Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Life begins where WIFI is weak
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​Heaven for the hungry ones!

This review cover only the fabulous dinner buffet you can eat at Henann Resort. By the time I was there they also offered a lunch buffet. Henann Resort is the biggest beach resort in Panglao Island and beautifully located at Alona Beach. The price for the dinner buffet was around 1000 PHP and definitely worth its price.
You could choose between a huge selection of dishes. One of the highlight was the barbecue section where you could choose between fresh meat, fish and seafood and get it barbecued according to your tastebuds.  Another highlight was the pasta section. Select your favourite pre cooked pasta together with the other ingredients and they will fix it while you wait. There were many other side dishes like different types rice, potatoes, veggies,  delicious sauces etc etc. Last but not least they had a huge selection pastries and other sweets for dessert.
​So be sure you come starved and you will get full satisfaction and value for your money!

Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Food 
5 Service
5 Value
5 Atmosphere
I was here December 2015. 

Henann Resort Alona Beach
Alona Beach, Tawala Panglao Island, Bohol 6340, Philippines
Phone: (63) (38) 502-9141 to 44
Henann Resort, view over the pool and beachfront
The chef fixing your choice of pasta while you wait
Some of the ingredients you could choose for your pasta
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Service with a smile!

Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant is located 10 min by car from Tagbilaran city square along the main road. It is a big place with many seats but when we were there it was relatively empty of people. The service was excellent and the food was good with good value for the money.

​Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
4 Food 
5 Service
4 Value
3 Atmosphere
I was here December 2015.

Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant
Carlos P. Garcia Avenue, 6300 Tagbilaran City
Phone: +639176588654
Review of Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant (Bohol, Philippines) © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

The entrance

Review of Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant the waitress (Bohol, Philippines) © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Service with a big smile

Review of Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant everybody happy with the food (Bohol, Philippines) © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

Everybody liked the food

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​The sleeping beauty

This is Mt Mayon. It's the most active volcano in the Philippines, erupting over 49 times in the past 400 years. Last time was 2014. But for the time being it's just a sleeping beauty. To see this beauty you must come to Legazpi City in south of Luzon. If you are lucky you might be able to hike the summit depending on the volcanic activity. I tried twice but due to the volcanic activity it was not possible to hike the mountain.
Mt Mayon Legazpi Bicol Philippines © LordProduction

Mt Mayon, the sleeping beauty in Legazpi City.

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Ligñon Hill in Legazpi City rises to 156 m overlooking the Mayon Volcano to the northwest and the entire city and Albay Gulf to the east. Legazpi International Airport is located just below on the south side of  the hill.
Picture
Picture
On top of the hill you will find Ligñon Hill Nature Park. The park has a viewing deck with coin operated telescopes, a landscaped promenade as well as restaurants and souvenir shops. Other features include a zipline and a 50-foot tunnel constructed by the Japanese during World War II.
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​Sunset over Bicol

The rolling landscape of the Bicol region, just near Legazpi city in the Philippines. Typical for Bicol, is its delicious pili nuts and the spicy food with ingredients like coconut milk and chili. The easiest and fastest way to come here is by air from Manila. If you are on a tight budget you can take the bus instead but whatever transportation you choose it's well worth it. ​There are much to see and do here.
Rolling Landscape Bicol Philippines © LordProduction

Sunset over Bicol

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​Affordable hotel with central location in Makati

Isabelle Royale is located near Makati Avenue and just a couple of minutes walking distance from A. Venue Mall where you have shops, a supermarket and restaurants. Just near A. Venue Mall they also have a small night market with local food and live performances, nice and perfect for a tight budget! If you prefer a more upscale area like the Ayala Triangle or Greenbelt, you can get there with a taxi within minutes, depending on the traffic of course. As an alternative to taxi and heavy traffic, it felt safe to walk down the Makati Avenue to get there, even in the evenings.

View over the Makati skyline

The room was clean and had a nice view over the Makati skyline at night. WiFi was working good even in the room. The room was equipped with a refrigerator and a water boiler. The AC was the old style but it went fairly good to adjust the temperature. A simple but ok breakfast was included and served at the top floor. The staff was friendly and helpful. I did find some cockroaches in the room and therefore I can only give a 3 for the Cleanliness.

​Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Location
4 Sleep Quality
4 Rooms
4 Service
5 Value for the money
3 Cleanliness 
I stayed here in December 2015

Isabelle Royale Makati
4343 P. Valdez Street Brgy. Poblacion Makati City, Makati, 1213 Manila, Philippines
​Phone: +63 2 857 2600
View from room 603
Breakfast
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Face Mask Filipina girl Philippines
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​The best Blueberry Cheesecake!

There are currently two Bo's Coffee shops in Tagbilaran. One is in ICM, Island City Mall. The other one is strategically located at the city square near the cathedral in Tagbilaran. This review is about the latter one, located at the city square.
This was my watering hole to get real good coffee. They had a wide selection of pastries where my favorite was the Blueberry Cheesecake. They also served complete breakfasts, pasta and savory pies suitable for lunch.

They make me feel welcome every time

I came many times here to work with my computer and drink Café Latte with Blueberry Cheesecake. Good WiFi and electrical outlets for charging your phone or computer were available at some seats. The CR (Comfort Room) was always nice and clean. The staff was friendly and made their effort to make me feel welcome every time.
The only downside was that sometimes it could be really noisy when there were many guests and that they didn't repair one of the electrical outlets despite I reminded them about it several times.

Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Food 
5 Service
5 Value
4 Atmosphere
I have been here many times 2015-2016.

Bo's Coffee
Front of Rizal Plaza | Torralba Street, Tagbilaran City, Philippines
Phone: + 63 38 501 9345
A table with a view
View towards the entrance
My favorite, café latte and Blueberry Cheesecake
WiFi was good
My snack
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Water comes in different shapes, big and small, fresh and salty. We are water beings who all belong to the water cycle, depending on it for our survival. But I have too often seen things which make me depressed. Like for example in pristine environments on remote islands which at first sight look so beautiful with white sand beaches and clear water. But in the next moment I discover something else. Tons of plastic bottles, old fishnets, ropes and other stuff. It's like I feel ashamed to be human when I see that. We should be intelligent enough to bring our own shit back where it belongs.
The Mekong River in Laos

The Mekong River in Laos

A water stream in the rainforest, here in Bicol Philippines

A water stream in the rainforest, this is in Bicol, Philippines

Casaroro Falls, Negros Oriental, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

A beautiful stream near the Casaroro Falls, Negros Oriental, Philippines © Patrik Lord Travel Blog

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Felt almost like home!

When coming to Calayan Island the options for accommodation are limited. There are no hotels here. But one very good option is TPS Homestay, owned by Mam Tessie. The homestay is located at J.P Rizal Street not far from the pier. Just walking distance. Her helping hands are Medy and Arlene. Medy can assist you as your tour guide and driver around the island. We paid total 500 PHP per day for going around with Medy. The gasoline was included. With Arlene you can arrange so she will cook all your meals under your stay at an additional cost of course. There are some sari sari stores around where you can buy your own food and use the kitchen at no extra cost.

Limited electricity and sporadic cellphone coverage

Since we were here under low season we were the only guests at the homestay. We were very well accommodated and well taken care of. It almost felt like our home. The surroundings around the homestay were quiet so in night time we slept very well. The electricity was limited, there was only electricity in the evening from 5 to 10 PM. Beware also about the cellphone coverage and that the access to Internet can be sporadic. Hey! This is a remote island out in the middle of the sea after all. 

Rating: 1-5 where 1 is terrible and 5 is excellent
5 Location
5 Sleep Quality
4 Rooms
5 Service
5 Value for the money
4 Cleanliness 
I stayed here in January 2014

TPS Homestay
J. P. Rizal Street, Calayan Island, Philippines
Phone: +639399158667 or +639298375737
TPS Homestay
Entrance, TPS Homestay
Breakfast
The sitting area in the living room
Living room
Dining room
Arlene, the girl who cooked all our meals
Me and Medy, who was our driver and guide around the island
Corned beef with rice
Garden
A secret get away in the garden where you could sit