Backpacking to Tanay Rizal – 12/29/2013

December was my travel month. 

I went to HongKong for a business Trip, Tanay Rizal for our Christmas Outing, North-bound for our annual family Trip and lastly, back to Rizal for a day’s adventure with friends.

I was busy the entire December, but since I want to narrate and share each and every travel adventure I've been to, I'll be posting them here anyway. I'll start with the most recent. :)

It's an unplanned day tour at Rizal with officemates, Den and Nheri. We were supposed to go to Laguna but since we've been spending a LOT and accommodations will cost much, we decided to go somewhere near.

We decided to have an adventure in Rizal.

Meeting time was 6:30am at Ligaya, Pasig. (I was on time, they were just an hour and a half early). I arrived there almost at sunrise.

Our first stop was the Touch of Glory Prayer Mountain. We took 2 jeeps to Cogeo, then Paenaan. Fare was arounf P20. Entrance fee at the Prayer mountain was P70. Here you can do church service, relfect and pray at the prayer cells, prayer huts, or in the open areas surrounded by plants and trees. It's also a retreat place, they have separate dormitories for girls and boys.

It was a very relaxing and tranquil place for alone time, prayer and simply enjoying nature.

But we only stayed there from 7:30-9:00 because we have a lot to accomplish on our list.

Next, we had a roller coaster ride going to Tanay Rizal. But after 3-4 rides of jeeps and tricycles and lots of asking, we managed to reach Tanay Plaza. For people's information, there are buses in EDSA Shaw going straight to Tanay Rizal.
In the Tanay Plaza, we rented a tricycle to Daranak. Fare was P350 roundtrip for the three of us. 

We stopped over at a bridge in Tanay and manong driver even took our photo. 

The tricycle driver (who seems to be our tour guide as well) suggested that we visit the Calinawan Cave, which was just along the way going to Daranak Falls.

Just some facts : Calinawan Cave was named as such because it used to be a meeting place for soldiers during the World War. Many arguments and pacts have been settled and clarified in this cave, that's why it's called Calinawan. :)). Plus, a "Column" is when a stalactite above and stalagmite below meets to form a post.
Entrance fee to the cave is P20/ head. Tour guide service is P100 + tip.

Afterwards, we climbed a grotto with the 14 stations of the cross (but I didn't have a picture) and trekked until we reach our last destination for the day : the Daranak Falls! 

Entrance fee was only P30 for adults. Cottages and tables are also affordable at P300 and P150 respectively.

Another attraction famous in Daranak was the balanced stones. We ourselves tried to pile stacks for the experience.

The falls is open from 8am-5pm daily and not allowed for overnight stays. There's no corkage in food so bring as many as you want. Alcohol is banned inside though.

After the swim till afternoon, we went back to Tanay / Plaza and there were already shuttles and buses back to EDSA Shaw. Bus tickets cost P60-P70.

So, if you want a cheap day adventure near the city, Tanay is a good place for you and friends!

Indeed, it was a tiring day but definitely a one of a kind and sulit trip with the Crazy Eggs! 

<3 Shaine

My Thank You's for 2013 -12/31/2013

It's the end of the year again. So ill be listing my top 13 highlights for the year. 13 lang since 2013 naman ngayon. :)

To start off my list :
#13. Community & social works :)
Some of the best things to do is to reach out to our neighbors in need
Tahanan ng Pagmamahal (Orphanage for girls) - 1/11/2013
School Supplies Sharing for Dumagats in Calawis, Antipolo - 6/3/2013
Outreach with Victory Ortigas - 8/4/2013
Gawad Kalinga Build - 8/26/2013
GK Relief Operations at DAR -11/16 & 23/2013

#12. Videoke Nights 
Hey Girls Reunion at my place - 3/17/2013
Red Box with office friends/ Pantals - 7/30/2013

#11. Night Outs & Dinner Dates with Family and Friends 
This was the ultimate dining year. Ate at a lot of different restaurants with friends, officemates, and family. Some of the memorable ones are :
It takes a Man and a Woman with Lyssa and Daddy - 4/12/2013
My Birthday at Cafe Juanita - 9/8/2013
Shopping Date with Czari - 12/3/2013

Then my top 10 are mostly my travel trips (except one).

#10. Nagsasa Cove- 5/11-12/2013

9. Rizal Adventure with Den and Nheri - 12/29/2013

8. Taal Lake Trekking -4/13-14/2013

7. Enchanted Kingdom & Nuvali - 11/13/2013

6. Mama's 80th Birthday - 11/2/2013

5. HongKong Trip - 12/4-7/2013

4. Farm at San Mateo Highlands 4/6-7/2013

3. Norte Trip - 12/22-26/2013

2. Treetop Adventure Treat - 2/2-3/2013

1. MICECON Davao - 3/6-9/2013


Sinong nagsabi na malas ang 2013?! Sa dami ng nangyari, there's still MORE great things that happened.

Goodbye and thank you, 2013! and hello 2014! :)

Love, me. :)

Manila Ocean Park - 2/17/13

Today I just feel like blogging and narrating some of my adventures this February :) I am actually converting this blog generally as a travel blog! It's like my online diary as well.

I didn't go too far to travel this time. As a matter of fact, my adventure is just in Manila! My friend, Lyca, and I had a mini "field trip" at Manila Ocean Park. :))) It was a commute day for me, but I don't mind because we had so much fun! :)

We arrived around 10am at the Manila Ocean Park complex and didn't waste time since we had lots of activities to do.

So here they are :
First stop, the OCEANARIUM

Clown fishes :)

Real sea horses! Cool :)

If I'm not mistaken, these are Angel fishes. :)

They have a special design for February :)

Then we pampered our foot, not with a foot massage, but with a FISH SPA

They tickle! hahaha :) we had a lot of shouting and giggling before we got the hang of it. Wahahaha! :))

Our third stop was the GLASS BOTTOM BOAT RIDE

We were also learning facts about the fishes :) - literally, it was a field trip for us! hahaha :)

hello there my favorite fish!

We had our seafood lunch at MAKAN MAKAN ASIAN FOOD VILLAGE :) yum yum yummy! <3

It's a very beautiful place to eat. Great food, great ambiance <3

Lyca with our food! Shrimp, Sambal Squid and Yang Chao Fried Rice! <3

At around 1:30, we watched the BIRD SHOW outdoor :)

Fifth stop is the cool and relaxing JELLIES EXHIBIT

parang nasa loob kayo ng laboratory with big blood cells. :))

Our sixth stop : the PENGUIN TALK SHOW

The penguin asked the audience to dance Gangnam Style! (and there's a CCTV Camera which can be viewed outside :| )

Then we went for one of my favorite attraction there : TRAILS TO ANTARCTICA

An encounter with the Penguins!

Included in the Trails to Antarctica is the 30-second ice slide! :)) (We got no picture for this)

Welcome to the snow village! :)

Inside the Snow Village :)) FREEZING COLD.

Our Eighth stop was the MARINE LIFE SHOW and MARINE LIFE HABITAT

Lovely and talented sea lions :))

Then we had some refreshments and snacks at the Pancake House, while watching the Manila Bay Sunset

Our last stop, the majestic MUSICAL FOUNTAIN SHOW! It exceeded our expectation of a fountain show. :) A great show to cap off our whole day at Ocean Park. :))

It was a long day for us, but we were glad to experience all the attractions! We even learned so much from the trip. Also, we were able to appreciate the sea creatures even more after this one day encounter with them at the Ocean Park, seriously. :) A highly recommended place to visit most especially for the kids.

After our Ocean Park trip, we took a Kalesa ride while touring Luneta/ Rizal Parks (meron na palang 1, 2, and 3 yun) before we parted ways and went home. :)

Fun Sunday!

Shaine ♥