The Sea and the Sand

Itinerary
Philippine Vacation 2007
DAY 1 Cagayan de Oro

6:00 AM CDO, River Rafting
10:00 AM CDO, Macahambus Cave
12:00 PM Lunch

DAY 2 CDO-Cebu-Caticlan-Boracay Island

9:00 AM ETD to Cebu by air
10:30 AM ETA in Cebu
11:50 AM ETD to Caticlan
12:50 PM ETA in Caticlan
1:00 PM ETD to Boracay Regency Resort by boat
1:30 ETA in Borcay Regency Resort
2:00 PM Hotel / Resort Check-In
3:00 PM EXPLORING IN BORACAY ISLAND
7:00 PM Dinner

DAY 3 Boracay Island

Exploring in Boracay Island!

DAY 4 Boracay-Caticlan-ShangriLa Mactan Resort Cebu

6:00 AM Breakfast
7:00 AM Enjoy the Beach
12:00 PM Hotel / Resort Check-Out
1:00 PM ETD to Caticlan Airport - by boat
1:30 PM ETA in Caticlan Airport
4:00 PM ETD to Mactan, Cebu - by air
5:00 PM Hotel Check-In at ShangriLa

DAY 5 Cebu-Pearl Farm Resort, Davao City

6:00 AM Breakfast
7:00 AM Parasailing
10:10 AM ETD to Davao City
11:30 AM ETA in Davao City
12:00 PM En route to Pearl Farm Resort, Samal Island
7:00 PM Dinner

DAY 6 Pearl Farm Resort, Davao City

6:00 AM Breakfast
7:00 AM Pearl Farm Resort
12:00 PM Lunch
7:00 PM Dinner

DAY 7 Davao – Manila - CDO

6:00 AM Breakfast
11:40 AM ETD to Manila
1:25 PM ETA in Manila
3:35 PM ETD to CDO
5:00 PM ETA in CDO

DAY 8 CDO - Talisayan Beach

IMMEDIATE FAMILY GET TOGETHER

DAY 9 Talisayan - CDO - Iligan City

10:00 AM En route to Cagayan de Oro
12:00 NN En route to Iligan City
3:00 PM Tour around the City
FAMILY GET TOGETHER

DAY 10 Iligan City

6:00 AM Maria Cristina Falls
8:00 AM Timoga
FAMILY GET TOGETHER

DAY 11 to 15 CDO FREE TIME

Butuan City and Siargao Island - Tentative

DAY 16 CDO

Attend Wedding Ceremony

June 18 MANILA

Mall of Asia

June 19 Hundred Islands, Pangasinan

4:00 AM Hundred Islands - Tentative

June 20 Manila - USA

6:00 AM Breakfast
7:00 AM Corregidor Island
5:00 PM En Route to Airport
800 PM Goodbye Philippines

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A Light Scratch

Just to give you a short update of what’s going on here.

I am getting busy everyday of the upcoming arrival of my husband soon...very, very soon.

I didn’t see my hubby for more than three months because I am on vacation in the Philippines with my daughter.

In preparation for my hubby’s arrival, I bought beach wears for our family vacation. Most of our itineraries are beaches. I didn’t even allow my daughter to go out for almost a week now to play with other kids to avoid accidents.

Unfortunately, this is what she got yesterday.

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Vacation Plan Recap

With the luggage issue, I will meet my hubby in Cagayan de Oro instead in Manila. He will arrive in the Philippines at 5:30 in the morning then a flight going to Cagayan de Oro at 9:00 AM.

We canceled our proposed trip to Japan. I am practically relieved that the trip was canceled, or else it would have been a stressful vacation since we will stay there for only four (4) days with accommodation expenses of US$ 5,000.

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Giving Tips

Giving a tip is purely a matter of liberality on the part of the giver. It is a GIFT of money in return for a service for which you have already paid.

I have given tips to waiters, porters for carrying baggage, and security guards. Well, I am quite tolerant, and in fact, I ended giving tips to everybody! I limit the amount of the tip to 10%, sometimes I will give more to a person if the service is worth it.

I am disappointed with our taxi cab drivers and porters in the Philippine Airports. Each time I have been in a terminal, groups of young men with restless, scanning eyes have surrounded my taxi. They put their hands all over the windows, demanding tips for carrying my luggage; even though I had only a small hand bag.

Some of the taxi cab drivers are not providing loose change, like they used to do. They said, I am their first passenger, and they don’t have money in their pockets yet. Sometimes, they blamed me because I am not giving them the exact amount of fare, because I don't have the change. It is their service, they should provide the customer with the correct change. But what they are trying to do is extract more money from the customer; they expect that you will give them more because there is no change. I think I should give them less, because they don't have the correct change to give me. It goes both ways, don't you think? And also, according to the taxi drivers, trips to and from the airport to my destination is far from the city, so they are asking more than my fare just for the gas. And their reasoning is that they can’t look for a passenger. That is really absurd! They are really trying to rip people off, especially foreigners!

I am simply one of those who complains about persons who harasses people for tips. Every time I have encountered a situation like this, I would argue with the person. I am tired of dealing with this kind of situation. I hate to be cheated and taken advantage of!

I know this is not right, what I do now is give them what they want.

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Complimentary Foods

I just want to express how blessed I am to be filled with love from friends and family on my daughter’s 2nd birthday. This is also the second time she celebrated her birthday in the Philippines, and again, all birthday expenses sponsored by my family.

It is just good to feel surrounded by my warm and loving family. Thank you for being part of my life and for loving me as I am. Soon, my vacation will be over, I will miss you so much.

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Proposed Trip to Japan

Just a short update of our upcoming honeymoon in the Philippines, ehem.

I just purchased all the airfare tickets. The hotel accommodations are ok now. The itinerary I made is finished, something like this. Later, I’ll keep you posted of any changes in our itinerary.

I am still working on our proposed trip to Japan . Hubby will take care for the tickets, and I am in-charge of the accommodations.

I found out going to Japan is very expensive. Every thing has separate charges, from hotel accommodations to airport transfers, city tour, Mount Fuji and the bullet train. I thought, having a tour in the City and Mount Fuji would have the same price, but it does not.

We will have to wait to see if we can afford the trip yet. We are both hoping that we can go to Japan.

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Dream Honeymoon

I had posted before about my experience with the Pearl Farm Resort in Davao City, Philippines. Last year we were planning to go there; but unfortunately, I had a bad experience, when I attempted to make a reservation. It is a long story though, if you like you may read this previous entry.

But, yesterday, when I called the Pearl Farm, it was a different story. I was able to book at the resort for a domestic rate.

The following are included in the package:

PEARL FARM RESORT
DREAM HONEYMOON PACKAGE

Inclusions:

• Three (3) days/ Two (2) nights room acc. at the Samal House
• Welcome drinks
• Fruit Basket
• Two days breakfast for the couple
• Two days lunch for the couple
• One regular Dinner
• Exclusive Romantic Dinner with Bottle of Wine
• Roundtrip boat transfers
• Complimentary use on selected recreational facilities
• Body Massage for Two

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