Philippine Travel Notes

As said in my previous post , this first leg of my earnest circle trip was flying TAC-CEB-MNL. I usually do anyway. If you're not that familiar, TAC is airport code for Tacloban, CEB for Cebu and MNL for Manila. Why go through connecting flights when there are lots of direct TAC to MNL flights? People have many reasons in doing so. Many of you already know, mine is: just to drop my laundry in Cebu, where I live ! Hmm hey, nothing hanky-panky nor illegal there. I just usually handcarry my "labadami", go out of the departure area, Manong JC would already be there waiting for me, and then we "exchange gifts", done! Anything that I have to carry back inside still pass by those x-ray machines. In case I need to check-in anything, I just go to the counters to do so, even if my boarding pass was issued at a previous station. But let's start from the very beginning as I always do, right? Okay, approaching the Tacloban Airport on a gloomy afternoon,

After a few days in Bohol, here I was, departing from the new Bohol International Airport. Yey! But, as I always say, 'let me start from the very beginning'. So here was my getting out of Alona Beach ! Finding The Bus Stop I walked from ISIS Bungalows to the main road (corner of Circumferential Road & Alona Beach Road). That is the usual way of most everyone exiting from the various beach-side resorts on Alona Beach. If you're not the walker type, there are motorcycles or tricycles you can hire at the corner by the beach. Alona Beach Road is too narrow for vehicles to enter and try to maneuver a u-turn at the end (beach), as it always teems with humanity (mala-palengke na sya). Only emergency/PWD vehicles are allowed. Mind you, that's about 500 meters of an upward walk. Not really that steep. I think that intersection is only about 30ft above sea-level, and from the beach corner where Alona Beach Road starts ascending is about 300 ft. away, thus th

I promised earlier to describe what I have seen at the new Panglao International Airport, so here I go. But it would be best to start from the time I arrived until I departed - the usual passenger experience. First thing I noticed during landing, the soil on this part of the island is colored red. Did you see it on the video ? Not that it matters to passengers' safety, security, comfort or convenience. I just found that amazing, since the beach sand around this island is notably light-colored from cream to almost white! Well, if you take a hint from above, the color red kept 're-appearing' in my notes. So keep reading! Oh, here it is hehehe! The aerobridge floor is colored red, and the walls are pink! I said "bakit kaya"? It's not really red as in "bright red" hehe! More of various shades from red to maroon and well, as you can see above, "dull pink", hindi "dainty pink" or "powdery pink" or "sanrio pink&

Going home time! This part of my travel is important to share - for your comfort and convenience. Many Boracay visitors just get busy arranging for their way 'going there'; the myriad of activities to do; the kinds of food to feast-on; the types of drink to taste - 'while there'. Oftentimes, their coming home part isn't given much attention. Yet we should equally consider that, to ensure a memorable vacation. Having said that, let me continue to tell my story , yes, this was still our Boracay story , but I will put-in various tools, techniques and notable 'musts' that I have learned through all these years of traveling. First to watch out for: What time do we leave the island? Most hotels have a "1400H/1200H" rule. Meaning you may only check-in at 2PM and must be checked-out by 12NN. So, to maximize your stay on the island, you should leave the hotel at about 12NN. Diba? Now... how about your flight out of Caticlan (or even Kalibo w