This video was made using iPhone 5s only and an app called VideoShow. I originally used it for recording a Christmas video presentation for the Christmas party at Elorde Gym. I enjoyed creating and editing videos, although a bit tiring and time-consuming, so I thought why not make a video during our travels. I thought about doing a "how to go to Baguio by car for first timers" video right after we entered NLEX, so the start of the video was already on the expressway. Nonetheless, I hope this video would be useful for those who are going to Baguio for the first time. It was Jayson (my husband) and Swoosh's (my son) first time in Baguio and my second. But the first one was ages ago, when I was in college (OMG like 15 years ago hahaha!). And its also Jayson's first time to drive that far. He drove the farthest going to Tagaytay, but Baguio is in a whole different level because the road is so steep and Kennon Road as we all know is a "Zigzag Road" because of sharp turns and blind spots. By the way, we chose Kennon Road and not Marcos Highway so I cannot compare the two and tell what's the safest way to Baguio. All I know is, one needs to be careful when driving this road. I just want to emphasize to be very careful when driving on Kennon Road and most especially when overtaking a vehicle. Practice your defensive driving in this kind of road. But let's admit, though the road is very difficult, especially for first-timers, the view is very picturesque and one cannot deny that relaxing view of the mountains and falls. 

Back to our main topic, how to go to Baguio for first timers by car, the road to Baguio is pretty much easy to follow. With NLEX, SCTEX and TPLEX already connected, time going to Baguio has already been reduced to 3 hours if non-stop driving while it would take you about 4+ hours if you do some stop over for lunch break or snacks. So, let's get started:

1. If you are coming from Manila, enter North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) from Balintawak, go straight ahead until you reach NLEX-SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway). The link will be near the Dau Tollgate, so right after you pass Dau tollgate, just be on the lookout for the SCTEX sign.

2. After passing SCTEX, follow the signs that say going to TPLEX (Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway). After entering TPLEX, be ready for an almost 100km drive.

3. The TPLEX drive is the longest. You will passAs of this writing, the last exit is Pozorrubio, as you can see in the video, the lane going further TPLEX is still blocked. After entering Pozorrubio toll gate, you will pass Sison, Pangasinan.

4. Follow the signs going to Baguio which is pretty much just straight road, and then you will see the La Union sign. Again, follow the signs going to Baguio that is almost everywhere. 

5. After La Union, you will reach another pay toll which I think is the Benguet Toll gate if I'm not mistaken.

6. Go straight ahead and you will reach Kennon Road! *zigidizigzaggggg*.

7. You somehow arrived at Baguio once you see the "Lion's Head".

In summary, its like NLEX, SCTEX, TPLEX, PANGASINAN then Baguio.

It was a long and happy ride. I like the fact that we can now go to Baguio within 4 hours with the newly constructed TPLEX. Also, shorter time sitting inside the car (because back pain is real; signs of aging hahaha). I remember maybe a decade ago, people would complain about the 7hour drive, even longer hours if you are commuting, whenever going to Baguio. Now, Baguio can be reached easily, a sign of improvement in our road systems, but also resulting to more tourist in the City of Pines making the place too busy and of course, traffic has gotten worse. Still, I am grateful for the improvements in our road systems. I hope more provinces (especially secluded ones) in the north and south can be easily reached with additional public road constructions because, truly, it is more fun and beautiful in the Philippines. And for that I say, let us #choosePhilippines.

Stay positive and pass it on!

Happy New Year!!!

When I first saw this picture, I want to teleport immediately to Tagaytay! It feels so relaxing just by looking at it. So we decided to book for Mother's Day. Unfortunately, the hotel was already fully booked and we ended up booking for the next weekend. It was good though because we were able to book their promo rate which was Php 500.00 discount for a weekday stay (if your booking fell on a Sunday-Thursday) plus a free mini bar. Not bad at all! This is also a good time for staying in Tagaytay because, honestly, Tagaytay traffic feels like EDSA during weekends. And that never feels like relaxing at all.

To get to the hotel, we just followed the guide in Google maps. Escala Tagatay is located right beside Tagaytay Skyranch. If you are coming from Sta. Rosa exit, you can see a small signage of Escala Tagaytay right before Skyranch's Exit. Going inside the hotel, you will notice that it's like the hotel is inside a subdivision or a residential place. Nevertheless, I like the privacy of the place and its not situated at the highway. The only drawback for the hotel is the parking space because they have not yet established a proper parking for their customers. There is a parking space across the hotel but its not roofed. A security guard is assigned to the parking but it would be better if the parking is covered and maybe add some fence for more security. But I think the hotel is already doing something about that. I also like the location of the hotel because it's only walking distance from Josephine Restaurant and Robinsons Supermarket Summit Ridge so if ever you are hungry or if there are things you need to buy, no need to travel by car or by tricycle.

When we arrived at the hotel, it was only 12 PM and we were advised that they cannot accept early check in because the rooms are still being cleaned but they can collect our bags so we can roam around the area while waiting for our check in time. So we just left our bags and headed to Josephine's for our lunch because we are already starving from our travel (Bulacan to Tagaytay whoa!). Here's a picture first of the lobby:

A restaurant overlooking the Taal Volcano can also be found in the lobby:

After having our Bulalo at Josephine's, we headed back to the hotel and checked in. We booked the Deluxe Room and I am glad that it was spacious. The room has 1 single bed and 1 queen bed. All rooms in Escala Tagaytay have balconies that have a view of either the Taal lake or the infinity pool. 

Escala Tagaytay room rate for Deluxe Room is Php 6,500.00 for an overnight stay.

The free mini bar was composed of four canned softdrinks and three packs of mixed nuts. I forgot to take a picture of it though. After scanning the whole room, we took a little nap and then the fun times begun! Swimming!

View from the lobby.

Lovin' the shade of the building so sun's not directly on us.

The pool is 5 ft deep but there's a small pool for the kids which I think is only 3 ft deep.

Pool is big and nice, but would be nicer if heated :)

The infinity pool is available only from 8 AM to 8 PM. We didn't mind the time limit because its getting chilly in the evening already and the pool was not heated. I think the owners of this hotel should consider a heated pool in the future. Come night time, we just ordered pizza and pasta from the mall and ate it in our room. The Tagaytay weather can be felt at night time in their lobby. I love the cold wind entering the lobby because the hotel's lobby is pretty much open.

Me at the entrance. Above are clocks showing the time in different countries.

As you can see the lobby is very open so the wind is just casually entering the hall, no need for an AC or electric fan in this hotel's lobby.


In the morning, we were greeted by the warm breeze of Tagaytay. Their buffet breakfast was located in their lobby overlooking Taal volcano. I loved sipping my coffee with this view!

Jayson was still in the room during this time.

Cereals and milk!

I loved the breakfast buffet. There is a variety to choose from - breads and spreads, eggs, ham, Filipino breakfast, rice, fruits, cereals, omelet, noodles, soup, salads, coffee, juices etc. After breakfast, we went for a swim again until 11 AM and checked out at noon.

If you want a relaxing Tagaytay escape, I highly recommend the Escala Tagaytay Hotel. We had a nice time and it truly felt like home away from home.

Escala Tagaytay Rates:

http://www.escalatagaytay.com/rooms/
Contact numbers: (02) 519-4444, 09176753806


Heading to the north? Check out these beautiful hotels/resorts we've been to:

Baguio:
https://www.jocelynpryde.com/2018/02/review-manor-at-camp-john-hay.html

La Union:
https://www.jocelynpryde.com/2018/02/review-manor-at-camp-john-hay.html

Ilocos Sur:
https://www.jocelynpryde.com/2019/04/vitalis-villas-review.html

Hong Kong Trip November 14-18, 2016

According to an article from Smart Parenting site: 

Family Vacations Serve as 'Happiness Anchors' for Kids Until They Grow Up

And I definitely agree. As I've said before, family vacations need not to be grand -- they just have to be enjoying. It can be a as simple as going to a nearby resort and spend the day swimming and eating. Food can be cooked from home and just bring it to the resort so you can avoid spending money. 

Ours, as much as possible, we plan everything before the actual date of travel so we can avoid decisions made in haste. But there are some things you can not control, just like our second day in HK. Our planned itinerary for that day was to visit Ngong Ping 360 and ride the cable car and in the afternoon we would go to The Peak Tram (we're in for some heights that day haha!). But because we didn't research properly, we didn't know that Ngong Ping was closed for maintenance that time. I checked their website just today and the place is still closed until May if I'm not mistaken. And so we ended up visiting the outlet store which is just outside the Tung Chung MTR. By the way, if you want to know more about MTR, which is a necessity if you are commuting in HK, you can check their website here. As for me, I've downloaded a free MTR map in Apple store so we can easily check the train stations because we knew we will be using it a lot. And it really helped. Back to our outlet store experience, well, we did just a little shopping and then after that ate at a pizza store and off we went to The Peak Tram. Really, if we just did our research, we could have saved time and money and discover other places. I was actually sad that day because riding the cable car was one of the things I was looking forward to in HK.


Here are some of our pics on second day at HK:

OOTD haha!

Can't help admiring the MTR of Hong Kong. Its very systematized, convenient and efficient. The next train arrives shortly after the other train leaves. The train is also spacious unlike the MRT here in EDSA. Oh God, how I despise riding our trains here. But in HK, I think that MTR is the easiest way to get around Hong Kong because it pretty much connects to the whole Hong Kong. Its also very fast so travel time is not a problem. The train station hallway is also divided into two so there is lane for people going out and a lane for people going inside the station. Very disciplined of them to follow that. I hope we can imitate that in the Philippines. The MTR map is also displayed almost everywhere in English and Chinese which is every helpful for tourists. Be prepared to walk a lot though, because some stations have very long hallways and for some tourist spots like The Peak Tram, the place is relatively far from the nearest train station (Central). 

We also had our dinner at the Peak because we were so hungry and it was already late night. We went back to our hotel at about 11 pm so exhausted. Tip 1: bring a jacket if at The Peak because its too cold and windy at the top.Tip 2: If you will be riding the MTR going to the Peak, be sure to wear comfortable shoes because as I've mentioned the walk from Central station to The Peak is quite far. Honestly, we could have done so much more on our second day, but then, its ok now because we also enjoyed that day and it was still a good bonding time for the whole family. Ok, ok, I am not denying it, I enjoyed the shopping :)

Stay postive. Pass it on.

Before booking our hotel to be stayed at in Coron Island, I have listed 3 non-negotiable categories :

Those balconies at the back are our rooms!

night swimming!

View from the third floor.

Balcony leading directly to the pool!

A refrigerator is inside that cabinet in the corner.

TV has a cable too!

Separate toilet and shower. Basic toiletries are also provided.

Some of the food we ordered.

Cool, right?

Email: coronwestownresort@yahoo.com.ph

Phone Number: +63-917-704-6176  +63-906-449-4555

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/coronwestownresort

These past few months, I've been completely enamored by God's blessings not just for me but for all the people dear to me. I was able to witness how much abundance of opportunity that can come along anyone's way if we just have a positive attitude and optimism regarding new things that could change our lives. So, forgive me for updating this blog a little less frequent than before.

One of the blessings we received in our family is the passing of my sister's application to work as a customer service representative in another land, Singapore. Its been more than a month since my youngest sister flew to Singapore to fulfill her lifelong dream of working abroad and live independently. And though it breaks my heart to see her leaving our home to live offshore, I'm still happy for her because I know this is the beginning of a colorful wave of career for her. Aja, little sister!

Charies will always be a little sis my eyes, but looking at what she had become now,  I would have to say that she's matured enough to take on a big sister's responsibility. I remember that most of the time I confide to her my problems and consult her for decision-making.  And whenever I am sick she would always take care of me and cook for me. When did these all start? I couldn't remember changing positions with her in the sibling hierarchy!

My two sisters are my best friends and I know that at the end of the day, though we are now physically living apart from one another, we will always be there for one another should the need arise. I believe that my Mom and Dad was able to raise us three girls with a lot of love for each other being the supportive sibling they both had been to their own sisters and brothers. It will always be one of those values I would always be proud to say that I learned from my parents. I know a lot us have problems with our sisters but hey, would you rather have one or none?

I am more than glad to see my little sis take the risk of this new endeavor and I enthusiastically support her 101%. Cheers to sisterhood and to the start of a something great ahead! I miss you, my little big sis!

My Little Sisterduring her Kindergarten Graduation