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