Michi Photostory

If our second day was chill, our third day was another busy day because we had an event from morning until evening. 

We woke up early for our buffet breakfast, 6:30AM pa lang nasa Table 88 na kami so we had enough time to eat before our tour.

Just like our Hoi An Tour, we just joined a group tour; Ba Na Hills Tour for $70 per person. The rate is similar to Klook Ba Na Hills and Golden Bridge Day Tour from Da Nang. 

- Golden Bridge 

- International buffet lunch 

- Flower Garden 

- Fantasy Park 

- French Village 

- Wine Cellar 

We were a big group divided into two, one bus and one van. For Team Philippines, we were a group of 12 so we all went to the van and left early. Travel time from Sheraton Grand Da Nang Resort to Ba Na Hills is about 45 minutes. We arrived at 9:15AM but according to our tour guide, we needed to wait for the bus before we could start our tour. So we spent our time taking pictures at the Time Gate. 

According to the flyer, Impressively designed with a moon and sun clock, the Time Gate is a skillful and subtle combination of sound with the art of performing light and water, creating a magical symbol that opens the door of time, allowing you to cross the spatial line and enter the surreal world of the Land of Giants. 

We were done taking pictures but the bus was still not there. Waiting was fine at first but we waited for more than an hour. I don’t understand why they were so late when 8:30AM is the call time. Same hotel lang din kami nanggaling and ito pa nakakainis, may isa na nag CR break sa bus passengers, walang problem kasi right niya yun. Pero yung alam mo na ikaw na lang hinihintay at nakatingin na lahat kami sa kanya pero para siyang naglalakad sa ulap, hindi man lang bilisan ang lakad after magCR. 

Finally, at 10:30AM we started our tour and after walking for few minutes, pinahinto kami ng lead tour guide, just to give our tickets. Grr… Ang tagal naming naghintay doon sa nagCR, sana kanina pa siya nagdistribute ng tickets. Ang daming nasayang na oras. 

On our way to the cable car, it started to rain so mas nainis ako kasi kung maaga lang sana kami nag-umpisa, okay pa ang weather, sana may picture pa kami sa taas ng Sun World Amusement Park na walang fog at rain. Anyway, kaysa masira araw ko, I have to change my perspective. Despite the undesirable situations and non-stop rain showers, at least natuloy pa rin ang trip namin. 

To be honest, I was surprised when I saw Sun World Ba Na Hills and nasabi ko na lang sa sarili, bakit wala kaya ganito sa Pilipinas. How I wish we also had this kind of amusement park, hindi lang Enchanted Kingdom. 

Sun World Ba Na Hills is located on top of the hill with a height of 1,487 meters from sea level and because of that, this place is also called “heaven on earth”. This is one of the top tourist resorts in Vietnam. 

Their cable car is one of the world’s longest and highest cable car rides. It has 6 cable car routes and can accommodate 10,000 passengers per hour. Open from 8AM to 5PM. 

We arrived at the Golden Bridge around 11AM. The Golden Bridge was opened in June 2018 and was part of the "Top 10 best destinations in the world in 2018” by TIME magazine. It is located at an altitude of 1,414 meters above sea level. It has the shape of a silk strip floating in the sky and held by the hands of the giant.

The garden keeps the marks of the Giants with the legs, hands, or even faces of the giants sleeping in peace between mountains and flowers. 

9 gardens with 9 different emotions, according to legend, Le Jardin D’Amour is a place to witness the dating and marriage of the giants. 

A unique cellar was built by the French in 1923. The wine cellar extends 100 meters deep underground.

Travel back in time and experience the architectural attractions of the French Village.

We had a late lunch at Arapang Restaurant. It was around 12:30NN so the restaurant was full and it was hard to look for a vacant table. I don’t have photos of the buffet spread, but they serve international dishes. We had one hour to enjoy our buffet lunch. 

The meal is part of our tour package but the rate during our visit is 300,000VND. Open from 10:30 - 3PM with 2,200 seating capacity. 

Since it was raining, we just spent our time at Fantasy Park. It is an indoor entertainment with rides including a Free-fall Tower, Airborn Shot, and 3D-4D-5D Cinemas.

The tour ends around 3PM, fortunately after the cable car ride, hindi na kami naghintay sa bus passengers. Nauna ulit ang Team Philippines, pabalik sa hotel. We were in a hurry because we had dinner buffet at 6PM.

The dinner starts at 6PM but we arrived at 6:30PM pero one of the early birds pa rin. I already shared our experience on this blog. 

Buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so kahit pagod, laban lang para sa food. Hehehe! 

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday: 7am to 10pm 

An Son Village, Hoa Ninh Commune, 

Hoa Vang Dist., Danang 

Hotline: + 84 (0) 905 766 777 

Email: banahills@sunworld.vn

While we were waiting for our number to be called, we were busy checking flyers and watching ads on the screen. Then we saw the “30% Off Dining Feast Promo” of BDO. My husband told me na kakain daw kami sa NIU after magpabook. 

"From January 9-12, 2025, 30% off to CIBO, Greyhound Cafe, NIU by Vikings, Paper Moon Cafe, and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Minimum purchase requirements, maximum discount, and qualified cards vary per restaurant."

Funny story, sa bahay pa lang sinasabi na niya sa akin, samahan mo na ko tapos date tayo sa NIU and I told him “Diet nga ko tapos buffet na naman”. Pero after namin magpabook, nagutom talaga ko sa pila so nagbuffet talaga kami kasi sayang ang 30% off. #marupok Hehehe! 

My husband knew na matagal ko ng gustong kumain dito kaso ang layo naman kasi and bihira kami sa SM Aura. Imagine, NIU by Vikings has been around since October 2014 so more than a decade di ba, bago ako nakakain. Well, my husband tried this restaurant for the nth time because of company events or celebrations and always positive ang reviews niya dito.

Anyway, based on my research, I found out that NIU means nine in Old Norse or Old Icelandic Word. NIU has nine different stations serving a variety of dishes that range from Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, and Mediterranean cuisines. NIU by Viking is located on the highest floor of SM Aura so you feel like you are on a cloud nine. Oh di ba, puro may nine talaga. 

We did not stay long at “The Great BDO Travel Sale” event because we were already hungry so after we booked my husband’s plane ticket, we went straight to NIU by Vikings restaurant. Since I’ve been to other buffet restaurants already, iba nga yung feeling sa NIU by Vikings, parang hotel yung setting.

In less than 5 minutes, the staff put a wristband on our wrists and ushered us to our table. No table number and the staff just wrote our table number on the placemat just in case we wanted to order something. 

When I saw the buffet spread, I felt overwhelmed, ang daming choices and hindi ko nga alam kung saan ako mag-uumpisa. Parang mas marami pa buffet spread nila kaysa sa Seasonal Tastes. Although, mas marami tao sa NIU, so depende sa inyo kung more food or less crowd. 

Overall, sulit ang pagbuffet ko. Naenjoy ko yung tempura station, meat station, and dessert station. Good food and good service. I hope magkapromo ulit para makabalik. 

Check below some of the Viking Group Restaurants that we tried in the past. 

Bring 1 full-paying adult on the day of your birthday. Bring 4 full-paying adults on any day within your birthday month. 

Discounts will depend on the day and number of guests. Available Weekday Lunch only. Not valid on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or holidays. 

PHP1,138 - Adult 

PHP438 - Kids 3-4ft/4-7 years old 

PHP748 - Kids 4’1 - 4’6 ft/ 8-10 years old 

PHP1658 - Adult 

PHP538 - Kids 3-4ft/4-7 years old 

PHP848 - Kids 4’1 - 4’6 ft/ 8-10 years old 

6/F SM Aura Premier, 

26th Street corner McKinley Parkway, 

Bonifacio Global City 

Contact: 478-3888, 0917-586-6888, 0919-999-6888 

11AM to 2:30PM 

5:30PM to 10:30PM

Eight years ago, I suggested Hogs and Cattle Steakhouse and for our recent get-together, I suggested Guevarra’s by Chef Laudico so we could stay for 3 hours. This buffet restaurant started in 2013 pa, ganun na siya katagal but as usual, kapag nasa probinsiya, hindi natatry agad. Actually, I forgot about this restaurant, naalala ko na lang siya nung nagyaya yung college friend ko nung last get-together. namin.

Since we are a group of 16 people, we needed to make a reservation. I checked their calendar on their website pero walang weekend. Magchange na sana kami ng venue, good thing my friend called the restaurant and was able to reserve. To confirm the reservation, a 50% downpayment is required via instapay or bank deposit. 

Fast forward to our get-together, we left early para iwas traffic but surprisingly, walang traffic so ang aga tuloy namin. Quarter to 11AM, the staff announced na pwede na daw pumasok yung mga may reservation and they opened the buffet table 5 minutes before 11AM. For our group, two separate tables kami. Okay sana kung nasa isang room. 

Anyway, you need to wear a face mask before going to the buffet table and this is a managed buffet pala so kailangan ko pa sabihan na konti lang ang ilagay. Take note of the “Clean Plate Policy” - PHP100 for every 100-gram leftover. 

My friend paid for our get-together meals but looking at the buffet rate, I can say that it is budget-friendly compared to other buffet restaurants so it is not surprising na marami talaga kumakain. 

87 P. Guevarra Street cor Argonne St. 

1500 San Juan, Philippines 

0998 881 3200 

guevarrassales@gmail.com 

Lunch 11AM to 2PM = P879 

Maagang Salu-Salo 5PM to 7PM = P799 

Dinner 7:30PM to 10:30PM = P879 

Weekend Late Lunch 2:30PM to 4:30PM = P799 

Weekend Breakfast 7:30AM to 10AM = P599 

9:00am - 6:00pm

Upon check-in, the staff informed us that we could avail of the Breakfast Buffet at PHP1200/per person, kasi kapag sa restaurant PHP2,100 daw ang rate. At that time, I had no idea about their rates but as of this writing, I checked their page and saw their lunch and dinner buffet rate so okay na naman pala yung rate ng breakfast for check-in guests. 

Buffet Lunch: ₱3,295 

Dinner Buffet: ₱3,595 

Goji Kitchen + Bar is an all-day buffet at Clark Marriott Hotel. The buffet restaurant has a live kitchen so you can see how they prepare the dishes. We went to the restaurant around 7AM and I thought mga tulog pa yung mga guest pero marami na pala nagbrebreakfast. Hehehe! I gave our Breakfast Vouchers and the staff assisted us to our table.