Now that summer is almost over and school is about to start, vacation spots and plane accommodations will surely offer travel deals. Businessmen do this to at least lessen the variation of their monthly or quarterly sales. As for me, I take advantage of these deals because aside from the fact that I save money, I avoid the hassle of having to deal with the crowd.

If one would ask me what would be my ultimate vacation, I have two tourist spots in mind. First is Venice, Italy so that my family can ride their famous gondolas while the gondolier tours us to the place’s breath taking views. Second is the Outer Banks of North Carolina where my family and I could rent one of the finest beach houses in the land.

Dumaguete is known as “The City of Gentle people.” True enough, I have enjoyed working with Dumagueteños in SNGPF (Southern Negros Geothermal Production Field) the most, compared to all the other geothermal sites. Yes there were ‘difficult’ auditees (by nature), but most of them were not.

But wait, if I loved their people, I loved their food even more! Haha! Let me enumerate my favorites (why am I so excited to do this?);

• Why Not – really, why not try their quatro pizza, salad bar, large servings of steak or lobster combinations. Oh! And who will forget that Tom Yum soup? (Mahilig ba kayo sa Thai food… heheh). After that, have a Café Americano and mango pudding to complete the feast.
• Ma Mia’s – have a taste of their lamb chops, iced tea and banana / mango crepe.
• Hayahay / Lab-as – seafoods galore! (plus enjoy their famous reggae band)
• La Residencia Al Mar – I’ve enjoyed eating their Japanese food and oh that Tuna sandwich melting with cheese! They also have one of the best served iced tea.
• Bethel Guest House – siomai, halo-halo and their crispy danguit.
• Coco Amigos - authentic Mexican cuisine
• Sans Rival – you will definitely enjoy their cakes and pastries (Don’t forget to bring home silvanas!)

Yummy!

How about their tourist destinations? Do spelunking in Mabinay cave and dolphin watching near Manjuyod White Sand Bar sounds exciting to you? It better be because it really was!

I remember I was almost 6 months pregnant with Zach when my ‘kumare’ and I went to Bais for dolphin watching. It was April 3 (Sunday). Who would ever forget that day, dang! it was our anniversary and yet I cannot go home to spend it with my husband because of audit work. Anyway, after a couple of minutes land travel from Al Mar Hotel to Bais, we arrived at the warf where the boat crew was already waiting. These fisher folks are natural experts of whale and dolphin spotting. Unfortunately, there were no whales that day but at least the dolphins obliged. Finally, we had our lunch in the sand bar. I definitely took pleasure in its breath taking view and even took a dip at its cold and clear water. You wouldn’t want to see me swimming with my stomach bulging, so here’s the picture of the location instead (thanks weng!).

If I am going to write about the places I’ve been, I should have started blogging one to two years ago when I had my most number of travels. Thanks to my audit stints, I have been to different destinations in the Philippines (Wow Phils!). Anyway, I will try my best to remember the places I’ve enjoyed visiting, definitely not in my ‘katandaan’ moments aka memory gap.

Let me start with Davao. Being the largest city in the Philippines, it hosts numerous tourist destinations namely the Philippine Eagle Center, Crocodile farm, Eden Nature park, Campo Agua… to name a few. But to complete the whole Davao experience, one would definitely aspire to have the time (and budget) to visit Pearl Farm Resort. It offers breath-taking views of Parola Warf, Ylang Ylang Spa, villas and suites. Unfortunately, every little detail counts (for cost).

But do not fret, if what you are looking for is just pristine waters, powdery white sand and clean surroundings, Paradise Island is the place to be (not Cindys… haha!). Nestled on the quiet side of Samal Island, it is a mere 7-minute boat ride from the jump off point located near the old airport in the Lanang area. Imagine, you only need 70 pesos to get there (boat ride is 10 pesos and entrance 60). From a point of view of a beach lover, Paradise Island should definitely be on your check list.