Free Ride to Marian Orchard and Shercon Resort and Ecology Park

We missed our chance to have Visita Iglesia last Holy Week, so my friend and I decided to visit a pilgrimage site before 2017 ends. Marian Orchard in Batangas and Regina Rica in Tanay caught her attention when we were browsing the net, but Marian Orchard became our top pick since we also thought about heading to Shercon Resort and Ecology Park which is only a few minutes to an hour drive away from Marian.

The initial plan was to take a bus and have an endless catching up, but my friend’s fiancé didn’t give up on telling us of his intention to join. No regrets that he did that. Commuting to Marian and Shercon the way we saw it doesn’t seem fun and convenient. Our trip via car was a breeze and hassle-free. The usual four-hour drive from Manila bus terminal to Batangas became an hour-drive!

At Marian, visitors are required to pay Php 50 and it says on the ticket: donation. I prefer calling it entrance fee, though.

Some of my favourite photos:

Took a not-so long, quiet walk alone. It’s a bit steep, perhaps the main reason why I only saw a very few people (no barkadas taking groufies) on my way down to the off limits/dead-end area.

At Shercon Resort:

Check-in time is at 2:00PM. We were there at 12:30. We chose to eat somewhere else and that somewhere else is 14-kilometer away according to the front-desk staff. Piece of advice: Make sure you had your lunch and you’re there around 2PM for check-in on a non-peak season.

Taking the public transportation to the resort is still workable, but you must have a lot of patience.

Manuel Cabin was crowded when we passed by the area. Having my friend’s bf with us was a blessing in disguise. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have called the resort to inform them about our reservation. The staff wouldn’t have the chance to double check their schedule and offered us a room in the Forestville Suites.





Forestville Suites:

Free Shuttle Ride For those who want to experience all the pool types in Shercon.

Forestville area’s not that cheap, but it’s already a good choice for a group of four who want to avoid a crowded pool. Pocket pools are located in the Forestville area, too.

It’s best to swim in the pocket pools in the morning. Guests would normally start exploring other pools after lunch, hence making the pool areas crowded.

Morning view from our room:

Pocket Pool. Take a closer look:

Me, my friend, and her fiancé 

(My) Budget for this trip:

Room (inclusive of dinner and breakfast) = Php 2,500

Time Allotted:

*Marian Orchard: An Hour
*Shercon: Overnight

Note: Food provided at Forestville's plated. Guests do not have any other choice but to eat whatever is going to be delivered to their room (or you may buy your own food). However, you can inform them in advance in case you have allergies.

Things to Expect:

* Not that strict with the attire
* Menu at Sam's Kitchen: Upon request
* Coffee for breakfast's in a shot glass-sized paper cup
* No HBO, Star Movies, Fox, channels (But I was happy with the Animal Planet channel)
* List of food and beverage on the menu's limited

Bulacan Church Hopping

A friend asked me where my recent posted photos were taken.

I was actually with my Light Group friends. One of them suggested that we try church hopping in Bulacan as part of our monthly meeting, hence this daytrip. We invaded Malolos, Plaridel, and Bocaue for a couple of hours. 

This photo: c/o Cha D.C


We found it surprising and funny to see few of the seven sacraments being conducted in every church that we visited. There’s always an ongoing wedding, (we witnessed three!), confirmation, communion, and if I am not mistaken, even baptism.

We visited five churches and one temple all in one day. We looked into the details of every church, appreciated the uniqueness present in them, and offered our personal prayers. Of course we didn’t miss our favorite activities: food trip and photo ops.

My favorite church out of all that we visited: San Andres Kim Tae-Gon church, named after a Korean Catholic priest. It’s still under construction, but the church can already accommodate church goers. There was a Kasalang Bayan going on when we arrived.

1. Replica of Magellan's Cross in Cebu

2. Relic of the True Cross

3. Old Cross of Sto. Cristo Lolomboy

Station of the Cross

Inside the church

Outside the church:

Few blocks away’s where Kim Tae-Gon temple’s located (still under construction, too). 

Church of Barasoain. Time to recall what we've learned from our Philippine History subject. There’s a museum adjacent to the church (Museo ng Republika ng 1899) that houses Philippine Independence-related stuff, but part of it contains religious items, too.

The Church of Malolos is the nearest church to Barasoain. The images on its ceiling caught my attention.

St. James Parish (where we had our shortest stay)

The Heart of Jesus and Mary Parish has a beautiful facade. The architectural design of its wall and doors appears to have a foreign vibe. We were not able to go inside the church, but we managed to see what’s inside through the small openings we found on a smaller door located at the right side of the church.

Budget and Itinerary (and Tips):

It’s highly recommended to hire a van for a more convenient travel.

Better wear comfy outfit and not-so expensive footwear. The streets going to Kim Tae-Gon temple has puddle and might become slightly flooded (ankle-level?) at times.

Bring water and umbrella (and sun block if you want to).

There are fast food chains around, but despite the super hot afternoon weather, we had our lunch at (Lita’s?) Lugawan and halo-halo in a famous food "haus" for merienda.

Van – Php 5,000 (divided equally among the passengers)

Food – depends on your order and where you’ll eat. In our case, we spent Php 100 on food (lunch and halo-halo)

No one bought pasalubong or souvenirs, so each of us spent around Php 800 for this trip.

We left Manila at 9:00 am and arrived in Ortigas at around 8:00 pm.

Church visited in proper order:

Church of Barasoain à Church of Malolos à Heart of Jesus and Mary Parish à St. James Parish à San Andres Kim Tae-Gon church à Kim Tae-Gon temple