i’m probably the worst travel blogger on this side of the planet, hehe. for one, i have not been out of the city for two months now. thus, i don’t really have anything new to share. most of all, accounts of my travel come several months LATE…..VERY, VERY LATE, tsk, tsk… to date, i haven’t written about my 2007 hong kong trip, my feb 08 palawan trip, and my may 08 pandanon trip. anyhow, i’ll try to remedy that with this “late post” about palawan, hehe. at least an installment account of the trip. thanks to a fellow ‘96 UP High Tunobers, I now have the needed push to get myself in front of the computer and properly chronicle my rather short trip. in this post, i’ll just cover the very basic questions on how we got to puerto princesa and el nido, where we stayed, and the most important concern of budget travelers such as I, HOW MUCH we spent for the trip.

Cebu to Puerto Princesa
The very few who consistently check this little site on the web would have known by now that most of my travels were made possible by Cebu Pacific Air [mr. gokongwei should reward me for this as i keep on advertising their airline despite the many labels, "cebu pathetic and the like," from disgruntled travelers]. That’s because I’m always on the look out for their PROMO such as this one:

Expectedly, I got tickets for puerto princesa through its reliable online booking site [just be ready with your credit card]. Cebu Pacific Air has direct flights to Puerto Princesa from Cebu every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Flights from Cebu leaves at 10:20 A.M. and arrives at 11:35 A.M. in puerto princesa.  while return flight is at 12:05 PM and arrives at 1:20 PM.

in my case, i bought my cebu-puerto princesa-cebu feb. 16 and feb. 21 tickets in nov. 2007 during their PISO Fare promo and paid PHP 2963.52. as of this writing, two-way direct flight tickets from ceb to pp cost as low as

or as high as [though this could still go higher. this is the current rate]:

for illustration purposes; the above rates are for the  july 31 and august 7, 2008 travel dates. the 9K++ fare is for the cebu-pp//pp-manila-manila-cebu flights.

oh, reserve PhP 200 airport terminal fee for mactan and less than PhP100 for puerto princesa [hehe, i forgot the exact amount]

once in puerto princesa, one can get around the city through trike or multicab plying different routes. the trike is mostly for getting around the city, while the multicab is for the little towns in neighboring puerto.

during our first afternoon in puerto, we negotiated with a multicab driver to take us to the butterfly farm, crocodile and nature’s park, late sen. mitra’s mansion [the sta. monica ranch], and baker’s hill. we paid PhP 100 each. believe me, the PhP 100 fare was worth the price as Bong [the driver] was very accommodating and was willing to wait until we’re satisfied with the place we’ve visited. he actually acted as our tour guide minus the fee. if i’m not mistaken, palawan city tour covering the places i’ve mentioned + iwahig penal colony is pegged at PhP500 to PhP600 per person [and i think a minimum number of people is required as rates go higher the fewer the people]. so, the 100-peso tour was truly a bargain. unfortunately, i could not find his cell phone number [perhaps the second number printed on the vehicle is IT, hehe, i'm not very sure, though]. in any case, one could just flag down an empty multicab and negotiate.

The Multicab

Bong - The Driver  

First Stop: Palawan Butterfly Garden. entrance fee is pegged at PhP25. click this for a video clip i found in youtube, uploaded by user patek143 [hehe, i don't know her personally nor does she know me].

It is the home of different species of butterflies endemic to the province, also found in Southeast Asia. It is located in Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City while the Palawan Lepidoptera Farm can be found in Brgy. Tiniguiban, Puerto Princesa City.

— lifted from: http://www.palawan.gov.ph/manmade.php

them butterflies like me

2nd Stop: Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center Ticket to the Center: PhP 40 entrance

Third Stop: Rancho Sta. Monica [late sen. mitra's mansion] - entrance is free 

Last Stop: Baker’s Hill

For more information on the above places, click THIS. Enjoy exploring Palawan Province’s official website. 

Puerto Princesa to El Nido. Prior to leaving Cebu, our transporation going to El Nido from Puerto Princesa was already pre.arranged. That’s because one of my companions had a friend who lives in Puerto. She arranged our transportation and got us the following van

we each shelled out PhP 2,062 for the 6-hour trip to El Nido. yup, it was that expensive [at least in my book], hehe! anyhow, it was the price we had to pay for the comfort. having endured the 6-hour drive, half of which was an arduous drive on bumpy rough roads [read: yataps ang "dagaton", better take some bonamine before the trip]. but perhaps given the lateness of this post, the rough roads are now things of the past since there were a lot of road construction going on during our trip [cross your fingers on this, hehe].

Puerto Princesa to Sabang [Underground River]

From El Nido, we head back to Puerto Princesa and avail ourselves of the Underground River Tour. We got the services of EMF Travel & Tours to arrange the tour for us.

Tour Fee is PhP 1,300 per person for a minimum group of 6 people. This is the standing rate for the tour. We chose this one because they offer a free 1 hour whole body massage. They send their masseuse to your hotel and each tour participant gets his/her hour of massage. [Haha, i first didn't quite get why they offer this; but after the bumpy ride to Sabang, you definitely could use the free massage]. Sabang is a 2 and half hour-ride from Puerto Princesa. From Sabang, you take a 15-minute boat ride to the Underground River.

Tour Inclusions:

The van above. Your own tour guide. Ours is named Sunshine, the girl below: She took care of the entrance fee, environmental permit, boat fare, and our lunch. As an extra, she also took us to Palawan’s Wet Market and direct us to where you can buy real and cultured pearls [at Cora's - suppliers of most pearl stores in palawan].

Sabang Boat Station: The tour guide took care of the fare/boat. Boat ride is first-come, first-served basis. Thus, it’s advisable to head to Sabang very early in the morning.

The Boat to the Underground River

The Boat Used for the 45-Minute Underground River Tour

Lunch - Usual fare of pork belly, squid, vegetable soup, rice, banana, and softdrinks

El Nido Island Hopping

Our island hopping in El Nido was made possible by the guy at the center. His name is Joel. He’s one of the staff of Greenviews Resort. He’s one nice guy who gives discounts to fellow Bisaya, hehe..

Island hopping tour fee is pegged at PhP700 per person. For a little preview on the island hopping spots in El Nido, check this previous post.

El Nido Waters [hehe, just have to insert my vetlongwalks mark]

The island hopping covered the seven islands in neighboring el nido, boatmen/tour guide, and lunch.

Our boatmen/tour guides at the Cudugman Cave. The older man is Cebuano.

ACCOMMODATION

A. Puerto Princesa. While in the city, we stayed at the Skylight Apartelle. It’s less than 10-15 minutes from the airport.

210 - A. Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City / Tel. Nos. [048] 434-4872, 434-7886/434-7887 / Telefax: [048] 433-4596 / Email: skylight_apartelle@yahoo.com / Website: www.skylightapartelle.com / Manila Office: 1305 Pedro Gil St., Paco, Manila (02) 563-2565//563-8912

 The above is the apartelle’s side entrance. We pass through here because there was a wedding reception at their restaurant when we arrived. Yes, you enter the restaurant first before you get to the apartelle. The maroon van in the picture is the van that picked us up at the airport. Airport transfer is free.

The Apartelle’s Lobby

The Room: Room 105 Double Room/AC/ Cable TV/Hot&Cold Shower @ PhP1,200 per night

B. El Nido

Greenviews is about 10 to 15 minutes away from El Nido Beach. There are a lot of resorts/hotels/inns at El Nido Beach, but it’s too noisy to my liking whereas Greenviews is very quite and peaceful. Most tourists also drive to this resort for its spectacular view of the sunset. Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we were there. The foreigner owner was even apologetic that we were unable to experience it because of the cloudy skies.

Room 10: Triple Room with Extra Bed AC/ Cable TV/Hot&Cold Shower @ PhP3,200 per night [800/person for a group of 4]

Room 10 Interior

View of the Beach from Greenviews Restaurant

Another View from the Restaurant

The Beach Fronting Greenviews Resort

The above were details of my OWN Feb. 16-21, 2008 trip. There are several agencies offering palawan package tours. So don’t forget to drop by at the TOURISM Information Center booth at the airport. It’s just beside the baggage carousel.

Money Matters in Brief:

Transportation:      3,200 ++ [Airfare + Terminal Fee]
                               2,062      [Van to El Nido]
Accommodation:   1,800       [3 nights @Puerto Princesa]
                              1,600       [2 nights @ El Nido]
Tour Fees:             1,300       [Underground River Tour]
                                700       [El Nido Island Hopping]
                                  65       [Butterfly Garden/Crocodile Farm]
Food                        3,000    [6 days/5 nights; maybe less]
Pasalubong/Souvenir/Misc   [ up to you]
Total: PhP 13, 727 + pasalubong/souvenir expenses + miscellaneous

Pahabol: If you wanna skip El Nido, opt for Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour @ PhP900/person or Dos Palmas Island Day Tour @PHP1,800/person. Just inquire from EMF [contact details above] or at Ellen’s Travel and Tours [048] 433-2076, 434-7052, 0928-500-2126,0917-360-8613. Ellen’s is the agency that a friend of a friend used during their own Puerto Princesa trip.  Again, there are several brochures available at the airport should you decide to have a Palawan getaway without planning ahead. hehe, let the agencies do the work for you or ask locals to save a few bucks. filipinos are generally helpful, so you can get the information you need if you dare ask. if this helps: puerto princesa has zero crime rate according to locals.

grrr…. we won’t be able to go to thailand as we initially planned.

darn, double darn.

fare is just too expensive. haha, from 6,900++ back in april, the airfare now costs 16,300++ and rising. on top of that, we would be spending the first few minutes of 2009 in flight. that’s because our schedule won’t allow us to stay beyond january 1 and the flight that fits our schedule leaves at 12:05 A.M. on january 1, which means we’ve to be at the airport as the year 2008 bids farewell. hayyy… so this year we’d have to content ourselves with a trip to luzon, hehe… that is if madayon pud siya [LOL!!] 

well, i know we’ve tickets for cebu-manila-cebu [dec. 27 to jan. 1], but with no itinerary and accommodations, yet. so we’ll just see come december. i’m crossing my fingers we can swing it to SAGADA….

[this is a repost from my friendster blog with additional info]

july 21, 2007

ortiz wharf - ortiz st., iloilo city.
this is the boat station in iloilo to hoskyn port at jordan, guimaras. the island across is guimaras.

wooh! that’s the first word that came out of my mouth. i thought the cab driver was joking. the place was very, ah… “not pleasant.” it’s like in the middle of a squatter’s area. there’s some odor that’ll offend those with delicate sensibilities. well, it’s not really offensive - but the place is far from clean. the cab driver assured me that he has indeed taken me to ortiz wharf going to guimaras. so then, i hauled my ass off the seat and took my backpack out of the cab. “all right, vet. you can do this. you’re intent on doing this side trip before heading to ibajay, aklan to attend a birthday party.”

off i went. carried my backpack on my shoulders and the gift in my left hand. walked straight and found a very tiny booth with a sign “TICKETS” [if i remember correctly]. asked the ticket attendant if the tickets were for ferries going to guimaras. the woman nodded yes, and thus handed her a 20-peso bill [hehe, i saw a man before me hand the woman a 20-peso bill, i sorta just followed him as i had no idea how much the ferry fare was]. the woman handed my change [i counted 9 pesos, thus fare was 11] and a makeshift ticket. hehe, super ingenious. the ticket was made of a used prepaid cellphone call/text card. front part was just covered with a white paper and the name of the ferry written on it. with the ticket in hand, i proceeded to where some people carrying bags headed. mein, notwithstanding the poor state of the boat station, the view from across the station was simply amazing. well, i found the view spectacular. it was one big island surrounded by very calm waters. it was unfortunate, however, as i didn’t take any picture. this was because i allowed fright to get the better of me. as the place wasn’t conducive to displays of possessions worth grabbing, unsafe at least to my mind. i couldn’t back this up with statistics though. anyway, i hopped on the ferry and 15 minutes after, i arrived at hoskyn port in jordan guimaras.

hoskyn port, jordan guimaras - the pix though was taken on my way back to iloilo]

now, where to vet?

hmmm, last i remember from my ever reliable Lonely Planet Philippines book and some stuff from the net, the place i was headed for can be found in the town of nueva valencia at sitio alubihod. i was actually headed for Raymen Beach Resort found in Alubihod Beach, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras. According to a Virtual Tourist forum member, one may take a jeepney and ask to be dropped off at the town of Nueva Valencia. From Jordan [hoskyn port], it’d take roughly 45 minutes to get to the town’s center and then transfer to a trike for a 15-minute drive to the resort.

wookie, i got it covered. not.

the jeepneys parked near the port don’t exactly have the same signboards that we have here in cebu. thus, feigning thirst - i went to a nearby sari-sari store, bought a bottled water, and asked which jeepney was bound for nueva valencia. the store attendant gave me directions using a dialect i didn’t understand. it was a good thing she pointed her fingers to where the jeepneys were parked as i had no clue what she just said. hopped on the jeepney. interestingly, the jeepney didn’t wait for the vehicle to be full. as we were nearing the town of nueva valencia, an “only-in-the-philippines” scene greeted me. the jeepney was filled to capacity. more even. as in the jeepney’s whole middle aisle was occupied by more passengers sitting on what we referred in cebu as “extension seats.” what’s even more interesting was what i saw at the poblacion. take this: passengers hand a makeshift claim tag to the jeepney’s “konduktor”, then the “konduktor” goes to a store in the market to get what the passenger has purchased earlier. additionally, unlike here in cebu where passengers fight to get the seat nearest the jeepney’s rear, the people in guimaras actually move towards the driver to give room for those who just came in.

45 minutes… hmmm… where the heck is nueva valencia? nagkabukid man, hmmmm…. only then did i ask the teenager beside me and learned to my horror that we’ve passed by the poblacion several minutes ago [the stop where makeshift claim tags exist]. paets….

“ah, miss…can you tell me when we get to the next stop?”
“okay.”
“where’s the next stop, anyway?”
“sa alubihod”
bingo!
“hey, that’s actually the place i’m headed.”
a few minutes after, the teenager told the konduktor that i’m getting off at alubihod.

waahhhhhhhh…. the jeepney stopped in the middle of nowhere. “patay na jud ka, vet. nag bora na lang unta ka, at least you’ve been there and you’re a little bit familiar with the place. hala na… just walk.”
bless me, a few steps and there it was: Raymen Beach Resort.

Raymen Beach Resort

the shoreline. it’s one small resort that you’ll see both ends of the resort when you look to your left and right

the other end of the shoreline

the beach

vetlongwalks in the water [hehe; had to have my mark]

nice place. nice beach. let it be said that if given the chance, i’d like to visit it again.

accommodation; deluxe room @ PhP1,000/night [2 double beds with AC; cr]

there was no single room available when i was there. this room is on the second level in one of the buildings there. on the ground floor is the resort’s restaurant. you may opt to eat at the restaurant or give them advance order and have your food delivered to your room for a fee of P10 only. food is cheap [i think..] paid PhP90 pesos for a cup of rice, one big grilled chicken fit for two person, and a bottle of coke. anyway, open cottages are also available. unfortunately, i failed to ask for the rental fee of the cottages.

when i had enough of the beach, i decided to leave the resort and explore the little island. the resort owner was very pleasant and asked a trike driver to take me to their poblacion / dangwa???

sunset in guimaras

the trappist monastery

interior of the church

hehe, my mark again

may 19

is the day that a truly dear friend from high school celebrates her birthday. like in the previous years, i never pass this day without ever greeting her on her special day. if my memory serves me, i never once failed to remember her birthday. not even when we went to different universities nor after we’ve graduated from college eight years ago. although i am ashamed to admit, i have graduated from sending the traditional postcards via snailmail [or via "tunol" through her friend - my neighbor, stella] to just sending text messages as mode of greeting.

thus, today wasn’t any different. this morning, i sent my well-wishes and greetings through “text.” as a reply, she invited me and another high school friend to a dinner together with her husband-of-two-months and counting, jimboy.

the four of us met at golden cowrie’s sm branch. the dinner was more than spectacular as always IS the case when you’re dining with friends. nothing can beat the tested combination of great company + great food = one big blast.

haha. as i didn’t bring a gift for yiel, i thought i’ll just share to the world pictures of her wonderful wedding [with her permission].

yiel, if you’re reading this: pardon the quality of the pictures..hehe, low tech man ang ako cam. oh, i remember. sorry for appearing in some of your wedding photos. i truly hope i didn’t ruin anything for you and jim.  anywhow, these are the reasons why i “unintentionally” appeared in your wedding photos.

the invite

the church - the foursquare church @ rahman st.

 the altar 

the flower decor

the bridal car

the ecstatic groom

the groom with his parents

the groomsman and bridesmaid [only one of several pairs]

the maid of honor

the petal thrower girl

the bride’s elder brother and mother

the bride waiting

the bride ready to make her entrance

the radiant bride

the groom waiting at the altar

mother/brother gives away daughter/sister

the bride and groom walk to the altar

the bride and groom at the altar [well, their backs - hehe]

 

jimboy says his vows to muriel

muriel says her vows to jimboy

one of the many pix at the ceremony [my way of telling, i forgot which part of the ceremony it is, hehe]

jim gives yiel her ring

yiel gives jim his ring

the wearing of veil

the wearing of the cord

sponsors sign the deed as witnesses

the couple lights the candles [my fav part - i don't think i've seen this in other church ceremonies - or i haven't been to several weddings that i'm not aware that this part really exsists, hehe]

presenting the newlyweds: the new mr. and mrs. liston

prep of the kiss [darn! my cam was oh so slow to take another shot for the kiss - yeah, i missed it, sigh]

the most beautiful couple ever that day

our turn with the newlyweds

the little gift to the couple with juliet

proof of attendance - hehe. i attempted to wear heels for yiel’s wedding and my feet went berserk on me that they hurt like crazy. so, i ended up dragging juliet to ayala center to buy a pair of slippers and shirt. incidentally, the day happened to be ayala’s mallwide sale. thus, juliet and i missed the wedding reception at the grand convention. in order not to offend our friend muriel for failing to attend, we had this little idea of taking pics of us being at the reception venue. hehe, actually - we didn’t miss the reception. we were just late when we arrived at the venue were too shy to enter the reception hall knowing that the party was already in full swing.

hehe, aside from the slippers i got myself a new shirt as well since it was so hot that day.

anyhow, congratulations to jim!! you man just snatched one of the amazing people i know this side of the planet..

oh, i can’t wait for january!!! congratulations - congratulations - i’m so thrilled to hear of the news [pardon my announcing it here, hehe]!

see you at the christening… SOON!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YIEL!!!!!!

it’s been ages since i last updated this little blog. haha, i still haven’t written about the rest of my HK trip nor have i written about the full details of my palawan trip. of late, my mission mactan has been keeping me occupied. earlier today, i was informed by my mother that the work i’ve commissioned related to my mission was done. thus, to give myself a little pat on the back for actually getting some work done, i’m rewarding myself with a day trip tomorrow to this little island:

**above photo is lifted from farl’s flicker photostream ..

bitaw, just wishing na madayon…hayyyyyyyyy!!

as of writing, my sister and her bunch of college friends are ironing out the details of the trip. so, i’ll definitely receive word as soon as i get home if the plan for tomorrow will push through..

may.12.2008

what was initially a day trip turned into an overnight trip. haha, as the initial plan was to leave the island in the afternoon, i only brought one change of clothes. thus, when i get hold of the pictures of the trip and post it here, just pretend that you didn’t notice the familiar shirt. hehe. yeah, you read it right, “when i get hold of the pictures.” blasted me, forgot to bring with me my little camera.

anyhow, will post the pictures soon.

when i checked my mail this morning, i got a newsletter from a matchbox twenty community site. i clicked open the mail and voila, i got this:

the first thing that came to my mind was “woh, what an excellent birthday gift!”  then reality sank in.

it’s rather impossible to get a U.S. visa.

even if luck strikes me twice and i get a visa [really, really wishful thinking on my part], how in the heck can i afford the concert ticket much more the plane ticket??

but really, it would make a nice birthday gift to self and a good travel itinerary too! damn, rob thomas singing on my birthday not.

 

  

it’s been a week since i first discovered that my beloved passport is nowhere to be seen. i’ve scoured our little place to locate it, but it was met without success.

goodbye thailand this year???

darn. double darn. @#)$F*f000^^#)*$&@#$$k

sorry line. how about plan B??? let’s do south luzon instead??? arrgghhh… the probability of not being able to travel out of the country this year when we had an amazing first-out-of-the-country trip last year is beyond contemplation.

on a good note, i have at least seven months to secure a new passport. problem is, for this year, i only have a day and half leave credits. the one day leave, i’ve already reserved for december 29 so i can have a straight vacation. so, how do i get the process going with only half-day leave available??? [me will figure out a way, haha^^]

even if i figure out a way, i hate the thought of securing a new one as my first attempt at establishing a travel history will forever be lost. so much for the goal of having a solid travel history. only having the following as proof of travel is far from the real deal. but i guess, i’ll have to make do with them:

the optimistic me is still hoping that my passport will turn up soon.

in case it doesn’t, here are the REQUIREMENTS FOR REPLACEMENT OF LOST PASSPORT:

• If already expired, submit notarized Affidavit of Loss. No penalty fee of P200.00
• If still valid, submit Police Report and notarized Affidavit of Loss.  There will be a 15-day clearing period prior to the processing of application for a new passport.
• Personal Appearance.
• Birth Certificate (BC) in security paper and supporting documents
• Three (3) copies 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm new photos (colored with plain white background). Photos should show applicant in decent attire with collar.

Supporting documents are the following:
A. Old SSS E-1 Form
B. Baptismal  Certificate
C. Income Tax Return (ITR)
D. School Form 137 or Transcript of Record
E. GSIS policy
F. Government Service Record
G. Seaman’s Book
H. Marriage Contract
I. PRC ID

REMINDERS

1. Applicant should file his application where he is physically present.
2. Declare lost, valid, or expired passport to avoid delay in the issuance of a new one.
3. Passport unclaimed after one (1) year will be cancelled per Memorandum Circular 33-88.
4. Check all data in the passport upon release.  Passports found to have scripting errors will be replaced gratis if presented for correction 6 months from date of release.

For more questions on Philippine Passport, check out http://www.dfa.gov.ph/consular/faq-eng.htm.

The above information are lifted from this website: http://www.gov.ph/faqs/passport.asp

on our second and last day in macau, line and i woke up late. darn! we were so beat the previous day that i woke up at around 10 a.m. with not much time to lose, i immediately hit the shower and woke up line as soon as i finished.

 quarter to 12, line and i were again ready to explore macau

by this time, we’ve already packed our bags and on our way to check out of the hotel. as we’ve done the previous day, we left our bags at the hotel counter upon check-out. that way, we didn’t have to pay for an extra night [lest you forgot; we're budget travelers, hehe...]

prior to leaving the hotel, we agreed to do the following:

1) find the ruins of st. paul

2) find macau’s grand prix and wine museums

3) call our hostel in hong kong

4) do all these things by 5 o’clock

unfortunately, we were unable to do item 2. we got sidetracked by unexpected errands causing us to lose a few hours. first off was brunch. we didn’t know where to get decent food. by decent, something i recognize and something that looks palatable.  there’s a mc do estab near our hotel but since i swore off mc do, we had to find another place. our search led us to starbucks. blame this on my tendency to patronize things that are familiar, although, i haven’t been to starbucks here in the ph. well, it’s the most familiar among the many places which offer food with labels we could hardly read. then we had to find a hardware store in order to buy a 3-way plug and lock for line’s bag. the 3-way plug is a must since that’s what is used in hk and we need it in order that we can charged our batteries and cameras. as if we’ve enough time in our hands, we got lured by this little shop:

@ kin seng mobilias travessa fortuna

line got so fascinated with the numerous jewel boxes

haha, pabaga mi ug nawong and asked the tindera to take our pic. she happily obliged us since line and i each got a chess set @195 MOP[macau pattacas]. when we left the store, we learned that the tindera was filipina.

the above store is situated on the road leading to the ruins of st. paul. on this stretch, there are numerous souvenir shops selling many interesting trinkets..

a few steps from the store, we could already see the top portion of the ruins. the feeling was total “exhilaration” when we saw the ruins. as in we couldn’t contain the excitement. haha, the ruins of st. paul was both our ultimate goal in coming to macau..

line. on the rare occasion that she would volunteer to be in the pic…hehe, one always has to prod line to pose before the cam..

there were so many tourists when we reached the ruins. it was amazing as the tourists who came were a blend of asians, americans, and europeans..

the ruins up close

the plaque telling a brief history of the ruins

vetlongwalks mark

back of the ruins. further back [the gray horizontal bar??] is the museum of sacred art [left] and the crypt [right]. the museum of sacred art houses silver altar pieces, gilded statues and paintings by 17th century japanese artists .

on the left side of the picture above, there’s a steel ladder which allows people to climb the church’s facade

original stone remnants of the church encased in glass

the crypt

inside the crypt. it was eerily quiet. it was chilling looking at all those dead bones of people

at the sides of the pic above, one can see several rows of dead people’s bones

line in action

view from below

me waiting for line to be finished…

the power of timer

me @ the museu de arte sacra

line and my big shadow separated by a glass enclosure

waiting for line 2. hehe, at this point my cam went low batt on me…

the crowd when we left the ruins [2 hours after]. line got fascinated with the little boys and girls in uniform on a saturday

free taste… but for some reason line and i didn’t sample these cookies

as soon as we left the ruins, we went looking for payphones in order to call our hostel in hong kong. there were payphones near the ruins, but unfortunately we couldn’t connect to the hostel’s number in hong kong. as we would be arriving in hk in the evening, we prioritized securing our accommodation. thus, we decided to forego checking out macau’s grand prix and wine museums…[going to the first museum was my second goal in going to macau, thus was a bit disappointed. yet, another reason to go back to macau]. after our failed attempt, we decided to look for an internet cafe to email our hostel. we went back to senado square and ended up in macau’s tourist business center

here, we were able to use the internet for 30 minutes free of charge. there are only two available computers here. tourists may use the unit free of charge for 30 minutes. first come, first served basis. as there were two other tourists using the pcs when we came in, we had to wait for 45 minutes for our turn. i sent an email message to the address which consistently answered my messages. however, this too failed. i got no response this time.

we left btc around 4 or 5 pm and headed back to our hotel to get our bags. as the hotel had a shuttle service, we waited for a couple of minutes for the shuttle to take us to macau ferry terminal. by this time, line and i no longer have enough pattacas to purchase ferry tickets for hong kong. thus, line used her reliable plastic to get us a ride via turbojet to hong kong.

line and i on board turbojet bound for hong kong

ticket fare costs 176MOP. travel time is roughly 60-75 minutes. turbojet docks at the shun tak center. a bit far from tsim sha tsui [tst].

end of our wonderful macau trip and the beginning of the hellish first night in hong kong

an hour or so into our exploration of macau, line and i were led from one alleyway to another. in one alleyway, we were led to this:

one of the buildings near the fountain above

L: the plaza where the fountain is located// R: alleyway

if i’m not mistaken - line and i chanced upon macau’’s residential area

wall art

a little further, we came across this uninteresting building

as it turned out, the building is one of macau’s historical places. this place has been turned into a museum and people are welcome to check out the place free of charge.

 to see more of this place, check out my previous entry entitled “Lou Kau Mansion“

insert vetlongwalks here…. hehe, habit - but pay attention to the nice flooring though

i want these wooden frames in my house, but how???  

gate of an apartment???

ah sweets………..

 

a closer look

 

ice cream… line took this pix for jenny

starbucks — haha, if i didn’t come to macau, i wouldn’t have tasted starbucks’ coffee. hehe, i’m such a cheapskate that i avoid paying for highly-overpriced coffee drinks if i can help it. in this instance, however, line and i had to get coffee to ward off the cold [we had the coffee for breakfast the following day, though, not on this day. plus blame it on my tendency to buy something that's familiar, starbucks lang ang familiar na coffee shop.] 

back at senado square

taking photos of the photographer

another pix of line [or at least part of line] in action..

another shot of me in senado square on our way back to the hotel

we left senado square and headed to the other part of the city where modern buildings take center stage

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the side of casino lisboa. from this angle, the structure looked as if it were about to fall…[although, it's not that apparent in this picture. but it does look that way to me when i saw it then.

another shot of casino lisboa. sorry, this pix is a bit dark. promise, the succeeding pix are much clearer..

metropole hotel. our home for the night. booked this hotel through www.directrooms.com @$77/night.  senado square, the ruins of st. paul, the casino area [casino lisboa, the wynn, and other casinos] are just walking distance from the hotel. roughly 5 to 15 minutes walk.

vetlongwalks at the hotel lobby… after 3 hours of walking, line and i decided to wait out the remaining hour at the lobby. hehe, kapoy na lakaw. nalukop na namo ang senado square and the casino area with only the porkchop sandwich to sustain us.

our room… gahi ang bed.  i didn’t mind kay anad ko ug folding bed, hehe. although nagsakit ang likod ni line the morning after.

disposable slippers provided by the hotel [don't mind the feet, though] /room’s carpet

another side of the room and our gubot things…

an hour after we checked in, line and i were once again ready to hit the streets of macau. take note; we didn’t have a decent sleep the night before and yet we’re ready to make the most of our limited time in macau [we arrived in hk midnight of dec. 27. stayed at the airport until 2 a.m., left for macau at 7 a.m.]

the top of casino lisboa [front view]

line in front of casino lisboa

my turn

 casino lisboa minus the “piña-like” top

another side of casino lisboa. yup the casino is just one humongous building

at this point, line and i decided that we explore the casino area some more once we got back from coloane. coloane is another island in macau. haha, we were determined to find the church of st. francis xavier. hehe, suckers kaayo me sa princess hours. the church is where prince gian and princess janelle were wed. 

in front of hotel lisboa, there’s a bus stop for buses to macau’s two other islands [coloane and taipa]. we took the one going to coloane[ bus 21A as the church of st. francis xavier is in coloane island. the fare from lisboa to coloane island is 5 MOP [macau pattacas]. travel time from lisboa to coloane is roughly an hour or so [kalimut ko sa exact time.]  bus travel was a pleasure as there were many beautiful sights along its route. one of them is taipa island’s The Venetian [another humongous and beautiful casino].

of course we didn’t know where st. francis xavier was and we were so proud to ask around, thus we ended up getting past our right stop. we ended up at Hac-Sa Reservoir BBQ Park. at the end of this street, one can find a famous Portuguese restaurant. The place was jam-packed, thus - line and i didn’t check out the resto. Plus when i mistakenly reached their kitchen i saw the preparation of a “lechon de leche” hehe, nothing wrong was done. place was clean, i just didn’t like seeing the preparation of the dead little pig [lechon de leche], hehe…

at this point, my cam started to act up. thus, i don’t have much pix. i still have to borrow pix from line. hehe, sorry.

anyway,  after trial and error bus rides and lengthy walks, we finally found the church…

vetlongwalks again!!!

notice the arcades of white and yellow arches at the sides of the church. under these arches are open air restaurants serving Portuguese and Chinese food.  i didn’t see these food establishments at the time of princess’ hour’s shoot, though. we didn’t eat here since we didn’t like the resto’s selection. plus it was already past 7 that we were afraid that there wouldn’t be any bus going back to macau proper.

as it was already past 7 pm, the church was closed. line spent several minutes here taking lotsa pix. after we had enough of the church, we decided to explore the area. the area was spookingly quite. i think people there retire very early. we found one little bakery and bought some tuna sandwich. around 8 p.m., we decided to leave the area and head back to lisboa. to complete our “saag experience” of the day, we again took the wrong bus and ended up at macau’s port area. it was night time and the area had a “dangerous” feel to it. we walked some more [hehe, me not wanting to take a cab kay mahal], checked the numerous bus route posters found in bus stop waiting sheds. we rode the bus which we thought would take us back to lisboa. we passed by one casino, which i couldn’t remember now, when the bus driver started to talk to us in rapid chinese. as we knew nothing of their language, we could only give him a blank stare for a reply. he got exasperated with us until one lady talked to us in english. she asked us where we were headed and then gave the driver instructions of where to drop us off before she got off the bus. apparently, the bus wouldn’t be passing lisboa’s front area. thus, we had to walk some more until we reached the familiar lisboa. hehe, the night lights were truly impressive and we were  confident that we’ve reached the right area this time as we could now see the “piña-head” of lisboa. before we head back to the hotel, we had dinner at one local restaurant. the staff didn’t speak english, thus line ended up pointing at pictures on the menu.

view from the restaurant where we ate.  darn, succeeding pix were truly blurry as my cam would conk on me from time to time

macau at night

lisboa at night [one side of it]

wynn and lisboa from afar. the pix doesn’t do justice to the place. but the whole casino area lit with beautiful lights was truly magnificent, reminiscent of las vegas

wynn’s lake show poster

the show was truly beautiful. the water show runs for about 5 to 10 minutes. it was really a nice show to cap our day. all the saag-saag forgotten.

click on this link to see the video of the lake show…

enjoy macau!!!

will post about our last day in macau soon. be featuring the ruins of st. paul and the museum of art…

On our first day in Macau, line and i searched for the famous Ruins of St. Paul. However, our poor sense of direction led us to this seemingly uninteresting building.

We soon learned that this uninteresting building is one of Macau’s famous historical places: The Lou Kau Mansion.

Click on this link to know more about the mansion.  

we got so fascinated with the place that i think we spent almost an hour here. i swear line used up most of her cam’s memory in taking all these high-resolution pictures [although the ones used here were resized for easier uploading.] 

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*all photos used here are Line’s. used with her permission.