película: the 8th spanish film festival

more films are set to come your way next week, as instituto cervantes unveils the biggest película spanish film festival yet.

this year, película pelikula will show films in three different venues:

greenbelt 3 cinemas play host to 21 recent and awarded spanish and latin american films. admission is P65. check the película screening schedule for greenbelt 3.

the CCP, meanwhile, will be showing 12 spanish and filipino documentaries. check the película screening schedules for CCP.

finally, the college of saint benilde-school of design and arts will have two different sets of screenings, the first being "cine en construccion," where viewers can watch 5 different indie films from latin american countries. the other set of films are dubbed "spanish cinema in 8 films," and features 8 classic films, perfect for students who want to see the progression of spanish cinema. admission is also free. check the película screening schedules for CSB school of design and arts.

there will also be exhibits, workshops, and performances, so just check the película website, which also features trailers of the films and event schedules.

taking a walk in makati

i've always liked walking, even in the streets of manila. somehow, the perils of such thin and unwalkable sidewalks and the dirt and grime that threaten to cover my feet haven't succeeded in dissuading me from using my feet to get around.

during the august 21 long weekend, i found myself without plans to go out of town, so i thought, "why not just explore and try something new?" so from work, i took the MRT and got off at the buendia station, which is just a few meters away from jupiter. from there, i let my feet take me places.

my first stop was o'sonho, this new portuguese restaurant along jupiter, makati that i've always wanted to try. service wasn't all that great, though. i walked into the restaurant, and no one was there to greet me or to tell me if there was still a table available. i still had to walk up to the counter and ask for the menu before i was offered a seat.

i decided to try out their salmon (that's all it was called--no fancy names for this resto, i guess):

salmon in o'sonho

it was just okay. the sauce was sweet and made it taste different, but the rice was meh. i don't think i'll be going back here any time soon. there just wasn't anything about the dish that was spectacular.

after dinner, i kept on walking, and decided to stop off at off-price, a large clothing store, still on jupiter street in makati:

off-price in jupiter

they had a lot of clothes, and they were pretty cheap, too. unfortunately, nothing specific caught my fancy, but i'll check it out again.

i get out of the store, and keep walking. soon, i end up at max's, and decide to confirm one thing. i go up to the facade and true enough, there was a small plaque that confirmed that the irish consulate was indeed, holding office above max's restaurant:


after that, i walked to makati avenue, then took a right at h.v. dela costa street, turned left at tordesillas, then passed through the park, and eventually ended up on l.p. leviste street.

one lafayette square, the building that houses the restaurant apartment1b, is also home to a new terry's deli and bistro, which looks pretty fancy. susie and i went there last week, and i went home happy after having my tortilla de pamplona.

also along l. p. leviste street is gonzo's, which replaced oliver's. the friendly waiter was handing out menus that night, and the offerings are pretty tempting, and well-priced, too!

my last stop for the night was tonton massage, which was actually the whole point of my "journey." i decided to treat myself to a one-hour full body massage. while i have always enjoyed my tonton massages, that night, it didn't go so well. i had a feeling the masseuse was already tired, from what i gathered of the quality of massage that i got. next time, i should just opt for the foot massage. that always hits the spot.

this weekend is another long one, but the weather's not being cooperative enough for a walk. but when i do get a chance, i'll walk again, and share my discoveries with you once more.

cine europa '09 at shang cineplex

i can't believe it's time for cine europa again. :) i missed last year's screenings, but i'm hoping i can catch at least one film in this year's line-up, specifically the demons of st. petersburg.

this year's batch of films are an assortment of genres, running the gamut of family entertainment, horror/thriller, drama, romantic comedy, and war/action. it's a pretty promising line-up.

if you have nothing to do this weekend, troop over to shangri-la mall cineplex, queue up for your free ticket, and watch a film at cine europa. just click on the link below to access the schedules and synopsis:

cine europa '09 line-up and schedule.

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

three ways to renew your philippine passport

my passport will be expiring in may 2010, and while i know that i can renew my passport through passport direct, i still thought i'd check the DFA website in case they had updates on new passport renewal procedures.

and i found out that they actually do! aside from passport direct, which partners up with 2go for the courier service, now, we pinoys can also renew our passports by telephone and using the DFA appointment system.

let me go through the different ways one can renew passports in good ol' philippines:

#1: passport direct
passport direct accepts new applications and renewals. you first have to fill up their passport application form, where you fill in important personal information as well as the pick-up and delivery address of your passport. you can also input your desired pick-up schedule and personal appearance schedule at the DFA.

the passport direct website also has a list of requirements for passport renewals. for the benefit of those who, like me, are still holding their green passports, our renewal requirements are as follows:

• Personal Appearance is required.
• Present passport and photocopy of pages 1,2,3 (amendment) inside and back cover.
• The pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps.
• For illegitimate minor, personal appearance of mother is required.
• Three (3) colored photos of the applicant taken against a royal blue background & no shadow. Applicant should be in decent attire with collar & sleeves and in dark-colored shirt. Photo must be studio taken & of good quality, and must have been taken within the last six (6) months. Photo size: 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm. Facial image size: About 3cm-tip of head to chin. Ears should be visible. Wearing of accessories, colored contact lenses or eyeglasses, with name/name board are not allowed. DFA has the right to reject photos that do not comply with specifications and international standards.

renewing passports through passport direct costs Php 1,300.00, and takes about 3 weeks.

#2: telephone passport express
the website says "fast, efficient, and convenient way of processing passport while making use of quality time." because you don't need to go to the DFA, but you do need to personally appear at the DFA Telephone Passport Express Center on your scheduled date.

telephone passport express is a service provided by LBC. you just have to call up their hotline, (02) 567-1111 to get the list of requirements. afterwards, download the passport application form which has a logo of telephone passport express and lbc (these details are important!), print it on long bond paper, and fill it up.

when all that is done, you then have to go to the nearest LBC branch or telephone passport express center to submit your documents for screening and evaluation. this is also where you pay the fee of P1,300.00, which includes shipping of your passport to the address you provided. oh, and you have to wait for them to give you your schedule for fingerprinting and signing.

just go to any telephone passport express center on the day of your schedule, do the fingerprinting and signing. your passport will just be delivered to you via LBC.

#3: dfa online appointment system
starting august 26 of this year, the dfa will be implementing an online appointment procedure for passport renewals, for issuance of the new epassport (as opposed to the machine readable ones, or new passport version 1.0). but since the system is new, they can only accommodate 100 epassport applicants per day.

to renew your passport through this system, go to the dfa passport application appointment system, click on the epassport photo, fill up the form, then click submit. check your inbox for their email indicating your appointment date, and confirm your availability. make sure to note down the date, time, and reference number given in the email.

on the date of your appointment, proceed to the special area for online appointment applicants with your requirements. according to the dfa, these are the requirements:

• old passport with one photocopy of old passport data page
• a valid ID
• duly accomplished passport application form
• Php 950 passport fee

after reading about all those three ways to renew my passport, i think i'm going to try the last option. i've heard some not-so-good feedback about passport direct from friends who've renewed this year, and the telephone passport express actually sounds too tedious. the last option is pretty interesting--everything is done online, which is a great leap for a government office, and i want to see how they would do it. plus, the dfa online appointment system is much cheaper than the first two options, which is always a plus for me!

on another note, the new epassport, i've been told, actually emits RFID signals, which makes your information vulnerable to hacking or being stolen. i'm still trying to find the right RFID blocking passport cover, and i'm not happy with the ones i've seen online. it helps to safeguard your information, so make sure that once you renew your passport, you secure it right away.

hope this blog helps those who are confused about renewing our philippine passports. :)

where can you go with your philippine passport?

expensive visa application fees and visa denial nightmares have been part and parcel of the travel tales of those of us who hold a philippine passport.

but a little trawling online showed me a list of countries where we philippine passport-holders can travel visa-free (some places issue the visa upon arrival, though).

at the moment, your philippine passport can take you to:

africa

• burundi
• cape verde
• comoros
• djibouti
• egypt (south sinai only)
• gambia
• kenya
• madagascar
• morocco
• mozambique
• saint helena
• seychelles
• tanzania
• togo
• uganda
• zambia

asia-asean

• brunei darussalam
• cambodia
• indonesia
• laos
• malaysia
• singapore
• thailand
• vietnam

asia-non-asean

• armenia
• azerbaijan
• bangladesh
• georgia
• hong kong
• iran
• israel
• south korea (jeju island only)
• macau
• maldives
• mongolia
• nepal
• sri lanka
• timor-leste

europe

• kosovo

oceania

• cook islands
• fiji
• marshall islands
• federated states of micronesia
• niue
• palau
• samoa
• tuvalu
• vanuatu

north america

• bermuda
• costa rica
• dominica
• haiti
• nicaragua
• saint kitts and nevis
• saint lucia
• saint vincent and the grenadines
• turks and caicos islands

south america

• bolivia
• brazil
• colombia
• ecuador
• peru
• suriname

quite a long list, isn't it? :) (let's just not compare it with the list of other countries) i was pleasantly surprised myself, especially after seeing fiji and brazil in there.

gotta get a move in renewing my passport then! :D

remembering madrid

memories of my trip to spain have been buried in piles of work emails, appointments, and manila annoyances. this weekend, however, i was able to get some time on my hands, and i happened to check back on my europe files. i found this:




this was the moment when the reality of being in europe hit me--pigeons and tourists everywhere, i was sitting on cobblestones, and accordion music can be heard in the distance. i shot this in madrid's plaza mayor, and the view that i lingered on is the casa de la panaderia.

i wanna go back. *nostalgic smile*