PNR adventure from makati to tutuban

last saturday, my friends and i were finally able to take the PNR train from pasay road in makati to tutuban.

i was able to find schedules online at the philippine railways blog. we were supposed to catch the 932am from the buendia station, but since we woke up late, we aimed for the 1030am train instead. we were running on the road behind waltermart and cityland at about 1028am, thinking we were going to miss the train. luckily, all our watches were set in advance, and we made it with a couple minutes to spare.

fare from pasay road to tutuban is a very affordable P10.00 each, and the ride took about 35 minutes--hard to beat if we had driven to binondo instead. the trains resembled the LRT2 trains, were air conditioned, and looked sturdy. there were a lot of people inside, but since the trains were pretty spacious, we all fit quite comfortably.

i was very, very happy to see that a lot of people were using the train, which means it will be in use for a long time. i hope they can add more schedules to it, because at the moment, trains arrive at hourly intervals.

i'm currently perusing the philippine railways blog, and i am pleasantly surprised to read that we will soon be having sleeper trains for long journeys. there is also one entry about a trial timeline to naga, which is exciting news, as this means we can get to the bicol region via the railway.

2011 ptaa travel & tour expo

next year, i'm going to make sure i secure plenty of travel deals for myself. :)

the 18th travel and tour expo for 2011 will be on 18-20 february, at the SMX convention center at mall of asia, with the theme "around the world in 3 days."

it's going to be the first time in two years that i'll be here for this, so i'm going to get myself a lot of deals!

this means, though, that i have to start saving up for the trips already! 2011, here i come!

philippine travel mart is tomorrow

what: philippine travel mart (travel deals for philippine destinations, or SALE NG BAYAN!)
when: september 3-5, 2010
where: SM megatrade halls, sm megamall

i probably won't be going, since i've a big trip scheduled in a month. but i can't not tell you about it--you might be looking for a quick getaway, and this is the best place to find a great deal! :)

hotels.com offers half-price rooms!

hotels.com is having a 48-hour sale, offering rooms for half the price! so if you're planning to go to europe from now until june 9, you may want to check hotels.com and grab a great hotel deal. :)

for more details, read hotels.com launches 48-hour sale with half-price rooms, which i stumbled upon at etravel.org.

you can also go to hotels.com's 48-hour sale.

sunday at the manila seedling bank

since susie started planting flowers on our balcony, i felt compelled to have my own little plants as well (playing plants vs. zombies also helped pushed me in that direction). but since i am not inclined to be enamored of flowers, i thought i'd get myself a couple of herb seedlings from the manila seedling bank.

i didn't expect the place to be so huge--i thought it was just a little garden with little plants around, but when i arrived, i found that it had so many tents/stalls/greenhouses. the variety of plants you can take home and care for was just overwhelming.

luckily, i did not give in to temptation and just got what i came for--a little sweet basil plant, which cost me P50, and a parsley plant for the same price, i believe. my sister asked me to get her sweet basil, too, along with rosemary and tarragon. i got all those for a total of P150.

the shopkeepers are also quite friendly. my parsley came from a nice, friendly lady who assured me that the parsley would be quite fine in a balcony. kuya basil, meanwhile, sold me my sweet basil (and my sister's plants). they're all very easy to talk to, and are willing to give advice on how to take care of your new babies.

aside from plants, the manila seedling bank also has stalls that sell kitchenware, toys, tables, and animals. we found a couple of pheasants and big-ass cochin chickens in one of the stalls.

i think i would have enjoyed the experience even if i hadn't bought anything. strolling through the stalls and tents was lovely enough--it was such a nice way to spend a sunday afternoon.

details:
manila seedling bank foundation, inc.
address: quezon avenue extension cor. EDSA, quezon city
MRT station: quezon ave., and just cross quezon avenue to get to the EDSA entrance.
by car: go along EDSA, cross quezon avenue and turn right at the manila seedling bank gate. alternatively, you can also turn right at quezon avenue (if you're coming from the south), turn left at agham road, then u-turn and enter at the agham road gate.
phone number: (02) 924-7001 to 02
email address: qualitytrees@msbfi.com

view more photos of manila seedling bank.

CX offers hk disney packages

for those who're looking to go to HK disneyland this summer with their family, you should check out cathay pacific's buy 2, get 1 free! vacation packages.

all packages include:

• roundtrip airfare, MNL-HKG-MNL via cathay pacific
  
• hotel accommodation
• hk disneyland park admission ticket
• return hotel transfers

booking period is from now until 7 july 2010, travel period from 1 march to 15 july 2010.

promo information
cathay pacific and hong kong disneyland's buy 2 get 1 free vacation package
phone numbers:
manila - (632) 757 0888
cebu - (6332) 231 3747
davao - (6382) 222 8901

air asia's big sale is on!

i'm not going to keep this from you (because i won't be going to london this year). the air asia big fare sale is now on!

tried booking for a roundtrip ticket, KL to london, and i'd be spending Php 26,712 for it all-in. of course, i have to add some moolah for my checked luggage and such, but this is a pretty good deal for a european destination.

check out the promo and you might just find yourself traveling to one of your dream destinations. :)

promo information
air asia big sale
booking period: march 3 to 7, 2010
travel period: 25 september 2010 to 13 february 2011, for KL to london flights, travel period is from 1 november 2010 to 13 february 2011.

booking.com: online reservations made easy

in a previous post, i had already mentioned how easy it was to reserve a room with booking.com. it took us just a few minutes to confirm our reservations with island pacific hotel.

but reserving is just the tip of the iceberg. travel plans can change, and to be effective, an online booking engine must be flexible enough to give you freedom to modify your reservation without incurring extra charges. it should also allow you to put in your preferences and communicate these to the hotel.

and of course, at the end of the day, the point of reserving through these online booking engines is that they get you a room--at the rate they posted, and on the day you wanted to have that room.

with those simple, straightforward criteria, let's see how booking.com fared on my first online booking engine transaction.

modifying our booking
we had initially reserved three standard rooms at island pacific hotel for three nights. a few days before we left, however, we decided that we could save a few bucks if we just got two rooms and paid for an extra bed instead.

so i went to booking.com's self-service booking tool to make these changes. from my email, i accessed the mybooking tool by clicking on a link. it logged me into the system automatically, and presented me with options that i can make on my booking:

i clicked on modify my booking, and it showed the details of our reservation, along with a "cancel" link to each room that we booked. i clicked on "cancel" on one of the rooms. during the modification, i was also given a chance to key in any preferences during my stay.

i didn't feel confident at all about this part, because it was just a generic field where you type in your requests. i had more faith in specific options, where i can just check boxes and all that, because it means the site knows what their guests usually modify or prefer, but nonetheless, i typed in "please provide double bed for room # 1. for room #2, provide one double bed, and one extra bed. if it's also possible, please have the two rooms on the same floor."

i confirmed the modifications, and the total amount to be paid reflected one less room charge. since i had edited our reservations days before we left, we weren't charged for the canceled room, which is a huge advantage of using booking.com. it really gives you some time to think about your options.

confirmation
a day before we left for hong kong, a booking.com representative called us to confirm the changes we made with our reservation. she informed us of the charges on the extra bed, and told us that rooms with double beds will be subject to availability. afterwards, booking.com sent us an email with the reservation form:

this one reflected the changes we made, and includes our requests for a double bed and an extra bed. the total amount also reflected the added cost of the extra bed, which is great, because we already know the amount we're paying for.

at the hotel
so far, so good. modifications made and confirmed, but will we really have our rooms?

on the day we arrived at the hotel, i showed the front desk the print-out of our confirmed reservation. the hotel was able to reserve our room for us. regarding our preferences, though, i still had to mention this to the hotel representative despite them being printed on the booking form already. but we got our double beds (or "big beds," according to the hotel rep) and our extra bed, and our rooms were close to each other.

conclusion
pretty much everything i needed from an online booking engine was granted by booking.com. rates are also pretty competitive, but please note that prices are still subject to taxes. the part that i like the most is that i can modify my booking, and even cancel it a couple of days before i get to my destination. it's a great service guarantee, and because of this, i will most probably book my rooms through booking.com, provided that the rate is particularly succulent. :)

fly: hong kong express airlines

i'm going to start reviewing most segments of my trips so that i can provide more info to you guys. for this trip, i'm going to start with a review of hong kong express airlines.

i didn't quite know what to expect of this airline when we booked it via doljunts travel. all i was told was, it's not a budget airline (because they serve meals), and it takes off from NAIA terminal 1. but now that i've flown hong kong express, i can tell you a little more about it.

manila to hong kong
we arrived at NAIA at 545am, and was amazed at the long lines at the hong kong express counter (and most other counters, akshully). it took a while before we were attended to, but once at the counter, everything went smoothly. but maybe that's because none of us went over the baggage limit.

at 630am, we were given our boarding passes, and headed to immigration, but not before forking over P750 each for the terminal fee (i still don't get what this fee is for!). immigration and pre-boarding checks took a while. we cleared all of these in 30 minutes, just in time for boarding.

however, hong kong express didn't let us board until 730am, and i remember thinking that we were going to be late. after all, that's just 30 minutes to departure time, and boarding, with people taking so long putting their stuff in the overhead bins, takes a while!

amazingly, though, boarding was pretty swift, and we were taxiing down the runway at 8am. bonus points for hong kong express!

the flight attendants were nice enough, but service during the flight was nothing special. we were provided newspapers, blankets, and earphones. the food was below average. we were given a "chicken sandwich," which tasted like sour chicken adobo. my nephew franciz couldn't eat it at all, even though he told us he was really starving.

nuh-uh.

in-flight entertainment was also a dud. the only thing they showed were chinese videos, so we couldn't understand a thing. good thing it was just a two-hour flight. as for the plane, hong kong express uses boeing 737-800, which has a narrow aisle, but pretty good legroom when seated. lavatories for economy class are all the way to the back of the plane.

albeit those nega points, our flight landed earlier than the estimated arrival time. in my opinion, that more than makes up for the other boo-boos. for me, what really matters is i get to my destination on time. service and the other extras are just, well, extras.

hong kong express lands in a new wing of hong kong international airport, but they provide a bus to shuttle us to a gate in terminal 1, which leads straight to the immigration booths. this is very convenient compared to the other airlines i've taken to hong kong before, where you get to walk a long hall before reaching immigration. for me, this is one very great advantage to taking hong kong express (although arrival gates can change over time).

hong kong to manila
the flight from hong kong to manila departs at 930pm, which gives you a lot of time to do some last-minute shopping and sightseeing before you leave. however, we were a bit worried that we might have to lug our suitcases around with us in the city while waiting for our flight.

thankfully, hong kong express is one of the airlines that accepts in-town check-in at major airport express terminals (hong kong and kowloon stations). that means we could check-in any time within the day as long as we use the airport express to get to the airport. this really came in handy, and we enjoyed walking around the city without having to worry about pulling our suitcases around, or even rushing to make it a few hours before the flight to check-in, since we already had our boarding passes.

our boarding gate was also in the new wing, and it had slipped our minds that there was a shuttle bus to that other wing. shuttling to the new wing of the hong kong international airport came easy, though. as soon as you were at the gate, there was a bus waiting, and the trip took about five minutes tops.

boarding, once again, was late, but we left the airport on time as well. service this time around, however, was sloppy and a tad rude. the food was so-so (but better than the last, because my nephew was able to swallow a few bites), but again, the flight arrived earlier than expected.

conclusion
service and food leave much to be desired, but the convenience of exiting right at the immigration booths at HKIA (could be temporary, of course) and the impressive on-time record might just make me a fan of hong kong express. it also doesn't hurt that the flight home leaves at 930pm, which lets you see more of hong kong, without letting you miss a day of work.

price-wise, i was lucky enough to get a Php 10,000 per person rate for the period right after chinese new year. but if it were any other season, i wouldn't get this flight for that price. but if i do decide to fly hong kong express again, i'd check with a travel agent first.

airline information
hong kong express
route: hong kong-manila, hong kong to other points of asia
reservation hotline: +852 3151 1888
email address: call.center@hkairlines.com

ptaa travel and tour expo this weekend!

okay, it kinda sucks that i'm not going to be here this weekend for the ptaa travel and tour expo, but i'm not selfish enough to keep the information all to myself.

from february 19 to 21, travel and tourism trade practitioners will be at the SMX convention center halls 2, 3, and 4 to offer us wanderlusting folk pretty good deals on our desired destinations.

make sure that you bring enough moolah, because the deals, packages, and promo rates will only be available at the venue. at the same time, though, it's also a good place to scout around for possible places to visit next, and to look for a trusted travel agent (it comes in handy, too, despite the wealth of budget options the internet offers).

general admission tickets to the travel and tour expo are at Php 50/day, while senior citizens only pay Php 20.

for those who want to take advantage of the deals, do your research on your destination ahead of time. :)

be there this weekend, and tell me about it!

event details
17th ptaa travel and tour expo
what: travel deals galore
when: february 19 (10am-9pm), 20 (10am-9pm), and 21 (10am-7pm)
where: SMX convention center halls 2, 3, and 4, seashell drive, mall of asia complex, pasay city
how much: Php 50 (general admission), Php 20 (senior citizen)

also check out the philippine travel agencies association website.

booking my hong kong birthday trip

another year has passed, and soon, i'll be turning 28. what better way to spend another birthday than with another trip to hong kong? :)

the trip has actually been planned since last year. i promised my mother and my sisters a trip to hong kong: my mother will be using her PAL miles for our airfare, while i would shoulder the hotel costs.

i kept reminding her since november to start booking our trip, or to at least check her miles so that we can start booking our flights. well, it seems my mother also has a procrastinating side that i didn't know about. she failed to inquire, and by the end of january, the seats for mabuhay miles users have all been taken for flights on february 18 to 21.

after hearing that, i started panicking and scoured the net for cheap airfares. no go, february 18 to 21 is the first weekend of the chinese lunar new year, and it seems everybody wants to be in hong kong for the festivities. fares ranged from php 12,000 to php 14,000 per person. my hong kong birthday trip was about to be flushed down the drain.

travel agencies save the day

as a last resort, i googled a list of travel agencies in manila, and listed down their names and phone numbers on a piece of paper. on my free time, i sat by the phone and called each of them up, asking for hong kong packages for february 18 to 21, and even february 25-28. most the packages they gave me were for hotels that i didn't particularly like, and the prices started at USD 398 per person, which includes airfare and hotel accommodations for 4 days and 3 nights.

sounds like a good deal, right? the catch is, these packages also include a compulsory city tour, which i've been on once and sworn to never take again. i also don't want susie, my sisters, and my cousin to go through that ordeal. sure, they take you to a couple of sights, but at the end of the trip, they shuttle you from one shop to another, somehow forcing you to buy something from the place. it's the perfect way to waste a day in hong kong.

so i decided to just ask travel agents for flights to hong kong. after all, i can find a good hotel deal online anyway. most of them, however, offered pretty expensive airfare, some even reaching USD 300 just for the airfare alone.

i lucked out with doljunts travel. mari, the agent who handled my booking, was able to get me a flight for february 18 to 21 on hong kong express, which leaves at 8am on the 18th, and flies back to manila at 930pm on the 21st. the fare cost USD 183 per person (USD 152 for children), which already included the hong kong tax that was charged by most agencies. philippine travel tax of Php 1,620 wasn't included yet, though.

it was the cheapest deal i could find, and my mom, who had been calling up agencies as well, agreed that doljunts was the cheapest we found. so finally, we booked the tickets (though my mom decided not to go with us anymore), and now susie, my sisters, my cousin, my nephew, and i are off to hong kong in a few days!

booking a hong kong hotel

after securing our tickets, it was time to book a hotel. susie and i fell in love with the western district last year when we stayed at the bridal tea house hotel. this time, though, i would be with a bunch of people who aren't open to staying in hostel-like places, so i had to scour online for decent hotels with affordable rates.

i checked agoda for some hotel deals and found that they had good rates for island pacific hotel hong kong along connaught road west. i checked out hotel reviews from tripadvisor, and found that people were generally satisfied with island pacific. the general consensus was that it's a clean hotel with great service. it's also a little out of the way, but the tram made going to central pretty easy. besides, the hotel has a shuttle that can take you to central, too.

before booking on agoda, though, a friend recommended that i check out booking.com. the site is like most online booking engines, except my friend has experienced cancelling a reservation and was not charged at all for the transaction. booking.com asks for credit card information for verification purposes only, and everything has to be paid for at the hotel when you check out. i felt that it was a good option, even though i wasn't planning to cancel. it's still a good feature just in case something comes up and you do need to cancel.

so i went to booking.com, found that their rates for island pacific are actually better than what i found on agoda, and booked them as well. upon confirmation of your reservation, the site gives you a link where you can modify or even cancel your booking. it lets you see the information you've provided and modify that as well. they also have an area for remarks or notes that you'd like to communicate to the hotel, so that they can meet your preferences. check out the dashboard of their self-service tool:

it was my first time to reserve with a booking engine, as i make it a point to always book direct with properties that i stay in, but my experience with booking.com so far is making me reconsider that approach. booking.com seems to offer better deals than booking direct, and also gives me the freedom to modify my bookings. it also has other features, which allows you to add your booking to your google calendar, check for driving directions, and even gives you a link to a tomtom download.

so there you go. two more tips to booking your trips when your travel google-fu has failed you. most budget travelers would scoff at the idea of consulting a travel agent, but it looks like they're also a good option to consider. at the end of the day, we all want to get the best deal, and travel agents sometimes have access to great ones. just don't forget to compare their offers with what you've found.

travel agency information

doljunts travel

address: suite 1032 cityland mega plaza tower, ADB avenue cor. garnet road, ortigas center, pasig

look for: mari diaz

phone number: 6872808, 6872984

mobile number: 09207893648

email address: doljunts_travel@yahoo.com

booking engine information

booking.com

read more about it here: about booking.com

hotel information

island pacific hotel hong kong

address: 152 connaught road west, hong kong

phone number: +852 2131 1188

sun cellular now has prepaid roaming budget text!

i haven't traveled abroad since may of last year, so i haven't had the need to check any roaming services offered by the telcos. but now that the hong kong birthday trip has been confirmed, i'm looking for other roaming options that i can take advantage of.

don't get me wrong, i'm pretty happy with globe's roaming service. and since it's a postpaid plan, i know that i can use it should i encounter emergencies abroad. but it also encourages spending, and i lose track of my texting when i'm abroad. the resulting bill does not make me happy, and i'd like to have a way of controlling my roaming expenses when i'm abroad.

sun prepaid roaming

i have been using a sun cellular prepaid SIM for about two years now, and i'm very happy to find out that they now have roaming for prepaid subscribers. in order to activate, just text ROAM ON and send to 222 at least one hour before leaving the country. currently, sun's prepaid roaming service is only available in china, hong kong, singapore, macau, and malaysia.

this is definitely good news for me! i can now just load a certain amount of credits on my phone and make do with that amount for the rest of my trip. this way, i have more control over my budget. i also read that there's no maintaining balance needed to keep using the roaming service, so even if i run out of load, my sun friends and family can still text me.

sun budget roaming text

yet another great development for sun prepaid is budget roaming text, which is a "menu-based roaming text alternative." by using budget roaming text, you can text to the philippines (both sun and non-sun cellular subscribers) for just P5/text. balance inquiry is also free, and the menu allows you to check your sent items as well.

to use sun budget roaming text, dial *111# and press call or send. a menu will appear on your phone. press "answer" and choose the number that corresponds to the transaction that you want to perform. e.g. press "answer" and "3" for balance inquiry.

it's important to note that in sending text messages using budget roaming text, you should key in the number in this format: 09221234567, and NOT +639221234567.

the downside to this is, you can't use your phone's address book to retrieve their numbers--you have to manually enter their number every time you send a message. if you plan to use this, make sure you list down the numbers of the people you text frequently on a piece of paper. you also have to have a P5 maintaining balance to keep this service active. you can read more about sun budget roaming text in their FAQ.

a bit complicated, sure, but hey, it saves you a few bucks! :)

service information

sun cellular international roaming services

to activate: send ROAM ON to 222 at least one hour before leaving the country

balance inquiry: dial *221# then press send

destinations: china, hong kong, macau, malaysia, singapore

sun budget roaming text

to use: dial *111# and press send

rate: P5 per text message sent to the philippines (you can send to both sun and non-sun cellular numbers)

are you ready for the 20th philippine travel mart?

i hope you haven't finished off all your moolah this long weekend, because the 20th philippine travel mart will be offering irresistible travel deals!

from what i hear, SEAir will be offering buy one, take one tickets to batanes, and round-trip airfare of P3,500 to boracay.

and that's just one airline! who knows what other offers you will find at this year's philippine travel mart?

i'm definitely going! i missed last year's philippine travel mart, but i'm not going to let this one pass me by.

photo from byahilo.

event information
20th philippine travel mart
dates: september 4-6, 2009, 10am-6pm
venue: sm megatrade halls 1-3, building b, sm megamall

ukay finds from ortigas and shaw

saturday's ukay shopping trip was a success! koryn and i met in robinson's galleria, and used the pink and blue walkway to cross to the POEA side of EDSA. the ukay store was on sale, and they had so many bags and tops that it took koryn and i about 3 hours before we finally went up to the cashier and declare the store thoroughly "ukayed."

i got really lucky with their selection of tops, and brought home 7 from this store alone, with sleeveless tops priced at P100, and sleeved ones at P115. i tried rummaging through their jackets and coats racks, but wasn't lucky enough to find myself a good rain or trench coat.

then koryn and i took the bus (we were too tired to walk, and the sun was fierce that day) to crossing, where we first had merienda, then went back out for ukay shopping session parte dos. we found a small ukay store along shaw boulevard, which had racks that sold items at 3 for 100, P45, P50, and P60. koryn was able to go home with a nice coat/cardigan from there for P50.

our last stop for the day was UK fashion house (o, di ba? fancyyy!), where i got myself a black cotton top for P90. i also found a shoulder bag for P450, but thought twice since some parts of it were already peeling off.

so i went home spending just P820 on my finds: 5 sleeveless tops at P100 each, 1 shirt for P115, the skull sweatshirt for P115 as well, and the P90 UK fashion house top. my budget for the day was P1,000, so i was really happy to get 8 items for less than that. next time, i'll shop for bottoms and upgrade that part of my wardrobe.

i also read online that there are ukay stores on guadalupe, and i'll make that my next ukay shopping target. will let you know how it goes! :)

ukay shopping in the city

since i'm due for an ukay trip tomorrow, i thought i'd share some of my and my friends' ukay haunts. ukay shopping is a great way to upgrade a wardrobe--it's cheap, and you're almost always certain of getting a funky find!

one of my favorite ukay areas is anonas. when you get off the LRT2 station, there is one ukay store that offers a LOT of clothes, bags, and shoes. that's actually where i scored my lovely shoes (pictured above) for just P280.

but when you go all the way down from the station, just turn right and look out for a mall-like opening right past the beverage and food stands. that's the entrance to anonas's supersonic ukay mall--a five-level giant filled with ukay stores left and right. i've found a myriad of items in this single ukay "mall" alone--cargo pants for P170, girly tops for P50, pants for P120, and some toys and collectibles, too. i also got a pleather bag here for P450. it was expensive, but the bag is still making me happy, and it has no visible wear and tear.

cubao is also teeming with ukay stores, among them the one beside national bookstore. this store seems to be a hit with ukay veterans, and the last time i was there, i got myself a bag, and a few tops for less than P500.

when i feel like "ukay splurging," i take the LRT1 to bambang and check out their high-end ukay stuff. the first time i went there, i was amazed at the designer labels they carried--these people really know how to pick out their haul! the stores were teeming with LV, gucci, coach, lancel, fendi, and other labels. this was where i got my leather calvin klein drawstring bag for P550. i love that bag so much, because it goes with everything, and it's very, very durable. i brought it to hong kong and spain, and i use it almost everyday, but it hasn't shown signs of wear and tear, even after all the rainy days we've gone through.

when i don't have the energy to go all the way to these ukay haunts, i content myself with the nearby ukay at buendia, at the ground floor of the grepalife building. it's past pasong tamo street along buendia, and right beside BPI family savings bank. the haul i get from here is a mixed lot, and they're on the expensive side.

makati cinema square also has about three ukay stores, one of them is right in front, facing pasong tamo. i've found some nice bags here, but they're pretty overpriced. this store also has a lots of boots, so if you're looking for a nice pair, you just might get 'em here.

mitch, a friend of mine, who also got addicted to ukay( because of me), says she's pretty happy with the ukay store along edsa, near crossing, beside dunkin' donuts. she's also checked out the ukay in kamuning, and the one in ortigas. the latter, however, did not meet her expectations.

and that's where i'll be going with my friend koryn tomorrow--to check the ukays in shaw and ortigas. mitch and i are also thinking of raiding this ukay place called raberly, which is found across trinoma, and is accessible via the monumento stop of the MRT.

for those who don't have the patience to go through stacks of clothes, there are actually some people who do the ukay shopping for you. i've found some sites that sell vintage finds, but of course, at more expensive prices (but still cheaper than the stuff you find at malls). you can check out the following sites:

in the fish bowl
the only ukay queen
viva vintage

so it doesn't matter if you're willing to go out of your way or not, there's an ukay shopping strategy for every fashionista. :)

ikea mondays

mondays in madrid are the worst for tourists. most museums and other places of interest are closed, and to make up for this, susie and i would go to ikea over at san sebastian de los reyes.

to do this, we had to go to the plaza de castilla metro stop, which is just a short ride from cuzco or tetuán. plaza de castilla is a huge intercambiador, or transportation interchange, where one can take a bus or train to other parts of spain.

bus 156, which goes to san sebastian de los reyes in 30 minutes, is in dársena 23. buses usually leave every 15 minutes, and the fare is €1,65 one way. you pay this when you get on the bus. it's always best to have exact change (avoid paying in bills or the driver will not be happy).

san sebastian de los reyes is warehouse city. there are plenty of industrial stores, such as media markt for gadgets, leroy merlin for your hardware needs, and of course, IKEA! for some reason, my trips to ikea from singapore has made me equate the place with good food rather than good furniture. that's because i never miss out on their delicious swedish meatballs whenever i go there, no matter what part of the world i'm in.

on my first visit to ikea in s.s. de los reyes, i got so attracted to all the food, that i got myself a dish of meatballs, or albóndigas, (10 pieces) with mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce (€4,50), and a plate of salmon (€5,50). that's two huge plates for €10,00, which was the usual price i would pay for a menu del dia in the city center. not bad, eh?

on our second trip, i knew better. i had read that ikea had a promo from 5pm until closing--10 pieces of meatballs, with potatoes and lingonberry sauce, is sold at just €1,00! being the cheapskate that i am, i timed our visit the following monday to coincide with the special offer, and we ended up having such filling el cheapo meals!

it's okay to be such gluttons in ikea, because after eating, you still have the rest of the store to walk through. i enjoyed looking at their sample houses in the premises, which had a lot of good interior design suggestions. there were so many things there that i wanted to buy, and i swore that the next time i'm going to madrid, i have to take an empty suitcase and fill it with ikea stuff.

bridal tea house hotel: cozy hong kong rooms with complete comforts

it's not easy to find cheap and clean accommodation in hong kong, but it looks like i struck gold in bridal tea house hotel!

accessibility and location
located in western district, on a more quiet and residential part of hong kong island, bridal tea house hotel is beyond the reach of the MTR. the sheung wan station is quite a long way off. this had me worried for a bit, because i've always explored hong kong by MTR. however, hong kong offers so much more in terms of transportation, and this trip, i got to explore the tram and bus routes that shuttle from central to our quiet area on water street.

a 7-11, mannings, and a lot of dimsum places are also nearby, making it really convenient to get a quick bite in the middle of the night.

from the hong kong international airport, we were told to take bus A10 and get off at chiu kwong street, the fifth stop on the route. unfortunately, buses in HK don't pull over at every stop, so counting the bus stops won't really help. we wouldn't have known that we missed a stop if we hadn't seen the street sign that said "water street." the walk from the 6th stop wasn't too far, thankfully.

check-in
once you're walking on the street, bridal tea house hotel is hard to miss. the signs are huge, and it's not like one of the hostels that occupy a few floors in a building. the entire building at the corner of queen's road west and water street was occupied by the hotel. the entrance was hard to find, though, and we probably spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out where the door was.

one of the bell boys saw us dashing back and forth outside, and decided to help us out. the reception desk was located in the bridal tea house dining area, and the look of the place was formal yet quaint. check-in was a breeze, we only needed to show a print-out of our email, and everything was taken care of. aside from the hotel rate of HKD 550 per night, a HKD 500 deposit is also required, just in case you break or lose anything in the hotel.

we got our room right away, even though we arrived two hours before the scheduled check-in time (2pm). don't expect anyone to show you to your room, though. the hotel is a big fan of self-service, and the receptionist just pointed us to the elevator, and we figured the rest of the way out.

the room
i didn't really know what to expect from the room. i've seen pictures online, but those are hardly reliable. i couldn't help but smile though when i opened the door to room 502. it was definitely tiny, but it was filled with cute little details that made the whole look feel cozy. the curtains gave it a more homey feel, and the added features, such as the slippers, towels, hair dryer, free bottled water, kettle, and television, made the lack of space seem like a minor issue.

the bathroom, however, was another story. it was really cramped, even for tiny people like us. the sliding door opened to the little wash basin with a medicine cabinet that contained complimentary toiletries. to its left was the toilet, to the right, the miniscule shower area. it was so small that i would hit my arm against the walls when i showered.

everything in the room was in perfect working order, though, from the hot water heater, to the air conditioner. the TV only had a few channels, but i was too tired to even turn it on. the entire room also had about a total of 5 outlets where you can charge your cameras, phones, and laptops. a corner of the room had some space where you could hang your clothes. everything you need is packed in such a compact space.

facilities and services
aside from the fancy tea house that offers brunch and other delicious meals, bridal tea house hotel also provides a communal microwave, which they call the snack buffet. a telephone is also found in every room, and from what i recall, local calls are free. turndown service is also available, just don't forget to put the "please make up room" tag on your door before you leave.

broadband internet access is also available, but i didn't get to test it out on this trip, since susie and i both decided not to bring any laptops. luggage storage is also offered for free, and we availed of this on our last day, when we had to join the architecture walk and attend top gear live! before joining g&c in their discovery bay casa.

conclusion
it's hard to ignore the lack of bathroom space in their rooms, but that's quite common in most hong kong accommodations, and i say better to pay HKD 550 for such simple digs than pay so much more for a so-called 3-star hotel with the same amenities.

on the whole, i was impressed by the long list of amenities that i got for such a low price. i didn't have to worry about toiletries and towels, and water and tea bags were also provided. the bed was also very comfortable, though a bit short for my standards.

the location was definitely a winner. susie and i really looked forward to "going home" every night. we would take the tram from central, then get off at the water street stop. the small incline on water street leading to our hong kong hotel was very comforting, always telling us that we're close to home.

so if you're looking for simple and affordable hong kong accommodation, bridal tea house hotel is a good place to check out. there may not be a lot of space for your stuff, but you can be assured of comfort and accessibility.

travel information:
bridal tea house hotel, western district, hong kong
address: no. 385-387 queen's road west, sai ying pun, HK
phone number: 852-3188-6699
fax number: 852-3188-6660
email address: enquiries@hkchhotel.com
website: http://www.hkchhotel.com/eng.html
room rate: HKD 550 per night

more photos of bridal tea house hotel in hong kong.

travel in style at the philippine travel tour expo!

looking for a travel bargain for the coming months? then the 16th philippine travel tour expo is something you shouldn't miss!

while i, once again, will have to abstain from this one, i can't deny you the opportunity to visit your local dream destinations by not sharing this info:

16th PTAA travel and tour expo 2009
when: feb 6 to 8, 2009
where: halls 2, 3, and 4 of the smx conference center in SM mall of asia

and this year, the travel expo will not just be providing a venue for you to get travel deals, it'll also be featuring two new additional segments: the lifestyle part, where you can get good deals on travel accessories, health and wellness products, and other lifestyle pursuits, and the food stalls.

for more info, log on to their website, which features the opening hours for each day of the expo. i'll probably even pass by the travel and tour expo myself, but i hope to god that i won't be tempted into buying tickets or a whole trip!

oh, how fast the baht flies

don't count on keeping a lot of your baht when you travel to bangkok. here in the land of bazaars, tiangge, and cheap food, temptation is always waiting for you around the corner. no matter how much you say you won't go shopping, bangkok will not let you leave without at least a shopping bag in hand.

we girls have scoured MBK (and eaten at the fifth, too! yummy food!), platinum, and chatuchak. it's amazing how women don't get tired when they're shopping. when we do feel some pain in our feet, there are massage places everywhere, ready to give you the rubdown that you need.

aside from shopping, bangkok's requisite sights will also have you handing your baht over for admission fees. entrance to the grand palace is THB 300, which includes ticket to the vimanmek mansion (i'm hoping to make the trip there today). i did the audio guide thing since i went solo, and it was pretty informative.

the reclining buddha charges THB 50 for admission, with guides going for THB 200-400, depending on the number of people. wat arun is also at THB 50. the ferry ride on chao phraya ranges from THB 14 to 19, depending on the boat. the BTS skytrain tickets and MRT subway tokens can go as high as THB 39.

meals can be as cheap as THB 25, or as expensive as THB 300. today's breakfast at chatuchak cost us THB 25 each, for warm noodle soup with beef and meatballs. the other day, we paid THB 40 for noodle soup with pork in a locally-popular and dingy noodle stall. in MBK's the fifth, my meal cost almost THB 200, for pad thai seafood and a tall glass of thai iced tea.

my wallet's seen a lot of action in this city, but i'm not regretting anything. for the entire trip, including cambodia, i haven't even gone over PHP 30,000. for 9 days, including budget-luxury package and accommodation in cambodia, and a centrally located hotel here in bangkok with private bathrooms and TV. i think that's a pretty good deal. just goes to show that fun doesn't have to cost that much.

finally getting the hang of bangkok

today's bangkok adventure was a bit more relaxed, or maybe i'm just getting used to the pace. whatever it is, it let me have fun today.

since sarah and i were still not feeling ready for the grand palace, we just decided to walk to lumphini park with ayeen. the park was huge, the largest park in bangkok, and we spent most of our time by the lake, where sarah and i went pedal boating in duck-shaped boats.

we were all shocked to find a lot of komodo dragons around, just roaming freely. in fact, when we tried to express our fear and concern when one komodo dragon was crawling towards us, we didn't get a concerned response from the lady by the boating pavilion. she was all, "meh," having no idea what we were so scared of.

after that, we left lumphini in search for lunch. we crossed rama IV using the subway, and ended up near saladaeng. at the corner was a tiny noodle house, and our curiosity got the better of us. it was packed, and the place was selling just one product: noodle soup with pork and liver. diners just get to choose their type of noodles for variety. a bowlful of noodles was going for THB 40, and drinks were at 10. lunch for THB 50--what a steal!

while marveling at the cheapness of our lunch, we walked up to the saladaeng BTS station and headed to national stadium, the stop for jim thompson house. i didn't really expect anything from it, but i was impressed at how well they were able to maintain the house, and how much information they had on jim thompson and how his house was built.

jim thompson was a soldier in the US army who fell in love with thailand. when he decided to live in thailand after leaving the service, and he revived the country's silk industry.

he disappeared in malaysia in 1967, and to this day, nobody knows what happened to him. fortunately, the thai silk company still flourished, and his house is being taken care of by the james h. w. thompson foundation. the foundation has tours in english and french to guide visitors throughout the house. entrance is at THB 100.

jodi, ayeen's friend, and her mom, caught up with us there, and after having some drinks at the jim thompson bar and restaurant, we headed to MBK, one of the leading malls in bangkok, which was just a few minutes' walk away. sarah and i parted ways with ayeen, jodi, jodi's mom, and spent the rest of the afternoon haggling and shopping.

now, sarah and i are back at take a nap. we had dinner at yum saap, and passed by some stores along rama IV. i'm just waiting for ayeen and jodi to be finished with their shopping so we can hit patpong later. :)

details:
lumphini park
ratchadamri cor. rama IV road
silom area, bangkok
BTS skytrain: saladaeng
MRT subway: silom
admission: free
boating: THB 40 for the first 30 minutes

jim thompson house
6 soi kasemsan 2, rama 1 road, bangkok
admission: THB 100
last tour is at 5pm
BTS skytrain: national stadium

MBK (mahboonkrong)
corner of thanon phra ram I and thanon phayathai
skytrain: national stadium
clothes, accessories, souvenirs, electronics