October 11, 2007 2:00PM. The date and time I committed myself to dating this one guy. Elbert. =D On that day, I told him all of my darkest secrets at the time. It was a test, maybe, to see if he could accept me with all my imperfections, all my dirt, all my sins. And he did. With open arms and a warm smile. =)
Now four short years later, we celebrate, on that same date, our anniversary. Still together after having gone through so much. Still holding each others hand, still backing each other up. It's still us. And, God-willing, it will be for many more years.
I know I'm writing this a little bit late coz this one's been due ages ago but hey, it's better than nothing. And besides, it doesn't matter if I write or not coz the memories of the day will and shall stay with us for all time. *mushy much?=p*
This year, we had a 2-day celebration. I already blogged about the 1st day on my post us for one more year: a prequel. This time, I'll be babbling about how wonderful and amazing the 2nd day was. =)
It was supposedly a planned overnight stay, but well, things don't always go as planned so a day adventure in Shangr-La's Mactan Resort and Spa it is! =)
The place is quite pricey but considering it being a 5-star hotel AND considering all the amenities and the lavishness of the place, it's definitely worth the money. Of course, we have been saving for this for a while now so we were well prepared. =D
We arrived at the place all wide smiles and inquired about their day pass (includes lunch buffet, free use of pool and beach, 25% dinner discount, free use of gym, 10% spa discount) . Since we fell in love with the place at first sight, deciding to continue or not was not a problem. We then shed our Php2,500.00/pax and got our red identity bands.
Finally, having gotten all the preliminaries done (like getting our bags from the car, prepping ourselves, etc) it's time to start the fun! =D
The minute we arrived at the lobby, picture-taking ensued. =D You can NEVER take too much pictures! Especially when you're with me! =D
So then we proceeded to exploring the place...saw the sights...paraded through the vast landscape (and I mean VAST!)...saw everything there was to see and more! My oh my, did they do a helluva job with the place. The ambiance, the environment...entering it made one feel like they just traveled to another country that's NOT the Philippines (just because it was too grand and grandeur and Philippines don't really match...at least for this writer ^^). Elbert even said it looked a bit like Singapore or Hongkong...maybe they patterned it that way. I just said it looked like the Imperial Palace (since I haven't been out of the friggin' country yet). Lame, I know. =p
We finally found our way to the beach and spent lots of time relaxing there. It was absolutely breathtaking.
And the moment even more so. I didn't see too many Filipino guests there though...most were Japanese (and it took all of me to not approach and beg them to teach me their language. haha).
There were water sports if you'd like to try one. Snorkeling, diving, glass bottom boat rides, banana boat rides, yachting, parasailing and many more...of course, with proper instructors c/o Scotty's.
Soon, it was high noon and it was finally time for one of my favorite parts of the day...LUNCH BUFFET! You can, almost always, never go wrong with Shangri La's buffet. They are known to have absolutely delectable dishes served with 1st class service at Tides. That being so, it wasn't so bad that we had a full 2 hours and 30minutes to get our stomach's fill! Hell yeah! So get those eyes and mouths ready coz I'll be posting ALL of the food we ate. And let me remind you, it was only us 2 AND that the names of the dishes are mostly just made up (coz I forgot their actual names). =D
This year, we had a 2-day celebration. I already blogged about the 1st day on my post us for one more year: a prequel. This time, I'll be babbling about how wonderful and amazing the 2nd day was. =)
It was supposedly a planned overnight stay, but well, things don't always go as planned so a day adventure in Shangr-La's Mactan Resort and Spa it is! =)
The place is quite pricey but considering it being a 5-star hotel AND considering all the amenities and the lavishness of the place, it's definitely worth the money. Of course, we have been saving for this for a while now so we were well prepared. =D
We arrived at the place all wide smiles and inquired about their day pass (includes lunch buffet, free use of pool and beach, 25% dinner discount, free use of gym, 10% spa discount) . Since we fell in love with the place at first sight, deciding to continue or not was not a problem. We then shed our Php2,500.00/pax and got our red identity bands.
Finally, having gotten all the preliminaries done (like getting our bags from the car, prepping ourselves, etc) it's time to start the fun! =D
The minute we arrived at the lobby, picture-taking ensued. =D You can NEVER take too much pictures! Especially when you're with me! =D
So then we proceeded to exploring the place...saw the sights...paraded through the vast landscape (and I mean VAST!)...saw everything there was to see and more! My oh my, did they do a helluva job with the place. The ambiance, the environment...entering it made one feel like they just traveled to another country that's NOT the Philippines (just because it was too grand and grandeur and Philippines don't really match...at least for this writer ^^). Elbert even said it looked a bit like Singapore or Hongkong...maybe they patterned it that way. I just said it looked like the Imperial Palace (since I haven't been out of the friggin' country yet). Lame, I know. =p
We finally found our way to the beach and spent lots of time relaxing there. It was absolutely breathtaking.
And the moment even more so. I didn't see too many Filipino guests there though...most were Japanese (and it took all of me to not approach and beg them to teach me their language. haha).
There were water sports if you'd like to try one. Snorkeling, diving, glass bottom boat rides, banana boat rides, yachting, parasailing and many more...of course, with proper instructors c/o Scotty's.
Soon, it was high noon and it was finally time for one of my favorite parts of the day...LUNCH BUFFET! You can, almost always, never go wrong with Shangri La's buffet. They are known to have absolutely delectable dishes served with 1st class service at Tides. That being so, it wasn't so bad that we had a full 2 hours and 30minutes to get our stomach's fill! Hell yeah! So get those eyes and mouths ready coz I'll be posting ALL of the food we ate. And let me remind you, it was only us 2 AND that the names of the dishes are mostly just made up (coz I forgot their actual names). =D
Welcome to Tides!
First course.
Elbert: Appetizer. Vegetable Salad.
Honey: Main Course (yey!). Pasta, Vegetable Rice, Grilled Pineapple, Prawns, Pork, Chicken
Second Course:
Elbert and Honey: Japanese Cuisine. Sushi, Sashimi, Maki, Crab, Spicy Side Dishes
Third Course:
Elbert: Main Course. Roast Beef. Pasta. Vegetable Salad. Indian Food
Honey: Main course. Indian Food.
*PS: The cottage cheese-spinach combination of India is surprisingly delicious!*
Fourth Course:
Elbert: Soup (chicken broth, sharkfin noodles, beef strips). 2 sushi.
Honey. Bread, Pancetta, Blue Cheese. some other cheese.
Fifth Course (and my personal favorite)...DESSERTS!
Elbert: blueberry cheesecake, fruit tart, brazo de mercedes, creme, cookie, blueberry layer cake
Honey: blueberry cheesecake, strawberry cake, creme brulee, mango panacotta, brazo de mercedes, marshmallows in chocolate
Sixth Course. Fruits.
Elbert and Honey: Green Apple. Rambutan, Pineapple. Mango. Honeydew Melon.
Hungry yet? Yeah. I know I am. =D So we ate a bunch of food. Who won't be happy about that huh? Great big smiles baby. Great big smiles.
Especially when you see the chocolate fountain!
With stomachs all bloated and our appetite filled with sensational food, we left Tides a happy couple. =D But, the day didn't end there yet. Soon, it was time to go swimming! Hooray! But not before walking around the area again (so we could at least let the food digest a little bit before diving into the pool!). We saw the chapel (very serene), the Chi spa (which was absolutely marvelous), the golf course (with all it's greens), the mini-golf course (which was adorable), the reception area (overlooking the vast ocean nonetheless), and of course the massage cabana (also overlooking the ocean...who wouldn't love that?).
Having had our final tour, we decided it was finally time to dip into those crystal clear waters. First up the beach. Tried to swim around (and failing at it). Saw the fishes swim past (they aren't scared of people! On the contrary, I'm scared of them! Bwahahha). Dug our toes onto white sands. And then finally, remembered we have little time and still have the pool to discover. =D So to the pool it was!
...got a couple of silly shots...
...and a couple of not so silly ones...
...played basketball in the pool (and failing...only got one lucky shot out of around 20. He, on the other hand, got almost every one. Must be his lucky day.=p), enjoyed the warm-ish, cold-ish pool water, and for the 'nth time, had Elbert teach me how to swim (again, failing at it. I'm hopeless! =p).
And then, the sun set on the west, the skies grew dark, the wind blew cold, and the amazing lights of the hotel/resort shone through the darkness like the stars on a black night sky...beautiful.
We had our final walk...went to visit the hotel...saw the gym, uhh, health club (wasn't able to use it despite being free coz we were out of time AND we didn't have sports shoes on...we didn't want to rent one), their kiddie area, and their boutiques (adored the bags by the way).
The day finally drew to a close...and with one final shot...
...with our hands held together...we left Shangri La happy, content, and in love. =)
Always. And forever. <3
xoxo
~hny~
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