First time in Bacolod: Arrival for Masskara 2012

I think it was in July when we asked the travel agency to book us a roundtrip flight to Bacolod for the Masskara Festival. Good thing one of our friends has relatives there so our accommodation is free.

It's my first time in Bacolod, and I didn't expect it to be a nice place with really nice people. The Masskara festival surprised me because it's very colorful and happy. It's super cool that I was able to understand what the Ilonggos were saying 'coz I have somehow learned the Ilonggo dialect from my friends from Iloilo.

We left Manila on Friday night, Oct. 19. We were picked up by my friend's aunt from Bacolod Silay International Airport then we travelled around 30 minutes to the city. We had dinner at Nena Rose, where we ordered the city's specialty which is the Bacolod chicken inasal, pork barbecue, and an iced tea tower. And we ate using our hands! It was a treat by my friend's aunt. Super awesome!:)

 Waiting for the plane...

we were too hungry to take a photo of our food haha

We headed to my friend's grandmother's place. It's a huge house inside a village of huge houses. We stayed at the guest room, which was connected to the main house but had a separate door. It's great news for us because if we arrive late at night, we can just proceed to our room from the gate, without having to pass through the main house. haha!

 the guest room

Since I was trying to rush my last paper for the semester, it took us a while before leaving the house to experience the Bacolod nightlife. At 11pm, we headed out. The driver took us to Dugout Sports Bar because there's a Smart-sponsored event there and we were supposed to meet with our friends from Vans. Unfortunately, something came up and they didn't make it. Too bad we had to pay Php 250 'coz we were not in the guestlist. We're supposed to join the reserved table of our friends to get in for free but they didn't arrive. Actually there wasn't much of a crowd there because everyone's at the Globe Tattoo/Republiq/Opus rooftop party at L' Fischer Hotel. At 1am, we headed back to the house to rest and prepare for the following day.

 Dugout

sleepy faces haha

Next post is about our experience in the Mambukal Resort:)

Phantom of the Opera

Super late post! I'm just glad I didn't miss it! Got a free Orchestra ticket from PLDT through my bestfriend so we watched it together last September 19. I came a bit late but I didn't miss a lot. It's really a world-class performance!:)

Maroon5 in Manila

Well it's better late than never. I almost forgot about posting this. I got a free SRO ticket from PLDT for Maroon 5's concert last September 18 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. I watched the concert with my BFF and her colleagues at work, whom I call my PLDT friends. It's one of the best concerts ever! Adam Levine is sooo hot!:)

It's so funny because the bouncers were driving us away from the aisles near the stage. But when the lights were turned off and only the stage lights were up, we ran to the part nearest the stage. And while watching the concert, we were pushed by people towards the stage that's why we ended up so near the stage! haha!

Here are some of the photos I've taken with my not-so-talented Sony Cybershot TX5:

 complimentary pass

PLDT Marketing friends 

 hotness!

 another concert with my BFF

Here are some of the videos I have uploaded on Vimeo:

Payphone (Maroon5 in Manila) from royciepoisie on Vimeo.


She Will Be Loved (Maroon5 in Manila) from royciepoisie on Vimeo.


Daylight (Maroon5 in Manila) from royciepoisie on Vimeo.

We Survived Shanghai!

The night of our Day 3 was the schedule of our flight back to Manila. We took the Metro Line 2 from East Nanjing Road to Pudong International Airport, which took us a little over an hour in the train. We checked-in at the Cebu Pacific counter, but since it's already 11pm, most of the food places there were already closed. There's one open somewhere near the boarding gates, but it's quite expensive there. We chose to spend all the Yuans left in our pockets here! haha! (But when I got home I actually found a left over of around 140 RMB in the deepest part of my bag haha)

survivors! haha!

 we were too hungry that we forgot to take a photo of the ramen we ordered lol

just so you won't get bored at the airport

After all the misadventures in our 3-day trip in Shanghai, I can say that we really had fun. We had a lot of discoveries and we learned a lot from this trip.

Although we initially planned to visit Shanghai Zoo, the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, the Jiang'an Temple, the Jade Buddha Temple, and the buffet at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, we were not able to do so due to our very tight itinerary. We could've gone to all of those places if we stayed there for 5 days. But of course, that would mean more expenses. So here's a quick estimate of our expenses:

Round Trip Airfare (Manila-Pudong Shanghai-Manila) - Php 5000+ each

*Our trip was dated Sept. 20-24 and we bought it on promo on the 1st week of June.

Accommodation for 2pax (3 nights) - Php 4100 (so Php 2,050 each)

*We booked it via Agoda and paid through credit card. Among the Jinjiang Group of Hotels, Jinjiang Inn in Donbaoxing had the highest ratings, and we agree!:)

Philippine Travel Tax: Php 1620 each

NAIA Terminal 3 Terminal Fee: Php 550 each

ERA: Intersection of Time (Shanghai Circus World) - Php 1254 each (or 190 RMB)

*We're supposed to by the farthest seats at 90 RMB but we missed the day we originally reserved those seats so we had no choice but to use a credit card to pay for 190 RMB each on the night of the show (since 90 RMB seats were already full); but it's worth it!:)

Pocket Money (shopping not included) - Php 7500 each

*We had this changed to Yuan at Czarina Money Changer in Makati Cinema Square. Just make sure you reserve Yuans 3 days prior to the day you'll have your money changed. To cover transportation, food (and cocktails haha) expenses, entrance fees to attractions and some "pasalubong" to our common friends. It's always better to bring a credit card or contingency funds.

Emergency Expense (Airport Hotel Accommodation for 2 pax for 12 hrs) - Php 2,625 (or Php 1312 each

*Cebu Pacific flights are always at 8:20pm and you arrive there in Shanghai at midnight. It is better to book that as your first night in your hotel because that's our mistake. We thought we could stay at the airport 'til the Metro opens at around 5:30am but Pudong International Airport was just a dead zone by midnight 'til before sunrise. So we ended up booking an airport hotel (15 mins away from the airport w/ free transfers) at 398 RMB even if we stayed there for only 8hrs. Thank God for credit cards!

So we spent a a total of Php 21,400 each in our 3-day trip. Could've been cheaper if not because of that emergency expense haha!

Some quick tips:

1. Do a lot of research so you can plan your itinerary and come up with a budget.

2. Download these apps: Trip Advisor, Wow Shanghai, Shanghai Metro, Guidepal Shanghai.

3. To be updated of the events, log on to www.smartshanghai.com.

4. If you're a CouchSurfer, there are a lot of CS members there who have available couches you can surf. Although I wasn't able to meet with any of them due to our tight schedule.

5. Make a reservation online for your ERA tickets and just pay upon pick-up before the show.

6. Be sure that your check-in baggage weighs exactly as the allowable baggage weight or else you'll end up opening your baggage there and pulling out your stuff to make them your carry-on baggage. I suggest you bring an extra bag (a foldable one) so if you have to remove stuff from your check-in baggage, you can move some of your stuff to your extra bag for carry-on baggage.

7.Bring food and water all the time because you might be skipping meals trying to accomplish everything in your itinerary.

8. Wear comfortable clothes, most especially your footwear! Flats or sneakers will do.

9. Bring Chinese Yuan. Reserve Yuan first at Czarina Money Changer.

10. Do not trust the 1st price they give you. Haggle to death! Be kind always but try to act as if you're leaving so they'll chase you and give you the price you want.

11. Get a city map at the airport. It will navigate you to the famous attractions there.

12. Bars and Clubs are primarily located in Fuxing Road, plus some are in Century Avenue and The Bund.

13. In crossing the Huangpu River, take the ferry as its way cheaper and better than The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel.

14. Dedicate an entire day for shopping. We were not able to do it!

15. Get the number of the Shanghai Translator (maybe online).

16. Roam your mobile phone. Data roaming is available at promo rates with Globe because of the Bridge Alliance. For Smart, data charging is per KB usage.

17. Ask the person from the check-in counter to put a "Fragile" mark on your luggage so they won't torture your luggage.

18. They don't have Facebook and Twitter there but there's Foursquare, Path, and Instagram.

19. It's super hard to find a free wifi hotspot there. There's an open wifi at O'yamee in Century Avenue though haha!

20. They said buffet's good at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower revolving restaurant. Lunch is cheaper than dinner, and it's priced at around Php 2000 - Php 2500. We missed that because we didn't have much time.

So that's a wrap! Hope this can guide you as you plan your trip to Shanghai.:) Check out my previous posts for more detailed tips:

http://www.citygirldiaries.com/2012/10/surviving-shanghai-day-3.html

http://www.citygirldiaries.com/2012/10/surviving-shanghai-day-3.html

http://www.citygirldiaries.com/2012/10/surviving-shanghai-day-1-official.html

http://www.citygirldiaries.com/2012/10/surviving-shanghai-arrival-mishaps.html

xoxo!

Surviving Shanghai: Day 3

It's our last day in Shanghai and our itinerary as we planned actually covered People's Square, Shanghai Museum, and West Nanjing Road (for shopping). However, we got some kind of deviation from our originally itinerary.

We're supposed to start our day early but we ended up waking up late because our beds and sheets were too comfy! haha! So we had breakfast at Mcdo, which was two blocks away from our hotel. Then we walked to Baoshan Road station, passing buy a market of surplus goods. Well it looked like Divisoria of gadgets, kitchenwares, industrial stuff, etc. There were lots of people even in the streets so we didn't bother to take a look anymore.

 Double Cheeseburger and it's cheaper there than in the P.I.

We went off at People's Square station. Then we walked a couple of blocks to get to the Shanghai Museum. The museum is open from 8am to 5pm and admission is free. It's super worth our time because we got to know China even more. I've been familiar with Chinese dynasties since high school, and it's so cool to have images and artefacts to associate with  what I've learned those days about the Chinese history.

Shanghai Grand Theater

flowers!:)

inside the museum

ancient pottery

Chinese calligraphy

bad hair day lol

please excuse the kid behind me lol

panorama shot via iOS 6

I forgot the name of this road but it's a strip of restaurants and some boutiques

After a little over an hour inside the museum, we headed to West Nanjing Road, thinking of finding a bazaar in the street but there's none. We walked towards the East Nanjing Road until we found a building which looked like the Silk Market in Beijing or 168 in Divisoria. I got to practice my bargaining skills with a cute leather bag/clutch that we bought. The initial price offered was 620 RMB, and I was like...seriously?!? That wasn't even branded! She did a demo wherein she tried to burn the bag using a lighter and it didn't show any mark. So I haggled a lot of times and whenever the saleslady wouldn't agree, we were acting as if we're leaving, then she's been stopping us every time. Until we arrived at the price of 120 RMB. Imagine that?!? Well they speak good English so you can always negotiate with them without the charades haha! But I suggest, be kind when you haggle because it gets them guilty for overpricing that's why it's easier to haggle. (wasn't able to take a photo of the building)

Shopping there wasn't enough so we headed to the Super Brand Mall, a 13-storey shopping mall in century Avenue. We didn't have much time to shop because we had to catch our flight later that night. Surprisingly, we spent about an hour in H&M on the 1st floor of the building and we had to do a 15-minute grocery shopping for "pasalubong" in the supermarket at the ground floor. After that quick shopping, we took a cab back to the hotel, fixed our things, and left the hotel. The security guard of the hotel called a cab for us and we thought they already talked about where we're headed to. But apparently, they didn't. The taxi driver couldn't understand that we wanted him to take us to the East Nanjing Road station since that's the nearest Line 2 station from the hotel, and that's the metro line headed to the Pudong International Airport. The driver was too kind and resourceful that he used hi cellphone to call the Shanghai Translator call center. He passed his phone to us then the agent on the line said, "This is the Shanghai Translator. Where do you want to go? I will translate it to your driver." It's super cool! I suggest you search its number online because it will be useful if you don't want to do charades haha!

About our departure, I'll share it on my next post. I will also include a summary of our trip, some tips and a bit of an estimated expense to help you guys on planning your trip to Shanghai.

xoxo

Surviving Shanghai: Day 2

We lost another opportunity of going out in the morning because I had to take my final exam online in one of my subjects in my masters. So we left the hotel at lunch time and headed to Yu Garden and City God Temple. We got off at Yuyuan Garden station, crossed the street and walked our way to the temple.

 be careful while crossing the street 'coz they rarely obey traffic rules there

While walking to the temple, there were a lot of shops. That's Yuyuan Market, a place that looks like Divisoria. Anyway, we entered the temple and we were surprised that about 3/4 of the whole place were transformed into a shopping haven. Some parts of the temple were also converted into restaurants. But still, they were able to preserve the Chinese heritage the temple has.

 map

 super cute pandas!!!

We found a tip on GuidePal Shanghai, another useful application I downloaded from the Apple App Store, that the "xiaolongbao" or soup dumpling in Nan Xiang Restaurant is a must-try. So we tried it! There was a very long outside the restaurant for "take out" orders and it's a whole lot cheaper there too. But since we wanted to avoid the queue, we'd rather be seated and pay more, so we went up the 3rd floor of the 3-storey restaurant. The xiaolongbao is quite expensive at 36 RMB and it's good for 1 person only. I suggest, just be patient with the queue if you wanna get it for a cheaper price. Trust me, it's super worth it! It's very tasty! We also ordered another set of dumplings and a shanghai roll. The dumplings were also good, but we were surprised because the shanghai roll came in just one small piece and rolled like a crepe. It's delicious but not enough.

long queue outside

 dumplings

 THE "xiaolongbao"

 tea that doesn't taste good

 THE "spring roll"

 i want this! haha

There's a part of the temple that's more exclusive. There's an entrance fee of 40 RMB because it's peak season. I think it's cheaper at off season. Actually, besides the Chinese history reflected on the structure of the temple, there's nothing else to see there. By saying that, I meant that there's nothing spectacular and if I had to compare it with those I saw in Beijing a year ago, it's too far from how awesome the stuff in Beijing were.

 tickets at 40 RMB because it's peak season

 used an effect from my Camera 360 app

 the stage

saw this cute display on our way out

Then we proceeded to the Fashion Center where we saw a lot of international brands. But across that were stores that were like a bazaar or Divisoria. We were not able to shop because we had to catch a show after.

they have these yummy doughnuts too!

From Yuyuan Garden station, we took the metro train to Shanghai Circus World station. It's so funny 'cause we walked the wrong way when after all, we just had to cross the street to see the Shanghai Circus World. A week before leaving for Shanghai, I booked a 2 tickets of 90 RMB each (cheapest) through the ERA: Intersection of Time website. It was just a reservation as we had to pick up the tickets when we get to the venue. However, when we got there, I was informed that my reservation was for Friday night and not Saturday night! Gosh, how did I overlook that?!? Unfortunately, the seats worth 90 RMB were already fullybooked so we got those worth 190 RMB instead. But trust me, it's super worth it! ERA was the best thing I've ever seen! There were lots of heart-stopping stunts! To give you an idea of what I was talking about...imagine this: Eight motorcycles in maximum speed were all inside a globe at the same time! That's a superb finale! Anyway, I won't spoil it much anymore, you gotta see it for yourselves! 

 after buying tickets

By the way, before we watched the show, we had dinner at Saizeriya, a restaurant I got to know when I was in Japan. They served good food. It's located at the mall on the block next to the Shanghai Circus World.

 affordable and yummy!

 tiramisu! yum!

 chicken

hamburger

 during intermission. that's a timer.

 8 motorcycles inside that globe! anyway, here's the cast!:)

best thing I've ever seen, so far.

Check out http://www.era-shanghai.com/era/en/ for details. Here are some photos I've grabbed from the website, featuring the highlights of the show:

Highlight 1: Mirror Mirage

Highlight 2: Magic Water

Highlight 3: Floating Gondola

Highlight 4: Music of ERA

Highlight 5: Jar Juggling

Highlight 6: Wheel of Life

 Highlight 7: Forever

Highlight 8: Space Motorcycles

Anyway, after the show, we headed to Century Avenue while figuring out where to go for a Saturday night. Incidentally, we detected a free/open wifi outside O'yamee right outside the Century Avenue station. We stayed outside the place for almost an hour trying to browse our iPhone travel apps on suggestions of places to go. Guidepal Shanghai is nice because on wifi or 3G, it can show a live map wherein it shows you the nearby spots, as you move your phone around. It has this censor that detects your location. Super cool! Plus you can also checkout www.smartshanghai.com on the internet because it contains the daily events in Shanghai. That night we read about lots of events happening in multiple places but we're not dressed and we just wanted to have a steady night.

Guidepal screen cap

Then we decided to go to The Alchemist. According to the app, it's a bar that serves unusual cocktails that will get you amazed as they prepare them in front of you. Since we got curious, we chose that place. It's at Fuxing Lu, the heart of nightlife in Shanghai 'coz it's where you'll find series of different bars. Anyway, The Alchemist is located at Sinan Mansions, it's like a mivi village of nice houses that has a commercial area at the entrance. There were a few people that night at The Alchemist but most of them were expats. The English-speaking Chinese bartender was so entertaining because he kept talking to the customers and he really speaks with American accent! His favorite word: f*ckin haha! Anyway, their cocktails were good though a bit pricey. We also ordered the Eggwich -- 4pcs butter-toasted bread with poached egg on top -- and it's super addicting! After more than an hour there, we headed back to the hotel.

 cocktails :)

 we're seated by the bar

 eggwich! super love!!!!

 salad

 seems like a very nice place to live in

So that's our 2nd day in Shanghai! Next post is about our 3rd and last day in Shanghai...