Saving 1,000 PhP every payday for five months, me and my friends were able to raise 10,000 PhP each for our yearly out-of-town vacation. Initially, we planned to have a Puerto Princesa trip for this year. But, after being "convinced" by one of us, we all agreed to give Coron a shot. I tried my best to keep track of our Coron Experience (being the group's "treasurer" made my blogging easier).
DAY 1 Thursday, September 23
- expected time of departure was supposed to be at 10 am but our flight with Zest air was
delayed by 1 hour and 40 mins, argh!
- arrival at the resort 1:20 pm, we were really hungry
- lunch, resort seafront picnic style: rice, grilled fish, grilled chicken, ensaladang talong, tomatoes w/ onions, banana, softdrinks
- start of island hopping at around 2:20 pm
- siete pecados, went snorkeling
- kayangan lake, we had to climb the slippery trail, but the lake was worth it, went swimming, nice view, very relaxing. Surprisingly, there were not so many mosquitoes when we went there.
- twin lagoon, rode a “balsa”, there were lots of jelly fish, which made us scared to get down our balsa
- skeleton wreck, went snorkeling where the sunken ship is located, but we didn’t see it. You really have to dive
- banol beach, I don’t know why I can’t remember even a single thing with this beach, I guess we just passed by it
- done with island hopping at around 6:20 pm
- went to kawayanan grill for dinner at own expense: rice, bulalo , kilawing tanigue, talbos ng camote (2 orders each for the viands). It took them so long to prepare the food. We were not satisfied with the servings and the price.
- went to maquinit hot spring at around 7:50 pm. Water was really hot, comparable to a hot wet sauna, which relieved our tired muscles. But the sides of the pool were full of moss!
- back to the resort to rest at around 9:40 pm
DAY 2 Friday, September 24
- plated breakfast consisted of hotdog, sunny side-up egg, garlic fried rice, and coffee at 7 am
- went to malcapuya island at 8:30 am, it took us around 1 hour for the boat ride
- went snorkeling but found only a few fishes, white sand (but not as “powdery” as boracay)
- picnic lunch at the island: rice, crab, stuffed squid, banana, softdrinks (but we drank fresh buko instead, which we bought from the store owner who freshly picked the fruits from the trees within the island)
- went to banana island, named after its shape similar to that of a banana leaf. I love this place better than Malcapuya because it had more coconut trees, and there were some parts with trimmed grasses. White sand.
- went to Mt. Tapyas at around 5 pm, climbed 700 ++ steps. Although the way up is cemented, it was still very tiring! I was about to give up, if not for the photo op that was waiting for us uphill.
- at around 7:30, went to coron village lodge for dinner at own expense: rice, bicol express (1 order), pork sinigang (2 orders), pancit bihon (1 order), pancit canton (1 order), lechon kawali (2 orders). We loaded ourselves with pork! (is this the effect of climbing Mt. Tapyas?) The ambiance was really nice, very relaxing, and well-maintained. The food was very tasty, and a lot more cheaper than Kawayanan Grill. They had large servings. The server mentioned that each order was good for 1 – 2 persons, but we think it could fit 3-4. The restaurant also showed a wide array of small items coming from different countries – which made us gossip among ourselves – was the owner a seafarer?
- went back to the resort, drank 2 buckets of beer at 150 / bucket, had our leftover during dinner as pulutan
DAY 3 Saturday, September 25
- our call time for the calauit by land trip was at 4am. We were all asleep inside the van. It was really a rough road. I don’t recommend going to Calauit by land if you easily feel dizzy (just like me). I threw up! Eiw!
- stop over at Karaenan ni Manong Rene (Dayon Kamo Lodge)located at the Busuanga Town Proper and had our breakfast of bread, hotdogs, and coffee
- proceeded to Calauit Sanctuary, which took us another 45 mins. Photo op. Started our safari ride. Saw zebras, porcupines, and fed the giraffes (which was the most enjoyable of all). Towards the end of the trip, we listened to the scary story of manong tour guide regarding a large python roaming the island. I guess its his tactic of convincing us to end the tour.
- went back for lunch at Karaenan. Picnic style, we had rice, pork sinigang, and crab. Aside from this, we ordered additional pancit (the one with fat noodles, I don’t know how its called) and softdrinks at own expense.
- on our way back, we passed by concepcion falls. We were not prepared for this trip, we didn’t have swimming clothes. Our van driver just recommended to pass by this place. The falls was small, but the water was so clear and cool.
- back to coron town, freshened up. I don’t know if I was really tired with this trip, but my “period” came 2 days earlier. It’s a good thing we’re almost done with our vacation.
- ate snacks at Coron Bistro. We had 2 orders 14” pizza at 299 each, and a bottle of 12-oz coke at 25 each.
- headed to the market to buy pasalubong. Had danggit (80 pesos for a half-kilo bag, and 40 pesos for ¼ kgs)
- photo op at the bayview beside the market (don’t know the name of the place)
- went to Coron Souvenir Shop to buy pasalubong (shirts, magnets, keychains, etc)
- back to the resort for dinner at own expense (we requested the staff to buy and cook for us): rice, crab, prawns, steamed fish, labo, tomatoes, softdrinks
- drank 2 buckets of beer at 150 / bucket, and started collating pictures (our group had 4 separate digi cams)
- some of us had a massage at 300 per hour. My BF said that he didn’t enjoy the massage, the masseur didn’t really know how to massage well.
DAY 4 Sunday, September 26
- had plated breakfast at 8 am: danggit, egg, fried rice, coffee (thank God, they didn’t serve hotdogs again)
- bound for airport at around 9 am
Where we stayed:
Amphibi-ko Resort (amphibikoresort.multiply.com)
- We stayed in a deluxe room (2 pax per room), with aircon and a personal sized ref. Bathroom was clean and well-kept, but the water coming from the heater was slow. Free toiletries such as tissue paper, 2 pcs small soaps, shampoo and toothpaste sachets.
- Inah and Nicole aka “Jolash” were very accommodating, including the Japanese owner and his wife.
Expenses:
441.67 each 2,650.00 total for 6 pax life jackets we bought our own, thanks to a friend
who works in a high-end resort, we were able to
buy cheap, but good quality vests
1,620.80 each 9,724.80 total for 6 pax airfare tickets via Zest Air
200.00 each 1,200.00 total for 6 pax terminal fee manila airport
10.00 each 60.00 total for 6 pax pork bbque day 1 (10/stick x 6)
153.33 each 920.00 total for 6 pax dinner kawayanan grill day 1
7,010.00 each 42,060.00 total for 6 pax package resort (3 deluxe rooms, 2 pax in a room)
tour guides, boat rides, itinerary included
33.33 each 200.00 total for 6 pax junk foods day 2
8.67 each 52.00 total for 6 pax fishing rod 2 sets ("tansi")
196.67 each 1,180.00 total for 6 pax dinner coron village lodge day 2
20.00 each 120.00 total for 6 pax buko (20/pc x 6 + 1 free)
250.00 each 1,500.00 total for 6 pax dinner day 3
33.33 each 200.00 total for 6 pax tricyle around town (approx 10 each)
30.00 each 180.00 total for 6 pax terminal fee busuanga airport
10,007.80 each 60,046.80 for 6 pax TOTAL
124.67 each 748.00 total for 6 pax Addt’l: bistro coron free c/o Jil and Makit
250.00 each 1,500.00 total for 6 pax Addt’l: snorkel charge free c/o Jil
(we lost 1 set of snorkling masks)
Will I go back to Coron? Definitely, yes.
DAY 1 Thursday, September 23
- expected time of departure was supposed to be at 10 am but our flight with Zest air was
delayed by 1 hour and 40 mins, argh!
- arrival at the resort 1:20 pm, we were really hungry
- lunch, resort seafront picnic style: rice, grilled fish, grilled chicken, ensaladang talong, tomatoes w/ onions, banana, softdrinks
- start of island hopping at around 2:20 pm
- siete pecados, went snorkeling
- kayangan lake, we had to climb the slippery trail, but the lake was worth it, went swimming, nice view, very relaxing. Surprisingly, there were not so many mosquitoes when we went there.
- twin lagoon, rode a “balsa”, there were lots of jelly fish, which made us scared to get down our balsa
- skeleton wreck, went snorkeling where the sunken ship is located, but we didn’t see it. You really have to dive
- banol beach, I don’t know why I can’t remember even a single thing with this beach, I guess we just passed by it
- done with island hopping at around 6:20 pm
- went to kawayanan grill for dinner at own expense: rice, bulalo , kilawing tanigue, talbos ng camote (2 orders each for the viands). It took them so long to prepare the food. We were not satisfied with the servings and the price.
- went to maquinit hot spring at around 7:50 pm. Water was really hot, comparable to a hot wet sauna, which relieved our tired muscles. But the sides of the pool were full of moss!
- back to the resort to rest at around 9:40 pm
DAY 2 Friday, September 24
- plated breakfast consisted of hotdog, sunny side-up egg, garlic fried rice, and coffee at 7 am
- went to malcapuya island at 8:30 am, it took us around 1 hour for the boat ride
- went snorkeling but found only a few fishes, white sand (but not as “powdery” as boracay)
- picnic lunch at the island: rice, crab, stuffed squid, banana, softdrinks (but we drank fresh buko instead, which we bought from the store owner who freshly picked the fruits from the trees within the island)
- went to banana island, named after its shape similar to that of a banana leaf. I love this place better than Malcapuya because it had more coconut trees, and there were some parts with trimmed grasses. White sand.
- went to Mt. Tapyas at around 5 pm, climbed 700 ++ steps. Although the way up is cemented, it was still very tiring! I was about to give up, if not for the photo op that was waiting for us uphill.
- at around 7:30, went to coron village lodge for dinner at own expense: rice, bicol express (1 order), pork sinigang (2 orders), pancit bihon (1 order), pancit canton (1 order), lechon kawali (2 orders). We loaded ourselves with pork! (is this the effect of climbing Mt. Tapyas?) The ambiance was really nice, very relaxing, and well-maintained. The food was very tasty, and a lot more cheaper than Kawayanan Grill. They had large servings. The server mentioned that each order was good for 1 – 2 persons, but we think it could fit 3-4. The restaurant also showed a wide array of small items coming from different countries – which made us gossip among ourselves – was the owner a seafarer?
- went back to the resort, drank 2 buckets of beer at 150 / bucket, had our leftover during dinner as pulutan
DAY 3 Saturday, September 25
- our call time for the calauit by land trip was at 4am. We were all asleep inside the van. It was really a rough road. I don’t recommend going to Calauit by land if you easily feel dizzy (just like me). I threw up! Eiw!
- stop over at Karaenan ni Manong Rene (Dayon Kamo Lodge)located at the Busuanga Town Proper and had our breakfast of bread, hotdogs, and coffee
- proceeded to Calauit Sanctuary, which took us another 45 mins. Photo op. Started our safari ride. Saw zebras, porcupines, and fed the giraffes (which was the most enjoyable of all). Towards the end of the trip, we listened to the scary story of manong tour guide regarding a large python roaming the island. I guess its his tactic of convincing us to end the tour.
- went back for lunch at Karaenan. Picnic style, we had rice, pork sinigang, and crab. Aside from this, we ordered additional pancit (the one with fat noodles, I don’t know how its called) and softdrinks at own expense.
- on our way back, we passed by concepcion falls. We were not prepared for this trip, we didn’t have swimming clothes. Our van driver just recommended to pass by this place. The falls was small, but the water was so clear and cool.
- back to coron town, freshened up. I don’t know if I was really tired with this trip, but my “period” came 2 days earlier. It’s a good thing we’re almost done with our vacation.
- ate snacks at Coron Bistro. We had 2 orders 14” pizza at 299 each, and a bottle of 12-oz coke at 25 each.
- headed to the market to buy pasalubong. Had danggit (80 pesos for a half-kilo bag, and 40 pesos for ¼ kgs)
- photo op at the bayview beside the market (don’t know the name of the place)
- went to Coron Souvenir Shop to buy pasalubong (shirts, magnets, keychains, etc)
- back to the resort for dinner at own expense (we requested the staff to buy and cook for us): rice, crab, prawns, steamed fish, labo, tomatoes, softdrinks
- drank 2 buckets of beer at 150 / bucket, and started collating pictures (our group had 4 separate digi cams)
- some of us had a massage at 300 per hour. My BF said that he didn’t enjoy the massage, the masseur didn’t really know how to massage well.
DAY 4 Sunday, September 26
- had plated breakfast at 8 am: danggit, egg, fried rice, coffee (thank God, they didn’t serve hotdogs again)
- bound for airport at around 9 am
Where we stayed:
Amphibi-ko Resort (amphibikoresort.multiply.com)
- We stayed in a deluxe room (2 pax per room), with aircon and a personal sized ref. Bathroom was clean and well-kept, but the water coming from the heater was slow. Free toiletries such as tissue paper, 2 pcs small soaps, shampoo and toothpaste sachets.
- Inah and Nicole aka “Jolash” were very accommodating, including the Japanese owner and his wife.
Expenses:
441.67 each 2,650.00 total for 6 pax life jackets we bought our own, thanks to a friend
who works in a high-end resort, we were able to
buy cheap, but good quality vests
1,620.80 each 9,724.80 total for 6 pax airfare tickets via Zest Air
200.00 each 1,200.00 total for 6 pax terminal fee manila airport
10.00 each 60.00 total for 6 pax pork bbque day 1 (10/stick x 6)
153.33 each 920.00 total for 6 pax dinner kawayanan grill day 1
7,010.00 each 42,060.00 total for 6 pax package resort (3 deluxe rooms, 2 pax in a room)
tour guides, boat rides, itinerary included
33.33 each 200.00 total for 6 pax junk foods day 2
8.67 each 52.00 total for 6 pax fishing rod 2 sets ("tansi")
196.67 each 1,180.00 total for 6 pax dinner coron village lodge day 2
20.00 each 120.00 total for 6 pax buko (20/pc x 6 + 1 free)
250.00 each 1,500.00 total for 6 pax dinner day 3
33.33 each 200.00 total for 6 pax tricyle around town (approx 10 each)
30.00 each 180.00 total for 6 pax terminal fee busuanga airport
10,007.80 each 60,046.80 for 6 pax TOTAL
124.67 each 748.00 total for 6 pax Addt’l: bistro coron free c/o Jil and Makit
250.00 each 1,500.00 total for 6 pax Addt’l: snorkel charge free c/o Jil
(we lost 1 set of snorkling masks)
Will I go back to Coron? Definitely, yes.
Comments
Post a Comment