Let's Go!: April 2008

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from November 16 2008

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact thebudgettraveller At gmail Dot com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Monday, April 14, 2008

Lonely Planet

A must-have for every serious traveller or backpacker is a Lonely Planet Guide Book especially if one has a plan to live and really go around a particular country for several weeks.

WHat does a lonely planet guidebook have?

History of the place
Getting there and around
Money
Cultural, Political, religious background
Maps and Streetmaps with legends about everything from hotels, market places, banks and etc
An intensive accomodation guide with approximate rates, facilities and helpful reviews. (VERY helpful if you're on a budget)
Sightseeing recommendations/ travel interests
Bars, restaurant recommendation
etc.

What I like most about the Lonely Planet guide is it's like a compilation of all the information about the place PLus reviews and experiences of certain places, hotels and etc. So, you get to see the whole picture of a particular place and not just the good things. There's a difference when you consult a tourist agency and consulting a fellow traveller, isn't it? With lonely Planet, it's like fellow travellers telling you of their experiences of a particular place. Another thing I like about this guidebook is it specifically tells you how to go to a particular place, how to get there, how many minutes, how much it'll costand etc. No need to ask people around and get confused with language, it'll all be in the book.

I could remember a few years ago, my Hubby and I were riding a van to Penang, Malaysia. A German backpacker lady sat down beside us. She told us that she has worked for 5 years as a librarian, saved money , quit her job and plans to travel around South East Asia for 1 year. Her first stop was Thailand, then Malaysia and on to the other countries. Of course, she travelled on a budget or else her savings will be gone in a weeks time instead of travelling for a year. She was so confident, she only speaks German and ENglish, she has never travelled Asia before but on her hand is a copy of Lonely Planet guide. She was holding on to it, as if her dear life entirely depends on that book (just exagerrating a bit). BUt seriously, anyone can basically survive with it even if he/she is a first timer in a foreign land without knowing anyone. Wow! wouldnt that be a great adventure!

But anyways, this is only for serious budget travellers or backbackers but if you're only going to a place for 3 days to a week then I think internet information is enough help to let you find the most important information.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Our Phuket Trip Part 2

This is a continuation from the previous post...

3) Rawaii Beach - There's nothing much to do in Rawaii beach but do a bit ofsightseeing and eat at the Seafood shops lined up along the road near the seaside. My Hubby ate in one of the shops here several years back and remembered that their crab used to be 10 baht per kilo but times have changed and it's now 80 Baht per kilo. But I'm sure this is reasonable since they make tasty crab curry...haaa,,crab curry..I suddenly got hungry..:)

Back to the beach, I also remembered that this is the beach where the speedboats dock and it's a starting point for a 30-45 mins. speedboat ride to the other islands surrounding Phuket.

4) Patong Beach - This is one of the famous beaches in Phuket (with Kata and Karon Beach) where most of the westerners hang out. Just a few meters from the seaside is a road and right next to it are all the shops, bars , resorts, hotels and restaurants line up. We're not into barhopping and night life..we'd rather stay in the hotel and enjoy a quiet time with family, so we find this place a bit messy. When we were passing by, there was even this lady who was calmly sitting in a bar, topless!! Yeah, not a wholesome sight at all! But on the other hand, I like looking at the hotel and restaurant designs here, some are just beautiful. If you're into food trip, you'll also find all kind of restaurant here, Irish, German, Swedish , Indian and etc.

When we were there, we had dinner at Tamarind Restaurant which is connected to the Seaview Hotel. I just love the place! It's situated at the far end of the beach, so it's far from the messy nightlife area and thus it's quiet and peaceful.

The hotel is well-designed, cozy and I think a good place to just relax. In the morning, you can have a spectacular view of the sea. I checked through their site and I found a lot of good reviews from their customers. Hmmm..I'm dreaming to stay there for a holiday. It's quite pricey of course but they have this package where you'll get to see a free show called "Fantasea". I heard that's a great show for the kids too.

Okay, this is all for our Phuket Trip! We'll have another trip to Malaysia next week and I'm surely going to update this blog again.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Our Phuket Trip Part 1

We arrived from Phuket just a few days ago and we had a great trip! Though we were not really able to go around but at least I've got to see a bit of it. Here are the highlights of our trip.

1) Our Hotel - We stayed in Grand Thavorn Plaza Hotel and we didn't have a very pleasant experience in our stay there. Before we went ther , I check their website and it looked so nice from the site. It looked grand and luxurious. But in reality?? It's an old hotel, poorly maintained with poor service. I'm sure this hotel had its 'grandoise' years. They hang a big picture on their wall announcing that Ricky Martin stayed there way back 2005. But I guess as the years went by, they tried to cut cost by hiring few people and not maintaining it properly that's why their hotel ended up bad. Even their lobby isn't airconditioned now and they defended this by putting up a sign that it's because of global warming..or is it?

One of the statues at the entrance of the hotel. In the morning, this looks like a great piece of art but in the evenings it looks quite eerie because of the lighting..hehehe!

We had two major disappoinments from our hotel. Never mind the poor service, the dilapidated chairs and etc. Our first disappointment was the bath tub. I planned to give my Hubby a nightly spa, but it turned out that our bath tub doesn't work ( I mean it drains the water even when we put the cover). So, the first night we had to 'borrow' someone's bathtub..hahaha! I was so desperate to let my Hubby have a spa and not to mention we had additional luggage coz I brought all the spa ingredients like oranges, oats, honey and etc. whew!! But anyways, my Hubby was already so happy with the Orange Spa I made for him. ;)

The second disappointment was the swimming pool. Before the trip, I was already envisioning my kids having fun in the pool. We even bought a cute swimming trunks for my baby boy. hahaha! ( He looks real cute with his 'elephant trunks' :) But it turned out that their pool was 'under repair'. Poor Tricia! She was so disappointed and was convincing me that the pool is not closed. Good we checked the pool first before getting ready with our things. Our friends immediately went to the pool with their swimsuits, towels and etc just to find out it's closed. When we asked the hotel staff, they said that it's under repair and it'll be done in a week (after we check out). But by the look of it, it seems that the pool has been abandoned for quite a long time and I'm not sure if they really do have plans of repairing it..haaayy!!

2) Phromtehp Cape - Yes we were able to go for sight seeing in Promptehp Cape where you can see the beautiful sea and some islands surrounding Phuket. We went there in the morning so we never get to see the Sunset. The view itself in the morning is spectacular and I'm sure it'll be more breathtaking during the sunset.

please don't mind the Little Big Mermaid on the the rock..LOL!

When we where there, it made me wish that we could go to one of the islands again. The sand is whiter and finer, the beach is more beautiful and the view is more refreshing in the islands. I remember 5 years ago, when my Hubby and I was able to go to Koh Raya Noi (one of the Islands) and it was very beautiful (I can write another post on that :))

That's all for now..this post is getting longer and I'm babbling more than I should..

To be continued .................

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

BLOGROLL

Fellow Mommy Travelers

Anything Baguio
Who does not love the cold weather of this place? Well, my family loves this place so much that I decided to create a blog all about Baguio… for us Baguio is LOVE.

Anything Davao
Welcome to the Durian City – Davao. See the sights, scents and sounds of the city of royalty.
I’m not a professional photographer but I romanticize the idea of freezing moments of people, of animals, of things of just about anything, everyday this amateur shutter’s eyes can see in this majestic of cities in the south of the Philippines, Davao City.

Away from Home
Away from Home is a personal travel diary that documents the author’s travels by bus, plane and feet. The author will also feature some interesting people she met, the adventures she experienced and the wonderful places she has seen along the way. This blog will also include other little things hovering in the corners of her journey-traveling tips, cheap and budget bookings, culture, special events, celebrations, festivals, learning Thai language, news in Thailand and many more!Welcome to my site and together we’ll explore Thailand and Beyond!

Best Vacation Places
This blog is my attempt to share some of the best vacation spots that I come across and help you discover ideas for your next getaway. My name is Jade, and I love learning about new places. Primarily, I’m a freelance writer for the web. This is a blog that I maintain mostly just for the joy of it. I hope you enjoy it and find some interesting discoveries along the way!
Best Vacation Places is a site is not only focused in the best places to go on a holiday all over the world but also provide useful traveller tips, airline promos.

Everything Nice!
My share on my latest travels, restaurants to visit during trips, tourist attractions, food adventures, hotel recommendations and other budget travelling tips.

Feeling Traveler Aketch
Feeling Traveler Aketch is a personal blog that documents the travel aspirations and experiences of a woman working from home. The title of the blog was coined because the owner is not a regular traveler. She only experienced a few travels but aspires to have more. This blog will also contain the author’s experience in postcrossing.

Friendship and Smiles
Since I am not a regular traveler, I decided to put up a blog about the two beautiful cities where I lived all my life, Cagayan de Oro (my hometown) and Bacolod (my adopted hometown). I want to share the best places where to go where you are at these two beautiful cities. Anyway, Cagayan de Oro City is known as the City of the Golden Friendship while Bacolod City as the City of Smiles, this is the reason why I got the name Friendship and Smiles. This blog will also share the few places I have been through outside this city.

From Asia and Beyond
Different Places, Faces, Sights, Tastes, Sounds. A Travel Diary of a Budget Traveler.

Join My Stroll
This blog is about traveling – by car, plane, train, and even be feet. A stroll to the park with my daughter; a stroll to the mall to buy precious gifts for my loved ones; a stroll to the different landmarks in London, Philippines and other countries – are for me, a travel worth documenting. Family vacations are rare, but once we have, it’s sure lovely to blog about. So hop on and join my stroll!

Journey of a Dreamer
I always dream to travel the world and share with my love one the beauty of nature and of course when you travel you get the chance to meet new friends, you’ll be introduce to new traditions and specially you’ll get a chance to eat sumptuous foods. This is my realization of my dream, Journey of a Dreamer is something i always love to do and create. It tells every travel, adventure, vacations that me an my family spends and i do hope that the readers can benefit from our experiences too. Travel with me as we go to Palawan, Caramoan and to my other dream places around the world.

Lamyerda
Lamyerda is a travel blog about our road trips, beach escapades, weekend getaways, short vacations, or even just a side trip to some local destinations. It also talks about travel tips, booking tips, packing tips, and directions. Recent airfare promos of the country’s airlines will also be posted here. It will also feature must-see travel destinations around Philippines in the hope that more people will be inspired to travel and discover the beauty of our country. Lamyerda is not only for those who can afford to travel often, but for everybody who wants to enjoy the moment of taking a break from our everyday life. Indeed, it is great to travel and discover new places.

Maps And Bookings
A site about places and bookings, where to find cheap accommodations and how to avail cheap travels,

Mole on My Sole
I have a mole on the sole of my foot. My folks say that’s the reason why I have itchy feet and love to travel. I didn’t have the mole when I was younger. Probably because I was not traveling so much yet. It just showed up proudly and unannounced. It is not bothersome but cute. A small wonder that doesn’t ever complain even when I step on it all the time. Let me and my mole take you all over the Philippines and beyond.

Stylish Voyager
A travel and fashion blog merged together in the hopes of bringing something different to my blogging life. Stylish Voyager is a blog that caters not only about traveling within the Philippines but also traveling outside the country. Sometimes it is not always about what we write and what we think we should write, but sharing to people what our life is, how we live it, where we have gone. Come travel with me, let me share with you my life as a blogger, as an explorer.

The Blogging Traveller
A blog to documents our vacations and travels, places we visited and more places we wish to visit someday. My family loves to travel, be it by air,water or by land. This blog is all about our traveling adventure.

The Travel Diva
This is mainly my travel tales, and some travel guides and tips in between. Come visit with me the countries of the Philippines, Thailand, Macau, Honkong, China, Cambodia, Macau, Brunei, England, Colombia, Mexico, USA, South Korea. I also have some guides and tips on things to do and what to do in these countries. I am also keeping abreast with budget airline promotions, budget hotels, budget getaway packages, etc.

The Wandering Peach
This blog is a chronicle of my travel and my family’s travel. We love taking short and long vacations to relax and be detached from our normal city lives. Sometimes we also love to go on the road and just see where our feet takes us.
This blogs also aims to give some tips on cheap bookings and vacation packages. Let’s go!

Travel and Musings
Travel and Musings is a travel diary of my family created to document places we have been so far and musings about the exciting places we will be visiting in the future. I hope to have as much photos of our (future) vacations on this site so my children will have something to look back to when they are older.
Travel and Musings will also feature favorite tourist spots and destination including historical sites in the Philippines. I will also be discussing about festivities and pasalubongs, health tips for travelers, travel wear, travel gadgets, games for kids, and a whole lot more.

Travel Buddies
Adventures and misadventures of a family who loves to travel through seat sales.

Travel Junkie Mommy
This is a travel blog, but it does not only talk about travel. This site talks about family. It talks about bonding, sipping hot choco or frappe at a stop over. It talks about diapers and rest rooms on the road. This blog is about bonding and living, a family having fun, long travel or not.

Travel Sites and Scenes
This site is a compilation of Photos of beautiful places here and around the world that are worth visiting. Travel with me as I post pictures of scenes and sights I visited and those that are visited by my families and friends. Information on current best vacation package deals, bookings, flight promos and budget-friendly hotel and resort accommodations.

Travel Unravels
Whether in reality or in dreams,
Across land, ocean or streams,
With each of our travel,
New wonders we will unravel.

Travels and Explorations
This blog is about places to see and explore. Join me as we explore caves, museums, and other travel destination in the USA and around the world.

Travels Of Joy
Joy’s blog about traveling and family outing.

Viva Trips & Tips
A blog documenting our travels within the Philippines and around the world featuring hotel reviews, travel tips and tricks, best delicacy in a certain place, tips on budget travels, must-do things before and after travelling, tourist attraction, best beaches in the Philippines, budget airline tickets and airfares, best spot family vacations, must-visit in a certain place, kids-friendly travels, travel games, outdoor activities. Its all about our adventures and misadventures while travelling.

Worth’s World
Come see the world through the eyes of the Worthingtons’.
Worth’s World is a family travel blog that documents our journey, travel, vacations, getaways and whereabouts. Also tackles some signs that we saw on the road and funny pictures. Topics include, but are not limited to sports, random events, politics, technology, and issues for both men and women.

Other Travelers