the Food, the Places and the Bad Trips!

Best Hotel Deals in Orlando Florida

yuuki — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:59:14 +0000

Are you looking for a holiday location that will satisfy your every whim? Consider Orlando Florida. It may just be one of the most diverse tourist destinations with attractions located at sea and on land. Endowed with six of the best amusement parks you will ever see in your lifetime (among other lures) and a pleasant tropical climate particularly for oceanside activities, Orlando is bound to captivate you both mind and body and guarantee that you will have the time of your life. What’s more; there is wide range of splendid Orlando Florida hotels to choose from to complement that well-deserved vacation.

The best part about landing ideal Orlando hotel deals is that you do not have to break a sweat. Various hotels have catalogued their information online and all you have to do is browse through each and evaluate whether the facilities, locations and rates match your preferences. For instance, some hotels in Orlando that offer similar packages like free Internet, fitness facilities and pools include Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and Suites, SpringHill Suites among others. For a more pocket friendly package, several hotels in Orlando such as Holiday Inn Maingate East offer discounted rates for as low as $47 per night. Others include Royal Plaza, Best Western Disney and Disney pool homes.

Finding an idyllic hotel that guarantees superior quality services but at the same time presents the right discounts may be a grueling affair. The best approach is to compare as many Orlando hotels as possible. After all, there is way over 150 hotels and restaurants to choose from. Be as picky as you possibly can; it’s your money so make sure you enjoy every dime of your hard-earned cash. The beauty of price comparisons is more like window shopping; you end up find two hotels that present similar services with a large price difference.

Whatever your holiday needs may be, take advantage of every opportunity thrown at you and make sure you make memories that will last you a lifetime.

Boracay Trip Planning 03: Accomodations

yuuki — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:44:21 +0000

I’m down with planning for our accommodations in Bora (oh I read a post on FB that we should use the complete name Boracay but I’m lazy so let’s stay with Bora). I went to individual websites of different hotels and resorts to check the availability, compare prices and locations. Bora is just a small island but still I want a beach front accommodation! And I must admit it can be already considered a luxury because it falls on Holy Week which is a super peak season.

I read on some blogs about Agoda.com and checked it myself. I got several hotels and resorts that fit on my requirements. First I booked Boracay Deparis Resort but my Paypal payment encountered an error. Then I saw the Residencia Boracay Hotel and immediately booked 1 room for 3 pax for April 7-9. The problem was I need 2 rooms (we’re six) so I waited for a few days if the same offer will open up but nada. I was forced to cancel the booking and made another booking with Boracay Deparis Resort for 2 rooms 4 pax each (2 pax extra).

Initially we planned to stay at Kalibo on April 6 for some reasons, so I only booked from April 7 onwards but later on decided to go to Bora on 6th itself. So I need another booking but most are fully booked and if there are available slots, it was too expensive. I checked for other beach front accommodations on other side of Bora and I ended up with Levantin Boracay on Bulabog beach.

It’s my first time to book with Agoda.com, is it really safe and reliable?

What about Levantin Boracay and Boracay Deparis Resort?

I can still cancel without any fees 30 days before the booked dates, so I really need your input guys.

Boracay Trip Planning 02: Transportation

yuuki — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:14:00 +0000

I was lurking the four local airlines – Cebu Pacific, Air Phil, Sea Air and Zest Air for the cheapest air fare from Manila to Kalibo or Caticlan. We already decided on the date which is April 6 to 9 which falls on the super peak season being Holy Friday, Black Saturday, Easter Sunday and Valor Day (Araw ng Kagitingan). I even checked other options such as the RORO (land/ sea) and the ferry (sea), but my mom wasn’t too keen on those.

The Manila to Caticlan airfares from Cebu Pacific and Sea Air are already ranging from P7,000 to P8,000, so these two are also out of the options.

Our budget for airfare was P3,500 roundtrip, so when I saw P3,300 tickets on Zest Air, I want to buy it asap. But I guess being a blogger, I had to check the reviews of other bloggers and more were on the negative side. So I checked Air Phil and it was around P4,500, but I saw that the next day departure April 10 has a lower rate so I tried that combination and it gave me P3,600 rate. I called my cousin and ask if she can take a 1 day leave (April 10 is already a working day) and once she said ok, I started booking it. I was booking for 6 pax but it was giving me higher rate, around P4,000 so I tried booking for 3pax and it gave me the P3,600 again. I tried until I was able to book 5 pax at P3,600 and 1 pax at P3,900. Still it was much lesser than Cebu Pacific and Sea Air rate and the reviews are comparatively favorable than Zest Air.

Whew! One down (air tickets) or so I thought, because the next day my Uncle was saying he don’t want to travel on Holy Friday. What?! I tried to keep my patience and respect his religious beliefs, so I asked my cousin (in Phils) to check the rebooking fee and additional costs (fare difference, etc). The rebooking fee alone is P2,600, I told her it would be better to cancel the tickets (for my Uncle and Aunt) and buy a new one the next day. But eventually she was able to convince her father that it would be a big hassle and added costs if he insisted to change the flight schedule. He just bulged in when she told him that it’s only 45 mins flight and we would go to Kalibo Cathedral as soon as we plane landed. We haven’t told him yet about the van and boat ride, shhh.

I’ve been giving values here but I know we really haven’t save anything or maybe incurred more expenses. Why?

Cebu Pacific or Sea Air (Manila to Caticlan) – P8,000

Air Phil (Manila to Kalibo) – P3,600
Van fare from Kalibo to Caticlan (vv)– P1,500
1 day additional hotel/ resort accommodation – P1,800
Total – P6,900

I didn’t include the boat fare from Caticlan to Bora, the tricycle and other expenses because those will be constant to all.

Almost the same price right, but we got to stay 1 day more! Yey!

I could have done more actual savings given a different scenario (off peak season, transport restrictions, etc), still I think I did well on this one (and I’m doing all the planning and booking online).

Boracay Trip Planning 01: Schedule

yuuki — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:57:15 +0000

I’m quite busy and kinda stressed out from planning our Boracay family trip from April 6 to 11, 2012.

First, we’re only 10 and just agreeing on the schedule is time and patience consuming!

Second, the agreed upon date is the super peak season! All the prices from air tickets to accommodation sky rocketed to the moon (and back).

Will be posting some definite results in a few days (I hope), if you know some budget friendly accommodation in boracay preferably near Station 2 please let me know. Thanks!

Hump Day $50 Giveaway 02/01

yuuki — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:05:46 +0000

February is the love month and to start it off, 3 of my blogs are running giveaways! Join and be the next $50 or more richer.

It’s time for Hump Day $50 Giveaway and today’s event is for Google Friend Connect (GFC) or Google+ Circles. Thanks to the 33 wonderful blogs listed below, we are giving away $62 this week and not $50. Yep you get some bonus so please feel free to visit their blogs after joining.

There are 2 types of entries this week. You can follow a blog though it’s Google Friend Connect (GFC) button, or to add a blog page to your Google+ Circles. For a short tutorial on how to Follow via GFC or to Add pages to your Google+ Circles, click here but be sure to come back to enter through this blog.

A note though: You can only join this on one blog/page. There will be a maximum of 39 entries ONLY. If you have more than 39, I reserve the right to delete duplicate or fraudulent entries. May I request that you use only one name and email address for quicker validation of entries.

On the first mandatory entry, please do not forget to write The Food, The Places and the Bad Trips referred you since it is a mandatory entry. You must complete the first 2 tasks before the others are enabled, and for all your other entries to count.

Thank you very much and good luck. By joining this giveaway, you agree to the Terms and Conditions on the bottom of the form. Contest is open all-day Wednesday, from February 1st, 12:01am EST to February 1st,11:59pm EST (February 1st, 1:01pm Philippine time to February 2nd, 12:59pm Philippine time).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hong Kong Disneyland Day Pass/ Ticket

yuuki — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:37:45 +0000

I know I am being OA with the actual date 2 months from now, I’m just excited to see Mickey and friends once again. The last time was 2002 in Tokyo Disneyland and he might have forgotten about me or the other way around.

I’ve never been in HK except for the occasional stopovers at the airport, and this time it will still just be a stopover of nearly 16 hours. We really planned this way so we have enough time to go to HK Disneyland and without the additional airfare and hotel. On the way back to Dubai, we have another 12 hours stop over which we plan to visit some night markets.

I was checking the MRT fares, entrance fees and food prices so I can already include it on my budget. Original entrance fee is 399 HKD but for in-transit tourists like me it will just be 230 HKD! Another discount of 169!

To avail of the in-transit tourist special pass, you have to present your boarding pass and passport. It should indicate that the arrival and departure dates must be of the same date. We will arrive at 6am of April 1 and will depart at 9:45pm of the same date. Lucky!

Savings:
169 HKD
Airfare (MNL-HK-MNL)
Hotel accommodation

I have yet to check the food selection inside HK Disneyland, hope they have discounts too! I’ll write another post if I find something.

Breakfast @ IKEA

yuuki — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:42:34 +0000

My friends decided to have breakfast at Ikea last Friday, yup the famous furniture shop also serves food. And same with furniture and other home applicances, the price are quite low but the quality and servings are not.

*Breakfast Set @ 5 AED or 1.4 USD

2 Sausages

Scrambled eggs

Baked beans

Hash Brown

*Coffee @ 5 AED or 1.4 USD

unlimited coffee, choose from

Cafe Latte

Cappuccino

Espresso

Black

*Bread @1 AED or 0.27 USD per piece

IKEA

Dubai Festival City

Dubai, UAE

Store Timings
Sun – Wed 10:00am – 10:00pm
Thur – Sat 10:00am – 12:00am

Restaurant Timings
Sun – Wed 09:00am – 09:30pm
Thur – Sat 09:00am – 11:30pm

Planning your next vacation?

yuuki — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:22:40 +0000

Planning, scheduling and budgeting are needed for a successful vacation. Try to follow these tips

Plan ahead

Be sure to check famous tourist destinations, available transportation and hotels preferably within the same vicinity or accessible to most of the spots. If you’re planning to go to Orlando, Florida do check Orlando Hotels.

Schedule

If you’re traveling alone, it’s easier to do this but if this is a family or group activity, you have to check each and everyone’s availability and preferences. Also if you can, schedule your travel on off-peak season. It would mean less tourist and low rates.

Budget

Try to avail promos on airline tickets, hotels, tours, etc. They usually give great discounts on low season to attract more tourists. Peak season tend to double or even triple your travel expenses. To be updated with such promos check this Facebook page.

I am no expert or seasoned traveler but I used to do all these while planning on my vacations and it saves me not just money but also time and frustrations.

What’s in store for FPBT this 2012?

yuuki — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:14:04 +0000

More travels
Less pig outs
Less bad trips
And lotsa blog posts!

The Places

I plan to travel more this 2012, I haven’t done any travelling last year except for inter-emirates (within UAE). As early as January I already made arrangements for a month long vacation in the Philippines, a side trip to Hong Kong and holy week in Boracay. Other local trips in Philippines are being planned. Then there are plans to go to Oman, India and Jordan later this year which I really want to push through.

The Food
Though we promised not to pig out (no more eat all you can), it doesn’t mean I’ll be starving myself to death. I can always order ala carte, share food or eat healthier options.

The Bad trips
That I cannot guarantee, I’ve been really behave lately and trying my best at controlling my temper, it’s just sometimes it happens.

Lots of blog posts
I only made 78 posts last 2011, that number is easy to beat so I want to target at least 150 post this 2012. Aja!

Hump Day $50 Giveaway 01/25

yuuki — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:48:28 +0000

It’s time for Hump Day $50 Giveaway and today’s event is for RSS and Email Subscriptions. But wait, this week, you can win $50 TWICE since there are 2 groups holding the giveaway! Group 1 is composed of the 27 wonderful blogs listed below so feel free to check them out after joining. A link to join Group 2′s giveaway is below the post so make sure you enter that as well when you’re done with Group 1.

There are 2 types of entries this week. You can follow a blog though it’s RSS link, which you can subscribe via a Reader or Email, or a link directly to their Email Subscription. For a short tutorial click here but be sure to come back to enter through this blog.

A note though: You can only join this on one blog/page. There will be a maximum of 33 entries ONLY. If you have more than 33, I reserve the right to delete duplicate or fraudulent entries. May I request that you use only one name and email address for quicker validation of entries.

On the first mandatory entry, please do not forget to write The Food, The Places and The Bad Trips or FPBT referred you since it is a mandatory entry. You must complete the first 2 tasks before the others are enabled, and for all your other entries to count.

Thank you very much and good luck. By joining this giveaway, you agree to the Terms and Conditions on the bottom of the form. Contest is open all-day Wednesday, from January 25th, 12:01am EST to January 25th,11:59pm EST (January 25th, 1:01pm Philippine time to January 26th, 12:59pm Philippine time).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To win another chance at $50 from Group 2, head on over to Building Carpenters and do not forget to put Building Carpenters on the first mandatory entry. Good luck on winning $50… TWICE!