Philippine Airlines Promo: 12 Cities. 7 Weeks. Unlimited Travel. Only with FLY ASIA PASS!

N.B. Updated with FAQs from the PAL website.


      I am quite baffled by this one, but it is a good deal if you're planning to visit all these countries listed here.  You'll just have to pay USD 270 for your FLY ASIA PASS and exchange them for tickets within two weeks.  The catch?  It is not inclusive of taxes and surcharges and you must complete your travel within seven weeks from day of first departure.  Travelling period is from 15 August to 30 December 2011 (outbound) and up to 10 December 2011 for inbound flights.  So, if you're intending to fly to Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Taiwan, your itinerary and fares will look like this:

Thoughts: Busy, Busy, Busy!

     Since I returned from Singapore two weeks ago, I've been busy with work.  Really, no joke.  Well, I admit I was sort of lazy, too, but my continued failure to wrap-up my Taiwan travel adventures to make way for my Singapore adventures, is mainly due to my busy professional life.  Yes, I have a job.  

     I've rechecked my list of things to write about in my mind and I have yet to finish my Travel in Taipei, Follow Me experience which includes an impromptu Taiwanese food binge and hanging out on a Sunday afternoon like a local.  Also, I still have stories about my Monga (a popular Taiwanese film starring Mark Zhao and Ethan Ruan) filming location hunting and my unlikely rendezvous with Gundam!  Gundam?!  Yes, Gundam!

       And oh yeah, I also went to Beitou to indulge in a private hot springs bath just before I headed off to the airport.  See?  There's still a lot to write about.  So I'll try to finish my Taiwan travel stories before the end of July, hopefully.

     So, please bear with me.  Till my next post!

Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011 - Day 3: Danshui Joyful Life Tour

  

     This is the first tour lined up for the day.  I was supposed to meet my guide, Ms. Alice, at the Danshui MRT station at 8:00 a.m. and I just made it in time though I thought I was going to be late.  When I got there, Ms. Alice introduced me to another guide, Ms. Annick.  I was surprised to have two guides for the day.  I guess I was just lucky!

Air Philippines' Seat Sale - MLA to SG (10 July to 11 July 2011)

     Air Philippines has a seat sale for their Manila to Singapore flights starting today until tomorrow!  Travel period is from 20 July to 30 August 2011.  I made a mock booking and it's almost Php 6,600.00 round trip per person.  The base fare is really low but the fuel surcharge, taxes and fees make the amount a lot bigger.  However, the flights are for July and August, and the fare is not such a bad deal.  Although there is the possibility that you might get cancelled flights because its our typhoon season now.  

Philippine Airlines' Seat Sale - Downpour Deals (11 July to 16 July 2011)

     Philippine Airlines will have a Downpour Deals seat discounts for its domestic, regional and international flights.  And here's the list for the regional flights from PAL's website:

Air Asia's Seat Sale - A Big Thank You! (12 July 2011 at 12:00 PM)

     Air Asia is gearing up for a BIG THANK YOU this coming Tuesday, 12 July 2011 at 12 p.m. (GMT +8).  I think it's really, really big.  Air Asia's Facebook page lists the booking and travel period as follows:

Booking period: 12 – 17 July 2011Travel period: 6 Feb – 20 June 2012

And when the booking period is 6 months or more before the travel period, tickets tend to be really, really cheap.  So, plan ahead and enjoy!

     As for me, I want to go to India in February, and Cambodia, too.  Plus, I want to go to Europe, but probably around May or June, I'll just wait for the seat sale for autumn or winter travel to Europe.

     Happy trip planning!

Travel in Style - What Do I Wear When I Travel?

     I know I am not the best person to talk about fashion because what do I know, right?  But I love travelling, and honestly, picking out my wardrobe for my travel destination is way more fun than doing my travel research.  Really.  I think I am just vain, or perhaps, I just can't shake off my inner sheep quality of loving to dress up.

2011 Taipei Film Festival (June 24 – July 16)

2011 Taipei Film Festival (June 24 – July 16)

N.B.  This article is lifted from the Taipei Government website.  If you're in Taipei during this time, do check this out.

     The Taipei Film Festival is the most important summer movie fest for fans of Taiwanese cinema, and the 2011 Taipei Film Festival invites everyone to “revolve” around Taipei together! 

     The list of films this year is going to be excellent. Besides the emphasis on the featured “Theme City” of London, there are premieres, fame-achieving work, and up-coming works attracting interest around Britain.

Featured Events

     This year, there are excellent works, well-selected works from Asia, and restored classics as well. In addition, we have added a new category – the “Midnight Heart-Beater” – which will broaden the vision of the audience tremendously. All in all, there will be 150 local and overseas classics – enough to accommodate the preference and taste of viewers from all age groups, genders, and walks of life.

“City In Focus” is one of the main features of the Taipei Film Festival, and the theme city for 2011 is London. The wedding of Prince William and the upcoming London Olympics in 2012 have brought international attention to the capital city of the UK, the home of Shakespearean plays and Rock and Roll. The city has always captivated the wonder and curiosity of people around the globe for ages. Through the Taipei Film Festival, the local audience will have the valuable opportunity to appreciate the diverse culture of London.

The International New Talent Competition has attracted inspired and talented filmmakers from the four corners of the globe. On the other hand, local directors will vie for the first place prize of NT$1 million at Taipei Awards, demonstrating the abundantly diverse creativity of locally-produced film. 

     In addition to weekend music concerts during the summer, there will be all kinds of peripheral activities held during the period of the film festival. The award presentation ceremony of the Taipei Film Festival will be held on 8th July; this event has received tremendous attention from and is highly regarded by both local and overseas media.

     The 13th Taipei Film Festival will be held at three separate venues between June 24 and July 16: Zhongshan Hall, Xinyi Vieshow Cinemas, and Governor Cinemas. These theaters are equipped with first-class audio-visual enjoyment, extraordinarily favorable price values, and excellent gifts. This event is considered a treat of movies no film fans would want to miss. 

     Starting from May 14, a series of lectures will take place at the Xinyi Eslite Bookstore.

Tickets and Information

     The TaipeiFF Pass and ticket packages will be available at the Eslite Bookstore Dunnan branch beginning May 21. Regular tickets are available online or at the show venues. For ticket inquiry and further information, please visit the official website of the Taipei Film Festival at http://www.taipeiff.org.tw.

 

2011 Taipei Film Festival
Date: June 24 – July 16
Venue: Zhongshan Hall, Xinyi Vieshow Cinemas, and Governor Cinemas
Website: www.taipeiff.org.tw

Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011: Day 3 - Travel in Taipei, Follow Me Free Tours

    

    I stumbled upon this program a few days before my flight to Taiwan.  It's a free volunteer guide services by the good people of Taipei.  It was a program for the Taipei Flora Expo and the city tour services started from sometime in June and ended the same time with the Flora Expo.  The program offered ten tours, in several languages including English, French, Korean, Japanese and Italian.

     Getting free tours was easy.  I just signed up in their website, chose my preferred tours (2 tours maximum per person) and tour guides.  Immediately thereafter, I received an email from one of the program staff and he helped with my my itinerary and made some very good suggestions.  When he learned that I was travelling alone, he took the liberty to change my tour guides from male to female.  Well, when I chose my guides, the male guide for the Danshui tour was the only one available for my preferred time, so I just went ahead and chose him.  The program staff was able to find me a female guide available and so, all's well.  I mean, while the idea of having a male tour guide is acceptable, I was still alone and touring the city with a male stranger would kinda look like we're going on a date.  Hahaha!

     So for my Danshui tour and Yangminshan tours, I have two female guides, Ms. Annick and Ms.Alice.  And I was the only one in the tour but I had two great guides!  Lucky!

     Unfortunately, though, we were not able to go up to Yangmingshan.  My guides were supposed to take me to the Calla Lily Festival, a tour on special request, but since it was the last day of the festival and it was a weekend, too, the traffic up and down Yangmingshan was terrible, a disaster.  That was what another guide told us when we were about to ride the bus to Yangminshan.  So, we decided to go to National Taiwan University instead for the education tour.

     And, my tour adventures will be featured in separate posts.  So till then!

Thoughts: Random But Important Things I Learned While Travelling in Singapore

     I just got back home from Singapore and Malaysia around 1:00 a.m., and I have one too many tidbits of information I learned while travelling in these neighboring countries.  Well, you probably all know that you're not supposed to bring in gums in Singapore, and all those shenanigans, right?  After all, Singapore is a "fine" country, at least that is what the souvenir t-shirts say.  But I won't talk about things that will get you fined, but things that will make your life easier while in Singapore...those things that would not embarrass you.  And things you can do to save money.  So, this post is kinda long, but you'll get a lot of tips, for sure.

Thoughts: Waiting for Departure at the Changi Airport, Terminal 2

     Air Philippines trumps Cebu Pacific as to their Singapore flights.  Cebu Pacific's planes land at the Budget Terminal in Singapore, while Air Philippines lands at Terminal 2.  And what a difference it makes!

     There are a lot to see and do at the main terminals, so, it's fun to wait here for your flight back home.

     My boarding time's at 7:50 p.m. and I'm at the movie house.  So, bye for now.