Bangkok Valentine's Weekend: Arrival

My bestfriend and I have been wanting to go to Bangkok. However, the cheapest air fare that we used to find was around Php 12,000. But luckily, we stumbled upon a seat sale via Cebu Pacific late last year. We immediately booked a roundtrip flight, which cost around Php 7,000.

After booking a flight, I informed a Thai friend of mine (whom I met in a conference here in the Philippines in 2009) that we're coming on February 2013. My friend offered to give us free accommodation in Bangkok. He's a CEO of a land valuation company in Bangkok, so he booked us at a hotel near his office. And other than him, I also met the daughter of his bestfriend at the same conference. She is around 4-5 years older than me, but she's now about to graduate on her PhD, and a director (but acting CEO since her CEO father is sick) of their land valuation company. They really impressed me because they're very down to earth and really kind and very accommodating.

Anyway, if you're going to Thailand, have your peso changed into baht here in Manila before leaving. In our case, we had some of our peso changed into baht via BPI (thank God for a friend who's working there and was able to endorse us to the right person) because Czarina didn't have baht. During our previous travels, we got our money changed into won, HKD, and RMB/yuan there, given that we had them reserved. Unfortunately, not in the case of baht. 

We had our traditional BFF Valentine's dinner at the airport because our flight was at around 9pm. Then we finally boarded the plane for a 4-hour ride!:) Our flight was on Feb. 14, but we arrived in Bangkok at around 12am of Feb. 15; and we were there until the night of Feb. 17, 'cause our flight was past midnight of Feb. 18.

Upon arriving at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, we took a cab to Nararam Suite 3 (88/15 Narathiwas Soi 28, 30 Nonsi Road, Chongnonsi, Yannawa, Silom / Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand 10120). It's important to bring a map with the address written in Thai and be sure to have the hotel's contact number ready. In our case, we printed out the address and map but it wasn't written in Thai. Just when we thought the dispatcher (can speak and understand English but not so much) was able to relay our destination to the taxi driver well, we got a bit lost. I was forced to turn on my data roaming because we badly needed Internet and GPS. Apparently, we were brought to condo nearby our hotel; it's just that we can't get through because the road is being closed every night. We had to go the longer route to get to the hotel. Good thing the cab driver was nice enough to ask people for directions, and thank God, he's not an irate driver.

pink taxi

We paid him 400 baht even if our meter was only 350 baht because we were really grateful of him. But actually if we didn't get lost, our meter would only be less than 300 baht haha! Also, other than the cab fare, we also paid for 2 toll fees from the airport. One was 25 baht and the other was 45 baht. The airport is kinda far from the city proper. So upon arriving at the boutique hotel, we just told our host's name and we were given our room key. We're happy with our accommodation because besides the fact that it's free, it's actually a nice suite. I really recommend it because it's in a peaceful neighborhood and the room rates are affordable. It just costs an average of Php 1,200 per night for 2 pax; however, it's not that close to downtown where the malls and party places are.

Here's what we have initially spent:

Manila

1. Airfare (via Cebu Pacific) - PhP 7,000
2. Accommodation (3 nights) - FREE
3. Terminal Fee - PhP 1,620
4. Travel Tax - PhP 550

TOTAL: PhP 9,170 each

Bangkok

1. Toll Fee 1: ThB 25

2. Toll Fee 2: ThB 45

3. Cab Fare: ThB 400

TOTAL: ThB 470 or PhP 655 (PhP 328 each)

Exchange rate: ThB 1.39 = PhP 1.00

TOTAL: PhP 9,825


xoxo,

city girl

Be it Haute Couture or RTW, Solari Clothing has got it for you!

Solari is a fashion brand of apparel for women. It creates both RTW and haute couture (custom-made) clothing for women.

Why Solari?

The brand name “Solari” refers to the family name of the long lost king and queen of Italy. Having this name means having great power and beauty to influence others and get their way. The same thought applies to the line of apparel that the brand presents. The class and sophistication of Solari’s designs allow a woman to show off great power and beauty, thus influencing the style of other women. Solari does not break too far away from the conventional fashion; instead, it adds a couple of unconventional elements to its designs to achieve a classy yet edgy sense of style.

Ready-To-Wear (RTW)

 Haute Couture (Custom-Made)

Actual

Sketches

Shop now at Solari!

For inquiries and orders,

Email: solariclothing.ph@gmail.com

Mobile No.: +63 918 946 8629

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SolariClothing

Multiply: www.solariclothing.multiply.com (under construction)

Can the Blackberry Z10 Convince You?

I've had a Blackberry since 2009. First was the Curve 8520, then at mid-2010, I had it changed into a Bold 9700. But in December 2011, I got an iPhone 4S a week after it was  launched. I didn't give up my Blackberry despite having an iPhone because I can't let go of all my BBM contacts. I just subscribed to Php 99/mo BB CHAT as an add-on to my existing postpaid plan. My experiences with my BB have been very bad most especially with its battery, and its motherboard. I really wanna throw mine away.

Anyway, my only point here is, I've been using Blackberry for years and just when I am close to giving up my BB, here comes Blackberry Z10. The features and specs are very impressive and it shows a Blackberry that got 10x better. However, I'm just doubtful about how tough this product is because I've seen a Blackberry hang a lot of times. It has caused me and my friends a lot of troubles already so I don't wanna trust any BB product anymore. Even if they've done good on the Playbook, I would still prefer another tablet over that.

Hats off to Blackberry for its courage of releasing such a product, even if they've been losing global market share in the past few years. However, I wasn't convinced to upgrade my BB 9700 to BB Z10 because as much as possible, I wanted to stay with iOS and get an Android (Samsung Note 2) later.

Nice TVC though. :p

xoxo,

CityGirl

The KPop Experience: Guess Who!

Last January 20, I was at NAIA Terminal 2 with my uncle, grandma, and cousins because we were sending away our cousin back to Japan. Outside the international departure entrance, there's a big crowd (mostly girls) waiting but I just ignored them.

Our family stayed at the end-most part of the departure area wherein no one else were staying, While chatting there, the huge crowd 10 meters away from us turned screaming so I ran towards their direction to check what's going on. Some KPop guys got off a van and walked to the departure entrance gates. A lot of bouncers were there to control the crowd. Then I saw this girl who was crying like a "2-year-old kid whose lollipop fell on the ground". I got so curious that I asked her friend what's going on. The girl said it was "Infinite", a KPop group who joined the Girls' generation concert the previous night. The girl who turned hysterical got a bit calmer and hugged her friend as she said she can't believe she saw her idols. Woah! I was speechless. I left the scene and headed back to where I was standing first.

While I was chatting with my grandma and cousin, there's a black van that came and everybody at the departure entrance gates went screaming again. I got curious so I ran towards their direction again, until the van stopped in front of me. To my surprise, some cute Korean guys got off the van and the shouting girls came running towards me but they were stopped by the bouncers. So they were all blocked by the bouncers while I was there on the other side completely enjoying the view of these Kpop guys without competition haha! I took photos of them; but I didn't catch them looking because they were all in a hurry. I tweeted their photos and some Kpop fans responded that those guys were actually U-Kiss. Well I wasn't really familiar with Kpop guys because they all looked the same to me plus they belong in big groups that it's so hard to remember their faces, most especially their names. So, can you help me identify who these guys are?

This experience may be very random, but it's cool!:)

xoxo,

CityGirl

KSP visits Kanlungan ni Maria

It's our barkada tradition to hold an outreach event every December of the year. But since we were too busy, our 2012 outreach was moved to January of 2013. It may be late but we won't forget to give back. We've been so blessed the entire year of 2012, and the best way of thanking the Lord for all of His blessings is to share them with those in need.

On January 13, 2013, we visited the grannies who were housed in Kanlungan ni Maria (Home for the Aged) in Antipolo City. For the past years, we've been extending help to the kids and families of Payatas, but this year, we decided to make the old ones happier, most especially those who didn't have families to take care of them. 

A lot of friends contributed in any way they can. The donations we've gathered were used to buy diapers, masks, medicines, and food for the oldies. Vans Philippines and Toby's Sports also donated prizes for the fun games. Other than the members of the barkada, some friends of our friends also joined the outreach. Our friend's aunt also gathered a few doctors to conduct a medical mission.

We had so much fun bonding with the grannies. They're so blessed because a lot of people were helping them. We saw some photos of other outreach events that have been held there. We're so thankful that we were given a chance to help them too.

I'm really looking forward to more blessings this year, and I can't wait to share them to more people who are in need. I'm so proud of my friends who have been very helpful and never selfish.:)

New Year 2013

We were back from Ilocos on New Year's eve. We headed to Ayala Ave. to catch the "One Makati" countdown. I loved the fireworks display! I took a video of it but it was quite long so I didn't upload it anymore. (I'll try when I get a faster internet connection one of these days)

After the countdown in Makati, we headed to Skye for the after-party. Got the passes from PLDT, one of the event sponsors. But since some of my friends were in 7th High, I joined them first. It's only at 5am when we decided to go back to Skye to catch the countdown to the first sunrise of 2013. I really had a blast with new friends!:)

So I went home at 7am and I was asleep almost the entire 1st day of the year. LOL! And when I woke up at around 6pm, it's time to prepare for the KSP barkada's annual New Year's party at Filinvest 2. It's the 4th year of our tradition and this year's theme was "Masquerade". However, I didn't have time to find a mask haha. I just wore a long black gown with a lace back, but I never had a photo of the back of my gown.:p

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May we all have an awesome 2013!:)


xoxo,
citygirl

Last Trip of 2012: Ilocos Sur & Ilocos Norte

My guy friends planned a trip to Ilocos, where one of our friends got a family beach house.  They tagged me along since I wasn't doing anything those days. A Lithuanian couch surfer also joined us, since he's in the Philippines for a short vacation. We left Manila at around 5pm on December 28; and we had a stop at NLEX and another one at Rosales, Pangasinan. After 8 hours on the road, we arrived in Vigan, Ilocos Sur at 2am. We had a quick meal at Rizal Park in Santo Domingo, a town near Vigan. The next town was Magsingal, where our friend's place was. We slept from 4am to 11am and headed out after lunch to explore Ilocos Sur. The last time I've been to Ilocos Sur and Norte was 7 years ago, during our field trip in Art Studies class. 

So here's a rundown of the places in Ilocos Sur that we've visited:

1. Crisologo Museum - the ancestral house of the Crisologo's, one of the most influential families in Ilocos Sur.

2. Baluarte - the house and ranch of Chavit Singson, a famous politician who loves collecting animals, even tigers!

3. Bell Belfry - the bell tower in St. Augustine church in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.

4. Calle Crisologo - a historic street in Vigan, which is listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

5. Sunset at the beach behind our friend's place in Magsingal - the sunset was so nice, plus the sand was so fine, although it's dark gray.

What's cool about this trip was, our friend's mom was also at their beach house and she was cooking for us while we were there. But of course, we paid for the groceries because only her cooking service was free. haha! We were also able to try the Ilocos miki, a super yummy noodle soup with special noodles called, "miki" that's only available in Ilocos. Our friend's cousin cooked it for us and it was so addicting!:)

So that's our day 1. The next day (30th), we went on a 3-hr trip from Ilocos Sur to Ilocos Norte. We're supposed to swim at a beach in Pagudpud but due to a rainy weather, we were not able to swim. The waves were so huge and the weather was really cold. But at least we were still able to go around Ilocos Norte and visited the following sites:

1. Cape Bojeador Lighthouse - too bad it was prohibited to climb up the lighthouse itself because it's unsafe to do so.

2. Kapupurawan White Rock Formations - it's where Mario Maurer's tagalog movie, "Suddenly its Magic" was shot, plus some fake rock houses were built for "Si Enteng, Si Agimat, at Si Ako", an entry in the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival.

3. Bangui Windmills - it energy produced by the windmills supplies electricity to the nearby towns.

4. Pannzian Beach and Restaurant - we had late lunch there while it was storming outside; and we loved their adobo.

5. Patapat Bridge - it's a bridge where you can see an ocean on the left and a mountain on the right.

6. Hannah's Resort - one of the famous resorts in Pagudpud; it's where we had coffee since it's too cold to swim. You can also try Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud.

7. Paoay Church - a baroque church that's also one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Due to bad weather, we were not able to explore much of Ilocos Norte. But I still remembered the places we've visited 7 years ago during our Art Studies field trip. That time, we also visited the place of the Marcos family, where the former president's body was still being frozen. That experience really gave me goosebumps. It's so scary to see a dead person inside a glass freezer. Anyway, it's also nice to see the Paoay sand dunes where Panday and Himala was shot. It's like a huge desert. When I first went there, there's not much to do there, but now I've heard tourists can ride some ATVs while playing in the dunes. One place we have also visited 7 years ago was the the Laoag Sinking Bell Tower, as the name suggests, it was said to be sinking year after year. We've also worked on some pottery during our Art Studies field trip there.

Then we went back to the beach house in Ilocos Sur. The next morning, it was still cloudy so we were not able to swim at the beach. We just decided to leave early going back to Manila since it's the 31st of December and we had to catch the New Year's countdown.

The 2-day trip (not counting the days on the road) to Ilocos was quick yet fun. We were able to go to a lot of nice places there in a short span of time. And to talk about the budget, it was so cheap. We paid around Php 2,200 each, not including the pasalubong. So there were four of us and we just divided all the expenses by 4. Here's how much each of us paid:

1. Transportation (gasoline of Mazda 3) - 1,000

2. Food (groceries and snacks) - 1000

3. Toll Fees - 200

TOTAL: Php 2,200 (more or less)

And that's my last trip for 2012. Looking forward to more trips for 2013.:)

xoxo,
citygirl