Here Comes Summer 2015 (Part 2)

In lieu of my previous post here, here's the 2nd part. I've said that I'll bombard photos of our recent beach trip in this post but sadly I haven't took as much photos as I want because my phone battery's drained. I forgot to charge it. But anyway, here are some photos I grabbed (without permission) from my SIL's FB page. 

Their swimming pool is very nice. Even the adult pool can accommodate kids
but with adult supervision and company.

Here's the mushroom structure they have and from afar the giant shoes
which I think is 20 years old or more. Both structures
are preserved and I'm glad they did. We have stories to tell to our children.

At the far right is their new and child-friendly playground. 
At the left is one of their new function halls.

This castle is also 2 decades old. We remember playing here when
we were kids. But now, they closed the entrance going at to the top.

That's all folks. More than the photos I shared, there are many improvements Mergrande has done through the years. And I'm glad that they maintained it and until now they are still in operation despite many resorts that are now in business.

Here Comes Summer 2015 (Part 1)

Everybody's excitement in every social media page screams out S-U-M-M-E-R!!! It's the most wonderful time of the year apart from Christmas or when you are a student. Believe me, even parents sigh with relief when summer time comes. No hurried morning madness especially if you're a working mom. This summer is extra ordinary and I would say memorable for us as it is not a yearly happening. Two of my husband's family from abroad are here to spend vacation at the same time and what better way to spend summer is to hit the B-E-A-C-H. Oh yeah! This is the last day of the month and tomorrow, April 1, is officially the start of summer. Exciting noh? Personally, at this point in my life, as much as possible I refrain from too much exposure under the sun. For one, I easily get dark and I care for my skin more at my age now. I don't like excessive sweating too because it's an icky, sticky feeling. But since I have kids already, I enjoy looking at them enjoying the water so I'm equally happy na rin, diba muthers? A hat, a pair of sunglasses and an overload of sunblock will do the trick for me. But for the meantime, let's prepare ourselves first for the complete spiritual cleansing. We are commemorating the Holy Week this week. Let us renew and come ourselves before our God who died on the Cross and sacrificed for us. And gave a new hope for us by rising from the dead. May we have a fruitful, peaceful, restful, blessed and meaningful week.


Fast forward to next week…


We will be having a family gathering. Oh well, it's also the time where family reunions are usually being held because the kids are on vacation too. So it's totally a big event that we are all looking forward to. It'll be an overnight stay in one of the longest running operational beach resort here in the city, the Mergrande Ocean Resort (formerly the Villa Victoria Beach Resort). 

Rewind…

We frequent this beach resort when we were kids about 20 years or so ago. A regular visitor means almost every weekend we were there with my relatives on my father's side. Upon arrival, we changed in our swimming outfits and swam like there's no tomorrow. Me and my cousins would just get out of the water to eat or when it's time to go home already. Then we are knock off to sleep.


At present...

Being in this resort brings back a lot of happy childhood memories. A lot has been changed and it is for the better. Cottages for overnight has improved a lot and in air-conditioned type already, their playground is more child-friendly and as a parent it's a double thumbs-up and a high-five recommended for me. (The giant shoe and the big mushroom structure is still there. I'm glad that they still preserved it.) They have improved and added their recreational facilities such as seminar halls which can accommodate events like weddings, birthdays and the like. Their swimming pool is more exciting than before with the additional slides, waterfalls structure and installed shaded area in its vicinity. Sorry but I haven't taken photos when we were there about 2 weeks ago. But I'd say, I loved it's amenities now including the toilet and bath rooms and the restaurant. I didn't expect their generous amount of serving for an affordable price. We had our breakfast there and for a price range of Php100-140, a serving of their regular breakfast includes a huge cup of rice, 2 servings of sunny side up egg, a bacon (or tocino or longganisa), a choice of tea or coffee and a choice of fresh fruits of juice. And I am amazed at how delicious their breakfast selection is. That time the available fruit they serve is watermelon. It's sweet and juicy and in large serving too. If you'll order their American breakfast, they serve a jumbo-sized hotdog, 3 slices of toasted bread, a butter and a jelly then a choice of either tea or coffee and fresh fruits or juice. I can't help to brag about it because it's really worth every peso you'll spend. I promise to show you in photos the next time we'll visit there and just bombard you with one, less talk…. hehehe. So for now, I leave you hanging. It means I'll make a part 2 series of this post, more on photos next time.


I hope you will also have an exciting, adventure-filled summer with your loved ones blogga' friends!

Korean-Age

I wouldn't know that there's such a Korean-age and International age until our summer kick-off last Saturday took place.

 

We went to Costa Marina Beach Resort in Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS). It's about 10 minutes boat ride from Sasa, Davao City. It's the same boat dock when you go to Paradise Island Beach Resort. Boat fare is 15.00 pesos each including a 1 year old child. We chose Costa because we want a more private and peaceful environment and a cheaper entrance fee unlike Paradise who charges a hefty 250.00 pesos. Anyway, on our way there it was quite gloomy and showered a little. But it didn't hamper a smooth sailing ride and our wanting to reach the place. We arrived there past 7 in the morning. The kids enjoyed more playing with the sand rather than dipping in the water. The water is actually cold. It's not inviting even if the water is clear and clean. A little later, beach bummers slowly came in. And one particular group caught our attention were a group of Koreans (exchange/English students) invading the resort. They were actually noisy like us Filipinos. But they are extra noisy conveying they are having much fun. Their fun didn't stop until we bade goodbye around 2 in the afternoon. 

The Koreans make use of their time by dipping in the water once they arrived. After which the waters disappeared and left a view of a sprawling wet sand. Then the Koreans joined the kids in building sand castle. They were afraid of them and made fun of the beach ball and the beach paraphernalia's we brought. My parents who were with us too started out conversation with them and what came out was quite amusing. We joined them and one particular Korean guy is so friendly and kept giggling on our kids. Kept saying, "Oh, you're cute!". I find them really amusing. He kept the conversation very light and informative for us Filipinos. He is a law student and after 2 months he'll fly to Australia to take his internship. He's a cute guy also (hihihi)... But I didn't have the time to take a picture of him because my phone went dead. After a series of exchanging words, we asked him how old he is. Then he said that in Korea, he is 24 years old and his International age is 26 years old. We were startled for a few seconds internalizing what he said and told him how is that. Then he explained that in Korea, during the time of conception your age counts already. By the time, you are born, it counts as 1 year old. And then in New Year which is January 1st, another year adds to your age. Your age there is added every year and not on your birthdate. So by January 1, all Koreans celebrate their 'happy birthday' here on earth and not during the birthdate they were born. And when your birthdate comes, you still have the same age. Isn't it surprising? I don't know about you, but it's the first time I heard of it. There's even a calculate your Korean age method. See here. #korean-age #international-age #summergetaway #samalbeach

Summer Kick-off

What better way to enjoy summer is hitting the sand, the beach, and the sun. Reunions and just gathering with loved ones make it extra special because almost everybody is complete because school is off. Tomorrow, we'll hit the beach. We've been planning that for a very long time already. And because of lined up commitments one after the other, it wasn't possible. To make it more exciting, Monday (March 17) is declared a special non-working holiday for us here in Davao City. It's gonna be the 77th Araw ng Dabaw celebration. There are lots of activities lined up here and here for locals and tourists to enjoy. Of course, fruits are bountiful like the famous durian, marang, mangosteen and more. So, long holiday for us Davaoenos. Enjoy and Madayaw Davao! #mallwidesale #davaocity #arawngdavao2014


What's your summer 2014 escapade be? Thank God it's Friday. Enjoy your weekend everyone!