Family Fun: GUAM, USA

Guam, USA

I haven’t written in a while as I’ve been busy with school and work.  As writing goes and as any writer knows, there are times that you just can’t write and at other times you must write.  This is one of those times that my brain just wants to write something.  So here it goes.

We recently had our yearly out of the country family vacation.  For this year, we decided to go to Guam, USA.  For those who don’t know, it’s a small island in the Pacific Ocean that is a US territory.  It’s about a four-hour flight from Manila.  We got our plane tickets quite cheap as Cebu Pacific had one of those sales.  It was about P3000+ each person back and forth.  Plus taxes and everything it came to about P5000+.  Please do note we purchased these tickets one year in advance and planning for the trip took a few months too.  Remember, a good and fun family trip always needs to be planned.  Otherwise you’ll run into tricky situations and it’ll be a disaster.

Also, Guam has a large Filipino presence so don’t be surprised if you run into a lot of locals who speak Tagalog.

Anyways, things you should consider for this trip:

1.       Rent a car.  It’s a must.  For a 7 day stay it cost us $273 for the whole week.  Plus $33 for a full tank of gas.  That’s about P15,000 only and you get to see the entire island of Guam on your own time.  There are several car rental places you can check out but the most affordable one I found was Ace Car Rental services.  They have a website so you can check them out.

2.       Make sure you have lots of $ for shopping, souvenirs, and of course food.

3.       If you’re travelling with children, make sure you bring your own car seat.  Unless you don’t want the hassle and have the $ to pay for the daily charge of renting a car seat.

4.       Swimming attire and water shoes.

After weeks of scouring and looking at hotels we settled on staying at the Hotel Santa Fe.  It’s a locally managed hotel and was quite affordable.  It’s a bit old, room décor was a bit odd, but location wise was great.  It was facing the sunset, had a pool, and was right next to the beach.  Not good for swimming but the view of the sunset was great.

Another great thing about the location was that it was right next to Shirley’s.  It’s a US diner type of restaurant with great food.  You should try the Chamorro sausages.  Bit spicy but quite tasty.  They also have a drink called Chamorro Punch.  Well, it’s basically Hawaiian Punch rebranded, same great taste though.

Driving on Guam

Man!  Driving on Guam was really fun!  I mean,  here in Manila I rarely get to drive because it’s way easier to just hail an Uber or Grab car.  There’s a bit of traffic on the main road but it’s nowhere near Manila traffic so it was fine. 

By driving your own car you can get around the whole island by yourself on your own time.  Nothing better than driving your own car to the beach.  You can probably get around the whole island in a day too.  Driving from the hotel to the very south of the island took about one hour.

Do note that on Guam, there are no street signs.  Or you will rarely see any street signs.  Now this frustrated the hell out of me because I never knew where I was because I’m old school and rely on physical markers and maps.  I had a GPS/map app on my phone but for some reason it didn’t work all the time and maps weren’t updated.  But it was useful so you should get one if you’re really bad with directions.  After driving for a day or two I finally figured out that from Marine Drive you can get to anywhere on the island.  And the fact that I’ve memorized most of the tourist spots and how to get there by looking at the maps and markers.

I had to Google why there was a lack of street signs.  Apparently, it was due to heavy typhoons always knocking around the street signs and breaking them.  Was easier and cheaper to not replace them anymore.

Downside to driving?  One night, while we were driving home to the hotel I could see a cop car way in the distance getting behind us.  And I was thinking, “I hope those lights don’t start flashing.”  And lo and behold!  The sirens go off and the lights flash!  My wife had a panic attack.  Frankly speaking so did I because I was pretty sure I didn’t do anything wrong.  So my wife looks at me and I look at her, and we were like, are we getting pulled over?  The lights keep flashing, cop car still behind us not moving past us so we figured we were being pulled over.  I moved to the side to get ready to talk to the police officer only for the car to zoom past us.  Crisis averted but wife still angry at me.  Go figure.

Places to Visit

Now, I’m just going to list some of the places we visited since I’m travelling with my family.  We didn’t visit hard to reach places since it wasn’t feasible with a pregnant wife and 5 year old.  So the places I will list below will be family friendly.  There are plenty of other beaches on Guam, other places to visit, but below are the family friendly places we visited.  (It’s also budget friendly, so places below have no entrance fees or have minimal entrance fees.)

The Beaches:

Ypao Beach:  A public beach and park with lots of parking space.  From the hotel it was an 8 minute drive and the beach had fine white sand.  Perfect for the family to sunbathe and get wet.  I would suggest the area further from the big hotel as it has less rocks

Inarajan Pools:  Not really a beach but a natural pool.  Great for kids to just kinda bathe in and for you to snorkel.  It’s a bit of a drive to the south of the island.  About an hour drive.

Ritidian Point:  A super nice beach with fine white sand.  A definite must visit.  It’s a bit of an adventure getting there (about a 2-hour drive) on semi-rough, unpaved roads.  It’s a government controlled area so you must leave before 4pm or they lock the gates.  You’ll also be driving next to a security fence for a while.  But the adventure of getting there and seeing the beach is all worth it.  My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the beach.  It was clean and the water was a crystal blue.

Go Shopping and eating:

You must visit all the malls.  Small and large.  It’s a small island so you’ll have plenty of time visiting all the malls.  The food courts also have all the affordable food so if you’re on a tight budget, the mall is the place to go.

The malls are also a short drive away only.  Go ahead and visit the Micronesia Mall, Tumon Sands Plaza, and Guam Premier Outlets.  Either way, if you’re going to the tourist spots, you’ll drive by a mall so might as well visit them too.

Go visit ROSS -  It’s one of those big discount stores with really cheap stuff.  I was able to buy shoes for $20 that are probably going to cost me P4000 in Manila.

Go visit Chuck E. Cheese on Guam.  I know, I know.  But if you have kids this is the place to go.  It’s kinda like TimeZone with pizza.  You can have pizza while the kids play.  It was actually quite fun.  If you don’t want to eat and just want to play, the cheapest package was $10 and you get a bunch of tokens for the games.

Two Lover’s Point – It’s near Micronesia mall.  So you can visit the mall, have lunch.  And after drive to this area.  It has a great view of the ocean.  It was a bit hard to find because of a small sign but the drive there was nice.  You can either go to the viewing area and pay $3+ or go to the restaurant and pay $3+ for a coffee and get the same great view.  I would suggest the restaurant since you get the same view and get coffee/juice to boot.

Chamorro Village -  They have a bunch of small caterers here so you can try out all the local Chamorro food.  They also have the Wednesday night market with locals dancing and souvenir shops all over the place.  Be prepared to go early if you want to visit the night market since parking is hard to find.  Worth a visit if you’re into culture and want some good chow.

Guam Pacific War Museum – It’s a very small private collection of WWII memorabilia.  It has an entrance fee/donation of $3 each if I remember correctly.  Small kids get in for free.  It’s worth it if you like history and the island has lots of history.

The Plaza -  Well, I listed it here again because I’m not sure what the area is really called.  But it’s the area with all the fancy hotels and shopping malls on the Pale San Vitores Road.  It’s a tourist spot but worth a visit especially at night.  It’s the fancy place to be at on Guam.

Places to eat:

Wendy’s – I know!  We have Wendy’s here in the Philippines.  But Wendy’s Philippines doesn’t even come close to the real Wendy’s in the USA.  Try the burgers as they are juicy and large.  Not the bricks of “meat” we have here.  And it’s only around $7+ for a set meal.

Applebee’s – Again, I know.  We have it here in the Philippines.  But yet again, it’s not the same and the menu is way better.  My wife had a lemon chicken thing that she also had here in Manila but she said the one on Guam was way better.   Remember, free softdrink refills.  Drink until you burst.

Panda Express – LOL.  Guilty pleasure.  Man, that orange chicken and fried rice combo is so good.

Jamaican Grill Tumon – Sit outside for the view.  Street view but you could glimpse the beach far way and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  The food was tasty and service was great.

PROA – The one near Ypao Beach.  It’s a small place with lots of tourists.  Worth a visit.  It’s a bit expensive and for dinner and lunch there is a waiting list but good.

So these are just a few things you can actually do on Guam.  There are a lot of other places to visit like the submarine ride and other war museums etc.  But with a minimal amount of cash and time, these are places you can consider on your own trip to Guam.

I have more pictures stashed away but I think Guam should be experienced and this is just a taste of island life.  And as you can tell I have a lot of food pictures posted. LOL.  

If you have any questions on budget, hotels, etc, please do feel free to send me a message.

Enjoy life and keep travelling!

Taking the IELTS in Manila

So here's the procedure and what to expect when taking the IELTS exam here in Manila.  Although I know that I already speak English fluently, we as Filipino's still have to take it regardless.  For things such as work and migration to different English speaking countries etc.  It's a reality we have to face and it's a somewhat costly one.

So the big question is: How much is it?

It's P9, 400 if taken with the British Council Philippines.  You can find their website here:  https://www.britishcouncil.ph/.  Their main office is located in Ortigas near that infamous BPI Julia Vargas Branch.

Are there cheaper options for the IELTS?  I personally didn’t find any other testing centers that where cheaper.  But I did find one that was more expensive at around P10, 000.

If you have other questions such as what to study, how to study etc., that information you can find online.  There's plenty of review material for you to take.  Generally Google and YouTube will be your best friend for this.

So the first step is to realize that you need to take this exam.  Then, go to their website and sign up.  Fill out some personal information and make sure your name is spelled correctly and that the government ID you provide has the same name with signature.  And make sure that your ID is valid as you will need to bring this exact same ID with you to the testing center.  If you lose this ID or it becomes invalid before you take the exam you will need to either reschedule your exam or you may not be able to take your exam at all.

Please note that there are several different IELTS versions, so you'll need to know which one you need to take before applying.  If you take the wrong one your results might not be recognized by the school/country/work you're applying to.

If you're going to the UK for work/immigration there is a separate exam so please read up on the website.  For the rest, such as for immigration to Australia, UK, and Canada you have two options:

General Exam

Academic Exam

Generally speaking if you want to immigrate: take the General Exam.  But if you want to go to school/take up a master’s degree or such:  take the Academic Exam.  If in doubt, check with the requirements.

What's the difference?  Not too much of a difference between the two exams really.  The speaking and listening part are the same.  The main difference is in the writing and reading part.  For the Academic exam it is more science oriented since that type of English is what you're most likely be encountering in school.

So if you want it a bit easier, take the General Exam if you can.

When you sign up for the exam make sure you’re on the right website because the website can be a bit confusing.  They will show you a bunch of dates and times you can take the exam on.  But there’s a tiny link on the top that shows you what type of exam it is for.  Make sure it’s for General or Academic, whichever you need before choosing a time.  You can then proceed to payment.  It’s cash or credit card.  There’s even an option for PayPal if I remember correctly.

After paying you will need to wait for the email confirmation.  About a week before the exam they will email you the final venue for the exam.

Exam Parts

1.       Listening

2.       Reading

3.       Writing

4.       Speaking

These are the four parts that you will be tested on.  Personally, I found the listening part to always be the hardest part of the exam because they make you listen to a lot of stuff and you have to quickly pick up some information.  That would even be hard for native speakers.

Exam Venue

The speaking exam is usually held at their main office in Ortigas.  They will send you an email with the confirmation.  As for the rest, the venues are usually at hotels such as the Heritage Hotel on Roxas Blvd corner Edsa.

Be there at least 30 minutes before the time.  Because your exam will be forfeited if you arrive late and bye bye P9, 400.

You also need to be there before the exam time because there’s a security process that needs to be followed.  Since they need to maintain the credibility of the test security is of utmost importance.  They will check your name, your ID, they will take your picture, and fingerprints.  Once inside the exam venue and the exam starts you will no longer be allowed to leave.  So go to the bathroom beforehand.  Cheating will definitely get you immediately kicked out so do not try it.

Results

Results will be released 13 days after the exam date.  You can check your results online.  You can either pick up the hard copy at their Ortigas office or have it sent by mail.  On average you want to aim for a 7.0 or higher.

Hope this helps you out.

Suzhou Dimsum Mandaluyong

Anybody who knows me even for a short period of time understands that I LOVE food.  And I love to eat.  So that means I explore a lot of the places were one can find food.  Since I spend most of my time at work and in and around Manila I have to find places that interest my palate.

So I get most of my leads through my Facebook timeline (I know sad) but sometimes I get a tip from friends and family that this resto is good etc so on and so on.  And the other day someone talked about Suzhou Dimsum Mandaluyong.  Naturally I had to go check it out.  One, it's in Mandaluyong, and second, I heard that they had a great Xiao Long Bao.

This Chinese restaurant has been around for a while, practically over 10 years and is a family run business like most Chinese restaurants are.  This particular branch is located in Mandaluyong but there are other branches near you.

This branch is a bit out of the way but that doesn't stop regulars from going there.  When we arrived there were a few people there and that's already a good indicator that the food is worth it.  If there are regulars - it means the food is good enough to return to.

We immediately got our hands on the Xiao Long Bao (P135 - 4pcs).  And good thing we did because this one is really worth it.  If you're familiar with the one restaurant in Megamall that offers this same dish you won't be disappointed with this one from Suzhou.  It's a fraction of the cost and that means more Xiao Long Bao for us!  Yehey!

Xiao Long Bao

And in true family fashion the wife ordered dessert immediately.  She got the Fried Banana Nuggets (P140).  They taste like, well, Banana, fried outside, soft and tasty on the inside.

Fried Banana Nuggets

The next dish that was served was the Kuchay & Pork Dumpling (P195).  Yet again, a worthy dish to be eaten.  Just dip it into the vinegar sauce and you're all good.

And another worthy dish to add to any meal are not even meat dishes.  They are tofu!  Tasty and healthy so that's always a great combination.  Tofu with Century Egg & Pork Flakes (P220) and Salt & Pepper Fried Tofu (P135).

For a complete meal syempre, dapat meron rice and beef.  Steamed beef in Garlic (P360) & Pork and Vegetable Fried Rice (P180).  These two go great together as the rice has a mild taste while the beef dish has a very strong garlic and beef taste.  Put together they make a team.

 And when the wife wasn't looking I snuck in some more dishes.  Pancake with Spring Onions (P130), Special Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup (P255).  And the veggie dish I believe is called Suzhou-style Vegetable (P220).

I guess by this time you're saying that wow, they've eaten a lot but that's normal for my family.  We added another dish: Stir Fried Noodle Beef (P220).

At this point we were quite full already.  So I decided to check out the place.  The restaurant does some local deliveries if you're craving Chinese Food.  And they also do some catering and special events.  The restaurant offers two rooms that can be rented for special events.  Each room can take an estimated 30 persons each.

Room 1

Room 2

I try to keep my blog short and sweet but it's hard to do when you have plenty to write about.  Suzhou Dimsum has plenty to offer and I'm quite glad I got to visit and experience their food.  For now, I'll let the pictures do the talking and entice you to a good meal at Sizhou Dimsum.

Kodanda Archery at MOA

For those coming from Cavite do I have great news for you!  Kodanda Archery indoor range has opened up another branch!  This would be their third branch and just like the previous branches this one has a great location. The new branch is at the MOA Annex in Pasay, which is just a short walk away from the Mall of Asia itself.  So that is great news for those who want to try out archery and right after you can relax at the mall.

We had a bit of a hard time finding the range but that was due to the building being renovated by SMDC.  We didn't see an external sign that there is an archery range so we asked one of the guards. Turns out that the archery range is inside the building on the ground floor.  It's right beside the parking area so you'll have plenty of parking if you're taking your car with you.

At first we didn't know that we were walking in the right direction.  You have to walk into a dark corridor into the parking area and turn right.  Once you turn right you see that the archery range is right there.

Kodanda MOA

The great thing about Kodanda is that they always have friendly staff willing to answer all of your questions.  That is a big plus for any business.  Their staff is well trained and will help you put on your gear if this is your first time to try archery.

Adjusting my sights.

Kodanda staff providing archery instruction.

Kodanda MOA is fully airconditioned and has a 12 lane shooting range.  That is so far the largest of the 3 branches.  They have brand new equipment for your use.  You get professional archery instruction and use of equipment for a mere P580 only.

12 lanes

Recurve bows for your use.

If you've always wanted to try archery, now is the right time.  This branch is open from 10am to 10pm daily.  For reservations and inquiries you may contact the following numbers:  0943-627-9748 or 02-805-8858.   If this branch is too far from you, you may opt for their other two branches which are located at the Makati Cinema Square and at the Metrostar Mall on Aguirre Avenue.

My Beef with Grab and Uber

I love the service that Grab and Uber provides.  Ever since they started operations I never had to take public transpo again going home from the mall or whenever the family needs to do something that necessitates travel.  Previous to their service we had to wait in line for 1 to 2 hours before being able to board an FX going home.  Now, within 5 minutes I can hail a car and get home.

I was contemplating purchasing a car a few years ago but that changed when Grab and Uber came along.  That’s because it’s more convenient for me to just pull out my phone than drive and find parking on my own.  Also, with Manila traffic I’d rather just sit back, relax, and spend time with my daughter in the car.  With me not driving I can pay attention to her instead.  I also don’t have to pull out cash to pay for my fare.

And an additional plus to being driven around is the fact that I get to ride in all manners of cars!  So far it’s been mostly Toyota’s and Mitsubishi’s but there is the occasional Chevy, Ford, Suzuki, and other cars.  I would have never experienced riding in these cars if it weren’t for Grab and Uber.  Too bad I missed that time when James Deakin was driving around with a Lambo.

But with all the good also comes the bad.  Below is a list of the things I have noticed with their services.

1.       No seatbelts.  I feel so uncomfortable when I get into a car without seatbelts.  I usually ride in the back and around 70% of the cars I ride in do not have seatbelts!  I mean they do have them but are hidden beneath the car seat covers.  Not cool.

2.       Rush hour traffic.  With Uber it’s ok because you can get a car pretty much anytime even during rush hour.  But be prepared to pay.  But that’s how it works and I’m cool with that.  But with Grab, that’s a whole different story.  With Grab I have NEVER been able to book a car during rush hour.  Last time I tried I got 3 cancellations in a row before I switched to Uber and got a car right away.  One cancelled, the other asked me to cancel, and the third made up a story that he forgot his license at home.  It’s virtually impossible to get a car with Grab during rush hour even if you’re willing to pay the extra pesos.

3.       Grab and Uber are being infiltrated with the same rude behavior of taxi drivers.  I suppose it’s because taxi drivers are now driving for Grab and Uber.  The same attitude is what they bring along.  From asking for additional money, to the obvious taking you for a longer ride.  

4.       Grab customer service is ridiculously slow.  I mean really slow.  It takes them like 3-4 days to reply to any issues.  Last time it took them over 1 week to provide credit for P200 when a driver accepted my fare then tagged it as completed without picking me up.  Compare it to Uber who reply within an hour or two.

5.       Uber is not driver/worker friendly (anymore).  I have talked to countless drivers and they all say that it’s no longer viable to work for Uber.  They have pretty much cut off all good incentives and/or have set ridiculously hard to achieve parameters for incentives.  When incentives were good, drivers earned a living wage.  And me as a customer, I was always able to get a ride at anytime of the day near my home.  But now cars have disappeared and it takes more than 10-15 minutes (sometimes even up to 40 minutes) to hail a ride now from my house.

6.       Drivers are generally in a somber or dismal mood.  Must be because of the lower incentives and longer driving/working hours to make up for the lower amount earned.  You can really feel that negative energy unlike when Uber/Grab was starting.

So those are some of my current observations.  I’m pretty sure I had some more but I can’t think of them right now.  But even with these issues I would chose Grab and Uber over public transpo anytime of the day.  It’s convenient, safe, fast, and affordable.  The only way I would stop using their services is if Manila would get a modern commuter train system like in Singapore and Hong Kong.  And we all know that’ll take years to accomplish.  So Grab and Uber, you have my business for a few more years to come just please address above issues.

For the Food Lovers: www.cookening.com

So this is going to be a very short blog.  But it's about food so if you're reading this or following my blog you know I LOVE food. I'm not even sure I have readers haha...but anyways if you love food you might want to take a look at this website: www.cookening.com.

What is it?

Well, in a nutshell it's the AirBnB or Uber of food!  The basic concept is the same as these two.  There are a lot of people all over the world who love to cook and are good at but don't own a restaurant for various reasons such as they really suck at business or don't really care about the business side of cooking.  They are just passionate about cooking and want to share this talent with others.

Now, isn't that a great idea?  You can pretty much go anywhere in the World and look for a place to eat at!  People will invite you into their homes and share their life, homes and stories.

This is really fun and great if you love meeting new people.

This isn't really big yet in Asia but it's really big in Europe such as the UK.  But this might change pretty fast once people find out about this.  I mean Uber and AirBnB pretty much came out of nowhere and blindsided people.  And people love food so this is probably going to be a contender in the next few years.

I tried searching for Manila and I already found one place in Cavite that is offering their home to food lovers for about P900.  Might be worth a try the next time I go to Cavite. Or maybe I can ask my grandmother to come out of retirement and cook? LOL.

Enjoy and rejoice for all the food lovers out there!

True Beauty: Batanes, Philippines

I've been sitting on this blog post for about 2-3 months now. I've been quite busy with work, class, and just being an all around dad and husband.  But now, that I've been sick for a bit due to the flu and I have some free time to write this. :)

Anyways, the wife and I have always wanted to go to Batanes.  The beautiful scenery and awesome feedback from friends and family who've been there has peaked our interest.  And what better way to help our tourism industry by touring our own country right?

So it happened one day that we were up and about before midnight and a notification popped up on my Facebook page that SkyJet was having a sale.  Since it was just a few minutes away I decided to check it out.  And OMG!  The first dates I checked for a Batanes trip coughed up a P88 one way trip.  Thinking it was a website error I tried it again.  And yet again it came up with the same price.  Curious, I decided to book it for a date in August of 2015 and voila!  A total of around P580 for the round trip fare to Batanes per person!  Can you believe the luck!?

On average a regular ticket to Batanes costs around P8000 pesos per person on a good day, but to get it for only P580 is a real steal!  So you can't imagine our excitement!

SkyJet, Basco, Batanes Airport

Next, we booked a hotel for our Batanes adventure and the wife has specific requirements.  It has to have its own bathroom.  No sharing. So that pretty much eliminated most of the hostels on Batanes and we went for the Batanes Seaside Lodge.  The Seaside Lodge was a bit more on the expensive side but since we got our tickets fairly cheap we didn't mind spending a bit more on the accommodations.  It's also near Basco town proper  and you could take a stroll whenever you need to.  The Batanes Seaside Lodge is a lovely place to stay at, is right next to the beach, and the rooms are clean and quite large.  Although the hotel is right next to the beach there wasn't a real access to the beach.  Which I found really strange because the beach was quite clean and nice to take a dip in.

Room

Front of Hotel

View from Balcony

View from front of the hotel

One thing about Batanes that hits you right away is the quiet.  I mean we are so used to the hustle and bustle of Manila and its traffic that it is somewhat unnerving to find a place in the Philippines that is so quiet.  The only thing I could really hear where the waves lapping onto the beach.  After a few minutes of that I was pretty much on vacation mode already.

We opted for a 4 day 3 night vacation on Batanes and it was a bit tiring but all worth it.  I would suggest at least 5 days so that you can relax a bit more.  There are plenty of things to do on Batanes but the main things are:

• North Tour
• South Tour
• Sabtang Island Tour
• Itbayat Island Tour

Now, depending on your budget you can opt for the packaged tours from the hotel or you can just hire any of the local tricycle drivers to drive you around.  The hotel can recommend plenty of drivers or you can make a quick Google search of the local drivers.  If you opt for the packaged tours be ready to pay big moola.  It doesn't come cheap.  If you're on a budget and more of the adventurous type I'd go for the tricycle tour.  For one, you get to "really" see the island and it's way cheaper.  Since we were there for only 4 days we got to take 3 tours while we were there.  The first three on the above list.  The North tour cost around P800, while the south tour was around P1200.  The Sabtang Island tour was around P400 for the tric to the pier (one way) then about P75 for the boat ride to the island.  The tour itself was around P800.

Now, I don't want to go spoiling everything by giving it all away in this blog.  All I want you to understand is that if you want peace and quiet, go to Batanes and experience it.  It's nothing like you've ever experienced.  It's one of those places that you can go to, watch the sunset, and think about what life means and what the universe means.   It's that deep.  Another thing is, don't forget your camera, because you'll have plenty of things to take pictures of, a lot of history, and a lot of landscapes. Let the pictures below make the statement for me:  Visit Batanes.