Vacation Stories

Thursday, February 5th, 2026 Manila Found : Chaotic, vibrant, and full of life We checked back into Achievers Hotel, refreshed a little and headed out to see what Manila had to offer. We decided to go to the Baclaran area where we could enjoy some yummy street food. The heartbeat of the Philippines streets—colorful, quirky, and always ready for a culinary adventure! First stop: Spicy peanuts with red chillies. Then we peeked into the Baclaran Catholic Church The street food haven was right outside the gates of the church Manila Street food is not for the fainthearted! The smells and the sights were challenging our tastebuds and our tummies! Dried squid skewers cooked over the grill seemed pretty popular even among the teenage crowd. Baluk They incubate chicken eggs and quail eggs for a few days and before the chick fully forms they cook it and sell on the street with the shell still on. People peel the shell, pour some sauce inside the egg and suck out the half formed chick right into ...

Thursday, February 5th, 2026 Slow down and soak every beautiful moment of life! It was time to pack and check out of paradise.  Our stay in Darocotan Island has been wonderful.   Rose, the owner of the property was very friendly. She offered to wrap our luggages together so we can check in at the airport as one big package. The chef came to weigh our suitcases and wrap it together. I casually mentioned to Rose that the shells we collected here pretty heavy and added to the total weight of our luggage. Immediately she told us that we are not allowed to remove the shells and corals from the island. It is against their law and the shells will be confiscated at the airport if they found it in the luggage scan. Take only memories, Leave only footprints! We were so disappointed! We had to leave all the treasures were fondly collected at the resort. Now we understand why there were several beautiful shells lying under the trees and around the cafe. They were all collected by the prev...

Thursday, February 5th, 2026 Treasure Island We got to see one more sunrise in that beautiful island. What more treasures await us today! We were up before the sun sleepily peeked through the clouds. The sea had receded far back because of low tide leaving more shores to discover and more rocks to scale. The rugged yet slippery smooth boulders were beckoning me to explore! I reached a sandy beach strewn with shells fresh out of the deep. I saw a big shape that resembled a shell. There is no way a real shell could be this big. Or can it? I went closer to look...I could not believe my eyes! Happy as a clam! At the resort we saw a wash basin that looked like a giant shell and we were wondering if it was real or man-made. Looking at the size of this shell makes us believe that anything is possible! Time to get back for a yummy breakfast Three boatmen met us with a boat to take us to the shipwreck site. Early morning when the tide is low is the perfect time to enjoy it in shallow waters. Ev...