I hurriedly clocked out from work in order to head home and pack my things. At 3:30 in the morning, I was still figuring out what to bring for a 6-day retreat abroad. I was invited to a free trip from Cebu to Hong Kong by Airphil Express (formerly known as Air Philippines).

This airline has done major upgrades and is now climbing its way to becoming a tough competition among the budget airlines in the country. This is great news for travelers like me who are always looking for cheap fares online. This helps me book flights at lesser costs – I wouldn’t have traveled to a number of countries and local places if it weren’t for promo fares.

After taking a quick shower, I immediately put on some clothes and brought out my stuff. I felt that time was running out and I had to be at the Mactan airport fast. Then I realized, while riding a cab, that it was still dawn and there were hardly any vehicles around. I arrived at the airport around 4:45am.

I met other invited bloggers, Sinjin, Estan and Irene, and we proceeded to the immigration counters to have our passports stamped.

Click the photo for a larger view.

Airphil Express Inaugural Flight from Cebu to Hong Kong

I didn’t understand how big an occasion this was until I was there at the departure area where a program was held to introduce this new flight route. That’s when I found out that this was the first flight of this budget airline to HongKong. There are no flights (yet) from Manila to Hong Kong which makes it more accessible for people from the Visayas and Mindanao to book flight to one of the world’s most densely populated areas.

Dragon dance, free breakfast buffet and formal speeches from Airphil Express officials were presented in order to welcome this new route. They even had surprise game where a lucky passenger was able to win a free trip to the same destination.

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So I just got back home from my Cebu to Hong Kong flight courtesy of Airphil Express. I was planning to write random stories between the six-day vacation but whenever I got back to the place we stayed for the night, I’d usually doze off, tired from the daily activities. So in true blue backlog fashion, let me share short pieces of different highlights of this Hong Kong trip.

July 28 – August 3, 2011
Hong Kong Trip

Airphil Express Inaugural Flight

First time to experience being invited by an airline company. This is to witness the maiden flight of Airphil Express from Cebu to Hong Kong. I didn’t realize this to be that big of an event, complete with speeches from department heads and presentations until I was there. I found out later that this was the first flight of the budget airline to Hong Kong.

I was with three other bloggers (Estan, Irene and Sinjin) so I was really happy to be invited to this special occasion.

Airphil Express at the Pre-departure area

Ngong Ping

Rode the cable car leading to Ngong Ping Village so I could finally see the giant buddha. This was the main tourist attraction that I wasn’t able to see due to the bad weather when we visited Hong Kong last year.

Finally met the Giant Buddha.

Disneyland

Shows in Disneyland were one of the things that I missed out on which is probably the reason why I didn’t enjoy it as much last year. My faith has been renewed and I’m now agreeing that this is indeed the happiest place on earth. *tongue out*

Lion King production

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Note: This post was drafted and the blog owner is already in Hong Kong for the second time around.

In an unexpected turn of events, I suddenly had to go through a pile of maps inside a brown envelope I kept and familiarize myself with the MTR. I’ll be going on a sponsored trip for a Cebu to Hong Kong flight courtesy of Airphil Express. I’ll be joining four other bloggers who were invited to take part in the inauguration of this new budget airline route.

reading the MTR map again to give me a quick run-through of the place

Hong Kong is the first destination that I visited outside my own country. Even if it hasn’t reached a year before I’m stepping foot on this region again, I’m really looking forward to this trip.

The last time was just too fast-paced, going from one famous tourist spot to another: Ocean Park, Disneyland, hopping on a ferry boat to Macau, Victoria Peak and other shopping spots. I remember my legs killing me as it was 6 days of walking non-stop.

people on the streets at 10pm

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and still keep your full-time job!

In one of my blog articles last month, I discussed how I was able to travel to 4 countries within 4 months and still maintained my full-time job in a BPO company. I’m writing this entry as a second part of that blog post.

Seldom do people know that apart from those 4 countries, I also traveled to 8 local destinations in a span of 8 months. It started in August of 2010 and ended during the first week of March 2011.

“Ed, I have a question; have you resigned from Company X”?

Friends and former colleagues would ask me this question because it seemed like every Facebook status message that I posted within those months, I’d point out that I was in a different place. Even I couldn’t believe the feat that I just achieved.

In the previous article, I talked about Booking Ahead, Filing for Vacation Leave, Planning your Itinerary and Saving Money. Here are some more travel tips you might find useful.

How to Travel to 4 Countries and 8 Local Destinations within 8 Months
and still keep your full-time job:

• Combine your Vacation Leaves with Your Days Off. Given that I only have an average number of vacation and sick leaves every year, it would be crazy to think that all the days that I went out were filed using my VLs. Simple mathematics would show that the number of days is not enough to cover for the acquired spots. That’s why it would be wise to use your rest days together with your vacation leaves. If it’s possible, holidays can also be combined. Let me summarize my travels during those instances:

August 2010
3 days – Bohol (August 21-23)

September 2010
9 days – Hong Kong and Macau (September 1-9)
3 days – Boracay (September 11-13)

October 2010
4 days – Manila (October 1-4)
4 days – Malaysia (October 16-20)

November 2010
5 days – Iloilo and Guimaras (November 25-29)

December 2010
Was just spent in Cebu.

January 2011
8 days – Thailand and Cambodia (January 18-25)
4 days – Davao

February 2011
4 days – Zambales (February 28-21)

March 2011
5 days – Sagada (March 2-7)

Pretty extreme, is it not? If you manage your leaves, you’ll have longer time to travel.

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...and still maintain your full-time job.

No, I didn't take my job with me when traveling in those months but I filed for vacation leaves in between. From October of last year to January of this year, I visited four countries within four months; all of which happened in different times. It was no easy feat considering that I have a day job in a BPO industry. I was apprehensive too, if all my plans would push through considering the number of vacation leaves that I had.

Hong Kong, Macau (Ok, Macau is not a country but just a region of China along with HK, but my passport was still stamped), Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand. I visited these five places which makes me wonder if what I did was a rare opportunity to achieve or if everybody can do it as well.

Friends would ask me if I'm still working in my current company due to my constant travelling. I tell them I'm just lucky to also have a boss that understands my needs to get away from the office environment once in a while. Sure, you may not be able to choose your manager but there are other circumstances that you can control.

KL Monorail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Here are four basic tips that you can take note of so you can travel while keeping your job.

• Book Ahead - Check out budget airline websites for dirt-cheap promotions which they hold regularly. You'll be able to save a ton of money because of booking in advance at ridiculously low prices.

My trip to Hong Kong cost me 1200 Php and those are round trip tickets already. (Cebu to Hongkong)
My trip to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia cost me 850 Php; and that's riding four planes! (Cebu to Clark to Kuala Lumpur and back)
My trip to Bangkok cost me 6000 Php; actually it's 5200 bucks more because of a huge mistake of being late at the airport but you understand the point of booking during promo fares.

Suggested websites are CebuPacificAirlines.com and AirAsia.com once in a while to what they're offering. Better yet, subscribe to their feeds to notify you on their next big airline ticket sales.

Venetian Hotel, Macau

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