"The Bermuda Triangle got tired of warm weather. It moved to Alaska. Now Santa Claus is missing."
The Club Intramuros Golf Course is located just outside the Spanish colonial era 16th century walls of Intramuros, which are barely peeking between the trees to the right of the golfer. The green and white building towering over the course is the 1977 expansion of the Manila Hotel, which first opened its doors in 1912.
The lobby of The Bayleaf Intramuros isn't quite as stark as my photo the other day makes it seem. That is simply the sight that greets you as soon as you enter the doors. Off to one side of the lobby is this warm and cozy corner with tables and chairs, and a baby grand piano, though no one was playing during the weekend we were there. The lovely curved stairway leads up to the function rooms on the second floor.
The rooms of The Bayleaf Intramuros are as modern as their lobby (see yesterday's post). Except for the suites, they are all decorated in black and white, and one of three unique colors.
Ours was very, very orange.
The Bayleaf is a boutique hotel which opened two years ago in Intramuros, the oldest district in the City of Manila. Stepping inside its modern and minimalist lobby after seeing 17th-century walls and buildings can either be jarring or soothing depending on your frame of mind.
The Greenhills Élan Hotel Modern towers over the Greenhills Promenade restaurant row of the Greenhills Shopping Center. We've never stayed there, but their published rates are pretty reasonable. If you're a foodie and a certified shopping bargain hunter, then its location can't be beat. The shopping center is the home of the huge Greenhills tiangge.
Nami Resort in Boracay is located on Diniwid Beach, on the other side of the island from the inundated White Beach and Willy's Rock which I posted the last two Sundays. The cottages are built on the side of a cliff, and though the walk down to the beach doesn't look easy, the view from the rooms must be fantastic.
On New Year's Eve, my husband and I stayed overnight in Hotel Céleste, a small boutique hotel at the corner of Makati and Arnaiz Avenues, a short walk away from Makati City's countdown party. We booked online and didn't really know what to expect, though the hotel had good reviews in both Agoda and Trip Advisor. The lobby wasn't spectacular, but our room was lovely, and, because Céleste only has thirty rooms, very quiet and peaceful—a marked contrast to what it was like in the streets and what it would have been like in bigger hotels with their hundreds of rooms. And for the first time ever, we didn't have to call housekeeping for more pillows.
One of the resorts on the Blue Lagoon side of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte is the Kapuluan Vista Resort. Its designer used traditional nipa for the roof, and also used stone, wood and bamboo lavishly in its interiors.
Unfortunately, the beach right in front of Kapuluan Vista isn't very nice. It is narrow and rocky, the water is full of seaweeds, and Blue Lagoon is several hundred meters up the muddy road. The name of the resort is apt, though, with beautiful views of the small islands just offshore.
Though we didn't stay at Kapuluan Vista when we were in Pagudpud, someone had recommended their restaurant to us, so we decided to go there for lunch.
We were not disappointed. Kapuluan Vista has its own organic herb and vegetable garden, so we chose dishes which make full use of that fact. The lightly-seasoned fresh tuna ceviche was wonderful, the garden salad was a delightful combination of textures and flavors, and the tacos were buried under the crunchiest lettuce. There was one thing our friend forgot to tell us, though: the servings are huge! Since we also ordered empanadas, we ended up doggie-bagging more than half of our order.
It looks like a golden fortress to me from outside, but apparently, Maxims Hotel at Resorts World Manila is the most luxurious hotel in the metro to date. It only has suites and each is assigned a butler who is on call 24-hours a day to take care of guests' every need. Wow.
The Marriott Hotel Manila, which is in Pasay City, looks like a row of tall, narrow buildings standing shoulder to shoulder. I think it's charming.
CITY DAILY PHOTO THEME DAY: THE WATER'S EDGE • A toddler trying to get out of the kiddie pool of the Makati Shangri-la Hotel without using the steps. It will be some time yet before he will be able to do it with grace.
Home base for our tour of the coastal towns of the province of La Union (Agoo, San Juan and Bacnotan) was Sunset Bay Beach Resort in San Fernando City, the capital of the province. The resort is just outside the city center, with a great view of the little finger of land called Poro Point. If the monsoon rains hadn't decided to come a few weeks early, the view of the sunset would have been great too, since the resort is on the western coast of Luzon, facing the South China Sea (or the West Philippine Sea, if you ask our government and media).
Sunset Bay has big rooms, free wifi, good food, friendly staff, and the casual atmosphere that we like in beach resorts. Our trip to La Union was not for its beaches, but we liked Sunset Bay so much we decided to stay there again on our way back home, still more than a week away.
San Fernando officially became a city only in 1998, but its history reaches back much farther—back to 1786 and the Spanish colonial times. The church of San Fernando, named after Saint William the Hermit, was first constructed then too, but, like many of the other churches in the region, the original structure was damaged during the 1892 earthquake and the 1898 Philippine Revolution, then destroyed in 1945 at the end of World War II. The current church was reconstructed in 1947–49, and St. William Parish Church became St. William Cathedral in 1970. 
The facade of St. William Cathedral is almost nondescript, looking like any one of thousands of Catholic churches around the Philippines. The church is also difficult to visit, located as it is in the very busy and heavily-congested center of San Fernando City. I think the small but magnificent sanctuary is worth the bother though.
The resort that has placed San Fernando within the radar screen of Manila's weekend getaway-seeking crowd is the Mediterranean-themed Thunderbird Resort Poro Point. We just had to see it for ourselves, so we decided to have lunch at its restaurant, Olives, which has a wonderful view of the pool and the ocean. For those who are not fond of swimming and water sports, Thunderbird also has a golf course and a casino. 
Thunderbird Resort is also the closest one can get to the Poro Point Lighthouse, at least until its rehabilitation is completed and the Poro Point Freeport Zone developed. In anticipation of this and to encourage tourism this early on, a festival centered around the lighthouse was created just this year. Called Sillag (Ilokano for "moonbeam"), the Poro Point Festival of Lights was launched on April 28. We missed it by two weeks! 
The weather on our return trip a week later was better, and we were able to put in a few hours of pool time at Sunset Bay Beach Resort. Yes, the ocean's just a few steps away, but even at its calmest, the waters of La Union have too strong an undercurrent for my peace of mind. My photo makes it look like just a wet wall, but the pool's waterfall is strong enough for a vigorous back massage. 
Then an early dinner at the resort's restaurant and bar… 
where I discovered the yummy Tanduay Ice while we watched the sun set—behind yet another gathering thundercloud. LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #5
Tarlac City is about 105 kilometers northwest of Metro Manila. The province, which carries the same name, is best known as being the home province of the Aquino family, which includes Benigno Jr. "Ninoy", whose assassination at the airport when he arrived from exile in 1983 became the catalyst for popular discontent and opposition against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, and his wife Corazon "Cory", who became the country's first female president when People Power forced Marcos out. The Aquino Center houses their memorabilia, and chronicles their political careers and the events which led to the Philippines regaining its democracy, however flawed it still is today.
We stayed at the Microtel Inn & Suites at Hacienda Luisita, where we arrived during an overcast Sunday morning. Hacienda Luisita is a sugar plantation owned by the Cojuangco family, part of which they opened to public commercial enterprises. Microtel is an inexpensive, no-fuss but comfortable hotel with very helpful and friendly staff. Though it doesn't have a restaurant, the room still comes with free breakfast, which is served in the small lobby which has free wi-fi, free-flowing tea and coffee, and—most welcome and much-needed in our humidity—ice and cold water dispensers.
At the city center, a monument to Cory Aquino stands in the middle of a small roundabout. I had no luck trying to get a closer photo of the statue, unfortunately; I just can't figure out what camera settings I need for upward-looking shots during cloudy days.
The small roundabout was between a park (which we didn't visit because it had just rained and the ground was muddy) and the San Sebastian Cathedral. Since it was a Sunday and there was a Mass going on, popcorn vendors and tricycles were out in droves. I almost got run over when I crossed the street and entered the cathedral premises on the stripes; I thought they were for pedestrians but it seems that they also mark where vehicles can enter and exit the gates.
Because of the Mass, we couldn't take photos inside the cathedral. So my husband and I walked around outside, where we saw a sculpture of a cross and the Virgin Mary gesturing and walking towards a fetus lying on clouds and surrounded by cherubs dedicated to "the innocent victims of abortion."
We had our dinner at Tessie's Grills and Roasters, which seems to be a very popular local restaurant because of its inexpensive buffet. What caught my eye, though, were the decorations of their events hall. Roman Gladiators and Anubis standing sentry outside the doors, and I saw a mask of Tutankhamun inside when I accidentally walked in, thinking it was the entrance to the restaurant; I almost gate-crashed someone's debut. Not quite something I expected to see in the farming province of Tarlac. LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #1
