Qatar Airways

I can no longer remember how many times have I flown with Qatar Airways but the recent one is something I want to share. I went to visit my family and relatives in Qatar during Christmas season and I was there only for 13 days.

Qatar Airways is the official carrier of the State of Qatar and is recipient of various awards including "World's Best Airline" for 2011 & 2012 conferred by the most prestigious airline award-giving body, Skytrax. It is also one of the six airlines that currently enjoys a 5-star status together with Asiana Airlines (South Korea), Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong), Hainan Airlines (China), Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines.


My QR645 Manila to Doha flight was scheduled on the 24th of December 2012, only a day before Christmas. Coming straight from Puerto Princesa, I had to allot a week for my visa application so I ended up flying on the 24th since I still had to attend my classes until the second week of December.

 Qatar Airways Airbus A330-300

Our flight had a very light load since nobody would probably want to fly out on the 24th of December, unless you're going to where your family is. As a result, most of the passengers were able to occupy the entire row for a good night sleep. Well, an interrupted sleep since we had two food servings during that 10-hour flight, two hot meals and some occasional servings of water/juice/soda and candies.


Shortly an hour after take-off at Manila International Airport, we were given our first hot meal for the flight. We were asked to choose between chicken kare kare and some stir-fried egg noodles. The hungry person in me suggested I should go for a rice meal since I didn't eat dinner before proceeding to the airport. It was 1AM, PH time and my stomach was already grumbling.

Chicken kare kare with garlic rice and wok-fried asian vegetables served with maja blanca mais, soft rolls and an orange juice.


After finishing my meal, I immediately explored the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system. I am largely interested in geography and this flight has an active flight map that lets you determine which airspace you are currently flying to.

Back in time (circa 2000), we were passing through Indian air territory when our plane suddenly suffered from tremendous air pocket that I though we were going to die. The lights were blinking, people were already praying, the entire plane was shaking, it was indeed the most thrilling airplane ride I have ever experienced in my life.

In-Flight Entertainment (Oryx)

2 hours before landing at Doha International Airport, the crew finally served our breakfast. One of the things I like about flying with legacy carriers is they give hot towels that you can use to freshen up and make yourself fully awake from the shallow sleep. For breakfast, choices were corned beef & chicken tapa and since I had chicken on my first meal, I requested a corned beef this time.

Corned beef with creamy scrambled egg, garlic rice, sautéed onion and tomato served with pandesal and sliced fruits.

2-4-2 seating arrangement for Economy Class

About 10AM Philippine time or 5AM Doha time, I was already able to see the ground from the aircraft. I felt so happy to be able to set foot in Doha once again. Last time I was there was year 2008 during my term break in Mapua and it has been around 4 years already. This recent trip was short but fulfilling vacation since I was able to spend time with my family on a Christmas season.

 the ground as seen from the aircraft

Many things have changed in Doha city, especially the skyline. Buildings have sprouted at the West Bay, parks, shopping centers, high-end places have mushroomed all over the country and constructions are on full swing. 

 Buildings at West Bay, Doha

Qatar is heavily preparing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It will be the first Arab state to host the event and it has gone through a strenuous competition to host the World Cup against the mighty countries such as United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

With a population of about 1.7 million, Qatar has the highest GDP per capita and has the fastest-growing economy in the world at a rate of 19%. It is also home to the third largest oil company, Qatar Petroleum. This country is expected to progress even more and I hope to be part of this history as I consider Qatar as my second home.

Till my next Qatar Airways flight!

Commute to Clark Airport

How to commute to Clark Airport from Manila 
(the cheapest possible way)

  

Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA)

Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) or Clark Airport is now drawing a lot of attention from people who love to travel especially to those who want to fly without hurting their pocket. Many low-cost carriers are serving Clark Airport such as Air Asia Malaysia, Air Asia Philippines, South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR), Cebu Pacific Air, Airphil Express, Dragonair, Jin Air  and a sole full-service carrier Asiana Airlines. Majority of these airlines offer cheap fares within Philippines as well as to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand.

Having been to Clark Airport thrice for my flights to and from Puerto Princesa, Singapore and Hong Kong, I'd like to share my experience in commuting from Manila. Total travel time will be around 2 hours for three transfers (1 bus and 2 jeepneys) and will cost you just a little over PhP 150.00 (less than PhP 150.00 if you're a student *ehem*)

*FROM CUBAO

There are several bus companies that make a stop-over at Dau Terminal in Pampanga such as Victory Liner and Dagupan Bus Lines. Bus fare will be less than PhP 150.00 (PhP 111.00 for students like me) and travel time will take about an hour and a half. If it's a weekend or a holiday, allot more time as North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) might get busier. Upon calling Victory Liner hotline, I was told that a bus via Dau Terminal leaves every hour starting 3:00AM up to 12:00 midnight.

Victory Liner - Cubao Terminal

*FROM DAU BUS TERMINAL

Upon alighting the bus, you will have to walk towards the intersection near KFC and from there, you can scout for a jeepney that goes to SM Clark. Walking time from Dau Terminal to the intersection is about 3 minutes while the travel time for the jeepney to reach Main Gate is about 5 minutes if traffic is moderate. Just pay PhP 8.00 and alight at "Main Gate" where most of the jeepneys are stationed.

Main Gate Terminal

*FROM MAIN GATE

Hop on a jeepney that says Route 1 and pay PhP 12.00 for an approximately 10-minute ride to the side of the airport. There are eateries across the Main Gate terminal so if you still have enough time to fill in an empty stomach, you might want to try some Pampangueño dish which is a good alternative to food being offered at the airport. It's always cheaper and has wider varieties to choose from.


Tell the driver that you're going to Clark Airport so he'd drop you off at this area. This is presumably an entrance to the parking lot of the airport complex. You will walk for about 5 minutes to get to the airport building, so it is advisable to pack light when you're doing this commute.

I overheard these two ladies are going to Malaysia :)

* ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION FROM DAU TERMINAL

There are air-conditioned jeepneys stationed beside Dau Terminal for PhP 100.00 per passenger. With this, you can eliminate the hassle of taking two more rides if you have heavy stuff with you (now, that's PhP 100.00 versus PhP 20.00). They only need a minimum of 5 passengers to commence the travel to Clark Airport. These are the same jeepneys that you will see at the airport terminal when you're going back to Manila. 

* FROM CLARK AIRPORT TO MANILA

Ride an air-conditioned jeepney that will bring you to Dau Terminal for PhP 50.00 per person and take a bus of your preferred destination (e.g. Pasay or Cubao). While I am not sure if there is a cheaper way to get to Dau Terminal from Clark Airport, I think paying PhP 50.00 is already acceptable. If Dau Terminal to Clark Airport was only PhP 50.00 per person, I'd take it anytime. I just don't know the reason behind the 100% price hike they implemented on the route back to airport but I'm sure as Clark Airport attracts more passengers in the future, there will be more options for the commuting passengers.

-renwock

Short visit to Cebu

On my second visit to the Queen City of the South, I decided to "splurge" a little bit, well at least for a night. It was just on time for my birthday and I really thought it would be a great way to celebrate it. Every time I travel I usually stay at hostels and having been used to it, this experience was extraordinary for me.

I visited Cebu with a friend and a cousin and it was their first time in the city so I was the one in-charge for this leisure trip. We were able to get cheap tickets (less than P1,000 for round trip flight) from Puerto Princesa going to Cebu on a weekend and also did a day tour in Bohol to see the Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers.

I've stayed in few small-scale hotels in Cebu such as Sampaguita Suites (both in Mango Avenue and in Magellan's Cross area) and in Verbena Suites and I admit, these hotels will make you feel you didn't waste your money. I highly recommend Sampaguita Suites in Mango Avenue and Verbena Suites because of their affordable rates and yet, comfort will not be compromised. So just to be different, I decided we stay at Crown Regency Hotel for a night.

Crown Regency Hotel is the tallest hotel tower in Cebu and is one of the tallest in the country. It boasts a 38-storey of room accommodation with several attractions like the must-try Sky Adventure which offers Sky Walk, Edge Coaster and recently-built zip line. The hotel is strategically situated at one of the main streets of Cebu and is near to some of the must-visit places in town. Best thing about it? It's near Larsian!

                                                                     Crown Regency Hotel and Towers

                                                                              view of Cebu harbor

                              

                                                                                           bathroom


My beloved Couch Surfing community, as usual, has made a huge difference to our trip. I communicated with Charity Palanca of CS Cebu and she exceeded my expectation. Ate Charity already had a concrete plan with Ate Maeanne and they were already at the parking lot of the hotel only few minutes after we have checked-in coming straight from the airport. They were our company for the whole day and our first stop was Casa Verde where we had a sumptuous lunch. After filling our hungry stomach, we headed around the reclamation area where the future Mall of Asia in Cebu is going to be built. 

                                                                      our CS friends from Cebu drove us around

           normally, you can NOT go here and take photo. But the guard on duty couldn't resist Ate Maeanne's charm (leftmost)


When it was quite dark already, we then proceeded to Tops view deck. If you plan to stay here for quite some time, you might want to bring a jacket as it gets pretty cold because it is on a high altitude. Food and beverages are also available on the area. Also, they ask for an entrance fee and this deck can be reached through cab (expensive) or a habal-habal ride (for adventurous ones, way cheaper).

                                                                                   Hello Cebu!

After spending a good 30 minutes at the Tops, the much awaited Larsian was our next stop. Larsian is one of my favorite food places in Cebu along with CNT and Casa Verde and we did have a good dinner, as usual. 

At Larisan, we met couple of CSers. This Taiwanese girl ended up joining our Bohol day trip and we also met Ate Maeanne's kids who are well-traveled as well. Have you been to Mongolia? How about Laos? Well, these kids have been there. Beat that! :-p

So we invited them to come over and spend some time at the hotel while my cousin, my friend and the Taiwanese girl were doing the Sky Adventure (it was bundled with our accommodation + breakfast and dinner buffet for 2 + access to amenities)

I had a dip at the bath tub and prepared for some night out. Since our hotel is near Mango Avenue, we didn't need to take a cab to bring us to some of the loudest party spots in town. 

                                                                           Hybrid Bar in Mango Avenue

*the following day was spent in Bohol
*arrived back in Cebu around 8PM the same day and we stayed at Verbena Suites
*flew the following day back to Puerto Princesa

                                       Upon arrival at PPS airport, I only had 1 hour to prepare since I got class at 1:30PM


P.S. We really didn't pay much for the Crown Regency package, you can find cheap packages on the internet

- renwock

Winter Experience in Hong Kong

It was my second time to spend New Year celebration outside Philippines and I really did enjoy the different climate Hong Kong has to offer. Coming from a tropical country, it was indeed a nice experience to spend a week in a place where I had to wear few layers of shirt and thick jacket just to withstand a certain degree of coldness.

A lot of people say that January is the coldest month for Hong Kong so I booked a round trip ticket via SEAIR for my trip dated December 31 - January 6, 2012 with plans of welcoming New Year at the harbor front together with Couch Surfing friends whom I've met once in Puerto Princesa. 


My flight from Diosdado Macapagal Airport in Clark, Pampanga to Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong departed around 6 in the morning so I had to be at the airport by 3:30am. The airport itself was still close by the time I arrived but people were already queuing outside the entrance for their flights to Macau, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries.

I know Clark and Hong Kong immigrations are strict so I seriously took the challenge by bringing all the necessary (and unnecessary) documents I could provide including school's certificate of enrollment and receipts just to prove to them that I will return to the Philippines because I'm currently enrolled in a university and I'm just on a Christmas break. Clark immigration officers are dubbed as one of the strictest and they often deny departure or sometimes offload passengers who can not justify their travel plans. It is the gateway to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where many illegal Filipino workers go to, hence the strict implementation of rules.

At the immigration counter, I was asked how much money did I have with me, where will I stay in Hong Kong, if I do have round trip ticket and other things like that. I was nervous but the immigration officer was nice enough to put a departure stamp on my passport. In Hong Kong, I was expecting a worse scenario. Just like Singapore, I've read a lot of news about Hong Kong airport denying passengers enter the country due to undeclared reasons but it turned out to be my lucky day as not even a minute had passed and I got cleared. He did not even speak to me. Happy happy moment. I was smiling on my way out of the airport, literally. 

                                       arrival at Chek Lap Kok airport in foggy Hong Kong on board SEAIR A319


Hong Kong is one of the best places to visit if it's your first time to go outside the Philippines, especially during winter (December-February). The place is very tourist-friendly and through the advent of their efficient transportation system, getting from one place to another is just a walk in the park.

Personally, I am a fan of skyscrapers and seeing them was just fulfilling. It has one of the best skylines in the world, houses few of the tallest buildings and is one of the most industrialized cities on earth. I still can't believe how they managed to transform Hong Kong to what it is today. Once a British colony, Great Britain gave this small piece of land back to China only by 1997 with a promise to give Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and let existing capitalists work their way through the economy without the unnecessary intervention from mainland China. 

                                         the beautiful skyline of adjacent Hong Kong Island as seen from Kowloon

           I spent my New Year celebration with these people. We bought beer and wine and waited for the fireworks together

                                                                              I welcomed 2012 in Hong Kong


My days in Hong Kong were spent walking around. As I mentioned earlier, the city has a very efficient transportation system. MTR or the subway system along with their organized bus system constitute to the fast travel time that link different key points in the city. From the airport, I only had to wait for A21 bus that brought me to my hostel in less than 1 hour. Had I opted for more expensive MTR, travel time would have been lessened. 

                                                   each station has a lot of entry and exit points so this truly helps a lot

                                                                  Chungking Mansion along Nathan Road

I stayed both in Chungking Mansion and in Mirador Mansion. These buildings are known to have cheap hostels that cater to backpackers. Upon my arrival (December 31),  I didn't have choice as they were all fully booked for the New Year celebration so I opted to stay in a very small room that costs 350 HKD per night or around 2,000 pesos. I still couldn't believe I paid for that price for such a small and dodgy room but yeah, I didn't book in advance so who am I to complain? One my second night, my friend followed me directly from Singapore so we transferred to Chungking Mansion and we were offered a 400 HKD room in a nice newly-refurbished hostel on the upper floor. The caretaker is a Filipina so we felt at home. The room has Wi-Fi, LCD TV, comfy bed, hot and cold shower, new comforters and uses a card as a key to the main door. 

                                                                            Hong Kong Disneyland

                You can go to Hong Kong island by a ferry or by bus/train through the underwater tunnel

Speaking of Hong Kong, many of us would probably immediately think of our fellow Filipinos who work as domestic helpers in this foreign place. According to the latest statistics, there are around 125,000 registered (emphasizing "registered") Filipino household workers in Hong Kong alone. Part of our curiosity brought us to this place called "Central" where bunch of our fellow Filipinos gather during their day off. According to an article, many of these helpers are college graduate who chose to work here due to lack of work opportunities and low wage in the Philippines.

After going around Central, me and my friend decided to go all the way up to The Peak. It is one of the highest points in Hong Kong and you can go there through a bus or a tram. We couldn't find the tram so we ended up riding a double-decker bus. It was one hell of a scary ride as the road was so steep and the bus was going on a zigzag like there's no tomorrow. Imagine you see the cliff from the 2nd deck being seated at the left side, and suddenly it turns right. Terrible. 

                                                                                    Imagine the feeling

                                                                                             me at The Peak

                                                   My college friend who followed me in Hong Kong coming from Singapore

                                                                                view from The Peak

                                                                             winter get up

                                                                             streets of downtown Hong Kong


Couch Surfing always makes my travel a lot more interesting. Thanks to Lance & Sam who are both from Hong Kong, Idalina from Portugal and especially to Ian from United Kingdom who hosted me in Hong Kong for making my trip safe and fun. I met these people (except Idalina) in Puerto Princesa when they were taking a break from work and it's always fun to once again meet people whom you've met in a different place.

                                                                       at Nice Restaurant in Sheung Wan area

                                               with the tallest tower in Hong Kong as our background. Happy New Year!

                                                               View from my host's 32nd floor flat in Hong Kong Island


I'm bringing this one notch higher with plans of acquiring either a Chinese or South Korean tourist visa to experience snow. I have hosted people from both countries (specifically from Beijing and from Seoul) and indeed it's going to be fun meeting them again on their own territory. For this to happen, I need to save my money and I have to cease checking seat sales to prevent buying tickets impulsively that go to waste anyway if I don't get to use them (I've had three!). By June, I need to be able to open a bank account and fill in some money and accumulate as months pass by so I have something to show the embassy upon my visa application by around November. Good luck! If I don't make it to South Korea or China, then visiting Hong Kong again for winter getaway would also do as I really love the city.



-Renwick

Charming Vietnam

After months of preparation and excitement, we finally made it to the first leg of our trip: Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam.

We arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 around 8:00PM for an 11:00PM flight via Cebu Pacific to Ho Chi Minh City. The first night was a little bit of pain in the ass for our group since the immigration officers had problems letting us pass through them. Since I have enough travel stamps on my two passports, I am guessing it was one of the factors why I was able to pass through the immigration without any problems.

I traveled with a friend who is a minor (17 y.o.) and he encountered a problem immediately after presenting himself to the immigration officer. Good thing I was able to have him secure a DSWD document and after we talked to the supervisor, he just asked where is the person indicated on the card who he was going to travel with (which was me) and we were given a signal that we were good to go.

We happily entered the final x-ray gate when I figured two of my friends were having problems with the immigration officer, too. One friend has no work but was okay to go, one has but didn't have company ID yet. Our flight was to depart at 11:00PM and it was already around 10:50PM and they were still at the immigration. The officer was so strict that he really wanted a company ID but my friend couldn't present it because she just got accepted to her work, though she had Certificate of Employment.

I was very disappointed, I was fuming mad why they couldn't let go of my friend when she had proper documents such as Certificate of Employment, accommodation reservations and round trip tickets. Good thing about it was our flight was delayed by around 20 minutes and she was able to pass through the officer around 10 minutes before the Cebu Pacific crew let us board the aircraft. I was a not-so-cool night for us since we thought the trip wasn't going to push through. We tried to forget it and just enjoy the first night inside the plane.

The weather wasn't really friendly but our flight still commenced around 11:20PM bound for Saigon City. It was couple of hours inside a red-eye flight and we safely arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam. The captain was so accommodating that he let us take a photo with him.

                before deplaning, 40 minutes past the hour of 12 in the morning, Saigon local time

Vietnam's currency has a small value and they call it Vietnamese Dong or abbreviated as VND.

$1 is equivalent to around 21,000 VND, you just have to find a forex that has a high exchange rate.

While others are having difficulty converting their money to VND, we formulated an easy conversion for faster calculations. 100,000 VND = ~200 pesos. Just eradicate the three zeros and multiply it to two. 350,000 VND = ~700 pesos. That easy!

            I exchanged $90 and I intend to spend just that during my whole stay in Vietnam.

            I needed to save for 2nd & 3rd leg of the trip which were Cambodia and Thailand.

I find Ho Chin Minh City as a very nice place to just enjoy your vacation. Upon arriving at the airport, we met this Pinoy couple who had no itinerary for a week, so they decided to just go with us for the next two days until they leave for a short visit to Cambodia.

My friend read in Pinoyexchange about this restaurant named "Nha Hang Ngon" which serves authentic Vietnamese delicacies. We spent 823,000 VND or around 1,650 pesos which was divided to 6 persons.

                                                         can you beat this? 823,000 worth!

Renting a scooter in Ho Chin Minh will make your trip a lot more fun. Vietnam is literally filled with motorbikes and they are just everywhere.

It was a fun experience to ride one of these scooters and roam around the city as if you're a local.

They don't really look for driver's license for you to be able to rent a scooter. All you need is to present a photocopy of your passport, while others ask for the passport itself. You can rent a scooter for 150,000 VND (around 300 pesos) for 24 hours.

While we were driving around the city with our two scooters, the rain poured down so we decided to just take a rest and eat some donuts while waiting for the rain to cease.

We stayed at Phoenix 74 which is located in a backpackers' area. For $20/night for a double room, it was such a bargain for 4 of us. It has one single bed and one queen size bed, my female friend slept on the single bed while three of us were comfortably fitted in the queen size bed. It is near pubs, numerous restaurants and eateries, convenience stores, travel agencies, and almost anything that you will need. Just five establishments away are resto bars that serve ice cold beers.

One thing we noticed in Vietnam is they always serve fresh leafy vegetables along with something you order. In this photo, a large plate is filled with vegetables.

War Remnants Museum is also one of the places where people who explore the city go to. It displays different photos of what their country has suffered during the American occupation.

The famous Bentan Market. This is where you can buy almost anything you are looking for.

For sure I'm going to visit Vietnam again and I plan to go straight to Hanoi. I just love this country and I regret we didn't go further north to see what outside Ho Chi Minh has to offer.

If you're going to Vietnam, don't forget to try their authentic "banh mi" or what we call french bread stuffed with meat and vegetables. It's way better than what we have here locally.

* some of The North Face bags and apparels in Vietnam are original. That's where local mall stores get their supplies from. It can go as low as 800 pesos for an original The North Face bag which you can buy at local mall stores for more than 3,500 pesos. Well, that's according to a person I met who works as a manager in a famous travel luggage store in SM. *thumbs up*