2012 Nov: Arrival at Kansai

I started preparing for this Japan trip (Nov 2012) last April 2012 (after my Langkawi-Singapore fun time).  I read Travelpack’s Osaka and Tuttle’s Japanese for Travelers, I studied Osaka and Kyoto maps – and initially, I must say that their train system will definitely be a challenge for me.

Flight 5J-828, I’m definitely going to Osaka, “Japan - the most awaited destination, before I go out of Asia”.  It took around 3.5 hours before we reach Kansai International Airport (IATA: KIX).  Good that there is a connecting bridge to the terminal building and we did not walk at tarmac area at 6 degrees Celsius ground temperature.  Just follow the arrival signs and you will still take a monorail going to the Immigration section.  Wait for your turn, don’t be too agitated, and do not submit any necessary documents.  You just need to show the arrival form and the officer will get your photo and finger prints.  

It’s my first time to see arrival stamps which are actually stickers with bar codes; they will normally staple the departure card on your passport so you would not lose it.

2012 March: Busan: Going to Gimhae Int'l Airport

Nearest airport bus station in Toyoko Inn Seomyeon is the one across Migliore Seomyeon and Jungang Junior High School.

Bus 201 starts at 05:00, runs every 15 minutes and the last trip is at 22:40.  I admire their bus stop as it can display what and how many minutes the next bus will arrive.

It is normally 45 minutes to 1 hour to reach the airport but due to heavy traffic, we arrived nearly after 2 hours.

To all travelers, please always check the departure stamp of the Immigration officer in your boarding pass and passport.  We saw an incident where there is no stamp on the boarding pass and the ground officer did not allow her to pass by.  They still coordinated and validated from the Immigration officer before we saw her again at the departure gates.

Gimhae International Airport

2010 April: Kota Kinabalu: The Arrival and Cititel Hotel

Travel Date: April 19, 2010 Monday
Destination: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

I took flight 5J 733 via Cebu Pacific from Manila to Kota Kinabalu. I arrived at Tanjung Aru Terminal 2 at around 8pm. It took me around an hour to pass the Immigration due to long queue of tourists and slow action of the Officers. I was about to be pick-up by the cab driver who I booked at the hotel, but he was no longer there. Since the Foreign Money Exchange is already closed at that time, I used the ATM to withdraw some money. It will automatically convert your entire peso to ringgit. Then, I looked for the coupon-sales and taxi-booking counter. I told them which Hotel I’ll be going, paid 20RM and finally got the coupon. Then, I gave it to the cab driver who is on queue.

Tip: try to study the map, so at least you will have confidence on which road you are in, aware if you are going to the right direction and conscious that you are finally reaching your hotel. After traveling for 15 minutes, I reached Cititel Hotel. In less than 10 minutes, I was able to complete the check-in procedures. The restaurant at the lobby still offers food and it tasted so good.

Restaurant at the Cititel Hotel Lobby: Next CaféBuffet Breakfast: 10RM (150php)
Dinner/Lunch: 9RM (Main Course + Soup) (135php)

I booked for a Standard Room (12 sqm) with Double Bed with windows at a very low price since it is just new during that time so they still have opening/early-bird discounts. I must say, that this is a good choice of Hotel. Very clean, very new (at April 2010), and also has modern facilities. Air-conditioner is working fine. Bed and pillows are soft. LCD TV works as both cable TV and radio in one. They also offer free toiletries, mugs, and hair dryer. Other services in the floor are free hot and cold drinking water, microwave oven, iron, and iron board. It's location is very near Centerpoint Mall.

CITITEL EXPRESS, KOTA KINABALU
No. 1, Jalan Singgah Mata 1, Asia City 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Borneo)
Tel: 6088 521 188 (Hotel)
http://www.cititelexpress.com/KK/index.html

2008 February: Bangkok: Day 6: Leaving Bangkok

2008 February: Bangkok: Day 6: Leaving Bangkok

The day we left Bangkok is the same day that Thaksin Shinawatra (deposed Thailand prime minister) arrived from his self-imposed exile.


If you are still in need of magnets and picture frames, you can check the better ones in the airport, where you can also spend the remaining coins you have from your shopping days.


In behalf of my sister who is with me on this trip, we would like to thank PAL, Ibis Siam Hotel, Ms. Lee and Ronnie of KBS, Ms. Tananya from Dream World, Mr. Poon of River Sun Cruise and Mr. Tong of Oriental Tours for the warm welcome and good accommodation there in Bangkok.

2008 February: Bangkok: Day 1: Arrival and Siam Niramit Show

2008 February: Bangkok: Day 1: Arrival and Siam Niramit Show

We left Manila at around 10:30am and reached Suvarnabhumi International Airport at around 1:00pm Bangkok time. Note that Manila is 1 hour ahead of Bangkok. It is advised to change one of your watch to follow their local time and to not miss any of your appointments. You can also keep your Manila time on your mobile phone to have a reference as well.

Guardians in Suvarnabhumi International Airport

Baggage Carousel numbers are not announced on plane nor posted on the end of the exit tube. You have to check them on the video screen before reaching the Immigration counter. After spending 30mins to 1 hour in the Immigration queue, we were now able to get our baggage. For those who avail tour packages with PAL, the name of the agency they are connected into is KBS Travel (http://www.kbsbookingonline.com/ or http://www.kbsthailand.com/). Always follow-up with PAL or KBS on your arrival instructions. For us, it is to Exit at Gate C located at the left most side of the Arrival Terminal (Level 2). This gate is located near Baggage Carousel Nos. 18-23. The KBS guide will be holding a KBS placard with clients' lead name.


Exchange rate in the airport is not good, but you may need to exchange some of your money to be used for the advance payment in the hotel.


You will wait for all other clients who avail the Swingaround promo before boarding a 10 passenger van.
Travel from the airport to Hotel is about 45 minutes.

Ibis Siam Hotel (has already been renamed to Seasons Siam Hotel, 2018) is located in 97 Rajaprarop Road Makkasan which is just a bus away from Pratunam area and mall district. The hotel is a different 3 star hotel among the others. The Ibis philosophy is to give “value for money” - they do not have room service and no bell boys. If you directly booked to the Hotel, the rate for a Standard Room is THB2000. We booked our hotel together with the Swingaround promo and it already includes a breakfast buffet.

Lobby

Internet service of Hotel

Breakfast Buffet

Hotels in Bangkok also has a standard practice where guests should give an advance payment though you already paid the whole booking over the credit card. We paid THB2000 as an advance payment in case we make international calls and/or take sodas from the fridge.

Standard room is okay based on my preference. It has good lighting, sofa, soft beddings, closet and clean bathroom. It provides a tea making facility, an emergency flash light and bath towels.



Exchange rate in the hotel is also not good. Instead, we were advise to exchange our money on an authorized bank. The nearest money exchange from the hotel is located in Big C mall, which is a bus away. You can take bus 73, 204 and 514 going to Big C, Central World and Isetan malls. To reach MBK, Siam Discovery, Siam Center and Siam Paragon malls take bus 73.



On our first day stay, we booked to watch the Siam Niramit show (http://www.siamniramit.com/index.php). It is a Thai cultural show that presents 3 acts (Journey Back to History, Beyond Imagination and Joyous Festivals). We were picked up from the hotel by 5:30 pm and reached the place in 30 minutes. We check out the place and made some photo op with the other characters from the show.

We took our dinner buffet and return to the waiting area. Take the opportunity that you can take photos with the participants because cameras are not allowed inside the auditorium.


The show is very amazing and spectacular. They were able to include real elephants, goats and roosters in the stage. They even had reproduced the floating market with small boats over the real water. We already know that there will be acrobatics and aerial movements, but what totally surprise me is when it rains on the stage, every time water flashes and when plain water turns to a fountain.

After the 80 minute show, there is another photo op with the participants, but we did not stay late. We go back to our driver to sent us back to the hotel.

2007 July: Hong Kong: Almost a Year Plan over my HK Trip

2007 July: Hong Kong: Almost a Year Plan over my HK Trip

This is my first time in Hong Kong (August 27 – September 01 2007); actually it took me almost a year to study this trip. Planning from what airline to choose, to the hotel, whether to join in guided tours and to study their food and their culture. Checking out the official and unofficial sites in HK, reading all the pages in multiple forums, threads and blogs, exchanging emails from various representatives of the airline, hotel and theme parks.

Hope I can share with you some helps and tips on your very own trip in Hong Kong and Macau!


What airline to choose?We grabbed the Peso Fare Promo of Cebu Pacific (http://www.cebupacificair.com/). The seat sale usually happens during March or April for the travel period from June to December. You must also be aware of the usual delayed flights from this airline, in our case it is around 6 hours, from the original 10pm it was moved to 4.30am schedule due to the technical problems (radio and queue in NAIA) encountered. Thus, if you are not in a tight budget, just take Philippine Airlines or Cathay Pacific.


Where to stay?There are multiple inexpensive hotels and hostels in Kowloon area. But based on what I read most, it is okay to stay there if you are with some guys. But if you are traveling alone, or you are girls they say it is better to stay in Hong Kong Island, which is a little expensive.

There were two hotels that we study, but we choose South Pacific over Cosmopolitan (http://www.cosmopolitanhotel.com.hk/) because the latter they say is near the cemetery. Cosmo is a lot cheaper than South Pacific, plus it has also good location. So you can consider it also.

I do recommend the South Pacific Hotel (http://www.southpacifichotel.com.hk/) where we stayed, it’s address is in Wan Chai but it is really near Causeway Bay area (just 10-15 minutes walk from Times Square and Lane Crawford). Below is the hotel lobby.

The size of the room is just okay, plus it has comforters, coffee/tea making facilities, refrigerator and clean bathroom.




Be sure to book your rooms a month before or so to make the cheaper deal.
We did not book directly to the Hotel’s site, we log the reservation through Asia Travel (http://www.asiatravel.com/hongkong/southpacific/index.html) because it much cheaper.


What to expect in the HK Airport?

Arrival gate for Cebu Pacific is just too far, thus you need to follow the directions. You need to find first the Airport Train (not the Express Train), the one without the seats inside to reach the Arrival Area section. Just a reminder to always line-up with the Visitor sign in the Immigration (Cameras are not allowed). Check the baggage carousel number and get the baggage on the specific carousel. Pass the Green Lane in the Customs if you have nothing to declare. You will not miss the Money Changers on this area, but sometimes it is better to have few HKD already before going there. (You can exchange your Peso in BDO or in China Town. For BDO transaction, you need to notify them 3 working days before you can pick up the HKD from the branch which you have an existing account.)


Below is the Customer Service at the Arrival Area.


How to reach your Hotel from the Airport?

You can use of the Airport Express Train (http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/aguide/transport.html), which takes only 25 minutes to reach HK Station (near Central). Or you can take the Hotelink Bus (http://www.trans-island.com.hk/eng/index.html) in A1 or B1 Hotelink Counter to reach your Hotel. Please do not pay to the kiosk counter or the driver. The charge will be included in your room bill. Bus driver will load and unload your luggage.