Tag: itinerary

TAIPEI Revisited: 3-Day Weekend in the Heart of Asia (Less than ₱15,000 all in!!!)

Last May 2015, my high school friends & I had a short weekend in Taipei. We got our tickets for less than ₱3,000 & spent less than ₱15,000 for the whole trip. Click here to know more about our previous trip. We were not able to visit a few places so I told myself I will go back for another weekend in the so-called Heart of Asia.

Taipei 2017 crew while having breakfast (R-L: Rona, Shiela & yours truly)

Fast forward to June 2017, my colleagues & I were able to book another batch of tickets less than ₱3,000; ₱2,877.48 to be exact. That’s roughly ₱100 pesos more than our ticket in 2015. Tickets were booked 2.5 months before the trip. Pretty good deal, right? We scheduled our 3-day trip during the Eid Muslim Holiday, where it was declared a special non-working holiday in the Philippines.

₱5,754.96 for 2 round trip tickets to Taipei. Super cheap, right?

Note: The Office of the Philippine President has just declared the regular & special non-working holidays for 2018. Click here to have an idea on the 2018 long weekends. You can now start planning your trips for next year.

Note 2: I previously blogged about travelling with your full-time job. Check out this link to help you plan out your trips & your vacation leaves.

Going back to our 3-day weekend trip, let me elaborate below how it went. I will also discuss our entry permits & accommodation, pre-trip bookings, the places we visited & some random stuff.

Entry Permit

Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Republic of China (Taiwan) announced that they will ease the visa application scheme for Filipino passport holders. In addition to that, those with valid & expired visas (for the last 10 years) for certain countries like Japan, South Korea & the like can enter Taiwan visa free but with a valid entry permit. You can apply for the entry permit here.

A few months ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Republic of China (Taiwan) announced that they will try a 1-year visa-free entry scheme for Filipino passport holders. Due to some internal matters, the visa-free entry scheme was postponed to a later date, possibly September 2017. Watch out for the official announcement soon.

My friends & I all have valid/expired Japan & South Korea tourist visas so we only needed an entry permit to enter Taiwan. To be fair, the application process & the approval of the entry permit took us less than 5 minutes. Make sure to bring your valid / expired visas + the printed entry permit with you during your trip.

Accommodation

Taipei has a wide range of accommodation choices; from affordable & top-rated hostels, simple & beautiful guesthouses, modern-themed boutique hotels to the luxurious branded hotels. Just like every trip, I searched & read through different platforms where is the best place to stay in the city.

We decided to stay in Hostelworld‘s 4th Best Large Hostel for 2016 – Star Hostel Taipei Main Station. Going by the name, the hostel is located a few minutes walk from the Taipei Main Station & also to Taipei’s central bus terminal. The hostel has both private & dormitory rooms. Since we are traveling on budget plus we don’t mind sharing the room with other travelers, we each got a dormitory bed for NTD 620 a night.

My dormitory bed for 2 nights

Each bed includes a comfortable bed & pillow with sheets (plus comforter), curtains for privacy, a reading light & plug & access to a fast Wi-Fi. Each guest is given an electronic locker & a security key card (no need for padlocks). All rooms are air-conditioned & fitted really well. Common shower areas & toilets are clean & well-maintained. Luggage storage is free before check in & after check out (before 11:00 pm).

Taiwanese burger, hard-boiled egg, fruits & a cup of milk tea for breakfast!

Free breakfast is offered to all guests. Breakfast set differs per day; but it always has fruits & eggs plus coffee (or tea), toast with butter & jam. Guests also have access to a common kitchen & spacious lounge areas.

Star Hostel Taipei Main Stations spacious common area 😍

The hostel rates in Taipei are very close to that of rates in Japan & South Korea. Yes, it may be a little expensive than the hostel rates here in Southeast Asia, but you definitely get more than you pay for. For someone who has stayed in a number of hostels around Southeast & East Asia, the rates of Star Hostel Taipei Main Station are reasonable & super affordable. Make sure to check this hostel when you’re flying to Taipei soon. They are fully booked most of the time; make sure to secure your dormitory bed early.

Things To Book Before Leaving The Philippines

Have you ever heard of Klook? It is a website that offers discounted travel activities & itineraries, attraction tickets, airport transfers & pocket Wi-Fi rentals in major tourist destinations all over the world. We decided to avail some offers prior to our trip to Taipei.

List of pre-trip bookings we made with Klook.

Pocket Wi-Fi

We got out pocket Wi-Fi for only ₱91 per day, a total of ₱273 for 3 days. Pick-up & drop off was super fast & easy. You just need to present your voucher (either printed or via the mobile application) & your passport to the attendant & you will be given your pocket Wi-Fi package.

Jiufen & Shifen Bus Tour

We initially thought of getting the Yehliu Geopark – Shifen – Jiufen Tourist Bus (costs a little over ₱1,000 per person) but we ran out of slots on our preferred date; we opted to get the Shifen & Jiufen Tourist Bus worth ₱763 each. The pick-up & drop-offs were on time. The guide spoke very basic English, but he could still understand us. The bus seats were comfortable. We were given enough time to explore & walk around the Shifen Old Street & Jiufen.

Taipei 101 Observatory Tickets

Observatory tickets cost a little over ₱1,000 each if you buy them in the ticket counters. Klook offers the admission ticket at a discounted price; we got ours for ₱846 each. Ticket redemption is as easy as 1, 2 & 3. You just need to show your voucher (either printed or via the mobile application) to the attendant at the ticket counter.

It doesn’t end there, Klook offers promo codes on top of these discounted rates. We saved ₱500+ each because of a promo code that only valid at the time of booking. Make sure to look for Klook promo codes before booking your next activity & attraction ticket.

Places Visited

I’ve been to most of these places way back in 2015 so I won’t talk about them anymore; instead I will show more photos of these beautiful places. There will be minor details about the places I’ve been to for the first time.

Taipei 101

Outside Taipei 101, on a hot cloudy day. ☁

Taipei City Hall Public Square

The Taipei City Hall Public Square is located at the back of Taipei 101. You will pass by this square if you decide to walk from Taipei 101 to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. The square is located in front of the City Hall Building.

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

My friend, Shiela & her rainbow flag outside the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall was built in memory of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Republic of China. The hall shows the life & achievements of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The nearest train station is the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall Station on the Blue Line.

National Theater

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

Trivia: This iconic gate of the Liberty Square & Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall is called Dahzongmen.

Liberty Square

228 Peace Park

Located a few minutes walk from the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, the 228 Peace Park is a memorial park dedicated to the victims of the February 28, 1947 massacre in Taiwan where thousands of people were killed during an uprising. The park can also be accessed by going down the National Taiwan University Hospital Station of the Tamsui Line (Red Line).

Shilin Night Market

Crowded market on a Sunday late afternoon

Shilin Night Market is Taipei’s biggest & most famous night market. We went here for street food. Yes, the market has so many kinds of street food to try – from stinky tofu, oyster mee sua, oyster omelette, pork knuckles to fried milk, xiao long bao & flame grilled steak cubes. Make sure to go there with an empty stomach, you’ll definitely eat a lot.

One of the hundreds (if not thousands) of stalls in Shilin Night Market

The Shilin Night Market can be accessed via Jintian & Shilin Stations of the Tamsui (Red Line).

Ximending

Shifen Old Street

Flying lanterns & people taking photos

View from the local Shifen Station

Jiufen

Came across this small restaurant in Jiufen which serves 8 pieces of really good xiao long bao for only NTD 120. I finished 2 servings! 🐷🐷🐷

Vibrant colors of Jiufen 😍

Tour Me Away Pub Crawl*

Tour Me Away is one of the well-recommended Taipei ‘things-to-do’ in TripAdvisor. This organization is a group of adventure-seeking & easy-going Taiwanese locals who want to meet people & show their beautiful city to visitors. They offer various walking tours & activities, depending on your interest.

Pub Crawl group! Thanks to Rona for the photo. 🤳

My friends & I took their Saturday night pub crawl activity. For only NTD 700, we had different kinds of drinks (Taiwanese beer, gauliang & the 81-shot roulette) in 3 different bars. We also met a bunch of amazing people whom we spent the night (& early morning until around 3:30 am) with. The pub crawl fee also includes a free entry to Triangle, a bar / club in Zhongshan District. It was a fun fun night!

Check out the TourMeAway website for all available tours during your trip to Taipei. You’ll definitely enjoy it!

*We went home from the Pub Crawl minutes before 4:00 am & decided to stay in the hostel common area until around 5:00 in the morning. We were so tired we woke up super late that morning. We were supposed to go to Yehliu Geopark; but we thought sleep was far more important that those rock formations. I promise to go back to Taiwan for the Yehliu Geopark day trip!

Trip Agenda

One of the reasons why I flew to Taipei was to try my luck in buying the new HTC U11 smartphone. I’ve been an HTC user for some years now & it’s been a while since I changed my phone. I thought the HTC U11 will be a great upgrade from the HTC One M8.

My new phone!!!! 📱😍

I bought my new phone in the HTC store in Guanghua Digital Plaza. The 6 GB RAM x 128 GB Blue variant cost me NTD 21,990 or ₱36,856.85 (amount reflected in my credit card statement) minus ₱1,488.14 tax refund = ₱35,368.71. For a phone with such high end specs + super big memory, the price is super worth it.

Breakdown of Expenses

Curious how much I spent for this trip? Let’s have a look below (doesn’t include the phone). Note that we exchanged a few NTD here before we left. Exchange rate that time was NTD 1 = ₱1.85.

Note: We set a daily budget of NTD 1,000 for lunch & dinner plus transportation, possible entrance fees & beers. This daily budget was just right; we even had some extra dollars in our pockets at the end of each day.

Thoughts: Spending less than ₱15,000 for a 3-day overseas trip (airfare included) is such a great deal. We visited a number of beautiful places, stayed in a high-rated hostel, drank enough dose of alcohol, walked around while having a constant Wi-Fi connection for such a low cost. Taipei isn’t as expensive as you think. If given the chance, I would add a little more in the budget & stay for a few more days.

This basically sums up my recent Taipei trip. It was nice to go back & explore this beautiful city for the 2nd time. I’ve been to the city both during summer or ‘almost’ summer; so for the next trip, I want to check it out during winter season. I wonder when would that be?

Have you been to Taipei recently? What do you think of the city? Were there other places I need to put in my list when I go back for the 3rd time? Feel free to post your suggestions in the comments below. You can also send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. Drop me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

Curious how I book these super duper low fare tickets? I’ve just shared by secret. Head over to this post (and this post too) to know more.

PS. Most of the photos were taken using my HTC Re & HTC U11.

Throwback Thursday Treat: Temple Hopping In Siem Reap

For the past few months, I took you to my previous trips in Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei (flying there again tomorrow!), El Nido (twice) & Koh Lipe, Thailand. I’ve been to relatively a lot of places already but I am a bit struggling with the details so I am doing it one at a time.

This Thursday, I’ll take you to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is not the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia (Phnom Penh is) but it is definitely the most famous tourist destination in the country. It is the gateway to Angkor, the seat of the Khmer Kingdom during the 9th-15th centuries. This place caters to all kinds of travelers all year-round – from the backpackers to the luxury vacation goers. The city is more than just ruins & temples, it also boasts super nice & accommodating locals & very rich history & culture.

With Majo, my Siem Reap buddy, in Bakong Temple (1 hr drive from the center)

Last 16-22 February 2015, Majo & I were fortunate to visit this beautiful place for 5 days & 5 nights. We got our round-trip tickets for ₱4,469.50 in one of Cebu Pacific Air‘s low fare sale. We’ve been to a lot (when I say a lot, I mean, that’s about 15 of them) of temples during the trip. I will give more details about the trip below.

Accommodation

Majo & I treated this trip as sort of a relaxing one so we chose a decent & well-reviewed accommodation. We stayed in The Siem Reap Hostel. It is located about 10 minutes walk from the Pub Street. It is located a few meters walk from Hard Rock Cafe Siem Reap. The hostel has both dormitory & private ensuite rooms. [Update – The Siem Reap Hostel has ceased operations.]

Our room for 5 nights in Siem Reap!

We got the private room for 2/3 people. It features 2 spacious beds, private balcony, shower & toilet & a cable television. We paid $30 per night. The rate also includes free airport pick-up, free Wi-Fi access & buffet breakfast for 2. Buffet choices include bread, jam, coffee, tea, milk & fresh fruits. Breakfast is not included for guests staying in dormitory rooms. The guest can pay only $2 to avail the buffet.

The hostel has an on-site restaurant with delicious & reasonably-priced food. They have one of the best chicken rice, pad thai & lok lak I’ve tasted in my whole trip. It also has a bar where they have the 50-cents draft beer during happy hour. It has a spacious common area & a swimming pool on the ground floor, billiards area & cinema room on the 2nd floor & the yoga area on the 3rd floor. Guests are also allowed to use the computers on the ground floor for research & booking tickets / accommodations for upcoming trips.

Hostel’s bar & restaurant beside the swimming pool

The hostel also has a tour desk where guests can inquire about day trips they can take. If you are looking for friends to share tuktuk for the temple tours, you can just write your name & room number on the board & meet them in the lobby the following day for your tour.

What I really like about this hostel is they give back part of the proceeds to the local Khmer community. They help a group of tuktuk drivers by offering fixed-rate temple tours with these drivers readily available outside the hostel. Note that they give the tour fee drivers & they don’t get anything from it. They also help a local Khmer village by giving them livelihood. One staff told me that the hostel pays for their school & their English classes.

With Quentin, a French solo traveler we met in the waterfall tour. He joined us the following day for the Angkor Wat Sunrise / Small Circuit Tour.

I would highly recommend everyone to stay in The Siem Reap Hostel. It’s not just a hostel, it’s a hostel that helps the local Khmers. For updated room rates, check out this link.

Currency

US Dollars ($) are widely accepted all over Siem Reap, or shall I say all over Cambodia. The conversion rate at the time of writing is $1 = KHR 4,075.64. Make sure your US Dollars are new & crispy; some locals do not accept dilapidated notes. Locals normally use their local currency for small changes like 50 cents.

Temple Pass

Each tourist is required to purchase a temple pass for your to gain access to each temple. During our visit, a day pass costs $20, a 3-day pass costs $40 & a 7-day access costs $60. As of 1 February 2017, the government decided to raise the rates of these temple passes. The new rates as are as follows: $37 for 1 day, $62 for 3 days & $72 for 7 days. Expensive, eh?

Our 3-day temple pass worth $40 that time~

Note that these temple passes are non-transferable because it has your photo in it. You don’t need to use the pass for 3 or 7 consecutive days. The pass is valid for 30 days after your first use. Since we were there for 5 full days, Majo & I decided to get the 3-day temple pass worth $40.

Temple Tours & Places To Visit

As mentioned earlier, The Siem Reap Hostel offered temple tours through the group of tuktuk drivers they help. The rates & temples included in every tour are posted on the board at the ground floor at the back of the restaurant / bar area. Majo & I decided to take the following day tours

Note: These temple tours do not include meals. You can either bring your own food or ask the driver to stop by a restaurant along the way. Make sure to bring a big bottle of water, a cap / umbrella & a towel because it can be really hot during the day.

Grand / Big Circuit ($15)

Preah Khan

Neak Pean

Ta Som

East Mebon

Pre Rup

Small Circuit / Angkor Wat Sunrise ($15)

Angkor Wat was the seat of the Khmer Empire. It is considered as the world’s largest religious complex & is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bayon Temple is the central temple of Angkor Thom. It is also known as the temple with smiling Buddha.

Baphuon Temple

Ta Prohm is the famous location used in the movie Tomb Raider.

Banteay Srei, Banteay Samre & Rolous Group ($20)

Banteay Srei & Banteay Samre | Banteay Srei is a temple dedicated to Shiva; a temple made of red sandstone.

Bakong Temple

Lolei  was under renovation when visited the temple grounds.

Preah Ko

Phnom Kulen Waterfall Tour ($32)

Visited the reclining Buddha on top of a hill.

The place where the Buddha is located.

Phnom Kulen Waterfall with the tour group turned good friends. The waterfall is located 2 hours & a few minutes hike from the Siem Reap center.

Another photo of the waterfall – this time without the people 😂

We also went to The River of a Thousand Lingas (no photo). It is a series of sand stone carvings in river beds & banks. It is located in the slopes of Phnom Kulen.

Pub Street & Siem Reap Night Market

Pub Street with the gang! Crazy fun night 🍺

If you are into restaurants & bars, then Pub Street in Siem Reap downtown is the place to be. The place is characterized by affordable to a-bit expensive restaurants (for dinner) & bars (for drinks). This is also where you’ll find most of the backpackers & tourists who are up for some fun night life. Majo & I (plus our new-found friends) went here for a few nights to have dinner & drinks (plus some crazy partying). The parties in the bars extend up to the streets at late night. Good times!

On our last night, Majo & I went to Siem Reap’s night market to buy some goodies for our families & friends here. The night market is a few blocks from the Pub Street. The prices of items were somewhat expensive – touristy I guess.

Majo & I were unable to go to most of the places in downtown (museums, halls, etc) because we concentrated on exploring the temples in Angkor & the nearby towns. It believe it was alright, the temples were really beautiful. Siem Reap is a place one should not miss! 🇰🇭

Pre Rup sunset 😍

Have you been to Siem Reap in the past? What was your favorite temple? Anything or place I missed that you want to suggest to the other readers? Feel free to comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

Thank you for reading & have a great day ahead. 😎

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC One M8 & HTC Re.

CORON – Paradise Beyond Words

A month ago, during the Labor Day long weekend, I flew to Busuanga, Palawan for a quick trip with my backpack, phone, wallet & HTC Re camera. Fine, I went all by myself. I spent 4 days & 3 nights in a paradise called Coron.

View from my airplane seat minutes before landing in Busuanga Airport

I’ve been to Palawan a few times – Puerto Princesa (November 2012), El Nido (March 2014, August 2014 & August 2016) & Port Barton (March 2017) – but I’ve never been to Coron. My friends kept on telling me to visit this beautiful place, but I could not find affordable plane tickets to the island. I don’t know the reason why airfare to Busuanga is always expensive, most of the time more expensive than a round-trip ticket to a nearby international destination.

I was lucky to find a good airfare deal to Busuanga (USU) last February (about 2 months before the trip) so I didn’t hesitate to book it. I will elaborate more on the trip details – ticket, accommodation & tours – below.

Ticket

My super duper cheap plane ticket to Coron!

The good deal I mentioned earlier was using my GetGo Points, Cebu Pacific Air’s lifestyle rewards program. I got my Manila-Busuanga-Manila ticket for 10,140 GetGo points & ₱1,068.12 worth of taxes & airline fees. I know that’s quite a lot of points, but I don’t have anything to use it for anyway so I grabbed the chance. For everyone’s information, the regular round-trip ticket (same flights) costs around ₱13,500+ at the time of booking. I was able to save more than ₱12,000 by using my points. Great deal, right?

Tip: Head over to this post (& this post too) on how you can increase your chances of getting low fare tickets like I did for this Coron trip.

Accommodation

As mentioned in a recent blog post, I’ve been staying in accommodations with dormitory rooms & nice communal areas. I’ve read around different booking & review sites & found Seahorse Guesthouse as the best option.

Seahorse Guesthouse’ reception area

I booked with Agoda & got my 3-night stay for only ₱1,773.13. Rate is a few hundreds cheaper than that on the website (₱750 per night as per the website). I stayed in an air-conditioned dormitory room for 4 people. Each room has its own shower & toilet area. Each guest is given a spacious & a comfy bed with pillow & sheets, reading light & a locker with a padlock (included). For such an affordable price, guests are also given free breakfast (choice between American breakfast & Filipino breakfasts – tocino / corned beef with rice, egg & banana + coffee / tea).

My spacious bed for 3 nights

The hostel has a communal lounge area (also the breakfast area) at the rooftop where you can meet & talk to other travellers. It is also the best place to use the guesthouse’s free Wi-Fi access. Don’t expect the Wi-Fi to work well in your rooms; the facility’s Wi-Fi only depends on the mobile network & not through a wired connection. My favorite perk of being a guest at Seahose Guesthouse is the water refill dispensers in the reception & rooftop areas. You can refill as many times as you can.

4th floor common lounge & breakfast area

The hostel has nice & helpful staff. They arranged my airport transfers (₱150 per way), helped me book my island tours & gave recommendations on which restaurants to have dinner. Shoutout to Lindon & Mark for answering my questions & for helping me when the tour agency messed up with my booked island tour (more details below).

Went to the nearby gelato shop with the people I met in the dorm & island tour

I recommend everyone going to Coron to stay in Seahorse Guesthouse. This accommodation is located in Coron town, a few minutes walk to the public market, wharf, banks, stores & restaurants – pretty much close to everything. You get more than what you pay for! Make sure to book your stay early as they are usually fully-booked.

Day Tours

I only had a few days in Coron & I want to explore / visit as much as I can. First / arrival day is usually allotted for the Coron Town Tour, which will visit the Coron Public Market, Lualhati Park, San Agustin Church, Cashew Farm, Mount Tapyas View Deck & Maquinit Hot Spring. The tour costs ₱700 & it includes all fees & transfers. I sort-of got lazy after check-in & decided to skip this tour. Instead, I walked to & went up Mount Tapyas at around 5:00 in the afternoon also to watch the sunset. Entrance to the view deck is free.

Sunset from Mount Tapyas view deck

Just like El Nido, Coron also has Tours A-D. Each tour has around 4 or 5 stops with a rate of ₱800 to a little over ₱1,000 per tour (lunch included). I only had 2 days for island tours so I decided to pay a higher price to visit more islands / beaches. Locals say Calamian Islands Travel & Tours is the biggest & the best tour agency in town. I booked the 2 island tours with them through the hostel – the Coron Ultimate Island Tour (7 destinations for ₱1,600) & the Island Escapade Tour (3 islands for ₱1,700). The escapade tour is more expensive that the island tour because the 3 islands are about 1.5-2 hours boat ride away from Coron town.

The clearest waters of Coron, Palawan 😍

The initial plan was to take the Island Escapade Tour first & the Ultimate Island Tour the following day, but the agency messed up with some of the bookings. Pick-up for the escapade tour was supposed to be 7:30 am & I waited until 9:00 am. Mark (from the hostel) accompanied me to the agency office & we found out the boat left without me. DISASTER! The agency confirmed they got my booking but, the van driver & tour guide forgot to pick me up from the hostel. I was offered to join the other group of guests (also with booking problems) for the ultimate island tour; I said yes not to waste the day I have in Coron. We were given a speed boat for the tour. The snorkeling gears were given for free (usually for rent at ₱150).

Coron Ultimate Island Tour

Kayangan Lake

Beach 91 – the place where we had lunch

Skeleton Wreck

On the way to Twin Lagoon (no photo inside the Twin Lagoon, sorry!)

Snorkeling at Siete Picados

On our way back to Coron Town

Island Escapade Tour

On our way to the islands~

Malcapuya Island – stunningly beautiful!

Banana Island – the place where we had lunch

Bulog Dos

Verdict: I enjoyed the escapade tour over the ultimate island tour. The latter was jam packed with tourists; maybe because it was a long weekend in the Philippines. The ultimate tour was full of activities like snorkeling, swimming, hiking, etc. while the escapade tour was a little laid-back & relaxing – just sitting in the lying down in the sand, a little of swimming & snorkeling. For me, Kayangan Lake, Siete Picados & Beach 91 were the highlights of the ultimate tour. On the other hand, Malcapuya Island was the best island / beach I’ve been to in Coron – its beauty was beyond words.

Can’t get enough Malcapuya Island’s beauty

This pretty much sums up my 4-day weekend trip in Coron. If only I had more days to spare, I could’ve tried the Reefs & Wrecks Tour as well as the Calauit Safari Tour. I should’ve also rented a scooter to drive up to the inhabited beaches of Busuanga Island. I guess these activities will definitely be the reason to go back to Coron in the future.

Expenses

Beautiful islands, lagoons & beaches. Coron is truly a paradise! 😍

Curious how much I spent for the entire trip? Here’s a breakdown of my expenses.

Thoughts: ₱8,476.25. I believe I spent just the right amount of money for a 4-day trip. The airfare was definitely a bargain; the accommodation was a good deal. It provided everything a guest needs. The tours were a bit expensive, but I think it was all good. The islands & beaches were amazing, one of the best places I’ve been to.

If you haven’t been to Coron, make sure to go there in the next few months / years before it gets super duper busy & crowded. It’s another trip for the books & I couldn’t wait to visit again!

I will definitely visit this paradise again! 😍

HELP! Recent news say that Nickelodeon (Viacom International Media Networks) & Coral World Park Undersea Resorts Inc. are planning to develop an underwater theme park in Coron. Please help stop this plan. Coron is NOT Bikini Bottom. Show your support by signing in this petition created by environmentalist Anna Oposa. I am not in any way related to the organization, but I share the same sentiments & I believe it’s worth-sharing.

Malcapuya Island – Beauty beyond words! 😍

Have you been to Coron? What was your favorite lagoon or island? Are you planning to fly there soon? Do you have any questions about the town or the islands? Feel free to comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

Happy weekend! 😎

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC Re.

Going Solo in Japan Series: FUKUOKA

After spending 3 days in Nagoya, 2 days in Hiroshima, 5 days in Kyoto & Osaka (including 2 separate day tours in Nara & Kobe), I took a 9.5-hour overnight bus ride to Fukuoka Prefecture’s capital city, Fukuoka.

Fukuoka is Kyushu Island’s most famous & populated city. This port city is Japan’s gateway & also the closest hub to mainland Asia. Just like any other Japanese city, it is characterized by developed infrastructure, modern transportation system & helpful & accommodating people. The city is also famous for beautiful cherry blossom sightings every spring season.

Beautiful sunny day in Ōhori Park 😍

I didn’t know about Fukuoka until I was searching for an affordable flight back to Manila. The city is not as famous as Tokyo & Osaka in the Philippine tourism market, but it’s definitely starting to gain attention in the past months. I spent the last 3 days of my 13-day Japan journey here. I will give more details below of how my stay went.

Trivia: Fukuoka is the birth place of tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen. It is also where my favorite Ichiran Ramen originated.

Accommodation

Just like my previous hostels for this trip, I stayed in Hana Hostel Group‘s local branch, Fukuoka Hana Hostel. The hostel is centrally located within the Nakasu-Kawabata Shopping Arcade. It is a 2-3 minute walk to the famous Canal City, 5 minutes walk to Nakasu-Kawabata subway station & about 15 minutes walk to Tenjin’s shopping area. The airport is 4 stops away (about 10 minutes ride) from the nearest subway station. Fukuoka’s main train station, JR Hakata Station, is 1 train stop away or about 15 minutes walk.

I stayed in a 3-bed male dormitory room with private shower & en-suite. Just like any other Hana Hostel branch, each bed includes its own reading light, pillow & sheets, curtains, curtains (for privacy), universal plug & a storage box (plus free Wi-Fi). I paid ¥2,800 per night (¥5,600 for 2 nights). It’s one of the cheapest rates I’ve seen during my stay. For those who do not want to stay in a dormitory room, they also have private rooms with affordable rates.

The staff were super nice & accommodating. They speak good English & they are always ready to help. The hostel stored my luggage before check in & after check out for free. It also has a spacious common area on the ground floor where you can meet other travelers. It also has a kitchen where guests can prepare their own food. I will definitely stay here again when I go back to Fukuoka.

Torii gates in Kushida Shrine grounds 😍

Tip: Fukuoka Hana Hostel accepts bookings up to 3 months before your desired stay. Make sure to book early as they as usually fully booked.

Going Around Fukuoka

Going around the city is easy. The subway system is not as confusing as that of Tokyo’s & Osaka’s. Fukuoka has only 3 subway lines – Kuko Line, Nanakuma Line & Hakozaki Line. Kuko Line is the main city line which starts in Fukuoka Airport Station, passes by Hakata, Nakasu-Kawabata, Tenjin, Ohorikoen, Nishijin up to Meinohama Station. Nanakuma Line starts in Tenjin-Minami Station & services up to Hashimoto Station while Hakozaki Station starts in Nakasu-Kawabata Station & ends in Kaizouka.

Saw this amazing view when I stepped out of Daizafu Station 😍

The city also has JR Lines connected to these subway stations making it possible to connect to nearby cities & towns. By the way, these subway & JR lines also accept IC cards. You can also go around the city by bus (one thing I didn’t try because I’m fond of subways).

Places to visit in Fukuoka

Fukuoka may not have a long list of places to visit but it definitely has some unique places to see. Let me tell you which places I went to in my short 3-day stay.

Ōhori Park

Ōhori Park’s famous pavilion in the middle of the lake

Locally known as Ōhori-kōen, Ōhori Park is Fukuoka’s most famous park located in the center of the city. It features a large pond with a walking path around it & in the middle. The park is an ideal place for strolling, jogging & relaxing. Entrance to the park is free.

You can also find Fukuoka Art Museum a meters walk from Ōhori Park. However, the museum is closed for renovation & won’t be open until March 2019. Later I found out that the Fukuoka Castle Ruins / Maizuru Park were only a few meters away from the park. Unfortunately, I missed out visiting this place.

Access: Ohorikoen Station

Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome

Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome from the outside

Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome is the home of the locally famous Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks baseball team. The stadium can accommodate close to 40,000 spectators & is the world’s largest geodesic dome. It is also one of the popular places where local & international artists hold their concerts.

Access: 15 minutes walk from Tojinmachi & Nishijin Stations

Momochihama Seaside Park

This is a 1 kilometer stretch of man-made beach in the Seaside Momochi Waterfront. It is located a few meters walk from Fukuoka Tower. The beach was empty when I went there because it was almost winter & it’s too cold for people to swim.

Empty Momochi Beach on a cold but sunny autumn (almost winter) day

Access: 15 minutes walk from Tojinmachi & Nishijin Stations

Fukuoka Tower

View of Fukuoka Tower from the Seaside Momochi Waterfront 🗼

Fukuoka Tower is the city’s tallest building, also Japan’s tallest seaside building. It stands 234 m high & is located by the Momochihama Beach. Entrance to the building’s observatory costs ¥800. They offer 20% discount to foreigners who will show their passports.

Access: 15 minutes walk from Tojinmachi & Nishijin Stations

Robosquare

Robosqaure is robot showroom located a few meters walk from Fukuoka Tower. It is a place where you can interact & play with robots. I met a few interesting robots acts like humans. I also met a very cute dog robot who knows how to react for every hand gesture you make. There is also a shop where you can purchase & take home these robots.

One of the many robots you can play with in Robosquare 🤖

The showroom is located in the 2nd floor of the TV Nishi Nippon Building. Admission is free. As someone from the Philippines, I really enjoyed interacting / playing with the robots. It’s a must visit for kids & kids-at-heart.

Access: 15 minutes walk from Tojinmachi & Nishijin Stations

Tenjin

Dubbed as Fukuoka’s downtown, Tenjin is the city’s shopping, dining & entertainment hub. This is the place to go to if you want to shop for new clothes, dine in fancy restaurants, drink in bars & party in clubs.

Bake Cheese Tart is a must-try! 😋

Aside from the upscale department stores & shopping malls, it also has an underground shopping area which connects 2 subway stations & various buildings. This place is called Tenjin Chikagai. I think this underground shopping strip is a must-see place in Fukuoka. This is also where I found Bake Cheese Tart, the famous cheese tart chain that originated in Hokkaido.

Access: Tenjin & Tenjin-Minami Stations

Canal City – Hakata

A not-so-busy street of Fukuoka on my way to Canal City

Canal City is a large shopping & entertainment complex in Hakata. Characterized by more than 200 shops & restaurants, the 5 storey structure has a canal running through the complex premises. It also has 2 hotels in it.

What I found interesting in this shopping complex is Ramen Stadium on its fifth floor. This place has more or less 8 ramen restaurants coming from different places in Japan. If you’re a person who’s into ramen, then you should visit Canal City, particularly the ramen stadium.

Access: 10 minutes walk from Nakasu-Kawabata Station & 15 minutes walk from Hakata Station

Yatai

Yatai is a small mobile food stall found in random streets in Japan. These stalls are set up late afternoon / early evening & are packed up usually after midnight. These mobile restaurants serve almost all kinds of food – from ramen, to hotpots & grilled skewers. They also serve sake & alcholic drinks.

Post-drink snack in a yatai with YS, a friend I met in the hostel 🍢

These stalls are scattered all over Fukuoka, but you can find most of them in Nakasu Area. I went to one of these stalls with YS, the friend I met in the hostel for almost midnight snack. The food we had was really good!

Tōchō-ji Temple

Beautiful colors outside Tōchō-ji Temple🍂

The Tōchō-ji Temple is one of the central attractions in Hakata, Fukuoka. It is the Buddhist temple that houses the great statue called Fukuoka Daibutsu. This 10 m sitting Buddha wooden statue was carved for a few years.

Cameras were not allowed inside the hall so I was not able to take a photo of it. The status was really huge; it’s definitely a must-see when in Hakata & Fukuoka.

Access: 2 minutes walk from Gion Station

Kushida Shrine

Fukuoka’s famous Kushida Shrine ⛩️

Kushida Shrine is a Shinto Shrine located in Hakata Ward. Every July, a big festival called Hakata Gion Yamakasa, is celebrated. All the events & activities held at the festival is centered on this shrine.

Access: 5 minutes walk from Nakasu-Kawabata & Gion Stations

Dazaifu Tenman-gū Shrine

Entrance to the main shrine ⛩️

Dazaifu Tenman-gū Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, an important figure during the Heian Period. The shrine was built over Michizane’s grave. There are other structures & places located in the area; that includes the Dazaifu Tenman-gū Museum, Kanko Historical Museum & the Kyushu National Museum.

Entrance to the shrine grounds is free; but the museums charge a few yens.

Crowded Dazaifu Tenman-gū main shrine ⛩️

Access: From Tenjin Station, take the Nishitetsu-Tenjin-Omuta Line train towards Nishitetsu-Yanagawa. Get off at Nishitetsu-Futsukaichi Station & transfer to the Nishitetsu-Dazaifu Line towards Dazaifu. From Dazaifu Station, head right. Follow the crowd & walk for 5-7 minutes to the shrine.

Aaannd this concludes the Going Solo in Japan Series. It’s definitely a trip for the books – solo travelling at its finest. If you haven’t read the previous blogs in this series, just check the following posts: Nagoya, Hiroshima, Kyoto & Osaka & Nara & Kobe. I also blogged about how I managed to overcome the ₱50,000 x 13 days & 7 cities challenge for this trip. Flying to Japan soon? I’ve also blogged about my previous trip to Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka & I made a 4-step guide on how to apply for your Japan tourist visa.

One last photo about Fukuoka! Empty Momochi beach 🏖️ 

Japan will always be one of my favorite countries. I have visited the country for 2 years in a row & I am looking forward to my third, fourth & upcoming visits. It’s a country I won’t get tired of coming back. 💗

Is there something you want to know more about Fukuoka or anything you want to ask about the places mentioned above? Is there topic / content you want to see in this blog in the future? Feel free to comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

Arigatou gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) 🇯🇵 😃

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC Re & HTC One M8.

Throwback Thursday Treat: 2014 Birthday in El Nido Photoblog

About a month ago, I showed you how my first El Nido trip in 2014 went. My friends & I visited paradise for 4 days & 3 nights – enjoyed the sunset in Las Cabanas, swam in different beaches & lagoons, visited different caves & coves & relaxed in the beautiful & quiet islands in Bacuit Bay.

I had so much fun in El Nido that time up to the point I decided to spend my birthday there. August 2014, I flew to Puerto Princesa with my friend Julie, then took a 5-hour trip to El Nido. We went to Nacpan Beach on our first day, then took Tour A (Lagoons & Beaches) again the following day & Tour B (Caves & Coves) again on our third day.

We stayed in Casa Cecilia & I asked them to arrange all our tours & transfers. I will not talk much in this post (because everything was almost the same as that of the first El Nido trip) but I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Enjoy the photos! 😎

Flying over Metro Manila ✈️

Stopover in Roxas, Palawan

Hello El Nido! 😍

Our first time in Nacpan Beach! 😍

More of Nacpan Beach! We loved how deserted this place when we were there.

El Nido Bay in the morning – before Tour A

Seven Commando Beach – we were the only tour group in the beach that time

The world-famous Big Lagoon in Miniloc Island 😍

Inside Big Lagoon. Such a beautiful place 😍

With my travel buddy / companion – Julie

Perfect weather during my birthday 😍

With our new friend Dianne who also celebrated her birthday that day! 😎

Tour B – Snake Island

View from the other side of Snake Island

Para-paradise 😍 Definitely my favorite island!

Can’t get enough of Pinagbuyutan Island 😍

Goodbye El Nido! Thanks for the fun birthday weekend. 😍

After 2 visits, El Nido easily became one of top 3 places I’ve been to. The beaches & islands are really beautiful. The town is just small but simple & laid back. The people are super duper nice. I’m glad that the place is getting so much attention now but I hope the locals do their best to preserve the cleanliness & the beauty of the place.

Have you been to El Nido? How did you find the town, the beaches & the islands? Is it a place which you’ll recommend to your friends? Do you want to know something about El Nido? Make sure to leave a comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC One M8.