How I Plan My Trips Abroad

Good to go!

I do receive a lot of questions on how and why I get to travel abroad at least twice a year. They still think that traveling abroad is only for the alta (a colloquial term for rich people), which brings me to two things: (i) am I that dukha-looking?; and (ii) are they aware of piso or promo fares?

Kidding aside, I think it's about time to share on how I plan and execute my trips abroad.

Hong Kong's Symphony of Lights

View from the Avenue of the Stars

At dusk, the sun settles over the western horizon. Buildings start to flicker and Hong Kong becomes more alive and more vibrant. Over the years of rapid developments, Hong Kong's population skyrocketed. Because land development is limited and expensive, there's no way but to go up, literally. This former British colony is tagged as one of the world's most vertical cities with numerous skyscrapers towering the islands of Hong Kong, New Territories, and Kowloon.

Photo Diary: Hong Kong in 50mm

Downtown Hong Kong

Every time I ask my friends on what was the first country they've visited, majority answered Hong Kong. Well, it's primarily because of two things: Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park, and its close proximity from Manila, Philippines (it only takes an hour and forty-five minutes to reach Hong Kong, the same travel time when you fly from Manila to Davao).

Hong Kong was a former British colony until in 1997, it became a special administrative region of China granted with a full autonomy. Rapid economic developments were seen in the early 70s and even after it was formally handed over to China, Hong Kong still remains as one of the most important cities not only in Asia but also to the world. No wonder why it was dubbed as the Asia's World City. This special administrative region of China also serves as an important hub or transit in air travel, making their one and only international airport as one of the busiest and  highly revered airports in the world in terms of connectivity, and passenger comfort.

The Path to Enlightenment: Borobudur Temple

Enlightenment.

One shouldn't miss this UNESCO World Heritage Site when visiting Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Candi Borobudur (pronounced as 'Chandee', which literally means temple), is the world's largest Buddhist temple, and as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments built in the whole world. I have been dying to visit this temple since high school, blame it to my obsession in Asian history and culture. Since the day I've first read about this place, I knew right from the start that I have to see this place before I die.

Nothing's really unusual with this candi except that it was decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The temple comprises of six square platforms, topped with three circular platforms. People all over the world travel to this renowned world heritage site simply because of its allegory to enlightenment.

Yogyakarta: Indonesia's Cultural City

The cultural center of Indonesia.

Indonesia is very accessible if you are flying in to Jakarta however, it doesn't wholly represent the entire Indonesian culture. That's why, we opted to visit places outside the capital city: Bandung, Taman Safari in Bogor, and Yogyakarta (aka Jogja). Thus, if you want to experience the 'real' Indonesia, get the hell out of Jakarta because the gridlock traffic won't take you to anywhere.

To escape the carmageddon traffic of the capital, we took a flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, a thriving metropolitan city of Central Java. Booking a flight to Jogja from the capital was probably the best decision we've made in this entire trip. Aside from saving us from eternal damnation, it had allowed us to discover more about the Indonesian culture and heritage.

The Taman Safari Experience

All creatures big and small.

Prior my trip to Taman Safari, the closest encounter I've had with wild animals was in Davao's Crocodile Park, and in the Philippine Eagle Center. But those weren't considered close since all of them were either locked inside a cage or confined in a protected area in which visitors aren't allowed to pet them. Weeks prior our Indonesian adventure, my aunt told me and my mom that we're going to visit Indonesia's Taman Safari. I did a few research about it but their official website wasn't really that detailed, not to mention that it was written in Bahasa. So basically, we were clueless.

The first thing that came to my mind was the African safari type of trip - you know, people inside an armored vehicle with large plexiglass windows on it, with a few lions climbing on top of the car, and zebras licking the window, begging for food. And after that, the lions saw the zebras, and goes the wild chase. Eventually, the lions ate the zebras. It's like watching NatGeo Wild. #CircleOfLife

Well, that was morbid.

Dreaming of Las Vegas

One of the things that I'd want to scrap out in my bucket list is to take a transpacific flight, experience jet lag, and visit the other side of the world - specifically North America! I bet almost everyone wanted to taste or better yet, live the American dream. Well, in my case I just want to experience what it feels like to be at the other side of the planet.

Being adventurous, I want to explore Las Vegas, Nevada. Every night, downtown Vegas shines like a precious gemstone. Like they always say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Here are the four things that I'd want to try in Vegas.

Understanding Aviation Jargon: Aircraft Situation

They say that a mile of highway will just take you a mile, but a mile of runway will take you anywhere. In this day and age, more and more people can afford flying, thanks to the low fares of low-cost airlines. The demand for air travel is skyrocketing but majority of the major airports in the Philippines aren't expanding at all.

Flight delays are common these days due to air traffic congestion. But sometimes, announcements made by the ground crew are quite ambiguous. You often hear them saying, "your flight will be delayed due to aircraft situation. Our sincerest apologies for the inconveniences brought about by this delay."

So what does 'aircraft situation' really mean? Here, we dissect these two words into four possible scenarios.