Coron Day 3

Most of our third day in Coron was spent snorkeling. We went to two World War II Japanese shipwrecks and the Bintuan Marine Park coral gardens.

This is in one of the two shipwrecks we went to. Joema and Mek wanted to pose with an extra life jacket to remind them of Tric who wasn't able to join us haha

In coral gardens...

look how clear the water is. There were so many different and colorful corals! I enjoyed snorkeling here.

Then we went to the BMP Sea Hotspring. For me, this was the highlight of the day. The boat docked by an area of mangroves then we waded through the mangroves and saw the hot spring.

Ang asawa ko acting na acting! We were supposed to pose like we were afraid..sya lang gumawa.

Photo-op muna with the mangroves

This is the hot spring. It's just knee deep but it's really hot! It's sort of like a big hot tub. Back then Ja had the foresight to tell me hotsprings are not good for pregnant women so she asked me if I’m sure I’m not pregnant. Since I wasn’t (and I was already pregnant then) I didn’t soak to much in the hot spring. I mean I was there but I didn’t dip my whole body just below the knees hehe.

Out of the hot water. Dito super lamig ng tubig although there are parts na mainit..parang may umihi lang hahaha

When we got out of the mangroves it was already high tide so we had to uses this little banca to go to our boat. I'm only pretending to use the paddle, our guide is really pulling us heehee





We were fascinated with our guides. They were excellent, excellent divers. Part of the joy of snorkeling is watching them play with the fish or hang out in the shipwrecks. This is in another shipwreck. Joy was being pulled by the guide to where the shop is.


We went to another snorkeling spot where there are lots of coral. But I got injured by one coral (it was lowtide then) so I just went back to the boat. But here I am still smiling as if I didn't just get hurt by the coral.

My husband enjoyed that spot. He said the corals were more colorful than the one we saw in coral garden.

That was it. That was our last day in Coron. The next day we were headed back to Manila, our vacation over. I'm gald I was able to do all those physical activities before (I knew) I got pregnant.

Till my next adventure trip...kelan na kaya yon?

The Rest of our 2nd Day in Coron

Our next destination after Twin Lagoon was Kayangan Lake. Before reaching Kayangan lake, we had to hike up a hill and from the top we had to go down to go to Kayangan Lake. Whew! When we got to the top, it was time for some photo op. Look at that amazing view behind us.

Then we started trekking down the hill. The minute we saw the lake what we immediately thought about was Tabing Ilog. We started singing “Sa Ilog ang mundo’y tahimik” hehehe. Remember that youth oriented show where John Lloyd Cruz starred in? I don't know what it is about the lake or basta the minute I saw it I remembered Tabing Ilog. Must be the OBB where they show all the actors and actresses just frolicking in the river.


We didn’t explore the lake as much as we did Twin Lagoon. We didn’t stay long either because a few minutes after we’ve arrived, people started arriving and then the rain came. The rain was pouring a bit hard when we decided to leave. It was a bit dangerous going up and down the hill with the circumstances we're in. It was raining hard already and the slopes are so slippery. One of us actually slipped hard on his bum while going down. Good thing nothing really bad happened. Looking back, imagine if I was the one who slipped I was supposed to be a few weeks pregnant then!

After Kayangan Lake, we went snorkeling at Siete Pecados. This literally means seven mountains. The area where you can snorkel is surrounded by 7 big limestone rocks or you can say small mountains. The fish here are so big! There were some bigger than my head. I was actually scared they might bite us when our tourguide started throwing rice into the water (this is how they attract the fish).

Ready to head back to Majika after snorkeling.

We were tired after all the activities we had. So when we got back to the resort, we just relaxed, had dinner and were all ready to hit the sack.

Some pa-artsy shot...beautiful colors of the sunset!

Waiting for the dinner bell to ring. In Majika Resort, the food is served in the mess hall. All the guests are informed that food is already served when you hear a bell.
Yum! Crabs again for dinner!

And that ends our second day in Coron. Sorry I had to do my Coron post by installment. I can’t post them in one long post as that will take so much time. Watch out for my next Coron entry!

Twin Lagoon

After Banol Beach, our group went to Twin Lagoon - twin because these are two lagoons side by side each other. Out boat docked in one of the lagoons and then we crossed a limestone formation to get to the other lagoon.



Actually when we docked we didn't know what to do. We thought we were going snorkeling by the side of the boat but our tourguide told us that we were supposed to go to the other side. I asked her "Ate kailangan ba ng life vest? (Do we need to wear our life vest?)" and she answered "Ay, ma'am nasa sa inyo po yun kung gusto nyo mag-life vest. (It's up to you if you want to wear one)" Haller! The water was 20feet deep! Good thing I insisted on wearing a life vest (the rest followed suit) or else I would have drowned there hahahaha! Well, I wouldn't have reached the other side if I didn't wear a life vest.

Photo before getting off the boat



We didn't have photos at the other lagoon because we didn't bring any underwater camera. Everyone was afraid to gamble and bring their cameras so they were left in the boat. Well, the cameras would have been soaked because we went under this.



It was really disappointing we didn't have photos because the other side was so magical. Limestone mountains surrounding us - just us and nature. And it was really just us in that massive body of water surrounded by limestone formation. I was surprised actually that I wasn't freaking out during that time, I found it a really peaceful experience. No worries about the outside world - no thoughts about work. Our guides were the best - they were expert divers. We went from one side of the lagoon to the other side. We just stopped because when we reached a rock (underwater), a fish that was nestled there started biting us hahaha! And some of saw a sea snake although they told us when we already left (Coron, that is) so we didn't panicked or anything hehe.

Lotte World

Our third day in Seoul was spent entirely in Lotte World. It was easy to go there from our hotel. We just took the subway and we got to Lotte World in one piece hehe. When you go there by subway, like we did, just get off Jamsil Station (line 2) and use exit #4. We availed their passport ticket and got a discount because we were tourists.


We're really not familiar with the characters of Lotte World but here we are taking our pictures with Lotty and Lorry.
Lotte World the amusement park has two main parts - Adventure Land, which is the indoor park, and Magic Island which is the outdoor part of the park. Right after you enter, you can get a map of the whole park. Be sure to get the English map. One of the shows we watched was Fantastic Odyssey. But there's really nothing fantastic about it.

The truth is we were a bit disappointed with Lotte World. Compared to HK Disneyland, Lotte World's shows seemed like a bore, simply because the shows were in Korean (no English translation or subtitle) and we felt like there wasn't much preparation with the shows. I dunno but it doesn't feel as special as the shows in Disneyland. Needless to say, there were still some amusing things about this amusement park.

They also have a castle like Disneyland. This is in Magic Island.

Magic Island is the part of Lotte World with the dare-devil rides, like the Waikiki Wave. I made a collage of the series of pics we got of the wave. Isn't that fun? No, we didn't ride this one. We didn't go in any of the adult rides. Both my brother and husband didn't want to go, they were both queasy about it. If I had gone there with Charline and Penny, for sure we would have stayed in Magic Island the whole day. This might be one of the reasons we didn't enjoy Lotte World that much, we weren't really able to experience the whole thing because we skipped so many rides.

The one show I enjoyed was the magic show. This was because of the audience we were watching with, who were mostly toddlers. They were oooh-ing and aaah-ing to every magic trick. They were so much fun. But I was impressed with the floating lady trick.


Another highlight of Lotte World for me is the miniature village at the Folk Museum. If you get the passport ticket like we did, the entrance to the Fold Museum is free. The miniature village was one big hall with different miniatures. The details of the works are simply amazing. I went gaga looking from one exhibit to another. This I think was a recreation of a Korean wedding. I wonder if they used authentic materials for this. Like if they used old clothes to make the small ones. Or if they used parts of vintage rings or vintage pendants for the accessories of the dolls. There were a lot of vintage style rings in the National Museum that we went to the day before.

After going around the museum, Joema and I had fun riding the carousel. Look at us, we're like kids!

They also have parades. And since we were there a month before Halloween, the theme was ..wait for it...Halloween!

Their night parade was a visual treat.

One of the amazing shows we watched was this acrobatic stunt. The man is hanging from the ceiling and from his mouth he has a rope where the lady is holding on to. And then the man twirls the lady around. It was amazing!!

The finale was a laser show. I don't know if they had fireworks outside, but this was inside Adventure Land.

More photos of the trip are uploaded on my multiply. Up next, last day in Korea.

Seoul Enriching

On our first official day in Seoul, we were scheduled for a city tour. Our guide picked us up at 9am and then brought us to the National Museum. I think we spent almost two hours going around there, knowing more about the history of Korea. Did you know that Korea once had three kingdoms and one of the kingdoms is named Goryea but most people can't pronounce it properly thus Korea was born.

Here I am in front of what's supposed to be a tomb way back then in Korea.

Joema and I looking at a map.



This artifact was taken from Korea (forgot if it was China or Japan who took it) but was later on returned to them and was placed here in their museum (I hope I got that right)



From all the bits of history in the museum, I found this water cooler (which isn't really part of their history) really amusing. Well, mostly it's the "paper cup" it uses that I found amusing. Forgive my ignorance if this is common in your part of the world, but it's the first time I saw this. The cup isn't really a cup but more of a small envelope without the closing flap. And you can drink water from it!




Next stop was the Gyeongbok Palace. If you've been watching a lot of Korean shows and movies, I'm sure you've seen a palace like this on TV. I'm not really a fan of Korean pop culture so I don't know much about them which was ironic because I get to visit the country without realizing how fortunate it was for me since there are thousand of Pinoy fans out there who are dreaming of going to Korea just to get a glimpse of their idols or the places in those shows/movies. Anyways, this is outside one of the entrances of the Palace.



We were part of a guided tour. Our tour guide speaks very good English. The Palace grounds is massive. We went to different buildings. This one is the Geunjeongjeon Hall. Remember this photo? At the side, there are markers where the cabinet members stand as the king and queen walks towards the hall. The center is slightly elevated because only the king and queen walks there.



A little trivia about the structure. Can you see those nets on the roof? The guide said they were put there so that birds won't build their nests under the roof.



I think this is the king's living quarters and then behind it is the queen's living quarters.



This was the retirement home of one of the royalties. It's a very relaxing place, very laid back compared to the other buildings in the compound.



This is the building inside the "secret garden". See those two small gates? Again those are for the cabinet members and other dignitaries while the big gate is for the king and queen.



The secret garden is actually more of a min-forest. It's called secret because this is where the king and queen rendezvous hehehe.



This is the oldest tree in the palace. It looks like a big bonsai.



Next stop after the palace is lunch. Our guide took us to this restaurant that served us ginseng chicken soup. When I first read this in our itinerary I was like "just soup for lunch???" Me and my big mouth! It was soup alright with one whole chicken and rice. Kind of like arroz caldo but more watery and not bits of chicken was included but as I've said a whole chicken for each serving! Our guide ate with us and we were so pressured to eat quickly because he ate fast. The soup was piping hot but it's like it didn't even bother him. He was dumping chicken bones in the little pail on our table like there's no tomorrow while we're blowing our spoons before even taking a mouthful.



We then bought a few pasalubong outside the restaurant.



The husband was very happy with our next stop.



He is such a fan, I don't know why he wanted a photo with this clock.



We were there in time for the 6th Asia Song Festival and a group was there rehearsing. If I only knew who they were, I would have teased my friends about it and let them die of envy.



In the museum they have this interactive game where you get to play the goalie. My husband was happy to oblige.



After this was shopping time. First stop was the amethyst store. Bought a little something something for myself hehe. We have no photos there though. And then we were dropped off at Namdaenum market. I think our guide left us there for about an hour and a half. Bought more pasalubong from here. By the time we got to the hotel, the boys were tired. But my mother and I still went out and went to Myeongdong. We rode the subway from our side of the town to Myeongdong. Their subway is as efficient as that of Hong Kong. No worries! The subway cards can be bought from a vending machine, then you can replenish the amount and after you're done you can return it and get your deposit back. Although we only figured out we can replenish it on our last day, on our last subway ride ahaha. So everytime we rode the subway, we immediately return the ticket and get our deposit back. So every ride, we have to get new cards ahahaha!



If in HK you get to see Giordano in every corner, in Seoul you get to see The Face Shop in every corner.



I tell you Koreans are shoppingeras! We were in Myeongdong on a weeknight and that's around 8pm but the Koreans are shopping like there's no tomorrow. We'll go into a store expecting there was a sale ongoing because of the throng of people but we were mightily wrong. We were only able to buy stuff at Uniqlo because that's the only place with the sale items ahahaha!

When we got back to the hotel, the boys have rested and were both hungry. We decided not to experiment this time so we went to a chicken place. Every restaurant in Korea serves kimchi as side dish and they give a lot, they replenish the plates after you've finished it. Aside from kimchi they serve other side dishes. If you want to scrimp you can just order one entrée and then just eat kimchi ehehe.



One setback of tourists in Seoul is that not many people speak English. When we order we only point to the menu and gesture how many we wanted. In this particularly restaurant they have regular rice and sticky rice. We ordered the regular one but they came back saying they don't have it anymore. We asked what's the difference but we shouldn't have asked anyway because they couldn't understand us. So we just ordered the sticky one. Good thing not much of a difference in taste, it's just that the sticky one is well sticky.

Oh one more thing about the restaurants there, they don't get your payment from your table. After they served you the food, they will give you your bill. And then after you've eaten you have to bring your bill at the cashier, which is usually located at the area just before you exit, and make your payment there. We had to observe this system before making the payment on our first night there.