The Big Apple On A Not So Big Budget - Touchdown

After all the preparations, it's time to BE in New York City! Arriving past 5PM at JFK, we booked a Lyft to our AirBnB. Now I usually book Uber in the US but Lyft was having a 5 dollar off promo for my first 3 rides so Lyft it is!

at JFK Airport

But even with the promo, the ride cost us USD72.19 or roughly Php3,700 for a more than an hour trip to West 37th Street.

The Big Apple On A Not So Big Budget

Show of hands who doesn't want to go to New York?! Yeah, I thought so. An opportunity to see the sights and sounds of the city that you only see in movies and tv shows does not come very often, if at all. So when the company I work with rewarded us with a trip to LA and San Francisco, my wife and I didn't hesitate to fly to New York for an extended trip!

The City That Never Sleeps (view from Top of the Rock)

Travelling to the US is very expensive by Philippine standards! Like a Big Mac meal which is less than Php200 here is around Php500 in the US! Planning would be crucial to cut on costs. First on the list is the flight from San Francisco to New York.

There are a lot of flights from SFO to NY to choose from. But thanks to the ThankYou Rewards website of Citibank, we were able to check which flights we can get using my credit card miles. We got the Delta 412 flight leaving SFO 8:40AM and arriving at JFK 5:15PM. While we got this flight for free using miles, checking the Delta App on my phone shows a USD214.20 per person receipt. That's Php21,000 savings! There are cheaper flights but these are the flights that are scheduled in the wee hours of the night.

HTC One V: One Very bad experience Part III

Just when I thought that all my troubles about my HTC One V are over, my phone died again. It died on me just 26 days after it was "fixed" by the service center.

I didn't have the time to visit the "service" center so I asked someone to drop off my phone for me. This time I wasn't issued a service phone which infuriated me since I have to look for another phone while they try to revive my dead phone. Instead of enjoying the low price of the HTC One V, I actually spent more, transportation to and from the service center plus another phone.

HTC One V: One Very bad experience Part II

Outside the HTC Service Center

After dropping off my dead HTC One V at the HTC service center, I was informed that I would receive a text message telling me if my phone is fixed and ready for pick-up. I waited a week and called them only to be told their still fixing the phone. A week after I called them again expecting another line from the call center agent telling me my phone's not yet fixed but to my surprise, he told me my phone is fixed and is ready to be picked-up. Wait, where's my notification?

It took them 12 days to fix my phone and they had to replace the mainboard of the phone. Which means what now? I'm just relieved that I got my phone back, the one I paid for brand new just to die in less than a week.

HTC One V: One Very bad experience

I'm well too aware of the limitations of my Samsung Galaxy Y. It's a great entry phone but after saving a few bucks, I felt the need to upgrade. I've been searching the net, looking for a sub 15k smartphone that packs a punch. The first phone that caught my attention was the Samsung Galaxy Ace. But after reading some negative comments, I turned my attention to its latest version, the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus. Again, negative reviews. I looked to other brands and finally, one phone that's sexy enough to tickle my fancy, the HTC One V. Little did I know that this curved-chin looker would be such a tease.

and I'm still waiting

The looks, the specs, the ice cream sandwich android version, and of course the price point were my buying points. Recently launched mid last month, I had to wait a couple of weeks for the One V to pop up on outlet shelves. When it did, I immediately purchased but was immediately turned off. The phone had no "factory charge" and I had to stand there waiting for the phone to power on. I got bored so I cancelled the transaction. Only after an hour that we realized, my sister left her sim card inside the phone. We went back to the shop and the One V was now booting up. I resumed the transaction but was again disappointed after finding some adhesive stuff just below the screen. The shop didn't have extra stocks and asked me to return the next day only to find out they don't have new stocks yet.

CoRon and Irene (Mt. Tapyas)

After a rich historical tour of Culion, it was time to come back to reality and head back to Coron town. The 7AM schedule of the public ferry was too early for us that we had to skip breakfast. After the one hour and a half ferry ride, we reached the Coron pier and took a tricycle to reach Islands View Inn to have them arrange for us our transfer to Busuanga Airport later that afternoon.

With a few hours more to spare, we had brunch at Binalot tong Daon. We had difficulty reaching the place since it's located far from view, behind the commercial complex at the baywalk, but with a few questions from locals, we were able to find the place (at the back of Caffe Camo near Lualhati Park). I'm always a sucker for everything binalot (as with most filipinos) and their Lechon Kawali is a must-try.

Binalot tong Daon's Lechon Kawali

CoRon and Irene (Isla Culion)

Sunrise at Culion

I'm a history buff. Lucky for me, Irene shares the same passion for old stuff as me. She suggested we visit Culion Island, a more than an hour ferry ride from Coron and is a former leper colony. I haven't really researched anything about Culion prior to our trip aside from how to get there and where to stay. It has so much history that I'm surprised it was only recently that I found out it existed.

Corong Galeri and other tour operators offer trips to Culion Island for around Php1,150/pax. We chose to go to Culion by ourselves and that means taking the public ferry which leaves Coron Port at around 1-2PM everyday. Our extra time in the morning while waiting for the ferry was spent exploring the town and looking for a cheap place to eat. Enter Trining Bacsa.

Though a bit pricier than carinderias in Manila, Trining Bacsa was a welcome development for us having overspent on our dinners for 2 nights. I ordered their Nilagang Baka while Irene ordered Menudo. Together with 2 cups of rice and 2 bottles of Coke, our total bill was Php170. Their Menudo is the typical homemade Menudo while the Nilagang Baka has a hint of beef stew and is quite good. Trining Bacsa is located at Don Pedro street, near the public market. On the same street is Jackie's restaurant which I heard is also good and cheap.

CoRon and Irene (Island Tour and Maquinit Hot Springs)

With an 8:30AM call time for our Coron Island Tour care of Corong Galeri, we got up early and had a quick breakfast at our hotel. Though blocked by another building in front, Islands View Inn still offers a great view. The hotel is currently expanding and the construction suggests that upon completion, they will have a better view of the islands. Their breakfast is not bad for Php150 with choices of Tapa, Longganisa, Lamayo (Danggit) which comes with rice and fried egg plus drinks (choice of coffee and/or bottomless orange juice or iced tea). Irene recommends the Lamayo.

Though we booked our tour a day earlier, we forgot to reserve for a pair of snorkeling gears. After paying Php650/pax for the Tour B-1, our guide had to look elsewhere for available snorkeling gears for rent. We ended up paying Php150 each for the gears, Php50 more than if we had reserved for them at Corong Galeri.

Tour B-1 or Coron Island Ulitmate Tour offers 6 Destinations: Kayangan Lake, Twin Peaks Reef, Twin Lagoons, CYC Island, Atwayan Beach & Coral Gardens. At Php650 each, the tour already includes Entrance fees, Picnic Lunch with fruits and drinks.

CoRon and Irene

How often can you find a place with your name on it then go there and have one of the best experiences of your life? Not that much I presume, or not at all. Coron, in the province of Palawan, is one of the best places in the Philippines to enjoy the summer.

Spend your days in Coron with a loved one and it becomes a paradise. Spend it with a loved one without much wallet action then it becomes heaven on earth.

Our Do-It-Yourself Coron trip was my gift to Irene for our second year together. The trip was jumpstarted way back last October with Cebupacific's promo fare costing us only Php838.88 each for our roundtrip ticket to Busuanga. By the time March 2012 came, we were ready to enjoy the quiet little town of Coron, on a budget of course.