How old are you? How many times have you felt sad because you haven't achieved much? Are you doing fine right now? Who do you think helped you in life the most? For me, it's my Mom. I'm sure most of you feel the same. Small things to the hardest problems, she always has the answer. If you want to thank her, what would you usually do?
This particular video triggered my emotions recently. With good reason I might add, why? Watch this!
So much feels, I just watched it once to hold back the tears. Though if you want to make your mom's dreams come true,I think it would be just proper to get her there. There are tons of cheap flights especially with the best low cost airline servicing us in the Philippines, check out AirAsia today as they have their Red Hot PisoSale back!
It looks like good news come in folds as AirAsia the world’s best low cost carrier and Solaire make your travel dreams come true with their loyalty rewards program. If you’re a Solaire Rewards Program Card holder and have gone up the ranks from Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Ruby and Diamond status, you can exchange your equivalent status points so you can get to your dream destinations for free.
AirAsia BIG Members have been enjoying their rewards for some time already, so what’s this you say? Cyrus Sherafat,Solaire Resort’s Executive Vice-President for Marketing says “AirAsia’s has continued to provide our guests with memorable experiences that go beyond our borders. We are delighted that we can reward our loyal Solaire Rewards members with AirAsia exclusive privileges no matter where they are, so they too could fully enjoy their dream destinations. The deal is, 1 Solaire Rewards Status Point can be converted to one AirAsia BIG Point so it will be easier to track and redeem that flight you’ve always wanted. This will only happen upon linking the AirAsia BIG Member ID to your Solaire Rewards.”
Now go earn your rewards points and get to that play area so you can get to your dream destination with these free points!
I’ll try flying soon if I could, this will be and easy and convenient way members can use their points other than the perks they have over at Solaire.
Nothing beats a watermark than a fat face that's already in a photo hahahaha!
A vacation in Palawan probably would mean El Nido, Coron, or that Underground River adventure that most tourists actually go to. A little known fact is, there are actually superb places you can go to just a little outside of Puerto Princesa City. A few only know about it but hopefully, that’s about to change. Really, there’s MORE things in Palawan that people should know about.
This is our second day here, woke up early to travel about 30-45 minutes away from Puerto Princesa City proper. The reason being, KAMIA Bay Resort in Palawan. It’s located at Baranagay Luzviminda along Binunsalian Bay. It’s a rarely new property being developed as an adventure sanctuary housing the BIGGEST Aquapark structure in Asia complete with a 30 and 40 foot slide in a stretch of 3,800 square meters of a floating island that sits a few kilometers away from Honda Bay.
One side of Kamia Bay Resort where the whole thing stretches.
Now imagine the possibilities, the various things you could do here with your friends and family. You could go on this vast course traversing through a multitude of floating islands, air filled trees, big and small tubes, jumping points, a trampoline, and slides like small mountains on sea. Tumble and leap off of platforms with ease and without worries as they’ve got expert lifeguards on stand by at every part of the floating ark.
Aside from the nice course, they’ve also got a moderately designed bike course which would take you in and around the property. They also have pavillions and small huts so whether you’re a company or just a small family, you can take refuge in it during lunch or dinner, or house your belongings during day trips in fact. They also have Eco tours which you can take for your land lovin friends if the floating island would be too much. But here's a glimpse on how fun this whole trip was courtesy of the Aloha Palawan Facebook page!
The thing is, it’s also quite affordable. You can do Aquaplay for Php 788 which includes an hour of the Aquapark, an Ecotour and buffet lunch or go for the Php 1,488 for Unlimited time in it. They also have options for roundtrip transfers if you want it to be more convenient. We highly suggest you do what we did and start the adventures very early. You will be briefed for your own safety and if you prefer a little grip, they have specialized water shoes for rent so it’ll be easier for you to run around in your bikinis.
Take a nice dip, or simply lounge at their lovely villa huts.
Heck I won’t be selfish to share with you how fun it was. I also got to taste the cuisine prepared for us by the Chef who manages all the food establishments in their other properties. Check out my adventures at Kamia Bay Resort!
It was pretty hard to leave that place after the fun I had with new friends. I got to know more of them and how a family built this resort. It looks promising that they can host guests during day time and perhaps soon, they’ll have some villas for people to stay in. They also currently have a haven for artists which they house in a secluded part of their resort which they deem would be a way to “pay back” the community and the country with “culture”.
For dinner, we freshened up at the hotel first then dressed up a bit. We went to Princesa Garden Resort and Spa which was near the Puerto Princesa International Airport. We walked a bit inside and off to the shore for their Asian themed restaurant called GOLDEN ELEPHANT which was on stilts. It was very romantic, I felt bad that I was single and had to see all the couples who were there. The food was also exquisite as you may have seen on the video, you just want to stay there the whole night. Albeit friendly to families, I would recommend this mostly for pairs who would want some quiet time. It felt right, I want to go back there and bring someone to propose haha!
Anyway, it was all part of a super happy day for me to just experience what Puerto Princesa City and it’s nearby towns had in store for travelers - and those who just want to have a nice relaxing vacation. I loved every bit of it.
If you want to go to Kamia Bay Resort, simply search for them at Facebook and message them. They can make arrangements for large groups and family. Same goes for Princesa Garden Resort and Spa which has rooms and spa services too. It’s easy because everything should be hassle free, make sure you make your own vacation stress free!
I've been in the city too long and yes I couldn't have wished for better a trip... this was so timely. I was invited to an event called ALOHA PALAWAN. Yes, this was the island called "The Last Frontier" by travelers who have been there - and I can only agree why they call it as such. There are 7,147 islands in the Philippines and the ones on our itinerary are just the tip of the ice berg. Backpackers have known about the best island in the world for quite a while now but they'd rather keep it a secret. This is paradise we're talking about it and I am so happy Air Asia Philippines is taking us there!
Clark International Airport
This travel arrangement has been done by Amika Travel and Tours. Since they know this place like the back of their hands, it was easy getting from one place to another because of the van arrangements, it was a no brainer to have this as mode of transport because we were in a group. I strongly advise you to do the same rather than commuting as you would save a lot of time (and spend wisely on the beaches instead). We left Manila in the afternoon so we arrived around dinner.
Before we did leave Clark in Pampanga (where the Clark International Airport is), we ate lunch at Matam ih Restaurant that served legit Kapampangan food, all pretty heavy because it's all good with RICE in the Philippines. I kinda stayed with the safe ones because I was on Keto, they had really good Kare Kare so if there's one to try, make that part of your meal. Aside from that, your guests would really love the in house entertainment provided for by really talented Aeta/Amerasian singers who perform there on a regular basis. They were so good that I saw one of them perform in Tawag ng Tanghalan a few days later (a famous singing competition on national TV) and she won that day.
Matam-ih Restaurant in Clark Airbase.
Murky corn soup or Suam was good even on a hot weather
When they say Kare Kare, you don’t say NO
Oh don’t even get me started, they have good Shrimp Fritters!
When in Pampanga, try the Sisig. Their is more on the livery side.
The oh so yummy Native Roasted Chicken
After all that authentic Filipino cuisine experience, we went to Clark International Airport and checked in. I love how that new airport is very clean and not overcrowded like the ones in Manila. When you're taking a trip you can ride a bus from TRINOMA (a well known mall north of Manila) and would only prolly cost you Php 350 or so, pretty cheap than catch yourself squirming in an airport in Manila.
AirAsia Philippines flies regularly from Clark International Airport to different parts of the country. They also have international flights that come from this airport, it's sometimes even cheaper to actually get flights from here. Now I don't know most of these guys I'm flying with but they're from different media entities, some bloggers, some Instagram celebrities and our friends from AirAsia. They count us regularly so we don't get lost haha! Oh and Clark also has strong wifi from Smart, if you fly this way you'll also get to finish some of your blogging backlogs, upload videos quite easy. Plus it's FREE!
When we arrived in Puerto Princesa, it was pretty laid back. I immediately saw the tricycles and how it was totally different than the ones in Manila. I kinda likened it to junior cars because they have that certain look on front that they do, so they can also stretch the back area of the tricycles for luggage as it is a touristy town.
When we arrived at HUE Hotel and Resorts (our home in Puerto Princesa Palawan), we were welcomed with a huge production number courtesy of the hotel. They pretty much did a medley of Philippine dances (which I did when I was in Elementary btw LOL), so imagine our surprise. Then inside our room, it was perfect. They have a separate toilet and bath, two single beds, and you could ask for extra keys. They also gave us Palawan's best banana chips which we had to look for later on to take home because it was so good. Thank you to Hue Hotel, Laag PH for the complimentary shirts too.
MATIZ Restaurant and Tapaz Bar
Fun dining with the others :)
Minestrone Soup
Chef’s Salad, Romaine, shards of cheese, bacon, a little crouton and light balsamic dressing
Ropa Vieja and Gambas, staples in Tapaz bars
The Matiz Paella, a seafood and paella lover’s dream!
Tres Leches Flan, not too sweet, just right.
We'll be sleeping here first before doing some islands the next day. So we relaxed and had dinner at the hotel's own restaurant. It's called MATIZ Restaurant and Tapaz Bar (yes after the painter), which was a very relaxed tapas bar in this side of the world. We had wine, Ropa Vieja (which I love and YOU should order), Gambas, good Seafood Paella, Chicken Iberico with Mojo Sauce and Tres Leches Flan for dessert. Now if that doesn't convince you to stay in this hotel while you're in Puerto Princesa, take a breather because we're about to embark to Kamia tomorrow!
Stay tuned folks, we're publishing the Kamia Bay Resort article soon! If you would want to stay in Puerto Princesa City, Hue Hotel may be reached via https://www.facebook.com/huepuertoprincesa or their website thehuehotel.com.
About a month ago, a call for photography and videography enthusiasts happened at the AirAsia Philippines Facebook page and I actually wanted to join. If not for the age requirement I'm sure I could have passed but we're giving it to students and fresh grads this time, I was that giving LOL. Anyway, the well loved airline company just announced the five finalists among 500 entries they received online. It was already hard to narrow it down to 50 as all of them were chosen for creativity, originality and quality of story telling.
Winners were Paul Garrido from Mapua University, Raymond Baguilat from University of Baguio, Beatrice Paragas from University of the Philippines, Angela Cara Durano from DLSU in Cebu and John Paul Saluba from University of Iloilo. They will be mentored by Patrick Martin, Kyrke Jaleco, Neila Lomotan, Ayen Dela Torre, Rachel Halili, Javi Cang, Enzo Cruz, Benj Ramos and Paolo Cuarteron.
I like John Paul Saluba's work more. It was the great transitions that got me hooked!
Capt. Dexter Comendador says "Our goal of making dreams come true now has spurn a social media reality show. When you fly with us, it means an adventure is about to begin. We have a creative pool of talents and this competition is a platform to shine, to make you discovered. This early, congratulations to these talented and young Filipinos. This will also be launched in other countries, but you are the first so we can't wait!"
Now they are fighting not only for pride but Php 1 Million worth of prizes including AirAsia Philippines flights to domestic and international destinations, an Apple Macbook Pro 13, a Nikon D5600 and 3D2N stay at Amorita Resort in Bohol, plus the opportunity to be one of AirAsia Storytellers Community. These finalists will all be flying to Bohol, Palawan, Tacloban and the Cordilleras so stay tuned for updates via www.airasiacreatecamp.com.
There were over 500 entries sent but only 6 finalists were chosen. They all travelled to Macau and battled it out in different challenges to win the title of AirAsia Travel Photographer 2016.
Neil Cardano from Palawan, Mithilaya Miclat from Davao, Eliseo Zuniga from Taguig, Kimberly Pauig from Pasig, Daniel Magbanua from Quezon City and Dave Poblete from Makati went on a mission and shot picturesque Coloane Village, Fisherman's Wharf and other cultural attractions in Macau so they could take portraits, food shots, and experience the country and it's people. To judge the photos, they had Nachi Ugarte from GRID Magazine, Jacob Maentz who does documentaries, Wawi Navarrosa a photographer from Thousandfold and Rudy Khaw the head of AirAsia's Branding.
They called in 3 finalists Kimberly Pauig, Daniel "DJ" Magbanua and Dave Poblete to explain their work. Kimberly shined on the portrait with three women, Daniel had a great architectural shot, while Dave Poblete excelled more on the food shot since he had a kid and a lollipop element in it.
The grand winner gets 200,000 AirAsia BIG Points, a surprise vacation package from AirAsia, and prizes from partner brands GRID Magazine and Flight 001. They also awarded the People's choice winner which was done through public voting on AirAsia Philippines' website!
In the end, the winner for People's Choice is Dave Poblete. The third place goes to DJ Magbanua, Second place goes to Dave Poblete and grand prize winner is Kimberly Pauig.
