Flying to Manila

I know this is already a late post but still I wanna share what I have been to this previous weekend. Well, I just had a short trip/vacation to Manila last weekend. I took the morning flight of Cebu Pacific Airline last Friday and touched-ground Manila around 10:00am. It was a fair weather and just right to welcome me to Manila. But damn it was really hot and the air is heavy.

My brother went to fetch me with a motorcycle and just imagine having that vehicle flow with the Manila traffic. But, it was smooth and fast (para akong lumilipad dahil sa bilis). I stayed where my brother stays, at the AFPOVAI Village, near NAIA Terminal 3. Kaya, it only took him 10 minutes to drive us home. The place was nice but one thing I hate about it is that every hour may dumadaan na airplane. Ikaw ba naman ang tumira malapit sa NAIA, naku po! Just headache, I did not slept well.

SM Mall of Asia

Friday that was, I went to MOA and my brother headed to their office. I was alone roaming around SM Mall of Asia (SM MOA). It was the first time I visited MOA, kasi I thought when I was still working in Manila few years ago that MOA is that far. I mean mahirap mag-commute papunta dun, hindi pala. Toink!

I took lunch early kasi I did not had my breakfast before leaving Zamboanga. I was restaurant-hunting and ended up to T.G.I. Friday’s for lunch and that was just the most expensive lunch I spent in my entire life. Sigh. But it was worth the money I spent because it was a very delicious meal and beverage I had (see photo below).

After that lunch, I was looking for a place to do some work; a coffee shop perhaps. And yes, I tried all the coffee shops but they don’t have power outlet (lowbat na kasi ang battery ko) and the WiFi is not free. I need to buy Php 100 worth of Globe Broadband (WiFi) Prepaid Access. That Php100 is just for 1 hour. Whaaaatt??? So, expensive!!! Buti pa sa Zamboanga free ang WiFi sa mga coffee shop.

Click here for more SM MOA photos.

WordCamp Philippines ‘08

My Manila trip was intended for WordCamp Philippines ‘08. I attended the most awaited event where WordPress users, bloggers, and developers gathered together to learn and have fun. It was the first in the Philippines and in Asia. So, I grabbed the opportunity and booked for the event. And, I was there.

I arrived at the venue early, around 7:00am. And for that, I now have a WordCamp Philippines Mug as my reward, being an early bird camper.

I attended 3 classes during the morning session:

  1. Blogging 102 — Basics & Beyond by Jayvee Fernandez
    It was a very insightful talk he delivered, with an in-depth view of some marketing strategies with blogging. He primarily focused about hopes and dreams. Click here to read more about his talk.
  2. WordPress for Corporate Web Sites by Hans Koch
    Hans presented some examples of websites that uses WordPress as their  CMS to deliver online customers product information, company portfolio, etc.
  3. WordPress as a CME/CMS by Karla Redor
    During Karla’s presentation, she as well shared some website links that uses WordPress as CMS. She also discussed some plugins that might be useful in setting up CMS.

Then, we had our lunch break. Thanks to Chowking for our food. (Rice with pancit, lumpiang shanghai, siomai, and bochi? I forgot the name hehehe).

After finishing my food,  I went outside and approached the vending machine of Coca-Cola to get a can of Coke Zero. Unluckily, the machine did not received my new 1 peso coins but required me to drop old ones. Arrghhh.. humaba na ang pila sa likod ko at di pa ako tapos sa paghulog ng piso dahil naubusan ako. Good thing, the next in the line lend me some old peso and returned him some new ones… haha! Ayun, umabot rin sa 20 pesos at nakakuha na rin ako ng Coke Zero.

The afternoon plenary session was a lot fun - informative talks from Matt Mullenweg himself about the future of WordPress, Regnard Raquedan talks something about web standards, Ms. Aileen Apolo a.k.a. Ms. Google Earth Philippines, and J. Angelo Racoma presented Performancing Ads. Many prizes and giveaways where given away by the sponsors.

Then, Ria Jose launched the Cebu Pacific Blogging Challenge which gives you the opportunity to grab a free domestic travel via Cebu Pacific.

Thanks to the all the organizers of the 1st WordCamp Philippines! I enjoyed it alot. I got to meet new friends, fellow plurkista and learned new things. Kudos to all!

Trinoma North EDSA and Goodbye Manila!

Sunday, I headed to Trinoma North EDSA with my brother to check out the place and have another round of food trip.

Monday afternoon, took my flight back to Zamboanga. Home again, and had a nice trip.