Welcoming the New Year

Fireworks are selling briskly in the streets of Zamboanga City, and in virtually every town and city in the Philippines.

Filipinos welcome the new year with an orgiastic display of firecrackers and fireworks in the belief that loud noises will ward off bad luck.

Ready for Harvest

Ricefields with ripe grains ready for harvest, at Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay. Kabasalan, which is my hometown, is about 3 hours from Zamboanga City by bus.

Oh, Tannenbaum...

The Christmas Tree at Plaza Pershing, in Zamboanga City. Pershing is an American general who served there to "pacify" the Muslims in Mindanao (and yup, he's the same guy the intermediate-ranged nuclear missile was named after).

Zamboanga at Night

Me and family spent the Christmas evening strolling around the city. After offering some candles at the Fort Pilar Shrine, we went to the Paseo del Mar park, then had some food at the new Paseo de Lantaka, located just beside the Lantaka by the Sea hotel. We then went to the city hall to see its Christmas lights-decked splendor.

(pics, from top: the ambiance of Paseo Lantaka, the City Hall, food stalls at Paseo del Mar)

Merry Christmas!

I want to greet the visitors of this blog a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Happy holiday to all!

(pic: kids playing at a diorama at Two International Finance Center mall, Hong Kong

Sunrise at 29,000 Feet

This was taken yesterday during my flight from Manila to Zamboanga (via Cebu Pacific 5J851) at about 6:10 am. I'm guessing that the mountain (it is actually a volcano) is Mt. Banahaw, a sacred peak to some animists and pseudo-Christian group called Rizalistas. It is located at the boundary between Laguna and Quezon provinces.

'Tis the Season to Shop

Megamall shopping mall - the 5th biggest in the world - six days before Christmas.

I love the light in the photos, it made the pictures look like HDR images.

Ortigas CBD

Ortigas business district, as seen from my office, at 31st floor of One San Miguel building

Mayon Volcano

I'm fighting the urge to ditch my Christmas party this Saturday and fly to Legaspi City instead to see the lava flowing down from Mt. Mayon, seen in this photo taken by NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The plume of ash can be seen from space, as well as some lava flows.

update: Other tourists have the same idea as mine apparently, as many have been flocking to Legaspi to see the lava flowing from the volcano, according to this report

How to get there: Cebu Pacific (2x daily) and PAL (10x a week) flies to Legaspi City, Albay from Manila.

[photo by NASA]

Chek Lap Kok Airport

The ultra-modern Chek Lap Kok Airport, aka Hong Kong International Airport, currently the 12-th busiest airport in the world, moving 47 million passengers in 2008. It replaced the Kai Tak airport in 1998.

Tunnel Vision

Walkway on the side of Hong Kong Museum Museum of Art

Taxiing

An Air Macau taxis on the runway of Macau International Airport, viewed from the ferry terminal of Cotaijet.

Macau

Eastwood Mall

Eastwood Mall is one of the newest malls in Metro Manila, located in Libis, Quezon City.

HK Disneyland

Taal Volcano

An off-limits sign warns onlookers not to cross the barrier in the observation area overlooking the 400-meter Taal volcano, in Tagaytay.

Taal is one of the Philippines' most active volcano.

[12.06.09]

Climbing the Macau Tower

It's becoming a mini-activity for my travels now, visiting and ascending the tallest structures of the cities I've been to. During my stay in Macau I made it a point to go up the Macau Tower, which is the 10th highest in the world.

It is located in the heart of the city, about 15 minutes taxi ride from Cotai Strip. There is a convention center/mall built beside the tower, and the entrance is through here. After paying the entrance fee (MOP 90/HK$90), you will be ushered to the elevators that will take you to the observation decks, at 59 and 61st floors.

If you're feeling a bit adventurous, you can walk around the outer rim of the 61st floor observatory while being in a harness, or you can bungee jump from a height of 233 meters. It's the highest bungee jumping in the world, and you will get a certificate from Guiness Book of World Records if you accomplished the feat.

Useful sites:

Macau Tower website

[pics, from top: a come-on from AJ Hackett bungee jumping, the Tower, observation deck, a mural comparing it from other towers, glass floors on the observation deck]

Coffee Alamid

Touted to be the most expensive coffee in the world, Coffee Alamid, is made from coffee beans eaten, digested and pooped by civet cats, known locally as alamid, that feed on coffee berries ( I had one as a pet when I was a kid, btw) . I haven't tasted it yet, but coffee connoisseurs are raving about this exotic brew. A small 50-gram bottle (above) costs PhP 1200 (about US$25).

It can be purchased online through this website, or if you are in Tagaytay area, it can be found in Rowena's, a small delicacy shop along the Emilio Aguinaldo highway.

Hong Kong Space Museum

Visiting Hong Kong would normally mean shopping and Disneyland, but there's more to the island than unbridled capitalism. You may visit the Hong Kong Space Museum instead.

The museum, located in Shim Sha Tsui district in Kowloon, doesn't have displays as extensive as the one I visited in Shanghai, but there's a gem or two in the displays, including the ancient Chinese rockets, and the diorama depicting the Moon landing.

Entrance fee is HK$20.

Sea Turtle

We happen to see this turtle while scuba diving this morning at Dive & Trek resort, Bauan, Batangas.

(pic taken by dive master BQ)

New Travel Companion

During the Hong Kong jaunt I purchased a new camera I could take along for the trip - an Olympus Pen EP-1 Micro-four thirds.

The camera's main selling point, aside from its oh-so-cool retro styling, is its micro four-thirds format. It uses a sensor similar to a DSLR but it doesn't have a prism inside, hence the size is compact-ish and svelte. It has 12 megapixels of resolution, and can take 720p video.

Disney at Night

Riding the Orbitron at Hong Kong Disneyland

Magic Kingdom

The last leg of the trip is the chance to become a kid again, with a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland!

The park, which is accessible via the MTR, is located in Lantau Island (where the airport is). It has four major attractions: Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Mainstreet USA. Main Disney characters pop in various locations during the course of the day; I met Woody and Jessie and managed to have pics taken with them.

Of course it would be unthinkable to be in a theme park and not ride the rides, so I did, in Orbitron. We stayed until closing time (8pm) to watch the Lights of Winter show and the fireworks. The park is riddled with shops where to buy souvenirs and mementos, so how to spend money is not a problem here too .

Aside from the usual attractions, Disneyland HK has two hotels in the complex, Disneyland Hotel and Hollywood Hotel. An overnight stay would cost from HK$1700 onwards. Park ticket costs HK$300 for two-day pass, HK$650 for an annual pass.

How to get there: take the Tung Chung line from Central and get off Sunny Bay. Another train will take you to the park.

Useful links:

MTR routemap

(pics, from top: the castle, the Orbitron, a kid riding the Orbitron, a fountain at the entrance of the park, the Mickey-themed train to the park)

The Venetian Macau

This is the interior of The Venetian. The hotel is the largest in Asia, and is the fourth largest building in the world. It's casino is also the largest in the world.

An artificial canal - San Luca Canal - is built inside, surrounded by shops and restaurants, and the ceiling was painted to look like the sky in daylight.