Banaue Rice Terraces
I have posted this picture in the website www.1millionreasonstolikeph.com I got tempted to repost this in my own website because I have not written yet a blog about the Philippines. I travelled to Banaue last summer together with my wife and kids (I really love to travel with my family). It was not a plan for me to go there but because my wife went home to her native Province in Isabela to accompany her grandmother who was going to visit the other family members, I told my wife to go to Banaue Rice Terraces. I am pretty sure that most us Filipinos knew already about Banaue Rice Terraces. This wonder of the world, made our ancestors known for being great engineers. I want to tell you on how to go there via Isabela. I am sorry to say that I cannot tell you how to travel direct to Banaue as this is my experience in going there. If you are going to travel from Manila you can take a bus to Santiago, Isabela and take another bus or a minivan to Banaue. That how easy it is. The other picture below is another breath-taking scenery along the road to Banaue. I really asked the driver of our service van to stop so that I can take the picture. The landscape really invited my eyes to put this in picture.
Approaching Lagawe, Ifugao
Tags: Banaue, Banaue Rice Terraces, Ifugao, Isabela, Lagawe, Luzon, Rice Terraces
This is my travel back pack with my lenses and D5000 body. I shoot this with my D90 18-105mm lens.
When you travel nowadays you need to bring your digital gadgets. With the advent of the digital world we are very dependent with these devices anywhere we go. We will bring our gadgets because we wanted to be updated with our account in the social networking sites. Here are few tips in caring your digital gadgets when you travel. This is a personal experience so if you have some additional tips you can add it through the comment box.
- Organize your gadgets. Usually when we travel we will bring our laptop, tablet, camera and lenses, mobile phones, and iPod. In all my travel I have to organize these things. I bought a bag which has a compartment with my laptop and lenses. You could also easily retrieve your gadget when you need them.
- Chargers must be in place. One of my travel experiences, my gadget bag was opened by the security after it has passed through the x-ray. I wondered why the guard has to inspect my gadget bag despite the fact that it has already pass through the x-ray machine, so I asked him. The guard told me that the wires of the chargers are everywhere in the bag. I should put it in place so that it will not cause doubts of being a threat to the security of the airport. It is somewhat like something else. You should put it in one single compartment of the bag and the wires must be rolled.
- Have a rain cover or dry bag. When we travel, rain is not expected to come. If it will rain and you’re in a hurry you will be trapped anywhere else because you are protecting your gadgets of being wet. So, be ready to protect your gadget from being wet. Be ready with the rain cover or dry bag.
- Entrust your gadget bag to yourself. When I travel, I will not travel alone. I often times travel with my wife and kids. I won’t entrust my gadget bag to them to ensure no one could be blamed when untoward incident will happen to my bag. We should remember that the inside of our gadget bag cost a lot. I could no longer buy those gadgets again whenever these will be misplaced. Whenever you will travel through a vessel, your travel is longer compared to plane so better take good care of your belongings, more so if you travel alone.
- Bring an extra memory card. I was so confident that I have 16 gigabytes memory card when I had a travel in Hongkong and Macau. Unfortunately, the card could no longer store after so many photos and videos that I have taken. I have no choice except to buy one. However, buying a new one is not a problem. The problem is the moment that you have been through a very nice instance but you failed to document because your card is full or failed to store pictures. So, to avoid this thing to happen, better bring an extra one.
I presumed that you have charged your batteries to continuously shoot every memorable moments of your travel. I hope these 5 simple tips when you travel with your gadget could be of help. I will be happy if you will add some more tips. Just put your comments in this blog.
Tags: back pack, camera, digital, digital gadgets, dry bag, gadgets, nikon, organizer, tablet, tips, travel bag
Ruins of Saint Paul - Macau, China
We arrived in Hongkong International Airport at 2:00 o’clock in the morning. Huh! First time abroad with nobody fetching us. Unlike when we were in Kuala Lumpur and Brunei my aunt and cousins really sacrificed to wake up at dawn just to fetch us at the airport. Thanks to them. After the immigration stamped our passport for our arrival in Hongkong, we had no idea where to go especially that the airport is huge enough for us to lose our ways to go out. We asked all the bus attendants regarding our destination; however, all of them refused as it has no more trips to our destination. All I’ve got is my address of the hotel and my android phone. We ask one of the securities and advised us to take a taxi to the hotel. When we were at the hotel, the hotel attendant told us that our reservation is at 12:00 noon. BLANG! And the hotel had no vacancy to accommodate us. Worries where to sleep was in my mind. However, the attendant recommended to us another hotel across the street. I left my younger sister with my kids at the hotel lobby. My wife and I went to the other hotel. Lucky for us that still there was one room left to accommodate us. We stayed at that hotel from 2:00 AM until the morning and we paid around Php5000 equivalent to Hongkong Dollars. We had only two tourist destinations in Hongkong -The famous Ocean Park and the Disneyland, after which, we went to Macau and enjoy the tourist spots in the place. Kids really enjoyed the Ocean Park and the Disneyland. My wife, my sister, and I had also enjoyed watching the show and the rides of the Ocean Park and Disneyland. We really schedule our itineraries for the three-day trip. The first day, we went to Ocean Park. The second day, we went to Disneyland. The third day, we went to Macau. Once, you are in Hongkong, it is very easy for you to go to Macau. Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and is located on the coast approximately 70 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong and is connected to China’s Guangdong Province. That is only one ride away of a ferry boat from Hongkong. We visited the famous tourist spots in Macau. We have been to the Ruin Church of St. Paul, Venetian Hotel Macau, Senado Square, etc. Although, we spent only
My family enjoying at Hongkong Disneyland
a day in Macau but I felt the satisfaction in going around the city. You have no problem when you need a tour guide when you go there because there are a lot of kababayans who will approach you to guide around the city when you disembark from the ferry at the pier. You will just agree with the payment. According to our tour guide, it’s more fun to be in Macau if you will visit during the seasons of Grand Prix, however, expect that hotels at that time are fully booked. When you visit Macau and Hongkong, surely you will never regret.
Tags: China, disneyland, hongkong, Macau, ocean park, ruins of saint paul, senado square, Tourist
Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon
Travelling abroad without the assistance of a travel agency is easy nowadays because of the internet. When we travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, traditionally known as Saigon, our travel guide was the internet. Android Phone is a powerful tool to determine our location and direction. Although, we often took a taxi but we could easily locate ourselves because of the GPS or Global Positioning System of my Android phone. We also booked our hotel through booking.com. It’s nice to book hotel in the booking.com site because you can establish the distance of the places you wanted to visit because it has a map location. Besides you will know the cheapest hotel of the particular place you wanted to visit. Again, we visited Saigon because of the promo offered by Cebu Pacific. Thanks Cebu Pacific! We visited the different tourist spots in Saigon. We have been to War Remnants Museum, Ben Thanh Market, Citadel of Saigon, Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office, Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh Museum and a lot more. Saigon is very familiar to my ears because of the popularity of Leah Salonga’s Miss Saigon. The climate in the place is the same with the Philippines; however, it is more cool compared to manila and cebu. After Saigon, we took our side trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is not difficult to cross the border of Cambodia. It is not what you think of crossing the border during 1960’s as what you have seen on TV. It is now different. The place is peaceful. We took the Mekong Express bus for about US$10 and started our journey in crossing the border of Saigon to Cambodia. Our trip started at exactly 8:00 in the morning and we arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon. I was sad at that time because I felt so disturbed of the tip of a cotton bud that was accidentally left in my ear when I cleaned it after taking a bath in the morning. When we arrive in Cambodia, my wife and I immediately went to the international SOS – a 
clinic in Cambodia with foreign doctors. We paid US$83 just to pull out the cotton bud in my ear. Cambodia is different as regards to their currency. You don’t have any problem in exchanging your money to the local currency because you can pay in US dollars. When we were there, I have not seen a taxi. We ride a motorcycle locally known as the TUKTUK. We have been through to different tourist spots in Phnom Penh – The Killing Fields, Royal Palace, Mekong River, Silver Pagoda, Independence monument, the two Museums which I forgot the name. We were not able to go to Siem Reap which accordingly the location of the Angkor Wat. Probably, this could be another trip.
Tags: Border, Cambodia, Crossing, Ho Chi Minh City, Hotel, Notre Dame Cathedral, Phnom Penh, Royal Palace in Cambodia, Vietnam
High Buildings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Going to other country is really exciting. I remember when we went out of the country together with my wife and kids; we really didn’t know the feelings of the excitement deep within us especially so that my wife and I had travelled the first time. Our first country that we have visited is Malaysia. We went to Kuala Lumpur together with my 2 kids. What we did when we have done our first travel was we made a research regarding the country we wanted to visit. Lucky for us nowadays that we have Mr. Google and Mr. Wikipedia to tell us the facts about the country we wanted to visit. We were encouraged to go out of the country because of the promo offered by Cebu Pacific. At that time, we paid only the amount of about 11,000 Philippine Currency for the three tickets – my wife’s and my kid’s ticket. My youngest child, joelliane was still free of fare since she was still below 2 years old at that time. We were Lucky at that time because the accommodation was given free by my auntie in KL. While we were at KL, my aunt and my cousins had no enough time to tour us around the city, however, one of my cousins bought us a ticket for a hop on hop off bus. That hop on hop off bus will take you a tour around the city using a double decker bus. Take the upper deck of the bus to see the beauty of the city. Although, you could not finish the 22 stops of the bus in a day, still you could continue the ticket to another day. The ticket is valid for 24 or 48 hours depending on the amount you paid. With that simple hop on hop off bus, you can enjoy Kuala Lumpur.
Last tip for you guys, when you bring your baby with you always bring a stroller. Otherwise, you will not enjoy your trip because you might end up carrying your baby while asleep.
Tags: bus, cebu pac, cebu pacific promo, first time in KL, first time traveller, hop on hop off, KL trip, Kuala Lumpur, stroller
This picture is taken in one of the streets in Saigon. This is somewhat like the Philippines. Vendors are in the streets. However, the vendors and buyers are disciplined enough to throw their trash in the trashcan. The pavement and sidewalks in this area are clean and tidy. The climate seems more cool than the Philippines. This picture is taken beside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon, Vietnam.
Tags: Ho Chi Minh City, Notre Dame Cathedral, tourist spot, travel Vietnam, Vietnam
Taken at the overpass fronting Gaisano Mall.
I happen to join a contest in our City which was sponsored by Petronas Energy Philippines and Kodak. I garnered the fifth place, sixth and seventh place. This is my first time to join a photo contest which the subject is moving. It was really a nice experience as it was moved my brain to a lot of experiment in using my camera including the panning technique. The picture that appears in the left side of this article garnered the 5th place. I will also post the other pictures that garnered the seventh and sixth place below.
Smiling faces of the fun run participants while running.
Participants at the starting point of the fun run.
This is the sixth place and the seventh place respectively. There are sixty five entries that join in this particular contest.
All of these photos are taken by a DSLR Nikon D90 with a kit lens 18-105.
See also related article at http://www.iligancity.ph
Tags: Fun Run, Iligan City, Jogging, Petronas, Photo Contest
I happen to shoot this yellow decorative jar in one of the hotels in Kuala Lumpur. Shot it with Nikon D90 – a camera rumored to be faced out from the Market. I like D90 but this will be replaced by Nikon D7000.
D90 captured the yellow color of the jar/vase. It seems it emphasizes the circle of the jar used as handle. Anyways, whatever the title is, let the picture speaks for itself.
Tags: Decorative, Hotel Malaysia, Jar, Vase, Yellow
I woke up at around 2:00 o’clock in the early dawn just to shoot this super moon – this moon occurred last March 19, 2011. This moon is larger and nearer to the earth. Brighter than the other full moon. This was last seen in the year 1992 and again last March 19, 2011.
Taken with Nikon D90 with my kit lens 18-105mm.
Tags: blue Moon, Full Moon, Moon, Super moon
This is the Ruin Church of St. Paul in Macau, China. It was destroyed by fire in the year 1835. It is said that this church was the largest cathedral in Asia. It was built by the Jesuits during 1582 – 1602.
Photo taken with Nikon D90.
Tags: Cathedral, China, jesuits, Macau, Ruin Church of St. Paul, Spot, Tourist
