HOTEL REVIEW : Awari Bay Resort

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Date of Stay: November 2022 

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We spent a weekend at Awari Bay Resort in Mabini, Batangas. Awari Bay is one of many resorts in Anilao, Mabini which is famous for its beaches and one of the top diving destinations in Luzon or probably in the Philippines. Because of its proximity to Manila, Mabini is a perfect weekend getaway for someone who wants to enjoy the sea and the rich marine resources.

We arrived just in time for the check-in and received the card keys to our rooms, including password internet access to 3 devices. The check-in was smooth. We presented our vaccination card as a requirement. The view from the reception area is breathtaking. You can get a nice view of Balayan Bay and the mountain ranges of Calatagan, Balayan, or Calaca across the bay.

We reserved a family room close to the pool area which has a nice view of the pool and overlooking Balayan Bay.  Our room consists of 2 beds and an extra mattress. The room is spacious with a flat TV with a cable connection, hot and cold water supply, and complimentary drinks. The bathroom needs a little bit of upkeep. The curtain rod is rusty and the floor metal strainer there are visible water stains on the wall tiles. 

We got ourselves settled while waiting for the sun to come down so we take a dip in the infinity pool. 

view of the pool area from our room

view of the pool at night illuminated by capiz lights

The pool area is clean and a lifeguard is always on duty. A free towel is also available. The pool is divided into two. The smaller one is deep and is used for practice diving. After swimming, we went to explore the place. They have an Ifugao-like room on the hills and they also have a huge aviary with exotic birds and a small chapel in the resort. The bar is also open until 8 pm if you want to have alcohol.

Chapel in Awari Bay

For our dinner, we booked a private place under a huge tree and my brother arranged a mixed grill dinner for all of us. But the thing is we have to grill ourselves. Which I think was fun. We had tilapia, chicken wings, hotdogs, prawns, pork belly, and talong. We enjoyed the dinner while enjoying the cool breeze from the sea. 

The next day, we tried the kayak which can accommodate 2 people. It was free for the hotel guests. We also played beach volleyball in their activity area which can accommodate bigger groups like company activities. I am sure there are other activities available that the resort can offer like diving and island hopping. 

We ate our breakfast in the elevated gazebo that can sit around 8 people. They offer different choices but we chose American breakfast. The bacon and hash brown was a little bit oily but I am satisfied, but I could have chosen a simple Pinoy breakfast of Tapa+Fried rice :) 

We are all satisfied with our stay. The hotel staff were all polite and always greets with a smile. It's a well-maintained resort wide range of activities to choose from. I am sure you will never run out of things to do during your stay in the hotel. For me the resort is expensive but it's worth the price. I highly recommend the place for someone who wants a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. 

How to get there: 

The resort is about an hour away from the Star Tollway exit in Batangas City if you are coming from Manila by car, passing by the towns of San Pascual and Bauan. The fastest route is taking the Star Tollway extension right after the Toll exit in Batangas city which will lead you straight to Bauan. From the end of the tollway extension turn left then first right going to Mabini.

If you are taking public transportation, there are jeepneys plying the route of Batangas City- Mabini from Grand Terminal in Batangas City. 

Welcome Back - Again!

I have an on and off affair with this blog. 

Its been 3 years since my last post. There was pandemic lockdowns and other personal matters that I needed to focus on and I completely lost time to write and got too lazy to manage this blog. 

I went home to Philippines before the lockdown and I don't know where this blog will lead to after this post. You see, I did not return to to Dubai after the pandemic.

Will I retain the same name as Mang Juan - a blogpost of an OFW living in Dubai? 

For that I don't have an answer at the moment to be honest. But one thing is for sure. I will try my best to get going this year. Pick up the broken pieces and will try to find motivation to write again. Probably a rebirth of sort for that matter... 

I hope to explore and write more stuff about travel and food around Batangas, since I live here. And probably any places close to Batangas if I have time to travel and explore places.

I hope you bear with me this time and I apologize for a very long hiatus.

Well its me again... Mang Juan

or Juan. It doesn't matter :) 

I Travelled to Manila Amidst the Covid-19 Scare

Royal Brunei Flight From Dubai to Brunei

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Note: Traveled to Manila from Dubai last March 16, 2020

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I was scheduled to travel to Manila via Brunei from Dubai on March 29, 2020. But I was convinced by my wife to rebook for an earlier flight because of Covid-19 that caused several countries to impose travel restrictions on arrivals, departures and even on transiting passengers. She kept on updating me on the travel situations in Manila prior to my travel. Finally, I was able to rebook my ticket for March 16.

From Dubai

A family friend volunteered to drop me at the airport at 11 pm (March15) even my flight was 6am the next day. I just thought that being at the airport earlier would save me from extra stress and I would be able to reroute just in case the flight was canceled to the last minute.

Dubai Airport was busy as usual, but I noticed that there were fewer passengers moving around the check-in area. I switched on the alarm on my cellphone just in case I dozed off to sleep and I might miss the check-in. Around 4 am the check-in counters opened, I went straight to immigration and boarded the train to the boarding gates.

I anticipated that there booking cancellations, but I was really surprised that there were only about 26 passengers from Dubai to Brunei. We were seated separately in just one section of the airplane, so I had the 3 seats available for me as my bed for the whole flight.

I brought with my face masks, wet wipes and hand sanitizer in my body bag. I wiped my table with wet wipes and sprayed a little bit of alcohol on my seats before sitting. The flight attendants made sure that we are all comfortably seated and kept on checking on each passenger just in case we might need anything.

Before landing in Brunei, we were given a Health Declaration Form to be handed over to the transit area personnel before boarding the onward flight to Manila.

Health Declaration Form for Brunei 

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All Star Travel handled my travel requirements from Dubai to Manila.

FB: www.facebook.com/allstartravelandevents/

Website: http://all-startravel.com

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From Brunei

( Brunei Airlines suspended Dubai – Brunei flights starting March 24, 2020 )

Royal Brunei Flight from Brunei to Manila

I arrived in Brunei at 6pm and proceeded to the boarding area for the 630 pm onward flight to Manila. There were only 9 passengers traveling from Brunei to Manila.

Brunei airport is compact and small. There are view shops at the airport. I wanted to buy a Starbucks mug souvenir for my wife but there was no Starbucks café in the airport.

At NAIA T 1

I reached Manila 9 pm on March 16, 2020. The airport was almost empty. I think we were the only passengers arriving at that time.

Skyway @5am 

I did not know that the government implemented Enhanced Quarantine all over Luzon. My wife informed me in advance that I may not be able to reach Batangas because of Luzon wide lockdown and there might be checkpoints along the way.

I quickly searched the FB and found out that all the provincial buses going to Batangas had temporarily stopped operation. I tried also checking Grab taxi but it was showing unavailable at my location. My remaining option was to take the airport taxi to Batangas. I decided to stay at the airport for a few hours and travel early in the morning the next day.

When I left the airport around 5am the next day, South Luzon expressway was almost empty. Few cars were traveling on both sides of the road including the STAR Tollway all the way to Batangas. The taxi driver informed me that airport taxis are exempted from the transport ban because they have a special permit to transport arriving passengers from the airport.

Manong driver kept me wide awake for a 1.5 hours travel to Batangas City with his taxi driver stories. I requested Manong to drop me in front of the church to pray and give thanks for my safe travel to the Philippines.

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Travel hack: White Airport taxi is cheaper than the Yellow Airport taxi. From NAIA T1 to Batangas City, White taxi rate is 2500 + toll fee while the Yellow taxi rate is 5200.

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My Dh4 Pakistani Breakfast @ Jebal Pakistan Restaurant

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite breakfast here in Sharjah, UAE. For Dh 4 ( or P 56 in today's exchange rate), you will get a Parata, a plate of egg omelet with Chana masala on the side and Halwa. 

If you are not familiar yet with this food, let me explain one by one based on how I observe and tasted it.

1. Parata - is a flatbread cooked on a hot plate in most Indian and Pakistani restaurants. I think they sprinkled some part of the flattened dough with oil to make it crunchy. It is best to eat it while it is hot.

2. Omelet - no need further explanation. But mixed with extra spices and Chili. 

3. Chana Masala - the main ingredient is Chickpeas, with a thick sauce.  It is a little spicy. There may be other ingredients that I cannot make out of the taste. Pakistan and Indians, I observed, mix a lot of spices into their dishes.

4. Halwa - is a dessert. Probably made of flour sweetened with sugar and a few nuts. 

5. Chai - it is a tea mixed with milk, cinnamon, and ginger.  Probably originating in India and popular in UAE where there are lots of Indian populations and where you can find a cafeteria in almost every corner of the street.

So just tear off a small piece of paratha and pinch the Chana masala or egg omelet with your bare hand. No need to use a spoon and fork. I prefer to eat at this cafeteria because they have chairs and tables outside. And I think breakfast with early morning sun is good for health. :) 

you can zoom in and out of the map. The restaurant is just behind Megamall in Sharjah.

Hotel Review: GuestHomey, Iloilo city

If you are looking for cheap accommodation in Iloilo then GuestHomey might be the perfect place for you. The location is close to our preplanned tourist destinations and is conveniently located near big malls like SM Iloilo. 

The good thing about GuestHomey is that they accept reservations even without a credit card and can be paid by cash upon check-in. The owner is responsive to my messages that I will be arriving late for 2 pm check-in.  

As for the room, even though it's small, it is clean and quite comfortable for 2 people. The room is equipped with window AC and a flat tv with ABS CBN TV Plus. The bed is just enough for me and wife with extra space to wiggle. Outside of our room, there is a shared toilet and bath. But to be honest I don't like the idea of a shared bathroom and toilet. 

So for an overnight stay and the price of P 999.00, I recommend the GuestHomey, IF, only IF you don't mind giving up extra comforts like in the regular hotels. I and my wife just needed a place to sleep and did not bother to check what other facilities are available.

For the scale of 1 to 10, I give a rating of 8. 

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Telephone and address. You can zoom in and out the map.





Guest Homey
Benigno Aquino Ave., jaro, Iloilo City
+63 939 161 5539

KALIBO + ILOILO in 24 Hours. Hay, ano bay?

Panay Island Adventure Part 1     👈 👈 👈 👈

Panay Island Adventure Part 2     👈 👈 👈 👈

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This is part 3 of the Panay Island Adventure

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DAY 1

Pag abot namin halin sa Boracay, nag kaon anay kami sa Mang Inasal rapit sa terminal it Ceres sa Caticlan. Daw gin gutom tamon ran i it lagaw lagaw sa Boracay hay nag day trip lang bay kami rugto. Nami man raad mag overnight, pero hay gusto namon nga ma deretso sa Iloilo via kalibo para rugto lamang kami maturog kag mag pamasyar man ran i. Buhay ron bay ako owa kabalik sa Iloilo kag first time it kon sawa nga maka abot it Iloilo.

Naghalin ang Ceres sa Caticlan mga ala una i medya it hapon pa kalibo. Manami ron kadya magbiyahe hay duro guid tana ang mga sarakyan pa kalibo. Bisan ano nga oras sa aga duro ang mga bus nga naga biyahe kag manami ang dalan. Ang amon nga pleti pa kalibo P 121 pesos.

Ang Kalibo gale hay sikat sa Ati Atihan kada ikatlo ka Domingo sa bulan it Enero. Ang Ati Atihan dungug ran kay Sto Nino. Tapos duro guid tana ang naga sadsad ran palibot sa kalibo nga may mga drums kag lyre. Ang iba may suksok nga mga ibat iba nga color it native nga custome. Duro ang naagto mga mga turista ran halin sa ibat ba nga lugar para magsinadya sa Ati athihan.

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Nag pondo anay sa Kalibo ang ceres tapos nag diretso ron kami pa Iloilo. Ang pamasahe pa Iloilo, 270 pesos kada isa. Manami ang bus nga amon nasakyan pa Iloilo. May CR pa ra sa sulod it bus. Bisan nag stop over man it mga darwa ka beses.  

Owa kami kaagi sa Roxas City hay medyo sulod bay tana ran kag indi maagyan pa Iloilo. out of the way guid.

Pag abot namon sa Iloilo it mga  alas siyete it gabi i, nag dali dali kami nga nag taxi pa agto sa amon nga hotel rapit sa Jaro. Pag abot namon sa hotel, nag dalidali kami nga nag gowa. Kapoy guid kag gutom kami darwa it kon sawa sa biyahe. Mga halos anom ka oras ang biyahe namon halin sa Caticlan to Iloilo. Sakit tana amon buli pungko sa bus. Yamat ran!

Ginhagad ko kon sawa mag kaon sa Teds Lapaz batchoy rapit sa SM Iloilo sa Jaro. Kuon nanda, indi kompleto mong pag agto sa Iloilo kon indi kaw katiraw kaon it batchoy. Amo bay ran ang isa sa mga ginapabogal nga pagkaon nga naghalin kuno sa Iloilo.

Pagabot namon sa Teds, nag order kami it special batchoy kag puto. Abo...., namit guid ran i mag higop it mainit init nga sabaw. Kompleto rekados guid tana. May noddles, tapos may karne, may itlog, may atay, may dahon sibuyas, kag fried garlic. Ang nagdara sa tanan ang sabaw guid tana. Dumdom ko ang puto pang dinuguan lang. Nami man ta gale partneran it puto ang batchoy ngaran. Baw ah! Gusto ko raad mag order it isa pa ka batchoy. Galing hay daw gabii ron bay. Basi mabangungut kuno ako sa sobra it busog.

Tapos namon nag pa kodak pa kami sa gowa para sobenir ran i. tapos nag balik ron kami darwa sa hotel. Pahuway huway ron.

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DAY 2

Tang sunod nga adlaw, aga pa kami nag bugtaw hay adlaw it Domingo. Masimba kami sa Jaro Cathedral it mga ala sais imedya it aga. Manami guid raad kon naka agto kami it mga ala singko para maka attend kami it Hiligaynon nga misa para ma experience man kon sawa nga taga batangas ang misa sa Hiligaynon. Pero owa tamon kaabot to. Hay bay i lang. Sa sunod ron lang i kon makablik kami.

Sa desenyo palang it simbahan, maman an mo guid nga daan ang simbahan. Sa sulod, ang kada bahol bahol nga poste may kada isa nga nakabutang nga lake nga santo ( sa Molo kuno mga baye man nga mga santo ang nakabutang). Tapos ang lingganay nakabutang sa tupad kag tabuk it simbahan sa may Jaro plaza. Ang iba bay tana nga simbahan sa gilid tana ang lingganay. Pero sa Jaro nga simbahan amo tana ran.

Pagtapos namon mag simba nagsakay kami it dyip paagto sa La Paz Public market. Mangita roman kami it batchoyan ran i.

Pag abot namon sa may La Paz Market, nag kaon oman it Batchoy sa Nicks batchoy. Para ma iba man ran i. pag kaon ko it batchoy, hay daw indi ko guid ma pinsaran kon kay sin o ang manamit nga batchoy. Ang kay Ted or ang kay Nick. Daw parehas man ang timpla nanda. Tapos may isa pa nga bathoyan nga Netongs batchoy. Tanan sanda ran original kuno. Hay indi ko lang mamanaan kon sin o guid sa anda ang original, kag sin o kananda ang una. Ang kustomer lang siguro ang makuon kon kay sin o guid ang pinakamanamit nga batchoy.

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Daw owa pa kami matunawan it batchoy pa ngato, nag taxi oman kami pa agto sa Villa para sa amon kuno nga early lunch sa Tatoy restaurant, bago kami mag biyahe pa Antique. Layo man ta gale ang Villa ngaran sa Jaro. Rapit baybay ta gale ran. Nagtaxi lang kami hay di ko kamaan kun mag sakay kami it dyip. Peboreyt ko bay ang Tatoy ngaran, labi na guid ang andang native chicken lechon. Bata pa akon karan hay peboreyt ko ron dan bay.

Pag abot abo namon, daw owa pa it tawo kag daw bag o lang sanda kabukas man. Lapad ang restaurant. Pwede kaw mapili kon sa semento o kon sa may papag kaw sa baras mapungko. May payag man sanda sa pihay nga rapit it baybay. Pili kaw lang ran i kon diin kaw presko ma pwesto para nami mong kaon.

Nag order kami it darwa ka humay, native nga letson manok kag inihaw nga Sibingan or blue marlin. Manamit guid tana ang sibingan hay ma juicy ang ana pag ihaw tapos ang manok guin chop chop ron. Tapos may sawsawan nga tuyo kag kalamansi. Baw ah! Daw mabundat guid ko ba. Lamon eh. tapos may iba pa nga sura nga pwede mabakal sa tatoys. May Crispy Pata, may scallops, may bake kag steamed talaba, may crispy pata kag lechon baboy.

Ang sekreto ta gale tang native lechon ngaran, daw gina butang nanda ran sa ibabaw it dahon it sampalok. Amo gali ran nga daw humot gid tana ng hugom ngaran. Siguro may iba nga gin butang sa manok nga panakot pero mahugoman mo guid ang dahon it sampalok.

Pag tapos namin i kaon it amon ilabas nag dyip kami pa agto sa terminal it Ceres.

Maule ron kami sa Antique.

Duro pa nga picture sa idalom:   👇 👇