Bangkok Shopping Spree with Jill

Nov 30 - Dec 5, 2011
Bangkok, Shopping
Day 1: Arrive. Shop. Pratunam.
Day 2: Siam. MBK. Madame Tussaud. Pratunam.
Day 3: Bobae Market. MBK. Pratunam. Siam Niramit.
Day 4: MBK. Mass. Pratunam. Platinum.
Day 5: Pratunam. Platinum.
Day 6: Last minute shopping at Pratunam. Departure.

Bangkok Shopping Spree with Jill

Jill and I already went to Bangkok last March 2011.
And yet, we wanted to go again, because we wanted to shop there so much that we book another trip!
Actually, I'm not that enthusiastic, but I was convinved, hay... (So much for pagtitipid!)

Anyway, what actually convinced me was the low fare that we got from Tiger Airways. Imagine only PhP 5500 compared to the 11k that we bought from PAL 9 months ago!

Anyway, it was a trip scheduled for shopping!
We only scheduled a trip to Madame Tussaud and to watch Siam Niramit show.
The rest was a shopping spree in Pratunam and Siam area. We didn't even thought about museums hehe

This was our planned expenses (aside from the shopping spree)
5550 - airfare by Tiger Airways 5,550
735 - upsize luggage to 25 kg (it was a good thing because my baggage after shopping was 26 kg!)
600 - Terminal Fee
1620 - International tax

2786.50 - Siam Star Hotel for 5N/6D (yep, that's almost a week! booked online via booking.com; a very good cheap online reservation system)
1,222 - Siam Niramit (booked online via hotels2thailand.com; this was cheap because it costs 1500 Baht or almost PhP 2k)
669 - Madame Tussauds (booked online via hotels2thailand.com; also cheaper than in the official site)

For food, it was cheap there. You can budget yourself 50 baht per meal. Sometimes we have breakfast at 20-30 baht consisting of this fried dumplings or lugaw, etc already good for both of us. Jill likes drinking their cold coffee priced at 15 THB (or around PhP 22.50). There are lots of cheap street foods. (There's even this noodle menu that has the texture and similar to the Philippine isaw! Yum!) It's one of the things I will miss in Thailand!

Anyway, we stayed in Pratunam area, where the market and shopping never sleeps! As early as 6 am, there's already the street market. Then the "official" shops open at 8 or 10 am to 4 pm. Then there's another night street market! And during Sundays, the stalls are also different (and there are soooo many other choices). I went shopping for Christmas gifts already, because it's WAY cheaper there... And I really though of buying a new cellphone there. They have lots of accessories for Blackberry there compared to the Philippines.

Lubang District Hospital

I've been working here for over a year now. And I really like it here.
What can I say? I'm a simple girl, satisfied with the feeling of seeing green all around me, feeling the natural provincial smog-free breeze, and loving the feeling of a small community knowing everybody.

When I passed the boards, I know I didn't want to go straight to residency training. I know my passion for travel, so I looked for job openings in places away from Manila. As it turns out, I got a call from Dr. Sayapal in December if I could start on January 2011. And that's how I began.

Lubang Island is a small island located north of mainland Occidental Mindoro... which is why every time I say that I work in Mindoro, for some reason they associate this with Puerto Galera, and mainland Mindoro. I have to explain it's a different island, and travel in between is hard because you have to go to Calatagan and Batangas piers first.

Anyway, how do you get here? There are generally two ways to get there: (1) 6-hour ferry ride and (2) 3-hour boat ride. The schedule of the ferry Nikki travels once a week, except during the summer where it can travel twice a week. The ferry docks in Pier 12 in Manila, traveling usually at around 10 AM. From Manila to Lubang, it travels during Fridays. (It used to be Saturdays, but they moved it.) From Lubang back to Manila, it travels during Sundays. Fare costs PhP 650-700/one-wayThat's the easy way. There's a harder and complicated way, but it has more flexibility in schedule. You have to travel to Calatagan Pier, and from there, catch the 400-capacity boat God's Grace to Lubang. It travels usually at 12 NN, Mon-Thu-Sat from Calatagan to Lubang, while it travels back to Calatagan on Tue-Fri-Sun. Fare costs PhP 500/one-way.

Reasons why I like it here:
1. Peaceful and quiet - every one knows every one so there's not much mauling (except usually when people get drunk) and crime rate.
2. Friendly - people are really friendly and helpful, they know who are the new-bies when they first enter the island. My friend Julie came to visit "me" but she goes to the bayan all-alone, without any agenda. She just borrowed a bicycle from one of my co-workers. And yet, she spends the whole mid-morning to afternoon there. She told me, people just approached her, knowing that she's new. They invited her for lunch, and even invited her to stay overnight! Haha
3. Primary hospital - from the first assessment, I can tell if the patient needs further evaluation and management, and if can be referred to Manila. So from the start, I explain the limitation of the facilities and medicines here, and at least explain up to what we can do. (Hmm, therefore leading to less malpractice issues.)
4. Less expenses - since I live in the hospital, I have free food and lodging. There's not much to buy here because there's not much commercial establishments. Oh right, my family's favorite pasalubong is lobster which only costs PhP 300-350/kg, which is really cheap! I try to take home every duty, but sometimes it depends on the season and the wind.
5. Internet - is super fast! I used to download one TV series in a couple of hours. I usually finish and catch up on my TV series while I'm on duty.
6. Benign - except for Monday (where the OPD is a lot because the local health center is closed), it's a generally benign duty. Love it! That's why I can catch up on my TV series, writing and blogging (haha!), and whatever things I may need to be reflecting about (haha as if! with the internet, there's already lots of temptations to do other things)

Reasons why I don't like it here:
1. Ferry schedule - because of the ferry schedule, two weekends are covered! There is also one-day allotted for traveling (actually two days, because it's a two-way trip). Because of this, even though it's only a one-week duty, 9 days is gone from your month (two days for traveling, and basically 1 free day in Lubang to roam around). There goes my traveling schedule...
2. I'm getting fat here! - I just can't go jogging here because there are dogs around, which they say don't bite, but whatever! They bark and they scare me! Hehe Plus since there are no commercial establishments here, one of their possible past times is cooking, and there are lots of food here! Especially during fiesta, where there's this habit of going from one house to the next, eating never-ending meals! Grabe... And their fiestas happen almost every month. (It's probably also another reason why a lot of them has high uric acid and cholesterol...)
3. Risk for being stranded - Since this is a separate island away from the mainland, there is a risk of being stranded, especially when the boat or the ferry didn't make it because of the wind or the water. When that happens, the doctor who's supposed to replace you cannot come, and you're forced to go on duty for another week... Actually, I think that's an advantage, because it's cheaper (in traveling expenses) if you go on duty for two straight weeks. (My longest duty was three straight weeks.) Since it's benign, you're not really tired. But okay, sometimes I get homesick and I miss not talking with them. If you get stranded, and went on duty for two weeks, at least you don't have to go on duty for another month. Because basically, the requirement is 7-days-duty per month. So, if you had 14-days, then you just advanced your duty for the next month.

I've been on duty a lot. I had experience a lot of fiestas here (so I know it can be fattening!). And when it's fiesta, people all over are very neighborly! Their houses.. are just open!

I will miss Lubang, that's for sure! I haven't been able to tour it yet! Maybe next time I come back, I will just be a visitor, so I am free to tour around and see its natural beauty... My friends who have been here (Tasha, Julie, and Lyka) all agree that it's a very peaceful and friendly island. Julie and Lyka has been able to tour some of it more than I was able to!

Thanks Lubang for showing me such great hospitality!

Palawan with the Seniors

Wow! It's already October 2011, almost a year since I last started writing!
And I'm just writing now because I might forget my Palawan trip! Hehe
Anyway, this trip is a bit impromptu, wherein we bought the tickets on a Thursday night, scheduled to leave on Saturday with my parents and my aunt (hence, the title)! So in such a short time, I was able to make a very good itinerary, considering the we only had 3 nights/3 days there (the 4th day didn't count because we left Palawan on the first flight out).

Goal:
Go to El Nido
Look at some properties
Go to Underground River
Under a budget
With 3 senior citizens (well, their seniority really helped the costs go down)

Itinerary and some costs:
Day 1:
Arrive in Puerto Princesa
Transfer to San Jose Terminal (via tricycle) = PhP 100
Shuttle van ride to El Nido - 500 (regular price) + [400 (senior citizen) x 3] = 1700
Lunch in Fort Wally Stop-Over - don't know (dad paid hehe)
Check-in

Day 2:
Island hopping = 2,000 (for the four of us, arranged through the hotel)
Dinner at Seaslugs
Walked around

Day 3:
Depart from El Nido = 400 (SC) + 450 (regular price El Nido-Sabang) = PhP 1,250
Stop over in Taytay
Stop over in Roxas (Breakfast for some)
Arrive in Sabang
Picked up by van rental = 1,200 (inclusive of permit, lunch, boat and van rental)
Buffet lunch
Underground River
Arrive in Puerto Princesa
Dinner in Ka Buch's


Day 1:
We chose Air Philippines, which unfortunately postponed the trip from Saturday to Sunday due to something wrong with the aircraft. (My dad says it's probably because there's not much passengers so we were combined with those traveling on Sunday! Haha) Fortunately, my mom and my aunt received a text message around 5:30 AM, so at least we were still at home, and not on our way to the airport! (Thank you for small miracles!) Due to the re-scheduling, we requested Air Philippines to re-book our return ticket, instead of Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning for free, especially since they have inconvenienced us. (I didn't know why my mom just re-booked our flights to Wednesday afternoon instead.)

Anyway, so we arrived in Puerto Princesa around 10:30 AM. I read about taking the tricycles outside the airport, especially since the airport tricycles were basically pegged to 120. There was some confusion (as I expected, which is why I would rather not talk to the tricycle drivers here and just walked less than 50 meters to the exit gate!), where we bartered 50 per tricycle going to San Jose Terminal, they said it was 120. (We were originally getting 2 tricycles.) But we negotiated, paying PhP 100 for 1 tricycle to go to the San Jose Terminal. (Sigh, I know it's just PhP 50/tricycle if we get a trike from the road! But hey, I'm not paying so I'm not complaining! My parents are...)

The most common way to go to El Nido to Puerto Princesa is via bus. But most tourists would opt for the public shuttle/van because of the bus is hot, cramped, and slower. The most common public van is Fort Wally (when I asked was originally 700, with pick up from the airport, but they will give a discount of 600 instead. I haggled for a 500 fare especially since we would rather go to the terminal instead, instead of paying an additional 100 per head just for the pick-up? Tricycle was as low as 50 to take the four of us to the terminal, geez! Anyway, I found her reply insulting, because I believe I am a smart tourist, and suffice it to say, we didn't get them!) It's a good thing, because I texted Savior Shuttle, which offered a lower rate (originally, 500 for regular price if coming for the terminal and 400 for senior citizens). I also posted some of the other public vans that are offering shuttle services to El Nido:.

These are some alternative ways to go to El Nido via Coron:

And just another shuttle going to Sabang? This is for the underground river. At Day 1, we were still not sure of our plans when exactly we were going to the Underground River.

 

Sorry, got lazy to take pictures of stop-overs etc!

Anyway, when we got there, we just walked around looked for a place to stay. Since I was the youngest, and I was with 3 senior citizens, lucky for me, I didn't have to pay! Haha But they found the main El Nido to be too congested and too cramped. So we chose to stay in Islandfront resort, which is still beach front, but on the other side of the main El Nido. It's quieter and more isolated! (As in, wala kaming makainan na iba. We had ride a tricycle to the main bayan so we could walk around and see people and things.)

These are some pictures:

 Dining room

Front yard

Inside our room, from left is the bathroom door, wall is decorated with wine bottles (cool!)

Day 2:

Woke up around 7:30 AM. My parents went to the market blah blah! So basically, we left the hotel around 10 AM for island hopping. Originally, we were to go for tour A and Tour B for 3000 for the four of us, which was already said to be cheap. In reality, we were able to visit Big Lagoon, Small Lagoon (where we had to swim to get inside; there wasn't much inside), Shimitzu island where we had 5-10 minutes of swimming and snorkeling (I find snorkeling in Bohol, Camiguin, or even in Batangas was better because there were more variety of fish), Entalula Island (beach was great, unfortunately it was private so we didn't spend much time there too), Snake Island (where the beach was also great; we had lunch and consequently decided to postpone the island hopping because of the heavy rain that suddenly came), and Cadugnon Cave.

Big Lagoon

Entalula Island

Snake Island

By the time, we went back it was just around 3 pm. Since we weren't able to go to a lot of places, we only paid 2,000. Nevertheless, we enjoyed it enough (I'm not really a big fan of beach and the sun anyway. And I don't think El Nido has much to offer, especially since I already went to other places in the Philippines.)

So we showered, and walked around town for a while. We ate at Seaslugs. The food was great, the ambience was good, they also have a live band. My parents and aunt like the band's playlist (jazz/chill) while eating beside the beach. So nice!

Day 3:
We took the first shuttle van going to Puerto Princesa, which was offered by Lexus at 5:30 AM. They picked us up at our hotel, and dropped us around 10 AM in Sabang.

We booked for a tour via 3B's Travel and Tour to go to the Underground River (my family already went there around December 2007; but our aunt hasn't been there yet). They picked us up at the waiting shed. We arrived for a buffet lunch at around 11:30 AM at the port. We left around 12 NN, got a boat to go to the underground river. Picture, picture, blah blah... Then we went to Puerto Princesa, checked in at Skylight Apartelle (1,200 per room good for 2, inclusive of transfer to the airport and breakfast).

Day 4:
Our flight was at 9 am. We woke up around 6 am, had breakfast. We had a little time to kill so we went to the market, bought some pasabong for about one hour (Never buy in tourist places. always the best place is the market!) Then we went to the airport.

Hong Kong with my Sisters

Hong Kong Trip with my Sisters

When: Sept 28 - 30, 2011
Where: Hong Kong
Accomodation: JJ Hotel
Goal: Business Convention in Hong Kong Convention Center

Day 1:
This is the start of PAL employees going on a strike so there are lots of delays with PAL. Fortunately, Macy and I bough Cebupac for this trip. Unfortunately, Mariel took PAL, who only bought a ticket just a couple of weeks before the event.

We waited at the departure area, sitting at the baggage area for 2-3 hours, waiting for the PAL plane to arrive. Eventually, it did, and we were on our own adventure! We just bought an Octopus card each for 150 (refundable) for all our transportation needs. We took the A11 bus going to our hotel, JJ Hotel in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island (40 HKD deducted from our Octopus card):

A11 Bus Stop at the Airport

At the bus with our Octopus Card

We got our room at JJ Place at a great price via Booking.com (1140 KHD for 3D/2N).

We got the corner room, which was very clean and peaceful. Room was a real deal for money. The location is near the mtr (most convenient way to travel generally in Hong Kong), tram (another cheap and convenient way to travel around Hong Kong island; this is our favorite to ride) and ferry (cheapest way to cross to the Kowloon side where most of the shopping is located). Also near the Hong Kong Convention Centre. There was free wifi, but it \didn't reach our room. But may be probable in the lounge area of each floor. Anyway, there is wifi in the bus, mtr and many places in Hong Kong, so this isn't much of a problem.

Bathroom has glass walls so it may be a problem for people staying together who are not close (it has window shades that can be brought down though)

Double Room (big bed enough to fit the three of us)

JJ Hotel

After checking in, we went to the Convention Center to check out the Accessories' Fair.

Fashion Access Fair

First Dinner: Pizzeria in Wan Chai (naka libre kami ng soft drinks kasi Pilipino pala ang manager :)

Day 2:
We were supposed to go sight seeing. But no, the typhoon from the Philippines named Pedring followed us into Hong Kong! Thus, there were no shops, no bus, no trams, no one on the street! It was deemed signal number 8 in Hong Kong. Tsk tsk! The only thing opened was the MTR and some McDonald's! It really is too bad... My sisters did some city photography though, especially since there were no one on the streets.

It's a zombieland

Second Day at the Fair

Ferry where we can cross for 2 HKD to go to  the other side for shopping!

Waiting for the Tram, our favorite means of transportation because it's very cheap

Hong Kong for city and night photography

Second dinner: Pecking Duck (Yum!)

Day 3:
Our flight was at 6 and 7:30 PM, so we woke up early at least to go and see Peak Tram. We took the MTR to Central, then rode the bus from there (we should have just went to a nearby bus station because the bus passed through our area anyway!). Then, we walked to the HK Botanical Gardens, where my sisters rested and I took some pictures and visited the aviary and the garden. Then, we went back to the Convention Center because they want to buy some leather bags. We had our only meal (a late lunch by that time) in some restaurant and ordered chicken with cashew nuts and some dimsum. Then we headed to the hotel for check out and to the airport. We forgot to ask where the A11 bus to the airport is, and after an hour of walking and asking around (people don't seem to know either), we just took a taxi, costing us 350 HKD (eyes boggling! as compared to our 40 HKD coming to Wan Chai)

Map of The Peak

The Peak

It really is so steep, it is almost 45 degrees...  In this picture, it is less steep.

Sleeping Beauty

Resting in Botanical Gardens

Botanical Garden (Panoramic view)

Mariel's new bag

Lunch

Checking out