Philippine Travel Notes

Happy New Year 2019! While most of Bangkok were at the Chao Phraya River for the 'midnight countdown', I was "embroiled" in a little partying of our own. Unfortunately, we weren't outdoors. We were at one of the 2 nd floor function halls of Holiday Inn Silom. And, I so wanted to at least peep at the much-touted IconSiam fireworks display on the Chao Phraya. Two colleagues also yearned to do so. Pinoy ang isa! So, abili bad summoned, I said I could see part of the river from my room on the 26 th floor! We schemed. Alams na! I only said "me Family Mart sa baba, me 7-Eleven sa kanto" di pa ako tapos magsalita hiniram ang susi ko, at tumalilis si Pinoy friend, 'kala ko e-ebak sya! Dinner time yun. We knew our party would be 'forever' anyway, so at 2355H, we went up to my room, and I think I somehow expected this: my little fridge was unsurprisingly full of these: We knew 'di kami hahanapin sa baba since there was also a coun...

We ended the previous story with " boarding ", so let's go fly! Pushback ! Only 1425H and we already felt that jerk, as the plane started to push away. Yey! I marked my photo for easy identification since my phone was facing the sun. This: Blue arrrow is the international terminal's name; red arrow is where this plane came from (where we boarded); and, yellow arrow is the domestic terminal. Not really big. Not so big an airport It's maybe as big (or as small) as Davao airport - sama na domestic at international, since as you can see halos magka-dugtong sila. Total building length, ~200 meters. But in terms of passenger traffic (2017), konti lang, about 1.3 million, comparable to BCD or CGY (TAC had 1.7M; ILO had 1.9M; DVO had 4+M), yet Vientiane is a capital. Not a purely government-owned airport BTW, that recent airport upgrade was with 'hefty help' from Japan. Even its operator today is L-JATS (Lao-Japan Airport Terminal Services), a p...

You may have noticed, I kept referring to my hotel in Phuket as HIE . That meant Holiday Inn Express in Patong Central, Phuket. Don't be confused I keep saying "HIE" at many places. I can explain that a bit. There are many HIE hotels everywhere. They're the 'express' version - meaning 'no frills but convenient and practical' kind of hotel service. Not luxurious, but mid-range priced. Best for us people on the go! HIE is an IHG hotel. Now what is IHG? That's the mother company "InterContinental Hotels Group" and it has a lot of hotel brands in its umbrella. Like in Phuket alone, aside from HIE, there is Indigo, Holiday Inn Resort, Intercon and Crowne Plaza. Why do I know that? Ah, I often stay with any of them abroad! Not that I am related to IHG in any capacity, nor am I here to advertise them. Hello, none of them even know me. But yes, I openly recommend this family of hotel brands, yet I am also the first one to holler if I exp...

I can call this an interesting double surprise dinner - 1] I had a dinner mate (yes me kasama ako bigla); 2] there was Pinoy music (well, Pinoy musicians) indirectly serenading me during my 'al fresco' dinner! How did that happen? Here's the story.., Just as I was about to go down to find 'dinner anywhere', HIE frontdesk staff called to inform me that somebody was waiting for me at the lobby. Kinabahan ako ng konti dun ha? Si Insik Wakanga pala (na hindi Chinese national)! One of my tourmates during the daytour kanina, remember? Yes, yung nagpa-uto dun sa elephant safari extortion! He was staying at Hotel Indigo, just on the other corner from HIE! So ayun, for the first time in ages, I went to dinner 'not alone' hahaha! We both have tried the Loma Market food stalls , so we opted for any open-air restaurant on the road (Hatpatong) between our hotels. We found a Chinese restaurant at the ground level of Aspery Hotel. Nothing astounding, but sur...