Historic and Romantic Corregidor

Corregidor is a small island situated strategically between Cavite, Bataan and Manila. Even before World War II, the island played an important part in Philippine history as the island became sort of a customs clearing place before ships could proceed to Manila. The island became well known for the part it played during World War II both for American, Filipino and Japanese soldiers.

The island can be reached via ferry. The airstrip is still functional but rarely if ever used nowadays. Sun Cruises offer ferry services and day tours, plus an option to stay at the island overnight at the only hotel in Corregidor. Their published rates are posted at their website. The ferry leaves at 8AM but you need to get to the dock at the back of PICC at least an hour before to get your boarding pass.The trip takes an hour and a half to two depending on how calm or rough the waters are.

For our Corregidor trip, we took the day tour and opted to stay overnight. We arrived at the island at around 9:30AM and proceeded to our assigned tramvias. Each tramvia has an assigned tour guide and I can say that they are really good,it's like listening to your history book about World War II accompanied by the beautiful scenery around the island.

Even though the buildings are like concrete skeletons with walls, doors and windows blasted off, one can still marvel at the engineering marvel at how sturdy the building foundations were made. We even visited one site where there was a big pockmark on where a bomb fell but the structure was still intact.

The lunch buffet served at the restaurant was good. I wasn't able to take pictures, but the spread had good choices from fish to beef. For dessert, there was traditional kakanin or sweet rice cakes.

The finale of our day tour was a trip to Malinta tunnel with it's Lights and sound show.

Since we opted to stay overnight, we were shuttled back to the hotel while the day tour guests were brought back to the North dock to be ferried back to Manila. This gave us time to freshen up and rest a bit before heading out to explore the island.

One thing I love about Corregidor is that after the day tour crowd is gone, the island is literally quiet. It's like deserted since the only hotel there can only accommodate a few guests so we had the entire island to ourselves.  I wanted to wade at the beach but the waves were too rough so we contented ourselves to just taking in the peace brought by the serene surroundings. The only sound that we could hear was the crash of waves and the chirping of birds.

Around 5PM we headed back to the hotel for the sunset viewing and Night Lateral tour. Since it was raining, we weren't able to view the sunset. Also, none of us were brave enough to explore the hospital ruins which is said to be the most haunted building in Corregidor. The Night Lateral tour is also an experience to remember since we were brought inside Malinta tunnel again and brought to places where a lot of soldiers perished.

We had dinner at the hotel's restaurant, La Playa. The menu is a bit pricey, but the servings are generous. You can actually bring food and drinks to the island. Bear in mind that this is an island and there are no convenience stores, so if you are like us wanderlust friends who are scared of going hungry, better to bring extra food.

We started early the next day for the sunrise viewing and Japanese tunnel tour. Again, like our sunset there was no sunrise because of the clouds. The Japanese tunnel tour is a little physical since one has to climb steep stairs and crawl low tunnels.

For the remainder of our trip, we hung out at the beach after breakfast while waiting for the day tour to end for our ferry ride back to Manila. I'd definitely go back again. Corregidor is one of those places that leaves a lasting impression on you.It's a nice place to relax and relive our history.

Dalitiwan Resort in Majayjay, Laguna

I had accidentally deleted my original post and review of the resort yesterday, so I am rewriting this again. We had a chance to visit Dalitiwan Resort in Majayjay, Laguna this April after the Holy Week and there were quite a few changes from the first time we visited the place which was February of this year.

First was the area near the man made waterfalls. Back in February it was only like knee deep in water, now the basin surrounding this waterfall is up to my waist, and I am a tall lady. It's not really a problem if you can swim, or if you are an adult but I wouldn't suggest leaving kids or even teenagers unsupervised near the falls since the concrete base is mossy and there is a big chance of slipping and either hitting the concrete or the big rocks near the falls.

The pool was the same and in spite of the big groups that were also there during our stay, this pool was able to accommodate us. I guess this comes from the fact that the water in the pool comes from the stream that flows out from Mt. Banahaw and is really, really cold. And I mean ice cold. I could only stand to be in the pool for about half an hour tops and the heat of the summer day was a welcome relief once I got out of the pool.

Their rates are still the same as seen on their Facebook page. And as I mentioned on my original post that got deleted, you can try to call or send a text message on the contact number provided. It just takes some time for them to answer because cellphone signals in the area aren't that great.



To get to the resort coming from Manila, the fastest and easiest way I can suggest is to ride the provincial bound Sta. Cruz, Laguna buses. Just tell the driver to drop you off Pagsawitan which is the intersection that goes straight to Sta. Cruz's public Market.Jeeps bound for Majayjay can be found at the end of the public market near a buy one, take one burger joint. Now if in case you get lost (which we did our first time in Sta. Cruz), if in case you reach the archway of Pagsanjan, just ride a jeep going in Sta. Cruz town proper and get off at the public Market. Once you get to Majayjay which is a 45minute jeep ride, you can either take another jeep bound for Luisiana or take a tricycle at P25 a head. I suggest the trike, since the resort is downhill and probably won't be a problem when you get there. But imagine an uphill climb on going home plus I cannot vouch for the frequency of the jeeps plying the road.


You can bring your own food, and I suggest bring it or buy it from Manila or wherever you may be coming from since there is only one grocery in Majayjay and the prices may be a bit more expensive.

Touring Manila for Free

Yes, you read the title right. A lot of people complain that in order to enjoy Manila, one has to shell out a lot of money. But there are things that you can do for free and you can bring your family and friends along too! No, this doesn't include you just gawking in the summer heat under a tree in Luneta (but that can be fun too!). There are some attractions around Manila that give free entrance (yes, FREE) especially if it's a Sunday.

First on my list would be visiting the National Museum. For those who don't know, entrance to the Museum is free on Sundays. I have visited the museum on numerous occasions and find that very few people do come even though it's free. It's a wonderful way of exploring our cultural past and enriching our knowledge of our cultural heritage. The National Museum is located beside Luneta and fronting Intramuros on Burgos drive. They allow you to take pictures, as long as you disable the flash from your camera. You can visit both the National Art Gallery which house Juan Luna's famous Spolarium painting, and the Museum of the Filipino People which is just adjacent to the National Art Gallery on a Sunday and entrance is for free.

My second stop would be San Agustin church in Intramuros. Just cross the street from the National Museum and just a few blocks from the main entrance of Intramuros, you would find the courtyard of this UNESCO World heritage site. Going inside the church is free, but entrance to museum isn't. It's P100 for adults and P40 for kids.

If you still have a few hours to spare and your legs aren't giving out yet, then you can climb the walls of Intramuros. A few years back when Fort Santiago was still open to the public, I would spend afternoons circling the whole wall fortress. Now, the accessible ones are the ones near the Universities within Intramuros and the view from here is quite nice because you get to see Manila City hall from the distance, the National museum and the traffic as it eases along the roads circling Intramuros.