It has been a while since I got to sit and blog about my adventures and discoveries. I just had a soothing massage at home and for some weird reasons, I am wide awake now! So, I thought of sharing some stories of my most recent out of the country trip – a short trip to Hong Kong. Normally, I go on a 4-night or 3-night trips at the least, but this one is an exemption. My fiance and I are both busy since the start of the year (blessing in disguise, they say ) and we cannot afford to extend one more night for pleasure. As Hong Kong  always feels like home every time I go for a visit, we plan to go back to Hong Kong sometime later this year, on a longer and a more relaxed stay.

This trip was for a family affair. We attended my fiance’s brother, Sunny’s civil wedding. It was a rather intimate event since the couple had planned to have a bigger celebration in Shenzhen (where the bride hails from) sometime next year. We took PAL’s earliest flight to HK and its last flight to Manila since aside from us wanting to have longer hours squeezed in our 3-day trip, I personally wanted to ride in the bigger aircrafts. These flights have the 3-4-3 and 2-4-2 aisle seating capacity. I have been taking Airbus 320/330 in my domestic and international flights in the previous months and definitely, I wanted something new this time, even though it was just a regional flight.

After meeting with my fiance’s two other brothers, visiting their company office which the three of them had set up, and having some Cantonese lunch, we headed for Nathan Road for some shopping. After this nth visit to Nathan Road, I noticed that the whole stretch of shopping stores didn’t appeal much to me anymore. Obviously, I wanted to go somewhere else! What I love about Hong Kong is that whenever we visit the place, we always have our personal tour guides – my fiance’s brothers! They took us to the Harbour City after visiting Nathan Road and I was amazed to see another facelift in this country! The interconnected buildings, which can be spotted as one huge shopping mall, the biggest so far in Hong Kong, have undergone another renovation! The buildings in this area, particularly those along Canton Road, house all kinds of  brands: From the most expensive and popular brands, to the new, trendy, and never-heard of brands.

After visiting H&M, one of my favorite shops in the world, my fiance brought me to a store which he described as something which I might find interesting. The shop, called UNIQLO, is a Japanese retail brand. It has really nice collections for men, women, and children which are cheaper than H&M. While the items are affordable, the clothing materials used have met my standards. I was happy to have spent my shopping money in UNIQLO. Even though I didn’t find the oversized jacket which my fiance brought home from UNIQLO in Shanghai, I was able to find the legging pants which I had been scouting for some months already. What made me happier was that they were selling the pants for only HK$79 a piece! And that’s just around PHP460! The legging pants were a few of my best buys in this recent trip. They look like the regular jeans (and come in varied colors like the regular jeans too!), only these ones are lighter, softer, and easy on the skin. Plus, they fit just right! I now heart UNIQLO!

[Since the pants are currently in the laundry, I grabbed some photos from UNIQLO's website (thank you, thank you) just to show you what my best buys were!]

Credits: UNIQLO Website

Credits: UNIQLO Website

Credits: UNIQLO Website

After a few more shopping and a quick dinner, we walked back to our hotel. It’s a good thing to always have the hotel at the city center, so there’s no need to catch a cab or the MTR.

This video of 9 parts, tells a lot about the very powerful Marcos during his time (and my time but was too young to understand), Ninoy’s life in prison, the tactics used by Marcos to keep Ninoy away from power, and the call for Marcos to give to the Filipinos what they truly deserve.

Ninoy is indeed a brilliant, witty, articulate, courageous, determined, and most of all, a very sincere politician.

I hope that the generation of today will take time to follow his story and his dreams for the Filipino people. This speech reminds us that we need not take a person’s life away for us to continue fighting for good governance in our country. We can have a good fight in our own little ways. We need not be Ninoy nor his wife, Cory, to free our country from corruption and put the Philippines back in the map with its successful neighboring countries.

Our country is still our country. While others  may run away from the problems we now face, those who are left behind may continue to dream for a better Philippines and work on making these dreams come true. As what Ninoy had said in his speech as an answer to the question raised on whether he had sought the help or assistance of the Americans in restoring democracy in the Philippines, he said “I believe that IF we, Filipinos, cannot fight for our freedom, we do not deserve it. We should not depend on the Americans, we should depend on ourselves…”

No one can fight for our country except us, Filipinos. Let us not wait for another person’s life to be spared…

Let us start now.

***Right-click this and click WATCH ON YOU TUBE so you may follow the rest of the other 8 parts.***

Enjoy viewing!

This is a summary of the last full day that we had

1) DUCKTOURS. This is both a bus and a boat combined, offering tourists a tour of the city and the harbour without having to switch transport. It takes almost the same route as the river cruise but this one is a bit different since the tour starts on land. Just the same, we had a good, closer look on Singapore’s landmarks on the river banks.

So This Is How It Looks Like

From Land To The River

The "Intergrated Resort" In The Making - Taken During the DuckTours

A View Of The Singapore Flyer During the DuckTours

After The DuckTours - Back At SunTec City

2) PHILATELIC MUSEUM. I love the museums in Singapore! Very organized, informative, far from being boring. We found out how stamps started making marks in Singapore and how the stamp graphics evolved. We even found stamps from the Philippines!

Learning the Basics...

Stamp Collections From The PHILIPPINES!

Kids At Work In Philatelic Museum

3) WALK IN THE CITY (TO CLARKE QUAY FOR THE RIVER CRUISE) – It was nice to walk in Singapore’s clean streets.

4) RIVER CRUISE – A more relaxing way of exploring Singapore.

Our Ride

5) SHOPPING! – Almost everything on SALE! Hand a GRAND time! This was the most that we did during the day

Raffles

6) DINNER AT L’ ENTREPOT BISTROT – A French restaurant with a bit of overpriced meal. We didn’t complain though as we were both tired. We just wanted a good and relaxing ambiance and we got what we wanted.

L'Entrepot Bistrot

L'Entrepot Bistrot

L'Entrepot Bistrot

We left Singapore the next day at 5 in the morning (weird schedule) tired but happy.

Related Links:

Destination Singapore: Indulging in Clarke Quay (Day 1 of 4)

Destination Singapore: Getting To Know More About Its Heritage (Day 2 of 4)

Destination Singapore: Getting To Know More About Its Heritage (Day 2 of 4)

Our Guide To Fun

I woke up refreshed, looking forward to see how else can Singapore make my day fun and memorable. I met with my SO after his event and we both headed to the country’s largest shopping mall which also has the world’s largest fountain – the Suntec City. We wanted to check out the country’s hop-on, hop-off tour bus services since we thought that it was the best way to explore the  place.  I think I saw about 3 different companies offering this kind of tour services, and after checking out the brochures the night before, we chose to book with Hippo and Duck Tours for our sightseeing trip that day. They have a wide range of tour options (the options were seriously confusing!). We decided to purchase the Singapore Pass since we thought that we can utilize the pass for the 2 free days that we had. The pass had it all and I’d say that we made an excellent choice!

Our Singapore Pass and Attraction Coupons

Our 2-day Singapore Pass included hop-on, hop-off bus transfers to 17 city sightseeing stops, 16 heritage attraction stops, passes to Sentosa, River Hippo Cruise, Moonlight Adventure, Chinatown and Malay Heritage Center, 3 Museums, and the Botanic Garden. To top it all, it included passes to the Singapore Flyer and the Singapore DuckTours! I didn’t have the chance to experience the duck tour when I was in England which made me look forward to that DuckTour in Singapore

Open-Top Singapore City Sightseeing Bus

We first hopped-on to the City Sightseeing Bus (They have 2 other bus categories: The Heritage Bus and the Sentosa Bus.). It was an open-top bus where in passengers could enjoy seeing the country’s  sights al fresco! We were greeted by Cris, the bus guide, who is, by the way, a Filipino! Since Cris was a great bus guide., we decided to complete the tour without hopping off the bus. He told us that there were 3 of them, Filipinos, who are working as tour/bus guides. We thought that if we hopped-off, we might not be able to get the chance to hop-on a bus with a guide as good as him. He gave really informative stories on every popular landmark we passed by.

Here are what I remember so far

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The Singapore Flyer is currently the world’s largest observation wheel (this record will soon be handed over to Beijing after they complete the construction of their very own observation wheel). It takes 37 minutes for the Flyer to make a complete rotation. (This is taller than the London Eye but I liked the view from the London Eye better. I’ll have yet to see what Beijing had to offer.)

The Benjamin Bridge is the longest bridge in Singapore. Named after the 2nd President of the country, this bridge connects  Singapore’s east and west coasts. And because Singapore is such a small country, people can travel from east to west in just 40 minutes by car. (Geez, 40 minutes in Manila is just like heading to the entry point of the North Luzon Expressway from my home. :p)

Singapore will soon have their very first casino in the country. It will be referred to as the “Integrated Resort”.

It took  SGD 600 million (dollars) to build the Esplanade which makes it the most expensive building in the country.

There are around 5 recognized merlions in Singapore. But the three most popular merlions are the Merlion Family – Mama, Papa, and Baby Merlion. Mama Merlion is 8 meters tall and sits in the Merlion Park in the city center. Papa Merlion is around 37 meters tall and is housed in Sentosa. Baby Merlion is 2 meters tall and it sits right behind Mama Merlion.

Up, Close, and Personal with Mama Merlion

The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore’s 5-Star hotel, used to be the country’s post office. (Can Manila also turn its huge, quite useless post office into a hotel? :p)

The Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Arts – MICA – (one of the nicest buildings in Singapore, I’d say) was previously a police station and barracks. It has 911 windows and it used to have ONLY ONE PERSON assigned to open and close all the windows. (I wonder how much he was paid for to do the job. And NO, they don’t do that today since the whole building is already air-conditioned. :p)

Lovely MICA at Night

Singapore’s national anthem is in Malay.

Singapore is the Garden City of the World. It has around 41 parks and gardens all over the city. (Yup, that was what I heard – 41!)

Raffles Hotel is the most expensive hotel in Singapore. It doesn’t offer rooms to its guests, only SUITES.

Singapore is Asia’s third most expensive city in Asia after two cities in Japan and the 10th most expensive city in the world. (No wonder I went home broke. :p)

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We made a short visit to Sentosa after a round of the city tour. Sentosa looked very much the same except for the on-going construction works. They are currently adding up hotels in the area which, the guide said,  will open late this year. We thought that maybe we can come back for Sentosa and that ‘Integrated Resort’ next year so we can completely enjoy the new attractions.

We made our way to Little India in the afternoon. Little India, as the name says, is a community where most of the Indian ethnic group of Singapore stay and make a living. Although they have malls  and modern buildings in the area, a large number of establishments are still the shophouses. It is also in Little India that a mall which is open 24-hours a day can be found.

It would have been a fun experience if we took our lunch in Little India as it was filled with Indian restaurants but we already took a quick Chinese lunch in Suntec City before we got to the area. Well, there’s always a next time.

ShopHouses in Little India

Me At An Indian Shop

Our next stop was Chinatown. After checking out the shops along Pagoda Street, we visited the Chinese Heritage Museum. We had an entrance coupon to the museum so we thought that it would be great to learn a bit about the early Chinese settlement in Singapore. This original Chinese-house-turned-museum showed how the early Chinese settles lived and how they made a living to survive. Most of the stuff exhibited dated back to the early years of Singapore.

Their Kitchen Tools

So There Were Really Crying Ladies! :p

We next headed to The Fullerton Hotel. This post office-turned-5star-hotel is known for its Chocolate Buffet during weekends. We were very much tempted to take a break and have Chocolate Buffet but we were too full to enjoy it. So, we placed it in the list on our next visit

The Fullerton Hotel

From Fullerton Hotel, we crossed the Cavenagh Bridge to get to the Asian Civilisations Museum. This government office-turned-museum shows a lot about the cultures of Singapore’s forefathers.

We weren’t able to catch the last tour bus leaving from the stop we were in, so we decided to instead walk to the other side of the street and we found ourselves visiting Mama and Baby Merlion! The Merlion Park was packed with other tourists aiming to take photos with Mama Merlion and the Esplanade. We stayed in the area for a while since the place and the view was just relaxing!

It was almost dinner when we walked further to the other end where the Esplanade is.  As recommended by the guides, we had our meal at Makansutra Glutton’s Bay. Everything in the Glutton’s Bay looked good (or maybe, we were just starving! :p). It was time to go Malay after having Morrocan and Chinese dishes. So, we had satay, fried carrot cake, and nasi goreng.

Nasi Goreng

Satay

We had a full day going around and getting to know more about Singapore but we didn’t want to end the night without riding the Singapore Flyer. We thought that it would be more fun to ride the flyer at night than during the day. The lights will make the whole  experience more dramatic.

Here’s a snapshot of how it looked like from up there

View From The Singapore Flyer

Related Link:

Destination Singapore: Indulging in Clarke Quay (Day 1 of 4)

Destination Singapore: Enjoying The Great Singapore Sale (Days 3 and 4 of 4)

Singapore's Clarke Quay at Night

Trips that aren’t planned are sometimes the most fun.

It wasn’t planned because it was Singapore. A few of my closest friends would often hear me say that Singapore is just… Singapore! And nothing else. Well, there’s Sentosa, the flyer, the famous Durian Building and other modern buildings, and electronics. Just those. Period.

And because it wasn’t planned, I didn’t expect anything. I was even wondering what I could do in a very small country which I had already visited a few years back. Was there anything else aside from those which I had seen before? But then, things change, naturally, so there must be.

Since Tiger Air lands in Diosdado Macapagal Airport in Clark, and since I was at my busiest before the trip, I found myself braving the heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on the highway at 1 in the morning. I drove from Manila to Subic for a few more “errands” in Subic, before I headed to Clark for an early check-in. Over-all, I slept for just an hour. I knew that being sleep-deprived could lead to a grumpy weekend, but what the heck? After all, it wasn’t planned anyway. If there was nothing else to do, I could instead enjoy the comforts of the hotel for the rest of the weekend and and not think of the work that was waiting for me back home.

After the slowest check-in service I had ever experienced in my entire travel life, I finally got to rest for a while. The next thing I knew, I was already in Asia’s Lion City. I felt nostalgic for a moment. Memories from the past were suddenly revived. Singapore was our last stop in an ASEAN programme that I’ve attended a few years back and I can vividly remember those last days – the welcome reception, my Singaporean family, our visits to the different attractions, and our goodbyes. It dawned on me that Singapore is, after all, special, just like the rest of the countries we all went to during the programme.

I didn’t arrange for any transfers to the hotel as I just wanted to explore the country on my own. It was easy as Singapore has a well-established transport system. What’s a trip without the adventure, anyway? Besides, there’s only one train line that goes to and from the airport – the GREEN Line! Therefore, getting lost is unacceptable.

As I was travelling from one station to the next, I noticed that some of the residential areas outside the city center and near the airport are very similar to some of the residential areas of England. Small houses with small, trimmed lots. I had another round of nostalgia.

It took a while for me to get to the hotel. I made it a point that I would ‘leisurely’ head to the hotel since I don’t get to walk in a Singapore’s streets everyday. Rushing would mean that I will be missing the little things in the this little country.

Upon reaching the hotel, I decided to take a power nap as I was already beginning to feel the exhaustion. Later that night, my SO, who was already in Singapore for the past 4 days for some event, and I met for a fun night at Clarke Quay.

Clarke Quay is known for being one of the popular “wine and dine” areas of Singapore.  It is located in the banks of the clean Singapore River with an array of restaurants, bars, bistros, and retail stores. It also houses a recreation area for those people who are into adrenaline-rush activities. All these establishments are along the waterfront where river cruises are also available for people who are into a more relaxed atmosphere.

Clarke Quay in its Vibrant Colours

Bars and restaurants offer varied cuisines – European, Middle-Eastern, Asian, and American. I wanted something different that night, so we headed to a cozy and exquisite Moraccan restaurant – Marrakesh Moroccan Lounge and Bar.

Marrakesh Moroccan Lounge and Bar's Exterior

We wanted to know what else we can do for the night so we strolled to the other side of the river. After a few more minutes of exploring the place, we arrived at an area where only the adventurous and the brave would dare do.  We saw two unusual rides and they are the G-MAX Reverse Bungy and the GX5 Extreme Swing. The G-MAX sends a maximum of 4 people at once onto the skies and back while the GX5 sends people sideways reaching right across the Singapore River. I haven’t seen anything similar in the previous places I went to. I have bungy jumping in my bucketlist and I will definitely do it when I am ready. But a reverse bungy, is something I would like to do… after bungy jumping.

We ended the night wondering when that will be.

G-MAX Reverse Bungy

Related Link:

Destination Singapore: Getting To Know More About Its Heritage (Day 2 of 4)

Destination Singapore: Enjoying The Great Singapore Sale (Days 3 and 4 of 4)

I just came back from the 7,107 Island Cruise and I still have all those photos stuck in my camera.

I’m off to Bohol by the end of the month and I hope I can blog about my Bohol experience as soon as I get back to Manila.

I hope we all enjoyed our V-day last weekend!

I’ve got 101 reasons to be thankful for and here goes a fraction of it.

1. For the love, care, and support of my family and friends. These people are just amazing!

2. For finally having a place which I proudly call MINE. (and which I happily designed :p )

3. For the birth of ASHTA HOLIDAYS TRAVEL AND TOURS! Yup! It’s up and running! Call 3844808 for more information. Haha!

4. For the upcoming _______ of my brother (He said that it’s supposed to be a secret. Haha. But it’s one thing that I’m thankful for. So, I’ll leave it at that. )

5. For my sister’s commencement in her medical course. Finally.

6. For this year’s trials, which, all the more, made me stronger… and bolder.

7. For the travels and even the short trips which I always consider as relaxing, stress-relieving, and learning experiences.

8. For all the risks I took, which prepared me to roll with the punches and appreciate life even more.

9. For my nieces and godchildren – for the joy they bring to my life.

10. For the dreams fulfilled.

11. For my ever-loving significant other – who never fails to be always there for me.

12. For another year to live.

13. And of course, for the Lord’s LOVE. Couldn’t ask for more.

*** To all those who greeted, who sent their gifts, and who came to Heat, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

We knew very well that when most of the airlines do their seat sales, we won’t be able to get our money back when we cancel, so, indeed there was no turning back!

It was another adrenalin rush in everything (beating deadlines) before I finally set my foot in the newest airport terminal – Terminal 3! It was my first time to see the interior of this terminal. I would usually pass by the area in getting to South Super Highway from the other airports. And so, even without any sleep, I was excited!

We got to Puerto Princesa early morning and since we took the first flight to the city, we decided to get a few hours rest after checking in and before making ourselves busy with the tours we had in mind.

We started the day touring and found ourselves happily discovering Puerto Princesa more and more each day. Our days in this part of Palawan were all fun. Photos tell a lot of stories and here are some of the photos which form a part of our Palawan get-away story.

DAY 1

Recreation Hall at the Penal Farm

Surrounded by the Prisoners' Works at the Penal Farm Souvenir Shop

The Largest Croc Alive I've Ever Seen

Lyn and Me with a Baby Croc

Mitra's Rest House in Puerto Princesa

The Baker's Hill

Of course, our story doesn’t end here. Watch out for more photos to be uploaded soon!

Photo Credits:  Derick Evangelista and Ailyn Malaca

It’s aired every Thursdays, 10 P.M.

Watch it! And you’ll appreciate local tourism even more!

Show Host and Friend, JC Gotinga, During His Banaue Shoot

“See the Philippines under 5,000 pesos for 3 days and 2 nights!”

(Photo by Jeric Soriano)

Ailyn and I watched the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies tonight at the National Sports Grill where a huge screen with a real time show was set up for people who were very much into this long awaited event. It was amazing to see at how China had come up with such programme with a participation of (I assume) thousands of Chinese to make all the details from the countdown to the lighting of the torch possible.

I haven’t really expected the whole thing to be as grand as it was. When I was in Beijing last year, I personally saw the Beijing National Olympic Stadium, otherwise called as the Bird’s Nest, in the making, and it just looked really huge, and none other.

The Bird’s Nest’s Exterior (Photo Credit: kinabaloo.com)

But seeing it on a big screen a few hours ago with all the works of the lights and the well-prepared and outstanding performances, I was left in awe. It only proved that the Chinese can really stretch their creativity and innovativeness even farther than the eyes can see.

I can’t even recall how many times we clapped and cheered after an excellent showcase or performance and how many ‘wows’ we’ve said. All I knew was that there was never a dull moment during the opening ceremonies. Well, except for the introduction of the athletes of some 204 countries. But even so, our food and the cheers from the crowd for some of the countries – Yep, NSG was packed with different nationalities! – kept us awake.

Some of the highlights which I can still replay in my mind are: the countdown (in seconds) to 8P.M., a showcase of the paper-making as one of the four greatest inventions of the Ancient China, the opening of the huge scroll in the center stage where the Chinese performers painted as they danced, the numerous and really beautiful fireworks, the introduction of the Chinese flag carried by the kids in their different distinct Chinese costumes, a showcase of the Great Wall of China and the traditional songs and dances, thousands of people gathered together making an illusion of a flying bird, another batch of people simulating the Bird’s Nest, a showcase of Tai Chi, the Chinese martial arts, Chinese kids painting the center of the huge scroll, a replicate of the space with floating astronauts, a giant structure coming from below which later on turned into a globe, the Olympics logo shown from the center stage which moved up to the sky, the lifting of Li Ning, the final torchbearer, into the air, and lastly, the really impressive way of lighting the cauldron by Li Ning after the introduction of the athletes by country.

What can get more impressive than this?

Li Ning was lifted Into the air and ran towards the cauldron to light it.

That was really something for the Chinese and I think that all these really made them proud! They just hosted a very remarkable Olympics ceremony.

I’m sure people will soon start uploading videos of the performances during the opening ceremonies, and I just can’t wait to see them again!

Fireworks Seen from the Inside of the Bird’s Nest

Simulating the Bird’s Nest

A Showcase of the Chinese Cultural Puppet Show

Making Use of its Human Resources

A Really Creative Production

A Very Beautiful Dance

Showing a Bit of its History

Replicating the Space

The Rising of the Globe-Like Structure

The Passing of the Flame for the Torch Lighting

(Photo Credits For All Photos in this Page Except for the Bird’s Nest Exterior: Getty Images – Beijing 2008 Website)