Where to Stay in Manila: Suite23k

This was Laura's first airplane ride and first visit to Manila. We were lucky enough to chance upon a seat sale by Cebu Pacific. Since Laura was only a year and a half old, we only paid Php 350.00 for her. This was my and Ron's way to celebrate our birthday in 2014.

  Belton Place from the street, the pool and the reception area

Looking for a comfortable accommodation that's good for 1 night, I searched through all the group sale sites like Metro Deal, Ensogo and CashCash Pinoy. After checking all the online reviews, I finally decided to buy an offer for Suite23k.

The bed, the love seat and the way out

It's not a typical hotel accommodation. It's a studio unit at Belton Place, a condominium located in San Antonio, Makati City. It's in the 23rd floor, unit K, thus the name Suite23k. It only takes 1 ride from Suite23k to go to Ayala Center.

The shower area and the toilet

Upon our arrival at Belton Place, we were immediately greeted by our host who happily assisted us to our room. The room has a queen-size bed, a love seat, television set and a kitchen where you can cook your own meal.

The view from the bed during day and night time and a decorative wall clock

The glass window was located beside the bed. At night time, you could see the lights from the neighboring buildings right in your bed. The accommodation came with free access to the swimming pool which is located on the 7th floor. It has adults' and kids' pool.

All in all, the place was like a home away from home - your own personal room. In a rate of 1 to 5, I'm giving it a 3.5.

Day Trip to Guimaras - 08/2012

Part of our trip to Iloilo City was to visit the island of Guimaras, the home of sweet mangoes. We left One Lourdes Dormitel early in the morning and had a quick breakfast at La Paz market to taste Iloilo's original La Paz batchoy. We then headed to Ortiz Wharf and took the ferry to Jordan Port in Guimaras. The fare was Php 14.00 and the travel time was around 15 minutes.

The moment we docked in Jordan port, our belongings were inspected to make sure no one brought mango seedlings. This act is strictly prohibited as this may affect Guimaras' local mango variety. We were immediately greeted by our contact driver/tour guide/photographer, Kuya Gerald.

The smallest plaza and our firing experience

On board Kuya Gerald's multicab, our first stop was the country's smallest plaza. We took some photos and headed to our next destination, overlooking Guimaras' mango plantation. As per Kuya Gerald's advise, we stopped by a shooting range and had a good time. It has been quite sometime since Ron had his hands on a gun, back when he was in college studying Criminology.

Museo de Guimaras, Mango pizza and the Trappist Monastery

After a tiring firing series, it's time for food. But just before that, we stopped by Museo de Guimaras. Although it would have been nice to really check inside the museum, time constraints told us to skip it. We then headed to The Pitstop and ordered their original mango pizza, made from Guimaras' sweetest mangoes. With a little hot ketchup, it was a perfect combination of the sweet mangoes and cheese. Yum!

Our next destination was the Trappist Monastery. It was a big compound and felt very solemn. Aside from the church, you would also find a gift shop were products made by monks and nuns were sold. And this was where we bought our pasalubong - dried mangoes and tarts with cashew nuts.

View at Valle Verde and Camp Alfredo

Our next stop for the morning was Valle Verde Mountain Spring Resort. Our main purpose of going there was to get a view of the island's stunning beaches. Next in line was a quick stop at Camp Alfredo. Kuya Gerald said there's a zip line inside, but we chose to skip it because of my condition.

Guisi Lighthouse

I would consider this next stop as the highlight of this trip - the Guisi Lighthouse. It was built in 18th century in the southwestern part of Guimaras where the Guisi beach can also be found. It was built to guide seafarers passing the Iloilo and Guimaras strait. In the same place was also a ruined building which would make as a very good backdrop for photo ops. Although it was prohibited to climb inside the old lighthouse, we still sneaked inside and took some photos.

Inside the lighthouse, the ruins, Guisi beach and Raymen beach

And what's a trip to Guimaras without the beach? Our last stop - Raymen Beach Resort. It was also the perfect time for lunch so we had sinigang and eggplant salad. Burp! We were supposed to have island hopping in the afternoon, but it was a windy day so all island hopping activities were cancelled. Well, this is definitely one good reason to come back to Guimaras someday!