Sampaguita Gardens Resort-New Washington, Aklan, Philippines

My sister was in Aklan years ago but she didn’t visit Sampaguita Garden Resort because she and her group’s schedule were too hectic. That’s why when we planned to go to Boracay, we took the flight going in and out of Kalibo. Before going back to Manila we dropped by in Sampaguita Garden Resort. It was a nice experience because Christmas Carols greeted us as we enter the gate to think that it was not Christmas, the song was Silent Night. I love the merriment of Christmas even it’s already commercialized.

The resort theme is a year round Christmas. It was conceptualized by Samuel John Butcher, an American artist and creator of Precious Moments artworks. When I was teenager I used to buy precious moments greeting cards. Everywhere I could see Christmas ornaments. The entrance was 50 pesos consumable, which can be used to buy souvenirs and there was an entrance fee of 10 pesos to visit the Jojos’s Chistmas Cottage Museum of Christmas, where there were display of different sizes of Christmas trees, Santa Claus, Christmas wreath and many more. My eyes were mesmerized by the Christmas ornaments and decorations.

I love the view of the sea from the back of the building of the resort. The sound of the waves made me calmed and relaxed. There is a spa inside the resort to enjoy more one’s stay. And the one that caught my attention was the Sampaguita Gardens Academy, which offers practical short terms courses like housekeeping, household services, barista course. This academy has TESDA accreditation.

All Terrain Vehicle Ride in Boracay Island

Every time we went out of our hotel there were hawkers offering activities, such as watersports, sightseeing, trekking, and a lot more. We wanted to try parasailing in Boracay but we couldn’t because the wind was strong that day. We were waiting for the wind to calm but unfortunately we were not lucky that day. Then we thought of trying the ATV ride since we didn’t try it yet. ATV ride is not allowed on the seashore of the beach to preserve the powdery and white sand. After talking to a lot of hawkers, we decided to go for Neo, a native of Bulacan. He is a nice guy oriented us about Boracay. He gave us a fair price for the ATV ride 400.00 pesos plus entrance fees for Tanawin Luxury apartment 60.00 pesos and Everland Aviary Farm 50 pesos. In that tours package the ride to the place where we would have a briefing on how to ride an ATV was included so we didn’t have to find a tricycle to transport us. He has no hidden charges. Those who want to experience Boracay Activities; you can contact him +639197317901.

Usually one should have a driver license to drive but in this island, one can even have no license and I am one of those. Before the ride there was a briefing, a waiver to sign and a test drive.

This tour is to see the highest peak of Boracay, the scenery was breathtaking, and the breeze was cold. The first stop was Everland Aviary Farm to see a plethora of Tropical birds and butterflies. In this farm guests can hold the wings of a bat, it was fun but at first I was scared. Then we proceed to Tanawin Luxury Apartment, where the whole Boracay Island can be seen.

Banchetto in Ortigas

It’s been awhile that we were planning to experience Banchetto. We didn’t know that it is located just on the place where our niece residing. She invited us to her place then we tried it.

Banchetto is an Italian word means feast. In deed it’s a feast, where we found a wide array of food ready to eat. Mostly stalls are cooking their food to be sold right there, in front of the customers. There are native delicacies from different provinces that can be found there. International cuisines are there.

At first the target market was the growing population of call center agents in the place. It is now a tourist attraction in the place, every Friday night till Saturday morning it is open. A certain portion of the road is closed. One should wear a casual clothes and comfortable shoes because there are a huge number of people and couldn’t easily pass thru. At the end of line of stalls there are tables and chairs but usually there is no vacancy so be ready to eat on the side of the road or eat standing anywhere that you can. There is a live band that makes the night lively.

When we reached the end of the stalls we were already perspiring but it was fun….new experience!