Today

Today I reopened. Opened something within. Within my inner thoughts I started. Started feeling new again.

 

Zark’s Burger Taft Manila

Good food at value price, ’nuff said.

 

A Visit to National Museum, Manila

I have always wanted to visit the National Musem. Eventhough its only 20 minutes away from my place, I had always thought of excuses not to. So finally one morning, I woke up early and went.

The current building was the old Legislative Building built in the early 1900s and was part of the great Burnham City plan of Manila. Unfortunately, the structure was destroyed during the WWII. It has now been restored and houses Philippines National Museum.

After paying the P150 entrance, the first thing that you’ll see is the great Spoliarium by Juan Luna.

This piece is so big, I would just imagine how it was painted.

As I enter different gallaries, I was delighted to see many art pieces fully restored. I am sure though that there are many more out there that were already lost in time.

Filipinos are great Artists. We had have inspirations that transcended from generations to generations.

 

Air Asia’s P1 Sale

Fly to Sydney for P1.

Visit AirAsia.com and book your flight’s the “land down under” and other destinations.  AirAsia Philippines also flies to HongKong, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, and domestic- Davao, Palawan ,Kalibo via Clark International Airport.

 

The Dark Knight Rises

Set eight years after ” The Dark Knight,” The Dark Knight Rises showcased the perfect ending on Christopher Nolan’s Batman Reboot.

The movie is 2 hours and 45 minutes yet you would not noticed that you are already sitting that long.I enjoy how each scenes are well crafted though sometimes slow in pacing unfold.  Scenes are crisp and the effects are realistic. You’d actually believe that there’s a car/slim helicopter that is flying all over Gotham.The last two minutes of the film it self is worth the ticket price. There are a lot of twists living to Nolan’s tradition.

Michael Caine’s portrayal of an aging Alfred who longs to see his beloved Bruce Wayne safe and at peace for me is the highlight of the Movie. Tom Hardy as Bane is totally right, even his weird voice is perfect. Anne Hathaway showed how a modern anti-hero Cat Woman/Selina Kyle would do. Early on the film, she was playing a villain role but her transition to Bruce Wayne’s love interest is beautiful.  On one scene you can feel her dilemma when confronted whether to help Batman or not. and Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne tells us a man who seems to lost everything and initially does not know where or how should try is just plain brilliant.

 

Now every Juan can fly!

Fifteen years ago, the idea of traveling through air were only reserved for the elite and those who can afford the expensive fare then Cebu Pacific, a budding new airline back then started introducing P1 fares.  Now, Industry leaders Cebu Pacific and  Philippine Airlines(Airphil Express) are up against serious competition with rising airline companies such as Zest Air,SeAir( Tiger Airways) and the newest kid on the block AirAsia Philippines.

Low Cost Carriers in the Philippines contributed to approximately 96 percent of total domestic air travel growth from 2006 to 2011.This is mainly driven by the low fares offered by LCCs. By un-bundling services such as baggage and meals, customers are given the choice to buy only the services they want to pay for.

And more recently, domestic traveling had been made easier by Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Mar Roxas, reports that starting August 1, 2012,  “the terminal fees for domestic flights will be included in the prices of plane tickets.” This means no more lines. 🙂

Now pack up those bags.

Cebu Pacific’s ALL-IN Lite Fare

Airphil Express P1 and P188

Zest Air’s  All In trio

SeAir

 

Long Live the King

Last night,  Philippine’s King of Comedy -Dolphy has passed away.  I personally have memories of watching ” Home along the Riles” while growing up along with other great movies. I still consider Nobody, Nobody But… Juan as one of the most overlooked films of 2009.

Thanks for all the  laughter and some tears all over these years. So long sir… and long live the King.

 

Get ready for AirAsia’s Airvolution

Asia’s biggest budget airline is clearly starting to make buzz in the Philippines. With it’s low ALL IN Fares, it will surely give current leaders- Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines -a serious competition.

Congratulations AirAsia Philippines for celebrating your 100th day painting the Philippine’s sky RED!

 

How to get to Boracay from Iloilo

As stated on the previous blog, we have decided Iloilo to be our point of entry during our Boracay Trip. Iloilo is 5-6 hours away from the island paradise via bus or van. Its like hitting to birds with one stone. Clearly, this route has been overlooked by many travelers. 🙂

(from  http://www.exploreiloilo.com)

Iloilo to Boracay (via Caticlan) Bus

Boracay is approx. 5 hours away from Iloilo City. The first leg of the trip is “Caticlan” bus ride from Tagbak Terminal. All of the buses will pass by Kalibo, Aklan after 3 hours of travel. Boracay Island is just 10 minutes away from the Caticlan Jetty Port.

• Bus Schedule – 3:30am, 6:00am, 7:00am,8:00am, 10:30am,12:00nn, 1:00pm for aircon buses / 3:00am, 4:00am,6:00am,8:00am9:15am, 11:00am for non-aircon buses.
• Fare – P336 aircon / P274 non-aircon

How to Get to Tagbak Terminal –  taxi fare from Iloilo City Proper is approx. P150. Commuters can ride a Leganes jeepney from Jalandoni St.-Diversion Road intersection (across SM City Iloilo) in Mandurriao District or Jaro Liko Tagbak jeepneys, which pass by Jaro Plaza or Bonifacio Drive (fronting the Iloilo Provincial Capitol) in the city proper.

Iloilo Airport to Tagbak Terminal – taking the taxi between the Iloilo Airport and Tagbak Terminal is expensive since driver usually ask for a contracted price of P400 to P500. The cheaper alternative is to take the airport shuttle to SM City Iloilo first (P50 fare).

 

Overdue 2012 Boracay

Boracay April 12-15 2012

Summer won’t be complete without a trip to Boracay. I know that this post is already overdue but I figured that I still need to write something about the trip.

We started with scanning for the cheapest fare to Boracay as prices usually during the summer period are very steep. After hours and hours of searching and without the convenience of piso fare, we have decided to take an alternate route. You see, a Manila-Kalibo flight even during those months were still pricey so we decided to have Iloilo as our entry point. (we started planning a month before our trip) You can reach Boracay from Iloilo by land travel for 6 hours. Bus Fare (Ceres Bus Company) was P350. Our one-way ticket costs P1,100 each, not bad. Also, we wanted to catch a glimpse of the province even for a short while.

Our flight was fast ,smooth and with out any delays. At around 8 am, we were already inside the Bus on the way to Boracay. This was the start of our 6 hour land travel.

Probably due to the fact that our flight was very early, we quickly dosed off during the ride and when we woke up, we ere already in Kalibo a mere hour away from  Boracay.  We alighted right in front of the jetty port area and paid all the necessary fees (environmental fee- P50 ,terminal-P50 and Boat ride- P25). Lastly, we took a tricycle ride to our hotel. (P100 for 2).

We stayed in Eriko’s Guesthouse in Station 2. I love staying at Eriko’s for its perfect location. It is just behind Summerplace. The rooms are big and well maintained. We payed for P1800 per night.It is  cheap considering its location and we stayed during the peak seasons.

Right after setting up our things, we decided to explore the beach and be completely lost in paradise. For 4 days, we were on vacation mode. We thought of nothing except to relax and have a good time.

People watching in Boracay

Luckily AirAsia had a “zero” sale and we were able to book return flights via KALIBO-CLARK for only 275 pesos each and after 4 days, we said goodbye to Boracay.