amazing race

ive always loved that show... every leg and pit stop; every detour and road block. you get the chance to travel through the seven continents and try to win a million bucks.
always thought that the challenges are not that demanding and all the contestants need is alot of luck.
but not until recently. when i had the chance to experience what the contestants go through in the show.

during our last day in hongkong, we were having last minute shopping.
and we all thought that our flight out was 9pm. but actually it was 8:30pm.
and because shopping took most of our time. we were still at mongkok at 7pm. and the freakin airport is still in another island. gaaaah!
so instead of taking the bus, we decided to just take the airport express which is a train going to the airport which is faster and pricier. ticket is like around 50hkd.
but still we had to take the MTR to the interchange station for the airport express.
and worse it was rush hour. and just like what ive said, rush hour for hongkong is an understatement. we were running and battling with people while carrying all our stuff. and the MTR was jampacked. whew!
and when we reached the interchange, we still have to buy our tickets.
and did i mention that hongkongs airport is so effing big.
theyve got a bajillion floors with bajillion gates and counters. our heads were always up looking for directions towards our gate.
and finally, we reached cebupacs counter. we checked in 30mins before the departure. twas already boarding time but we were still in the freakin counter checking in. so we still had to dash towards the gate. and damn it was still far. we were the last ones to board the plane. we boarded 15mins before departure...final call indeed. wheeeeeeeeeeeew! thank goodness we were still allowed to board.
with no dinner and with our energy depleted, we seated and let the overhead aircondition calm us down.
with my remaining hkd which is supposedly spared for pasalubongs, i bought myself a croissant sandwich and a cola. twas my first time to buy snacks on board.
and after 3 hrs we landed in mactan international airport. twas around 12mn. and our flight for davao is still at 4pm. and so we looked for some benches and took some shuteye.

i definitely experienced alot of first times when i was in hongkong.
and i hope i still get a second time -- for most of them, I mean.
godspeed.

lost in translation

foreign land.
foreign language.
no road map.
difficult to comprehend bus routes.
unmarked bus stops.
chinese or portuguese signs.
gaaaaaaaaaaah!
thats macau. but still you get to love macau for the perfect fusion of east and west.
temples and hotels...
churches and casinos...
a day is definitely not enough to roam around macau.

quick pic: hangkang

very organized and tourist-friendly indeed.
MTR is the best; you can never get lost in HK... if you just have your map! haha
and the effing airport...it was like a gazillion airports...with a gazillion planes. they were parked just like cars in a carpark. and you need to ride a train just to claim your baggage...!
just be sure to be hours ahead before your flight... you dont wanna run the whole airport looking for your gate and counter.
people are always on a hurry. rush hour is an understatement. it was like swarm hour. whew!
great food, big big servings. my fave: cafe de coral. haha!
and when you ask for water, they automatically give you hot simmering water in a glass
shopping galore. its like everythings on sale. theyve got a whole street for shoes alone. and another for electronics... and the outlets... heaven!
what makes me laugh is that some locals talk to me in Cantonese. do i really?
and i get to ride every possible means of traspo: MTR, bus, open double decker bus, century old tram, peak tram, star ferry, airport express. boooyah!
more updates later...
godspeed!

laag sa cebu

just like what Ive said in my previous post, weve got no itinerary in our cebu trip. but now that im back home, i can now post the things that filled our 6 days and 6 nights vacay.

062409

delayed flight. our supposed 1525H departure was moved to 1700H. so we were stuck in the terminal with nothing to do. we were bored in the boarding area! and add to that our pestering stomachs. we were already hungry but cringed from buying over-priced food in the terminal.
i dont know what happened but our flight was combined with the next. so the result – a jam-packed piece of cylindrical metal! sardinas for short. all seats were occupied. even the seat plan was not followed! everyone was scrambling. and did i mention we were on a plane and not on a bus?
we landed in mactan around 1745H. and the welcome band marched in. the streamers were hailed. and the confetti dropped. ok, ok! sorry for the exaggeration. actually it was just tomas who was there to fetch us up.
come dinner time, I had steak at mooon cafe. and gelatissimo's chocolate truffle ice cream for dessert. then we chilled at starbucks.

062509

lunch at sbarro, ayala.
coffee at coffee bean, ayala.
dinner at tara's, IT park.
strolled at the IT park then headed to waterfront hotel for some camwhoring. hehe!

062609

had casa verde's baby back ribs for lunch which is totally far from the definition of baby. it was humongous, almost human-like. it was yummy of course but i couldnt consume the whole serving.
our hosts attended their review class so jeric and I went to SM.
window shopping.
coffee at starbucks, SM.
met with tomas and caezar at ayala.
dinner at sizzling pepper steak, the terraces.
watched transformers at ayala. double the price of tickets here in davao but finally experienced having reserved seats in watching movies.

062709

gelatissimo again, forest fruits.
coffee bean, IT park.
pizza for dinner at da vinci, IT park. yummmm! roast beef pizza and mona lisa plus shawarma sauce – the best!
headed home to change and have some rest.
went to vudu but was shocked by the fee. a staggering 500 bucks! partied at the loft instead. nice crowd and nice place.
after-party chow at mcdo, fuente osmena.

062809

had kebab for lunch in robinsons. then we finally visited basilica de sto nino after being postponed for a couple of days.
jump shot at the magellan's cross.
lit a candle and said a prayer.
toured the basilica's museum.
toured the basilica itself.
waited on a cue.
viewed and prayed to the original figure of sto nino.
visited cebu cathedral.
lit a candle again.
headed to ayala again.
had desserts at dessert factory. pista shew ice cream cake is a must-try.
bought myself a pair of havaianas filipinas.
bought CJ a nice filipinas shirt as well.
had dinner at larsian beside the chong hua hospital.

062909

had a feast at STK. their baked scallops are lip-smacking, mouth-watering and stomach-gurgling.
toured around chong hua hospital.
went to sm again.
bought some brownies unlimited for pasalubong.
went to ayala alone. and shopped!
headed to crown regency hotel.
CAMWHORING.
edgecoaster and skywalk are a must-try. wanna do it again!
had buffet dinner at the hotel.
bought otapssssssss at shamrock hotel.

063009

ayala again. shopped again.
lunch at dessert factory c/o tomas. thnx kol!
running late for our 1400H flight. tomas was driving in a frenzy. traffic was heavy and airport is still in another island. damn!
checked in around 1345H. good thing tomas has an uncle working in the airport. good thing they still allowed us to get on the plane.
bid farewell to our friendly hosts / tourist guides – tomas and caezar. LOL
touched down around 1455H.

vacay planning

yesterday ive learned that cebu pacific is having some kind of a happy hour where domestic flights are at 299 php while international flights are at 599 php.

my heart skipped a beat. is this for real?

and so i immediately texted CJ, the lakwatsera, about it. ok, for this post, lets just call her CJ, the explorer to give it a bit of formality. i like the sound of it, just like Dora.

but she's NR (read: no reaction) about it.

and so a while ago i told mike about it. he then researched about it. at first we thought of palawan. coron to be exact. but the two of them had already been there. and so mike suggested hongkong.

our hearts skipped again. HK? why not, right? with just 599 bucks, my passport will already have its very first tatak.

and mike being the OC-type, got a pen and some paper and jotted down the budget for the trip. hes already been to HK that's why he knows. the initial budget was around 12k, inclusive of food, lodging, disneyland, ocean park and the likes.

not bad right? with 12k, you can already have an uber-cool-out-of-the-country-vacay for three days!

and now, CJ the explorer and i are totally excited.

but first, we have to find ways to pay for our plane tickets because as you know we dont have any income/pay. we totally rely on our stipend. the fare would cost about 1,800+. but were already having a big problem were to get such amount. and for the pocket money, we still got around 4 mos to accumulate that staggering 12k.

CJ the explorer and i are now scheming plans to have the necessary finances.

plan A: business deals

ive already contacted some people to be our potential clients. and to refer some people to us and do some networking. if we can make a deal, then thats it. but if not, then proceed to plan B.

plan B: make some solicitations

from whom you might ask? i dunno. this is CJ the explorer's plan. I gladfully proposed a suggestion to make some letter which goes like: dear maam/sir, we would like to ask for your financial support for we will have our vacay in HK. how bout that for a solicitation letter.

weve also thought about begging from our moms, dads, relatives, friends.... modern day beggars/social-climbers!

plan C: night duty

in san pedro st. that is. i dont know if how much i will earn from this. for a couple of nights, maybe i can already have enough cash to go shopping. note to self: look for my pink card. kidding!

plan D: sponsorship

go and meet people who are willing to be our sponsor. in exchange of what? some ol' good lovin'. haha! weve met before some people who actually have such sponsors. i dont know how much they get/earn and whats the mechanics of their so called game. we also heard of a story in which someone found a sponsor through chatting online. s/he was even able to tour around asia with the help of his/her sponsor. well, if s/he can do it, then why cant i. i bet i can even do it better. haha! kidding again!

see how desperate we are... if theres some kind soul out there who is willing to donate, you can contact me through this site. i accept cash and all major credit cards.

i hope and pray though that mike can make the necessary bookings later. for sure their site will be jampacked by people who will also take advantage of this promo. hope he can get through their site and that there will still be available seats for the three of us.

Godspeed!

Our so called road trip...

The second day of our vacation started early...very early.
We didnt know that outside our rooms were a number of roosters. And around 3 am,they already started crowing. I couldnt sleep any longer. I wanted to get out and choke each rooster to death. And the room itself was non-conducive for sleeping. I tried every sleeping position, tried reading a book, listening to music...but all failed. By 6 am, I was already outside taking a walk. After freshening up,we went to Waig spring resort. We had our breakfast and then headed down to the pool. All of them but I took a dip in the pool for I wasnt really feeling good that time. After, we went to the Benedictine Monks' Monastery of Transfiguration. The architecture of their churches were astounding. They look like pyramids in the middle of the Bukidnon rocky terrain. It reminds me of Illuminati-related designs in Dan Brown's Angels & Demons which I am reading right now for the second time.
After that we had lunch at Jollibee Malaybalay. We discussed where should we go next. We researched and asked for tourist spots around the area. We also thought if should we go way up north towards CDO then head for butuan. Or should we just head back home. We thought the latter was better - financially that is. And perhaps physically for we have nowhere to sleep and we thought every place would already we fully booked by this time. And heck,even malls are closed.
So we drove home. And around 3 pm, we were already in Valencia and we spotted another Jollibee. We had some cold and sweet treats. Five more and we could have finished the 'bisita jollibee',we joked.
Before sunset, we managed to get to the newly designed Overview. There were sculptures all around done by Kublai,the same person who designed People's Park in Davao.
Around 6 pm, we were already in buda or the bukidnon-davao-border. The place as usual was cold and chilly, so we had a cup of coffee in the recently opened Seagull coffee shop to unwind and relax a bit. The place was packed, the place had a nice feel, very cozy and add to that the cold breeze from the breath-taking terrain outside the window. But their cafe mocha, which i had wasn't that great.
It was already getting dark so we decided to continue our trip back home. And around 8 pm, we were already home sweet home.
I thought or rather we thought that we would be back by Sunday. I even packed alot of things just to be ready. Thats what you get when you dont make plans...youve got no place to sleep and even nowhere to go. And you end up at home earlier than you expected. Good thing it was just a couple of hours away and that we did not need to commute for there were no schedule of trips that time.
Well,til our next road trip...
Godspeed!

Lent 09

Im on vacation right now with my family. The initial plan was just to go wherever our feet, or wheels, take us. Some sort of a road trip. But before we left home, my parents decided that we will just head up north towards Bukidnon. But because my parents just made their decisions a few hours before leaving,they were not able to make the necessary reservations. That is why we were forced to look for some hotel or inn in a small town Bukidnon. Right now,we are stuck in this lodging house which i dont even know if they even change the sheets. A while back,for the reason that it is still early and that the room is giving some claustrophobic feeling,we decided to just take a walk. And because this is only a small town and today is a holiday,the only establishment that is open is a bakeshop. And I guess for their time and schedule it is already late (it was around 10pm). Good thing they have ice cream. The five of us shared a half gallon. What a good way to end a day. More updates to come...that's if I have good reception on my phone.