Precious Garden Restaurant (Samal Island)

I'm glad to be blogging once again. :)

I was  (and still am) sick ,for about a week now due to viral infection. I was down with flu, cough and cold for a couple of days. Not a very nice reason to stay put huh! But I was happy, all the same. I slept most time and did nothing when I'm awake. So I was able to rest...

But we had to go to Samal today though to look at properties. We sold our residential lots last month so we had to scout for some new ones as its replacement.  

That's what led us to Precious Garden Resort and Restaurant in Samal. I found the billboard near the ferry port. So I recorded their number in my phonebook. When you're in Samal, you will mostly find carenderias. In other words, it's a welcome surprise to find out that there's a new restaurant that offers Filipino, Western and Italian food.

The resort is about 10 minutes away from Babak proper, on a rough road. (Welcome to Samal huh? lol) I really wish that the local government would prioritize concreting their roads. And if not, just maintain it.. Tsk.. tsk..

Moving on, John and I had 30 minutes to spare. So I was really glad when the waitress said that our order will only take 15-20 mins. :)

     John 's order.  He said that my beer-battered fish and fries were better though...  :) Ehem.. ha ha


I remember John saying: " it disturbs me when you do that" , referring to the fact that I was taking pictures of our food. hehe.. I commented " sorry, it's for the blog"...

So that's what happens when you're married to a blogger. Forget about privacy huh! lol  I'm just glad that my husband is such a cool guy. :)

          

I ordered calamares. (That's battered squid, to my non-filipino readers. ) I like its taste.. :) For Php180.00 pesos, I thought it's cheap.

Their restaurant was surrounded with huge trees. So even at 12:30 noontime, we didn't feel the heat. It was kinda loud though because there was a wedding reception at the resort. But otherwise, resting and eating there would be great.

I was really impressed by their bathroom. It was squeaky clean! I just had to mention that because I think having a very clean bathroom in a restaurant is a must. Don't you?

                                                              The bar counter.

                                                    The facade of the restaurant. 

I was told that their pizza is great. But since we didn't have much time to spare, we vowed to try it next time. :)

Precious Garden Resort and Restaurant's contact details are:

      Tel. No. :  082 - 3032818

      Website :  www.precious-garden-samal.com

After lunch, John and I proceeded to our appointments. I will not bore you with that. :) But I'll share with you some interesting photos I took.

This rest house was located near the property we checked. I just like its design. :) It's roof is made of tin and wood trusses. The walls and the porch  are made of bamboo materials. The stealth like posts are made of logs. I just found that really beautiful. :)

Ahh.. this carabao scared the hell out of me! haha.. I thought it was going to hit us. But I guess it got more scared of us when we disturbed his peace. LOL

                                                               Lea C. Walker

                                                     www.leawalker.blogspot.com

                                                       www.davaoproperties.com

Introspect

I'm usually a happy person. :) But as I write this, I'm coming from a very dark place. Figuratively speaking, that is..

Two of the people close to me have cancer. :(

One - she's the President of the Real Estate Association where I am a Board Member of. She's like a mother to me so I feel really sad to hear that her breast cancer has gone to her lungs already. Yes, it's not good. But she's still fighting. And now, she's in Manila for more medication.

And then the other one is my sister's mother inlaw. She was in the hospital for a few days. But the doctors had to send her home because there's nothing they can do anymore. In other words, she is gonna die in the next few days. I just realized that when you have breast cancer and your whole body swells, it means that it's bad news. That once the swelling subsides, then comes death.

I feel terrible. And I don't know what to say.

Except that I have more realizations. That life is fleeting. And that in the end, nothing matters.

I asked my husband the other day, why are we working so hard? Why indeed, when it's just the two of us. We have no children to leave everything behind to when our time comes. I guess, all our properties will be left to our nephews and nieces. :)

I realized that we have to slow down. And spend more time on things and people that matter. Work if we must. But it shouldn't be the most important thing in our life. How sad, right?

But then again, we're both workaholic. So slowing down isn't easy. I don't know if this happened to you. Too much holiday feels like I'm ready to crawl on the walls. :) So yep, that's not an easy task for us.

Okay, so I'll try to go to sleep. :) Maybe I'll feel better when I wake up...

Sorry my friends,  for making you my sounding board. :) 

                                                             Lea C. Walker

                                                     leawalker.blogspot.com

                                                  www.davaoproperties.com

Samal Island (Day 3)

Saturday, 7 April 2012:

The sun shone brightly today....

Infact, it's orange color made a beautiful contrast to the dark  sea. And yes you're right, I woke up really early again. :)

This is our third day at the resort. I'm glad that even with the rain last night, we all slept very well... I laid down in our make shift bed and the next thing I knew, there's daylight already. :)

Some of our guests and two of my staff  are leaving today, so everyone rose up early too. The mall , where our display booth is , will open today. Therefore Amor and Tadeo, our booth incharge, had to leave. Do you know that the malls only close on Good Friday? And that means, if you're a tenant,  you're open 364 days / a year too. :) Pretty tiring huh? But then again, that's business.

After breakfast, John and I brought everyone who's going home, to Babak, the district where the ferry port is. We went the other way this time, passing through the barangays of Tagpopongan and Balet. The trip was only 19.2kms. But it took us 1 hr and 30 minutes to reach Babak because of the terrible road. The holes on the road are so deep in some part, I got scared it would rip out the bottom part of our Nissan van.

It seemed to me like the local government has forgotten this side of the island. I mean, seriously. The road didn't look like it's been cleared or bulldozed for years! So I don't know what is going on... Samal is a tourist spot. And I've seen a lot of resorts in Tagpopongan and Balet. So I don't understand why the roads haven't been repaired or maintained? That's just too bad... And so sad. The rainy season will make it worst. I pity the constituents living there. :(

The view is fantastic! :) But the road sucks... Please LGU of Samal, fix the road of Balet and Tagpopongan. It's such a waste if tourists opt not to visit this place because of the road condition...

After taking Amor to the bus station and the rest to Hagimit Falls, John and I stopped at Central Warehouse Club in Penaplata to purchase cooking oil, softdrinks and bottled water. And then off we went to the resort... This time, we used the Tagbitan-ag route. The drive is shorter (12kms = 30 mins). The road is also rough but this can be considered well-maintained compared to the Balet-Tagpopongan route.

We arrived at the resort around lunchtime. John had pork chop sandwich. While I mostly ate driedfish (Lagao) sauteed in garlic, onion and a lot of tomatoes. That, really was a very good lunch for me. I seldom have this chance to eat driedfish because John can't stand the smell. But at the resort, our dining area has a wide open space with free flowing breeze. So it didn't bother John at all. :)

This was our dining area at the resort. :) It came with a beautiful view of the beach! Pretty sight huh? 

            

 I fell asleep in the hammock today! :)  How could I not, the place was so peaceful and the sea breeze was amazing... The place is covered with big trees so there's shade all around. Perfect for relaxation, indeed!

MORE PHOTOS:

                The view from the Cabana. :) This is how it looks like from 8am to 3pm.

  By 4pm, here's a sample of the wave. I don't think I can handle a small boat this time. hehe  But since most of the locals there know how to swim, it does not bother them! At all...

 Pearlie, into facebook through her phone. haha..  I "sort of" ignored my phone for 3 days now. :) Checking it once a day only, that is...

                                John and Me. We're like coffee and cream. haha

             Restful vacation... John seldom has time to read a book. I'm glad he did this time. :)

  By sunset, this is how the beach looked like. You can ride the waves now with a surfing board.  :)

                                         Ahh... life is hard. Very hard, indeed.... :)

I prepared hamburger for dinner for all of us. While, Dan and the rest of the cooking team (Boyet, Manong Osting, Jade, Orly and Dave) grilled the remaining pork butterfly I bought.  The kids loved my hamburger. haha..  Marco my nephew, said that it's better than McDonald's. hehe.. I said, of course. Ours doesn't have a commercialized burger patty eh... :)

It's our last night at the resort. Everyone felt sad. This beach life is so wonderful I could do this for the rest of my life. :) My other nephew Blaire tried his best (he's a special child) to tell me that he wants me to build a resort and let him be the caretaker. hehe.. I said, ok. Let's ask God to grant that prayer...

                                                 I wonder what Blaire was thinking? :)

                                                             Lea C. Walker

                                                      leawalker.blogspot.com

                                                    www.davaoproperties.com

Samal Island - Day 2

Friday, 6 April 2012:

I woke up to the sound of the birds chirping... I thought I was just dreaming, then I remembered that I was still in Samal Island. :)

Last night wasn't a very comfortable one. Remember when I said previously that we were told the resort can accomodate 25 people? 6-8 people per room and the rest in a dormitory? :) LOL. I chose to laugh over those words... Let me explain.

The cottage has a small but open living room. You go up 3 steps and that's where the 2 bedrooms were. One bedroom is good for 2-3 people. The 2nd bedroom can accomodate 2 people also. But with a mattress on the floor , can sleep a total of 5. And there were 25 of us. :)

The dormitory turned out to be the pavillion. With a mattress of Php50.00 / each, that's your bed for the night. Imagine, John's reaction. haha.. If you can only see his face....

It's a good thing we brought 2 tents with us. Our male helpers said they'll sleep in the tent. Then we rented 3 more tents from the resort (at Php250.00 each) . Theirs were big tents so it accomodated 3 to 4 people each.

Pearlie and mama with the kids slept in the 1st bedroom. While Grace and Anika slept in the other bedroom. Amor and Janice slept in the mattress on the floor of the 2nd bedroom also. They slept well because those have aircon units.

John and I slept in the van. haha.. You know, for the 1st time, I was so glad that we have a Hyundai Starex van. John rearranged the chairs into a "queensize -like" bed.  With a mattress on top of it,  problem solved. The seats of the starex are so comfortable. So when it was adjusted into a bed, we were able to sleep somehow.

I kept on waking up though because with the backdoor and the main door open, I was scared that an "aswang" might hover over us, specially with the balete tree on top of the mountain across the resort which I can see clearly from the van window everytime I open my eyes. hahaha... I know I am crazy!

                              The balete tree fronting the resort. It gave me a sleepless night... hehe

So that's how I ended waking up with the birds singing. With that amazing sound, my morning started beautifully once again... You know, looking at the bright side of things is always wonderful. I could gripe the whole time or choose to enjoy what the rest of the place has to offer. And I chose the latter. I am thinking, I could be somewhere else having the worst time of my life. But God brought me to the beach instead. :) So yes, I consider myself so blessed...

After my morning ritual (brushing , etc.) :) , I picked up my camera and walked to the beach. I am waiting for the sunrise! The water looked so inviting, with it so calm and clear. But I'll wait for an hour or so before going in. The water is freakin' cold! hehe...

              See.. how can I gripe? With this beautiful sunrise comes a beautiful day....

I just sat in the bench basking at the beauty infront of me. I said a little prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of family and friends. For his protection. And for the many blessings he's given me.

I am exposed to a lot of stress with my work. But at this moment, I am at peace. And so I thank God for it.

Then I heard someone calling me, saying that breakfast is ready. We had fried rice, fried egg, chorizo and fried "bulad bolinao". Omg.. I am so happy we have dried fish. I have not eaten one for months now. :) After preparing John's breakfast of  biscuits with bacon, we all gathered at the table and ate.

PHOTO OP: 

After breakfast, almost everyone went to the beach! :)

                      John with Cholo. Marjun was busy looking for nemo. haha

                  This is the ramp infront of the cabana. Everybody's having a good time! :)

                                                    Me at the cabana. hehehe...

 Manong Marcelo with his son. They're cleaning the sea urchins. For the first time, I tasted sea   urchins. And they're good! Specially with vinegar and salt. hehe 

                                                   Sea Urchin meat...

                                    Having a picnic beside the beach.. With sea urchin as "pulutan".

Using the zoom of my camera, I got this photo of a cargo ship from afar. Mountains of Pantukan, Davao Oriental in the background.

You'd think that the day is done right? But no, there's more... hehe

                                Syrup made of coconut milk and brown sugar for BIKO!!! yehey....

                                John looking so red after going to the beach. :)

                                                                        Mama. :)

                                    Our friend Grace and daughter, Anika. With Amor.

                                 My sister , Pearlie and brother inlaw, Ruben.

                              Preparing for lunch. Dandan, Amor , Emilie and Pearlie.

                                                Emelie, my secretary  and family. :)

A LITTLE MYTH:

I had no idea what kind of banana was this, so I asked the caretaker. He said, that it's "Saging Tindok".  Hmmmn.. so this is it, I thought.  Visayan mythology says that if you wait for its flower to open on midnight of the full moon, and whatever is inside the flower will go directly to your mouth, it will give you the power to see the evil spirits around you. And be able to fight them. I grew up with that story. But I don't know if it's true. haha...

I was thinking, I am not interested. Gawd, waiting outside alone during the full moon. Not gonna happen! LOL Besides the so called power will make you somewhat like the "ghost buster".. Never mind.. he he...

My day ended slowly.. But that's what this vacation is. To not do anything. Except go to the beach, relax.. Eat.. relax.. hehe..  Plus I got the chance to eat biko and dried fish.. I am happy. :)

                                             Full moon above the cabana.. :)

                                                             Lea C. Walker

                                                       leawalker.blogspot.com

                                                    www.davaoproperties.com

Samal Island (Day 1)

Thursday,  5 April 2012:

I woke up today with excitement in my heart. I've been looking forward to this trip for quite sometime now. We booked a resort for 4 days and 3 nights exclusively for my family , our staff, their families and a few friends.

This is our first time at Island Hills Beach Resort. So we didn't know what to expect. We were told that there's a 2 bedroom cottage that can accomodate 6 people per room. And that they have a dormitory for the rest of the guests. It's supposed to house at least 25 people per day. I thought that at Php5,000.00 per day, the price is cheap.

So I baked biscuits for John's "baon". He doesn't eat rice in the mornings, you see. So I have to prepare his bread for 4 days. :)

I told everyone to come early because the line at the ferry gets too long and we don't want to get stuck at the port.

By 7:30a.m. , we were already on our way to the ferry boat port. I thought that was early. Boy, was I shocked when I saw the line. We were at least 3 kms away from the port. That's how long the line was!

We finally boarded the ferry boat by 10am. From Babak port, we travelled to the resort for almost an hour on a rough road passing through the barangays of Tagbitan-ag, Tagluno and Aundanao.

                                 My sister, Pearlie, exploring the beach.. 














Aundanao is such a sight to behold.... I thought that the tiring trip was well worth it. :) True, the beach in this part of Samal doesn't have white sand, but the water is crystal clear you can see nemo and other fishes swimming beside you. Beautiful right?

A few minutes after our arrival at the resort, the fisherman working for our friend arrived. He brought us fresh Lapu-lapu and other "isda sa bato" which he caught from their "bobo" (cage).  Gee..this beach life is impressing me more and more... hehe     Imagine frying and grilling these very fresh fishes! Yummy huh?

After a sumptous lunch of Afritada, fried fish and pancit canton, we decided to roam the island by boat. Yes, it's not wavy around this time. The big waves starts around 4 in the afternoon. So it's ok to use a small motor boat before that. :)

MY PHOTO COLLECTION:

                                 Di masyado halata na feel na feel ko ang boating.. hehehe

 I like this bali type structure. Check the hammock at the cabana and the curtains at the receiving area. It's so beautiful!

We stopped at the farm of our friend for this... Fresh buko juice by Manong, the caretaker of our friend. hehehe...

We bid goodbye to Manong and his family after the buko drinking session.. hehe. Had to go back before the waves get too big. Err.. I don't know how to swim remember? :)

Back at the resort, everyone was just relaxing. Either on the beach, at the cabana or just sitting at the open cottages facing  Samal Gulf. :)

Before dinner , John and I went to the Cabana. And checked what the excitement was all about. It turned out that Val and Kim caught a fish. :) While the others are busy fishing.

                                                  Pearlie and Ruben, with the boys - fishing.

                                            Relaxing at the cabana. :)

All in all, it was a beautiful day that started with a hitch but ended wonderfully... Not just for me and John but for everybody we brought along with us in this 4day vacation. :)









                                                        Lea C. Walker
                                                 leawalker.blogspot.com
                                               www.davaoproperties.com