My mother, sister and I always clash or we always end up in argument because we have different views and opinion. They have millennial  mindset while I am little conservative, I am an old fashioned.  They both advice me to do liberated thinking and not to act like an old woman when I am not. They both said, it is now millennial and I should not be stuck up from the old days where everything is old like my mind.

We live near the church so I grow up attending Sunday schools, I lived with my grandmother for a short period of time, and during those time we both religiously go to church and I’ve been surrounded by elder people like her, and in my entire time in grade school I religiously attend Catechism, which made me dream to be a nun back then, those time there were Catholic elders who teach bible stories and verses to children in public schools, I just don’t know if it is still happening today.

As I recall, I remember telling my mother I wanted to be a nun when I am in grade school. She was surprised, but then she told me I could still serve the Lord even if I am not a nun, in my little mind I know my mother was thinking what will be our life, if me the eldest child goes to convent.

Anyway today, my mother told me to wake up, be smart and not to be stuck up in the past. The world is changing so I should change too and have a millennial  mindset like everyone else, because if not I will always be hurt.

My mother feeling stressed asked my sister if she can drive us to town, we left and when we are halfway there our mother realized she forgot to wear a jacket so we’ve returned home to get one, and that’s where we decided to do a night trip to the nearby town of Looc, making it possible my mother asked one of our cousins again to go with us, my father can’t go because he is already tipsy.

My sister and his boyfriend weren’t in good terms but she still asked him if he want to go with us when we saw him sitting in his friend’s house, he did.  It took us about one hour to reach the town of Looc, everything was closed so we decided to visit Bantigue Resort,  which rise in popularity in 2015 because of the well lighted Eiffel tower (replica), the famous landmark was made of bamboo and to add more attraction, a well lit Big Ben was added.

When we arrived, nobody welcomed us making us adamant to go inside. I have to ask where to go and what to do and that’s where someone from the bar finally asked us, if we are only going to take pictures or are we going to make an order.  I asked for their closing time since it was already 9 o’clock in the evening, was told they closed at 10 o’clock and since we still have one hour before closing time, I replied we are going to eat and we are five people. The woman guided us below the Eiffel tower replica, we look and order first from their menu before taking our time taking photos around the resort.

Well, since we are so giddy yup taking photos around, we didn’t realize that our food was served after 30 minutes. I have already seen the majestic Eiffel Tower in Paris and seeing the replica doesn’t excite a lot.

We have ordered rice, pork sisig, milk fish sisig, canton, mixed vegetables, extra rice and a glass of mango milkshake for me. Their food comes in good servings in affordable price. As expected, my cousin and my sister’s boyfriend ate like a cat, that if you brought them to an eat all you can restaurant the owner will be happy. Yap, we are not able to finish the sisig’s so we mixed them together and asked to wrap it for us.

We pay our bill and drove back to Odiongan in hurry because it was already late in the evening. We arrived in our house before 12 midnight.

Bantigue Resort is a private residence turned to a resort. The creativity of the owners show in every corner of the house. The collection of bonsai is relaxing to the eyes during the day, highlighting the huge Eiffel Tower replica at the forefront of the property. Bantigue Resort is open for swimming, Family Gatherings, Parties, Reunion and other Special Events! – asiatravel.com

BANTIGUE RESORT
Brgy. Punta, Looc, Romblon
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/pages/biz/Bantigue-Resort-760704667473655/
Mobile No. – 0948 748 0724

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal opinion and experience and might be different from yours.

It’s mother’s day so we have planned to eat outside to celebrate it, but before we do eat out, we headed to Brgy. Taboboan to attend the wake of the father of my sister’s workmate. We stayed a bit and when we return to Odiongan we directly went to Mac’s Chicken and Barbecue Haus which seems very busy as I found out they’re celebrating Mother’s Day Buffet Special which is Eat All You Can for ₱249.00.

When, I went inside the place is full of people and there is nowhere for us to sit, I have met inside two of my high school classmates and one of them whom I found eating at the table in the hallway told me that they have no choice, but to eat separately. Nobody in the server notices us coming but when we are going out they have noticed us.

It’s around 7:15 in the evening so we decided to go to Greenfields Garden Resto-Cafe which isn’t so busy like Mac’s, we went to their air-conditioned room where there is one family celebrating and waiting for their orders. We feel relaxed that the restaurant wasn’t that busy, but we are not expecting that they are already running out of dishes, we have ordered their baby back ribs, but we are told isn’t available anymore, what is left is Liempo BBQ so we ordered five plates for us, a bulalo soup, extra rice and their carbonara pasta, but the server came back saying they only have three plates of the liempo barbecue, so we ordered sizzling sisig and a pitcher of their red ice tea.

Finding another restaurant to eat is time consuming, so I decided to give the plates of liempo to my father, sister and her boyfriend. My mother and I will just share with the sizzling sisig since Chicken Barbecue isn’t available as well. When the server went out, the woman at another table told us that there are lots of dishes unavailable, which we agreed.

This is our third time to eat dinner at Greenfields, the first two was fine, but the third one is bad. It took forever before our order was served. It took almost one hour, ten minutes before one hour to be exact, what is disappointing the bulalo soup was missing, they forgot about it and the red ice tea became a lemon ice tea.

Greenfields Garden Resto-Cafe
Barangay Tulay (near Petron), Odiongan, Romblon
OPENING HOURS: 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM
CONTACT: 567-6258

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal experience and might be different from yours.

Visiting the bamboo farm in San Andres under the scorching heat was a bit tiring so instead of going directly to the municipality of Calatrava for the next adventure, we return to Odiongan and decided to have an early dinner at Riverside Place near the office of DOST.

Riverside place is the newest Asian Fusion Restaurant in Odiongan after Orient’s Cuisine, which is popular of their bento and sushi’s. We are handed the menu and we decided to order set of sushi’s but unfortunately no available sushi’s at the moment because they are just about to steam rice, so we I asked the server what is the best meal in their menu, and she pointed out the bento for ₱99 per box and that’s what we ordered and we waited 20 minutes for it to be served along side a pitcher of iced lemon tea.

The table wasn’t so spacious for the big bento lunch box, it was hard for five of us to eat properly. Nevertheless, the place is cozy and relaxing.

Riverside Place is open from breakfast to dinner and they do deliveries, take reservations and takeouts.  If you are hungry and wanted to try something different for a cheaper price pay them a visit at the address below. Their soup is a classic.

RIVERSIDE PLACE
130 J.P. Laurel St., Odiongan, Romblon, Philippines 5505
Facebook page – https://web.facebook.com/riversideplaceodiongan/
Mobile No. – 0998 391 5979

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal opinion and experience and might be different from yours.

One lazy afternoon, my mother told us to get ready and since I have thought we are just going to town, I replied, I am ready.  She asked if I am sure because I am just wearing a house dress, so I asked back if where we are going.  Well, it turns out, she is bored and she has something in her mind.

It was been a long time we are planning to visit the Bamboo Farm in San Andres, so that’s where we went together with our cousins, it was a good thing we brought them because if we didn’t we maybe lost our way. We made a right turn to the Sunflower Farm but it turns out it was a wrong turn, it should be next one.

We reached a point, where there are two roads and we don’t know which one to take. Gladly, the people were helpful and they told us to go on the road going upward, my sister driving the big bike asked our cousin to interchange since it was too big for her and she can’t reach the ground just in case something happened along the way.

Unexpected, but the road is concreted. It has been just a  challenge that is going upward, the view along the way is astonishing because you can see things below, the sea, houses and the streets.  We really don’t know where to stop, but gladly we found a group of people ahead of us, they are taking photos in the bushes which looks like bamboo to us.

It was disappointing because the bamboo farm wasn’t the way it looks to be in photos, it wasn’t cared of.  I think we visited in a wrong time of the year, we should not visit in summer.

Nothing much to do, we left the farm and went to downtown San Andres to feel cool by eating Halo-halo for ₱25.00 only. It  is a popular Filipino dessert with a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which various ingredients are added, including boiled sweet beans, young corn, coconut, camote, banana plantain, ripe jackfruit, sago, gulaman, fruits, leche plan and yam ice cream. It is served in a tall bowl.

Loveland Beach Resort wasn’t hard to find and after staying for a few minutes, looking around and snapping some pictures we headed to Looc and back to Odiongan where we decided to have an early dinner at Greenfields Garden Resto-Cafe, my cousins didn’t eat yet at this restaurant, so we brought them here.

Since it was still very early, no diners yet, except from us. The food we ordered was served within 20 minutes, we ordered their famous baby back ribs, bulalo soup, sizzling sisig, extra rice and their red ice tea. It was quite funny because both of our cousins ate very slowly, we are already finished eating and they were still finishing their food.

What’s disappointing with them was they ate like a cat, they almost didn’t finish eating their baby back ribs so what more the sizzling sisig that we have to ask to be wrap so we can bring it home.

What’s entertaining, how my oldest cousin E ate his baby back ribs, we have to tell him that it is okay to detach the ribs one by one, he is trying to do a masterpiece eating just the meat without detaching the ribs (lol) which made us all laugh at him.

We hurried home after eating early dinner, my cousins and their team will have  a championship game for the Inter-Purok Basketball Tournament.

Greenfields Garden Resto-Cafe
Barangay Tulay (near Petron), Odiongan, Romblon
OPENING HOURS: 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM
CONTACT: 567-6258

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal experience and might be different from yours.

My mother been infected with “wandering virus”, she is always the first one who will tell us to do road tripping, if she found something new to visit around our island she will surely be the first one to get ready. My father had been telling us not to wander alone because he worries that we might meet bad people or accident along the way and there will be no one to help us. To ease this worry, my mother decided to asked our second cousins to travel with us so in case we have  a flat tire along the way there will be someone to help us find a vulcanizing shop so we let them used our other bike.

Our destination? The beach resort that went trending in Facebook because of the long bridge going to the ocean which is  made of bamboo. Yes, it is Loveland Beach Resort in the Municipality of Ferrol, a private residence, but however people are welcome to visit the beach and the pier.

It took us less than one hour from Odiongan, the road going to the resort isn’t concreted, it is mixed of rocks and mud, it will be a bumpy ride but it will be worth it.  When we arrived there were men working, we asked them, where to go, if there will be an entrance fee or sort of things to do, but it looks like there were none because they just tell us to go.

At the entrance, you’ll read Pier 68 and a welcome sign. You will pass along the mangroves before seeing the beautiful view of the ocean and the sturdy bridge. It looks like Libertad Mangrove Forest was inspired from Loveland Beach Resort.

There are two men busy working along the bridge, they are changing the old bamboos to a new one.  Nearing the end of the bridge there are two shades that could be used for swimming haven and when we visited there are a set of kids who swam like fish and a foreigner enjoying the water.

When you walked farther, you will end up in a closed door, but behind that door was like a private hall that could be used for a barbecue party, there was also some boats in docked.  We really didn’t take long, we just snap some photos and walked back to the entrance, it was scorching hot because we visited the place mid-afternoon.

We have been planning to visit Loveland Beach Resort but it was bit far from our town so when we found out about the mangrove forest nearby, we head on to Brgy. Libertad without knowing where it was, all we know there should be a tarpaulin alongside the road, a landmark that the mangrove forest was in that place.

We easily found the place,  before we can call out for someone, an elderly woman came out and I have asked if we are on the right place, we are indeed. We are asked to write in the logbook and paid for the entrance fee that cost ten pesos per person.

There was a cute bridge made of unknown wood at the middle of the healthy mangrove trees, it was heading to a place that looks like a fish pond where there is a turf with TV and if you will continue walking you will be heading to the sea, there was a shade on each side.

Nothing much to see, it was a good place to unwind and escape the busy life in downtown. We stayed a  bit, and I went down the salty water for my photo to be taken and I think it was a bad decision because I maybe disturbed unknown being there because when we are nearing the turf with a TV my sister calls me to take her photo and when I went to her, my android phone jump into the salt water, I immediately went down and I still wasn’t  able to save it, it dies.

Starving, we went to Jollibee Odiongan to eat snacks and it was so forgetful of me to bring my phone at a repair shop, so they can drain the water. It was saddening because it wasn’t cheap and it wasn’t easy to buy. If I would known, what will happen I didn’t go to Libertad Mangrove Forest that day.

Every time we (my family) do road tripping around the island and every time we passed by at the Municipality of San Agustin I always felt amazing looking at Mt. Payaopao from a distance. The mountain looks so majestic to me, it was surrounded by water and a community on one side. It was my dream to reach the summit one day and see things below, so when I saw a newly establish mountaineering group in Facebook conquering Mt. Payaopao, I immediately joined them.

[Taken a few years ago during our family road trip]

Romblon Baktas Mountaineer planned a revenge climb to Mt. Payaopao since a lot of new members wasn’t able to climb the summit, but due to bad circumstances (bad weather) I wasn’t able to go with them, we are told it was really slippery when they climb due to frequent raining days before the scheduled climb.

On the group first anniversary, another climb was made to Mt. Payaopao (April 15, 2018), since the group was created during their first climb at the said mountain, this time no matter what, I did sure I can climb with them.  Since the municipality of San Agustin is about two hours drive from our town and my family doesn’t want to wait very long for me in the town, they asked my younger cousins (second cousin and a cousin in-law) to be my driver and go hiking with me, which they did.

Mt. Payaopao (also known as Tablas Summit on old maps) at the northeastern extremity of the island, is the highest peak on the island at 2,182 feet (665 m) high and the second highest in the province (after Mount Guiting-Guiting).

Just like before, we all assembled in town and just like before it was Filipino time, we all agreed to meet at 4:30 in the morning, but as expected most of the joiners came late, imagine how long we waited in town. Anyway, my mother and sister went with us at the jump-off and they left when we started walking to the trail. Unlike any other mountains we have climbed, we started climbing through concrete steps which I think almost 200 of them, I lost count eh.

Climbing Mt. Payaopao is harder than our last climb, it was all going up, flat plains were not a normal occurrence. I felt so tired within minutes, especially I am carrying a heavy backpack, my cousins wanted to carry my bag, but I declined to their offer, well that’s me I seldom asked for help. I will do things on my own until I can do it.  My hiking buddy Anna wasn’t able to go because her mother didn’t allow her,  she sounds sick as well when we called her on her phone.

The trail wasn’t that bushy, it has been just  slippery when you are nearing the summit maybe because of the fog during early morning, it was a good thing there are ropes that serves as a guide or help when going up. We reached the summit after two hours and 30 minutes, the summit wasn’t that spacious for many of us. We rested for a bit, ate some snacks, take photos and chit chatting, and then as expected, we introduced each other again and saying the reason why we climb, this is for the benefit of the new joiners.

We’ve been resting for a bit when I can’t find my younger cousins, I have asked someone and I was told they were at the other end so I went looking for them and that’s where I found that they are looking in a mesmerizing scenery. It was very beautiful, so astonishing, I think other hears me exclaiming or they got curious what to see at the other end, they follow and that’s where we took so long taking photos of each other. It turns out, it was the firs time they saw the view even it was their second or third time at the summit, because it was just this time that there was a clearing and the guides clean the bushes in the summit.

We spend a lot of time, waiting for a clearing because we can’t see the view when clouds are on the way. Our group president already called us many times to go down, because the first group whom wasn’t able to see the view we saw already descended to the guide’s house.

We hurriedly went down the peak it is past lunch already, the first group who descended might get bored waiting for us and eat lunch ahead of us. Adrenaline rush, everyone is rushing especially one of the guide which is left to us, a young boy who threw himself between the trees like a monkey.  It took us one hour to reach the guide house, it was planned to have a boodle fight, but it was quite hot to eat in an open space, we ate in groups and afterwards have a customary group photo with the anniversary cake, which others have fun wiping the icing to each other.

Within minutes we reached the jump-off, where we found a few of us got lost and wasn’t able to reach the guide’s house so they have been starved waiting for us to descend, and since we are the first one to descend we waited for a bit to the others and since it is getting late in the afternoon and we still need to travel back to Odiongan a few of us left already after asking permission and bidding goodbye to others.

And before we went out the national road I have asked my cousins to go to the port to have a photo of Mt. Payaopao in a distance just like how the first photo above was taken. I am surprised to see that the port was already improved after which, we decided to take another route, round Tablas passing other municipalities going home.

Two years passed, my older cousin and her own family went home again for vacation but this time they are with her husband who just went out from the army,  they have been living far away from the clan since her husband was assigned to his province and days before their vacation ended they organized a family outing.  It was also two years ago when she came home with her kids, after the death of our old aunt that there was a family outing at Sato Beach Resort.

For a change, the family outing was made possible at Mountain Spring Resort when it should be at Mablaran Falls, my family went so I did, but instead of leaving together with them we just followed, we went to town market to buy some stuff because I don’t think it is nice to show up at the resort without bringing anything with us.

Mountain Spring Resort was located in Brgy. Rizal, Odiongan Romblon just a few minutes away from the downtown. A lot of things changed at the resort, way back in College when our institute held the Acquaintance party there was only one small pool then and the place wasn’t big and spacious like today.

Today, there are three pools. The old one, the kids pool and the larger pool for adults complete with slides. The cottage near the kids pool was rented by the clan and since the place wasn’t rented exclusively, aside from us there are also families, group of friends and kids who enjoyed the pool.

Me, not knowing how to swim stays in a corner but most of the time I am in the kids pool, playing with my second cousins (1x) removed, teaching them how to swim (according to me, hahaha). But when the water in the kids pool became so itchy, I decided to say in the bigger pool. I guess the kids started to pee in the pool without leaving out of the water.

Mountain Spring Resort is a hectare of land converted into a farm resort for tourists who are looking for a peaceful place to relax and unwind. It has also a large hall that can be used for seminars, birthday and even wedding celebration. They have a karaoke machine for people who’d like to sing between dipping in at the pool, they have shower rooms and plenty of cottages scattered around and their parking lot was spacious too. They also offered catering for any occasions and have a few rooms for guest who wanted to do overnight stay.

MOUNTAIN SPRING RESORT
Brgy. Rizal, Odiongan, Romblon
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/Mountain-Spring-Resort-607164986084372/
Mobile No. – 0917 808 5982

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal experience and opinion and might be different from yours.