Visita Iglesia Church:: San Agustin, Intramuros

Next week March 29 - April 5 is Holy Week,  a solemn event celebrated in predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.  During Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, most Catholics try to visit 7 churches as part of what they call Visita Iglesia.  If you are going to the Intramuros, Manila area, here is one church that should be definitely part of your itinerary.

San Agustin is one of the major attractions of Intramuros - the Walled City within Metro Manila.  SO it is easy to ask for directions to the place or you can do what is the more effective thing to do which is to google map it.

Here is some more information from a historical marker located in one of the church corridors

Once inside San Agustin, please remember to follow the guidelines below as it is still a place of worship.

I've been to several old churches and cathedrals and I can easily say that San Agustin is truly magnificent and awe-inspiring.

This is why San Agustin is an extremely popular church wedding venue for Filipino Catholics.

It is also one of only four Baroque churches of the Philippines inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.   So if you are in the Manila area, you might want to include this in your itinerary if you are doing a Visita Iglesia or just looking for a historical landmark.

Hinulugang Taktak Reopens

I was supposed to write the second part for Cagbalete island but decided to interrupt it with some sort of news advisory.  Famed Hinulugang Taktak Falls Park in Antipolo recently launched its soft opening last month (Feb 2015)

March 19, 2015

I first visited it last January 2015 but the park was still undergoing renovation and clean-up and they were not yet letting visitors go down to the falls.   I was told to come back 3rd week of February as this was this target date for a soft opening.

I came back around March 19 and yes the park has soft opened and entrance is still free! (No definite date was given as to when the Park admins will start charging fees, but expect it before or around summer)

Note also that we do not want Hinulugang Taktal to revert back to its earlier state. So please  follow the rules and regulations posted below.

Please note also that the park is located at the bottom.  Going down may be easy but remember that you would have to go home later and climbing up requires more effort from your legs.

Some people are debating in online forums if the foamy white water seen near the falls is caused by soap and other pollutants from upstream or just due to the impact of water splashing.  According to a representative of Antipolo CEWMO (City Environment and Waste Management Office), it is due to the presence of aluminum sulfide  which they used to cleanse the water.  This  substance is also known as"Tawas" and you would notice its distinct smell when you approach the falls.

The park's benches and kiosks have been repainted and fixed, indicating the park's readiness to take in majority of summer visitors to Antipolo, probably the nearest resort town (from Metro Manila)

While pollution from upstream have been significantly reduced, CEWMO's rep mentioned some of their long terms plans for the park.  This include acquisition of the private property above the falls to be allocated for the construction of a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).  This is probably the imost important major component as this would allow park officials to later on add fishing and boating as park activities

Cleanup by the Antipolo CEWMO's workers continues despite the soft opening.  They are definitely expecting a surge in visitors during the Holy Week, which falls on the first week of April 2015.

The photo of the swimming pool was from January 2015.  The pool did not have water yet when I came back in March, but it seemed that it might be ready by the next few weeks.  The shower rooms and rest rooms looked really nice and clean.  But they were fixing something in the pipes when I arrived so they had to turn off the water.

Jan 2015

Hopefully everything goes as planned so that we could see future park visitors boating like the employee below.  Then they could catch fish, which they can cook in the park grounds.

One really good indicator of a wilderness area's environmental health is the presence of wildlife.  I saw 5 - 10 egret-like birds such as the one shown below.  Truly a good sign that Hinulugang Taktak Park may be well on its way to full recovery.

Travelling to Cagbalete Island

Cagbalete is a small island northeast of Mauban town in Quezon province. It is accessible by a combination of  land and boat rides.  For this trip, we took a JAC liner bus from the Kamias station along EDSA near East Avenue. A detailed trip duration/cost breakdown is shown at the bottom

Once you get to Mauban town, remember to pass by the tourism office first to pay the P50 environmental fee prior to proceeding to the pier for the boat ride.  They also sell some food and drink stuff there, albeit selection is limited..

The people there also provide info as to the time the next boat arrives.   Should you need to wait for a few hours, you can also spend the time waiting here.

You may also opt to hire private boats (like the ones below).  One advantage is that they can drop you off at your resort, sparing you the 10-15 minute walk with your luggage.  Another is that it probably won't be as packed as the public commuter boat which is really crowded.  Of course hiring a private boat is more expensive especially if you have a smaller group of passengers.

Mauban pier ("Daungan" or "Pantalan")

Since you would be riding a big katig (Philippine)boat with outrigger) for the final leg, people who easily get seasick should look at the photo below to get an idea of how choppy the waves can get.

As the big boat cannot go to shallow waters, passengers will be transferred to a smaller boat packed like sardines (see small boat on the right)

Travel time from Mauban pier to Cagbalete takes around 45 minutes to an hour.  However, the large public boat docks on the island's western side (No. 2 on the map)

you

Tourism Office Cagbalete Map

Once you set foot on Cagbalete island, numerous townsfolk will offer to guide you to your resort or help carry your bags.  You can also opt to use the map above should you decide to DIY it, but you may not know the easiest trails leading to your resort.

Sabang port fishing community

We arrived at Villa Noe resort late Saturday afternoon mid-March, which is sort of the unofficial start of summer in the Philippines.  It was already low tide so the exposed mini sand bars had numerous tourists exploring and taking photos.

Here are the estimated costs per person (1 way) from Metro Manila to Cagbalete Island (As of March 2015):

Est trip duration Phil pesos  Est US $  Kamias JAC liner to Lucena 3.5 to 5 hrs 217               4.82 Lucena shuttle to Mauban  1 hr 65               1.44 Tricycle to Pier 5 - 10 mins 10               0.22 Public boat to Cagbalete < 1 hr 50               1.11 Total 1 way trip cost per person   342               7.60

Well, that's just the "Getting to Cagbalete" portion. I will create a separate article for Cagbalete itself..

Quest Hotel Cebu

During my recent Cebu trip (Feb 2015), I stayed for one night at the Quest Hotel, which is just across the northwestern corner of Ayala Terraces Cebu.  I was planning to spend less time in Cebu City proper in order to explore more of the southern areas, but I changed my mind the moment I checked in.

I checked in around 10AM on a Sunday and there was no queue as most weekend guests had already checked out.  They also allowed me early check in (as against the standard 2PM check in) as they already had a room available.

Quest Hotel lobby

I took a photo of the lobby prior to proceeding to my room just to give the viewers an idea.  I would like to thank the hotel staff for the prompt response after I left my driver's license at the check in counter.  While setting my luggage in the room, a courteous hotel employee knocked and promptly delivered my forgotten license.

Quest Deluxe bedroom

It is a business and conference hotel so there is a spacious area for writing or using your laptop.  They just don't have the usual USB cables, laptop connections, that are somewhat standard in most US business hotels.  WiFi was a bit slow too at certain times; I got good speeds though when I logged pm at around 4AM when most hotel guests were probably sleeping

The bathroom is just as clean as the room which is definitely a plus for any hotel in my book. Normally, my concern when I get a hotel room from an online sale, I worry that the hotel would give me an older and more worn out room.  However that fear went away the moment I stepped in and checked every nook and cranny of the hotel room

The room also had a safe for your valuables.  Plus the standard mini fridge with items sold at the usual hotel rates.

Different kinds of massage are also offered by the hotel, with most of them priced at P700 per hour, which is around US$15 at the prevailing Feb 2015 exchange rate.

Here's a snapshot of the in-room dining menu which is from the hotel's Puso restaurant.  Most of the food items are reasonably priced but I only got to try their breakfast as nearby Ayala Terraces with more variety of food options.

After I was able to settle in the room and freshen up, I went straight to the 7th floor to check the swimming pool area.

The small pool

The pool bar

I was hoping to shoot the sun set over the skyline of the Cebu's business district but the view was blocked by tall plants.  It would have also been nice as there was a large  gazebo facing what would have been awesome sunsets.

Here is the pool bar's bar chow menu to give you an idea of their offerings and the prices/

I wanted to have a few drinks at the pool bar around dinner time, but it was full as seating was limited to only 7 to 8 guests so I just skipped it.

The following morning, I just ordered a few ala carte items, instead of the breakfast buffet (around P550) as I was going to have a lunch buffet that same day at Crimson Resort Mactan, which is a sister property of Quest Hotel.

Total for this (including mango juice) is P250 (US$5.50)

The price for this stay was P2,982 (US$ 67.50) per night booked via an Agoda flash sale. This rate is just for the room and excludes breakfast or any other meal.. According to the hotel room brochure this Quest deluxe room is normally priced at P5,700 (US$127)

I did not get to try the business center and other amenities though due to lack of time.  But I had a great experience here nevertheless and I felt welcomed and appreciated by all the hotel staff I interacted with during my stay.  

Final note: I was not able to take a photo of the exterior of the hotel facade as it is located fairly close to a busy street.  It is easy to find though with its signage and the East West Bank and Filinvest branches adjacent to the entrance.  If you are coming from Ayala Terraces, just look for the Public Utility Terminal and the flyover and the flyover along Archbishop Reyes avenue.