Cebu, Philippines II: Around Mactan Island

Can you tell what word we are forming? :)

After breakfast at our hotel, we headed to BOYLA dive shop where we got our goggles for snorkeling at Hilutungan Island. There are numerous islands surrounding Mactan Island as you can see from the map above, providing ample snorkeling and diving opportunities.

The first thing I noticed when we were going to our boat was how clear the water was! Well you've heard me gush about the blue waters in New Zealand, Philippines waters can easily rival. We had to take a small row boat out to the bigger one cos it couldn't come any nearer to the shore due to the low tide. The small row boat immediately started sinking after Smith stepped on board HAHA kidding. But water did seep through a hole and I worriedly asked whether we would sink. His reply, "There's only one way to find out."

We reached the big boat safely and the captain heaved up the heavy anchor while posing for the camera. :D

SEEEEEEE HOW CLEAR THE WATER IS???

That's me holding onto the side of the boat for dear life. The current was so strong, I was afraid of being swept away. Also because Kenny told us there were trigger fishes below us, a.k.a. scary fishes that can bite off your flesh. :S

Finally I calmed down and stuck my head into the water and I gasped. It was like a whole new world~ a new fantastic point of view~~~ *burst into song*

There were so many fishes right below me!! Too bad I had no underwater camera which is a big regret of this trip. I can't really tell you what fishes I saw but there were seriously SOOO many.

Then Kenny said that there were more fishes at the other side of the boat so I swam over with him and he was right! I think I saw some swordfish..? Or was I only dreaming~~?

We bought fresh coconuts from the locals who would row over to the coconut trees on the island, climb up the tree and row over the coconuts to us.

And then we went to Nalusuan Island for lunch! There was a lonnnggggg walkway and we stopped for photos about a thousand times? YM, our chaperone, was super pek chek (Singlish, meaning frustrated? It's not really a translatable word). Would you just look at how beautiful the island is, I felt that I had no urgent desire to go to Maldives after seeing what Philippines has to offer, at a fraction of the cost!

Our lunch contained a lot of things I cannot eat hahaha. Grilled marinated chicken, fish, squid and prawn. There was a band singing songs for diners and we had a good time swaying along to the rhythm.

Then we went to the sandbar which floods during high tide and is a beach on low tide to bond via a photo taking session. First picture of this post was taken there! There were many small fishes swimming around us, I tried to catch one but failed miserably.

Finally it was time to say goodbye to the amazing blue waters and head back to shore.

All of us were pretty tired and I dozed off. When we were reached, Joshua left his GoPro behind on the boat and happily went off! Hazel saw it and secretly pocketed his GoPro. This seriously blur man only realised when we were on the minibus to our next destination. Even our guide played along, he was like "Oh ok, I'll call the dive shop to let them know. If they find it, they'll send it to the hotel." But the others burst out laughing at his depressed expression and gave the game away, but not before getting him to guess who had his GoPro. We got closer over little things like this haha.

Since The Philippines was occupied by the Spanish once upon a time, the guitar making industry in Lapu-Lapu City (on Mactan Island) started when the Spanish friars assigned in Cebu needed to repair their guitars. They commissioned the locals to make and repair guitars which marks the start of the guitar industry in Cebu.

Most of the guitar manufacturers are family-owned enterprises passed on from one generation to another, including the one we visited, Susing's Guitar. You can go the backyard to see the craftsmen at work, to understand how the guitars are made step by step.

I'm sad to say I left Cebu without a guitar though I want to learn how to play it. Kenny bought a cocolele though which is like a ukelele but the backing is a coconut shell. It's so cute! He let me play with it during the rest of the trip and I had a great time annoying everyone with a repeat telecast of "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars. Just the chorus by the way HAHAHA.

Next stop was Avatar jewelry shop, we were too late to see how they make the jewelries unfortunately. There are necklaces, rings, bracelets, bags, etc. Heaven for the ladies...

...but hell for the guys.

We were extremely late for our visit to Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate Factory, felt so sorry because they waited really long for us. We were allowed to sample all the chocolate around the room which is like a dream come true! :D

The roasted cocoa nibs are pounded into cocoa mass or cocoa liquor which is 100% unsweetened chocolate. We tried it  and it is extremely bitter so imagine how much sugar is added to the chocolate we eat. :(

The beautiful lady in the photo is the president of the chocolate factory, Ms Raquel. She's extremely warm and she told us that how her grandmother taught her how to plant cocoa and make chocolate. Oh she drinks unsweetened hot chocolate every morning!

We also visited their cafe, TCC where they sell their chocolates, chocolate cookies, cakes.. :d It's a really cosy place, great place for dates!

I'll end off the post with a video done by omy.sg about our trip in Cebu! Brings back happy memories whenever I watch it, enjoy and listen to me speak in Chinese hohoho.


This trip was made possible by the lovely people from Philippines Tourism Promotions Board, SilkAir, omy.sg and Singapore Blog Awards 2014.

Madame Tussauds Singapore

I recently paid a visit to Madame Tussauds where wax figures come to live!

It's amazing how well made the wax figures are, the skin, the hair, even the wrinkles..

The history of Madame Tussauds dates back to 1770 in Paris. It was here that Madame Tussaud learnt to model wax likenesses under the tutelage of her mentor, Dr Philippe Curtius. At the age of 17, she became art tutor to King Louis XVI’s sister at the Palace Of Versailles and then, during the French Revolution, was hastily forced to prove her allegiance to the feudalistic nobles by making the death masks of executed aristocrats.

Madame Tussauds’ exhibition was a kind of travelling newspaper, providing insight into global events and bringing the ordinary public face-to-face with the people in the headlines.

The wax figures range from politicians, athletes, celebrities.. We had fun posing and snapping photos. :p Here are some, I shall not spoil the fun by posting all.

If you would like to get up close and personal with these A-listers, ticket can be purchase HERE at a cheaper price.

Thanks WTS Travel & Tours for the invite. :)

Cebu, Philippines I: Around Cebu City

Finally had time to write about my recent trip to the Philippines, was super busy and tired after I got back. Anyway, this Blog Awards trip was the first time I travelled with a group of strangers. I had no idea how it was going to turn out but it turned out SO well, I can't wait for another trip with them haha.

We were lucky to be sponsored by SilkAir which is a regional wing of Singapore Airlines! I never knew. So I had high expectations when I stepped on board. When I saw that there was no screen behind our seats, my heart sank. But then when I dug around the seat pocket, I discovered an information sheet that taught you how to use the wireless on board to watch movies, listen to songs and even do some shopping.

It's really easy to get connected too!
1) connect to SilkAir WiFi
2) open your browser
3) Android users have to download this app in order to watch movies
4) And you're done!

After touching down at the airport in Cebu, we were welcomed by the Philippines Tourism Board staff with mango necklaces :) we took the mini bus to our hotel, Radisson Blu Cebu Hotel and were again greeted extremely warmly. I know people said the Japanese are very polite, I feel that Filipinos are not far behind! Wherever we go, the staff are always so courteous and full of smiles! Something Singapore should learn from, especially since our customer satisfaction level has fallen recently.

Anyway since we were all starving, we headed straight for the international buffet at the hotel restaurant which just opened the day before we arrived! Lucky :) there was a huge spread but not many vegetarian options unfortunately.

Went up to check out our rooms after the late lunch and say hello to my room for two days! It was lovely to take a break from hostels and backpackers and sleep on fluffy beds. The only problem was that I had trouble detaching myself from the room...

When I eventually did, we headed to Basilica del Santo Niño. We went to the chapel beside the church to see the famous Magellan's cross first. It is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu. The original cross is encased inside the wooden cross that is found in the center of the chapel to protect the original cross from people who chipped away parts of the cross for souvenir purposes or in the belief that the cross possesses miraculous powers.

There were a lot of old ladies holding candles trying to get you to buy them. If you buy one from them, they will ask you for your name and then dance which chanting a prayer. The dance routine of the “sinug” is said to be an imitation of the “sulog” (current) of Pahina river of Cebu City. While dancing and waving candles, the women chant: Pit Señor! Pit Señor! which is short for “Sangpit sa Senyor” or loosely translated as “Hail the Lord!”Then you can touch the base of the cross and make three wishes before putting the candles under the Cross. Different colour of the candle has different representations, green for wealth, yellow for health, red for love, pink for happiness and blue for work. Guess which one I picked? ;)

There was a Mass going on at the courtyard so we weren't allowed to take photos but we could do so inside the church. The church was damaged during the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in 2013 (just a year ago!) and its bell tower collapsed but it is set to be restored by 2015, in time for the celebration of 450th year of the finding of the image of the Senor Sto. Nino.

Then we headed to Crown Regency Hotel for our skywalk! At 140 metres, it is one of the tallest hotel buildings in the country. I was pretty excited but look at Kenneth's expression in the first group shot! HAHAHA. I felt very safe with our guides and an unhindered view of the city at sunset welcomed us.

When we were given the opportunity to try to Edge Coaster, I jumped at the chance. It was SUPER thrilling and fun!!! When the seat tilted forward and started moving along the track, I could feel my stomach going haywire in a good way. You can adjust the degree of the tilt, the maximum being 55 degrees (some say 65 on Google :/). We got a lovely view of the city lights while screaming our lungs out since the sun had already set by then.

Ended the first day with dinner at Lantaw Restaurant up a hill. The atmosphere of the restaurant alone was worth the trip up. The way the food was cooked is very similar to Chinese and the vegetarian noodles was fantastic, I had multiple servings heh.

Behind the scene of all the food photos you see. 台上一分钟，台下十台机。

Fern suddenly pointed out that there was a bright glow in the sky. We were speculating that it was an UFO but nope, it was the moon rising! I've seen plenty of sunrises but this is the first time I saw a moonrise. We were pretty excited to see the moon slowing popping out from behind the hills and it was huuuuge! Then it was back to our hotel to call it a night, first time spending a night alone in a hotel room and Smith had to go spook all of us right before we went into our own rooms. >:(

This trip was made possible by the lovely people from Philippines Tourism Promotions Board, SilkAir, omy.sg and Singapore Blog Awards 2014.

Applying for Myanmar Visa in Singapore

Credit: google images

1) Go to visa.mesgservice.com/home and click on the date you want to go down and apply for your Visa. The dates are available two weeks in advance so it's a good idea to apply early in case the slots are full. After you fill in your particulars, you'll be given a queue number.

*You cannot get a queue number at the embassy, you MUST get it online.

2) Prepare the following items:
- Print out the appointment letter (sent to your email)
- Print out and fill up the Visa application form (sent to your email)
- One photocopy of your Identification Card (front and back)
- One photocopy of your passport (the page with your photo)
- Two recent passport sized photographs (you can take it there for $6, 6 pieces)
- The cost of the Visa is SGD35 but there's an administration fee of SGD10. So prepare SGD45 in CASH, no NETS or Cards accepted there.

3) Go down to the embassy from 8 am to 12 noon. You will wait for your number at counter 8 and counter 9 if you missed your number.

The letter tells you to be there at 8 am but actually you can go there later. I forgot to bring my passport (yes I can't believe myself too) so I went home to get it and reached at 10plus. The difference was that there was a slight queue at 10plus.

4) After handling the staff the documents, she'll keep your passport and give you a receipt and tell you to come back at 4.30pm to 5.30pm.

You can also choose to collect it another day but I'd think it's better not to leave your passport there for too long.

5) Go for a coffee, movie, lunch, read a book, shop and then head back at 4pm. When we reached at 4.30pm, there was already a queue. But thankfully it moved quite quickly so we didn't have to wait for too long.

6) You'll get back your passport, check your details and that the Visa is valid for THREE months.

How to get to Myanmar Embassy
- Take the train to Orchard MRT, ION exit.
- Walk via underpass to Wheelock.
- Walk towards FORUM/Tanglin Mall.
- Just before you reach Tanglin Mall, turn right into St Martin's Drive.
- Walk down the road and the Embassy is on your left.