Blog Hiatus

I wasn't able to update this blog because I had so much going on in my life.

Transferred to another DepEd station.

then,

Moved to a different Country.

I'm in the USA now. participating in a cultural exchange program.

hoping to update this blog with my new adventure here.

see you soon!
Thanks! God Bless!

-Sir Benz

Cintai: Corito's Garden

Looking for a place to spend your long weekends but doesn't want to go too far from Manila?

Well, here's one great place to relax, unwind, and enjoy.

CINTAI: CORITO'S GARDEN!

Located in Baranggay Malabanan, Balete, Batangas. Just more or less of an hour drive from Manila. If you are coming from Manila, pass through SLEX, then ACTEX upto STAR Tollway, then take Balete Exit and turn right. From there, it may take roughly 10 - 15 minutes and you will see Cintai: Corito's Garden on the left side.

If travelling via public transportation, from Alabang or Buendia, Ride a Lipa-Tanauan Bus and tell the bus conductor to drop you off at "Levitown/Balete" landmarks are Metro Lipa Hospital, Home Builders Depot, St Francis Seminary, and Caltex Gasoline Station. Form there, Ride a Balete or Malabanan Jeepney and tell the driver to drop you off at Corito's Garden. you will see their entrance gate on the left side.

Facade/Main Gate

According to their website http://www.coritosgarden.com:

"Cintai (pronounced “Chin-tai”) is Indonesian for the word LOVE.

The Garden started out as an ordinary private family rest house that the family visited every weekend. In 2005 however, their mother Corito was diagnosed with a terminal disease. To help her recuperate from treatment, the family oftenbrought her to the garden because the place made her relax and temporarily forget her sickness. Two years later, Corito finally succumbed to her illness.Her husband together with his 4 childrenthen decided to focus all their efforts into making the garden a paradise since she loved the place so much. They wanted the beautiful memories they shared there to live on thus the creation of Cintai… love for their mother and love for his wife. 

Cintai Corito’s Garden is an hour drive away from the bustling city. It is a perfect place to unwind, relax and meditate. It offers 2 pavilions that cater to special events such as weddings, debuts, birthdays or corporate parties. The Garden also has 18 villas, each uniquely designed, available for rent. Guests can enjoy the use of 4 swimming pools of different sizes during their stay. There is also a special playground for children too. Lastly, Cintai is a beautiful sanctuary to unique animals such as alpacas, spotted deer, mini horses, peacocks and a whole lot more."

It was my first time to enter Cintai, though I pass through this road every week. Luckily, I had the opportunity to enter FOR FREE because we are assigned by the Municipality of Balete to produce a TVC that will be our Municipality's official entry to the Tourism campaign/contest of Batangas.

I was really amazed to know how big this place is.

to view the pictures I took, Click THIS.

Thanks! God Bless!
-Sir Benz

Where Have You Beans: MACAU! Part Two

So, this entry is for our "Official" Day one in our Macau Trip.

For the part one of the Post, CLICK ME!

WAKE UUUUUPPP!! LETS GOOO!

I usually wake up early when I am travelling since I would like to make the most out of my limited stay in a particular place/country. My friend have researched that the usual opening of most of the establishments in Macau is 9 in the morning that is why they are not that in a hurry.

View from our room! hahahaha FOOOOD!

While waiting for my friends to get ready, I decided to go down and visit the Pastelaria Koi Kei across the street. Of course, I was looking forward to taste the Portuguese Egg Tart which is very famous in Macau. As I enter the Bakery, I was welcomed by one of the staffs and while I was looking at their products, the staff keeps on giving me free taste of the products I am looking at. HOORAY FOR FREE STUFF! I was really overwhelmed with all the free taste! hahaha

Start of a LOOOOONG day!

So Finally, My friends are READY TO GO! So we planned to have our breakfast first at Senado Square, We walked from our Hotel in Rua de Felicidade St. to Senado Square in San Malo around 5-10 minutes. We looked for one of the best restaurants in Senado Square, by reading blogs, we knew that one of the most visited restaurants is

WONG CHI KEI Noodles and Congee.

image courtesy of http://whereisfatboy.blogspot.com

We actually had a hard time finding the place. If you are in Senado Square, just look for the McDonalds, then look for the restaurant in the building across Mcdo, it is somewhere left. HUWAT?!

Inside Wong Chi Kei

The ambiance is like the usual Chinese restaurant here in the Philippines. Though upon entering, you will smell the shrimp-ish aroma of the soup that is being prepared near the dining area. As soon as you sit, the staff will be serving you house tea while ordering what to eat. Menu is in Chinese and English, so it won't be too hard to choose what to eat; there is another menu with pictures if you are still having a hard time choosing! I ordered..

Noodles with Pork Chop

While Meryll ordered Noodles with shrimp dumpling and Tal got Noodles with Wonton. Well basically, they all have the same soup base and noodles, they just differ in toppings. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as Meryll and Tal did because i'm not a fan of seafood. The soup tasted like shrimp broth. Noodles are thin and firm, it has quite a lot of serving actually, enough to stuff you for a long day. It also comes with a little serving of a green leafy vegetable hihihi.. A bowl costs around MOP40.00.

After Eating, we decided to walk around Senado Square and head towards Ruins of St. Paul.

NOTE: This has been pending for years now and due to short-term memory, I forgot what happened next... hihihihi... But ill try to remember as update this post. 

Thanks! God Bless!
-Sir Benz