Scuba Diving in Marissa Reef 1 and Garden of Corals in Samal and Talikud Islands

I went to Davao City last October 31, 2009 along with my partner Dingdong, Myra, Nova and partner Mau2. Our trip was delayed for 2hours and we even look like refugees as the CDO airport was full of hopeful passengers we even met Dante and Ian of Indra.

As we arrived in Davao, we went to this place where we eat dinner then met with Myra's friend Winston. After dinner, we went straight to Jack's Ridge to have a good look of the city at night. Jack's Ridge is comparable to High Ridge in Cagayan de Oro City except that Jack's Ridge was more desirable. We stayed in Winston's humble abode.

Early in the morning, we were preparing for our Scuba adventure with wind and wave.... To be continued

Davao Adventure Trip

I am quite excited for our trip to Davao tomorrow as this would be my first time... ;)

I made a lot of preparations for this trip like:

• making an itinerary so that I could make the most of my two nights and three days including travel
• search for the best spots and adventure trips in Davao

Here's our itinerary:

Day 1	6pm	Arrival to Davao
	630pm	Check-in to Rose Inn
		family = 4	890
		twin =3	720
		Sampaguitna Inn	Fully Booked on Oct 31, 2009
		Royale Inn
		triple bed= 3 to 4	1050
		single	650
		twin = 2	915
		Regency Inn
		twin= 2 (extra bed =300 person=200)	1400
		Park square inn
		triple = 3	955
		single =1	700
	7pm	Dinner: Jack's Ridge
	9pm	Strolling People's Park
	12midnight	Sleep Zzzzzzz

Day 2	6am	Breakfast
	7am	Ride a jeepney Road 4 near Bureau of fire and look for wind and wave signage. Scuba plus wet suit	1330
	4pm	End of Scuba
	430pm	The Davao Crocodile Park. The Show start at 4:30 PM, every Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Wildlife Encounter Educational Show. Crocodile Dancing. Pangil Encounter (Giant Crocodile encounter). Wildlife Encounter Interactive Tightrope Walking Crocodile Frenzy	100
Day 3	8am	Giant Water Slide and Canopy Walk	150
	10am	Outland Adventure - Open Every Day (8am - 5pm) Sundays (1pm - 5 pm) or Zip City Adventure is OPEN WED, THURS, SUN (9-5:30PM): FRI-SAT (9-9pm) with P100.00 food consumable either Zipcity's canteen, Dencios Restaurant @ Hilltop or Riverwalk Grill @ Crocodile Park	300
	2pm	Butterfly House - opens 8-5	150
	4pm	Depart Davao for CDO

Tour and Escapade joins MBS 3 with CDOBloggers as hosts

The Cagayan de Oro Bloggers (CDO Bloggers) group is set to play host to the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, which will be held on October 24, 2009. With the theme, “Mindanao: Bag-Uhon Ang Panan-aw,” the MBS 3 aims to uphold the beauty and strength of the island and to expunge the negative notions the world has about it.

(Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, Philippines – October 21, 2009) – It’s all systems go for the Cagayan de Oro Bloggers (CDO Bloggers) as they play host to the much-awaited Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, an annual gathering of Mindanao-based bloggers, IT industry experts, community leaders and new media advocates, on October 24, 2009 at Pearlmont Inn, Limketkai Drive, Cagayan de Oro City. Roughly 300 bloggers are expected to attend this year’s summit.

With the theme, “Mindanao: Bag-Uhon Ang Panan-aw,” (Changing The Way People See Mindanao) the event aims to uphold the beauty and strength of Mindanao, to highlight the diverse cultures and fascinating tourist spots that are uniquely Mindanao and to provide a platform where bloggers and other new media practitioners can discuss concerns related to Mindanao – all with the help of new and emerging technologies.

“Mindanao is the home of everything fascinating or in bloggers’ lingo – bloggable. Through the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, it is the hope of the CDO Bloggers, along with our partners and generous sponsors, that we listen to knowledgeable resource persons, meet other Mindanaoan bloggers, share and maximize all of our skills and resources and adopt tried and tested practices that can help us to fully promote Mindanao and for us to become better bloggers as well,” emphasized ChiQ Montes, president of CDO Bloggers.

“Of course, we also want all of the participants to have a good time and experience the sights and sounds of Cagayan de Oro,” Montes added.

Montes said that apart from Mindanaoan bloggers, the summit will also see the participation of some bloggers from Luzon and Visayas.

Expected to grace the summit are United States Embassy’s new Deputy Chief of Mission Leslie Bassett, Atty. Adel Tamano, Agusan Lone District Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Plaza and Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Tinnex Jaraula.

Considered unprecedented in the Philippine blogosphere, a top ranking United States Embassy dignitary is set to deliver the keynote address. Bassett’s trip to CDO will be her first trip to Mindanao since assuming office in June. She previously served as DCM in Mexico.

“We are deeply honored. We’re certain that the summit participants will be delighted to meet her and we can’t wait for her to see our beautiful city,” Montes said.

Other speakers during the whole-day affair include Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Tinnex Jaraula, Agusan Lone District Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Plaza and Atty. Adel Tamano.

Google’s Philippine representative Aileen Apolo, whose talk will focus on beginners, Digital Filipino’s Janette Toral, who will discuss blog advertising and Lyle Santos, who will talk about making money online will also be present. Representatives of other blogger groups including those in Davao City, General Santos City and Zamboanga will also give updates.

After the summit proper, participants have the choice of joining either the city tour (Xavier University Museum, Cathedral, Divine Mercy Shrine, Opol Aviary, Limketkai Mall) or the whitewater rafting adventure.

Also happening on October 24, right after the MBS 3, is the Philippine Blog Awards – Mindanao awarding ceremonies.

CDO Bloggers, Inc., a group duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is the lead organizer of this year’s Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3. Previous summits took place in Davao City and General Santos City.

The Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 is generously supported by SMART Communications Inc., Nokia, Syntactics, Inc., STI, Rafting Adventure Philippines, MakatiAve.com, Majesty Sales Center, Havaianas Philippines, OLX Philippines Free Classifieds, Clara Shoppe, ASTERISK Events and Communications, RG & K Construction, Paguia’s Cottages, ThePacificaCompanies.com, The Site, Spruce, The City Government of Cagayan de Oro, Office of CDO First District Rep. Rolando “Klarex” Uy, SM City Cagayan de Oro, Ultra Craft Advertising Corporation, Magnet Advertising, Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental and the Mindanao Bloggers community. Media partners include Papa Ardie’s Concepz, STI, ABS CBN, MOR 91.9 and HOT FM 106.3.

For more information about the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3, log on to http://www.mbscdo.com

About CDO Bloggers

CDOBloggers or Cagayan de Oro Bloggers, Inc. is a duly SEC-registered organization that promotes Cagayan de Oro through blogging. Among the group’s goals are to create impact in society through blogging, to help promote Mindanao to the world as a bustling and peaceful land, to promote Cagayan De Oro City and Kagay-anons around the world with a sense of pride and to use blogging as a media platform.

The CDO Bloggers group is the main organizer of the Mindanao Bloggers Summit 3 (MBS 3). For more information about MBS 3, log on to http://www.mbscdo.com

For more information about CDO Bloggers, visit http://www.cdobloggers.com or send email to cdobloggersinc(@)gmail.com

About Mindanao Bloggers

Mindanao Bloggers aims to unify the island through this exciting new medium — the way of the blog — thereby promoting deeper understanding of our different cultures and beliefs. Thus, it is hoped that this community blog will help in presenting to the world at large the true beauty of the Philippine South, as well as the marvelous diversity of the peoples of Mindanao. For more information about Mindanao Bloggers, visit http://www.mindanaobloggers.com

- 30 -FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT:

ASTERISK Events and Communications
http://www.asteriskeventsandcommunications.com
Mobile number: (+63) 919 238 6575 / (+63) 922 478 5218
Email address: asteriskEC@gmail.com

Tour the Majestic Falls of Iligan City

I just visited Maria Cristina Falls, Tinago Falls and Maze Resort today with my office mates with partners. We rented a van from Cagayan de Oro city to Iligan City and vice versa for P 3,500 inclusive of fuel and driver's meal. We assembled in DVsoria around 6:30 am and was able to left CdeO City around 8 in the morning and arrived in Iligan City around past 10 in the morning.




Bits of info:

1. Maria Cristina Falls will only be open to visitors on Sundays otherwise you'll have to send a letter for a request to visit.
2. Tinago Falls is awesome, thrilling and tiring because you'll have to walk 345 steps more or less to get down to the falls yet expect a very very cool nature experience.
3. Maze Resort has a lot to offer like mini zoo (ostrich, goat, cow, eagle) for kids, flower garden, campsite for overnight stay, a mini tower for lovers in paris thingy, fishing for this outdoor type of person, a variety of swimming pool for expert swimmers (Olympic kind of pool), kids (with slide) and not so expert swimmers (with slide).

Fees as of October 18, 2009:

• Tinago Falls entrance: P 10 per head
  
• Tinago Falls life jacket: P 20 to P 25 per head
  
• Tinago Falls table: P 40 per table
  
• Tinago Falls Raft: P 10 per head
• Maze Resort entrance: P 25 per head

Baguio's Hotels and Cheap Pension House

While we were in Baguio and upon our arrival their tourists agents where giving us pamphlets of lists of hotels where they offer a tour of this hotels for P 100 so that we can have a better choice.

Here's what I got from them:

1. AJ's Pension House - accessible to SM, Cathedral, Session Road and Burnham Park

Address: #18 Jungletown Road, Salud Mitra, Baguio City
Contact #s: (074) 442-2206 0r (074)-304-1905 or 0915374952

Tariff :

• Common P 900 - 1 double sized bed, common bathroom with hot and cold shower, cable TV and electric fan.
• Standard P 1,200 - 1 double sized bed with pull out bed, 1 single bed with private bathroom, hot and cold shower, cable tv and electric fan
• Suite P 1500 to P 1700 - has a fully functional kitchen, dining room and living room with veranda.

** extra person charge - P 100 per day/night
** extra bed - P 100 per day/night
** standard checkout is 12nn
** payment is cash and early check-in is allowed if the room is available

2. Belfranlt Hotel ("in the heart of the city")

Address: General Luna Road, 2600 Baguio City, Philippines
Contact #'s: 442-5012, 442-4298 Fax #: 442-4298

3. Microtel Inn and Suites - just near the victory liner terminal
You can check out their website www.microtelphilippines.com

Baguio's Scenic Spots:

• Lourde Grotto and Mirador Hill
• Dominican Hill
• Chinese Temple
• Burnham Park
• Baguio Mountain Province/Musuem
• Sunshine Park
• Silver Shops
• Wright Park
• Mansion House
• Mines View Park
• Botanical Garden
• Camp John Hay
• Easter School Weaving Room

Voted Travels and Tours in Philippine Blog Awards

For the Blogger Choice Special Award my vote goes to Travels and Tours from Mindanao category. I know him for almost 4 years already, when I asked him about blogging he always say that I blog just for “trip” and doesn't mind of the outcome.

But now his blog the "trip" ko lang is nominated in Philippine Blog Awards (PBA). All his effort and being an enthusiast in blogging gave results. So congrats for being a nominee in this Awards. Whatever the outcome is on the awarding, out hearts will be forever grateful for giving us insights and information thru your travel blog posts. Good luck and God bless!!!!

We hope that you will win....

Baguio Trip

We departed from Pasay for Baguio on a Deluxe Bus (Victory Liner) at around 11:46pm on the 18th of September 2009 with Fred, Ethel, Emma, Clyde, Ding and me and arrived in Baguio around 5:00 am on the 19th of September 2009.

It was my second time now in Baguio.. The first time was when I was 5 years old.

We stayed in Belfranlt Hotel in General Luna Road, Baguio City where it was located in the heart of the city and near the city market and Burnham Park. The hotel has wall to wall carpeted rooms and spacious private rooms with bath.

Scenic spots in Baguio are as follows:

• Lourdes Grotto and Mirador Hill
• Dominican Hill
• Chinese Temple

• Burnham Park
• Baguio Mountain Province/Musuem

• Sunshine Park - the smallest park
  
• Silver Shops

• Wright Park

• Mansion House

In Mines View Park, we took pictures with the St. Bernard Dog for P25. The Bethoven dog was named after his father Douglas.

• Mines View Park
• Botanical Garden
• Camp John Hay
• Easter School of Weaving
• Philippine Military Academy

• Kennon Road - Col. Lyman W. Kennon was quoted as the Builder of the Kennon Road and named after him
  

Wordcamp turns to Baguio Escapade

CdoBloggers had been planning this months before this date as we will joined WORDCAMP to be held in Manila. However, some other bloggers like us (te ems, dingdong and cloyd) was late for the registration hence we decided to go to Baguio instead. We planned for Baguio on the day we arrived in Manila which is on the 18th of September 2009 with Fred and his wife Ethel on board the deluxe bus of Victory Liner which will cost you P700 with CR on the bus and free snacks. I have also made reservations in Kabayan Hotel Pasay as we will back from Baguio on the 20th of September 2009. Hoping that the weather will be with us as it has been raining like there's no other day. I am crossing my fingers on it and would hope for a safe, fun, satisfying trip to Baguio and back to Manila. Te Ems and I had plans of going to Tutuban also for some shopping. :)

Kart Zone in Cebu City

On the 2nd day of our Cebu Trip, we had our adrenaline rush adventure which was karting. It was so scary at first as it was my first time to do it and well its quite different from what we had with my sister and partner in Enchanted Kingdom. Kart Zone is near sykes building and it will only cost you P 300 plus P 25 for helmet.


This was the freakiest adventure of all.... so far ;)

Skywalk Adventure

We just had our sky experience adventure in Cebu last Saturday (August 29, 2009).

The trip to Cebu was a business trip (visit Shopaholics) along with some adventure trips. We arrived in Cebu City ahead of our schedule and took a walk outside the airport to hale a taxi (they charge 295 from airport to metro Cebu). We weren't able to hale the taxi as the approaching Jeepney stop behind us and yelled that they were going to Mandaue City.

I texted Chiq and told her to meet us in Crown Regency for a freaky adventure -- The Sky Walk Adventure and Edge Coaster.

The Edge Coaster adventure was our first freaky sky adventure in Crown Regency where we are angled below on the 38th level of Crown Regency Hotel and Towers, the tallest hotel (40 stories) tower in the country. The experience was horrendous as the feeling was like you were hang upside down. With me was Chiq Montes and she was shouting at me "I HATE YOU BEBANG" as I controlled the angle of the edge coaster.




The next was the Skywalk Adventure where we walk a path around the 37th level outer-rim of Crown Regency Hotel and Towers, standing 40 stories high at Fuente Osmena. The experience was like your in a space or in the moon walking with our jumpsuit attire and the harness and all and the winds seems like blowing you off to the grounds.









All in all it was freaking fun.