IV: D' Woods of Tabuelan.

This by far has got to be the most "out-of-town" of all the trips I've been to. Despite that, this one made me see all the wonders that Mother Nature wants us to see and appreciate. Unlike the previous trips where we had to wake up early at dawn just to enjoy most of the trip, we left at 8 AM. The trip was very long since it took us almost 3 HOURS to get to our destination and we almost got lost trying to find the place! Good thing there was enough signal for my dad to call his brother on the name and location of the place we're staying. It's named D' Woods Beach Camp. (Which is the reason of the title of the post. ^^)

The place really felt isolated. The cabin (in D' Woods! Get it? HAHA) was the only place where people can sleep. The room's nice because it's a room that you usually would expect from a beach resort. The surroundings are very refreshing since you don't see a hint of modernization around you except when you get inside their cottages where you'll find stuff for cooking and the rooms.

The beachfront in D' Woods isn't much since it's pretty much a mangrove plantation, so it's a good thing there are more beach resorts within Tabuelan alone. We didn't really do much in the beach camp besides sleeping, eating, and using our phones. It was fun when we went to Durhan Beach Resort and the Maravilla Public Beach.

Going around Cebu for most of this summer made me realize how much I really love it. The beauty of the beaches all around Cebu cannot be fully described through blogging. Durhan Beach Resort is one of those beaches. Although it may be far away, it's still worth it to go there when you wanna get away from the noise and insanity of the city. This trip is one of the best ones I've been to and I won't hesitate to go back here at all.

III: The Adventures of Danasan.

Good thing this one didn't happen the week after we went to Camotes, otherwise I would have realized that I couldn't take a lot of "out-of-town" trips. Haha. Anyway, this happened on the first of May. Again, this was planned by my mom's friend who wanted to spend time here. The place was really nice. It really felt like we were out of civilization! We were out of it actually since there was no signal there! The cottage we stayed in really belonged with the whole location since it was made of bamboo.

We actually aimed for one thing only: WAKEBOARDING. We the young people really wanted to try wakeboarding and since my mom's friend wanted us to enjoy the place, we agreed to do 4 adventurous activities. Oooh, very nice indeed.

Of course, the first activity we had was WAKEBOARDING. It was really hard to do at first but when you get the hang of it (and have the place to yourself for more than 2 hours), you get to feel the thrill of surfing but with a rope hanging above you! It was really amazing, I really stumbled a lot but I managed to do it well after all those stumbles. Woohoo! After we got exhausted of wakeboarding all the time, we went back to their canteen and ate lunch there.

After lunch, we were driving on ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles, in case you didn't know) around the Eco Park. I gotta say, the place is really fitting for ATVs since there were a lot of obstacles such as valley-like passageway and the bottom part was a puddle. We were stuck there for like 10 to 15 minutes! I thought we wouldn't get out of there. Another problem was when one of the ATVs died and the guide that went along with us had to walk the whole way back! (Poor guide!) We enjoyed the whole thing anyway!

When that was done, we rode the 8x8, which is a bigger version of an ATV that can accommodate 7 people (8 when you count the driver). The ride was INSANE! The driver kept doing unpredictable drifts which makes us really hang on to our seats! The whole ride was nothing less of spectacular! In the middle of the 8x8 trip, we stopped by the top of a hill where there was a very amazing view! Too bad I wasn't able to get a shot of it. Sucks!

After that, we went for another round of WAKEBOARDING, only this time there were a lot of people! At least we were already experienced that we lasted longer than before. Did I mention we rode a TRACTOR-like vehicle on our way to the 2nd round of wakeboarding? I LOVED IT!

All in all, I really loved Danasan. It reminds me that nature has a lot of things to show us and we should embrace it more rather than wreck it in order to appreciate our world.

Gotta sleep. Night!

The Lumia 720 Test Drive: The Review.

DISCLAIMER: Nokia DID NOT pay me to do the Test Drive, let alone make this review. I actually had to pay to do this test drive. 

Here we are. As of this day, I have already reset the Lumia 720 in preparation for returning it. Because of that, I'm here to give you my review of the Lumia 720 and see whether it is a solid option for first-time smartphone buyers and those who currently have smartphones and are looking for something new.

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY

When I first held this phone when I got it at SM, it felt really nice. Although it's made of polycarbonate rather than metal, it feels like a premium device because of the way it feels in the hand. Nokia has always been one of the best when it comes to design and build quality and it certainly shows. At 9mm, the phone is really thin for a mid-range smartphone. The best part with the Lumia line is that it has colors! The 720 is available in yellow, red, cyan, black, and silver/white. I think it's best that we bring back colors into phones again they're starting to look the same in terms of the general aesthetic (that a smartphone is designed like a slab with a touchscreen).

HARDWARE

The hardware isn't by any means fantastic on this device, but it isn't meant to be since it's a mid-range smartphone. The Snapdragon S4 CPU by Qualcomm powers this device and it's already plenty fast considering that Windows Phone 8's performance is solid and doesn't need a very powerful processor. The Lumia 720 has a WVGA screen with a resolution of 480x800, which is not a surprise for a mid-range device but there are devices with good screens which are midrange (like the HTC First with a 720p display) and it could have been a differentiating factor. Good thing that the camera makes up for that because the Lumia 720 has a great 6.7 megapixel camera. The colors may be a little washed out but the quality is really good for the price that you'll pay this phone. It's even good in low light! If you're on a budget but you want a great camera, you should give this phone some serious consideration. The speaker is loud but is sadly located at the back of the phone so when I put the phone on the bed normally, the sound basically disappeared.

Click here to check full-quality photos I took from the Lumia 720.

SOFTWARE

I found Windows Phone 8 very intriguing. I like the Live Tiles since they provide more information without the clutter that Android brings with the widgets. The People hub is really practical since all the updates from your Facebook and Twitter accounts appear here. Smart Shoot and Cinemagraph are two good camera apps that leverage that great camera I mentioned earlier. The former being a photo editing tool and the latter a GIF creator. 

Beyond the included apps which run great, there's not much to go on. The apps are lacking, especially when you're a current smartphone owner looking for an alternative. Some apps like Dropbox, YouTube, and Angry Birds are here, but Instagram is not. I really use Instagram a lot and it's sad that Windows Phone does not have it yet. I seriously hope Microsoft improves their promotion to developers because Blackberry already provides a way to gain access to more apps by letting users sideload Android apps to Blackberry 10 devices. If you're not an app junkie, this phone is right for you since it has the apps you need.

THE VERDICT

Despite the fact that I own an iPhone 5, I can happily say that I loved spending 5 days with the Lumia 720 and I would truly recommend this to first-time smartphone buyers. The camera's great, the screen's okay, and the phone is fast enough. It would be a little difficult to recommend this to those who have owned high-end smartphones like the Galaxy S III or the iPhone 5 since both of those phones have huge ecosystems along with them. Unlike the Lumia 920 where there were a lot of compromises, the Lumia 720 has fewer of those compromises such as the design where there is little to no bulk in the phone but still feels solid enough to hold. It may have a lower megapixel camera than the 920, but it is good enough given the price you pay (which is P14,590 by the way so now you'd be surprised). I guess I couldn't let go of the apps I have collected over the 2 years with iOS devices. If I haven't used an iOS device though, this would be a phone I would consider buying.

Thank you, Nokia Philippines, for letting people do a test drive with the Lumia 720 to build awareness of the Lumia range and hopefully produce sales in the long run. Guess I'm not one of those who'll buy.

Later guys, gotta get some sleep..

II: Captivating Camotes Islands.

There's a reason why there's continuity in the Summer Escapades series: the gap between the trips is just a week! I really found it earth-shattering (exaggerated, but that's what I felt deep inside) to know that we'll have another out-of-town trip just a week after. It turns out, my mom and her close friend planned this trip for their office mates and we're just fortunate enough to come along. I'm very thankful that they planned this so that we can enjoy as much summer as we can. Okay okay, back to the title.

The Camotes Islands were one of the many places I haven't been to in Cebu despite being a local here or maybe that's because I don't go out to these kinds of places that often. A way that you can get there is through a barge in Danao City. It lasted for around 2 and a half hours which was pretty long, so I had to get some shuteye. 

Shortly before we arrived, we saw the islands and they really looked beautiful. The abundance of trees in the place means that the tourist spots in the islands are mostly filled with nature. When we arrived, jeeps were in the port where they get passengers to bring them to places. We had one, and we were brought to a resort owned by the parents of my mom's office mate. After leaving our things there and ate breakfast, we directly went sightseeing to places in the islands. 

My favorite one was the Bukilat Cave.

The cave really looked very peculiar to me because of the formation of all the stalagmites and stalactites (if you can still remember what they are, then you're not getting old yet) inside. What's even stranger than that is the fact that there's water so that you can swim there. Unfortunately I didn't because children may have swam there and who knows what happened. Another place I really loved was the Buho Rock. It was said to have one of the greatest sceneries here and I definitely agree. The first picture you saw? That was from there. Cool right?

The last place I really loved from the islands was one of the beaches there. (I forgot the name. Sorry!) The picture of the view was like it was taken from Boracay. Here it is:

It really looks stunning, especially at that time when the sun was setting. Unlike in the Bukilat Cave, I went swimming in that beach even though it was low tide. Camotes is a good place to relax and unwind. You have to see it to really be amazed with the scenery that you will be able to see. I am happy to have experienced the beauty of Camotes Islands. I hope you visit there too!

The Lumia 720 Test Drive: Why Build Quality and Design Still Matters

(This is part of a series of posts dedicated to The Lumia 720 Drive Test. I have explained the reason why I'm doing this HERE.)

One of the things I loved about Nokia back then was the build quality of the phones. Even memes about it are wild on the internet! If there's one thing that struck me when I was first playing with the device, it's the build quality and the design. I got the phone in yellow and it still looks beautiful. Unlike the 920 which was shining due to its glossy back, the 720 had a matte finish thus I can grip it more tightly. The design is also really thought of. Though it resembles a bit like the 920, its thin profile makes it stand out and may be a better pick for people with smaller hands. The buttons are also relatively easy to hold although the annoying part is it's also easy for the buttons to be pressed in accident. Every time I put the phone near the bed for example, it would be pressed and the volume popup shows up. Besides that, I think people who buy this phone would enjoy how it looks and how it feels in the hand.

I'm gonna play with it some more. Later!

The Lumia 720 Test Drive: Introduction

Yes, you read that right. I am testing a Lumia 720. You may be wondering something like this: "WHY IS HE DOING THIS HE'S AN APPLE FANBOY WAAAA". The reason why I wanted to do this is because Nokia really worked hard to push the Lumia line to consumers and I want to know if they can succeed in their comeback with Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform. I will try my best to keep my opinions unbiased as if I haven't owned a smartphone at all, so I won't compare my experiences between this and my iPhone 5. Besides, I only have 5 days to play around with this so stay tuned for what I think about this phone. 

I: The Beauty of Bohol.

Bohol was amazing. At first I thought, "Meh, it may seem fun but what's so special about this place besides Chocolate Hills?". After the trip, my mind absolutely turned upside down! This was a very refreshing experience because most of the trips that I've had outside Cebu City were either within Cebu Province, Cagayan De Oro, or Manila. I certainly underestimated Bohol and there I was standing in awe. It doesn't mean I wasn't excited to go to Bohol, I just thought I would be neutral when I got there.

When we arrived, there was transportation for us that will bring us to popular spots around Bohol. It was really nice to see a lot of trees and vegetation around since I only get to see them when I go either to the North or South of Cebu. The weird thing about us when we were on the road was that we kept playing 4 Pics 1 Word! It was really trippy because we pass around phones to one another and it was really INSANE while we were doing it. I even got dizzy after a long while because of passing them around! First thing we did though was to eat breakfast in Jollibee. After that, we started our tour around Bohol!

We first went to the very popular Chocolate Hills! It was very beautiful when we got to the topmost area where people can see the hills very clearly. We took some pictures here but something weird happened: it was about to rain! At first, we wouldn't believe it but then the clouds were suddenly closing in. We had to go down quickly but alas, we were too late as we got hit by the rain. Good thing it was just half of our bodies that got wet, but it still felt weird.

See what I mean? Hehe.

After that very weird and fun experience, we stopped by the pocket forests where we went picture taking because the view was so unique and it felt like there wasn't a sky to look at. It was like the trees are what dominated this place. This just proves that the Philippines has yet to be discovered by a lot more people, even the ones who are from our country.

After that, we went to where the tarsiers were. Since only my grandma and I haven't seen tarsiers in person, Mom asked us to go and see them. They were really cute and their big eyes really astound me. The thing is that you can't take any pictures of them with flash since their eyes are very sensitive. The locals say that when a tarsier moves away from its habitat in a sudden way and it does suicide. Well, enough about gloomy stuff.
After the tarsiers, we ate buffet lunch. We then passed by an old church which was recognized a heritage site.

Then our travelling around comes to an end where we finally arrived at the place that we stayed for the rest of the trip: Bluewater Panglao!

This place was so nice! Staying here felt like a dream. The pools were nice, the food was very delicious, the room was very spacious, and the bed was very comfy. Well, that may be because I had a bed to myself. We actually did a lot here including biking (YAY!) and kayaking.

All in all, I really enjoyed being in Bohol. It made me realize that the Philippines has a lot to offer and I think that tourists will really appreciate the beauty that Bohol brings to everyone who visits. I think I wanna travel more just because of what I've seen there.

(This is actually delayed since this trip happened on April 6. Sorry for that. I'm trying to catch up as I still have 2 more of these to post and more. Work's eating up my time already. 'Til then, guys. I really am sorry for posting this so late.)