Hey, Hey Taipei!

I am a fan of early booking for cheap flights. Another great find from last 2016 was this valued flight to Taipei. After my 1st winter experience last January 2016 in Seoul, South Korea, I can't wait to experience again the cool weather of Taipei to escape the usual tropical weather in Manila.

Our flight is late night of January 12 so we arrive in Taipei pass midnight of January 13. Good thing we traveled in a group so Taxi is not that inconvenient. We went straight to TO Hotel. The personnel had left me instructions for express check-in. It's super hassle-free! :)

We stayed for 4 nights for a total of 16,395 php for a room good for 4. That's 1,024.69 per night per person. Breakfast is already included also.

Here is their usual breakfast servings. Never thought I would fall in love with Bagel. Yum!

We wasted no time, as we prepare to tour around on a rainy 1st morning in Taipei. Our Hotel location is fantastic as we were sandwiched with 2 train station - Red and Green Line. 

Off we go to Taipei Zoo. Entrance cost is at 60 NT per head. Even if it was raining cats and dogs during our visit, we still managed to explore the area. I am amazed as it was my 1st encounter with some of the animals such as panda, koala and camel. :)

We had our lunch in this cute panda cafe

We were cold and tired after the Taipei Zoo trip, but that did not stop us to experience authentic Taiwanese Cultural Show. We went back to our Hotel to rest for a while before walking to Taipei Eye.

Taipei's night life

So happy to experience the show. Very humorous, indeed!

The following day, we decided to go to the National Palace Museum to learn more about Taiwan's culture and history. We spent 250 NT for the entrance.

We passed by Shilin and tried Taipei's version of Pizza for 35 NT since we preferred it with egg.

After fueling up, we passed by Long Shan Temple to pay respect.

Even if we had spent a lot of walking, we still managed to go to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. This is the highlight of the trip for my opinion. I love how minimalist the place seems to be but it is so  magnanimous  to my eyes.

We were also lucky  enough to experience the changing of guards.

Amazing that our day didn't end here as we were went to experience Taipei101. It was really super cold at the top of the building.

Breezy Taipei on top of Taipei 101

We were really so hungry after all the activity so we decided to go to the nearby night  market, Raohe. Food were amazing! Really recommended to travel in a group so you can have tons of food to try and share.

The fried squid is what I think is the winner :)

The following day, we visited the Museum of Contemporary Arts. It had already been a habit of mine to check the contemporary art museum of a country. This is a 3rd for me. (Done with Singapore and Seoul)

We did again a lot of walking to find the Modern Toilet for our lunch. Most of us are really excited to experience eating in a bowl. :) To my surprise, the restaurant is located in a very vibrant place (Ximending). I was more than excited as I reminisce my time in Myeongdong, Seoul.

We took long walks to visit the Presidential Office Building after lunch. It was quite fearful to take photos as the building is heavily guarded. We were also not allowed to stop in the middle of the building to capture the scenery.

Braved to take picture of the marvelous building. 

We were supposed to try biking around the city, but decided to not pushed through as we head on to our next destination.

We were really dead tired so we went back to hotel to rest for a while then raveled to our next destination - Shilin Night Market to do some final shopping and food trip.

 Shilin Night Market

For our last day in Taipei, we agreed to get more physical by hiking elephant mountain to experience the great view of Taipei101.

After the tiring hike, we went to do some more shopping in the nearby mall that we saw. Pull and Bear, H&M, Bershka and other stores were on-sale so we did not waste any time  to check those shops. After satisfying our selves from shopping,  we visited Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall.

It was indeed a happy experience to be touring in a group that jives together. It made the vacation more memorable.

Bacolod - Dumaguete - Siquijor (October 2016)

It was the end of February last year (2016) when I encountered a seat sale via Cebu Pacific. I really wanted to visit Apo Island for its marine biodiversity. Instead of just limiting my trip to the island, I thought of including other nearby provinces to visit to make the vacation more worthwhile. 

The flight we bought costs us at an estimate 3828.60 php for Manila - Bacolod and Dumaguete to Manila (October 19-23 2016). 6 of us are all set for the ultimate October adventure.

Upon arriving in Bacolod-Silay International Airport, we hired a van to our hotel that costs us 500 php. This eliminated the hassle to change transportation since we have all our carried luggage. We chose to stay at Bacolod Circle Inn for one night. Room costs 1400 per night and it is good for 2 persons.  

Since we arrived around 11:30 in the hotel. We wasted no time to start our trip. We decided to just take the local mode of transportation and enjoy the city life.

Our party of 6 - Me and Bien with my officemates (Har, Jubail and Alton). We were  also joined by  Har's mom - Tita Chabing

Our first stop was Manokan Country to fuel us up. We had the famed Bacolod Chicken Inasal. The area has too many restaurants to choose from. We based our decision on the space available so we can be accommodated well. Truly, the inasal is far from what we commercially have here in the metro. Tender Chicken with lots of flavor. :) Costs us around 70 php per quarter of chicken.

We took a walk to visit the nearby church - San Sebastian Cathedral. 

We were made aware that Masskara Festival was to commenced that weekend so the nearby Bacolod Plaza was already designed for the festivities.

Since we are bounded with time, we agreed to go back in the area in the night after we visit other places listed in our itinerary. We commuted to the Provincial Capitol before heading to the famous dessert place in the City.

I was really curious on how Calea's pastries taste like. So we did not waste any more time to find a branch in Robinson's Bacolod.

I was told this was their Best Seller, well it did not disappoint. :)

Off we find the van that services from Go Hotels to The Ruins in Talisay City. We were charged at 100 php per head for RT transportation (Go Hotels - The Ruins).

I am more than excited to visit the place and enjoy its romantic ambiance. Entrance fee costs at 100 php per head and 50 php for senior citizens.

We headed back to the Plaza to check for any Pre-festival activities. There were drum practices we had chanced upon. We were able to have another Bacolod Inasal for dinner and shop for the famed Bongbong's Finest Delicacies. 

For our last day in Bacolod, we checked out early  in the hotel and have our luggage stored before we head to our Heritage tour in Silay City. We took a multicab to Ceres Terminal at 7 php each. From Ceres Terminal, we took the bus to Silay at 15 php each. We had our breakfast at the famed El Ideal Bakery.

We visited the San Diego Pro-Cathedral before starting the tour for 3 ancestral houses in the area.

We started off with Bernandino Jalandoni Museum. It was an amazing experience to be able tour around freely with houses that were established ages ago. Entrance Fee is at 60 php per head and 45 php per head for senior citizen.

Next is my favorite ancestral house - Ramon Holifena Heritage House. Entrance Fee is at 60 php per head and 50 php per head for senior citizen. The tour guide is so passionate and we really enjoyed learning how artistic the owner of the house is. I personally hope that all his work will be preserved for the next generation.

We were already drained by the heat of the sun and learning the history of the 2 ancestral houses, but we need to visit one last house - Balay Negrense. Entrance Fee is at 60 php per head and 45 php per head for senior citizen. Personally, this is the house that gave me chills. It could be because of the vast interior, and the quietness of the rooms. 

We had our late lunch at Cafe 1925 to refill energy before heading back to Circle Inn Hotel to get our luggage. After freshening up, we head to Ceres Bus Terminal to catch the 6PM trip to Dumaguete City. It costs 377 per head for the 5-7 hours travel. 

We arrived around midnight in Dumaguete and we haggled for a tricycle ride to our hostel - Harold's Mansion. We got 1 Family Room and Additional matress for 3300 for 2 nights (825 per person for 2 days) and 1 Double Room (1000 per person for 2 nights). There is also a complimentary breakfast in the Hostel. The best part of the deal is that the hostel is a diving / snorkel center.

We prepared early to register in the Dive Center to get our snorkeling gear. The tour costs 1200 each person inclusive of transportation, tour, light packed lunch and gears. I am so excited to finally see those endangered pawikan.

It was indeed lucky to experience the beauty of Apo Island. We were dead tired with the activity but the memories will be forever treasured. I cannot forget the close encounter with the large sized Pawikan that I was able to capture in a video. It could just be seconds, but it was something worth remembering.

We headed back to the hostel late afternoon. We took shower and headed out again for our final night in Dumaguete.

We dined at Hayahay Treehouse Bar and Restaurant for some fresh seafood to compensate our hungry stomach. We will not also waste the opportunity to dive into the famed dessert of Sans Rival.

We checked out early morning and had our luggage stored in the Hostel as we were bound to Siquijor. We caught the morning ferry and it costs us 130 per head. There is also a terminal fee of 15 php per head. From Siquijor port, we hired a jeep to hotel for 100 php good for our party of 6. We chose Pacific Blue Inn as our home for 1 night in Siquijor. We had 3 rooms, costing us 905 per person for 1 night. Breakfast was already included. The beachfront hotel has an infinity pool that made the stay more relaxing.

We  hired a van to tour us around Siquijor. It cost us 2500 php for the vehicle rental only. (417 php per head for 6 pax). Our first stop was the Enchanted Balete Tree. Entrance is 25 php per head. Senior citizens are free of charge.

We also passed by Lazi Church

The highlight for this tour is the Cambugahay Falls. We spent most of our time there. I braved to try the Tarzan Swing and tried to jumped off the edge of the falls. Amazing experience indeed.

We have to still channel all our energy to visit Salagdoong Beach. I chickened out to try Cliff diving.

As we chase sunset, it is so timely we were able to visit Guiwanon Spring Park right on time. 

We had our dinner at Triad, where we can oversee the Province. We still have some energy left in our bodies so when we headed back to the hotel, we dive in to the infinity pool. It was also a perfect timing that one of my college classmate was on a break from her Air Force Duties. I invited her to our hotel for some drinks and stories.

The following morning, we need to catch an early ferry back to Dumaguete for the last day of our vacation. We tried to find some pasalubong shops but unfortunately, there is not much in Siquijor. We passed by st. Francis of Assisi Church before boarding our Ferry.

Back in Dumaguete, we went straight to Dumaguete Cathedral for the Sunday Mass. 

We had our lunch in Sans Rival Bistro so we can also buy our pasalubong before getting all our luggage in Harold Mansion. We packed all the delicacies we bought from Bacolod, Dumaguete and Siquijor before heading to Dumaguete Airport.

It was indeed a fun-filled experience with great company. It was also a cost-efficient trip as we were able to witness a lot of majestic places for the 5-day vacation.