Boracay Day 3 - Island Hopping to Crystal Cove, Puka Beach

The island hopping trip starts at 10am. So we headed to the beach to people watch after our breakfast. 

The colour combination is really great. Blue sky blended with the sea water. Simply amazing to just relax by the beach and doing nothing. This is also another interesting part of travelling. 

Here we went, start of our island hopping day!

White Beach

As mentioned earlier in my post, this island hopping is a 6-hrs program and it costs 800 peso, including lunch and water. Oh, but it excludes snorkeling fee which costs 20 peso. So if you are not in for snorkeling, you need not pay this fee. So, do take note. 

First stop was at the middle of the sea and it's time to snorkelling. Well, I do not have a waterproof camera and thus, not able to capture any underwater pictures. But do it yourself and you will love the sea creatures! The sea was rather choppy but not too bad as the fishes were lured near us as the crew dropped bread crumbs into the sea. 

You will be given life vest. Do wear it for safety precautions though I saw some tour mates not wearing. 

After snorkeling, we stepped onto the first island - Crystal Cove. A nice place to spend the late morning. Okay - 2 choice once we embarked on the island. Pay to visit the crystal cove or just relax at the beach. I think it costs 100 Peso.

So step in and enjoy the view. We did not manage to visit the Cove 2 as it was high tide. What a waste!

View from Crystal Cove

View from Crystal Cove

Lunch was buffet style and the food was okay.

After Lunch, off we went to Puka Beach. The stay there was quite s short one and sorry no photos as I was a little deterred by the hot weather.

So after Puka Beach stay, off we went to the next snorkeling spot. This spot was not as great as the first one.

Alright. that's about it on our third day at Boracay.

Boracay Day 2 - Parasailing, Joanh's Fruit Shake , Sunset

Woke up to a wonderful day. We started off our day with the Hotel breakfast. There are 5 choices to it and is the usual choice of eggs, either bacon or ham. Salads and drinks are available too. Not those buffet style.. So sit back, relax and wait to be served. 

After the breakfast, we stepped out of the hotel to have the first taste of Boracay's daylight. Wonderful feeling. We headed back to the White beach and started our beach retreat. 

We read and did our research about the activities available on the island. First stop was to look for Diamond Water Sports. We read that it provided good service for parasailing. That was something that we wanted to try for the first time. So headed up towards Station 1 of the beach. It was not long that we stumbled upon some beach tentage, one of which happened to be Diamond Water Sports. At first, we thought we were looking for a shop front and did not really trust what the counter people were saying. We just treated it as touting. And yes, a lot of people were at the beach, trying to sell us their service/activities when we walked past them. Not a single moment was spared. 

So after some persuasion by the crew, we took up parasailing and Sunset Paraw Sailing for the day. It costs us 1,500 peso each for the activities. Not a bad deal, I guess, since he quoted us 1,500 peso for Parasailing alone. 

And after the payment, he led us to the beach. Oh god, that's efficient! Without any preparation and we were to embark on our first activity. I just had a heavy breakfast. But well, that's not a bad timing for the Parasailing as the weather would have been hotter if we were to delay the trip. 

So here we waited for the boat to pick us up to the middle of the sea -

Beautiful beach and water!

So the parachute looked great here against the blue sky. The view up there was fantastic too. Oh did I mentioned, for this trip out to the sea, it would take around 15 minutes. That's just us on this boat, so well, I guess, it was considered a 'private' tour. 

There were 3 crew personnel on board with us. One as the driver and the other 2 to take care of us, giving us instructions, helping us with the safety and of course, as a free lance photographer for us. 

Us, high up into the sky

And we went higher and higher up and before we landed back to the boat, we got a dip into the sea. Well, it was not those sudden drop like a freefall.. The wind was too strong for that. Slowly as we came closer to the boat, they asked if we wanted a dip. Yes, it was a choice. So we went for it. What's not getting wet for sea sports. So be in your swim wear for this!

High up, dip in

And so it ended, in a blink of an eye. Since we were at Station 1, we decided to walk further down to catch the Willy's Rock. Oh well, it looked nice from far but we did not make our way up to it. The algae there was not that pleasant after all.

White Beach Station 1, Willy's Rock

Okay, another highlight in Station 1 is Joanh's Fruit Shake & Snack bar. They say, it serves the best fruit on the island. Well, try it and answer that question for yourself. I had the mango shake and on such hot sunny day, it was really great.

They served the takeaway in a normal mineral water bottle but they 'poked' a hole at the cap to put in the straw. A nice way to bring around the bottle as the circumference is not as big as those plastic cup! Yummy!

Joanh's Fruit Shake & Snack bar, fruit shake

After making a trip to Station 1, we decided to head to Station 3 - reason being, we wanted to book our island hopping snorkelling trip for tomorrow. It was mentioned in some websites that ALLAN BOAT provided good service for this activity. It was noted that the counter is located near Villa De Oro Hotel. So we just headed off, trying to find the Hotel . Okay, once you passed Mcdonald's dessert kiosk, you are about to reach the ALLAN BOAT counter. Just keep a lookout. 

So we booked the 6-hrs Island hopping (Puka beach, Crystal Cove visit, 2 snorkelling points, Lunch)....at 800 peso each. Not too bad a deal since it included lunch. So after settling the itinerary for the next day, it was time for Lunch. 

Not knowing what to have, we decided to pop into Smoke Resto that is at an alley in D'mall. It is a local Filipino eatery which serves the local delights. A well hidden small and cozy restaurant and I got an impression that it is somewhere near to Tilapia n’ Chips. This place is really crowded and true enough, it sticks to its shop name. It was rather smoky with an open kitchen concept. 

I ordered the Kao Pad which is actually Chicken, Egg, Mango with rice. The chicken meat was tender and well seasoned. The 'sourness' of the mango added another flavour to this dish. A very nice combination of fruit and meat into a rice bowl. Well, maybe add a little greens will do wonders! Quite a good choice to start off my lunch in Boracay. 

Kao Pad (Chicken, Egg, Mango and Rice) at Smoke Resto

After lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel for a quick wash up. After which, we strolled away the D'mall market. Okay, shops were quite standard - Clothes, souvenirs, food. 

We took the 'free' pass to enjoy the Red Coconut beach front facilities. Sat at the beach chairs and well, I stayed in the shade. Could not bear to let my 'burnt' skin get worst. Yes, I got a burnt and I still can't get over it. Why? I applied the sunblock duly. *cried*

So, waited for the sunset and off we went for the Sunset Paraw Sailing. Was really looking forward to sunset. But well, it was a little disappointing for me. I guessed we went out too early and did not really catch a complete sunset. 

The ride was actually quite fast, say 10 minutes and we were back at shore. Oh god! So if you really wanted to view a sunset on the paraw, do it really near to sunset. But here's my view while on it. Or maybe, try to do a sunset parasailing, it seems nice to be up there!

Parasailing in action

The sun I captured, ready to set in minutes....

Sun about to set

And the sunset we viewed on shore... Enjoy!

Girl chasing the sunset?

Couple admiring the beauty

The coconut trees waving to the sun

The sail against the sun as backdrop

What a wonderful view!

Sail right in

Though the view of the sun setting was great, I found peace and serenity looking at the other end of the sky. Splendid view especially with the fluffy clouds. Crowds at the beach were really enjoying their time. Relaxing and well, I guess a self reflection would be great!

Sky at the other end of the sunset

Okay, last view before we headed to dinner!

Can't get enough of it... Good night!

Alight, sunlight down and everyone seemed hungry. Restaurants, cafes and eatery were full of people. We decided to pop into Andok's.  In search of desserts, we just order the half grilled chicken. Juicy meat at affordable price.

@ Andok's - grilled chicken

Okay, we got crazy crepes for desserts but no pictures. Try it out for yourself. Time to head back to Hotel to wash up and rest. Tomorrow will be a day out at sea! Cheers!

The Refinery Singapore @ Jalan Besar

The Refinery Singapore is at an "Industrial" area at Jalan Besar. I google my way but still felt a bit lost when trying to hunt for the place. Wasn't too bad when their address is hugely displayed on the wall of the building. Okay, cannot really spot the name of the shop as it is printed on the OIl barrel container. 

Enough said of the location and name of shop, the service there is great. The service crew would pop by the table to ask if we need to order more drinks, more food. They are not those pushy kind but I think they just wanted us to enjoy our night out. Take note that they do not have service charge but tipping is appreciated. 

Alright, time for some food review. We ordered:

1. Agedashi Tofu ($10)

A 4-piece tofu which is housemade according to the meu. They were crispy on the outside but smooth on the inside. The accompanying dashi stock complemented the whole dish. It was not too salty and good to have after the grilled skewers as it was light and less oily.

2. Dry Ramen ($6)

Dry Bar Chor Mee -kia as proclaimed by my friend. That is the local delight of minced pork with thin yellow noodle. Okay, just share this small bowl with your friends. A couple of bites was fine but not to the whole bowl to myself. It was too oily in my opinion. The pulled char siew was not too bad. 

3. The Refinery Sampler ($36)

It consists of  4 skewers of  Chicken Thigh, 2 skewers of  “Shiok Bak” (a.k.a roasted pork),  2 of Shishamo and 2 of Shiitake mushrooms. It took quite some time before this plate of sampler reached our table after the order. The Chicken thigh was too salty to my liking. I'm not sure if it was the sauce or the marination. I quite like the "shiok bak' and the Shisahamo. The roasted pork was tender and the shisahamo was great but to my opinion, a little over grilled. The shiitake mushroom was not 'juicy and a little salty. 

4. Seaweed Fries ($12)

What can go wrong with french fries. This reminds me of the seaweed shaker fries that McDonald's's offers from time to time. I guess the special thing to it is the Wasabi Mayo Dip. Not too strong that will choke us but it compliments the fries. 

Agedashi Tofu, Dry Ramen, The Refinery Sampler, Seaweed Fries, Asahi Black Pint

This place serves quite a variety of alcoholic drinks. Non-alcoholic drinks were minimal. For coffee-lovers, sorry, this place does not serve coffee at all. Maybe coffee does not go well with grills? But maybe, who knows, in future, they might offer that. So, just wait and see!

Address:
115 King George’s Ave,
Singapore 208561

Boracay Day 1

I have to say, the trip did not started off smoothly. Tigerairway got delayed by almost 2 hours plus and we did not know it as we did not have to do a counter check in. Oh well, the schedule was a little pretty tight for us as we read that the journey from Kalibo International Airport to Caticlan Jetty Port to Hotel would take us 2 - 3 hours. Thus, with the delay, the flight would reach Kalibo after 4pm and so, by the time we reached Boracay Island, we would have missed the sunset. Oh well, that's life. 

Okay, once we reached the Kalibo International Airport, we took around 30 minutes to clear the customs as there were not many immigration counters in the small airport. Forget about duty free shopping as I did not see much except maybe for a small shop after we cleared the customs. 

Do not feel lost once you got out of the airport. If you have booked your land transfer tickets, that's pretty good as you could head off to look for the concerned company. 

As for us, we decided to purchase ours on the spot as we read that it could be cheaper. Some company really quoted as low as 500 peso per person for the return trip. But it seems too good to be true, that we decided to head to the South West Tour counter. For the official internet price, they quoted 1,225 peso per person for door to door return services, inclusive of bus/ boat/ van/ government fees (environmental fee and terminal fee).  On the spot, they quoted 1,080 peso. Not a lot of discounts, though we mentioned that some friends paid 900 peso for the same service. Well, I guess the plane delay was a good catch for the companies as they knew that we could not afford to delay our trip.

Then there we started our 'road' trip to the jetty. We saw the sun setting and the sky began to turn dark. Not a very good way to start the trip as I felt lost in the darkness. But I have to praise the service of the South West Tour. They had people stationed at every pit stop to ensure that we were on the correct path to the ferry. But do note, if you can carry your own luggage and if you do not wish to have a porter, please hold your luggage close to you and reject any help from anyone. At times, you might think that they were staff of the company, but in actual fact, they were free lance porters who would collect tips from you. 

Alright, after the bus ride, after the ferry ride and the van ride, we finally reached Red Coco Inn Boracay in darkness. A group of friendly staff welcomed us and that was really great. We did the check in, get into the room to rest a bit before hunger strike us. We decided to head outside with the directions from the hotel crew.

Not having our orientation clear and not knowing what to eat, we stumbled upon Tilapia n’ Chips. Well, the name of shop determined my first meal in Boracay - Golden Fried Tilapia. We ordered the set menu for the Golden Fried Tilapia which comes with rice, a side (coleslaw or fries) and chicken noodle soup brownie and a glass of ice lemon tea. All in for 380 peso which was quite a good deal. 

Alight, skip the chicken noodle soup if you do not like pretty salty stuff. The highlight of the meal was simply the Tilapia fish. The service crew was nice and taught us how to make the sauce for the dip. It was simply fish sauce, with lime and chili. Simple, yet nice! The fish was simply awesome, fresh and tender. The meat was really great.

This place, though a little far from the beach, was a clean cozy place with reasonable servings of food. Delicious and inexpensive and well, an added service of WIFI if you really need to share great food with your family and friends back home!

Golden Fried Tilapia with rice and coleslaw

Alight, time to end the day with a short walk by the beach. It was crowded with people and the loud music was great. You can see the beach and the sea as it was dark and the beachfront restaurants make shift their tables and chairs to the beach. Well, tomorrow, we will explore the white beach in day light!

Address:
Located next to Crafts department store, just a few doors down.
Mon - Sun: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Red Coco Inn Boracay

A short getaway to Boracay, Philippines in April. Weather was great, and it was really relaxing. 

We stayed at Red Coco Inn Boracay. It is located at Station 2 but not at the beach front. It is stationed along the main road and well, it takes about 5-10 minutes to get to the white beach or wet market (D'talipapa).

But fear not as we are allowed to use the beachfront facilities of their sister company - Red Coconut at Station 2. Thus, we were still able to rest and relax by the beach.

The room was spacious and there is a sofa for us to rest but we used that to put our backpack and luggage. Essential amenities was in place such as the television, air con and of course, internet access if you can't leave your gadgets out. The room was nice and cozy which serve its purpose for sleeping or relaxing.

The staff were great too especially the security officers. I really think they did beyond their call of duty like opening the door for us when we got in and out of the hotel, or they even helped out with the reception and the breakfast crews when they were nowhere to be sighted. 

As a note that they are not having construction during the day - from 9 to 9. Was informed that they are expanding their hotel rooms and also to build a pool for their guests. 

I would say, I would definitely be back to stay after the construction is done. A good place to have, which is slightly away from the crowded beach but not that far off.

The cozy room

Hotel Website

Hanoi Day 7

City tour round the Hanoi city before we headed home!

Sufood - Vegetarian-Italian style restaurant @ Raffles City

Vegetarian-Italian style restaurant! This is how the concept of the restaurant at Raffles City. Not those mock meat vegetarian food but well, a mixture of vegetables and mushrooms make it great! Highly recommended by a friend who is a vegan-lover, she mentioned that we should all be punctual and to dine together as it is a 8-course meal, priced at $25++. 

The first dish served was a trio appetizer which the staff explained must be eaten from left to right as the taste gets stronger and richer. The poached Japanese yuca root drizzled with a blueberry coulis was the best, in my humble opinion ("tastebud").  

The next item was the cider which was announced by the staff to drink it before each dish. I guessed is to 'rinse' the mouth before the tasting the upcoming dish to have a better taste. 

Next was the Rosemary Breadsticks, with a choice of their mustard or blueberry sauce for dipping purposes. 

The above 3 items are standard and you do not need to make any decisions. But for the next few items, it's time to crack your brain!

First for choice is the salad. I had the Summer Salad which consists of lettuce, sweet potato, carrot, pepper and seasonal fruits served Thousand Island dressing and sesame sauce. I liked the crunchiness of the vegetables and fruits.

Next up is the soup and I went for Mushroom & Pea Pottage. I guess is the pull factor was the sweet peas. Never had it in creamy texture. Besides the sweet peas, it is also stewed and blended with three types of mushrooms, namely Button, Shiitake and King Oyster. NICE!

Finally is time for main! The choice was much more and I practically had a tougher time. And finally, I set my mind on Wild Mushroom Charcoal Tagliatelle. First try for me on Charcoal tagliatelle. I was thinking what kind of taste that will be. Will it be like squid ink? It came with King Oyster mushrooms sauteed in a light olive oil and homemade dressing. Well, I guess not the best choice of the night. Did not really love the texture and the overall taste of this dish. 

Osmanthus Flower Jelly and The very Berry drink ended the dinner. Both were refreshing and the dinner ended with a nice note. Will I be back? Most likely!

Top: Trio appetizer, Summer Salad
Bottom: Mushroom & Pea Pottage, Charcoal Tagliatelle pasta with king oyster mushroom

Address: 

Raffles City shopping Centre 

252 Bridge Road #02-19 

Singapore 179103

Hanoi Day 6

After the wonderful sleep on cruise, we headed to some kayaking for a morning exercise. Very relaxing!

Back to Hanoi City and we went for a food tour. A travel is never complete without trying what the locals enjoyed. Here we went and eat!

Hanoi Day 5 - Halong Bay

Overnight train back from Sapa to Hanoi was not that smooth as the first night, but nonetheless, it was an experience for me. The boss from the travel agency came to pick us up and brought us back to his place. 

Here, we repacked our bag to bring new clothes to Halong Bay. It was really great to engage this service as we did not have to lug our luggage around the places. 

Van ride to Halong Bay was smooth. I heard a lot on Halong Bay, the new 7 wonders of Nature. I was actually looking forward to the cruise stay and of course, the amazing view.

Let's the pictures below tells the stories!

Hanoi Day 4 - Sapa

3rd day at Sapa and we took another half day trek. The view was different and maybe as we had enough rest, this trek was much better than what we had on Day 1. 

After the trek, we went to the city centre to walk.

Goodbye Sapa, you have been good to us. No rain when we visited and the weather was cooling, much to my liking. I loved the peaceful days we had there and I simply enjoyed the breakfast, lunch and dinner at Sapa Eden Hotel.

Hanoi Day 3 -Sapa

Hello SUN, how beautiful was you when you rose from the horizon. I simply love sunrise, for no reason. I was not expecting a sunrise view for this trip, at least not at Sapa. 

Sunrise View from Sapa Eden Hotel

Off to the Sunday Market. This was a wrong move, I guessed. The road was bumpy and I was a little disappointed by the Market. I think we took almost 2 -3 hours there and we only spent like less than an hour to comb the whole place. Not the best market I visited, but nonetheless, I saw the cultural side of the tribes in Sapa - Vietnam. 

Lunch was served once again, and this meal was well, oily and the Vietnamese coffee was sweet. Too sweet for a liking.

A least unexpected trip was bringing us to the border between Vietnam and China. Cross the border and welcome to China. The only such border I crossed was that between Singapore and Malaysia. And the other I came near to was the DMZ at South Korea. So this would be the third such border for me. Nice~.

The trip ended back at the hotel!

Hanoi Day 2 - Sapa

Rise and Shine and awoke to the beauty of Sapa. 

From the train station, the pick up van took us to the home we called for the next 2 nights - Sapa Eden Hotel. 

This hotel was really great and I love the food there - FRESH and well-cooked. I do highly recommended it anyone who is visiting Sapa. The view from the hotel was amazing too. 

When we reached, we were brought to our rooms and then off to the small restaurant where we had our breakfast. They had a couple of choices, ranging from eggs to pancakes. GOOD!

Sapa Eden Hotel and its view

After the hearty breakfast, it was time to shake off some calories. We went for a trekking trip with the local guide and we went presented with amazing terrains. 

As it rained the night before, the treks were muddy and slippery. So we did had a challenging time, trying to keep the balance. The guide and well, the locals who 'acted' as a trek buddies were always besides you and trying to lend you a helping hand when you needed one. So no worries on that. Just that, at the end of the trip, they brought out their handicraft and you might feel the obligations to buy something from you which you might (well) keep it at home with no use to it. 

Lunch was included in the trip and here we ate, once again. Generous portion of food served for 3 persons.

Lunch Time

Then off again to complete our trek.

Our dinner at Sapa Eden Hotel. Home-cooked food to my delights. I, especially, loved the vegetables there as they were freshly plucked from the farm everyday.

Dinner Time

Sweet corns and potato were never a 'say-no' for trips. And see how they warmed the eggs as well. This was found in the market area near to the city, within 10 minutes walk.