I thought I would just be spending my Christmas vacation here in Japan but then something happened. I suddenly booked a roundtrip flight to Philippines. Suddenly talaga? Hindi ko kaya na hindi umuwi ng Pinas ng Christmas vacay! Arte lang. Kahit ganito ako e kino-consider ko naman ang work ko when I'm making vacation plans. Ang definite sa work sched namin e we have a deadline on December 25. And after that clear na and mayroong holidays dito sa Japan since it's New Year.
Bandang 1st or 2nd week of November ay tinignan ko ang website ng PAL and checked kung may magandang schedule na may magandang presyo. We all know that airfares go sky high during the holidays. Nung may nakita akong pasok sa banga e boom! Book na kaagad. Tsaka ako nagpaalam dito sa office haha. I know, I know I should have asked if they will allow me but by the time malamang na sabihin nilang OK akong magbakasyon e kailangan ko ng umiyak ng dugo sa presyo ng mga tickets. Actually nung nagpaalam ako e ang sagot ba naman 'We'll check first the work schedule.". Ay sorry naka-book na ako. Walang makakapigil sakin. Haha! Pero seriously speaking/typing, wala naman naging problem talaga kasi tama naman yung pagkaka-schedule ko ng bakasyon ko na ibinase ko naman sa existing work sched namin. Ayos di ba?
Yun nga lang medyo may nakakairita lang na nangyari. So nagbook ako from Jan.1-11. Tapos mga last week ng November, we were informed that Dec. 30 and 31 are company holidays. Naisip ko kagad na i-rebook yung outbound flight ko. Then nakita ko sa fare rules ng aking itinerary na inbound flight lang pede ko i-rebook. Anakngteteng. Ay gusto kong tumambling. Sa totoo lang ang hirap magbakasyon dito sa bagong kumpanya na napasukan ko kasi wala silang working calendar for a year. Wala kasing sistema. Hay ayoko na mag-rant.
Tinanggap ko na lang ang katotohanan at hinantay ang January 1, 2016.
Pasensha na ang haba ng intro para sa post na ito. Actually hindi pa yun yung intro. Eto pa lang.
Pagkatapos kong mag-book nag-isip nako kung saan kami pede pumunta ng family ko. Sakto rin kasi uuwi ng Pinas ang tatay ko so treat ko na yun sa kanila. Search dito search doon. Gusto ko sana ng Boracay kasi hindi pa nakakarating parents ko dun kaso ang mahalia naman. Di kaya ng powers ko. Next Batangas. Kaso naisip ko pa lang yung traffic umayaw na kagad ako. Punta naman ako sa norte. Thunderbird Resort sa La Union. Keribels ang presyo. Ang kaso anlayo pala from Malolos. I had to consider din kasi yung travel time kasi may dalawang 3-year-old kids kaming kasama. Then Madam suggested Montemar Beach Club. Doon daw sila nag-company outing noon and maganda naman yung place. Chineck ko yung website nila tapos basa-basa rin ako ng reviews sa tripadvisor. Nag-send ako ng enquiry sa MBC at matiwasay naman silang sumagot sa mga katanungan ko. Ang kausap ko pala ay si Ms. Joy. After ilang exchanges ng emails ay nagpa-reserve nako ng room for 1 night good for 4 adults and 2 toddlers. January 5-6, 2016. I was thinking of a later date kasi naman pasok pa sa banga ng peak rates ang January 5. Kaso nung nagtanong naman ako ng rates for Jan. 6-7 e hindi pa available. I decided to push thru with Jan 5-6 kahit mahalia jackson para hindi naman maalangan ang tatay ko kasi Jan.9 ang flight niya pabalik ng Saudi. Tapos I asked na lang my good friend Elotte to make a bank desposit for me kasi pag via credit card pala need pa pumunta sa office.
I paid 11,560 pesos for one deluxe room (ocean view) for one night for 4 adults and 2 toddlers. Actually yung room costs 8,200 pesos good for 4 persons and then I added 3,000pesos for the 2 additional persons. Inclusive of breakfast for the 4 persons and additional 560pesos for the children's breakfast. When the confirmation voucher was sent to me it was mentioned na there was an overpayment since 11,200 pesos lang yung kinonfirm nila and the excess will be used on incidental charges upon check-out. I asked Ms. Joy about this and sinabi niya na malaki kasi ang portions for the breakfast ng kids so baka masayang lang pag hindi naubos ng 2 bata. OK lang naman sakin if that was the case. But the problem was hindi ko nacheck kung naibawas nga ba yung 560pesos na overpayment when I paid for the additional expenses that we had during our stay. Sa totoo lang ngayon ko lang naalala. Susme after 2 months! Tanga lang.
Hello Montemar Beach Club!
Day 1 (January 5, 2016)
From Malolos, 3-4hrs din ang binyahe namin papuntang Montemar Beach Club which is located in Bagac, Bataan. Medyo matagal kasi first time naming lahat and kasama pa ang stopover for lunch sa isang eat-all-you-can resto sa Pampanga. Bilang ayaw mag-drive ng tatay ko e we asked a cousin to drive for us (my parents, younger sister Icy, Miko and my niece Alisa). Additional payment for my cousin's accommodation since originally hindi siya kasama sa advanced payment.
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| View from our room |
Para sa isang simpleng tao na tulad ko e MBC is paradise. Paalala: hindi po ako binayaran ng MBC. This is based on my experience. Sobrang relaxing ng place. At dahil off peak season e ang konti lang ng tao. Saya! Sobrang saya ko rin kasi natuwa ang family ko. You know naman na their happiness is my happiness. Ang pinakamalawak na resort na nakita ko sa tanang buhay ko. Ang resort na may golf course at mga kabayo sa loob. After passing the gate akala ko hindi resort yung napasukan namin.
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| Bubbles time |
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| Mamoo, Papoo, Alisa and Miko. The bakasyonistas ^_^ |
I decided to get a room that is on the first floor kasi may mga bata kaming kasama. Maganda sana yung sa second floor kasi may loft kaso nag-alala naman ako na baka biglang umakyat yung 2 bata and bigla na lang mahulog. Paranoid mummy lang. We were given a room at Inn I. I didn't expect na may direct access siya sa beach area (from the veranda). Hindi rin naman siya sobrang lapit sa beach para mag-worry kami na pag nalingat kami e nasa beach na yung dalawang makulit na bata. Our room was also very close to the Blue Pool. And tapat lang din ng Inn I ang La Marea Restaurant. In terms of location I think Inn I is the best place in MBC especially if you have kids and thunders (ehem ang mga rayuma) with you.
Complement sa mga staff ng MBC. Sobrang courteous and accommodating. From Kuya guard sa gate hanggang sa mga nag-assist samin sa pagdala ng bags sa aming room.
But I think the room itself needs to be renovated. Parang kinda old na kasi. We had a hard time adjusting the temperature of the aircon unit. Yung wooden panels ng sliding doors should be replaced with vertical blinds. And ang hirap isara nung sliding doors sa veranda.
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| The giant kabibe |
I love the beach. It may not be the same as the white powdery sand of Boracay but the sand is fine and the water is clean and clear. It has a long stretch of shallow shoreline. Perfect for kids and adults that do not know how to swim (ako po yun!).
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| Our little mermaids |
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| The mermaids with Tita Icy. |
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| Sunset at the beach! |
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| View at night |
We had our dinner at La Marea Resto. Pwedeng mag-dine inside or outside the resto. We opted to dine outside. Buti hindi malamok. At buti na lang may pizza kasi yun yung gusto ng mga bata. We ordered triple cheese pizza, Inihaw na bangus (boneless) and Sinigang na Lechon Kawali (the lechon kawali was separated from the soup) and of course rice. Sinigang is a must everytime we are with the kids kasi yun yung paborito nila. It was a bit pricey pero in my opinion sulit naman. We enjoyed the food. Every single bit of it. The best was the inihaw na bangus. As usual muntik ako maiyak sa sarap haha. The waiter who assisted us in our orders was very kind. He was also the one who suggested the inihaw na bangus.
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| While waiting for our orders. |
Day 2 (January 6, 2016)
Sino pa nga ba ang unang nagising kung hindi ako. Ako na gusto laging nasusunod ang schedule. Ako na! ^_^ Initially the plan was to feed the fish in the lagoon/do some fishing after having brekky. Kaso hindi namin makita yung lagoon. Haha! Pero solve naman na kami sa aming paglalakad.
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| Patay gusto na kagad pumunta sa beach area. |
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| Brekky at La Marea |
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| Papoo and Mamoo |
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| Good morning beach! |
The resort also has this tree house and a hanging bridge. Mababa lang naman yung hanging bridge pero inandaran ako ng kaduwagan. Siyempre hindi papahuli nanay ko.
Sayang nga kasi we weren't able to experience the releasing of baby sea turtles. Though may nakita kaming isang maliit na turtle (na feeling ko malapit ng matigok) sa pawikan hatchery.
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| Swimming time! |
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| The Blue Pool |
We checked-out by 12pm. I paid our additional expenses via credit card which was very convenient. It was around 3K plus pesos [Dinner, additional orders for breakfast, my cousin's accommodation and WiFi payment for 2 devices (100pesos)]. Medyo kulang pa sa customer service yung nasa reception desk noon kasi parang bago pa lang yata or under training pa. Ayun nga hindi ko man chineck sa receipt kung nabawas yung overpayment ko. Hay hay hay hay....
We really enjoyed our stay in MBC and will definitely return here. I highly recommend this place to those who want a very relaxing vacation.
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| See you again paradise! |
Hanggang sa muli!
Bow.
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