Pampanga| Abe's Farm

happened on Nov. 21, 2015


Abe's is one of the famous restaurants here in Metro Manila.

the very cozy restaurant

After our outreach activity, we had our lunch here.  I made reservations two weeks in advance.  I love that the staff are so friendly and helpful in every inquiry.  They will even reach out just to ensure that everything will be OK.  We had a few exchange of calls before the day of our visit.  I highly commend this kind of service.

On our way to this restaurant, I called them for an advance order of food since we are hungry already and travel time is around one hour.  When we arrive there, everything is already set.  We had a very long table for 26 persons.

Pampanga 2015| Munting Tahanan Ng Nazareth

happened on Nov. 21, 2015

 

"Be a blessing to others"

 

with the residents and the Jollibee crew

A member of our Windangan Group suggested to conduct an outreach to have a meaningful Christmas last year.  Due to time constraint we were not able to do it last year.  This year I was so stressed looking for an orphanage.  There are a lot of orphanages but we wanted one that has not much sponsors already.

 

I love conducting outreach.  In fact, I was able to join a few already.  These gave me a different kind of fulfillment but organizing it is a very different thing.  It simply is stressful.  Just looking for an orphanage is not an easy task.  Added to this is the raising of funds.

 

It was only in October that I was able to find one.  I forgot that my sister in law is working in one in Pampanga. Silly me!  It was a last minute planning again.  Next step is the available schedule since Christmas season means hectic schedule.  Even with our chosen schedule, the person who suggested this was not able to join.

 

Anyways, with God's guidance and help from our group, we were able to pull it off successfully.  Everything just flowed smoothly.  We even have additional benefactors during the event.

Alabang 2015| Staycation in Parque Espana

happened on Nov. 17-19, 2015

 

Due to APEC event, the kids have a week long vacation and we employees have two days off.  Upon learning this, my eyes twinkled with delight and tinkled my laptop quick and went to Agoda website for hotel booking for a nearby staycation.  As early as September of this year, our half dozen family was already booked.  I also invited my dear friend L who is living nearby to join us.  Once she agreed, I promptly booked them for a room.
 

 

My initial plan is for an Oakwood staycation since I fell in love with this place when we held my eldest daughter's debut there last January.  When I checked the price, it will cost me P24,000 for 2 nights and as much as I love it here, I can't with my limited budget (over quota already for all the travels I had this year).  Thankfully, I found this residential hotel in Agoda.  I searched for blog reviews and convinced that it is ok to give it a try and we have never been in Alabang area so it's a great choice, plus the price is just half of Oakwood's.

 

APEC has its advantage and disadvantage.  For one, it will bring good economic future for our country.  The worst part though is the heavy traffic it created for us working and living here in the metro.  My friend was stuck in Makati for almost 8 hours so she was able to arrive in the hotel at early dawn next day.  We were not able to spend the first night with her as previously planned.

It's a miracle that our travel to Alabang is a breeze though.  I can't believe that this is Nagtahan bridge.  In less than an hour, we are in Alabang already.  Since check-in time is at 2:00PM, we had our lunch first in S&R.  But since we are already in this place, I can't forego of doing my grocery.

Is this really Nagtahan bridge on a Tuesday???

Bacolod 2015 Trip| Affordable Accomodations

happened on Sept. 18-21, 2015

 

 

For our four days stay in Negros, I booked our hotels through Agoda.  It's way cheaper to book in advance.  I booked for Go Hotel and GT Hotel.  We were supposed to stay a night in Mambukal so I have two hotels booked but when we were there, I had a change of plan and just had a day tour in Mambukal so I just extended our stay in Go Hotel.  I still  booked through Agoda for this extension because it is still cheaper to book online and I don't understand why.

 

 

arggg.. those telecom cables

Our first two nights were spent in Go Hotel for only P1,959.00 and a night in GT hotel for P1555.50, with complimentary breakfast for two. 

Bacolod 2015 Trip| Last Day Tour

happened on Sept. 21, 2015

Our last stop for this trip are the town attractions beginning with the Provincial Capitol, the Lagoon Park, Negros showroom and Negros National Museum.

the Provincial Capitol

There's nothing much to see in this area.  The lagoon is big but with dirty water though there are fishes in it.  They could have properly maintain this one.

Completing this trip before leaving Bacolod, we headed to the Museum for our last stop.  Museums are a great venue in learning history and culture.  It's Negros history this time.  Entrance fee is P100.00.  It's quite pricey so I'm expecting a nice museum here.

Bacolod 2015 Trip| It's Definitely a Food Haven

happened on September 2015

Being the sugar bowl of the Philippines, you are assured of the wide array of desserts being offered in Bacolod.  There are coffee shops, bakeries and cafes in any corner in downtown.  However, being situated near the coastline, Bacolod also offers a variety of fresh and affordable seafood.
 

yummy and affordable macaron

Every person who had been here will surely suggest that you must not forget to try all the foods being offered here.  So I came prepared with a list of "must visit" restaurants and cafes but unfortunately our time is not enough to complete the list so we just chose the famous ones.

Bacolod 2015 Trip| Our Scary Adventure in Mambukal Resort

happened on Sept. 19, 2015

Putting some adventure on our trip, I included this place to our 4 days Negros itinerary.

 

at the entrance

Mambukal is a resort owned and managed by the local government.  It's over 23.6 hectares of land and lies 1,200 ft above sea level and serves as a gateway to Mt. Kanlaon.  It was originally developed by a Japanese architect, Kokichi Paul Ishiwata in 1927 as a bath house and picnic garden.  Today, it houses man made swimming pools, sulfur hot springs, accommodations, picnic grounds, wall climbing and zip lining, boating lagoon and the famous seven falls. (information taken from their official website)

 

We rode a cab from our hotel to the bus terminal.  I'm quite surprise to see that it's not a bus but a non air conditioned mini bus type.  One thing for sure, it'll be one hell of a trip.

 

our limousine

For about one hour we endured the bumpy and windy road.  My hair is over my face the whole trip.  The only consolation we got is seeing long stretch of sugar cane plantation. 

 

The mini bus stopped right in front of the reception of the resort.  From here, you have to pay the entrance fee.  Here's a reference for the fees. After paying, the adventure begins by walking to different attractions.

 

there's a fee for everything

 Let's begin with the journey using this map. 

 

huge is an under statement