PAL's Cancelled Flight

Our flight from Manila to Coron was scheduled at 2:45pm. We arrived at NAIA 3 about 2 hours before the flight. We waited. Then came the dreaded announcement that our plane will not arrive on time. So we waited again. By 4pm, boarding time was announced. We rode a shuttle bus to our plane and upon entering the small aircraft, I was seated comfortably. 

View from the shuttle bus; about to board the plane

But another dreaded announcement came, the captain said we will have to wait for a few more minutes since the control tower has yet to give a go signal due to runway congestion. Waiting time yet again. The flight attendants already showed the safety features of the aircraft. Then, the plane started moving towards the runway. This is it. But I was wrong.

View from the plane as I wait for the plane to fly

The captain announced, we were third in line on the runway, BUT due to sunset limitation, it would be difficult to land in Coron. Hence, flight was cancelled! After several hours of waiting and when we were already about to fly, the bad news came.

The good news is that Philippine Airlines was following the Air Passenger Bill of Rights. We were given 2 options: 1) hotel accommodation with free meals or 2) you can go home and will be given a voucher worth P1,000.00. We picked option 1.

Bus to hotel

We were booked at the Century Park Hotel in Manila. Buffet dinner and breakfast included. Not bad. PAL staff were also there with us. There was actually another flight booked at the hotel. It seems the hotel staff are used to the delayed flights.

Sign at the hotel lobby

PAL created a special flight just for us for 6am the next day. It was delayed for an hour, but at least it wasn't canceled. Heard one passenger saying, hopefully it wasn't be due to sunrise limitation.

I hope cancelled flights won't happen again since it affects the schedule of a person, not to mention it lessens vacation time for some. But if airlines follow the Bill of Rights, then it makes the delay more acceptable.

Hotel room

Finally, arrived in Coron the next day

Handwritten boarding pass on our return flight to Manila :-)

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Half day in Baguio

I read in many blogs that one should have at least 2-3 days to enjoy Baguio City. A day trip is possible, but one may be in a hurry all the time that one may not be able to enjoy the city. But because I wanted to feel the cold weather of the city and because my sister visited me for the weekend and because I have work on a weekend, I decided to go to Baguio for just a half day tour.

It's doable. But of course, you won't be able to go to all tourist spots. But in our case, I think we pretty much visited a lot of sites without being in a hurry.

Here was our itinerary.

11:55pm (Saturday) Victory Liner bus to Baguio (our tickets were for the 12:30am trip, but since there were still seats for the earlier trip, we were allowed to ride the bus)

5:30am (Sunday) Arrived in Baguio City. We arrived on what is so far considered the coldest day of the year:  8-9°C

Then we walked towards the downtown area. We passed by the Igorot Stairs, Session Road and the Baguio Cathedral. It was a very cool morning, so the walk was very pleasant.

Igorot Stairs

7am We ate breakfast at a fastfood chain along Session Road. Then took a jeep towards Mines View Park.

8am Mines View Park, then we even lined up to buy ube jam at the nearby Good Shepherd.

Mines View Park

Good Shepherd

9am Took a jeep to Wright Park. We rode a horse for 30 minutes (P200). Then we also went to The Mansion for some picture taking session.

Wright Park

The Mansion

10:30am Jeep to downtown area. Walked around the city and went to Burnham Park and to the nearby SM Baguio.

Ice cream on a cold day at Burnham Park

12:10pm Victory Bus trip back to Metro Manila. We arrived around 7pm.

The combined bus trips are longer than the actual stay in Baguio, but we had fun and visited the most important tourists sites, bought pasalubong and even did horseback riding. And it was also budget friendly, since we never took a taxi, only jeepneys and walking.

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Clark Airport: Huge Potential

The Clark International Airport, formerly known as the Diosdado Macapagal International Aiport, has been called the Philippines' next gateway. Some sectors are pushing for Clark to replace Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, but Clark's long distance from Metro Manila has been a barrier. Clark Airport has been operating for many years already, but I only flew via this airport just a few weeks ago. And I must say, it has a huge potential to be a great aviation hub.

At first glance, you'll notice it's just a small airport. But you'll also see it is rapidly expanding with all the construction going on. There is already a new and bigger check-in area (initially for Qatar Airways & Emirates). Hopefully they relocate all other airlines to this bigger check-in area. The departure hall on the second floor also looks nice. I haven't been to the one on the first floor, but the one on the second floor offers a view of the runway. It also has shops and a VIP lounge, which costs P800 (with wifi & buffet snacks). I used the VIP lounge since I badly needed wifi while waiting for my flight. My flight, by the way, was to Hong Kong via Dragonair. I haven't been to the domestic area.

One thing that struck me most is the staff. Everyone was accommodating and well-trained. There are staff in almost all areas of the terminal ready to assist. There were staff assisting in the check-in area and also at the departure area. When I arrived there was also somebody helping in the immigration area. I haven't encountered such "helping" staff in other local airports.

Clark Airport really has a huge potential. As I said, there were many parts of the terminal that were under construction or renovation, but everything looks clean and in order. I just hope they expand it further as more flights are coming in and out.

_________
Bus (Metro Manila to Clark Airport and vise versa)
From Trinoma P200
From Megamall/ Pasay P400+
*** call the airport, Trinoma Airport Lounge or Philtranco for the schedule

New check-in area (for Qatar Airways, Emirates initially)

Old check-in area

VIP Lounge : P800

Qatar Airways plane just landed

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Go Hotels Puerto Princesa

I have long been intrigued with Go Hotels, a sister company of Cebu Pacific. They market themselves as a budget hotel, yet with features such as Windsor beds, use of key card, free wi-fi, LCD cable TV, etc. So when the opportunity came, I decided to check in at Go Hotels Puerto Princesa.

I had a good experience. The hotel is just small, with maybe less than 100 rooms. But the rooms are what they market them to be. My room has all the features they mentioned on their website. The bed was comfortable, there's aircon with remote, cable TV with remote, a small safe deposit box, rainfall-type hot/cold shower and full mirror. There are also towels and some toiletries.

I paid only P900 for one night. It's good for 2 people, so basically it's P450/ person. Not bad at all. The price includes all the amenities, plus the airport transfer and did I say, breakfast was free too. The price I got was not even the cheapest price, since I bought it just a few weeks before my stay. I know the price could still be much lower if you buy in advance.

The features, free breakfast I mentioned are for the Puerto Princesa branch only. I think you have to pay more for other branches.

All in all, I believe it was value for money. Plus I felt safe since there are security guards, and the hotel is very near Robinsons Place.
Here are some photos of the hotel. You can also check: http://gohotels.ph/

View of lobby from the cafe

Go Hotels at night

Some grocery items for sale inside the cafe

Robinsons Mall, view from my room

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24 hours in Puerto Princesa

'I Love Palawan' sign at Go Hotels' cafe

I just experienced my first ever "full" solo trip. I had solo trips in the past, but I would either attend a seminar or meet a friend who lives in the area. But just a few days ago, I went to Puerto Princesa, Palawan all by myself.

I bought a roundtrip ticket via TigerAir Philippines for less than P500 (this already includes the P200 NAIA terminal fee). I booked an overnight stay at Go Hotels for only about P900 (this already includes airport transfer and breakfast). Not bad at all.

I only stayed overnight because the airfare for other dates are expensive. Plus, this is just an experimental trip, so I don't want to be absent from work for a long time.

TigerAir plane at Puerto Princesa Airport

After arriving at the hotel, I had a brief rest then walked towards Robinsons Mall, which is very near the hotel. After eating lunch at the mall, I took a 'Libreng Sakay' multi-cab to the downtown area. I got off at the Puerto Princesa Cathedral (a church that reminded me of the Ho Chi Minh Cathedral in Vietnam). I went inside the cathedral, then went to the nearby historic Plaza Cuartel (no entrance fee). After, I walked around the downtown area, passing by schools, houses, shops and the public market. I went inside Unitop Department Store, then went to the Baywalk. It was raining a bit, but I enjoyed the walk. By 7pm, I went to the 'Libreng Sakay' stop at the Cathedral. I was, however, informed by the driver, it was no longer for free at that time. But the jeepney fare back to the hotel is just P10, so I obliged.

The spacious & empty Robinsons Mall

The next day, I ate breakfast at the hotel for free. Then I was brought to the airport by a van. Again, I was alone in the van with the driver saying "parang VIP ako". The driver first brought me to a souvenir shop before heading to the airport.

It was a very short trip, just about 24 hours, but I enjoyed it. In total, I think I only spent P2,000 including all the food, transport, airfare and hotel. I vow to return to Puerto Princesa again to visit the Underground River! My driver in the city was very friendly and he also works in a travel agency, so if you want his number to get good deals on tours, just comment. Here are some of the photos of the places I visited:

Puerto Princesa Cathedral

Plaza Cuartel

View of the sea from Plaza Cuartel

Puerto Princesa Baywalk

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Manila Ocean Park: More than just fish

I last visited the Manila Ocean Park more than 4 years ago. Then, there was just one attraction: the Oceanarium. I was amazed to see such place in the Philippines. But thought to myself, it's not somewhere you will regularly go too, since you have seen it all. But recently, I visited the park again with my sisters. Wow, there are now so many attractions!

I bought the Metro Deal promo 12-in-1 for only P750 (12 attractions). However I was surprised that when I got the tickets at the counter, it was the same as the 9-in-1 package. Later, I found out there are certain areas with more than one attraction (so parang 12 pa rin). In any case, the deal was worth it. There are also many other packages worth P550-900 (see photo).

Manila Ocean Park has come a long way since it started a few years ago. In fact, they don't only have marine species, but birds as well. They also have a lot of activities such as bottom glass boating, feeding of penguins and others.

It's a must to visit this world-class park in Manila. For those who don't know, it's behind the Quirino Grandstand, just walking distance from Manila Hotel, Museo Pambata and Rizal Park. You can take the LRT and go down at the UN Avenue LRT station and just walk for about 15-20 minutes. You won't get bored walking since you will pass by Rizal Park, which is in itself a tourist destination.


Here are some photos I've taken

Oceanarium.
NOTE: During weekends, this area is very crowded.

Sharks

Finding Nemo

Fish Spa

Jellyfish

                    

                                          Sea lion show

Bird Show: parrots

Birds of Prey Kingdom

Slide-O-Fun inside the Trails to Antarctica

Penguins!! (there are more of them inside)

Penguin Talkshow: the attraction I liked least

                                   

                                      Snow Village

                

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