Sail Away

Fishermen head out to sea to catch fish, in Bolinao, Pangasinan

May 10 Declared A Holiday

Philippine president Gloria Arroyo declared May 10, 2010 - the date of the national elections - a special non-working holiday, to give the citizens a chance to vote.

Dilemma

A sight that illustrates a common dilemma for travelers everywhere: a foreign-language menu, and the fear of ending up with snake gallbladder hors 'oeuvres for dinner

Crystal Magic

A glass blower works his magic to a piece of molten glass inside a curio shop in Disneyland Hong Kong, transforming it into a small decorative figurine.

Landing in NAIA

My Cebu Pacific flight 5J109 landing in Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Monday. Terminal 2 and a PAL 777 are visible from the window

Motion

A double-decker bus speeds along a bustling street in Hong Kong

March 6, 2010

Scenes Around Disneyland

pics, from top: the castle, the dwarves in Rainy Day Express parade, a shop at Main Street USA, tea cup rides, inside the It's a Small World attraction

March 7, 2010

Up in the Air

Kids choose their favorite characters from a balloon seller, at Disneyland Hong Kong.

March 7, 2010

Iconic

One of my favorite iconic skyscrapers in HK is the Lippo Centre, formerly known as Bond Center. The 186-meter twin office buildings, located in Admiralty, were designed to look like koalas clutching a tree.

Kowloon

Kowloon district of Hong Kong, from the roofdeck of MetroPark Hotel. The tallest building on the left is the 118-floor International Commerce Center, soon to be the tallest building in Hong Kong at 484 meters.

The trees in the foreground are part of Victoria Park.

Nice View

Last weekend was my second time in Hong Kong (took my mom for a shopping trip), and fortunately I was able to get a nice place to stay - yup, no smelly sheets this time.

The place is called Metropark Hotel, and it's located in Causeway Bay area, just near the central library and Victoria Park. It's not overly luxurious (3-stars), but not hard on the budget either.

The gym and the swimming pool are located at the roof deck, affording one a fine view over the city.

[pics, from above: Metropark Hotel facade, the skyscrapers along Hong Kong island, the pool on the roofdeck, the Victoria Park tennis courts and Kowloon from a distance]

How to get there: take the MTR Island line from Central to Tin Hau station and take the Victoria Park exit. The hotel is at Tung Lo Wan road.

White Beach

The blistering temperatures that the metropolis is experiencing lately (34+ °C) mean that the dry season is almost here, and it's time to hit the beaches.

pic: Banol Beach, Coron

DFA Authentication and Passport Services Moving to New Building

Got this in my inbox today:

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) wishes to inform the public that its Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) has started the gradual transfer of its operations to a new building located at the corner of Bradco and Macapagal Avenues in Aseana Business Park, near the Mall of Asia.

The new 7,000-square meter, four-storey building is a few blocks away from the DFA main building.

Authentication services will be transferred to the new building on March 4 (Thursday), while all passport operations will be at said location on March 8 (Monday). On said dates, all new consular and passport applications shall be filed at the new location.

Sombrero Island

Sombrero Island (sombrero, Spanish for hat) is a popular dive site just off Batangas. Dive trips to the island can be arranged thru the dive resorts in Anilao and Bauan.