Expensive Experience

Flying has never been frequent and easy for everyone today.  With all the presence of all airlines online, customers can easily book a flight and explore the world.

Sa Pilipinas, ang presence ng Cebu Pacific at mga seat sale nila mas nakakaenganyo pa ng maraming mga travellers na umalis at mag explore.  Minsan nga lang, kelangan lang talaga natin maging super conscious sa oras ng flights..... to avoid spending much.

I learned things the hard and expensive way when travelling.  

I booked a flight that was originally scheduled 4AM on December for a flight in March.  otiCebu Pacific changed the schedule to another time - and I was advised through email.   Yes, I read it, but did not really gave much though about it.

Flight day.  All the while I thought my flight was 6AM.  I woke up at 4AM and prepared to leave.  I hailed an Uber and it was the only time I checked my itinerary again.

Boom.

The plane leaves at 5AM.

I received notifications on online/mobile check in but I ignored them because I want to personally check in so I can request for a seat at the back row.  

It was already past 4 when I got to the airport.  Check in was closed.

I was late.

Rebooking costs a hefty 5K.

A new ticket costs about 3.7K.

One way.

My original ROUND TRIP tickets cost only 3.5K.

Ouch.

2 options.

Rebook and spend money on the penalty and the difference between the new price and the original price I purchased.

Purchase a new ticket and fly later the same day.

I opted for #2 - since there is a need to get to where I was going.

Expensive.  Hard.  Stressful.  Sad.

The most expensive lesson I learned when flying - always check the itinerary.  NEVER ignore the online/mobile check in notification.

Had I checked in online, even if I was late for the counter check in, I could have gone straight to the boarding gates and be on my original flight.  I could have really saved.

Regrets.

Anyway, it is too late.

Very expensive.

Tipid Tipid sa Japan

Oh yes. It was in November when I went to Japan --- specifically Tokyo.  Ilang buwan na rin yung lumipas pero di ko pa rin makalimutan ang Japan experience ko. I love the country... and I swear babalik talaga ako doon... sana sa Olympics sa 2020.

Anyway, ang palaging tanong:  Magkano ba ang gagastusin papunta doon?

Based on my 3-day Tokyo experience, dalawa kami nun.... sapat na ang 50K... so... individually naka 25K din kami.  For 3 days - all in, kasama airfare.  Mahal ba? Well, that is a safe budget I should say.  May ilang tips lang ako paano makatipid.

1.)  Syempre bantay salakay ka ng seat sale ng mga airlines.  Madami na ang mga eroplanong lumilipad sa Japan - PAL, CebuPac, Vanilla Air at iba pa.  So, magtiyaga sa seat sale.

2.)  Instead of hotel, as in hotel, mag AirBnB na lang kayo.  Bakit? Mas mura in the long run - coz may mga pad na pwede magluto.  Make sure lang na pumili kayo ng place na malapit sa mga pasyalan - which is, mas mahal tignan sa website PERO, believe me, mas makakatipid kayo dahil MAHAL ANG TRANSPO SA JAPAN!!! I learned this the hard way. Nagbook kami ng place na 30-45 mins away sa Central Tokyo - mura nga sa place pero gastos sa tren...and sayang ang oras sa biyahe.

3.)  Visit grocery stores and buy food you can cook - yan ay kung naka place kayo na pwede mag cook... pag hindi naman ----

4.)  Kumain sa fastfood. WHAAAAAT?!

Tama po, fastfood aka McDonalds or Burger King.  I know nasa Japan ka na...might as well tumikim ng authentic Japanese food.... well... yes, pwede naman.. pero kung uber tipid ka, pwede na yan.  Mahal ang food sa Japan. Imagine nyo na lang na ang converted presyo ng food nyo ay aabot sa mga 250 to 500 per person.... habang... sa fastfood nasa less than 200 lang. 

Bakit fastfood? Dahil, ang ilan sa mga menu nila - wala naman sa atin.  You can taste an authentic Japanese version of the usual fastfood na kinakain mo dito.

5.)  Buy pasalubong sa mga "japan japan" store aka mga Daiso Daiso or Japan Home natin dito sa Pilipinas. Tawag sa kanila 100-yen store. Nagkalat ang mga thrift shops dun... pero madami options.  Mura lang din doon.  Makakabili ka pa ng mga KitKat na matcha flavor.  Take note lang na hindi lahat ng items dun 100 yen ang presyo ha - pero mura, mas mura kesa mall.
6.)  Buy pasalubong sa mga toy vendo machines.  Yes po.  Madami nagkalat na vendo machines na ang niluluwa ay mga miniature toys or figures ng anime, robots, kahit ano.  Nagvvary din ang presyo, from 100 yen to 300 yen.  Pero di hamak na maganda naman at sooo kawai (cute) ang makukuha mo.  Di ka pa mamomroblema sa packaging kasi maganda ang lalagyan. 

7.)  Bring your own yosi.  Mahal ang yosi doon. 

Ilan lang yan sa naisip ko.  Dadagdagan ko yan pag me naisip ulet ako.

Happy Women's Day

Today ay Women's Day o Araw ng Kababaihan.  Celebrate womanhood. Ipagbunyi ang pagkababae!
Today lalong masidhi ang tawag sa Gender Equality dahil feeling pa rin ng maraming gurls na - dehado sila sa maramung bagay.
Yet, my personal thoughts on the "equality" issue is - go aheaf and fight for it! I am supporting it and I love the idea.  Kung ano ang kaya ng lalaki, kaya din ng babae.  Kung matalino ang lalaki, matalino din ang babae.
Pero kahit na anong pagsisisgaw ng ilang babae (again, ILANG BABAE - meaning hindi lahat) ng "equality" ... nagagawa pa rin nilang magsabing "Chivalry is Dead" kapag hindi pinapaupo sa tren or bus or kahit ano public utility vehicle.  Ginagamit pa rin ang pagiging "babae" para bigyan ng pabor.  Isnt this a form of blackmail?!
Blackmail o kakapalan lang ng mukha?
Is it "feeling entitled"? Or simply saying "I am a girl so I am weak"?
Asan ang hustisya at pagkakapantay pantay na sinisigaw?
Babae lang ba ang napapagod?
Babae lang ba ang may karapatang umupo sa upuan?
Babae lang ba ang nagbabayad?
Babae lang ba ang kelangan ng respeto?
In any case, alam ko marami ang nakakaintindi.  Marami ang naniniwalang kahit paano ay buhay ang pagkakapantay pantay.
Ang respeto ay hindi binibigay dahil ikaw ay babae.  Ito ay binibigay dahil ikaw ay tao.
As we celebrate this day, I hope men will appreciate what the women can do in all forms. I hope women can be more sensitive of men as humans, not as a "stronger" gender. 
I hope we all find the inner women in all men, and women find the inner men in them.

Taste Bud Tickler: Hole In One

Hindi ito tungkol sa golf.

Pagkain po ito.

Nauuso kasi ang food parks.

Eto mejo bago pa.

Hole In One along Bayani Road in Taguig.

Around 10 food stores selling iba't ibang food.

Sa bungad may Liempo, Chinese Food, Dessert, Drinks.

Sa baba, kasi mejo pababa siya, may Japanese, Korean, Mexican, American, Italian, Filipino food.

So basically - solb ang tiyan mo at madami ka pagpipilian.

I wont discuss anu ano ang food na binebenta...para may next time pa.

Overall, relaxing naman ang lugar. Malinis. Hindi mainit - well maybe dahil gabi na at nasa Ber months na tayo.

Pwede mag inum ng alak or beer.  I wonder lang if may nag away na dun dahil sa kalasingan... pero I doubt it.

Downside is - till 12MN lang siya pag weekdays. Lemme check kapag weekends.

Mejo madali lang naman hanapin ang lugar - though di siya masyado visible sa kalsada... kasi katabi siya ng Shell gas station na sarado.... nagiisa lang naman ang Shell sa Bayani Road.

Worth it naman itry.

Food price - sapat lang. Lagpas 100 ang food items nila.  Meron din ilan ilan na below 100 lang. Pero pansin ko wala naman umaabot ng lagpas 250.  Pwede na.

Mukha pang may nagpperform sa weekends kasi may speakers at merong larang stage. I am not sure. Weeknight kami pumunta eh - pasarado na nun.

Try nyo lang. Baka magustihan nyo.

Wander: Friendship for Visa

Going to Japan requires a Visa.  My upcoming trip will be my first time in Japan and there is nothing more stressful than prepping and waiting for the result of the Visa application.

I previously have written the things I prepared to apply for my Japan Visa.  I mentioned that I went to Friendship Tours to submit my documents.  It was easy, breezy fast!

Friendship Tours is located on the 3rd Floor of Dusit Hotel in Makati.  If you don't know where that hotel is, well, it is just beside SM Makati.  If you dont know where SM Makati is, probably you know where the MRT Ayala station is. If you got there, the you should be able to find your way to the hotel.

If you have a car, you can park at Park Square, which is just in front of the hotel. 

There's gonna be 2 of us going to Japan. We initially went to Reli Tours as their application fee is just Php950 - but there was a long queue.  So while waiting, I decided to go out and check the neighboring travel agency and there I saw fewer people in Friendship Tours, which by the way, is just in front of Reli Tours.

We decided to go there instead.

Since we have not filled out our Visa Application forms yet, we took a number from a box and while waiting, we were filling out our application form. We were about 2 or 3 numbers away from the current number being assisted so we have ample time to finish filling out the form.  Pens were provided by the way, but I suggest you bring your own.

When it was our turn, we went to this cubicle and the lady assisted my companion first.  She handed us a paste so we can put our photos on the application form.  She also checked the documents if they were complete.  She inserted the documents in one of the pages of our passport and told us that she will also get the payment. Talk about a one-stop station!

Each of us shelled out Php 1200 for the application fee.  The lady informed us that it will take approximately 5 to 7 business days for us to get our passports back and that our application will be forwarded to the Japanese Consul on Monday - since we went there on a Saturday morning.  After the payment, she handed us a receipt (for the 2 of us) and advised us that they will text any one of us if the passports are ready for pick up.  We left and hoped for an approval.

Fast forward and on a Wednesday afternoon around 4pm, I got a text message that my passport is ready.  I asked my companion if he got a text and he also did.

Thursday morning at 9AM, we went back to their office and waited for 2 other claimants before us to complete their transaction.

We handed our receipt to the guy at the claiming station and he handed us our passports - opening at the page with our approved Visa.

Yey!

I checked the back of our passports and yes, there was a white sticker - which indicates a good news.  I have read in some other blogs that a white sticker indicates good news and a red sticker is the opposite news.

My friend said that the 2 others before us had red stickers on their passports and could be asking a lot questions why before leaving thus it took us a while to be assisted.

In any case, an approved visa means you can immediately leave with a huge grin and be more excited for the next stage of the trip - planning.

Was it worth it to pay 300 extra as compared to the other travel agency?  I would say yes. For the very short time we spent waiting for us to be assisted in submitting the application and documents and the fast result, we can never complain.

So maybe next time we apply for a Japan Visa on our next trip, we would consider Friendship Tours again.

Meanwhile - I still have a huge grin, this time planning where to go and what to do in Tokyo.