A Quick Trip to the Queen City of the South

On rare occasions, my work gives me an opportunity to go out of town. Purely business, however. In an attempt to refrain myself from talking what work I did there, let me just say that on Monday, Jan. 21, I went to Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City (T: (63 32) 231 0288 / F: (63 32) 231 1688 / E-mail mac[at]shangri-la[dot]com).


A view from Cowrie Cove Chill Out Bar.

I took a Cebu Pacific flight at 6:35 AM. My sweet boyfriend drove me to the airport, and I had to call JD on where the domestic airport was since both of us didn't know where it was. The night before, I wished we just took a PAL flight as they had an exclusive airport (how unfair). Anyway, as my friend advised, "Read the signs."

I was able to arrive at Manila Domestic Airport without a glitch. However, I still had to wait another companion since his ticket was with me. A guard noticed me standing by the door for so long already, fortunately checked my ticket and said that at less than 45 minutes before the flight, I should already be hurrying to check in. Okay, I didn't know. I checked in, and in the nick of time, the person I was waiting for arrived. Whew.

Move forward to the hotel. Breakfast time. I had breakfast at the Tides (T: (63 32) 231 8224). Lots of delicious foods. And lots of Koreans, too. By the way, if only I knew that breakfast buffet was priced at P1,000 each, I should have eaten all the foods my little stomach could take. I "dumped" delicious, tasty and yummy bacon on my plate, anyway, so somehow it was still an enjoyable breakfast dining experience that isn't so ordinary. Oh, their coffee's so great! Freshly brewed. I love it prepared with only one small pack of brown sugar (or "raw sugar" as it was labeled).

After lunch, the team was left with nothing to do -- except talk. Over cups of coffee and tea, the conversation went from economics of geography to history to karaoke and to whatever topic they could think of. I simply listened, haha.

Three of them went ahead as they were to take the 5:45 PM flight, and two of us stayed. A more interesting conversation commenced. I was enriched about views about life, learning, patience, perseverance, struggle and the like. Our flight was still at 10:15 PM, so there were a lot of time to spend. Then I got a time to explore a bit of the beauty of Shangri-La Mactan.

On a side note, the hotel has in-house Korean staff. That just shows the throngs of Koreans arriving in our country! I was inquiring about something, conversing in Filipino when the lady said, "English please, I'm Korean." Yeah. Lots of Koreans everywhere.

What did I find in that five star hotel in Mactan? Of course, there was a pool. No, there were pools. Restaurants. And since it was in Cebu, there was a beach. Let me talk about my favorite -- the beach.

The Beach
The sand's not so great. I still love Zambales beach. Haha! I'm not a pool lover, but I would rather dip in the pool than swim in the sea in Mactan. Anyway, it's still good for relaxing and unwinding.

Cowrie Cove
Since I'm already talking about the beach (and have already made reference to this place earlier), here's my chance to say that HEY, COWRIE COVE IS MY FAVORITE SPOT IN SHANGRI-LA MACTAN (T: (63 32) 231 8224).

In bold letters. That's how I love that place. I haven't even tried their food there. The scenery's just so great that sitting there and hanging out is enough.

The restaurant is beside the beach. Almost over the beach. Upon reading the hotel's website, I found out that the Chill Out Bar is a rather recent addition to the restaurant. While the restaurant is open from 6:00 to 10:00 PM, the bar is open from 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM.

It really is a chill out place. Plus, romantic, haha! A little separated from the main establishment, there's a little gazebo-like place, a table for two in the middle of the sea. Well, almost. Feels like the middle of the sea.


So nice! Simply beautiful (especially for me who loves the sea).

I love the smell of the sea, the beautiful music of the soft waves, the relaxing sound from the bar, the gentle breeze of the south, the radiant glow from the sky, the closeness to nature and the magic that the place brings, as if transporting me to some fantasy land.


A shot taken from that "gazebo-like place almost in the middle of the sea." Hear the waves, hear the music, enjoy the scenery. I just hope you could also smell the scent of the ocean!

As the plan was to leave the hotel a bit early and to have dinner at the airport, I went back to Tides at around 6:00. How to get to the airport? Hotel taxi or rent a car could cost about P600.00. Any other way to get there? Wait for a taxi to pass by, which is rather a not so good option.

As any five-star hotel should have (I think), they have a shuttle bus to the airport. It was past six when we asked, and the next shuttle was at 6:30. Every 30 minutes, perhaps?

Anyway, when we first asked the people at the entrance, they told us that the shuttle service costs P100 per head. At the concierge when we registered, it was already free. Maybe the fee applies to guests who did not check in (we joined a business meeting there with a function room reservation, which is probably why we were not charged the shuttle service fee).

While waiting, we stayed at the Lobby Lounge. Again, it was cozy. So cozy, with dim lights and so comfortable chairs. Or couch. I can't recall if there was music, and what kind of music if there was any. It was the chatter of the people that I remember. Actually, the chatter of the Koreans. Oh, they're everywhere.

That was when I tried tinkering with my Daddy's camera (Canon Digital Ixus i zoom). I have succeeded to take a picture of the coffee table's centerpiece without a flash, capturing even the "mood" of the light. Well, that's how I felt as an amateur camera trigger happy person.

Finally, here's a view of the pool at night from the Lobby Lounge:


It was tiring, yet another beautiful experience (thanks to Cowrie Cove, yeah!). From the hotel, we went straight to the airport to eat dinner. Then wait for another hour or so after check in while half-watching National Geographic and half-sleeping.

I spent hours waiting for that plane ride, while my air trip was shorter than expected. Imagine, ETA was at 11:30 PM, while ATA was 11:06 PM. That's Cebu Pacific. Thanks to that, I spent some twenty minutes writing while waiting for Mon to fetch me. Sweet. :)