Xiamen Airlines

I went to China because I want to gain more knowledge about Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture mostly, but there's also Herbal Medicine).

I booked my flight via Xiamen Airlines at roughly 16k PhP (it seems to be so expensive for me relative to my recent US trip, and in comparison to my Osaka and Tokyo trips, and even my Korea trip... I don't really remember my 2nd Europe trip haha)

My flight consisted of connecting flights, with stop-over in Xiamen. (I know, why would I go to Beijing via connecting flights when there's a direct one via Cebu Pacific or Air China? Well, I don't like their schedules, and they are actually more expensive when I booked about 4 months before my trip.)

Anyway, the service was okay. We were prompt in leaving Manila. And they served meals on all their trips. If you are delayed, they give out refreshments (nuts and water) while waiting before you take off.

Also, they offer free accommodations and lounge service for lay-over between 6 to 24 hours. How specifically to go about it? The officer in the Philippines told me to take a picture of the following and just show it when I get to China.

Well, in Xiamen, everyone has to go to Immigrations apparently, claim your bags, and then check in again upstairs. Of course, when you qualify for the hotel lay-over, instead of going upstairs to the Departure Area, go to the Transit Counter, present your ticket and passport, and they will give you the address of the hotel where you can stay.

I got the taxi, gave him my address and we're on our way. Unfortunately, Google Maps isn't very accurate in China, so we took a U-Turn because initially the driver followed me and Google Maps, but after a while, he started to shake his hand and head, because the address from his experience is different. So... don't trust Google Maps in China (after all, Google is blocked). I paid 35 RMB (originally 31 RMB, but I had no change yet and I was lost, so might as well tip on the time and distance that I did NOT get lost).

Supposedly, it was a business hotel with good ratings, but I had a standard room (shared with another transit visitor) which was okay... I guess that's what we get for a free room hehe it looks a bit run-down, with water markings on the bathroom. But the air-con was fine, bed was comfy, and there was a hot shower, with complimentary water and toiletries.

I checked out the next morning, had my free breakfast (which was not really something I would have paid good money for... or maybe it's just their usual Chinese food?), and went back to the airport.

They really don't speak English here, even the receptionist, so make sure to download a translator. I asked the receptionist to write down "Xiamen Airport Terminal 3" so I can show it to the taxi driver, so there was no problem there. Taxi fare was 23 RMB. I got there in less than 30 minutes.

I proceeded to the Transit Check-In and waited for my boarding pass, and waited for my (delayed) flight to Beijing.


Here are some tips for China:
1. If you need Google, Viber, or Facebook (among the other website that the Great Firewall of China will block), consider buying ExpressVPN. It's worth the hassle especially if you're staying for a long time (it was just two weeks for me, but I think it's worth it.)

2. I bought a pre-paid sim card 2 weeks before I left the Philippines via simeasy.com with 2GB internet, and possible to top up in case that you need text or call anyone in China. (I only need the Mobile Data for traveling and staying connected with people from the Philippines.) It was free shipping. But you have to pick it up at the post office, it will not be delivered door-to-door (I thought it will be because it was DHL.)

3. I exchanged my Philippine Peso to Chinese Yuan via Czarina's Foreign Exchange in Makati (only their main branch exchange foreign money) by 7.27 (Forex price was 7.22, which I felt was not that bad, right?) But call in advance to reserve, because they might not have the money on that day. I was lucky, because they had CNY but will be picked up tomorrow, so they gave it to me.

I arrived in Xiamen Airport at midnight, where shops were closed including Foreign Exchange. Imagine the hassle of looking for a Forex on the way to the hotel!

4. It's cheaper to book accommodations via Airbnb, but be sure to know the room number, and how to get there explicitly. It's hard to ask directions because very few know how to speak English.

I tried to contact my Airbnb, but the chat was delayed so I was waiting for about 20 minutes, before I received his message. Anyway, by that time, I already figured out that one of their common chat application is WeChat, and decided to guess and see if his number will appear there, so I can call (I only have data, I didn't have enough load to call any local number in China). And true enough, I was talking to him and replying! Yey!

5. Install a translator. My Airbnb host advised me to download Baidu where I can translate via asking, speaking, or I can take a picture of the menu or whatever I'm reading, and have it translated.

Hmmm... that's all for now, because I basically just arrived yesterday haha I have 11 more days to go! Haha 

Wedding Venues (part 2)

We thought of doing the wedding ceremony elsewhere, aside from the Garden in Albergus. So we thought of possible restaurants and not-your-usual-wedding-ceremony venues.

First, the restaurants would already be styled so no need for a stylist... right?
Second, we would rather have the ceremony be limited to 50 pax, so restaurants would be a great way to limit our guests.
Third, we also want to serve small snacks and cocktails to our guests.
Fourth, at least they have a place to eat and wait while waiting for the reception to start. (A comfortable lull for us maybe 1-2 hours for photo ops especially if we're also going elsewhere.)

So here were our choices:
1. Lemuria
Awww, I would really love to say my vows here. It's so beautiful, no stylist needed, and we can have photo ops here too. Unfortunately, their price for 50 pax (PhP 35k) is out of our budget even if the food is consumable.



Rating:
Budget - 1 (fail huhu)
Place - looks promising, but we didn't visit it because it's out of budget
Parking -
Accessibility -

2. Rustic Mornings by Isabelo
Actually, this has been on a lot of lists, so we did visited the place and found it charming. There are lots of corners and nooks where people may Instagram. But we're just unsure on where will I walk, and how to place the ceremony accordingly. The event will also be on an afternoon, so I am not sure how warm and humid the place will be.

Anyway, this was also beyond our budget because they ask PhP 550/head with included full meal reception food for 3 hours use. Even if we do not want to consume the full meal, the price will still be the same.



Budget - 1.5 (budget as a restaurant is actually reasonable, but price for wedding is beyond ours)
Venue - 2
Parking - 1.5 (they have a small parking space)
Accessibility - 2.5
Food - 2.5 (I want to return for the herbed hashbrown)

3. Patio Vera
We got their package via FB chat. Their venue rental is 5000 for ceremony only, with 5k for the sound system, plus the styling of the flowers which is another 5000. Roughly, it will take 20k for the venue alone, when we spoke with them personally. Then we can order whatever food we want as cocktails.

It's cheaper if we're going to hold the ceremony and the reception there. I think they charge 500/head with food and venue and speaker already included (but no mic). But the capacity of the place is about 100 to 120 pax.

Other things to note:
They accept credit cards! Yes for points hehe
Parking is valet - may or may not be good
Since this is a real garden setup, think about mosquitos.
Though there is a space for indoor airconditioned area, the place may be divided into sections, depending if you have activities planned for the guests.
It doesn't seem to have much space for dancing, or photobooth, if your wedding might contain those. It's basically just a setup for an intimate garden wedding, where food is king.

Budget - 1.5
Venue - 1.5
Parking - 2.5 (valet so less problem for the guests)
Accessibility - 2.5 (near Marikina Proper)

4. Sally and Greg Garden Tree Cafe
The place may be hard to find (which was something that I like haha I'm an explorer), but Waze will guide you.

Anyway, I like their place. It was bigger than Patio Vera in terms of space. They have more roof and protection in case that it rains. I can easily picture where I will walk, too. For me, not much styling is needed for the place as they already have pre-installed swags  in the gazebo(which Jeff thought was too low, especially for our 6-footer guests), curtains, and walkways. The place looks very romantic, especially in the evenings.
In case that we did think to style it, we can just give them the flowers and they will help to style the place too (for free, I presume).
They only have one restroom, though, which may be a problem.
It's still an outdoor wedding, so be wary of mosquitos, especially at night.

For the price, if the reception was held there, they charge Php 300/head during weekdays and PhP 400/head during weekends which is inclusive of vegetables plus 2 entree, pasta, and I forgot if it already includes appetizer and dessert, but the price was already within budget. Plus it already includes the venue! Unfortunately, their maximum capacity was 80 to 100, so sadly, no...

On the other hand, if we did decide to rent the place for the ceremony (it was 30 minutes from La Piazza via MWSS and Balara route), venue rental for the gazebo is 5000 plus the sounds which is 500. And then we can pre-order their snacks and appetizers. It was still within budget.

Parking is in the street, though it seems to be safe when we went there. It's in Marikina heights, so there were lots of small streets in the area, and one can easily get lost.

Though Jeff prefers Patio Vera because he didn't like the low swags, and Patio Vera is easier to find haha

Budget - 2.5
Venue - 2.5
Parking - 1.5
Accessibility - 1.5



Other things on our place to visit are:
5. 14 Four Cafe
The package they sent seems to fit our budget with a consumable amount of 15000 plus the venue rental for 3 hours. They also have speakers available, but no mic, but we can provide our own if needed. Their maximum capacity is 80 pax for the whole venue, so really... only the ceremony can be held there. Pictures seems to be promising, and it fits our budget, so we will definitely visit the place.
6. Eggs for Breakfast
Because they also seem to be on a lot of "romantic restaurants in Antipolo", so we might as well.
7. La Verandah
Actually, this is based from a blog who also short-listed the UP Bonsai Garden and the Village Patio, so I thought that maybe we have the same budget and style that we're looking for, so might as well check, right? Hehe But I can't find much information on them over the internet.

It's Holy Week so we can't continue our venue hunting this weekend, so hopefully by next week we get to visit the other venues and finally make a decision!

Wedding Venues

So first, decide on the venue. Followed by the food.
I read that most of the wedding budget is allotted for the food. Some of the food caterers are cheaper when packaged with a reception already. So we started out with that one.

We are looking for a venue, where we can hold a civil ceremony and the reception together. So usually, most would suggest garden weddings. We picked a weekday (so there would be less guests and cheaper haha)

Our basis for the venue rating is the budget, the place itself and amenities, parking, and accessibility

I just took a picture of their current offers as of March 25, 2017, but you can see the pictures of the actual reception on Google. I listed them in chronological order the way we visited them.

1. Hillcreek - no doubt beautiful, but beyond our budget, and it's too far for a weekday wedding
We went here because there was a food tasting generally haha it was our first time, and I guess it made us realize that we better start planning our own wedding (Yes, my boyfriend hasn't really proposed, so this leaves me a bit confused on what stage are we, but hey we're buying a lot and constructing a house already.)

Rating:
Budget - 1
Place - 2
Parking - 3
Accessibility - 1
Food - 2
Total: 9 of 15

2. Cercio (Tomas Morato, QC)
The best way to save on the venue is not to pay for it at all, which why we also thought about Cercio as a possible venue. They have buffet offers for big group dining. Though if it were me, I would rather order per table and have it sit-down instead of a buffet. Especially since we're in their restaurant anyway.
It's just the last on our list because we don't know where to hold the ceremony. Unless we just do it in the City Hall, then have the reception there after.... Which I guess would fit the 100k wedding budget, but it's not really something I would have dreamed.
Also, there's not much space also if you're going to decide on a program. They also have a parking lot, but not enough for 100 guests.

Rating:
Budget - 2
Food - 2 (we ate here as a restaurant)
Venue - 1.5 (a bit lacking in space)
Parking - 1.5 (can fit less than 10 cars only)
Accessibility - 3 (tomas morato)
Total: 10

Though we did thought about getting restaurants as a possible venue like Plaza Ibarra or more cozy ones like Rustic Mornings (Marikina), Romulo Cafe (Tomas Morato), Frazzled Cook (Tomas Morato) but they could only fit 50 pax, so we can't.

3. Oasis
Their venue rate is 60k for the Orchard Hall for 100 pax, but at least we can use their garden for "free" for the ceremony.







Rating:
Budget - 2
Place - 2
Parking - 3
Accessibility - 3
Food by Verleo - 2
Total: 12

4. Light of Love
For reasons of practicality, their room Integrity would already have a place for the ceremony outside, and the reception inside. My friend got married there (Christian wedding) and I saw it in action.

Another room I also liked for the reception was the Atrium with the possibility of natural evening light. But it's too expensive for me, and we wanted the room to be for 100-150 pax only.

Also, while walking around, the area where I wanted to get married was in the trellis/arch part, which is actually a hallway, and hence no civil wedding could occur there haha (Unless I rented the whole place, which is beyond our budget and it's not practical at all)








Aside from that, their venue only rates are more expensive (I lost my copy of their venue only rates), plus there's a different fee for the reception and the ceremony. If you did choose light of love, it is better to get it with your chosen accredited caterers. But for me, no, it's too expensive and the place where I would want the ceremony is not really an "event venue"

Rating:
Budget - 1.5
Place - 2 (would have been 3 if we can use the trellis hallway)
Parking - 2
Accessibility - 2 (a bit hard to find)
Food by CVJ - 2.5
Total: 10




We went to the wedding fair on SMX last March, and thought about these places too.

5. Jardin in Remington Hotel
This is basically a bar on top of the Remington Hotel, but they offer 100,000 package with consumable packages.
Yes, this is probably not your usual venue for a wedding, but it's within the budget haha and seriously, I was thinking about getting a not so usual venue for a wedding. Like just getting a restaurant, so we don't have to pay for the venue.







We were not able to see the place, so it's not fair to rate it.

6. Sampaguita Gardens
The nice place about it is that they have ample parking in the middle of San Juan. Their garden area for the ceremony was also big. There was a set up when we visited the place for an ocular.




Rating:
Budget - 2
Place - 2
Parking - 3
Accessibility - 2
Total: 9 out of 12


7. 38 Valencia Street
This is basically an events place, where we can also hold the ceremony, but... when we found it, I wouldn't want to pay extra for the ceremony at their garden for an additional fee.
Parking may also be a problem.




Rating:
Budget - 1.5
Place - 1.5
Parking - 1.5
Accessibility - 2
Total: 6.5 of 12

8. Jardin de Miramor
Intramuros! Though most couples usually use it for a photo shoot and prenups, for some reason, I saw myself walking amidst the brick walls towards my future husband. Of course, there really is no space for crowds on both sides, and that's okay for me, because I really wanted the ceremony to be intimate anyway haha







Or else, we can just do the ceremony on the bridge, that way, more guests can watch it. The bridge has a fountain in the middle, that way, the guests can still take pictures from different vantage points.
There is no need for chairs also because it's just a civil ceremony. Don't they just stand while it's ongoing on court, anyway?
So for me, there's no need to do ceremony styling because we don't need chairs, no need for more flowers because the brick walls and the natural trellis is already enough for me. Am I crazy for getting married on that spot? Haha well, most would have went with a beach or garden, but I liked the bricks apparently haha And I really like the part where I am NOT THAT center of attention with an aisle in a church or garden wedding.

Our first choice for reception was the Plaza with its open-air outdoor setting and yet with a roof with swags already installed. But the price was considered Platinum, 40,700 just for the venue alone. (Corkage fees also goes up with the type of venue.)






They have packaged rates with Hizon's, Shekinah, Richgold, M catering, and Josiah's. We've only tasted Hizon's amongst them, and is scheduled to try Richgold and M catering this weekend. Or we can just get the venue rate, and just get another cheaper caterer, which is something I've also been looking to.


We returned the following weekend to ask if we can book the Estacion garden instead of the Plaza as reception, but they told us that we will still pay the price of the Plaza, which is 40k instead of the 20,900. That is so sad. I felt sooooo heartbroken. (But I guess that's the way life goes right? Especially when I'm on a budget.)


Rating:
Budget - 3 (became 2 in comparison to La Piazza)
Place - 3! (I finally got that "this is it! feeling" -- meron pala talagang ganun?)
Parking - 3
Accessibility - 2
Total: 11 out of 12!

On our second visit, there was also
Food by Richgold - 1.5

9. L'Aquinum










Rating:
Budget - 3
Place - 2.5
Parking - 2.5
Accessibility - 2
Food by Madriaga - 2
Total: 12 of 15

Problem here is that... they already have reservations for the dates that we want. Unless maybe we just change our dates?

10. L'Orchard
It was a nice spacious estate. But there was no one there when we did a spontaneous ocular visit haha I just got this piece of paper to know about the venue rental. Suffice it to say, that I could rather go for Jardin.


Rating:
Budget - 1
Place - 2
Parking - 3
Accessibility - 2
Total: 8 of 12

11. Alexa's Secret Garden
For our last three weeks, the cheapest we could find is Alexa's secret garden in Antipolo (actually, it's just in the end of Marcos Highway). It's venue rental is only 27k with basic lights and sounds, use of the whole place (garden, Filipiniana house, pool, and future bridal suite) without any corkage on the different suppliers! It is such a steal!
They have a garden, with a retractable roof in case that it rains. (so there's a back-up plan for rain)

But... we are just having a problem with the parking and how to find it (though it is search-able in Waze). It just opened last November 2016, and the bridal suite is still under construction, but they currently have another room where preps can be done. As such, we are not yet sure if the parking will be better by the last quarter of the year.

I have another tip here. I was able to find this through Airbnb. Yes, another option is to look for nice gorgeous big house that you can rent for 24 hours, instead of a measly 4-5 hours. Usually, there's also no corkage that way. Unfortunately, most big nice looking houses can be considered as destination weddings. I found a pretty nice one also in Jalajala, Rizal but we decided that it's too far considering that we're picking a weekday to get married hehe But it's another idea to save on venue.







Rating:
Budget - 3
Place - 2.5
Parking - 1
Accessibility - 1.5
Total: 8 of 12

Food by CVJ - 2


12. La Piazza by Albergus
My family has known Albergus for years now, so we have no doubt about the quality of the food. And I was thinking since they have their own place, won't it be cheaper, if we just used that one? Well, they have a package with food, venue, and basic set up for only 55k for 100 people! Very cheap!

But it's an all-occasions package, so couple and VIP tables, and backdrop are not yet included in the set-up. We asked how much do we pay if we want to have a back drop installed, it's just another 10k or in case that we decide to get our own event stylist, it's not a problem for them, and they don't have corkage. I asked about upgrading to their VIP plated service, they charged 200/pax. Still, it's cheaper than their 190k silver budget wedding.

They also have an outdoor "garden" space with installed swags which we can rent for around 4900 (we want the smaller garden, which can hold a max of 70 pax but we wanted the ceremony to be intimate anyway, and we feel that most guests will be late anyway). I was even thinking where is the Pandan Garden Patio for 30 to 50 pax only, but it's still under construction haha










Small Garden 1



Rating:
Budget -  3
Food - 3 (Presentation and Taste)
Venue - 2.5
Parking - 2.5
Accessibility - 3
Total: 14 of 15


So based on the 3 weekends of ocular visit, we are currently thinking of going for a civil ceremony in Antipolo (21k for the venue) and the reception at Albergus (58k with VIP plating, exclusive of the backdrop, additional styling, cakes, and wine)...


Though after 1 day of thinking... we are thinking of the inconvenience of having 2 venues when it's just a civil wedding anyway. Plus, if I am able to rent Intramuros for a civil wedding, that's 21k for the venue + 9k for the lights and sounds + chair rental (roughly 3k for 50 pax) + cocktail food, so basically... it's just not practical for just 2 hrs! Aside from which, talking with Jardin and their many corkages and limitations can be tiring. And La Piazza is in Quezon City as compared to Jardin in Antipolo. I really love Jardin's place and amenities, but La Piazza's advantage over budget, food excellence, and accessibility is more practical.

Yes, so for now, it seems that we're going for La Piazza by Albergus. (Their payment terms are also waaaaaay better than other caterers and venue rentals with able to confirm and full payment 2 wks before the event.)

Though my guess is that I should write another entry on our food tasting with the different caterers because we really thought that we are going for Jardin. Next time :)

Wedding Challenge

Amidst the wedding season amongst my age, and with all the frenzy that came with it, I've decided to make a way such that the budget will only be 100k! Haha This is because we need our money more for our house and lot. If I were able to do it, my boyfriend would let me handle our money matters in the future haha

But I would like to clarify the following:
1. This is for a civil wedding and reception
2. Scheduled on a weekday (so less number of guests), probably in Antipolo (I originally wanted destination wedding to further lessen the number of guests, but it's probably an inconvenience to our family if we do that haha)
3. I will mostly be hands-on and DIY, so no coordinators for me (and now apparently, my boyfriend also likes doing crafts? Though I have yet to see his skills. Maybe I should just say he enjoys watching those crafts and hacks on YouTube.)
4. No non-essentials for us
We just want a simple ceremony and good food. We don't want the photo booth, event stylists, event coordinator (do we still need that if we only have a civil wedding?).
5. Ask help from family and friends
I'm going to ask my climb friends to be our official photographers instead.
I'm also going to ask help from my OC college friends in styling, invitations, and souvenirs.  (In exchange, I can be their wedding planner if my budget wedding really does work!)
For sounds, well, I will just leave that part to my future husband because I don't really have a preference.
I will also need a make up artist, because I need something that will last me the whole night, but I will probably just go to the salon, right? I don't need touch-ups since the ceremony is immediately followed by the reception anyway. Maybe I could just do airbrush in a salon somewhere. Will that be cheaper? Or when I searched OLX and inquired, she does home service for 2,500 for airbrush. Discounts may apply if we are more (with my siblings, yep, probably).
For the dress, that part I haven't decided if I'm going to Divisoria or just buy RTW. I'm not that picky, but I wouldn't want the dress to be that formal that I can only wear it once.

Here's a hint for those newly scouting for suppliers: Rate everything!
My boyfriend and I have decided to rate everything from 1 to 3, with 3 as Excellent, 2 as so-so, and 1 as No. With all the food tasting that you'll probably encounter, it's going to be difficult to remember. From the list in the menu, at least you'll see which ones you've liked This is also the same for the venues. And I presume with all the other suppliers.


Update:
Since we've more or less settled on a Tuesday night, and our reception would be somewhere in Manila, we think our guest list might reach 150 pax instead of 100. Hence, I need to increase our budget to 150k. Sounds reasonable to me haha

Comparison of Banks

After going through so many banks, I realized that I just want a several few I can trust. Let me reflect back on the different banks

1. BPI - savings ATM account, mutual fund, credit card
Pros:
Can schedule branch account appoint online! (Unfortunately, it's not yet available on the mobile app, and it's not available for the customer service part)
ATM - accessible online, money transfer, easy deposit via cash deposit machine, can use ATM internationally, can pay for my HSBC credit card
Mutual fund - has monthly hassle-free investment program
Credit Card - occasional promos with Jollibee, etc
Home loan - pre-approved for a 5.5% 4-yr fixed interest

Cons:
Very hard to talk to a phonebanking officer (last December, it took me 2 hours before I gave up)
Home Loan processing has more paperwork requirements
Always have a lot of people in the Katipunan branch

2. BDO - savings with checking account, IUTF, credit card
Pros:
ATM - bundled with checking account
IUTF - also has a regular EIP for investment
Credit card - rebate card, so no need to keep track of points expiry etc
Home loan - delayed in their response. but at least I got pre-approved for a 5.88% 5-yr fixed rate

Cons:
Interbank and online charges for transferring money!!!?
Credit card - made a scheduled payment to my credit card, but my savings account wasn't deducted and I WASN'T informed that my "scheduled" payment didn't come through. I don't understand why, because my savings account was fully funded. I was charged for penalty and interest fee. Though I called it up and clarified, they waived the penalty fee but not the interest. I just let it go and decided thereon that I would never use the scheduled payment ever again.
Home loan - online doesn't work. They had false advertising over a promo for it.
BDO Berkeley Residences and San Pablo-Maharlika has better branch customer service with more personnel.

3. Metrobank
Pros:
Branch - usually not much line in Katipunan branch
Savings account - can use ATM internationally (with better rates than BPI), can pay my SecBank credit card, linked to my ALFM fund
Credit Card - occasional credit card promos, easier to earn points
Home loan - currently have promo rates of 5.88% with 5.5% subject to approval

Cons:
less branches
home loan - processing is said to be very slooow

4. HSBC - credit card
Pros:
Branch - few people
Phone banking - great; they even let them call you from their website
Credit card - this is one of my oldest card, and I never had a problem (but need to call to waived annual fees, etc), I use it internationally, can pay my Globe and Smart bills online anytime
Home loan - rate is attractive, promo is attractive (waived 100k fees)

Cons:
not much promos
not much branches

5. Citibank - credit card
Pros:
can easily pay my Globe and Smart bills online
can use internationally without a problem
phone banking - so many buttons to click before I can talk to an officer
mobile and online app

Cons:
had a bit of a hassle waiving my annual fee

6. Security Bank - credit card (newest one so maybe not much experience yet)
Pros:
Branch - few people; lots of branches
Phone banking - can also let them call you; or in my case, I can SMS one of their personnel to ask
Credit card - rebate (no need to watch the points)
Home Loan - elastic fantastic option

Cons:
Credit card - cannot pay my telecom bills online
Home Loan - appraisal fee, before they can pre-approve


I am seriously thinking of closing my BDO savings account, and opening an account elsewhere. But I haven't decided what bank yet. I was thinking wherever home loan bank that will approve us instead.