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Really Living in the Philippines

Archive for the ‘Travel Reviews’

There Are a Lot of Us in the Philippines

December 12, 2008 By: Philly Category: Live There, Travel Reviews

I had a chuckle a few nights ago  while watching the news from ANC … ANC is part of The Philippine Channel, a commercial service of broadcast giant ABS-CBN in Manila which reaches something like 100 countries, either as a cable channel or as a direct broadcast satellite service … it’s available across the US, I highly recommend in if you are missing the Philippines or if you are thinking of moving here and wondering what it’s like.  They have correspondents in six or eight countries, it’s kind of like a miniature CNN for the Filipino.

Their London correspondent put together a really well done feature on an English fellow (apparently a single man) who lived in a London suburb and had just qualified for his retirement pension and was packing his bags to go live in the Philippines.

The correspondent did a very professional job on the segment, much the sort of work you’d see on CNN or BBC World as far as broadcasting quality, but I couldn’t help chuckling at her inability in hiding her amazement that this man, who ha lived all his life in England would even think of packing up and moving to the Philippines.  It was as if she had never heard of such a thing in her life. (more…)

Philippine Living One Day At A Time

December 10, 2008 By: Philly Category: Live There, Medical, Travel Reviews

In many ways I suppose this title should have read “One Task at a Time” because that’s a creed I have learned to live by during my stay here in the Philippines.  To young (or old) ambitious, goal oriented, take charge type guys this sounds like a pretty self-defeating attitude, but hear me out before you hit the back arrow on your browser and surf off to someplace more action oriented.

A valuable acquaintance whom I met here in the Philippines years ago, long before I made the actual move, was the first American I met who was really making money in the Philippines.  He wasn’t retired, he had to pension income, he had no substantial investment income and he wasn’t living off a job in the USA.

He had a furniture store and a small network of other dealers in the US who liked selling Philippine-produced furniture products.  There is some great furniture available here, especially in Cebu where this fellow was headed when Mita and I met with him in Manila.

He had quite a bit of advice about setting up a business here, or here and in the US, and I took away many gems.  The one that still shines brightest is, make each day count for something, but preferably one thing and one thing only. (more…)

Asia Travel - Hotels and Domestic Travel

September 19, 2008 By: Philly Category: Travel Reports, Travel Reviews

This is a "blast from the past".  I’ve decided that each and every Saturday I’ll republish one of my popular older post.  Even though the site has many ways to look up data published years back, people aren’t always in a position to hunt around, so this will be yet another way to find things people are always looking for.

One of the first things you need to be concerned about if thinking of traveling to the Philippines is where to stay.  There are dozens (perhaps more) services who will book hotels for you.  As I come across good ones or not so good ones, I’ll point them out.

Asia Travel

Based in Singapore with offices in the Philippines, Hong Kong and about 8 other locations is one of the oldest and best.  I’ve been using them since the year 2000 and they haven’t let me down yet.

Asia Travel’s website is well organized (they have improved it tremendously over the past few years) and their server response time is quick.  They have a good "stock" of rooms, unlike some other services that only list 3 or 4 hotels in a city the size of Manila or Cebu.

A weakness of their site is the inability to sort the results by price, and like every Asian booking concern I have come across, they are woefully weak on instant, on-line booking … although they do color code their results so you can quickly see the hotels that will give instant reservations.

They have a US toll free number and a direct UK number so you don’t have to fool around with international dialing … and I have found they answer emails quite quickly as well.  An Asian-based firm who answers emails promptly and intelligently is indeed a good find.

Plan your stays wisely and always compare several suppliers, but don’t fail to get a quote from these guys.  Recommended.

Whatever Happened to Subic? — Report 2

April 27, 2008 By: Philly Category: Hotels, Restaraunts, Travel Reviews

bayfront_main_entrance Recently I went to the visit the Subic Bay Metro Area, one of the common names for the former US Navy base on Subic Bay, Olongapo City.  I was favorably impressed.  One of the things that occurs when peace breaks out is that governments close bases and this has been a major problem for many Amer4ican communities, certainly no less of a problem for the Philippines.

The government set up quasi corporations to convert and redevelop the bases and in the case of Subic, they have done quite well.  There are two major shipyards already building ships and employing thousands, a deep water container port, an international cargo airfreight operation, hotels, longer-term residential leasing, restaurants and dozens of retail stores.  The area is clean and very secure, something new-comers to the Philippines worry about a lot.

Hotels were the major focus of this trip … my son was in-country for a short visit and we decided to put our feet up for a few days at Subic.  We chose the Bayfront hotel in an area called the Boardwalk (there are no boards) or sometimes called Moonbay Marina (there are several marinas on Subic, but none are near the hotel.  Welcome to the Philippines ;-)

bayfront_courtyard The hotel is quite nice … more expensive that most Philippine accommodation but a decent bargain in US terms, our total bill including rooms, excellent cooked buffet breakfast served for 4 solid hours in the morning, taxes, mini-bar drinks and snacks, etc. came to $61 a night per person/room.  I felt it a good bargain.

What can you do if you visit Subic?  A lot.  Parasail behind a fast speed boat (P 1500 per pax), rent a jet ski, hike through native jungle (guided by instructors from the former military survival school), swim … dozens of open beaches … gamble (at least two government-operated casinos), drink beer (P 30) in a number of decent clubs, many on the beach, eat (more on that later … no way could I ever get around to all the restaurants … and shop until you drop.

Recommended, especially for first-time visitors to the Philippines … kind of a half-way house between the two cultures.  The SBMA facility is nestled closely into Olongapo City … 5 minutes walk to the main gate, and Olongapo stands on it’s own as a very well-run, decently clean and workable small Filipino city.  Several hospitals used to dealing with foreigners and foreign insurance and many dentists (did you know if you need a crown or two you can probably save the entire cost of your trip to the Philippines at the dentist?  And don’t forget to check with your tax advisor about what is or isn’t deductible).

If it sounds as if I am bullish on Subic, you’d be right.  There is nothing else as oriented to the tourist anywhere in the Philippines that I’ve found yet .. and there’s now a brand new expressway connection to Manila, about 90 minutes from Manila to the Subic Tipo gate, with very little traffic … speed limits of 100 kph most of the way and you can actually drive 100 kph.

Davao Doings

April 07, 2008 By: Philly Category: Travel Reports, Travel Reviews

I just realized I owe more about my recent trip to Davao City.  My friend Bob sort of reminded me this am with an excellent post about things to do in Davao.malagos_garden resort

One of his recommendations deserves a little more air time I think, so I will try to fill the gap. 

"Resort" as used in the Philippines has a pretty inconsistent meaning in actual fact.  A "resort’ may be a luxurious western-style hotel complex with hot and cold running everything in the way of servants and conveniences or it may be a half-barren patch of grass under some decaying trees with a couple dirty picnic tables and a guy who shows up to extract P 100 per person and then tell you that you aren’t allowed to bring in your own food.

Malagos Garden is in the middle, a little toward the top.  It sits on beautiful grounds (part of the Davao City watershed reserves about an hour’s taxi ride from center city.  The trees and flowers, especially the orchids are just outstanding.  The buildings are well constructed and, as I believe Bob mentioned the food is excellent … and cheap even in Filipino terms.  My friend Vince and I dropped in for lunch and chose the lunch ’set’ a fixed-price meal that had three different choices, pork, chicken or beef.  The price P 200 per head (per pax as they say here) included the regular P 100 admission to the grounds, value Added tax and about three other fees I don’t quite remember … so in this terms out lunch cost about P 75 each … about $1.80 US and included delicious how made soup .. served hot, no less, a delightful fresh salad, a generous entree, Filipino style but very much aligned with foreign tastes and a delicious desert, all served promptly and correctly by an attractive waitress.  i mean it’s refreshing when people still take pride in their work and know to serve from the left and pick-up from the right … we in America have grown to used to, and sadly accept ’service’ that often includes someone calling your number over a loudspeaker … and a thumb in your soup if you happen to get the soup in a bowl instead of a plastic cup … especially for a meal that costs under $2.00

The venue (another word you need to get used to Filipino usage of), every place is a ‘venue’) was a lovely open-air restaurant surrounded by flowing pools, deep shade trees and fantastic floral displays … and this was the casual restaurant, there was another separate, more imposing building for dinners and parties.

Sadly I did not have the time to check out the lodgings but they have several categories of cabins and rooms so based on the experience with their grounds and food service I plan to return for a night or two when my wife and I visit Davao City, RSN (Real Soon Now).  Unfortunately the resort does not yet have a fully functional web site but they do have all their contact information here: http://www.malagos.com/ and as with all Filipino businesses it is better to call than try to deal with email anyway.  If you are visiting davao … and you should … I certainly recommend you program in some time for Malagos Gardens.

Interview with Manny Paez — TravelPH.Com

January 02, 2007 By: Philly Category: Phils News, Travel Reports, Travel Reviews

There are not many of us who have been around the Philippine Living scene for any length of time and not heard of a balik bayan box. For those who haven’t, it’s a heavy cardboard carton filled with “goodies” usually used for shipping to the Philippines … literally “back to the country”. If you’ve seen a balik bayan box there’s a better than even chance it was from Manila Forwarder LLC., one of the big names in that business.

Manny Paez is the founder of Manila Forwarder and several other businesses, including today’s feature on TravelPH. Here’s my chat with Manny.

————–

1. Name, contact information and web site address.

TravelPH.Com
Email: info@travelph.com
Philippines +63 02 356-8061 / 294-4891

USA 1.800.210.1019

2. Number of years in the business and a rough idea of how many clients you send to the Philippines yearly.

4 years

3. Your thoughts on why a prospect should use an agent, and specifically whey they should chose you.

-24/7 customer support

- USA and Manila Offices

-We personally inspect the resorts, hotels, airlines, etc

-instant airline booking confirmation on e-ticketing

- searches all available airline and the lowest rate instantly

-discounts on shipping

4. Number One mistake you have seen Philippine travelers make over the years

Staying with relatives and not using hotels and resorts in their visit during the whole duration of their visit thinking that they would save. Eventually, they end up spending more, culture shock to foreign-born offsprings, etc.

5. Philippine travel tips.

I highly recommend using tourist facilities like hotels, resorts, and other amenities to first-time and return visitors. Invite the relatives to join you in the hotel or resort. Less headache and it will be a pleasing experience to both parties.

6. Where do you see the business headed in 2007 and beyond.

More technology available for the travel agent and clients.

———————–

Thank you Manny, very much appreciate the time and effort you put into making travel happen for folks. If any of you enjoyed reading this, please let me know. If you have other comments, questions or concerns let me know too. We’ll be publishing more interviews like this from folks who actually know about Philippine travel. You can leave a comment, or email me direct at davestarr (at) gmail.com or text me at: 63-0919-231-5625

Interview with Jeff Jenks — Travel is Fun

January 01, 2007 By: Philly Category: Travel Reports, Travel Reviews

Recently I conducted an email interview with Jeff Jenks of Travel is Fun.  I’ve known Jeff from many of the on-line Philippines Groups and have used his services personally, so I can vouch for his competency.  I’m trying to get similar interviews with other agents well established in the Philippine air travel segment of the business.  I’ve seen a lot of folks go wrong in the past 6 or 7 years that I have been involved with Philippine living and this year I’m going to be bringing many experts on board to help save folks from having to learn the same hard lesson over and over.

Here’s a page about Jeff that’s pretty darn interesting if you, like most folks I know, would like to know with whom you are dealing.And

———————————————-

1. Name, contact information and web site address.

Jeff Jenks - Owner, TRAVEL IS FUN, 800 736-6814 or 248 546-3361, Email: travelisfun@comcast.net

 website: http://home.comcast.net/~travelisfun

2. Number of years in the business and a rough idea of how many clients you send to the Philippines yearly.

Began selling travel, primarily from and to Asia, in 1978. Lived and worked in the Philippines from 1962 - 1964 as a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher and have been going back and forth for over 42 years. Married to a Filipina for 35 years. I send about 200 people annually between the U.S. and the Philippines and bring a lot of Filipinas here on their first trip to the U.S.

3. Your thoughts on why a prospect should use an agent, and specifically whey they should chose you.

Use an agent that sells the Philippines, because they get wholesale prices and usually aren’t too greedy with commissions. Pricing is usually lower then Expedia, Orbitz, etc — because those Internet providers sell you the lowest PUBLISHED fare AND POCKET HUGE COMMISSIONS.

Wholesale/bulk/consolidator rates are lower. And that’s what agents that sell the Philippines specialize in. YOU NORMALLY GET A LOWER PRICE and better SERVICE

An agent can get a combination of price and convenience that meets YOUR needs. They can help you avoid being stranded in connecting cities, and can tell you the differences in prices and carriers. When something goes wrong they often can help you out - something someone in a call center in Bombay won’t be able to do.

Why me - I’ve been doing this since 1978, am familiar with most cities in the Philippines and have flown most of the routes and carriers. I’m also not greedy on commission and will give you lots of FREE advice. I sell to clients located all over the U.S.

4. Number One mistake you have seen Philippine travelers make over the years

Picking the wrong Asian carrier and paying too much for the lowest fare - by booking directly with the airline or using someone like Expedia. You may end up with about another half day of lost time in travel using an Asian carrier - with a wait of 8 - 10 hours on the West Coast on the return. If you’re retired the time lag is no problem, but if you’re working it shortens your vacation time either now or in the future.

5. Philippine travel tips

If you can avoid traveling in December or June, July or August and if you can avoid going over the Pacific on Friday, Saturday or Sunday you can save money. Work with an agent that specializes in the Philippines.

6. Where do you see the business headed in 2007 and beyond.

Philippine travel will continue to increase - but it will mainly be Filipinos going, home, Internet pals going to meet Filipinas, and returning Fil-Am couples. Real American tourism doesn’t exist and won’t until airlines, hotels and transfer services are less expensive and more easy to handle.

After you get married normally within 12 months your spouse will need to return home, because of loneliness - hopefully you will go too; after a baby is born your wife and you will need to go back to show off the beautiful baby; and finally some time you will want to go back to see more of the country.

——————–

Thank you Jeff, very much appreciate the time and effort you put into making travel happen for folks. If any of you enjoyed reading this, please let me know. If you have other comments, questions or concerns let me know too. We’ll be publishing more interviews like this from folks who actually know about Philippine travel. You can leave a comment, or email me direct at davestarr (at) gmail.com or text me at: 63-0919-231-5625

The Market Expands — At Least I Hope It Does

December 12, 2006 By: Philly Category: Airline Reviews, Phils Business, Travel Reviews

Finally, an affordable Business Class.

Fasten those seatbelts, because here comes a fresh approach to premium class travel. Oasis Hong Kong Airlines presents businessOasis – business class without the price sticker shock! Starting from just £470 one-way, tickets will be available from this fare, on every flight year round.

Non-stop flights at non-stop value. Simple and sweet. Check these guys out at: http://www.oasishongkong.com/gb/en/home.aspx

Too bad this new startup isn’t planning US to Hong Kong service.  Their quoted business class fare is under $1500USD which is a ball park rate to Hong Kong in cattle tourist class.  I obviously haven’t flown them yet but will keep them on the list for spouse and I’s next European jaunt.

Here’s the best part.  According to several recent news articles in the Philippines papers, they will be inaugurating Hong Kong to Clark (Manila) service before summer.  The market to Hong Kong is certainly under served and I’m always in favor of seeing more airlines using the uncrowded facilities at Clark instead of the cramped and tedious NAIA … especially since I live north of the city and can get to Clark easily.

Too soon to tell, but keep your finger on these guy’s pulse and remember you heard it here first on PhilFAQS.

 

More on cFares — Expert Advice

December 11, 2006 By: Philly Category: Travel Reviews

A long-time travel agent and personal acquaintance gave me some feedback on my cFares post.  I’ll edit his comments a bit for anonymity and brevity and add a few of my own.

HI Dave,

Sounds interesting - give them your credit card for a $50 charge to see if they are correct, since only the Platinum level searches consolidator fares. 

After you pay them $50 trust them to find the lowest fares.  Go for it.  But you may be wasting your money on Asian fares.  They don’t explain on their site if you have to add fuel surcharges and taxes - until after you pay or give them your credit card.

But I suggest after you’ve paid them the $50, and selected their “best price” call me - and I can sell it to you for a lower price. 

I do see that they add about 6 - 10 hours travel time in each direction.  It leads to a shorter vacation and being more tired.  Have you factored this in.  In one instance they suggested you drive about 100 miles to another airport.  I too can get a cheaper price for you if you are willing to drive to a major hub in another state.

At worst, all you will have done is lost $50 in the deal - unless you also buy their ticket first, then you may have lost more.

The airlines selling through consolidators are against that kind of selling — or at least that is what they tell us.  Maybe they are interested also in selling tickets at below cost. 

Here’s a factor I think a lot of people forget or just ignore.  Airline prices are set to maximize one thing only … as an old airline executive once said, “It’s all about putting asses in seats”.  Plain and simple. Manila is a market where planes are usually full.  They don’t have to offer large discounts to fill their planes.

I too use some of the other crawlers, such as Mobissimo,  when I am having difficulty - but all the crawlers do is lead an agent to a routing  that can offer a lower price — then we use consolidator rules to get an even lower fare.

Caveat Emptor.

Readers may also be interested in the Frommers write-up on this service: http://www.frommers.com/articles/3474.html

I discussed cFares with another travel agent friend and his comment, after checking several of their prices against what he was selling was,

” they can’t beat my fares but their marketing is really cool.”

So, again, I see no reason to back off from my long term advice.  Search the Internet all you want, it will give you great info on routings, schedules, option, even seat selection but don’t put your money on the table until you have talked to a reputable travel agent.  And “reputable” in this case should include more than just a clean record with the BBB, because a majority of agents out in the real world can’t even spell Philippines.  Find someone who actually knows the market and you’ll do better in many ways than any of these Internet wonder sites I have found so far.

 

New Hope For Air Fares

December 09, 2006 By: Philly Category: Airline Reviews, Travel Reports, Travel Reviews

My blogging acquaintance, Guy Kawasaki, is one of the original pioneers of Apple Computer.  Today Guy runs a venture capital firm, which means he gambles his own (and other people’s) money on great new startup companies with modern ideas.  How much he knows about the travel business is beyond me, but when his company funds a new venture, I pay attention.

On a recent blog entry Guy mentioned www.cfares.com  The ‘c’ could stand for “cheap” or it could stand for visibility as in “seeing” fares, but however they chose the name the company’s business plan is great … and may be a big boon to us frequent Philippine air fare buyers.

I’ll pirate a little of Guy’s original post with my own comments added:

Reality Check: cFares

cfares.jpg

Garage is an investor in a discount travel company called cFares. First, here’s some background info about the travel business: A large portion of airfare expenditures flow through the GDS systems (ie: Sabre, Amadeus, and Galileo). “First generation online travel sites” such as Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz rely on available inventory within the GDS supply.

Newer “meta search” entrants such as Kayak and Sidestep go beyond ticket supplies in the GDS systems by also searching directly through the databases of airlines in order to get an expanded array of better prices and tickets. (Airlines do not put all their inventory in the GDS systems—they keep some for their own sites as a way of incenting consumers to come to them directly).

cFares.com also has access to the GDS systems and direct access to airline’s published inventories, but according to the company it stands apart from these other sites for three reasons:

cFares is the first and only online travel site with exclusive relationships that gives it access to the $20 billion of consolidator “net” airfares. Consolidators are travel wholesalers who commit to buy large blocks of inventory from the airlines at volume (also called “net”) discounts. They are restricted from selling directly to consumers and have historically only offered these fares to travel agents.

Now this part is really, really interesting.  I worked very closely with a consolidator in Japan.  It was really two companies, one bought the seats, in cash, from the airlines, on speculation …cash up front and a hope that they would resell at a profit.

The other half of the company was a travel agency which sold the seats.  In their main office in Tokyo there was a room with the walls covered in whiteboards, guys constantly changing the prices and seats available to different locations, and a ‘barker’ hollering at the phone agents to “push” certain destinations and alerting them of price changes.

Also, while consolidators have inventory in one system (usually paper or a local computer), they have to access the GDS systems to determine whether a specific fare is actually available. As a result of these technical and business model impediments, consolidator “net” fares have not been brought online. cFares is the first online travel service that has developed technology to allow consumers to find and book these fares—often hundreds of dollars less than found elsewhere—directly and in real time.

I always knew there was a reason I advised folks not to buy blindly from online agents, but I never knew the “why” of the latest prices not being on line on their sites.  Now you know.

cFares offers something called “dynamic rebates.” cFares’s proprietary technology allows airlines to know what is happening at the point of sale and lower their prices dynamically to win a specific customer—for example, when they have lots of empty seats on a specific flight. cFares customers get a custom-designed price in real-time and receive the savings from cFares in the form of a rebate to their credit card after they submit their flight confirmation number. cFares has a unique name-your-own-price service called cAgent.

Unlike other name-your-price services, which involve “buying blind,” cAgent provides total transparency so that consumers know the airline, itinerary, and price before they have to pay. Travelers can pick a specific flight and then set up a persistent search for a fare that they are willing to pay. cAgent will seek out that fare and can hold it for twenty-four hours before the customer has to pay. Since airfares typically fluctuate several times during the day, cAgent snags the fare on the downturn.

cFares’s business model is a combination of Costco and Walmart. Anyone can search the site to see what fares are available. People who sign up for free gold memberships can purchase any of cFares low, publicly available fares—this is comparable to the Walmart model.

However, in order to get direct access to cFares’s “net” wholesale airfares, one-of-a-kind deals, and cAgent, consumers must become Platinum members at a cost of $50/year. This is the Costco model where a membership-driven retailer brings consistently low wholesale prices directly to the consumer. With cFares this membership pays for itself in at most two trips.

Pretty interesting stuff I would say, and a darn good explanation of how things in “the business”actually work.  Head over to www.chares.com and check things out yourself … and a big tip of the hat to Guy Kawasaki for bring this to our attention.

 

You Can Find Good Stuff Near Manila

September 30, 2006 By: Philly Category: Travel Reviews

 

Kawayan Cove is a private seaside residential community of 61 hectares completely surrounding Bamboo Beach in Nasugbu, Batangas. It is the only beach property in the area with an entire white sand beach of 650 meters exclusively its own, with no neighboring developments within the cove.

Developed by the original owners, the Puyat and Razon families, it preserves the natural environment with lots occupying only 23 of the 61 hectares. 250 prime view lots in sizes ranging from 500 to 2000 square meters offer breathtaking views of the Southern Batangas Coastline.

The gated community has 24-hour security, tree-lined concrete roads, tropical landscaping, abundant fresh water, sub-surface lines for power, and other world-class facilities including the Bamboo Beach Club exclusively for the use of lot owners.

Kawayan Cove is developed by Edge Properties Inc, with Leandro V. Locsin & Partners as architects and EGD Lopez & Partners as master planners, and PDAA and Ponce Veridiano as landscaper. See:

Now I’m not a real estate developer, nor do I have any business interest in this place … but so many people think you have to go out to the remote islands of the Philippines to find decent, picturesque places.

Here’s a lovely, low density development less than 2 hours from Manila.  There are others.  One of them is for you.

Where to Hook Up

September 27, 2006 By: Philly Category: Travel Reports, Travel Reviews

One of the neatest trends I’ve seen over the past year is the big push to wireless (802.11) connectivity in the Philippines.  Here in the US you can usually go on line at a Starbucks, but there aren’t many other businesses who are really taking advantage of wireless.

In the Philippines … in the metro areas, anyway, one has a lot of choices.  here’s how to look at one provider’s “hot spots” … http://tinyurl.com/jh443 

It ought to give you a view like this, which, if you don’t recognize it right away, are Terminal One and Terminal two at NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) where you’d be disembarking id you fly into Manila commercially.

The company mentioned here, Airborne Access is one of the more advanced, they realize the importance of  using the free tools out there like Google maps or Google Earth to show locations visually.  However, just because a company isn’t “on the map” doesn’t mean they can’t be useful as well.  here’s the location listings for Globe Innove:

 

 

 

ABS-CBN The Loop
Windows Café at The Loop
ABS-CBN
ACC Activity Center
Ateneo at Rockwell Center
Basti’s Brew at Victoria Plaza
BigBucks at Bigfoot
Bizu at GB2
Una Mas at GB2
Kai at GB2
Bizu at Promenade
Cibo at Promenade
BO’s Coffee at ACC
Tequila Joe’s at ACC
Sbarro at ACC
Hap Japs at ACC
Gerry’s Grill at ACC
Bigby’s at ACC
Big Mao at ACC
Dessert Factory at ACC
Don Henrico’s at ACC
Ratsky at ACC
East West at ACC
BO’s Coffee at Banilad Town Center
BO’s Coffee at Capitol
BO’s Coffee at G4
Jollibee at G4
BO’s Coffee at ICM
BO’s Coffee at Lacson
BO’s Coffee at MCIA
BO’s Coffee at Veteranos
Business Center at Holiday Inn Mimosa
Cable Car at ATC
The Coffee Bean at ATC
Casa Leticia
Cebu City Sports Club
Cibo at ATC
Recipes at ATC
Italiannis at ATC
Haagen Dazs at ATC
Bon Apetit at ATC
Fridays at ATC
Creativity Lounge at G3
eLounge at G3
D’ Marks at GB3
The HUB at GB3
Nanbantei at GB3
Ice at GB3
Bollywood Bistro at GB3
Davao International Airport
Sky Go Café
Karl’s Koffee Corner
Digital eXchange at G3
East Asia Royale Hotel
ELAC at Eastwood City
Engineer’s Hill
Executive Lounge at TOEP
Figaro at G3
Cibo at G3
Figaro at GB3
Cinema Lobby at GB3
Casa Armas at GB3
Blue Ginger at GB3
Cheesecake at GB3
Fish & Co. at GB3
Fuzion at GB3
Figaro at Power Plant Mall
Seattles Best Coffee at Power Plant Mall
FoodChoices at ATC
Jamaican Patty at ATC
Figaro at ATC
Subway at ATC
GenSan Airport
Globe Business Center at ACC
Jollibee at ACC
Beanhoppers Coffee at ACC
Globe Telecom Plaza
Globe Telecom Plaza II
Globe Telepark
Gloria Jeans at Banilad Town Center
Gloria Jeans at Connecticut
Gloria Jeans at Eastwood City
Italiannis at Eastwood City
Gloria Jeans at G3
Wetzel’s Pretzels at G3
CPK at G3
Gloria Jeans at Power Plant Mall
Oliver’s at Power Plant Mall
Jamaican Patty at Power Plant Mall
Starbucks at Power Plant Doppio
The Big Chill at Power Plant Mall
Burgoo at Power Plant Mall
Cinema Lobby at Power Plant Mall
Glorietta Activity Center
Oliver’s at G3
McCafe at G3
The Soup Kitchen at G3
Delifrance at G1
Dulcinea at G4
Subway at G2
Coeur de France at G2
Grand Regal Hotel
Greenbelt Activity Center
Soul Food at GB3
Red Crab at GB3
Recipes at GB3
Pancake House at GB1
Oody’s at GB3
Bubba Gump at GB3
Sentro at GB3
The Red Crab at GB3
MYLK at GB3
Sentro at GB3
Haiku at GB3
Cascada at GB3
The Good Earth at GB3
Guess at ACC
Wraps at ACC
McDonalds at ACC
Café Laguna at ACC
Oh Georg at ACC
JY Square Discovery Mall
Legenda Hotel at SBMA
Mactan International Airport
Main Information Lobby at GB3
Makati Sports Club
Maquedeli at Holiday Inn Mimosa
Marcelo Fernan Press Center
Mequeni at Holiday Inn Mimosa
Microtel Suites at Eagle Ridge
Microtel Suites at FPIP
Microtel Suites at LIMA
Microtel Suites Baguio
National Sports Grill at GB3
Cheesecake at GB3
One Roxas Triangle
Phil Stock Exchange at TOEP
Red Box at GB3
SBMA Office
Seattles Best Coffee at GB3
Seattles Best Coffee at G3
Segafredo at GB2
Magnum at GB2
Italiannis at GB2
Shangri-La Hotel Mactan
Starbucks at 6750
Starbucks at 6788
Standard Chartered Bank at 6788
Japan Airlines at 6788
Starbucks at ABS-CBN
Cibo at ABS-CBN
Cork at ABS-CBN
Starbucks at Alpap
Starbucks at ATC
Seattles Best Coffee at ATC
In Vino Veritas at ATC
Cheesecake at ATC
Bizu at ATC
The Red Crab at ATC
Delifrance at ATC
Starbucks at China Bank
Starbucks at Cristina
Starbucks at Emerald
Starbucks at G4
Cinema Lobby at G4
Starbucks at GB3
Café Breton at GB3
Café Havana at GB3
Café Via Mare at GB3
Starbucks at Jupiter
Marina at Melady
Starbucks at Katipunan
Starbucks at Market Market
Starbucks at North East Greenhills
Starbucks at Pacific Star
Starbucks at Pearl Plaza
Coffee California at Pearl Plaza
The Bottomless Pit at Pearl Plaza
Leisure Café at Pearl Plaza
Starbucks at People Support Center
Starbucks at Power Plant Mall
Cibo at Power Plant Mall
Dencio’s at Power Plant Mall
Crustasia at Power Plant Mall
Mini Shabu Shabu at Power Plant Mall
Starbucks at Promenade
Starbucks at RCBC Plaza
TripleV at RCBC Plaza
Fitness First at RCBC Plaza
HenLin at RCBC Plaza
Subway at RCBC Plaza
Kitaro at RCBC Plaza
Mexicali at RCBC Plaza
Piquant at RCBC Plaza
Starbucks at Rockwell Center
Grams Diner at Rockwell Center
UCC Coffee at Rockwell Center
Good Earth Roast at Rockwell Center
Pancake House at Rockwell Center
Starbucks at Theatre Mall
Pasto at Theatre Mall
Kohikan at Promenade
Dulcinea at Theatre Mall
Delifrance at Theatre Mall
Penang Hill at Promenade
Kooka Bar at Theatre Mall
Starbucks at The Enterprise Center
Starbucks at TOEP
Supercat Cebu
Supercat Ormoc
Supercat Tacloban
The Coffee Bean at Convergys Center
The Coffee Bean at GB3
The Coffee Bean at Promenade
Mexicali at Promenade
CPK at Promenade
Figaro at Promenade
Fuzion Café at Promenade
Crepes de France at Promenade
Cinema Lobby at Promenade
Café Via Mare at Promenade
Café’ Xocolat at Promenade
Annabel Lee at Promenade
The Mosaic Lounge at GB1
The Orchard Golf & Country Club
Tower Club at Philamlife Tower
Waterfront Hotel Davao
Pizzaiolo Bar at Waterfront Davao
Café Uno at Waterfront Davao
Waterfront Hotel Lahug
Waterfront Hotel Mactan

More as they come in.

Nice Travel Resource

September 23, 2006 By: Philly Category: Things to Do, Travel Reviews

 

 

 

 

It’s a bright, sunny and _frosty_ Saturday morning here in Colorado.  I can’t stand the feeling of winter coming on, I’m ready for my full-time move to the Philippines and it won’t be long now.

Michael, a member of one of the many Yahoo Groups on the Philippines sent me a note with a link to a site he maintains with witeups on a lot of beach resorts.  Happy to put it up here so folks can take a look.  Don’t free another winter.

And some more Market Pictures

August 14, 2006 By: Philly Category: Things to Do, Travel Reviews

Courtesy of Thomas Glenn

 

More Market Posts

August 14, 2006 By: Philly Category: Things to Do, Travel Reviews

We’ve changed server locations and had a few other unavoidable delays.  But things should work better from now on.  I’m going to post some more of the excellent market photos that Thomas Glenn was so kind to provide: