Last July, the friends and I were lucky enough to visit one of the most beautiful tourist spots in the Philippines, El Nido. We booked the flight months before the scheduled trip. The weeks went by so quickly and one day, we found ourselves in the airport, then in Puerto Princesa, then, finally, in the municipality of El Nido.

Tay Miloy's Inn

The trip took 2-3 hours from Manila to Puerto Princesa and then 5-6 hours from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. We got there before sun down despite the breaks our van driver kept taking. We then took a tricycle from Eulen Joy Terminal to Tay Miloy's Inn.

Tay Miloy's Inn

Tay Miloy's is a small inn located within the town proper of El Nido. It's a short walk away from the port, restaurants, markets, and shops. The rooms are very small and modest but what it lacks in extravagance, it gains in very good location and accommodating staff. Well, most of them anyway.

The view from outside Tay Miloy's

After freshening up, we head straight to the Seaslug Restaurant for a hearty dinner.

Seaslug Restaurant

Seaslug restaurant

The place was packed with people. We would have liked to be seated in the beachfront but the seats were full so we had to place ourselves inside. 

Right in the middle of the shack

Our orders took a while. Most of us have already done away with the fruit shakes and the food still didn't came. It turns out that they cooked everyone's orders first before serving them all at the same time. No wonder it took so long.

We had some crocodile sisig

Their shrimp gambas is heaven!

Once the food was gone and the bill was paid, we went back to Tay Miloy's to get a good night's rest for the next day's activities.

We woke up at 6 and were at the port around 8:30 in the morning. When our tour guide finally arrived, we were ushered to the boat. We had two other groups with us and the reason we waited for a while was because one of the groups had a late breakfast.

Finally boarding The Fast and Furious

Our boat took off and our guides introduced themselves and discussed a few ground rules. 

Bye for now, town proper!

The friendly boat guides who knows a lot. And jokes a lot too.

We rode to our first destination, the Small Lagoon.

Small Lagoon

The entrance to the lagoon

We rented a kayak but you can opt to just swim around. Just remember to get out of the way because maneuvering the kayak is going to give people arm cramps.

The limestones are crazy pretty

I'm not a fan of kayaking but this is waaay better than swimming/ walking through all those rocks and corals

Mind your head. The entrance looks reeeeally tiny from afar but it turns out it was possible to get through it with a kayak

After drinking in all the beauty of the Small Lagoon, we moved to another lagoon, creatively named the Big Lagoon.

Big Lagoon

I confirm that it is indeed bigger than the Small Lagoon

The boat dropped us by the opening and we all walked towards the Lagoon. The water is really shallow but I would have preferred the water to at least be waist-deep so that I could swim all the way rather than walk because it feels like it took forever to get there.

All them boats are parked by the opening of the lagoon

We-we-welcome to the lagoon!

Time to drag your feet towards the lagoon

Did I mention how pretty the limestones are?

I wish I made a 360 video because the lagoon is really beautiful and our photos don't do it justice

After the Small Lagoon and the Big Lagoon, we headed to another lagoon, the Medium Lagoon!

Nope. That was a bad joke, sorry. The Secret lagoon was where we went next.

Secret Lagoon

It's so secrety

We got down the boat and we had to walk to the small opening to the lagoon

We had to walk over this and it is such a nightmare. It was so slippery and most of us were getting their legs cut open from the rocks slash dead corals.

This is the entrance and exit to the lagoon

The view from the inside

Surrounded by pretty rocks

There wasn't much in the Secret Lagoon so I just took a couple of photos and headed out for some panorama shots at the beach. The panoramas are garbage though so I won't be posting any. Have some other photos instead.

The beach where we had lunch

Our tour guides slash chefs preparing our lunch while we take a bajillion photos

The view behind the beach. We saw a monkey!

The beach

And then, finally, lunch!

And no one went home hungry that day

Also, there are two dogs there that will literally beg for your love. Look at how he is tapping my leg for some sugar

And once the bellies were filled, we rested a bit and headed to the next destination that was a snorkeling spot called Shimizu.

Shimizu

Shimizu

If you've read my post about my Puerto Princesa trip, you would know that I couldn't enjoy the snorkeling at Honda Bay because of the life vest that we were required to wear. In El Nido, however, the life vests weren't mandatory. I could dive deep until the corals were a few feet from my face! 

I've seen healthier and more colorful reefs though

I was going to rest by that rock then I realized it was actually a big coral then I saw some bluish pearls in it and I got really excited about it. I didn't take it though!

The reef was enormous! And so many fishies too!

I dived and dived until my lungs couldn't take it

Look at that brownish, greyish, yellowish corals

The best part of all this is that I could see all the corals and fishes so clearly because I had a good 20/10 vision! Going through a Lasik procedure was one of the best decisions I made in my life.

Snake Island, our next destination, is a sand bar that looks like a snake or an S to be more accurate. 

Snake Island

Snake Island

On our way to the top of the hill to see the snakeyness of the island

Yes, I see it. So snakey indeed.

On the other side of the hill, there is this great view.

We got down and strolled a bit on the sand bar. Which you cannot see in this photo

Next is the Kudugnon Cave. 

Kudugnon Cave

Just a wee bit exploring and fact-learning in a cave that smells strongly of bat crap. Although, there were no bats to be seen.

Making a bee line to the cave

You have to make like an action star and roll to get in

No bats? Yep, no bats.

Our guide was saying something about how people used to live here

The next destination was Seven Commando. 

Seven Commando

Man, did it feel good to laze around at the end of the day. I wish we could've stayed a bit longer. We only stayed a couple of minutes because it was growing late and we need to get to the last destination of the tour package right away.

I... have no photos. Darn.

We then went to another snorkeling spot. I think it's called Pinagbuyutan.

Pinagbuyutan

Snorkeling time once again

That is not a good thing to step on

Look at that fish

I felt like stepping on these things. Good thing I didn't.

And that ends the Island hopping tour of Day 1! We were brought back to the port. We walked back to Tay Miloy's and got ready for dinner. We had dinner at Habibi Restaurant. 

Habibi Restaurant

I am in love with their seafood carbonara. This wasn't my order though.

They've got bottles of wine

Day 1 concluded. On to day two!



El Nido Day 2 : Matinloc Shrine, Secret Beach, Matinloc Cove, Hidden Beach, Star Beach, Kadlao Lagoon, Bucal Beach, Papaya Beach
El Nido Day 3 : Papaya Beach, Twin Beach, Marimeg Beach
El Nido : 5D4N Travel Expenses

Photo credits: Rem Calumba, Joy Sabal, Troy Babaran

I've recently moved out of my parents' house to live a life of full independence and I now live with two of my friends in a place that is closer to work. Two months into the somewhat grown-upish life, the roomies and I got to scratch off the first of the many places we plan to visit, the Art In Island Museum in Cubao, QC.

Php500 for adults. Php400 for students

It was a very long commute from Cavite  to Cubao. The traffic was heavy in Guadalupe and it didn't help that we left home an hour before lunchtime. We arrived around 4:30 at the museum. I did not expect the place to be packed with people.


We deposited our shoes and readied our cameras to begin the fun. Our baby girl began to run all over the place out of excitement. She even tried swimming on the floors.

The 3D art is far too convincing

There are markers on the floor so that you'd get the perfect angle but we didn't figure that out until later.

This small sticker right here is a lifesaver. Perfect photos, all the way!

There's also a guide of how to take a picture of the art in each area.

For when you couldn't really figure things out

It was a challenge to get the right angle especially when you're trying to compete with what feels like a bajillion other people. I always ran for it when a group left the space.

Out of the way, people. Awesome jump shot, coming through

The place was surprisingly huge! The last 3D art museum I've been to was Seriland in Ocean Park and that place is really tiny compared to Art In Island.

Did I mention the place was huge?

They have this cute cafe inside the museum. Thank goodness because we were exhausted and dehydrated.




We were able to roam the whole place in about three hours. We noticed that there was only a handful of people left by 7 pm. If you want the place all to yourself and you have your own vehicle, I think some time around 6 pm onward would be the best time.

On our way to the exit

We left the museum with a camera fat with photos of us, us, and more us. The next day, our Facebook profile and cover photos were updated. :)

Update (5/26/2017) : No problems so far. I no longer remember what's it like to depend on a pair of glasses everyday. Still enjoying the benefits of my Lasik procedure two years ago :)

Update (4/7/2016) : It's been a year since my Lasik surgery! Happy anniversary, perfect eyesight! I am happy to report that my vision is still crystal clear with no complications whatsoever. I've been hiking, swimming, running, reading, and writing and have not experienced anything noteworthy. Getting this surgery is definitely one of the best decisions I've made.  

Update (8/1/2015) : It has been 3 months after the surgery and my eyes are doing great! I've been to El Nido, Palawan recently and I was able to swim in it's beautiful coral reefs.  I am one happy customer. :)

I have been wearing glasses since I was seven. When I was in grade school, the kids teased me. When I was in high school/ college, it was a hassle because I was in the swim team. Now, I found it to be even more unbearable because I got into running and I travel a lot. I hate wearing contacts. So when I found out about BDO's 50% off promo on Shinagawa's Lasik services, not even a hint of hesitation passed my mind. I was determined to get my eyes fixed.



I called the clinic and asked what were the things to do if I were interested in the procedure. After asking my age, they told me that I should go through a screening first. I scheduled my screening on a Saturday.

Man, that is one fancy clinic

The screening took around 4-5 hours. I would strongly suggest that you do not set any other appointments on the day of your screening. I'm glad I didn't. There was a quite a lot of people, which is normal on the weekends according to them. They gave me a questionnaire that asked  about personal information and a survey of how you've heard of them. They also gave me a copy of the list of tests during the screening and how it would be done. When I submitted the questionnaire, I waited for a bit then I was called. Time to put those eyes to the test!

There are so many machines. These are just the half of them

After numerous tests and a lot of waiting, the results were in. I am a qualified candidate for Shinagawa's Lasik procedure. Huzzah! Apparently, not everyone passes this screening. Some due to age, some due to very high eye grade, and there are some who, because of wearing contact lens a lot, scarred their eye too deep, the procedure was not possible.

After discussing with the doctor and the consultant, I was surprised to learn that I had to let them know right away if I wanted to avail the Lasik procedure. My plan was to find out if I pass the screening then figure out some things financially then decide. I had little choice but to decide that day. After much deliberation... lol jk, I didn't do much deliberation. I just panicked a bit then told them I'll go for the most expensive Lasik procedure because they were scaring the daylights out of me with all the less expensive ones. I gave the down payment (because I couldn't afford to pay everything right away) and left the building with a smile on my face, not sure if excited or nervous. It was finally happening.

I scheduled the procedure on the first week of April. I asked my parents to take me. I prepared my payment. I waited.

On the day of the procedure, I waited a few more hours. When they finally called me, I found myself grouped with four other people who were scheduled for the procedure as well. They gave us a pack containing eye medicine and a pair of glasses.
After a quick orientation, we waited again. The reason we had to wait this time is because the machine had to be warmed up. This is also the reason why the procedure is done in batches. 

Do you remember the scenes on TV dramas where doctors are working on their patients and the patient on the table sees the lights and the surgeons? It sort of felt like that. Only, there were no surgeons. Just a big machine over your face. I could feel my heart pounding but I did my best to obey what the doctor told me to do, like look up or look down. The procedure itself was really quick. It took 8 minutes per eye.

When it was done, we all went back to the room where we were oriented and waited for everyone to finish. Our eyes were beginning to hurt. The personnel took some anesthesia drops and applied it to our eyes for some quick relief. The doctor came in and checked our eyes. There were no problems with mine. I was good to go.

IT STINGED. During the ride home, my eyes were killing me. The anesthesia wore off and I couldn't do a thing. My eyes wanted to give up. I kept it close until we got home and I went straight to bed hoping it would wear off the next day. And it did. 

The next day, I found that my vision wasn't a 100% perfect. Everything was clear, yes, but I was seeing double. It was mild and only obvious with edges but it frustrated me anyway because I wasn't used to it and I paid good money for good vision right away. Since I couldn't do anything about it, I patiently waited for it to go away. I applied all my eye medicine on time like I was told to. I wore the tinted glasses during the day. I wore the eye shields at night.

Eye shields are given for free. Cat not included

After more or less a week, the double vision was gone. EVERYTHING WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR.

On my first post Lasik check-up, they checked my eye grade and I was informed that I had 20/10 vision. How great is that?! After almost 20 years of hiding behind a pair of glasses, my eyes are finally free!  Sure, it cost me what my kidney would be worth if I sold it but I have no regrets. Once my financial woes eases down a bit, I'd be able to go swimming, running, hiking and travelling again without the trouble of having to wear spectacles. 

Check it! Check it! Now people can see my cute baggy eyes!

I thought of sharing some details (costs, etc.) like I always do with my posts but it would be better if you call the clinic instead.  I wouldn't want to be the cause of misinformation. They respond right away to calls and are very accommodating. Don't hesitate to call them if you have inquiries.