Enchanted Kingdom ~~ the Magic Does Live On

Enchanted Kingdom is the first theme park built in the Philippines. It is located in Sta. Rosa, Laguna about an hour or an hour and a half from Manila depending on the traffic.

Their recent addition to the rides and attractions is Agila. It is a flying theater and a tribute to Philippine Eagles. The park ticket rates will depend on whether you will avail of this or just the regular rides. By the way, they have increased ticket prices from last year. You may check the ticket rates here. For Park schedules, go here.

They do offer promos, like if it's your birthday your park ticket is for free.

Here are some of the attractions that you can see inside the park. There are some rides that can be enjoyed by those who are not fans of extreme rides. One of my favorites is the Rialto 4-D theater. I loved it so much that I watched the show twice :) .

How to get to Enchanted Kingdom:
1. By private Vehicle, just ply the southsuper highway and SLEX, take the Sta. Rosa Exit (Coca-cola). Turn right when you see Waltermart and just go straight until you reach Enchanted Kingdom.

2. By Bus, from Edsa ride southbound buses going to Balibago, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Get off at Waltermart, then take the tricycle going to Enchanted Kingdom. Bus fare is P70 and trike fare is P10.

Restrooms near the gift shop

They usually have fireworks display during the weekends at around 8:30 PM. When we went there, there wasn't much of a crowd so we were able to ride almost all of the park attractions. There are a lot of food concessionaires in the park and please don't bring any food or drinks as these will be confiscated at the gate or entrance.

Baguio Day trip for P1500

My hubby and I skipped spending Valentine's Day due to a number of reasons. The main one being we hated crowds and we knew from experience that most places would be flocked by couples wanting to make this day extra special. Our first Valentine's date as a couple was in Baguio seven years ago. But we don't have the luxury of time as we did back then as we both only had one rest/off day.

So we both decided to go on a day trip. We also did not want to spend that much, so we both agreed to spend P1500 each for this day trip.

The bulk of our expense was with our bus fare. We took the 12:40 AM bus ride to Baguio and it costs P450 each. Travelling at this time gives us two advantages. One is there is no traffic along the towns of Pampanga and Tarlac where the bus will traverse. Two, you get to sleep during the five hour journey. We arrived at 5:30AM.

First on our itinerary was breakfast at Good Taste. The last time we visited this restaurant was in 2012. The prices have changed, but the quantity of their servings have not. I love Baguio's brewed coffee as they are local coffee beans, freshly roasted and ground. And depending on the restaurant, a cup will cost you between P25-P50. We spent P150 each.

After breakfast we walked towards Burnham Park. Carnations were abloom this time and since it's almost Panagbenga there were garden exhibits along the road. There are also stalls selling souvenir items around Burnham park.

From Burnham Park, we exited towards Harrison Road to take a cab to Wright Park. You have an option to take the jeep going there, but it has been five years since I last visited Baguio that I have forgotten which jeep to take. Our taxi fare was P70.

We were unable to take pictures outside the Mansion as President Duterte was there. We simply walked through the park and took pictures. Most people would start from the Horse Tree Area then go up the flight of stairs to exit to the lagoon/the Mansion. What we did was the opposite where we started from the lagoon, then exited Romulo Drive. From there, we walked towards Botanical Gardens.

From Botanical Gardens, we took another cab to Mine's View (P70). The cab driver offered to take us on a city tour for P2500. We declined his offer because not only was it going to blow our budget, we also did not see the practicality of the price as most of the tourist spots in Baguio can be reached using jeeps/public transportation.

We stayed for a while in the Mine's View viewdeck. The place was crowded because it was a Saturday and in time for the PMA alumni homecoming. Then we browsed the shops in Gibraltar road while walking towards Good Shepherd.

Good Shepherd for those who may not know is famous for their Ube Halaya and Strawberry jam. Unfortunately since there were a lot of visitors, we did not queue up to order these goodies. What we did was enjoy a cup of Civet/Alamid coffee for P100 each.

By then it was lunchtime. My hubby and I decided to go to Victory Liner first to buy tickets for our return trip in advance. We took the jeep from Mine's View to Victory Liner for P10 each. After buying our tickets, we ate lunch at the second floor of the terminal. There's a Maxim's tea house outlet there, also KFC. We had congee and siopao for P120 each.

While eating our late lunch we noticed that it looked like it was about to rain. So instead of going to Camp John Hay, we opted to go to SM Baguio. We took a cab (again) for P55. Good thing we did that as it rained hard and we were planning to go to Bell House and the Cemetery of Negativity.

We hung out at SM Baguio enjoying the cold weather. Then when it stopped raining we went to Baguio Museum, entrance is P40 each. You will get to see old pictures of Baguio when it was first developed by the Americans, the different tribes and their traditional clothes. There is also a mummy on display.

At Sunshine Park beside the museum, we were also able to watch kids practicing the local/tribal dances using gongs. Then we walked to Victory Liner terminal.

If it hadn't rained there were still three more places we could've gone to. One of the reasons why we went home early is because we're no longer young people. My tummy was acting up, and my hubby had a tooth ache. So, we were not able to go food tripping (Ketchup community, Volante, Jacks). But it was a day trip we both enjoyed.

Palaui For a Day.

Not to be confused with Palauig (Zambales), Palaui is a an island in Sta. Ana, Cagayan where the international TV series Survivor shot one of it's series.

To get to Palaui, you first need to get to Sta. Ana, Cagayan from Tuguegarao. Vans ply the main road with signages, so it'll be easy to spot and flag them down. Fare is P140 per person. The trip takes about four hours through breath taking landscapes of the Cagayan region. People are familiar with that noon time show theme saying that Aparri is the end or edge of Luzon. In my humble opinion, it's Sta. Ana because from Aparri it still took us more than hour to reach it.  

We stayed at the Country Inn Sta. Ana because of it's reviews. We were not disappointed as the rooms were clean and obviously well maintained by the owners. Our room was in the annex and is very quiet as it is separated from the main building or the beach front. We've noticed that this resort is a favorite among locals as their restaurant is full at night with families or businessmen having dinner.

inside the restaurant

Bar area of the restaurant

We arranged our boat tour to Palaui through the receptionists of Country Inn. A tricycle fetched us from the resort to bring us to Port San Vicente where we were met by the president of the bangka operators. There is no set fare matrix here unlike in Tuguegarao, so it's up to you to decide how much you will give the trike driver. We gave P60 and this is fair enough for the distance that we traveled from the resort to the port. At the tourist office we were given a brief history of the island and the activities they offer. This is also where you choose the package/tour you want.

port San Vicente. 

The boat ride to Palaui takes about 45 minutes to an hour depending on how rough and rougher the seas can be and which part of the island you'll be going to. If you don't like seeing the tip of the boat about to dip because of the waves, I suggest you take the back seat. This rough sea environment will only last about 15-20 minutes so it is tolerable.

Cape Engano Cove

Our main purpose for the trip was to see the Cape Engano lighthouse. It is one of the few standing Spanish lighthouses that are still being used today. The trek to the lighthouse is fairly easy as part of the trail is cemented and this cuts through the old Spanish road. 

this is about 200 steps, fairly easy

In spite of time and the elements, these steel steps are still sturdy

It was nearly noon when we reached the lighthouse, so the noonday sun beat it's harsh heat upon us. The beach where we docked is full of corals, so it's not advisable to go swimming in that area. If you want to swim, best if you get the package that includes Anguib.

After climbing the lighthouse you can still trek to the waterfalls or to the other side of the island where the other coves/attractions are.

Now, how much did I spend? The total came up to roughly about P6,000 per person. You can lower this amount by choosing a different resort and eating at local carinderias. Or if you're a group of five, as we just split the bill between the two of us. It was bad timing that my friend and I were so tired and stressed from our jobs that we didn't have the strength to explore the town of Sta. Ana, the local eateries or go back to Tuguegarao a day early to go to Callao Cave. So we ate at the resorts' restaurant. The prices by the way for the food they serve is not really that expensive. I recommend their plate of grilled Tanigue for P95 that already includes rice and a side dish of vegetables.

Expense Breakdown:
Airfare (RT)- P715
Accomodation _ P2000
Van to Sta. Ana from Tuguegarao P140 x 2
Trike to port P60
Trike back to resort P60
Tour guide (Cape Engano) P300
Boat ride to Palaui P900 (the tour costs P1800, so split by two)
Food roughly about P1000-1500 or P300-500 a day