Sample Itinerary Before Trip: ISLAS DE GIGANTES (Carles, Iloilo)

Planning on an October getaway for two, and we're going D.I.Y.  We agreed to each prepare an itinerary for one of our trips and I was assigned to Islas de Gigantes.  Plus, we'll go on a one-day side-trip to Bacolod for Masskara Festival before heading to Iloilo.  We've never been to Gigantes but the pictures and videos we've seen posted online about this place are very enticing.  A friend had already been there and highly recommends it.  I was told mobile phone signal would be a struggle, but who wants to be bothered while on vacation, right?  So, it's set.  We're going!

Map of Islas de Gigantes, Carles, Iloilo by Google Maps

First, some fun facts.  Islas de Gigantes is composed of 10 islands but 2 of the largest and most popular are Gigantes Norte and Gigantes Sur.  The islands are located on the northernmost part of the province of Iloilo, part of the municipality of Carles in the Visayan Sea.  The islands literally named "islands of giants," legend has it that gigantic bones in coffins were found in one of the caves now known as Bakwitan Cave. Its old name was Sabuluag/Salauag, named after the tree species endemic in the islands before it was changed to Gigantes during the Spanish period.  Gigantes is also known to be the Scallops Capital of the Philippines because of the abundance of scallops found in its waters.

Below are borrowed online photos of some of the spots we'd like to see and explore:

Tangke Lagoon, Gigantes Sur

Cabugao Gamay, Gigantes Sur

Bantigue Island sandbar, Gigantes Sur

Lighthouse, Gigantes Norte

Bakwitan Cave, Gigantes Norte

Sample Itinerary for Islas de Gigantes

October 17, Saturday

04:30

-  Departure (Cebu Northbus Terminal)

-  Buy tickets at terminal, light breakfast, buy snacks for the road

-  Board on Ceres Bus Liner (Cebu City-Toledo Cebu-Bacolod Negros Occ.)

09:30

-  Arrival (Ceres Bus Terminal)

-  Proceed to Check Inn Pension Arcade –Bacolod (already made reservations)

10:30

-  Leave bags, relax a bit

-  Eat at Manukan Country (original Bacolod chicken inasal), Calea (cakes and desserts), etc.

-  Purchase Weesam Fast Ferry tickets for next day’s trip to Iloilo 

-  Buy snacks for next day’s trip, walk around the city

15:00 -  Watch Masskara Festival Street Dancing at Bacolod Public Plaza (4 minutes away from Check Inn)

October 18, Sunday

06:00 

-  Breakfast and prepare for check out

07:35 

-  Departure (BREDCO Port)

-  Board on Weesam Fast Ferry

09:05

-  Arrival (Phil. Ports Authority – Port of Iloilo)

-  Take a cab to Tagbak Bus Terminal (travel time more or less 30 mins.)

-  Board a UV Express van to Estancia, Iloilo (travel time about 2 hours)

13:00

-  Arrival at Estancia, Iloilo

-  Take a tricycle to reach the banca port going to Islas de Gigantes departing at 13:30 or 14:00

16:00

-  Arrival at Islas de Gigantes

-  Proceed to Jesa Beach Resort (in Granada, Gigantes Norte, Carles, Iloilo), a fairly new resort with a good view of the sunset, fire dancing performance, bonfire, cabanas by the beach front

-  Relax or take a little swim before dinner and go about next day’s tour

* Alternative: Take Gigantes Sur tour package organized by The Gigantes Experience (GX) travel team

October 19, Monday

06:00

-  Breakfast

-  Prepare for DAY TOUR

October 20, Tuesday

06:00 

-  Breakfast, prepare for check out

09:00 

-  Check out

09:30 

-  2-hour boat ride to Estancia, Iloilo

11:30 

-  Arrival at Estancia

-  Lunch at Paon Beach Club, Estancia

13:00 

-  Board a UV Express or bus going back to Iloilo City

16:00 

-  Arrival in Iloilo City

-  Buy TransAsia Lines boat ticket for 6PM bound for Cebu City

18:00

-  Departure from Iloilo (Port of San Pedro)

-  Board on TransAsia boat

We'll tell you all about this October's Gigantes getaway in another post after the trip.  Updates coming to you real soon.

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Sweet Sunny Days in Russia

Some travel opportunities come when you least expect them.  That was exactly what my trip to Moscow, Russia was.  This was in 2013.  I became acquainted with a lovely Russian couple who were learning English at the language school I used to teach.  When the couple learned of my resignation from the school, they offered me an English language teaching job at a private kindergarten Mamantenoc (literally baby mammoth) owned by their daughter in Cherkizovo Village in Pushkino District, about 45 minutes away from Moscow.  I considered taking the job, looking forward to something worthwhile and enriching.  And like many good pursuits, it didn't go as planned.  I decided to let the offer pass for personal reasons, which the school director, who I became friends with, respected and we both agreed that I could recommend someone I knew that would qualify and be willing to come to Russia for the teaching position.  For those who might consider an English language teaching job in Russia or simply want to go there as a tourist, I'm sharing my short yet sweet travel experience in this interesting and historical Euro city.

Moscow Kremlin - UNESCO World Heritage Site

My one-way ticket was sponsored by my Russian couple friends.  I secured my return ticket on my own.  (If you're lucky, you can purchase a round trip promo ticket for a little over $1000.00 or luckier if less than that.) For Philippine passport holders, a visa is required for travel to Russia.  Unlike applying for tourist visa to other countries, applying for a tourist visa to Russia is very easy.  No show-money or personal appearance to the embassy is needed.  In Cebu, I got the services of Blue Horizons Travel and Tours to process my tourist visa and purchase my return ticket.

The requirements for tourist visa processing are as follows:

1. Original passport valid for six (6) months

2. One (1) passport-sized photo with white background

3. Travel confirmation (travel voucher) from a hosting-authorized Russia travel agency and copy of travel voucher from the same travel agency 

4. Completed and signed Visa Application Form

5. Medical insurance (valid in Russia and within duration of travel)

6. Visa fee (depends on processing time upon submission of passport, an estimate of Php 8500.00)

To obtain a travel confirmation/voucher (a.k.a. visa invitation), I did the following:

1. Went online and booked a reservation through Eye Vista Hotel Service at Hotel Yunost (well-recommended by another Filipino blogger)
2. With the same online hotel service and hosting agency, applied for a tourist visa invitation in which they required the hotel reservation soft copy to be emailed and $40.00 fee for the processing to be paid through credit/debit card or money transfer

* The maximum stay for tourists is thirty (30) days, but I made a huge mistake of indicating only three (3) days of stay at the hotel!  As it turned out, the hosting agency based the duration and validity of the visa invitation from the hotel reservation.  

** The hotel reservation may later be cancelled once the visa invitation is obtained, in case another place to stay within the country is preferred.  Note that cancellation should be done no less than 48 hours (2 days) before the day of check-in or a penalty would be imposed.

Medical insurance for thirty-one (31) days would cost depending on the company where it was purchased.  I had mine through Malayan Insurance Co.'s global peso policy which cost about Php 1800.00.

Tourist visa processing took about ten (10) working days to complete.  The trip was on June 4, 2013.

Hongkong International Airport

From Cebu, I took a direct evening flight to Hongkong via Cebu Pacific Air.  The flight lasted for 4 hours.  I had an 8-hour lay over in Hongkong but had no choice but to stay within the airport premises because I arrived around 1 a.m. where no bus or train was available.

Beijing International Airport Terminal

From Hongkong, next stop was Beijing International Airport.  Travel time took about 3 hours and 35 minutes.  I didn't know Beijing was chilly in the summer months but it was pretty comfortable inside the airport.  There was another 2-hour wait time, so it was already around 1:30 p.m. (Ph Time) when I was on my way to Moscow.

Air China Ticket - Hongkong to Beijing to Moscow

Travel time from Beijing to Moscow took nine (9) straight hours via Air China.  What was great about flying in a Chinese airline was that they served rice meals on board.

Moscow - view before landing at Sheremetyevo International Airport

Moscow being 5-hours behind Philippine time, felt that daytime was extended several hours more.  It was already around 8:30 p.m. the time I arrived but the bright sun was still up.  Like Beijing, Moscow had chilly climate in the summer.  At the airport, I was warmly welcomed by school director Ms. Makarenko.

Inside Sportivnaya Sub-way Station

Sub-way station escalator

The best way to travel fast and easy within Moscow is by taking the metro (sub-way).

Hotel Yunost, Khamovnichesky val (street), Moscow

Our first stop was to get my visa registered at Hotel Yunost where I made my reservation and which I later cancelled before my trip.  There was no additional charge for the visa registration.

A train station in Moscow

Moscow Little Ring Railway to Cherkizovo, Pushkino

After getting registered, we went our way to the school in an exclusive village in Cherkizovo, where I was going to stay during the rest of my trip.  The place is within the suburbian district of Pushkino, less than an hour west of Moscow.  It was not only until around 10 p.m. when the sun started to set.

A Russian Meal - meat pockets, mashed potato, cucumber and sour cream

I was welcomed to the house (now a school) with a hearty Russian meal just before going to bed.  It was well-deserved after an extremely long day of travel.

Mamantenoc Kindergarten in Cherkizovo, Pushkino

Playground at Mamantenoc Kindergarten

Mamantenoc school garden

The school for children used to be a family home.  When Ms. Makarenko thought of putting her children on day care, she came up with the idea of putting up her own.  The idea turned into what is now Mamantenoc, a private kindergarten composed of dedicated teachers assisting pre-school children with creative learning through play, music, art, singing and reading.  The school has been planning to include English language as part of their learning program.  The children at the kindergarten still spoke very little English but were very sweet and friendly.  The school had already branched out to other locations and still growing.

Downtown Moscow

Like what I said at the start of this post, the trip was really very short.  I almost thought it was a waste for being only a few days but I'm glad it happened.  It gave me a new perspective of Russia and its people, not the usual stereotypes portrayed in film and by the media.  It's still wise, however, to stay cautious and not to be too trusting when traveling anywhere in the world.

Russian Souvenir - Matrioshka Doll

I bought myself a matrioshka doll as a way of always making me remember of my trip to Russia.

From a distance - St. Basil's Basilica

River Plaza in Moscow Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin is a very pretty site during the summer, with a cool climate and a lot of trees and birds.  Known as the seat of Russia's central government and a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is popular among tourists, where places such as the magnificent Red Square and the glorious St. Basil's Basilica are favorite photo backdrops.

Mc Donald's in Moscow Kremlin

It's nice to see a familiar "M" sign at the Kremlin, though the rest of the letters were in Cyrillic but it was quite obvious.  I had a quick McDonald's meal there before heading to the airport.  Big Macs in any country pretty much taste the same.

AeroExpress to Domodedovo International Airport

Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow

The AeroExpress train transported me straight to Domodedovo International Airport, south of Moscow.  It was much more convenient than in Sheremetyevo where I landed during my arrival.  I left for my flight back home bound for Manila around 3 p.m. (MSK Time).

Etihad Airlines Ticket - Moscow to Abu Dhabi to Manila

Abu Dhabi International Airport, UAE

My Etihad flight (via Jet Air) out of Moscow had to stop by Abu Dhabi International Airport first.  It was a 5-hour flight and I had another 7-hour lay over in UAE.   I was glad to see many Filipinos at the waiting area and got to chat with one during that long wait time.  I was also able to take a good stroll around the huge and well-built airport.  Then, it was time to leave, and a huge Etihad aircraft was ready to transport us to Manila.  After 9 long hours of air travel, I was finally back to my homeland at around 6 a.m. on June 8, 2013.  And in Manila, I stayed for a while before going back home to Cebu City.

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