Lakwatsarah

Generally, when we hear the word Davao, first thing that comes to mind is Mt. Apo , Philippine's highest mountain, and the sweet smelly Durian. I first stepped into Davao during the 90's when my parents decided to land at Davao Airport instead of the usual GenSan route. It was the first year the clan decided to celebrate a grand reunion at the family's property in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. From Davao Airport, we went straight to Seagull Beach Resort where we had an overnight stay. I remember that drizzly night when mom woke me up because we all needed to transfer at a much higher ground because the sea water is gradually rising, it nearly touches the inside of the stilt cottage where we were staying. Davao's Seagull Beach Resort during the 90's

Experience the grandest showcase of rich cultural fabrics of Southern Mindanao with the upcoming T'nalak Festival 2011 this July 12 - 18, 2011. T'boli Women wearing t'nalak I've seen the festival twice, the solo trips I made during 2008 and 2010 made me love my province even more. It was truly a fascinating experience being immersed in the rich living heritage and colorful spectrum of Philippine culture, cuisine and crafts.

To make up for the lost leisure time in our recent Pagudpod trip , we decided to continue our water adventure this time at Splash Island . Some few weeks ago, I treated my recently graduated siblings and cousin to some good Splash Island adventure, the largest water park in the Philippines. With help from Ebay's kuponan, I was able to secure tickets between 50-70% discount! Hurray to Ebay and Splash Island for that budget friendly summer gift.  Splash Island video

Location: Baguio, Vigan, Laoag, Pagudpod Let me share with you this travel video to end our North Luzon series. Our beloved Philippines is indeed blessed with fantastic sceneries and it's inspiring me more to go on further adventures and experience our country's majestic outdoors. We had fun feel good getaway as it shows in the video :)

This is an overview of the specific places we've been to during our 5 day North Luzon trip. Day 1: Baguio day tour (Part 1) Burnham Park Session Road Baguio Cathedral Good Taste Botanical Park Wright Park The Mansion Mines View Park Good Shepherd Day 2: Baguio day tour (Part 2)

There must have been something amusing about the number 5 during my recent out of town trip. Working harder for my annual pension plan payment, I was geared to be wearing my tipid mode hat for this 5 day trip up north. Luckily, I ended up using less than my target budget. With only Php5,000 this trip covers Baguio, Benguet, Vigan, Laoag and Pagudpud leg with the Panagbenga Festival Grand Float Parade as the trip’s highlight. So how in the world did I manage to work within that budget? Here are my saving tips for those planning to travel to North Luzon:

Since we didn't had the chance to swim after we arrived in Pagudpud , we decided to wake up early for the morning swim as we planned to leave the homestay at 9am sharp. I woke up at around 5am, however it's still really dark outside. So I patiently waited and checked back again by 5:30am, still no light. But we started to ready ourselves and went to the beach at exactly 6am. We could still clearly see the quarter moon and the morning sun hiding from below the mountains. Excited to swim, we dropped our stuff at a nearby beachrock. From Saud Beach , one could see the famous Bangui Windmills surrounded by the morning mist from a distance. The view is breathtaking!