cathylopez.com » Travel http://cathylopez.com sharing some random thoughts Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:43:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Paying a Visit to the Grandest Manila Ocean Park! http://cathylopez.com/2008/08/07/paying-a-visit-to-the-grandest-manila-ocean-park/ http://cathylopez.com/2008/08/07/paying-a-visit-to-the-grandest-manila-ocean-park/#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:06:17 +0000 cathy http://cathylopez.com/?p=23 Last Saturday (August 2), Xai and I went to the 1st state-of-the-art Oceanarium here in the Philippines. It is planned to consist open water marine habitat, boutique mall, restaurant row and function facilities all located in one complex at the back of the Quirino Grandstand. But right now, only the Oceanarium is available for the public. The first phase of the construction is on-going.



The Oceanarium journey begins with:

  1. Agos (Flow) – brings you to an artificial rainforest and water fall with 8 different water tanks displaying various flora and fauna.
  2. Bahura (The Reef) – shows you a series of 46 tanks that feature the very colorful Philippine underwater rainforest.
  3. Laot (Fishing Ground) – showcases four big distinct aquariums will display an assortment of fish in all sizes and colors.
  4. Buhay na Karagatan (Living Ocean) – lets you experience a breathtaking 25-meter walk along an underwater tunnel and experience how marine animals interact with each other in their natural habitat. This main feature of the Oceanarium provides an unmatched and truly awesome encounter with the rich underwater world.
  5. Kalaliman (The Deep) – showcases marine animals found in the deepest parts of Philippine waters.
  6. Overhang Tank – displays a variety of rays fly over while you’re under this unique Overhang Tank.
  7. Pating (Shark) – features several species of shark. Come fact-to-face with the wonderful, often misunderstood, predators of the sea.

Our Php 800 is really worth it. No regrets though we haven’t brought a good camera to take shots of the different species of marine animals. I’m yearning for those macro shots! Sigh! I’ll go back there someday when I have my Nikon D300 12MP DX Professional DSLR! I wish! Hahaha!

Anyway, what I can offer you right now is shots taken by my Nokia 6233 cell phone 2.0 M camera.

Click on the thumbnails to see our photos:

]]> http://cathylopez.com/2008/08/07/paying-a-visit-to-the-grandest-manila-ocean-park/feed/ 1 Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay City http://cathylopez.com/2008/05/30/taal-vista-hotel-tagaytay-city/ http://cathylopez.com/2008/05/30/taal-vista-hotel-tagaytay-city/#comments Sat, 31 May 2008 03:53:25 +0000 cathy http://www.cathylopez.com/?p=37 It was just 3 weeks ago when I was savoring the unequaled moments I had with my friends in Talisay. I’m back again to the perimeters of Taal Volcano. Oh no! But who will say NO when you’re going to stay in the luxurious and very expensive hotel, the Taal Vista Hotel!

All I can say when we were approaching the hotel’s lounge is WOW! I was amazed even more when I saw the backdrop of Lobby lounge and Café on the Ridge. It’s the enthralling view of the Taal volcano and lake. It was breath taking!

Coming there was not for leisure or anything, it was work-related so to say. Haha! I was with the Santa Rosa group for PATAS-BPLS seminar. We have to present to them the current status of the system and the future plans for the project. Luckily, we did a great job! Every effort we did was appreciated… I enjoyed every moment of it. From the glorious food we ate, spectacular scenery, fresh air and comfy room… I can’t ask for anything more!

Visit Taal Vista Hotel’s website here –> www.taalvistahotel.com

Take a look at some of our photos:

]]> http://cathylopez.com/2008/05/30/taal-vista-hotel-tagaytay-city/feed/ 1 Tropical Jungle Resort, Talisay, Batangas http://cathylopez.com/2008/05/12/tropical-jungle-resort-talisay-batangas/ http://cathylopez.com/2008/05/12/tropical-jungle-resort-talisay-batangas/#comments Tue, 13 May 2008 03:17:23 +0000 cathy http://www.cathylopez.com/?p=36

I had the chance of seeing Lake Taal and the volcano up close when my high school friends and I went to visit our classmate in Talisay, Batangas. We haven’t seen Emelyn for almost 7 years and we really missed her so much. She was married and already had a 4-month-old son named Markus. Her husband is in Canada and she’s currently living with her in-laws while waiting for her own Visa. Her in-laws own a resort just at the back their house which is the Tropical Jungle Resort. It is frequently visited by the local and foreign tourist especially Koreans. You can do a lot of activities there. You can rent a motor boat, go to Taal Volcano and do horse-back riding going to the crater, go swimming in the pool, go fishing and catch fresh Tilapias or just stay in the cottage, take a deep breath and enjoy the beautiful scenery up front. We stayed there for 2 days and I had the chance to unwind for a while. Sometimes, you really need a break when everything in your life seems to fall apart. Lol! Thanks for the good old friends…
Take a look at some of our photos:

 

]]> http://cathylopez.com/2008/05/12/tropical-jungle-resort-talisay-batangas/feed/ 4 Do you know what I did last Holy week?! (; http://cathylopez.com/2008/03/26/do-you-know-what-i-did-last-holy-week/ http://cathylopez.com/2008/03/26/do-you-know-what-i-did-last-holy-week/#comments Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:31:54 +0000 cathy http://www.cathylopez.com/?p=6 I bet No! So, here’s the rest of the story…It was already Monday when we decided where to go for the long weekend. We first thought of going to Puerto Galera but due to some unknown reasons we ended up going to The Hundred Islands in Pangasinan. (*That’s what we really get when most of the decision makers are GIRLS! lol! *) But I think what really drove us to Hundred Islands is what we expect to see and experience there. We wanted to see personally those islands we used see in post cards and televisions. It’s a first time for the most of us to get there!

As it was planned, we left Manila Wednesday night. We didn’t have the chance to book ourselves bus tickets so we have to queue in a hundred-meter-long line along with the other passengers going to Alaminos, Pangasinan. Just imagine the “siksikan” and “singitan” scenes. For me, that was really hell! Just got lucky… we were able to ride the non-air-conditioned bus after waiting for about 2 hours standing in the line. *toinks!*

We arrived to Alaminos, Pangasinan at around 3 in the morning. I felt so exhausted because of having not-so-enough sleep in the bus but I didn’t let it devastate my excitement. Tricycles brought us to Barangay Lucap where the Hundred Islands wharf is located. We didn’t brought a lot except for our personal belongings so we didn’t had the choice but to buy the sky-rocketing-priced foodstuffs from one of the stores there. Everything was so expensive!!! It was all set, the boat that will bring us to Quezon Island was contacted,  we rented a tent, and we bought food enough for two days!

We decided to leave before sunrise. Our destination is the farthest of the 3 fully developed islands. We passed through other islands and witnessed the beautiful sunrise. What else could I say, it was amazing!

Finally, we arrived to the Quezon Island! The feeling is ecstatic. I can’t help but wonder how these islands were formed. It took us approximately 30 minutes from the Lucap wharf to the get to the island. When it’s time dodge off the boat, it seems like I don’t want to, I really enjoyed the sail, and I felt like a child again at that very moment.

After keeping our things safe, Xai and I went off swimming then. Lol! I always like to swim, I love water. I rented a life vest and snorkeling thingamabobs to see fishes and giant clams under water. It didn’t frustrate me. I was really able see a lot of them! Our routine was SWIM…EAT…SWIM…EAT! The place is a paradise! *except for the scarce fresh water*

Since I didn’t have enough sleep, I took a long nap and I wasn’t able to get back to the water because it was already dark. We went sober that evening and had so much fun. After that night, I woke up early in morning with an aching head! There’s no medicine! WTF! And so I did soothe myself drinking a lot of water. Lol! After a while, I went off swimming again…wasting no time and enjoying the last minutes of our stay.

We left at 10 o’clock in the morning, we had the chance to island hop for 20 minutes. We went first to Children’s Island and then to Governor’s Island. We were surprised to see Tuesday Vargas, Coy Placido of Session Road and her colleagues there. After some photo shoots, we left the island to get back to the Lucap wharf.

The hundred islands is one of a kind summer destination. Be there and love the experience!
Check this website for more information:
http://hundredislands.ph

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