Archive for August, 2012

The World Behind Our Walls

Posted: August 31, 2012 in Lakwatsa
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“Take a vacation, go as many places as you can. You can always make money, you can’t always make memories.”

Travel now. Be inspired. Dream. Set your goals. And move. There’s no better time than now.

As the days, months and years pass you by, priorities change. No, we are definitely not getting any younger and we all might’ve saved tons of money by working way too hard that we tend to forget why we are working in the first place = For ourselves. So do yourself a favor and just do it. Move.

Some people might say, maybe next time, that they’re too busy, not having enough budget, etc. But the thing is, all these excuses and reasons will just prolong everything and the next thing you know, you will probably end up thinking of not doing it anymore.

I know I have seen alot but I also know that I have not seen enough. All those stuff that I have seen on TV, on history books, on the internet, I know I have to go see it and be there. I’ve seen the Great Wall, I’ve seen Ha Long Bay, I’ve seen the Petronas, the beautiful mosques of Brunei, but aside from that, I’ve seen more and seriously need to see some more. I don’t want to come to that point that rheuma would come and visit me and I won’t be able to walk the hardcore walk I’ve done similar in Beijing. I want to party in Ibiza, I want to visit the Statue of Liberty, enjoy the view from the Eiffel Tower, experience that moment gazing in front of the Taj Mahal, dance in the streets of Rio De Janeiro, go crazy with the Harajuku kids in Japan, have that a la Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The Beach” moment in Phuket, trek the Himalayas even in just the lower part of it (or at least just see it!), go shopping in Morocco, chillout and relax in Santorini, go on a safari in Africa, swim in the beaches of Maldives, go see some kangaroos in Australia, visit and attend mass in the Vatican (the only time I will probably go to church after a loooong time), get spooked in the Killing Fields in Cambodia, go see the Pyramids in Egypt, the list could just go on and on and on.

These are things that I know will make life worth living, things that make me smile dreaming about it, knowing that one day sooner than later, I’ll be there to experience all of this, one step at a time. I don’t want to leave this world regretting that I have worked so hard all my life for it to be all in vain. The money I have in my bank account will be there and will continue to grow and I’ll probably (most likely!) leave those money when I die, but the memories and the experiences will forever be a part of me until my very last breath. It is a wonderful, beautiful world out there waiting to be explored and discovered. I don’t want to enjoy it just by watching the Amazing Race or channel-surf between National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. I will get there. I will be there. I will not stop. And so should you. So, people. Move!

Exploring the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka : On The Road for 18 Crazy Hours

Posted: August 28, 2012 in Colombo, Lakwatsa, Sri Lanka
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As I mentioned on my previous post, Day 3 of our Sri Lankan vacay was the most strenuous, stressful, tiring and hardcore of them all. Since the three places we wanted to go to are located way too far from Colombo, we had to prepare ourselves for a loooooooong drive to the Golden Triangle area of Dambulla, Sirigiya and Ponnolaruwa.

It took us about three hours to arrive to our first destination, which was Dambulla. Dambulla is a big town, situated in the Matale District, and is home to the largest and best preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Golden Temple of Dambulla is a World Heritage Site, which features more than 80 caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life. Since we were on a time crunch, we were not able to enter the actual caves, which was a big mistake for us. Looking back, we should’ve just waited for their 15-minute lunch break to be over since the photo ops inside those caves were amazing. I really don’t want to talk about it anymore since I really feel so bad we just left without waiting and checking the sights inside those caves.

Our next stop was Sigiriya. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sigiriya, which means “lion’s rock” in Sinhalese, is a town with a large stone and ancient rock fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings and is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka. The entrance fee was a little costly, $30 per foreign visitor.

The Sigiriya rock is a hardened magma plug from an extinct and long-eroded volcano. It stands high above the surrounding plain, visible for miles in all directions. The rock rests on a steep mound that rises abruptly from the flat plain surrounding it. To date, walking up that rock and the steep climb to the top is one of the toughest walks I have done so far, even beating the Great Wall walk I did last June.

The Sigiriya site has the remains of an upper palace sited on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the lower palace that clings to the slopes below the rock, and the moats, walls, and gardens that extend for some hundreds of metres out from the base of the rock. Both a palace and a fortress, the Sigiriya still furnishes a stunning insight into the creativity of its builders and the moats and walls surrounding the lower palace are still exquisitely beautiful. My favorite spots were the Lion Gate entrance, with the two lion paws on either side, which serves as the entry point for the steep climb up the palace area, and the frescoes which featured unique paintings of beautiful female figures in graceful colors.

Before heading to our last destination, which was Polonnaruwa, we decided to have lunch along the way first since we were so hungry from too much walking and climbing. After lunch, we were on the way to Polonnaruwa. The Royal Ancient City of Polonnaruwa is one of the most ancient of Sri Lanka’s kingdoms and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the best planned archeological relic sites in Sri Lanka, the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa stands as a testimony to the discipline and greatness of the kingdom’s first rulers.

The place actually reminded me of Ayutthaya in Thailand. From its beautiful statues and ruins, to the preserved temples and palaces, the long drive to that place was all worth it. We didn’t stay long there since we have a long drive back to Colombo. The roads were pretty dark and there’s no lights along the way, so our driver had to be very careful when driving. I didn’t realize how long we actually travelled that day until I looked at my watch and it’s already 8PM but we were still halfway to Colombo. We arrived in our hotel a few minutes before midnight, beaten up like hell. Good thing our flight to Kuala Lumpur was scheduled to leave 12 noon the next day, we had enough time to pack and get some much needed sleep.

All in all, we had a great time in Sri Lanka. Truly a beautiful place, unique and definitely interesting. Though we had our own shares of not-so-good experiences with the touts and scammers that flock the Galle Face area, it was truly an eye-opening and learning experience. Seeing the Sri Lankan people go about their daily lives, even just from the window of my car seat, exploring their historical sites and enjoying their scrumptuous and tasty cuisine, it truly is a gem in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Will I be visiting the place again? Slim chance, but who knows. All I know is that I enjoyed our short stay there and I was so glad I was able to endure the crazy travel itinerary we had from the insane airport hopping to the long roadtrip hours we had visiting one place to another. I hope and pray Sri Lanka will develop itself to the fullest and to finally let go of the stigma of being a war-torn country because it seriously is an undiscovered gem that alot of people need to explore and discover.

Kandy Sightings : Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage & The Temple Of The Tooth

Posted: August 26, 2012 in Colombo, Lakwatsa, Sri Lanka
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For our second day in Sri Lanka, we have scheduled ourselves to go to Kandy and visit the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and the Temple of the Tooth. It would take us about 3 hours to get to Kandy from Colombo, so we had to wake up really early and meet with our driver at exactly 6AM in our hotel lobby. We had the hotel prepare breakfast for us for take away so we can eat it while travelling. I love cruising down the streets of Colombo in the early morning, taking snapshops of people as they go about their daily lives.

After more than 3 hours of driving, we arrived at our first destination, which was the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Located at the Pinnawala village, near the town of Kegalle, the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is notable for having the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. It serves as an orphanage, nursery and breeding ground for wild Asian elephants in that part of Sri Lanka.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northwest of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawalla is notable for having the largest herd of captive elephants in the world, originally founded in order to afford care and protection to many of the orphaned unweaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. It was a Saturday, so there were alot of tourists and locals during that time. It was the first time I saw so many elephants in my life. Usually I’d end up seeing one or two in Bangkok, but this one was truly all about elephant overload.

There was a daily schedule that is being observed in the orphanage. At around 9AM, we witnessed the bottle feeding of the elephants, and a number of tourists was able to do so, for a fee. It was about a few seconds of photo opportunities and yeah, feeding those elephants with milk lasted for like 5 seconds since those creatures can drink up a huge bottle almost faster than you can blink. Our driver, who also served as our guide, brought us to the souvenir shops just outside the orphanage, to wait for the elephants to parade into the river to bathe, and had the opportunity to do some shopping while waiting for the elephants to arrive.

We were able to visit a store that specializes in creating and selling poo paper products. Yes, they are selling elephant poop products. We were able to witness how they create paper using elephant dung and the process involved as well. I was able to buy myself some really cool stuff there at really low prices. I always had this feeling I was paying so much because of the amount, but looking back, they are really cheap if you convert it into your local currency. I was able to buy some more souvenirs on the other shops nearby, from ref magnets to keychains to T-shirts.

A few minutes later, I heard a little sound, I guess to announce that the herd of elephants are about to pass by and go to the river to take a bath. It was absolute stampede, in an orderly manner, of course. There were so many of them, and it was such a unique feeling to see and experience this kind of routine for the locals in the area with these elephants, which is happening everyday. There was a huge number of tourists and locals surrounding the Oya River that time, enjoying the view and witnessing these elephants interact and play with each other while bathing.

After a few minutes, we went back to meet our driver to visit the Spice Garden and a tea factory, which were just along the way to our next destination, which was the Temple of the Tooth. I didn’t really enjoy the Spice Garden, it was just a bunch of herbs and spices being planted everywhere in the area, stuff that are pretty much available and can be seen in a number of Chinese stores in the Philippines. The tea factory, on the other hand, was quite a learning experience. We were able to see the process of how they create this product, that their country is very well known for. And I know why. Ceylon tea is very delicious and comes in a number of flavors. I actually bought two packs for myself. I was actually looking for some milk tea but I wasn’t able to find anything there in Sri Lanka. We then had lunch at a restaurant, somewhere in Kandy, before we headed out to the Temple of the Tooth. They served us some local Sri Lankan cuisine and it was very delicious. I was hoping it would be a little bit spicier, but since Audrey requested for it not to be spicy, it was all good. I really didn’t recognize half of the stuff on our table, but I just mixed it and ate it and it was really so good.

We arrived at the Temple of the Tooth about 20 minutes later. Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy. It is located in the royal palace complex which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a UNESCO world heritage site partly due to the temple. The temple sustained damage from bombings at various times but was fully restored each time. We were only able to take pictures outside the royal palace since the relic area is only going to be open around 7PM and we cannot stay until that time in Kandy anymore since it’s going to be a long ride back to Colombo. After a few minutes of picture taking, we decided to go back and meet up with our driver to head back to our hotel in Colombo, arriving at around 8PM. We had to rest well since we have a really big and long day ahead of us the following day. Just how long? We were on the road for about 18 crazy hours!

Sri Lanka : Pearl Of The Indian Ocean

Posted: August 26, 2012 in Colombo, Lakwatsa, Sri Lanka
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I have always been intrigued by Sri Lanka ever since I’ve heard of its name. The name itself is reason enough for me to be curious about the country. I don’t know what got into me when I decided to go visit the place and decided to book for a flight considering it’s not an easy route and not the usual destination a Filipino would try and visit. Maybe that’s why.  Maybe because of being too curious about the place, that I so wanted to check it out and decided to try something different.

I have absolutely no idea what to see and do in Sri Lanka. I only did my research after booking for a flight. All I know about it is that it has been a war-torn country, my favorite singer M.I.A. is from there (or her parents are), it’s close to India, and a big part of it was badly damaged by the 2004 tsunami. I love airport-hopping and the thrill of flying so booking a hardcore flight connection via Iloilo-Manila-Bangkok-Colombo-Kuala Lumpur-Clark is probably the most tiring and stressful vacation I’ve ever had. All in 6 whole days.

Sri Lanka is one of the countries that requires a visa for Philippine passport holders. Good thing I was able to process an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) online using my credit card, and in 24 hours, I got all the documents I needed to enter Sri Lanka. It was that quick and simple and it only costs $20 for the application.

Since there are no direct flights from Manila to Colombo, we flew via Bangkok, slept and waited for about 7 hours before we checked ourselves in for our AirAsia flight to Colombo. We arrived in Colombo after about three hours, immigration was a breeze since we got our ETAs already, bought a local SIM card and had arranged for our hotel to have a driver pick us up at the airport. The drive from the Bandaranaike Airport to our hotel, which was the Galle Face Hotel, which is known to be one of the oldest hotels in the world, took about an hour. We then arranged with the person at the travel desk our plans for the next two days, which was to visit Kandy, Pinnawala, Dambulla, Sigiriya and Ponnoraluwa. Yes, I did hardcore research for these must-see sites and studied really well the journey time and the distance from Colombo. Our driver actually suggested that we should’ve just booked only one night in Galle Face then transfer from one hotel to another as we drive along the spots that we wanted to visit in the next two days. The problem is, I already paid for the entire three days of the hotel. So we had no choice but to return back to our hotel every day. And I really don’t care, as long as we are able to visit those sites that I wanted to see.

We were able to check-in early around 11AM, freshened up and decided to explore the Galle Face Green, which was just a few walks outside our hotel. Our hotel itself is a special place to explore. Listed as one of the “1000 Places to See Before You Die” in the book of the same name, the Galle Face Hotel has welcomed a number of celebrity clients including Yuri Gagarin, former British Prime minister Edward Heath, and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, among others. The Galle Face Green is a promenade which stretches for a half kilometre along the coast in the heart of the financial and business district of Colombo, where a number of locals would spend the day to relax, enjoy the sea breeze, do some kite-flying and enjoy their family picnics. The only issue we had with the Galle Face area where the number of touts that scattered. A number of them were really bugging us while we were walking down the strip. I guess they were not used to seeing people from the souteast visit their country and are only familiar with Americans and the British tourists.

While walking along the Galle Face Green and while we were busy taking pictures of the buildings nearby, one of the locals told us that it’s not okay to take pictures of one particular building there since it’s a government site or something. He was very friendly and I don’t know why we even entertained him, that it even came to a point that he invited us to come with him to the Gangaramaya Temple, telling us that it’s only open today since it’s a special day in Colombo, or something to that extent. I am actually pissed that I even went along with it. Yeah, he did bring us to the Gangaramaya Temple, which was beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but after feeling pressured to give out donations to almost every chance he got, I knew this was not right anymore. We paid the entrance, we were asked to donate money to the elephant caretaker, to the monks inside the temple, he even brought us to a gem factory of some sorts. That’s when we decided to leave. I told him we had a conference meeting in a couple of minutes and we’d want to go back to our hotel.

He had a tuktuk drive us from the Galle Face Green to the Gangaramaya Temple, to the gem factory, back to our hotel and he was with us all the time. What really irked us the most was when the tuktuk driver demanded that we pay him 1,800Rs, which was around P570. He then said that it’s 1,800Rs each! Now that really ticked me off and I raised my voice in the middle of the street telling him that there’s no way I am paying him another 1,800Rs. He drove away and that super-friendly local who dragged us to the temple asked us for a tip as well. We gave him 500Rs, around P150 (I didn’t realize it was P150 only, 500Rs sounded like a big amount of money), walked away back to our hotel and hoping we won’t be seeing those creeps no more. The only good thing was that I was able to take alot of nice pictures from the temple. We spent the rest of the day inside the hotel since we decided that it won’t be safe for us to explore the city outside after the experience we had a few hours ago. To be honest, I didn’t feel comfortable walking around, with all the eyes looking at me like I’m some strange being from outer space. This is absolutely the first time I felt a little bit unsafe in a foreign country. Some of those locals were actually a little “touchy”, I was bothered somebody’s gonna grab my bag or my watch.

The view of the Indian Ocean from the Galle Face veranda was just spectacular. I loved every minute in that hotel. Since we were to wake up early for a 6AM drive to Kandy, I decided to treat myself and get a massage just inside the hotel. It felt so good I actually slept during the entire session. Since Sri Lanka is 2 and a half hours behind the Philippines, we had enough time to get some sleep and rest at around 10PM that time, and get enough sleep for a long day ahead.

Korea 2012 : The Preparation… And All That Stress

Posted: August 12, 2012 in Korea, Lakwatsa, Seoul
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Obtaining a Korean visa is definitely one of the most stressful visa applications I have ever done. Yes, the document requirements may not be as strict as the Chinese visa or even the US visa, but what really stressed me out is the waiting game. Unlike the Chinese and US visa, that the consuls would let you know right then and there if you are denied or approved, for the Korean visa, you would need to wait for a week in order for you to find out the status of your application. That heart-pounding feeling of lining up again, waiting for your turn to claim your passport and scanning every page to look for that visa sticker you desperately wanted is one of the most stressful moments in my life, I seriously wanted to puke from the mix of suspense, excitement and tension.

I have heard a lot of horror stories of a number of people being denied of the Korean visa, without them knowing exactly why. Please note that the embassy will not tell you the very reason for the denial. They will probably give you this statement: “Purpose of going to Korea not established”, or something similar to that if you get denied. I’ve been doing a lot of research about this, trying to make sure that I have all the necessary documents needed and tried to make my application as foolproof as possible.

The Korean visa is valid only for 3 months from the date of issuance. Though it is not required to buy any plane tickets yet prior to your application, I had to take advantage of the piso fare sale from Cebu Pacific earlier this January to book for this flight scheduled for September (together with the one I got for our China vacation as well). I paid a total of P4,000 for a roundtrip ticket, from Manila to Incheon.

I applied with my friend, Audrey, just thirty days before our scheduled flight date. We arrived at the Korean embassy at around 6:30AM and it was raining a bit that time. Must be the reason why there are only about 5 people lining up already when we arrived. At around 8AM, the guard handed us a gate pass, left our ID, wrote our names on the log sheet, entered the office and took a number from the reception table and waited for the window counters to open. Lodging of applications starts at exactly 9AM and ends at 11AM. Since Audrey already has a US visa, she was assigned to Window 3, which was for frequent travelers. Frequent travelers actually means applicants with visas from OECD member countries like USA, Japan, Australia, Canada and the UK, among others. If it’s already your third time to apply for a Korean visa, you will also line up here. Visa processing for those in Window 3 takes only 3 business days, while those in Window 1, where I was assigned to, takes one week.

As I have mentioned earlier, the Korean embassy is not that strict in terms of the documents needed for the application, compared to the Chinese visa. Just make sure you have no discrepancies with your documents especially with your TIN ID and your company’s TIN ID as well. Here’s what I have submitted :

1) Passport + photocopy of the first page of the passport (last page with emergency contact not needed)
2) Application form, just one page, used the A4 paper size, with a 2 X 2 picture (this should be pasted, not stapled)
3) Original Bank Certificate (showed money for P90,000). No need for the receipt. I actually did not withdraw any of this until my visa was approved.
4) Employment certificate (with complete company address and phone numbers, stating how long I have been with the company and the salary that I earn).
5) Latest Income Tax Return

NOTES :

1) I actually forgot to submit my old passport which showed my travel stamps last year. Got a little worried that they might look for the Hong Kong and Singapore stamps and it’s not there on my new passport.
2) Submitted my plane tickets and hotel reservation confirmation, but the consul just returned it back to me.

After reviewing all my docs in less than 30 seconds, yes, it was that quick, the consul handed me a claim stub with the scheduled passport pickup for next week. Releasing time is only from 2PM to 4PM during weekdays. Audrey got her visa three days later, which also added to the waiting game stress for me. It took an entire week of stress and being in limbo until I returned back to the embassy the week after to claim my passport and see that visa sticker attached to one of its pages. Seriously, I was that worried. At that point when I saw the visa sticker, I was the happiest person in the world. I have been following a number of other blogs and read through some forums and hearing stories of other people being asked to return and submit additional documents like their payslips, credit card bill statements, electric bills and their barangay clearance. That also got me a little worried so I have all of that prepared and I brought them with me to the embassy when I claimed my passport. Good thing the consul did not ask me for any of that anymore. I was approved for a single-entry visa valid within three months of issuance, and to stay in Korea for a maximum of 59 days. The Korean visa is free of charge if you don’t plan to extend it after 59 days.

Here are some additional tips that might be helpful if you plan to apply for a Korean visa:

1) Tenure is important. I have been working with my current company for almost 7 years already. I’ve heard stories of other people, despite having a hefty bank account, that are still being denied. Most likely reason was that they transferred to a new company and have been there for just a few months, then they went ahead and applied for the visa. My advice if you have transferred to a new company is for your HR to stipulate on your employment certificate that you are being allowed to take a vacation during your intended travel dates.
2) No work, no visa. That actually came from the consul’s mouth. They are pretty strict about this since most of the people applying for a tourist visa do have the intention of working there and ignoring the proper process of applying for a working visa. This does not apply to those running a business. As long as you process your income tax correctly, you’re not gonna encounter issues like this.
3) Prepare additional documents as a back-up. These may not have been listed as a requirement, but just in case, prepare your plane tickets, hotel reservation confirmation, credit card bill statements, payslips, electric bills, barangay clearance, birth certificate, etc. They even asked for a college diploma from one applicant the last time.
4) PRAY. Seriously. Need I say more?

So that’s it. Pretty simple. But I warn you, it’s seriously stressful. Especially the one week waiting part of it. But it’s
definitely all worth it. All for the love of Seoul and Jeju Island. Now I’m off to prepare for our itinerary for our week-long trip to Korea!

Last Day in KL : Chinatown, Jalan Alor and Sleeping in LCCT

Posted: August 12, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Lakwatsa, Malaysia
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Our last day in KL was all about shopping. And no better venue for us to do it than Petaling Street. Located at the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Chinatown, is a colorful and bustling shopping area that features all sorts of stuff from Chinese herbs, clothes, accessories, pirated DVDs, and whole lotta knick-knacks. Known to be a hunter’s paradise, Chinatown is filled with hundreds of stalls offering all kinds of goods at really low prices, that can be brought lower still if you just know how to haggle. Deeply immersed in Oriental culture, heritage and history, Chinatown is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist spots in Malaysia.

After breakfast, we immediately took a taxi to bring us to Chinatown. Despite the taxi drivers outside the hotel being so pushy in bringing us again to the chocolate factory, or offering to bring us at a factory outlet that they claim is selling cheaper goods than in Chinatown, we still argued our way for them to bring us there. I was actually pissed with the way that they were being pushy to bring us to that stupid place. It came to a point that I actually raised my voice and said “I don’t care! Bring us to Chinatown”. I warn you, those guys were an absolute pest.

We separated in two groups and our taxis dropped us off at the Kasturi Walk near the Central Market, which was just a few steps away from the main area of Petaling Street. I was really happy to see that they were selling those sling bags that I thought can only be seen and bought in Bangkok. So happy that I bought 3 of them and the rest of the guys bought some too, lowering the price some more since we are ordering in bulk.

Chinatown is all about the rows and rows of stalls selling all types of merchandise from food to clothing at bargainable prices. It’s not as big as the Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, but the place is still a shopping paradise and probably the cheapest of all the markets I’ve been to in Asia. So cheap that Mona ended spending P5K all in all despite the fact that she vowed never to do that much shopping in Malaysia. I lost count of all the plastic bags we were carrying with all the stuff that we’ve bought and we were actually not done yet.

What I also loved about Chinatown was the street foods available. From fruits to chestnuts to waffles to bacon. Imagine how happy I was when I saw this stall selling huge strips of bacon, which as you can see with the way I talk about it, is my most favorite food in the whole wide world. There are hawker stalls, refreshment stands and restaurants scattered here as well, also selling at reasonably low prices. We stayed here until around 2PM and went back to our hotel to pack all of the stuff we’ve bought and spent the rest of the day strolling and walking around the Bukit Bintang area and inside the Pavilion Mall.

We spent our last dinner at Jalan Alor around 7PM and checked out around 9PM, took a taxi to KL Sentral to catch the Skybus to bring us back to LCCT. We actually took the Aerobus instead, which was the competitor of the Skybus. We were having that Amazing Race moment that we didn’t care what bus it was as long as we’re gonna make it to KL Sentral before midnight since buses don’t operate after those hours anymore until 3AM. I didn’t want to risk coming in late for our check-in, and since we probably won’t be able to sleep at the hotel anymore, it’s better we stay at the LCCT and spend the rest of the night there before we check-in for our flight.

And for the first time ever, we are literally going to sleep in the airport. It wasn’t really uncomfortable as some people might think. We are not that high maintenance. Especially me, FYI, contrary to what some of my friends and other people might think. Some of the guys actually slept on the cold floor, using the newspapers we took from the hotel as floor covers, while the rest of us slept on the benches. It was a pretty cool experience that made me feel like a nomad. Though I didn’t get to sleep much during that time, I ended up roaming around LCCT, just “sightseeing”, checking out the other passengers sleeping around the airport benches and floors. Good thing there’s a number of 24-hour restaurants and coffee shops available and a nearby bookstore that’s open as well, that I ended up shopping for some more travel books and magazines.

The counters opened at around 4AM, woke the rest of the guys up and checked all of our luggages. We left KL around 6AM and arrived in Clark around 10AM, took the Philtranco bus back to Manila and spent the rest of the afternoon roaming around Makati before our flight for Iloilo left at 8PM.

All in all, it was a solid vacation. Pretty tiring, yeah, but all worth it. What made it more enjoyable were the people I went with. It was never a dull moment and we will surely be back here again in no time. We never expected to love the place that much. The food, the people, the sights, and the very fact that it’s seriously cheap, makes me wanna book another flight to come and visit this place again.

Genting and All That Fog!

Posted: August 11, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Lakwatsa, Malaysia
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Since our pickup at our hotel was scheduled at 9AM, we all had enough time to rest from yesterday’s tiring schedule at the Petronas to the Batu Caves. Our driver, Mr. Tan, arrived at exactly 9AM to bring us to the Genting Highlands. A hill resort nestled on a mountain peak within the Titiwangsa Mountains, Resorts World Genting, is probably the coldest place in Malaysia. Featuring a variety of five-star hotels, shops, establishments, casinos and theme parks, it’s definitely a must-see and must-visit site for travellers within the country. It took us about an hour from KL to arrive at Genting, amidst the crazy fog that surrounded us, providing absolutely zero visibiity at one point on that drive to the top of the mountains.

The popular Genting Skyway and the alternative Awana Skyway were all closed due to maintenance that time, so our driver dropped us off the car park, which was a few minutes walk to the entrance of the theme parks. It was the first time we experienced that much fog and stupid me forgot to bring my jacket. I actually didn’t expect it to be THAT cold during that time but I got used to it somehow. We lined up to buy our tickets and bought the one day unlimited access to the rides for all the theme parks there. Since it was fogging way too much outside, we decided to go to the First World Indoor Theme Park first.

Almost all the rides in the First World Indoor Theme Park were pretty much child-friendly and we rode all of them I think. Some of the 4D movies that were showing were pretty lame. We should’ve tried the Haunted Mansion instead of the boring Little Prince movie. We saw this stall on the 2nd Floor that was creating wax figures and since I have always wanted a wax figure of myself, Kimchi and I decided to buy one. We sent our preferred picture to the designer’s iPad via bluetooth. He then took a picture of each of us there and told us to return after 3 hours. There were various sizes available and I bought the large size and paid P3,600 for it.

It was raining a little when we arrived so when the rain stopped, we all decided to go out to the Outdoor Theme Park. Since it was really fogging so bad, most of the rides, including the much anticipated Flying Coaster, were closed down. I am not sure if I should be bummed about it or be relieved that it’s not operational that day. Good thing the Space Shot was open and I had to force Mona, Kimchi and Andre to take that crazy ride. It was actually similar to the Abyss in Hong Kong Disneyland, though I think the Abyss was actually higher. I didn’t dare ride the Space Shot anymore. Personally, you need to try this type of ride once in your life and for me, once was enough.

We roamed around the place using the Outdoor Theme Park map as a guide, crossed the canopy bridge, rode the bumper boats, the dizzying Pirate Ship, the Spinner, and a mix of other rides in the park. We went back inside the First World Indoor Theme Park around 4:30PM to claim our wax figures and then had our late lunch before we went down back to the car park to wait for Mr. Tan to drive us back to our hotel. We spent the rest of the day buying some souvenirs and shopping at the nearby Pavilion Mall and had dinner again at Jalan Alor.

The Petronas Skybridge, Batu Caves and How Much We Hated the HoHo Bus Tour

Posted: August 11, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Lakwatsa, Malaysia
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Second day of our KL trip was all about the Petronas and making sure we get to go up the Skybridge and experience the view from there. It was a Sunday and since we were to leave on Wednesday morning and the Petronas is closed on Mondays, we had to book those tickets and reserve our slots either for that day or Tuesday, our other free day, in case there were too many people lining up that time. Good thing it was Ramadan, and good thing I was such an OC packmaster, we arrived at KLCC around 5 in the morning. There were about 6 people already waiting in line when we arrived and while the rest of the guys were lining up, I decided to go out with Althea to find the stop for the HoHo tour bus (this is another story, the amazingly disappointing HoHo experience). After more than 30 minutes of asking and walking around KLCC, one security guard pointed us to the bus stop, which was just located in the bus stop in front of the Petronas. There were no signs so we got confused as to where it really was.

We went back inside the Petronas and around 8AM, we all went down to the concourse level to fall in line for the tickets. Since only 2 people per group are needed to buy those tickets, the rest of the guys waited on a nearby mini-cafe, just a few steps from the ticket counters, while me and Mona lined up for our tickets. One of the lady guards asked us from what country we were and how many tickets we’re going to buy. The monitor showed the available schedule and since we wanted to take advantage of the complimentary breakfast in our hotel, which ends at 10AM, we decided to go for the 11AM schedule instead of the 9AM one. We were all craving for the tasty and delicious nasi lemak from our hotel and we were so hungry that time as well, so choosing that 11AM slot was the right thing to do. We paid RM80 each for the tickets. Looks like they’re really taking advantage of the “glamour” that is the Petronas since a few months back, it was only for RM50 and a year ago it was for free! Still, it was all worth it. I was just shocked as to how much the difference of pricing would be and how fast it would skyrocket.

After buying our tickets, we went back to our hotel to have breakfast and to rest a bit. While me, Mona and Kimchi tried to take a quick powernap before returning to the Petronas, the rest of the guys went to visit the Chocolate Factory, which was being promoted by the taxi drivers outside the hotel in a hardcore manner. Methinks they’re getting a cut every time they refer and bring some tourists to that place. At around 10:50AM, we were all back at the Petronas to lineup for our schedule.

The people there are very strict about being on time. While we were lining up, one lady was being very pushy about getting in line with us even when her schedule was for 11:15AM, not 11AM. But the guy manning the entrance was really very strict and told the lady to wait for their turn. At the same time, one Indian lady, who was dragging her 2 sons and her husband right behind, was late. They were supposed to be on the 10:15AM schedule, but arrived in line at 10:50 already. We were all trying to control our smirks when we saw and heard Mr. Poker-Faced Petronas Guy say these lines in a slow, firm and expressionless manner: “You’re ticket has been (slight pause) forfeited”. I can still remember the look on that Indian woman and the way her jaw opened in shock, realizing that she just threw away RM320 for being tardy for the party.

At exactly, 11AM, we all went up to the 82nd floor (I’m actually not sure if it’s really the 82nd floor), and enjoyed the view from there. The feel inside the Petronas was very much futuristic, with holograms welcoming us to those barcodes that can be scanned to reflect some designs onscreen, showing some info about the Twin Towers. We weren’t really paying attention to the info on the screen, we just loved playing with the barcodes and taking silly pictures of each other there. After a few minutes, we all went down to the Skybridge, which connects the two towers on the 41st and 42nd floors. We all had a blast doing some photo ops and crazy stuff on the bridge with everyone else watching us like we lost our minds or something. Just take a look at our pics and see for yourselves. Haha!

We went down at around 12PM and decided to line-up for the HoHo tour just outside the Petronas. As I’ve mentioned earlier, it was definitely the most disappointing part of this trip. HoHo, which means Hop Off Hop On, is a special tour that would allow its passengers to drop on and off a tour bus at various designated tourist spots around KL and ride back again at the next available bus within 24 hours. I really don’t want to talk about it that much because I hated the HoHo thing. It was sooooo boring, I actually slept inside the bus! And I’m not really the type who would endure listening to the guide, sounding in a sleepy monotone manner, telling us about the history of such and such. I’m seriously not into that. Honestly, not only was it a waste of money for me, it was a waste of our precious time there. We could’ve easily done that tour ourselves. Seriously, it was such a disappointment. When the bus stopped at KL Sentral, we all decided to get out of that limbo bus and go next to our planned destination, which was the Batu Caves.

Located in the Gombak district and approximately about 18 miles north of KL, the Batu Caves if one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India and is the focal point of the Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia. After having lunch at KFC in KL Sentral, we all took the KTM Komuter, bought a one-way ticket for RM1, which was around P13, and arrived at the Batu Caves 30 minutes later. There were a number of food stalls, souvenir shops, and a whole lotta pigeons everywhere, once we stepped into the area. And oh yeah, don’t forget about the monkeys as well.

The Batu Caves temple complex actually consisted of three main caves and the biggest, known as the Cathedral Cave, has a very high ceiling and features ornate Hindu shrines. We all had to climb the steep flight of 272 steps to get there. But not after we took some photo-ops with the statue of Murugan. The other main caves, the Art Gallery and Museum Cave, are all filled with Hindu statues and paintings, and a number of devotees praying and gathering in groups. It was such a unique sight for me to see those people go with their usual routines of worship, and probably the nearest I could experience a little of India’s Hinduism.

I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the garbage and the stench inside the caves, but I actually did not mind it at all. I was more engrossed with the beauty of the caves and was pretty much busy clicking shots here and there to even be bothered by the trash and monkey poop. As if we don’t have that here in the Philippines. It was all about respecting and admiring these people and their way of life. A lot of the tourists there were actually Indians. I guess it’s very important for them and for their religion to come and visit this place at one point in their lives.

After reaching the end at the top of the caves, we decided to go back down and along the way we saw a bunch of monkeys on the stairs. One of them actually grabbed the ice cream of one of the Chinese tourists while she wasn’t looking. Kimchi and Althea decided to try the henna art being offered by some Indian girls on their hands, which lasted for a few minutes before we took the KTM Kounter train back to KL Sentral. Once we were back in KL Sentral, we then decided to buy some tickets for Genting. Right beside the ticketing counter for the Genting bus tickets, was a taxi service offering rides to Genting. They gave us a really good deal for a van to fit all seven of us and included roundtrip transfers from our hotel to Genting for a total of RM350 all in all. We had scheduled for the driver, Mr. Tan, to pick us up at Bintang Warisan the next day at 9AM. Once we’ve settled everything, we then took a taxi back to our hotel and had dinner again in our favorite street in KL, which was the Jalan Alor.

Malaysia Truly Is Asia — The Amazing Kuala Lumpur Getaway

Posted: August 11, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Lakwatsa, Malaysia
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That tagline may have been overused all these years, but yes, Malaysia truly is Asia. A beautiful melting pot of culture, people and traditions, Malaysia truly embodies what the Asian experience is all about.

Our trip to Malaysia was definitely one of the most stressful and tiring vacations I’ve had so far. And definitely one of the most memorable and fun-filled. This would be the first time that I will be flying out of the county from Clark via AirAsia, and that alone was a whole new experience and stress-filled already. There were seven of us all in all, and of course I was head of preparations and organization (as always). Since we had to ride a bus from Manila to Clark for almost 2 hours, we have decided it would be best for us to stay overnight in Manila to catch the first bus from Philtranco to Clark which is scheduled at 6:30AM, since our flight to Kuala Lumpur was scheduled at 11AM.

The night before we were to leave for Clark, it rained a little and the area where our hotel was located was flooded almost knee-deep. It was around 10PM and we were supposed to leave around 4:30AM the next day to catch the Philtranco Bus bound for Clark at 6:30. I was so stressed that time that every hour I was checking out the hotel window to see if the flood had subsided already. Thankfully, it did not rain anymore and the flood was gone by the time we left the hotel. Just imagine what would happen if the rain did not stop. I seriously did not want our Malaysia trip to be ruined because of that. Lucky us we were already at the Philtranco terminal when it rained again, which means, the area outside our hotel is pretty much flooded by that time.

We bought our tickets the day before since we were worried we’d run out of seats in the bus. The Philtanco bus arrived at exactly 6:30AM. We paid P450 for the fare and arrived at the Diosdado Macapal Airport around 9AM. It was actually one of the most comfortable bus rides I’ve had so far. Immigration was a breeze, contrary to the reports I’ve heard about the immigration officers in Clark from other people.

We arrived at Kuala Lumpur Airport’s LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal) around 3PM, bought some sim cards, took our luggages (which ended up in the Lost And Found area), and then bought our tickets for the Skybus, which would bring us to KL Sentral. It was another hour and a half ride to KL Sentral, where we then took a taxi to bring us to our hotel in Bukit Bintang, which was the Bintang Warisan Hotel. The Bintang Warisan Hotel’s location is absolutely perfect. It’s surrounded by just about everything you need. There’s a money changer outside the hotel, foot spas, a bunch of restaurants, and just about a minute’s walk from Bukit Bintang and the shopping complexes, and also a few minutes away from Jalan Alor, known as KL’s gastronomic food heaven.

The first thing we did after leaving all our stuff in our rooms was to go to the popular Petronas Twin Towers, known to be one of the tallest buildings in the world. The Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world for six years, until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004. And yeah, the climax of the movie Entrapment was also filmed here. From the time we arrived at KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre), we were all hitting our cameras like crazy. It was definitely one photo-op after another, from non-stop jump shots to trying on the right angle to get the near-perfect shots we can of the Petronas. Since we also wanted to take some nightshots of the towers, we decided to roam around the Suria KLCC mall, located at the base of the Petronas until it got dark and we saw that the towers are all lighted up.

The Petronas at night is definitely a sight to see. Truly one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen and absolutely postcard moment for me. I kept on adjusting the flash level of my camera, trying to capture the best shot I can get out of those beautiful buildings. We left the area around 10PM, took a taxi van back to our hotel and decided to have dinner in Jalan Alor.

Jalan Alor is an entire street dedicated to cheap and seriously delicious hawker food. Located within walking proximity of Bintang Walk, it is popular among the locals for offering food served in a traditional open-air atmosphere, with chairs and tables dotting the curbs and roadsides. This is a place burgeoning with activity both during night and day, but definitely best visited at night when the hawkers are all in full force. Every night onwards, this was our favorite eating spot in KL, particularly the Fat Brother Satay stall, which serves a variety of bite-size dishes of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, chicken, goat, lamb, beef, pork, fish, mushrooms and tofu. And since I was experiencing a mild flu and had some allergy attacks that time, hot milk tea was my favorite drink every night in KL. It was so good that I had to buy myself a pack of powdered milk tea afterwards.

After that wonderful, cheap and delicious meal we had at Jalan Alor, we decided to retreat back to our hotel, so that we can rest since we had to wake up really early the next day to line up at the Petronas so that we can get up to the Skybridge and secure ourselves the tickets since the number of people that can go up the Skybridge are usually limited to around 500 people per day and since it’s closed during Monday, we had to secure that slot the very next day.