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Friday, October 21, 2011

This is what I do when I'm BORED

Aside from food tripping, movie marathon and net surfing - this is what I do when I'm bored. And I mean reaaalllyyy bored!

NAIL ART.

Gotcha! What were you thinking, huh?

This was my first attempt - flowers.


Sorry for the blurry pic. I took this using my camera phone. I was trying to do the checkered design but because the angle is so bad, you can't actually see that it's a checkered. But yes, trust me, IT'S CHECKERED!


This is not a nail art though. I just like you to know that sometimes I can't decide on what color to use so I paint them all.

And it's because I'm a big Kung Fu Panda fan. :)

The Newspaper. It looks difficult but this is actually the easiest.


Redefining french tip...

One thing I like about nail art is that it tests my patience. And improves creativity too.

But sometimes it can be frustrating when you're trying to come up with a design and it turns out to be something else.


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Coron Experience: Day 2 - Island Loop Tour

Our second day in Coron was the most exciting. We toured the island and there were lots of activities in stored for us.

The boat was ready by 8AM. We were joined by 3 more passengers, so that makes 7 of us. Refreshments were served as we head our way to our first destination - siete pecados.

Siete Pecados or seven sins is a cluster of seven islets. The boatman switched off the motorboat engine right at the midst of the islets, lowered down the anchor and immediately we grabbed our snorkel gears and down we go.

After feeding the fish and saying "hello" to them we moved to our next stop - Kayangan Lake.

Kayangan Lake is said to be the cleanest lake in the country. We climbed a rough and rocky terrain and when we got to the top we could only feast our eyes on the magnificent view. It was uberly AMAZING!!!



We swam in the lake for like eternity. But technically speaking, I wasn't swimming - I'm floating in my lifejacket (that's what people do when they don't know how to swim so please don't judge).


We took our sumptuous lunch in a secluded beach. When I say sumptuous, I meant seafood galore!

Sampaloc Beach and it's white, fine sand

We snorkel, played with the waves and explored other spots such as Barracuda Lake, Diwata Lagoon, Twin Lagoon to name a few. The most interesting was the ship wreck. It was my first time to see a ship wreck and I could feel the goosebumps all over me. Bad thing? I don't have an underwater cam. Damn!



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UPDATE : I thought of posting my expenses for the sake of those who are planning to visit Coron. This will give you a ballpark figure of how much to spend.

My expenses (in Philippine Peso) :

Tour package (3D2N) - 2,500/person (inclusive of accommodation, breakfast, buffet lunch during the island tour, airport transfers, boat, tour guide)
Airfare (cebu-manila-cebu) - 2,020
Terminal fees (airport) - 500
Airfare (manila-busuanga-manila) - 1,784
Entrance fees :
maquinit hotspring - 100
Siete pecados - 100
Kayangan lake - 200
Sampaloc beach - 100
barracuda lake - 100
twin lagoon - 100
Diwata lagoon - free
ship wreck - 100
snorkeling gear - 150
souvenir shirt (yeah i collect stuff) - 560 (Php280 x 2)
Other expenses (food, cab, etc...) - 1,000+++


Coron is quite expensive. If you like to travel Palawan on a low budget, I suggest you visit Puerto Princessa. I had a very nice time at Puerto and I must agree it's the cleanest city I've been to.


Monday, October 17, 2011

The CORON Experience: Day 1 - Mt. Tapyas Trekking

This is probably the best place I've been to this year.

To say it's beautiful and scenic is totally an understatement. I've never been this nature-struck (hell yeah, that's corresponding to starstruck hehe...), leaving me awed and gaping for what seemed to be perfectly sculpted limestone cliffs and rocks, rolling hills, turquoise-clear lakes and white sand shores.

Coron is the top tourist destination in northern Palawan and is part of the Calamianes group of islands. Though it's my second time to set foot in Palawan, I couldn't contain the excitement as I boarded the plane. From Cebu, I took an hour flight to Manila, and another 45-minute flight from Manila to Busuanga, Palawan.

aerial view of Coron island


we passed through a herd of Brahman cows as we exited from the airport. The airport is about 10-12 kilometers from the town proper. And for the first 6 kilometers? You can't see anything but the vast land, cows, mountains, trees, grasses and the cemented road. No houses. Not a single soul.

that's my famous jump shot.

looking at Coron island. >>>> Me thinking : "That's where I will be... tomorrow."


we started our trek to Mt. Tapyas in the afternoon. This is the place to go if you want to have an overlooking view of the island, and of course - the sunset! But the catch is, you have to stride out the 720 steps!

Just think of the 720 steps as a warm up. Once you get to the top, you would never want to go down.



After that, we went to Maquinit hotspring to invigorate our tired feet and cramping muscles. It was a long day, but the truth is, we've just get started.



 

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