Boracay Sojourn 2012

There weren't supposed to be any trip planned for this year but cheap plane tickets came along and me and my wife once again found ourselves at the island paradise of Boracay!

It was a four day/three nights stay.  We have been wanting to stay at the Cohiba Villas and it was an opportune time to do so.  However, our day one stay won't be worth it since we had a late afternoon flight so we decided to get a cheap accommodation just to spend the night.

Casa Pilar was our first option but they don't accept overnight stay. We ended up staying at the Escurell Inn at the farther part of Station 3.  We booked the Standard Room with aircon which came with a double bed, a mini ref, cable TV, WiFi, hot and cold shower, and a sitting area.  

I was not able to try their free WiFi (I brought my Smart Weroam) since it was already late when we came back from our dinner and I forgot to get the password from the katiwala.  Escurell Inn may not be my ideal Boracay accommodation but it did provide an adequate sleeping quarters for the night. It is located way off the activity and commercial area (D' Mall) but its location provided for a secluded beach front if you want a serene lounge at the beach.  Personally, this is a last recourse option (like what happened to me).  I purposely did not take pictures of the place since I'm not providing my thumbs up for future vacationers.

Cohiba Villas on the other hand is quite the opposite.  Luxury living is what this place is all about!  

Cohiba Villas is located at the Bulabog side of Boracay (opposite the White Beach).  Bulabog Beach is more known as the surfing side of the island with an assortment of surfing boutiques along the beach side.  The resort is Mediterranean in terms of architecture and owned by a British fellow according to the staff.  

We stayed at Suite A which was a one bedroom accommodation with a queen size bed, a 42" LCD TV with cable, a bathroom with hot and cold shower and a jacuzzi, complemented with a fully furnished kitchen area, a refrigerator, microwave and conventional oven, a gas stove and a complete set of cooking and dining wares; a dining set, a sala set with another  42" LCD cable TV, a DVD player, and an iPOD dock.
 

Open the bedroom drapes and you'll have a spectacular view outside.

My wife and I had different tastes in  terms
of TV shows and the two TV set up was
definitely a plus!

I can just sit there in the jacuzzi all day and read a book
and sip coffee.

A view from the sitting area outside.

A view of the Bulabog coastline with the Monacco Suites
at the background.

Outside of the room, the next best thing about this resort is the infinity pool!  By night, the pool looked really enticing to swim in but we didn't risk the cold water and the strong winds unless we want to get the chills.  But the night view by the pool makes it an ideal spot for cocktails.  Which was why they have a restaurant and bar by the pool side.  However, I think we were the only ones who appreciated it since we were the only customer---which was fine by me since I hate crowded places.  Be wary though because the price list is not VAT inclusive.

The pool area at night.

By day, the pool side offers a magnificent view of the Sibuyan Sea and the Bulabog coast!  And the cold water really went well with the heat of the morning sun!

You can see the Bulabog  Beach from this vantage point.

Most of the tourist checked in during our stay were Koreans. Actually, my wife and I felt that we were the tourist being the only Filipino staying there that time.  Anyway, the Koreans is more interested in staying at the White Beach since we only see them going back to the resort at night.  Basically, we had Cohiba all to  ourselves!

The place is obviously not walking distance from the White Beach but the resort provides for an hourly transport to and pick up at D'Mall.  

Really had a grand time at this place!  I wish we could have stayed longer!  

Can't Get Over Boracay

I have been to Boracay...five times already but I just can't get over this place!  Since 2010, my wife and I has made this island paradise our yearly R and R (rest and recreation) destination.  

Being a photography buff, the beach alone offers a plethora of  photo opportunities!  You can capture the sun rise and fall in glorious majesty; capture the "paraws" at full mast as they knife through the water or as they lay static on the beach front; and snap photos of the many beach characters abound from the fire dancers, the henna artists, the activity hawkers, the massage specialist, to the Korean tourists who seemingly compose the majority of the tourist population! 

Photography aside, the island offers a variety of activities without much worry as how to get there.  Everything is transacted on the beach front:  water activities such as "paraw" sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling, para-sailing, cliff diving; and, land activities like motorbiking, ATV or buggy car trekking, mountain biking, and horse back riding.

Now if you go hungry after all the activities, food establishments line up the beach front to cater to your gastronomical desires!  They offer international cuisines that suit your liking.  Rest assured, you will not go hungry in this place if you have the dough to spend.  If you're on a budget, you can attend the numerous hotel offers of buffet lunch or dinner by enduring 1 1/2 hour presentation.  Not a bad deal, eh?

If you think Boracay wanes to a halt by sunset---guess again!  When the beach activity closes, the night parties begin!   The island is abound with bars and clubs that would definitely satisfy the party goer!  Basically, the island never sleeps!

Boracay...you just can't get enough of this place! 

Hi There, Ms. Jacobs!

Twenty four years old Australian model Jessie Jacobs of Australia came to the Philippines in 2011 to have fun and FUN she had at the island of Boracay!  It was such a wonderful experience that she and her boyfriend took residence in the island to live the paradise dream, so she said in her July FHM interview.

She loves to cook and has so far mastered the art of adobo, sinigang, and tortang talong.  She is also a budding entrepreneur venturing in the fishery business.

Ms. Jacobs is now the plying the Pony merchandize via their print ads.  Pony became more sexy!

Thank you Boracay for bringing Ms. Jacobs here!

Learning Hospitality

Last night, my daughter showed me a school waiver for their 1st semester tour.  There were 3 options stated:  Singapore, Hongkong-Macau, and Boracay.  This is part of their hospitality immersion for graduating students.  

I was already made aware of this tour a week ago by my wife and was actually anticipating how much it would cost.  I do have a contingency fund for this sort of thing given that the past couple of semesters there would almost always have a tour of some sort.  They've gone to Boracay, Iloilo, Palawan,  Ilocos, and some overnighters in a couple of hotels.  

The Boracay option is well within my contingency fund but the other two is like "Whoa!"  It's as if I'm enrolling for another semester all together!  The Hongkong-Macau trip is at Php 25,000 and the Singapore trip is a staggering Php 35,000!  Holy Momma!  That's definitely going to hurt the family coffers!  And then I thought about it some more...what if there's really a value to this trip?  I guess that's another thing to consider.  If there is truly something worthwhile that my daughter will learn in this trip, then I guess I have no choice.  But if this will only mean an experience of going outside of the country see Disneyland, Universal Studios, or play in the casinos---it's a total waste of hard earned money!

What is HOSPITALITY all about, really?

According to Mr. Wikipedia,  "Hospitality is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, resorts, membership clubs, conventions, attractions, special events, and other services for travelers and tourists."

Hospitality is all around us.  It is all about service and the quality by which it is delivered is where hospitality comes in.  "At Home Ako sa Jollibee" is an example of a hospitality campaign slogan.  However, it remains to be a slogan until those who will provide the service will be able to translate it into an actual customer experience.  So where does all this fit in with the curriculum of Trinity University of Asia's Hospitality and Tourism Management?  According to the university website, the following are the objectives of the Hospitality and Tourism Management:

• Continuously develop a competency-based curriculum as strong foundation for effective instruction.
• Provide faculty members who are qualified and competent, committed to help develop students who are globally competitive.
• Inculcate among students the Christian values that will serve as tools in their personal development.
• Take active part in the country’s development, particularly, the Tourism industry or its allied fields through the development of strong manpower resources.

To provide a globally competitive manpower resource.  I guess this is where the reasoning behind the international trip.  However, what can be learned from 3 days and two nights abroad that you cannot learn domestically?  Service is generic.  What differentiates it is how establishments translate this into an experience worth coming back to.  

Filipinos are noted to be a hospitable people.  This is why many service oriented companies abroad like hiring Filipinos.  Aside from being industrious we can't help but make customers feel at home.  I guess we're already globally competitive after all.

Leylam Shawarma Rice

I've been fantasizing about going back to Boracay and while I was scanning my old photos I chanced upon this shot which I took during my birthday dinner at the island.

I first got a taste of Leylam Shawarma in May 2011 when I was vacationing in Boracay.  Me and my wife were looking for something to eat for dinner and came across this shawarma booth along the pathway of Station 2.  It was rice topped with sliced beef, mixed veggies, barbecue and garlic sauce topped with a sunny side up egg.    I'm a shawarma lover I must say that this is the best shawarma rice that I've ever tasted!  It has great value for money at Php 55 and definitely worth the queuing time!  

At first I thought that Leylam Shawarma was generic to Boracay but lo and behold---there's one at SM Fairview food court!   The thought of this immediately got my gastronomical craving into over-drive and I trekked to SM Fairview to get me a dose of Shawarma Rice with Egg!

However, the price is not as I remember it in Boracay.  Mall price of a Shawarma Rice with Egg is Php 69.  Another significant difference is that in place of the barbecue sauce is now mayoed hot sauce which took away the barbecue sweet taste.  Masarap pa rin naman but I like the original recipe better.

Vacationing in Boracay on a Limited Budget

It’s not cheap going to Boracay so you have to know where you can get free grub. So don’t pass up on hotel presentation invites. The come on: a buffet lunch or dinner in exchange for a 90 minute presentation. Well, we got two invites so me and my wife got free buffet lunch and buffet dinner at the Astoria Boracay and the Canyon de Boracay, respectively. Not a bad deal, right?

I’ve heard everything about the hotel pitch countless times already that I was the one leading the presentation just to hasten things up. Unfortunately, his presentation will need to be no less than 90 minutes and his notes fully filled up for him to earn his keep for the night. So we kinda cheated on time a bit and talked more of the other good stuff to be done in Boracay.

My free Starbucks coffee from HSBC also helped get us going with all the sight seeing and walking that we were doing.

Unfortunately, our free accomodations I got from a car show did not pan out.  I'll reserve that for next time.

Globe Telepresence: Welcome to the Future of Global Communication

Last October 14, I had the unique experience of being in a “telepresence meeting” at the Globe office in Makati.

I’ve had my own share of video conferencing but the experience was passable based on the existing technology. Normally, it would be a set up of a 17” monitor with a VGA camera panned out to accommodate the group of people in attendance. Bandwidth limitation would cause some delay in the video transmission but voice quality, well, let me put it this way---we can understand each other (that’s the bottomline anyway, right?). Given my minimal expectations of what a video call might be---Globe’s Telepresence BLEW MY MIND!

The set up that I got the opportunity to witness was a six seater room equipped with 3 very large LCD displays (that delivers high resolution video) and three 1080p cameras that captures smooth, high definition videos with auto-focus and white balance to optimize realism. The room actually mimics a round table set up good for a total of 12 pax---the experience enables a life-size “in person” meeting across multiple locations around the world in real time.

With this solution, company executives who invest on international trips will surely benefit from the cost saving opportunities in utilizing telepresence as a means to meet with clients and business partners. Travel time and incidental cost will be put to a minimum. Aside from this, it will also give the environment a reprieve from the harmful by product of air travel.

With Globe’s 24x7 international connectivity, companies can rent out a telepresence room to set up business meetings. To facilitate this, a 24 hour concierge service was set up featuring an online booking facility to schedule the Globe Telepresence room in Makati City.

For companies with extra room in their budget to spare, having their own telepresence room facility will cost around… a 7 digit number to build.

For an “in person” meeting experience around the world, go to http://globe.com.ph/telepresence .

___________________________

Go and visit Boracay! Click the link below for the best packages---
http://www.boracay-packages.com/

Moniegold Chewy Tamarind Candy

I was introduced to this treat by my daughter. I was intrigued as to what the rock-like thingy she was snacking on one time and took one for taste. It was hard to the bite but becomes chewy after a couple of chomps. It's initially sweet and becomes spicy at the tail end with that distict tamarind taste. Surprisingly, taking one would lead you to take another and another and another...it's quite addicting really.

Anyway, I found it as a substitute to my garlic peanut addiction. Yeah, yeah, both addiction but I guess it's the lesser evil given my high uric acid result. Tamarind is a fruit and as such it's a better alternative. However, ever since I started eating it I noticed that my pooping became more frequent and...well...smelled kindda funny...TANGY actually. Then I remembered that tamarind, when consumed in large quantities, is a natural laxative.

Note to self: DON'T EAT TOO MUCH SPECIALLY DURING LONG TRAVELS. Ahh, to hell with it! I'll just always carry baby wipes to be safe!

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Go and visit Boracay! Click the link below for the best packages---
http://www.boracay-packages.com/

FrancisM Clothing Co. 4th Year Anniversary @ The Collective - October 8, 2010

Since I’ve started this day talking about influences, a notable Filipino personality popularly known as the “King of Pinoy Rap”, Francis Magalona, comes to mind.

Francis died more that a year ago but his legacy in both music and national pride lives on in the Filipino psyche. He is a rapper, song writer, producer, director, photographer, and entrepreneur. In all these endeavors Francis was able to put in his distinctive Filipino mark.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the 4th year anniversary of the FrancisM Clothing Co. (FMCC) at The Collective in Makati. The FMCC provided Francis another avenue to showcase the Filipino. “Brown Like Wood, Filipino by Blood” is FMCC’s company creed. Their mission, “To create worthy products for the urban patriot, the balikbayans, and the local market. To mix “cool” with subliminal social commentary, and create awareness towards issues that the Filipino faces in this new millennium. To put it simply, our goal is to “FILIPINIZE THE WHOLE WORLD”.

The event showcased an exhibit of Francis Magalona memorabilia: his numerous movie posters, awards, photographs, concert costumes, comics collection, and his toys. GMA 7 and ABS-CBN covered the event and interviewed the personalities in attendance which included Francis’ siblings Maxene and Elmo Magalona and Francis’ rapper protégé Gloc9.

The event was capped off with a mini concert by Gloc9 and Francis’ son Elmo Magalona at the B Side bar. Unfortunately, the concert was too late in the night and since we still had our parental obligations to attend to me and my wife had to split early.

Rest in Peace, Brother! You remain in our hearts!

You tend to wonder why a grown man can have so many

toys! But I guess it only goes to show the young child in the

legend of Francis Magalona.

The many faces of the Master Rapper

Two of the rare Tagalog films I've watched in

my life time.

The master's various accomplishments in film, music, and photography.

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Go and visit Boracay! Click the link below for the best packages---

http://www.boracay-packages.com/