Philippine Travel Notes

What is this place? Wheh, don’t panic, it’s just another restaurant block – this place is composed of two 2-level square buildings. Where is it? Now that makes the place a bit of a “must note”! It sits by the water’s edge beside the CCP. Yep, the Cultural Center of the Philippines over at Roxas Boulevard by the picturesque side of Manila Bay. That makes Harbour Square a convenient stop while waiting for the evening traffic rush hour to ease up! But if you are the imaginative type, Harbour Square is worth a visit or two. Or three or more – especially during the afternoons until dusk and darkness! A nice breezy place to while time away when, waiting for a show or event at CCP. Nice too for a nightcap after attending events at venues like PICC, Coconut Palace, Aliwan Theater and of course CCP! Restaurants and/or restobars in the area are generally branches of popular establishments commonly seen around the metropolis – and it looks like they come and go! One time you go dine at a plac...

For wartime history, and American era fortifications, this island is a must-tour for both the Filipino and the foreign visitor. It played a significant role in the liberation of this country from Japanese occupation. So, worth the visit, if only for a closer look at the realities of yesteryears. Yes, even also worth a visit あなたは日本国民であっても。 There are many available references about this island and how it has been used since the 1500s where it fared historical prominence in various attempts to seize control of the country by Spanish, Dutch, British, American and Japanese colonizers. But most historic was yes, the final Japanese-American war of 1945. Everything about these are however better heard as you tour around the island – and this place has one of the best tour guides the country has ever produced! Anyway… How to go there? There is only one “real” operator that does this tour, Sun Cruises. I mean they are the company that owns the fastcraft and the Corregidor Inn, but as it is ...

Remember the days when there was no Terminal 2 or Terminal 3 yet? When it was a simple “international flights at MIA and domestic flights at Manila Domestic”? Mind-boggling, right? Where, for any flight out of Manila you had to fall in line outside of the terminal from 30 minutes to an hour? Where check-in for a Cebu Pacific flight was like queuing up for school enrollment or NBI Clearance? Where, after check-in, waiting for flight boarding was like waiting at a government office?! Ah, those were the days of yore hehe! Younger folks who have not experienced those ’nakahihibang’ situations have a lot to be thankful for hehe! But we the young at heart air-travelers in this country who gruelled, grimaced and scrimmaged it out at the airports now have a lot reminisce. Memories, dark as they were, but still memories worth remembering hehe! Look now! The Manila Domestic Airport looks fantastically different! Somehow, somewhere in me says ’sana hindi na nila gibain ito’ hahaha! For the ...

Alrightie folks! We have covered the things to see and do in Singapore and we realized we only need to visit yoursingapore for those, right? Even real-time rates and availabilities of various accommodation types are also in that website. Quite a complete affair, we can say! There are other little things though that are either not in there or may need to be highlighted for the Pinoy intending to visit Singapore. Let’s talk about some of them here. Ready? Here we go… Going there. Of course you are not thinking of going there by boat or RORO, are you?! Hello Jose Rizal hehe! People nowadays go to Singapore from the Philippines via commercial air carriers – meaning airplanes. Even if we say Rizal went by boat. But as for now, and as of now, there are at least 4 places in the country where you can get direct flights to Singapore – that’s from Manila, Clark, Cebu and Davao. Which airlines? From Davao there are Tiger Airways 3X a week and SilkAir at 2X a week. Silk Air is the regional sub...

Here we go for those going to visit the city-state, for in fact you should! Being a single main island that is even smaller than Marinduque (with many smaller islands and islets of course), it is generally easy to go around hopping from one attraction to the next as Singapore has a very efficient transport system. You do not even have to buy a guided tour package. You can do everything DIY – in your own time and pace. Just a heads-up though, a DIY might end you up spending more. Why? Because you are on your own free grand time and free will, that you have more time to do this and do that, ride this and ride that, plus, buy this and buy that! Always do the MRT/bus combination – even from arrival at the airport. It does not matter if you are carrying a big suitcase (a.k.a maleta) and/or a baby with a stroller and/or if the whole clan is traveling with you! Remember, their transport system is not like how it is in this country. Example? Their MRTs and buses go directly to the very bu...

Shhh, even Singaporeans might have yet to discover, validate and confirm this… but let’s leave them at that. There is nothing wrong anyway. About what? About our staying with friends and relatives in Singapore? Napansin nyo ba yan? That’s one of my lowly hypotheses why Pinoys are finding it more and more convenient to hie off to Singapore just about any weekend they can grab a budget or promo airfare! Haha, budget na, promo pa! Saan ka pa?! Not that we stay with our compatriots who work there as domestic helpers, their employers would probably not like that. But many of us stay with friends and relatives who are in SG as white-collar workers, executives or the likes, right?! Meron? Hello! I’d be surprised if you yourself, who has the capacity and ability to read this blog does not know at least one Pinoy who works in Singaore (a.k.a. SG or SIN)! Y’know, the ex-officemate who is still an IT nerdy but now works in Singapore in the same nerdy capacity; the fellow engineer who was part ...

Aw, exploring the place with all those three words in mind will already be writing about the history of Singapore. That would be a book for you, and not just a blog article like this one hehe! I always refer to easily accessible but very good sources when I want to hit Singapore. That is the ever reliable yoursingapore.com and/or its mother site, that of the Singapore Tourism Board . The beauty with visiting these sites on the net is that they are always updated and extensively detailed. Of course, links to everything else you may need are all over the many pages of these sites – whether those be commercial or otherwise. Sometimes I also hop on to www.sg (yep, that’s the complete website address, in case you are wondering hehe). Don’t worry, any of those websites do not come splashing or flashing with any of their politicians’ faces in whole or half of your PC screen! Not even the department heads nor employees, unless the page or article is describing or introducing them. Hindi ...

Calm down children, don’t crucify me if you read something on the title that does not seem to be me. Yeah yeah, I usually write ’after the fact’ stories. And I usually write about my sojourns around this country – ONLY! Hey, you noticed that? Me too hehe! But times are a changing… we get to meet people who like to read this or that, and people who need to know this and that. Meaning – I have come to a point where I too, need to share my thoughts about what other readers of this blog want or need to know, even if those may not be the usual things I tell. That’s what friends are for, I think! The more online and live friends we have, the wider the scope of things to say! Don’t worry, am still for our dear inang bayan. Besides, that little island even smaller than Marinduque is already part of our lives, right? What with so many of us Pinoy visitors to Singapore steadily increasing by the thousands each year! So let’s give thought this time to our dear neighbor – a second home and gra...