Flying To Taiwan Before The Chaos

So last 2019, before the pandemic, I brought my mom to Taiwan. After traveling alone for a few years, I thought of bringing my family along in my trips. Though one at a time at least I fulfill my plans of traveling with them.

Off we go to Taipei then!

In this first video, you see us fly from Manila to Taipei, Taiwan. We took separate planes, cause budget, to get there. She took an earlier Philippine Airlines flight and I had CebuPacific. Believe it or not, though, her flight was cheaper than mine! LOL!

She did wait for me a few hours at the airport since her flight is way earlier than mine, I on the other hand waited for several hours for my flight because I brought her to the airport. Both of us got a fair share of waiting, LOL! I did offer to send her to the hotel as soon as she arrives but she opted to wait instead.

Anyways, here’s what happened that day!

HOW TO GO TO DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES FROM LAX

It was my first time in Los Angeles in more than a decade. Things have changed since, of course, and I was pretty confused about how I can get to Hollywood where my hostel is. I really didn’t research how I could get out of the airport, to be honest. I was feeling a bit adventurous and confident at the same time. I felt like I should know this, this feels like home. It was challenging. I learned things the hard way, but that was fun no regrets at all. So let me share with you the ways I found how to get out of LAX.

Booking Uber isn’t really a convenient straightforward option for LAX. You will have to get to the pickup area where all ride-sharing cars take riders. To get there, take the shuttle bus that circles around all the terminals and brings passengers to the pickup point. I paid about 60 USD from LAX to my Hollywood hostel. Also, carpooling with other passengers is disabled if you are coming from the airport.

Taxis are also found at the pickup point which they fondly call LAX-it, maybe it’s like a play of word from Exit? I don’t really know. Again you can take the shuttle or maybe walk if you don’t have any luggage. It’s just right beside terminal 1. Flag down for taxis as of writing is $2.50, I found something online though that says they can service you for about less than $50.

If you have a number of bags and luggage, and putting them on a bus tugging them to LAXit is just unimaginable, you might want to hire a private car for yourself. They can just simply wait you at the parking and pull out to pick you up at your terminal when you are ready. There’s a good number of private cars that you can hire, but of course it’s gonna cost more comparing it to Uber or Lyft.

The cheapest way though to get out of LAX though is via the LAX Flyaway bus. It shuttles passengers from LAX to Union Station in DTLA (downtown L.A.) for just $9.75. From there it’s around $11 to Hollywood.

Keep in mind though that the bus, like I said, is a shuttle. it does not make any stop. So if you are going to nearby neighborhoods such as Inglewood, where I first stayed, it would be best to just either hire a car or, book an Uber or Lyft.

Got better ideas how to get out of LAX? Share it with everyone in the comments section!

Baguio Travel Guide

Longing for a quick escape from Metro Manila. Well one of the most common answer that would pop up is Baguio! I must say that Baguio always is a good idea for a quick vacation or unwinding. It is relatively easy to reach by taking a bus but it is also very tourist friendly specially for first time travelers. Continue reading

Taiwan Now Visa Free For Filipinos Starting November 1, 2017

Starting November 1 2017, Filipinos will be allowed to enter Taiwan Visa Free on a trial basis until July 31, 2018. The said visa free policy will allow Filipinos to enter Taiwan specially for tourism for up to 14 days at a time, annouced by the Taipei Economic and Cultural office (TECO) in the Philippines. Continue reading

Tabaco City’s Tabak Festival

With a confused mind I was on a bus bound to Bicol to a city called Tabaco. I was one of the the bloggers that the city invited to witness the Tabak Festival. I was battling in my mind why would the city celebrate Tabak instead of Tabaco which is a type of plant used to make cigars. Anyways, I just slept on the bus on a 12 hour journey from Manila. Well, at least I tried to sleep.

As soon as the light came in, I was greeted by this majestic view. Something that I’ve only seen on books until that day, The Mayon volcano. I was truly blessed as Mayon showed it self clearly that day, as if he was welcoming me to Bicol. I’ve heard of friends who spent days even up to a week at a time and never got to see the glorious Mayon in its entirety. With that I am grateful. Not bad for a welcome for a Bicol virgin like me.

I hopped off the at Tabaco City bus stop and was fetched by Verna our ever caring tour coordinator. After checking in I was introduced to Dave of silverbackpacker.com  who’s also my room mate for the next few days. Celine of Celineism.com on the other hand arrived the day after.

The Festival Origin

The Tabak Festival celebrates the city’s renowned craft of making the Tabak, a type of sword used mostly by farmers to cut through shrubs and other plants to clear a field or just plainly cut open a fresh coconut. The city formulated the festival to celebrate annually the its cityhood in 2003 just a year after it was granted such status.

Festivities

The festival focuses on the Tabak’s culture and its people’s daily lives. It aims to celebrate the spirit of the city’s community caring for each other and living harmoniously. Fittingly, the city hashtagged #cityoflove during the festivities and yes, you can see love all around. You can feel that more than competing with each other contenders enjoy and show their best for the love of their city.

The Festivities

Focusing on its residents’ daily living the festivities include boat racing, pedicab race, coconut husking and beauty pageants. The week long festivities are then capped with the Tabak Festival grand parade.

 Boats waiting for the race to start

 

 Pedicab Race Finishers waiting for the rest of the pack

 

LGU night performers

 

 

 Mutya ng Tabakla Candidates

Related Article: Mutya ng Tabakla Queens

 

 Rock Tabak Concert

 

 Mayor Krisel enjoying the night with senior citizens during the seniors night

 

 Live band for the city’s senior citizens

 

 Mutya ng Tabak Candidates

During the LGU night w had a chance to chat with Mayor Krisel and asked about the city’s name. It was really difficult to focus on her story. looking at such beautiful and intelligent mayor (yeeeee kakakilig hahaha) telling a story??? Hahahaha! Anyways, She told the story of how the city came to be known at Tabaco City. Once upon a time…. Kidding! According to a fable (not kidding now) there’s this heroine who fought with a Tabak. She was caught off guard without her Tabak, she commanded her offspring “Anak ang Tabak Ko!” (son hand me my Tabak) hence Tabak Ko which later evolved to Tabaco. According to the good mayor, there’s not even a single Tabaco plantation n the city.

To be honest, the Tabak Festival isn’t as big as many of the famous festivals in the country. What’s special about this though is that it celebrates humanity. That we need each other, care for your neighbor. there are very few festivals that celebrates this side of us being humans. Many celebrate saints history but very few celebrate who we are and who we should be. I think it is a good thing to visit Tabaco City and experience the Tabak Festival and see for your selves how people take care of each other in Bicol’s City of Love.

Read more about the Tabak Festival from Celineism and Silverbackpacker

The Tale of Two Tabacos

Tabak Festival Fun Games

 

Cebu Pacific Piso Fare September 1 – March 15, 2018

The Philippines largest low cost carrier, CebuPacific Airlines just launched their latest PISO FARE offering!

For as low as 452.12 pesos customers can book flights to selected destinations with travel dates starting September 1, 2017 until March 2018.  Perfect for those early planners and backpackers who loves going on trips at a very low cost.

Where To Book

Check out their website to book your flights at CebuPacificAir.Com

Liwliwa Hostel: La Zerena Beach Resort

Searching for a private room in Liwliwa, San Felipe Zambales can be difficult on a weekend when everything is almost fully booked. Good thing we wandered a bit more and found La Zerena just across Circle Hostel.

We took one of their nipa huts that is good for two to three persons. The comfort rooms are communal located near the huts are reasonably clean and water is good.

The resort is about two to three minutes walk to the beach.

la zerena resort

 la zerena resort

 

 la zerena resort

 

 la zerena resort

Priced at 1,200 La Zerena nipa huts are quite affordable specially if there’s going to be three of you splitting the cost. I also like the resort’s location since it is just right beside Fely’s Canteen and store where we bought most of our necessities.

Airconditioned rooms though are priced at 3,000 pesos good for two.

PisoFare: CebuPacific Travel From June 10 -December 10, 2017

After a loooooooooooooong while, Cebu Pacific Air is back with their piso fare!

Cebu Pacific or CebPac as it is more popularly know came to popularize pisofares which sparked the domestic travel surge in the country. However CebPac has yet to pull another pisofare promo since last year until today!

So what are you waiting for head on to www.cebupacificair.com to book your flight!

 

PISO SALE

How to choose accommodations online

One of the most critical decision making for backpackers is choosing the right accommodation for their trip. It has to be a perfect balance between a good price, sanitation, service and security.

We’ve come up with some pointers to help you on how to decide for your accommodation.

> Set a price range
Determine how much you are willing to spend. Create a good range so that you can still be flexible with the choices that would come up on your search. Allowing you to bargain or maybe compromise on some luxury if any since you have a budget that you are working on, making it a good deciding tool in choosing your accommodation.

how to search for a cheap hotel Photo by Moyan Brenn

> Determine the best location
Where do you want to stay, find the best location that is proximate to convenience stores, markets and transportation that will enable you to move around quickly and get things such as food easily. It may be a bit off the attractions that you are going to see as prices to these kind of accommodation are off the hook most of the time but a good access to transportation modes such as the bus and train will be most helpful.

how to search for a cheap hotelPhoto by  StreetFly JZ

> Security
this is practically part of determining the area of your accommodation, but I wanted to point this out seperately as this is one big factor in your decision making. One could get a great location, easy access to stuff but is just right off near a neighborhood with a bad reputation. Prioritize safety.

how to search for a  cheap hotelPhoto by TimLee90

> Sanitation
As much as you want to save money for your accommodation it is also important to have a good clean room. Most common mistake about selecting accommodation is the notion that you’ll just be sleeping in it since you will be out touring and exploring. We must also keep in mind that after all the tiring activity you’d be needing a good night sleep and rest and musky old room infested with bugs wouldn’t help in getting one for you at all.

how to search a cheap hotel Photo by Magalie L’Abbé

Choosing the right accommodation can be a daunting task but with the right tools like hotel search engines and online booking companies like Agoda that helps you get the best prices available will lighten up the burden. Just keep stick with what you want and how much you are willing to bargain for and everything should be alright.

Got more tips? Leave it at the comments below, we’d love to hear it from you!