Boracay as the Next World-Class Destination Hot Spot

Got this very good news from the website of the Wall Street Journal as the undisputed no. 1 beach destination here in the Philippines, Boracay, is included in the perceived travel hot spots that the worldwide travel industry hopes will become hits to tourists in the coming years. The island is being pitched as a regional vacation spot reinvented for luxury seekers.

Potential visitors are encouraged to go windsurfing or hunt for native puka shells on white-sand beaches. One drawback according to a travel reviewer is travel fatigue after a long flight from Los Angeles, California with a stopover in Manila and a boat ride to the island. For adventurers I know that they don't mind the long travel as to them "half of the fun of travel is getting there."

I believe that various market forces shape a potential travel hot spot. Marketing is a great tool for the national government to promote any part of our beautiful islands. Even after several terrorist attacks in Bali, Indonesia and the tsunami devastation in Phuket, Thailand tourists still flock those beaches as the marketing campaign of their national governments instill that they are still safe and the natural beauty of a particular place haven't been affected by man-made and natural disasters.

There's no terrorism nor catastrophic natural disasters afecting most of our beaches in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao except for seasonal typhoons so there's no reason for Boracay and a number of other great beach destinations in our country not to be known to the rest of the world. With a meager marketing budget of the Department of Tourism the only way now is to fellow Filipinos to promote our country through word of mouth... blogging is a perfect venue for this. Agree?

Post Script: Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines will be commencing their Manila-Caticlan (Boracay)-Manila route by late 2007 or early 2008... More supply = lower price... YEHEY!!!!!

A Sleeper Economy Class?

Possible cabin layout of an all-sleeper economy cabin of Lufthansa Airlines

At first glance this picture seems it was taken from a dormitory. I found this very interesting photo and article from flightglobal.com as it looks like German flag carrier Lufthansa is studying the possibility of a specialized all-sleeper configuration which will be available for long-haul flights on economy class. The airline is currently soliciting passenger opinions on this I think eccentric concept.

The picture above depicts a possible cabin arrangement featuring fully lie-flat bunks stacked three-high in a herringbone layout on either side of the cabin, with additional berths in a wide central aisle.

I think it's a great out-of-the-box idea, at least in principle. I always want to try out new things and definitely this will be included in my virtual list. One of my concerns is that what will happen to me if ever I'm seated, rather lying on the top tier of the "sleeper" vestibule during a bad turbulence. The longer the flight, the greater the chance a bad turbulence might occur.

And also, I think I can't endure a 9-12 hour flight just lying all the time except for bathroom breaks. And during meals are passengers expected also to have breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack on top of their beds? I know that breakfast in bed is a romantic things for others... but not this time.

My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 3)

I'm an Ireland

Take the country quiz... it's cool. Well, I don't totally agree with the description of my personality but what the heck! You cannot summarize my life in just a few sentences. Right?

You're Ireland!

Mystical and rain-soaked, you remain mysterious to many people, and this
makes you intriguing. You also like a good night at the pub, though many are just as
worried that you will blow up the pub as drink your beverage of choice. You're good
with words, remarkably lucky, and know and enjoy at least fifteen ways of eating a potato.
You really don't like snakes.


Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 2)

My Davao Impromptu Trip

My sister, me and Blogie Robillo at a his friend's bar in Davao

Me and my sister visited the city of Davao a week ago and we would like to extend our appreciation to Mr. Blogie Robillo of Mindanao Bloggers and his friends for their hospitality. We talked everything about blogging, blogging personalities and the upcoming 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit in Davao City. This trip is so memorable like our first visit exactly a year ago. Aside from the usual great sites that Davao has to offer, everyone is so helpful and accommodating, from the bellboy at the Marco Polo Hotel up to the barbecue vendor at Recto Street. I may not be physically present on October 27 for the summit because I’ll be in Iloilo for the November 1 long weekend but I will definitely be back in Davao in the near future.

I usually plan my trips at least a month in advance but this trip is different, we planned everything with my sister over the phone in less than an hour. I only got to purchase the plane tickets less than 36 hours before our intended departure. And for our hotel, I had to call the reservation agent in Davao directly. I'm thankful that at present is the lean season for domestic travel so the plane is not that full and the hotel occupancy rate is not that high.

Thank God I still have the travel brochures which I got last year...

its PISO fare Air Philippines style

Now, its Air Philippines' turn to roll out its own 1 peso seat sale. The PISO seat sale started today and will run up to September 21 for travel from October 1 up to December 15, 2007. Seats are limited so buy your tickets as early as possible to avoid disappointment. You may buy your tickets at any Air Philippines office or your favorite travel agent.

As with Cebu Pacific, more or less a one-way ticket from Manila to any Visayas destination (and vise-versa) will set you back only 1,100 pesos and to any Mindanao destination (and vise-versa) would only cost 1,300 pesos all in. Virtually, the ticket cost consists of government tax and fuel surcharge.

My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 1)

its PISO fare once more

This is the day that avid budget but savvy travellers from all over the country waited for a long while. Cebu Pacific, the number 1 domestic airline offers more than 100,000 domestic route seats for only 1 peso (of course excluding government taxes and fuel surcharge). The seat sale starts today up to September 11 only and for travel from November 1 to December 20. You may book-and-buy online or through your favorite travel agent.

More or less a one-way ticket from Manila to any Visayas destination (and vise-versa) will set you back only 1,100 pesos and to any Mindanao destination (and vise-versa) would only cost 1,300 pesos all in. Virtually, the ticket cost consists of government tax and fuel surcharge.

Beware All Bloggers!!!

I got this very important news from BBC warning all bloggers regarding the spread of viral storms attacking Google's Blogger site. The site is being used by hackers who are posting fake entries to some blogs that could infect a Windows PC.

The following text were taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6970368.stm

The fake entries contain weblinks that lead to booby-trapped downloads that could infect a Windows PC. The Blogger attack is the latest in a series by a gang that has managed to hijack hundreds of thousands of PCs.

The entries on the blogs have the same text as some of the spam distributed by the group behind the attacks. These attempt to trick people into clicking on links and downloading booby-trapped files using cleverly crafted messages.

Some pose as YouTube links others claim to be looking for testers of software packages or digital greetings cards.

Security experts estimate that the group can send out so much junk mail because they have hijacked so many Windows PCs via successive campaigns. Some suspect that the group has infected more than one million PCs over the last eight months.

Thanks a Million Tom!

This is a long overdue post. I would like to thank my former officemate and friend Tom Frederick Bernardo for creating my cute blog header. He is a digital arts techie and also an animator. If someone out there want to solicit his services you may contact him through fr3do@manoproductions.com or mobile no. 09274449318. He is currently working as a Maya 3D Generalist (Organic and Mechanical Modeler, Animator) for a company producing full-length 3D animation films. He is also familiar with other Maya's animation tools including :

· Digital Hair Simulation using Maya 
· Digital Cloth Simulation using Syflex
· Modeling with Z-Brush 2.0, 
· Compositing with Adobe After Effects 6.5, 
· Adobe Photoshop CS2 
· Sound Editing with Adobe Audition 1.5