I'm getting addicted to this version of La Vie En Rose. I actually first heard of this song in How I Met Your Mother when the MOTHER sang it while playing her ukelele. Aw. Too much feels.
LYRICS: Hold me close and hold me fast This magic spell you cast This is la vie en rose When you kiss me heaven sighs And though I close my eyes I see la vie en rose. When you press me to your heart I'm in a world apart A world where roses bloom And when you speak, angels sing from above Everyday words seem to turn into love songs Give your heart and soul to me And life will always be la vie en rose. Courtesy of Lyrics Freak
I wished you the best of all this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was
Heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say
Im jealous of the way
You're happy without me ~Jealous~
Before deciding to try the downstream canyoneering here in Cebu. We took time to research some facts about it and the cheaper way to experience it. We've watched it featured in Drew Arellano's travel TV show "Byahe ni Drew" which definitely encouraged us to try it over the holidays.
How we get there:
From Mandue, we took a taxi to South Bus Terminal around 4AM, buses are not enough that day to accommodate passengers who will travel back to their provinces (it's a long weekend) so we headed to a very long line of passengers waiting for a bus. We lined up for the BATO via BARILI bus which will drop us in Badian, Cebu.
South Bus Terminal
Bus fare costs around two hundred pesos and it took us almost 3hrs of travel. We were dropped in front of the Matutinao Badian Church where tour guides are awaiting for tourists. If you only plan to visit the Falls, you don't need to hire a tourist guide since it already has a trail leading to the falls and you can reach it by foot.
Since our plan was canyoneering, we took a tourist guide (Kuya Japeth) to help us in our canyoneering adventure. They provided us 3 guides for the tour.
To start with, we changed to our proper canyooneering outfits which they provide:
1.) Life jackets
2.) Helmets
3.) Shoes
4.) Dry bag for our valuable things.
After getting ready, we rode a motorcycle (provided by the guides) from the Matutinao Church to Kanlaob river of Alegria. It took us around 15mins of travel.
Upon arriving at the site, we decided to eat light breakfast first since we haven't eaten yet and we're afraid that we might collapse not because of the fright but because of hunger. hahaha
Downstream canyoneering trail will start in the Kanlaob river of Alegria to Kawasan Falls of Badian.
The first jump was a bit high and narrow. All of us were afraid to jump but the guide told us that we don't have any choice but to jump. They also told us some tips before jumping, we must first put our right foot in front of us like we are stepping on the air then let the gravity pull us down.
It was our Project Manager who did it first (Hi sir Jas!), it was like he doesn't even care jumping off the cliff but he told us after that he was really scared and his thoughts was "bahala na maunsa".
When it was my turn to jump off the cliff, i was very hesitant and afraid that i might fell on the stones since it was a very narrow cliff. The tour guides assured me that it won't happen as long as i jump right and just focus on the water.
To convince myself to jump, I shouted to the tour guide at the river waiting for me "Kuya, dili baya ko kabalo mulangoy, bantaya ko ha" then I stepped my right foot and let the gravity do the rest.
The feeling of falling took so long. I felt like i jumped in a 50-storey building. hahahaha. Just kidding, i'm exaggerating things.
The water hit me hard, i was submerged deep in the water and i felt the tour guide's hand reaching for my life vest to lift me.
The next jumps was not that intense compare to the first jump, however, it was a bit higher. It took us around three hours of jumping, walking and swimming in the turquoise water of Kanlaob river before reaching the magnificent Kawasan Falls.
This video is shot using Supremo action camera.
If you're still young, active and earning, I really recommend you to try this adventure. It's worth your money and time.
Finally! Selfie with the falls after the exhausting canyoneering adventure.
The total budget for the trip was:
Fare - 400 (back and forth)
Tourguide - 1000 (7persons)
Food - 150/meal (brunch + dinner)
Total - 1550.00
Have fun!
After exploring the mini-Amsterdam of Cebu, our next stop was the mini-Greece ~ the Temple of Leah. It took us around 20 minutes of travel time from Amsterdam to Greece (how cool right? hahaha). We arrived at around 6:00PM which is not so good for taking pictures but the view of Cebu lights were astonishing.
Kinda blurry. i'm not really good in taking pictures.
The temple of Leah is a tribute of Teodoro Adarna, grandfather of actress Ellen Adarna and the owner of the Queensland hotels, to his wife Leah Albino-Adarna.
"This Temple was constructed in the year 2012 A.D. as a symbol of my undying love for her and my ceaseless devotion to Leah Villa Albino-Adarna, my wife of 53 years. I adopted an architectural and structural design that can withstand time and still be appreciated for a millennium so this Temple will become a landmark of Cebu City where future generations of the Adarna clan coming from her can come and trace their roots and heritage." as stated in their facebook page.
The Temple is regularly open and we did not pay any entrance fee. The finishing touches of the temple is ongoing and i doubt when the over-all contruction ends but still, tourists continue to drop by each day.
Blogger pose - courtesy of May man ka Day's videos.
Astounding ceiling of their rest rooms.
Found this David Statue near the rest room. Not Safe for Work photo. HAHAHA
For more information and clear pictures, visit their Facebook page here.
For how many months of staying here in Cebu, I've only visited some of its good places and i'm still craving for more eye-fulfilling sites and sceneries that will feed the adventurous side of me. I've asked one of my Cebu friends where would be the next good place to visit and she strongly recommended to visit Sirao garden in Busay which wondered me why and got a reply from her of "Just go".
How to get there:
We rode a habal-habal motorcycle at JY Lahug with a fare of 150 pesos back and forth (don’t be fooled by drivers asking for overpriced fare) and took us around 30mins of travel time.
Upon arriving at the place, it did not seem to look as how it was on the photos that we saw. It was a little bit small but the view and the colorful flowers (almost plastic-like) were worth the travel.
Entrace fee is Php30.00 and you can now start taking picture-perfect photos for instagram/facebook and other social media accounts.
Most of the flowers planted were Celosia whichyielded red, pink, orange and yellow colors which when bloomed in rows resembles fire. Celosia is Greek for “burning.”
with travel buddy Michelle ;)
Mini windwill. Amsterdam feels.
After Sirao Garden, we headed to TEMPLE OF LEAH, which added us an additional 50pesos each to our habal-habal driver. Our total fare was 200pesos each.
I'm not that old neither dying, but i have here my bucket list. :)
Click the picture to view larger size.
Note: I do not own the pictures.
"Bringing back the old times, with joy"
We recently had a party in our company with a retro theme. Most employees made a huge effort in their clothing as this only happens once in a year.
Welcome to arianadventures! This blog focuses mainly on my personal adventures and experiences. A place where i post things i don't do on my social media accounts. Have fun reading! :)
