To SEE and to be SEEN- BORACAY

Truly, Boracay never ceases to amaze me. One can visit the place and come back here with an experience entirely different from the first. First time I ate in a BUFFET resto-by-the-beach, walked the whole stretch from Stations 1 to 3, enjoyed the delicious KALAMANSI MUFFIN at Real Coffee and went to PUKA Beach. There are some firsts thought I will just keep to myself. I was a bit sad because the shoreline is algae-infested. Nevertheless, everything was perfect: the sand feels great, the food is sumptuous and the people are cool.

What to eat: REAL COFFEE KALAMANSI MUFFIN is a must try. The café serves oven-fresh cookies and muffins at a very affordable price. Just be early coz the store closes exactly at 7 pm.

A HERCULEAN TASK- CLIMBING KAMAY NI HESUS

There is no other place closer to God than this pilgrimage site. The “stairways to heaven” will rightly lead you to where you want to be- one with God. The steps leading to Kamay ni Hesus prove to be difficult yet fulfilling, daunting yet astounding and thorny yet liberating. On the way up, one will pass and meditate on the Stations of the Cross with larger-than-life statues. I must admit the climb was tricky especially when the weather seesawed from rain to heat in a matter of minutes. Since my devout Catholic parents can’t make the climb due to age, I realized how difficult it has been for them to stay behind and watch us climb. I can’t imagine how exhausting it was for Jesus to walk the Way of the Cross and yet accepted the fate as if it was a natural course of nature.

How to get there: the place is a bit out of way and a private car is a big ease to visit the place. It is located in Lucban, Quezon: a place famous for longganisa. It is roughly 3 straight hours from Manila

What to eat: try the famous Lucban Longganisa, a garlic-enriched processed meat. A dozen can go as low as Php 70, enough for a big appetite.

It’s More Fun in Diliman

01112012- Basking under the heat of sun sans sun block is not an ordinary feat. Blame the traffic jam in the metro; I arrived at Diliman with my sweat glands working at its best. UP Diliman, the flagship campus of the national university is a community entirely of its own league. It has its own infirmary, postal office, hotel and whatnot. Once you get there, you will quickly notice the academic and intellectual atmosphere you will only experience in a school like UP. Seeing students in their shorts with books up to their sleeves and mumbling words they can only comprehend made me reminisce those days when I was just like them. Hopefully, I will be just like them again this year (should I be happy or anxious?). No need to go far if you need some fresh air, spot cute, geeky students and take pleasure in me-time all for yourself: Diliman is definitely more fun!

5 Happenings I Love to Get Involved in for this 2012

1 London Olympics- it is the biggest sporting event in recent history; millions will watch as athletes from all over the world compete for the prestigious Olympic laurels;

2 US Presidential Election- let us witness if Americans are satisfied with rhetorical Obama or supporting a new hero;

3 Feast of the Black Nazarene Procession- to see devotees flocking the procession is a league of its own;

4 Sinulog Festival in Cebu- one of the major festivals in the country, I want to see the revelry and merrymaking of Cebuanos;

5 CJ Corona Impeachment- as a politically efficacious citizen, I am thrilled to witness as history unfolds and hopefully a new era in the Judiciary will dawn.

The Disgust of Delayed Flights

An on-time flight will be more than an icing on the cake. This holds true and any traveler will be more than happy and satisfied if the flight he will be taking will go smoothly and safely as scheduled. However, in the Philippines, it has been the rule and not an exemption that flights will be delayed. Last 2011, I went out of towns and rode the plane more than 5 times. As far as I could remember, more than half of my flights were delayed. I even experienced a flight deferred for half a day and even worse, a flight re-scheduled on the next day. If I travelled with exact itinerary and pre-scheduled tours, I will be fuming lava in my mouth. I once saw first-hand how a pitiable tourist (who has a pre-scheduled tour for that day) was totally dismayed and disappointed when his flight was cancelled.  What made the matter worse was that the airline company did not even bother to apologize or offer something in return. The funny thing though is that the reason has been the same for ages: FLIGHT MAINTENANCE.  Giving the benefit of the doubt to airline companies, can’t they do it ahead of time since the flight has been scheduled way, way before the date of departure? Secondly, will it be so much of a loss for them to offer something to drink at the very least? It is not easy to wait for something unknown when your stomach is ramming for some chow. Just a piece of advice from a seasoned traveler, a biscuit in your hand-carried bag might be your saving grace.

It’s More Fun in the Philippines: Will it stand up to its promise?

The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently announced its new slogan that will hopefully propel the country’s tourist influx. With the recent setback due to Typhoon Sendong which greatly affected some of major tourist destinations (Northern Mindanao and Western Visayas), this is a timely act of the Aquino administration.  Much has been said, both good and bad, about the catchphrase. Whether or not the slogan will directly help the tourism industry can hardly be measured, if it can really be measured at all. The biggest indicator of success will be the actual number of tourist arrivals with the government’s target of 4 million this year. Judging the slogan on its own, it will really attract tourists whatever their reasons of coming here. One can read between the words that there will be more than enough fun for everyone. The slogan is generic and can be applied in whatever circumstances and experiences; I am just hoping tourists will apply it in a more affirmative and cleaner way. The slogan premises that tourist already went to other destinations or should go to other place for them to compare the level of fun they experienced here. Having said this, it could also mean that tourists will be more fun-conscious which will put more pressure to fun- providers (e.g. destination, tour guide, etc). No matter what, FUN, after all, is the main reason why people went on tour. Here is my straightforward opinion though: the slogan will be a factor but is not the be-all and end-all of the tourism industry. Case in point WOW Philippines! Catchy but didn’t translate to higher-than-expected tourist arrival.  What must stakeholders should work for is to develop tourist-friendly and environmentally-sustainable tourist destinations. More tourist police should be trained, taxi drivers should be friendlier and travel destinations should be better protected and cared of. At the end of the day, tourists will be more than happy if they will have safe, memorable and picture-perfect travel in our country. Fun is secondary; the most important thing is that tourist will come home alive and safe for them to relive their MOST FUNNY EXPERIENCE here.

Meet me at the Eye

Mall of Asia recently unveiled its newest brainchild- the Eye. For a minimal fee of PHP100, one can have a bird’s eye view of the Manila Bay, MoA Complex and the surrounding environs.  At 160 feet, MoA Eye is petite compared to the famous London Eye which towers at 440+ feet and the Singapore Flyer (the largest in the world) which is a 541 feet giant. The Great Wheel of China, which will stand at 682 feet, has yet to open. No matter what, the EYE will be another eye-capturing landmark in this side of the metro. Let’s have an EYEBALL in the EYE!