Philippine Travel Notes

Funny sign of the times? Well, call it frugality, recycling or whatever! This inflight magazine of AirPhil Express cannot anymore be taken out of the aircraft! It says: AIRLINE PROPERTY. PLEASE RETURN, THANK YOU And inside the same magazine, on page 43 to be exact, you see this: Yep, a full page ad of Sea Air - a direct competitor. Interesting?! Indeed! I wonder, would we later see ABS-CBN advertising on GMA programs or vice versa? How about Globe advertising on Smart, Talk N Text or Sun?! Doesn't hurt, I guess! Well, the signs of our time...

Its just a single letter for a difference anyway, so who cares hahaha! Hey Marlyn, are you blue? Then you'll probably be good to grill! Whaaahehehe! Took that pic this afternoon at an eatery called 'Cafe Boujeador' just near the intersection of the main highway and the road that leads up to the 'Cape Bojeador Lighthouse' in Bayog, Burgos, Ilocos Norte! Note: there is no typo in any word above. I reviewed them all hehe! Proof? See below: Cafe - or café. you know what it is Cape - a promontory (into water); headland; etc., (e.g., Cape Of Good Hope) Bojeador - the place; pronounced "boh-ya-dor" Boujeador - the restaurant's name. bakit bawal ba? ha?! so don't make angal na!!!

I saw this reminder last night posted on a wall at Maria De Leon Bus Station in Manila near UST. I think "baggage" is a collective noun so there is no need to add "s" to pluralize it. Anyway, more important for us travelers is to heed what it is trying to tell us! A Tagalog version (below) of the same reminder is also posted, though it is not a direct translation - it says more! Mag-ingat na lang lagi!

"Ay! BOLD!" So shrieked a lady. And of course it caught the attention of many folks, including us. Good I was strolling SM Cebu in the coolness of friends from the fashion industry. When we took some shots, many others, locals and foreigners alike did the same! Oh well, the BOLD signs of our times!

Yes Amando, oh yes Jun, eschapeyk! This is a fake 10-peso coin that one multicab driver showed me as he was telling me that some passengers do pay with bogus money whether they know it or not. Weight was just about the same as the real one, but the edges were too rough and the engraving poor. Oh well, the poor signs of our poor times...

As I often say, to each his own. And there is this "eating style" in Cebu I didn't pay much attention to then. But when a visiting friend casually asked me (as we passed one), I realized there are not so many of these "pungko-pungko" eateries in other parts of this country. There are more notable "portable joints" than these elsewhere, I've seen many, but I now realize it is in Cebu where there's too many of them "pungko-pungko" - with interesting attributes! The very place that my friend pointed to me was in fact one such unique place that when I returned for more, they were not there anymore (or probably for the meantime?)! These are generally adult joints. I mean most patrons are adults, though I'd see some kids here and there. Haven't heard yet though of anyone getting sick after eating at such places. These "pungko-pungko" stalls, if I might call them stalls, proliferate during late afternoons to evenings at wha...

Another “duh” question! But there are merits to that so I can say that this question is not dumbest. Its just… dumb hehe! I have touched about this topic over at this article when someone asked about front and back seats. But let us continue on “best” and “safest” seats! The “Best” That of course is relative. Best seat in relation to what? Views? Then of course those would be the window seats. If you have that camera ever ready to snap shots of the things you see as your airplane rolls or flies, you don’t’ want a window seat by the wings. I also noticed that front window seats are not that great for camera wielding passengers. Why? Because a plane lifts its nose early during take-off. And at landings, it’s the last part to touch the ground. It mostly tilts towards the sky. So, in general, window seats at the back of the plane are better for you shutterbugs out there yearning to take aerial shots of our dear Pilipinas! Note: if you are flying on a bi-class flight (that means there are ...

About a few hours ago, I had this encounter with a Cebu Pacific Air employee at the Mactan Cebu International Airport with a 'procedure' that "stinks" in purpose and 'enforcement'. I later told him what I thought about it - and I hope they'd consider re-doing how they execute that stinking idiotic requirement of the airline! Here's the story... After paying my terminal fee, I proceeded towards the final security check. But we all know there is a guard who checks if you have actually already paid your terminal fee by examining your boarding pass for an attached receipt, right? And her podium is only about 5 steps away from that counter where you have just paid, right? Well, she is not the topic here hehe! I just want you to imagine clearly where my little incident transpired... Across the said guard is/are also stationed 5J employees (5J is the 2-letter IATA code for Cebu Pacific Air) in their usual yellow/orange T-Shirts as uniforms. Many times, there...