Vietnam Charm - Day One

I booked a ticket to Vietnam for Jan 20 - 25, which I thought were excellent dates because of  the Chinese New Year holidays in Singapore. But then I learned that during those days, the Vietnamese celebrate Tet (their New Year), which means shops and restaurants are closed for the whole week!

Good thing I didn't changed my flight. It was a great experience to witness their new year celebration. There were some establishments that were still available, as well as public transport. If you happened to book for this period, you can spend your time at Mui Ne, just like what we did.

We toured around the city on our first day. Shops were still open since they wouldn't be closed until the 24th. We stayed in a resort-like house, thanks to Neanne's (my sister-in-law) godmother. And the bonus part is we had a free tour around Vietnam.

We went to Nha Hang Ngon for lunch.

If you've read the Lonely Planet book on Vietnam, this place has a different name written on than on the book, but it's referring to the exact same place.

160 Pasteur

Our orders...

Lotus Salad

Fresh Salad Roll with Shrimp and Pork - 14,000 VND per piece (29 PHP / piece)

Seafood Fried Rice

Grilled Shrimp wiith Lime and Chili Garlic Salt - 130,000 VND (266 PHP)

Grilled Beef with Chili Salt served with seasoned toast -  125,000 VND (255 PHP)

Fruit Shake. I really loved the Strawberry Milk Shake at the right.

All were fantastic! And it was inexpensive, our total bill was only 671,000 VND (1,373 PHP) for the four of us. No wonder there were a lot of diners here.

After a great lunch, we headed to Reunification Palace. 

A quick tour around their numerous meeting rooms. :) 

One of the many meeting areas around.

There is an entertainment area in the upper level which includes mini theater and piano. I was thinking maybe while the husbands were on a meeting, their wives were entertaining themselves at the upper floor.

Hunting memorabilia are also displayed.

At the basement, there is a network communication system used during the war.

And a kitchen with a giantic mixer. :)

Afterwards, we went to War Remnants Museum.

It was heartbreaking to see stories about the victims of the war :-(. To cheer us up, we dropped by Saigon Square for some shopping.

We wanted to go to Ben Thanh Market but we were invited for a dinner at Cham Charm. Who are we to resist a free buffet dinner with free-flowing wine right?

The highlight of the dinner...

Grilled Lobster with cheese

Drink-All-You-Can Wine

We ended the night with a photoshoot around the area.

Surigao: Bucas Grande

We got a bit bored at Club Tara so we decided to contact Kuya Sammy for island tour. There are quite a few attractions there, mostly islands. We chose the nearest one since it's the cheapest tour. The Bolitas and Crystal Cave Tour and Snorkeling cost only 500 PHP. 

The Bolitas and Crystal Caves are on the same area, near Tiktikan lake. If you have one whole day to spend in Bucas Grande, you can ask your boatman to drop you in all those 3 spots plus Sohoton Cove. 

Similar to Tiktikan Lake, you have to climb uphill to reach the cave. Don't worry, it's just a few steps and requires minimum effort. ;)

You read it right, it's uphill! This photo was taken when we were about to go back to the boat.
And no, that is not Jori, that's our boatman. :)

Both caves have one main entrance then branches into two. The left side is the way to Bolitas Cave. You won't actually notice its opening since it is very small. Then the right one is the Crystal Cave.

The opening of the Crystal Cave is big and we can stand inside the cave.
It's really dark inside so don't forget to bring flashlight ;)

We went to Crystal Cave first. Good thing our boatman had a flashlight, we saw the shimmering crystals inside the cave. Majestic!

Can you notice the shimmers and glitters? The brown spots at the bottom were crystals spoiled by human hands.

After spending a few minutes inside, we went out and I decided to try to explore Bolitas Cave. 

It has a very small opening that you need to crawl to get inside. Our boatman said it was only a few steps to reach the wider space inside the cave. I was expecting it will really be only a few steps but well, not really. I have to crawl a few times more to finally reach the cave.

After getting inside the Bolitas Cave. Look at my hands and feet, dirty me!

Just Google Bolitas Cave to view what's inside as I was not able to bring my camera. I don't know how my camera fare if I brought it along.


And this is me after the Bolitas cave experience: Mud and a few scratches on my legs. Oh well, at least I've tried.

When we were inside the boat and about to leave, we saw one non-stinging jelly fish.

Too bad I wasn't able to experience to swim with hundreds of non-stinging jelly fish. They were present only during summer months, starting on March. There's always a next time anyway. At least I was able to see and touch one.

Then we headed to an island near Club Tara to snorkel. There were not a lot of fishes there compared to Palawan but you still can enjoy the view under the sea. There are corals and fishes of different colors. You can borrow shoes, snorkeling gear, and life vests at Club Tara.

Here's Kuya Sammy, our boatman. You can contact him for a cheaper tour in Bucas Grande.

Kuya Sammy: +63 907 715 7134

Surigao: Club Tara

We spent three days and two nights at Club Tara in Bucas Grande. We got the deal from cashcashpinoy for around 13,000PHP (thanks Jori for the wonderful Christmas gift! :D).


The resort is a bit far from Surigao City. As mentioned in my previous post, you still need to travel 1-2 hours to Hayangabon Pier and 30-minute boat ride to Bucas Grande.

The resort is private. There are only 10 water cottages and some are under renovation.

The rooms are air-conditioned and clean.

On the side of the bed is a table and chair set which can serve as a dining table. You can ask the staff to deliver the meals for you.

There is a refrigerator which we didn’t use. Based on blog posts I saw lately, they now have TV and DVD. Ours didn't have them, but we did not need them anyway.

The bathroom needs some maintenance though. The water Jacuzzi cover on our room is a bit rusty so we were not able to use it. I just don't know if other rooms' Jacuzzis were ok.

The water Jacuzzi. The water holes are a bit rusty.

Also, the shower’s wall, designed with green wooden sticks, was a bit old. Not that I rant too much, I just had certain expectations based on the price that we paid for. Good thing the beach and outside activities were much better!

What we loved most about the cottage was the balcony. It has a direct access to the clear blue green sea. A very cozy place to relax, read a book, or take a nap – just like what Jori did (well, at least not most of the time).

Another thing that we enjoyed is the kayak. 

It was fun because of the different islets surrounding Club Tara. There are nearby beaches that you can visit. And those beaches were really private. When we went to one of the beaches, it was only the two of us. It has powdery white sand and clear water as well.

There is no water in the pool when we were there but we did not mind because the beach area itself is a large pool. Though the room and amenities were not up to our expectations,  the resort compensated by the staff's good service. The staff were really friendly and accommodating. Everything that you need are attended to. Huge servings were provided each meal and they include drinks plus dessert.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay in the resort though you would be getting your money's worth if they would better maintain their reception area as well as the bathrooms.

Club Tara
clubtara_rsvn@hotmail.com
+639175225500

Surigao: Bucas Grande

Our next 3 days in Surigao were spent in Club Tara. It's a resort in Socorro, Surigao del Norte near Sohoton National Park.

Club Tara provides van and boat ride services for 3000PHP per way for two. It was so expensive so we tried our luck to go on our own. We rode a 6:00AM van going to Hayangabon Pier which took us around 2 hours to arrive. Fare costs 120PHP per person. At the pier, we found a boat with group of passengers going to Sohoton. We joined the group and paid the boatman 1000PHP. That includes the trip to Sohoton National Park then drop off to Club Tara. It was a great deal considering that Club Tara offers separate fees for the Sohoton tour and pick up service.

After our 30 minute boat ride, we arrived at Club Tara Resort. We were not able to check in immediately because they were fully booked. We just left our baggage and brought only the items necessary for the tour.

Next stop was at Tiktikan Lake. We paid 20PHP for the entrance then we headed our way uphill then down to go to the lake.

There was a cottage near the lake to rest. 

Mini boat to go around the lake

Another resting place.

Uphill, there is a viewing deck to take a glimpse of the whole area or to take a top view shot of the cottage below.

Then we arrived at the main attraction of the tour – the Sohoton Cove. The cove’s entrance is half submerged in water, allowing the tourists to enter only during low tide. A smaller boat is also needed to pass through the cove. The tourism office also requires an official guide when going on tour.

Registration and payment for the guide is at the Sohoton Tourist Center. Total costs of the whole group was around 1900PHP including the boat, guide, and entrance fee as well as life vests rental.

At the cove, we stopped by Hagukan Cave.

It has a small entrance, half-submerged cave with shells at the ceiling. You have to swim under the entrance in order to avoid scratches from the shells. For non-swimmers, you can float and the guide can assist you to enter the cave. It was a bit dark inside the cave, so we relied from the light outside to guide us. 

Hagukan Cave Entrance

 Next, we went inside Magkukuob Cave.

Need to walk in the waist-deep water to get inside the cave

Guided by the flashlight, we climbed up until we reached the 5-meter jump off point to the sea.

No chance to back out, it's much harder to go back down the rocky steps. So jump it is!

Jump shot!

What an exciting way to end the Sohoton Cove tour! Before going back, we stopped by a small, white beach island to take a quick dip.

Jori and I at the white island beach

Surigao City and Mabua Beach Resort

Last December, we explored Surigao. Our first day was spent in Surigao City. We arrived at around 12 noon via AirPhil Express. Before our trip, I reserved a Standard Room at Gateway hotel for 1500 PHP, breakfast was included as well as the service to and from the airport.

It was only a 5-minute ride from the airport to hotel. The hotel room was ok, it has cable TV and free wi-fi. The toilet was noticeably clean.

Standard Room - 1500 PHP

They have a big pool but when we were there, it was full of kids so we were not able to use it.

Limited pool view from the balcony

After putting our things on our room, we decided to have lunch in the city. It took around 10 minutes on a tricycle to go to the city proper, and it only costs 8 PHP. Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Greenwich, and Chowking can be found there. We were really hungry so we just decided to have lunch at Mang Inasal.

After we regained our energy, we walked around the city. It is more like a town rather than a city. There are no big malls around yet. I was checking for souvenir shops but I can't even find one. It seems that the city was not tourist area and just a gateway for Siargao, Bucas Grande and other islands of Surigao.

We spent the rest of our afternoon at Mabua Beach. Traveling time on a tricycle was around 30 minutes from the hotel. We paid the driver 350PHP for the two-way ride.

Instead of regular sand, Mabua Beach has medium-sized pebbles in the shore. It is similar to the pebble beach in Batanes, only that pebbles here were smaller.

Then before we went back to hotel, we decided to try one of the barbecue stalls in the Pier. Nothing special except that it was cheap compare to our Mang Inasal lunch earlier :)

Pier View Barbeque Station

Variety of BBQs