Was the title too tacky? Oopsie.

I've been to Singapore twice in 2015, but both were vacation with my family. Singapore is amazing and as a tourist from Manila, it really looked like a better place to live in. So this time, it was different. I had no concrete plans, but working overseas has always been in the picture.



A few months later, I found an interesting opportunity and was offered a job--and I took it.
It wasn't easy-peasy. I don't know if everybody really had to go all through that (countless exams and interviews), so when I finally got in, it was very hard to say no.
I didn't tell a lot people. It's a very personal journey and I wanted to do this with the least outside judgement. I wanted to see if I really wanted to be a Java Developer. If that's my true calling. (That sounds lame but it's true)

My thoughts were:
If was going to suck it up and stay a programmer anyway, might as well do it in Singapore.

In my next posts, I might be sharing tips for other Expats like me! :)

So we were keen on not wasting an Independence Day long weekend. It was too hard to get a place since we started looking only a few days before the holiday, so we ended up booking whichever resort we find in available in the nearest beach area--Batangas.

It's not too late for a summer lakad!
It's been a while! Playa Calatagan Beach Club is a (residential) resort in Calatagan, Batangas, where we always go to with my Tito and Tita in summer.

It's a 3-4 hour drive from Taguig and that's probably not the ideal 'quick trip to the beach', but it's still one of the beaches closest to Metro Manila.

I haven't been to a lot to compare it with, but its definitely my favorite resort for one good reason: the river pool.

This is about half of the pool.

The river pool is a long stream starting from one side near the kiddie pool connected to a full-size leisure pool.

(c) playacalatagan.ph

We would always rent the cabanas along the river pool, which is a lounge and jacuzzi area connected to the pool.
The place is big, and not crowded at all. Unless there's an event by the beach.


Jacuzzi is the best invention of mankind.

Add caption

Here's Ipe enjoying the beach... alone-ish. I asked him to take photos of me, but his hands are full... literally.



It's Brad's (our Shih Tzu) first day out and it's too bad he's not allowed by the pool area even when we brought his house along. :(
We understand it though, because the other guests might be uncomfortable but it would have been better if we can keep him somewhere close to the Cabana. My mom had to stay by the receiving hall to watch him there.
It's our first time to bring a pet so we didn't really know. :(

Hi there, Brad! :-)

They also serve good food in the resort, but they usually switch between caterers. It's too bad though, I remember liking the food better from 2 years ago.



Playa Calatagan Beach Club has no membership fee but you have to be a resident/lot owner to get in (or at least know someone who is). They don't have any accommodations for overnight stays so it always has to be a one-day affair. We usually leave for Calatagan at 7am, then go home at 5pm.
The pool is open only until 6pm.
I hope I can bring my friends here some time. I really enjoy being here and it's always good to be back. :-)

Ever saw the movie The Holiday (2006)?



Remember when Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) switched houses? One of them was from England and the other was from LA, they both wanted to escape from their life in the city and seek comfort some place they've never been. While finding a hotel seems like the usual option, imagine going on a vacation, but at the end of every tiring dayyou get to hop on your bed as if it were home!

The house alone gives the entire Surrey experience. The fireplace, the carpets, the paintings, the stone walls. Some things you can never get from a hotel. I've always thought this whole idea house-booking idea is all but a dream, until I found out about Airbnb.com.

I learned about Airbnb through my sister when she went to Malaysia a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was brilliant!

The idea is they have listings of houses (homes) all around the world, and you can view pictures and details, and book them right there and then as you would with hotels.

Well you are not exactly switching houses like in the movie, but you book them like hotels. (Which is better for me because I haven't got a house to swap with!)

I got very lucky to find this listing in Airbnb which I equally loved!


[caption id="attachment_1133" align="aligncenter" width="622"] Cozy living room. I can picture myself growing old here.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1134" align="aligncenter" width="613"] The kind of houses you only see in movies. Gaah! Isn't it lovely! *cries silently*[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1135" align="aligncenter" width="394"] The kitchen.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1136" align="aligncenter" width="384"] The house listing on Airbnb.com[/caption]

This place is for Php 4,030 a night for the entire house which is nice if you are coming with the whole family or barkada. They won't charge for extra guests. The neighbourhood is in England countryside, probably 50 minutes away from London. Just the perfect escape.

If you are not after the whole old European house thing, you'd still find yourself a place to stay anywhere else from Airbnb. Prices can go as low as 1,000++/night in England, or even cheaper in most countries.

WHETHER AN APARTMENT FOR A MONTH, A CASTLE FOR A WEEK, OR A VILLA FOR A MONTH, AIRBNB CONNECTS PEOPLE TO UNIQUE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES, AT ANY PRICE POINT, IN MORE THAN 34,000 CITIES AND 190 COUNTRIES

#WhereToNext #Airbnb #AirbnbPH
Yup. Castle. You can rent a castle for realz. Check it out here: www.airbnb.com

[su_button url="http://www.airbnb.com/c/pfigueroa34?s=8" target="blank" style="flat" background="#FF5A60" color="#ffffff" size="7" center="yes" radius="0" icon="icon: home" text_shadow="0px 0px 0px #aaaaaa"]Go to airbnb.com[/su_button]

I have a few travels scheduled for the year and I can't wait to book all my accommodations from Airbnb! Yay!

 

 

If you have been reading my blog, you probably already know how much I love Uber. I've been using it religiously since around October last year and I can stand by my words that I find their services outstanding.
It made me very upset when the LTFRB started to pick on Uber few months back. I use Uber everyday going to work and going out on weekends. I probably have spent enough to fend for my driving lessons, but who has time to get on the road ahead of everybody, find a parking and drive back home? Not me--and probably a lot of others, too, who has been tired of haggling 'against' ruthless taxi drivers.

Uber, if you didn't know, by definition, is classified as a Ride Sharing service. What sets them apart from taxicabs is that they are owned by private individuals under no franchise. In the country today, every transportation service, according to the law, needs franchising to operate legally. This means Uber, not matter how great we know their service is, is not in the scope.

Today, Uber is encouraging all of us to help them to Get Ridesharing Regulations Signed by DOTC and LTFRB.
These are the exact statements from Uber Manila:

For the last six months, DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya and LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez have shown tremendous leadership in crafting a regulatory framework that will allow the people of Metro Manila to continue enjoying a new and revolutionary transportation option.

The Philippines has the opportunity to cement its reputation as one of the fastest growing and most progressive countries in Asia, by becoming the first country after the United States to create a dedicated framework for ridesharing. This would be an amazing achievement not only for our government, but for all Filipinos.

This sounds like it's a bigger deal than just letting Uber officially get on the road. Private organisations such as Uber are paving it's way to keep our country moving forward, and now they need our help.

To show your support, please Sign the Petition by click on the button below:

[su_button url="https://action.uber.org/manila/" target="blank" style="flat" background="#3ac781" color="#ffffff" size="8" center="yes" icon="icon: pencil" text_shadow="0px 0px 0px #324a28"]SIGN THE PETITION[/su_button]

Or by visiting this link:
https://action.uber.org/manila/

My birthday is on the 27th of December, and if you didn't know, I share it with my sister.
When you are past the 18 mark, it's not very exciting anymore, is it? This year we planned to celebrate with a little staycation in Nuvali, Sta. Rosa Laguna, very timely for the Night Sky cinema event that my sister is monitoring on the same day. This place has been very famous when it quickly emerged from a rice field into a modern (but still green) city. Nuvali has definitely been the gem of Sta. Rosa since then and you'll be surprised how the entire place has transformed if you have seen it before the year 2000. Ayala, in my opinion, did a really good job keeping nature and the city come together. This place is jammed with both tourists and residents when we were there and wouldn't be surprised.

We stayed over at Seda, probably the only hotel in Nuvali as of yet.

[caption id="attachment_816" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The pool.[/caption]

Beware of Fake Cebu Pacific Offer!

I have seen a lot on Facebook about Cebu Pacific's Free Flight offer just within the past hour and I would like to warn everyone that this is a FAKE offer from a FAKE Facebook page.
Source: Cebu Pacific Air Official Facebook Page (verified)

It's a good habit to check the conversion rates before purchasing anything in foreign currency.
A quick way of doing this is to type the currency you wish to compare directly to Google.

But the results from Google are humble rates. If you are using a credit card, most likely, you are going to be charged by your bank's own rate.
To get the most accurate conversion, the easiest way is to check the rates with your bank online.

Here's how you do it in Citibank:

This is ridiculously overpriced.
Tip: If you’re visiting another country, even say for only a few days, get a local sim from them. Most sim cards already come with unlimited data out of the box for a lot less price than P500 a day. Or even if you have to top-up, still going to be cheaper.

Did this both in the UK and in Hong Kong.
In UK, I got a sim pack from ThreeUK which offered unlimited data for 30 days, 2000 minutes of all, and 2000 texts
All for £ 20 (approx. P 1,500)
Imagine, this is for 30 days! For the same amount, you only get 3 days with smart roaming. And definitely no thousands of free calls and texts.
In Hong Kong, I got a PCCW-HK Tourist sim, which was good for 5 days. Does not offer unlimited data, though. I think I had about 3GB of data (Uhm, not really sure?? But point is, still cheaper than 500/day to update and check-in to places), which is just about enough for a few days stay.
If you don't already know, Facebook browsing, and tweeting is not going to reach up to a gigabyte in 5 days. I was using data mostly for the maps, and even the maps will not max out to more than your limit for a few days. You can top-up for unli data if you really want to. You can check out their site but I'm betting my bottom dollar it's still going to cost less that Smart's roaming rate. (Goodness, who knows how fast and reliable this data roaming is?)

For your reference:
Three UK Pay As You Go SIM (Unlimited data for 30 days)
Heathrow Terminal, London (Vending machine in exit doors going to parking lot) - £20

Hong Kong Tourist Sim Card
7-eleven , Ground Floor, Hong Kong Int'l Airport - HKD 59

Let me know if you have questions and I'd be very happy to help!