“Tiger Entertainment is committed to providing entertainment that will thrill everyone – Filipinos and the rest of Asia and the world,” said Okada. “The Manila Bay Resorts will redefine the Philippine entertainment and gaming landscape, delighting and charming visitors from all over the world."

Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Japan-based casino resorts developer and operator Universal Entertainment Corp., is set to put the Philippines on the world map of entertainment and gaming with the construction of its US$2-Billion premiere entertainment complex project.

Highly anticipated to excite the coastlines of Manila Bay, Tiger Entertainment broke ground Thursday on a 45-hectare site located at the Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment Complex to officially kick-start the rise of the next major world-class entertainment, luxury shopping and prime gaming destination in Asia – the Manila Bay Resorts.

“The Philippines, with its scenic environment and world-famous Filipino hospitality, is an excellent location for the next huge entertainment tourism hub in the region,” said Universal Entertainment Corp. Chairman Kazuo Okada. “Considering its proximity to China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, Manila has a competitive advantage over other major Asian cities.”

With a vision of building a real-life wonderland, Manila Bay Resorts is ideally equipped with a variety of facilities and amenities designed to meet the entertainment, retail and gaming needs not only of the Philippines, but also of its neighboring countries.

The entertainment complex will have two luxury casino hotels hosting 450 and 600 rooms respectively. These hotels will feature topnotch local and international restaurant chains that cater to travelers and food enthusiasts across the globe. A 1000-room budget hotel will also be put up within the resorts, targeting to reach a wider market.

Intended to be a venue for fun and enjoyment of the entire family, an indoor man-made beach, replicating the country’s world-renowned summer destinations, will be built right at the center of the complex. Covered in a huge glass dome, the beach club will use 100% natural lighting to actualize the ambiance of a real beach getaway.

The complex will also be home to one of the world’s majestic large-scale water fountain shows to the delight of every individual who come to look for a perfect place to unwind and be free from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Manila Bay Resorts will serve as a haven for busy fashionistas, ensuring an authentic and global retail brand experience through the establishment of high-end fashion boutiques and outlet malls.

True to its commitment of providing total entertainment, Manila Bay resorts will also house a world-class casino which will operate 24/7, indulging gaming aficionados’ every need.

With the government expecting to attract one million tourists in the next few years through its entertainment city project, Tiger Entertainment said it is committed to deliver on its promise to help boost the local tourism industry and eventually increase the influx of tourists upon completion of the Manila Bay Resorts project in 2014.

There are many famous summer destinations and I could only say so much. Places like Pangasinan, Zambales, Palawan, and Boracay. I’m glad local and national institutions is doing the effort to preserve their beauties. I also commend our government for promoting Philippines as a summer destination to international tourists.

In this post, I’ll share with you ten activities for athletic beach bum this summer.

Swimming. Ever since I started swimming when I was five, this activity is one of the closest to my heart. It’s easy and I basically don’t need to buy anything to swim. Of course I need my swim wear, silly.

Snorkeling. When I visited Hundred Islands last year, I tried Snorkeling. The Snorkel allowed me to stay underwater for an extended period of time and it let me observe underwater attractions. And while underwater, I enjoyed swimming while seeing a school of fish swim with me. To try this, you just have to buy or rent a Snorkel.

Free Diving. I subconsciously do this when I’m in our pool. I never really tried this in deep waters.  I want to know how long can I hold my breath and how far can I dive underwater.

Banana Boating. If you like the idea of sitting in a banana-like boat and that boat being pulled until you fall into the water then try this. It’s fun with friends!

Bodyboarding. I never really tried this one but it’s one of my goal this summer.

Parasailing or Parascending. If you’re the person who loves to go to the beach to be alone then I recommend that you try this one. When you ascend to the top you’ll feel alone and the serenity of the sky. You’ll get to enjoy the scenic cruise of the area, too. If you want, you can bring your favorite book at the top and read it there but it’ll cost you around a thousand per hour.

Photo by Rench

Ultimate or Ultimate Frisbee. Ultimate is played with a flying disc. It’s kind of troublesome but it’s also fun!

Sepak Takraw. I played this one before but not at the beach. Try this with friends and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Photo by Joel

Beach volleyball. Bring in a volleyball and let’s spike it hard!

Patintero. This one’s my favorite and it’s for the barkada! My friends and I played this at Tundol and it was so fun!

How about you? What do you this when you’re at the beach? Pass it out below!

Oh, if you like the idea of  enjoying the finest sands of Boracay for free then I suggest you visit the website of Century Tuna Supords Contest.

Metrowalk boasts numerous bars and restaurants. It also has some shops for various sorts of items. It is approximately one (1) kilometer away from SM Megamall.

For all I know, we were supposed to hang-out at TriNoMa. I was confused when Alzate said we should go to Metrowalk to meet the kids. I insisted that TriNoMa was the right place, and I was correct.

Yes, we (Carla, Anthony, Jazz, Tonio, Alex, Alzate, and Me) met at TriNoMa. There, we ate our dinner at Jollibee and talked a bit and then the decided to go to Metrowalk, where Will and Audrey will meet us.

We (they) had some beer and foods while keeping each other up-to-speed.

I can’t remember when was the last time we had a laugh with him but I’m glad James joined us this night.

Carla, Anthony, Audrey and I left around 12:30 while the others hanged out little bit more. It’s short but definitely a fun Friday night at Metrowalk Commercial Complex.

EEC Summer Outing is an annual event held every fourth (4) quarter of a school year. It is an event mainly intended for EE-ECE-COE students and its alumni.

My friends from MIT-Rotaract loves to play volleyball, they found a group to play with.

And then saw other Rotarians playing modified football.

Few minutes before we leave, the sunset.

The Student Athlete along with South Spiral, went to Hundred Islands last March 29, 2008. This was after our Tundol White Beach experience.

Hundred Islands National Park is situated in northern Philippines in the province of Pangasinan. There are 123 islands at high tide and 124 islands at low tide.

Hundred Islands National Park is protected by the government, preserving its clear water and clean surroundings.

If one would want to visit Hundred Islands National Park, here are some tips.

• travel time from Manila to Hundred Islands National Park is around 4 to 5 hours
• get a bangka at the National Park, it will cost between 1,100 to 2,000 peso, depending on your trip
• day tour costs 20 peso and night tour will cost 40 peso
• be sure to wear something light and easy to dry apparel
• wear sunblock, it is a must since you will be under the scorching sun almost the whole trip
• you may want to bring your own life vest
• if you like underwater scenery, bring a snorkel gear
• bring extra batteries for your camera!

Actually, we first thought we could get a cheaper bangka that would take us to Hundred Islands at Baryo Macaleeng.

Their bangka looks shabby so we decided to head towards the National Park to get a decent bangka instead.

We were awed by the scenery during the boat ride to Hundred Islands, it was beautiful!

Our first stop was Marcos Island. There, we had our lunch and took a swim. Using our snorkel gears, we could really see the school of fish swimming by our side, that was more or less six (6) feet deep.

Marcos Island has this uphill climb where you could find a cave opening that allows its visitors to jump to the water below. That experience will never be forgotten. All of us took our turns and jumped. The sheer joy of jumping into the water like children was so fun we did it more than once! Which reminds me that our jump would be less fun had we not invited Melissa, Jason, and Jeffrey to jump with us.

We contained our fear. With friends by our side and of more than fifteen (15) feet high, we had our jump for life!

Prior to riding the bangka, people told us that by having snorkel gears, we may want to dive at ???_Island to see giant clams and different kinds of fish. With that in mind, we head towards ??_Island after our stop at Marcos Island to check it out by ourselves. It was not a mistake, we saw beautiful giant clams and different kinds of gorgeous fish.

Do you know where’s that famous Pinoy Big Brother House at the Hundred Islands? It can be found at Governor’s Island. And after pounding our hearts for that jump at Marcos Island and the snorkel experience with the giant clams and schools of fish, we head towards Governor’s Island. There, we visited Bahay ni Kuya.

By going uphill to the highest point of the island, we saw a clearer view of Hundred Islands.

At the summit.

For more details of Hundred Islands National Park, please call (075)5512505, (075)5527406 or (075)5512145.

One last thing. On the road home, we stop at Jollibee to have our lunch.

Have you been to Hundred Islands? If you haven’t yet, I recommend it for a great summer vacation.

The Student Athlete along with South Spiral, went to Camara Island last May 4, 2008.

Capones Island is another vacation destination in Zambales. On average, the trip from Manila, with the boat ride from beach of Pundaquit, to Capones Island is about 4 hours.

We were supposedly going to go  to Capones Island to visit the famous old Spanish-era lighthouse, the Faro de Punta Capones,  but did not had the chance to because the waves were so violent that our boats aren’t able to traverse the route to the part of Capones Island were the lighthouse stands.

Capones Island is a white beach that is great for surfing enthusiasts. Capones Island is surrounded by rough waters which surfers will surely love. Along the two (2) kilometer shore are colorful crushed corals.

After taking pictures, we rode another three (3) kilometer boat ride and visited Camara Island.

What to do in Camara Island?

• Surfing
• Island hopping
• Fishing
• Swimming
• Hiking
• Camping

How to get to Camara Island?

If you are to go to Camara Island from Manila, take the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and get off to the San Fernando, Pampanga exit.  From San Fernando, Pampanga, head towards Olongapo City.  Right before the city boundary of Olongapo, there is a route to Subic Base Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) which you may want to take if you want to avoid passing through the city.  Take this bypass road through SBMA and then head northwestward to Castillejos, a Subic town and then westward all the way to San Antonio. At San Antonio, you will head southwestward to Pundaquit.

At Pundaquit proper, you will have several beach resorts to choose from.  At these resorts, you can arrange a ten to 15 (10-15) minutes banka ride to Capones Island.

The Student Athlete along with South Spiral went to Tundol White Beach last March 28-29. It was a bacacion engrade.

I had my college until 7:30PM while Carla, Melissa, Dominic, Jazz, Samantha, Wilfredo and Audrey had their work. Carla may be the busiest of us all, as she was organizing hell (the trip and us!).

After enduring almost five hours of travel by singing Backstreet Boys’ hits and yapping plain chatty talk, we arrived at Anda, Pangasinan to meet Samantha’s dad.

After meeting Samantha’s dad, we decided to form teams. Each team was entailed to do a particular chore on a particular time. Thus, ang bunutan.

Samantha’s dad helped us get a really good deal for a house for us to stay, for three (3) days.

After putting our bags to our room, we walked around a bit and took some pictures.

After which, we bought some fresh fish for our lunch. The only fish I can remember is Mulmol.

Lunch time! Food were arranged at the table. We prayed then started to eat.

A few hours later, we continued to explore the beach. Then there’s the most memorable part. Kulitan!

Initially, we planned to go back to the house already. But then when we saw patintero lines, we played the game.

Now then, back to the base. The sunset of Tundol White Beach. Dinner!

We really enjoyed the Tundol White Beach experience. Though Pangasinan vacation does not end there, we also toured Hundred Islands.

The Student Athlete along with South Spiral, went to on Anawangin on May 3-4, 2008. As usual, we all met at Carla’s house.

Victory Liner Sampaloc last trip to Zambales was fully-booked so we decided to go to Victory Liner Caloocan to take a bus.

When we came at the Caloocan terminal of Victory Liner, the last trip to Zambales was also fully-booked. Depressed to continue our Zambales vacation, we ended up as a chance passenger. Thing is, we stood the whole four (4) hour ride.

Finally, we arrived at San Antonio Zambales.

We pimped ourselves for a few minutes while arranging the boat ride to Anawangin. We talked to Mang floring on how much it will be for the two-way boat trip. Before six (6), we were loading into the boat.

The boat ride to Anawangin was about 20 minutes.

Anawangin Cove is relatively a virgin destination. There are no cottages and/or rooms out there. So upon arrival to Anawangin, we readily setup our tents.

Now, the three (3) tents stood.

Yes, this are the restrooms. They are quite cute, actually.

Of course, the beach.

We walked along the shoreline, at one point we decided to take a sit and took some pictures.

There’s no lunch yet. Good thing Audrey brought A Mr. Choi Kitchen fish skins. Those are yummy skins, I tell you.

After eating our lunch, we walked around more..

.. and found a pond.

Some people at Anawangin are really troublesome, they just leave their trash behind just like that.

Quite some more walk and excited to the idea of hiking, we hiked the mountain beside Anawangin. Anawangin Cove is surrounded by mountains.

From the top, we can see the whole Anawangin. The site was a beauty.

After taking some pictures, we returned back.

At Anawangin, life is pretty much primitive. Foods are cooked the ancient way.

The day would not end without celebration. And by celebration, we had our “inuman”. I’m not really much of a drinker, though.

The drinking session was interupted by a short drizzle. When it stopped, we continued to have a chat and drink some more. After then, we slept. The morning after, we ate noodles and packed-up. Bidding Anawangin farewell.

While on riding the boat, the formation of clouds in the sky was so beautiful.

so was this shot.

Saw this at Pandaquit.

Back at San Antonio, we took a Victory bus to Olongapo to have our lunch.

Summer won’t be complete without a taste of Halo-Halo.

After five (5) hours, we are at Manila again. We were planning to go to TriNoMa but it was not pushed through.

I love to go back to Anawangin.