Round here

Here are tips and encouragement to spend some of that extra cash to see wonders and enjoy time with friends, old and new.  For 2012 we still have six months, “Tara byahe na!”

February 2012, Saigon, Vietnam:  I’ll start with something obvious “Motorcycles are everywhere”.  Hồ Chí Minh doesn’t have a train line, a number of buses can be seen but the best way to go around is to walk.  Street vendors and motorcycle drivers have their own gimmicks so don’t fall for them; I did hear a lot of arguments first hand.  Our group walked around the district and visited the reunification palace, Notre-dame basilica church and the war history museum.  As the day ends we went shopping at Bến Thành Market where all lady vendors use either their beauty or their aggressive, persistent and assertive efforts just to make a sale.  I advise you shop at the outer layer of the market where prices are all fixed rather than combatting or haggling on items you’d wonder why you’d buy at all.   
We took a day tour to visit Cao Dai Temple and Củ Chi Tunnel, yep the tunnels are tourist friendly I was able to traverse 50+ meters underground without suffocating.  We also did a whole day boat trip on Mekong Delta which I enjoyed much.  Food and drinks (alcoholic or not) are really affordable so don’t be wary and just try out whatever you want.   Be prepared to be a millionaire, a USD 100 would make you one.  It ‘s also enough for food, drinks and other trip necessity for 4 days.  I didn’t expect much from this trip but in turn it taught me a lot, that’s money well spent.  One important tip is to keep your belongings guarded, there are a lot of snatchers and pickpockets around crowded areas.

February 2012, Mui Ne, Vietnam: This is a side trip from our Saigon tour.  The six hour trip from Saigon was not spent in vain because the sand dunes were astonishing.   Coming from Saigon we took a sleeper bus to get some Zs while travelling.   We arrived at our beautiful beach resort home to rest then we were picked up by our guide to go around Mui Ne.  
We chanced upon the sunrise at the white dunes, played like children sliding on the sand, took some pictures and videos like kids with no care at all.  It was a lot of fun; this side trip was not to be topped I said.  Hell yeah, if I was to go back to Vietnam this place would be the priority destination.

 

March 2012, Taal Volcano: I did have a misconception that the active Taal crater is the one visible from Tagaytay.  But to my surprise that was the inactive one, there’s another hole in the centre of the island.  A team treating their client went to the crater and they had me tag along for the trip, lucky!  The drive going to Tagaytay via Sta. Rosa was fun; the downhill drive I think was difficult and somewhat a punishment to the van. So if you plan to bring a car, learn how to handle steep roads to be prepared.  The half day trip cost around 800 pesos per person excluding tips; the trip includes a boat ride to the island, a horseback ride to the crater and a local guide.  The horse had a hard time carrying me but she did prevail.  Horseback riding was a first time for me so balancing was though but in just a matter of minutes I did get the hang of it.  The view was worth the bumpy ride and the experience was a first so the trip was a big thumbs-up. 

March 2012, Beijing, China:  Backpacking style, my wife and I ventured to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  We availed of Travel Factor’s tour that cost us USD350 each then we relied on Cebu Pacific’s promo for lower airfare.   Getting a Visa is not a problem, it’s a mere submission of required documents and as long as it’s complete you’ll be granted one. 
It was winter so my wife’s dream of seeing snow was granted, a big hurrah for me.  Food was excellent; having Peking duck everyday was in turn my dream, ha-ha-ha-ha.  Getting around Beijing is stress free as long as you have a game plan to maximize time. Using the bus line is easy and cheap, the train is somewhat crowded so I won’t recommend it. 

The wall was truly grand but getting there would cost much. One workaround is to join a group tour for less cost, that’s what we did.  I always thought I can freely run up and down the wall as Big Bird did in Sesame Street.  But due to snow, the pavements were slippery and to top that the steps were agonizingly steep.  So much for the running up and down dream, nevertheless I consider this a milestone travel for me.

April 2012, San Antonio, Zambales:   The Nascimento team and friends opted to spend summer at Hacienda Feleo (Enrique Feleo’s private rest house).  I can’t present any costing here since we got the Feleo hospitality for free.  Two days of team building activities such as learning the game of Frisbee, racing around the hacienda via ATV, beach bumming, island hopping, dancing frantically using Kinect, a virtual tennis competition using Wii, playing darts, trash talking and a failed movie night (accompanied by an orchestra of snores) that ended unexpectedly. 

 May 2012, Bella Rocca, Marinduque:  Chanced upon a Citibank credit card promo that slashed the price to closely what we call affordable.  Still expensive if you ask me but you can’t exchange that for the time well spent with family and friends.  The island was confounding, you’ll wonder if you’re really at south Luzon or somewhere out of the country.   Bella Rocca is a place for someone who wants to relax and just bum out, ah correct it is a good setting to flick through a book.  Service is superb; I have no words on how to describe the place; food is pricy but what the heck.  Let me tell you about our stay: Plane – Van – Boat – Check-in – Eat – Swim – Sleep – Eat – Swim – Eat – Billiards/foosball – Relax – Eat – Sleep – Eat – Relax – Check-out – Boat – Van.  Except for the expense it’s a five out of five for me.

May 2012, Boac Marinduque: What can I say it’s our family’s home province.  A place synonymous to home and the Moriones festival.  You can easily get here via bus to Dalahican Port, Lucena, Quezon then a boat ride to Balanacan port, Mogpog, Marinduque then take a jeep to Boac, Marinduque.  The whole journey would cost around 800 pesos.  You can check-in at Boac hotel for accommodation, roam around and enjoy the rich historic place.  You can take an adventure and see Boac’s neighbouring cities.  It’s not that expensive’ so you can have your money’s worth touring around and eating whatever you feast your eyes on.

There you go a lot of options to add to your travel bucket.  Have fun!