Baler ~ North Luzon's Hidden Gem

My husband loves to drive, and I love to travel, and this combined interest led us to our most recent adventure, which is Baler.  Baler is 270 kms from Manila, about a 5-hour continuous drive.

Baler is the capital town of the province of Aurora (which used to be part of Quezon until it was separated in 1978).

It is the birthplace of Manuel Quezon, the 2nd president of the Philippines and the 1st President of the Philippine Commonwealth.  Founded in 1609 by Franciscan missionaries Baler is also the last bastion of the Spaniards in the country.

Sharing here our 3D/2N stay in the beautiful town of Aurora Baler.

DAY 1

We left Manila at 5am made a breakfast stop at NLEX and reached Baler at about 11am.

The ride was uneventful and surprisingly easy.  

As it was still early and check-in is not until 2pm, we decided have lunch at the "poblacion" and drop by Museo de Baler and Baler Church before heading to the resort.

Lunch was at Ai-Ai's Cafe and Resto.

This restaurant is conveniently located across Museo de Baler and the adjacent Quezon Park.

COSTA PACIFICA ~ Our home in Baler.

Hands down one of the best places to stay when in Baler is Costa Pacifica.  This resort is owned by the family of the previous Senator Edgardo Angara.  Located next to Sabang Beach, this resort is perfect for beach bums and surfing enthusiasts.

We got an Ocean View Room facing Sabang Beach.  Sunrise and sunset view are to die for.  The waves were pretty scarry though, which is expected of this quaint surfer town.

 

The room is clean with all the basics needed to enjoy a relaxing vacation.   I love that is well lit and that it is literally steps away from the beach.

They gave me a mini-birthday cake which was a beautiful surprise.

My Birthday Dinner was at the Costa Pacifica Beach House.  Prices is a bit steep, but overall, I think the price is worth it.  There are other restaurants along the "Baywalk" so your options are open.

Yup, I think we over ordered...

We took a short stroll by the Baywalk to watch the subset and decided to call it early. 

Follow our Day 2 as we tour Baler ~ Baler Day 2

Wow Bohol - Day 1

Bohol is a paradise known for its white-sand beaches, islands and diving sites.  It has been about a decade since my last visit to Bohol and I am really excited to be back.  This time though, it will be just me and my husband. We left the boys at home with the grandparents.  

Day 1 

Bohol is an hour and 30 minutes flight via Panglao International airport.  I am pleasantly surprised that Bohol airport has been upgraded.  It clean, spacious and nicely ventilated.   

We maximized our trip by bunding our airport pick-up with the Country-side tour.  As this is already our second time in Bohol, we skipped the other tourists' sites and decided to do the ATV ride by the Chocolate Hills and the enchanting Loboc river cruise.

First stop was the ATV ride.  

Compared to our Mayon ATV ride, which was quite rocky, Chocolate Hills ATV experience was chocolatey...  

It rained quite a bit that morning and the trails was quite muddy.  We liked it that way though as the weather was cool and navigating through the muddy trail was ha-ha-funny!     

This explains why they call the famous Bohol hills as CHOCOLATE HILLS!

The "We are so happy to be back in Bohol Jump".

Bilar Man-Made Forest

Lunch at the Loboc River Cruise ~ hearty and filling with live music entertainment.

Tired from our early morning flight we decided to finish the tour early and head back to our home away from home in Bohol ~ The South Palms Resort Panglao.

Follow our Day 2 ~ Island Hopping 

Day 2 In Saigon ~ VIP Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta

We wanted to cover as much as we could of Vietnam's top attractions and saw Vietnam Adventure Tours via TripAdvisor. 

They offer a VIP tour that covers Cu Chi Tunnel  and Mekong Delta.

The package included hotel pick-up and drop off via limousine, entrance to both Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta,  motorized boat and row boat ride to the Mekong Village, a traditional Vietnamese lunch, on board refreshments and an English speaking guide.

Our first stop was a tourist center selling handcrafted lacquer finished trinkets.  They were hand made by disabled citizens impacted by the Vietnam War from the Agent Orange (read more about Agent Orange through this link) and other chemicals used during the Vietnam War that contaminated ground water and soil causing various health problems and disabilities.  

Prices of the handicrafts were a bit more expensive than those available in the market,  however, one cannot be sure of the quality and authenticity of those sold in the market.

Next stop is Cu Chi Tunnel.

Cu Chi is a story of Communist Vietnam's triumph over the Americans.  The intricate network of tunnels built by hands ~ housing families and serving as secret refuge for those fighting for liberation were really admirable.

 Management widened tunnels for tourist to pass through, but the original tunnels were really narrow.

The Vietnamese Communist were very ingenious in their war tactics ~ setting of booby traps and landmines.  

In the morning they would go to town wearing ordinary clothes to mingle with the peasantries.  The Americans can't really tell who the enemies were.  

Now you see him ~  seconds later he was already underneath covered with dried leaves. 

Thoughts being down there, even for a minute makes me uncomfortable.  I can't imagine the Vietnamese staying there for days waiting to ambush passing American soldiers.

Now, the part of the Cu Chi tour that men usually enjoyed the most... Gun Shooting Range.

Cost per bullet is VND20,000 to 40,000.

My husband tried one round of AK-47 (He ended his round saying it is the best experience ever).  

Back at the limousine we were offered wet towels, cold beer and soda, biscuits and bananas.  

We stopped for lunch at the one of the local restaurants on the way to Mekong Delta ~   Mekong Tram Dung.

All smiles after a hefty meal (with our tour group) ~ 

Ready for Mekong Delta ~ a maze of rivers, local villages  selling produce...

At the Mekong Tourist Boat Station (with our guide Anbie, briefing us on our Mekong Delta itinerary).

We took a motorized boat to Ben Tre Province...

We transferred to a paddle boat to enter the smaller canals ~

It was a bit scary though as the boat was small and we were 4 huge people on board... 

At the Ben Tre Village we were given a tour of various local livelihoods such as honey gathering, chocolate and coconut candies making.  

The locals would be offering you their products, but you are not required to buy any if you don't want to...

Honey with tea 

Snake/scorpion wine anyone?

I did get chocolates though ~  I got 100% dark chocolates, which are quite hard to find in supermarkets.

We were also entertained to some Vietnamese music.

We then took a local tri-van to go to the other side of the Village to head back to Mekong Tourist Boat...

This one was fun ~ It was actually like a Jurassic World thrill ride.

When we got to our Boat,  we welcomed by refreshing coconut juice (straight from the tree)!

If you are looking for a hassle free-VIP tour of Cu Chi and Mekong Delta, this tour is highly recommended.

Now time to relax ~ as we head back to the city.

If you missed our Day 1 in Saigon ~ please follow the link 

here:Day 1 in Saigon (City Tour)

If you are interested about the 

VIP Cu Chi and Mekong Delta Tour  check 

VietNam Tours website: Vietnam Tours