VOLET'S RESORT

Every time we plan for an outing, I always consider Volets Resort, in Dasmarinas Cavite, as one of our choices. For one, it is near our place as I hate to spend more travel time going to a resort  because of the distance and traffic that goes with it and back than the time spent in the pool no matter how enticing the feedbacks were of the said place. Second, it had 8 pools, including a wave pool and slides for kids and adults.

The last time I checked, I was disappointed because the wave pool was closed and the Lifeguard said that it's open only during the summer months of  March until June 15. I was there with my family June 20, 2011 which was a holiday. It's maybe because the resort's income during off-summer season is no match to the wave's power generation charge.  We rented a "cottage" which could accommodate 20 people for Php700.00. The Nipa Hut type also cost 700.00 but could only accommodate around 10.   Entrance by the way on weekdays was Php200.00 for adults and 150.00 for kids below 4 feet. There was no entrance fee for babies. The entrance fee for weekends was Php220.00 for adults.

If you want to grill all your food, I suggest to bring your own as we have to wait for one family to finish grilling their stuff and when it was our time, the same family, which had to cook another dish had to wait longer for us to cook our barbecue. There were just three families at that time so just imagine if this happened during summer.

What quiet turned us off was the swarm of flies on each table everywhere which gave an impression that the area was not being cleaned. We had to wash the table ourselves with soap while our neighbor had lighted candles. (Update: Last May 2012, My family and I, more than 10 of us, went to Volets and I noticed that there were already several grilling areas, the facilities were improved, new walkways, and the entrance was renovated. The entrance fee though also increased.

Palawan's Underground River

One of the must-see places in the Philippines is the Underground River in Puerto Princesa, Palawan which is among the top finalists of the  New Seven Wonders of Nature for 2011. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is 50 kilometers away from the city, and it took us about two hours to reach  the place. I'm sure, information on how to get there is readily available in any hotel as even in the lodging house where we stayed, we got flyers for package tours from its coffee shop. For the more adventurous, jeepneys or vans for a more comfy ride are available and are stationed near the city but visitors must be there very early morning because at the Sabang fish port, they have to get a number and pay for the permit from its tourism booking office. It is not advisable to go there late morning especially during the summer months of March to May because of the influx of visitors. The boats, motorized or paddled, are limited so the time of waiting might turned off one's excitement. 

From the fish port, we took a motorized banca because it was easier to reach the entrance of the cave rather than take a mountain trek. The sight was already breathtaking along the shore going to the cave with white sand and mountain formation which reminded me of Jurassic Park. We were advised not to bring food while passing the jungle trail going to the cave as monkeys in the area  have a bad habit of snatching anything worth their fancy. I haven't seen one though except a monitor lizard.  Greeting us after the short monkey trail was a green lagoon where paddle boats good up to six persons were waiting.

Entering the "bat cave", was eerie as it was so dark except for the car-battery-operated spotlight used by the boatman cum tourist guide who was joking and sharing anecdotes all throughout the 45-minute ride pointing at stalagmite and stalactite formations resembling fruits, vegetables, people and saints. Being fond of horror movies, I imagined a big creature under the river would suddenly appear and eat  us alive. 

Matabungkay Resorts

Here comes the rainy season and surely beaches everywhere will not be so crowded unlike during the summer months of March to May.  If you want to take the chance of dipping into the sea all by yourself during this season, one beach getaway that is fairly clean near Metro Manila that I could recommend is Matabungkay in Lian, Batangas. The area is popular for its floating cottages  (shown above) rental of which ranges from Php500.00 during lean months to Php1,500.00 during peak season.