Flying to Cebu for One Peso

Could it be true? Fly from Dumaguete to Cebu for only one peso?

Well, yes and no. Yes because the Cebu Pacific ticket on sale was really only ONE SHINY PESO! But no, because there were taxes to be paid amounting to 18.50 pesos therefore the actual amount that I paid was 19.50 pesos. Wheehaaa!! It will take quite a while for me to get over that!

So yesterday, this here below is the plane with propellers that flew us to Mactan International Airport in just 30 minutes from the Sibulan Airport.






This is the interior of the plane, two seats on each side, and absolutely no luggage/bags/whatever allowed under the seats. Everything had to be stowed away in the overhead bins. This being a small plane, they had to be very particular about total weight therefore they had to weigh us all, luggage AND passenger, upon check-in. It was my first time to be weighed at an airport!



(This is my seatmate, a balikbayan from somewhere. My bad that I didn't ask her permission if I could take a pic of the plane with her in the frame. Sorry po...)

And this here is our flight crew: Flight attendant Grace, First Officer Rosario (wootwoot! a female co-pilot!! hats off to you ma'am!) and Captain Kimura.



It was a very good flight and I recommend that if you like traveling sign up for low fare alerts from cebupacificair.com.

P.S. In case you don't have anybody to fetch you from the Mactan International Airport, do not worry. There are two kinds of taxis available right outside the exit doors of the MIA. There are fixed rate taxis that will take you to Cebu City for 390.00 pesos and then there are metered taxis that will turn on their meters once your ride begins.

I took the metered taxi and it cost me 290.00 pesos to get to my destination. Not too bad, I think, considering how convenient everything had been so far. And besides, there were no jeepney or pedicab alternatives, anyway.

Overall assessment: It's the Way to go! Watch out for the next plane ticket sale! :-D

Nurnberg and Rothenburg

That's where I'm going, to these exotic places in Germany, near where my friend, Vicki, who sent these postcards, lives.

When? Someday, someday! For now, in my dreams only. :-)

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Nurnberg or Nuremberg

How to Get to Balanan Lake

Errmm... this might be a post that is one summer late, as it's the last day of May already and classes will actually start tomorrow for some schools in the province. However, St. Louis School - Don Bosco in Dumaguete has thankfully moved the first day of school to June 15, because the road going to the campus is not finished yet and one can just imagine the horrendous traffic snarl that would ensue once school begins.

The rains have also come, signaling the end of summer and the start of the wet season, which is probably not a very good time to go mountain climbing and canoing to distant mountain waterfalls. In fact, when we went to Lake Balanan yesterday, it rained sporadically throughout the day that's why we had to defer our banca ride to the Balanan Waterfalls.

But the rain did not stop us from swimming in the Balanan Hillside Pools, four sets of odd-shaped pools carved on the side of the mountain. If you hold on to the edge of each pool, you will be looking directly down a steep cliff with lush vegetation. I've been to a lot of swimming pools this summer and I swear the Balanan Hillside Pools are the very, very best among all the rest.

Why?

Because the water comes from an underground spring, that you can actually drink. The caretakers there said they get drinking water from the source that feeds water to the pools. And when it rained, the air was cold but the water was warm so it was actually warmer to be swimming than not! On the other hand, when it is a bright and sunny day, as it was the last time that we went there, the water is cool and refreshing. Plus there's the canopy of trees and mountains all around. Every time I reached the edge of the pool and looked around I just kept saying, this is the best place ever, this is the best place ever! I could swim here the whole day. Which we did, actually, that's why last night's post was just a picture of the road sign where one makes a turn to go up the mountain.

So, this is how to get to Lake Balanan:

If you're bringing a four-wheeled vehicle or a motorcycle from Dumaguete or from Bayawan or from Bacolod or from wherever, look for the Km 51 marker on the Siaton Hiway, right before or after (depends on where you're coming from) the bridge (whose name I failed to get, sorry).

The ten kilometer drive up the mountain to the lake is not so steep (unlike the drive to Pulangbato!) but there are areas that are narrow and so near the pang-pang (cliff). Some cliffsides have railings but some do not! So if you're a not-so-brave driver like me, there are alternatives.

First alternative would be to get a driver who's not afraid of cliffs. Yesterday, Mike offered, no insisted, that he drive the car, to my great discomfort because I can't sit still when someone else is driving my car. He said, "Go to the back and go to sleep," which was mighty hard to do.

The other alternative, which we actually did the first time we went there, was to take the habal-habal from the town of Siaton. We left Dumaguete very early at six am, parked the car in Siaton and had breakfast (full meal with coffee at thirty whooping pesos per person only!) near the habal-habal terminal. The habal-habal costs eighty pesos per person hatid-sundo, meaning the driver will bring you to the mountain lake then he'll come back to fetch you when you text him that you want to be fetched already. Yes, there's a cellphone signal, albeit a weak one (one to two bars only) in the mountain, and all the habal-habal drivers have cellphones, too.

Travel time from the highway to the lake is about thirty minutes, I can't be too sure. I've wanted to clock it but the beautiful scenery always distracted me and I lost track of the time. Entrance fee to Lake Balanan is 50 pesos for adults and I forgot how much for kids, as we didn't have any kids below 12 years old with us. On Tuesdays, the entrance fee is waived, entrance is free! The huts where you can leave your stuff and eat your meals cost 30 pesos only. You can use the bamboo floating cottage/lake raft to cross and cruise along the lake for free. The banca ride to the waterfalls cost 100 pesos, seating capacity is 8 guests and two guides per banca.

I almost forgot, there are also the Ceres bus, the Van-for-hire and the other smaller public transport systems that ply the Dumaguete-Siaton route. Just ask the driver to drop you off at the habal-habal for Balanan terminal. It's right in front of the Siaton church.

Have a happy trip to Lake Balanan!!

P.S. When you leave, please be sure to clean up your trash, ok? Try not to mess up the beautiful place. Enjoy.

playing paparazzi again

It's not everyday that we get a celebrity in Dumaguete but yesterday Korina Sanchez was in town, as she is touring the country to help campaign for her husband-to-be, presidentiable Mar Roxas. Here's the popular and pretty Rated K host at the Delta Fast Craft Terminal, as she arrived from a brief trip to Siquijor.



Oh, Siquijor!

There are so many things about that island to rave about. Here's a brand new one: The Danish Lagoon where Korina and company stayed. It's a children's stories by Hans Christian Andersen inspired resort, with separate luxury villas named The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, Clod Hans. It's an ultra modern resort with facilities that befit princes and princesses.

As for us, we didn't stay there but we did kayak to the beach of this hilltop resort early this morning. It was so, so fun to kayak in the rain especially because my rowing partner, Geena, was such a scaredy-cat she kept telling me to paddle close to the shore, very, very close to the shore that several times we were almost grounded in the sand! :-)

This is all for now. Hopefully, more later (in the later days to come).

Climbing Mt. Pinatubo

I've been wanting and wanting to write this for weeks now before the story got too stale. But this and that and that and this got in the way, and then I couldn't put together a cohesive story, and then Globelines connection got patchy again, and then...

So I've decided to just post by increments instead of making one long post.

The beginning is always a good place to start.


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The trip to Pinatubo began with a just past midnight meeting at Wendy's Taft Avenue and at McDonald's Quezon Avenue where two huge tourist buses carried the one hundred of us trekkers to the town of Juliana in Tarlac. We had to be at the rendevouz point very early because on that day, April 25, there was a scheduled Balikatan exercises in the area, hence, nobody would be allowed to enter that part of Tarlac after 5 am.

Aided by flashlights, we piled out of the buses, and climbed on to four by four jeeps

This is the four-by-four jeep which took me and my companions from the jump-off point in Sta. Juliana town in Tarlac to the place where our trek on foot began.

We were supposed to pass by the Skyway, which meant trekking on top of the lahar mountains instead of down in the valley. But the Skywas was damaged by a landslide just a couple of days earlier so we had to go the long way, hiking through the almost-dry-but-not-quite river bed where the water current could be significantly strong at times.

This here is the jeep assigned to us, or us assigned to it. For each jeep, there's the driver, the native tour guide and three trekkers.

fourrr-X-fourrr

tough off-road vehicles

These two photos were taken at the end-point, the point where the jeep rides ended and the trek began. It was a bit dark yet when we began our jeep ride and the ride itself was just so rough I decided my camera would be safer inside the bag than outside.


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itutuloy...

from D to 3D

So excited. Going on a trip.

From Dumaguete to Dapitan/Dipolog/Dakak.

Vavoom, y'all.

trashing the treacherous Thai tuktuks

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It is a very rainy Saturday morning, the kind that makes you want to curl up in bed under a thick blanket. But after a long Friday and a brief photopost last night made with my head falling on the keyboard several times as I waited for the image to upload, I am now wide awake from a restful sleep. I also have set my mind to finally write about an experience in Bangkok that, though bringing back unpleasant memories, must be written to expunge the bile from my system and also to warn other travelers to Bangkok of this rampant racket that some locals indulge in.

_________________________

Take the Tuktuks to Timbuktu

Or to Tibet. Or anywhere else equally if not farther away. And leave them there. You see, such is my disdain for the tuktuk driver and accomplices that ripped us off in Bangkok.

Therefore, the other title of this post would be: Warning: Beware of the Scheming Tuktuk Drivers and Company Who Prey on Gullible Tourists. In a previous post, I said that before going to any place, I always read up about it. I also read reviews by those who have been there to see what are the must see places and what are the places or situations to avoid. I did read something about locals taking advantage of guests but I probably was not keeping too close an eye on that issue.

Not joining a tour group and not having relatives or friends in Bangkok, we were on our own. How hard could that be? Armed with maps and cameras we set off Khao San Road to see as many sights as we could. First stop was at a travel agency to see what they had to offer. A six-hour guided tour of temples and a trip to the famous floating market would cost 650 baht per person but the tour starts at 7 am and it was already 10 am so it was too late for that. I inquired about tickets to the Thai cultural show, Siam Niramit, and was taken aback because the price had gone up to 1,700.00 baht from the internet published 1,200.00 baht. I was berating myself for not booking online while still in the Philippines. I immediately wanted to go to an internet cafe and try to book online hoping that the tickets would still be 1,200 baht.

Right outside the doors of the travel agency was the parking lot of the tuktuks. They call the tuktuks 'open air taxis' but actually they are just like the pedicabs or tricycles we have back home, the only difference is the seat arrangement. I do have a picture of the tuktuk but I don't feel like posting it here. We were standing in the street looking at our big maps, looking for directions to the nearby temples when along comes a very helpful and friendly man helping us find locations on our map.

I said we want to go to the Grand Palace and the nice man said "Oh, the Grand Palace is closed this morning because it is time for Buddhist prayer. Right now it is only open for the monks. You cannot go inside. It will be open to the public at 3 pm." Why, I was very grateful for that information! Imagine if we had gone there and then wasted precious time because we couldn't enter until 3 pm. I was very pleased with the graciousness of the Thai who, using the map, offered an alternate temple tour to us, naming some famous wats and what nots, including the biggest gold exhibit in Thailand and the world famous flower market, where they have all kinds of lovely flowers. I said I'm not really interested in gold but he insisted, "Oh it is a sight to see! It is in a huge auditorium and there is an incredible display of all kinds of things made of gold. And they are waving the 20% tax just for today because it's the gold festival."

And, most importantly, the tuktuk driver would take us to all these wonderful places for only 60 baht total! Doesn't that sound like a great deal? Plus, he said, after we went to the flower market and the standing Buddha and several other wats, we could go to the pier and take a river boat ride to the floating market and after that the boat would take us to the Grand Palace, just in time for it to open in the afternoon. It was sounding better and better by the minute.

Okay, very good, we decided to take the 60 baht tuktuk tour. But, I said, before we do that, let me just pop into an internet cafe because I want to book tickets for Siam Niramit, the cultural show that I really, really wanted to see. The very nice and helpful man said, "Oh, no need! The tuktuk driver will take you to the TAT, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, where you can get the tickets at cost because this is the government agency that is handling the show." Wow. I couldn't ask for anything better!

The man said, when we take the tuktuk, we have to choose one with green government plates, see like this one parked right here. How perfectly convenient! Could I please take a picture of the very nice man and the kind tuktuk driver who was going to take us to all those touristy places for only 60 baht total? Oh, no, they declined. They were Buddhists and on special abstinence from picture taking that day.

So off we went to our first temple and while we were clicking away on our cameras, another nice man got friendly with us and started telling us about how he just came from the gold exhibit and bought some nice pieces of jewelry that he was going to take back home. Not interested in gold at all, I didn't pay much attention. Looking back, it was rather curious that another 'tourist' would approach us and of all things talk about buying gold jewelry. I would expect another tourist to talk about nice places to see.

I told the tuktuk driver, could we please go to the TAT now? I wanted to be sure we had tickets for Siam Niramit already. Tuktuk driver said, oh first we have to go to the gold exhibit as the TAT was just nearby. So next stop was the gold exhibit, which I was expecting to be a showplace the size of a gymnasium filled with intricate Thai art rendered in gold. To my great dismay we were brought to one freakin' 8 x 8 meter jewelry store. Disgusted, I made one cursory walk around the place and walked out.

To the TAT now, I said with a stiff jaw. To the TAT indeed. We were instead brought to a travel agency where guess how much the tickets cost? Two thousand five hundred bloody bahts, and that is for the show only, if we wanted dinner with the show that would be 2,700.00 baht and thank you. If we wanted taxi service with that... never mind. I stood up.

Hoping to see and smell some flowers to quell the rising bile inside of me, I asked if we were going to the flower market now. Tuktuk driver, in a stroke of creative genius, said that we couldn't go to the flower market anymore because the riverboat cruise will start at twelve noon and we can't miss that. I said how about the standing Buddha and this temple and that temple and the other places that we agreed upon before the start of this tuktuk tour? He said, Oh, no more time for that, we don't want to be late for the riverboat ride to the floating market.

Honestly, we didn't want to see his lying face anymore or spend anymore time with him so we didn't protest. We paid him 60 baht, as agreed, and he delivered us to this dinghy pier for the riverboat ride to the floating market. It was supposed to be a one hour river ride for a huge amount of money which I will not publish here because it makes my stomach turn. We could have refused, right then and there and demanded to be taken back to Khao San Road but I don't know why, we paid up and got into the boat, even as we knew in our guts that we were being ripped off. Maybe there was that hope inside wishing that the whole thing would have a redeeming factor along the way.

So we just resigned ourselves to enjoying the boat ride for all it was, whatever it would bring. This included screaming when the boat captain would drive very fast and the boat would seem to jump out of the river and spray us with the murky water. The river system in Bangkok is actually like a regular street highway, with small side streets/side riverlets (?), and with regular traffic. There are lots of river taxis, too. It seems like a faster means of going somewhere because streets of Bangkok are just as busy as Manila streets.

They say that the river cruise along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok is similar to the boat rides along the canals of Venice. I have not been to Venice yet (one day, one day) but I sure hope the similarity is not true. Because the sights along the Chao Phraya River are not very pleasant to see. I was wondering, are they really showcasing these scenes for the whole world to see? I read somewhere that Thailand is a country of extremes and the river boat ride showed one extreme of this country. (pics later)

Our boat captain was very quiet and I envied the other legitimate looking cruise boats plying the river alongside us because I could hear their tour guides explaining the history of Bangkok and how the river system is an integral part of Thai history and lifestyle. So note to self and to other travellers: sometimes it pays to have a good human guide, aside from google.

So now to the famous floating market. We went to a side street or side riverlet ( I just made up that word) and there came to us two bancas each with a woman paddling an oar and peddling her wares to us. Of course we didn't buy anything. The prices of their souvenir items were double the prices we saw on Khao San Road. Clearly another rip-off.

The real floating market, Damnoen Saduak, is a festive place teaming with bancas with assorted colorful merchandise. And it is actually a one-and-a-half to a two-hour ride away from Bangkok proper, in Ratchaburi province 110 kilometers away. Obviously, we were nowhere near that. Which is just as well, perhaps, as shopping was not really included in my agenda on this trip. Nor is it ever. All my trips have always been about seeing and experiencing the place and the people, never has it been about shopping. So to those who are wondering where I went shopping in Bangkok, it being the shopping capital of Asia, the answer is ... ah, I will tell you about it in another post.

So after that pathetic facsimile of a floating market we were soon docking unto a pier. Is this a stop over? We paid for a one hour river cruise. The boat driver now said, "This is my route. I end here." I said again, "But when we paid, it was for a one hour boat ride. It's only been thirty minutes!" To which he replied, "This is my route. I end here." I had to watch my blood pressure and my wrinkles so I let it go.

Thus was the end of our Chao Praya River misadventure. I couldn't believe that smart girl that I am, I actually let ourselves be bamboozled into that sham tour. You know what I did, the next day, I went back to the same vicinity, took out my big map and started inquiring, from a taxi driver this time, about directions and stuff like that. Soon enough, another nice helpful man came along and pointed out some places in the map and asked questions like what places would I like to go to that day, and things like that. I said, I want to go to the Grand Palace and then to the floating market and then do some shopping and then go to the airport at 8 pm. You know what he said? "Oh, the Grand Palace is closed this morning because it is time for Buddhist prayer. Right now it is only open for the monks. You cannot go inside. It will be open to the public at 3 pm." He then proceeded to propose an alternative tour that would take me to some other wats, a river cruise and the floating market plus a trip to the airport. "And how much would that be," asked a much wiser me. "Two thousand baht," he said.

Yeah, right!

Wat is Most Precious to You?

This is a sign in one of the wats or temples in Bangkok. We went to so many wats I lost track of which was wat and what was which.

"Beware of your valuable possessions"

Sounds like a missed-in-translation kind of erroneous grammar, in the context of it's original intent, which is to warn people about minding their valuables lest these things get lost in the crowd.

However, one can also take this as Buddha's way of reminding us to be wary of the things or even persons or ideals that have become our most valued possessions. For they can possess us.

Travel Tips for a Thailand Tour

I am so not done yet with my Thailand Travelogue. If you’re not interested, then click away. But if, like me, you are interested in travel, then read on for some very important tips.

Tip No. 1: Read Up.

Long before you go to a new place, read up about it so you won’t be totally clueless when you get there. Read up on anything and everything about the place, as much as your time and resources will allow.

For me, a big portion of the fun of going on a trip is the planning and dreaming part. In all the trips I’ve taken before, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the places I would be going to, knowing the climate, the must-see-sites, the things-to-do, the food, the geography, the language, the culture, and everything else in between.

Tip No. 2: Shape up.

You’re going to be doing a lot of walking so be ready for that. Or for longer travels, you might have to roll/drag/push/carry your heavy luggage all over huge airports. The more comfortable your footwear is, the more enjoyable will be your trip.

Tip No. 3: Save up.

Needless to say, tickets, accommodation, food, entrance to tourist sites or activities, other incidentals, would cost some amount of money. Have a credit card and an international ATM card where you can deposit pesos in the Philippines and withdraw in the currency of the country that you’re in. The Bank of the Philippine Islands ATM card is honored in most countries.

Tip No. 4: Have a check up.

Yeah, why not? It’d be a pain if you’re in another country and you suddenly discover you’re diabetic or hypertensive or ischemic or something. Consult your local doctor to see if you are shipshape for possible long plane/boat/car rides, horseback riding, skiing, riding roller coasters, or things like that. Also, be sure to stock up on your medications as it might be difficult to get your medicines in other places. In some countries, you can’t buy most medicines without a prescription. Or, they might not have the brand names of the drugs that you are used to.

Tip No. 5. Pack up.

And wisely, too. Don’t bring too many clothes is a good rule, I think. Just enough so your pictures won’t look like you only had two shirts with you. If you run out of clean clothes, you can always get an “I’ve been to _____” shirt, right? Of the almost 700 pictures I took in Bangkok, I was in probably ten pictures only. Maybe I had brought only two shirts, perhaps?

And, oh, if you're going out of the country, be sure NOT to put your passport in your checked-in luggage. Some years ago, we went to Korea and a couple of my friends inadvertently did this and they had to retrieve their luggage that was already enroute to the plane's cargo storage.

And my cousin, Lorelie, whose work entails that she frequently travel all over the world, always has one complete change of clothes in her hand-carried bag. The need for this she learned the hard way when her luggage didn't arrive with her when her connecting flight was delayed for more than 24 hours in London.

Tip No. 5: Live it up.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or, when you get there, be there. Savor every moment. Take the good deals and the lemons as well, because the perfect trip does not exist. And don’t keep looking for a wifi signal or an internet café to check your mailbox or to update your weblog. Once a day should be enough. ;p

Tip No. 6. Click up.

And away. Be sure that your camera has a memory card with lots of bytes or find some way to unload your pics so you can take some more.

Tip No. 7: Write up.

That’s what I’m doing now! Pictures do speak a thousand words but I still love word words.

Years ago when I started traveling, I didn’t have a weblog yet so I wrote emails almost everyday to my relatives and friends to relate the happenings of the day. It was grueling because we had very hectic travel schedules as we stayed in each place for just a few days so all activities had to be crammed in a short period of time. Yet my day did not seem complete if I had not chronicled all the wonderful things that we did/ate/seen/went to/experienced. Sometimes I wrote at night before going to sleep and sometimes I wrote in the morning before the start of our day’s adventures. I remember one morning, my relatives were all in the cars calling out to me and there I was still finishing some emails.

But alas, I was using an email account with a local service provider that went caput after a few years so my mailbox vanished into thin air and I could not retrieve the travel emails that I’ve sent. I sure hope blogger will not vanish this time!

So, actually this post is not just about travel tips when traveling to Thailand because it also applies to traveling anywhere else, in or out of the country. Actually, there are some very specific things about touring Thailand that I want to write about. Tomorrow then.

Thai Street Food

Kebabs: pork, pepper, tomato, pineapple chunk. Repeat.

Hotdogs, fishballs, at iba pa on-a-stick

Oodles of noodles for pad thai making. Matatabunan ka sa dami nito.

Sugba-sugba sa kalsada

Thai fried rice in a wok by the sidewalk

Ano kaya ang mga ito? Chicharon chips? Di ko na lang tinanong kasi baka "worms" ang isagot.

Ooops. Thai food seemed to be too spicy for breakfast so some cowards opted to have "safe and familiar" food instead.

Kolors Explode on Khao San Road

beads beads beads beads beads beads beads beads beads

cushions, shawls, rugs, bags, table runners, hats, whatever

Colorful, brand new taxis abound in left-lane-driving Bangkok. Just be sure to ask the driver to use the taxi meter before you start the trip. And if mid-trip he suddenly comes up with a story that the traffic-is-so-terrible-at-this-time therefore could you just cough-up-a-certain-amount-which-he-specifies instead of letting the meter run, don't you budge. A verbal contract is a verbal contract.

Oh, and here's a very helpful tip: before you go anywhere, ask a travel agent, or better yet, ask several travel agents in any of the many travel agencies in the vicinity, what is the estimated cost and time of travel to a certain place. With this information, you now have a better bargaining position with the taxi or the tuk-tuk driver. The tuk-tuk, by the way, is an open-air taxi that is driven by a motorcycle. Much like the pedicab of Dumaguete, only of a different configuration.

Khao San Road could easily be any street in Quiapo or thereabouts with its assorted street merchandise, varied business enterprises, crawling traffic and multitudes afoot. This was taken around nine am, when most of the tourists were still in bed, therefore there were not too many people or cars around yet.

Perhaps even more colorful than the beads, taxis and goods for sale on Khao San Road, would be the skin of the people present there. It was like a United Nations Convention of sorts as I met visitors from Israel, Germany, London, Indonesia, America and yeah, Quezon City.

There was a sort of special bond among the foreigners there. I was a foreigner there and several times it was some other foreigner who helped me out in what would otherwise have been a frustrating situation. For example, when I couldn't figure out the Thai inscriptions on their ATM machines, it was a caucasian couple who told me where the button for English instructions was. And when I couldn't understand what the waitress was saying in English, another white woman kindly explained to me what the waitress meant. The very few Thais there who spoke English did so with an accent that was difficult to understand.

This elderly Thai was peddling his wares along Susie Street, the little side street that connected Khao San Road to Rambuttri Road, where our hotel was. I wasn't sure if he spoke English so I didn't ask him what he was selling. Thru gestures I asked him instead if I could take his picture, to which he paused and posed.

Maria goes to (another part of) Asia

A new Canon EOS is for many things. And one of those things is for playing tourist. So we hopped on a plane for a three hour ride to Suvarnabhumi (pronounced su-wa-na-poom) Airport in Bangkok, the airport that was under siege just a couple of months ago.

Some of my friends have raved about Thailand and things Thai while others have ranted, “Walay angay ang Bangkok” so being a kinesthetic learner, I just had to experience it for myself.

The Airport

is huge. And there are lots of ATM machines and money changers there so you can easily get your bahts at the airport. There are all sorts of transportation means to the city. For 150 baht per person, we took the airport shuttle bus to the flashpackers’ ghetto,

Khao San Road,

the place for tourists on a budget. This road, as well as the other nearby roads in the Banglumpho area, are lined with bars, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, internet cafes, travel agencies, massage, tatoo and beauty parlors, street food vendors, souvenir shops, tailoring shops, ATM machines, several convenience stores and of course, hotels, hostels, inns and such. Thanks to Gaya, we were careful to avoid the Marco Polo Hostel and instead found this really nice and clean hotel called the

Sleep WithInn,

which just opened last January 5. It was so spanking brand new, our bathroom fixtures even had labels yet. I give it a 10/10 rating in terms of cleanliness, location, interior decoration, helpfulness of the English speaking staff, value for money, pleasantness of atmosphere, and amenities like hot water, cable tv (playing mostly Thai channels though), a safe in the room, modern locks and electrical controls and a very fast elevator.

The swimming pool at the rooftop was a big bonus! Khao San Road actually reminded me of Boracay, where there are many tourists and touristy areas crowded together near the beach, except that there is no beach on Khao San Road. A swim in the pool added to the “vacation sense” of the trip. The biggest plus, I think, would be the price, because the room rates were on sale (1,050 baht instead of 1,500 baht), as they had just opened and were still promoting the place.

So I’m vigorously endorsing that hotel, in case any of you plan to stay in the Banglumpho area in Bangkok, the Sleep WithInn is along Rambutrri Road, just parallel to Khao San Road, which is just a two-minute walk away.

Sleep WithInn pictures:

At the lobby, just before the reception desk

You might not have time to sit here while waiting for the elevator because their elevator is Fast!

Every room has a different wall decor design.

the promdi went to the city

Or, Maria went to Asia.

Mall of Asia, that is.

Almost everybody I know who has been to Manila has been to the Mall of Asia (MOA), the biggest mall in the Philippines and the 6th biggest in the world. Thus when my plane landed at NAIA 3 last week, that was my immediate destination. “Sa MOA po tayo,” I said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic, to the cabbie of the yellow taxi.

By the way, there are two kinds of taxis approved and regulated by the Ninoy Aquino International Airport authorities: the white coupon taxis, where before you start the trip you pay a fixed amount for a particular destination, and the yellow taxicabs which are metered. Noticeable were the lines that formed before the taxi stands of these two services. The coupon taxis had only a short line of foreign-looking customers while the local-looking folks patiently queued at the metered-taxi stand. The reason, of course, was very simple. A coupon taxi trip to the MOA costs 350 pesos. By metered taxi, I paid only 170 pesos with tip included, and this was at the evening rush hour traffic.

As we approached the MOA it became obvious that I would not be able to tour the entire place that night. The MOA is like four huge buildings in a row. Mini-mini-mayni-mo, where-to-where-to-now-to-go? To the Hypermart, cabbie suggested, where they have a courtesy booth for traveling bags.

I’ve an ambivalent attitude about malls. Generally, I would say that malling is not my idea of fun. But let me loose in one and I could stay there the whole day. My first impression of MOA was, “Why, I could like this place!”

But before I could get distracted with all the glittering display, I proceeded to inquire, in carefully-enunciated but clearly Visayan-accented Tagalog, where I could find The One Thing that I was looking for. I was so excited I was actually grinning as I navigated the wide mall corridors. Yes, wide enough to have motorized multi-seater carts or trams that you can actually ride around the mall when you’re too tired to walk already.

The MOA was so huge and so full of shops that I was sure to find The One Thing that I wanted. But soon, shop after shop turned out to be a disappointment. They did not have the model that I wanted. Next shipment would be in February yet, one salesclerk said. They offered me other models but somehow my mind and heart had already been set on That One Model and no other substitute would suffice.

Then after some more walking I finally found a shop with the exact model that I wanted! Hurray! But they wouldn’t accept a credit card payment nor would they give a discount for cash payment. And they were so cold, so mechanical, in relating to their customers. Was it just them or was that the Manila way?

Suddenly the MOA did not seem like a fun place anymore. I went around and around looking for rechargeable batteries instead and had to walk a long way to find the shop with the brand of batteries that I wanted. My disenchantment with the place was growing by the minute. I was longing for Dumaguete, where you could go to one place and everything is there already. Or the next place is just nearby and not a long walk away.

This outing was turning out to be a let down from my high expectations and I needed an energy booster quickly. To National Bookstore I went to get a copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the author of the incredible book I just finished, The Kite Runner. Holding the new book in hand, I instantly felt better. If all else fails, this book will still be a winner.

It was almost ten pm, very near mall closing time and way past dinner time. The array of restaurants was dizzying but I found none appealing. I went around some more looking for ATM machines, asking the salesgirls and the security guards for directions in my labored Tagalog. Then after checking the ATM machines, to make sure I remembered the PIN numbers correctly as I don’t often use the ATM machines in Dumaguete, I went looking for the courtesy booth where my bag was. It was one big “looking for” journey at the MOA as I was unfamiliar with the place.

Near the exit doors I saw this shop called “Picture City” and saw The One Thing on their display window. So I went in and inquired and this very nice salesperson got The One Thing and gave me an instant, detailed lesson on how to use it. Of all the shops that I went to that night, this was the only place where somebody actually took time to explain how the model works. I was totally impressed. He treated me like I was a legitimate customer and not just someone sent out to canvass prices. I decided then and there, based on this salesman's extra effort, to get The One Thing from this store.

Now for the price. All the stores had the same Suggested Retail Price (SRP). The difference was that you can actually ask for a discount. I didn’t know haggling was possible in malls but it turns out that it is. And so I asked if they could give me a discount for cash payment and he said there’s an outright 3% discount for cash payment and, knowing the lowest price from the other stores, I said oh, give me more. He texted his boss to inquire and while waiting for the reply he continued to give me lessons on the many intricacies of The One Thing’s capabilities.

His other companions also chimed in, curious perhaps that someone my age would be interested in learning how to use The One Thing. I told them I was very pleased with their customer attention and service and this encouraged them and soon we had a merry time interviewing each other and testing out The One Thing. Soon, their boss texted, it’s a five percent discount. Done deal.

I’m very glad that my MOA excursion turned out with a happy ending. Here is a picture of the very helpful Picture City staff, Dempsy Fornal (the salesperson par excellance), Gemma Gallos, Lou Tonqo and Wilmore Oliquinio, taken, of course, by The One Thing, my very first Canon DSLR. Whoohoo!

Dempsy, Gemma, Lou, Wilmore

bacolod trip

Framed miniatures: me, Ynadz, Ruthie, Jed and Noynoy

Saltimboca Inn, where we stayed for four hours to sleep, bathe and eat breakfast


Bamboo bars on bintana


Stone detail on Saltimboca steps


Bacolod is maskara country so it is only fitting that the Saltimboca Christmas tree should have masks as decor.


A beary merry Christmas and a fruitful new year to you all

food trip

Was in Manila over the weekend and I want to write about that one, too, as well as finish my comments about the "100" movie. But since it is the last week before final exams this semester, thoughtful weblogging will have to be for later.

Meanwhile, see what I had in Manila: Yeah! My all time favorite.

ebi tempura

This here below is not my favorite, although it is muy delicioso, crispy outside and tender inside. When I asked the servers if I could take a picture of their fresh from the oven lechon de leche, they said, "Ma'am, can we be in the picture, too?" I said, "Sure, why not?" So here they are:

man 1, man 2 and pig

There were lots and lots of food around but was too hungry to take pictures of them.

Here's what my companions had for dessert: ice cream with candy sprinkles.

As for me, it had to be blueberry cheesecake!! Sorry, no pictures as said cheesecake vanished mysteriously fast...

rockin' roro

roro roars my boat
gently down the strait
merrily steadily achingly so daily
life begins again


After JR and Crystal's wedding, where many of us cried as the bride walked the aisle with a microphone, singing so beautifully as Miss Esmero for the last time, where JR cried unabashedly as he thanked and honored his parents as the ceremonies began, where we had the privilege of witnessing a rarity in this day and age, a love kept pure until the marriage vows were exchanged, where three whole baranggays of family and friends, from Cebu, Dumaguete and Leyte, have labored in love to make the event a truly memorable one, I went home.

The trip home meant a three to four hour Ceres bus ride from Cebu to Bato, then a one hour RoRo boat ride crossing the Tanon Strait, from Bato, Cebu province to Amlan, Negros Oriental. A RoRo boat is the short name for a roll-on/roll-off sea vessel or barge that has built-in ramps which allow cargo such as cars and trucks to be efficiently "rolled on" and "rolled off" the vessel when in port. This is in contrast to ships that use cranes to load and unload cargo.

The RoRo boat approached the dock of Amlan at daybreak. And from the back rails of the RoRo boat, I watched the sun rise over the island of Cebu, now only a distant dark shadow. I was fascinated by the fast changing sea scenes as the sun and light shifted. So fascinated that I missed the bus going to the city.

But no problem. There's always the ever reliable jeepney. Para!

a flyer about flying

This flyer was inserted in today's newspaper circulated in Dumaguete:

This is a kind of milestone in Dumaguete aviation history because once upon a time, before Air Philippines and Cebu Pacific came to be, Philippine Airlines totally pulled out all their flights to and from Dumaguete. For several months or maybe a couple of years, I'm not very sure now how long it was, the airport runway became a veritable grazing ground for cattle as well as the perfect practice place for beginning motorists. This was like a blow to us, a little island in our archipelagic geography, because before this absolute PAL pull-out, we had flights to Manila and to Cebu. Stunned and grumbling, commuters from Dumaguete had to go to Cebu or Bacolod by land or by sea to be able to get flights to Manila. Or take the slow boat from Dumaguete direct to Manila, which would mean spending more than 24 hours at sea.

Flash forward several years later, (don't expect exact numbers from me, I'm totally duh with them) and we had four flights a day that left and arrived within minutes of each other! I'm not going to argue with the flight schedulers, I know they know what they are doing. There's a whole Country to arrange flight schedules for, afterall.

So now we're going to have PAL flying MNL/DGT/MNL twice a day. This is in addition to the present three/four round trip flights that we have. Cebu Pacific flies twice a day, everyday. Air Philippines flies twice a day on some days and once a day on other days. Wow, that's great for the flyers. Especially with the SU Founder's Day celebration coming up fast, these flights are most welcome.

I remember (here goes) that during SU's centennial (2001), one or two planes were chartered to fly reunioning alumni all the way from America. Or maybe it was just a whole plane booked by Sillimanians, I can't be absolutely sure of my data, forgive me, I'm not a journalist, and these stories are products of my, you know... fading memory. But can you imagine that? Flying all the way from America to Manila (and transfering to a smaller plane for the domestic leg) and you are all schoolmates in the plane?! What a noisy flight it must have been!

Bohol Plaza Resort

It was sunny when we left Bohol but it was overcast when we went there on Maundy Thursday.

The Weesam Fastcraft doesn't look much from outside, especially in this view when the waters at the Dumaguete pier was at low tide so that the boat was floating much lower in the water in relation to the level of the pier, that's why the first floor windows can only be partially seen.



Here's a better image from the Weesam website so you can see how the fastcraft looks like. The interior is designed like a two-storey airplane.



The boat left on time and with Rambo as the in-boat movie, we had a smooth one hour and forty-five minute ride to Tagbilaran, the capital city of Bohol.

After a twenty-minute ride from the pier up to the mountains in Panglao Island, we arrived at the Bohol Plaza Resort, which to my surprise was a one storey affair.

Or so I thought. What seemed to be the first and only floor of the resort was actually the fifth floor of a building built unto the side of a mountain. This here below is the other side of the facade seen above.



And in fact, the entire resort was not just one building but actually several buildings and cottages scattered throughout the mountainside.

Quite posh and very well-kept, there were many interesting corners to explore. Our cottage had a unique design, it had eight walls! Visible from our veranda (lowermost pic) was the Tagbilaran bay, where our fastcraft docked earlier.

As this resort is built on the side of a mountain, going around naturally entailed some amount of climbing, albeit on stairs. Aside from a bright neon elevator in the main building, there were a lot of stairs all over the place. And to encourage the panting climber in case he/she got tired from all that ascending and descending, there were signs along the way, like these:

"Walk your way for a healthy heart."

Yeah, good advice. Let's get off this computer chair now and do some walking. Go!