Tag: DIY

Posted on

[APRIL 2022] 8 Days: El Nido, Palawan

TRAVEL PERIOD: April 9, 2022 – April 16, 2022

First time to travel solo in the Philippines and I could not have chosen a better destination! This trip is so sudden – booked my ticket on a Thursday night for a Saturday morning flight, booked my accommodation the night before my flight – because I got tired of waiting for my friend’s schedule to align with mine. It has been 6 months since my last beach trip so I was really itching to see the sea again. My original destination was Cebu but my only friend there said she’ll be in El Nido on the days that I’ll be in Cebu, so I decided to go to El Nido instead and meet her there when we’re both available. I also haven’t been to El Nido and planned to go there soon as well, so it made changing plans easier.

THE RESEARCH

Minimal research. Since I already paid A LOT for my flight, I know I have to save money somewhere aka accommodations. A friend suggested Frendz hostel, apparently a famous hostel for backpackers, and they were responsive enough that I reserved the bed at once. I actually forgot that there might still be restrictions and requirements for tourists so I scrambled to look for information. The booking employee from Frendz told me that I still need a Travel Pass-through Permit (TPP) through the  S-PaSS to be allowed in El Nido. I received this information the night before my morning flight and I was worried that an actual person from the local government of El Nido would still need to approve my TPP application. After filling out the details, I received my TPP approval and QR code immediately. I guess it’s automated now.

THE ITINERARY

After a day of preparation, here’s what my itinerary looked like:

THE MONEY

Since I’m spending for me alone, I’m not as tight with my budget on this trip. I also know that El Nido has a fair share of foreign tourists so I’m not expecting local prices as well. My rough estimate is that I spent around PHP30,000.00 for this trip.

THE JOURNEY

I will update once I complete my per day posts.

ACCOMMODATION REVIEW

I will update once I post my review. I will also share other accommodations that I looked at.

TOUR REVIEW

I will update once I post my review.

THE DISCLAIMER

Again, I am not an expert in DIY travel. Just want to share my experience and remind myself of the trips I had.

Posted on

5 Days: Bangkok-Phetchaburi, Thailand

Yes, I went back to Thailand. I chanced upon promo fares on Cebu Pacific last July 2017 for Bangkok in January 2018 and I immediately asked my sister if she wanted to go on this trip. After finalizing the dates, she booked our round trip tickets for January 28 to February 1, 2018. Our group consisted of me, Divimom, Divibaby, my sister Bella, her husband Paul, and my 13-year old nephew Ton. Airfare per person was 4,691.04 PHP and 15 kg. check-in luggage was 690.00 PHP per way.

Continue reading “5 Days: Bangkok-Phetchaburi, Thailand”

Posted on

Day 12, Thailand

THE DATE: May 2, 2012

THE TRIP 

07:00-08:00          Our airport transfer is scheduled to pick us up from our hostel around 1:00PM, in time for our 3:40PM flight back to Manila via Tiger Airways. That gave us the whole morning to do what we do best… shop. Do we really have the time? Don’t malls open around 10AM? Will we make it back before 1:00PM? These are some of the questions I asked myself and divimom. We don’t know but we decided to go anyway. Transportation: 12 THB each

Khao San in the morning. Can’t believe this is possible. Look, even birds! =))

Continue reading “Day 12, Thailand”

Posted on

Day 11, Thailand

THE DATE: May 1, 2012

THE TRIP 

09:00-09:30          The receptionist told me that unlike going to MBK or Chatuchak, there are no buses that will pass by the guesthouse to take us to Central world directly. We have to take the bus from the main road which will take us near Platinum Mall. Transportation: 12 THB each

Thara to Ratchadamnoen Klang Rd. Red Line is if you want to go thru Khao San.

Continue reading “Day 11, Thailand”

Posted on

Day 10, Thailand

THE DATE: April 30, 2012

THE TRIP 

09:00-09:40          Because of the sudden change of plans, I had to google famous malls in Bangkok. I did that the night before by renting the computer in Thara House. That morning, I also asked the receptionist the bus number that will take us to MBK. We boarded a non-aircon bus in front of Thara. Transportation: 7 THB each

09:40-19:20          Our first mall is MBK.

Continue reading “Day 10, Thailand”

Posted on

Day 9, Thailand

THE DATE: April 29, 2012

THE TRIP 

09:30-10:10          Shopping in Thailand is not complete without visiting Chatuchak market. It’s only open on weekends so I made sure that we have at least one weekend in Bangkok. It’s a bus ride away from Thara House, we know because we asked 🙂 You have a choice between an aircon or a non-aircon bus. We decided to take whatever comes first. It was near empty when we boarded it but after several stops, the bus became crowded. Transportation: 13 THB each Continue reading “Day 9, Thailand”

Posted on

Day 7, Cambodia

THE DATE: April 27, 2012

THE TRIP 

08:00-08:30          Day 2 of our temple tour and last day in Cambodia. Since yesterday’s tour was abruptly shortened due to my camera’s untimely but temporary death, I made sure that my battery is full and my camera’s memory is empty so we can capture every moment of another fun-filled day in store for us… and a free breakfast is a great way to start our day.

Continue reading “Day 7, Cambodia”