SILANGANG NAYON turned me on

Just this weekend, le boyfie and I went out of town. And where else do we go but to our fave weekend getaway town, QUEZON! Our first trip together was in Kinabuhayan Cafe, Dolores, Quezon. 

At Kinabuhayan Cafe 3 years ago.

The place was great! And the food? Better! They served only organic food and boy I can still taste it in my dreams.

Organic meals 

So, when boyfie said that he'd give me an out-of-town travel as a graduation gift, I already knew where to go. I scoured the net to look for the next Quezon destination, and I tripped over a lot of good reviews of Silangang Nayon.

After a long and tiring five-hour bus, jeepney, and tricycle trip, we finally reached the place. All the haggardness quickly faded away as we were greeted with feathered animals running around the greenery, statued fauna, polite staffs, and blue-green sea.

Silangang Nayon in Pagbilao, Quezon

SILANGANG NAYON

The Room

We shelled out P2,500 per night for the accommodation with breakfast, which was actually good for 4 persons. (They don't have couple packages. The smallest one is for 4 pax.)

Room for 2-4 pax

Given that the price was supposedly for a group of 4, it was actually very light in the pocket. The room was clean and spacious. The bathroom had a bathtub (major plus!) and a hot/cold shower. They also provided 4 towels, 4 toothbrushes, a tissue roll, and a toothpaste. There was a cabinet for the things, lots of sockets for the cellphone,laptop,whathaveyous. The television only had local channels (not really an issue since you're there to sightsee). There were also couches. The veranda and gate outside added to the house-like appeal of the 'room.' It really looked like a small house. It was very much comfortable and had a homey feel. 

The Food

Silangang Nayon is actually known as a restaurant by the sea. Yet, guests from all over the world (char! Metro Manila and South Luzon, maybe?) don't travel all the way to this place just to experience dining by the sea. People frequent this place because of the fresh and well-cooked seafood, simmered with affordability. As a matter of fact, Charo Santos of MMK was dining there during our first night (O diba, leveling!). 

Then for our free breakfast, they served fried rice and hot choco/coffee plus choices of: bacon and egg, boneless bangus, spam and egg, and corned beef and egg. Nothing out of the usual really.

No judgments pls. Nothing wrong with taking advantage of the free meal for 4. :)

The Place

Silangang Nayon is actually a restaurant and a park. The place abound with floras and faunas everywhere. Chickens and turkeys ran around the place. We also spotted some horses resting on the grassy park. 

Kids will definitely love the place because of the playground and mini zoo.

If ever you get bored with the relaxed ambiance of the place, you can ought to rent a boat and go to a beach  nearby. Boat rental costs P1,500 and can carry a maximum of 10 persons.

We went to Puting Buhangin and Kwebang Lampas because it was the nearest but you can actually ask the boatman to drop you off to two more other beaches for I think an additional P1,000. Nevertheless, Puting Buhangin's pristine water and white sand was already more than enough for us. We were in awe with how clear the water was. I wonder if they would/could develop it to be a snorkling area. When we went there, no fishes were visible and only the rocky sea bottom can be seen. Yes, the beach is actually rocky (?) so it is best to wear slippers or aqua shoes. There were also some jellyfishes caught during our stay there but the locals said that it was actually the first time that the water was infested with jellyfishes.

** I would not describe the floating restaurant and airplane food delivery anymore since Google already provides a lot of information about that.**

Service


If there's one thing that would make me want to recommend the place to anybody, it wouldn't be the place or the food. I would advise anyone to experience Silangang Nayon for the wonderful service of the staffs there. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. They were very patient to answer each of our inquiries. They also attended to our every need.

When we were there, I sadly got my period and slightly suffered from dysmenorrhea. :( The crew gave me two mefenamic acid and a napkin for free.:) During our dinner that night, we chose to stay on one of the cottages but it was very malamok so we asked for an electric fan to drive away the mosquitoes. Not only did they set up the fan but they also brought a mosquito killer lamp for us. The waiters were also very knowledgeable about the food. We were very confused with what to order on our first night because there were a lot of items in their menu. The waiter patiently responded to our queries regarding the size of serving, cooking style, etc. He even suggested some food for us and told us that we could actually ask them to refrigerate our leftover and have it heated up again for the next meal.

They don't charge service fee but we couldn't help giving them a tip because of the wonderful service that they shared. They gave me an impression that the management is not concerned about earning money but earning guests' hearts.

Budget


P5,000 - 2 days accommodation with free breakfast
P530 - Friday dinner
P935 - Saturday dinner
P165 - Saturday pansit lunch
P500 - approx for beers and ice cream
P1,500 - boat rental
P460 - bus ride from Buendia to Lucena (2 pax)
P20 - jeep to Brgy Bantigue (2 pax)
P180 - tricycle to and from Silangang Nayon (2 pax)
P260 - van to Sta Rosa (2 pax)

TOTAL P9550 for 2 persons

We spent almost P10,000 for the whole trip for 3 days and 2 nights. It would actually be cheaper if you travel by group since the accommodation, boat rental, and tricycle ride is fixed and not on a per-person basis. The food's serving is also huge and can be shared by up to three or four persons.

How to get to Silangang Nayon


From Buendia

         Ride any bus (JAC/JAM/any other bus line) going to Lucena Grand Terminal. From there, find the jeep terminal going to Pagbilao. Ask the driver to drop you off to Brgy Bantigue or "to the tricycle terminal going to Silangang Nayon." Ride a tricycle and they will already drop you off to Silangang Nayon.


From Sta Rosa

         Ride a van going to Lucena Grand Terminal and proceed with the same direction stated above. :)

From wherever you are

         Just find a way to get to Lucena Grand Terminal and you're good to go. :)

We have a new baby!:)

Just out of nowhere, my brother and I decided to buy a digital camera. :) After numerous google searches, cgena.com visits, and appliance store inquiries, we finally settled with the CANON POWERSHOT A1200.

cameralabs.com
Canon Powershot A1200

The package contains awesome items such as a pair of alkaline battery, a pair of rechargeable battery with charger, a 4Gb SD Card, and a camera case.

What really won me over was the shooting modes of the camera.

Fish-eye effect

Miniature effect

Toy Camera effect

Monochrome effect: Sepia, Black and White, and Blue (left to right)

Poster effect

Super Vivid effect

Sorry for the crappy pictures but I'm sure you will have a lot of fun using these effects. 

Oh, have I told you that this amazing little camera just costs P3,995???!!! Such a great deal, right? My brother and I have nothing but praises for this cam especially when we found out that it already has an auto-rotate feature and check this out: 

without Blur Reduction

with Blur Reduction

It takes great pictures even when the subject is moving at lightning speed! No more blurred photos for moving subjects. Yey! 

I am just so proud of this great deal that we got. Now, I can proudly say that I am in one with the shutterbug generation.

Happy clicking! :)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Late Post)

I couldn't think of a more fitting title.

Last March 18, 2012, Sunday, my father was rushed to the hospital because of heart attack. When I reached the hospital, he was already unconscious and was just assisted with a breathing apparatus.  I wasn't able to talk to him anymore. He was in coma for two days. His breathing and heartbeat were just possible because of the respirator and medicine. The doctors urged us to just "pull the plug" since he was not showing any signs of recovery and even if he managed to breathe on his own, the damage in his brain was irreversible and thus he would forever be a worthless vegetable.

On March 20, Tuesday, with hearts sunk, we did what we thought would be best for all of us. We let the hospital took off all his medical apparatus and signed a waiver that Papa would not be revived when his heart failed. We said our goodbyes to him but we believed, even up to now, that he's in a better place now. The disappointments and stresses of his earthly life were now gone.

Just when we thought that everything was at it's worst, something much worse happened.

My brother, just 22 years old, had a sudden change of behavior about 2-3 days before my father's interment. He started believing that he was the Messiah. He never stopped talking. He didn't sleep for two straight days. He ate very little. He was very insistent on being a Mason and studying in Harvard. He believed that he has an IQ comparable to Einstein. He felt that he would rule the world. The timid, isolated boy was now in euphoria, talking non-stop and nonsense to every person he saw. He had suicidal and murderous thoughts. Because of these, the family decided to bring him to a psychiatrist right after my father's burial. The doctor's diagnosis was that he needed to be institutionalized because he was showing signs of psychosis. After a week of observation and symptoms treatment, he was diagnosed with BIPOLAR DISORDER.

Confirming my brother's mental disorder was shocking and disheartening for all of us. I, for one, didn't have any first-hand experience with mentally handicapped people or the sorts. We did not know anyone in the family who has one. This was the kind of illness I never thought my family would ever experience.

He was just 22 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him. We used to dream a lot about how we would have a good life when we start earning our own money. Then, in just a blink of an eye, all of those came running downhill, disappearing into a black hole of hopelessness.

I miss my dad. Now, I am missing my brother. The partner I thought I could depend on in this time of crisis abandoned me. I felt a betrayal. I am mad. I want to get mad at my brother for being weak. I didn't know why all of these had to happen one after the other. I tried looking for the bad things that me and my family did and tried to comprehend if we really deserved this. A lot of things went on and on in my head but I couldn't let other people see it. I couldn't be weak because there's just my Mom and I left. I needed to be strong for her.