588 Domestic Seat Sale - Airphil Express Promo

For as low as 588 pesos base fare, you can travel to several domestic destinations via Airphil Express in their latest seat sale promo offer for the months of October to December 15, 2011. The destinations included are shown below. Check them out and book your tickets immediately. 588 Pesos Manila to Tacloban, Cebu or Tagbilaran Cebu to Cagayan de Oro or Davao 1088 Pesos Manila to Cagayan de Oro, Davao or Zamboanga Travel period is from October 15 to December 15, 2011 Seat sale is...

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Finding a Home with Roomorama

Usually when I travel I try to stay in lodgings that are, how shall I say it, at the “bottom end” of the price scale. I mean, the cheaper your accommodation, the more money you have for the fun stuff while you’re travelling, right? However after a few weeks hopping around from one dark, dingy, windowless cell to another, sometimes it’s nice to spend a night or two with some creature comforts – you know, things like your own bathroom, clean sheets and a window.

So for our Malaysian adventure, Charles and I decided to spend our last two nights of the trip in Kuala Lumpur in slightly more luxurious lodgings. A fancy hotel was the obvious choice, although they always seem to me to be a bit sterile and disconnected from “real life” in the city, not to mention expensive and often cramped.

Always keen to try something a little different, booking accommodation through roomorama seemed like it might be a good alternative. Roomorama is a website that links people who have short-term accommodation available (rooms, apartments or even whole houses) with those who are seeking a place to stay. There is no middleman or agent involved – you communicate directly with the property owner. For a similar price as a hotel room you could have a whole apartment for yourself wherever in the world you choose to travel. Plus you have the opportunity to experience more of the “real culture” of your destination by staying in a residential neighborhood rather than the business district in which most hotels are located.

The booking process is simple and secure. Just find a rental you like on roomorama.com and send an inquiry to the owner. Once the owner confirms availability you can make your booking and payment. You will receive a payment code that you hand over to the owner when you check into your accommodation. The owner then uses this code to redeem their payment from Roomorama.

This simple but effective system protects both the guest and the owner. Owner’s have the comfort of knowing their guests have pre-paid for their accommodation, while guests can be sure that the owner won’t receive payment unless they’re sure everything’s OK. And if things do go wrong, Roomorama have a 24×7 help line to assist.

And so we’re booked in for a couple of nights in a nice looking apartment not far from KL’s little India. We’re looking forward to our Roomorama stay, I’ll let you know how it goes.

If you want to know more, this video explains the Roomorama service a little further:

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3K Run for Clean Coasts!

The Philippine National Police Office of General Santos City is at it again! As part of its continuing TAKBO GENSAN series under its energetic and hunky chief, PNP City Director PSSupt. Cedrick Train, the country’s Best City Police Office is again inviting everyone to another marathon or fun run.  This time, it will be be [...]
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Register now for the 4th National ICT Summit in GenSan

Registration is now open for those who want to join the 4th National ICT Summit slated in GenSan on November 3 – 5, 2011! This, according to Mr. Ronald Velasquez, president of the ICT group of General Santos City.
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Wanna Fauna?

Guestpost by : Kate Himalaya

For me, the best part of traveling is when I get to experience the different and exotic wildlife of different countries. By spending most of my living in the Midwest, it is hard to come across interesting animals in the wild unless I travel to a unique location. The closest I have come to seeing something exotic this year is when I saw a ferret running through the woods while on a hike a couple of weeks ago. I have a friend whose most exciting experience with wildlife in the middle of the country was a close encounter with a mountain lion while on a hunting trip; not the kind of excitement that I tend to seek out.

Iguana in Galapagos Islands

The good thing for me is that I don’t stay in the Midwest for extended periods of time unless my job calls for it. By exploring places like Australia, taking safaris in the heart of Africa, hopping on Galapagos Islands cruises, and even exploring Bangkok; I’ve had some pretty nifty wildlife encounters. Here are a couple that hit a soft spot every time I think about them:

The Heart of Africa

Of course, I have to include my journey to Africa on my exotic animal list. It’s hard for most people to not think of animals when they conjure up images of the great African plain lands. On my trip to Africa, I was lucky enough to witness one of the most impressive things in my entire life. I saw a group of lions try to attack a hippopotamus only to have their attempts made futile when the giant beast decided to fight back. The hippo is one of the most aggressive and violent creatures, contrary to its depiction in popular culture, and is the number one killer of man on the entire continent (and that’s including lions, crocodiles, and cape buffalo too).

Australia

Australia is the marsupial haven of the planet. While journeying through the outback I was able to see kangaroos, wallabies, dingos, and too many emu to even count. The most interesting animal I encountered in the land down under was the platypus. Before going to Australia I always thought of the platypus as an awkward and goofy looking duck. Our tour guide on the trip informed me that the platypus was actually able to generate venom through spurs on its hind limbs.

The Galapagos Islands

While taking a cruise to this unique archipelago off the coast of Ecuador, I was able to see one of the most majestic creatures I’ve ever witnessed; the Aldabra Giant Tortoise. These creatures aren’t like the garden variety turtles your kids find roaming through the backyard and keep in your basement. They can live up to 200 years and grow to over 600 pounds.

Monkeys in Bangkok

If you’ve seen The Hangover 2, then you know firsthand how cool it would be to have a monkey do your bidding. What I didn’t know before I went to Thailand’s largest city was that citizens dress the monkeys up and have them perform in a monkey theater. They are trained to lip sync to songs and perform tricks for an audience. Good luck trying to get anyone in the states to train a group of monkeys to perform on American Idol.

I am so grateful that I get to travel the world to see more than squirrels and weasels in my backyard. If you’re an animal fanatic like me, I suggest packing up and flying halfway across the globe to see what you’re missing.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia

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Visiting the Tarsier Sanctuary in Loboc and the Chocolate Hills in Carmen Bohol

Last weekend, I had my most memorable trip to Bohol with fellow bloggers and other writers from print media courtesy of Amorita Resort in Panglao Island Bohol. What made the trip memorable? Picture this, we visited Bohol’s wealth of wonders and we stayed in Panglao’s best resort based on Tripadvisor.com’s ratings.

Philippine Tarsier

Those who come to Bohol usually want to do four things. First, relax and enjoy the sun on the beautiful Alona Beach on Panglao Island and taste Boholano Food. Second they want to scuba dive and experience the famous underwater wonders of Bohol. Third they want to see the tarsiers in Loboc and finally they want to visit the famed Chocolate Hills of Carmen Bohol.

Amorita Resort in Panglao Island Bohol

Panglao Island, Alona Beach, and Scuba Diving are no brainers. If you can get off the ferry you can find them. Get to the beach and you will find the scuba shops or better yet, stay in Amorita Resort and meet their Dive Master for a seamless underwater exploration.

Beautiful Panglao Beach

The tarsier sanctuary is more tricky, but also more exotic too. 134 hectares of forest near the towns of Sicatuna and Corella serve as the protected home of the Philippine Tarsier, the world’s smallest primate and a creature endemic to the Philippines. The alien looking little creatures with their giant eyes and big toes are funny to look at during the day, but if it is the nighttime, they are looking at you from the tree tops.

Mahogany Forest in Bohol

Tarsiers have bigger eyes than brains and are nocturnal critters that will melt your heart. At just 8-16 centimeters long, they are truly teeny-tiny. Even though they are that small they have been known to jump up to 16 feet!

Takla in Coconut Cream

To get to the Tarsier Sanctuary you can take a bus or jeepney from Tagbilaran to Sikatuna and then you will need to hire a motorbike or pedicab. Alternatively you can hire a private vehicle or take a package tour from most Bohol hotels or tour operators.

Melo in Chocolate Hills in Carmen Bohol

Going past the Tarsier Sanctuary, you will be able to experience one of the great geological wonders of the Philippines. The Chocolate Hills are a national geologic monument and a potential UNESCO world heritage site. 1,776 hills of a 50 kilometer area which were formed through unique geological processes.

Want to know why the Chocolate Hills are romantic? In the hot months the grass on them turns chocolate brown and the hills look like row upon row of Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses…which makes it an ideal spot to give your sweety a smooch. If that’s not enough you can tell her about the giant who fell in love with a mortal woman. When she died he cried without stop and eventually his tears hardened into the chocolate hills. Now that theory is romantic!

To get to the Chocolate Hills you can go to Carmen, Bohol or the mountain town of Sagbayan, Bohol. While it may seem amazing that only few of the 1,776 Chocolate Hills have been developed for tourism, don’t worry, you can see them all stretching into the horizon by visiting the viewdeck. Guided trips can be arranged with the hotel staff or you can do it the hard way by a combination of jeepney, bus, and motorbike ride.

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