2012: Travel+Leisure - World's Best Awards

Travel+Leisure released the results for the 2012 World's Best Awards

http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2012

Top Island in the World

Boracay, Philippines - Score: 93.10

Rank 1 (Rank 4 in 2011)

Top Cities in Asia
Bangkok - Score: 89.87
Rank 1 in 2011 and 2012 (Rank 1 the World) 

2012 April: Singapore: Well Spent Saturday

8:15am @ Botanic Gardens

Took Circle lane and drop-off at Botanic Gardens.

We walk around the park under the rain for about 2-3 hours.

Open:  5 am to 12 midnight daily  Admission Fee:  Free 

National Orchid Garden Open: 8.30am to 7pm daily (last ticket sale at 6pm) 

Admission Fee:  Adults   $5.00

2012 April: How to spend 10 hrs in Singapore

This is my third trip in Singapore and I’m doing this to keep in touch with my closest friends.  

2:00pm Official check-in time at Le Hotel, Clarke Quay

2:30pm @ City Hall Station

St. Andrew's Cathedral

Drop-off at Red/Green MRT: City Hall; Exit B

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 9.00am - 5.00pm

http://www.livingstreams.org.sg/sac/visitors.html

3:00pm @ Somerset Station

Had an afternoon snack with my friend Kim at Charlie Brown Café, Somerset (http://www.charliebrowncafe.com.sg/).  I love the food and I miss our chit chat!

2012 April: Singapore: Arrival at Le Hotel

Been waiting for this day!  After my provincial experience in Langkawi, I finally arrived at Changi Terminal 1, had to pass by 3-4 walkalators, go down by one level and lastly reached the Immigration section. 

After the exit gates, I exchanged some money.  Go up for the Sky Train going to Terminal 3, then go to the city.

First stop from the airport is Expo station.  Alight and visit City Point mall if you want to visit outlet shops.  I was able to buy an Esprit bag for with sister worth 34sgd (1100php, 2012).  Other outlet shops are Charles and Keith, Adidas, Coldwear, Nike and Lacoste

Since I carry heavy backpack, from the Raffles train station, I took a cab going to Carpenter street which is also accessible by Clare Quay station.  It was a good decision, since the pedestrian between the block and the station is an overpass and I don’t have to walk on it with heavy bags.  

Accommodation Review: Le Hotel Carpenter Street

This is my first time to stay on a plain room with shared bathroom.  Staying there in less than a day (actually less than 8 hrs stay in my room) is not bad.  The reception officer is a Filipino, some guests are also Pinoys, so it feels like home.

Malaysia: Langkawi

Wednesday, just arrived in Langkawi International Airport from KL via Air Asia for only 26MYR (300php, 2012).  What to expect on this type of booking?  The airline might possibly send notifications about rescheduling your flight so make your itinerary flexible.

Taxi is the main form of public transportation in the island.  Better buy a coupon at the desk in Arrival Hall, then hand it to the cab driver at the waiting area to go to your hotel.

I choose to stay in Best Star Resort because it is facing Cenang Beach.  Not much to say on the area, water is not so healthy and a bit dark.  I prefer more the islands in Kota Kinabalu.

2012 April: Malaysia: Overnight at Tune Hotel, KL-LCCT

An unplanned trip (or should I say just keeping the words I said a year ago)!  But since there is a low fare offered by Air Asia last year (May 24, 2011) thus, I'm here again at the airport even if it is just 17 days since my last Asian trip (Busan on March 28 – April 1, 2012).

I wanted to travel and I love doing it, so even if I have a busy work life I will always find a way to make them go together.  Right after work in Ortigas, I picked up my luggage at McKinley (had a quick afternoon snack with my sister) then head to NAIA Terminal 3. And YES, thank you to my April co-passengers who were able to read the in-flight magazine (catch my blog, mentioned on page 144 on Smile April and May edition).

Play Time at the Airport - Arriving 3 hours before my flight is really a carefree feeling.  Enough time to do my running while playing on those push carts.  Contrary on how I describe myself as a “suite case traveler in Asia”, this would be my first international flight where I only have a hand carry.  (The last time I tried it was on flight to Kota Kinabalu, April 2010 and I end up paying for my excess baggage).  Prior to actual check-in my bag is 7.5kgs, upon check-in it became 6.4kg!  How did I do it?  It’s a nice move to carry separately your DSLR while checking-in with light fares.  

Immigration - I don’t like being asked by the officer whose as if interrogating me – You are going to KL, yet your return flight is from SG, can’t you find a flight straight from KL?  Are you working there? No! "Are you working here?". I said "yes", showed my id and viola, she finally marked my passport and let me in. 

X-ray - Congratulations to my monopod, it was able to pass the x-ray as well.

What’s new @ T3?  Okay done with the prequel, now waiting on my boarding here at gate 110.  You'll not miss what's new in this area - there are now installed Samsung LCDs at boarding gates.

Past 12 midnight, we arrived at Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal or KL-LCCT.  I still have few Ringgit back then, so I did not bother getting their money.  I immediately asked someone on how can I get to Tunes Hotel.  Honestly, I did not understand her answer.  Perhaps, because it was unclear, I'm not paying attention or I'm still sleepy.  I ended up walking for 10-15 minutes, passing 2 car parks, until I reached the hotel.  But you can actually take a service bus from/to Domestic Arrival area for only 1RM.

Tune Hotels - Hotel Review

Tune Hotels is the partner hotel of Air Asia.  Upon booking at their site, I was surprise as this is my first time to see a hotel where the facilities are being paid per service.  You want to have any of the following, you need to pay additional fee for each.

• Air Conditioning (12 hours) at 14MYR
• Air Conditioning (24 hours) at 20MYR
• Towel Rental + Essential Toiletry Kit at 6MYR
• WIFI Connection per device (24 hours) at 12MYR
• Breakfast Set at 6MYR
• Tune Hotels Insurance at 5MYR

Notice the minutes left on every featured you paid for.

Itinerary: First time visit in Hong Kong

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 all girls they say it is better to stay in Hong Kong Island, which is a little expensive.  On my first to third stay in HK, my personal choice is to stay in Causeway Bay area.

On our fourth visit, I'll be trying to stay in Kowloon (specifically  near Austin and Jordan stations) for the convenience of near the port from Macau, near the shopping areas, closer to Disneyland and closer to International Airport.

Are you looking for trip plans or itineraries for Hong Kong, you are in the right page!

2012 June: Philippines: Batangas: Kainan sa Dalampasigan

Few minutes away from Canyon Cove is Kainan sa Dalampasigan.

More than the food, it is also visited for its ambiance - wooden doors and tables, huge windows, chairs and benches are all different, old ceiling fans, dim lights, lamps on the wall.  Every window is covered by crawling veins and greenery.  Tables are accentuated with live flowers and plants.  It felt like dining in the Spanish era.

Taken from its name "Dalampasigan" or near the shore, it is best to order seafoods.  We tried 'sinigang na hipon', 'squid sisig' and to have a healthy lunch we added chopsuey.

Their menu is affordable and this restaurant is a must visit when you pass by the area of Nasugbu, Batangas.

Philippines: Batangas: Canyon Cove

Valued at 50% discount on Ensogo (http://www.ensogo.com.ph) early this year, we bought 2 vouchers of Canyon Cove for our summer getaway.  But since it is peak season, we moved our reservation in time for my mom’s birthday this June.

Known to be the start of the typhoon season, we were never wrong.  We arrived at the area wet and wild after a two-to-three hour drive from Las Pinas City.  The lobby is at its noisiest state from check-out (12nn) to check-in (3pm), especially that they offered it in a cheaper price.  Tip: If you want to sit and all the sofas are not available, go to Level-3, there are other sofas overlooking the lobby, with grand piano that can be used.

We requested for 2 adjacent rooms and glad it was granted, we are at the center building with superior rooms 444 and 445.

The hotel website (http://www.canyoncove.com.ph/rooms.php) says the truth:

All guestrooms feature a balcony overlooking the pool, garden, or the South China Sea. They are also furnished with a mini-refreshment bar and flat-screen cable TV. Their well-appointed bath has a separate shower and tub.

A coffee/tea maker and electronic safe are also provided.

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

South Korea: Jinhae

How to get there: From Line 2 (Green) Sasang station, take Exit 5 and find your way going to Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal.  This is the terminal bound for West area of Busan.

Buy your tickets at the counter and they can actually understand you when you say Jinhae (but better be ready with Jinhae written on local language as well.)  We got our tickets for 4700 (190php, 2012) and went straight to platform/gate #17.

Travel time is 1 hr and 10 minutes.  Getting closer to the destination, be very observant as to where the bus is heading.  You will actually pass by 2 traffic circle (rotonda) before reaching the Jinhae Inter City Bus Terminal.  Aside from maps.google.com, I see this map very helpful to give tourists understanding on where are we actually going to: http://changwoncity 

If you are planning your next Cherry Blossom visit in Jinhae, make sure that you monitor the trip report at the official site http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/

From the end of March to early April, Korea’s largest cherry blossom festival takes place in Jinhae. Over 2 million tourists come from all over the world to walk along the tree-lined streets and picturesque mountain paths. There are so many cherry blossom trees in Jinhae that when the wind blows it seems as if it is raining cherry blossom petals.

2012 March: Busan: Angel in us Coffee

I knew this café from Lee Min Ho’s City Hunter which I initially watched during my trip in Seoul last June 2011.

But due to caffeine overload last November 2011, I was only able to stop at its place in Myeongdong and force myself to drink a small cup at the airport before leaving Incheon.

2012 March: Busan: Shopping and Water Show

At an average of 8.2 degrees Celsius with heavy rains outside, how can we enjoy Busan?  So I decided that we will just go shopping.  South Korea has really utilized the underground life, by building long streets of malls, cafes, small restaurants, and waiting/meeting areas (all underground).  

First stop, roam around what Seomyeon can offer.  Had grocery (supermarket, use synonyms when asking at the concierge) for the pasalubongs.  Take note that there are no Esprit outlets in Korea, so better visit Uniqlo (also opening in the Philippines on June 15, 2012).  

Seomyeon has three underground shopping malls meeting beneath the Seomyeon road junction, a department store, many shopping stores, bars, restaurants, movie theaters, banks, bookstores, clinics, etc. [Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seomyeon,_Busan] 

Below is already a signature sculpture in most of Shinsegae Malls (same in Seoul).

2012 March: Busan: Night Tour

I have not tried joining any night tour in my previous travels yet, so I decided to give it a try this time.  I did my reservation via phone the afternoon before our trip.  You just need to do your research before booking so it is easier for you to understand the agent.  While talking on the phone it feels like she is still asking her colleague how to say things in English, so what I did was to help her find the words she would like to tell me.

Joining Night Tour: http://www.citytourbusan.com

Fee: 10000 krw (400php, 2012)

How to get there: From Line 1 (Amber) at Busan station, take Exit 8, at a distant (right) you will immediately see Arirang Tourist Hotel and Angel in us Coffee.  The departure point is the bus station in front of this hotel.

Note: 

• To keep the environment in the bus as pleasant as possible, the consumption of food or beverages is not allowed
• Any remaining tickets can be purchased on a first-come-first serve basis from the driver after all customers with prior reservations have boarded

2012 March: Busan: Yongdusan Park

Yongdusan Park

Location: Busan-si Jung-gu Gwangbok-dong 2-ga

Yongdusan in downtown Busan, is one of the 3 well-known mountains in Busan. Its old name is Songhyunsan, which means a mountain has a view of the sea through the dense fine tree forest. Later the name has changed into Yongdusan. It came from its shape, which is similar to dragon head and people thought it has a spirit to defeat enemies coming over the sea. [Reference: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr]

How to get there: From Line 1 (Red) Nampo-dong station, use Exit #1 then read the street signs, you will take a right turn to reach Gawangbok-ro Fashion Street.  (Allow enough time to visit the stores for your shopping trip.)

You will need to take around 4-5 escalators going up.  Take note that you can only take the stairs when you are going down or going back to the metro station.

Greeted by the flower clock (4:35pm), the statue of General Lee Sunsin (the great commander in Joseon Dynasty period(1392-1910)) and Busan tower – there are local working photographers who are good enough to take our photos for free and not to pay for their service.

Citizens of Busan donated million won to build this bell temple which is used every year for the New Year's Eve celebration. [Read more on this link.]

Might be too early for us to attend the Sakura Festival.  Among the thousands of cherry trees all over Busan, we only saw two full blooming trees in Mount Yongdusan.

But at last I saw cherry blossom during my birthday!  Hope to also see sakura in JP within the decade.

Travel Date: March 29, 2012