Family Friendly Cliff Jumping at Ariel's Point, Philippines

You'd think a rickety boat, rocky ocean cliffs, an open bar and two young kids would be a recipe for disaster, right?  Well, our family day trip to Ariel's Point in the Philippines, and its ocean jumping platforms, was anything but.  In fact, it became the highlight of our vacation.

We had read about this "eco-adventure destination" a few weeks before our trip to Boracay, but with kids aged 7 and 9,  we weren't sure it was an appropriate attraction for us.   After all, Boracay itself offers multiple soft sand beaches, crystal clear waters, and more fruity boat drinks than you could imagine.  It's famed "White Beach" has consistently been rated among the top beach destination in the world and is crawling with locals peddling everything from shell necklaces and knock-off sunglasses to island hopping and other water activities - most of which don't require you to sign an insurance waiver.

After thoroughly enjoying the powdery sands and blue waters of White Beach for several days, we decided to check out Ariel's Point to make our experience in the Philippines complete.  I mean, why not?  When's the next time I'll be in the Philippines with an opportunity to jump from a rocky cliff into the blue waters of the Philippine Sea?

Getting There:
Once you've travelled to Boracay itself, getting to Ariel's Point is a piece of cake...though I dare say the boat trip to and (especially) back from Ariel's point is one of the highlights of the adventure.

After paying 1500 pesos per person (about USD $35) at Ariel's House Beach Bar on White Beach, we made our way toward an "interesting" looking wooden boat anchored just off the beach at Station 1.  There, our adventure began as we carried towels, cameras, and a change of clothes over our heads, through chest-high water to board the boat.  Moments later, the engines started, the bar opened and we were on our way.  (Note:  Jennifer dropped her iPhone in the water and it still works perfectly!)

There were approximately 50 other passengers on the boat - a very diverse slice of humanity - and everyone was extremely friendly, engaging and ready for a great time.  We all joked about the suspect sea-worthiness of our transportation and bonded over the rum and San Miguel that was liberally available onboard.

Leaving the busy waters of White Beach behind, we cruised along the coastline of a region call Buruanga, part of an island just south of Boracay.  The scenery was amazing with small huts and a few private homes dotting the jungle cliffs and beaches at the water's edge.  Once we reached Ariel's Point we all hopped off, following a set of very safe, well defined stairs that took us through a small cave and to the main diving and sunbathing platforms.   (Travel note:  Cameras, phones, dry clothes etc. can get wet boarding the boat.  Don't ruin your day with a broken camera or phone - leave it at home or be prepared to hold your valuables up out of the water as you get on and off)

Activities:

After getting settled and finding a place to sit and call "home" for the day, the Ariel's Point staff gave a few safety instructions, pointed out the bar, diving platforms, ocean kayaks, snorkle gear, the bar agai, and announced what time lunch would be served.  (Did I forget to mention the approximately $35 we paid per person included the boat ride, BBQ lunch, open bar, and all water activities?) 

Ariel's Point is surrounded by beautiful blue waters teeming with fish, has a secluded white beach just around the corner, and ocean kayaks, snorkel gear, and sunbathing lounge chairs are available at no charge.  I'd love to provide some perspective on these activities, but for us, the entire day was consumed by dives from the five platforms (ok, we only actually jumped from three of them).

So let's get to it!  Shortly after getting settled, the baking, mid-day sun made it prime time to make the first jump of the day.  First off, I was pleasantly surprised to see at least two lifeguards in the water below the diving platforms at all times.  Although our kids are both pretty strong swimmers, and have proven they are comfortable jumping into the ocean from a decent height (see Batu Batu post) it was great to see that Ariel's Point takes safety seriously.

But really, don't even think about safety before you jump - just go!  After waiting in a short line, I took the first plunge off the lowest of the platforms - about 10 feet - followed somewhat reluctantly by my 7 year-old son, Cooper.   My 9 year-old daughter, Sophia, was a little more scared to jump but after several attempts, she too let go and plunged into the water.  After that, the two laughed, splashed, and jumped again and again for the rest of the day.

There are five platforms at Ariel's Point, ranging from about 3 meters to 15 meters in height.  Personally, I worked my way from the 3 meter platform, to the 4 meter platform, and eventually to the 6 meter platform.  The 8 meter and 15 meter platforms, however, simply loomed too large for me.  It doesn't sound that high, right....well, stand on the 6 meter board and look up at the 15 meter....then tell me what you think.

Food & Drink:

About an hour after arriving, lunch was served consisting of BBQ chicken, pork, fish, pasta, fruit, rice, and a number of other local Filipino favorites.   In very informal fashion, the food was served buffet style on a set of wooden tables.  After paying only $35 USD for the full day, we weren't expecting much by way of quantity or quality, but we were not disappointed.  The chicken and fish were delicious, as was the selection of fruit.  Even the kids, who don't always love "non-western" style dishes really enjoyed the BBQ lunch.

And of course - the drinks.  Water, soda and fruit drinks were available for both kids and adults - literally as soon as the engine turned on at White Beach and not stopping until we arrived back at White Beach 6 hours later.  Rum and San Miguel were even more abundantly available for the adults.  Everything in moderation, right?

Closing Time:
Like all good things, our day at Ariel's Point came to an end.  As we began to gather our belongings and head to the boat, the sky opened up and it began to rain.  While this may sound like a disappointing end to the day, it was actually the beginning of a very memorable, fun ride back to Boracay.  After navigating the cave, some waves, and the plank back to the boat, we saw a beautiful rainbow fill the sky over Ariel's Point as we took our seats on the boat.

With all passengers and crew accounted for, the engine started and the bar opened.  The 50 or so passengers, now bonding over the experience of jumping into the Philippine Sea, ordered drinks for one another, laughed, shared stories, and took pictures.  The kids on board (four total) were all smiles as well, full of pride from overcoming some fear and enjoying the jumps into the ocean themselves.
As the boat sailed farther away from Ariel's Point, the sun began to set and the group of "20 somethings" on the upper deck came to life.  An impropmtu game of "spin the bottle of rum" broke out, only occasionally interupted by a dance-off to "Gangnam Style". 

Upon reaching White Beach 30 minutes later, everyone hopped off - no longer very concerned about getting their belongings a little wet in the process.  At this point, the sun was pretty low in the sky, and we headed to one of our favorite little restaurants for some dinner and to watch the sunset.  With this view, need I say anything more?

My last word of advice...if you're planning a trip to Boracay, I highly recommend you book a visit to Ariel's Point early in your trip.  After a day of excitement, exhilaration, and meeting new people, you may want to go more than once!

For more information, visit the Ariel's Point website.

Birthday Party - Singapore Style

I'm just going to start by saying this. Yesterday was the best day ever.

Most of you know that I detest children's birthday parties.  I always joke that if (when) I go to hell, I'll be stuck at at birthday party with a bottle of wine but no corkscrew.  The mere mention of "Chuck E. Cheese" makes me break out in hives.  Well I can safely say that I now detest MOST children's birthday parties, but certainly not all.

Sophia was invited to a birthday party for her best friend, Saga, at the Mana Mana Beach Club in East Coast Park. We had never been over to the East Coast so had no idea what to expect. We also didn't know whether we should just drop her off, or stay at the party. We had planned to hang out with a friend of Cooper's (who had a sister invited to the party) but ended up with the best of all worlds.

Saga's parents, Pete and Liisa (that is not a typo, she is Finnish), were fabulously gracious hosts and had a table for the parents who wanted to stay, complete with a steady stream of your favorite beverage. That, combined with the great conversation and tropical beach backdrop made for an unforgettable day.



Those are the girls out there!

The theme of the party was sailing - Saga takes weekly sailing lessons at the club and wanted to share her knowledge with her closest friends. (Note: Saga's 12 year-old sister, Astrid, was also celebrating her birthday as well.) The girls took out the sailboats, two to a boat, and luckily my slightly apprehensive daughter was paired with Saga the pro. Watching them was awesome, out there sailing around, and sometimes being capsized and getting the boat turned right again. Sophia loved it, and of course asked for lessons afterwards. While this was going on, Cooper and his friend Daiki were running around the beach trying to split coconuts by banging them against trees (no dice).  Those two could definitely tour as a comedy team.

 

Where the parents hung out

 

Sophia and her friend Momoko

 

After the requisite cupcakes and singing, the girls also played for quite a while in the beach club pool.  I must admit I witnessed some impressive backdives!  The party ended at 3pm, but only for some.  Anyone was welcome to stay longer, but it ended up being Pete, Liisa, Jason and me (of course) sitting and chatting for four more hours.  Cooper, who didn’t have a bathing suit, decided to go swimming in his shorts, and the girls took the sailboats out some more.   

Random wedding, they welcomed all us strangers!

The environment at the beach club is just great.  It was casual and comfortable, with all kinds of families hanging out, kids playing in the sand, boogie boarding etc.  As we were leaving, a wedding had just begun, and we were taking pictures like they were our friends or family.  I have to admit it was quite heartwarming (you know I’m a softie). 

But the true reason it was the best day ever was meeting new friends who after one day already feel like old friends.  In fact, Saga ended up sleeping over and we met Pete and Liisa this afternoon in Little India for some shopping.  Our afternoon there will be the subject of the next post!  Stay tuned…

For more information on the Mana Mana Beach Club, visit their website at ttp://www.manamana.com/

Sun was starting to set

 

Saga, Sophia and Milo the Portuguese Water Dog

 

Cooper and Milo (Saga's dog) - Cooper was wearing Jason's new board shorts since his were all wet!

Cooper had a long day!

 

 

Fall Break in Boracay

Well, well, well....it's been awhile.  A whole month without posts!  I guess that's what happens when you break your leg in two places and can't go anywhere to write about.  Have no fear, the drought it over.

Still limping around, I accompanied my family to Boracay Island in the Philippines for the October school fall break.  I was in no way full strength, but I pretended I was, so enough about that. 

The Philippines is an archipelago comprised of 7,107 islands (I know!) and is the 12th most populated country in the world. Nestled among that crazy number of islands is Travel and Leisure Magazine's 2012 pick for the #1 island in the world, Boracay.  Boracay is about 4.5 miles long and just over a half-mile wide at it's narrowest point. Most people think of Boracay as a party beach for the 20-something set (Google "party beach" and you will see!) but trust me, families can have lots of fun here too.

I will be honest. Getting there feels like you're starring in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", except it would be titled "Planes, Boats, Buses, and Taxis".  We left Singapore at 10:30am on a Sunday, flew  to Manila, then connected to Kalibo, another island.  We then hooked up with our transportation tour company, Southwest Tours Boracay, Inc, and they shuffled us and about twenty other tourists to a chartered bus. Including a 15-minute restroom stop (where beer and snacks were also sold - bonus!), the trip was about 1.5 hours. A 10-minute boat ride was next, and we were on the island of Boracay (finally!). One last open air taxi with another lucky couple and we were dropped off in a dark alleyway with our luggage. Price note: the entire round-trip transportation to and from the airport cost our family $75USD total. Crazy cheap!

We were a little apprehensive while walking down the alley to our hotel, but all anxiety went out the window when we came to the entrance.  It was a quaint, stone-lined path with flowers hanging from the roof, with the most friendly staff imaginable awaiting us at the other end.  Our hotel (small resort) was called 7Stones Boracay, and is located on Bulabog Beach.  Bulabog is on the opposite side of White Beach, the most famous Boracay attraction.  Only a five-minute walk from White Beach, Bulabog is known worldwide as a kitesurfing beach due it's breezy nature.  The sea is also not great for swimming there due to the seaweed, but that's where the negatives end.  Trust me, White Beach is great for the day, but when you have a family and need to relax, it is nice to come back to the 7Stones sanctuary!  There was a great pool in the middle of the complex, hammocks and lounge chairs on the beach, a pool bar and a FABULOUS little restaurant. 

We ate breakfast every day at the on-site restaurant, called the 7Note Cafe.  Most days they offered a great brunch, and on less occupied days, they still offered the a la carte menu.  The prices here were very reasonable too, well....anything is reasonable compared to Singapore!  Our friendly bartender, Jovet, suggested we sign up for the "romantic dinner", which while sounding cheesy, was a great deal for a 5-course meal at $95 (all prices quoted are USD), *including* a bottle of wine!  Seriously, I was giddy when I heard this.  So we signed up.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, so we had to move it from the beach to (at Jovet's suggestion) an unoccupied room across from ours so we didn't have to eat with the kids!  They had it set up with all lantern light, flowers etc. and Jovet had the kids come over midway through to give me the roses that Jason had thought to buy.  Cheesy - yes.  Totally enjoyable - yes.

The rooms were great here too.  We had a suite, which was a regular room with two double beds connected with a suite with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and veranda.  All for less than $200 a night.  I swear if it wasn't so hard to get here, we'd be back over and over again. 

More important than the rooms or prices, though, the staff was the best part of the resort.  As I said, Jovet was awesome.  Flor, Ed, Jay... we were on a first name basis with almost everyone.  The last night, Flor actually stopped by to say goodbye since she thought she would miss us the next day.  You do not get service like this in the United States.  The last day we also met the owners of the resort, a lovely Canadian couple.  They asked us AND our kids what could be improved, and we helped select new paint colors for the restaurant! 

Okay, enough about the hotel. 

So walking between our hotel and White Beach was interesting...lots of chickens.  And unfortunately, lots of poverty.  This isn't a place where the resorts are separated from the locals.  It's all integrated, which I was thankful for.  It is important to me for the kids to see how most of the world lives, and they definitely got a dose of that here.  The funny part of this is that one day, actually it was Wednesday, the chicken squawking almost stopped.  I think Tuesday night is chicken dinner night.

So most days we wandered over to White Beach.  On the first day we were a little displaced, as we had a stack of hotel towels but nowhere to call home or find shade.  So we holed up at the Red Coconut Beach Hotel, striking a deal with friendly servers Rodele and Rodolfo.  If we ordered food and/or drinks we could use their beachfront lounge chairs.  DEAL!  And this happened every.single.day.  Their bartenders were also obsessed with "Gangnam Style" and had a pretty funny routine down. 

 

 

While at White Beach, we decided to do one activity a day, mostly watersports.  The first day, we did a family banana boat ride.  Holy crap.  I thought I was going to get thrown off, which means I was sure the kids were.  It was fun, but FAST.  And a little scary.  But of course I'd do it again.  The next day we went parasailing.  Cooper was in heaven.  He said "this is the best day of my life", and "I wish we could stay up here all day".  I am pretty sure this was his superhero dreams coming to fruition - he was finally flying!  Sophia loved the parasailing, but isn't a fan of choppy boat rides.  But all in all, a very successful day.  The following day, Jason took a kitesurfing lesson, and then complained about the pain for two weeks. To his credit, it did look really, really hard. 


 

 

Besides White Beach, the other popular beach in Boracay is Puka Shell Beach.  About a 20-minute tricycle ride away (about $4), it is a much less populated beach with some souvenir stalls and a restaurant.  We brought some lunch, a blanket and relaxed until the afternoon rainstorm drove us out.  The kids found a rope swing which of course provided much entertainment. 

 

You may wonder, "what is a tricycle?"  It is pretty much the only mode of transportation on the island.  It is a motorbike with an attached sidecar, and they are EVERYWHERE.  (see pic above)

On Friday, we went cliff jumping at Ariel's Point, but Jason is writing a separate post on that, because it *deserves* it's own post.  That was one crazy day!

Lastly, we did the "Zorb".  It's a huge plastic ball with water in the middle.  You get in and they roll you down a hill.  Yes, it was hilarious.  It was also at the golf course there, which was a gorgeous backdrop. 

Truly the best part of the vacation was the people though.  I think most people in Southeast Asia have been really, really nice, but I admit to a soft spot in my heart for the Filipino people.  One night, Sophia and Cooper were playing outside our hotel and some local kids walked by.  Five minutes later, they were all racing up and down the beach (one boy seriously might be in the Olympics someday...).  It just doesn't get better than that. 

2012 Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinatown

Hello - my name is Sophia.  I am nine years old and have lived in Singapore for five months.  This is my first blog post from Singapore!

Have you ever gone to the Lantern Festival?  Well, if not, you should read about it now!

This weekend, as we walked through the crowded streets of Chinatown, we saw thousands of lanterns light up the sky.  We also watched as an enormous red dragon danced down the street. My brother, my dad and I dropped out of the crowds and went through the busy food courts. 

Once we broke free of the food courts, we saw hundreds of tiny shops, overflowing with souvenirs such as beautiful chinese lanterns, colorful dragon puppets, and a huge variety of mooncakes.  We then found and bought our lanterns and went home to relax for the rest of the night. 

Now you know what the Lantern Festival is like, so I hope you visit next year!

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Now, it's Jason's turn.....

Yes - our outing to the 2012 Mid-Autumn Festival (also recognized as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival) was a nice family adventure.  Unfortunately, Jennifer was continuing to recover from her broken leg, so Sophia, Cooper and I were on this excursion without her.  

The festival is a traditional Chinese harvest festival, celebrated on the 15th day of of the eighth Chinese lunar month (try saying that 5 times fast).  From what I've gathered, the festival, lanterns and mooncakes are linked to a mythical moon goddess, Chang E.  The 15th day of the 8th lunar month is the day called "Mid-Autumn" and the night of the 15th day of the 8th lunar month is known as the "Night of the Moon".  The festival itself is one of the four most important Chinese holidays...and they really celebrate it in Singapore!

We made our way to the festival and immediately recognized the crowds - even several MRT stops away.  Upon arriving in Chinatown, several streets were cleared for a pending parade, so we made our way to the side streets to look for souvenir lanterns and explore the hundreds of shopping stalls.  As Sophia noted, we saw everything from decorative lanterns to medicinal oddities (like snakes, centipedes, and mice in a jar)  Luckily, I was feeling relatively healthy, so we skipped the local Obamacare offerings and focused on lanterns for the kids.

Every stall carried their own unique variety of lanterns.  Some were very traditional, others included Angry Bird, Hello Kitty and other themed lanterns.  We stuck with the traditional style and found lanterns both kids really liked after checking a dozen or so stalls to compare prices and negotiate reasonable prices.

Aside from the lanterns, the festival (and Chinatown in general) had a very energetic vibe.  Restaurants are mixed among the shopping stalls and the air was filled with the smells of fish ball soup and flame grilled chicken, seafood and other "stuff" that I could not identify by sight or smell.  Still - it all looked and smelled amazing.  The crowd was a mix of locals and tourists, with everyone seemingly enjoying the festival and the sights and sounds that came with it.

As far as the "mooncakes"... in these we did not partake.  I've heard co-workers describe them as similar to donuts, but I insist they don't even come close to a Krispy-Kreme or Dunkin Donuts Boston Creme in my opinion.  Once the ingredients were discussed - lard, flour, sugar, lotus paste, beans, double egg yolks, etc. - my assumptions were confirmed.  Truth be told, I've tried a few different kinds and they are not bad... but compared to a donut?  I don't think so.

After visiting dozens of stalls, avoiding mooncakes, and exploring the streets of Chinatown for more than two hours, we made our way towards open streets to find a cab and a ride home.  Though we didn't stick around long enough to take in the pyrotechnics or the entire parade - which concluded at 10 pm, we really enjoyed the festival and it's clearly among several activities I'm looking forward to again next year.

A Cougar in Clarke Quay

Marina Bay Sands rooftop infinity pool

During Kara's visit (you might remember she is my brother Greg's fiancee), we decided to rent a room at the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel, solely so we could hang out at the rooftop infinity pool for two days.

Just for background, the Marina Bay Sands is the most expensive standalone casino in the world, at the cost of $8 billion, and is the largest public cantilevered building in the world.  It is kind of cool.

Kara and I took the kids over in the afternoon, checked into our room and hit the pool.  It was a Tuesday, and it was CRAZY crowded.  Let's just say our first impression was less than stellar. It was like the neighborhood swimming hole on July 4, but crammed with people who do not understand the meaning of personal space, kids who embody the reason I dislike most kids, and idiot adults trying to swim LAPS.  All in a pool clearly not meant for lap swimming, and if you can't raise proper children, leave them at home with the helper I know you have.  Let's face it, you come to this pool for the view and for the cocktails.

Which brings me to my next point.  I don't know about you, but if I'm paying $20 for a mojito, I expect to be able to taste the rum.  Even a little.   So I convinced Kara that this was unacceptable and she, being a decade younger than I am, needed to ask the bartender politely to top us off a little.  To say "no dice" is an understatement.  The next two hours were spent plotting our takedown of the hotel.  You would have thought Kara asked him to comp our room, give us a free steak dinner at the Joel Robuchon restaurant and loan out a tiger for our wake-up call... not put a splash of liqueur on a drink they are making a 90% profit on.  The only saving graces were awesome spring rolls and french fries.  I can't even believe I wrote that.

After throwing on some clothes, we walked around to the other side of the bay to visit the famous Merlion statue, and the kids got some ice cream.  The Marina Bay area is really just gorgeous at night, and we truly enjoyed our walk around.  I just love these pictures:

Sophia's favorite popsicle stand - Cooper is not a dessert person, just a photo hog

The baby Merlion, big guy is in the back being renovated

    

Playing the part of the average tourist here, Sophia is holding up the Marina Bay Sands

Just beautiful.  Weird but beautiful.  The lotus-shaped object is the ArtScience Museum.

The overpass on the way to Merlion Park

Again, on the way to Merlion Park, not sure what this is though!  But I love disco!

    

So we went back to the hotel, Jason met us after work and we all ended up giving the pool another go after it got dark.  I'm very happy we did.  This time the crowd was manageable (it was actually relaxing) and the view was amazing.    Do not think for a second think we forgave them for the previous mojito incident though.  A good view does not make up for that, my friends.  When we got back to the room, I was *this close* to letting my anger go when I saw how cute my kids looked in the hotel robes.  My gracious husband then took the kids home, leaving us ladies a night out on the town.  Oh boy.  

Jason and Cooper

Sophia and Kara being silly

I definitely don't look this cute in a robe!

Kara and Ming

The MBS has lots of restaurants but really, no *fun* bars, and these ladies were looking for fun.  So we headed to party central AKA Clarke Quay. Clarke Quay is a really nice area on the river with tons of restaurants and bars...the place you want to be seen when you're 25. Bring it on.

 By the time we even headed out it was 11pm, which is not far off my bedtime so I was a little nervous.  We were starving so we picked a small pizza place to grab some late dinner, and then everything I predicted would happen proceeded to happen.  First, Kara made friends with the bartender and the chef and got both of their life stories.  (see pics)  We did a random shooter (colorful, right?).  Then we made our way to a bar, the Highlander, with a live band, and proceeded to make friends with all of them.  (in the way that you can make friends with people you hang out with for a couple of hours in the dark, while drinking beer)  Okay, Kara definitely infiltrated their little group way better than me.   I was just concentrating really, really hard on keeping my senses and being a respectable wife and mom.  I still hung on every word of the people telling me I don't look 39.  Lie to me, lie to me, ALL NIGHT LONG.  I will believe you.

Some kind of Kahlua shooter, too girly for me.

Seriously, who is that guy?

See...I exist!  I'm with the band!

Best.Picture.Ever.

So after watching Kara work her social magic, and belting out some Bon Jovi tunes as loudly as we possibly could, I forced us out by 2am.  Take my advice, nothing good happens after 2am.  Especially when you're wearing very high heels that you wear twice a year (go back and read THIS POST).  While typing I can see my crutches leaning against the couch.

So the next morning, Jason brought the kids back to the hotel on his way to work and we had another enjoyable day at the pool.  It wasn't too crowded and we were smart enough to stick to the bottled beer.   We followed pooltime up with a late lunch at Mario Batali's restaurant, Mozza.  The pizza was excellent, and trust me, it's really hard to find good pizza in Singapore!  We went there because Jason and I had been there before, and they served Victory Beer!  (my brother works for Victory, a craft beer brewed in Pennsylvania).  But as I assume is normal, they rotate their craft beers so it wasn't on the menu (6 months later).  So Kara left the comment card:

It was a good time, but I think I've seen enough of the Marina Bay Sands for a while.  I am, however, dying to go back to listen to that band again.  I guess I should get out the Wii karaoke during my recovery -- I have *just* a little room to improve on "Livin on a Prayer".  Just a little.  And Jason cannot wait to listen to it.