El Nido

Day 3 - June 8, 2012

The next day was more relaxing because we visited another popular destination beach in the Philippines called El Nido. It was BEAUTIFUL!

El Nido is completely the opposite of Boracay. It's more quite, relaxing and it gives you the chance to appreciate the beauty of nature. However, I personally had more fun at Boracay just because the whole atmosphere is targeted towards young adults who loves to party and drink.

We spent most of the day island hopping and snorkeling.

For lunch, our tour guide group prepared a little cute picnic.

http://www.elnidophilippines.com/

Puerto Princesa Part 2

Day 2 - June 7, 2012

On 11/11/11 the Underground River in Puerto Princesa was listed to be one of the seven New Wonders of Nature. It is also considered to be the largest underground river in the whole world. Therefore, if you are ever in Palawan I highly recommend you visit this place.

http://nature.new7wonders.com/

Before going through the underground river, the tour guide suggested for everyone on the boat to be quite because the bats can be unpredictable. With this in mind, of course I was a little concerned the bats would attack my mom because she is one talkative person. But I was actually proud of her by the end of the tour because she managed not to say a word.

It has been said, that the cave has many different rock formation shaped into various objects or people. One of the most memorable rock formation was the weeping face of Jesus.

After the Underground River tour, we went to Ugong Rock Adventures. I got the opportunity to go rock climbing and zip-lining at cost of $22 Canadian dollars. It was affordable and fun! However, it was probably a terrible decision to be wearing flip flops that day but that didn't stop me from being adventurous.

I was so damn excited to go zip-lining that I was willing to go on the first day we arrived in Palawan but as I mentioned before the weather wasn't really co-operating with us. So luckily, day 2 the weather was wonderful! Here's a video of my zip-lining :D

Puerto Princesa Part 1

Day 1 - June 6, 2012

The whole morning was spent travelling from Batangas to the airport to Palawan. By the afternoon, we arrived in city of Puerto Princesa and we met with our tour guide named "Chicken boy." (Yeah, I thought it was very unusual too!) But he was very welcoming and answered all of our typical tourist questions.

One of the first places we visited was a historical area of Puerto Princesa. This part of the tour was my least favourite because it involved walking outdoors and it was slightly raining that day. However, the day improved midpoint when we went to the crocodile farm. To be honest, I was somewhat scared but it was probably one of the highlights of the day.

Don't let that smile fool you...it was all just for the photo. I was fucking scared holding that baby crocodile!

After the crocodile farm, our next destination was Baker's Hill. It's well known for it's scrumptious pastries at an affordable price. My mom brought a bag filled with hopia ube to bring back to Canada but it was so delicious that it was all eaten on the day of.

Our tour guide recommended Bilao at Palayok as a place to have dinner and it was absolutely one of the best meals I had in my life.

http://www.visitpuertoprincesa.com/

Villa Escudero

Kumusta!

If you are open to learning and exploring the Filipino culture. I highly recommended you visit Villa Escudero located at San Pablo City in Lagun.

To be honest, I was excited to go for the experience of eating at a waterfall restaurant but it was more than I bargained for. First, we got the opportunity to visit a museum consisted of many religious artifacts. Unfortunately, they had a strict policy of taking photos inside the museum due the fact people might expose the contents of the museum in social networks. However, I was allowed to take a photo of the pretty pink castle.





So as I mentioned the main attraction of the whole place is the waterfall restaurant. Make sure you wear flip flops because the water does flow through the whole surface of the dining area. Also walk really slowly!! (I almost slipped a few times).

The admission fee was included a free lunch meal. I was excited because it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. The only downfall of it was that the fried fish was burnt as you can see in the photo.

During lunch, we obviously took many of photos near the waterfall as typical tourist people would do.

After lunch, there was an hour cultural dance performance. It was really entertaining to watch because of the traditional music, well-designed costumes that the actors worn and the props used on stage created such a wonderful show.

At the end of the day, we also got the chance to try bamboo rifting.

Admission fee: 1,400 peso = $35.00 Canadian dollars 

includes all of the following activities:

- museum tour

- waterfall restaurant entrance

- lunch

- cultural show

- swimming pool area

- bamboo rift ride

The overall experience was fun and worth the trip! 

Jump into France!

Bonjour à nouveau!

I just recently found these photos on Facebook  and it actually relates back to my previous post about France. It's a creative idea proposed by an architect firm called Atelier Zündel Cristea.

France consist of many old fashion designed bridges, therefore, this particular trampoline bridge is to invite and engage tourists to a more exciting method of crossing from one side to the other. It looks so fun!!! However, this project is still under consideration but I personally believe if they do add this...visiting France will be 1000x more fun for everyone.

Take me to Paris, s'il vous plaît!

Bonjour!

Whenever I watch a film and it's set up in Paris; I imagine it to be such a romantic and magical city - a city of love. I think it's every girl's dream to go to Paris with their significant other and wander around the city.

I can already picture it in my head...my day would start off waking up to the beautiful scent of fresh croissants and as I get off the bed I look out the window to the amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. Perhaps spend the rest of the day shopping at a few boutique shops and have lunch at some fancy restaurant that offers caviar. Afterwards I would take time to visit the Louvre Museum to have a glimpse of the most famous painting of the Mona Lisa. Then my future hubby would sweep my off my feet and kiss me underneath the Eiffel Tower.

Okaaaay this is all starting to sound too cliche. Honestly, the movies has really built up my expectations about Paris.

Au revoir pour l'instant.

Tokyo, Japan

Konnichiwa!

This semester my friend (Kyra) and I took Introduction to Japan Cultural as our elective class. Every week, we learn different greetings and daily expressions along with the cultural and lifestyle of Japan. From all of the stuff I have learned so far in this course...it really makes me want to take the next flight to Japan (if I had the money I would but it doesn't hurt to dream?) Anyways, I was doing some research on Japan’s popular theme parks and I got so excited when I found out they have two Sanrio theme parks; Sanrio Puroland and Harmonyland. I also found so many kawaii (cute) photos of the theme parks.

My friends and family know for a fact I love Hello Kitty. Every since I was a 5 years old, all I can remember getting for my birthday is nothing but Hello Kitty related objects such as Hello Kitty stationeries, plush toys, slippers, pajamas, blankets, etc. Until this day, I can’t help feel joy and excitement when I receive something Hello Kitty related...I guess it just shows I’m still a kid at heart. Ahhhh but if I ever do go to Japan I will fulfill my 5-year-old dream by going to Hello Kitty world. 

http://www.harmonyland.jp/english/harmony/harmony.html

Sayoonara!

Typical Night in Boracay

You know how they say New York is the city that never sleeps? Well Boracay is the beach that never sleeps. Like I mentioned in my previous post, if you are a party animal you’ll be happy to know that the island has a large number of bars and clubs.

My first night in Boracay, my family and I went to Bamboo Lounge. Every night at approximately 7pm, you can always expect to see a group of fire dancers. 

At the end of the performance, the audience gets the opportunity to take pictures with the fire dancers. 

After watching the performance, we went to a bar called Cocomangas. My cousins and I were seated at a booth and against the wall; I noticed a large number of unfamiliar names with different dates on a golden plaque. One of my cousins explained to me that this particular bar offers a 15 shooter challenge. Basically, if an individual completed this challenge they wouldn’t have to pay for the shots and they’ll have their name engraved on the wall along with a souvenir t-shirt. So if you enjoy drinking competition maybe this is the place for you.

My cousins are more interested in reggae music. So on our second night in Boracay they wanted to go to a club that had reggae music. Apparently Red Pirates was the place to go to and it was located at station 3. Once we got there, I was expecting a huge crowd of people partying but the minute we got there; there was no one in sight. Red Pirates was apparently closed for that evening and I can’t remember why it was. Instead, we found a close by area with comfy couches and decided to just chill here. It was a completely different atmosphere from station 2. It was more of a peaceful environment and away from all of the rowdy party people.

Typical Day in Boracay

You can spend the whole day relaxing, swimming or making sand castles on the beach but why not make the most of every minute by doing something more exciting and fun? If you seek adventure you may be interested in the water activities the island has to offer. But make sure you are financially ready to spend. Helmet diving, island hopping, snorkeling and flying fish were a few of the activities my family and I participated in.

Helmet Diving; being dressed like an astronaut but underwater. Before standing on the ocean floor, you will be accompanied by a guide and he will describe the dos and the don’ts. The orientation is highly recommended so listen up!

1, 000 PHP per person = $23.80 CAN

Island hopping; is a three hour adventure spent exploring different parts of Boracay and you get the opportunity to go snorkeling with all the unique creatures under the sea.

2,700 PHP for 7-10 people = $64.29 CAN

Flying fish; is much more of an extreme water sport compared to the other activities I mentioned. Basically, you and five other people are being whisked away by a jet boat and the chances of falling off the boat are high. By the end of it, you’ll have bruises on your arms from falling side-to-side. But don’t worry it’s fun and you are wearing a life jacket.

400 PHP per person = $9.52 CAN

Boracay, Philippines

One of my dream vacations is to go to Boracay in the Philippines with all of my closest cousins. I've heard and saw many photos on Facebook when my cousins went and I can’t help but feel jealous because it truly looks like paradise. Believe it or not, I actually went on May 26, 2012 to May 29, 2012 and it was one of the best times in my life.

Boracay is one of the most beautiful beaches I ever been to. It’s filled with fun water activities such as helmet diving, snorkeling, parasailing, zorbing, zip lining and so much more. You'll never feel hungry because there are many local restaurants to feed your appetite and if you are a shopaholic like me; D’Mall located at Station 1 and 2 have a variety of stores to buy inexpensive beachwear, jewelry or souvenirs. Honestly, it’s never a dull moment in Boracay because when the sun goes down it’s like a party on the beach. You would be surprise on the number of bars and clubs you can find on this island.

http://www.myboracayguide.com/

First blog post ever.

After weeks of deciding what to blog about I finally came to a conclusion; my blog will be based on my amazing trip to the Philippines (last summer) and future vacation spots I would like to visit. Hence, the concept "Princess Dream Destination." Originally, I wanted my URL link to be "Ticket to Princess Paradise" but unfortunately that name was taken. Oh, did I forget to mention my name is Princess? So if you are interested or planning a trip to the Philippines stay tune for updates. I'll be posting day-to-day activities about the major places I visited such as Boracay and Palawan.

I wanted to include some sort of photo to capture the beauty of Philippines because you know...a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Instead, I found a video that does the job.