Travel Footprints

Just like we did last year in 2009, we dedicate this blog entry to reviewing our travel footprints for the year that was.

2010 was a great year for us mainly because we made a huge step of stepping out and living on our own this year. Getting domesticated was an adventure all its own but that still did not stop us from taking time to do our bit of exploring the outdoors this year. Here are some of our travel highlights in 2010 :

1. Trekking the Himalayas was an A-MA-ZING experience and definitely one for the books! As ‘amateur’ hikers, we feel that this story is one that speaks of human triumph and endurance. We are humbled and awed by the majestic Himalayas but proud to have an exciting tale to tell others today and years to come.

2. Boracay, has always been and will always be, a favorite holiday destination no matter how expensive and commercialized it already got – starbucks? check! yellow cab? check! – over the years. We sometimes reminisce those days when my sisters and I can actually camp out overnight in one of the beaches (now known as Shangri-la Boracay) so we can see the bats at dusk when they go out by the hundreds to forage for food. We are also first-time visitors to the neighboring island of Guimaras this year where we had a close encounter with a sea snake while swimming inside a cave!

3. This year, I managed to go to Singapore 5 times. For work. And one weekend getaway to spend holidays in Singapore with Mr. Rono where I MISSED MY FLIGHT BACK TO MANILA. Yes, for the very first time in my life, I arrived at the check-in counter for my flight to Manila 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. The consequence of waking up late? I had to wait around the airport to see if I can get in any of the next 2 flights to Manila. FAIL! So, I had to stay one more night in our hotel in Sentosa to go back to the Changi airport again the next day. I was finally given a seat on PAL’s midnight flight to Manila. It was such a big hassle! I missed work, wasted time and money shuttling back and forth Sentosa and Changi Airport to haggle for a seat and did not enjoy my extra day in Singapore at all. Moral lesson of the story? Never be late for a flight!

Thank God I have happy memories from Universal Studios Singapore in this trip!

4. Arriving at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka was a pleasant surprise. I was bracing myself for this trip to Sri Lanka not knowing what to expect as a first-time visitor and, to my surprise, landed in a pretty rich airport of Colombo. Much better than our own, I daresay.

5. Going south of Thailand for the very first time! This year, I was able to steer my path from the usual Bangkok scene and stayed a few days in the coastal town of Hat Yai. Since Hat Yai is very near the border of Malaysia, the food is noticeably different from your usual fare in Bangkok (even the pad thai is different!).

The calm and quiet beach of Hat Yai, South of Thailand (near the Malaysia border)

It’s a very quiet university town, almost like Dumaguete City, where most of the people either work or study at the huge Prince of Songkhla University. The Princess was also there on the duration of our trip and the organizers kept adjusting our itinerary to accommodate the royal schedule (we had to avoid being stuck in traffic while the royal caravan is passing). This little gestures really shows how highly respected the royal family is in Thailand.

6. For the first time in all the years we’ve been travelling, we had the unfortunate experience of losing some valuable items in our check-in luggage (read: a brand-new iPad, an iPhone charger, etc.) through a Cebu Pacific flight from Ho Chi Minh. I hate that Cebu Pacific still do not claim any accountability over the loss. Cebu Pacific sucks big time!

Speaking of airports, we appeal to the government to please, please fix NAIA 1 – or better yet, transfer all non-PAL international flights permanently to NAIA 3. I shudder every time I fly in and out of the country through NAIA 1. It just looks so…old and dingy and poor. Where do all our travel taxes go anyway? Did you know that the Philippines was listed #6 in the Top 10 Best Value Destinations for 2011 by Lonely Planet? Give these foreign backpackers a chance to have a great first impression of the Philippines by improving the airport security, airport amenities and public transport facilities please!

7. Moving on to a more calm scenery in the Philippines, we absolutely LOVED that we got to accompany my siblings who are members of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines to Candaba, Pampanga for some birding action!

8. Memorable short trips for Mr. Rono are mountain-biking in Killer Loop trail in Bataan and doing a night ride at La Mesa for the very first time!

9. We also got to showcase WOW Philippines to foreigners from cultural dances at Barbara’s Restaurant to simple conversations over coffee while soaking in the sights of Taal Volcano from Tagaytay City. We even managed to help a Spanish guy who is travelling the Philippine islands on a BIKE(!) by giving some extra bike parts we have on stock. Our country really has so much to offer to tourists and all its thousand islands never fail to be part of our travel destinations. You really do get value for money here! WOW Philippines talaga.

10. And lastly, about this blog. We obviously do not have the time and discipline to write all our travel footprints but we seem to be doing ok, which we are grateful for. We had a lot of firsts for www.roamingronos.com this year: we were featured as Nuffnang’s Blogger of the Month and was able to launch our first-ever blog contest!

It was a year filled with fond memories. We’d also like to thank all those who supported our love for broadway musicals and making our playdate of Xanadu The Musical a big hit! We are excited to see what 2011 has in store for us. But this much we can say at this time, we will be doing a lot more walking in some foreign land this year!

I’ve always had pleasant visits to Davao in the past and I knew this time would be no different as soon as I boarded the PAL flight and saw this –

The airline’s inflight magazine had featured Davao as its cover story! Definitely a useful read during the 1 hour 30 mins flight to Davao from Manila. While I was not in Davao for leisure, it’s always nice to squeeze in a good dinner or two, take time to go out and explore the largest city in the Philippines. Of course, nothing beats recommendations from the locals. I was fortunate that a college orgmate was able to take time out of her busy schedule from Davao Doctors Hospital to show me around her beloved city.

I’ve always preferred staying in Apo View Hotel while in Davao, not entirely because of the room rate or strategic location (it’s a big plus, though!) but also because of their cheap massages at Php250/hour. Imagine my surprise when my friend brought me to a ‘hole-in-a-wall’ restaurant that serves Italian just behind the Gaisano Mall (walking distance from Apo View Hotel). I’ve walked to Gaisano Mall from the hotel several times not knowing that there was a gem of a restaurant right behind it.

The place is called Picobello Ristorante Italiano, up on the 9th floor behind Gaisano Mall from the basement parking. I love places like this! Breaking into the dining scene of Metro Davao mostly through word-of-mouth, it’s an artsy little space that serves, well, pasta and Italian main course. The ambience is definitely cozy with a window table that overlooks most of the city.

It was a short stay in Davao but I’m looking forward to discovering more in my next visit! I was pleasantly surprised to see the bustling nightlife of Davao City on a weekday while visiting more coffee places around. It does pay to go out of the hotel room sometimes. It is also comforting that the locals would really extend their assistance if you need help with directions. Taxi drivers here are well known for giving back the exact amount of change down to the last centavo, or even returning wallets left in cabs.

Davao’s charm also lies somewhere in the streets called Madrazo, where crates of sweet, juicy pomelo or marang and other fruits are sold. I could never go back to Manila without my family expecting to receive some flavors of Davao, especially now that it’s Durian season –

Of course, the best farewell to Davao is to fly PAL business class going home

It feels good to be back writing for this blog again. I was a busy, busy bee the past months. All this flying around for work was not half as enjoyable especially with the air turbulence of the crazy stormy weather in June and July. What I did enjoy, and pleasantly memorable to me, was seeing a new feature in Philippine Airlines international flight on my way to Vietnam –

I’m not sure when they started showing a camera from the cockpit during takeoff and landing on PAL flights. Through the screen, I could see the number of the runway where we will take off and then saw the plane lifting from the ground. Here we are taking off just before sunset in Manila and landing over the city lights of Hanoi.

Pretty amazing eh?