"Tripping Lang Ni iKib": February 2013

Thursday, 28 February 2013

Road trip: Going South of Cebu_OBONG SPRING, Dalaguete Cebu

....continuation of my previous post Road trip: Going South of Cebu

as mention in my other post, in Argao Nature Park we hurriedly went straight to the car since the rain was already pouring. So while in the car, we were discussing as to where is our next destination since during our planning last night, we did not have any specific place to visit but just agreed to have a road trip going south of Cebu and just go with the flow...hehehe meaning any place we can pass by or wherever our car can take us...lol

Our 2nd stop: Dalaguete, Ms. W suggested again if we could like to go to Obong Spring since her high school friend used to live in Dalaguete and before, every time they went to her friend's house, they would not miss going to Obong Spring so she is kinda familiar of the place and how to get there. Again, all 3 of us agreed and off to OBONG SPRING in the municipality of Dalaguete....yeeeey!!!

it's raining, aren't they?! hahaha sounds familiar???? lol

rain rain go away.....

our driver...hehehe

off to Obong Spring even if it's raining

entrance and I guess this is also the Drop-off point
if you are riding using a public transportation like Bus/Motorcycle/"habal-habal"

entrance fee...very affordable

After paying our entrance fee, we then immediately went to their spring but when we arrived, the place was jump-packed. (see below pictures) There were really so many people and the place was quite noisy as what we expected. There were people singing in the karaoke and there were kids shouting and running around. Most of the people there are families having a good time and like having a picnic. It was a nice view for us but not a place to take a plunge since it's quite crowded already. I guess I can't blame it considering the weather was so hot and everyone wants to plunge in the cold spring and hey, it was also weekend. So we all decided to transfer to another location and find somewhere not crowded and is enough to cool down our very hot body...hahaha

The Verdict:

Obong Spring is a nice place indeed and I loved to take a plunge in their cold spring minus the people of course...heheheh. Maybe if given a chance, I loved to go back to this place but I will make sure to go there during weekdays so that the place is not crowded and I can really enjoy the place.

Plus points:

When we reached the entrance gate and ask the one in-charge if we can get our entrance fee back since we were not able to enjoy the spring and decided to transfer to other place due to so many people, they automatically returned our money back without any hassle unlike other places/resorts we've been to. Though the money was not quite big of an amount but the fact they were that accommodating to returned it was really a plus factor to us. (^_^)

...check the continuation of our road trip in my next post (^_^)

Road trip: Going South of Cebu_ARGAO NATURE PARK, Argao Cebu

In our office, me and my workmates always planned to go to a beach or travel somewhere but days, weeks and months have already passed but nothing was realized even one single plan...hahaha. Then one boring Friday, we were talking over dinner and unexpectedly Ms. T blurted out if we can go road tripping the next day which is Saturday. At 1st mostly of us were hesitant since it's already the following day and we were not yet prepared. But after several discussions, we decided to realized our agenda and have decided to go South of Cebu since Ms. W, who has a car, is from the south part and is much familiar with the in's and out's of our destination.

The next day at 10am, as agreed, we meet up at Robinson's Talisay since it's near Ms. W's residence and is a known landmark in Talisay area. From there we bought junkfoods, drinks and Lechon Manok (roasted chicken) with "puso" (hanging rice) for our lunch.

Our 1st stop is Argao, we are looking for a place where we can have our lunch and Ms. W suggested we go to Argao Nature Park since they have cottages there. So everyone agreed (me, Ms. T, Ms. W's brother and Mr. J) and off we go to Argao Nature Park.

view fronting Argao Nature Park

Site Map

reminder for guest to always keep their park clean :)

We just paid a minimal fee of 5 pesos as entrance fee and we were able to used their cottages for free. How great is that right?! Also for 5 pesos you can stroll around their forest-like park and enjoy the feel of nature...really worth it!!! So after choosing our cottage we then easily settle down and prepare for our lunch as it's already 12 noon.

After having a sumptuous lunch and cleaning our cottage (disposing garbage, etc.) and do some nature's call, we then started strolling around the park to check their place and the amenities they are offering...

While checking the place, I was really amazed as the park is really a great place for friends and most esp. families to bond around, relax and feel the beauty of nature. Kids will also like their mini zoo and the different kinds of animals being taken cared of. They still have many animals which I was not able to take pictures of all of them since my colleague was a bit in a hurry since we still have other places to go. (see above pictures of some animals in their mini zoo)

After checking the animals, we noticed they also have some activities which makes their park more enjoyable for the kids or kids at heart...heheheh. So if you are tired from watching the animals or enjoying nature's serenity, you can try their TREE CLIMBING (see above pictures) for only 5 pesos or their BOAT RIDE (see below pictures) for the same price as well...really affordable right?!

I heard they also have ZIPLINE and WALL CLIMBING at 20 and 10 pesos respectively which is also quite affordable as well, but was not able to check it out since rain started pouring so we just opt to leave and run straight to the car to have our shelter as we don't want to be soaking wet like chickens...hehehe.

So bye bye ARGAO NATURE PARK for now
and hoping we could visit you again one of these days and
spent time in your park a little longer
so we can enjoy your place and your activities.

...check the continuation of our road trip in my next post (^_^)

Wednesday, 27 February 2013

Negros Oriental: APO Island

I have been to Dumaguete, Negros Oriental several times already considering that my boyfie's relatives from his father side are a native of said province. Every time I will have my vacation there, I always make sure to go somewhere I have not tried in my last visit.

Now, I am about to visit the famous APO Island. To give you a short history of the place, Apo Island is a volcanic island covering 12 hectares in land area, 7km off the southeastern tip of Negros Island and 30km south of Negros Oriental. This island has become a popular dive sites and snorkeling destination of both foreigners and locals. Also Apo Island is also one of the world's best known community-organinzed marine sanctuaries and as such it has been well documented by the global science community. At present, the island is home to over 650 documented species of fish and estimated to have 400 species of corals. Most of the Philippines' 450 species of corals can be found here, from tiny bubble corals to huge gorgonian sea fans and brain corals.

How to get to APO Island:

Honestly I'm not familiar exactly how to get there using public transportation since every time we tour around the place my boyfie's aunt or my boyfie's manager (basketball) will always pick us up. But per information I got from my boyfie, you can ride either by bus, jeepney, pump boat or even rent a tricycle at a flat/fixed rate (pakyaw in visayan dialect). The ride will take you about 20-30 minutes. The usual drop-off point is the Malatapay, Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental so you can just inform whatever transportation you will be using to drop you off on that place. And once you get there, you can just ask any locals around on how to rent a boat/bangka to take you to Apo Island.

If you have already rented a private boat, you can also drop-off at Dauin Marine Sanctuary which is what, we usually do as Dauin is much nearer. Dauin is before Malatapay, Zamboanguita if you are coming from Dumaguete proper.

Budget in going to APO Island:

Sorry I can't help you with that since our APO trip was ALL FREE....hehehe. My boyfie's manager was the one who shoulder everything from the food, transportation, boat rent and even the diving and snorkeling gadgets.

...see our pictures below during our APO Island trip (^_^)