tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67210136187626105452024-03-14T00:54:15.200+08:00Posh but Cheap TravelA collection of my travels around the world. Mostly exploring my home, the Philippines, and bits and pieces of the world. Traveling within a limited budget, my escapades mostly comprise of airline tickets on sale, backpacking in cheap hotels and guesthouses, finding the best but cheap travel agents and tours, and dining at not-so-expensive restaurants but still offer the most scrumptious food. Despite all these, I still make it a point to find chic places and travel in style, the posh way.posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-53147966186077415382013-08-18T19:11:00.005+08:002013-08-18T19:13:08.413+08:00We have a New Site<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Heya Fellow Posh Travellers!<br />
<br />
<br />
We have transferred to a better, more informative and more entertaining site <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/">http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/</a>.<br />
<br />
We are still on the process of transferring and writing new travel stories that will help you make your own itinerary on budget travel, be entertained, or just feel like traveling right on your laptop/phone/desktop, wherever you're reading this.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H36cLd7rWGE/UhCrjEzBuqI/AAAAAAAAAlI/k9i2h52LhyQ/s320/Gif.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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Follow us there, travel the world, and satisfy your wanderlust! :D<br />
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Thanks for the support, and see you there.<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Posh Traveller XOXO<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-67505484855606830572012-12-02T17:32:00.000+08:002013-09-17T22:48:44.099+08:00Third Time is the Charm, Vietnam: The Halong Bay Cruise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It was my third
time visiting Vietnam;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>apparently, I
enjoy going there. Haha. Well, actually I’ve visited Ho Chi Minh twice, first
with my family, and the <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=108">second time</a> with my friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still with my friends, this time we visited
the northern part of Vietnam, Hanoi, where Halong Bay can be found. Halong Bay
is declared as one of the recent 7 Wonders of Nature. This is my second of the
7 Wonders of Nature, the first of which I was able to visit was in my hometown,
the <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=214"><u>Puerto Princesa Underground River</u>.</a> That visit actually inspired me
to add a goal for myself, which is to visit all the 7 Wonders of Nature before
the age of 30 *crossing fingers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it was really good timing the JE decided to
book Hanoi during one of the Cebu Pacific Seat sale. I think we booked it as
early as March of this year, and the fare costs us only about P3500. This time,
JM volunteered to arrange the itinerary for our tour. She was able to find a travel
agent, the Halong Phoenix Cruise, which provides Halong Bay cruise plus hotel
accommodation in the city. The package only costs about $170 per person, which
includes the cruise with complete meals and tour, plus one night accommodation
in Asian Ruby Hotel in Hanoi. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
Finally November
came, and we left Manila on a Saturday evening. Funny thing during the flight,
as Cebu Pacific hosts games for passengers. The game was to name three things
that start with the letter, and when they asked name 3 colors that start with
P, J was the first one to raise his hand. He was able to give Pink and Purple,
but got stuck for a while. IV tried to help, and gave… guess what? Puschia!!!!
LOL. Epic Fail!!! I actually thought of Prussian blue but was not really sure
if there’s such a color, good thing J was able to think of Peach. Yey! He won a
travel pouch. The other question was a female name that ends with O, and IV was
the chosen one. Again, he was an epic fail, and couldn’t think of anything. I
helped him and gave Rosario and Mercado, and JM thought of Chikito. Hahaha.
Good thing they accepted it as the last 2 names are actually not female names.
Haha. Continue reading<a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=369"> here.</a></div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-50935441556240907432012-08-19T20:40:00.000+08:002013-09-17T22:50:49.092+08:00The Adventures of 2 Girls in 2 Countries - In Between<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I wanted to have a
separate entry for this as this one of those experience I'm sure I will never
forget and learn from, especially on traveling. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">So we left
Universal Studios at around 9pm which we thought would be enough time since our
train will not leave until 11:30. What we didn't foresee was everyone else was
going home and there was a long queue for the train leaving Universal Studio.
Before we know it, it was already past 10pm when we reached our hotel. We just
immediately packed our bags and checked out. We tried waiting for a bus, but it
took us a long time, so we tried to hail a cab. We didn't have luck on that
either as the taxis we're not stopping or didn't want to let us ride as the
train station was just really nearby. We had no choice but to wait for our bus
again. We then ride the MRT again until Woodlands, which is where the train
station is. The MRT ride took forever and when we finally arrived at Woodlands
it was already 11:30. What's worst is that we don't know where exactly the
train station to Malaysia is.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">We asked some of
the cab drivers, and they don't know it as well. Finally one cab driver knows
and so he brought us there. And when we arrived, the train has already left.
Apparently, they're not following Filipino time, which is always late. Haha. I
was kinda expecting it. We then asked one of the crews there and he suggested
to ride the bus and try to catch the train on its next stop. We did that, and
to our dismay, we're still not able to catch the train. What was worse, was
that I didn't know we already had cross the border, and we're now at Johor Baru
in Malaysia. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=140">here.</a></span></div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-84864303168415829412012-08-19T17:34:00.000+08:002013-09-17T22:53:53.170+08:00The Adventures of 2 Girls in 2 Countries - In Singapore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The bus ride from
<a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=130">Malaysia</a> to Singapore takes about 6 hours. We traveled via Nice bus which was
booked for us by N. The bus was very comfortable, with ample space and
reclining chairs. Food was also provided, mainly just some sandwich and water. M
and I were asleep for most of the trip. There were 2 stops, one in the
Malaysian Immigration and the other one in the Singapore Immigration, where
they had to stamp our passports and checked our luggage. The processing was
smooth, and the officers didn't even ask me anything. After about another half
hour drive, the bus drop us off on one of the bus stops on beach road. It was
about 6 in the morning, and M and I realized we didn't have any local currency
yet. First fail of the day. Haha. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">We were suppose to
exchange our money to Singapore dollars in the immigration but it slipped our
mind as we didn't see any money changer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was a shop where crews are cleaning up so we ask them if there's
any money changer nearby. They said there is, but it will not open until around
9 in the morning. They were actually Filipinos, but they were not too friendly.
M wanted to pee, so we ask them that and the girl said she could pee inside but
she didn't look too happy about it. They should not have mentioned they were
also Filipinos, because I was expecting them to be helpful and friendly, but
they weren't. Anyway, since we were in front of the Parc Hotel, M and I decided
to try our luck there. Good thing the receptionist was a Filipino again, and
this time she was very helpful. The hotel is suppose to just allow currency
exchange to their guests, but since we're Filipinos she allowed us. We just
exchanged our $50 for the meantime, just enough for us to get by for the
meantime. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=135">here.</a></span></div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-8181625731538415482012-08-19T15:25:00.000+08:002013-09-17T22:55:21.386+08:00The Adventures of 2 Girls in 2 Countries - In Malaysia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Or better yet to
say, MISADVENTURES. Haha</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
M invited me to go
with her in Malaysia, since one of our teammates was a volunteer in Shell Eco
Marathon Asia which is being held in Sepang Circuit. Since there was a seat
sale in Cebu Pacific, I agreed to go with her. Our flight cost about Php 4800
each for the round trip.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
We left Wednesday
night, and arrived at the KL Low Cost Terminal at half past midnight. N, our
Shell MY colleague, picked us up since we're gonna stay with him to save up on
hotel accommodation. We stopped by to eat some snacks first in like one of
their hawkers, before going to N's house in Puchong. His house is big for a
bachelor, with 2 or 3 guestrooms. We stayed in one of the big guestroom where M
and I shared a bed. We slept at almost 4 in the morning, then woke up at around
7 since N said we should be leaving at 8.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
We left N's house at
about past 8, then stop at one their hawkers again for breakfast. N then
dropped us off the Sepang Circuit to check out the Eco Marathon. We were
supposed to join in the pit walk where guides will tour as around the circuit
to see the different areas. They noticed that I was wearing a sandal, they said
I need to wear safety shoes so one of the tour guides tried to look for safety
shoes for me. He bought us in one of the rooms to wait, but when he returned he
said we couldn't join the pit walk since we're also wearing dresses, and they
are requiring guests to wear pants to be able to go inside the pit. Haha. He
was really really sorry and I said it was ok and we might just go shopping to
buy pants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First fail of the day. Haha.
Since we can't go inside, we just went to the 2nd floor in the viewing area.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mYU9fG3BK44/UDCK8K_qFEI/AAAAAAAAAdk/LQ55o1n-bAM/s1600/Shell+Eco+Marathon+Board.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mYU9fG3BK44/UDCK8K_qFEI/AAAAAAAAAdk/LQ55o1n-bAM/s400/Shell+Eco+Marathon+Board.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shell Eco Marathon </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-naYdBUc63QE/UDCLMqVnRMI/AAAAAAAAAds/JEdec-17XvQ/s1600/Shell+Eco+Marathon+Sepang+Circuit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-naYdBUc63QE/UDCLMqVnRMI/AAAAAAAAAds/JEdec-17XvQ/s400/Shell+Eco+Marathon+Sepang+Circuit.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shell Eco Marathon Sepang Circuit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPTCK5ZqEV8/UDCLchSnkLI/AAAAAAAAAd0/EJucp--riMs/s1600/Shell+Eco+Marathon+Testing+Area.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPTCK5ZqEV8/UDCLchSnkLI/AAAAAAAAAd0/EJucp--riMs/s400/Shell+Eco+Marathon+Testing+Area.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shel Eco Marathon Testing Pit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gDgZPw4p68A/UDCLx2JSVvI/AAAAAAAAAd8/WsPaYcUKTJk/s1600/Shell+Eco+Marathon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gDgZPw4p68A/UDCLx2JSVvI/AAAAAAAAAd8/WsPaYcUKTJk/s400/Shell+Eco+Marathon.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shell Eco Marathon Pit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
After much strolling
around the areas we're allowed to, we ran to one of our colleagues S. She
volunteers to take pictures of the pit for us, and call our teammate L as well.
We invited them to go to Genting Island on our last day since N suggested we do that. We
exchanged numbers and went our separate ways. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=130">here.</a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-76131809778883593992012-05-20T17:30:00.000+08:002013-09-17T22:57:00.129+08:00Puerto Princesa Underground River: My First of the New 7 Wonders of Nature<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">My last day in Palawan started way early. I
had to wake up a quarter before 5 since our tour guide will pick us up around 5
in the morning to go to the underground river. Good thing J and I decide
to take our baths the night before so we didn't have to wake up early. The
hotel agreed to pack our breakfast for us since we didn't have time to eat
breakfast. We had to check out that morning since after the tour, we're going
straight to the airport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">So our guide pick us up at around 5 in the
morning and hit the road to the Underground river. The drive lasted almost 2
hours, consisting of long zigzag roads going up the mountain. I thought we're
going to an underground river, why are we heading up the mountain? About half
an hour from the river, we stopped at a souvenir shop and <i>carinderia</i>. We
decided to eat our breakfast there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">After almost half an hour drive again, we have
arrived at the port where we'll ride the boat going to the underground river. I
think the office is still close, as it was not yet 8am when we arrived there.
We waited for awhile before we were boarded to our boat. It was only about 15
minute boat ride to reach the Underground river. The scenery going there was
beautiful with view of the mountain and some rock formations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--200B6kvsdA/T7irCfnYJ2I/AAAAAAAAAcU/qMXRUrscRSk/s1600/Puerto+Princesa+Underground+River+Scenery.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--200B6kvsdA/T7irCfnYJ2I/AAAAAAAAAcU/qMXRUrscRSk/s400/Puerto+Princesa+Underground+River+Scenery.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sabang Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, we arrived
at the underground river. We transfer to a small boat carrying the 6 of us,
plus 4 of the guys that we're in tour with, plus our tour guide who paddles the
boat. The ones sitting in front will be the designated navigator, which is
actually the one who will carry the lamp. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=214">here.</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k66qQ0cfZ1Q/T7iriayYiYI/AAAAAAAAAc0/0ISddvb8ne0/s1600/Puerto+Princesa+Underground+River.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k66qQ0cfZ1Q/T7iriayYiYI/AAAAAAAAAc0/0ISddvb8ne0/s400/Puerto+Princesa+Underground+River.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Puerto Princesa Underground River</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhzedKodYZo/T7iqZyjs5bI/AAAAAAAAAb0/TDYEtfxQ7eA/s1600/Puerto+Princesa+Underground+River+Entrance.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhzedKodYZo/T7iqZyjs5bI/AAAAAAAAAb0/TDYEtfxQ7eA/s400/Puerto+Princesa+Underground+River+Entrance.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mouth of the Puerto Princesa Underground Cave</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-55020332429123874272012-05-20T15:40:00.002+08:002013-09-17T22:58:25.094+08:00Puerto Princesa, Palawan: The Honda Bay Tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Second day of my
Palawan tour is the Island Hopping Tour. We woke up early to eat breakfast at
the hotel, it's actually a complimentary breakfast. Breakfast consists of
either American or Filipino breakfast served ala carte. While there's also
other choices in the buffet such as some bread and omelets. Since I'm not really a breakfast person, I
just ate some scrambled eggs and pandesal, plus the fruits served with the
Filipino breakfast.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TNJ1OIW7cVg/T7ibzQzbqiI/AAAAAAAAAYo/Z4Eq6YvzX30/s1600/Legends+Palawan+Breakfast.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TNJ1OIW7cVg/T7ibzQzbqiI/AAAAAAAAAYo/Z4Eq6YvzX30/s400/Legends+Palawan+Breakfast.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legend Palawan Breakfast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">After breakfast,
our tour guide for the day picked us up. Our first stop was the gear shop,
where we had to rent some snorkeling gears, and aqua shoes as it was not
included in the package. Rent of the Snorkeling mask is Php 150, plus the aqua
shoes is another Php 150. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The first island we
visited is the Pandan Island. The beach was really beautiful, with fine white
sand and clear water. The water is really good to swim into, not too hot nor
too cold. After swimming for a while, we
decided to try out snorkeling. So we got
our life jackets and snorkeling gears and headed out to the area where most
people seems to be snorkeling. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=207">here.</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qBpp8TcIanM/T7icPkqCrNI/AAAAAAAAAZY/aTdGlxPUVag/s1600/Pandan+Island+Palawan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qBpp8TcIanM/T7icPkqCrNI/AAAAAAAAAZY/aTdGlxPUVag/s400/Pandan+Island+Palawan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pandan Island</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ankn1VgsLuU/T7ibxyNCfZI/AAAAAAAAAYg/lv7FbvEcvgI/s1600/DSC_7628.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ankn1VgsLuU/T7ibxyNCfZI/AAAAAAAAAYg/lv7FbvEcvgI/s400/DSC_7628.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pandan Island Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-27239706458029584262012-05-20T15:08:00.000+08:002013-09-17T23:00:39.645+08:00Puerto Princesa, Palawan: The Shortest City Tour Ever<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">My trip to Palawan
was actually planned by one of my friends in college. S was able to buy a deal
in Metrodeal for only Php 6000 per person, if I remember correctly. Vouchers
are really getting popular here in the Philippines, which I'm not really sure
is a good thing, since it's so tempting to buy every deal they offer on impulse,
which in the end makes you spend more.
Anyway, our deal included airfare, hotel accommodations and tours which
included lunch, not bad. The drawback is
the Underground River tour was not included, so we had to pay additional Php
1500 for the tour.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It was a very good
timing to go to Puerto Princesa, since it was just recently declared as one of
the New 7 Wonders of Nature. I really wanted to go, before it gets more expensive
and more people visiting. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">We left Manila on
Thursday morning. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 7:30 am, but of course
it got delayed again. We rode the Airphil Express, which is one the budget
airlines here in the Philippines, even cheaper than Cebu Pacific. The plane is
ok, not too small like what we are
expecting. Like the Cebu Pacific, the airfare doesn't include food so you have
to buy food from their carts if you go hungry. Good thing, we bought donuts
while we are waiting to be boarded. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">We arrived at
Puerto Princesa at about half past nine in the morning. It was cloudy when we
got there, and my friends told me there's actually an Intertropical Convergence
Zone so there's a pretty good chance that it will rain. We were fetched by our
travel agent and we rode their van to drop us off to our hotel. Our hotel is
the Legend Palawan, how posh. Hahaha. Well the truth is, we are actually just
staying at their budget hotel called Pads, which is also in the hotel building.
The rooms are smaller, and simpler I guess, but we are free to use the hotel
amenities and includes daily breakfast, so that's cool. We are not particular
about our accommodations anyway, since we just use it for sleeping. As long as
there's a bed, an air conditioner and a TV, we're ok. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=194">here.</a></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CN85rDw4Vmk/T7iK3gaOpUI/AAAAAAAAAXM/qq67S79jWts/s1600/Legends+Palawan.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CN85rDw4Vmk/T7iK3gaOpUI/AAAAAAAAAXM/qq67S79jWts/s400/Legends+Palawan.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Legend Palawan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-6225605792273041802012-04-21T17:21:00.002+08:002013-09-18T23:20:04.941+08:00Adventures at White Island, CDO and Bukidnon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The next day, we
woke up before 5:30 in the morning to go to White Island. We ride a boat to get
there which costs Php 400 for the 4 us, already included in the Php 3900 that I
paid Teddy. We also bought breakfast from Teddy's sister, consisting of <i>longganisa</i>,
ham, dried squid, sunny side up egg and rice, for Php 100 each. We brought that
to the island to have our breakfast there. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> The White Island is literally just a small island of white sand. Not as
fine as Boracay's sand, but fine and white enough. Connected to it is a sand
bar, which disappears when the tide becomes high. We tried to stay there to
have some exclusivity, but the water rises quickly and we had to go back to the
main island after eating our breakfast. The water was clear and cool, but there
were so many small stones and remnants of corals on the sea floor that it's
hard to walk. So we just swim, even if the water is too shallow. The water is
not deep even if you're already far from the shore. We saw some small fishes,
and one of the tourist said he also saw some jellyfish and star fish. We were
surprised when J told us that a snake swam through his leg. We got scared so we
decided to go back to our cottage since it's already time to leave Camiguin. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=228">here</a>.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_SszddbuQE/T5J3Bv7j8-I/AAAAAAAAAUc/gDbKAi8bUqc/s1600/DSC_7281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_SszddbuQE/T5J3Bv7j8-I/AAAAAAAAAUc/gDbKAi8bUqc/s400/DSC_7281.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Island Camiguin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-10750850242753077342012-04-21T16:47:00.000+08:002013-09-18T23:21:17.919+08:00CDO-Camiguin Tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">This is my first
time traveling to Mindanao, and first stop would be in Cagayan de Oro. It was
Piso Fare offer in Cebu Pacific that got us to travel to CDO, booked way back
February of last year?? Together with all the surcharges and taxes, our fare
just came down to almost Php 600 per person.
A few weeks before our trip, we were supposed to just hire a travel agency to book everything for us, but the
practical side of me took over and decided to try to book the tours and
accommodations. Being so busy with work, I decided to just POAT on Pinoy Exchange
Forum on CDO thread asking for itinerary. Luckily, Noel Greene responded to me.
I'm not sure, but I think he is the owner, or co-owner, of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002302313085" target="_blank">Manage TravelTours</a> in CDO. It's a little bit complicated as Noel resides in Ireland,
while his brother-in-law resides here. They provide the transportation
service/tour within CDO and to places nearby such as Bukidnon and to port going
to Camiguin. Noel also booked me in Victoria Suite Hotel, a cheap hotel in CDO,
and gave me contact to book our Camiguin Tour. They've also arrange our White
Water Rafting and tour Dahilayan Park in Bukidnon. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Finally all was set
and our day of departure finally came. We met up about an hour and a half before
our flight leaves, since we were hungry, we decided to eat first. We felt relax
that we just went to the boarding area about 40 minutes before our boarding.
The crew told us to wait first as she was going to check if we can still be
boarded. WTF? All of us were speechless for a moment there, and when the crew
let us pass through, we were so relieved and found it hilarious at the same. We
didn't know what to do if the plane left us. About 1 1/2 hour later, at almost
5 in the afternoon, we finally arrived at CDO. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Emero, Noel's
brother-in-law, picked us up in the airport and drove us to Victoria Suite
Hotel. The hotel was nice enough for sleeping and taking a bath, it's
clean but small. For just Php 900 for
twin sharing, one can't expect a lot from it. Emero was kind enough to drove us
around the area to see where we could hang out. Since it was late in the
afternoon, we really don't have time to do anything much, so when we saw a cute
small bakery, Missy Bon Bon, we decided to hang there to eat. It was a chic
bakeshop, with different cakes and breads, plus gelatos and some other dishes. Must try is their Macaroons and
Pistachio Gelato. Although, it's a little bit pricier than the other flavors,
at Php 100 per scoop, it's the best pistachio gelato I have tasted so far. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=222">here.</a></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXgc9cvWbJo/T5Jrne6OXQI/AAAAAAAAATc/Z1tGOuBpVbU/s1600/DSC_7086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXgc9cvWbJo/T5Jrne6OXQI/AAAAAAAAATc/Z1tGOuBpVbU/s400/DSC_7086.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry Short Cake from Missy Bon Bon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2jTHulTkvHo/T5Jru11BgoI/AAAAAAAAATk/Up5Ij9xhXzo/s1600/DSC_7091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-16864568981296206132012-02-18T21:38:00.000+08:002013-09-19T22:22:49.183+08:00Surfing in La Union on my 25th Birthday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Since it was my 25th birthday, and I thought that 25 is already a very old age, I wanted to try out something new. I know I'm over-reacting when I say that 25 is a very old age, but I just feel like I'm having another stint of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>quarter life crisis, questioning myself, my choices, and where I want to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I decided to invite 4 of my core friends to celebrate my birthday with, my "posh" gang as we like to brand ourselves. Haha. The first plan was actually to go to the<a href="http://www.philballoonfest.net/"> Hot Air Balloon Festival</a> in Pampanga to ride the Hot Air Balloon, but since they 're not yet willing to pay about $150 each, I decided we just go surfing since we had that plan since last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My brother already went surfing in La Union,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> so </span>I decided we just go there since my surfer friends also told me that La Union is the surfing spot for beginners. Being the assigned travel planner and since it was me who invited them, I had the task of looking for a place to stay and I just have one week left. The most popular surf resort in La Union is the<b> </b><a href="http://www.sanjuansurfresort.com.ph/home/">San Juan Surf Resort</a>, where they house the<a href="http://www.billabongsurfph.com/"> Billabong Surf School</a>. I think it is owned by Luke Landringan, the guy in the Highlands Corned Beef commercial. Haha. We plan to leave Manila on Friday afternoon, and go back by Sunday afternoon, so I had to book 2 nights accommodation. Turns out, San Juan Surf Resort is already fully booked on Saturday, so I had to find another resort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My next choice was the <a href="http://www.fnetravel.com/english/launionhotels/sebay-surf-resort.html">Sebay Resort</a>, but when I made an inquiry, they were also fully booked on Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wow, many people are already into surfing. So back to searching again, I found <a href="http://www.kahunaresort.com/">Kahuna Resort</a><b>, </b>but their rates were a little expensive compared to the others, more like rates for foreigners. But I must admit, their place looks really posh and relaxing. Finally I found <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Costa-Villa-Beach-Resort/277430708941923">Costa Villa</a> which is quite new in that area. They don’t have a website yet, but I found their Facebook page where their contact number can be found. I just sent a text message to them at +639162751884 to make an inquiry, and they immediately called me up to attend to my inquiry. The owner was the one who called me up, so if you want to contact him directly, you can call him at +639178432386. The room good for 4 cost Php 3150 a night, but since I told him we're gonna check in late, he gave me a discount and the room only cost me Php 3000 a night, with breakfast included for 4. He gave me their bank details where I deposited 50% as down payment for the reservation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, this is really going to happen! Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=356">here</a>.</span></div>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-86130134952340692612012-01-08T20:25:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:19:37.945+08:00Post Christmas Getaway at Zambales<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Every year my family and I make it a point to go the beach. This year, this annual thing happened quite late, but it was still a time well spent. My brother suggested to go to Potipot Island, which is in Candelaria, Zambales. It's much like <a href="http://poshtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/06/last-sembreak-at-anawangin-zambales.html">Anawangin Island</a> where there's no resort situated in the island, and not even electricity. It’s just an island, literally, with just a few huts and comfort rooms. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">So my family headed to Zambales, Monday morning, a day after Christmas. We took the NLEX route then SCTEX. We left home at about past 9 in the morning, and was able to reach Subic at around 12 to have lunch first. We had lunch at Aristocrat, then headed to the road again. It was like another 2 1/2 hours more of driving to reach Candelaria, Zambales. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">We finally arrived at Candelaria at almost 3 in the afternoon. Since my family really didn’t want to camp out on Potipot Island, we stayed at <a href="http://dawal.com.ph/2011/">Dawal Beach Resort</a> at Calendaria. It’s a pretty decent resort, one of more high-end ones, relative to the other resorts in the area. They have different types of room, from Standard rooms, Pool side rooms and Penthouse. We rented 2 Standard Rooms, good for 3 each, for 2 nights. The room is for Php 4000 a night I think, with television, air condition and hot & cold shower. We also checked out the Penthouse, which is already good for 6, but it has only one bathroom and television, so we decided to just rent 2 separate rooms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">After checking in our rooms, we decided to head out to the beach for a swim. It's almost sunset then, so it's not really hot and sunny. The beach is ok, the shore is long with water that is not too deep. The only drawback is that the sand is black, so it looks like mud, but the water is clear and clean. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=350">here</a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eHYBucAKwoE/TwljQKo0qhI/AAAAAAAAAQs/8x_6e_d1Rbw/s1600/Dawal+Beach+Resort+Shore.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eHYBucAKwoE/TwljQKo0qhI/AAAAAAAAAQs/8x_6e_d1Rbw/s400/Dawal+Beach+Resort+Shore.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dawal Beach Resort Shore at Candelaria, Zambales</td></tr>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-67255554941186876902011-08-18T09:10:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:21:59.032+08:00Another Random Road Trip to Tagaytay<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I've been to Tagaytay more than a few times already, some with them with friends, some with family, most of them random..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My trip to Tagaytay with my posh friends started at 5:30 in the morning. Excited? Haha. Jamie and I met up with JE at UP Engineering Building. From there, we just took one car, JE's car, and hit the road along Edsa to fetch Ivanz. Ivanz was thoughtful enough to buy waffles, but not enough for all of us. Haha. He just bought 3, so JE and I had to share one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So off we went to Tagaytay, taking the SLEX route. Our first destination was to eat breakfast. We looked for a place, and randomly found Bag of Beans. JE had a hard time remembering the name, thinking like it was bean bag and bag of bones. Hahaha. We didn't know that it was famous place there in Tagaytay. We were just enticed that the place looks nice and we were starving already, so we didn't want to be choosy. The place is posh, the ambiance was great with it's antique and rusty feel. A perfect way to start our trip. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=344">here</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XqmNFxm-NVA/Tkxg_UdOPaI/AAAAAAAAAO4/GU_xjaMKPTU/s1600/wmarkBag+of+Beans+Tagaytay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XqmNFxm-NVA/Tkxg_UdOPaI/AAAAAAAAAO4/GU_xjaMKPTU/s400/wmarkBag+of+Beans+Tagaytay.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bag of Beans</td></tr>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-85316964646031400192011-08-07T13:19:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:23:51.229+08:00Surviving Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Ok, so my travel to Pakistan doesn't really fall into the category of posh but cheap travel, but still it's something worth blogging about. Never in a million years did I imagine going to Pakistan. As open as I am to travel every corner of the world, I have never dreamt of going there. With all the things that had just recently happened there, and still happening right now; I don't think any traveler would want to visit that place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So how did I end up there? Well, I had no choice. My company assigned me to handle the Middle East process, and was assigned to go there to have face-to-face engagements with the stakeholders. First thing that came to my mind when I got the email that I would go there is "I'm scurred"(scared hahaha). My office mates were very supportive, saying comforting words such as <i>"we don't need your </i>pasalubongs, <i>we just need you to come back in one piece". </i>Even one of the bosses joke me to bring an Armalite and wear a bullet-proof vest, how comforting hahaha. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Since we are allowed to plan out our itinerary ourselves, I had to take the opportunity to ride one of the best airlines, the Emirates Airlines. Since my flight would take longer than 2 hours, company policy dictates that we book business class for safety and health reasons. Woohoo! Business class for the first time, and it would be in Emirates. Sweet. I booked my accommodation in Sheraton Hotel which is one of the best hotels there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My flight consisted of about 10 hours, 8 hours to Dubai, and another 2 hours going to Karachi. I left Manila Saturday evening. I had a little episode with the Immigration officer since he was asking me about my purpose there. I told him that I would be there for business, so he asked my company ID. The thing is, our company ID is not exactly an official ID since it only has our name and photo, without any company logo whatsoever. It's more like a smart card to be used in our computer. So I showed him my invitation letter from the company, which is out of date since my visit was moved to a later date, and the date indicated in the letter was the original date. I explained to him that the original date was postponed and I was not able to obtain an updated letter. Anyway, he did let me go afterwards. I guess he was just concerned of what a kid-looking girl like me would do there. I wanted to tell him if I have a choice, I wouldn't go there. Haha. So I was able to pass the immigration, and now I would have just to wait for my boarding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It was very comfortable as it can get in the business class. The seats can be reclined as much as a bed, and everything was very spacious. Each has its own screen where one could watch series and movies. The flight attendants address our every needs. So after about 8 hours of flying, we finally came to Dubai. I am really excited to check out the Dubai Airport since it's one of the best airports in the world. The Dubai Airport is huge, with its own mini shopping mall inside. Every thing is state of the art and modern. I checked out some of the shops so I would be familiar with it when I came back there on my return flight since I'm planning to go shopping then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After about a 3-hour stopover in Dubai, it was time for me to fly to Karachi, Pakistan. I was still flying with Emirates. Their business class is not as beautiful as my first flight, but I guess this is because the flight is only for 2 hours. Finally, at almost 12 noon on Sunday, I arrived at Karachi Airport. The Karachi Airport is more like the Manila Airport, it's not so modern and not so big. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There's a 3 hour difference between Karachi and Manila. Upon my arrival at the airport, a protocol officer from my company was waiting for me. I wasn't expecting someone would be waiting and assisting me, but I was quite relief that someone was there to accompany me with the immigration officer. I actually arranged with Sheraton hotel to send someone to pick me up but turns out I have a company driver to pick me up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So I rode with the company driver to my hotel. Karachi is much like Manila, not Makati, but Manila; with the busy dusty streets swarming with people. After about 20 minute ride, we finally arrived at Sheraton Hotel. The security was very tight, I actually got a little bit scared of their guards. They are like hardcore Middle Eastern looking, with the mustache and all, wearing bullet-proof vest and long Armalite rifles. After checking in at the concierge, I was brought to my room. My room is beautiful; it has queen size bed, a table and computer chair to work on, a television with cable, and a bathroom with a bathtub. The only downside of it is the balcony area is covered with net. I'm not sure if it's for security purpose, or just to keep away the big black birds that loom around the sky. I asked my driver what type of birds they are, and he said they're falcons. Well, to me they look like black crows, and they really creep me out. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=142">here</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-75Svo73QFpU/Tj4SXbwMHiI/AAAAAAAAAOo/PV8Q30LSimg/s1600/Sheraton+Hotel+Room.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-75Svo73QFpU/Tj4SXbwMHiI/AAAAAAAAAOo/PV8Q30LSimg/s400/Sheraton+Hotel+Room.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Sheraton Hotel Room</td></tr>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-65853693793632078522011-07-17T21:14:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:26:23.246+08:00Hong Kong City and Macau Tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Our third day in Hong Kong finally turned out as planned. We had our city tour in the morning, then headed out to Macau in the afternoon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Our first destination was the Avenue of Stars, which is like Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Since we already had gone through there on our first day, we didn't explore much. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=287">here</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g553nZCxTCo/TiLR9cmdPXI/AAAAAAAAAMA/IWslj8-EFxs/s1600/Avenue+of+Stars+Hong+Kong.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g553nZCxTCo/TiLR9cmdPXI/AAAAAAAAAMA/IWslj8-EFxs/s400/Avenue+of+Stars+Hong+Kong.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avenue of Stars Hong Kong</td></tr>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-80683436712143969912011-07-17T16:26:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:28:11.817+08:00Feeling like a Child again in Hong Kong Disneyland<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We woke up early on our 2nd day at Hong Kong. We had breakfast again at Mcdonald's since it was the free breakfast included in our package. After breakfast, we met up with our travel agent again to transfer to our new hotel. We took the bus again for about 15 minutes or so. From the bus stop, our hotel is just a couple of blocks away. Our new hotel was the Dorsett Sea View Hotel which is way way better than Chungking House It was like a 3-star hotel, I think. We had 3 rooms, each with its own 2 beds, cable TV, air-conditioning and bathroom. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0MU8ZacGOos/TiJ1-1zzvhI/AAAAAAAAAJs/EU3UF_-LvuM/s1600/Dorsett+Sea+View+Hotel+Hong+Kong.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0MU8ZacGOos/TiJ1-1zzvhI/AAAAAAAAAJs/EU3UF_-LvuM/s400/Dorsett+Sea+View+Hotel+Hong+Kong.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorsett Sea View Hotel Hong Kong</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We all thought that everything will go smooth on that day, but even before we can start on with our tour, we had to encounter another bump In the road. Our tour guide to Hong Kong Disneyland didn't arrive on the time we were expecting them , so my sister got pissed off at our travel agent again. Our travel agent called up the local tour guide and turns out the bus that was supposed to fetch us got filled up because there were some unexpected guests. Of course, my sister got mad again since it's quite annoying that they accommodated the unexpected guests first rather than us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After an hour or so of waiting, our tour guide finally came. He just brought a van with him since it would only be us. It took us more or less 20 minutes to get to Hong Kong Disneyland, and he gave us our tickets and instructions on how we would be going back. Finally, we can enjoy this day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I was really excited to go to Hong Kong Disneyland, since I've never been to any Disneyland. Even though I'm already 20-something, I am a kid at heart, not to mention I also look like a kid. It was actually a Halloween special so there were Halloween inspired displays and almost all the kids are in Halloween costumes. They were all so cute! Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=281">here</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EGDL_kQ2Xmg/TiJ1ud6KtHI/AAAAAAAAAJk/BN5-ng-aS7Y/s1600/Disneyland+Entrance.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EGDL_kQ2Xmg/TiJ1ud6KtHI/AAAAAAAAAJk/BN5-ng-aS7Y/s400/Disneyland+Entrance.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hong Kong Disneyland Entrance</td></tr>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-33012006088025249862011-07-17T13:21:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:43:53.375+08:00A Disastrous First Day in Hong Kong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I went to Hong Kong with my family October of last year. Our first day turned out to be a disaster as our travel agency was not able to book the hotel for us. Our travel agency was Discover Asia International Travel and Tours which was referred to me by Jamie which was referred to her by her office mate. Hehe. Since it was referred to me by Jamie’s office mate and they said they provided good service, I trusted her referral and gave their name to my sister. She was the one who booked our itinerary to them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the day before our departure, our travel agent still hasn’t provided us our travel voucher which we would have to present to our hotel. On the day of our departure, our travel agent came to the airport telling us that he hasn’t booked a hotel for us as he said there was a problem with the payment transfer and he would come with us to find a hotel for us. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My sister was really angry but we had no choice since it was already our traveling date. According to our travel agent, there was a delay in the payment transfer since my sister paid in check. Anyway, we departed from Manila at around 5 in the morning riding the Cebu Pacific Airlines. We arrived there at around half-past seven and turns out it was actually their winter season. It was so freaking cold and I was wearing a skirt. We didn’t know that it was their winter already and I only brought light clothes and 2 pairs of pants. Hahaha.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we still have no place to stay yet, and so we don’t have a vehicle waiting for us in the airport to transfer us to our hotel, so we took the bus going to the center of the city. This trip ain’t looking too good. Our travel agent asked us to stay at Mcdonald's at the moment and he would find a hotel for us. My sister told him that she and my brother would come with him and he should hand his passport to him. Better be safe and secure that he won’t be able to just leave us there waiting for him. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=277">here.</a></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aJWygg7ONrg/TiJsBP5pIvI/AAAAAAAAAIY/8rCR9Tt9FQg/s1600/Breakfast+at+Hongkong+Mcdonald%2527s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aJWygg7ONrg/TiJsBP5pIvI/AAAAAAAAAIY/8rCR9Tt9FQg/s400/Breakfast+at+Hongkong+Mcdonald%2527s.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at Hong Kong Mcdonald's</td></tr>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-62043758739150850932011-06-12T21:23:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:45:23.557+08:00Last Sembreak at Anawangin Zambales<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent> </m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><br />
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<m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Ok, so this is really a very late post, because this happened like 3 or 4 years ago, the last sembreak before graduating from College. We had this trip for my organization’s planning session for the coming semester. We went to Anawangin at San Antonio, Zambales via NLEX route then SCTEX to Subic. It was cool since it was my first time passing through SCTEX. The roads were built cutting through the mountains so you could really see the mountains on both side of the road. The roads are really smooth and the scenery is so beautiful. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=339">here</a>.</span></m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aTZtWSGBmRU/TfS07NuIm5I/AAAAAAAAAIA/miFC1kmEMfQ/s1600/wmarkSCTEX.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aTZtWSGBmRU/TfS07NuIm5I/AAAAAAAAAIA/miFC1kmEMfQ/s400/wmarkSCTEX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SCTEX Road</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-66388599165681377412011-06-04T15:23:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:47:06.782+08:00Pahiyas FTW!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Another random trip with my 'posh' <i>barkada</i>. <i> </i>JE texted me Wednesday night to ask if I was doing anything on the weekend. I said that I have a plan to go to Baguio with my high school friends, but I wasn’t sure if we would push through. I asked him what was the plan, and he ask me if I want to go to the Pahiyas Festival that weekend, since his original companion can't come anymore. I said that I would confirm if we would push through with Baguio, and if not, I'm game on Pahiyas. So by Friday night, Jamie confirm with me if I still have plans, and since we didn't push through with going to Baguio, I said I'm game!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So we decided to meet up in Glorietta on Saturday afternoon. JE wearing another of his epic fail outfit, jersey with "Cheesy" on the front, board shorts and Sandugo slippers. We were teasing him that he looks like our driver and he should walk in front of us. Ivanz on the other hand, was on emo mode again and was venting that we replaced him in the group with George when we went to Vietnam. I said that he was actually the one who left the group because we did invite him to Vietnam, and he was actually the one who went travelling with other people when he went to Sagada. But anyway, we were really just joking around about it and was not really a big deal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Since Jamie and Ivanz were hungry, we decided to eat first at Mom and Tina's along dela Rosa in Makati. JE and I just had cakes since we were not yet hungry, while Jamie and Ivanz had full meal. It was Ivanz's treat since he has a lot of money now that he's working in P&G. After eating, we headed with our trip to go to<b> Lucban, Quezon</b>. We asked JE if he knows the way, since we thought he already had gone there last year. Turns out, he wasn't able to go last year so none of us really knows exactly how to get there. Hahaha. The perks of being random. Good thing JE has an Iphone so he just used the map to get there. We told JE that he's on his own on how to get there, and we would actually believe him if he suddenly stops to a place and tell us that that is Pahiyas already. Hahaha. We told him that we have low expectations and we just want to see houses embellished with decorations made of rice since that was what Ivanz and I saw when we googled Pahiyas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So we embarked on our five hour road trip to Lucban, Quezon. To get ourselves entertained, we played the different games in Ivanz's Iphone. One of the games we played was the 'Stupid' game which is really a stupid IQ test. One of the questions was Tap Anywhere. Ivanz's got stuck answering that question that he even googled it. Google failed him for the first time and he wasn't able to find the answer. Turns out the answer was just to tap the word 'anywhere' which was discovered by Jamie. Ivanz mentioned that he just recently learned the meaning of FTW which is for the win, and thought it was like WTF which is what the f@#k?! Hahaha. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">By around 9 we tried looking for a place to eat again since JE and I haven't had dinner yet. We pointed at different places to eat but JE was not actually stopping so we ended up eating at Jollibee. After eating, we headed out to the road again. In one of the towns before Lucban, we saw that their houses were decorated as well. Looks like they are also having their own festival. So we tried looking for a place to stay, but we decided to find a place in Lucban or closest to Lucban. We tried the Inn in the entrance of Lucban, but they said it was fully booked. Kuya told us that all the inns, resorts and hotels in the area are already fully booked and we should try to look in Lucena, which is already the next town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We tried to look more in the town proper, but we only found houses and people walking in the streets. We notice that only a few houses are decorated, are they cramming as well? Hahaha. Since there was no choice, we decided to just sleep in the car. So JE parked his car along the main road, and we tried to sleep. We asked Ivanz to go out of the streets and ask if there maybe somewhere we could stay in. Surprisingly, he agreed. So he went out and after a few minutes he came back. He doesn't have any good news anyway, as he didn't find any place where we could stay. He said that the building in front of us is actually a dormitory, but a bus already occupied all of the rooms. So we tried sleeping in the car again it was too hot, and we can't fully open the window as it may be dangerous.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We told JE to go back a few blocks down and went back to the resort that we saw on our way. It was <b>Batis Aramin.</b> We asked the guard if there was still a vacant room, but he said there was none. We asked if we could just park inside and we'll just pay the entrance fee. He said that we should ask the management so he let us in. We talked to the receptionist and she said that there was actually a vacant cottage. But the cottage was actually a nipa hut made of wood. We decided not to rent the cottage since it's hard and it might be harder to sleep in there. So we just paid the entrance fee so we could park inside and use their common rest rooms. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Jamie, Ivanz and I didn’t immediately sleep. We talked about Ivanz's emo mode and the blackholes of the trip: <i>Purita </i>girl, Potato Wedge girl and the favorite blackhole of Ivanz. By around 4:30 am, we decided to go to sleep. We were actually planning to go for a swim before we take our baths, but no one woke up early. We woke up at around 7am and took our baths in their shower area. It was actually stressful to take a bath because it was not really clean and the shower was not really working and we had to use pail and dipper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So after we were all prepared, we went back to the town proper. JE parked along the main road again and we just rode a tricycle going to the town proper. We ate breakfast at one of the carinderias and we ate their famous pansit habhab and cassava cake. The food was really cheap and the pansit just costs P10 each. So after filling our stomachs, we headed out to the town proper to see the different decorated houses. The houses were really pretty with decorations made of rice kiping and vegetables. Continue reading<a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=331"> here.</a></span></div>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-3832567596817427972011-05-30T10:16:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:48:48.279+08:00Pagudpud: The Best Way to End my College Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tourism-philippines.com/pagudpud/">Pagudpud</a></span><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">,</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> found in<a href="http://worldtourist.us/ilocosnorte/laoag.html"> Ilocos Norte</a>, is one of the most beautiful beach destinations I have ever gone to for the time being. It’s fast gaining popularity to both local and foreign tourists, and being considered as the<b> </b><a href="http://www.boracay.com/">Boracay</a> of the North. I visited Pagudpud a couple of years ago, after our College graduation. It was our last vacation before immersing ourselves into the ‘real’ world, and getting by on our own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My college friends and I went to Pagudpud a couple of years back. It was the first of the many summer getaways we will have (hopefully) and I was of course the organizer of the trip. Our trip almost got canceled because there was an incoming typhoon, but at the last minute we decided to go ahead with the trip since everything was already planned out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We left Manila on a Tuesday night, riding <a href="http://www.eyp.ph/search?fzq=&loc=Metro+Manila&q=Florida+bus&vstype=basic&x=0&y=0">Florida</a><b> </b>bus going to Pagudpud. If I remember correctly, the bus ticket costs about P600. Their bus station is somewhere in Dapitan, Manila and scheduled departure is usually at 9pm. We were all expecting that the bus ride would only take 8-10 hours, but it actually took 12 hours before we were able to reach our destination. It might be just an exception, as it was already raining, and there were a lot of road construction here and there. Next time I would go back there, I recommend just taking a plane. But if you are traveling on a limited budget, and you want to hear <i>Ilocano </i>songs, then riding Florida bus is the best way to go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So finally, at around 10 am, we arrived at the town proper of Pagudpud. From there, we rode tricycles to get to our resort, which is the <a href="http://poshtraveller.blogspot.com/p/bookings-and-reservations.html">Polaris Resort.</a><b> </b>The tricycle drivers were already familiar of the different resorts in Pagudpud so it was not really a problem finding Polaris Resort. The tricycle fare is just P50 per way (take note: not per person). When we arrived at our resort, it was so obvious that we were so <i>purita </i>(poor). Being still dependents to our parents for money, we were really traveling on a tight budget. We even counted each of our contribution in front of the cashier. The Polaris Resort is one of most affordable resort in Pagudpud. Our room good for 6 only costs P3500 per night, and they even allowed 8 of us to stay without additional costs. The resort is much laid back, and like a big nipa hut style. The rooms were clean, with its own bathroom and air conditioning. The only setback in Polaris is the food they offer in their restaurant is a little bit expensive. If you want cheaper prices, but still offer the same delicious food, I recommend C-jam's Eatery which is just outside the resort. The ambiance may not be that high-class, but they offer delicious home cooked meals at very affordable rates. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=269">here.</a></span><br />
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-3204847304582719622011-05-10T22:44:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:50:46.958+08:00Laiya, Batangas: A Quick Escape from the Hustles and Bustles of the City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Since it’s already summertime, and I haven’t been to the beach yet (what a loser?!), I decided to just write about one of my most visited beach here in the Philippines, Laiya, Batangas. I’ve been there so many times, both with my family and friends, that I’ve lost count already. The Laiya beach is one of favorite beach destination for city dwellers since it’s just a 3-4 hour drive from Manila. The beach is beautiful as well, with grayish white sand and colorful underwater ecosystem. Don’t get your expectations too high and compare it to <a href="http://www.boracay.com/">Boracay</a> or <a href="http://www.palawan.com/">Palawan</a>, but it’s still decent to say the least. The resorts and accommodations are quite affordable as well, so it suits both family and <i>barkadas</i> goers.</span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Just last year, I’ve been there twice, one with my family, and one with my college friends. As always, I ended up arranging our itinerary and accommodations again. My college friends and I visited Laiya, Batangas May of last year, if I’m not mistaken. Planning this trip is one of the most frustrating trips I’ve ever organized. We really wanted to visit <a href="http://caramoanislands.com/">Caramoan</a> that year, but since JC and Mae don’t have leaves yet in their work, they can’t have a vacation other than their weekends. So our only option was to find a destination near Manila. What was more frustrating is that my friends were not replying at all to my messages to get this trip planned out. I reached a breaking point, and decided not to plan the trip entirely, and let them do the planning if they still want to have a summer escapade. Summer was about to end that time, and almost all the hotels and resorts in Laiya were fully booked. My threat did seem to work, and our trip did happen, although some of the boys backed out, and it was only Ralph who was the only guy left. the I looked for several hotels and resorts in Laiya, including <a href="http://www.kabayanresort.com.ph/">Kabayan</a>, <a href="http://www.sabangan.com/">Sabangan</a> and <a href="http://casaremolaiya.multiply.com/">Casa Remo Apartelle</a>. We ended up staying in Casa Remo Apartelle where they have a vacant room on the date we scheduled our trip.</span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Since only Jamie knows how to drive, but her dad won't allow her to drive out-of-town, we ended up riding a bus. We caught a bus of <a href="http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com/bus-transport-philippines.html">Jam Liner</a> in Cubao at around 6 in the morning. After about 3 or 4 hours, we arrived at the town proper where we rode a jeepney to get to the beach itself. The Casa Remo Apartelle is along the main road, so we were able to get there directly from our jeepney ride. It's not on the beach front, but at the price of P5K for 8 persons, we didn’t mind. We arrived at around lunch hour at Casa Remo Apartelle but since we can only check in at 2pm, we decided to look for a place to eat. We checked out the restaurant the nearby Kabayan resort, but the food didn’t look so appetizing and the prices were not really worth it. We saw a <i>carinderia</i> on our way to our resort, so we decided to check that out instead. The <i>manang</i> was really friendly and accommodating, and her home cooked meals looked delicious so we decided to eat there. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=257">here</a>.</span></div>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-3409691418904023872011-05-07T11:41:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:53:09.589+08:00Night Life and Chilling at the Beach of Mui Ne Vietnam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a tiring but awesome tour of the sand dunes and other spots in <a href="http://www.muinebeach.net/">Mui Ne</a> town, we headed back to our cheap guesthouse Mai Am. We were all so dirty from our tour, our bodies were covered with sand, and even our ears were filled with sand. As we promised that we will have to experience the night life in Vietnam, we immediately took our turns taking a bath before we head out again. I took so long taking a bath as I didn’t realize how much sand has stuck in my body. After a much needed bath, we headed out again for dinner and drinking. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We decided to eat at the Crepes and Ice Cream restaurant, which JE and I earlier saw on our way to the tour. We remembered it distinctly because the place looks posh, with couches and everything. It was located on the high-end part of the beach, which is like the Station 1 of Boracay. We thought it was just close enough for us to walk, but we ended up walking 4km! Another physical activity. Hahaha. Finally, after a long exhausting walk, we finally found Gecko Crepes and Ice Cream. In fairness, our efforts paid off and the place was really worth it. Really, the extent we go through, just to be posh. Since it was our first full meal of the day again, we ordered immediately what we have been craving for. George and I ordered some burger and fries, which of course reminded us of Potato Wedge Gurl ( refer to<a href="http://poshtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/05/seeing-light-at-end-of-cu-chi-tunnel.html"> Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel</a> to understand). Of course, we also ordered some crepes and waffles for dessert. But they served the crepes and waffles first, so we started with dessert because we were really hungry. After filling our stomachs, we headed out to the stores to check if they have Vietnamese shirts for souvenir, and the athletic outlets that we were looking for, but we still didn’t find what we were looking for. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=126">here</a>.</span></span><br />
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-34517216275175925642011-05-02T23:06:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:54:36.350+08:00Discovering Great Sand Dunes at Mui Ne Vietnam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On our second day in Vietnam, I was woken up by the loud ring of JE's cell phone at around 4:30 am. I tried sleeping again, but my attempt failed despite counting thousands of sheep. By 6:00 am, I gave up trying to sleep, and decided to take a bath already as we have to catch our 7:30 am bus going to Mui Ne Beach. By 7am, we ate our breakfast consisting of the same Our Daily Bread, strawberry jam/margarine and coffee. While eating our breakfast, I noticed JE's thin shirt layered with a very awful vest. I asked him what in the world is he wearing. I said I'll claim I don't know him because I don't want to be seen with him wearing that. He looks like a photographer, or our local environmentalist celebrity, Kuya Kim. The only thing missing is him hanging his camera on his neck. In spite of my nasty remarks, JE didn’t care and still wore his vest. Hahaha. To make things worse, he actually wanted a scarf to go with his outfit. After eating, I arranged the payment for our room and checked out from our cheap Vietnam hotel, Madam Cuc. Even the Caucasians who were having breakfast are staring at me. They’re probably thinking ‘Who the heck is this kid, traveling without a companion?’ Hahaha.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After breakfast and checking out from our cheap Vietnam hotel Madam Cuc, we headed to Sinh Tour’s office again. The trip from Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne took about 5 hours. It would have taken a lot shorter if the bus was going faster, but I heard the conductor chatting with one of the passengers that the bus usually runs at 50kph. I noticed that the bus indeed was running slow, maybe slower than 50kph at times. The roads and scenery are quite similar to Manila and the provinces of the Philippines. We named some of the roads looking quite similar to those in Manila, such as Roxas Blvd. and the C5 tunnel going to Eastwood. Small houses and rice fields line both sides of the roads. The only noticeable thing is the way they plant the rubber trees. They are all lined up straight, with ribbons and cuts on the trunks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">At 12:29 in the afternoon, I noticed that the bus was suddenly running faster. Seems the driver is trying to reach the terminal by 12:30, the supposedly exact time of our arrival. In fairness, we were able to arrive at 12:31 pm. Hahaha. After just a 3-minute walk, we were able to find our cheap guesthouse, Mai Am. It was better than what I was expecting. Once you enter, you will be immediately welcomed by their mini garden for Buddha. Then at the back of it is the reception and restaurant. Then some huts for dining also. At the beach front are some summer chairs and umbrellas. We have reserved 2 double rooms, each with its own air con, TV and bathroom. The guesthouse is more posh and newer compared to Madam Cuc. After presenting our booking confirmation to the reception guy, he told us “</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10pt;">At 1:00, you’ll have your tour at Cham Tower.” What?? We haven’t eaten our lunch yet. I answered, “No time for lunch”. And he replied back, “No!” Huhuhu. Are we not allowed to eat a complete meal here in Vietnam? So we checked our rooms, and left our stuff there. Before leaving, I tried asking the receptionist again if we could maybe order some food in their restaurant, and bring it with us in our tour. Good thing he allowed us to have a quick meal in their restaurant. So we ordered something that could be cooked quickly, Our Daily bread, with some tomato omelet. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=122">here</a>.</span></span><br />
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-28243045551526735362011-05-01T17:37:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:55:36.204+08:00Crossing the Crazy Streets of Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">So after the half-day Cu Chi Tunnel tour, we found ourselves back in Ho Chi Minh City. It was already two in the afternoon, but we haven't eaten our lunch. We were so hungry, that it didn't matter where we eat, we just wanted food!! The first place we saw was the Nguyen Café, and we were just happy to see a place to eat. When we checked their menu, we were glad that they offer rice meals. But no, the waiter said that they only offer those during lunch time, and it's already past lunch time. Huhuhu. So we ended up just ordering shakes and cakes. While we were chilling and resting at the café, we noticed that most of the other people were looking at us. Why? Do we look funny? I guess they are just curious as we truly look like tourists, with our cameras hanging at our necks, and carrying bags of souvenirs. What's more odd I think for them, is because we're Asians, and most of the tourists they see are Caucasians from Europe. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=110">here</a>.</span></div>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6721013618762610545.post-67058432248944328332011-05-01T16:07:00.000+08:002013-09-21T11:56:49.017+08:00Seeing the Light at the end of Cu Chi Tunnel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">After so much planning and thinking of every detail of our trip, at last the day of our departure has finally arrived. Our flight to Vietnam was last February 18, which was a Friday night, a week after my birthday. I took a half-day leave from work, and met up with Jamie and George at Mcdonalds at around half past seven. They already finished their dinner, so I decided to just eat in the airport. We waited for JE to arrive, and off we went looking for a cab going to the airport.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">It was a Friday night, employees are rushing to get off work to meet up with friends in malls and bars to hang out and blow off some steam. As expected, all the cabs were taken. We wander through the busy streets of Makati, hoping to catch a cab for hire. I even tried calling different cab providers that I know, but end up with no luck. JE and Jamie were starting to get stressed finding a cab, but me and George remained calm and relaxed. "Itay" ,(father in Filipino) as I would call George, and I actually found it funny that they were stressed-out, while we remained calm and chilling, like walking in a park. Finally, after about an hour of walking, we ended up in Greenbelt, and were able to find a cab there. It was a dilapidated and old cab, but we didn't have a choice. The driver was even making an excuse that he can't take us, he said he has a flat tire, but turns out he just wants an extra pay for our fare. He was asking us to pay him P250, and we were more than willing to give him more. And so, we took our seats inside the cab, JE taking the passenger seat in front. Manong driver started interviewing us, and shooting some questions. I don't know why we lied, but we said we were going to Cebu. I guess it's for security purpose that we didn't want to disclose where we were going to a complete stranger. But our lie fired back to us, Manong driver was actually from Cebu. So he started to narrate his personal story and even gave us some peculiar warnings. He warned us not to eat the food in the streets as we might be poisoned. He said that there are many witches there, and they might put a curse on our food. He even told us that he himself knows witchcraft and he can put a curse on us, even by just staring at us. What the heck?? So freakin' creepy!!! I was sitting backseat between Jamie and Itay, and when he looks at his rearview mirror, he can see me directly. I didn't want to look at the mirror as he might catch a glance of me and curse me! He narrated that he once helped a friend who was cursed because of eating at the streets, and was poisoned. He healed him by giving him grated coconut and sugar, and it worked. His friend's family was very thankful to him, and he was welcome to his friend's house. He added that he fell in love with his friend's sister, but she didn’t love him back. He said he could a put a curse on her, but he decided not to, because he truly loves her. He said that he can also put a curse using the hair of the person, the usual voodoo stuff . All of us thinking freaking out in our minds, 'Did my hair fall off? I can't leave a single strand of hair inside this cab!' The only good thing coming out of the driver's mouth is when he noticed that JE has a 'malapad na noo' (wide forehead). For us Filipinos, that's a sign of being intelligent. He commented that JE looks like someone who's smart and knows a lot of this. This is partly true, since we all studied in UP, but ironic as well as JE flunked some of his subjects and got delayed. It was funny for us that the driver would comment that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">At last, after 30 minutes or less of that creepy cab drive, we finally reached the airport. We checked in our bags, and got our boarding pass. When we got to the immigration, itay got hold up for a bit, since he was carrying a Canadian passport, and he had some additional travel documents. The immigration officer laughed when she saw the picture on his documents. It was a picture of him when he was still a kid, and he was still fat and was just wearing a sando. Looking at it, we couldn't really decide if he was a cute kid or an ugly kid. Lol. He looks like he was hungry in his pic, and he was not in the mood. Having finished checking in, we have time to kill before boarding. JE and I haven't eaten dinner yet, so we decided to eat first. Almost all the restaurants were closed, so we ended up eating in Seattle's Best. While eating, Jamie whispered to me that the she heard the girl sitting beside our table telling her boyfriend, " Oh my god, I’m so full. I had like 3 potato wedges for lunch.” WTF?? How big is that freaking potato? To think that it was already 10pm that time, and her last meal was lunch. From then on, we can’t help but talk about her throughout the whole trip. We call her the potato wedge gurl, and was considered the "black hole" of the trip. Black hole is a term we just coined ourselves, it usually refers to the person we can’t stop talking about throughout a trip, usually dishing that person. Hahaha. We can really be mean and nasty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">At 12:30am local time, we landed at Ho Chi Minh. After 10 years, I’m back in Ho Chi Minh again. In fairness, their airport is much newer now and less crazy. We decided to convert some of our dollars to their local currency Dong, 1USD=20000 VND. We are filthy rich here! We saw the driver who would take us to Madam Cuc. Jamie commenting “ Paminsan kelangan mo na lang talagang magtiwala sa mga tao noh?” *<i>Sometimes, you just have to trust a person, whether you like it or not*</i> Hahaha. Come to think of it, that's really true. We don't have a choice but to trust that person and bring us to our hotel in the wee hours of the night. Ho Chi Minh is very much like Manila, their streets are like the streets of Dapitan or Tondo, with thick electrical wires lining the streets, and small establishments with steel gates. And I quote Itay's Canadian cousin, " Why are you going there? It’s so ghetto” Hahaha.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">So the driver stopped in front of an old building with steel gate, which is closed. Are we here?? Yes, it seems we have arrived in our cheap Vietnam hotel, Madam Cuc. He rang the bell, and a lady in her pajamas opened the gate. She asked us to remove our shoes, as our room is on the 2nd floor. But we asked her if we could just walk barefoot and just bring our shoes with us in our room, which she let us. The lady asked for our passport, which at first we couldn't understand what she was saying. Of course we were hesitant to give it to her. She said that we could get it anytime we want, and so we agreed to give it to her and we'll just get in the morning. So it's now time for bed as we need to wake up early after a few hours for our Cu Chi Tunnel tour. The room was ok, it was spacious, with 2 large beds, a flat TV, air con and ref. The bathroom was clean, with bath tub and hot shower. Not bad for such a cheap hotel. Time for bed..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">We woke up at 6am, that's 7am Manila time. We each took our turns taking a bath, then went downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast consists of bread, strawberry jam/margarine and their yummy coffee. The bread is like the French bread, but the outside is chewy and the inside was really airy. We called it Our Daily Bread. After which, I asked for directions from one of the reception ladies on how to get to the Sinh Tour office. Good thing she gave us a map, that would become very handy later on. After like a ten minute walk, we arrive at the Sinh tour office, the cheap travel agent where I booked our Cu Chi Tunnel tour and bus to Mui Ne. We caught our bus going to Cu Chi tunnel, where Anh, our tour guide talked about Ho Chi Minh, both the city and the person. He seems to be a fanatic of Ho Chi Minh. When we arrived, Anh discussed the story of war and the purpose of the Cu Chi Tunnel, then watch a very ancient video way back 1960’s. Continue reading <a href="http://www.theindietravellerhub.com/?p=108">here</a>.</span></div>
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posh travellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13273333191116876701noreply@blogger.com0