Four years ago, our month was filled with several trips from my home province in Bohol to Oslob, my husband's beloved town. It was the same year when we lost our first baby but after recovering, we were able to go back to traveling or we say exploring. We always make it a point to visit each of our families and also check nearby places, thus our weekends were always busy.
This article today talks about what happened in September 2017. I can't help but share with you because this month is about to end and it was like how we spent September 2017 but it's a totally different life we have now. It may be saddening that we are not able to go out and travel that much compared to before but we have Matti right now which is the most important thing. So, allow me to bring you some old photos, memories which I felt like it was just yesterday after scanning through the photographs.
After getting general anesthesia, going through the knife, losing a few cm off my stomach, and bearing the pain of miscarriage, it was time for us to move on from the nightmare on June 24. It's been already three months, we stopped traveling at that time, I had to take a rest and the last one that we had gone to was in Bantayan in August.
It was as if the trip to Bantayan had fired up the wandering souls in us, we made sure September would be a new start.
HAPPY MUSEUM
On the first day of September, we went to a museum named Happy Museum. This was a great spot to start this month.
The Miracle Art Happy World Museum is its complete name but since it's a bit long, we just referred to it as Happy Museum. We were the first customers on that day which was a miracle already!
What's extra special about this is the presence of 3D art paintings which create a visual illusion. It also offers a five-sensory experience.
Here are some snaps we took there:
**James' head! Where's his body?
oh snap! my legs!
I think I am floating!
I got skills!
The museum's paintings were divided into different sections:
- World-famous art
*:Religious beliefs
Ocean
Jurassic animals
Philippine pride
Ending or Dangerous view section
There are also restrictions such as:
No wearing of shoes, all footwear should be left outside, socks can be worn and they also have socks for sale outside.
No eating as food drops may damage the paintings. There are food stalls outside and a restaurant too.
No running. Children must be accompanied by adults. If anyone would hit the walls or any part of the painting, it would mean losing valuable parts of the museum.
The staff turned on only a few lights while we were inside. I guess they were saving power as the air conditioning as well was not enough, we felt hot inside and taking pictures was a pain too! I had to pump my ISO exposure and still ended up with dark photographs.
THE THRAY
On the same day, we treated ourselves with a "The Banshee Boodle" from The Thray restaurant. I am not sure if they are still open today though but this is inspired by the famous Game of Thrones film series thus the interior setting looks medieval. They had a shortlist of food menus though.
The restaurant opens at 5:00 PM and we were the first customers again.
The owner sure had a lot of figure collections like this one.
Our boodle included crabs, mussels, and clams drenched with mild spicy herbed lemon butter sauce, grilled pork belly, grilled corn, and plain rice. We also got ourselves anti-mage iced tea which turns blue when stirred. I adore the wooden tableware.
Our boodle table.
RING RESTHOUSE
On second weekend, we went to a nearby resthouse, it was just five minutes away from our condo unit. I had done a Google search for nearby resorts and this showed up. I was surprised that it's just super near but I have not heard of it until that day.
The view from the third floor.
Since it was just nearby, we headed there past nine in the morning. I was still on maternity leave at that time so my husband made sure that I won't get bored in the house.
Ring resthouse is called as such because the pools are circular in shape like a ring. It is not a resort that would make you go wow but it is enough for busy people to chill without traveling far. Their social media account states this is a little oasis in the city.
Cottages are available but they are too small for me!
What I like here aside from its near was that there were a lot of plants and trees. It is overlooking the city too! The resort has a prayer room as well!
The prayer room's located on the third floor.
Other amenities include:
- Swimming Pools for adults and kids
- Room for overnight stay
- Tropical Huts and Cottages
- Mini-Bar
- The band room includes an acoustic drum set, electric and acoustic guitars alike, wired microphones, and amplifiers.
- Soundproof karaoke room since Filipinos love to sing
SEAFARI OSLOB
Seafari Beach Resort, Oslob
In 2017, Oslob has become a talk of the province or shall I say country too due to the many issues regarding the whale sharks. A lot of people had expressed their dismay about the feeding of the gentle giants as this had somehow disrupted their migration and their means of food search. However, nothing had stopped this activity.
Every single day, there have been so many visitors of different races, the tourism of this once quiet town had boomed in an instant and so the town had to adjust, businesses started popping here and there. Resorts were built in less than a year and for the locals, it was good because they were able to work within the town.
On the third weekend of September 2017, James and I went to his home town and we decided to check our Seafari Beach Resort which had been included in the top 10 list of resorts to check out in Cebu with infinity pools.
What we saw from the entrance before walking down 260+ steps.
Two hundred steps have to be trekked down to reach the main resort, not very friendly to the oldies though but according to the staff, they had plans of putting up a lifter that will help seniors and those who have babies. The only way for us not to tire was to stop every now and then and rest.
Our excitement had turned into dismay actually because I believe the resort is overrated. They got four pools but they are small ones, the infinity pool that I was excited about looked like a pool for kids.
The restaurant can only accommodate a few heads and the food wasn't that good too! But our favorite was the artificial garden at the rooftop of the resort. This will allow guests to stargaze at night and also watch the sunrise in the morning! The resort is also solar-powered.
Great spot for stargazing!
James and Jean at Seafari Beach Resort
In the next article, I will share with you where we went for the last two weekends of September 2017. Stay tuned!