Blog Archive - PATRIK LORD TRAVEL BLOG

Published on: July 21, 2018

Where to eat in Dumaguete

Review of Allegre Bar and Restaurant

Allegre Bar and Restaurant is nicely located on Rizal Bouleward and comes with sea view. The competition is fierce in this end of the Bouleward, since Allegre is located just beside Honeycomb and Why Not and they all attract many customers specially in the evenings.

Allegre Bar, Interior, Dumaguete, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

View over the Bouleward and the sea in the background

The bar was fully loaded

Allegre Bar, Menu, Dumaguete, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

The menu was loaded with goodies to reasonably prices!

Fully recommended!

Aside from beer and drinks in the bar, Allegre serves tapas, steaks, pasta and pizza. We ordered chicken fried with onions and squid cooked in its own ink. The food was delicious and the staff was friendly and helpful. More good things, the prices were reasonably, they had WiFi and the comfort room was clean. So Allegre Bar and Restaurant is fully recommended!

Allegre Bar, Chicken, Dumaguete, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Fried chicken with onions

Allegre Bar, Squid, Dumaguete, Philippines, © travelblogonline.com

Squid cooked in its own ink, highly recommendable

Rating:
1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
4 Food
4 Service
4 Value
4 Atmosphere

Allegre Bar and Restaurant
Rizal Boulevard, Dumaguete
Negros Oriental, Philippines
Phone +63 917 709 1752

Published on: July 4, 2018

Paradise Beach, Bantayan Island

Nothing wrong with the view!

Paradise Beach

Paradise Beach is for sure one of the best beaches on Bantayan Island, ideal for swimming and sunbathing. It comes with nice crystal clear water and clean white sand. It’s a perfect setting to work on your tan because you are away from any foot traffic passing through. With that said, you should know it's really lack of shadow along the beach. So if you don't like to be burned by the unforgiving sun you need to be there relatively early in the day to find a spot with some shadow.

Paradise Beach heading west

Paradise Beach heading east

Not what it looked at first

When we came there the first time we thought the beach was located just near the camping site. It wasn't much to be called a beach to be honest! Just a small tiny strip of sand. But luckily we discovered that we could walk along the shore and when we turned around some cliffs we suddenly came to the actual Paradise Beach. And by the way, the sunsets here are amazing so just stay and enjoy the sunset before heading back to Santa Fe. The video clip shows our confusion at first, before we found the actual Paradise Beach.

Small fishing boats

Many came here more or less for the sunset

Facts

You can easily get here on motorbike, just a 15-20 minutes ride from Santa Fe. There is safe parking at the camping site where you also can buy snacks, sodas and water. You have showers and comfort rooms there as well. From the parking you need to walk for about 10 minutes. The entrance fee is 50 pesos for adults and 25 pesos for children and the beach is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily. We always left the beach after the sunset and it was no problem more than that the reception at the camping site was closed.

Another evening at Paradise Beach

Seagulls

Shooting Seagulls - with a camera

Today I tested the camera for fast flying objects, Seagulls. I took 1K+ photos and I actually cheated a little bit... I had an assistent who threw bread to attract some attention from them. And yes! We got attention and the competition for the bread was fierce.

Fiskmås, Sea gull, Larus canus © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Sea gull - Larus canus (Fiskmås)

Silltrut, Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Lesser black-backed gull - Larus fuscus (Silltrut)

Skrattmås, Blackheaded gull, Larus ridibundus © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

The competition about the bread was fierce. Blackheaded gull - Larus ridibundus (Skrattmås)

Blackheaded gull - Larus ridibundus (Skrattmås)

Ok enough now...Good bye!

Published on: June 6, 2018

My second living room, Bo's Coffee Dumaguete

Bo's Coffee, Caffe Latte, Dumaguete, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

A review of Bo's Coffee in Dumaguete

When I came to Dumaguete for the first time it was Bo's Coffee shop which greeted me when I left the pier. Bo's Coffee has a very good location just outside the port on Rizal Boulevard. Under my stay in Dumaguete it almost became my second living room. Good coffee together with something chewable and a reasonable good WiFi, what else can you ask for?

Bo's Coffee, Outside, Dumaguete, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Bo's Coffee in Dumaguete

The coffee made me smile

I wrote in my previous post, the review of UCC Vienna Coffee Shop in Manila, that good coffee makes me smile. It really did specially here at Bo's Coffee! It must have been some artistic soul with the urge to express her (or his) creativity when doing my Lattes. Who wouldn't be smiling when a little bear peers at you from the coffee cup? I appreciated their efforts a lot.

A cute little bear

Looks like a logo of some other coffee chain...

Maybe me, I have a long nose too...

Meaoowww...

The WiFi could have been better

The staff was always friendly and helpful. The WiFi was reasonable good, but it could have been much better. You couldn't really rely on it. If I had important work to be done I usually went somewhere else where I could be more sure that the WiFi really would work.

Bo's Coffee, Big breakfast, Dumaguete, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Bo's Big Breakfast Club Plate for the hungry ones

All in with the Bo's Big Breakfast Club Plate

Bo's Coffee shop offered breakfasts, pastas, sandwiches, omelettes, and a variety of sweet pastries. Sometimes when I was really hungry and I knew I wasn't going to eat for a while I took the Bo's Big Breakfast Club Plate. Nothing for the one who is on diet and thinking about the cholesterol. Sausages, crispy bacon, home made corned beef, scrambled egg and toast. Everything with a perfect taste. After the Big Breakfast Club I stayed more than full the whole day!

Bo's Coffee, Oatmeal and Rasin Cookie, Dumaguete, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Caffee Latte and an Oatmeal and Raisin Cookie

Less hungry

If I was less hungry I went for the Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich as breakfast. It always came with crispy bacon and French toast, which is more tasty than the regular toast. They also had vegetarian alternatives like for example the Three Cheese Omelette or the Grilled Italian Veggie Sandwich. When it came to the sugar doping, one of my favorites was the Oatmeal and Raisin Cookie or some of the delicious cheesecakes they had, for example the Blue Berry Cheesecake.

Bo's Coffee, BLT sandwich, Dumaguete, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich

Bo's Coffee, Chicken sandwich, Dumaguete, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Chicken Sandwich with pesto

A new competitor the next door

I really like Bo's. They make one of the best Cafe Latte in Dumaguete and have many delicious options to eat. I felt at home there, almost like my second living room. But now there is a new coffee shop actually next door to Bo's. Tom N Toms coffee shop is already open. Unfortunately it was still under construction when I was there but next time I come to Dumaguete I am excited to try Tom N Toms for the first time. I guess the competition will be fierce since they are located door to door to each others.

Rating:
1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Food
5 Service
5 Value
4 Atmosphere

Bo's Coffee
Rizal Boulevard
Negros Oriental, Philippines
Phone +63 35 422 2119

Published on: June 5, 2018

UCC Good Coffee Smile in Manila

A visit to UCC Vienna Cafe in Mall of Asia

Yes, good coffee smile, at least good coffee makes me smile! In my hunt for good coffee and cravings for something sweet I ended up at UCC Vienna Cafe in Mall of Asia. They offered a wide variety of dishes not only coffee and pastries. They had breakfasts in different styles, soups, salads, burgers, pastas, pastries etc and even Japanese dishes. But for me, I had cravings for something sweet and a cafe latte.

UCC Vienna Cafe, interior, Mall of Asia, Manila © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

UCC Vienna Cafe has a nice relaxed ambience

UCC Vienna Cafe, cafe latte, Mall of Asia, Manila © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

My cafe latte at UCC

Cafe Latte and pancakes with ice cream

I ordered a Cafe Latte and pancakes with ice cream and whipped cream. The Cafe Latte had a quite strong coffee taste which is good for some but I myself prefer a little bit more mild taste. The pancakes was to my full satisfaction. At a previous visit I tried their Blue Berry Cheese Cake, good for two, which was among the best I ever tried.

UCC Vienna Cafe, pancake, Mall of Asia, Manila © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

This was good!

Conclusion

Vienna Cafe in Mall of Asia has a nice ambience, offer good quality but they are a bit pricey compared to other coffee chains.

Rating:
1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Food
4 Service
4 Value
4 Atmosphere

UCC Vienna Cafe
SM MALL OF ASIA, PASAY
Manila, Philippines
Phone: (+63 2) 556-0175

Published on: May 13, 2018

Red Rock Hot Spring, Valencia Dumaguete

Bringing the girls to Red Rock Hot Spring

Going to Red Rock Hot Spring is a perfect getaway for a day, specially if it's cold weather since the water in the pools are nice and warm. The water is volcanic and comes naturally from the mountain. There are now two pools, they added a kids pool since last year. Well I know everything is relative, but some days can actually be colder than others even in the Philippines and then it's really cozy to slide down in the warm water.

It's easy to get here, just around 30 min from downtown Dumaguete if you have your own motorbike.

If you don't have your own transportation the option is to take a Habal Habal (motorcycle taxi) from Valencia proper.

Clean and well maintained

We paid 25 PHP per person to get in and 150 PHP for a table with chairs. They had a kiosk where they sold crisps, biscuits, soft drinks etc and they also had a menu with some simple dishes. We ordered Pancit Canton (noodles), and deep fried fish with fries. Everything was clean and well maintained.

The entrance

The main pool with nice warm volcanic water. The new kids pool is behind this one.

When I was in the water I didn't want to get up...

After being in the water it felt almost cold in the air

A great time!

To bath and swim in the warm pool was really enjoyable specially for the little one, she had a great time. She behaved almost the whole time... so check the video!

For more info, visit their Facebook page:

The Red Rock Hot Spring Facebook page

Published on: April 18, 2018

Going to La Verna with the girls

Visiting La Verna Resort in Valencia (late post)

Both were excited when we were going to visit La Verna Resort.

The pool with the big fish

Many pools, some with fish!

La Verna Resort is located 20-30 min with tricycle from Dumaguete in Valencia. The resort had several pools in different sizes. The special thing here was that some pools were with fish, one with bigger fish where you were not allowed to swim and one with smaller fish where you could swim. The water in the pools with the fish looked a little bit dirty so we preferred without fish where the water was clean.
Hey, don't forget to watch the video at the end!

There was a pool for everyone here

On exploration among the many pools

Kids friendly

La Verna Resort seemed to be well maintained and was kids friendly. There were a pool for everyone, young, old or adventurous if you like to swim with the fish. There was a little kiosk where they had basic stuff like coffee sticks, crisps and sodas. But if you like to eat real food then bring your own picnic.

Our visit concentrated as a 1 minute video clip

Published on: April 3, 2018

Flight 5J 628 from Dumaguete

Good bye Dumaguete

Good bye Dumaguete for this time. But I will be back.

I will miss my girls

Flying Dumaguete-Manila

The flight from Dumaguete to Manila went smoothly. It departed ahead of time and consequently arrived ahead of time to Manila. The video shows start and landing and an awesome view over Dumaguete and the Sibulan airport.

Published on: March 28, 2018

Happy birthday Jas

Two years old

Yesterday we had a mini celebration for Jas, who already turned to two years old. Fries, cake and eat as much as you can... What else can you ask for when you just turned two?

Published on: March 26, 2018

Tumalog falls, Cebu island

Tumalog falls is easy to find

Tumalog falls is easy to find. About 1 km north of Oslob Whale Shark Watching you find the signage along the highway which tells you where to turn. Drive additional a couple of kilometers. The last bit to the falls you have to walk 5-10 min. Eventhough the road is good I was surprised because it’s pretty steep walking down to the falls.

We were lucky. Time was late around 4 PM and they close already at 5 PM so there weren’t many other people there.

There were pools where you could swim in. But the water was very cold.

Check out the video

Struggling with steep roads and get amazed by the beauty of mother nature

I hadn’t that much of expectations but I was impressed. The falls was bigger and more beautiful than I expected.

Conclusion, it’s well worth a visit

The reality exceeded my expectations and that’s not bad. The falls is easy to find and we had fun going there so according to me it’s well worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.

Patrik Lord Travel Blog