MASBATE, PHILIPPINES - (THE TICKET BOOKING STAGE)

It's been a news in the internet and various social networking sites that Airphil will have its PISO FARE last July 31, 2011. A one day event. Everyone go gaga on their comments, waiting for the clock to strike 12 midnight for the start of the promo, but nothing came on the site. At first I thought it was hoax since it was already afternoon of July 31 and yet still no promo for AIRPHIL. The Social networking site and fan page of the airline has been flooded with angry comments. I've been up-to-date with all the latest in their twitter, facebook, and the AIRPHIL site for any explanations but it was only at four when they announce thru their facebook fan page account, that there's indeed a piso fare promo but not on July 31, 2011 but on midnight of August 1, 2011 for travel Feb-March and June next year. I was so excited, that I loaded my broadband and waited 'til midnight, but the site was so busy that I cannot logged nor booked anything. I was so disappointed and just said to myself that maybe it wasn't for me this time. I gave up and sleep.




The next day, as I was browsing the twitter page, I've read that only few got positive reaction regarding the promo. Some even experienced what I've experienced. I thought I'm not going to get any from this promo so when I came to office and start browsing, I wasn't expecting anything, just the normal browsing... :)





As I continue with my searches, I've seen some open slot for other destinations, well, not the familiar ones but some places worth discovering. There were still slots going to Tacloban, Catbalogan, Masbate, Calbayog, and Tuguegarao. I immediately phoned my friend and asked her if she wants to come with me on my new travel, she said yes and aked me where to go. And I said MASBATE.




Booked it as fast as I can and jarannnnnnn!!!! Masbate for March 2012...

AIRLINE TICKETS SALE????

I happen to browse on my fb account a post from Philippine airlines. (please see post I copied from their wall)

The PAL 70th Anniversary Sale is on! Book one-way Luzon/Visayas for as low as P570 and Mindanao P870! Travel period is from June 1 to August 31, 2011. Visit www.philippineairlines.com for details.

I hurriedly open the website and tried to check any sale ticket to and from Busuangga or Caticlan or any destination but I couldn't find anything. They're on sale but I couldn't find any with amount not more than a thousand. Is this some kind of a so so promotion? On sale but the prices were still the same?Where was the sale here? Tickets worth 2000 plus? Wherein in their web it says 500plus to any Luzon or Visayas destination? One day sale, March 15, today is still March 15 and it's only 9 in the morning but sale tickets can't be found even at this early... Does travel agencies already bought those sale tickets for their business? I dunno what to say... I just utter tsk tsk tsk...

Tips on Finding Cheap Airline Tickets

Booking a flight was not that hard nowadays. Anyone can have their dream vacations with just some clicks on the net and presto an airline ticket to your favorite destinations. Before, you need to go early to ticketing office to booked and get some discounts. It's a good thing computer were everywhere now. Airline companies made websites where you can access flight schedules, prices, and available seats on real time. They even made various discounts due to stiff competitions. Well, I'm giving you some tips to make the most out of these online booking sites. Below is the lists of airline websites available here in the Philippines for domestic and some international flights:

http://www.cebupacificair.comhttp://www.philippineairlines.com
http://www.zestair.com.ph
http://www.airphils.com
http://www.tigerairways.com

Almost all of these airlines are offering various discounts every month. Sometimes once or twice a month. If you have plans of travelling, it's a must that you check these websites every once in a while to know if there's a sale.
You could check their facebook account or their websites to subscribed to their notifications. They will send you emails or personal alerts when they're on sale.

On my personal experience, as a budget traveller, I usually checked flights prices months before my planned vacations. I have noticed that most of these airlines are offering discounts during holidays or during national celebrations sometimes they also offer discounts for off-peak season (June-August) during March-April. I booked my Palawan trip on March for travel of August. It is a real savings since trip to Palawan cost more than two thousand to three roundtrip while I got it for a little over a thousand, see the difference? :) My Cebu trip cost me more than a thousand too, a 50% off from the airline. My biggest saver was my trip to CDO. Cagayan de Oro flights cost 3 thousand one way on regular fare or 1800 sale on other airlines but I've got it only for P157.00 roundtrip. A great value saver. This is during our President's proclamation (Noynoy Aquino) where they offered fifteen pesos to any domestic destinations

Trip Preparations

Going on a trip requires planning. You can't just go on your favorite destination without preparations. So I'm listing some things to do before your travel date, here it goes.

1. Months or weeks before your travel, you should start saving some money for your budget. Having enough budget is good but having a buffer is far more better. It's good to have extra for some "just in case" situations. Of course,it's always a must to have it on cash because there's some places without easy access on atm machines though a credit card also helps in some emergency situations. :)

2. Research is the KEY for a successful and enjoyable travel. You should have a background or knowledge about the place you're going. Places to visit, the locals, cheap accommodations, the peace and order, and the weather. These are the things you'll need to know. It will not only save you money but it will also prepare you with what to expect about the place. Needless to say, it will also save you from getting into trouble.

3. Now, you already have your budget and research, it is now time to plan your itinerary. List down the places you'll visit on your first day, second day and so forth. It is advisable that you make the best out of your time. Allot time for each place to visit. You should group the places you want to visit according to its location. For example, on your 1st day, try to explore the northern part of the place, while on the 2nd day explore the south, in this case, you'll not only save money for the transportation but also you'll save hours of travel and energy. :)

4. This is my favorite part, (when budget, research and itinerary is already settled) it is now time to plan what to wear. Of course, I am an addict for pictures so it just follows that I need to look good on my shots so I need to prepare the clothes I'll be using for the getaway. I'm a sucker for fashionable dresses, not necessarily designer's item but I want those that will look good on me so everytime I have to travel, I always see to it that I had my best on my luggage. I also do some last minute shoppings.

5. After deciding what to wear, it was now packing time. Two days before your travel date, you must already started packing your things. Your baggage should be based on what kind of airline booking you have. If you're travelling light, you must take into consideration the allowable baggage allowance of your airline. Different airline companies have different allowable baggage allowance, they also vary depending on the place you're going. Check available baggage allowance on your airline website. As for me, I always choose travel light because it saves me some peso. I usually chose dresses and light clothes to save me enough space for my other things. I'm so OC when it comes to packing and I used to packed almost everything 'coz I don't want to run out of clothes but it was a lesson learned when I almost go over the allowable weight for my handcarry bag. Now, I am really trying my best to pack only the things I need. Oh please don't forget to have some first aid kit on your bag and medicines for simple headache and diarrhea, I'm sure you wouldn't want to ruin your travel with these simple problems. And be sure to have an extra space on your luggage for your "pasalubong".

6. Now you're almost ready for the big day. Have an extra small bag for your personal things like your wallet, passport, your airline tickets, phone and camera. Check your camera's battery (charged it), if you need additional memory card buy an extra.

7. Leave a copy of your itinerary to any of your family members so that they will know where you are at what day. Tell them when or what time you'll be calling them and if you're not able to call them at that time each day, ask them to call you (this is for "emergency" or "just in case"" situation). You should also list the place where you'll be staying and the numbers of these places and also the police station of the place if you knew.

8.So everything is now ready, this is the big day. Get up early and fixed yourself. You should be at the airport at least an hour before the flight. You should eat at your house before your flight, food at the terminal is so pricey and if you want to save a little, you shouldn't be buying anything there.

These are some of my tips for an enjoyable vacation. Remember the reason of your travel is to RELAX and ENJOY, stop worrying 'bout your work and just savor the moment away from your usual life... ENJOY!

Palawan Escapade

It was always a dream for me to travel to places especially to go to famous places here in the Philippines, but before, it was only a dream since travelling means lots of expenses 'til that special day in March of 2009...

I was so excited browsing Cebu Pacific 'coz my friend told me that there's this seat sale of domestic flights. I really wanted to travel that's why I save some part of my Christmas Bonus intended for it. I was working overtime that time when I saw an available seat sale going to Puerto Princesa. Good thing, two of my officemates were still with me. I've talked to them if they want to go with me and voila! I secured three tickets roundtrip from Manila to Puerto Princesa for only 1,256 each on August 20-23, 2009.

Fast forward to August 2009

Two days before my flight, I was already preparing my things since I’m not really that good with packing things. We’re travelling light and I was already had two bulky bags as my hand carry. Good thing my guy friend brought few things and he tried to accommodate some of my things in his bag.

Our flight is 3:00 pm, at exactly twelve my friend came to our office to fetch me. We’re going first, our other friend will be there the next day. So it was just me and him. On our way to airport, I remember that I still have some things to buy (my last minute shopping) so we go for a quick buy at SM Harrison before heading off to the airport.
We’re an hour away before my dream vacation. Puerto Princesa here I come.

It was my first time on an airplane. Some tragic crashes keep playing on my mind but I tried to shook it and think of other things. After an hour, we’re already landing at Puerto Princesa Airport, the view on my window was breathtaking. Turquoise water everywhere.

At the arrival area, we saw many locals with some banners and placards. We’re already expecting somebody to pick-up us from the airport. I have already arranged our accommodation during our stay in the city. After a minute, we already saw our “sundo”. Our name printed in bold letters.

On our way going to our guest house, I was so amazed with how Puerto Princesa maintained its environment, the “province” feel. I myself was raised in a province (Batangas) but modernization already took so much of its part and seeing Puerto Princesa in its purest form somehow touches my heart and made me reminisced my childhood playing in lush green grass. Wherever I look, everything is green. Our guest house was just 5 minutes away from the city. After putting our things on our room, me and my friend agreed to roam around the city since its only five and we also need to buy some mosquito repellant (just a precautionary measure against malaria, if ever). We ask our host how to go to the mall or grocery and asked some directions of the establishments we wanted to try. They’re very accommodating and serviced us to the mall without charged. We were quite surprised when we found out that there’s no SM or Robinson’s mall in the province. We were brought to LCC mall instead. Our host asked us if we wanted him to wait for us but we declined saying we’ll be going around some places and that we’ll just take a trike going back to our place. He just gave his phone number just in case we need assistance or anything.

After buying things from the mall, we headed out to Kinabuich. I’ve done some research before our travel and I’ve listed some places on our itinerary. Some must try on Puerto Princesa. And first on our list is Kinabuich. We ate our early dinner. The food was sumptuous and cheap considering we ordered seafoods. After our dinner, we drink beer and try the famous tamilok (mangroves worm). It was eiiiiwwwness to the max but since I’m in for the challenge, I tried it and we agreed to finished the whole order. Well, it taste good like “talaba”. The night was still early when we finished drinking and called it a night. In Puerto ten at night seems like midnight in the city since there’s no other place to go to. Establishments were already closing and there’s only few vehicles in the streets. We rented a tricycle going to our guesthouse. After some washing we called it a night and prepare to sleep.

The next day, we woke up early to fetch our other friend from the airport. Our host provided us the service vehicle again. It’s the start of another roaming around day. She just brought her things at our room and we agreed to check the beach at the back of the guest house. The beach was not yet developed. The water is deep that’s why its not advisable to swim. We just took pictures and headed off to our next destination. We rented the tricycle of our host to roam around the city. We agreed to taste the best of Palawan and refrain from eating on fastfood that’s why we asked our driver to bring us to Badjao Seafood Restaurant. It was a little bit far from the main city but it was all worth it. The place was awesome. We took some pictures again before heading off to the main resto. We ordered a seafoods platter and sinigang na hipon. The serving is big and we pig out ‘til theres nothing left on our table. We’re so full and happy and we just pay P835 for all our food. That’s less than 300 per person, imagine that, lots of crab, shrimps, fish, seaweeds, clams, buco juices and dessert for that amount...I so love the place.
After we fuel up our body with mouthwatering food, we roam the city starting off with Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (the Crocodile Farm) where we had a face to face close up with a baby crocs captured on pics. Picture taking again then afterwards we continue to Bakers Hill where we buy some hopia and goodies for our pasalubong then to Mitra’s Ranch, Butterfly Farm. It was almost six when we got back from the City and we agreed to have our dinner to the famous Ka Lui. They say, you will never experienced Puerto Princesa if you don’t experience Ka Lui. It was good that we get there early since we didn’t have reservations. They said if we go there a little bit late, they won’t be able to accommodate us since the place is always jammed pack with clients specially during Fridays and Saturdays.Most who came there have their reservations or if you don’t have one like us, you should go there by six. They’re close during Sundays. At Ka Lui, you’ll left your shoes or fit flops at the entrance. There’s these drawers where you put your shoes. The place was cozy, there’s this kundiman song playing and we feel the province life again. We ordered yellow fin tuna in butter, seaweeds, sweet and sour lapu-lapu, shrimps, buco juice and watermelon shake and we’re full again. Before heaading of to our next destination, I felt I need to pee and asked for the restroom and was so amazed with the CR. There’s this painting of a woman for the girls and a man for the gents. The washing area is so unique with a “banga” as their faucet. Nice :)

After our dinner, we go again to Kinabuch, we just walked from Ka lui since its distance is not that far, to save money, hehehehe. Our friend Cheril treated us for a beer tower and then we went back home a little tipsy and tired. We called it a night and prepare for our early trip to Underground River the next day.
We were joined with a group of vacationers from Manila. I was surprised when I met them since one of the guest was my former officemate and she’s with her relatives. The travel from Puerto Princesa to Sabang took two hours, with stopovers, first stop was in a store when we asked to pee and pay two pesos, and the other one was on Buenavista view deck where you could see the view of the sea from above. When we reached Sabang, we took a motorized banca to take us to the Underground River. Two bancas were rented for our group, six person in each group. Our bangkero’s were so nice assisting us. From the shore, we need to walked a little to Underground River. We were reminded to put our plastic bags or bottles inside our bag because the monkeys might took it from us. I was not lucky to see any monkey. It was raining and monkeys were not roaming around. When we get to the river, we were surprised to see so many vacationers waiting for their turn to get inside the Underground River. Our host already reserved for us and we don’t need to wait longer for hours. We ride a small outrigger boat to get inside the cave, twelve of us in the boat. Our guide is a comedian and were laughing and laughing from the start ‘til the finish of our tour inside the cave. After that we went back to Sabang for our late buffet lunch which was included on our package. The tour to the Underground River was P1500-1800 per person but we have this talent of “pambabarat” that we had made our host agreed that we will only pay P1200 each. See that...Tipid :)

We were not able to drop by at Viet Ville, a restaurant of authentic Vietnam’s Beef Stew. The place is a small community of people from Vietnam who decided to live in Palawan during the war (that’s what I knew, I’m not sure... :D ). At night after some quiries and asking, our host helper told us that there’s these two eateries in downtown which serves beef stew like vietville, not that “cozy” but theirs was one of the best in the city. So after changing our clothes, we were on for the challenge, look for the best beef stew in town. If I’m not mistaken, it was Bonas, we were jumbling its name to Bolong’s. We asked the trike driver to take us to the eatery that serves beef stew, “”yung pinaka masarap kuya.” He took us to downtown in an eatery with lots of people eating. It looks like a small carenderia but when we tasted its famous beef stew, it was one of the best. Yummy! It only cost us fifty including the bread and softdrinks.

Sunday is our last day in Puerto Princesa, on our itinerary is my favorite. Swimming, swimming, swimming, not just one but three ‘cos were going island hoping to three famous island. O sorry, it was only two islands and a reef. First we go to Pabato reef where we go snorkeling. My first again, I have this fear of deep waters but I love beaches (one of my contradictions). So I never took off my life jacket and just hold on the board that our guide gave us. He pointed different shells, fishes, and other creatures under us. After snorkeling, we were brought to Snake Island. White sand... Yes! I feel so alive. Swimming, swimming, sun bathing. After an hour and a half, we were then transfered to Pandan Island. Another white sand island. Our lunch were already prepared. Unlimited seafood buffet. I so love it. I eat lots of crabs,yum, yum.... And then picture taking and swimming again. We almost forgot the time, were lucky our host knew our flight. He called us and said we all need to go back to our place. It was 2:30, our flight is 5 o’ clock and we still need to packed some things. The boat ride to the pier was bumpy. Its raining hard and we’re on a hurry. It was four when we got back to our room. Me and my girl friend share the bathroom so that both of us can wash at the same time. We took a quick shower and do the last minute packing. Our service to the airport was waiting for us, we bid goodbye to our host and said we’ll be back again, on their place. We manage to get to the airport 30 minutes before the flight. We’re lucky we made it, we don’t have extra money to pay for another tickets. Whew!

It was a great experience. Palawan was one of my best place. I’ll be going back there again...

Here is the list of my expenses as far as I remember (approximately excluding other unnecessary expenses and pasalubong):

Cebu Pacific round trip tickets :P 1256.00

Terminal fee(NAIA) 250.00
Kinabuch dinner,
beer & tamilok 550/2 275.00
Lunch (Bajao Seafood Resto) 279.00
835/3

Dinner (Ka Lui) 321.67 965/3

Beef Stew 50.00

Rent (tricycle for city tour) 250.00 750

Trike on and off downtown 130.00

Entrance (Crocodile Butterfly Farm)80.00 (not sure but not more than 100)

Under Ground River Tour (reg. 1500-1800)1200.00

Island Hopping Tour (regular 1200-1500) 900.00

Accommodation with daily bfast for 3 days (300 a day) 900.00

Picture taking with the crocs 50.00

I MISS THE OLD YOU

I miss the old you...
The pure happiness I see everytime you smile
The genuine care I saw in your eyes...
The understanding look, the crisp sound of your laughter...

I miss the old you...
The one I simply call my bestfriend...
The one who truly understands what I feel
and accept my eccentric moods.

I miss the old you...
The one who always visits me on my workstation
The one who makes me laugh when I’m burn out
The one who brings sunshine on my rainy days.

I miss the old you...
The one who show genuine care.
The one who tries to stop me from smoking...
The one who checks if I’ve already eaten my lunch
Or If I need a companion during lunchbreaks and snacks.
The one who taught me of being healthy and living healthy...
The one who patiently waits for me during overtimes...
I miss the old you...
The old you who makes me feel brandnew... :)