Pearl Farm Beach Resort

June 7-12, 2006. After our Baguio-Sagada-Banaue trip, Fil and I spent only two days in Manila then flew to Davao City. I am familiar with the city (having spent my highschool in General Santos City) but my last visit here was in 1997! I didn't know what to expect ...t'was like visiting an old friend, not sure if things will still be the same.

Surprisingly, things are NOT the same...they're bEttEr! The streets of Davao are impressively clean, buildings are taller and there are more gimik places to explore. Food is great, too, I gained more than 5 pounds in 3 days after we stuffed ourselves with everything edible at Yahong, Hilltop, Jack's Ridge, Asia restaurant and all those restos that serve tuna, kilawin and ihaw-ihaw stuff. Of course, there's also buffet breakfast at Marco Polo hotel, lunch at Figueroa residence featuring the delectable home-cooked menudo prepared by Fil's mom, halo-halo at Chowking and the mini-siopaos we munched on while driving around the city. I swear, I had to buy a new swimsuit at SM after i found out that i could no longer fit in the one i bought a week before the trip! eeeeeeeekkkkkkk! hahaha...

And so...after we're done with family duties, Fil and i checked out of the hotel and escaped to the beautiful island garden of Samal. YES!!!

Samal island is just a 45-minute boat ride south of Davao City, part of an archipelago of islets that offer a getaway from city life and some adventure activities. The island offers fabulous sunrises and sunsets and a fascinating topography of rolling hills, white sandy beaches and dozens of caves. Its coastline has the usual coconut palms, mangrove swamps and coral reefs, together with some little fishing villages, washed by clear, clean water. Hmmm...i'm beginning to sound like a TV travel ad here..mabuhay!:-)

Anyway, we stayed at Pearl Farm Beach Resort that lies in a secluded cove - a property that was once a pearl farm where thousands of white-lipped oysters, transported from the Sulu Sea, were cultivated for their pink, white and gold pearls. Today, the resort is a marine sanctuary and a perfect place to relax.

We availed the resort's dream holiday package for a worry-free stay so the only thing that stressed me was my public appearance in a swimsuit hihihi. During the 3 days that we were there, Fil and I explored the resort, climbed to the hilltop rooms, checked out the game room, fed the fishes, shopped at the 'butik' (as in boutique), played chess while downing a bottle of sanmig light at the parola bar and had romantic dinners at the pool side while being serenaded by a young singing trio, first night, and a strings triplet the 2nd night. We first stayed at the Mandaya house located at the farthest end of the property and transferred to the Samal house the next day. These samal houses are nice 'coz they are patterned after the stilt houses of seafaring Samal tribes of the Sulu archipelago. During high tide, you can almost touch the waters with your feet and you can really jump from your room and swim your way to the parola bar.

We also treated ourselves to an aromatherapeutic massage offered by the resort's Ylang-Ylang spa. Ha!ha!ha! I remember the masseuse was offering us to try the "is-wis" massage and when Fil and I couldn't make sense of what she was saying, she pointed to the brochure that says "east-west" massage! Oh well, bisaya gyud...no problem, bisaya man pud mi uy! :-)

The resort also maintains 7 private villas at malipano island, just across samal, and a boat travels to it every 10 minutes so we went there and swam in its private beach. The place was so quiet and very private...ideal for honeymooners or celebrities who want to enjoy anonymity.

The secret to our enjoyable stay at the resort? Chad, the waiter! He was really, really nice. While other waiters paid attention to foreign tourists, Chad was there to attend to our needs - he took our pictures while we're being serenaded, suggested some must-try dishes and made sure we got the sweetest mangoes for dessert! Thanks to you Chad...wait 'til i get my own resort and i'll hire you as head waiter!

All in all we had a blast at Pearl Farm. One kodak moment? It was raining heavily on our second day but instead of staying inside and wishing for the rain to go away, Fil and i went out to play. We walked (holding hands... uuuyyy!) from the samal house to the beach infront of the mandaya houses and attacked the waters: upper half of our body being showered by cold rain, lower half soaked in warm sea water. Grabe...feels so great to be alive and inlove. How about that? :-)

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Enchanting Sagada

June 2-4, 2006. Sagada, one of my dream local destinations...a mystery I've long dreamed to unravel. I finally went there in June with Fil and have I gone there with a female friend or in a group with strangers, I may not have enjoyed the place as much as i did. This place is so romantic it's a sin to go there without your "palangga".

Sagada is a charming, peaceful and enchanting town in the Mountain Province. Life here is so simple but its natural beauty and the tranquility that prevails can heighten your senses, making even a simple coffee break an experience to remember.

The people are very friendly and warm too and the tour guides are surprisingly organized. All you have to do is register in the municipal hall (located right at the center of town, you won't miss it!), choose from the tour packages and the fixed rates and a tour guide will be assigned to you. It was a great adventure, we had a blast! In Sumaging cave, we climbed from rocks to rocks and walked/jumped through small bodies of water. We even had to slip through a number of cracks and a waist-high crevice - feet first - and walk along rocks beside deep ravines. Caving is so much fun, kakaibang level, and I want to do it again! It even made me forget about my claustrophobia!

After we have conquered the cave, we passed the hanging coffins held by the rock walls and went to see the Lumiang burial cave where wood coffins were laid inside the chamber on top of each other, even filling-in the small spaces that lead to the cave's mouth. Our guide explained that the coffins were small because the dead were laid in fetal position, believing that they will reincarnate.

Dining in Sagada was another great experience! Tired from all the climb and descent, we had lunch at Masfere's restaurant. Masfere is a spanish photographer who lived in Sagada during the 1900s and took photos of the town and its people. Thus, the restaurant does not only offer great food but showcases these photos which are not only posted on walls but printed on bags and shirts as well and sold to tourists. We also ate at St. Joe's cafe more than a couple of times because they offer food that satisfied both mine and Fil's contradicting tastes plus they serve great-smelling coffee that's perfect for the cool climate. Another must is dinner at the Log Cabin. We were lucky to get seats for a Saturday buffet dinner prepared by a "local" French chef and shared a table with Rey and Joyce who've been staying in Sagada for about a month already to learn Sagada pottery. Wow! Wish I have the luxury to do the same thing!

In the afternoon and the following morning before we left, we enjoyed leisurely walks with the view of the rice terraces, visited the episcopal church and bought souvenir stuff: must-haves are bags and wallets showcasing the intricacy of Sagada weaving.  

For those who want a more physically-challenging adventure, there are other interesting sites to see in Sagada - echo valley, small falls, big falls. You want privacy and hot shower? We stayed at St. Jo's and for P1,500/night, our cottage on top of a hill was really nice, clean and private and had a great view of the surrounding mountains. But for party rats looking for non-stop fun, this place is not for you. Sagada locals follow a 9pm curfew. No loud music allowed, aha! not for the noisy couples out there! hahaha... sssssshhhhhh!

We also went to Baguio and Banaue and these places are worth a visit too. If I may suggest, better go to Banaue first to appreciate the same view of the rice terraces in your P1,000 peso bill, proceed to Sagada then celebrate and party in Baguio! What we did was a reverse (Baguio-Sagada-Banaue) and we were already tired and uninterested (or maybe we were just too smitten by the beauty of Sagada) that by the time we reached Banaue, we only stayed for a couple of hours and took the bus back to Manila. But hey, I love Banaue too! I went there last year (check out my posts on the 8th wonder of the world, the amphitheatre batad rice terraces & the tappiyah waterfall).

So if you are planning to break away from your sedentary life - away from the urban jungle, far from the noise, traffic and confusion of the polluted city - pack your things and go to Sagada. Let me warn you though that it takes at least 12 -13 hours to get there from Manila (by land) but it is worth it. By the way, did i tell you about the landslides? We encountered a fresh one on our way to Banaue and that alone was an edge-of-your-seat-praying-and-fearing-death bus ride adventure! :-)

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new blog title: Whatever Makes Me Happy

it was in 2006 when my pregnant mind gave birth to this personal blog. that time, i had so many thoughts and questions in my head but was too lazy to write a diary the old-fashioned way so i turned to technology.

my first try was a Friendster blog in january 2006 which i titled "Ponder and Wonder." that time, i just finished my contract with the Supreme Court of the Philippines with no intention to renew, was waiting for an EU-funded project in La Union to commence where i would be a member of the project team and was struggling to keep a relationship which eventually faded away. Most of my entries were sad, depressing and dramatic albeit very deep, creative and profound sometimes obscure and with hidden meanings.

then i signed up for blogger in March 1, 2006 and titled it "Postcards from Heaven." i originally intended to use the site as a photo blog to feature my travels around the Philippines.  I subtitled it heaven is a place on earth, only if we bother to look. As you can see in my first few entries in this blog, i have nothing there but photos and captions.

By late April 2006, i met Fil and everything changed. I was lying on a bed of roses again...i was happy...and i ran out of sad thoughts to update my friendster blog so i got rid of it. It suddenly became irrelevant, i even deleted most of my entries without even bothering to keep a copy in my files.

But i decided to keep this site to continue to inspire me to write, to think, be creative and share.  After i met Fil face-to-face, i was overflowing with happy thoughts and experiences. The title "Postcards from Heaven" no longer represent my blog posts so out of nowhere, like manna falling from heaven, i grabbed the title "Whatever makes me Happy."

Yes i still believe that heaven is a place on earth only if we bother to look.  Heaven is the simple everyday ordinary things that make us happy.  It is our daily adventures.  It is making other people happy by being happy yourself.

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