Second to the last week of August, hubby was projecting that he will be busy at work when Ber Months come in so pumondo na sya...he treated me to an out of town trip. It was 100+km away from our home going to the south.

This is the farthest we drove our Chevy Spark, Jarvis The Car, so we had to take a photo at Caliraya Springs' Entrance Gate. There was a zigzag part of the road so I commend hubby for getting us safe and sound. Good job, Beb!

We stayed there for overnight in a standard room with plated breakfast. We got the voucher from Living Social PH (also known as Ensogo) group buying site. It also included free use of other amenities. But the main offering of Caliraya Springs Laguna is its Golf and Country Club area with nature's cold breeze coming from the nearby mountain.

Surprisingly, I got so many likes in FB for this photo of mine holding (I assume a kid's) golf equipment. I have no idea how to play it so I just took a pix for my OOTD. Hehehe!

After having our lunch at their cafe and checking in, we changed to something more comfy to go see their activity area. We asked for a shuttle ride going there. Medyo mabato yung daan papunta but if you want to sweat a bit before hitting the pool pede din naman. 

It started to drizzle so were not able to try out the kayak, boat and zip line because it was slippery. This part can be used for team building and beside it are some Nipa huts that big groups can stay in. Pero ang setup nya is kutson sa floor. 

Beside the hanging bridge is you can also find the swimming pool. It was fun crossing the bridge lalo na kung takot ka malaglag. Pero medyo madulas nga sya kse umuulan so be careful if you have kids with you.

We explored a little bit and found the docking area. I believe the boats we found are for renting para iikot ang mga guest around the lake. It was under construction at that time, mukhang naaffect nung last typhoon. But I saw in the brochure, it was functional...I guess especially pagsummer and mas maraming guess.

The next morning we tried biking around the golf area using the resort's bike. It is not in tiptop shape so if you are a bike enthusiast better to bring your own gear pero kung bike-bike lang okay na rin.

I will be lying to you if I won't say that the Main Hall needs a major paint job. How do I put it... let us just say na mababanag mo talaga that before it used to be with grandeur and opulence. But it is something that can be easily addressed if the management would really like to.

Ang sa akin lang is, it is a looong drive especially if you are coming from Manila, say Cubao or QC and you will actually pass by a lot of other resorts before reaching Caliraya Springs. So sayang naman if you would end up in a so-so place. But like I said it can be addressed. But staff are friendly, attentive and hospitable so thumbs up for the people working there.

For us, the fresh breeze and the company of each other is enough to make our time worth while for this quick break.

Mountain Lake Resort

Caliraya Springs in Cavinti Laguna Philippines

Facebook Page

After a few hiccups in life the past two months, my body was crying out to destress. So finally last July we pushed in redeeming the Ensogo Voucher I bought for an overnight stay for two in La Traviesa Hotel Resort in Gen. Trias Cavite.

Booking: I originally sched this on June, however, since Jarvis The Car was not available I had to moved it to the next month. I have to be honest though that contacting La Traviesa is not easy as 1-2-3 compared to other resorts -- they don't respond to emails and the mobile number is out of reach at times. So make sure to do your booking in advance. 

But once you get a hold of them, the staff are polite and accommodating. For me though, after my phone calls with them I would usually text to summarize our conversation and request for confirmation just to make sure. This I learned from past travels to have details in black and white.

It was also the weekend after Typhoon Glenda so I double-checked if they were affected and got a confirmation that the resort is operational so off we went.

Getting There: Although we are familiar with the area since my then-boyfriend-now-hubby used to drive there with our motorcycle back in the days, hubby still keyed in the destination in Google Map in his smartphone and turned on the navigation feature. So from Alabang we took Daang Hari turned left to Aguinaldo Highway. Turned right to Governor's Drive, passing by Lyceum and upon reaching Manggahan Junction where Baliwag, Municipal Hall and  Mcdo are, we turned right again... The navigation was actually spot on! La Traviesa Resort is on the left alongside the residential houses.

Check-in: We got there early, around 11 AM. I was hoping we could check in early but the staff-in-charge said that the room will be available at 2 PM. It was fine with us since we are still planning to have lunch anyway but I requested the staff if I could see the room first. She escorted me to the room facing the backyard, she was explaining that all rooms with garden view is already booked for the night's evening party. She also mentioned that they still have to dust out the room that is why we have to wait awhile. When she opened the door of Room 106, I was pretty happy with what I saw -- the room was spacious with 2 double beds with nice bedsheet. Yeah, I have a fetish for nice comforters hehehe!!!

I returned to the waiting area and reported to hubby na sulit ang voucher namin dahil pasado sa standards yung place. We then agreed to have lunch at their in-house dining area. Passed 1PM, we were notified that the room was already ready.

Accommodation: Beside the nice bedsheets, the ambiance has a feel of a Spanish-inspired villa with furnishing made out of capiz and hard wood. I am a frequent window-shopper at the mall in home decor section so I do appreciate that the tables and chairs inside are not the so-so type. Hindi naman high-end pero indi naman din sya mumurahin kaya I appreciate the effort.

You can cozy up comfortably inside the room because it has a split-type air condition unit, personal ref, 2 bottled water, electric kettle, Cignal cable TV and good functioning bathroom with free liquid body wash and shampoo. You can keep your belongings inside the big cabinet and some wooden hangers are available.

The room is as big as our apartment unit, so it was actually more than enough for the two of us. It can accommodate 5-8 pax at the most. But if you have that many people occupying the room, you might have some problem finding a spot to hang your wet clothes.

Food: You may bring in food inside as long as it does not require electricity to cook it. You may check with them if grilling is allowed. But for us, we just brought in chips and drinks to much on and just availed what they have in their menu -- lunch, snack, and dinner. While breakfast is free since it was part of the room rates already, we only paid a little over 1K for the food during check-out.

Recommendation: The place is really for private parties and small gatherings of family and friends. An option if you are looking to have a quick deep in the water and just have a breather. Aside from the pool area, there is a videoke and a spa area. We actually shared the poolside with Korean and Spanish family. I think they did not even checked in at all, just rented the cottage and took a swim. Perhaps they are living nearby since it is near Economic Zone where many companies owned by foreign investors.

La Traviesa Resort

Gov. Ferrer's Drive Gen. Trias Cavite

I was hubby's plus one last May 24, 2014 for the Chevrolet Club Philippines EB (Eye Ball). The destination was our hometown -- Kawit, Cavite. It was set at Antel Grand Village Clubhouse, 2 kms away from our parents house.
 

Antel Village is one of the high end subdivision located between the boundaries of Kawit - Gen. Trias Cavite. To be able to use the clubhouse facility, you need an invitation coming from a lot owner within the village to serve as your contact. You also need to pay to use it and below are the rates:

Lot Owners: Php 75 and 70 for kids below 3ft.

Guests: Php 250 and 150 for kids below 3ft

Gazebo Rentals: around Php 1500 depending on the size

Some rules you need to abide with aside:

- No Alcoholic drinks

- No glass container

- No casserole/rice cooker

- No grilling so bring cooked food

- Put your baon on plastic containers otherwise you will leave it at the entrance guard

Despite the proximity to our parent's home, it was also our first time to see the Water Park area. The group entered at around 4pm. A staff member assisted us, put our belongings to a cart and ushered us to our rented cottage -- Bohol 1 and 2. Unfortunately, the clubhouses closes at 6pm for clean up and maintenance so we had to hurry up so we could still use the pool.

 

 

Even though we had to squeeze in everything in a just couple of hours, we still managed to enjoy but was not able to try out all the interconnecting pool -- white sand Beach Pool with two (2) water slides, Lap Pool with submerged sun loungers and relaxing water jets, Activity Game Pool with water jets, Spa Pool with four (4) Massage Beds, Party Pool with sunken Pool Bar and bubble jets, Fountain Pool, and Children’s Pool with bubble.
 

Obviously, I was impressed with the white sand beach pool and took pixies on it wearing the pink kimono I bought from Boracay last Feb.
 

Anyhow, thanks to Pres. Cookie, Ma'am Goi, Sir Ding, Ivan and the rest of the CCPI members for the warm welcome in my first Chevy EB.
 



With the abundance of the info in the internet nowadays, it so easy to opt for a do-it-yourself tour. But if you are the type of traveller who don't like to spend time navigating on your own and want insights from the local just like us, you would still probably book through a trusted travel agency.

 



What is unique about the Our Restless Feet Travel and Tours is that the owners themselves are young and well-traveled married couple... meet Charlie and Paula (Peralejo) Fernandez.

Charlie & Paula, Pre-Nup Shoot by MangoRed

Well, if you think the wife looks familiar it is because she has grace Philippine TV Screen back in the 90s together with lot of budding teenagers saying "Nyeh!" every 4:30 pm in the afternoon with the show called Ang TV then later became one of the leads in our version of Dawson's Creek which was Tabing Ilog.

Fast forward today, the couple manages their travel agency from their home office in San Juan Manila. This is my 2nd time to get a quotation from them. The first was last year for HK while they were still putting up their agency's website however I decided to go with another offer from other agency. 

But this time, I kinda knew what to expect from their price range. My default budget is always Php 5,000/pax. Paula replied back on the same day regarding my inquiry providing price range between Php 6,000 to 6,500 per pax for the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia at a Glance package (accommodation and land arrangements only). Most offers I got for the same inquiry from others are for Half Day City Tour alone but from Our Restless Feet Paula, theirs already includes two -- City Tour and Countryside Tour which is around 4 hours each, perfect fit for Day 2.  So even though it was a thousand bucks over my original budget, I decided to take her offer. Besides, I booked as early as May for our December trip so by faith makakapag-ipon pa within the next 6-7 months.

The booking and payment transaction through bank deposit went smoothly. I got my Itinerary and Receipt via email and was all set just waiting for our 17th (12 yrs bf/gf + 5 yrs wedding) anniversary celebration in Malaysia. 

Excited na ko!!!

 

Our Restless Feet Travel and Tours

San Juan, Metro Manila

Office Hours: Monday to Friday (10:00AM to 7:00PM)

Phone Number: +632-586-8833

Cellphone Number: +63917-559-9027

Email Address: travel@ourrestlessfeet.com

Website: www.ourrestlessfeet.com

Base on experience, Metro Manila is at its best during the Holy Week. There is no traffic jams because most of the people go on out-of-town vacations. So when the rest of the crowd head out to beaches and the provinces, The Yaps strategically chose to just have a staycation.

 

Nothing fancy, just an overnight stay in a room with a really nice bed to rest and away from the cares of our daily lives even the chores at home. After searching through Agoda and going through the hotel reviews I finally booked a Deluxe Queen Room at Fersal Hotel Bel-Air Makati.

 

 

 

Located at 107 Neptune St., Bel-Air II Makati City, Metro Manila. We drove our way from Alabang using Here Drive+ App in hubby's Windows Phone with Globe 3G signal as we head to the hotel. The app was pretty accurate in the distance and the directions. We found ourselves near Kalayaan Ave. and Makati Ave. within 30 minutes and to my surprise, a few steps away from the newly opened and quite hyped up Century City Mall.

 

We were greeted by hotel personnel at the reception area and ushered to our room in the second floor. We were given keys for #206, a non-smoking room around 24 sqm with a double-size bed. Truthfully, the bed is as good as ones in the 5-star hotel. Too bad, there was no view from our room.





The room comes with a 24" LCD TV mounted in the wall. It has an analog cable provider which has international channels but signal tends to be grainy. Other amenities includes a personal ref, electric kettle, pairs of cups, glass and bottled water.



Food not included except the bottled water

The bathroom supplies are toothbrushes, white towels, a tube of shampoo with conditioner and some soap. The room is neat and clean but I think the bathroom needs some repainting.

 

Their Inn Café provides breakfast and offers room service for some homey food. But there are a lot of establishment nearby including 7-eleven so you have a lot of options. For people who needs to attend to business meetings all day and just needs a place to stay at night with a really comfy bed and attentive staff, this place can be recommended.



The best thing I like about the Fersal Hotel is the WI-FI connection. I was able to download several apps for my laptop and a number of huge files during the night. Yey!

 





Park N' Fly is the first of its kind and only service in the Philippines wherein customers can leave their vehicles on a daily, weekly or monthly basis either for short-term or long-term parking at very reasonable rates.

The first time we tried to avail Park N' Fly's parking and shuttle service was last December 2013 when we went to Hong Kong-Macau. Hubby, who was in-charge of our transportation and keeping Jarvis The Car safe while we were away, was quite satisfied with their service and no fuzz transaction.

Since our flights for Boracay are scheduled during off peak hours 6:50am MNL-KLO and 10:40pm KLO-MNL, all the more he decided to avail Park N' Fly's service for the second time around. Coming from Cavite via Coastal Road we turned right in MIA Road and head towards the next corner. You won't miss their big building signage right behind PTT Gas Station.

The minimum rate of P340.00 (plus VAT) for the first 24 hours, and then a rate of P14.17 (plus VAT) for each hour after that. For the purpose of rate calculations, a fraction of an hour is considered to be a full hour.

Car owners need to check the car's condition and whatever it is inside your car prior to check-in. After the paper work is done, an attendant will bring your car to the parking building while you stay at the waiting area. Yeap, you read it right. You just give them the key and they will be the one to find a free spot for your car. Once done, you will be ushered to the shuttle van that will bring you to your terminal. Well, the risk is that you really do have to trust them since you won't be accompanying them anymore to the parking process itself. 

So a word of caution, make sure you give your keys to the authorized personnel.

Upon return from your terminal, just give them a ring and inform which terminal your airplane landed and they will pick you up to bring you back to the Park N' Fly building. After clearance, they hand-over your keys back to you. The 3-day stay of Jarvis in their facilities cost us a little over Php 1,000.

About The Yaps Boracay trip.

I have a growing fond of creating photobooks through Photobook Philippines. I get regular email updates from them regarding promos and discounts but this particular email really caught me by surprise.

One FREE 6x6" 40-page mini square photobook?! Sweet!!! Hmm...I wonder if there would be any catch. I got the email right after V-day and it noted that it is valid only on Febuary 28. So my game plan was to use it for our Boracay trip but I have to create and finish the project super fast.

I already got a look in mind and I was able to finish up in a day after we got back from trip since I am already familiar with their easy to use application. At Feb 26, I was able to upload very early in the morning and I used the code provided during the ordering process and it was definitely FREE!!! <insert cartwheels here> From original price of Php 1,200 + Shipping fee, I only paid Php 200 for the shipment using BPI My ePrepaid Mastercard.

As I tracked my order in DHL, the excitement started building up when I saw that my order was already printed out and picked up from Photobook Worldwide - Malaysia office. The next day, I already received my order. Just look closely to the timestamp below! <insert victory dance here>

Despite the compact size of 6x6", I absolutely love it especially the quality of material used. Could not ask for more considering it is for free. Muah, muah!!!

Oh, hubby also had his own account with them and he also received an email. I used his code to order another copy of the same photobook so we could give it to my in-laws. Praise God for this freebie.

Thank you very much Photobook Philippines!!!
More about Boracay here.

I had to admit, I rarely do OOTD post here anymore. A lot of fashion blogger do a much better job in it anyway so better to leave that part to them. But it is the beach and it is Boracay no less so cut me some slack for trying (again)... hihihi!

So these are my pegs from Google Search and being plump would not stop me from doing a cute outfits either. Embracing my new body type but off course I am still hoping to be in a better shape once I get hold off this thyroid issue of mine.

What is fun about this outfit which I wore on Day 3 of the trip is that I actually got the ensemble from the ukay-ukay just a few steps away from our apartment!!! Yeap, the cover up which was made in Indonesia and the white board shorts only cost me Php 200 bucks. Sweet deal, right?

I have always wanted a Fedora hat so finally I got to buy one from a Surplus Shop in Festival Mall Alabang which also cost Php 200. By the way, you can also find lots of hats like this in the souvenir shops in Boracay in different colors.

So the whole look is less than Php 500.
More about Boracay here.