangkok i am most comfortable with. Where your craving for mexican, thai, or italian food are satisfied with just a stone throw’s away. I even found a bridal store somewhere a bit far (but walking distance) during the time i was doing our wedding preparations. I swear i think i may have tried the 30-baht noodle meals for each trip in this area. The only con for this hotel was that i stayed in Tower 3 and you actually cross the busy street of Soi 11 before you can get to the restaurant to have your breakfast.

EXPENSIVE: Swissotel Nai Lert Park Bangkok; Price range: 60-100USD

This hotel is the place to be when you want to treat yourself to an ambience of relaxation and luxury. The pool is huge and enticing. There really is nothing much to see when you step outside so it is better to stay indoors and enjoy the hotel facilities. You have to take a long walk to reach the mall and the BTS (Chidlom and Ploenchit station) and the surrounding structures are mostly embassies.

EXPENSIVE: Imperial Queen’s Park; Price range: 60-100USD

You have to walk two blocks and cross through a public park to get to the BTS station. My stay in this hotel was memorable because it was the time of the Loi Krathong Festival in Thailand. We got to make an offering to the waters at the park, behind the hotel. Inside the room, the lighted candles in the park was visible from the window.  Pretty amazing. Oh and while lounging in the hotel bar in another night, a Filipino band started playing. We were the only ones inside so we had the dance floor to ourselves and we did rock the night away. We know the band is Filipino because they said they were from Sampaloc (in Manila). For a long time, my British friend was saying “ask them to play something Spanish.” Which was a little weird. When the singer started singing Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang? (a Tagalog song), my British friend was obviously puzzled. Turns out, he heard them say they came from Sao Paulo when they were introducing themselves as the band from ‘Sampaloc’ *lols*

I do hope you find this entry useful in planning for your summer vacation!