How to Pack a Balikbayan Box

I saw a very ingenious product called Balikbayan Box Cover being offered by Balikbayan Gear for those who have a ton of things to pack as pasalubong, personal effects or when just moving out to a new house. Because my grandfather will celebrate his 88th birthday on Valentines Day many of our relatives in the U.S. went home to attend the celebration. I always help them unpack when they arrive to get my pasalubongs and help them again to pack when they go back to the U.S. so I consider myself a semi-professional "packer."

For me, packing is an art as there are more than a 100 ways to pack your things and not have the skill to do it efficiently. I am not a packing guru so I want to share these tips to have a stress-free as featured in the website of Balikbayan Gear.

1. Pack the heavy items on the bottom first. This includes your canned goods, books or other flat paper products that can serve as a strong base for the rest of your cargo.

2. Wrap the breakables with your clothes or any other soft material that can take the impact off those perfume bottles or souvenir plates from Europe.

3. Stuff all empty containers with other items. If you are taking a bowl home, make sure you put something inside it to save precious space.

4. Save room for those last-minute requests from relatives. Of course, there's always space for friends' requests.

5. Save room for those impulse purchases you will going to make at the airport -- that extra box of chocolate or another bottle of Johnnie Walker.

6. Use Zip Lock plastic bags for bottles of liquid products like shampoo, lotion and cologne. High altitude pressure tends to make them explode.

7. Use double-walled boxes. They cost more, but they provide better protection from the steel-toed boots of baggage handlers.

8. Bring an extra friend at the airport. In case your box is overweight, you can unpack the non-essentials and give them to this person to take home.

9. Get someone to help you weigh your box. You probably cannot read a scale while carrying a big box.

10. With the Balikbayan Box Cover, there is no need to worry about your box being overweight at the check-in counter. If the weight reading at the airport is a few pounds over, all you have to do is unzip your cover and hand-carry those extra cans of corned beef.

Spend Over $30,000.00 for Valentine's Day

Are you willing to spend 1.4 million pesos (US$30,400) for Valentine's Day? If your answer is yes, then you might want to give a try the "Suite Valentine Affair" package being offered by Manila Hotel which will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2012. Here are the inclusions:

Overnight stay at the MacArthur Suite, Room décor with flowers and pralines, Limousine service within Metro Manila, Express check-in/out, 24 hours butler services, Special Treatment Package (Detoxification Package) for 2 (two) persons, “A night under the stars” special romantic dinner at the roof deck of the Manila Hotel, Jewelmer's one matinee-length strand necklace composed of multi-colored baroque Palawan South Sea pearls for the lady in the room, flowing champagne, Special room service breakfast, internet access & Free mini-bar.

If you are not a CEO of a multi-billion peso company here in the Philippines or a hacienda heiress then you might want to try the other packages that are more economical.

PACKAGE 1: “LOVE LETTER”

RATE: PHP 7,995.00 NET

AVAILABILITY: February 12-14, 2010

PACKAGE 2: “LOVE SONG”

RATE: PHP 8,995 .00 NET

AVAILABILITY: February 12-14, 2010

PACKAGE 3: “LOVE POEM”

RATE: PHP 9,995.00 NET

AVAILABILITY: February 12-14, 2010

PACKAGE 4: “LOVE STORY”

RATE: PHP 19,995.00 NET

AVAILABILITY: February 13-14, 2010

NOTE: photos taken from the hotel's official web site

Cebu Pacific: This is Not a Review

my first Cebu Pacific paper ticket

Many of my friends and readers who stumbled upon this blog already asked me different questions about the country's largest budget airline Cebu Pacific. So here are my thoughts about this airline which I first had the chance to ride going to Iloilo with my family when it is barely a household name in the summer of 1996. Cebu Pacific has its good points and bad points so I am not in any way endorsing or discouraging you to become one of its loyal passenger.

look at the date of this ticket... April 3, 1996

• I am very happy that they retired those Jurassic era DC-9 aircraft and replaced them with brand new Airbus and ATR so the safety concerns of most air travelers are not an issue to me. They are claiming to have the youngest fleet here in the Philippines so you can just relax and enjoy the flight when you ride Cebu Pacific.

• Ticket price WITHOUT a seat sale: If the ticket price is the deciding factor for your airline choice in travelling to a local destination then I strongly encourage everyone who are planning to book a Cebu Pacific flight thru its web site to check first the web sites of Philippine Airlines or Zest Air. In my experience, sometimes Cebu Pacific is even pricier than two airlines. Although I used Cebu Pacific countless of times already I would always prefer Philippine Airlines over it specially if the price difference is insignificant.

• Ticket price WITH a seat sale: Cebu Pacific is famous for their ubiquitous PISO fare and other seat sale which comes in catchy name. PISO fare seat sale is always a day to expect as the price of its domestic and international flights are most often cheaper than riding a taxi from Quezon City to my home in Las Pinas. Some seat sale are not worth it. If it would cost me more than 1,000 pesos for a one-way local trip then I would not make a fuss out of it.

• As for the service, some flights I did enjoy and some were very forgettable. I had my share of 1, 2, 3 and even 8 hour-delayed flights not because of force majeur so I once avoided this airline for that reason alone. For the past months Cebu Pacific did improve their on-time performance as published in its web site so I congratulate them for that achievement. As for Philippine Airlines (PAL), they are advertising in their web site that they have a more than 90% on-time record for their domestic and international flights. I 100% believe that as for the past several flights I had with PAL I didn't experienced even a 1 minute delay. And also, don't expect any complimentary refreshments because it is a budget airline although during the late 1990s they are serving canned soda and junk food made by Universal Robina Corp.

• I just wish that airline would revise the schedule of some of its international flights (Bangkok, Jakarta, Saigon etc.) because most people don't enjoy taking a red-eye flight. Arriving in your destination past midnight can be stressful as you are tired with the things you did for the whole day then you will endure a flight when you supposed to be sound asleep in your comfortable bed.

Ready, Jet Set, Go!

Travel expos are here again. Next in line is the 2010 edition of the Travel Tour Expo of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association.

According to PTAA's web site, the event features two new segments – lifestyle (which will cover travel accessories, health and wellness products and services, culinary schools, car rentals and the like) and food sellers with lounge areas.

Date:

19 to 21 February 2010

Venue:

SMX Convention Center Halls 2, 3 & 4,

Seashell Drive, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City

Opening Hours:

19 February - Friday

11 AM - 9 PM

20 February - Saturday

10 AM - 9 PM

21 February - Sunday

10 AM - 6 PM

Ticket booths close 30 minutes before end of show hours

For more information about this event visit http://tte.ptaa.org.ph/

My First Published Article

front cover of the 3rd issue of Manila Skies magazine

Spirit of Manila Airlines is a new budget airline currently operating at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport that serves the following destinations as of January 2010 according to wikipedia: Bahrain, Kuwait, Macau and Taiwan.

Its official inflight magazine is called Manila Skies. An associate editor of Manila Skies contacted me if I want to contribute an article for the 3rd issue of their magazine. It would be my first time writing an article for a publication so accepted the offer in a jiffy. You may click THIS to read the full article I wrote about the Damnoen Saduak floating market near Bangkok, Thailand.

None of my friends knew about this airline and I can't blame them because I never saw even a newspaper advertisement. I just hope that Spirit of Manila Airlines would prosper just like the leading national budget carrier Cebu Pacific.

MD-83 aircraft with Spirit of Manila livery

photograph taken from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spirit_Of_Manila_Airlines_MD-83.jpg

Philippine Airlines 777 Seat Sale

Boeing 777-300ER

Last 2 days for the 777 seat sale of Philippine Airlines in line with the delivery of its second Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

If you are planning to go on a holiday from February 1 to March 15, 2010 then you just need Php777 for a single journey trip to any destination in Luzon or Visayas (from Manila) and Php1,777 for destinations in Mindanao. These fares include taxes but exclusive of Aviation Security Fee.

The seat sale ends tomorrow January 25. For more information about this seat sale please click HERE.

There are still available seats as of 11:44PM of January 23, I just bought a roundtrip ticket to Iloilo next month to attend my grandfather's 88th birthday celebration.

photograph taken from http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2007/q2/070605f_pr.html

I'm Alive!

It's been months since my last post, no I am not dead, I just took a time off from blogging. Now I realized that I am ready to blog again. I'll try my best to inform you all again about travel promos, news and pretty much anything that has something to do about travel.

I decided to disable my "chat box" in my Blogger panel and I encourage anyone who would like to tell me anything to please leave your thoughts in the comment section of every blog post. It seems that many stumbled upon this blog when searching about airlines like Cebu Pacific, Zest Air and Philippine Airlines. I am really sorry if I can't answer your queries about the ticket prices in a particular destination on a particular date as I am also depending on the online booking facility of airlines for my trips. Ticket prices may change anytime so I have no way to guarantee you a particular amount on a particular date for different destinations. The best way for you to find out is to go to the official web site of the airline of your choice or call a travel agent whose telephone numbers you can find in the Yellow Pages. If there are promos/seat sale from airlines which I may find worth informing you as my reader then I will definitely blog it.

For my regular visitors I will try my best to visit your blogs and leave a comment so you will know that I am still alive, hehehe :)

My Lakbayan Grade

My Lakbayan grade is A-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Those which are shaded in light and dark blue on the map above are the places where I have been to for the past 20+ years of my existence. It seems a lot but I still need to cover many grounds of our 70+ provinces. I have visited all of the provinces in Visayas region as it is the smallest region of our country and it helped a lot that my father is from Region 6. My Northern Luzon trips were courtesy by our visit to my mom's hometown in Cagayan Valley and we also have relatives in the Ilocos Region.

Despite of my blood ties in Luzon and Visayas it is odd to reveal that my favorite region here in the Philippines is Mindanao... Yes, I am a Mindanao lover!... I learned to love it because I discovered that the perception of a war haven Mindanao is not true at all. There is a presence of terrorism activities in some parts of the region but it is unfair to brand the whole of Mindanao as a haven of lawlessness and terrorists. I would love to explore more of that very beautiful region and meet more friendly people in my upcoming trips.

P.S. I have a secret... Don't tell my mother I have been to Basilan :)

Looking for a Hotel/Resort?

Aside from saving big bucks for booking that airline seat because of a seat sale you can also save substantial amount when you book your hotel to your intended destination. Whenever I plan to go out of town or even out of the country I always make it a point to visit Asiatravel.com to find good bargains on hotels or resorts. I also visit other hotel booking sites to compare prices but I always end up booking with Asiatravel.

I already used their services to book a hotel for my trips for more or less 20 instances already so I must say that Asiatravel is my favorite hotel booking website. I haven't solicited nor received any monetary favors from Asiatravel so I am not being biased with the other hotel providers. I chose Asiatravel more often because after comparing the price of my preferred hotel/resort from different providers I found it that they offer the lowest price. On one instance I needed to change a booking because of an unforeseen event they even waived without hesitation the cancellation fee when I told them that I am a frequent client.

The choices of hotels and resorts in a given destination are varied which can satisfy any budget that you may require. Compared to other similar websites the choices are also extensive so you can be sure that your favorite hotel will be on offer. It also doesn't take a genius to navigate and book a hotel using the website's interface. The pricing format is also straightforward so the price that you see as being advertised is what you get.

P499 Seat Sale From Cebu Pacific

Many of my frequent readers visit this blog because they want to know if there is a seat sale/promotion from airlines to their favorite destinations here in the Philippines or even abroad. I will not disappoint you so here is another of my freshest catch:

Cebu Pacific, Asia’s third largest low-cost carrier, is offering seats for as low as PHP499 from Manila to established adventure destinations Naga (Cam Sur) and Kalibo (Boracay), as well as from Davao to Cagayan de Oro.

The PHP499 "Go Lite" fare also extends to flights from Manila to Tuguegarao, Catarman and Calbayog, and Cebu to Iloilo.

Passengers can avail of the one-way PHP499 Go Lite fare to all three adventure destinations. The seat sale is from July 17-19, 2009 and is valid for travel from August 16-September 30, 2009. Passengers with check-in baggage up to 15 kilos will just add P200.

P.S. Thank you very much for those who left their greetings in this blog's comment section in line with the 2nd anniversary of this Ar-wee-der-yet blog last June 18. I never thought that I would last this long because somtethings I am lazy updating this blog. Anyway, I will try my best to keep you all updated with travel news and issues.

I Have an Award

It's been nearly a month now since my last post in this blog. I am just busy with something so I haven't updated my blog lately nor visited by favorite blogs. I promise to all who left a comment in my blog to visit your site soon.

I also didn't realize that this blog turned 2 years old last June 18. Wow! It's been 2 years since I discovered the joys of blogging. Anyway, it is too late to even greet my blog a happy birthday. I am sorry that I am too bad with dates :)

I wrote this post to thank the people behind Tripbase.com for including my blog as one of the Top 20 finalist of the Travel Blog Awards 2009. I don't know the criteria or whoever nominated my blog so I just want to thank my visitors who found my blog informative and those who gave encouraging comments for my more than 200 posts.

I want to quote the award description which can be found at Tripbase.com: "The award for the best Philippines blog is an indication that the blogger is adept at being able to maintain their readership through a wide variety of skills including being able to convey their ideas and travel stories in a way that contains a great attention to detail and has the ability to be both informative and interesting to others, thus making it a vital source of information for those with a keen interest in the Philippines as well as those just passing by. The bloggers have been found to demonstrate that they can craft a fine blog in terms of content, both written and visual and can combine them in such a way so as to produce the award-winning blogs that you see before you here. These bloggers have ably captured the essence of the Philippines and have distilled it into their blogs in a way which makes them deserving of the best Philippines blog award."

Happy 111th Birthday Pilipinas!

It's been 111 years since the Philippines gained independence from the 3-century rule of Spain. We associate our independence day to a birthday because it is like giving birth to a different country with people gaining a new identity. For this, I want to greet my beloved Philippines a very happy 111th birthday!

111-Peso Seat Sale for 111 Years of Independence

Leading domestic airline, Cebu Pacific, is offering a Php111 all-in "Go Lite" fare for all of its domestic services in celebration of 111th anniversary of Philippine independence. The one-day seat sale is available on June 12 only and is valid for travel from November 1 to 30, 2009.

Go Lite fares are for passengers traveling with no check-in baggage. Passengers with check-in bags just have to add P200 to the fare. The seat sale is all-inclusive and non-refundable.
For flight bookings and inquiries, passengers may log on to Cebu Pacific's website, call reservations at 70-20-888 (Manila) / 230-88-88 (Cebu) or visit their nearest travel agent.

Way-to-Go Promo Fares from Philippine Airlines

It may be the start of the lean season for the Philippine travel industry so expect many promotions from airlines, hotels, resorts and other travel-related businesses. What a way to kick-off the lean season with this promotion from Philippine Airlines (PAL) which is valid for ticketing up to June 5 only.

The prices below are for roundtrip travel (economy class) originating in Manila:

$98 - Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei

$118 - Bangkok, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh

$148/$168 - Jakarta

$178 - Shanghai

$188 - Osaka

$198 - Beijing

$228 - Fukuoka, Nagoya

$468 - Sydney, Melbourne, Honolulu

$668 - Vancouver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco

Prices listed above are inclusive of surcharges and exclusive of government taxes and other fees that are to be collected at the airport (terminal fee & travel tax).

APPLICATION: * Valid for round trip travel on economy class.
TRAVEL VALIDITY:

TRANSPACIFIC * Valid for outbound travel from 01 SEP 09 through 25 DEC 09

REGIONALS * Valid for outbound travel from 01 JUL 09 through 30 NOV 09.

For more information about this promotion visit PAL's website or call your favorite travel agent.

The Great Miles Getaway Is Back!

For those who are enrolled in the Mabuhay Miles program of Philippine Airlines this is our chance to travel on business class for just a fraction of the cost. You can now redeem your accumulated miles for 50% off.

For as low as 1,500 miles you can be on your way to a vacation on an economy class ticket while for as low as 2,000 miles can get you a business class seat.



Sales and Ticketing Period: 20 MAY 2009 - 10 JUNE 2009
Travel Period: 01 JULY 2009 - 30 NOVEMBER 2009
Travel Black-out Period: 22 OCTOBER 2009 - 04 NOVEMBER 2009

For more information about this promo call Philippine Airlines at:
Manila: (632) 855 7888
Cebu: (032) 340 0191
Davao: (082) 222 7423
Mabuhay Miles Service Center: (632) 817 8000- Manila, (032) 340 8000 - Cebu

Lights... Camera... Action!

It's my first time to see a television production on shoot. This is a shoot of a children's quiz show airing in Jakarta, Indonesia. I took these pictures in the island of Bali near the statue of Garuda. Too bad that I have no school uniform so I can't participate in the show as part of the audience, hahaha. One of the television crew told us that the episode they are shooting for the day will be airing after a week so we should tune in so we can see ourselves on TV as curious onlookers walking and taking pictures of the scenery in that tourist landmark. We never had the chance to see ourselves on TV as we only stayed in Indonesia for 5 days.

We observed what's happening during the shoot for about 15 minutes but I can't understand Bahasa so I got bored and my attention veered somewhere else. I don't know who won in the quiz show. Here are some of the pictures I took:

Happy Hour Sale From Cebu Pacific

This is a new and innovative way to induce travel. The Philippines' leading low cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air is introducing the Happy Hour seat sale for all its domestic and international destinations except Japan. The one-way Go Lite fare for the domestic sectors is Php299 all-in and Php599 for the international sectors.

The Happy Hour seat sale is only available from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm & 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on May 13, 14 & 15 and valid for travel from September 1 to 30, 2009.

Airport Posters

Found these two interesting posters at two different local airports here in the Philippines...

a poster with a catchy tagline at Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City

An Php8,000,000 reward anyone? (Zamboanga International Airport)

I hope these two posters would not scare foreign tourists, hahaha! ;)

Im Off to Cambodia... I'll be Back in a Jiffy!

Thank you for the 5-star airline ranked Malaysia Airlines for having a seat sale several months ago that was too good to resist. Malaysia Airlines is one of the only 6 airlines in the world with a 5-star rating assessed by SKYTRAX. As there are no flights available between the Philippines and Cambodia I will have a compulsory overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur before setting foot in the city of Siem Reap where the world famous Angkor Wat complex and other equally stunning ancient temples are based.

The complex of Angkor Wat is the setting of the Hollywood blockbuster Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie. Too bad that I will never meet Mrs. Pitt unless there is a sequel that we don't know which they are now filming discretely in Cambodia. Nevertheless, I will try my best to be an Indiana Jones for the next few days as many travel guides are saying that you need plenty of upper body strength in able for you to climb some of the ruins and temples.

According to wikipedia, Angkor Wat is a temple complex which was built in the 12th century. The temple is a source of national pride that it has been depicted in every Cambodian national flag since 1863. Angkor Wat is the central feature of the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the magnificent remains of the Khmer civilization.

the national flag of Cambodia

My bags are packed and I am now ready to have a little adventure. I just hope that the weather is good as what the predictions for the next 5 days would be. Even if it is still a Wednesday I want to wish you all to have an adventurous weekend ahead.

Note: As this will be my first trip to Cambodia, the three photographs above are not mine, they were taken from various articles at wikipedia.com

The Real Deal From Philippine Airlines

It's raining travel promos left and right. This is the talk of the town since last week. I saw an advertisement in at least 2 broadsheets and heard from a TV show host discussing about this seat sale. Calling all compulsive travellers! This promotion is on sale from Today up to TOMORROW only (April 27-28). Asia's first airline Philippine Airlines is having a Real Deal Promo Fares in its Asia, Australia and North America sectors. You can get a roundtrip ticket for as low as $38 all-in and valid for travel starting June 1, 2009. To be precise, these roundtrip tickets which originate in Manila will only set u back...

$38 for travel to Taipei

$58 for travel to Hong Kong & Macau

$78 for travel to Bangkok, Saigon & Singapore

$108 for travel to Beijing, Jakarta & Shanghai

$148 for travel to Guam

$162 for travel to Tokyo, Fukuoka & Nagoya

$318 for travel to Sydney, Melbourne & Honolulu

$418 for travel to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Vancouver

There are many sales restrictions and other miscellaneous provisions that you need to know when you buy this kind of ticket. Visit http://www.philippineairlines.com/ for the complete information regarding this promotion.

Cebu Pacific Sale for June, July & August

It looks like it's not summer anymore because it rains almost everyday since last week. But don't let the rains dampen your plans to explore our country or beyond. Cebu Pacific Air offers what it calls an all-out sale for the rainy season months of June, July and August for as low as 249 pesos one-way fare for certain domestic destinations and as low as 599 pesos for some international destinations.

The seat sale is available from all of the airline hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark and Davao starting today until April 30 only. Tickets on sale with these promotional prices are valid for travel from June 1 to August 31, 2009.

I haven't checked yet the full details of this sale whether all destinations are included in this promotion, just go to http://www.cebupaficair.com/ to find out for yourself.

Philippine Airlines Promo Fares to/from Manila

Correct me if I'm wrong but I observed that this is uncommon for Philippine Airlines (at least for domestic travel) that is why there is a reason for travel vultures to celebrate. Catch and avail their newest promo fares for domestic destinations to/from Manila. For sales and ticketing from 21 to 30 April 2009. For travel between 01 June - 15 December 2009. Travel must be completed by 15 December 2009. As with all other seat promos in the world, seats are limited. The prices below are for one-way travel:

488 pesos for Laoag, Legaspi, Cebu & Iloilo

788 pesos for Bacolod, Dumaguete, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tacloban & Tagbilaran

1,888 pesos for Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolor, GenSan & Zamboanga

Prices above are inclusive of insurance and fuel surcharges and VAT. Exclusive of Airport Security Fee and other fees that will be collected at the airport.

Conditions :

*Valid for one way and combinable for roundtrip travel on economy class.
*Restricted for sales and ticketing in the Philippines.
*Open-dated tickets and go-show not allowed
*Non-refundable but upgradeable to a higher fare type. Re-issuance fee waived.
*Downgrade/re-routing allowed. Re-issuance fee must be collected.
*Re-issuance is allowed at PHP600 per ticket
*No-show surcharge is PHP600 per sector
*Rebooking is allowed at PHP600 per sector
*Valid for travel from 01 June to 15 December 2009.
*No other discounts apply except for Senior Citizen and Infant without seat