Hongkong Shopping Report #1

I just came home from a trip to Hongkong. I planned the trip complete with itinerary and the tiniest details but it all went down the drain because we spent most of our days shopping. Thus I'll be sharing with you a series of shopping reports and best buy posts to help you where to go and get the best deals in the "shopping mecca" of the world.

Being the geek that I am, the most common questions I encountered before I went to Hongkong was: "Are you going to buy an iPad? How about an iPhone 4?" Answer: Nope!

I actually did not intend to buy any electronics or gadgets on this particular trip. I did not even wander in the Fortress stores, HK's popular digital shop, for me not to be tempted. I splurged on shoes, bags, clothes, but not on gadgets. Hongkong shoppers know that HK is no longer the best place where you can buy electronics stuff. It's also risky to buy because of the knock-offs, copies and fakes that surrounds every corner of the fame shopping district.

But I broke my promise and did not come home empty-handed (gadget-wise). I was still able to wander and buy three (3) portable external hard disk drive which apparently turned out as my best buys on the trip.

Travels & Photographs

One of the most important travel essentials is a camera. My family and I have been traveling since I was a baby and we already amassed so many snapshots and photos from all the trips we took through the years. I bought my first digital camera in 2005 and it was a breeze since then to upload, store and document all our travel pictures.


One of our recent travels in Cebu, Philippines, last May. This was taken at the Magellan's Cross
Everyone's smiling except for my dad who was already hungry when this photo was taken! Hehe!
My dad, who's very traditional, still prefers the old analog cameras with films since it can be printed easily through developing centers. I, on the other hand, thinks that digital camera is one of the best inventions in modern history. It's very easy to share photos online unlike with hard copies where you will still need photo scanning when you want to upload and share.

Saisaki Tempura All You Can!

One of our ultimate guilty pleasures is a regular food binge at Dads Ultimate Buffet at Glorietta 4. Our favorite is the Saisaki section where they have melt-in-your-mouth sashimis, yummy sushis and, of course, the crunchy but soft tempuras.


It was really good news when I learn their one-day-only promo on August 26, Thursday, for their 33rd Anniversary: Eat All You Can Tempura for only P330!

Who can resist this yummy offer?

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Here are the details:

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Let's get all those links together, join the BC Bloggers 4 now! Get more information and the application form through Paula's blog. See yah!

Seair and Microtel Boracay's Contest For Bloggers

Want to go to an all-expense paid Boracay tour? Then read this. SEAIR together with Microtel Boracay is having a contest for bloggers from July 26 to August 20, 2010. Eight winners will have a grand stay in Boracay with round-trip tickets via Caticlan and accommodation at Microtel Boracay from September 10 to 12, 2010. This is, of course, a blog writing contest. :)

Western Japanese Food at Tokyo Cafe

This is not only a travel blog, this is also a food blog! Here's my first entry on one of my favorite activities: dining and eating.

The parents and I went to the Franchising 2010 Expo last Saturday at SMX Convention Center. We were in the expo for more than 2 hours so we were pretty tired and famished after we were done scouring for new business opportunities. We went to nearby SM Mall of Asia to look for a place to eat. My dad, who gets cranky when hungry, demanded that we eat at the nearest available place where he can seat, relax and eat good food.



Tokyo Cafe SM Mall of Asia

I suggested that we dine at Tokyo Cafe, a Japanese restaurant that offers Western food the Japanese way. The concept is quite weird especially if you're used to the usual tempura-sushi-sashimi Japanese restaurants. I've been wanting to try Tokyo Cafe since I first saw it years ago but it was always set-aside for other restaurants at SM Mall of Asia.

NAIA Terminal 2, A Review

Let's start from the beginning, the airport, the jump point of most destinations and adventures!

My favorite airport in the Philippines is the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, otherwise known as the Centennial Airport. It currently serves international and domestic flights of our flag carrier, Philippine Airlines. I love NAIA 2 for its simplicity and average size. The new NAIA 3, which primarily serves Cebu Pacific, is too big, impersonal and a bit overwhelming for me. Give me Terminal 2 any day. :)



Here are some notes and photos I took of the Centennial Airport Domestic Wing on my way to Cebu two Thursdays ago. I hope that this would be able to help first-time travelers and foreign tourists who will be using NAIA 2 as their gateway to their destinations and vacations.

Cebu Pacific's Plane Truth Sale

There's an ongoing Cebu Pacific Seat Sale until Monday, July 19, which they call "Nothing But Plane Truth". The travel dates for the sale is from November 1 to 30, 2010. There are 32,000 seat up for grabs on this sale.

Here are the details:

You deserve nothing but the PLANE truth, so pack your bags and fly on our P320 ‘Go Lite’ seat sale to all our domestic destinations starting now until July 19, 2010, for travel from November 1-30, 2010.

The P320 CEB seat sale to any domestic destination slashes as much as 84% off the lowest year-round ‘Go Lite’ fare flights from Manila to Davao, Surigao and Cagayan de Oro, among others.

Included in the seat sale are flights to Boracay (Caticlan), Cebu, Dumaguete, Naga, Legazpi, Bacolod, Iloilo, Palawan (Puerto Princesa), Coron (Busuanga) and Bohol (Tagbilaran).

Aside from the domestic promo, Manila-Osaka flights are also on sale for as low as P2,999 ‘Go’ seats. This is for travel from September 1 to October 31, 2010.

Don't wait until the last minute! Go ahead and book your well-deserved holiday at www.cebupacificair.com.

As usual, I tried and did some mock booking to really know how cheap the airfare tickets are on this particular sale. I booked for a round trip Manila-Dumaguete seat and cost is only Php 768.00 ($16.50) including taxes and surcharges. It's a pretty decent seat  sale, though not as cheap as the one I got during the Inaugural Seat Sale last June. It's worth considering since some of their "sale" is Php 999 ($21.48) and above.

Happy Travel!

On A Roadtrip!

I love roadtrips! I love it especially if I am the one driving. I like cruising through straight and well-paved highways with upbeat music coming from my trusty iPod. I've been more of a rider than a driver lately, but despite that road tripping is still one of my favorite travel activities.

Here are some of my unforgettable roadtrips through the years:

• The longest drive I've had was in May 2007 on a day trip to Gumaca with my family. Gumaca is a small town in the middle of the Quezon Province here in the Philippines. I drove for five straight hours back and forth on a years-old Mazda sedan. It was nice that it has automatic transmission but the drive could have been easier and faster if the car was a Honda Civic. I was dead tired when I arrived in Gumaca and took a nap for two hours while my mom and dad attend to their affairs. I have no pictures of the place (because of the tiring drive) but I remember that it's a pretty little coastal town.  
  
 

Cebu Once Again

I created this blog to document all my travel and food adventures. I've already migrated some of my trip diaries and posts from my other personal blog to this blog, but I still have a long long way to go.  Work is busy as usual and I have a lot of things to attend to so I think it would take some time to fill-up this blog with travel stories and photos.

Speaking of work, I'll be going to Cebu again in a few hours to cascade some important stuff to our Visayas colleagues. This will be a strictly business trip so there's nothing much to tell. The only personal agenda I have is to eat good food (as usual) and to buy and bring home the bacon(s) - literally speaking.

I want to have dinner or lunch at the original Casa Verde and binge on the famous Brian's Ribs. I've been trying to eat at Casa Verde on my previous Cebu trips but it was  always trumped by other local favorites like Harbour City, Cheaver's, Bigby's or Golden Cowrie. Let's see if I will be successful this time.

My flight is at 1:30 pm and this will be my ride:



Withstanding delays,  I will arrive in Cebu before 3:00 pm and I will stay here:



I'm already giddy! Nice hotels and big airplanes make me excited, even on strictly business trips! All aboard! See yah!

Photo Credit: Waterfront Cebu