Manila Flights Cancelled and Adjusted

Due to an upcoming radar maintenance in Tagaytay city.Advisories from airlines with flights going to and from Manila are slowly coming in. Although not all flights are cancelled some are have been readjusted as work around.

Here are the announcements per Airline Company

Air Asia

 

Philippine Airlines 

  

Cebu Pacific Air

CEB Advisory – Cancelled Flights due to Tagaytay Radar Maintenance as of February 20, 2017; 11:30AM (Philippine time; GMT +8)

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) released a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) enforcing a temporary shutdown of the air traffic radar in Tagaytay for its maintenance and upgrade. The temporary closure, scheduled from March 6, 6AM to March 11, 6AM, will result in a reduction of flights in conjunction with other carriers.

In line with this, the following Cebu Pacific and Cebgo flights have been cancelled on these dates:

March 6, 2017 (Monday)

Cebu Pacific Flights
5J 487/488 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 397/398 Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila
5J 885/886 Manila – Cotabato – Manila
5J 953/954 Manila – Davao – Manila
5J 997/998 Manila – Gensan – Manila
5J 457/458 Manila – Iloilo – Manila
5J 339/340 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
5J 325/326 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
5J 639/640 Manila – Puerto Princesa – Manila
5J 855/856 Manila – Zamboanga – Manila
5J 857/858 Manila – Zamboanga – Manila

Cebgo Flights
DG 6245/6246 Manila – Caticlan – Manila
DG 6026/6027 Manila – Cauayan – Manila
DG 6317/6318 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6323/6324 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6193/6194 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6195/6196 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6117/6118 Manila – Naga – Manila

March 7, 2017 (Tuesday)

Cebu Pacific Flights
5J 483/484 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 487/488 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 379/380 Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila
5J 397/398 Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila
5J 399/400 Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila
5J 567/568 Manila – Cebu – Manila
5J 572/571 Cebu – Manila – Cebu
5J 891/892 Manila – Caticlan – Manila
5J 339/340 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
5J 327/328 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
5J 639/640 Manila – Puerto Princesa – Manila
5J 617/618 Manila – Tagbilaran – Manila
5J 506/507 Manila – Tuguegarao – Manila

Cebgo Flights
DG 6245/6246 Manila – Caticlan – Manila
DG 6024/6025 Manila – Cauayan – Manila
DG 6026/6027 Manila – Cauayan – Manila
DG 6317/6318 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6323/6324 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6195/6196 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6113/6114 Manila – Naga – Manila
DG 6117/6118 Manila – Naga – Manila

March 8, 2017 (Wednesday)

Cebu Pacific Flights
5J 483/484 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 485/486 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 487/488 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 555/578 Manila – Cebu – Manila
5J 565/566 Manila – Cebu – Manila
5J 977/978 Manila – Davao – Manila
5J 995/996 Manila – Gensan – Manila
5J 339/340 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
5J 639/640 Manila – Puerto Princesa – Manila
5J 649/650 Manila – Tacloban – Manila
5J 855/856 Manila – Zamboanga – Manila

Cebgo Flights
DG 6245/6246 Manila – Caticlan – Manila
DG 6024/6025 Manila – Cauayan – Manila
DG 6317/6318 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6323/6324 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6193/6194 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6195/6196 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6111/6112 Manila – Naga – Manila
DG 6113/6114 Manila – Naga – Manila

March 9, 2017 (Thursday)

Cebu Pacific Flights
5J 481/482 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 483/484 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 397/398 Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila
5J 565/566 Manila – Cebu – Manila
5J 647/648 Manila – Puerto Princesa – Manila
5J 649/650 Manila – Tacloban – Manila
5J 617/618 Manila – Tagbilaran – Manila
5J 506/507 Manila – Tuguegarao – Manila
5J 853/854 Manila – Zamboanga – Manila

Cebgo Flights
DG 6245/6246 Manila – Caticlan – Manila
DG 6026/6027 Manila – Cauayan – Manila
DG 6323/6324 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6193/6194 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6195/6196 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6113/6114 Manila – Naga – Manila
DG 6117/6118 Manila – Naga – Manila

March 10, 2017 (Friday)

Cebu Pacific Flights
5J 483/484 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 487/488 Manila – Bacolod – Manila
5J 383/384 Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila
5J 391/392 Manila – Cagayan de Oro – Manila
5J 969/972 Manila – Davao – Manila
5J 977/978 Manila – Davao – Manila
5J 627/628 Manila – Dumaguete – Manila
5J 445/446 Manila – Iloilo – Manila
5J 457/458 Manila – Iloilo – Manila
5J 339/340 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
5J 635/636 Manila – Puerto Princesa – Manila
5J 639/640 Manila – Puerto Princesa – Manila
5J 649/650 Manila – Tacloban – Manila
5J 855/856 Manila – Zamboanga – Manila
5J 859/860 Manila – Zamboanga – Manila

Cebgo Flights
DG 6245/6246 Manila – Caticlan – Manila
DG 6024/6025 Manila – Cauayan – Manila
DG 6026/6027 Manila – Cauayan – Manila
DG 6317/6318 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6323/6324 Manila – Kalibo – Manila
DG 6195/6196 Manila – Legazpi – Manila
DG 6111/6112 Manila – Naga – Manila
DG 6117/6118 Manila – Naga – Manila

Meanwhile, passengers of the cancelled flights may avail any of the following options without penalties:

• Rebook their flights for travel within 30 days from original departure date; or
• Opt for full refund or travel fund.

For complete details, please check CEB’s official advisory http://bit.ly/2lB5dBe

 

Please note that changes may still occur so please do stay in touch with your airline carrier for updated details.

 

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.

Travel Guide: Liw-liwa Zambales Itinerary

Zambales offers a lot of options when it comes to advnture. You can go climb mountains, swim rivers but my favorite of all are its beaches. Yes Zambales does not have those pristine white sands just like in the visayas, but they are as close as three hours from Manila and offers a lot of activities that the family can enjoy.

Liwliwa Zambales

Liw-liwa is small coastal community in Zambales with a vibrant surfing scene. The beach may not be as soft and as white as the others but it offers a huge beach area where you can just enjoy laying out under the sun while watching surfing to their stuff.

As you emerge from the community to the beach you will also be amazed by how raw this area is (I just hope that this would stay the way it is). The beach is lined up not with coconut trees but with pine trees with the towering mountains of Zambales behind them. I couldn’t help my self but just stare at it for minutes!

 

How To Go To Liw-liwa

From EDSA Take a bus going to Iba Zambales (or anything going past Zambales)
Tell the Conductor to unload you at Bobulan Elementary School in San Felipe, Zambales
Incase they aren’t familiar with the school just alight in their stop for San Felipe
Take a tricycle going to Liw-liwa

Liwliwa Zambales

Where To Stay

Since I was with a friend we opted to stay in a private hut in La Zerena Resort but if you are solo or you and your friends would like to meet new people I highly suggest to stay in The Circle Hostel which is just right across La Zerena or a better alternative is the HideOut Hostel.

Expenses

Caloocan (Victory Liner) – San Felipe – Caloocan         564.00 (282/way)
Accommodation                                                                   600.00 (1200 good for two)
Surf Board Rental (Half Day)                                              400.00
Tricycle Service to Falls                                                      250.00
Falls Entrance                                                                         50.00

Total                                                                                  1,614.00

Food

The most convenient place to get almost everything that you need is at Fely’s Store and Canteen. They have a meal menu mostly Tapsis starting around 75.00, Fruit shakes at about 50.oo and other things that you may need including personal necessities.

liwliwa zambales

Itinerary

Day 1

04:00 ETD Victory Liner Caloocan
09:00 ETA Sitio Liw-liwa, San Felipe, Zambales
09:30 Breakfast
10:00 ETD going to Lubong-Nangoloan Falls
11:30 ETD Back to Sitio Liw-liwa
12:00 Lunch / Free Time
13:30 Beach Bumming/ Surfing
17:30 – 18:00 Sunset
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Onwards Socials/Bonfire

Day 2

07:00 Wakeup Call
07:30 Breakfast
08:30 Beach
10:30 Prep for checkout
11:00 Checkout
11:30 Lunch
12:30 ETD to Caloocan
18:00 ETA Caloocan

liwliwa zambales

Notes:

You can bring your own tent, the beach is huge you can just pitch your tent for free.
There are toilets that you can pay to use.
Bring a garbage bag and bring your trash with you, locals are very particular about cleanliness of the beach
If you opt to stay in a room, call ahead of time and reserve. They get fully booked easily on weekends.
Fruitshakes are aweosme
If you plan to go to the falls ask for the husband of the massage therapist at the resort on La Zerena’s right.

Tokyo Metro: Making Tokyo A Smaller Place; Easier

If you are traveling on a budget, the best way probably to navigate a city is through the train. However, the Tokyo Subway system has been known to be one confusing and difficult tangling rail lines. This might be Over the past couple of years, the Tokyo Metro has been working hard to improve their service for the benefit of tourists.

The Tokyo Metro team is here in Manila for the biggest travel event in the country, the 2017 Travel Tour Expo in SMX Convention Center to give us some exciting development about the Tokyo Metro subway system.

The Ticket

Getting from point A to point B through the Tokyo Subway, of course requires you a ticket. It can be a hassle though if you will have to buy, line up and figure out what ticket you should buy each time you enter the subway. Don’t get me wrong though, the Tokyo Metro has never been easier to

navigate as they put more English sign as part of their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics come 2020. However, lining up each time you enter the subway takes away your precious time that you could be using to getting to your destination.

Well, here’s some good news. The Tokyo Metro came up with a ticket specially designed for travelers. This ticket is exclusively made and available for tourist! These tickets will allow you to unlimited access to the Tokyo Metro from  24 up to 72 hours for a cost of a bowl of ramen!

Using these tickets will not only enable you to save time but also save money since you can use the subway over and over! So if you missed your stop, no worries!

Tokyo Metro Ticket

The Subway App and Connectivity.

Honestly, I think that the Tokyo Subway can be a bit  intimidating, with all of these transfers and lines that you have to remember. At this day and age of convenience, without even mentioning the ingenuity of the Japanese, one should not be daunted with the idea of taking the Tokyo Subway. See, aside from adding English signage around the network, the Tokyo Metro also came up with an app that you can take with you -yes it does work offline- that will help you navigate the entire Tokyo Metro subway network. All you have to do is enter what station you are coming from and the station that you want to go to and voila! The app gives you directions on how you can get there, including transfer stations!

Being connected while traveling is important. Most travelers just buy local sim cards as soon as they arrive in their destination and yes that does solve the problem. But if you are under in a subway, mobile signal can get a little iffy. Well that is not a problem with the Tokyo Metro, as most of their stations are equipped with free WiFi service. They are even working on putting WiFi on their trains! Awesome right?

Free WiFi Service Tokyo Metro

Welcome Boards

As part of their efforts to make the subways more tourist friendly, Tokyo Metro has put up welcome boards in English. These boards provide information about the stations that you are at, like what is there to do on near by spots and other useful information that will help you navigate the city. And yes it is in English

welcome-board

Aside from these boards, you will also find Toursit Information Booths in most stations staffed with English speaking officers that are more than happy to help you get around. I really appreciate this move by the Tokyo Metro, remember those times that you already have found the answers to your inquiry through the web but just needs reassurance from a human being? Hahaha.. well that’s where I am coming from.

Tokyo has well over 100 stations all over the metropolis  the Tokyo Metro subway system will take you virtually anywhere in the city. So why don’t you go ahead and plan your trip around the Tokyo Metro subway system, save time and have lots of fun!

Baguio: Mount Costa Living Gardens

Just off of the city of Baguio, a new attraction just opened up in La Trinidad Benguet. Yeah it’s technically not in Baguio but it still is just a few minutes travel from the city. This is Mount Costa.

According to its website www.mountcosta.com, Mount Costa is a garden of gardens filled with beautiful scenery where you can stroll and just relax. If you are from Manila, think of it like the Picnic Grove in Tagaytay only a lot better!

 




 

From Baguio City to Mount Costa via Jeep:

Go to Shagem St. (across Rose Garden, Burnham Park) and ride a ‘Long trip’ jeep that will take you all the way to Lamtang. Get off at Lamtang Irisan Cockpit.
Ride a jeep with a sign ‘Puguis Junction’ then get off at Mount Costa.

(Directions as per Mount Costa website)

Mount Costa

Please go to their website for more information.

You can find more rooms in Baguio here

Bambanti Festival: The North’s Grandest Festival

It is said that in the Philippines have at least one festival or fiesta somewhere in the country every single day. With over 7 thousand islands there sure is one waiting for you! The most famous ones namely Sinulog, Dinagyang and Panagbenga are all great but sometimes it gets too crowded and you just can’t enjoy the parade.

The Bambanti Festival celebrates Isabela’s agricultural heritage hence the Bambanti which is the Ilocano word for Scarecrows. The week long festival starts with its agricultural shows, competition  and exhibits. This showcases the province’s advancements when it comes to agriculture and how it enables them to raise the bar of food security for the country. It is ideal to see this part of the festival as it will let you discover the business potential that there is for you in Isabela.

bambanti

Aside from these exhibition, the best part of the festival comes on its last two days. The street dancing competition and the dance show down occurs a day before the closing ceremonies which is also something to watch for. Almost each of the 15 municipalities and cities of the province sends their delegation to compete, while repressenting their individual festivals in their own towns. It is almost like a competition of what the best festival is in the province! You can actually have a glimpse of what each town offers when it comes to feasts!

Agricultural Exhibition

See what Isabela has to offer in terms of advances to agricultural opportunities. Visit the Bambanti Village composed of booths made up of Isabela’s agricultural produce. It actually reminded me of the Pasadena Rose Parade and the Panagbenga where floats are made up of flowers and seeds, this however is far more extravagant including vegetables and crops as materials in constructing their booths.

Street Dance

Teams are challenge to dance to a single song playing while showing their creativity and uniqueness. I just love their costumes specially the Cauayan City delagation all dressed up as scarecrows!

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B-Boy Competition

On a more modern note, contestants showed their acrobatic skills as they try to snag the coveted title of being the best dance crew in the province.

bambanti festival

bambanti festival

bambanti festival

bambanti festival

 

Dance Show Down

Probably my favorite part of the festival is the dance show down among the municpalities of Isabela. Each contingent showcased stories from their towns with colorful costumes and energetic dance routines.

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Festival Kings and Queens

The festival also picked their Festival king and queen. Each delegate’s festival costume will just make you admire their creativity and taste.

bambanti festival kings and queen

bambanti festival kings and queen

bambanti festival kings and queen

bambanti festival kings and queen

bambanti festival kings and queen

bambanti festival kings and queen

bambanti festival kings and queen

But it doesn’t stop there, to be the festival royalty for the year you don’t just have to look good; you also need to be talented!

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Festival Concert

Of course what everybody was waiting for is the festival’s culmination concert. It was a star studded night! Present that night to entertain are PBB’s Myrtle Sarrosa, Kristof Garcia and the Pinoy Boyband Superstar winners. The highlight of the concert night though was the four exquisite divas of the Sunday show ASAP – KZ Tandingan, Kyla, Angeline Quinto and Yeng Constantino.

Kristof Garcia

Myrtle Sarosa

Pinoy Boyband Superstar

ASAP Divas

ASAP Divas

ASAP Divas with the governor and vice governor

No wonder people refer to it as the grandest festival of northern luzon, The Bambanti festival does deliver to this title. It has won 2 Aliw awards for the best festival performance consecutively for the past two years and it really shows. I honestly was overwhelmed with how much effort has been put to this festival. The program was so tight that there are no dull moments. It was a world class production indeed, resonating their theme for this year as Isabela for the World. Forgive me for rambling so much about this but, I just cant help to express how surprisingly awesome the show was and not a lot of people know about this!

Fittingly the festivities was closed with a bang by a fabulous fireworks display that lit up the night sky of Isabela!

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

Boracay Hostel: Hostel Avenue

It was almost a no-thinking-required decision when we booked Hostel Avenue. We were trying to escape the rains in Cebu so we find our selves up north in the province of Aklan. With no plans at all, we pushed all the way to Boracay with no reservations for the night. So we turned to our phones and searched through our apps for one. Agoda.com was the one that gave us the best options, sorting the results from cheapest to the highest priced accommodation Hostel Avenue quickly got my attention as it showed to be located on a beach front property. It was also strategically located in Station 2 near D’Mall and Epic Club so everything is right at your reach!

Boracay Hostel: Hostel Avenue

The hostel has two rooms (at least that I know of) that has dorm facilities. The dorm that we were assigned to stay in has two showers and two toilets. It also has two sinks outside the toilets so bathroom traffic was pretty much manageable.

You are given clean linens and pillow cases as soon as you check in. You also don’t have to worry about towels as they will also give you fresh ones. I was specifically impressed with their bunk beds, Usually, bunk beds tend to move and wobble every time the one who stays in the upper bunk moves or gets off. But for Hostel Avenue, the beds doesn’t move an inch. You also get to have a socket assigned to your bed and even the upper bunks have one!

Boracay Hostel: Hostel Avenue

The only thing that kinda let me down, is that we can’t leave our electronics charging. This means that I had to stay in the hostel whenever I have to charge one of my gadgets because they will plug it out if they see it unattended. To be fair though, I didn’t ask if I can leave my gadgets charging in the reception area.

They also clean the room and toilets on a daily basis which is a +++ for me! The water pressure though is quite disappointing. But it could be because of the water heater just like in most cases. You can’t have both – heated water or pressure – you choose!

I really find the hostel strategically located, I will stay here over and over if I am traveling alone. One thing though that I would like to point out is that, it would be a loooooot more awesome if they have free drinking water. I mean really. Honestly, I was quite disappointed with that, but then they served FREE Cocktails on my last night so no biggie! Hahaha! I really had a fun stay at Hostel Avenue, I’m sure you will too.

If you like this hostel, you can book them through     agoda-logo   for the best rates

P.S. They have this awesome roof deck over looking the beach bar performers. You can just buy your own beer and chill there while listening to live music… totally awesome!

Boracay hostel

Boracay hostel\

Note: Photos lifted from agoda.com. This post is the sole opinion of the writer of whom was not solicited by the establishment.