travel – Page 2 – soloflighted.com

My Adventure Partner: An Ode to My Feet

My feet, I’ve big ones and I’m insecure when people stare at them. But through the years and over the course of my adventures, not once have they complained.

I’m thankful for my feet. Every time I feel that my legs can’t handle another step, I think about people who cannot walk–literally and figuratively. I’m reminded of people who don’t have the privilege to wander because of not having this basic ability.

No number of gears and gadgets in the world can replace our feet. Seldom do people realize that it only takes one step and they’ve already traveled. A couple more and that’s already an adventure. I vow not to wait for the day to lose them (heaven forbid) until their value is appreciated.

You just came from a long vacation and now you’re leaving again?

The expression on his face was priceless. There was no need to answer as I understood that it was a rhetorical question. I just had to smile to eliminate the moment of silence between his eyes and my smirk.

Hong Kong – Macau – Cebu – Boracay

After a trip to Hong Kong and Macau, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Boracay.

September 1-8, 2010 – Hong Kong-Macau
September 9, 2010 – Cebu (working at the office)
September 10-12, 2010 – Boracay

Thailand – Cambodia – Cebu – Davao

After a trip to Thailand and Cambodia, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Davao.

January 18-26, 2011 – Thailand-Cambodia
January 27, 2011 – Cebu (working at the office)
January 28-31, 2011 – Davao

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong | Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau | Station 2, Boracay

Khao San Road, Bangkok | South Angkor Thom Gate, Siem Reap | Isla Reta, Samal

History repeated itself and recalling these two scenarios crack me up. It’s such a crazy situation that even my manager asked me if I was alright.

I spent 36 hours travelling and waiting during our trip from Cebu to Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was the longest I spent to reach one destination. I guess that’s the challenge when you live in a region that doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to flights to international destinations. Cebu Pacific Airlines used to have direct flights from Cebu to Bangkok but it stopped probably due to the minimal number of passengers going to that country.

In any case, we were lucky to get a discount due to promotional fares a couple of months before the schedule. Here’s a breakdown on how we got to Cambodia from Cebu.

online at Clark terminal

Cebu to Manila: We arrived 5 minutes late at the check-in counter so we had to pay the regular price and turned into chance-passengers at 5200 bucks more than the promo fare. Just mentioning it is already a pain in the buttocks since we already had a limited budget.

7000 Php (ouch) – Cebu Pacific Air Fare (original price was only 1800 Php)
200 Php – Terminal Fee

Cebu Pacific airlines

Lesson learned, arrive 2 hours earlier than the scheduled flight! I never want to be pay extra again as these are circumstances that we can control.

Just sending out a quick update from the Bousavy Guesthouse in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Yeah, soloflightEd is in Cambodia!

It was an extremely long travel (36 hours from Cebu to Cambodia) and actually the longest I’ve ever had in order to reach one destination. Usually, I’d spend one day in one place and then head to another spot. From Cebu to Manila to Clark to Bangkok to Siem Reap, this was our route and I’ll most likely write a guide of my experience from the whole thing.

Aranyaprathet train to the border of Thailand and Cambodia

My friend Doi,who’s been here, said that it would be a better option to head directly to Siem Reap and just spend the remaining days of this one-week leave in Bangkok, Thailand. This is to maximize the time that we have for this trip.

The good thing is that we’ll be able to spend time in each country and it won’t be that rushed.

photo courtesy of Den
jump shot at the border in Cambodia

I realized I’ve been wrapped up in writing articles about my recent trips that I haven’t been able to provide updates about my life and the things that have been going on so far. This is still a personal blog and before I get caught up with writing a bunch of entries about my travels again, let me post a few random nothings – travel and non-travel related.

Money Play

Been playing with money the past couple of months – NO, I haven’t been wasting it. I’ve been looking for ways to squeeze time in order to maximize the situation of funds and whatever’s left of it. This is not something I’d recommend to everyone because you’ll go crazy if you can’t keep up with your payables and receivables. Heck, I’m going nuts trying to figure out how I’m going to manage. But I still like to think I can.

Terra 60 Backpack

Photo courtesy of Doi

As you might have noticed in some of my previous posts, I have a new back pack for travelling. It cost me an arm to get this despite the discounted rate. There was a sale on outdoor items and because I was so curious about the items being displayed, I had to drop by the place. I wondered why the hell I did. Now I’ve conformed to The North Face backpack. But I’m not complaining as I know this proves to be useful in my trips. Besides, the Deuter bag that I have cannot accommodate the things I bring during my long journeys. I still need to work on my packing skills though.

On Travel – a free travel magazine in Malaysia.

We were headed back to Cebu from Malaysia. It was our last day and we were waiting for the Star Shuttle bus to take us to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur.

At the bus station, we grabbed some free magazines to keep ourselves busy and to kill time.

on the lower-left corner…

September 3, 2010
Hong Kong Trip Day 2: World Trade Center and Times Square in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai

It rained on our second day in Hong Kong and it was declared as Storm Signal Number 1 which was such a bummer since we were raring to go out.

Designer Tram at Causeway Bay

Although we slept late in the morning, I woke up early to find some food for breakfast. From our hostel at the Tai San Guesthouse, I went to iSQUARE which is just a couple of blocks away. Initially, I thought iSQUARE was an office owned by Apple; later did I found that it is one of Hongkong’s skyrise malls.

I went there because I was looking for a supermarket to buy some grocery items: water bottles and chips; as well as some hair gel because we realized we weren’t in our best look when we saw our pictures the previous day. hehe.

Marketplace by Jasons at iSquare mall

Places we visited:
iSquare Mall
World Trade Center and Times Square in Causeway Bay
Wan Chai Computer Center
The Spaghetti House

September 2, 2010
Hongkong Trip Day 1: Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok Computer Center

It was a good thing Cindy, the ever-reliable researcher, read through a lot of information online especially on PinoyExchange.com (PEX). She told me that all the necessary details on what to do, where to go and how to get there is already laid out so there was no need for us to hire a travel agency to create an Itinerary for us.

shops and streets at 10pm!

I woke up and saw my friends, Cindy and Logan, still surfing the net with their laptops. I slept for a couple of hours at the Hong Kong International Airport which was a good thing as I had more energy to stroll around the place when we got to our hostel.

Train Tickets to purchase Octopus cards

6am, at the airport; we went to the center where we could buy some Octopus cards for our MTR (Mass Transit Railway) fares. This proved to be a wise choice as it’s a very convenient way to travel and pay for your fare when going to different towns.

Octopus cards – check out wikipedia for more information about it: Wikipedia – Octopus Card

Places we visited:
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tai San Guesthouse
Avenue of the Stars
1881 Heritage
Mongkok Computer Center

This will be a series of blog entries on how we got to Hong Kong from Cebu. Because of the information we got online was so helpful, this is my way of giving back to the community in sharing my experience for those people who might also need the information.

Hongkong Trip: Going From Cebu to Hong Kong
September 1-2, 2010

This was my first time to go abroad so I was apprehensive because I didn’t know how many issues we would be facing that would prevent us from setting foot onto foreign soil.

There were three of us (Cindy, Logan and I) and we were all first-timers so this was something we’ve looked forward to ever since we booked tickets about a year ago. We paid only 1200 Php each for the round-trip ticket from Cebu to Hong Kong using Cebu Pacific’s Piso Fare.

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

I’m back to work. I want another vacation though, just to catch up on a lot of pending posts.

First, there was Bohol; then my first trip abroad in Hongkong-Macau. Lastly was the free trip to Boracay courtesy of Seair and Microtel Hotels Resort. I don’t even have enough time to update my sites one by one. I’m cramming myself up into making sure that I get to post at least one entry each but I don’t know where to start.

I should probably stay calm cause I might end up getting no productivity at all.

Hongkong International Airport

Somehow, it seems that I’m just starting these trips and I have a lot more that are going to be available for me in the upcoming months. But I don’t want to jinx it. Will be talking more about my trips to these three places (two rural areas and one urban location).

For now, here are just a few pictures of the retreat from work.

I haven’t packed for Hongkong

I have one more day left and I still haven’t packed my things! I’ll be leaving for Hongkong (yes, you heard it right) and no matter how hot the topic is for the place is right now, I don’t think any turning back will happen. But then I don’t want to speak too soon.

Anyway, I’ll be away for a week but I haven’t even sorted out the things I need to bring. So much for cramming.

clothes good for a week – maybe I’ll just bring around 3 sets of clothes and I’ll wash the rest when I get to the hostel/hotel.
toiletries – deodorants, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, paste – nuff said.
gadgets – I’m not sure if I should carry around my tripod but definitely I’ll bring my laptop and camera, I still need to blog since I can’t be away for a week without my HP540.
passport & ticket – My friend said that I should have copies of my passport and place them in my bag, wallet and another place for security just in case my real passport gets lost.
money – I should not forget this, can’t really move around if you don’t have cash.

trip na trip

SoloflightEd will be going on a lot of trips from August, September, October and November this year! Also, I'll be having a few more on January, February and March next year.

One big problem — where to find some money? I booked different flights due to Cebu Pacific's promo fares in different occasions and offerings but one thing is for sure, the discounts didn't cost me much. Only now I have to look for some cash for my budget. Here are my travels.

This Year:
August – Bohol
September – Hongkong, Macau
October – Manila, Kota Kinabalu, Singapore
November – Iloilo

Next Year:
January – Davao
February – Manila
March – Clark

I will be attending the Visayas Blogging Summit 2010 in Iloilo! I booked a flight online and I’m excited to know what will happen on this blogging event which will happen on November 27 to 28, 2010. The Visayas Blog Summit 2010 will take place in Iloilo as well as the Visayas Blog Awards. I … Read more

Booked and Packed due to Cebu Pacific’s Piso Fare

Was able to book some flights for 3 months to different domestic destinations using Cebu Pacific’s Piso Fare! I was happy that I finally caught this promotion while browsing through some Social Networking sites like Facebook has a very good purpose after all. With Cebu Pacific’s Piso Fare, I got discounts wherein the price for … Read more

My Adventure Partner: An Ode to My Feet

One Vacation after Another

You just came from a long vacation and now you’re leaving again?

Hong Kong – Macau – Cebu – Boracay

Thailand – Cambodia – Cebu – Davao

Cebu to Manila to Clark to Bangkok to Aranyaprathet to Siem Reap

Quick Update from Bousavy Guesthouse in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Random Updates

Picture on a Travel Magazine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hong Kong Trip: World Trade Center & Times Square in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai

Hongkong Trip: Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok Computer Center

Hongkong Trip: From Cebu to Hong Kong

After a 13-day Vacation…

I haven’t packed for Hongkong