Around Africa - Port Mauritus

Mauritius! I had no idea what this country has in store for us until I went with my workmates to a nature park named Casela!

It's a 30-minute ride which more likely gives you an overview of the island. And you would pretty much conclude it looks like a usual trip to one of Philippine's provinces.

Anyway, we arrived there with one goal in mind - interact with the king of the jungle! But, the ticket would actually let you explore this massive property. Mind you, it really is several hectares big and needs plenty of hours to see and experience!

Each ticket costs 20 euros and comes with a map. You may follow the map religiously to see each attraction or better yet, go directly to your chosen first stop.

In our case, we did both. We followed the map but later on went to the Big Cat. See our exploration!

The flamingoes

The tortoise

And the LION! It was a long queue but sooo worth it!

After that unforgettable meeting with the Lion, we boarded a vehicle to the SAFARI!

We stopped in this particular area and went to see the Giraffes.

Too bad, due to time constraints, we were not able to really see the Safari. We rode back and bought souvenirs from their shops. Something to look forward to though next time we go back to Mauritius in the near future!

From Subic to Vigan!

Our cluster outing was a blast! We went for a roadtrip in the farther area of Luzon..  SUBIC and VIGAN! Though we just had a short time to wander and explore these 2 great cities, I just loved the whole of it! Hope you would too after I tell you the whole experience which is really worth remembering..

IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Around 7 am was our call time in a street just a block away from our office. But before heading, we had breakfast first at Pancake House.

Since the restaurant is just few walks away, we chatted for a moment and just observed our officemates as they were going to the meet-up place. Moments later, we joined them. Our cluster rented a bus. This will be our companion for the whole journey.

We settled ourselves, took pictures as the journey began..

 We departed around 9 am from Makati. Then we stopped over to have lunch.. Then stopped over to wee..  Then we arrived in Subic around 3 PM..  And our first stop was..

The Zoobic Safari!

The whole zoo experience was actually great.. But kids would most likely appreciate it.  You might like to read my review on trip advisor..

After around 2 hours in the zoo, we headed to our home for the night.. Forest View..

This place was really amazing. We rented a few villas.. It has 3 rooms in it.. We have our own kitchen, dining area, sala.. It just feel s like home! And the whole house is air-conditioned.

For dinner, we ordered pizza. Then, we went to Subic Puregold to wander and for me, just window shop.. It’s just like duty-free but no need of any travel docs just to enter it. It Around Puregold were factory outlets of Nike, Adidias, etc. Still, I wasn’t interested at all. I was just able to buy a very necessary thing from a Korean shop. Thank God!

Then we went back..

We have just settled for awhile when a clustermate knocked and invited us to a villa. It was required actually. And we’ve already expected this.. Drinking session!!!

I drank a little then went back to our room to sleep.. We needed to be up early the next day!

And the “next day” began!

We had breakfast .. Then bid goodbye to Subic (such a short stay!) and was really excited to meet our next destination, VIGAN!

Vigan is in Ilocos Sur.. To get there from Subic means to travel for around 10 hrs. Yes dear, we spent whole day in the bus (which I really enjoyed!). I wasn’t bored at all as I really love seeing places I’ve  never been to before. 

Around 8 pm, we finally arrived! The place was  like my trip advisor review, WORTH THE LONG JOURNEY! It was really fascinating.  The night just added to the beauty of it all.. But before digging into Vigan’s  treasures,  we have to feed our own personal needs first. We had dinner!

We explored the inn.. As we were slowly transported back to where these all started..

Then, after wandering for some time..

We headed to our home for the night again.. This time, a CASA.. a very old CASA..

It was kinda creepy really.. I mean, with all the black and white pictures around you and things that might have span for centuries..  It’s just so different..

Then, our room.. Thank God we’re many! The double-decks.. It looked really old and made our stay much more extraordinary!

After a good night’s sleep, we prepared and ate breakfast.. Then, wasted no more time!

This was the casa during the day..

We planned to tour Vigan.. But to make it much more memorable, we let the Kalesa help us unveil  the mystery of this very well-preserved city. 

An our first stop was the Bantay Bell Tower:

This tower used to be a watch tower during the colonial period.

Then, to Syquia Mansion, the house of President Elpidio Quirino.

Then to the Crisologo Museum

Then to the Hidden Garden with the best empanada in town!

We were supposed to got to the Baluarte but due to time constraints, we opted to roam in the city instead which was our last stop..

We walked through Crisologo street, the most famous street in Vigan. All of those picture-perfect images you see to describe Vigan were shot here.. This is just colourful since we just knew that a festival happened the night before which we missed!

Though time was really running fast, we did not miss chilling out, of course.. in one of the unique cafes I've been to.. Leila's cafe

Then, we went back to the house.. And bid goodbye again to the city who had captivated me.

I’ll surely be back!

Anyway, since our journey would last for 10 hours, we stopped by Isdaan in Tarlac to have dinner. It was also a really great place, a lot of things to do and the food was yummy!!!!!

Then, we arrived in Makati around 1 am already and headed immediately to the airport since we had a  5 am flight to Cebu.

Though the time for the whole trip was really kill joy, I am really thankful for the opportunity of seeing this part of our country.. Something to share with anyone..  Something to be really be proud of!

IT'S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!