Owner: the backpack boy URL:http://thebackpackboy.com Join Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:46:30 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: People know me more as a Technology Specialist or Evangelist than as a traveller or a (frustrated) photographer. This site serves as my alter ego and is a travelog for my personal experiences and insights of my trips and explorations. Site statistics:Click here
The World of Happiness - Dream World 2008-06-13 12:01:53 Dream World
is an amusement theme park located in Patumthani, an hour away from Bangkok. For this adventure we just called the reservations and opted for the special package that costed us around 1,000 THB per person inclusive of round-trip transportation from Bangkok, entrance ticket to the park, entrance to Snow Town and buffet lunch. Not bad because it will be less hassle this way!We were picke Read more:Dream
Wan Fah Dinner Cruise 2008-06-12 18:50:05 November 25, 2007 - after a series of bargains and flea market shopping, my mom, Julie and I went to a Wan Fah DinnerCruise
to celebrate the birthday of my mom. We were led into a pier behind outside River City where we boarded the boat for the cruise.This is how the Wan Fah Dinner Cruise boat looks like. It is open-air, traditional looking and not as big those of other dinner cruise ships along
Loy Krathong Festival 2008-06-11 18:05:52 After coming back to our hotel from a city tour in Bangkok, we were invited by a hotel staff to come, together with the other hotel guests, to their sister hotel for a celebration of Loy Krathong. Loy literally means "to float" and krathong, a raft or floating object usually ornamented with flowers and a candle. For our version of the celebration which is usually held in a river or a public water Read more:Festival
Birthday Celebration in Crystal Grill 2008-06-11 07:04:39 Going around Bangkok, you wouldn't miss this tall building that is visible from most part of the city in clear skies. That skyscraper is actually the Baiyoke Sky Hotel.November 23, 2007 - it was Julie's birthday, and we prepared a special surprise for her by celebrating it in CrystalGrill
, located in the top floor (82nd) of Baiyoke Sky Hotel.The dinner was buffet-style of grilled and seafood meal Read more:Birthday
A Tour of Bangkok 2008-06-10 19:29:37 We had a trip to Bangkok
late November 2007. It also doubled as a birthday celebration of my mom and Julie.Our flight was delayed for a couple of hours and we arrived mid-afternoon at the new Bangkok International Airport (Suvarnhabumi Airport) which is back then only a little more than a year old.The airport is a bit far from Bangkok City. It is located in Samut Prakan Province and can be 30 minu
Santacruzan parade in Alitagtag, Batangas 2008-06-10 09:59:28 Chester and his family invited me to his hometown in Alitagtag, Batangas to watch a Santacruzan parade. The religious parade, usually held at the last day of May each year, is a novena procession that re-enacts the finding of the cross of St. Helena in Cavalry 300 years after death of Jesus Christ.It was an event well-prepared and led by the community. People from all walks of life and of differen
Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa 2008-06-10 08:56:13 Shangri-La Mactan Resort
and Spa is a luxurious resort located in the island of Mactan in Cebu, Philippines. I went here last November 2007 for a regional summit of a business group in our office.So this is my room located in Ocean Wing, a Premier Garden View room.Right outside my balcony is a view of the garden and a little further away is the sea.What I like in this hotel is they serve mangoes i
SM Science Discovery Center 2008-06-09 20:16:00 SM ScienceDiscoveryCenter
is an interactive science museum similar to Petrosains that delivers information and facts about science in an entertaining and innovative way.The center is located in SM Mall of Asia, one of the biggest malls in the world.Tickets are sold for about 330 PHP and as holders of Banco de Oro cards, we received a discount of 30 PHP per ticket. The place is composed of a numb
Inside Petrosains 2008-06-09 18:49:00 Petrosains is a museum and a science discovery center of some sort that showcases scientific studies related to petroleum and energy in a way that is fun and exciting and that kids will understand them. Owned by Petronas, a leading oil and gas company in Malaysia, it showcases a history of oil and gas in Malaysia and presents things from humble beginning to what it is now to audiences of both kids
Dinner in Aziza 2008-06-08 10:19:21 Aziza is located in Archbishop Reyes Ave. cor Bauhunia Drive in Banilad, Cebu City, Philippines.What I can distinctively remember from this dinner is that we had inside the wine cellar of Aziza not exactly in the dining area. This was an auxilliary event to the summit where we took out the guidest for dinner and the place was closed for us.The group I am with during the dinner. It was a fun talkin Read more:Dinner
, Aziza
Dinner at Abaca Restaurant 2008-06-07 23:51:56 Abaca Restaurant is a classy Mediterranean-inspired restaurant located at the island of Mactan in Cebu, Philippines and is adjacent to Abaca Boutique Resort.Upon entering the restaurant, you will be led into a beautiful garden walk showcasing some local and foreign cultural artifacts. The restaurant is very cozy. It is an open air restaurant and the breeze from the nearby sea makes the look and fe Read more:Dinner
The Manor Hotel, Camp John Hay 2008-06-07 23:51:18 The ManorHotel
in Camp John Hay, Baguio City is my most favorite hotel in the city. I've stayed in a number of accomodations in Baguio City, which happens to be my most favorite city in the Philippines, and this hotel still remains to be my top choice.The hotel is located in a hilly and greeny spot inside Camp John Hay. From the entrance, to the fireplace in the lobby, down to the check-in counte
Lunch at Mexicali 2008-06-07 09:57:15 Mexicali is a small Mexican cuisine style restaurant in Glorietta. Jojo, Eugene and I had lunch here a couple of days ago. It serves all sorts of Mexican food like burritos, tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, etc. with matching chilli, salsa and chips. The ambience is just okay. I'm not really sure what to expect if it is a fast food restaurant or a bit classy because the ambience is a bit queer. Th Read more:Lunch
Pasig River Ferry Cruise 2008-06-03 19:58:30 Out of curiousity, my mom, Julie and I went to try out the ferry service in Pasig River
one Sunday morning of August 2007. The ride is considered the "fastest link" to travel from east to west of Metro Manila (and vice-versa).So we started our trip by going to Guadalupe Station.There was a 25 PHP one-way fare promo every weekend because it is usually the off-peak days because most offices do not h Read more:Cruise
Lunch at Pepper Lunch 2008-06-03 19:58:30 Jojo is celebrating today so he treated us for lunch in Power Plant Mall at Rockwell Center. He brought us to this popular do-it-yourself fastfood steak house in Japan called PepperLunch
.There were lots of items to choose from and as a steak and grilled meat lover myself, it made me drool on every item on the menu. At the end I chose Hitokuchi Cut Steak. The ambience of the place is not so Japane
Trying out Church's Chicken 2008-06-03 19:58:30 After watching 2008 World Pyro Olympics exhibition of Venezuela and Italy, Chester and I were already hungry and was looking for a place to eat. Every known fast food and restaurants were full because thousands who watched the exhibition were out to do the same. Chester suggested that we try Church
's Chicken
and see if their chicken here tastes the same as those stores in North America region.I've
2008 World Pyro Olympics - Venezuela and Italy 2008-06-03 19:58:30 Chester and I watched the 2008 World
Pyro Olympics
at Esplanade, right at the back of SM Mall of Asia.General Admission tickets were sold for 150 PHP. Notice the date in my ticket even though it was May 24 when we watched. Tonight's show was supposed to happen lat May 17, 2008 but it was postponed due to inclement weather as per advise of Philippine Coast Guard.It was drizzling when we came. Like Read more:Venezuela
, Italy
A taste of Suka Pinakurat 2008-06-03 19:58:30 Suka Pinakurat is a variety of vinegar which is actually a fermented coconut sap originating from Iligan City. Fondly called as a derivation of "sukang tuba", the vinegar is not really sour but more of spicy and chilli. According to the site, Pinakurat is a traditional Iliganon dish made from wild boar meat “sulop” cooked only by a flame-shut pot of boiling coco vinegar, chilies, and spices. T Read more:taste
Exploring Kuala Lumpur 2008-06-02 19:45:30 Day 6 in Kuala Lumpur. By this time, Julie and I have been in Kuala Lumpur for almost a week and for Jairus and my mom, it's their 2nd day. We brought them around in places we've mostly been to (majority of which is in the city center locally called as the Golden Triangle). We also took them to Suria KLCC for shopping and up the Petronas Twin Towers Skybridge for the experience.Right after lunch w Read more:Exploring
A day trip in Genting Highlands 2008-06-02 06:18:15 An hour past midnight of the day after Tech·Ed SEA 2007 ended, my mom and eldest brother Jairus joined me and Julie on our trip in Kuala Lumpur. Because they just came from a long flight and a lengthy travel they slept after a few greetings to prepare for the next day's trip.We woke up early next day to take a bus from KL Sentral Station going to Genting Highlands
resort. Located above Titiwangsa
Going up the Petronas Twin Towers Skybridge 2008-06-02 06:15:33 At the last day of Tech·Ed SEA 2007, we went to the Petronas
Skybridge, a bridge connecting Towers
1 and 2 of the Petronas Twin Towers.The entrance is located at the basement. The entrance is free but because of it's fame, a lot of tourists flock here to go up to the skybridge. They begin distributing tickets by 8:00am and if you're lucky to get some, they usually are post-timed later that day an Read more:Going
MVP Dinner and Appreciation Party in Bossa Nova 2008-06-02 06:15:12 On the 3rd night of Tech·Ed SEA 2007, there was an appreciation dinner and party where MVPs, Microsoft folks and the conference speakers were invited. It was done in Bossa
Nova, a Brazillian restaurant serving food fresh from the grill. The restaurant was in the ground floor of Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur hotel near Bukit Bintang.It was a very nice place. Seems to me though that this place is an upsca Read more:Dinner
, Party
My Tech·Ed SEA 2007 experience 2008-06-02 06:12:48 I attended Tech·Ed SEA 2007 last September 10-13, 2007. It was not a company sponsored event and me and my peers had to shell out for this trip but it was well worth it. Aside from the knowledge we absorbed from the ingenius minds of the speakers in the conference, we went there for the experience
of mingling with other technical folks like us and to feel how an international conference goes. Thi
A quick visit to Ocean Park Hong Kong 2008-05-29 09:36:19 I've written in my previous blog post that fresh from Hong Kong
Disneyland Resort, we went back to our hostel via MTR to drop our bags and took a cab going to Ocean
Park Hong Kong. This blog post is the last of a 3-part installment of our experience in Hong Kong. My blog post about our overall trip to Hong Kong can be read here and our visit
to Hong Kong Disneyland here.It was already past 2pm whe
Travelling abroad? Keep additional copies of your passport! 2008-05-26 16:13:01 While watching a news program back when I was in Boston last March 2008, there was a story that flashed about a student left alone in Italy because she lost her passport in the back of a taxi cab. While it was a shocker to know that the accompanying teacher just gave money to the student to go to the embassy and left her in a foreign country by herself, what stuck on my mind was the moral of the s Read more:Travelling
Pre-show Dinner at The Tivoli 2008-06-15 03:20:30 We bought tickets for the Calypso Cabaret show. So after our trip to Dream World, we went to Asia Hotel Bangkok to watch the show but we had dinner first in The Tivoli
.It was an international buffet of Japanese, Italian, French and Thai food. Food was good but what I like about their buffet menu is the ability to choose raw meat and have it cooked according to your preference similar to a shabu-sh Read more:Dinner
The Calypso Cabaret Show 2008-06-15 13:27:01 Looking for something different to do in Bangkok, we booked ourselves for the Calypso
Cabaret show on our last night in the city. The show theater is located in Asia Hotel Bangkok.Tickets were sold for about 1,250 THB, inclusive of a buffet dinner at The Tivoli.The theater is not that big. Maximum capacity must be 300+ only.So this is our table. Seats are numbered so when you purchase tickets you
Lunch at Isdaan 2008-06-17 14:50:14 On our way to Pangasinan for a vacation last November 2007, we passed by Isdaan, a theme restaurant in Gerona, Tarlac for lunch.The restaurant grounds is full of big statues influenced by Southeast Asian culture. The restaurant have these "kubos" or nipa huts with large tables. This is where friends or families sit down to order and eat. The huts are literally floating above the fish pens. Whi Read more:Lunch
Fathers' Day Dinner at Jatujak 2008-06-16 16:02:00 Last Sunday was Fathers
' Day so we took out our dad for a dinner. The whole family went to Jatujak in SM Megamall or the treat. Some of us have eaten here before and like them I recommend this restaurant for a taste of an authentic Thai food and delicacies.The restaurant is a bit small and can hardly fit more than 20 inside.There were a couple of tables outside and because the restaurant was alrea Read more:Dinner
Puerto del Sol 2008-06-18 17:31:02 So like I mentioned in my previous post, we were to a vacation late November 2007. The place we went to is called Puerto
Del Sol. This was a planned trip as a birthday gift to our mom. The resort is located in Bolinao, Pangasinan around 4 hours away from Manila.The place is lovely and full of greens. It looks more of like a grand rest house than a resort. Because the grounds is big and the number
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