Aquadog of Panglao

Got these photos of a cute and friendly dog in Panglao Island, Bohol. Upon reaching the beach at about 6:30 am he was already there doing his daily routine frolicking under the morning sun and minding his own business. He is so much comfortable in the water that he swam longer than any of us at the beach. He belongs to one of the posh resorts in Panglao. A rainbow in the background adds drama to the pictures, right?

staring at something... look at his sandy nose :)

standing for a pose

There he goes chasing the rainbow

My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 21)

Survey

Got this tag from rich of myfavehangout...

1. Have you found the one you wanna spend your whole life with?

I can't tell yet

2. Are you happy with your life right now?

Pretty much

3. Do you think there’s still a chance for past lovers to get back together?

Why not

4. How did you spend your Christmas last year?

Just with my family

5. What are you looking forward to next week?

I'll be off somewhere...

6. Closest Sibling?

No choice... I only have 1

7. Last person who texted you?

Bianx

8. Last person you texted?

Bianx

9. When was the last time you smiled?

32 minutes ago

10. Why?

Bianx is teasing me

11. What do you hate most about school?

Assignments

12. Mcdo or Jollibee?

Jollibee, I love their stapegi :)

13. Name one insect you hate most?

Mosquitoes

14. Still close to any of your ex(s)?

Hahaha!

15. Would you kiss the last person who kissed you?

Of course

16. If you were in the mall, where would you probably go?

A fastfood!

17. Do you think there such thing as Fate?

Don't know but I hope there is

18. You spend most of your Friday Night with?

Friends... Gimick time!

19. What were you doing an hour ago?

Surfing the net

20. If you could have a special power what would it be?

The power to fly so I can visit many places without waiting for promo fares, hehehe :)

21. Do you know your bestfriend’s crush (es) ?

Yiz

22. Do you agree that usually the second child are the troublemakers?

I hope they are coz I'm the firstborn

23. Do you like guys / girls with dimples?

Yup

24. Honestly, do you think you tall?

I think so, I'm taller compared with most of my friends

25. Any hidden talents?

I prefer just to hide it ;)

26. Who’s making you mad?

Anyone can if I have the reason to get mad

27. Why?

I can't enumerate all the reasons

28. Do you like her / him?

I don't know the relevance of this question... Is this question connected with the 2 previous questions?

29. Last one, cigarettes or drugs?

Food

Now it's my time to tag punditocracy, opinionated banana, janice and jana :)

Sinulog 2008 Pictures and Soundtrack

The recently concluded Sinulog celebration is a nine-day annual fiesta in Cebu City in honor of Sto. Nino. Although there are other versions of Sinulog in other parts of Visayas and Mindanao as it is like a generic term for the Sto. Nino festivities, the Cebu City version is the most famous among them. The celebration entails two major activities: the religious procession on a Saturday and the grand street parade the following day. Sinulog has always been fast-paced. Dancers bounce and step more often then they sway.

And here's the official Sinulog soundtrack:

My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 20)

Jegra John's Resort... the Friendliest Resort in the Friendliest Island

Coming to Bantayan Island which is located in the northern part of Cebu province, me and my companion didn't expect much as we have been to other very beautiful islands here in our country like Boracay, Camiguin, Palawan, Panglao, Samal and Guimaras just to name a few.

I have a personal theory that as an island/place gets smaller the more friendly its locals become to its visitors. Well, I think that now I have a personal experience as a proof that nobody can object...

From Cebu City it took us exactly 3 hrs. of bus ride to reach the port of Hagnaya and another 65 minutes ferry ride to the port of Sta. Fe in Bantayan Island.

The weather didn't cooperate with us as it drizzled throughout our journey from Cebu City to Bantayan Island. Upon reaching Jegra John's Resort in Bantayan we are the only guests for that day so there is no problem haggling for the room price. Even though it just the two of us, we opted for the family room which has 2 double beds, a shower and bathtub (yes, a bathtub), flat iron with ironing board, a dresser and with 2 sets of native sofas. You could fit another double bed in that room with more room to spare as it is very spacious and we got all of that for only 1,300 pesos. Alternatively, a double room normally costs 800 pesos for a night. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that our room faces the cute swimming pool which is a perfect place to relax after an all-day beachcombing.

We want to hire two scooters to tour around the island but Jay, the son of the owner who also acts as the manager of the resort, offered us to use his Mitsubishi Adventure for FREE as we confessed that we are novices in driving a scooter much more in a wet sandy road. Who would in his right mind offer his wheels to a total stranger from Manila. Talk about trust and pampering your guests. He just required us to gas up his Adventure and even offered to tour us around because we don't know our way around the island but we refused as it is too much. It's just a small island with one main highway, how can we get lost anyway, hehehe :)

I told Jay before we leave that I will feature his resort because of the kindness and hospitality he showed to us which made our Bantayan trip more enjoyable. Not only Jay but almost all of the residents of Bantayan are accommodating as they helped us navigate around that very beautiful island, from Sta. Fe to Bantayan town proper up to the northern tip of Madridejos.

I strongly invite everyone to visit the tranquil paradise island of Bantayan and stay at Jegra John's Resort. You may first call or send an SMS to Jay at 09197489652.

Jay, I hope your mother in Dubai will read this so she will know that you are doing a wonderful job in maintaining your property in very good condition and treating guests like relatives. I've stayed in countless hotels, inns, resorts and pension houses in all of my travels in different countries and from Luzon to Mindanao. Without a doubt Jegra John's Resort is the most friendliest (friendliest is not enough so I have to precede it with "most") and you will get more than what your money's worth.

P.S. The drizzle stopped and the sun showed its might as soon as we boarded and took off to tour the island.

ICE Campaign

Got this very interesting post from my favorite Singaporean mommy blogger Janice...

Read about this fabulous concept from Sam Chan.
Spread around if you find it meaningful...

"Knowing who to call can make all the difference"

We all carry our mobile phones with names and numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign

The concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case Of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE."

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today!!! !

Please forward this. It won't take too many "forwards" before everybody will know about this It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest .

P/S:
If you support this idea, please create ICE number in your mobile phones and then post this on your blogs, digg this, e-mail this to all your friends or spread it in whatever manner you can think of.

Thank you.

My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 19)

Bantayan Island & Panglao Island Here I Come!... I'll be Back in a Jiffy!

As far as I am concerned, today is the start of my long weekend which will last up to Tuesday. I will be off tomorrow early morning to Bantayan Island in Cebu and Panglao Island in Bohol. Bantayan Island which is located off the northern Cebu main island is being dubbed as "The New Boracay" because of its powdery white sand beaches less the crowd and commercialization. While Panglao which is connected with a bridge from the main island of Bohol is I think the "Quiet Boracay." I have pictures of Panglao which most of my friends thought that I took it from my Boracay vacation.

This would be my 2nd trip to Cebu and Bohol but it would be my 1st time in Bantayan Island. Beachcombing in January? Well, I don't care even if the summer season starts in April. I love going to the beach during the low season anyway.

This is the 1st of my 2008 adventures and I hope that there will be many, many, many, many, many more to come... How about you? Where do you plan to go in 2008?

Pictures of my Cebu-Bohol trip will definitely follow in my next posts. Ciao!

beach in Bantayan Island (picture taken from www.wayfaring.info)

beach in Panglao Island (picture taken from www.elportalinn.net)

It's Raining Sale!!!

For some reasons I think brought about by the deregulation of air travel with the help of competition and demand-and-supply the 3 major Philippines-based air carriers Cebu Pacific (domestic and international), Air Philippines (domestic) and Philippine Airlines (domestic) simultaneously have their own seat promotions. Whew! I'm now very torn when and where to go to take advantage of these seasonal offerings, additionally I'm confused what airline to choose.

I now truly believe that our country is being dominated by Chinese businessmen that the Chinese traits and beliefs in business are being adapted in this country because you will see the lucky number "8" everywhere. There's nothing wrong with that... In fact, I'm thankful because a domestic seat goes as low as 8 pesos and 888 pesos for Asian destinations.

I will no longer mention the different terms and mechanics on how to avail of the low fares being offered by the 3 airlines as I already mentioned them in my previous posts. Just visit their websites and book online to find out more.

Seat-All-You-Can from PAL and Air Philippines

As competition dictates, after the PISO seat sale of Cebu Pacific, now comes the turn of Asia's first airline Philippine Airlines (PAL) with sister company Air Philippines with their own version of seat sale to all of their DOMESTIC destinations.

The 88-peso seat sale is being offered by PAL as a counterpart of the 8-peso seat sale from Air Philippines. The 88-peso and 8-peso promotional sale simultaneously run from Jan. 8 to Jan. 18 and will be good for travel from Feb. 1 to Mar. 12, 2008. As with any other promotional seat sale, fuel surcharge and government taxes are not yet included in the advertised promo fare. The seat sale of PAL is available for purchase through its website while for Air Philippines you have to go to any of its ticket office nationwide to avail of the promo.

My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 18)

Start the Year Right... Let's Travel with Piso Fare

The Philippine's leading budget airline Cebu Pacific greets 2008 with 1 peso seat sale to all of its DOMESTIC destinations.

It is a perfect opportunity to treat your loved ones with the Piso seat sale. If you have a special someone treat her/him this Valentine's Day to the place where both of you love to go as there are 100,000 seats up for grabs.

The promotional sale will run from Jan. 3 to Jan. 6 and will be good for travel from Jan. 22 to Mar. 31, 2008. As with any other promotional seat sale, fuel surcharge and government taxes are not yet included in the 1 peso fare. The easiest way to avail of the Piso fare is to book via the airline's website, alternatively, the promotional fare is also available through any of the airline's ticket offices and accredited travel agents.

Happy New Year to All!

I would like to wish all my blog guests, frequent visitors and fellow bloggers in my blogroll a very Happy New Year!!!

It's been an enjoyable experience sharing with you all information, pictures and sometimes just trivial matters in this blog. I hope my persistency continues so I can keep this blog updated with information tidbits or even just travel pictures :)

It's nice to know that in the next two months I have a line-up of my proposed travels. I will be first going to the Queen City of the South (Cebu) to visit what is being dubbed as the "New Boracay" (Bantayan Island). Then by the middle of February I will be in Iloilo and Bacolod City to attend a family reunion and birthday of my grandfather. Lastly, by the end of February I will be visiting the Land of Majestic Waterfalls (Iligan) and the Island Born of Fire (Camiguin) which also happens to be my favorite province here in the Philippines.