Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts

March 28, 2025

Day 5: Traveling from Da Nang Vietnam to Manila Philippines

Day 5 and our last day in Da Nang, Vietnam. It would be a long trip because of the layover. We woke up early because our call time for our airport ride was 5AM. We missed the buffet breakfast because of the early flight, so we requested for packed meal. 


What is inside our packed meal? We have bottled water, hot beverage, fruits, and bread. We ate our breakfast at the airport while waiting for our flight. 




We arrived so early, and the staff informed us that we could ride the first flight because there were still available seats, but we declined since we are traveling as a group. 



Da Nang International Airport is not that big, so there are only a few choices if you want to eat, drink, or buy souvenirs. I bought some pasalubong pero hindi namin type yung nabili ko. 


Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City via Vietnam Airlines - 1hr and 20mins 
Layover 4hrs and 10mins  
Ho Chi Minh City via Philippine Airlines - 3hrs  


Our flight was a little bit delayed, but we were not in a hurry because we had more than 4 hours' layover in Ho Chi Minh City. 

During our flight, we had wet wipes, bottled water, and in-flight streaming services, but I did not watch any movies or shows because our flight was only 1 hour and 20 minutes. Mabibitin lang ako sa panonood.




When we arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, we rode the bus from the airplane. The boarding was still closed and late din nag-open. Ang tagal namin naghintay kaya late na rin kami nakapaglunch. My son and I chose Burger King meals while my husband ate Pho. 



We also bought some pasalubong here because we still have Vietnamese Dong left. Baka mahirapan na rin kami ipalit pa so gastusin na lang. 

Ho Chi Minh City via Philippine Airlines 

Travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Manila Philippines is 3 hours and this was our meal. Umalis ng madaling araw and nakauwi ng gabi na. 




March 06, 2025

Wedding Anniversary at Samira by Chele Gonzalez

For the past three years, we had a staycation at Chateau HestiaLa Chevrerie Resort and Spa, and Nawa Wellness Resort for our wedding anniversary celebration. But this year, we don’t have the time and budget for a weekend getaway so we decided to do a food trip instead.

So last month, my husband and I searched for different restaurants that we wanted to try, some restaurants were fully booked, some restaurants naman na may promo, may days lang pwede maavail yung discounts, and some restaurants naman, namamahalan ako. Hehehe! 

I was torn between buffet lunch and course set menu; the buffet lunch is much cheaper because of the 50% credit card promo but in the end, I chose the course set menu. My husband was the one who suggested this restaurant kaso nga lang namamahalan ako but I changed my mind after reading good reviews. 


Also, my husband took a vacation leave for our wedding anniversary so sayang naman ang VL kung nasa bahay lang kami. So day before our wedding anniversary, I messaged my husband na magpareserve na sa Samira by Chele Gonzalez. 



Samira by Chele Gonzalez is Anya Resort's in-house restaurant located in Tagaytay City. It is considered a dining destination led by Gallery by Chele’s Spanish Chef Jose Luis Gonzalez. My husband already tried Gallery by Chele so I had high hopes that we would have a special meal to be remembered. 


Samira by Chele was launched in year 2022 with the goal of “We want our guests to have a journey, and experience colorful flavors inspired by many traditions around the world. Grill and fire in a modern contemporary dining experience.” 

Grill Experience at Samira by Chele Gonzalez 

On the day of our wedding anniversary, from our home, we traveled to the wellness sanctuary in less than an hour. We were the first diners but we chose the al fresco table para may view. 



Samira by Chele Gonzalez offers an a la carte menu, a Grill Experience Set Menu, and 6- Course Set Menu. We chose the Grill Experience Set Menu for PHP2,995+ per person. But we were informed that there were four viands that were not available, naubos daw kasi yung stock nila nung Valentine’s Day. Waah! Gusto ko pa naman itry yung Grilled Iberico Pork Satay Skewer. 



Anyway, this was our menu during our visit. They printed and changed the menu on our table. 


Bites 

Spanish Chorizo Takoyaki 
Chorizo Pintxos 
Bacalao Bunuelos 


Grilled Tiger Prawns 
Baked Brie with Pancetta Tesa 


Mains 

Pan Seared Citrus Salmon or Churrasco 
Grilled Chicken Paella Valenciana 





Dessert 

Cheese Ice Cream, Grilled Strawberries 


We stayed in the restaurant for about two hours and we enjoyed good food, experience and meaningful conversations. I don’t regret choosing Samira by Chele Gonzalez for our wedding celebration because it is worth the splurge, time, and drive. I appreciate the pleasure of slowly eating the food. And they also gave us a complimentary anniversary cake. 


I brought my own cake topper too. The font I used is Billion Dreams


 
Samira by Chele Gonzalez 
G/F Anya Resort, Buenavista Hills Road, 
Barangay Mag-Asawang Ilat, 
Tagaytay City, Cavite 
Contact: 0998-955-3630

February 13, 2025

Anniversary Staycation at Nawa Wellness Calatagan

Since last month, my mom always asked me where we are going to celebrate our wedding anniversary and I always say, hindi ko alam baka kakain lang kami sa labas. And now February is here and we still don’t have definite plans. 

I was contemplating if we would have a weekend getaway or food trip. Pero kung weekend getaway naman, wala na ko maisip na puntahan na resort. I even checked the list of exhibitors of the recent PTAA Travel Expo baka may magandang puntahan pero ayaw ko naman pumunta sa travel expo because I still can’t forget our last visit kasi kaya tinamad na ko. 

For the past few years, we celebrated our anniversary at Chateau Hestia, La Chevrerie Resort and Spa, and Nawa Wellness Calatagan. And now, I realized that I haven’t shared our Anniversary Staycation at Nawa Wellness so let me do a throwback post. 


Nawa Wellness is a new eco-luxury holistic wellness destination in the Philippines. Before kasi, when we say wellness resort, The Farm at San Benito ang naiiisip natin but now, meron ng ibang option. My husband just inquired and reserved our room via their Facebook Page and to guarantee the reservation, 100% deposit for the first night is required. 


Calatagan, Batangas is not that far but we still traveled early because I wanted to eat Breakfast at La Creperie - Twin Lakes. Then after our breakfast, we went straight to Nawa Wellness. This was the third resort that we visited in Calatagan, Batangas. We have tried Golden Sunset Resort and Stilts Calatagan before but only for a day trip. 

On our way to the resort, we were surprised na may harang, so need pala namin magbayad ng Ecological Fee. I thought sa San Juan, Batangas lang ito, meron din pala sa Calatagan. The small booth is about 15 minutes away from Nawa Wellness so kaya pala hindi namin naexperience sa ibang resorts na bandang unahan. 

Ecological Fee

PHP30 - Adult 
PHP24 - Senior, PWD, and Children 

Anniversary Staycation at Nawa Wellness Calatagan 

A few days before our trip, the staff asked for our arrival time and my husband said, 11AM but we arrived at 9:30AM, sobrang napaaga. When we got there, we realized na one-way pala yung daan so mahirap kapag may kasabayan kaya pala they asked for our arrival time so they can prepare. 


The guard asked us to wait while the staff are preparing, so dahil napaaga kami hindi pa sila ready. They have a “Welcome Ritual” for all the incoming guests pala. So may pausok and sinabitan din kami ng lei. 


At the reception, they served our welcome drinks and gave us a brief introduction about the resort, activities, restaurant, and others. We already paid for our accommodation but there is a PHP6000 cash deposit. 



Check-in time is 2PM so we were surprised when the staff informed us that our room was already ready. Yes, early check-in. Before we went to our room, we ordered our lunch. The place is not that really big, pero sumakay pa kami ng service on our way to our room together with our butler “Jaspher’.

If we need anything, we can just message our butler so yung mga order namin na food, paschedule ng spa and activities, sa kanya kami nag-iinform. 


Escolta Room (Superior Room) 

As of this writing, I checked their website, iba na pala name ng rooms nila. So I was assuming yung Escolta Room namin is under Superior Room. Last year they had packages but since I’m not fond of body treatment or massage, I told my husband na Room with Breakfast lang kami. Escolta Room is PHP5,600 for 2 persons and PHP2,000 for extra person. 

This is the room. 


The bathroom is small. 


There is a water dispenser, gazebo area and small swimming pool in this building so pwede na kung ayaw mo maglakad ng malayo para sa malaking pool. 




For our food, you can read the “What to Eat at Nawa Wellness” post. I shared on this post what we ate during lunch, dinner, and breakfast. 



My husband and son also availed of the Banana Body Wrap, PHP2,600 per person and it is only 45 minutes. My husband said, “Okay lang” so nanghinayang yata sa PHP2,600 niya. Hehehe!



Nawa Wellness Activities 

Prior to our visit, I thought we would just eat and rest at Nawa Wellness so I was really surprised that they offer activities too just like our experience at The Farm at San Benito. 

7AM Guide Walk 
7:30AM Breathwork 
9:30AM Mandala 
3:15PM Meal Prep 
4PM Hiking 
6PM Reiki 

Make sure to book in advance because slots are limited. We were not able to experience the Reiki kasi fully booked na. 

There are also paid activities. During our trip, there was “Hilom and Likha” and I was lucky to try this activity. The activity is from 3 to 6PM, so I did not join the Meal Prep and Hiking activities.



For Meal Prep, the chef taught them "how to make 3 kinds of juices using cucumber apple, watermelon, banana, turmeric juice, honey and lemon". 


For Hiking, nakakapagod ito, 250 steps daw yung inakyat nila. Buti na lang may free bottled water. 


The following day, we joined the Breathwork and Mandala Activities. 



After the Mandala activity, we went home already. Overall, we enjoyed our short weekend getaway. The service is good from the reception, restaurant, and all the staff na makakasalubong mo. 


Nawa Wellness 
Brgy. Bagong Silang,
Calatagan Batangas
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