This is the first time I’ve seen so much koi in one place. Some were even jumping out of the water as they were being fed. It’s really a sight to see and I’m sure everybody not just the kids will enjoy it. It’s a good place to bring your family, dine out and enjoy some outdoor activities.

Fish Feeding schedule is from 8am – 5pm, Mondays to Sundays. You can buy fish feeds for P15 per pack. There’s also boat ride for P30/head and Bike Rental for P60/hour.

I never appreciated UST until I saw it at night with all the lights on plus Kamille gave me a tour of her school and I realized how much historical value the place has. So when we headed back there I decided to bring my camera and shoot the place.

I got to shoot 4 areas : the Main building, Arch of the centuries, Plaza benavides, and the Quadricentennial sqaure. I wasn’t able to shoot the UST Carillon because the lights were turned off when I was just about to start. The Rosarium Garden looked nice when I first saw it but when we got back the lights were off. I heard from Kamille’s friend Chris that in celebration of the 400th year UST will close down the place to cars and will only have horses and carriages inside the campus and the guards will be dressed up in old Spanish soldier uniforms. I’m just not sure when that is or if it’s already happened but I’d love to see that if I get the chance.

If you’ve read the post on our bicol trip This is the second part I was referring to. So We came from Legazpi City and were driven by Shella’s driver to Camarines Sur. From there We took a boat ride which brought us to the main island of Caramoan, I’m not sure what its called but this is where the main town is, where the schools, church and inns are located. From there we rode a tricycle that brought us to Villa Juliana inn.

Here’s a picture of Carlo in front of the Inn. The whole inn was covered in yellow, I saw some other blogs where it was pink. So I guess the owner changes the color from time to time.

The inns were the only option we had for accomodation. The famous Gota village Resort was fully booked for the following months because of the survivor taping. It would have been much more expensive to stay there anyway. I saw several inns which looked like old houses converted to mini hotels. I just wonder if they can accommodate all the tourists on peak seasons. When we were there we were the only ones staying at the inn.

Villa Juliana inn was only a few minutes ride to Paniman beach, this was where the boats for hire are located. We were supposed to only take a trike ride to get there but the bridge was being renovated. It could only let people, scooters, bikes pass so we had to switch to motorcycles.

Abed and Nina enjoying the ride

When we got there we didn’t get trouble looking for a boat man / tour guide. It’s easy to find entrepreneural manongs going around the area.

We only had the afternoon to see the islands on our first day and it was raining! We were able to see Lahus, Matukad, Minalahos (I have identified these islands on the map above even if some dont have a 360 view, just click the yellow “Show Map” button on the left). Matukad island was where the survivor set was located, the “bantay” wouldn’t allow us to take photos so we secretly took snapshots. There is a lagoon here which I had only known now! So when you go here try to ask around how to get to it.

Here’s a picture of us in Matukad Island

After matukad we moved to Lahus island. Lahus is the first 360 shot you’ll see above. I believe this is where this ad of Ding Dong and Marian was taken. We loved this island so we spent a few hours here. It was drizzling so you’ll notice some black clouds in the photo.

After Lahus we went to Minalahos. this is the island in front of Gota Beach. Unfortunately it was already high tide when we got there so we didn’t get to do a lot, we spent maybe half an hour here and went home after.

On the second day the weather was nice. We got to see Mother of Peace Grotto, Cotivas Island, Bugtong beach and Sandbar of Manlawi Island. The Mother of Peace Grotto is located at the top of Caglago Mountain in Barangay Tabgon. We climbed 500++ steps to get all the way up there but the view was stunning. It was hot though I felt like the sun was at the back of my neck and we were sweating like crazy. But it was worth it.

After the grotto we proceeded to Cotivas Island. I didn’t see anything special in Cotivas so I didn’t take 360 photos. Cotivas is one of the places good only at a certain angle. The only thing I remembed about it was this dead tree that looked nice. Here’s a photo of it by Carlo.

We had lunch here and rested for a while. When we were refreshed and recharged we headed out to see Bugtong beach. When I visited the Caramoan islands website there was no mention of Bugtong beach or the Manlawi island sandbar but these places were the ones I liked most. Bugtong beach is a virgin beach there were no huts, sari-sari stores, no concrete structures, CR’s unlike Anawangin. The sand was fine but it isn’t compact like in boracay. It was kinda hard to walk because the sand was soft but I liked how you can leave a very distinct foot print. We spent around 2 hours here and then we headed to Manlawi island.

The gang in Bugtong Beach

The sandbar of Manlawi island is the highlight of our Caramoan trip. We enjoyed this place so much that we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon here and not see the rest of the islands. The boat man did say that the other islands we were supposed to see weren’t as majestic as this sandbar. We we’re there at around 4 in the afternoon, the water was just starting to rise so we were able to see the sandbar slowly disappear. When the water got knee high we felt as if we were in the middle of the ocean. Combined with the view of the island and the tranquility of the place it was truly quite an experience. When we got our heart’s content we decided to head home.

Fish Eye Shot in Manlawi Island Sandbar

We were only able to see 5 of the Islands identified as top 10 in the Caramoan website. I marked them x below.

• Lahuy
• lahus – x
• matukad – x
• Tinago Beach
• Pitogo
• Gota Beach – x
• Minalahos -x
• Hunongan
• Sabitang Laya
• Cotivas – x

The grotto, bugtong beach, Sandbar of manlawi island is not part of the list but they’re a must see when you visit the place. Our Caramoan Trip was one of the most memorable and affordable trips I’ve ever had. I’m definitely going back there to shoot the places I wasn’t able to see. I just hope that by the time I get to visit it again It would still be the same and it has not been ravaged by tourism.

I saw this on TV I think last year but only had the chance to see it today, I was accompanied by my girlfriend Kamille. It’s basically a street with houses, you can park anywhere along the street. I think it’s pretty safe since there are a lot of people going around and there’s a Tanod guarding the gate. I noticed 4-5 houses with displays but only 3 got my attention and those were the ones I took photos of. It’s not as fancy as the Ayala Triangle lights display or Meralco Liwanag Park but it’s still worth a visit.

How to Get there

From Maysilo Circle where Mandaluyong City Hall is, go around and when you see the Vets in Practice building turn right. I think this is still Boni Avenue but just on the opposite side of the circle. Go straight when you see a Shell Station on the right, turn right. Go straight, You’ll already see the roof of the lit houses from here. On the 3rd corner turn left.

The place is lit with Christmas lights, there’s a structure of a church and school, a giant belen all made out of copper wires. On the entrance near the MC home depot side there’s a giant Meralco robot. They have electric shuttles that you can take to go around the Meralco compound. There’s also a train that goes around the Christmas tree, it’s just a short ride but I’m sure the kids will like it.

The Meralco Liwanag Park will be open until December 30, 2011 from 7PM to 10PM on weeknights and 7PM to 12 midnight on Saturdays. If you have a car you’ll enter through the gate near Corinthians. Pedestrians can enter through the gate in front of the Meralco building facade which is across the shell station. The park charges no entrance fee.

Here are some photos. Sorry for the quality they were taken with my iphone.

We stay at Tammy’s resort every once in a while to relax and unwind get away from the stresses of city life. When we’re there the routine is the same eat, play beach football, play cranium, get drunk, sleep then the cycle repeats. On this particular stay we wanted to do something different. So on the way home we decided to pass by Anawangin cove.

From Iba Zambales we headed to Pundaquit, we didn’t know the way so we just asked around as we drove along. I cant give the exact directions too since I didn’t take note of it, I never thought I’d blog about it someday.

When we got there we saw pay parking slots. They’re actually just homes of people with some space where you can park. They will offer to look after your car while your out. I think we paid 50 for the parking.

Right after we parked some boat men approached us. I’m not sure how much we got the boat trip but I think it’s somewhere close to Php 1k. We boarded, took us 30-40 minutes to get there.

When we got to the cove I noticed several boats docked and some camping tents. I thought we would have the place to ourselves. I was also surprised as there were concrete comfort rooms, mini sari sari stores, picnic tables. so In short it’s no longer a virgin beach.

The lake looking body of water you see in pictures turns out to be a marsh. When you walk in it you’ll feel the squishy feeling of moss that accumulated at the bottom. It feels kinda gross but it was fun. I think we’re lucky that it rained the previous day and the water in the marsh was quite high. One of the kuyas selling ice cream told us there are times when it looks almost dried up but on that particular day it wasn’t thus making it a good day for 360 photos!

We took photos, took a quick dip and then we went back to Pundaquit. When we got back we took a bath at the house of the person where we parked. He provided us with a drum of water. We just took a bath outside his house, the girls used his C.R.

To wrap it up, The view was great, The beach was also nice (as you see in the 360 photos). But it’s not a place I would go back to. I think the marsh would eventually dry up and it would no longer look nice. However I still think it’s worth a visit.

Some photos from that trip

Shella, One of my friends who were with us lived in Bicol so our group was well taken taken care of. We stayed at their beach house, we’re driven around the city, and was fed to our heart’s content.

Below are some photos from our trip.

Mayon volcano as seen on the plane. A few minutes before we landed.

What’s a trip to bicol without Laing and Bicol express?

On the first night we had a few drinks and played around with the camera before going to sleep. Here’s our “mayamang pamilya pang telenobela shot”. Shella (the one in pink) looked like the “naaping mabait na anak.” haha

When we got back from Caramoan Islands Shella’s brother showed us a good spot to take photos of Mayon Volcano. It’s inside Doña Pepita Aquino Golf and Eco Park. I’m not sure if its open to the public, he said there was a bike trail near the place that’s why they discovered the spot. It’s the first 360 photo you’ll see above

The second 360 photo is Cagsawa ruins (click on 2nd thumbnail). One tip I could give you is if you want a good shot of Mayon Volcano without the clouds go there in the morning. The clouds start to gather on the tip as the day progresses.

We spent a very short time in Bicol and didn’t have a lot of time to go around but I hope to go back there soon and explore the place some more and of course shoot 360 photos.