First Scuba Diving Experience in Davao

Diving is one of my unaccomplished goals last year. But, it doesn't mean I would stop trying that's why I was so happy when last December Air Asia Zest had a sale on all their domestic flights including Cebu, Davao and Puerto Princesa. Seat Sales are rare that's why we should not let moments like this pass so we immediately booked our trip to Davao on a weekend. We really scored a great deal because the round trip all-in airfare only costs 800 php per person. We just purchased extra kls for our checked in baggage because we're planning to bring home plenty pomelos.
We departed from Manila Terminal 4/Old Domestic Airport at 7:10 PM on a Friday and arrived in Davao at around 9:30 PM. We went directly to our hotel and had a good night sleep. I'll talk about where to stay in Davao on a different blog post.
At early morning on a Saturday, we went to the port and ride at the Maxima boat that would take us to Maxima Resort in Samal Island. This is where we'll have our first diving experience. Travel via boat would take 30-45 minutes and costs 250 each.

Upon arriving at the resort, we already had a glimpse of its crystallized blue water, the longest sea drop slide in the Philippines and its different charm.

arriving at maxima resort

This resort is situated in a mountain and has no shoreline. When you stepped into the waters it's already 100 feet deep that's why all guests are required to wear life vests all the time. This place caters more to the adventurous people. If you're just after beach bumming and sun bathing by the beach, well, this resort is not for you.
Entrance fee is 250 each. There are many cottages that you can use for free. Trying out their longest sea drop slide, jumping off a cliff, canopy walk and snorkeling are the different activities that you can also try free of charge. They also have a restaurant just in case you didn't bring your own food.
After fixing our things, we headed directly to their diving office. They oriented us about important pointers in scuva diving like proper breathing and how to equalize pressure underwater. Scuva diving costs 1200 per person. This is already inclusive of all the gears that you will use, pictures and fee for the professional scuva diver that will guide you underwater.
For the pictures, I suggest that you bring your own usb or memory card so they will be able to save the soft copy of all your pictures. In case, you have no usb or memory card, you can get your pictures by liking their facebook page and grab your pictures there. You can choose your best shot and have it printed for 5php each.
There are only 2 divers that will assist so if you're a group of 4 or more, you have to go by batches. While waiting, I was really having the jitters and there's a moment when I just want to back out. Glad, I didn't.

this is me, practicing to breathe through my oxygen tank

The scuba diver will let you test your breathing underwater and if you're no longer having a hard time and already got used to it, slowly, he will bring you deeper and deeper into the ocean.

my sister, Joan, starting her scuba diving experience

The view under the sea is surreal. The real beauty can never be captured by photos or videos. It's so nice looking at the corals and swimming with the fishes. You'll know you're already getting deeper if it starts to feel cold and if the pressure is already hurting your ears. It's important to equalize the pressure because if not it will really make you feel uncomfortable.

my brother Nins

Joan posing with the fishes

Ate Ria posing with the corals

Me, trying to hold my breath so as not to produce bubbles that will ruin the picture

My scuba diver guide let me touched the clams and some corals. I also saw many nemos. The fishes are luminous underwater which adds more charm to my scuba diving experience. It lasted about 30-40 minutes and I was so happy when we were done. I would definitely do it again.

me, trying to touch a clam and see if it close when it detects my hand. Well, it did!

After diving, we ate our lunch and rested in our cottage and then we tried the longest sea drop slide. Before taking the slide, the staff would double check your life vest and make sure that it's tightly fastened. After that, you'll be asked to sit down on the center of the slide, splashed you with water and without a word, pushed you down. The next thing I know, I was screaming on top of my lungs and then I plunged into the sea like a stone dropped into the ocean. My siblings tried it again for the second time but for me, Call me a weakling, but no thanks!

my brother Nins preparing to slide

even my mom tried it!

At around 4:00PM, we already packed our things and rode the last trip of their boat back to the city.

Overall, it was an incredible experience and we had fun. I truly recommend Maxima Resort for all the thrill geeks out there. This resort was already featured in different travel shows like Kris Tv and Pinoy Explorer so you might as well give it a try.

just some of the celebrity pictures posted in their cottage

One regret I had was I did not try jumping into the water thru this small wood. You'll jump at approximately about 10 feet, then you'll land on a huge balloon and will go the edge. Another person will jump and upon jumping, it will cause the person sitting on the edge be thrown directly into the water. It looks easy but it's not. Oh well, maybe, next time.

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Holiday Inn Sands Cotai Central

For our Macau Trip, we stayed at Holiday Inn Sands Cotai Central. The Sands Cotai Central Resort is conveniently located at the heart of Cotai Strip. Cotai is probably one of the most visited parts of Macau as the strip of renowned casino-hotels are located here, thus, derived the name "Cotai Strip". Venetian Hotel, Four Seasons, City of Dreams and Galaxy Macau, to name a few, are the famous hotels that can be found here.

Aside from the variety of entertainment, dining options and 2 casinos, The Sands Cotai Central Resort is also the home of three international hotels namely Conrad Macau, Sheraton Macau and Holiday Inn Macau.

Holiday Inn Macau is said to be the largest Holiday Inn in the world as it offers more than 1200 rooms and suites.

In partnership with Dreamworks, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda are found in their lobby.

This is already our second day that's why our room is already messy.

Passport. Upon check in, you'll be given a passport that you will present in their in-house restaurants for the complimentary breakfast. At the time of our visit, they have free gift for the hotel guests. We got Shrek!!

 

Same choices of breakfast for three days. But, it's delicious so we don't mind.

Shrek and Po parade inside Cotai Sands Resort.

 

The most convenient part of staying in this hotel is the location. Upon stepping out of the comforts of your room, you'll be greeted with this elegant vibe outdoors.

Honey enjoying the view

Overall, it was an amazing experience and would love to stay again in other Holiday Inns in the future.

 

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Getting Around Macau

Tourists visiting Hong Kong often cross the border and pay a quick visit to Macau. Some just want to see the much raved Venetian Hotel and some just take a picture in front of the St. Paul Ruins. But, the charm of Macau can't be really summed up in a one day or overnight visit. One might be surprised that it's actually worth a longer and extended stay.

 

So aside from its casinos and vibrant night life, is there something else in store for you in Macau? Well, I say there is and there's more!

 

Sharing to you my top 5 stops in the so called "Sin City of Asia".

1. Venetian Hotel - Asians who are surrounded with beautiful beaches and natural scenery often dream of travelling to Europe to see magnificent architecture and beautiful expressions of the Arts. Europeans who live in a romantic and truly adorable cities often travel to Asia to experience the long stretch of white sand beaches. Well, that's the irony of life.

But, if you're like me who also dream of experiencing Europe but funds won't allow (for now), this is the closest European experience you can get. Aside from being a prime hotel and a venue of one of the largest casinos in the world, Venetian Macau is often visited by tourists for its beautiful scenery. Its ceilings are beautifully filled with medieval paintings. Its walls and hallways are designed to be a replica of the city of Venice.

Be extra romantic and try their gondola ride for 118 MOP or 669PHP for adults, 88 MOP or 499 PHP for kids and 472 MOP or 2672 PHP for a private Gondola. I was amazed to see that Filipino entertainers can't only be found in HongKong Disneyland, here in Venetian Macau most of the Gondoliers are also Filipinos.

with a Filipino Gondolier

2. City of Dreams - The City of Dreams is just in front of the Venetian Hotel. You just have to cross the street and viola!, you're there. It hosts 3 of the most grand hotels in Macau, Crown Towers, Grand Hyatt and Hard Rock Hotel. It is also a home to various shows that everyone can enjoy and watch.

My favorite spot in the City of Dreams is the Vquarium. This is a huge virtual acquarium where beautiful mermaids will suddenly appear. I looovvee mermaids!! I can literally watch them all day and the best thing about this is it's for free!

Aside from the Vquarium, there are also other famous shows here like Taboo -- the show of secret fantasies. Well, from the name itself, it's strictly for adults only. There is also the House of Dancing Water which is known to be the most expensive play in Macau staged in a state of the art theatre that can hold 3.7 million gallons of water or 5 Olympic sized swimming pool. No wonder the ticket price is gigantic too! The cheapest ticket costs 580 HK$ (P3,383) for adults and 410 HK$ (P2,391) for children and the seat is located at the farthest side of the theatre (kumbaga sa Araneta, gen ad lang to).

If House of the Dancing Water is too pricey for you, you can watch The Dragon's Treasure for only 50 MOP or 284 PHP for adults and 30 MOP or 171 PHP for children. This is a multimedia show that evolves in the story of the power of a dragon. If you have kids, they will surely enjoy this. Well, I did!

shower of golden coins at the end of the show as a sign of good luck and fortune

3. St. Paul Ruins - At the City of Dreams, there are free shuttles going to Central Hotel. Alight at Central Hotel and you can already walk to the Senado Square.

Aside from the Senado Square, you'll also pass through an alley of restaurants and souvenir shops before reaching the St. Paul Ruins. Koi Kei Bakery is one of the most visited stores here, they sell the most delicious egg roll I've ever tasted and they also give free taste and samples of their products so that tourists can easily choose from the diffrerent varieties of their cookies and bread. Another famous "pasalubong" from Macau that you can buy in the stores here is pork jerky. It's like a tocino in different flavors. They also offer free samples so you'll have an idea which flavor you like best.

different flavors of pork jerky

The St. Paul Ruins is one of the most famous tourist spots in Macau, its a Church dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle but was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon.

At the back of the facade lies a museum of different Christian relics.

 

4. Grand Lisboa Hotel - This gorgeous hotel is just a 15-20 minute walk away from the St. Paul Ruins. The Grand Lisboa has a unique architecture that's why it's easy to differentiate it from other buildings. It welcomes guests with a very elegant lobby and state of the art displays which probably worth a fortune.

photo courtesy of google

I also recommend that you try one of their restaurants. Beautiful ambience and great food in an affordable price.

5. Macau Tower - From Grand Lisboa, we took the cab going to Macau Tower. This taxi ride is the first ever transportation we paid. The advantage of going around Macau is it has different shuttles which take tourists from one place to another for free.

For travellers looking for extreme adventures, Macau Tower is the destination for you. Here you can do Bungy Jumping and Sky Jumping which is jumping from about 732 feet high above the ground. Skywalk X, walking on the rims in an open space, no handrails and with only a harness that will keep you from falling.

Aside from these extreme activities, tourist can go to 58th floor observation deck and enjoy a panoramic view of Macau. Entrance fee is 135 MOP or 764 PHP for adults and 70 MOP or 395PHP for children and senior citizens. After a long day of touring the city, this is the perfect place to take a rest while enjoying Macau's magnificent skyline.

Another well spent vacation full of new discoveries. So, go on, Experience Macau!

 

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