boracay package up for grabs!

start the year right by winning yourself a free boracay getaway!

check out www.boracay-packages.com and find out how you can win a boracay vacation for you and a friend.

Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency
WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating it's 5th year in business during July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package.
Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel

- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines

- Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila Domestic Airport

- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

- Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat

- PLUS - 5,000 peso Spending Cash

Read More Information: http://www.boracay-packages.com

philippine holidays for 2010

thanks to ivan henares, we can now plan our vacations for next year! check out the following philippine holidays in 2010:

• february 23, monday - anniversary of the edsa revolution
• april 1, thursday - maundy thursday
• april 2, friday - good friday
• april 9, friday - araw ng kagitingan
• june 14, monday - independence day (long weekend, since june 12 is a saturday)
• august 23, monday - ninoy aquino day
• august 30, monday - national heroes' day
• september 10, friday - eid al fitr (tentative date)
• november 1, monday - all saints' day
• november 29, monday - bonifacio day (in lieu of november 30)
• december 24, friday - christmas eve
• december 27, monday - rizal day (in lieu of december 30)
  

plenty of monday and friday holidays, which means a lot of long weekends again for us! :) hope your 2010 will be filled with travel and vacations!

happy holidays from i gotta go!

i know, i missed christmas and wasn't able to greet you guys, but i'm sure your christmas was filled with a lot of cheer, great food, and that warm fuzzy feeling of being with your most beloved ones. :)

2009 wasn't the best year for most of us, what with ondoy, pepeng, and the mayon eruption rocking our already stressful lives. yet those of us who have lived through them definitely have a lot to be thankful for, and i think that's the most important message this year has for us.

here's hoping that in 2010, there'll be less calamities, and more time for doing the things that we want. may the coming year be filled with travel, adventures, and discoveries for everyone. :)

i'm cooking up some new stuff for i gotta go!, and i'm hoping that you guys will stick around for them. i'm really, really hoping that i get to travel more and write more about the places i discover.

farewell, 2009.

mabuhay, 2010! :)

cebu for a day

susie and i finally settled on a cebu day trip, since neither of us could be away for the whole weekend. it was a getaway that we both badly needed.

we were desperate for a vacation, and i had a couple of free tickets from cebu pacific that were about to expire. this was the best way we could think of to take advantage of them.

and i'm glad that we went through with it, because that saturday was a blast.

parking at NAIA terminal 3
we decided to take the car and park it somewhere since we were just going to be gone for the day. we thought of using park & fly, but after hearing a lot of bad reviews, we opted for the NAIA terminal 3 parking, which was actually pretty good!

NAIA terminal 3 parking rates are at P30 for the day, and P50 for overnight parking. what's more, the arrivals gate is just a short walk away. when we came back, the car was still in good condition, which means parking is pretty safe, too. it's a good alternative for travelers who need a place to park their car.

we entered the airport, found our check-in counter, and had breakfast upstairs before going inside the departure lounge for our gate. terminal fee is at P200, and there are plenty of places to buy food from.

arriving in cebu
we arrived in cebu a few minutes ahead of schedule. while waiting at baggage claim, i decided to go up to the shangri-la mactan resort stall in the cebu airport. i asked about their day rate, and it was nice to know that the rate hasn't changed: it's still P2,000 for the day, which already includes access to the beach and the resort's amenities, buffet lunch at tides, towel, and a P200 discount off health club services.

it was a pretty sweet deal--exactly what we came for. i told the shangri-la representative that we'll be taking that day package, and he told me we could join the shuttle bus that would take us to the resort after we pick up our luggage.

the shuttle bus service is free for all shangri-la mactan clients, and the ride from the airport to the resort took all of 10 minutes. we were welcomed by friendly shangri-la representatives--all smiling and courteous.

to avail of the day rate of shangri-la mactan cebu, just go to the senses store, pay your P2,000, and get your day access tag. it's a bright blue tag that has the "tickets" to everything you're entitled to: lunch buffet at tides, towel, and health club discount.

since we didn't have a room, i decided to avail of the P200 discount on health club services and get myself a locker, which normally costs P500. aside from a locker, you also get a bath towel, face towel, and slippers, as well as be given access to the jacuzzi, sauna, and shower room. the locker room has a hair dryer, lotion, and other toiletries you might need.

now, on to the beach!
with those things out of the way, we headed to the beach. since we were there early, there were only a few people enjoying the morning sun, and we got ourselves prime lounge chairs that were just a few steps away from the water.

we decided to just lounge around and wait for the tide to come in. but susie had other things on his mind. he went up to the buko bar and got a couple of beers for us, to celebrate the first getaway we've had in months. we must have really enjoyed ourselves a lot, because we were able to down 4 bottles each before 11am.

in between beers, we would take a dip, or feed the fish (from the leftover bread at tides), or take in the sun--a lovely way to spend a day away from busy, mad manila. i was finally getting started on the tan that i've lost from being away from the sea for a year.

tides buffet
before we knew it, it was lunch time. we headed to tides, still a bit giddy from the beers and the beach. we were greeted by another of their friendly staff, who led us to a table and served us water while we waited for the buffet to open.

the selection wasn't as extensive as the last time i was there, but it was definitely good enough to fill a rumbling tummy. susie feasted on the seafood, while i got a lot of cold cuts and cheese. we ended the glutton-fest with chocolate fondue--dipping slices of mango and bits of marshmallow in yummy milk chocolate. coffee and tea are also served after the meal.

beach lounging
and after that, we were back in our lounge chairs, which were dutifully "guarded" by the staff at the buko bar, who had become our buddies because of our beerfest earlier. they asked if we wanted more beer, but we had to decline, as we were still full from lunch.

i ended up dozing off for about half an hour, safely shaded by the huge beach umbrella. the rest of the afternoon was spent taking in the cebu sun (to achieve the desired tan), splashing in the water, or just plain talking and laughing (something we hadn't done in a while!). when the sun was at its hottest, one of the shangri-la mactan staff came up to us and offered wet face towels to cool our faces off with. such simple yet attentive service really made the day even more enjoyable.

we decided to call it a day a little before 5pm. we headed off to the health club to shower, but not before bidding goodbye to the staff at the buko bar. they're one of the friendliest hotel staff i've ever come across with--friendly, attentive, yet not stifling. i will definitely be back because i felt like i was taken care of.

the fun continues
while i expected to be out of shangri-la mactan after showering, susie and i decided to walk around the hotel and check out its little nooks and crannies. we ended up having our photos taken by the christmas tree out front, then checking out the bazaar that they had that weekend. afterwards, we walked back to the direction of the health club and checked out the e-zone, their game room which had internet stations, billiard tables, a corner for playing wii games, and their own timezone.

susie and i decided to burn that heavy lunch off by playing half an hour of wii (for P200 pesos, i think). i was defeated repeatedly at tennis, but i dominated in bowling. i did get hungry after that, and decided to head to cebu's center and devour some larsian noms.

it wasn't such a practical option, and i'm kind of regretting getting out of mactan that day. we could have easily walked out of the hotel and enjoyed some tapas at the spanish bar right outside, but i had to insist on going to larsian, which was a P200 taxi ride away.

but this is not to say that i didn't enjoy my meal. i did, a lot, but would have enjoyed it more if i didn't have to pay P200 for the cab ride. i'm kuripot that way. :p

still, all in all, the cebu trip was a huge success, even if it was just for a day. a day spent on the beach is always a great day for me!

travel information
shangri-la mactan resort and spa cebu
punta engano road, lapu-lapu, cebu
phone number: +63 32 2310288
day rate: P2,000 inclusive of towel, access to hotel facilities, buffet lunch at tides, and P200 off health club services

more photos of our cebu day trip.

world pyro olympics 2009

i haven't gone to any of the past pyro olympics at MOA, even though i'm one of those people who turn back into a little child whenever i'm faced with fantastic fireworks. i was put off by the stories i heard from the traffic that jammed the exits when the show was over. but maybe this year, since they're moving the venue to bonifacio global city in taguig, i just might find myself trooping over and being one of the open-mouthed marvelers at the event.

what's also pretty exciting is that this year's pyro olympics will feature the first pyromusical competition, which will probably be more amazing to watch.

VIP tickets are pretty steep--P1,500/per person, but it already includes dinner, which is the only thing that separates you from the special ticket holders, who will only need to pay P500. general admission goes for P200. the site says there will be enough booths that sell food and drinks, so nobody will go hungry during the pyro olympics.

for those who plan to watch all five days, there's a special season pass for special and VIP areas. the special season pass sells for P2,000, while the VIP season pass is at P6,000. that's 5 shows for the price of 4! no pyro addict will be able to resist, methinks.

event details:
world pyro olympics 2009
where: the fort open grounds, bonifacio global city, taguig
when: nov 21, nov 28, dec 5, dec 12, dec 19
gates open at 3pm, fireworks start at 630pm
drum&bugle competition is from 3pm to 630pm
tickets: general: P200, special: P500, VIP: P1,500 (includes dinner)
season pass (5 shows for the price of 4): special: P2,000, VIP: P6,000

special and VIP tickets can be reserved as early as now!
contact world wide womb at (02) 568-6908 or (02) 384-0239

CCP holiday events for 2009

there's something in the air this year. i can feel that christmas is going to be merry. reading about these performances at the CCP is making me more excited about the holidays!

"the nutcracker"
ballet philippines
when: december 3, 6, 12, and 13 at 10am and 3pm; december 4 and 5 at 3pm and 8pm
where: tanghalang nicanor abelardo (CCP main theater)
tickets: P300, P350, P450, P500, and P600. P1,100 for gala shows
check ticketworld for tickets to ballet philippines's "the nutcracker."

PPO season concert IV
philippine philharmonic orchestra
conductor: ruggero barbieri
featuring traditional christmas carols.
when: december 10, 8pm
where: tanghalang nicanor abelardo (CCP main theater)
tickets: P206, P360.50, P515, P686.67, P824, P858.34, and P1,030.
check ticketworld for tickets to PPO season concert IV.

"thankful"
the philippine madrigal singers
the philippine madrigal singers' thanksgiving concert for a fruitful year. christmas songs, carols, and other inspirational songs are in store.
when: december 15 and 16, 8pm
where: tanghalang nicanor abelardo (CCP main theater)
call these numbers to inquire about tickets: (02) 832- 1125 to 39, (02) 832-3667

let's soak up some culture at the ccp this holiday season!

my epassport arrived last week! :)

i am now the proud holder of a philippine epassport! :)
it arrived last thursday, right on schedule.

it looks just like the machine-readable passport, except it has an epassport logo right below "pasaporte."

the cover is made of pretty thick cardboard, and on the back, it says "this passport contains sensitive electronics. please do not bend, perforate, or expose this passport to extreme temperature or excess moisture."

i can't wait to use it! i wonder if it's true that going through immigration is faster with a philippine epassport?