Shangri-La Mactan 5-Star Vacation

It was a dream of mine 20 years ago to stay in Shangri-la Mactan. Back in 2005, I experienced having dinner there and it was not just relatively expensive for me since I’ve been so used to just doing budget trips (from what I remember, it cost P15,000 for a group of people at that time) but it was all worth it because the food was really scrumptious!!! I’ve been wanting to go back, maybe have lunch or breakfast. We attempted to try the breakfast day tour at Shangri-la Boracay instead before the pandemic  during our Boracay summer vacation in 2019 but the cost of P3,000 per person was still too expensive for us at that time considering that we were on a one week or so budget Boracay vacation. Then the pandemic hit so all travel plans stopped. 

Recently, we were in Boracay for 15 days and we did want to try the breakfast day tour again in Shangri-la Boracay but they weren’t offering it anymore. Our budget for hotel stay was only about P40,000, perfect for our 2-week stay in Paradise Garden and Resort Hotel, a nice enough 5-star-looking resort on the famous island. I’ll be blogging and vlogging about that too. At least we were able to do Crimson Boracay during my birthday! Plus, splurge at OM BAR! Maybe, on our next Boracay trip, we will be able to check-in at Shangri-la. Still, I’m grateful we were able to stay at Shangri-la Mactan! 

Come to think of it, I noticed that ever since I’ve been with Mahal, a lot of my wishes have started coming true — having a baby, having a family to call my own, having my very first Apple Macbook (it was Mahal’s first grand gift to me back in 2016!), my beautiful cloffice (which I still need to blog/vlog about), my dream beach wedding proposal, my upcoming dream beach wedding, having our own mini resort and restobar, being together 24/7, traveling to exotic places, checking in at 5-star resorts… And my Shangri-la wish did finally happen! So I want to share a vlog I made about our 5-star Shangri-la Mactan vacation including the prices and what-not. Check it out below. Enjoy!

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ENJOYING THE SARDINE RUN AT MOALBOAL, CEBU… A SCUBA DIVING ADVENTURE

Yey! We’ve now come to the 3rd part of our scuba diving adventure. Whew! It really took me a while, huh? So sorry about that. Aside from being so busy the past several weeks (which I told you about on my previous blog post), my mental  and emotional health haven’t been so good the past couple of months. So whatever strength and joy I still have in me, I just divert them to my priorities which are my work, Tuz, and our family.  

Anyway, I’m so happy to be publishing another blog post today and I hope to do it more frequently (Daily perhaps? Before I start my day at work like now? Hihihi! ) Writing about anything and everything about my life continue to be cathartic for me especially during these uncertain times and I’m happy to share whatever I can with you, my dear readers. Thank you for always checking me out!

So again, let’s dive in!

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Discover Scuba Diving: DAY 2 at CEBU SEAVIEW DIVE RESORT in MOALBOAL

Oh hi there! I know it’s been a while but I haven’t forgotten you. 😉 Work has just been so overwhelming (I just recently got another new client so yay for me!) but I don’t want to complain considering that we are on the 2nd year of this Covid-19 pandemic. Having multiple work, being able to pay the bills, and being able to buy stuff we need and want at this time is very much a blessing so I can’t complain. I must not complain! How about you? I hope you’re all still doing okay wherever you are. 

Me, I would just like to give myself a little more pat on the back than usual because I also take care of our home (a.k.a. chores); I take care of Tuz and his home school activities; I take care of Mahal and his needs… I’m a superwoman! Lol! The important thing is we are all still fine, healthy, and thriving. Just recently, a few of our neighbors have died from Covid so we are just really thankful that we are all still okay. Thank you, God! Of course I am worried all the time which adds to my energy getting depleted a lot faster than usual that I’d resort to watching Netflix (currently addicted to Grace and Frankie) to relax and chill after work is done instead of blogging, vlogging, and finishing all those online courses I bought (which was my original plan but all this anxiety is getting me bogged down). So today, I am ending my inertia (of blogging laziness) by updating my blog and hopefully getting started with Marie Forleo’s B-School (after I finish her book Everything is Figureoutable). Mondays and Tuesdays were supposed to be my blogging/vlogging days that got replaced by beach days. Yes, you can find us at Mahal’s sister’s private beach every Monday and Tuesday, swimming, snorkeling and picnicking (and soon paddle boarding once I decide to buy a paddle board online). Saturdays and Sundays have become our chore days (laundry, doing groceries, cooking big batches of dishes for the whole week, Mahal doing his hobbies like bonsai-making, and me planting herb seeds and taking care of our little herb garden if I’m not playing with my guitar or reading. I also plan to add painting to my weekend repertoire). Then Monday-Tuesday we’re off to the beach, then Wednesday-Friday is where I focus on finishing my work deadlines. It’s a simple but good life (for me at least coz being productive and busy with so many different things makes me worry less). I’ll blog about our Oslob life once I’m done getting you updated with our scuba diving adventure. 

So let’s dive in! 

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Cebu SeaView Dive Resort Review: Day 1 of our Scuba Diving Adventure in Panagsama Beach, Moalboal

OMG! A scuba diving adventure! Finally! I’ve been urging Mahal to try scuba diving since he has been looking at posters when we were in Malapascua last May for Mother’s Day. He likes doing adventurous stuff like me. I’ve tried scuba diving a few times before in my 20s and 30s and after my last stint in Batangas more than 10 years ago, I didn’t dare scuba dive again because though I like going into adventures, my heart sometimes couldn’t take the suspense of it all due to my hypertension. So, I’m happy to just let Mahal do it this time while I take take pictures and videos of him. 🙂

Anyway, before Mahal took his scuba diving lessons last month during Father’s Day, we first enjoyed the dive resort where we stayed — Cebu SeaView Dive Resort which is in Panagsama Beach in Moalboal, a place famous for the sardine run. I joined my diver friends back in 2010-2011 for a sardine run in Pescador Island, also in Moalboal and it has been fun! I wanted Mahal to experience it too and Tuz and I will just enjoy it from above by snorkeling. So that was the plan.

In the meantime, we enjoyed this little dive resort first off the coast of Panagsama, Moalboal in Southwestern Cebu.

Here’s our HONEST and DETAILED review about Cebu SeaView Dive Resort :

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Sunrise in Oslob

How We Transferred to Oslob, Cebu During the Pandemic

Hello Summer! It’s been a busy 2.5 months as we started our new beach life here in Oslob, Cebu and I promise, I will be catching up on my blog posts and vlogs until I get more current with what’s happening with us. I may still insert some throwback travel posts from the past since I’ve collected a ton all these years. But for now, here is a vlog on how our transfer from Cagayan de Oro (where we lived, half the time, the other half was in Claveria) from Sept. 1, 2017 to Jan. 7, 2021) to Oslob, Cebu happened, how we got quarantined for 14 days when we got here, and what we did while in quarantine (Jan. 9-22, 2021)

For those who are considering transferring to their respective provinces in this time of the pandemic, you can check out this related blog post:

BOAT TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS DURING A PANDEMIC IN THE PHILIPPINES (FROM CAGAYAN DE ORO TO CEBU

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Oslob

Reminiscing My First Time at Oslob New Village Lodge – Cebu Accommodation and Things to Do

It has always been on my mind to blog about Oslob, a quaint and beautiful municipality in southern Cebu. After all, that’s where I met the current love of my life back in March 2012 (check our love story) and which I now consider as one of my second homes because I  can no longer count how many times I’ve been to this charming place known for its whale sharks and beautiful falls. I’ve also mentioned it quite a few times on my blog, particularly when I’d do my yearly How to Travel and Look Back posts, but I’ve never really come up with a detailed blog post about it yet, until now. And this is just the first. More coming as I continue with my daily blogging.

I was also reminded of it once again when I got interviewed recently by BlogMeter Top (the article hasn’t been published yet, I will share once it’s out) and one of their questions was what is my favorite blog post here in MomTraNeur and I mentioned that it was the story of my current love life. I’m a mushy kind of person after all (in case you haven’t noticed yet), hihihi!

You see, I’ve been married for so long before (2002-2012) and it crumbled in 2013. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I will find love again. I never dated. My ex was my first and last. I never had any other sexual encounters aside from my ex. Despite my being “Sexy Nomad” at that time, I really am a naive and conservative girl deep down. Everything that happened after, with my now current life partner, is nothing but miraculous. And the more I look back how it all came to be, the more I cherish our love and the life we have now. And little did I know at that time that it all started in OSLOB.

So back to Oslob

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