tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36997882176962376092024-03-20T14:30:52.607-07:00Pinoy Passport Stamps"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." - St. AugustineAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-11342439213825748962014-10-22T12:24:00.001-07:002015-12-09T20:35:51.244-08:00UNESCO World Heritage <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Few weeks ago I came across an article about the inclusion of Mt. Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental in the UNESCO World Heritage list. I was so surprised but so proud at the same time. Being included in that list is such an honor.It is a big deal ! Places that get added to the list automatically become "must-sees" and can draw a lot of tourists.The Philippines has now six, Baroque Churches of the Philippines ( San Agustin church in Intramuros Manila, Sta. Maria Church in Ilocos Sur, Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte , and Miag-ao Church in Ilo-ilo), Tubbataha Reefs National Park, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras , Historic Town Of Vigan, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, and this year Mt.Hamiguitan just got added.It's a shame though that of the UNESCO World Heritage sites that we have in this country I've only been to one,the San Agustin Church in Intramuros. I promise to visit more of our own as I have already been to some abroad. These are places that I make sure are part of my itinerary when I travel as they have so much cultural and historical significance.I hope we see more in the future.<br />
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Versailles Parks and Palace, France</div>
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Banks of the Seine , Paris , France </div>
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The Pantheon , Rome , Italy </div>
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The Forum , Rome, Italy </div>
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Colosseum , Rome, Italy </div>
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The Vatican , Italy </div>
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Historic Center of Florence </div>
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Venice and its Lagoon , Italy</div>
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Mill network at Kinderdijk</div>
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Canal Ring Area Of Amsterdam </div>
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Kiyomizu- dera Temple , Kyoto , Japan<br />
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Tenryu-ji Temple, Kyoto , Japan </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Great Wall, Beijing, China</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Forbidden City , Beijing , China</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Temple of Heaven , Beijing , China</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Angkor , Cambodia</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-19060382235229278892014-07-09T12:31:00.003-07:002015-12-09T20:41:30.335-08:00Schengen Visa Application At the French Embassy in Manila (Interview)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was told to be at the Embassy of France 30 minutes before my
scheduled interview at 8am. I got off at the MRT Buendia
station then took a jeep to Makati Avenue where the embassy is located. I
realized when I got off the jeep that the Pacific Star building that houses the French Embassy is actually walkable from the MRT station.It
was 25 minutes past seven,I asked the guard at the entrance for the
waiting area for schengen visa applicants.He told me to go down the
basement. At the basement another security guard handed me a piece of
paper to be filled out about my appoinment. He asked me to wait for the
"signal" from the embassy to go up . Surprisingly there was only one
applicant other than me waiting at the basement. After maybe two minutes I decided to
start a conversation with her. She looked like she's in her
twenties.She's also applying for a tourist visa. According to her a
French couple is inviting her to visit them in St. Tropez. WoW! A
couple that according to her she only knew through facebook.Good LUCK!
She confided in me that she's nervous and didn't know what to tell the
interviewer.I warned her that most likely the interviewer would zero in
on why a couple she hadn't met would be so generous and invite her to
come to France. She added that it was through her cousin who works in France that she became friends with the couple (again, just on
Facebook). After a couple of minutes we were told to go up. I still
could not believe that there were just the two of us.When we got to the
16th floor we had to wait again before we were allowed to enter.I think
we waited for about 10 minutes. We had to surrender our phones when we
entered.The room where the interviews are held is just a small area
,maybe same size as the waiting area at the boarding gates of NAIA terminal
3.There were plenty of seats,same type as the ones you see at the
airports.The seats face the TV and behind us are the windows where the
interviews are conducted.Shortly after we entered the room the rest of
the applicants that day arrived in droves. I think they all had to wait
for an available lift as it was a rush hour.I think it took thirty minutes before they started calling out our names. I
don't know what list they followed when they were calling out our names because I
was the second to arrive and at the guard's list my name was at the
bottom but I think I was called fifth (or so). Before the interviews
started we were called one by one to pay at the window and for an
officer to check if we had complete requirements. It was the male
officer who was tasked to collect the payments that day.I had heard so
many stories about him from online forums. When it was my turn to pay he
asked for my documents and I quickly handed them over.The moment he saw them he told me to take them out from the envelope.He said it in a manner that really startled me. At that point it was confirmed that it's him that
the other applicants are referring to.He went over my papers but this
time he didn't say a thing and that is because I made sure they were
arranged properly.I gave him the exact amount of P3610 as payment . Just like the ones before me I was told to wait again.A couple sitting
behind me was turned away for some reason.<br />
The
first to be interviewed was the lady I chatted at the basement.As I had
expected she was asked a lot of questions.Despite what she had to go
through she still managed to smile at me as she was leaving the room.It
was nerve-racking and could also be embarrassing depending on how the
interview goes because everyone else in the room could hear the officers asking questions since they're using a microphone.<br />
When my name was called I could hardly understand it because of the
accent of whoever it was that's tasked to call out the names. I was
assigned to the "chinita" officer.When I handed her my requirements she
didn't say anything.She wouldn't even look at me.She hastily went through my papers and gave me back
everything that she didn't need.I was kind'a worried because it seemed
like she was busy with something else.What if they're actually making
the decision at that moment that you hand them your papers? If that's
the case It didn't look so good .After checking all my
documents she instructed me to put my fingers on that scanner that would
get my biometrics. For some reason it wouldn't work.I think I was not
doing it right.She even asked me to wipe it.After several attempts I was
already worried that she'd lose patience and just deny my
application.Finally ,she started to ask questions.I was only asked three
questions.First, If I was traveling alone,second, If I had created my own
itinerary and third, What places I'd be visiting in Paris.After the
brief interview I was advised that they'd keep my passport for a
week along with the old one and I was given the claim stub.I was aware about the myth that the
time you are asked to claim your passport is an indication of the result
so I checked it right away and it says 11 AM.From what I had read the
ones approved are advised to claim their passports at 12NN but I knew somebody who was asked to claim hers
at 11:30AM and got a visa.<br />
During the releasing of the passports I remember filling out a small piece of paper which they collected.Shortly after that they started calling out our names.I could hear the officer telling the applicants the results of their applications.I
was starting to worry because everybody called before me was denied
except for one guy who was approved but was told to return to the embassy when he gets
back from Europe.When my name was called I was trying to prepare myself
to listen to the same line that the officer had told the others before
me.As I gave her the claim stub she smiled at me and I was too nervous
to smile back.I was waiting for her to say something, instead she told me to check my passport .I saw it clipped
with the old passport and as I was trying to pick it up I accidentally flipped it and saw a sticker.I was so ecstatic.It was only at that
moment that I smiled back at the officer.It was worth all the trouble.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-55473525759990567732014-04-12T23:07:00.002-07:002015-12-09T20:44:41.429-08:00How To Apply For A Schengen Visa At the French Embassy : The Requirements<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I dreamed of seeing Europe.I really wanted to see it more than any other places on earth.Few years ago I didn't know how I'd be able to do it since i'm not a"richie rich" kid.Saving up for it was just a secondary concern, the biggest obstacle for a Pinoy Passport holder like me is actually getting a Schengen visa.If you are a Filipino I'm sure you're familiar with the term TNT.It pertains to Filipinos who go abroad, overstay and then seek employment without proper documents.Because of this practice it has become so hard to get a visa especially to countries where the number of illegally staying Filipinos have increased, like in Europe.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVCMg4ahooWcm229fz8ol59rbXaX_4QyTUqX-UB5kEVpikceKZC3qyUVI77uap5txtL2OjI7u-sZlc-j5ETKRvaQj1U_xJc4rVh2ffSLilEElxPN1W91EP_AzmVazGBDUVU9MzSwq1XM/s1600/eu2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVCMg4ahooWcm229fz8ol59rbXaX_4QyTUqX-UB5kEVpikceKZC3qyUVI77uap5txtL2OjI7u-sZlc-j5ETKRvaQj1U_xJc4rVh2ffSLilEElxPN1W91EP_AzmVazGBDUVU9MzSwq1XM/s1600/eu2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the Windmills in Kinderdijk , The Netherlands</span></td></tr>
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There are very important things that European countries would look into to allow one to get into their territory.Among those is the capacity of the applicant to fund his trip and another is a very good reason for the applicant to return back to the Philippines after his trip.One has to prove his "rootedness" in his home country.For a young, single applicant like me that would be an issue. I thought one really needed to have businesses or has to be filthy rich to convince the consuls that you have enough reasons to return .Later I figured that a lengthy tenure in a reputable company might actually suffice.Working for the same company for a long time may give them the impression that you have a stable job and that there's no need to seek one abroad.After realizing this I started preparing for my dream trip.I saved up for it . I also tried to build up a travel history and visited countries that require visa like China and Japan.If you've been to places where you could have overstayed in and sought employment but didn't then you'd gain the trust of the consuls.I did all of that in preparation for a Europe trip that I thought would happen in 2015 yet or maybe a year or two later.For some reason ,all of a sudden last year I thought Europe 2014 would actually be doable and with the Japanese visa I had been issued with I knew I stood a chance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtCzlW8N4wP7pDFNs1k-achH1IDIyKHiItoLkLxOIPU6O6dSUv3JQOYxJBVlRSFtwiggXHLkDTI1_mgTpjvAjDBdPp6Uo5kcsn4y2V5ecGYsc9SZc74Au21E_4d424-phrqe2dlfSsNs/s1600/i4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtCzlW8N4wP7pDFNs1k-achH1IDIyKHiItoLkLxOIPU6O6dSUv3JQOYxJBVlRSFtwiggXHLkDTI1_mgTpjvAjDBdPp6Uo5kcsn4y2V5ecGYsc9SZc74Au21E_4d424-phrqe2dlfSsNs/s640/i4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Colosseum in Rome, Italy</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhMQxUd3iNlsqkHB5wYTO7I0QNdWvOFV6Bx1TPRkkbURWnNVBqvKiYeq0jSkbb7ABXoN15uwNQ3SZRrGnHX6ewAB5Cz4eaqGALSg1oe_mt2VzSg7TL2ILAZ1iXx4tdERXhHBTA0txaCo/s1600/f1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhMQxUd3iNlsqkHB5wYTO7I0QNdWvOFV6Bx1TPRkkbURWnNVBqvKiYeq0jSkbb7ABXoN15uwNQ3SZRrGnHX6ewAB5Cz4eaqGALSg1oe_mt2VzSg7TL2ILAZ1iXx4tdERXhHBTA0txaCo/s640/f1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Selfie with Monalisa inside the Louvre Museum in Paris, France</div>
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In October of 2013 I started planning. First I decided when I'd be going.Summer was out of the question because I didn't fancy the idea of walking on the cobblestone roads in Europe under the scorching sun.Late Autumn or Winter was too soon.Spring would be the perfect time then.I'd heard though that more people are now going to Europe during spring because they realize that Summer would be too crowded since it's the peak and rates are also higher.With this in mind I scheduled my trip in early spring which is mid March.I filed for vacation leaves and luckily they got approved way ahead of my trip.I then made an appointment with the Embassy where I'd be lodging my application.<b>Now please take note of this as a lot of applicants are turned away at this early part of the application process because they are not aware of the rule.If you are visiting more than one schengen state you have to apply at the embassy of that state where you're gonna be staying longer.If you're spending the same number of days in at least two states then you need to lodge your application at the embassy of your first entry</b>.I had heard stories about high rates of visa denial at certain embassies so I avoided them.On the other hand a lot of people have good things to say about the French embassy so I made it my main destination.lol.</div>
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I set an appointment with them for interview and submission of requirements by calling :</div>
<br />
For Bayantel Subscribers 1 (903) 101- 3333<br />
<br />
For PLDT/Smart/Touchcard Subscribers 1 (909) 101- 3333<br />
<br />
For Globe/Innove/Touchmobile Subscribers 1 (900) 101- 3333<br />
<br />
<br />
Setting appointments is only done by calling the numbers above.That is effective April 2012 according to this site http://www.ambafrance-ph.org/Visas,1261#visa-information. Calling those numbers is really expensive.With my experience it consumed a little more than P600 worth of prepaid load.It could have been less than P500 because I was lucky that on the second try I got thru right away.But since I can be OC sometimes I had to repeat all the information to the rep because I wanted no mistakes.I even called back to ensure the previous rep got everything right. You cannot have an appointment more than 90 days in advance.<br />
<br />
After I had made an appointment I started to gather all the requirements based on the list from the link above:<br />
<b><br />1. Signed Schengen visa application form with photo (35mm x 45mm, white background) .<br /><br /> </b><br />
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I hate filling out forms. I feel very stupid when I do it. Maybe I'm just afraid to commit mistakes. As I was researching about the whole visa application process I came across a post from this link<br />
<a href="http://bubbleofblah.com/visa-series/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">http://bubbleofblah.com/visa-series/ </span></a> from <a href="http://bubbleofblah.com/">http://bubbleofblah.com/</a><u> .</u>about how the blogger filled out the visa application form.Imagine how thrilled I was when I saw it. All the questions I had about the form were answered.It was such a big help.The blogger explains how she filled out each field so you can use it as a guide.You can also check out the other posts from her visa series because they're very detailed and she's also very prompt in answering questions.<br />
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For the photo, these are the requirements : <br />
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgSCNkylIjhVPhOa-wzbbNqWBsmsbyfDQknBqew-R1_OAoDxWJshd3bDi_WJmYrrBGZN4crJSFDFC6vJi66iJYAflqOaWRvkUckAVqMBvEBwYMZKiGBjrmQtx1ju-sAT_ygllKuCaRR4YHCESprtXJEjPBywCSiAwG9bIFq4j3lZlY4W9pY2-GB=" /> Colored photo taken against a white background <br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgSCNkylIjhVPhOa-wzbbNqWBsmsbyfDQknBqew-R1_OAoDxWJshd3bDi_WJmYrrBGZN4crJSFDFC6vJi66iJYAflqOaWRvkUckAVqMBvEBwYMZKiGBjrmQtx1ju-sAT_ygllKuCaRR4YHCESprtXJEjPBywCSiAwG9bIFq4j3lZlY4W9pY2-GB=" /> Size: 35mm x 45mm, maximum head length: 25mm <br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgSCNkylIjhVPhOa-wzbbNqWBsmsbyfDQknBqew-R1_OAoDxWJshd3bDi_WJmYrrBGZN4crJSFDFC6vJi66iJYAflqOaWRvkUckAVqMBvEBwYMZKiGBjrmQtx1ju-sAT_ygllKuCaRR4YHCESprtXJEjPBywCSiAwG9bIFq4j3lZlY4W9pY2-GB=" /> Head must not be tilted <br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgSCNkylIjhVPhOa-wzbbNqWBsmsbyfDQknBqew-R1_OAoDxWJshd3bDi_WJmYrrBGZN4crJSFDFC6vJi66iJYAflqOaWRvkUckAVqMBvEBwYMZKiGBjrmQtx1ju-sAT_ygllKuCaRR4YHCESprtXJEjPBywCSiAwG9bIFq4j3lZlY4W9pY2-GB=" /> Absolutely no eyewear and headgear in any form <br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgSCNkylIjhVPhOa-wzbbNqWBsmsbyfDQknBqew-R1_OAoDxWJshd3bDi_WJmYrrBGZN4crJSFDFC6vJi66iJYAflqOaWRvkUckAVqMBvEBwYMZKiGBjrmQtx1ju-sAT_ygllKuCaRR4YHCESprtXJEjPBywCSiAwG9bIFq4j3lZlY4W9pY2-GB=" /> Image must not have been altered <br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgSCNkylIjhVPhOa-wzbbNqWBsmsbyfDQknBqew-R1_OAoDxWJshd3bDi_WJmYrrBGZN4crJSFDFC6vJi66iJYAflqOaWRvkUckAVqMBvEBwYMZKiGBjrmQtx1ju-sAT_ygllKuCaRR4YHCESprtXJEjPBywCSiAwG9bIFq4j3lZlY4W9pY2-GB=" /> Image must be clear</div>
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<b>2. Valid passport (3 months' validity from the end of intended stay) and photocopy of valid arnd fomer visa.</b><br />
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<b>3. Cover letter explaining the purpose of your trip and proposed day-to-day itinerary</b><br />
<br />
Just like how I did it during my visa application for Japan I really took this one seriously. I researched about the places I'd be visiting because I'd heard of one applicant who was asked about the places she included in her itinerary. Indeed during my interview one of the questions had to do with my itinerary( It will be on the second part of this post).If you know a lot about the places you included in your itinerary then most likely you will be able to convince the consul that you're just really going on holiday.<br />
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For the <b>cover letter</b> I just referred to some samples I found online since I'm not a writer.I used them as a guide.It was funny though because I found out later that another blogger I had been following must have used the same sample as guide because the cover letter she posted was very similar to mine.I wonder what the lady at the embassy was thinking when she read my cover letter.<br />
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<b>4. Proof of accommodations</b><br />
<br />
For tourists: hotel vouchers (for your entire stay in the Schengen area)<br />
If staying with a French resident: “Attestation d’accueil” (delivered by the City hall where<br />
the host is residing – the original must be presented) + copy of that host’s national ID or<br />
residence permit (if citizen of a country outside the EU)<br />
<br />
There is actually a site where you can reserve your accommodations without getting charged but I had been using hostelworld.com so I decided to stick with them.What I like about hostelworld.com is that the ratings you see for the accommodations are reliable.The guests are the ones who rate them after their stay.There is a small percentage though of the actual charge that you have to pay upon making the reservation which I don't mind because aside from the first reason I stated above I feel safe using my card on their site.For the visa application I submitted the print outs of the confirmation that were sent to my email.You may double check the confirmation sent to your email because one time what I booked did not match with the one I got in the email.I had to ask the hostel staff to email me again what they had in their system.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Round trip flight booking</b><br />
<br />
Do not purchase your tickets until you get approved.Although if you come across a really cheap ticket before you get a visa and you just wanna grab the opportunity then you may take the risk.I found an airline (I'm just not sure which one it was)that would allow you to cancel the ticket if the visa got denied but of course with a fee. Only a flight reservation is required during the application and you don't need the help of a travel agency for this.I had read of the term "dummy booking" before I applied for visa.I thought only the travel agencies could do it .I asked around and found out that travel agencies in Manila charge P500 for it.WOW! You can actually do it easily. Just go to the website of some airline companies and book a flight.At the end of the process you would be given different mode of payments.I noticed that not all airline companies have these options.In January this year I found these options on the website of KLM. They gave me 48 hours to pay it at their ticket office in Makati (39th Level, RCBC Plaza - Tower 1)or by wiring the payment.I also tried calling Cathay Pacific Philippines customer service 63 (2) 757-0888 and I was also able to reserve tickets on the phone.Cathay Pacific gave me a longer time to pay which was a week.I submitted the reservation I got from Cathay Pacific so that by the time I was being interviewed it was still valid just in case the embassy would check.The airline company send you the reservation to your email.You can print it out and submit it to the embassy.<br />
<br />
<b>6. Proof of employment (if any):</b><br />
− Certificate of employment with monthly salary and leave of absence approved by employer</div>
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You have to check with your HR the format that they follow when issuing a Certificate of Employment and make sure that the information required for the visa application is stated on the Certificate of Employment.In my case I didn't need another letter stating that I was approved for vacation leaves because it was indicated on the COE.<br />
<br />
− If self employed: official business registration for current and previous year<br />
− For priests, nuns and missionaries: certificate from the Apostolic Nunciature and guarantee letter<br />
from French and Filipino congregation</div>
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<br />
<b>7. Proof of income</b><br />
<br />
− Income tax return from previous year, if applicable<br />
<br />
I had a problem with this in the past because my company no longer issues the old ITR, the ones with carbon paper in between the pages. We only get the digitally signed copy now. This time my question was answered.Yes,the digitally signed copy is accepted for transactions such as visa application.<br />
<br />
<b>− Recent bank certification </b><br />
<br />
I don't know why Metrobank needs to wait for a day before they issue this when I could get it at BPI in less than 30 minutes.The problem with the certificate I got from BPI though is that they didn't indicate the account opening date. I was concerned that it would look like I just put my money in there in time for the visa application.I asked the branch representative to modify it but she wouldn't.That's their format!<br />
You don't need to worry in case you get the same thing because you still have to submit the photocopy of the last three months statement of the account so the embassy can still see the account activity.<br />
Once again , regarding the amount that one should have in his account, nothing is specified.Maybe if your itinerary is longer then you have to show that you can afford it.</div>
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<b>− Photocopy of the last three months statement of account of the same bank account</b><br />
<br />
<b>8. Identity / marital status </b><br />
<br />
− If married: photocopy of your marriage contract and birth certificate<br />
− If single: photocopy of your birth certificate<br />
<br />
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I got an authenticated copy of my birth certificate delivered to me by NSO. I just called their number 737 1111.The rep asked for some information and then gave me the reference number to be written in the field for account number when I pay it at a Metrobank branch. I paid P350.</div>
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For some reason the lady at the embassy returned my birth certificate to me.She told me they didn't need it.I don't know why it's still on the list.</div>
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− For minors not travelling with either parent, a copy of the DSWD permit</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>9. An international travel insurance (medical expenses and repatriation) covering the entire period of theperson’s intented stay and valid for all Schengen states. Minimum coverage should be EUR 30,000.</b><br />
<br />
I got mine from Blue Cross.I didn't bother to check the other companies even though I'd heard that some are cheaper, Why? because I'm a creature of habit. Hostelworld.....Hostelworld,Blue Cross....Blue Cross.What I like about Blue cross is that I can pay it in cash at their office on Makati Avenue where I could ask them tons of questions, something that a rep on the phone might not have the patience for.I could also pick up the policy right then and there.After discussing it with the staff , I had mine modified because I wanted the stop over shown on the flight reservation to be covered which was HongKong. I was not able to research about this part if it was really necessary.I just didn't want to be turned away by the embassy.The Blue Cross staff also advised me to add 15 days on top of the actual number of days I'd be travelling to be also covered with insurance.I wasn't sure about this either but I just wanted to be on the safe side. They even showed me something that listed the different Schengen states with the corresponding number of days to be added on the actual travel dates .I tried to look it up online but could not see it on an official site.One blogger though advised the same thing for those applying at the French embassy.<br />
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<br />
<b>10. Visa fee (prevailing peso equivalent of EUR 60), payable in cash</b><br />
This one varies depending on the exchange rate.At the time of my application I paid P3610.<br />
<br />
After completing all the requirements I was already stressed out and exhausted that I was no longer thinking about the result. I just wanted to get it over and done with.On the next post I'll be writing about the actual submission of the requirements and the interview at the Embassy of France in the Philippines.<br />
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I had not been posting because i hadn't been travelling but the long wait is over, I'm currently in Europe ( in Rome as I'm writing this).This is the biggest trip I've had so far.This was a dream and now that it's happening I can't wait to share all my stories when I get back.For now I need to rest so I'll just post some evidence, I mean pictures of my trip.<br />
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This was day 1, straight from a long haul flight from Manila-Amsterdam-Paris (when I say straight from a flight I mean from the airport I took the metro and got off at the Trocadero Station with my backpack with me.I wasn't excited at all to see the tower, not at all.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-74839781045896715132013-06-04T22:17:00.002-07:002013-06-04T22:25:23.471-07:00Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Autumn Hues<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One of the reasons I chose to go to Japan last November was the autumn season. I wanted to experience it . I wanted to be in a Japanese garden or park surrounded with trees taking on the autumn hues of yellow,red and orange.Living in the Philippines all my life, I thought it would be a welcome change from the lush green surroundings i'm used to all year round.</div>
When I was planning the trip I made a mistake of booking a ticket a week ahead of the" peak " of the autumn leaves.A website mentioned that the leaves would display the brightest autumn colors during mid November in Japan so I decided to leave on the second week.The site failed to mention though that it could actually vary by location.In higher altitudes leaves actually turn to autumn colors earlier.In Kansai region where I was going the peak unfortunately is in the third week of November. buwiset! I didn't want to rebook because the fee would cost me almost half the price of the round trip tickets I purchased. I kept on searching for places that might peak earlier than Osaka and Kyoto but they were far. I was anxiously reading forecasts everyday leading to my trip(yes,it's like the weather there are forecasts online and I think even on TV)hoping there would be changes as it happened in the past where leaves would turn to bright colors earlier depending on how hot the summer was in Japan that year. I found out later that there is a place in the outskirts of Kyoto that might peak earlier than in the Central area. The place is called Arashiyama. I spent half a day exploring the beautiful rural town.Though I loved the place I just don't have the time now to write much about it so I posted here pictures taken from Arashiyama.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another mistake, I visited Arashiyama during a weekend</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The tough cart-pulling men of Kyoto</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Doing it rain or shine</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the entrance of one of the many temples in Arashiyama.Temples are found in every corner just like the rest of Kyoto</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgE48JrcNcwVF-4SJEPYV17v9Mo1RXYq_YBCGZEAyfDhRzbUPwGpM7u_cjPKPdt8spup43vOgkZ8pc5moEgOz3IKg_8xH6TH8QjNOY7QX-Yq8ulSJm4n4XaXjwCx751T4JfuMY82oUoM/s1600/k5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgE48JrcNcwVF-4SJEPYV17v9Mo1RXYq_YBCGZEAyfDhRzbUPwGpM7u_cjPKPdt8spup43vOgkZ8pc5moEgOz3IKg_8xH6TH8QjNOY7QX-Yq8ulSJm4n4XaXjwCx751T4JfuMY82oUoM/s400/k5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statues in front of another temple. Take note of their different expressions</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm afraid to put a caption on these...although I have lots in mind</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmIo6KWzHtVb-Gixhnn81PXM7Q-sHejkGcFTpeVjA6TkUCjrcxF0pnl-6U18wBKEs2U9mOX1bHhCc_2ubOvrcaZslbqfQxtdJQk2peL9em91w-5WaBwKQfFozqO9Gs7E-psGUCdnw0FA/s1600/k15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmIo6KWzHtVb-Gixhnn81PXM7Q-sHejkGcFTpeVjA6TkUCjrcxF0pnl-6U18wBKEs2U9mOX1bHhCc_2ubOvrcaZslbqfQxtdJQk2peL9em91w-5WaBwKQfFozqO9Gs7E-psGUCdnw0FA/s640/k15.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tenryuji temple, a world heritage site</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZA49xlE5J5J2uoQ_VPw6fZ8jPP2TqP-zbgyP_yMHdjWkoc16vpmap_2bgF1kXGXq3Vp9_qqCzGHzFgJB2lVitG0oBELMJraLN-VKJHbYHQD41dga-OSDV-X1f4qSJpycV9J-AuMyCSs/s1600/k18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZA49xlE5J5J2uoQ_VPw6fZ8jPP2TqP-zbgyP_yMHdjWkoc16vpmap_2bgF1kXGXq3Vp9_qqCzGHzFgJB2lVitG0oBELMJraLN-VKJHbYHQD41dga-OSDV-X1f4qSJpycV9J-AuMyCSs/s640/k18.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another thing that Arashiyama is famous for is the bamboo grove and as I was searching for it I came across this cemetery</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2-utpUo9TG4uVsuTTo9PTAwXQ9kM04pZ0sDZ90n0_LPnxTCJJuHSj8FZkclrGbIz8MG9vuyHOEQ2lgY9q3k8obLzMG4cTgvgksDDvrlpeirBlzL9ACzFsNjV9wThtLTNGSpM3RmQQBM/s1600/k21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2-utpUo9TG4uVsuTTo9PTAwXQ9kM04pZ0sDZ90n0_LPnxTCJJuHSj8FZkclrGbIz8MG9vuyHOEQ2lgY9q3k8obLzMG4cTgvgksDDvrlpeirBlzL9ACzFsNjV9wThtLTNGSpM3RmQQBM/s640/k21.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crouching Tiger hidden....?Finally I found the Bamboo grove</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYkp62mKbbzf4UD5gPcNP1q5uEIpxboojUnsmUbkO87pDwBG8QqzvgOzSFGFYoOR-3uPxVimNbU_-ON2DRW7-u0hvzhF8lMlwtUog_MwBGaocStYmQIcXiIExTbQM8IUfLlPP6VGycD4/s1600/k19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYkp62mKbbzf4UD5gPcNP1q5uEIpxboojUnsmUbkO87pDwBG8QqzvgOzSFGFYoOR-3uPxVimNbU_-ON2DRW7-u0hvzhF8lMlwtUog_MwBGaocStYmQIcXiIExTbQM8IUfLlPP6VGycD4/s400/k19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I stopped a monk cleaning in the bamboo grove area to take a picture of his dustpan</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifafwClHJXRpz9JvB4xVXpDQak7WmegGRXGQKmLQiYaAEwQ0fpXOazclj9q4HXiG10zBzOIuce_wX2JQ4-SbZfJ55bNjClotDkcj0mpNLPBMyx_AYocyiSP4a950Scoyk0PzoSAqwi7TU/s1600/k20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifafwClHJXRpz9JvB4xVXpDQak7WmegGRXGQKmLQiYaAEwQ0fpXOazclj9q4HXiG10zBzOIuce_wX2JQ4-SbZfJ55bNjClotDkcj0mpNLPBMyx_AYocyiSP4a950Scoyk0PzoSAqwi7TU/s640/k20.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'll be back Arashiyama. See you during spring.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-61432435954275416722013-01-29T22:52:00.001-08:002014-10-26T07:47:32.398-07:00How to Apply for a Japanese Visa: A Filipino Backpacker's Version<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1359268740316_1644" style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> When I started working one of the first few things I was saving up for was not a gadget but a trip abroad.I wanted to see the world. At first I didn’t want to go to other Southeast Asian countries because I thought they were just like the Philippines.Of course, I was wrong. I didn’t want to go to Hong kong either because I thought it was just a modern concrete jungle. At the time I actually had my eye on Beijing. The problem I had was the availability of cheap flights to Beijing . Cebupacific,the only airline I could afford for trips abroad didn’t have direct flights to Beijing yet.They had one to Shanghai which is so far from Beijing and I had heard that it’s hard to purchase train tickets from Shanghai to Beijing. With all the daunting facts I kept my options open so I kept researching. One day while browsing the Cebupacific ‘s website I came across an ad about cheap flights to Japan. Suddenly, I got curious, so I called up a travel agency and asked for the requirements for tourist visa application for Japan. One of the important requirements is a bank certificate so I asked the lady on the other line how much money should I have in my account to be granted a tourist visa. Without thinking twice she said “500,000”,stunned, I hang up. Weeks later I ended up booking a flight to Hongkong.Until now I still don't understand why she said that.Cruel!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Osaka Castle</span></td></tr>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1359268740316_1657" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Fast- forward to 2012, when my plan to go to Myanmar didn’t push thru I was considering Japan again. I felt like I had to do it before my passport expires because I thought the consul needs to see those stamps in my passport as a proof that I've traveled before and that I just wanna go sightseeing and not job hunting .I was concerned that applying later with a new passport ,with no stamps yet would ruin my chances of getting a visa. I was not sure about this one though, maybe you could present an old passport along with the new one just to show that you’ve been to other countries already. Please correct me if I’m wrong. By the time Cebupacific had a sale in July of 2012 I was still having second thoughts because I knew Japan's very expensive so I kept on thinking of one thing that would make the whole trip worth it. Japan doesn’t have a Great Wall,they have Mt. Fuji but still it’s not the Great Wall. Spring just ended so Cherry blossom was out of the question and I actually have seen Cherry Blossom in China anyway.Fall would be a great time to go, I thought, since the autumn colors would be so nice but it’s six months away.I just wanted to get away ASAP.Even up to the point that I already took out my credit card from my wallet I still wasn’t sure.I decided to check the available credits in my card first because I thought it wasn't enough to book a two-way ticket. I lost track of it for a while .To my surprise it was actually more than enough to buy a round trip ticket. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a SIGN!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73hRnqRsHPSTYWnCqP6HH_7R0xXVOsQO0H_Fvq3CgHJy35Qy4hyrByrtZTCR1pbqJ1TAz7jjwThwXM371kBKqjPwFSAo7yDh8Njx31hwUc_yiMtt9KX0hBbxBIcVTuIz8mgva9fvLYss/s1600/jj2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73hRnqRsHPSTYWnCqP6HH_7R0xXVOsQO0H_Fvq3CgHJy35Qy4hyrByrtZTCR1pbqJ1TAz7jjwThwXM371kBKqjPwFSAo7yDh8Njx31hwUc_yiMtt9KX0hBbxBIcVTuIz8mgva9fvLYss/s640/jj2.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1359268740316_1661"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1359268740316_1660"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Now the next step was the visa application. Let’s not talk about how much I have now in my account but let’s just say I was confident that I had enough that I booked a round trip ticket worth P11,200 without a visa yet. I researched and I couldn't find anything that says how much the consulate of Japan requires that one should have in his account to be granted a visa. One blog says that regardless of how much money you have as long as you’re able to convince the consul that you’re able to fund the duration of your trip then you’ll be OK.I checked the sites of accredited travel agencies for the other requirements (</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Tourist Visa application for Japan are now being done thru accredited travel agencies).</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> As early as September 2012 I gathered all the following requirements based on the list provided by Friendship Tours travel agency.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> I recommend Friendship Tours located in Dusit Hotel along EDSA (to get there you could take the MRT and alight at the Ayala station and go inside SM. Dusit Hotel is right next to SM) because the staff are polite and I’d also read great reviews about them from other applicants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">I submitted the following requirements in October:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>1.PASSPORT</strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1359268740316_1661"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1359268740316_1660"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Broken lamination of the Picture Portion will not be accepted / Must have at least 2 blank pages left in the passport</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>2.VISA APPLICATION FORM</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I suggest that you fill this out before going to the travel agency because the line could get so long and some of those in front of you could have with them applications of an entire company. The form can be downloaded from the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines website. Tourist Visa application for Japan are now being done thru accredited travel agencies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>3.PHOTO</strong> (1 Copy of 4.5cm x 4.5cm with white background.) This one is easy as the studios know it like the back of their hand.Just tell them that it's for Tourist Visa for Japan.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4.BIRTH CERTIFICATE (NSO issued with receipt and valid within (1)year.) </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Applicants holding (old or valid) passports with used Japan Visa will be exempted from submitting of birth certificate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> IN CASE OF NON-RECORD OF REGISTRATION OF LIVE BIRTH Submit:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Non-Record in the NSO. Submit certificate of Non-Record from the NSO and BIRTH CERTIFICATE from the LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Non-Record in the NSO and LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR. Submit certificate of Non-Record from the NSO </span><span style="color: black;">and the LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span><span style="color: black;"> IF NSO ISSUED RECORD IS NOT CLEAR Submit:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;">BIRTH CERTIFICATE from the LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span><span style="color: black;"> IF BIRTH CERTIFICATE IS LATE-REGISTRATION Submit :</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Birth Certificate from the LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Original Baptismal Certificate, School Record (Form 137 or report card) School Year Book</span><span style="color: black;">.(Need contact # of the church,and contact # of the school)</span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The other travel agency I went to doesn't have some of the conditions about the birth certificate.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you have a recent copy of an authenticated birth certificate you can check if yours is "late registration" by checking the bottom portion of the certificate.There's something there that would indicate if your birth certificate is " late registration ". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I suggest you get an authenticated copy of your birth certificate way ahead of your scheduled application so there’d be enough time to fix things in case they didn’t meet the requirements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I ordered an authenticated copy of my birth certificate thru the National Statistics Office (NSO) Birth Certificate Delivery Service number 737-1111. Birth certificate application is open 24 hours, 7 days a week, even on Sundays and holidays according to the website nso.citizenservices.com.ph.After the representative on the phone asks for all the information they will give you the instructions on how to pay for it. They asked me to pay it at a Metrobank branch. It cost P350 and you will receive it in 2-3 business days.When you call to order for a copy of your birth certificate be ready with a pen and a paper because you have something to write down. </span><b style="background-color: white; line-height: 18pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<b>5.MARRIAGE CONTRACT</b> (If Married) NSO issued and valid within (1)year. <br />
Applicants holding (old or valid) passports with used Japan Visa will be exempted from submitting of marriage contract.<br />
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· Incase of non-record.You must submit certificate of non-record together with the one from local civil registrar.<br />
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<b>6.TOUR ITINERARY</b>: A blogger says he just made it up. I on the other hand took it seriously because what if they will really check if your plan is indeed to go sightseeing. Of course the itinerary I submitted wasn't final but at least I made it look realistic. I mean you shouldn't put something like "Day1 : Tour of the Osaka Castle ,then Fushimi Inari shrine and then Universal studios" because it's obviously not doable in one day since one of them is located in a different city. If they spot something like this they might suspect that you didn't do your research because you actually had other plans aside from sightseeing.<br />
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<b>7.BANK BALANCE CERTIFICATE or a copy of bank book pages for the past 2 years</b>. I have two accounts at two different banks, BPI and Metrobank. Each bank asked me to fill out a form (be ready with all the information especially with your account number).At Metrobank you have to wait for a day to get your bank certificate. They charged me P100. At BPI they charged the same but I got it in less than 30minutes. Again, about the amount that one has to have in his account nothing is specified . Some say it could be because it depends on how long you'll be staying in Japan and what city or place you're visiting.For example Tokyo's more expensive than Kyoto so they might require more money if you're going to a very expensive city like Tokyo.<br />
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<b>8.INCOME TAX RETURN</b> (Form 2316 or 1701) Original and (1) photocopy. I had a problem with this because my company no longer provides a hard copy.They just gave me a digitally signed copy. I'm not sure if that's how it is now with all other companies and if it is,are the people from the Japanese Consulate aware of it? I was afraid that they might think that my document came from " Re...to"(if you are from Metro Manila you should know the place). To be sure I also asked for a Certificate of Employment. I think one of the things that convinced the Japanese Consul is the number of years I've been with my company because it could mean that I'm happy with my job and that I don't have plans of leaving and to go job hunting once I get to Japan.<br />
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I submitted my application on a Monday around noontime because I'd read somewhere that it will be processed faster if you submit it during the first day of the week. Some bloggers say they got the results after 2 business days.By Wednesday I was expecting a call from the agency but my phone didn't ring the whole day.I thought I was in trouble because I heard from some people who got denied that they had to wait for so long for the results.I still didn't hear anything from the agency the following day.I was almost convinced that I was denied. By Friday I received a text asking me to call the agency and I thought they'd ask me to submit additional documents.To my surprise the phone rang after few minutes and the staff asked me some personal questions for verification and then divulged the results,yes over the phone. I was told that I had been granted a visa.I heaved a sigh of relief.It was so stressful that I promised I'd never put myself through that again but I'm sure I'd be more than willing to go through twice that trouble if the opportunity to go to my other dream destinations knocks on my door one of these days.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com110tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-70379004068372727722012-12-31T02:15:00.000-08:002013-01-12T19:49:45.454-08:00Sleeping At The Kansai International Airport<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In my previous trips abroad, I’d experienced sleeping at airports since most of my arrivals were scheduled late at night and I didn’t want to pay for an accommodation during the first night since there’s only few hours left before I’d start my tours first thing in the morning. Although this practice saves me money it is not the most comfortable thing to do. In Beijing International airport I wondered if the heater wasn’t working because it was so cold I ended up people watching. The following morning I suffered the consequences not just in climbing the great wall but also in taking pictures of my sleep-deprived self. I promised not to do it again. Before I flew to Japan, I had booked a single private room in a hostel on my first night. However , I was having second thoughts. I knew I only had few hours to clear the immigration,change my money to yen, buy the Kansai Thru Pass, get lost until the train stations close. It was daunting to get out of the airport late at night and find my way in a city as huge as Osaka so I decided at the last minute not to show up at the hostel.(Warning: You have to cancel your booking within the timeframe given otherwise you’ll still get charge the full amount. Good thing the hostel was considerate enough and didn’t charge me the full amount.) <br />
We landed at Kansai International Airport and I’d read online that it’s possible to spend the night at the airport. They suggested the area on the second floor near the airport police and the Lawson store.After I toured the airport I looked for the said spot. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1YfO4ETYBoZX-fVye97sQZGhD08wg_d-LtnVj5WIQc3LihNWBuMhqkfVfE9SgcNxacLUF1mr-uNwJXquu849xN-lP9MZm-ZwssZHwgLQYrJedWhLg2kCiFgZmfTL5-P04tS9Wq40oCY/s1600/j4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1YfO4ETYBoZX-fVye97sQZGhD08wg_d-LtnVj5WIQc3LihNWBuMhqkfVfE9SgcNxacLUF1mr-uNwJXquu849xN-lP9MZm-ZwssZHwgLQYrJedWhLg2kCiFgZmfTL5-P04tS9Wq40oCY/s640/j4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSR36r2b5Y68fdzYXtD6Amf4_B3Csh1YHAzuTpzyAG6vQ2IK3RqgXtauY5opDh9zOmPgVbeWn9_oI6D5ghmD8Fvz7_UUOuIM8LZngy_3ZnbHLOqmTobkAkTO91Gc8v2ZRiiAVvX4vEFDo/s1600/j2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSR36r2b5Y68fdzYXtD6Amf4_B3Csh1YHAzuTpzyAG6vQ2IK3RqgXtauY5opDh9zOmPgVbeWn9_oI6D5ghmD8Fvz7_UUOuIM8LZngy_3ZnbHLOqmTobkAkTO91Gc8v2ZRiiAVvX4vEFDo/s640/j2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Be warned though that the police would wake you up anytime
to check on your passport. The one who checked mine didn’t speak English and
just wrote the word “travel” on a piece of paper. When I read it I just nodded and
went back to sleep. The seats at the airport are so comfortable that I didn’t
have a hard time sleeping.There were also Filipino families on their way to Nagoya
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who spent the night at the airport with
their kids.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy574Pl3VJuNcqcCQlMZ9YigbnqsyPV03_YTgTvxxGoeCJNwcO9rpF9biy_Rj_T-aBYWxeBI6AIeRoC5XJtOnzHtShx7BMP0osb8aEsVIg10Gj3M-71VBcIBbBzQKFbbH6GZBkRNSGNiY/s1600/j3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy574Pl3VJuNcqcCQlMZ9YigbnqsyPV03_YTgTvxxGoeCJNwcO9rpF9biy_Rj_T-aBYWxeBI6AIeRoC5XJtOnzHtShx7BMP0osb8aEsVIg10Gj3M-71VBcIBbBzQKFbbH6GZBkRNSGNiY/s640/j3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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At 5:30 AM a toddler singing what sounded like” twinkle ,twinkle
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>little stars” in Japanese woke me up.I
looked for the Airport Lounge where they have shower rooms. It was just few
meters from where I was sleeping.For Y500/15mins <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to shower.I was worried though because I
knew 15mins wouldn’t be enough for me to shower and dry myself. I asked the
reception how long I could stay in the room after I shower and to my relief
they said” up to an hour”.They handed me a basket with the coin that I had to
insert into the shower ,the key to the shower room,towel and blower.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvoa-40r2e93HmAudlTeyridSZLAKX8bHQvxtl7ze6MCKTjIBe4ugxdDangOU1J2dg72MII-VYhIaxeSWpms3coI49960ZxMFk5Mnll6S2fwWWHU6WUm4-P4Qrt1zveBlw48IbQd9ywU/s1600/j1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvoa-40r2e93HmAudlTeyridSZLAKX8bHQvxtl7ze6MCKTjIBe4ugxdDangOU1J2dg72MII-VYhIaxeSWpms3coI49960ZxMFk5Mnll6S2fwWWHU6WUm4-P4Qrt1zveBlw48IbQd9ywU/s640/j1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSlXPEf6ZgZEEiJPxEd-DEKgBqbp1J1IZglbivfLW5E7jJwaYIJ36Ye_wsYYnh2fWzpJyJpcxxsvrvwnoPpDB1dG-be3tRkGK0GYy_DcfxX3aSS27EQXg8iRzu7xS3US6kuW5ybyOiW0/s1600/j5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSlXPEf6ZgZEEiJPxEd-DEKgBqbp1J1IZglbivfLW5E7jJwaYIJ36Ye_wsYYnh2fWzpJyJpcxxsvrvwnoPpDB1dG-be3tRkGK0GYy_DcfxX3aSS27EQXg8iRzu7xS3US6kuW5ybyOiW0/s640/j5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The staff are so welcoming and very polite</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJV80d0ZWw1nJt-Qd98TMAIsKsnjIhmzezyV-Ia9DJL_1aA_ZGJMlbtZwGXaETE7oHYt83homg7pj-UyB_45F5wxYXcTNNL-Ge0Pd7iRAVrba3Cv_iJufyi4-A1sR8FVpG68pNzotmZs/s1600/j8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJV80d0ZWw1nJt-Qd98TMAIsKsnjIhmzezyV-Ia9DJL_1aA_ZGJMlbtZwGXaETE7oHYt83homg7pj-UyB_45F5wxYXcTNNL-Ge0Pd7iRAVrba3Cv_iJufyi4-A1sR8FVpG68pNzotmZs/s640/j8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Spacious shower room</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2CG8z3vupKO4XQY8lwB2J34NrN0r8aGERPdpJjCcTfZEk1g_KBxIn9VGM_wa3P3DWBdlad4RzUb_b7P2kbWi1LdgiG0q3mpXUP8YHZQ4INiOxNdw3sFfYdML4gn-mbzNeQxbeB_wuEw/s1600/j9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2CG8z3vupKO4XQY8lwB2J34NrN0r8aGERPdpJjCcTfZEk1g_KBxIn9VGM_wa3P3DWBdlad4RzUb_b7P2kbWi1LdgiG0q3mpXUP8YHZQ4INiOxNdw3sFfYdML4gn-mbzNeQxbeB_wuEw/s640/j9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelbZCeRvU6fX7A5qO53uMTVRcN1t0UD0LqylYopVd0rV2o5FFRx1YAR3RQF_khPspsI2lG10EvWVInjIw1S0VtQAbsZTuAFfftIrM4F51ReUaVY4duslUtM_fiWLlPraAD-eA53djxwY/s1600/j11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelbZCeRvU6fX7A5qO53uMTVRcN1t0UD0LqylYopVd0rV2o5FFRx1YAR3RQF_khPspsI2lG10EvWVInjIw1S0VtQAbsZTuAFfftIrM4F51ReUaVY4duslUtM_fiWLlPraAD-eA53djxwY/s640/j11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The shower actually has a timer which stops when you are not
using the water and you could just press the start<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>button when you have to use it again. Very convenient! Kansai International airport is really a homeless friendly airport.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are also lockers for rent at the airport</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6BYZ5poBt-bbELSCsy_vashxMHKvf21aSZC3dOdiq2qipJjVxYC1t6g4hn176n9ZmbjY6a2hGkfDI3TwPoPI0lwfBm64V0E7pj8CIpGq_1l9alaTNh2WfnbEzyi5xZhDPYG4_DYmbTw/s1600/jj2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6BYZ5poBt-bbELSCsy_vashxMHKvf21aSZC3dOdiq2qipJjVxYC1t6g4hn176n9ZmbjY6a2hGkfDI3TwPoPI0lwfBm64V0E7pj8CIpGq_1l9alaTNh2WfnbEzyi5xZhDPYG4_DYmbTw/s640/jj2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-57316575217479327752012-11-29T14:58:00.001-08:002015-12-09T21:02:49.451-08:00Chasing Autumn Leaves <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When my plan to go to Myanmar this year did not push through I decided to travel to Japan instead. I knew Japan's an expensive destination so I made sure there'd be something worth seeing. Spring was over so seeing the cherry blossoms was out of the question (at least this year). Mount Fuji isn't<a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/05/its-great-wall-indeed.html" target="_blank"> <span style="color: blue;">the Great Wall</span> </a>so I wasn't so interested in seeing it. Anime?, I couldn't care less about it.There was only one other thing that Japan is also famous for, (that I was interested to see) it's "koyo" or the time when leaves change to bright colors during autumn. My dilemma was the phenomenon was not gonna start until six months later. That's a very long wait for my itchy feet. I just wanted to travel abroad ASAP but I had to make a decision.If I go somewhere else before November , my Japan trip will have to take a back seat for the next few years since I only allow myself one trip abroad each year (or maybe it's my pocket that is saying that).I thought I couldn't do it next year because my passport is about to expire so if I didn't go to Japan this time I would have a new passport by next year. Presenting a new passport with no stamps yet to the Japanese consul is not a good idea. No passport stamps means no travel history. I knew travel history was one major factor that would be considered if a visa would be granted. I knew it would take a while before I could get more stamps again so I decided to do it this year or else I have to wait for few more years(Actually I'm not sure about the whole process. I'm not sure if one could actually present an old passport along with the new one when <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/05/tourist-visa-application-for-china.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">applying for a visa</span></a> to a certain country).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OswqSESgXahIhTa-bOusdwI4fUJ1Xz8ohTi5BTHcPo5B2TdfZ0MCssO4ofmLCygPt4y3PNDYCpUCqG4pNirg73QMk1DuapEXc-KiXPFWVhRIG9KR8jLa0ltiNAnAtJ5LKuderjCSowI/s1600/k9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OswqSESgXahIhTa-bOusdwI4fUJ1Xz8ohTi5BTHcPo5B2TdfZ0MCssO4ofmLCygPt4y3PNDYCpUCqG4pNirg73QMk1DuapEXc-KiXPFWVhRIG9KR8jLa0ltiNAnAtJ5LKuderjCSowI/s640/k9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Long story short I booked a trip to the land of the rising sun,the anime, the geishas, the bullet train, etc.Six months of waiting was tough but I managed. I researched for the best time to see the autumn leaves and one site mentioned mid November was the peak. WRONG! What it failed to mention was that it could actually vary with location and in Kansai where I was going the peak is actually during the third week of November.I was worried because I booked a flight a week earlier. If I didn't see those beautiful colors the trip would be pointless. I was checking forecasts (yes, it's like the weather, they have reports of these things from time to time) and the history of koyo in the past few years. I learned that the trees in higher elevations would peak earlier so I thought if I couldn't catch it in central Kyoto I would travel to the outskirts of the city.<br />
In the morning of my first day in Japan the first thing I saw as I got out of the airport was the street lined with trees that have turned red and I knew that I was getting what I came for.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3XX7rFq_w6kEZhur_ksITmkMXndpPZhn6sxHdKSRyN4M7qtP8CX08ugWQvkpN8ZuLpyNZzUllaQVK5Vk17JDcThH9Ps43mUaxbJ041W1ZOjAqCMBXWiFZrbMkZSoEyMidQ7gXmzxZjo/s1600/k1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3XX7rFq_w6kEZhur_ksITmkMXndpPZhn6sxHdKSRyN4M7qtP8CX08ugWQvkpN8ZuLpyNZzUllaQVK5Vk17JDcThH9Ps43mUaxbJ041W1ZOjAqCMBXWiFZrbMkZSoEyMidQ7gXmzxZjo/s640/k1.jpg" /></a><br />
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First stop was Osaka Castle...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWPior1okulZ6IC6VCQD1dwk9665p4_sgmW2vAd1k9z4POkrnIvbXq1BvLISAFvsSG0_PsP7wlH7dJaHGUpNHp3O4051b6UYhJxrGzzVzhRRzGYxxVIDqkgHvC724Xq4QCWEn_2v7Eq4/s1600/k1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWPior1okulZ6IC6VCQD1dwk9665p4_sgmW2vAd1k9z4POkrnIvbXq1BvLISAFvsSG0_PsP7wlH7dJaHGUpNHp3O4051b6UYhJxrGzzVzhRRzGYxxVIDqkgHvC724Xq4QCWEn_2v7Eq4/s640/k1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On my way to Osaka castle</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehLSpIjZYYEJe5SqBnWFAOo6pCKDDaz1MxQEXggV3WuOJziEOAmgoPyI49wrD15W497Cyla3cSmAJMagZnJaRIEsewRul1vRtbuMyVom53IjBiiBdhCITyvRU2q-lwJ2iyvb0hLGR3XA/s1600/k11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehLSpIjZYYEJe5SqBnWFAOo6pCKDDaz1MxQEXggV3WuOJziEOAmgoPyI49wrD15W497Cyla3cSmAJMagZnJaRIEsewRul1vRtbuMyVom53IjBiiBdhCITyvRU2q-lwJ2iyvb0hLGR3XA/s640/k11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Saw this tree within the Osaka Castle grounds</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3B418bVA9aDbcr6pPIn_K-4UgUFLTLMqtHKq0lqbRDb-de3SVkUebZRAiPDoCVaAsEUtTQHf_u9ZfEyvkFViwunImDRImpnUAReVGKGflHOLuRn0VcTPeYz8fIHZt8RRQf4EidOR4Gf0/s1600/k21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3B418bVA9aDbcr6pPIn_K-4UgUFLTLMqtHKq0lqbRDb-de3SVkUebZRAiPDoCVaAsEUtTQHf_u9ZfEyvkFViwunImDRImpnUAReVGKGflHOLuRn0VcTPeYz8fIHZt8RRQf4EidOR4Gf0/s640/k21.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A couple had a pictorial and I stopped them for this photo which irritated their photographer</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcHWv_H6eTyUASANyPMT9gZieEEyboWjV8aln1atqF5so6nYm_6mA7Tdz-ngV1p_NRx1DE4SxTvKyhkb1n_LU3Gb3SGWmDWUkzRqrcuvX87gnULX_pHrrd7wIoVQoxAPSTBDVVUoX2fY/s1600/k12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcHWv_H6eTyUASANyPMT9gZieEEyboWjV8aln1atqF5so6nYm_6mA7Tdz-ngV1p_NRx1DE4SxTvKyhkb1n_LU3Gb3SGWmDWUkzRqrcuvX87gnULX_pHrrd7wIoVQoxAPSTBDVVUoX2fY/s640/k12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">View from Osaka Castle</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next stop was Kyoto...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdHNfNqvt-slViUfDhhyn_LgiWUcO-SSazuiREw2C5Yom82mDVIjztiX8LfmioBhfg0DpeO-3T6RoN5GMLxN5lUK_XwmJDLHLD2lH5DNWNGxVXxuNA28XYhL3PQcLzH8eVLIqSQhBj9o/s1600/k23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdHNfNqvt-slViUfDhhyn_LgiWUcO-SSazuiREw2C5Yom82mDVIjztiX8LfmioBhfg0DpeO-3T6RoN5GMLxN5lUK_XwmJDLHLD2lH5DNWNGxVXxuNA28XYhL3PQcLzH8eVLIqSQhBj9o/s640/k23.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even the rain couldn't stop me from my quest for the Autumn leaves</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUzTHiCVgLFisHsADSnQNsDb4Bjn8-ayZT3Y2-Yo-f-SjGOxK1AAVRE-kCN-rHguvceyHx8oJ_V8Lt5wZ-YJipe9X7VRazzR18-YTIzfyKgaqnlYRcppxMDnRYDeqm0Mpz-zav3RQf3A/s1600/k24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUzTHiCVgLFisHsADSnQNsDb4Bjn8-ayZT3Y2-Yo-f-SjGOxK1AAVRE-kCN-rHguvceyHx8oJ_V8Lt5wZ-YJipe9X7VRazzR18-YTIzfyKgaqnlYRcppxMDnRYDeqm0Mpz-zav3RQf3A/s640/k24.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Came across this garden while getting lost in Kyoto</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif783agQ5XbuQzuxqprHbuoBJ2Tlws54EdOcMhBWTd5_o_sh1CThiKK8OT8OwfAnAdUYhOK78cEN19i19zacvoWIhHjGiCaq9dYcMOpbhBvOTXqLsBhJby7VbAgJFIHKqrs38k87l6ze4/s1600/k27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif783agQ5XbuQzuxqprHbuoBJ2Tlws54EdOcMhBWTd5_o_sh1CThiKK8OT8OwfAnAdUYhOK78cEN19i19zacvoWIhHjGiCaq9dYcMOpbhBvOTXqLsBhJby7VbAgJFIHKqrs38k87l6ze4/s640/k27.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the veranda of the Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto. Colors could have been more vibrant if not for the rain. Thank you rain.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uiIPu8w_jz-aMaBUZ0Q93FYR52njYD21f-rDdV0tShUpx9-mwsfbV4GyVrFJY-gTardfPQgf84c2DErMlYEcdYgbu8W2pIsuzqjngPsGPNfBWjJHvL6Vs_yhPLyfDzN8Wp8ynmqHwWw/s1600/k26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uiIPu8w_jz-aMaBUZ0Q93FYR52njYD21f-rDdV0tShUpx9-mwsfbV4GyVrFJY-gTardfPQgf84c2DErMlYEcdYgbu8W2pIsuzqjngPsGPNfBWjJHvL6Vs_yhPLyfDzN8Wp8ynmqHwWw/s640/k26.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGxWaenyDS9EzlFz8aJfh1v9slO9mr8G2tP29fPddE5mY7ICi3SBGtrbGCEbl4Izi7Z-nSeS44iWO2V3pbnwIUY7igSk88M34pbJ_vW0TWckooZAR28lR-PlQUu-5jw1o-AugJ2r3uvU/s1600/k2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGxWaenyDS9EzlFz8aJfh1v9slO9mr8G2tP29fPddE5mY7ICi3SBGtrbGCEbl4Izi7Z-nSeS44iWO2V3pbnwIUY7igSk88M34pbJ_vW0TWckooZAR28lR-PlQUu-5jw1o-AugJ2r3uvU/s640/k2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I also traveled all the way to Arashiyama for this view</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZKTxEkre_ViOCCJ4xRupHZy4D8m_UBWJ4OEqZz3yfSzPLQPUaHsfvJ-vuSS-OrvQmt5J6HqQDmmc3XC_0QkMwpL9qIBF0RcD51k9JR8kLrWtq1r4YLdgdOD5q_lcZclfitDoj-konIQ/s1600/k29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZKTxEkre_ViOCCJ4xRupHZy4D8m_UBWJ4OEqZz3yfSzPLQPUaHsfvJ-vuSS-OrvQmt5J6HqQDmmc3XC_0QkMwpL9qIBF0RcD51k9JR8kLrWtq1r4YLdgdOD5q_lcZclfitDoj-konIQ/s640/k29.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tenryuji's garden in Arashiyama</span></span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-70189273670048713442012-11-18T23:16:00.002-08:002014-04-19T19:53:42.702-07:00Kanpai Kansai! : My Pinoy Passport Gets Stamped in Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just came back from a trip to Osaka and Kyoto which are both part of the Kansai region.Aside from being the cultural and historical center of Japan there was something else that I wanted to see and experience in those cities,actually it was the main reason why I decided to go there. I waited for so long for the autumn season to see the leaves change to bright colors. All I can say is it's worth the long wait.I will write about my experiences in Japan. In the meantime I'm just so excited to share some of the photos taken during my recent trip,photos that are commonly associated with Japan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Autumn Hues at a Japanese Garden</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bullet Train</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklPG10Nwtyy1V8yZigdBfRJGQcOemrYwBWuYciamNNRU1s0CsK-oiVRzq2vBNtzve0pq6Y9ptSaaR0Ql3pK7yYMbJ58o7a0qdZzePypWUA5ltpTqMA0OUAOJlpCglnQ61VK7M5pkCJJE/s1600/j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklPG10Nwtyy1V8yZigdBfRJGQcOemrYwBWuYciamNNRU1s0CsK-oiVRzq2vBNtzve0pq6Y9ptSaaR0Ql3pK7yYMbJ58o7a0qdZzePypWUA5ltpTqMA0OUAOJlpCglnQ61VK7M5pkCJJE/s640/j.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Geisha? I doubt.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A popular Japanese TV station,NHK</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Torii Gates</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-76353270256861959162012-11-06T21:43:00.001-08:002012-11-23T19:17:12.746-08:00The Aptly Named Tinuy-an Falls<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We made the right decision of visiting Enchanted River first before going to Tinuy-an Falls.I realized it after our day trip to Surigao del Sur. We didn't expect that it would take so long to get to Tinuy-an falls in Bislig City from Hinatuan where the Enchanted River is located. After lunch at the river we drove to the famous falls. The travel time from Hinatuan to the city center of Bislig only took less than an hour but it was the trip to the falls from the city that we had to endure and took longer than expected. The road from the highway to the falls was dusty and full of sharp rocks which didn't please my dad at all who was the designated driver. It's worse than the road going to Enchanted River. The local officials of these places should do something about it because these places have so much potential . I realized then why the falls is called Tinuy-an.In Cebuano "tinuyuan" means "intentional" and despite its location and the road conditions people still have the intention to visit the place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Road to Bislig</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
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Since we'd gone that far there was no turning back but even before we could reach the place my dad was already calculating how much time was left for our trip back. By the time we reached the falls at 2:30 PM my dad just wanted us to have our picture taken and leave.He kept rushing us. Had we visited the falls first, we would not have enough time left to enjoy the clearer and bluer water of <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-my-mom-picked-enchanted-river-over.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Enchanted River</span></a> </span>which would have been a huge disappointment because though the falls look majestic (said to be the widest in the Philippines) the water in its base is not so inviting.It kind'a looks green. But still, seeing the gushing water from the falls so unusually wide mesmerized me and was worth all the trouble.<br />
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TIP: To those who plan to visit the falls you may try going there in the morning around 9AM to noon if you wanna see a rainbow over the falls.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK10VCjWIoov4PBMVtCIHQAtbh9G_E4njzI7oceD-bc48OSy-I2UZsRh0vQ4oVAKRfVEJV0itF68gdHUyZ2UodqQzLdVo105sciSQmHDPsK9bYnhaaTkRY4JGFYMw09QWLz8xHWWDJM6k/s1600/t3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK10VCjWIoov4PBMVtCIHQAtbh9G_E4njzI7oceD-bc48OSy-I2UZsRh0vQ4oVAKRfVEJV0itF68gdHUyZ2UodqQzLdVo105sciSQmHDPsK9bYnhaaTkRY4JGFYMw09QWLz8xHWWDJM6k/s640/t3.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasPIKkzV0IQPnv0-TRStJ9gAFy-FobaFm53o5Ab8U8KNR3w9ZtmdYte956bV3A_DP0oMux03OAmf0x_l9aVt0WjlQzvJR6HUBAsch-EXRfJPlW5i-BmjMPwZDTep1CHbto_sFFWYX2dA/s1600/t1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasPIKkzV0IQPnv0-TRStJ9gAFy-FobaFm53o5Ab8U8KNR3w9ZtmdYte956bV3A_DP0oMux03OAmf0x_l9aVt0WjlQzvJR6HUBAsch-EXRfJPlW5i-BmjMPwZDTep1CHbto_sFFWYX2dA/s640/t1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-72636660772231302892012-10-06T23:30:00.001-07:002012-11-22T14:27:17.569-08:00Why My Mom Picked Enchanted River Over Britania Islands<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every summer I come home to Butuan to visit my family. Before my arrival my family had planned on making a day trip anywhere near our hometown. We'd heard so many good things about the tourist destinations in the nearby province of Surigao del Sur so we agreed that we'd be going there. I can't believe that it took us years to finally go there when it's just in our own backyard. There are three popular destinations in the province, Tinuy-an falls in Bislig, Britania Islands in San Agustin and Enchanted River in Hinatuan.</div>
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My sister and her husband wanted to go to Britania since it's being compared to Boracay while my mom insisted on going to Enchanted River. But why? I thought most people would choose a beach as a summer getaway over a river . So we asked our mom why she really wanted to go to Enchanted River. Whenever my mother decides on going to a certain tourist spot, it's not really because she is interested of what the place has to offer, in fact most of the time she is clueless of what's in a place. She'd actually base her decisions on "hearsay". If anyone she knows , like her fellow teachers (especially the younger ones) talked about a place they'd been to she'd like to visit it as well. She explained ( to corroborate her choice) that her fellow teachers had been to the Enchanted River and had witnessed something amazing.According to them, around noontime nobody's allowed to swim in the river. As the clock strikes 11am ,a song will be played and fish of all shapes and sizes come out of nowhere and converge in the center of the river. The staff would then feed them. "So the fish can hear the music and get prompted to swim to the center of the river?", we asked. Hhmmm. So we gave in and we went to a river for the summer.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The ROUGH road to the river</span></td></tr>
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We left Butuan City at 6:30 am. After three hours on our own vehicle we arrived in Hinatuan. I warn those who plan to go to the Enchanted river taking their own car that the road from the highway to the river is <span style="text-align: left;">ROUGH ! and don't dare drive your vehicle there if it just rained as you're most likely to get stuck.</span><span style="text-align: left;">We parked our car few meters from the entrance to the river and just gave donation. Entrance fee to the Enchanted river is P30. Too bad we arrived late because there were no more cottages available so we just paid for picnic tables with giant umbrellas for shelter. If you stayed for hours it would so uncomfortable as it gets so hot around noon time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSQVpG64P2JJKDlEa1yGlyHrgXha48Rez-IrySZkIQI9HMXYNLNaEVd2Ma9H4yYNUNe6VrgHqrP9kv7H0krGRcO0ZRosExDs27tQGeTgIcXp41SFTwXKnKjDoVgXRifpgQ9ZjoDGnezI/s1600/e2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSQVpG64P2JJKDlEa1yGlyHrgXha48Rez-IrySZkIQI9HMXYNLNaEVd2Ma9H4yYNUNe6VrgHqrP9kv7H0krGRcO0ZRosExDs27tQGeTgIcXp41SFTwXKnKjDoVgXRifpgQ9ZjoDGnezI/s640/e2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"> At first glance I understood why the river is called as such. The water was so inviting. It was crystal clear. There's also a part of the river that is often photographed which is like a natural pool that has a really nice blue color. It is reported to be so deep. The water's cold and we enjoyed swimming until somebody blew his whistle baby.......... We were reminded of what we really came for. The whistle was to signal everyone to get out of the water. People rushed to the viewing deck as if Dyesebel just surfaced from the deepest part of the river. I went to our picnic table to remind my mom about the spectacle and of course she wasn't there anymore. We could hear the song blaring in the background as fish of different varieties swam to the center to feed on whatever the staff was throwing into the water. I don't know if the people were mesmerized or disappointed. So was it the music that prompted the fish to come out or the food thrown into the water?Which really came first, the food or the music? Was it a tourist trap? Who cares, even without it I still find the river aptly named and you should visit it too.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVm6LmYMfbD4XpsqYS_xRKPyfxOVNARMmOCGFor_EFZ94OONuAOI2LanOJic0YyvNbjMXHGNGL28tP0YFqyADDecSu8XbDYHT3B_539ebhyphenhyphenu6f_QW0gLD2yqiFDJ7lmgBK_FDSe4QhS1c/s1600/IMG_0283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVm6LmYMfbD4XpsqYS_xRKPyfxOVNARMmOCGFor_EFZ94OONuAOI2LanOJic0YyvNbjMXHGNGL28tP0YFqyADDecSu8XbDYHT3B_539ebhyphenhyphenu6f_QW0gLD2yqiFDJ7lmgBK_FDSe4QhS1c/s640/IMG_0283.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;">The current is strong</span></td></tr>
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<br />
How to Get to the Enchanted River :<br />
<br />
From Butuan City take the bus going to Mangagoy and get off at Hinatuan (3-hour ride). From the Hinatuan town center one can hire a habal-habal (motorcycle). Enchanted River is 12km from the highway.<br />
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Fees :<br />
<br />
Entrance fee - P30<br />
Life vests for Adults and kids are available for rent P15/hour<br />
Picnic table - P100<br />
Cottages- sorry we didn't bother to ask because they were all occupied.<br />
Parking- we just gave donation</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-47569915851405940362012-09-24T21:23:00.002-07:002012-09-24T21:56:07.585-07:00Pinoy Travel Moments: From an Embarrassing Moment in "the John" in Thailand to a Hilarious experience of Ordering Food in Beijing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">At Ban Phe, Rayong, Thailand .........</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On our way to <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/04/we-had-heard-of-nice-beaches-in.html" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Ban Phe , Thailand</a><span style="color: blue;"> </span>there were only three passengers on the bus,me, my friend Anna and a local guy.When we reached Ban Phe I had to use the toilet at their bus terminal and shortly after I entered the toilet my companion Anna followed suit . While I was doing my thing, I heard Anna calling me.It turned out that she was occupying the cubicle next to mine . She asked for the roll of toilet paper so I tossed it into the next cubicle to my left. After I tossed the toilet paper into the next cubicle Anna exclaimed “go” which was supposed to signal me to toss it in (but I already did!). It was only then that I realized that she was occupying the other cubicle to my right . While Anna was begging for that roll of toilet paper, the person in the left cubicle tossed it back to me and guess who’s in the left cubicle------- the guy who was with us on the same bus to Ban Phe. Each one of us came out from our respective cubicles quietly.</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwQ_GGJqBLeNVQ9r7pYh8XXgANZCnTbvRp8-yGX0zjiKKmjp54qsGB0QGJ0orsF2FeJX_McqPpEKTpQn0YG1bUQhQsmfwnTsghEgCY7P0ReoIIU8gVah-AA0DPl7m9DVtV3vLozY50XQ/s1600/c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwQ_GGJqBLeNVQ9r7pYh8XXgANZCnTbvRp8-yGX0zjiKKmjp54qsGB0QGJ0orsF2FeJX_McqPpEKTpQn0YG1bUQhQsmfwnTsghEgCY7P0ReoIIU8gVah-AA0DPl7m9DVtV3vLozY50XQ/s640/c1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">At Angkor Wat, Cambodia .........</span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> When we were done
exploring <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/01/even-though-i-was-tired-i-did-not-sleep.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Angkor Wat</span></a> we went back to Bana our tuktuk
driver. On our way out we passed by a group of small stupas. At that
time I didn't know what they were. We asked a local guy and he tried so
hard to explain to us the use of the stupas. He was groping for words as
he was explaining. It sounded like he didn't know the word "person" or
"man". The poor guy ended up saying " If ah...ah... ( while pointing at
me) die...dies...If a tourist die ( Oh no ! Does it have to be a
tourist? ) we burn and put inside (pointing to the stupa ). That scared
the wimp out of me.What he was trying to say was that if someone dies
(not necessarily a tourist ) the body will be cremated and the ashes
will be placed inside the stupa.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In Beijing ...........</span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> One afternoon when I got
back to Beijing from the <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/05/its-great-wall-indeed.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Great Wall</span></a>, I looked for a place to eat. I
ended up at a small hole-in-the wall. I checked out the menu and I
couldn't understand anything written on it. Unfortunately, they didn't
have an English menu. I was too hungry to look for another place so I
just thought of randomly ordering an item from the menu. However, when I
looked around I saw one customer eating in the corner and I did the
not-so-polite thing of pointing at the bowl of noodles with scrambled
eggs and vegetables that the local guy was eating. " I want something
like that", I demanded. The customer who was a bit stunned said "10
yuan". I liked what I ordered so the following day I went back to the
same place but this time there was no customer eating that bowl of
noodles. Of course , I couldn't ask the owner if she remembered me and
what I had ordered the day before since she didn't speak English and I didn't know any Mandarin either. I remembered though that I had taken a
photo of the dish so I showed the picture of it from my camera and the
owner prepared a bowl of that noodles for me. On my third day in Beijing
I was still craving for it so I went back again to the same place. This
time though I had already taken so many photos and it took so long for
me to find the picture of that bowl of noodles from my camera. The owner
got impatient so she dragged me to their kitchen (maybe she remembered
what I'd been ordering) and showed me the ingredients of the noodles one
by one.She showed me an egg, tomato and a pack of noodles. Relieved
that she remembered what I had been ordering I simply nodded.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">At the Bayon Temple, Cambodia ......... </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b> Inside the</b> <a href="http://www.virgoitinerary.com/2011/05/angkor-thom.html"><b><span style="color: blue;">Bayon temple</span></b></a><b> one of the old Korean- (or maybe Japanese , how could I tell)looking tourist was examining a metal box. He was touching the box, maybe wondering how it had gotten in there. On the box was a sign that says " Warning Do not Touch". Obviously, he didn't understand the sign.I tried to stop him but he didn't get all the hand gestures I made. I was even thinking of giving out an Academy-Award-winning-acting just to make him understand that what he's doing was dangerous but I figured it would be to no avail as the old man seemed so amused. I decided to leave him alone.</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-9463624683509074132012-09-16T00:53:00.002-07:002012-10-06T23:42:01.279-07:00A 200-Peso Accommodation in Boracay?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I have an upcoming trip I prefer to plan everything way ahead, while others just let things flow. I couldn't afford to be the other kind of traveler because usually there's money and time constraints. I wouldn't want to miss the must-do's and the must-sees in a place because I may not be able to go back to that destination in this lifetime.<br />
I had been planning a trip to Myanmar but for some reason it didn't push thru, so was my plan B which was Vietnam. Since I already had vacation leaves approved (which I didn't want to cancel otherwise I might have to wait for weeks or maybe months to get approved for long vacations if there would be no available slots) I decided to finally go to Boracay instead. I booked the tickets less than two weeks before the trip, something I wouldn't normally do. I researched for the cheapest accommodations but I found the rates way beyond my budget , which was not a surprise at all since my trip was scheduled a week after the Holy Week Talk about a bad case of itchy feet! I gave up and decided to just look for one when I get to Boracay. At the back of my mind I was actually counting on what I'd read from one blog that there are lesser known accommodations in the island that are so affordable but are off the radar.I listed them down. I also read from another blogger (blissfulguro.com) that there's even a local that rents out her place to tourists. The blogger even bragged about having brought the rate of the room from P1200 to 700.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlft6-FN7jfVUx9uFHXcNwx7BzDgylIr2FiF9h_1SerbclUMSFwuEDx-lbZNOgLVZE-KW3MI1jxzXhte48N65nYH9Q23ch49gP0S90col-cYWzixLuCLRmdkk_tpykEPhzNKw_mwKLW80/s1600/room+4.jpg"> <img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlft6-FN7jfVUx9uFHXcNwx7BzDgylIr2FiF9h_1SerbclUMSFwuEDx-lbZNOgLVZE-KW3MI1jxzXhte48N65nYH9Q23ch49gP0S90col-cYWzixLuCLRmdkk_tpykEPhzNKw_mwKLW80/s640/room+4.jpg" width="640" /></a> Boracay At last! wasn't able to take pictures when I arrived because I was busy looking for a place to stay<br />
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<br />
It was getting dark when I arrived at the Philippines' most famous island.I took the trike from Cagban port to Station 3 where the cheapest Boracay accommodations are said to be located.I paid P20 for the ride (it would be P100 for a special trip). The trike driver dropped me off at the "Talipapa" and I walked thru an alley that led me to Station 3.Since it was already dark when I reached the beach front I could not see how white the sand was which believe it or not was the main reason I chose Boracay. I tried to feel the sand between my toes and it seemed coarse not like the way it's always been described.The first place I decided to check was the house of a local where Blissfulguro stayed at.She was so good at giving directions (must be her forte since she's a teacher) that I found the place in no time.She actually posted a series of pictures in her blog which showed the buildings and signs that led to the house. I'm not gonna mention the house owner's name and you'll definitely find out why. The house is hidden few meters from the beach front. An old lady saw me standing outside her house.She came down the stairs to meet me.She turned out to be the owner. I told her I'd read about her place from a blog. She immediately showed me the available room. It's a spacious room with three beds. She quoted P1500. I asked if she could give me a discount but she wouldn't yield. I remember Blissfulguro saying that she was able to haggle the price down before she could even show her killer moves. I thought of showing mine but I figured it would be to no avail as the "old lady" added that she would give me the room for P1500 even if it's for 3 people but that I should not use the other beds.What she said ticked me off. Why would I use the other two beds when I was alone and only had a backpack on me. She also said that I could not find any cheaper places since it was a peak-season. I dashed away as she was getting on my nerves already. She was right though, it was a peak-season and I started to panic as it was already 7pm and I still had no place to stay.I continued walking along Station 3.The places I passed by looked pricey and it really bothered me because this part of Boracay was suppose to be backpacker friendly but again maybe not during the peak-season.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRazV26-63mcjTryhx4NUNcUdDREwTPm8KvqYY-WirTmFW9aDyHADlA5OmqRRB8MmV06SY4Pgk5CBYpUkppqQGpKxVH35gMc7x1WSGoaZB26OJ7wxd5Nvo7umpVOV00j9iuLN1CQOsh0/s1600/IMG_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRazV26-63mcjTryhx4NUNcUdDREwTPm8KvqYY-WirTmFW9aDyHADlA5OmqRRB8MmV06SY4Pgk5CBYpUkppqQGpKxVH35gMc7x1WSGoaZB26OJ7wxd5Nvo7umpVOV00j9iuLN1CQOsh0/s400/IMG_0218.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This is the sign you'll see outside the guesthouse</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJdIQe-vwpHJz8gfWuqhVVHdFO2pvKQiwX3nednO0Uk1fmSc8ov9Vj8XupXEVjELBH9F8ey2NC2xULy2BpmZTJfQfFJa8MAyPjI6c-Ul_EPx4jgxOE-i4ds3hc8TXzM5Y7GOqxZIemD8/s1600/room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJdIQe-vwpHJz8gfWuqhVVHdFO2pvKQiwX3nednO0Uk1fmSc8ov9Vj8XupXEVjELBH9F8ey2NC2xULy2BpmZTJfQfFJa8MAyPjI6c-Ul_EPx4jgxOE-i4ds3hc8TXzM5Y7GOqxZIemD8/s400/room.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The 200-Peso Bed at the "Tree House" guest house </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zWWFOdvx7ycsbg41g4k3tnQcfZyLyEhjgBK-_otNsvuXsuq1n9HJuXUAC1flL1A5AFBoIdojJOQduoeWs589dqOyjD88ZRr46Qf4mRBvPzrdfY6IbNpiCGdG-eGNCHfhiLu35zOygUM/s1600/room+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zWWFOdvx7ycsbg41g4k3tnQcfZyLyEhjgBK-_otNsvuXsuq1n9HJuXUAC1flL1A5AFBoIdojJOQduoeWs589dqOyjD88ZRr46Qf4mRBvPzrdfY6IbNpiCGdG-eGNCHfhiLu35zOygUM/s400/room+2.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">View from my room at the Tree House Guest house </span></div>
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Few hundred meters from the "old lady's" place was a familiar sign. It
says "Tree House". It was one of those accommodations mentioned on
another blog. "Tree House "offers a dorm type accommodation. I asked an
employee who was standing outside if they had an available dorm type
rooms but I was told they only had private rooms which I couldn't
afford either. She suggested I walk farther because there's another "Tree House"
towards the end of Station 3. Good thing the other place had a dorm
type room available , not only that it cost P200 per night.Whaaaaat? P200 for a room few steps away from the less crowded beach of Station3 ? I got excited and checked
the room right away. I found it to be OK. I mean for 200 pesos I shouldn't
expect too much. I booked 2
nights.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Carrying my things all day since my room doesn't have a lock.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwEr9r4c9hY0Q9BRQ5afzfayAbOf0ClsjDx5LCEnXu0j3wk3v0JU4Q2XPWtvxhH2-qqj9kWE3b7HXiYqWej8aV7Kz0mk-QQoS4I_9ZTBHssPBcwPK10n1r5NDFmFwblQZQZnfkm8V9G8/s1600/IMG_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwEr9r4c9hY0Q9BRQ5afzfayAbOf0ClsjDx5LCEnXu0j3wk3v0JU4Q2XPWtvxhH2-qqj9kWE3b7HXiYqWej8aV7Kz0mk-QQoS4I_9ZTBHssPBcwPK10n1r5NDFmFwblQZQZnfkm8V9G8/s640/IMG_0220.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The crowd-free and algae-free beach outside "Tree House" guesthouse</span></td></tr>
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For a dorm type room it was clutter-free .The sheets looked clean.There was only one ceiling fan for 4 people but that was fine because it wasn't hot.No ensuit bathroom but that wasn't an issue either because the shared bathroom was right next door. I took a shower as I was going to explore Boracay's night life. When I was about to leave I found out that the door's lock was broken and worse is that I realized that there wasn't a fence that separated the property from the residential area at the back. Anyone could pass by our room anytime or worse might break into it. I ended up carrying my backpack all night and when I slept I was hugging it so freakin' tight as the cabinets had no locks either..Cheap as it seemed ,with its downside it made me wonder if there are still things that come cheap in an overly commercialized destination like Boracay.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-29743003836555599892012-08-29T01:40:00.000-07:002012-12-04T21:02:01.456-08:00Drum Performance at The Drum Tower: Rythmic Combination of Music and Chinese History<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I find the Chinese way of drum beating fascinating , there's something about it that conveys a different message, unlike other drum
beating performances in other parts of the world that sound merely
celebratory. When I learned that there's a drum performance at Beijing's Drum Tower I thought it would be worth my time. I decided to spend my last afternoon in Beijing at the imposing tower in the northern part of the city , in Dongcheng
District to be exact.<br />
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<img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfesMYE0ZvzOWjCFKh8Qj4cTIduC6GCGW0JS3no-PEFViYQBw5CQPCESLu1frp-vEsqXUOZ19xscI-Tjjsg2rp-zRdZPQAGxbJknUr6gPEH2v6tO0sMWFlfnZxCaF5cYtEI_2cCOea3bZD/s640/IMG_0806.JPG" width="640" /> <br />
As early as in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220) in China, telling the
time by drum played an important role in helping people live and work
when there was no other way to keep track of the time. As a result, drum
towers were built in almost every city throughout the country . The capital city's Drum Tower is a prominent
structure.It is a two-storey building that is 48 meters high. The
first floor is now used as an
office,that's what a lady told us when we entered a room in the ground
floor thinking that it was another exhibition hall.Actually, only the
second floor contains the drums. Originally, there was one big
drum and 24 smaller drums displayed on the second floor, but only the
big drum remains.<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyaKfvs9tTRS7-97AvSZ45MpxMGHQ_LZcLpKZn2-rX0YpzlyphdblCxzCcq5xYzhZYGdEVoaJbWTn_tNExrAcuq0babdTOouKR8wM0B5lhfB0uJS788s-RLcPg878CVYL9OmOJlmFIxYf/s400/IMG_0765.JPG" /> <br />
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vLGDpW8EeVSB6pk-GLL4P51epTRFNAQa2EQdiInvZ9xFcKtih-ORYYc2uhjzcAeepEQmyXZB4bOYDLmQLFBmXPJqVdRSaSBpVEVM9DEKVWcoKneEAoWjsu5RnIbKhS_Ksqfg_hWtLuv0/s400/IMG_0778.JPG" /><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HvrM_mCMQgW95HXkK196uZPVuPS3evZdlMja9g1LfB4XtLkUJsOJWKIDTlXZ5qsG5sKaVM1P-d6L0gpjHnXQVg9c2hAOHy1l_Ju0PLQlgahwQPopAAVd5etObJcQtnT3XNlTvbrukQY/s1600/drum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HvrM_mCMQgW95HXkK196uZPVuPS3evZdlMja9g1LfB4XtLkUJsOJWKIDTlXZ5qsG5sKaVM1P-d6L0gpjHnXQVg9c2hAOHy1l_Ju0PLQlgahwQPopAAVd5etObJcQtnT3XNlTvbrukQY/s400/drum.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
I had a limited
time.I scheduled the visit to the drum tower few hours before my return flight to Manila so I had to rush.Good
thing the tower was just a walking distance from the subway
station.When I got to the ticket booth I was told that the next
performance would be at 4:15PM. I hastily climbed the tower through the
stairs and I tell you it's not for the physically impaired.The steps are
incredibly steep and treacherous. I only had like two minutes to catch
my breath before the performance would start.The drummers were already
falling in line preparing for their entrance.I was surprised that the
drummers were teenagers.I think there were two girls in the
group.Every visitor was quite but obviously
excited.One of the drummers started to hit the biggest drum first. He started beating it slowly until the rest of the drummers followed suit by beating the smaller drums. After few minutes they started beating the drums fast. <br />
The show turned out to be
well-choreographed. It wasn't just a mere beating of drums.It was also
like a rythmic combination of music and chinese history that we were
watching and listening to.<br />
The drummers were mesmerizing to
watch. You can see their intense passion for it. I was fascinated by
their precise movements. Their hands moved rapidly and fluidly across
the drums’ surface creating different sounds. It was definitely worth
the 15 yuan that I paid for the ticket. I highly recommend this for
those who plan to visit Beijing.
<br />
<div>
<span class="yiv1669460091post-labels" style="color: #009900; font-size: 9px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="yiv1669460091post-labels" style="color: #009900; font-size: 9px;"><br /></span></div>
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAvvlm4SBkBxyi8vSv3NBEjJXXRPhLDI3CTRQav0L_MHbsvnoTX_8VCKCKgvfDfKjHBtozCjtLYaWDuepFrLOdT5pbDr2yOXjB74zIbEKoNmvGPuhU_RvxNnik72BoX3iOhpS6xiwf5VQ/s400/IMG_0782.JPG" /><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-85179676345629758322012-08-16T15:02:00.001-07:002012-08-18T23:12:24.478-07:00Qianmen , Another Glimpse Into the Old Life in Beijing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> While doing my research for my trip to Beijing I came across photos of a street lined with buildings that resembled old chinese structures. I found out that it is an old mercantile centre of shops in Beijing. Qianmen runs from Jianlou (the Archery Tower) of Zhengyangmen in the north to Tiantan Park in the south. The street is lined with buildings whose architecture resembles the buildings in the late Qing Dynasty 1644 --- 1911(although I doubt if the buildings are the original structures since there were a lot of demolition that took place in the area before the Olympics).These nice structures are still used as restaurants ,and now some are souvenir stores and shops that house international brands.</span> <img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_c41_X5dtxIQgbYm88kJV_aw-EXAzijoF-4qYkYUQcW2mnrZjql3F_37pzTlHlgyyaEuz_UHkV6RFrwZHpuOLUs-Nhhr3fcI01g2oLqlkrbpzm3AiH-tv12Bj5Ze2ResveQQXma0bApeZ/s640/IMG_0703.JPG" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> For those who love to shop they can squeeze in a few hours of shopping in their "sightseeing time" as it's easy to drop by at Qianmen.It is near the famous Beijing landmarks and tourist spots like Tian'amen square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. The prices in the shops of Qianmen seemed to be more expensive though compared to the other shopping area of Beijing. There were shops in the <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/05/wangfujing-street-exotic-food-trip.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Wangfujing</span></a><span id="goog_1304467177"></span><span id="goog_1304467178"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> area where I bought some souvenirs and a scarf from and the asking prices were lower than the ones in Qianmen.If you couldn't afford to shop at Qianmen you could just marvel at the nice buildings that would make you feel like you've time traveled back to the 17th century. You will also enjoy checking out the interesting and colorful knick knacks inside the souvenir shops.</span> <img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6dSaOSNb5cFZHqSCC1djAznHs7069Jr1acBauYbyWr3h04m0Gp8ifotjYo25UCHJtwZERS-Q3aEMaBvznKBKGDe51UnPBvrYr5Il3sQnqOTS5Ln5s8hACa5Szxj60S2jdQEgFepdMIPm/s640/IMG_0725.JPG" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Aside from the shops another good reason to visit Qianmen is the gate in Beijing's historic city wall called Zhengyangmen ( Qianmen is actually the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zhengyangmen was first built in 1419 .It's consisted of the gatehouse proper and an archery tower. The gate guarded the direct entry into the imperial city. I wanted to go up to the imposing tower but a lady told me that tourists were not allowed ( at least that's how I read her hand gestures). I envied the kids who were waving at everyone below , I wondered how they had gotten up there.The city's first railway station, known as the Qianmen Station, was built just outside the gate. </span> <br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoEgIT79IDPgbh_vSuigbQtRL6oJOIOcMJzhZhE2utNlUolUOwdYBA9_r_x9hhFYGE80OKWRW-7Cjyf9nUIdchgX3qLRW40kGVUCKkytlkThGnCDAZRtqAWJf8JyZ26SGksZI4ASZvXi5v/s400/IMG_0681.JPG" /> <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrseuH0ksat1pmgKHPVnDPCQfxpdOVI0mdAgdTBZVWHKBQ-Uupw3bm5oh7pXUXNAK_jo6K6xvej8ZMrPeymUSraX-ec73h4bD4hxd-iUIWOGjgU1BfQ6dCNwwjWyhy319yinr4pzdQDNG/s640/IMG_0656.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Railway Museum</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbJ7gZ9aIH5ThS7h012mvHRYXEwWk9X4uJQkq8UOnfV9gqgGS1yMznLvgdNuZSS7P_7bYe5ID0eFBSMrEMGCg6oXajtPwlX4VBCkY-0swFbfVAFmLf3YgKgVJ1olvcf1k3EdNmRq3BbFP/s400/IMG_0689.JPG" /> <br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-55698353067310287802012-07-28T20:59:00.000-07:002013-10-05T18:12:13.539-07:00Temple of Heaven<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> <span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285"> I'd planned to spend my last day in Beijing at the Temple of Heaven , Summer Palace, <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/08/qianmen-another-glimpse-to-old-life-in.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Qianmen</span></a> and at a Hutong ( hutongs are
narrow alleys formed by lines of traditional courtyard residences) .At around 5:30 AM ,
I packed my things and prepared to check out. I had a problem though ,
check out time was at 12 noon yet but I wanted to tour the city first
thing in the morning ( until it's time for me to head to the airport
around 8pm to catch my flight back to Manila).I didn't want to leave my
backpack in the hostel and be interrupted with my tour at around 12 noon just
to get my bag and check out. On the other hand , If I checked out early
I'd have to carry my backpack all day while touring the rest of
Beijing.The staff advised me that I could actually check out early and I
could just leave my bag in their storage room and just pick it up
before I head to
the airport. <span style="color: #009900;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="color: #009900;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> After checking out , I made my way
to the Tianamen East subway station. It's quite a long walk. The
directions provided by my hostel ( Peking Youth Hostel) in Beijing says
that it's 200 meters from the subway station but it felt like 500
meters. What I loved the most about my hostel was its location which is
right smack in the middle of Beijing, to the east of the Forbidden City. Yes, they were neighbors with the Emperors. I took the subway from Tianamen East station , and I got off at the
Tiantan Dongmen station which is the closest station to the Temple of
Heaven. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="color: #009900;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span> <img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKej3r3QopuT94EPgQCI4HtuPDr1fwFTjZ3mIj8iDqKaeTKR5e-jaG28vfAy9Al9BkvUrHmvLBgYOzAUnZOjdfAKXw8DJ-MjlqBLCVx5fpTRUK15GvtmOjbw6_IKku9-GsMGTUib_6R7Y4/s640/IMG_0635.JPG" width="640" /></div>
<span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="color: #009900; font-size: 9px;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><b>
</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings constructed from
1406 to 1420. It was in the complex where the emperors of the Ming and
Qing dynasties would go to pray to heaven for good harvest, to be exact
at the"Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest"( redundant?). The Hall of Prayer
for Good Harvest is the most popular and most photographed structure in
the complex. It is a magnificent circular building,
built on three levels of marble stone base.The surroundings of the
Temple of Heaven is also a very popular park among the locals where they take part in different activities. Another reason why I really wanted to visit this place.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslLIONxaKo6DjmWZVvqeVZ8xpboeeCer5yAqmnZ7xxgLxaKL29xV1S2vQvjFcVztLtw0Q8OLH2weZeDsfYd9USsknYj9hJyhvgRgdKNKeRxlojqdLHQ-7QYFPGV2j-d6E0kEo5rgd_PUl/s400/IMG_0549.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzazoyZFgHEx1FIZae5YLK-M4BudNcDYGyrPeRkBGAYofddcriNopHYgjqbGMnKCJQyrelFlUFKp2aPAJIiAc0g_XIanSWDBSva2ral0V47c_UpwCDs2Gv63YbY85VJF_oCJtWrzv4XU/s1600/IMG_0578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzazoyZFgHEx1FIZae5YLK-M4BudNcDYGyrPeRkBGAYofddcriNopHYgjqbGMnKCJQyrelFlUFKp2aPAJIiAc0g_XIanSWDBSva2ral0V47c_UpwCDs2Gv63YbY85VJF_oCJtWrzv4XU/s400/IMG_0578.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuie-sLOkgwpytnySDU4Lhi7WEtABajrmCe9HIAwfs0YmWo2GI2z5nktA2cdrkdme0CubMt-qutW6V6olrIL8HIjk1NDalYZn_s0NkH7HmX6nJnMcb66xPZXgNF46s6cBrXcklK2nw0dY/s1600/IMG_0585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuie-sLOkgwpytnySDU4Lhi7WEtABajrmCe9HIAwfs0YmWo2GI2z5nktA2cdrkdme0CubMt-qutW6V6olrIL8HIjk1NDalYZn_s0NkH7HmX6nJnMcb66xPZXgNF46s6cBrXcklK2nw0dY/s400/IMG_0585.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6omOuy9y2zORyGrBDmv3xpdbWmTKPgv2NYMf-aQQksgwOhfbkuTBkOczLgSG4qO2g_gpbjEf6A8C38Y3gmcDbC1MPSc6Q_Sslzw1pCKPHu2F19uSVG_ELNjh7xCp8LlLlrPm4rOzjMSKd/s400/IMG_0557.JPG" /><br />
<span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="color: #009900; font-size: 9px;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><b id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032296"> </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
I paid 30 yuan for a combination ticket that gave me access to all
sections and buildings of the complex. As I made my way to the Hall of
Prayer for Good Harvest I was welcomed by the sight of a park teeming
with locals , as they start doing the activities of their choice .I was entertained by watching
elderly women happily dancing to Chinese music in one corner and another
group doing Tai chi in the other. There was also a part in the park
where some exercise equipment where put up for the elderly men and
women to use. I was amazed at how fit and flexible those old folks are.</span></span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</div>
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_KbHu_7HcZVQdDPF_drVJilRL7XpI2rrIxbG3Tzx0WNV3lsf-v2zWjchg0TJHdQjpZKsZwf05Y6hlUdf5Bs1tDOgx1ZBL4CvakrtOL_zssfxIG9XKbU5kNeYwuMnr0AkiG0Xuh1qR5f4/s400/IMG_0588.JPG" /> <span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="color: #009900; font-size: 9px;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><b id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032296"> </b><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="color: #009900; font-size: 9px;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> From
the park of the complex, I walked through a long corridor on my way to
the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. Lining the corridor were groups of
elderly again. Each group formed a circle.I was intrigued so I checked
out one of the groups and I found out that they're playing card games.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="color: #009900;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="color: #333333;"> </span></span></span> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl12gR6AZT59c2Au3_uG-K352bptKVg449GnYjmHoWZP8Ra7yA_H43bgwFRd0VjQRk15qAx52hYtquyc5onKILQej00nzVGh-BRA-jutDWtmF2C28bflSCJDCYB9TemvUVk4Pitpz0DX_/s400/IMG_0597.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Grandmas and Grandpas playing card games early in the morning</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVkoABGN97G3pbj1reglCCdlHIxHyey8QQdLtqy_4OmT5R9nNi_vSKH-LPe_-q3_mDejAlVm6fhp-IpoPRtwYZ2qZhUpoqbHAL3cN2JUxKcoKQyKnjU9Uz5LBXYKeB-02SP0OfsM6Ptg/s1600/IMG_0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVkoABGN97G3pbj1reglCCdlHIxHyey8QQdLtqy_4OmT5R9nNi_vSKH-LPe_-q3_mDejAlVm6fhp-IpoPRtwYZ2qZhUpoqbHAL3cN2JUxKcoKQyKnjU9Uz5LBXYKeB-02SP0OfsM6Ptg/s400/IMG_0596.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TYlvgRiiWkoFoxI6ePCZw_vu_2RpnXeALJSVQsYUNski41JYIRdFvcbScP41kE7lGayLWVoKNo8gUwwpfx2kFIJzgVFwClHlWIEVQZjKsK2U2fxynK-lSnxkMdx4vw55ywE-aiFTOuwp/s640/IMG_0616.JPG" width="640" /><br />
<span class="yiv186296548post-labels" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032286" style="font-size: 9px;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1342325867032285" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #009900;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #009900;"> </span>When I reached the Hall of Prayer I didn't feel the same thing I felt upon seeing <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/01/even-though-i-was-tired-i-did-not-sleep.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Angkor Wat</span></a><span id="goog_157994698"></span><span id="goog_157994699"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> in
Siem Reap and <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/03/usual-we-got-up-early-on-second-day-our.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Wat Arun in Bangkok</span></a> for the first time. It wasn't
stunning. It looked pretty much the same as in the photos I had seen.
Somewhere in the complex there's another building that serves as a mini
museum. It displays old photos of the
Temple of Heaven in its early days. At least this time I enjoyed
looking at the black and white photos depicting the renovations done for
the Hall of Prayer. There were also photos of leaders from all over the
world visiting the complex.<br /> The
architecture of the buildings in the Temple of Heaven is new to me but it's
the activities of the locals in the morning that I enjoyed more during
my visit. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<img height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifw0kcqoXFc5i6nyLkve0sSCjlOdyzlzDs23NB2B_VvdscIxM2oaexON2k8jlMm8ZIgTssUhkA1VGQbHRMxHtrDcK9ovTRMjMLLDFBxfmLEkisBU-gomVSrFTI-kZ0nIb2XU_cxfLefvBe/s640/temple.JPG" width="480" /> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCuqsExM_ogacOupg6u0e7XRCq3hoPs8uMl6kTTaEXT7xyaKrdHCAY2SIna2nTt3jO4MvF4T1jJHaiBPgNWhfu4IM-5p3O6DpTu9Mhq4s0dhRKcapn7OOvtuw12NILBLzZR2ZP36hWuCv/s400/IMG_0619.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Interior of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-44147809502474047552012-07-05T16:15:00.002-07:002012-09-01T21:07:14.596-07:00Olympic Green : The Bird's Nest, Water Cube and everything about the 2008 Olympics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> served as the venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony as well as the closing ceremonies,athletic events and football finals.It has become one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Documentaries were shown about its construction and a lot has been written about it. People from different parts of the world raved about its unique design which is inspired by what else? a bird's nest. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> When I was creating my itinerary for my Beijing trip I made sure there'd be enough time allotted for the stadium and the entire Olympic village also known as the Olympic Green. I'd seen a lot of photos of tourists taken in front of the stadium but I was intrigued about the inside. I wanted to feel even just a fraction of what those lucky spectators of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games felt while watching the spectacle inside Beijing's newest architectural wonder.</span><br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3M3I7mYiUv9UUTHa2Foro6O3VJmnfhXPDc1xlk5kf_lOfOh5fNcUq49kL_X0ShHyfWMPsxEHWgHTg43vEFT-ZjYQCiwcNPA2wKgtxjjTcgDkbwhkwCnptv4lrU7Pjq1bDdC0pBAvoeCr-/s640/IMG_0463.JPG" /> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After relishing the panoramic view of the Forbidden City and other parts of Central Beijing from the Jingshan hill I went down to the street east of the hill and from there I took the looong bus (yes, they have those long buses in Beijing whose length is equivalent to the length of two regular buses) to the nearest subway station on my way to the Olympic Village. The bus passed by the Drum Tower but I thought I didn't have enough time to explore both attractions that afternoon so I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon for the Olympic Village alone.I got off near the Drum tower and I had a hard time finding the nearest subway and eventually I got lost.I regret asking directions from a young chinese couple because they pointed me to a regular train station which led to more confusions and charades.No way! we did this in Bangkok already.Finally, I found a subway station. I paid 2 RMB for the ride to the Olympic Village.The good thing about Beijing's subway is you only pay 2RMB regardless of where you are going,even if you make several transfers from one line to another.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> </span> I arrived at the Olympic Sports Center Station around 2pm.Before coming out of the station I was looking forward to that "WOW! moment" that I experience every time I see a famous landmark for the first time.Same feeling I got when I saw <b><a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/01/even-though-i-was-tired-i-did-not-sleep.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Angkor Wat</span></a></b> and <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/03/after-exploring-grand-palace-complex-in.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">Wat Arun</span></b></a>. The Bird's Nest didn't fail me. From the subway station I had to walk quite a distance to the stadium.I paid 50 yuan to get inside. It's actually a lot bigger inside than how it appears from the outside.While inside, I could imagine what it must have felt like during the Olympics 2008 when you're just one of the 90000 or so people (which is the capacity of the stadium) watching the opening ceremony and other events during the games . I checked out the view from the top most bleacher and in that section I realized the enormity of the structure. I sat there for a while and all of a sudden I felt lonely. The emptiness of the stadium and the hazy Beijing afternoon I think rubbed off on me so I went down and explored other areas. </span><br />
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<img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgbAlVf25fZja7WZoVPhvaiwH7Ft7QqouOj0yYd9kzYL8oeGFg1VL0UgHrrsOc1enofmIv_3395TcC6uI5v4Xc7i80kqeVlDDx64nj-Ma_Dx_Pid0whgS1Qqf_irNSin6mq9TBOMV1bdep/s640/IMG_0511.JPG" width="640" /> <br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> Below the bleachers are shops selling olympic souvenirs and a room displaying wax figure of the Olympic officials.There was also an exhibit of the musical instruments used during the opening ceremony of the Olympics at the stadium like the famous drums that were lit up during the countdown at the beginning of the show. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUbc4hnCtKF9wHXmhq0TgpqNO7EfIpxeEpYkszTzBASA7VbOw50yLSdQmtLL5UH-RWBnfRJHv2Yo_tREpaIFd6tle3hxNgWHJUwhjPkvt60kwQorSFVqU189BYZ9ExljFKGQtEe7EIX4s/s640/IMG_0498.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">One of the drums used during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics</span> </td></tr>
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<div id="yui_3_2_0_1_1341524528958120" style="font-family: "times new roman","new york",times,serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> After exploring the stadium, I waited for the structures in the Olympic Green to be lit up. While waiting I observed the different activities in the area. There were people flying kites and some were just sitting at the benches surrounding the different interesting scupltures on display at the Olympic Village. I also went to the other side to check out the Water Cube aka The National Aquatics Center which served as the venue of the water sports during the Olympics.I learned that it had been converted into a water theme park.The Water Cube is so beautiful when it's lit up and it's nice to see the color change every couple of minutes. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> Almost four years have passed since the Beijing Olympics and still a lot of people are interested to see the Bird's Nest and other structures within the Olympic Green that were once witnesses to another milestone in China's colorful history.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman","new york",times,serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">You have to visit it now before they convert it to a mall.That's what I've heard.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrs6yi9IwiWqTdg2u3Tt8mLcu5mebubn3vGM3e6Ca0jjfeDzEw7qE2hv5nGAOmdxmnNL91nlvw19s1Y7NUqzvgzXp-MFQrZAJXzTQkImtnCzjH9Gnjf8TCIE-qaCw-IictC1e4PkRSzutp/s400/IMG_0513.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Park around the stadium</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTHdxhfbiOMl2Mcg7M_IwJKc5eu_bw926D3O4_ZNzG4VXPpDhPGY1zNmGo5MZ6j3nEYdpL_cV4pl2iIZHH4M6IG-4iH11F78vtLjoEvSaFLQpb5Ld1sq26JbJRpPBDltbITReRnzFwcqp/s400/IMG_0479.JPG" /> </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVhadq_N7r_aLhs7OXAuSk9W5sUBPzjTzUfYBfCUV0hpR_Yof1e4JlXs_qyvZugAD2O5oHQnZ9reXZMlfuWzLEmWyoCz0H_57ovjislt27zl5nOA6zEUIq3OVFmCKnp4u4p2UzeMNRnA7/s400/IMG_0530.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Water Cube</span></td></tr>
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<b>Admission Fee:</b> CNY50 for a visit to the National Stadium <br />
<b>Opening Hours:</b> 9:00 to 18:00 on weekdays<br />
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9:00 to 21:30 on weekends and public holidays.<br />
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<b>How to get to the Olympic Green : </b></div>
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<b><br />By Subway: </b></div>
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<b><br /></b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Take Subway Line 10 to Beitucheng then switch to Subway Line 8 (Olympic Special Line): get off at Olympic Sports Center Station, get out of the station from Exit B1 (northwest exit) or Exit B2 (northeast exit), and walk north to Bird's Nest. </span><br />
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<b>By Bus :</b> <br />
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Take bus 82, 538 or 611 and get off at Guo Jia Ti Yu Chang Dong (National Stadium East) Station. <br />
Take bus 18, 108, 124, 207, 328, 380, 387, 409, 426, 558, 653, 694, 758, 803, 849, 985 or 特2 and get off at Ao Ti Dong Men (Olympic Sports Center East Gate) Station. <br />
Take bus 84 or 407 and get off at Ao Ti Xi Men (Olympic Sports Center West Gate) Station. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-42341835933731566732012-06-16T21:44:00.001-07:002012-07-28T21:01:51.147-07:00Treasures of Forbidden City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/06/located-at-center-of-beijing-forbidden.html" style="color: blue;" target="_blank">Forbidden City</a> is so massive and has several courtyards , you enter a courtyard to be led to another one that looks almost the same as the last one. If all that was left in the palace was just the courtyards surrounded by walls then there's nothing much to see. But when I did some research about the palace I learned that there's a section that contains some interesting artifacts of various types including ceramics ,jewelry, paintings , jade sculptures , and bronzes. I paid an additional fee of 10 RMB to see these interesting collection. I was surprised that there were ceramics as old as a thousand years.The jewelry worn by the royalties were also on display and not just ordinary jewelry but really expensive ones like diamonds.Since there are thousands of artifacts in the Forbidden City the exhibits are changing from time to time so don't waste your time looking for those items that you've seen on this blog that might not be on display at the time that you visit the palace .There were so many things to see and of course so little time.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedC0qywp0dRXXNjChIJNrON7reJcWkrOog4MMJBWFzA6LhflOwaMyHRgszPF1hSd03eJ8u8OeUIchAuGdCbMSd2FFUOJD63anhp6CQ2CfyXPWLzDqYMENIhXIFAmIOHzHoc65A7U5BG5C/s640/IMG_0398.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">phoenix crown</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6S_YKEH0MqUtR3kYkWbMlfUduwbDPqISoylW38vJKan0CTXzdSVGO3HolyF1lONI6XbJJoOnKL2FvfKt-ZFvj-7GuiuBtJ5ajx6bpJzCGnByTuuiQCO4epJwyjHxZ12SwC9NRFjZijY4c/s640/IMG_0394.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr align="justify"><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRWS_zdUOUG1u64Rr08PkQIai8zeWLKCesA0aAtHxlqlCYITaKBedIjXNJ5jT5pANSfd4_PZJvz9xYuEkEID9mRwnm_ymL4eVgNI9eCb1tmFziXOScXYVMCJdbjIn9kAheEMq5sIXTqO7/s640/IMG_0395.JPG" /> <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfp4saU5FfKDZ5FVrYMUODI9VYlbih5Xx_BDZMXK1TOgqntLxutc_4diP7l4FnBCaQMGpndZrrwHLAaU7nucJA-BartnhFZOkMD083dCqKsnK5e5Z3KVnurCU9Fgm_q2ZR4UWPmtG_j9zh/s640/IMG_0387.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't know what this was but believe it or not it was labeled "pillow". </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8YPmL-Rf3LSnBqbUZGCEAuPfx1KtE0hQoSpS1mGH5vUhC4TW-1Q6qqoztirjUZiMkmQ_9ZXbEAtn3dakD3MLn6qW5PdT1EUsiJfEyeGsh6Xs2Uxe08zAsCwzoFRSl4sYuQRirgocBUzR/s640/IMG_0400.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">belt</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihYzw_nmj8dDLJ_AdyhyphenhyphenBqNgqakNDmeucZQr1MWoReiG40gEzVNuz311TYU2PneAZiZP_sLMWZDmNoEVaxkeLP3b4QfMnr9kkEMEFeID58tMhPfG1H40XvOTFuxIIfp5CwLd-ATSR2zw7/s400/b1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">golden globe</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKccUpKOz7gZPylAwlmgJzcZQL0mQMBo3RX9Dz4oB5HWz7F-Bn42xNNNAIbStq_F5dj2jSa3f-qSyWMP_4d2EYKaj4-r8W1xUPVTQI6tJnmhr7XJ4rL3LAiQxMfRLUvpbfyswx_eJjNfv/s640/IMG_0419.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sculpture is made out of jade and is taller than me.</td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-13913339400318021222012-06-05T15:29:00.001-07:002012-06-16T22:08:51.440-07:00Forbidden City No More<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Located at the center of Beijing, Forbidden City was the home for emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is a vast palace complex , in fact , it is the largest in the world. According to books it has thousands of rooms. The distance between its southern gate and northern gate is 960 meters. Having known this I had prepared myself for a walkathon that I'd be getting myself into.One of the preparations I did was studying the Beijing map. In the early days , ordinary people were absolutely forbidden to enter the city and if one got caught he'd be sentenced to death. Nowadays, for an entrance fee of 40 RMB anyone is allowed to explore the complex ( some parts though are still restricted to tourists ). The Forbidden City has become one of the main tourist attractions in Beijing. Unfortunately , I had to schedule my tour of the palace complex on a Saturday , a day when more people are expected to visit the palace than any other days of the week.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Lpsds4aS3yEZOyZMoYuZYcny1a10EWZzNnXa8mWYaRzyoBOYJZnHrRH19JapybrfyTEebKdYs9Ieq-y1kVcG00QLLMRbwfPOlBKNwGR0ZJJ22NHLoSyyUokOhLjBD6ODDYPlWtEx9-gY/s640/IMG_0222.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Side of the Forbidden City facing Tian'amen Square</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> To avoid the crowd I'd planned on exploring the Forbidden City when it opens at 8:30 AM. I got up early but I went to " The Egg "<span style="color: blue;"> </span>first , (yes, if there's a structure called the " Bird's Nest", there's also one called "The Egg", aka The National Center for the Performing Arts) which is located just across the street from the Forbidden City. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKgS0mp-fsKKdyLWaqS5dLlGUu4ZicvClMzvRnmr2spn0ccbHX4nKYCo21X4uqT8YAOM6pr9MMfd-BlfWZ8WVGQxalmHczZq3OxhftpT57bHS47wTDnLjEd8vbOCduRMESf4gyKAQQpLj/s640/IMG_0340.JPG" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> It was already 9 AM when I got to the palace complex. I passed through the Tian'amen gate (technically not part of the Forbidden city) and stared at Chairman Mao's portrait hanging on the gate. I was trying to measure it in my head. It's really a huge portrait but visitors can't get close to it. I walked northwards until I reached the Meridian gate where I bought my ticket, maps of the Forbidden City were also sold at the gate.Surprisingly , despite the number of people visiting the complex that day I didn't have to queue up to buy my ticket and to enter the complex. Inside I was trying to imagine what it was like then during the Ming and Qing dynasty. I could just picture Chinese warriors marching in the courtyards , or the members of the Imperial family watching the activities in the complex from the balconies of the gates. Everything inside the Forbidden City was just grand. I was overwhelmed by the tall gates , the high and thick walls and the massive courtyards. All the buildings, gates and courtyards almost look the same though. You enter a courtyard only to be led to another one that looks similar from the last that you wish it would end already so you could rest from the leg-breaking excursion.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgADCk7WiG-jmgnqEnMWrk8RRl6AjmE_sjQ-sZx4vq7EnfU6Z8STfn7DsavKBWMoFcROHtab443JSdRITDBS7HZo9roERYlr0ePPP3xrSO6VO5XY9KbTnS8KlTOmxuR3M2tI6C1-5E2S1rO/s640/IMG_0345.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Touching the Golden Knobs on the doors of the Forbidden City is believed to bring good luck</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU557XvC7aStB9-rA5SdefvQSXxpyuxlQJITmslP-Sj-jRIt55ORE7QelMbDTcqDw2RfF48uFZSTMUeuoy1YCUDX86DyT2e0g_Wepbd2NUQFJp7Vec7fXLNSVjjRH5gb7s0j_QYU6ISaQe/s640/IMG_0359.JPG" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> I got to enter some of the buildings that had been converted into exhibition halls like the one that displays ceramics that are hundreds of years old. Another hall displays old canopies used by the emperors during ceremonies. I also paid an additional fee of 10 RMB to enter another section of the complex that displays the<a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/06/treasures-of-forbidden-city.html" target="_blank"> <span style="color: blue;">treasures of the Forbidden City</span></a> like crowns, jewelry and other accesories (made of gold, pearls, and precious stones) used during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There was just too much to see inside the Forbidden city that it took me 4 hours to reach the Imperial garden at the northern end of the complex. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIA3B4e-4rq42U5D4HOcwC2vpeMeKO8eS8_ukEVvKZaFy0G-ZJW8Cn73ZXPv9KGuoYhphfC94sPg92iMK0UUforJksMPELcDqWwZesGcochC-RZhz6pdLJHY3VL5Ai4Re5tjHbl1dZhEB/s1600/IMG_0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIA3B4e-4rq42U5D4HOcwC2vpeMeKO8eS8_ukEVvKZaFy0G-ZJW8Cn73ZXPv9KGuoYhphfC94sPg92iMK0UUforJksMPELcDqWwZesGcochC-RZhz6pdLJHY3VL5Ai4Re5tjHbl1dZhEB/s400/IMG_0422.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">large bronze vats were used to store water to extinguish fire</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> The Imperial garden was not to be missed as it had been a witness to several important events in the lives of the first family. During ordinary days it was also where the members of the Imperial family sipped tea, played chess and meditate. The garden must have been one of their favorite spots in the complex because of all those pine trees that provided shade to them and all those well-built man-made structures like the artificial mountain with a cave and fountains playing around it. On top of the artificial mountain is a pavillion where the Qing emperors would climb up to enjoy the scenery. Since it was spring time , flowers were already starting to bloom adding more colors to the surroundings . The garden must have been a relaxing spot then but not now that it's teeming with tourist. By noon time I could no longer bear all the jostling that I rushed to the northern gate to exit.</span><br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYNPj-ieRN7n2qU8IXGmYiHJFMcWenftUfRd6CQYOwX-t3J5GIU1MxrLPiWGaomN16NWRbO5W_0dwfVn1X1ZOogvnPDi_z71Y71gnooRsOuyEVFx5vvcPp7mazvv15c9Bc8Eg1SkHTt4p/s400/IMG_0388.JPG" /> <br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzpb9A6mQwelNLp4O3we4cjAbHTwJYtyy5ZReGLwtillS5v-KNyUHfXhQsI8ClUmTaxYnG7GmLlS9tw9NQg3gFygC40j4CuqWTQq3jbBcqGtZE4PUmITI6s5kRGSXcQ3pzpO01OHXR1m5/s400/IMG_0368.JPG" /> <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPr3tqcSu-W8mSfyGoENwvVAboiMHd3wv48riGsV3CkzEMO66PojaC9qBH_72SCIq0LCJlw4cMwFEWws3juhr55IQ4XgC96vSKp818dM7EB1dbfIPRoPF0hI-35FrSTQSoi-AEsji3kmJ/s400/canopy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Old canopies used during ceremonies<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgul9nOcvblQ_RTJ6l2e7NiMU72gg_xjnW8f80wfles8s74OoIcNMWDFrob6v_oc9q9bMkDPu-0IAs9ylLqs8Qai8eF0V_YNqM4DDP1m2Lce4u_voGYwNT-PfVJN1oQ43OmI2afw1Mqjxij/s640/IMG_0369.JPG" /> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The marble ramp in the forbidden city is the largest piece of stone carving. The emperor would be carried in a sedan chair over the ramp and no one else was allowed to step on it. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLv-tCj3QPxlBkcsrUo_FAT_9g77CXWfs7_6aR5-Eg-jbKE3_l-KNqoLXhctpALJAig4B1ITbc0CEdaPI8XHj2wQEWznREJleLbSph-VzTAZ7cLvRCxdPqQ-k9sSN2-7OJTpJJqopMKrY/s400/IMG_0426.JPG" /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
A pair of 400-year-old pine trees intertwined, symbolizing the unity of the emperor and empress. It was awkward to pose in front of it as the line of those who wanted to have their photos taken in front of it was composed of lovers. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpGeAcPits0znUSmb_DrHHs_yZsMKFbcK500OXA_z3GW0Vb1hFEc0QAoJpwEo57EFo9zVvl_5FJDuulGJhYXKQK5JTaUVyrm3ulwv91u1XI88Ku1qfvBzGPoX29kT5bnTV-8fQ6o-5gsD/s640/IMG_0449.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Forbidden City as seen from the Jingshan Hill and yes I walked from the southern gate to the hill.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-79508152444371338022012-05-23T15:48:00.000-07:002012-05-23T15:55:37.094-07:00Wangfujing Street : Exotic Food Trip<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<strong> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Wangfujing is a popular shopping area in Beijing like </span><a href="http://www.virgoitinerary.com/2011/06/qianmen-street-beijing.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Qianmen Street</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span>but the reason I went there was not just to shop for souvenirs but also to check out what many Beijing tourists are raving about. There is something else that Wangfujing is famous for especially among westerners. I'm talking about the long line of food stalls that come to life in the evening on the side street that offer unusual delicacies. You might think that they're the same as those you've tried in Thailand, but no, those fried crickets and bugs in Bangkok will sound like regular potato chips.In Wangfujing you'd encounter skewered animals that you never thought were edible like starfish, seahorse ,salamander (that ugly creature I saw in<a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2011/12/hong-kong-attractions-getting-to-know.html" target="_blank"> <span style="color: blue;">Hong Kong</span></a>) and scorpions, GIANT ! scorpions.</span><br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMoLKmANts_KQObkXJjs9AVr-cjlYvuEfqWFrkpQSZ0SppCSK8Urnj5xKEqKWEUAH36BiF9iYfgI6XzKJgiG7AQuP1zf7xF_ffFzQLyhnRzX8Tuy_NVsFEpQD50q1vpqAQxTlrnONPIRE_/s640/IMG_0267.JPG" /> <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fwwVRtWnlgICR9HRarHRZqp5t2JfYcsrItg1R9TLsQzIBWKabeRke-3bx-YUNm_wdHZPUjUtFz_J0a7gt0VOUqbuV4SxVPhiU4DWW3Iq0TkZ3eoM3khdGGZN0Qj2JWhhB7xZFJiWFJDC/s640/IMG_0249.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I never thought that scorpions could grow this big</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiVvq4siS7VCaSP24UnWDee3xjBGG-InIy0QzQ1h0683-dVuWT9SAb_GVc2NyRe-gUQX4xwdfT3uEnw1BokVPED11LojdMM18_vcKip3HZG2sNAeCT0ywNiu4oPhper4EPJ7cMnLecpWb/s640/IMG_0272.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Snake and Snake Skin Anyone?</span></td></tr>
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cN1GtfCGpaq0MViyXn4qIkEIFpUJZ7HpNkJgy5K33IqGtSdC_qL4cCJtGlI7Y5rQi0ShnddToCUnfMeU5QtteZO-3Zwk2-o_kIkO3aIGLzEKvpHtL9W7mQ2nQoX0ZfnbrKKAwt6FaTB6/s640/IMG_0241.JPG" /> <br />
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Aside from the exotic food I also had fun reading the signs on some stalls<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQpPDkfjZQvJSS9oKlpqrEWuoivMTwvmhwhlrqp8pA1ZVdWcY1wOuNSYYKNZlRRnwo25vYLq90gCPWgbTVQevPiAUQD87cV5oSOVHWNxROiV2GEXQj7Y63muOZOTUxEO42liUFXB8N9lA/s640/IMG_0257.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Assortend?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEO3N8wLLILQ0Zk7wiUlxV6yqAxbS6h0NReV04mgIHZNQk35XfA4myIHjEEwR4YVfIqr6jo306uK4zPY2YDRvgh1ESc2E5syMzgoaRzC-1l47gZEBDT1xDoeSaNbCoPFqiQxKsMSmYOmr-/s640/IMG_0264.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">ICE- CREN sounds like ICE- CREAM</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> If you get to visit Beijing you should include this in your itinerary. I guarantee you this is an adventure you will never experience anywhere else. I did not dare to eat those stuff though but I enjoyed watching people's reactions and taking pictures. Aside from the exotic foods there's a bunch of affordable and yummy common Beijing food being sold like my favorite meat kebabs.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-88621238149691988112012-05-15T16:46:00.003-07:002012-08-29T01:55:07.751-07:00It's A Great Wall Indeed ! : How I Managed To Get to the Great Wall Alone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"> </span>I first heard about the Great Wall when I was a kid. I've seen photos of it and watched shows on tv featuring it. At first it did not interest me that much. For me it's nothing more than a wall built on the mountains, but later the stories I've read about it fueled my interest.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I had made two previous attempts to go to Beijing to see the wall but it was on my third try that I finally got to book a round-trip ticket and apply for a visa. When I finally got the chance to visit the Great Wall I planned everything down to the smallest details.I couldn't afford to miss it this time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span>I decided to go to the wall on my first day in Beijing so that if anything happens ( like if I get lost or there's a bad weather ) and it stops me from going to the wall at least I will still have another chance to do it during the rest of my time in Beijing. My flight was at 7:45 PM from Manila and we landed at the Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 2 at 12 midnight ( there's no time difference between Manila and Beijing). I had one problem though , I hadn't booked a place to stay during my first night because I'd planned on starting the tour first thing in the morning. It only meant one thing , I would have to carry my backpack all the way to the Great Wall. Interesting !<br style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;" /> I tried to get some sleep at the airport but it was just too cold that I ended up wondering if the airport's heating system was broken. The pilot announced when we landed that the temperature was 7C , crazy for someone who has lived in the Philippines all his life. I decided to step outside to check if it was any different from the temperature inside the airport (I thought the heating system of one of the busiest airports in the world couldn't be left broken).The moment the door opened it's like somebody splashed a pail of ice cold water at me. It was a lot colder outside, the temperature had actually dropped to zero when I checked.</span> <br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMQzb-Rvbg5FuWw2AKMiHuN5VuYq4APsG-YI6YgvfpgFYf5oQas1dTd3MuM2_ZXTYBpHCKeYK0bzlAw1ZWLdFwll6Eqjws_KqgupuB1yNVzI4tTfWt93c3_LPpuRZ2pBdY3u9NAT3KzmF/s640/IMG_0152.JPG" /> <br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b> </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b> At 6 AM I was already lining up at the Airport Express Station located at the basement of the airport. I was heading to Dongzhimen where I'd be taking a bus from going to the Mutianyu Great Wall. I paid 25 RMB for the train ride. The sight of dead trees welcomed me as the train was moving towards central Beijing. I was in awe of what I saw. It was all new to me since it's my first time to experience spring. I'm used to lush, green surroundings back home all year round. As I alighted the train I pulled out the directions that I'd printed out from the internet. I was looking for a bus terminal where I could take bus 936 from. When I got to the place I was told that bus 936 has ceased taking tourists to Mutianyu section of the wall. Mutianyu section is preferred by a lot of visitors because it's less touristy and more authentic compared to the more popular Badaling section. The downside though is it's farther. Mutianyu is a two-hour drive from Beijing whereas Badaling is only an hour away.The other option to get to Mutianyu was to take bus 916 to Huairo then from Huairo take a mini van to Mutianyu. Buses 916 are stationed at another terminal, the one that you'll see the moment you come out from the Dongzhimen subway station. If you're facing east it's on the left side of the road. The bus fare to Huairo was 11 RMB. I met a Chinese college student and a middle-aged man. I sat next to them on the bus so they could tell me where to get off. From the bus stop in Huairo I just crossed the street and hopped into a mini van waiting on the other side of the road. I paid 40 RMB for the ride.</span></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAjJyzdrLnO56LmwIykXfLb-XslUKhzMReFtSPnq_Y8VKdu4UgV_TUPGitHjp__k65j3Mg5fxhMWo5hmoA2cZ4wejhk-QbHDsXHq0qlgF_XJlnMy5KjPseFIKwlEvMDHV7TKFirmmKpdk/s640/IMG_0210.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dried fruits sold at the foot of the mountain</span></td></tr>
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEGpF3pKj7s2NkWKMW7LQyP_Am81HtcNVJeGRCgbyswWPaJe6o05WLGfn_ERNBa5_oIQqZGICam9szZrgXRGHSfmzv7jsU9sS0UoAlYkk6EHKj8GTguggSUnBLcAgdn117dYjDR7YIA7dK/s640/IMG_0199.JPG" /> <br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLzB2oIRcPXjhak7I8eQsf_JSFqJvOOM3PSYz0cEAjEDvri1ITQ0BYfw1O1JuZlO8ot0TJy6vHEejwNMSmOu2lEkx-USRbWP0JZaF62ZS3eutKr_5JEj_RsM6c3W9QA8t2a1J9LIAquBU/s640/IMG_0153.JPG" /> <br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVG832ENcj013UJ38awOsNnhwYKb1NRpUL_mPfOwkk4dxcnlRjXVINjgoAxyqSKpzAeykG0kNq-G3tOFHI4PL_qcOelEQeoIWxsXxRr89eWTWHbqC-cEFuo4Z6qRtTFUM9gdL9XKK7szE/s640/IMG_0134.JPG" /> <br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38cMQoIsdDec4_8psImnGjW6ekTLtzvxDhm_gdm61PavRqeNnZndH_Uf3OkmVqTubcpny67Bk_g2iFMrbBa2DMPSRDnbvCvo2TyfIzUq9up97hmkqRImAxH9dEuxR_s7daNEIN9rEvhNQ/s640/IMG_0161.JPG" /> <br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFFV-9KGWdLWciKkS6QiM8VgTT-L6hKxQ8uC6-lhRV-NCQdUiVGMyQO4hMWR9oE8DP25syQ1B7vlWKnoQ7cxpQ79ktJ06KHH-WZ47-BSa5tlCXeHcKDtfD8RJVESc82BT8rnA2WAADj0a/s640/IMG_0158.JPG" /> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">The sun was up but I found it weird that it was still very cold. It was worse whenever the wind blew. I didn't have gloves so I had to put my hands in my pocket because they'd get numb if exposed to the cold for so long. The entrance fee to the wall was 45 RMB and I shelled out another 45 RMB for a one-way ride on the</span><span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2011/12/at-large-at-ocean-park-hongkong.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">cable car</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333;">. I chose to take the cable car on the way up because the walls are built way on top of the mountains so trekking could take so much time. Since I was in a hurry to get to Mutianyu early I forgot to eat breakfast. The food at the eateries at the base of the mountain was expensive, an instant cup of noodles costs 25RMB. As I looked at the walls on top of the mountain I grabbed a bar of snickers from my bag. That power bar carried me through the climb. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The moment I stepped on the wall I kept thanking the Lord for taking me to one of the wonders of the world. I felt so blessed at that moment. I started taking pictures while walking, I would walk a few meters then stop, take pictures again (so I'd have lots of photos for my collection of Beijing pictures) and marvel at the view around the wall. It's great seeing the wall snaking along the rugged terrain. One of the questions that a visitor to the great wall would often ask is "How long is the Great Wall?'', as it streches as far as the eye can see.I tried to research its length but I found different answers.The length of the wall and the rugged terrain made the climb really hard. I had underestimated it and I ended up panting like a dog the whole time.<br style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;" /> I just couldn't believe I was on the wall. I took my time and enjoyed the entire experience because I had waited for almost three decades to see it.<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26Y1scPWOjGNcjfMPYy8CkLdDigDqa7zVOZaWjYP_cw8tizuUjrYmznqt2_1Y0ViHFrNq8Lso57sKAohbeivrR68LgMuASsVZI8m7X9LbRgaGfqtbVt7o4xe24P1vzhcwiyuCX8yyHEle/s640/IMG_0169.JPG" /> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After consuming all your energy on climbing the wall the next thing you may worry about is how to descend from the mountain. There are two easy ways to do that, one is to ride the cable car again or if you're up to more fun and adventure you can try the tobogan ride for 50 RMB. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUAVXEOEaPzA7Y8qNEB-BSVd4hV5SZG52EnjTU3_1ldFbHgpmcqJY3oJReTTGpiBBi9qw5Dz-4t7V-z5NA7PFLVq2h89W5_UOlZkR6RzYWE7FCrDIL73t3SZovm4F4__89RoaRZp-P8N-/s640/IMG_0172.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A fun way to descend from the wall is via the Tobogan ride</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tip: If you want to take pictures or videos on your way down via the tobogan make sure that the staff aren't looking because they'll reprimand you. There are staff stationed along the track.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> <br />
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<img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u6G7Tp8tAAkPJ9KPtqeqm-wu7nxmLjYefpRidY3gMdhTAbtUtJYDLqTaxyCEjVz8c1t3WKUXMZu2fBUk5RJ-MjoNZHZiBwCat3Q7FGBMgFqTiGCq1yWhFVMp8P8pZuMjBi3VgZ-CunfK/s640/IMG_0178.JPG" width="640" /> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-84360198836902470482012-05-09T14:54:00.002-07:002013-06-04T20:39:33.430-07:00Tourist Visa Application for China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Beijing has been an integral part of China’s history for centuries. It is renowned for its historical palaces, temples, parks and its<a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/05/its-great-wall-indeed.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"> walls</span></a>. I'm sure a lot of people who love to travel have Beijing on their list of must-visits but a lot of them keep on putting their plans off whenever they learn about the visa requirement. It's quite a hassle when you have to gather all those documents.Some of them have to be requested first . One of the documents that I had to request was the bank certificate.It wasn't clear though how much they require to be in the applicant's account but I had read somewhere that one just needs to prove that he has enough money to fund his trip. Aside from the bank certificate I had to do something about my SSS ID. My first name is misspelled on my ID.I have a very long name,unfortunately SSS’ system could only accommodate 15 characters in the first line intended for the first name and another 15 characters in the second line for the last name so the last letter of my first name was dropped. That's according to SSS because I went there to complain.It’s just one of the things I had to take care of.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> For applicants I suggest that you check the requirements for the citizens of your country and submit them ahead of time so you'll have a chance to fix things just in case.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> On the day of the application I was already lining up outside of the Consular Office of the Peoples Republic of China in the Philippines at 6:30 AM. It is located at 2nd & 3rd Floor, The World Center, 330 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City ( across Mapua Institute Of Technology). Some of those who also lined up early were representatives from travel agencies and some were sent by their bosses. The Consular office doesn't require personal appearance to apply for a visa and to claim a visa .At 8 AM we were told to go up to the 2nd floor. Upon entering the hall we were asked if we're applying for visa or claiming a visa then we were given our numbers and form for those who were applicants. I was number 25. Transactions didn't start until 9 AM so I filled out the form and waited. When it was my turn I just handed out all the requirements to the officer ( or whatever you call them). I was assigned to the lady at window 3 ( I had heard some stories about a certain lady at a certain window but I'm not sure which window. A lot of applicants try to avoid her as much as they could). The person who assisted me didn't ask me a single question. I noticed that she just went through my papers hastily except when it came to my passport, NBI clearance and bank certificate.She compared all the information on my NBI clearance with the ones on my passport. I'd heard that if you're given a pink form it's a good sign and that it's most likely to get approved. I noticed though that the lady was writing something on a small white piece of paper. Oh NO! I panicked. It turned out that the white paper was their copy of the claim stub and underneath it was the coveted "pink form". Yehey! I just opted for the 3-working-day-processing. I was done at 9:40 AM.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How to get to Consular Office of the Peoples Republic of China :</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are coming from EDSA you can either take the MRT and alight at the Buendia station and take the jeep ( You can find the jeepneys in front of the SM hypermarket ) or you can take the bus.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Requirements for Tourist Visa Application ( for Philippine Passport Holders) :</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Applicant's passport with blank pages and at least 6 months validity left before expiration.<br />2. A truly and completely filled Visa Application Form (Form V2011A) affixed with one passport-size or 2x2 colored photo, with white background, full-face front view, and no hat. Photo must be glued on the application form. Stapled pictures will not be accepted. Scanned photos will also not be accepted. U.S. passport holders must submit two application forms with two photos. <br />3. A copy of the round-trip plane ticket<br />4. Hotel reservation / invitation letter with a copy of the inviter's valid Chinese residence visa and passport information page of inviter's or Chinese national identity card. <br />5. Previously used China visa in old or new passport (Only visa stickers will be accepted. Those with stamped visas must submit additional documents for first time China visa applicants. Please refer to the list below.)<br />6. For first time applicants to China (Philippine passport holders, 18 years old and above), they are required to provide the following: <br />a) original NBI clearance valid for travel abroad<br />b) original bank certificate with receipt or original passbook, updated within the month that you are applying or....<br />- If a company will sponsor the trip, provide the company's bank certificate, sponsorship letter from the company and the company's business registration. <br />- If an individual will sponsor the trip, provide his bank certificate, sponsorship and invitation letter, copy of sponsor's valid residence visa and passport information page or Chinese national ID. <br />c) for employed persons, also provide an employment certificate, company ID, SSS ID and contributions, TIN ID and latest ITR<br />d) for students, provide school ID<br />e) for businessmen, provide business registration of company, TIN ID and latest ITR <br />f) Personal appearance is required for those who are 16-21 years old. <br />7. The emergency contact information page in the applicant's passport should be filled out and photocopied. <br />8. Other documents required by the visa officers if necessary. <br /><br />I suggest though that you check again the requirements from the Consular Office of the Peoples Republic of China in the Philippines around the time that you are applying for a visa because they might update it from time to time.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-17739810461463156802012-04-21T22:21:00.003-07:002012-04-24T23:03:50.302-07:00Bangkok Safari World : An Ultimate Zoo Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> After five days of long bus rides, visiting temples, haggling at markets, </span><a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/04/we-had-heard-of-nice-beaches-in.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; font-family: verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;" target="_blank"><b>a day trip to the beach</b></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> and
playing charades with the Thai people, we were not done yet. On the
sixth day of our Thailand- Cambodia vacation we had to get up early
again for a trip to a zoo,the Bangkok Safari World. The main reason why I wanted to visit Bangkok Safari World was to see giraffes as they have dozens of them.It's my childhood dream to see a giraffe, In
fact, when I first set foot in Manila one of the first places I visited
was the Manila Zoo. Sadly, I was told that the giraffe at the Manila Zoo
had died. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRtLiza-mMO1VoiJYFtuAz3Fu1WXyayEDsrDnxhGanWX2FNpbjYGGK9nbixB1dXILfIdSf9j3CzEPOn5dJkVAkZWMEuk7jxOQSb0688a4UZAMhip4wIZRQTY_ZIn1v6JiKIEwKT8P7alv/s400/bs12.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening of the Elephant Show</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Bangkok Safari World is also highly
recommended because of its Open Safari Tour which makes visitors
feel like they're in a real African Safari.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> We took the skytrain and alighted at the Victory monument
station. We hurriedly looked for the bus going to Bangkok Safari World
(the zoo is located at 99 Panyaintra Road, Samwatawantok, Klongsamwa,
Bangkok ).I had written down the address on my notebook and I kept on
shoving it to the faces of the locals whenever we asked for directions.
We already asked several people and no one knew which bus could take us
to the zoo. It seemed like they had not heard about Bangkok Safari World
. It was perplexing that none of the locals we asked had heard of
the place when it's a hit among foreigners . Though I was aware that
most Thai doesn't speak English I didn't realize that they could not
read our writing either. That explained the look on their faces
accompanied with the head -scratching -thing every time I would show them
the address on my notebook (sometimes to the point of almost slapping
them with it out of utter frustration that they could not understand
it).</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
Finally it rang a bell to someone and he pointed us to the right
bus.The bus doesn't actually stop at the gate of the zoo, we had to take
a taxi from the bus stop to the zoo entrance. It was
like a 10 minute ride through a nice and exclusive neighborhood. After buying our zoo pass which cost 830
baht each. They gave us a zoo map and the schedule of the shows they
had. We're late for the Orangutan show as it was already 11am so we
briefly stopped at the dolphin show instead. We stayed only for a few
minutes since we had already seen the same type of show in</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2011/12/at-large-at-ocean-park-hongkong.html" style="color: blue;" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hong Kong Ocean Park.</span></b></a></span><br />
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9O3KzgPc0OsxxIes8jBiuJWk7OINBeG7c8i356Dpk966Hva17yJT_BdPBXm6kcZZyDmXMRN2lkOTqyN2ZfuXgq3AXFhwmbCiR5AjROtToO96CYqo7I5wUqc5ZXkLYfUWrIm0Wmr3mpEZ/s400/DSCI0560.JPG" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Our next stop was the elephant show. It took a while for us to find
the venue of the elephant show because the zoo was really huge and
there were so many trees and man- made bodies of water within the
sprawling property that it felt like we're in a forest. When we found
the venue of the elephant show which was another amphiteather , we
settled at the top. Most of the spectators was comprised of grade school
students .Shortly after we could already hear the kids screaming as the
elephants paraded in front of us. Some were carrying hoola hoops with
their trunk and the less flirty ones carried poom pooms.They all looked
cute.The cheers and screams from the audience got louder when the
elephants lined up and raised their forelimbs and put them on the back
of their fellow performer in front of them, but that's it,they stopped
there and just held that position for a few seconds. I thought they were
gonna do something to multiply.The beast also showcased other talents
like painting while holding the paintbrush
with their trunk. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FyJX4YxKfeibY3C-X12XYMLLZmL719UC4yh3vJcD151G2AeOYVDx2hIOcetdS6cxfkEbuqCSXBgE2PPwMT8uwvPSuuGEW3TjZgBc9YwYNNuwpSxKupCIknlbbS9TxwgMr5KNUWU_hXrZ/s640/DSCI0514.JPG" /><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Finally it was time
for me to meet the giraffes so we proceeded to the Safari terrace. In
that section we were face to face with the giraffes literally as we were
on a platform as tall as them. Tourists get to feed them bananas for a
fee of 40 baht. We didn't waste money , we just helped the kids who were
scared to feed the bananas to the giraffes. Those creatures have very
long tongue and if you get too close you run the risk of getting licked.
I overheard a tourist who commented that the giraffe she fed was "la
chica mal" or a bad girl, I wondered how she'd figured that out. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDEz_HBrHW5Y2yT_LW9FCuvQeqkBXAx2qSFGbpKFpzcSzHtgz21BZahqzbYBCd5l4vdi_uE8NoF-EO4FMzSL1vhnCoKAVy69kt81tcEL_fqatqjoykAB5oRZeuaIp9f_1OQDi-tHOi_geu/s400/DSC06651.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeding the giraffes costs 40 baht, talking to them is free</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> There
was also another section of the zoo called the White World as its
residents were albino creatures. We saw white deers, white tigers and a
polar bear?I felt sorry for the bear because the zoo environment in a
tropical country like Thailand is the exact
opposite of the conditions that they are used to. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5XMjNnnq4TQ6MKVA1b2u3NFVVAKLTdfQRamrwPLtyXRE8ZFVzscPZylqIOw4Gk4VM6D15SzQflQlcGiCqqDIFp6GXk6Nbhm3BNxXimAlARks3QAdlB0l-LNc6H_2Ke0Kaj77l_-jhX4i/s400/DSCI0461.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">polar bear in the tropics?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td> <img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v2hRypHUpvJGoIyI496pHmJIZfiyAYdrX-FutIaF1L7sPOxo5bgkC8U2hgbhXVZV3U6wkNgOCIlUg-OL1gjnlhf9EuYkXnbafTam2-vh_DYt8C14ozXWtdlOd1OLJtqMCu5_xA49WU0H/s400/bs14.JPG" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> Next
stop was the main attraction of the zoo , the Open Safari tour. It's
like being in a mini safari where visitors can see the animals roaming
freely. I call it "mini" because even though its a vast area, it's still
nothing compared to a real African Safari. When the tour started around
2 pm we found ourselves on a bus among Indian tourists , good thing I
wasn't suffering from a "last song syndrome" like what happened in Hong
Kong Ocean Park where I'd burst into singing Jai Ho every five minutes
while queing up for the rides with Indian tourists.We drove slowly as we
passed by the animals. There were few camels,rhinos,zebras,buffaloos
,black asian bears, a lot of deers , my favorite giraffes,long legged
birds and peacocks .What about the lions and the tigers? They were
actually occupying a separate section of the open safari which is like a
maximum security section of a prison. The lions and tigers had to be
separated from everyone else for obvious reasons.</span><br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2c8fX73XxQxiTuH9UbscwfkmDILYqw6S31izCtB9DOx54lPtgG7NLd08vWUZrJuvZbZ_z1TlfQwMzt3VWtqHZ4TUH92nm19Ghc2do314yiqBtATds_puSFrc7kWltc0y_0S15rbgvF7p-/s400/DSCI0504.JPG" /><br />
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fOZf1zA1GjtHVNWPivOqGVvwBd3iBfaELjJEPUug43yY2A7QyO16DA5OggEnRVPP8G4B5HSWe3PylMTtgWZTpnA1UcgF3DOH1qNSbtRfKRIbh6lFsy5Gp_USTzgEqkRwYp1cXK52hgjl/s640/safari.jpg" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> We were about to leave the zoo when we saw a woman mounted on top of an
elephant. Yehey ! We found out that they offer quick elephant rides for
40 baht only. It was a great deal because it only cost 40baht
compared to the fee of riding an elephant in Siem Reap which costs $15. The trainer instructed the elephant to kneel down so I
could climb on its back.
I was amazed at how quickly it obeyed the trainer. When I was on top I
held on to the rope tied around the elephants neck preparing for the
acrobatic maneuvers it was about to do. My favorite part was when it
raised its forelimbs and just stood on its hindlegs just like what
horses would do when in battles. While mounted on the elephant I
caressed its hairy skin then I noticed the bleeding wound on its
neck.WTF! No wonder they were so obedient. Anna told me that the trainer
would hit the elephant with a gad or a stick with pointed metallic
object on one end everytime he commanded them to do something.Poor
creature. I felt guilty afterwards.There I was having a blast while the
elephant was suffering.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wyjLBhWPIOZ4hf2fvE0cqmnulKXL0Z-t9nGOH8DKEYXoYICjSDeo3FeWY1sIRNVnSOhsRGj-Jnk5J_P3oDJblBRh5dnmi8EmeaV3tbtBatUf0Xx3ZVyuV3TOeI2W5CO-vwgoOcuN0sT5/s400/bk1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">40 baht -elephant ride with a twist</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> I'm
aware that a lot of people are against putting animals in a zoo. They
say it's a cruel environment. I agree that its not right that you pluck
them out from their natural environment and separate them from their
brood or parents but I believe that zoos can also help educate people
about the nature of different animals especially those that we don't
see in our locality. I ,personally went there to learn more about the
animals I only read about from my text books.Seeing them may help us
understand their behavior and their needs which could be useful in
conservation and protection of these animals.But why did I let myself
enjoy watching the whole show when I knew that the stars of the show
were suffering. Was I really learning or just trying to justify this
cruelty towards
animals?</span> <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPipqXMDD0UNvEEoj69WHc_kJKEC2BQ2yA_savHSEgdGDvEPjYxvnvKU1HMgXLvZTwIb2QK8uROAc5-rhOHdckfonLpr9ZKvXoZn3_lbu5LqxdYJBDWOGEAopAgoaqj-ETZbV4-lemmNk/s640/DSCI0545.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">siesta time for the tigers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-23397335713148184342012-04-05T15:04:00.005-07:002012-08-29T01:56:51.916-07:00Koh Samet : White Sand Beach Near Bangkok<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b> </b> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had heard of <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2011/12/camiguin.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">nice beaches</span></a> in Thailand so we wanted to visit one during our trip. Our problem was time constraint. The famous beaches are far from Bangkok and we only allotted a daytrip for the beach. Phuket and its neighboring islands were out of the question as it’s impossible to do a day trip to those islands being 8-12 hours away by bus or car from Bangkok and even flight schedules if one chooses to travel by air won’t allow a day trip either. One day, when I checked my facebook account, I came across photos of a really nice white-sand -beach in the island of Koh samet.I researched about it online so I could find out how to get to Koh Samet from Bangkok( a lot of islands and beaches that popped up had the word "Koh" on their names. It turned out that “Koh” means island in Thai).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Koh Samet is an island in Rayong Province, Thailand. In 1981 it was declared as a National Park. Being a National Park means it’s protected so there’s limited development as far as the construction of resorts and commercial establishments is concerned. The transit point for every visitor to Koh Samet is Ban Phe, Rayong province. The cheapest way to get to Ban Phe from Bangkok is by bus from the Eastern Bus terminal also known as Ekemai Bus Station . Once in Ban Phe visitors can take a boat to the island of Koh Samet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> We left at around 5:00 AM. I forgot the bus number that takes tourists from <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2012/02/bangkok-manilas-fraternal-twin-city.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Khao San area</span></a> to Ekemai. Since we’re trying to make it to the first trip to Ban Phe we hailed a cab instead. There was a miscommunication as the driver didn’t use the meter when I told him to use it. Instead he charged us 140baht which I haggled down to 120 baht. The bus ticket to Ban Phe cost 157 baht (round trip)which came with bottled water and a cupcake. Sweet .The bus didn’t leave until 6:30 AM. It was the only bus that we took during our stay in Thailand that didn’t leave on time as buses in Thailand were usually on the dot. It was kind’a sad on the bus because there were only 5 of us including the driver and the conductor. The sights were again familiar but what’s interesting was the fact that we were already an hour away from Bangkok and were still driving through an elevated highway.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUNVOOqyiHmU39gxgSAm1d07NHLiyO2FJMoT_9lMA0sqzNlW4L4ipPpIJFeSRcBptUKK56ogVkGFP1JgXsxNZIjXRElBFZQj9hYRaKvC_8j15ByoO3cX0vRSLz3Apcr81hSrqOVMfHL04/s400/DSC06430.JPG" /> <br />
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<img height="480" src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/34178_144603458883334_100000010412540_456957_6894023_n.jpg" width="640" />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> It took three and a half hours to reach Ban Phe. <span class="Apple-style-span">From the Bus Terminal we just crossed the street to get to the port. The ticket for the boat ride to Koh Samet cost 100 baht . After buying our tickets we ate at a restaurant and waited for two hours because the boat wouldn’t leave until there were at least ten passengers. We left around twelve noon and the sunny weather turned gloomy and then it rained. The boat ride took 25 minutes. I somehow lost interest because of the weather. When we arrived at the pier in Koh Samet we hopped into a pick up truck that took us to Hat Sai Kaew beach (the ride was included in the 100 baht that we paid for the boat ride) . Hat Sai Kaew beach is the closest beach to Nadan pier and its also the most popular . It was still drizzling when the driver dropped us off. We walked through a small alley lined with souvenir shops then a white sand beach and blue water welcomed us. We were surprised. It was indeed beautiful. Fine white sand was something that I was looking for. It’s the quality of the sand that I use to gauge the quality of a beach since I spend my time just strolling (because poor me can’t swim).</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> </b> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even with an overcast skies the sand still looked pristinely white and it was also very fine that I couldn’t help playing with it by burying my hands . There are also restaurants in the area and a lot of affordable guesthouses.While strolling on the beach I noticed that it was littered with plastic and foil wrappers .It’s a shame that the people there didn’t mind throwing their garbage everywhere. If we had more time I would have picked up all those plastic bottles and wrappers.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b> Despite what I saw I continued walking and I enjoyed the feeling of the powdery sand under my feet.The good thing about the island is that it's not crowded so it is perfect for those who need some quiet place to relax while on vacation.</span></span> </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3699788217696237609.post-13615279816934434062012-03-28T19:48:00.012-07:002012-06-09T22:55:55.266-07:00The Grand Palace and Other Temples in Bangkok : Part II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> After exploring the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok we <span style="font-size: small;">had lunch at a small restaurant across the Grand Palace.We had chicken rice which was really good. After lunch we decided to go to Wat Po temple to see the reclining Buddha. I almost forgot Wat Po because I thought every important temple in Bangkok including Wat Arun was inside the Grand Palace complex. I was wrong. Wat Po is a block or two away from the Grand Palace and Wat Arun is on the other side of the Chao Phraya river. I learned about Wat Po because of the reclining Buddha which is probably one of the most photographed Buddha images in the world. It didn't interest me at first because I'd seen so many <a href="http://pinoypassportstamps.blogspot.com/2011/12/hong-kong-attractions-getting-to-know.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Buddha statues</span></a> already (name it! I've seen them in different positions,sitting,standing, etc.) , but when I learned that Wat Po is the birthplace of Thai massage and is also considered the oldest educational institution in Thailand it became a must-visit to me. There's a bit of history there so I had to include it. We started walking but I was wondering if a block or two in Bangkok is the same distance as it is in my hometown. Later a man walked past us and called my attention.He told me to watch out for pickpockets since I was carrying my bag on my back. I was glad someone reminded me. The man stopped and turned around. He introduced himself as a local police and asked us where we're from and if it's our first time in Bangkok.We told him that it's our first time in Bangkok but I regretted it shortly after when I sensed that he was up to something. He inquired where we're going next. I told him we're looking for Wat Po. He said it's closed at noontime since it's a Monday and that monks would be praying but it would open again at 2 pm. I almost believed him since the scam that I had been warned about was slightly different (Some drivers would tell tourists that a temple is closed for the day because of a certain holiday). When the man started suggesting other places to visit I started to keep my guard up. I also noticed that he was mindful of the surroundings while he was talking to us. He then started calling tuktuk drivers to take us to the places he recommended. I told him that the other place on our list was Wat Arun. He nodded and instructed the driver to take us to the pier. I told Anna that I was suspicious of the guy but I also said that we could give him the benefit of the doubt since we would be going to Wat Arun anyway and the tuktuk ride to the pier cost only 10 baht per person. When we reached the place that was supposed to be the jump off point to Wat Arun (which was on the other side of the river) I realized that it wasn't a pier. There were men waiting for us but it dawned on me that it's another scam. I told Anna to leave the place and not to talk to the guys there. Anna was trying to be polite and argued with me. She told me that I could have refused their offer politely and that I shouldn't have walked out on them. Well, they deserved to be treated that way for wasting our precious time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Few meters from the scammers we bumped into some locals.We played "charades" again. The Thai are generally nice people except for some scammers. It's just frustrating that as much as they would love to help they couldn't because of language barrier. Our acting skills were always put to the test whenever we talked to them. The locals we talked to this time could not tell us how to get to Wat Po so we just started walking again until we found the temple. The gate to the temple was actually wide open although I'm not sure if that was the right entrance for tourists because I've heard that some people had to pay an entrance fee and we didn't. We looked for the reclining Buddha right away. I had seen it a thousand times on pictures but I didn't expect it to be so stunning. It practically occupies the entire building. It's 46 meters long and 15 meters high, decorated with gold plating on his body. At the back of the statue we saw alm bowls lined against the wall of the temple.People were dropping coins into the bowls. We had no clue what they were doing but we had our picture taken pretending to be dropping coins as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> From Wat Po we walked to the Tha Tien pier. When we reached the pier I was so thrilled to see Wat Arun standing on the west bank of the river . It was surprisingly greyish from afar. I had expected it to glisten under the sun,nevertheless it was still beautiful. We paid 3 baht for the ferry ride to the temple. We went up to the upper terrace of the central phrang (tower). When I looked down I realized how steep the steps were and I got worried about descending from the tower. The view of the metropolis from the top was spectacular. Up close you can see that the central phrang and the four smaller surrounding phrangs were decorated with seashells and porcelains which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China. After almost an hour spent at Wat Arun we boarded the boat back to the other side of the river.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I was impressed that despite the construction of modern structures all over Bangkok they were able to preserve the old temples that are very much part of Bangkok's historical and cultural identity. I was glad that my first impressions of Bangkok were wrong. </span></span> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04744363357928007072noreply@blogger.com0