My First Winter in Korea

It's summer once again!  The only time I enjoy the hot weather is when I'm on the beach!
Everywhere else is just dreadful (haha).
It's during these warm times you begin to miss cooler weather and vice versa.

Last December 2008, Me and my family have been blessed to visit Korea during the start of its winter season.

Breathtaking winter scene
It was actually my first time to experience winter!
The best experience was being able to try skiing at Jisan Ski Resort and see mountains of snow for the first time!!!
I've only seen snow in pictures and in film.  There were no words except for "woooooow!!" when I saw it in real life. hahaha

Entrance

Ski grounds

Skiing looked easy, but I slipped when I tried my first baby slope.  It didn't hurt at all however it was really hard to stand back up while you had the skis on.  The chills I felt when I first arrived at the resort were gone after the ski exercise and ended up very hungry hahaha.

Modern city while maintaining Korean heritage
It puzzles and amazes me how Koreans, Japanese, Chinese and a few other Asian countries somewhat share the same designs in architecture, clothing, and handwriting.
During our stay we were able to visit these culture-rich places:

Suwon Fortress walls

Suwon Fortress

Changgyeonggung

Highlights of the Trip
Korean culture shared by our wonderful tour guide Alice

• Most Koreans are very loyal to local products
• On the road, most of them are on the rush "pali pali" (hurry hurry) when they accidentally bump into you, don't take it seriously and most of them wouldn't apologize either.
• Dining culture:
• In restaurants, regular tables with normal chairs are mostly reserved for the elderly.  The rest sit on the floor.
• The reason their rice bowls are made of metal is to prevent it from moving so much while eating.  You must never lift up the metal rice bowl as it drains your luck away from you.  It is considered disrespectful to some.
• Kimchi holiday - There's actually a public holiday for a week dedicated to preparing kimchi they plan to consume for the entire year as it takes long to prepare.

• Every wife should know how to prepare all the appetizers you notice served to you at Korean restaurants.
• Nutrition - ginseng is a popular health commodity.  Almost everyone has probably taken it during their growing up years.

Other places visited:

Spa Greenland - This is probably the biggest spa I've ever visited in my entire life and a must visit too!  It's a total relaxation place with hydrotherapy pools, sauna rooms with different types of stones used for the walls, and other amenities.

Lotte World and Everland Themepark

Lotte World is more of an indoor themepark with a mall.  I enjoyed the laserlight show which shows before the park closes as well as some of the intense rides.  Also tried the sudden drop ride where you'll be raised up high then drop without warning.

Bad shot, but oh well it's the only one i have

In Everland, I was tricked into riding their horrifying 90 degree drop roller coaster by my brother!!!  I felt my heart pop out and screamed like no tomorrow during that ride!  Would I try it again?  I'm not sure... haha.

Everland at night... yes another bad shot *sigh*

Kimchi Culinary School!

We also had a culinary lesson on how to prepare kimchi!

This tour was arranged by:

Grand Pacific Travel and Tours Corp


Where do you want to go during the warm summer days?

Ace Water Spa - Fun Water Therapy for Muscle Pain Relief

Just came home from a super relaxing experience.

This afternoon, we decided to try out the newest branch of Ace Water Spa at Pasig City.  This time, they brought it up a notch.  No longer it was an ordinary water spa, but a full hotel, condo, and commercial plaza.

It's probably been at least 2 years since my last trip to Ace Water Spa.  For those who are not familiar with it, Ace Water Spa is a hydrotherapy water park.

I was really amazed with the uniforms for it reminded me of
professional flight attendants

What is Hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy involves using different levels of water pressure and temperature to relieve body pains.  Think of it as a jacuzzi park with different varieties to experience.

Upon entering, you can see a view of the waterpark from the restaurant

What to expect from Ace Water Spa
I really loved the hydrotherapy experience.
My personal favorites are:

• Acupuncture rainfall - perfect for insomniacs, wanted to go to sleep after a few minutes of trying it.  You lie down on your chest and let the water droplets fall on your back and thigh.
• Jet chair - water pressure that massages your thigh, lower leg and butt
• Bubble bed - feel as if you're being boiled in a pot with all the bubbles from underneath
• Heated aromatherapy pools - hot pools with aromatherapy oils added and a cold metallic beam to rest your head.  I tried mint, jasmine, and lavender which is the hottest pool.  The heat penetrates your skin, and soothes your aching muscles.

In the heated pools section, you will find the sauna and steam room as well as an ice cold tub in the middle and drinking area.

Ace at night

Tips for your trip to Ace Water Spa

• Proper swimwear is required.  Trunks for men and for ladies, one piece and fit swimsuits are highly recommended for the water pressure can sometimes strip you off.
• Towels are not provided so you have to bring your own.  But they provide swim caps.  I believe swimwear rental is also available
• Locker Rooms - their locker rooms are equipped with shampoo, soap, hairdryers, q tips, hair gel and hair dryers.  They even provide plastic bags for your wet clothing.

After the water therapy experience, I became so famished!  Which is probably why they placed the restaurant upon your exit.

Ace Coffee Lounge

Dining area

However in the mood for chinese food, we went to Luk Foo Cantonese Restaurant near our area and ended my evening with an unexpected massage date together with my good friends Joy and Yo at Nuat Thai - Traditional Thai massage.

...And some room for a midnight snack and chit chat at Wendy's

Super relaxed and refreshed!

What are your best ways of relaxing?  Do share your methods in the comments section =)

Rediscovering Tagaytay

I'm loving November!  It's full of holidays!
Without any itinerary planned, we decided to spend one night at Days Hotel Tagaytay just to enjoy the cool air and nature-like environment you don't see in the city.
Since my childhood, everytime I hear the word Tagaytay, it just means seeing Taal volcano, passing by the horse riding area, and fruit and flower vendors.

Today there's alot of charming places to visit, from classic inns and gardens to specialty restaurants and resorts.

We originally planned to visit Hacienda Isabella but was shooed away by a rude lady who bluntly told us that we can't enter unless we had an appointment and to come back tomorrow.  Apparently ABS-CBN was filming an episode of Maria la del Barrio in their location.  It was extremely annoying and disappointing for it was quite a long drive from the main road.  Don't let the location map fool you to thinking that it's near.

We had no choice I guess but to leave the place losing complete interest to ever visit again.  However in the process of going back, something funny happened.  We chanced upon Balay Indang's location and eventually decided to stop by to take a look.  It's a charming bed & breakfast with a lovely garden.
Here are some photos I took from Balay Indang:

Entrance from the parking area

classic wooden sign

path to the main house - Balay

the dining area

lobby

Dining area

a peek at their accommodation

common area

They even have a pool!

garden and pond surrounding the common area

function room

outdoor dining area

garden paths

It's quite a relaxing and peaceful place.  In fact, so peaceful they do not even have any television nor wifi.  The manager mentioned that some guests do bring their own portable television with them lol.

We didn't make it in time to their lunch service for the wasted time with Hacienda Isabella (grrr to them)
However, we decided to check out Mano's Greek Taverna and Hotel which features a mountain view restaurant and 3 private rooms as accommodation.

The path is pretty steep but you won't be disappointed.

one of the 3 private rooms

path to the restaurant

interesting wall design

you have reached the restaurant!

nice view while dining

their freshly baked bread with feta cheese and Tzatziki

moussaka

Baklava

I also had a rare and beautiful view of the sunrise

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day"
Genesis 1:31

Unfortunately, the beauty of it wasn't captured very well from my phone.

What other interesting places you have visited in Tagaytay that are worth visiting?  Post your recommendations below!~

Zenyu Eco Spa - My Halloween Treat

This year's halloween seemed like a week's vacation!  Well almost.
Oct 31, 2011 which falls on a Monday, was proclaimed a special non-working public holiday throughout the Philippines.  Citizens get to enjoy a 4-day long weekend!
While the sound of 'long weekend' overjoys just about anybody.
In my world, it just means longer sleep hours, availability to do partially neglected house chores, and if I'm lucky-gatherings! whether with family or with friends.  A vacation some place will be super too!

A date with Dr. Fish
Tonight me and my family decided to try out Zenyu Eco Spa located inside Hotel H2O.  But not before having an Asian dinner at Makan Sutra.  err wait a minute, either they've changed the name or the owner gave up.

My first visit in January 2010

Now, Oct 2011 - What it changed into:

Restaurant operations changed from self-service casual style dining to a fancier restaurant with waiters serving you instead.  The food quality and authenticity suffered quite a bit but I guess it's somewhat acceptable.

Revisiting Manila Ocean Park
After the meals, we walked around discovering what else is new in Manila Ocean Park.  I'm quite pleased they finally removed the "tiangge stalls" that greeted you on the entrance for they looked quite messy.  Renovations have been made to make the park achieve a "world-class" experience.  Ticket counters are now with LCD Screens, flooring and lighting have been changed, and the entrance path finally looks neat.  I really hope they maintain this educational and recreational place.   PH needs more places that develop and inspire culture than just big giant malls all over.

Zenyu Eco Spa - Here fishy fishy
So we finally headed back to the spa to experience their featured fish spa, negative ion hotbed treatment and  massage.
You can check out some of the photos on their website, of course I can't take a picture of myself =p haha.

What to expect:

• First, they'd give you soft rubber slippers with spikes in the soles like those foot therapy slippers.
• You can keep your valuables inside their electronic safe.  All you need to remember is assign a 4 number pin code.
• You also have a personal locker to store your clothing.  They will provide a large bath towel, a 2 piece robe (top and pants), and a disposable underwear! which is used during your negative ion hot bed treatment and massage.

The fish spa is within the locker room premises.  Male and female are separated.  I dipped my whole body in the water and the fish started nibbling my hands and feet.  I couldn't help but laugh so much for they really tickle.  Your feet will definitely feel much smoother than an ordinary footscrub afterwards.

Ah the wonders of nature.  A must try experience!

For the showers, they provide an all-natural, soy based multi-purpose solution which can be used for bath or cleaning dishes.  It doesn't foam so it can be weird using it as a handwash or for your shower.

Another experience that I liked was the negative ion hot bed therapy where you lie down and feel the heat on your whole back.  A soothing experience for anyone who has chronic neck and back pains.  A perfect preparation before a relaxing massage.

You end the experience with an hour massage.  While the fish spa and the hotbed therapy is a must try, the massage is quite average and doesn't really give you the relief that you'd expect from having a proper massage.

In my opinion, the therapists at The Spa, Makati and Gold's Gym, Wilson were way much better than the therapists at Zenyu Eco Spa.  I had commented on their Facebook Page and got this reply.

defensive much?

My family and I had the same feedback about their therapists.  Massage was indeed better elsewhere.  

I'm not saying the service is horrible either.  It was just average and probably not the massage you would expect for that price.  I might not go back for a massage there, but the ion hotbed therapy will do.