Hongkong Trip - Day 3 - Mongkok and Victoria’s Peak

Day 3
After a long day and a long walk yesterday in Disneyland, I woke up still tired and my feet still felt sensitive and hurt. Our plan for that day was to move to Mongkok to a find a new place to stay. We wanted to explore Hongkong. So we went on and found the Dragon Hostel. The price was a little higher than Garden hostel but it was so much better. If given a choice, I would still pick Dragon Hostel. The night was HKD220.00 with shared bathroom. If I’m not mistaken, the rate for non-shared bathroom ranges from HKD250.00-280.00 per night. The room and bathroom are very clean and the attendants are very friendly and hospitable even though most of them could not speak English. So I highly recommend this to any travelers. You can also ask them for discounts to Disneyland and Ocean park. I wish I knew earlier.

A Domestic Helper’s Story

After we’re settled in our new place, we visited Gerold’s aunt. She is a domestic helper there and they had a small gathering just near our place. We had our lunch there (thank you!). We also heard some good and sad stories about DH workers. I actually met one who was fired after only a few days of work and she was really helpless so she sought help from the older ladies. Some good news were that some of them really found loving people who respects their helpers and are earning really good. Luck plays hard and most of our kabababayans had to face cruelty at times. Then I met another one and asked if she was given a chance to go back home if there was available jobs, it surprised me when she answered “no”. This lady had been to many places already as a DH and she already got used to living abroad. She’s only been a few weeks in Hongkong and her condition wasn’t that great. She had to endure her situation for at least 7 more months to be able to pay her agency’s placement fee before she get the courage to transfer somewhere else. It was a sad story but there are still some lucky ones like Gerold’s aunt.

After some long storytelling and getting to know each other talk, we finally said goodbye. Our next destination was Victoria’s Peak. One of the best recommended places.

Ferry Boat

Before that, we decided to take the ferry boat to Victoria’s Peak. So we went off to Tsim Sha Tsui. I had the chance to check out the place in the morning and I was so happy. Tsim Sha Tsui is the place for expensive shopping! Stores like Gucci, Chanel, Victoria’s Secret and all big names line up block by block. I did not dare to go inside though, I’ll just feel helpless and weak! hehe. We reached the ferry after a few minutes of walk (again - so much walking!). Tsim Sha Tsui to Central was only more or less 5 minutes to get there and you’ll see another great view of Hongkong. It’s very cheap too! I think we only spent HKD5.00 (not too sure but it was very cheap compared to MTR)! It is a must try experience too.

After the ferry boat, there are available buses that goes straight to Victoria’s peak. We chose this instead of the tram. The tram was a little far from where we are already. According to some sites, the tram experience is also a must try.

Victoria’s Peak

This is second coldest place we’ve visited. This is the highest place in Hongkong. You can have a great view of the whole city of Hongkong. Guess who I met? It was only Jet Li! Hehe. There were life size mannequin of famous actors and actresses. The best time to go there when the sun is out to see the beautiful city lights. There were also some shopping malls to dine in and shop! I bought some on sale (can’t resist!)

Mongkok

After the sight seeing, we went back to Mongkok. One of the tourist attraction in Mongkok is the Ladies market. Just right for me! My thriftiness was put into test. You can haggle as much as 50% off on any product. I suggest to do that to get the best deal.

Another must try in Mongkok are their street foods. We bought all possible street food available to try, they actually tastes good! Thank God we did not experience any stomach ache after that

That was all for that day. Here are some pics:

Till next time!

Also check out:

1. Day 1 at Ocean Park
2. Day 2 in Disneyland

Hongkong Trip - Day 2 in Disneyland

Happy new year! This is going to be my first post for 2010 so bless this post! Hehe. I’m already sleepy but I just want to accomplish something today. I am already finished marketing the PHP conference 2010 so now, I’m gonna continue my long story about my Hongkong Trip. Today is Day 2!

Day 2

We woke up early. I’m the most excited! I always dreamed of this day, this is the main attraction for me so I guess you have an idea how excited I am. We skipped breakfast because it was already almost 9am when we left the hostel. We took the MTR again from Tsim Sha Tsui to Lantau Island. The MTR have direct path to Disneyland so the way there wasn’t that difficult. We used our octopus card so I wasn’t sure how much to go there but my guess is that it is more or less HKD30.00. The last station going to disneyland has the disney feel already. Made me more excited

The place opens at 10am and closes at 8pm. In a big day like one of saturdays of December, a one day visit is probably not enough. It was not enough for us, we weren’t able to take the all the rides. The queue on each attraction would take us 30 - 45 minutes. But we only had 1 day to enjoy the most out of it.

For first timers, I would suggest to make schedule of activities that are only played once on that day. Example is the parade and pyro show. Some attractions on the other hand are played only a few times a day so that was 2nd on our list. The only thing that I regretted was that I wasn’t able to take a pic with Mickey and Minnie The line was soo long that it will probably take us more than 45 minutes. I should have done it in the morning when there were still few people. I already had that chance but I was too excited to go around

The day was full of adventures. My top lists to visit are as follows:

• Picture taking with Disney celebs - need I say more?
• the Parade at 3:30PM - see all the characters. Position in the best place early. We were already late so did not get the perfect view of all characters.
• Lion King theater show - I enjoyed this show the most
• Space mountain - love this specially the picture!
• Tarzan’s treehouse - I want that treehouse in our backyard! It is very beautiful. I even thought the tree was for real!
• Buzz lightyear Astro Blasters - an interactive adventure
• It’s a small world - very beautiful dolls dressed in different national costumes. See if you can spot Philippines

Here are some pictures

The night ended with magical fireworks display and sore feet! Imagine walking and standing for 10hours and the intervals that we sat was only 5-15minutes. Anyway, I don’t mind because it was a fun day. We even had the energy to find a restaurant and an internet shop (to check emails - err - work). Luckily, there wasn’t much pressure at work so we went off and prepared for our next big day!

See you again!

Also check out:

1. Day 1 at Ocean Park

Hongkong Trip - Day 1 at Ocean Park

Two of my childhood dreams finally came true!

When I was a child, I never often stayed in a place for too long. I think it became a habit and became one of my wish - to travel the world or atleast visit 1 country other than Philippines. With only a very limited budget, Gerold and I went on a 5-day adventure trip to Hongkong last Dec 4! Memories are still fresh in my head.

Day 1

Arrived at 9am in the Hongkong airport. The area was cloudy so I did not get to see how we landed. I was thinking that we were in Hongkong mainland all that time until we sat down to settle our itinerary for that day. We did not get any travel agency because we wanted it to be a real adventure wherein we can decide everything on our own, plus the fact that we were traveling on a very limited budget :D. After some discussion on where we really were (was it Hongkong Mainland or Lantau Island?) over breakfast, we finally decided to just get a hotel first and then we’ll talk again (whew, so much talking for 2 undecided couples in a foreign island). The maps and brochures were also very helpful, there were many free available brochures and maps in the airport.

(For the record, the Hongkong Airport we were in was in Lantau Island - a few minutes away to Disneyland)

Hostel search

We went for a ride to Tsim Sha Tsui in a double-decker mini bus (first time). It probably took us 30-45minutes to get there. Finding the hostel as described in our google search wasn’t easy. We were looking for Cosmic guest house at Mirador Mansion but we couldn’t find the block. Luckily we saw Garden hostel (written in English) so we tried that. The place wasn’t really that great but the price was excellent. For 2 people and 1 night and shared bathroom, the cost is only HKD180.00 - it’s the cheapest! The bathrooms were unacceptable but my feet were already tired from going up to 4th floor and down only by foot - thrice! Imagine that. So I won’t recommend the place unless you are on a tight budget. We stayed there for 2 nights which was ok.

To Ocean Park

It was already lunch time that we decided to go to Ocean Park first. Did I tell you that it was cold? Really cold? Totally cold? I remember it was only 18 deg. Celsius, probably almost same temperature in Baguio City. Matatakutin lang ako sa lamig so if you’re like me, I suggest bring a thicker jacket.

We traveled by MTR (MRT in Philippines) and another bus ride. The fare was in MTR was higher than in a bus but it was safer for newbies like us. Buses are only recommended if you are already familiar with the place or there are no other choice. In bus going to Ocean park, we saw so many Pinoys there. Parang nasa Pinas nga lang kami that time because I heard people talk in Tagalog and some local dialects here and there and then more Pinoys when we were inside the amusement park. Pretty comforting for the first day.

At the Ocean Park

I expected ocean park to be near and/or under the water. To my surprise, it is on a mountain (and near the water still). It is located in the southern part of Hongkong. Entrance fee was HKD350.00 each. The place was huge and there were so many rides. It was open from 10am - 6pm only and we were down around 1pm already. We had only only 5 hours to roam around so we decided to check out as many places as we can and no rides (sad). Luckily, there was a dolphin show at 3pm so we were able to watch. That was the highlight of our day. And then with the air balloon, we got another view of the whole adventure park.

We went home around 7pm. We arrived at the hostel around 8pm and looked for restaurant.

Things I learned

• Travel tax in Philippines is expensive. 1600+ each individual. Terminal fee is also expensive (200 each) while in Hongkong, there is no terminal fee.
• Hongkong people are called Honkers(not sure if I got that correctly, I think I read that somewhere in Hongkong)
• Not all Honkers can speak English, so better learn atleast sign language
• Airport Express are so expensive. Arriving at the Lantau Airport, check out the buses. They have routes and the drivers can be trusted to drop you off at your destination as long as you ask them nicely. They might not understand English though.
• Octupus is a type of card just like the MRT cards we have. But these cards can be reloaded and used in restaurants or any establishment too. Very convenient than cash. The cash can be refunded within 3 months after purchase so you can actually reload it as much as you want if you’ll stay there and get a refund after your visit.
• MTRs are so cool. They actually tells you where exactly you are. They have also connecting trains so you can get to any station without having to walk many miles.
• Allot whole day when visiting Ocean park
• Hongkong only have 2 seasons, summer and winter. Best place to go there starts in March. Weather can be unpredictable during winter season. It doesn’t snow though even it’s called winter.

Next, I’ll share our second day - the Disneyland Adventure! See yah!

House Escapo

Working at home can sometimes get boring and it makes me crazy. I have been thinking of going out of the house but my problem is the place to stay and the cost. I have been looking for a place with free wifi in our area but I haven’t found one except for Starbucks but they charge PHP100.00/hour. That’s too much for me considering that I have to buy atleast anything from them. That’s why I really hate reasoning myself when I want to do something because eventually I will end up not doing it. But I was a little crazy today and ignored my other self and thankfully I did!

I did not find any place with free wifi but I found at least a quite place to stay at Vienna Cafe in SM City San Fernando. I did not have an internet for 4 hours but I was still able to work - thanks to the coffee! I love the coffee though it’s expensive(super!). I will most likely do this again and seek for another place to stay. How about you - what do you do when bored?

Summer at Puerto Galera

Before I forget about summer due to heavy rains this past few days, I finally found the urge to update my blog! Yay! Last April 4 - 5, my employer treated all its employees to an overnight stay in Puerto Galera. Luckily we are allowed to bring any number of friends or families so the company outing became a family outing too.. hehe..

Going to Galera was soooo long and tiring. We left the house at 1:00AM and arrived at the Batangas Port at 6AM. Then we had to wait for a few comrades and more passengers and left the port at 8AM. Another 45minutes was spent in a boat going to the island. It was a long time since I rode a boat so I got a little sick.

We arrived at the island around 9AM. I expected to see a white beach when I arrived because of some reviews but I was a little disappointed though it it a lot better that than our beaches in Olongapo because of its cleanliness. Shops are all over the place and the prices are much cheaper compared to Boracay. When we arrived, it was really sooooo hot and everyone were tired so we went straight to the hotel. We had to walk for another 10-15minutes I think although according to the website of the hotel was only a 5minute walk!

Anyway, we still enjoyed a lot. I shopped here and there. And our family became C2 endorsers in no time! Haha.

The weather wasn’t that friendly to us then, it was slightly cloudy and the water was really cold. The happiest I experienced was when I did kayaking (I love this part because my brother did all the work at the back! haha!)

I had a full body massage but I felt I was battered, I felt like she was using wood and sand over me! But I think that helped in someways, I only had slight muscle ache the next morning. And then the next day, the group decided to go snorkeling. I enjoyed that a lot.

That ends our 2 day journey to Puerto Galera. We left the island at 1PM.

Birthday Celebration - Part 2 in Boracay

So, we only had a day to make things really memorable.

We woke up early to start the day beautiful. We were a little worried that rain will ruin the day since it’s a little gloomy and windy. But that didn’t stopped us to enjoy the day. Right after breakfast we went to Puka beach. Our landlord said it is one of the tourist spots of Boracay. We had to take a 15-min ride to get there. There were only a few people present. I can say the place was more suitable for sporty events rather than a family area. We were like swimming in an abandoned island — dramatic. hehe. We really did enjoy the water.

Look, who is the star of the whole day?	Don’t mind this *grin*

Upon deciding to go home, I was bewitched by all the vendors! Haha! It wasn’t really funny because my pocket really got empty. Thank god they were not accepting credit cards! I wonder if they got voodoo dolls in their tents. There are a couple of beautiful accessories that we found. We really took advantage because we really got the best offers since their sales are almost zero. We finished all our negotiations with the vendors around 11am already so we decided to get something to eat. We found a restaurant near the beach. It was more like in a residential area so I did not find out the name of the place but the food was so good that even kapampangan tongues* were pleased. I love their fish dishes, specially the tanigue and sinigang. It was very different from my mom’s dish. Overall, the food is 5 star.

This is not the restaurant I was talking about, I just love that shot.	eek, can you even see my family??

After we satisfied our stomachs, we went straight to our mini island hopping. The island hopping only cost us P1,500 for 6 people. In this season, you can really get the best deals. According to the locals, prices starts to get higher as early as February. At March, everything in the island starts to turn to gold. The island hopping would normally cost P2,000 for 2 people and could go up to P5,000! Actually that was their little sales pitch so I was pumped up even more to try it out and that is how they got me. I guess they were very good eh? Probably works of the voodoo dolls again.

i love the flag

It ends up though that I wouldn’t trade anything else for that experience! And I even got it cheaper! Yey! We had snorkling, more snorkling and another snorkling. I also tried the helmet dive, also known as reef walking or undersea walk. They are going to make you wear a gazillion kilos of helmet and then make you walk 7-feet under the water. In order to attract fishes, they would give you a piece of bread, an ordinary bread, and fishes will start to come at you. The fishes really love them. Maybe they were trained to do that in order to please tourist.. don’t you think? *grin* Anyway, it was still really a very beautiful experience. And we had a little bit of action which made the experience more exciting! I saw a snake on Gerold’s path (Gerold and I were the only brave pipz who tried it) and I was pointing like crazy to the tourist guide about the snake. Then the guide tried to stop the snake, grabbed his head and they rolled and rolled underwater! Actually, that was just a made up story. hehe. The truth is, the guide panic a few seconds or maybe milliseconds and tried to keep gerold away from the snake’s path. Thankfully they both coordinated well and we were back to feeding the little, colorful and fashionable fishes. I even tried to touch plants that hide when you try to touch them. They are probably the “makahiya” version underwater. Since it was unexpected, we weren’t able to prepare the camera for an underwater experience. Poor camera it could not make it. The guide tried to sell us another service though, P500.00 for a few clicks underwater! I just said no and to think I can photoshop myself and would cost me less than 500 (I guess he was just not a good seller :p).

After the helmet dive, we went to a protected area in the sea to see more fishes and a lot of corals. Unfortunately, storm Frank really destroyed the place. According to the locals, it will take another 10 years for the place to come back to it’s old beautiful self. There were still fishes and I was happy to find people who takes care and not destroy of our nature. And who also would have taught that you can have buko juice in the middle of the sea? Haha! Very creative people, there were two small bangka who were selling fresh buko juice! And it was very affordable. That was another something new for the day.

Lastly, we had some timeout by shopping in d’talipapa. Errr.. shopping again? I just tried to stay away from it the very best I can and I was successful! Woot! But then I was already hungry and a unique restaurant offering cooking service caught our attention. This is in d’talipapa and their scheme is that you buy your ingredients in the nearby wet market, a couple of feet away, and they will cook it for you. The service range from 100-300 pesos for a kilo, depending on the kind of food you want. They already have a menu so you just have to select and no, you cannot tell them to cook something they do not know and do not offer. So we bought a blue marlin, prawn (I was eyeing for the lobster but it was already out of budget) and tanigue. If you do not care about the place, this one is for you. Why did I say that? Because as I said earlier, the wet market is just a couple of feet away from the restaurant and it is an open area so you can smell something fishy nearby and I mean really fishy. hehe. But this is a must try in Boracay.

this is the cooking service restaurant, don’t mind the place, just eat the food

So here is the summary for those people who just wish to know where to go instead of reading my novel:

• Helmet dive - P600.00 per person
• Island hopping - P1,500 - P5,000
• D’talipapa
• D’mall
• Puka beach which is at the other end of station 1, 2 and 3
• Restaurants offering cooking service in D’talipapa

—
* I just made this up but anyway, in Philippines, Kapampangans are people from Pampanga and our province is tag as the culinary center of the philippines so you get the point?

Birthday Celebration in Iloilo

I am a year older again! Yikes! Time is running out, my bungalow house has not been started yet and my yacht has not arrived. I need to swim more and dig more. Well, I did the swimming more but less the digging because my last birthday celebration required me to do so.

My family and I went to Iloilo last November 7 and the next day we celebrated my 18^th birthday in Shamrock beach resort with my boyfriend’s family and relatives. Joan (a friend) was teasing me in SMS that I was namamanhikan (entreat) which I think was partly true, haha! I again met his family and his most beloved lola who is 94 years old and I was so surprised and impressed that she was able to travel for 2 hours to get to the destination and still swam in the beach later that afternoon. The weather was cold because it was raining a little. My lola at 70+ barely moved at her time. The most who enjoyed is my nephew who refused a couple of times to get out of the water even with the weather. The best part is that everybody enjoyed and that made me happier. I just only wish I had a cake! (no sweets for me *snip*)

The next day was the Boracay day. We left Iloilo terminal at 6am because it was the earliest schedule in the nearest bus terminal. We travelled 6 hours from Iloilo to Caticlan and thank goodness Ceres bus was comfy. It was still the longest travel ever but I got to see Aklan and Capiz. At the last mountain route, I already felt dizzy. The curves are worst than Baguio and because of my starving little stomach, dizziness attacked me which is really very rare for me. Although I must admit that even at that state I liked what I was seeing, the surrounding place was beautiful and my mom got already excited (and me too!) seeing the Boracay island (it’s her first time).

Arriving at the hotel past 1pm, we were all starving so right after getting our bags in the room, we went straight to Mang Inasal. The bad thing is that since we were so hungry I forgot to take some pictures :(. But the worst experience you can probably have at that time and I think a little funny is that right after we ordered and sat at the table, Lhex (my nephew) started to mumble to his father “uu.. uu..” (means nature is calling ASAP!) and my poor brother left immediately without asking us the direction of the hotel nor did he brought any mobile phone and as expected he was lost. He came back after an hour and was starving to death. Morale lesson: bring a cellphone ALWAYS!

To give a little excitement to my narrative, I’m going to divide it into 2-part story. I’m getting dramatic lately. haha. Actually, the next 2 nights in the island are really exciting (for me) so a single post could make this one a novela. So see you next time!

**UPdate: Here is the part 2 in Boracay

Visiting Philippines Tourist Spots - Iloilo, Guimaras, Boracay & Roxas

It was in 2006 when I first travelled to Iloilo, Philippines for a business trip and it was my first time to ride an airplane. After that, I was going back and forth to Iloilo island. The first time wasn’t really that much fun so I promised myself to come back.

I heard a lot of great things from the locals about 2 destination spots in this place — Guimaras Island and Boracay. Six months later, I booked a flight in Cebu Pacific through their online booking system. I chose Cebu Pacific because it offers the most affordable flights in the Philippines. The online experience was flawless. After looking for free slots on my preferred date, paid with my credit card and voila! I was done! Yippy!

Iloilo City is a fantastic place to go. What I love in this place is the food. I enjoyed the food hopping so much. The best places I’ve been to so far were:

• Buto’t Balat, Mc Arthur Highway branch (there are many branches in Iloilo)
• Al Dente in Sarabia Hotel
• Emillion
• Ted’s Batchoy

I like the spicy calamares of buto’t balat. I still can’t forget it until now. Also the ambiance was very refreshing. It’s a floating restaurant above a fishpond, I thought it was a river but I was told it was just a fishpond. We went there for dinner and the place was lit by candles so the mood became more romantic. It’s perfect for a dinner date.

Al dente and Emillion are really great and expensive as well! First class food and service. I was only able to taste their specialties because it was a company treat. For not so expensive treat and you like batchoy, Ted’s batchoy is for you. It is located just near the City intersection.

If you are in the mood to party, try to visit the smallville area. It is a famous gimmick area near the seashore. I went there and it’s a great place.

After the food hopping, I went to Guimaras Island. From the city, it’s only a 10-minute ride to another port. It is a separate island and you have to ride a pump boat to get there. It probably took us around 15 minutes to get to the Guimaras port. Once you’re there, you’ll have to take another jeepney to get to your destination. The jeepney travel is a bit long from the port to our destination. Since Guimaras is a small island, it is surrounded by different resorts. You can ask the locals for good resorts. Bring all you need when going there because there is not much restaurants or souvenir shops available.

Another place to go in Iloilo is in Jaro. I wish I was able to go to the old church in Jaro city, unfortunately I did not have enough time. Maybe I will next time.

If you are looking for a place to stay in Iloilo, I recommend Highway21 Hotel for a budgeted trip. A room-for-2 only cost me 700.00 pesos a night and that was in 2007. If you want a first class experience, Sarabia Hotel and Days hotel are for you. Sarabia Hotel is in the General Luna Street. It’s just a 5-minute walk from the intersection. Days Hotel on the other hand is at the end of General Luna street, opposite to Sarabia.

I was also able to go to the nearby Boracay. From Iloilo, you have to take a bus or van going to the Caticlan port. It’s a 6 hour trip so it’s a bit long. Boracay is surrounded by white sand and it’s a great place to relax. It is also very commercialized. There are a lot of restaurants and bars and has its own mall. Some of the items and foods are very expensive so you have to really check on the whole place. It is just small so you can roam around. We stayed in Baeay hotel, I could not call it really a hotel, maybe a mini-hotel? But the room has a hotel feeling so I still recommend it. The room cost 1500.00 to 2500.00 a night. The services are good as well and the landlord is very accomodating. If you do not like to travel for another 6 hours again going back to Iloilo City, Cebu Pacific offers flights in Caticlan Port which is already a few minutes away from Boracay island.

This november, I’ll be travelling with my family to Iloilo City, Roxas City and Tacloban, Leyte. We will be visiting a family in Iloilo and then proceed to Boracay. Before going home, we decided to check out Roxas City. Roxas City is famous for its seafoods. It is just 3hours away from Iloilo and Boracay so it’s not really that far. Since Cebu Pacific also has a flight in Roxas, so it’s a good destination spot if you are already in the Iloilo Island. After that, we scheduled a trip the next week to visit our father who is in Tacloban, Leyte and good news, Cebu Pacific is also available in Tacloban city. Wow! What a convenience!

For those people interested in going to Iloilo, I bet you’ll enjoy it. It’s better if you have a local friend who can tour you. I found the places I mentioned because of my co-workers there. If you are in a budget, check out Cebu Pacific Airlines. You may wonder how we were able to booked the trip on November. We are five in number and we are not that wealthy to afford that amount. We took advantage of the absolute zero all-in seat promo offered this month. This last promo was probably the biggest discount I ever heard of. You can go to anywhere in the Philippines for as low as 700.00 pesos! I am not bluffing, it’s real! “Low fare, great value!” This is the motto of Cebu Pacific Airlines and they are living by it. So my other tip for you is to get updated with Cebu Pacific promos. If you are a twitter fan, Cebu Pacific has a twitter account so you will be more updated with what’s new and hot.

Good luck and see you in Iloilo soon. Happy flying to all!

Another place to visit - Taytay falls

There are so many places here in Philippines that are not quite known even to locals due to lack of advertisement. Taytay falls or also known as Majayjay falls in Laguna is one of them. To describe it, I’ll just borrow some words from this site to describe this place.

Taytay Falls, located at Barangay Gagalot, Majayjay, Laguna, has one of the clearest flowing water we have yet seen. The water flows from Mt. Banahaw, through the mountain’s lush and untouched forest which keeps the water clear even during heavy rains. The water temperature is VERY cold even during summer but, for people who are not used to cold water, they can still take a swim for a few minutes before their teeth should start to chatter.

Taytay is just near Pagsanjan falls so if you want to check out a less expensive place, ask the locals about Taytay/Majayjay falls.

Last May I was lucky to visit Taytay falls(this post have been here since then, it was never published!). My experience was really great and very relaxing. The whole time I was there, I was just sitting and feeling the wonders of nature. I am already satisfied and the fact that the water is really really cold so I couldn’t stay longer dipped in the water. I also tried to climb the second level of the falls which I really suggest you visit if you can. The water is colder and only a few people come. The scenery is also much better and more relaxing. We planned to go up to the third level but we were afraid because the road was quite stiff. Well, maybe next time

Going there is very economical and you can get there by means of PUJ. But I must warn you that it is really far if your coming from Manila. Living in Cavite at that time, it took us around 5-6 hours. We took the Dasma->Calamba->Sta. Cruz route. To help you in budgeting, here is the breakdown of our expenses:

P12.00 - Jeep from Imus to Dasma
P45.00 - Van from Dasmarinas to Calamba
P54.00 - Bus from Calamba to Sta. Cruz
P70.00 - Tricycle from the Sta. Cruz terminal to Majayjay terminal
P25.00 - Jeep from Sta.Cruz market to Majayjay
P12.00 - Jeep from Majayjay town to Taytay
P20.00 - Entrance fee
P100.00 - Rented tent for 2
P250.00 - Estimated Food

Total cost is: P588.00

What I could say.. the place was great. sad enough, some people do not know how to value it.. Thankfully, the locals are taking some actions for the cleanliness of the place so it is still worth a try. Please just be reminded to always keep places like these clean and treat them as if they are our valuable resources.