Category: Travel

I feel blessed that I was one of the bloggers invited to experience AirPhil Express Davao Extreme Package.  It was actually my 1st time to ride in an AirPhil Express plane.  I was curious.  The last time I had a domestic travel, I travelled via PAL Express.  I was surprised to find out that AirPhil Express was actually PAL Express before! hahaha!

It all started February 13, 1995 when Air Philippines was incorporated.  Flight operations started February 1, 1996 with flights going to Subic, Iloilo & Pampanga.  Two years after, operations of the Air Philippines brand were transferred to Philippines Airlines via the PAL Express brand.  Fast forward to 2009, operations of PAL Express were transferred to Air Philippines.  Finally, Air Philippines was relaunched as AirPhil Express last March 28, 2010 as a low-cost carrier.
AirPhil Express is a sister company of Philippine Airlines under the Lucio Tan Group, but it is operating independently from PAL.

Whew!  What a history.  In short, there is no more PAL Express and we now have AirPhil Express.  I’m just glad all AirPhil Express flights are in NAIA 3.  The airport is the newest among all in Manila.  I appreciate the efficiency of the check-in counters too.

While we await for our flight, we can take pictures for remembrance.

As of this writing, AirPhil Express current fleet includes:

• Five Q400 76-seater (30 flights daily + 20 on selective days)
• Three Q300 56-seater (24 flights daily + 2 on selective days)
• Six A320 (68 flights daily)
  • two 171-seater
  • four 180-seater

Similar to other low-cost carriers, AirPhil Express doesn’t have food and drinks included in their airfare.  I was very hungry during our flight that I couldn’t resist the noodles being offered by flight attendants.  I bought this Korean noodles for Php 100 (I know, very expensive)!  Drinks are being sold too at Php 50 per can.  There were sandwiches and other pastries available for sale too.

While I had a pleasant flight, I think there are some improvements that AirPhil Express can do.  One thing I remembered during the flight was the facial expression of one of the attendants.  I think she was having a bad day but I do hope she didn’t show it to us as she was customer-facing.  I also had to ask for ice 3 times before it was given to me.  I know such complaints can be sent through AirPhil Express Facebook Page.

I was very impressed when I checked out the page, AirPhil Express do respond to each and every post written by customers.  They are really serious with providing better service.

I can attest to the good customer service as I encountered an accident during our water rafting activity.  My toe nail fell off.  AirPhil Express staff went beyond their duties and took me to the hospital even though I wasn’t experiencing much pain and can function completely.

Back to my flight experience, I enjoyed looking out the window with such good view of our skies.  The window seat will always be my choice whenever I fly out 🙂

Overall, I enjoyed my flight with AirPhil Express.  There were no delays that time.  However, there might be some instances where flights are delayed.  Like for example, bad weather.  We don’t wanna push it, do we?

Here’s more information about AirPhil Express that might interest you:

• flies to 25 destinations with a total of 144 flights.
• Travel services include:
  • Seat selector – A special service offered by Airphil Express that allows you to pre-reserve your seat for a minimum cost.  Standard Seats are sold at Php 100 per way.  Premium Seats such as exit rows and the first two rows are sold at Php 200 per way.
  • Prepaid Baggage – You can pre-pay your excess baggage during your online ticket purchase or by requesting Pre-paid Baggage when purchasing your tickets through Airphil Express Reservations or at any Airphil Express Ticket Office.
    • additional 5 kilograms at Php 400.
    • additional 10 kilograms at Php 800.
    • additional 15 kilograms at Php 1,200.
  • Web Checkin – A more convenient and simple way to check-in to any Airphil Express flight and saves you time by avoiding the long queue at the airport.
  • Travel Insurance – Airphil Express Travel Insurance in underwritten by
    Chartis Philippines Insurance, Inc.
• all flights are inclusive of baggage allowance.
• 1st and only budget airline with dedicated online customer service in the Philippines.
• Upcoming flights:
  • starting July 1, 2011, Manila-Tacloban.
  • starting October 20, 2011, Manila-Cotabato, Manila-Gen. Santos.
• Last, but definitely not the least, AirPhil Express’ Extreme Adventure Packages which I personally experienced and enjoyed two weeks ago 😀

Last sunday, my friends and I went to La Mesa Ecopark for a picnic together.  It was my first time to go to Ecopark but I’ve been hearing a lot about the place for quite some time.  All I knew was Ecopark is owned by the ABS-CBN Foundation and a lot of couples take their pre-nup pictures there.

We arrived a bit after lunch.  We needed to fall in line to pay and enter the picnic grounds.  Entrance fee is at Php 40 for Quezon City residents as long as you show your I.D., Php 50 for non-Quezon City residents, free for senior citizens who lives in Quezon City, students & other senior citizens have discounts too!  It’s pretty affordable.  Aside from being able to enjoy the facilities of the place, we are able to help rehabilitate & preserve La Mesa Watershed as proceeds go to that project 🙂

There were a lot of people that time.  All the cottages & tables were already taken so we decided to just find a spot in the grass for our picnic.  It was amazing to see a lot of people very ready.  They have tents, grill & even aprons with them hahaha!

We, on the other hand, had 2 blankets laid on the ground.  Bea prepared spaghetti and egg sandwich for us while Jepoy brought his lola’s specialty, fried meatballs.  We also had drinks courtesy of siofao 😛  We enjoyed our food for an hour and had some chit-chat before we started roaming around the park.

We only had a few hours left to enjoy the place as when it gets dark, you won’t be able to see anything anymore.  La Mesa Ecopark is a big forest after all!

During our visit to La Mesa Ecopark, we saw several flowers.
It’s definitely a good place for photographers to practice their macro skills 🙂

We can choose to experience horse back riding for Php50.  Kids will love it for sure!

I was truly ecstatic when I saw the Nikon Club banner hanging on one section of the La Mesa ecopark.  I immediately inquired and signed up!  Good thing they had an event that day.

A lot more great views as we strolled along the park.

We then entered a trail and followed it.  All we’ve seen are trees, trees and trees.  We even stopped in the middle and sat for awhile as we got tired walking hahaha!

We saw several couples having their prenup pictures taken.  Oh, love, love, love is always in the air at La Mesa Ecopark.

Guess what?  There were cosplayers too!  We asked if we could take some photos of them and they graciously agreed.  They were sooooo cute!

While we were sitting at the bench & admiring the environment, we saw a bee flying and it eventually landed on one of our bags.  I was trying so hard to get a good shot but this was the best that I got of it.  I guess I needed to buy a macro lens for shots like that 😛

The sky looked soooo astounding at around 6-7pm.  I wish I had a tripod so I could take the picture clearer.  See the shake in the picture?  It wasn’t clear obviously.  I was trying so hard not to move while taking the picture.  Anyhow, you got my point.  The sky is definitely a nice thing to look at while the sun is setting down.

There are a lot more things to do at Ecopark like the saltwater swimming pool, boating, fishing, museum & butterfly hatchery but due to time constraint, we were only able to visit the picnic grounds and the forest trail.  It was still well-worth it.  We had tons of fun!

Who wouldn’t enjoy such an outing when you were with a group of awesome friends?

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La Mesa Ecopark
La Mesa Dam Compound, Greater Lagro, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 430-4351

I always pass by Ayala Triangle Gardens because I walk from my office to the gym every weekday.  It’s such a nice sight to see considering how busy the Makati Central Business District is.  Who ever have imagined having a garden right in the middle of Makati?  Sooo cool!  Reminds me of the one in Ortigas (I actually mentioned in my review of Ortigas Park that I wished we would have one in Makati!).  Someone must have listened to my wish 😉

The beautiful Ayala Triangle Gardens is already on its 2nd year but it was only last weekend that I strolled around the area and stayed for almost 5 hours.  Having all the trees, the beautiful grass, and the garden itself is important in my opinion.  I think in the hustle and bustle of corporate life, and being surrounded by building after building after building, you just want a change of scenery.  And that’s what I love about this place.  Not only does it provide a change of scenery, but there is finally a place we can turn to get some fresh air, relax, unwind, and just slow down even for just a few minutes.

Apparently during mornings and early evenings, you can see a lot of running enthusiasts jogging around the area.  There are literally so many activities you can do at Ayala Triangle Gardens.  I also remember that I was supposed to attend a picnic tweetup last year at Ayala Triangle Gardens.  I wasn’t able to go that time.  But last week, I didn’t want to miss the chance again to visit the Makati Garden brought to us by Ayala Land.

For their 2nd anniversary celebration they decided to unveil the Restaurants at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.  It features 12 great food establishments that offer unique dishes.  See the line up list below, I’m sure you would love to try all of them!  I’m honestly glad that I was able to at least try out 3 so far and would try the others when I go back to Ayala Triangle Gardens.   The three places that I was able to try out was Bon Chon Chicken, Amici/Cara Mia, and Golden Spoon.  Here is the full list of available restaurants:

• First Concept Restaurants: Bfast by Chef Laudico, C.B.D. (Cheesesteaks, Burgers & Drinks)
• First in the Philippines: Wee Nam Kee, Bon Chon Chicken
• First in Makati: Banapple, Momo Cafe, Kanin Club, Omakase, Pho 24
• Old favorites: Amici/Cara Mia, Golden Spoon, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

During Christmas is definitely a great time to visit Ayala Triangle Gardens.  They have awesome lights hanging around the trees and the grass.  The sound of kids in the background, the wonderful light decorations, the parols, so many things make this place really special.  And the best time of day, is really at night because you can really feel the difference in atmosphere, and not to mention the wonderful lights that really seem to make this place magical.

There were some tree branches that looked really unique.  I couldn’t help but ask my mom to take a picture of me with it.  Look how colorful it is!  I was actually kind of wondering whether or not they were real, but in any case please do check it out when you drop by Ayala Triangle Gardens.

The highlight of my visit is the lights & sounds show called Symphony of Parols.  It’s a 7-minute show that runs every 30 minutes from 6-8PM during November 17 to December 23, 2o10.  I took a video of it but was using a crappy camera so pardon me for such an awful video.  It didn’t give the dancing lights show justice.  It’s just my way of showing you what’s in it.  It was astounding!  You should go visit next year if you missed this year’s show.  We were all in awe while watching it.

The following picture below shows just how BEAUTIFUL the place can truly be !  I loved it!  A truly magical and amazing sight to see.  It’s something really that words just fail to do it justice.  If you want to experience the wonder of the place, there’s just no other way than to just go there and see for yourself.  And after, I am certain that you will also love it as much as I did.

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Ayala Triangle Gardens
Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati City
Middle of Makati Avenue, Ayala Avenue & Paseo de Roxas

Digital Meridian System or DMS (Php 1,400) is one of the wellness treatments available at Nurture Spa Village.  Actually, we went to reception and asked if there was a wellness talk available that day.  It was because I saw in the room brochure that wellness talks are given for free every weekends & by request.

After an hour, we were called from our room that the person conducting the wellness talk was ready & waiting for us.  We arrived at the pavilion expecting a presentation setup.  Then we realized that it’s actually not just a wellness talk but also a health check too.

DMS is actually a computerized check up to scan our health.  Are we healthy?  Are we foreseeing any illnesses?  The person told us that the DMS is 80-90% accurate.  We were excited to find out about our own results!

The gadget is connected to the computer and we get to see instructions being shown on the laptop monitor.  The staff is following the acupoint position in the screen & puts the scanner on our hands & feet.  I took a peek at the container and saw that it was made in China 😛

The scanning process only takes about 5 minutes.  The rest of the session were used to explain the results & also some tips for wellness 🙂

Let me share with you the results I got from the test.  Actually, I got a bit worried that I have a low mental state!  Wahhh!! what does that mean?  I didn’t get the answers coz obviously the DMS is just for scanning & doesn’t tell us how and doesn’t tell us the cure.  It’s just a tool for making us aware of our health state.

Then I saw the ff. results.  Out of 8 body functions, I got 3 sub-healths.  It’s really worrying.  I wonder what I should do to make myself healthier in those areas.

After sharing with us the findings from the DMS gadget, we were given tips for a healthier life.  According to the speaker, there are 8 things that we should consider namely: nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, temperature, air, rest & lastly, trust in God.

I remembered some important items:

• avoid drinking water during meals especially cold water since it dilutes gastric juice.  The recommended time is to drink 1-2 hours after meal & 10-15 minutes before meals.
• sunlight provides vitamin D, decreases blood cholesterol & a killer of bacteria.
• golden period for sleeping is 9-12MN.  this is the time when our brain recharges, sleeping during those hours also slows down aging process.
• 10PM to 2AM is not the time for eating as this is the time when the liver cleanses the blood.

It was a very well-spent 30minutes during our Nurture Spa stay.  You might wanna try it out too when you visit Nurture Spa in Tagaytay.