Awesome CAT: Cebu Adventure Trip

Travel Period: December 10 - 12, 2011
Destination: Moalboal, Badian and Cebu City

Last Promo Flight Availed
This is my last promo flight availed in Cebu Pacific promo fares for the year 2011. It was around 3rd quarter of this year when they offered the promo of Piso Fare sale for there seats and I quickly booked for it. I've been to Cebu many times before but I never had a chance to visit outside towns since it was a gateway for me during my previous trips in Palawan and Bohol. This time, I had booked another flight bound to Cebu and planned to explore their pristine beaches of the north in Bantayan and Malapascua Island. Days came by, the weather was not cooperating so we decided to do the other plan, that is to explore South Cebu particularly in Moalboal of its white sand beach and visit Badian of their famous Kawasan Falls. Along with this trip are my friends named Perlie and Nyme.

A Day Trip To Boracay of the South

Travel Period: December 3, 2011
Destination: Glan, Sarangani and General Santos City, South Cotabato


Out of Town Trip

Aside from planned and promo flight trips, out of town day trips are one of my alternatives to travel to other places. So, when my friend Lorna want to do an out of town trip, I suggested we do the Gumasa beach excursion since I've heard and read a lot of good reviews of the place. The beach is also known as the Boracay of the South, while Pagudpud of Ilocos Norte as the Boracay of the North.

Manila Field Trip

Travel Period: November 19 - 21, 2011
Destination: Metro Manila

The Title
For the entire school days of my life I've never experienced a field trip, too bad for me but on a lighter note this is an inspiration for me to explore places I've never been to. I guess, being deprived on my younger years made me a traveler addict now. Hehe. I have entitled this post as Manila Field Trip since me and a friend of mine named Lilian have visited historical places and amusement parks of the metropolis.

A Day Trip To The Hidden Paradise

Travel Period: November 7, 2011
Destination: Isla Reta Beach Resort, Talicud, IGaCoS

A Holiday

Aside from weekends, holidays for me are the best opportunity to explore other places and do a trip. So, when our government declared a holiday for November 7, 2011 in celebration with a day of sacrifice of our Muslim brothers, we immediately planned a trip on that day. It's been a long time since I've seen and heard about a magnificent beach in Talicud Island, Samal named Isla Reta Beach Resort. And on this holiday, finally, my dream to visit the place came true.

DDS Excursion: From Island To Highland

Travel Period: October 31, 2011
Destination: Bato, Sta. Cruz and Kapatagan, Digos City

The Title

When we heard the term DDS, it immediately connotes to the vigilante group named Davao Death Squad which is mostly known among Davaoeños like me. But this time, DDS refers to a province named Davao del Sur which is just a neighbor of Davao City. I would like to take this opportunity to make some clarifications about geography, Davao City is an independent city of any province, which means it doesn't belong to Davao del Sur. Back to the title, so why Davao del Sur? Because this time our trip destination will be in Davao del Sur namely the Passig Agri-Eco Park situated in Bato, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur and Camp Sabros and Agong House which are both located in Kapatagan, Digos City, Davao del Sur. Now, the term "excursion" which I only knew this year and added in my vocabulary refers to a short journey or trip or it means a trip at reduced rates. To simplify, its Davao del Sur trip. :D

Travel Destination: UNESCO Edition

Introduction
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State Parties (countries) which are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a fixed term.

Bicolocos Express Adventure

Travel Period: October 7 - 11, 2011
Destination: Legazpi City, Albay and Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

The Preparation
It was last March of 2011 when AirPhil Express offered a promo fares on all of their domestic destinations. I quickly booked for a round trip flight of Davao - Manila route for a family of five which just cost around 2000 pesos, indeed it was a very cheap fare. Fortunately, my schoolmates in college were able to grabbed promo seats from Cebu Pacific, Davao - Manila route with the same schedule (October 7 - 11, 2011) I had booked for my family.

Explore Surigao del Sur

Travel Period: September 24 - 25, 2011
Destination: Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur

Introduction
Seeing those amazing scenery in one of my friend's album on their trip to Surigao del Sur, I was instantly eager to visit the place with its beautiful cascading waterfalls and crystal clear blue waters. And I'm talking the famous Tinuy-an Falls which considered to be the Niagara Falls of the country and the breathtaking Enchanted River of Surigao del Sur. So, when a close friend of mine inform me that they will be having trip on those places, without hesitation I tag along on their trip.

An Afternoon In Crocodile Park

Travel Period: September 17, 2011
Destination: Davao Crocodile Park and Butterfly House

The Motivation
I've been born and raised in Davao City and believe it or not, I never been to the famous crocodile park for almost 25 years. Davao Crocodile Park is one the top destination for recreation and educational tour during elementary days. I remember during my childhood years that my cousins have already been to this place. Well, its not too late to experience the place and see it for myself thus this made me decide to finally visit the park for the first time.

Tagaytay, Taal Volcano and Enchanted Kingdom Weekend Escapade

Travel Period: September 02 - 05, 2011
Destination: Tagaytay, Taal Volcano and Enchanted Kingdom


The Cast

Initially, only three of us (me, Maricel and her mom) had booked a promo fare from Cebu Pacific and one of our friend (Richellle Joy)  wants to tag along on our trip and we patiently wait for months for another promo fare, luckily AirPhil Express just offered a promo and without hesitation we immediately booked a flight bound to Manila. Then we informed our college friend named Febie who currently live in Manila to tag along with us on our plan trip to Baguio. Well, another luck had come up, Cebu Pacific had another promo fare, this time its "Libre Balik" promo where you purchase a regular one way ticket and your return ticket will be free. She then booked her three friends from Davao and a friend from Cebu. When the day came, Maricel's mom could not make it to the trip because she worries that no one will be feeding her pigs, it would die starving. Hehe. I think its also a blessing in disguise because we were worried of what activities or preferences would her mother wants during the trip and to mention that we will be having an adventurous rides in Enchanted Kingdom.

Lake Sebu Adventure Trip

Travel Period: August 29, 2011
Destination: Lake Sebu, South Cotabato

The Plan
It was just last week when we decided to have a trip since we'll be having a long weekend due to two declared holidays last Monday and Tuesday in celebration of National Heroes Day and end of Ramadan respectively. Among the places-to-go on my checklist in Mindanao, we decided to do the Lake Sebu adventure trip since most of us haven't been there. We were excited to witness the amazing lake and to experience the thrilling ride of the zipline strategically located above the majestic Seven Waterfalls of Lake Sebu. My travel companions this time were Kiara and her mom, Fritzie, Miching and her brother Jerry, Jake and his brother our driver. All plans were ready and off to go to Lake Sebu!

My Third Solo Backpacking Trip

Travel Period: July 13 - 16, 2011
Destination: Iloilo, Bacolod and Guimaras

The BIG(Bacolod-Iloilo-Guimaras) Trip
Initially, we were three of us who booked a flight to Iloilo and have a trip to Boracay but both of them could not make it on the trip which make it a solo trip for me. Since, I already had a Boracay trip last year, I opted to explore more around Iloilo and its neighboring places, I finalized my itinerary with the corresponding costs/expenses needed on every details on the trip. On its first day, I will explore Iloilo City, the next day will be on Bacolod City and on the third day will be on Guimaras Island. Let's see if I could stick on the planned itinerary.

SOSS Supports' Trip

Travel Period: June 30 - July 03, 2011
Destination: Cebu and Bohol

The Title
Originally, we were four of us that are going on this trip with former workmates on my first company Southern OnSite Services (SOSS) which we jokingly acronym it to Sige Og Suroy Suroy (Always On Travel). Unfortunately, one of our companion didn't make it to the trip because she's one of the affected victims of the recent floods occurred in Matina area here in Davao City. That excludes Rose (Data Encoder)  from the trip which makes the title "SOSS Supports' Trip" because the casts were Cleo (Corrective Maintenance Support), Mhinggai (Emergency Call Support) and me (Information Technology Support).

Canon Photoskwela 2011

Introduction
A photography workshop sponsored by Canon held in Apo View Hotel, Davao City last June 18-19, 2011. The workshop covers the basic and advanced photography, scrapbooking and videography. On its first day, I arrived at the venue few minutes before the workshop started and only seats at the back available, luckily, my friend reserved me a front seat. That time, I brought with me an old Canon PoweShot A480 and a newly picked-up LBC package Canon PowerShot SX210 IS which I ordered online.

ABC: Amazing, Breathtaking Camiguin

Travel Period: March 17 - 20, 2011
Destination: Camiguin

Dream Came True
A year before our travel date, it was our dream to visit Camiguin and when a budget carrier offered another promo fares, we immediately grabbed a seats bound to Cagayan de Oro from Davao even though it's a one-way promo fare. We decided to travel by land back to Davao since it's still part of Mindanao island and commuting is not a problem. My travel buddies this time are Lorna and Armia, a high school classmates of mine way back 1999 to 2003. Armia nicknamed Mhing who celebrated her birthday three days before the trip which means this is also a post-birthday celebration trip. We met past five in the afternoon of March 17 at Davao International Airport, checked-in, and boarded the flight. Here we come CdeO and Camiguin!

Enchanted Kingdom, Taal Volcano and Tagaytay

Travel Period: March 11 - 14, 2011
Destination: Enchanted Kingdom, Taal Volcano and Tagaytay

The Cast
Another adventure trip we had but this time we availed a promo fare from Zest Air! We booked a flight bound to Manila together with my co-workers named Reuben and Jethro with her wife Blessie. Everything was already set from the map we tracked on Google Earth, to the rides we want to take on Enchanted Kingdom, the time and duration between activities on the itinerary down to the expenses needed on the trip. We met at the Davao International Airport on March 11 in the evening, checked-in and boarded the plane. It was our first time to ride on Zest Air and we landed on Manila domestic airport. We spent the rest of the night at the airport since we have to travel bound to Laguna early in the morning.

My Second Solo Backpacking Trip

Travel Period: February 12 - 15, 2011
Destination: White Beach, Puerto Galera

Conquer Southern Tagalog
I'm just glad that there are airlines who offer promo fares around the country including some international destinations. This time, we have availed another budget fare bound to Manila from Davao. We have been to northern part of Luzon in Bagiuo and Pangasinan, so, we decided to conquer the Southern Tagalog region. A friend of mine said that Puerto Galera is one of the visited tourist spot in the region for having those white sand beaches, which made up our mind to visit this place and made an itinerary out of it.

Spending Time With Family

Travel Period: January 20 - 24, 2011
Destination: Cebu and Bohol


Booking Details
Surely time travels really fast, imagine it was just last June 10, 2010 when a budget airline offered a promo fares on their flights with a travel period of January 1 - March 15, 2011, which means the promo was posted seven months early prior to the travel dates. In case you come across with this scenario, then don't hesitate to book for it even if the travel period is a year after because you won't even notice that your scheduled trip is fast approaching. I have traveled before with my friends, co-workers and college schoolmates, so this time I booked for my family bound to Bohol, my mother's birth place, via Davao - Cebu flight. :D

My Lakbayan Grade

It was a posted blog from a friend when I stumbled the Lakbayan application created by Eugene Villar. This application generates a marked map based on the places that you've been visited around the country. This is a straight forward program where you just need to tick the corresponding radio button based on how you experienced a particular place.

The choices are group into following:

• Never set foot here
• Just passing through
• Been here once to a few times
• I often go here
• I live / had lived here

Cropped Photos

SM Mall of Asia

Puerto Galera

My First Solo Backpacking Trip

Travel Period: November 27 - 30, 2010
Destination: Zamboanga City and Great Santa Cruz Island


From Ten To One

This is another PISO fare promo that we have availed in a budget airline, lucky for us. Initially, there are two groups of different flights are going on this trip. We searched for available fares among the destinations and we found some  slots and booked quickly bound to Zamboanga from Davao. In our group, we consist of 6 guests, 3 college schoolmates, a friend and one of my college instructor. In the other group, another 4 guests will be joining on our trip making it a 10-cast trip. As the date came closer and itinerary was already prepared, 2 of guests backed-out because of lack of budget for the trip or security issues about the destination. Then there goes the domino effect and I have no updates of confirmation from other companions and to the last minute I waited for confirmation on one of my companion but she was not able to made it. So this is it, my first ever solo backpacking trip.

Baguio And Hundred Islands Adventure

Travel Period: October 30 - November 3, 2010
Destination: Metro Manila, Baguio City, and Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan

The Plan

At the NAIA 3

After a trip from Palawan, Boracay, Cebu and Bohol, now its time to conquer the Greater Manila Area and Northern Luzon. Again, this is a promo fares we availed from a budget airline and thanks to their promo flights. Initially, we were divided into 2 groups, Lee and Jeremy will be on an earlier flight and 4 on our flight but 1 of our companion was not able to make it on the trip. That makes only 3 of us are going on adventure and they are Reuben, Janice and me of course, a total of 5 when met the other two. Here we come Luzon! :D

CS Went To Cebu - Bohol

Travel Period: October 7 - 11, 2010
Destination: Cebu and Bohol

Booking Details

At Davao International Airport terminal bridge

When the promo was up on Cebu Pacific and the travel period was around on the month of October of last year, there was one plan we had in our mind and that is a trip to Cebu and Bohol in birthday celebration of Maricel and me on October 7 and 11 respectively.

Thanks to Jason who booked the trip and we even decided to booked a regular fare just for the trip to be materialize and yes it was. Unfortunately, not all of the booked guests were able to made it on the trip and the survivors were me, Jason, Maricar and Sherwin. For Vice and Maricel who had eliminated, hehe, don't worry guys we could do it again. :D

Promo Booking Tips

Introduction
It was December 2009 when I first heard about the promo fares offered in a budget airline. We saw the promo fares on their booking site only which means only those people who frequently check the site have the chance to avail the promos fares. And that time, I think Facebook and Twitter are not popular yet among Filipinos so there is no fan page or account yet of this airline but now updates are already seen in these social networking sites about their promo fares that means more people are informed about it.

Travel Destination: Peso Bill Edition

Introduction
It was around December of last year when our president and BSP announced the new generation of the peso bills to be released. Well, I'm impressed with its new design, aside from the striking color, they also added some of the Philippine icons on the reverse side featuring some of the notable species and tourist destinations found in our country. It is said that the bills had also a new security features that counterfeiters would had a hard time. But with the advent of the technology, it would be no surprise that time will come they will able to counterfeit it as the saying goes "if there's a will, there's a way". :D

CS/IT Boracay Escapade

The Cast

Arriving at Iloilo airport

It was February of 2010 when had book the promo fare of Cebu Pacific Davao - Iloilo flight. Initially, it was me, Lee and Maricel will go on that trip, then we tapped Vice, Jason and Maricar. We also informed Jorge about the plan and joined with Jovy, Quennie and his son Arturo. Also joining with the trip were Meg, Perlie and Jazel together with Larry on a seperate flight. There's the feeling of excitement as the date came closer! Weeh. Here we came Boracay!

Trip For The First Time

Trip Bookings

At the airport

As far as I remember, it was January 2010 when we saw the promo fare from Cebu Pacific on all destinations and its been months that they have offered these promo sales. My co-worker quickly alerts me about the promo and to cut it short we had decided to book a round trip for Davao-Cebu-Davao route dated February 17 - 22, 2010 with a couple of days to spent, we thought we should maximize this trip so we search other destination from Cebu and we found that Palawan is one of its destination.

Hello World!

Well, this is my first blog and just like every IT related students had encountered during their first programming lessons, "Hello World" was the first phrase introduced on displaying an output for the program. Thus, I used this to welcome myself to blogging community. :D