Right…

Me, and butterfly photography!

I know I’m not really a hardcore photographer but I have patience… If you would have seen me inside that butterfly garden, you would see sweat dripping down my back and everywhere… Now, that sounds disgusting!  But I am a very determined woman!

I did not really have macro lenses or what not… so I just used my defective kit lens (18-55mm Nikkor) with my Nikon D40 and my Panasonic Lumix LZ10.

Leh, no grabbing the photos and using it without my permission okay?

la la la…

Here we go 😀

General Information

Open daily from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

General Admission: P 20

Senior Citizens and Students (with ID): P10

Children below 5 years old: Free

The La Union Botanical Garden was initially maintained and operated through the countrywide development fund (1995-1998) of the  then Congressman Victor F. Ortega representative, first district of La Union.Â. To maintain the garden they have specialized people and use the best Outdoor tips for gardening. Presently, The garden is being managed by the La Union Botanical Garden Foundation and being subsidized by the city government led by the then Hon,  Mayor Mary Jane C. Ortega and now presently by the Hon. Mayor Pablo C. Ortega.

By the Entrance

La Union Botanical Garden, Cadaclan, San Fernando, La Union Map

You need patience to capture them beautifully… this one isn’t even as beautiful as I hoped it would be

Pink Frame

Purple Gray

Spider ant

eh? monkey! why that pose leh?

Fascinating

Close-up

Ferdz (ironwulf.net) taking photos of Lam-ang (a hero in Philippine Literature – Biag ni Lam-ang)

Just used my digicam Panasonic Lumix LZ10 to do macro shots

The world is beautiful

Close Up 😛

busy Butterfly

Poor flower, all eaten by grasshopper

still using digicam… quality not as good as SLR… which made me think of buying a new one *faints*

Serpent Eagle

They probably feed on serpentsssss 😛

Philippine Sea Eagle “the suplado”

Eagles have really strong features.  I got intimidated just by looking at it resting on top of a rock… good thing there’s a cage, if not I… *faints*

Hawk Eagle “The Pirate”

I called him that because his other eye is injured 🙁

Unlike the other eagles above, I can say that this Eagle is more like a “rockstar”

he’s a goofy kinda eagle…

Rofus Night Heron

I named him “Spock”

because he looks like spock 😛

what a show off lol

O_o mushroom growing on top of the mini fountain

La Union Botanical Garden’s mission is to establish a garden for environmental education, scientific research, biodiversity conservation, aesthetic recreation and public service potentials.  It also aims to bring together as complete a collection of all Philippine native plants and all ornamental plants suited to the climatic zone of the lowland areas of Northern Luzon.

more photos here.

Hope you enjoyed reading and viewing my photos hehe 😛

I only used my digicam Panasonic Lumix LZ10 in almost all pictures because my Nikon D40 kit lens’ auto-focusing is broken 🙁

Up next on my Thunderbird Resort Series of Adventures,

the MACHO Temple!

That’s right

Temple of MACHO!

I LOVE bread!!! Like breakfast won’t be complete without it…

Jam and butter is also a must…

Sometimes, with one sitting, I can eat 5 mini buns of bread *faints*

Anyway, I love cheese too so there you go 😀

Toasted bread with jam and butter inside *drools*

They have a Medley of Home Made Breads and Rolls

Heaven!!!

How do you like your eggs?

For me, I love my eggs cooked soft boiled for 8 minutes.

The 8 minutes thing was something my mom taught me.

Sunny side up is okay as well but the soft boiled egg is the best because there’s no oil needed 😀

And so, here you go.  The usual breakfast items.

No. 1 on the list BACON

YUM!!! Especially if it is cooked with butter!

They also had the Chicken and Pork Adobo (CPA)

Vince’s favorite – Tocino.

I also had my Malaysian friends try this 😀

I didn’t know how to describe it or translate it to English at first 😀

I just said, it’s like sweetened pork…

Do you have any other English terms for this?

Let me know and comment love below 😉

Of course, you wouldn’t feel you’re near a beach without some fish or seafood.

I skipped the soup because I knew I would be eating a lot of bread.

They had Wonton Noodle Soup and Lomi Soup on our second day.

To all who loves dairy products… that would be me 😀

I didn’t get the milk though… and the yogurt, I forgot to get one *plak*

The fruit juices were nice (especially the Melon Juice) but at that time, I was craving for chocolate so bad so I had Cold Milo 😀

Vince got a lot of Tocino 😛

Chow time!  Don’t be deceived, that’s just my first plate 😛

Ta-da… I forgot to mention about eating fruits before anything else.

Nice view of the restaurant… <3

Next up on my series of Thunderbird Resorts Vacation is the different places we went to during the city tour… Love churches?  That’s up next 😉

Till next time foodies,

FlairCandy

Thunderbird Resorts is inspired by Mediterranean architecture.  It is like being in Santorini Greece and you just need to drive 5 to 6 hours away from the city. When we went there, it was sunny by day and but it rained during the afternoons.  I didn’t mind though, the weather just made me want to chill and relax more.  It made me want to sleep and forget the city buzz.  For what its worth, just looking outside the veranda overlooking the sea and the pool is just therapeutic enough.

I can’t really say enough how I loved being there.  You have to experience it for yourself.  The rooms are around Php 5,000 a night which is really not bad for a relaxing luxurious getaway.  It includes breakfast for two (which is also lovely to blog about it next).

*All photos are copyrighted.  Ask permission before grabbing 🙂 photos taken by Nikon D40 and Panasonic Lumix LZ10.  For more details of the pictures, click image 😀

View from the third floor

View at night 🙂

view beside the hallways

Golf cars that you can rent to roam around the compound.  They also have bikes you can borrow for free 🙂

Just some nice view with the blue skies

The Beach where you can swim… Be careful though don’t swim here alone, make sure there’s a lifeguard or something.

View from the lobby / veranda

Some place I find romantic 🙂 😛

beach front 🙂

The dome

Surround Sound System

The really lovely cozy comfy rooms.

Digital Media System.  I played music through my USB.  You can play your iPods here 🙂

HD LCD TV

Really spacious bathroom ^_^ love it!

Rain shower 😛

Clean toilet

Robes, regular towels and beach towel

Lovely room lovely bed! Very comfy!!!

View outside our room… ahh, looking at this picture makes me want to go back.

Another side of the hotel up front 🙂

Anyway, there’s more to love about this resort.  If you want a day trip you can also ask for them to tour you around the city for P 850 net per person on the weekdays and P 950 net per person on weekends.  This is also good for day trips I believe and in this case, the package includes the use of the pool and food and beverage consumables worth P500.  I’m like “OMG cheap and good!”  This promo is only happening from April 5 to September 30, 2010 though and reservations are recommended. City trip includes the Pindangan Ruins, La Union Botanical Gardens and the Ma Cho Temple which is next in my blog post queue so do come back and subscribe 🙂

Resort Facts

Rooms

22 Deluxe Rooms

10 Deluxe VO Rooms

4 Deluxe Suites

Room Features and Amenities

HD LCD Television with Home Theatre Surround Sound System

Ipod Docking Station with Speakers

In-room Electronic Safety Box

Pantry with Coffee and Tea-making facilities

Free Wi-Fi Access

Jacuzzi bath tub and microwave oven (Deluxe VO Rooms)

Furnished living room, kitchenette and dining  areas (Deluxe Suites)

With hair dryer Daily Newspaper! 😀

Sports Facilities

The Cliffs Golf and Beach Club

Santorini Swimming Pool

Half Court Basketball Area

Water Sports

Jogging Path at the Boardwalk

Volleyball Area

And of course, don’t forget the Beach Area

Other Facilities

Meeting & Banquet Facilities (Patio Santorini, Lobby Meeting Room, Amphitheater)

Hotel Food and Beverage Outlets (Olives Restaurant, Patio Santorini, Pool Bar)

Gaming Facilities (Fiesta that’s open 24 hours)

Food and Beverage Outlets (Vegas Cafe and Cabana Bar)

25 hour Shuttle Service (drives within the compound)

Contact Details

Resort Address: Poro point Freeport Zone, San Fernando City, La Union

Telephone no.: +63.72.888.7777

Makati Office:  24 F Salcedo Towers, 169 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City

Telephone no.: +63.2.886.5555

Fax no.: +63.2.894.3333

Email: pororeservations@thunderbird-asia.com

www.thunderbird-asia.com

I’m lucky I live in the Philippines!  We have Santorini right in our own country… BETTER!  There are so many beautiful places here in my own home that I haven’t discovered for myself yet.  And just last Monday, I have discovered a beautiful place in San Fernando, La Union, Ilocos Sur that made really think that the Philippines is FTW!  I only know of two resorts yet that has a Mediterranean inspired architecture.  One of them is here at Thudnerbird Resorts at Poro  Point, San Fernando, La Union (Ilocos Sur).

Thunderbirds Resort is what I really needed to take a break from the hectic city life in Manila!  Thank you so much for having us here! 🙂 <3

This is just a sneak peek.  Over the days during this week, I will upload different adventures that we have such as the following:

1.  Tour and Pictures of Thunderbird Resorts at Poro Point

2.  Breakfast at Olives

3.  Cafe Vegas

4.  Fiesta Ca$hino

5.  Golf at Poro Point

6.  The Pindangan Ruins (La Union Church Ruins)

7.  The MaCho Temple (Temple of MaCho) yes… MACHO! 😛

8.  La Union Botanical Garden (and Spock the Duck)

9.  My attempt at Butterfly Photography

10. Luna Church, Pebble Beach and Watchtower

For now, here’s a preview 😛

I’m still here enjoying fast WiFi connection…

Catch you later folks!

Body Boarding dude

subtle waves

paddling power

the Reverse Surfer

Surfer Girl

Piping it up

Surf’s up!

more pictures here.

Although it has almost stripped me off my bikini because I didn’t wear any rash guard on the first day of surfing, waves are still a surfer’s friend XD. You should befriend it and be kind to it, and then it must get back at you with the most wonderful surfing experience you’ll ever have.

This is only my 2nd surfing trip and I’m still hiring a surfing instructor to guide me. On my first time of surfing I just wanted to feel the feeling of standing up that board. On this second time around, I have paddled and rode the board all to myself without the guide pushing my board \m/>.<\m/

Still, I don’t know which wave I should ride. The guide still dictates what wave I should ride because I don’t know if it’s safe for me or not. In my next trip, I’m decided to learn how to surf on my own XD… so I need to jog or swim everyday to work out these muscles of mine XD

Good thing Cisqo got this shot! Thank you so much my soulja boy XD This was the time I paddled on my own without the help of the guide and above is the video documenting my success 🙂

I can’t wait for the continuation Pawie post it up already!

 
 

View Pawie’s youtube profile for more surfing videos only here in our awesome Philippines!