Let’s Visit Asia

Always suffer from queasy stomach whenever you travel? Don’t let that stop you from going! Here are some tips from the July 2008 issue of ShopSmart to ease your motion sickness:
First, try these: GINGER AND WRISTBANDS Although far from proven, these are safe and worth a shot, especially for mild symptoms. Ginger root, typically sold in candies and capsules, has the most supporting evidence. Occasional use of up to 250 milligrams four times a day is considered safe for most people, including women who might be pregnant. Bracelets such as Sea-Bands, found at drugstores, stimulate acupressure points on the wrist …read more

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Asia is a popular destination for budget holidaymakers, and indeed, if you want more value for you buck, you will spoiled for choices of destinations here in Asia where you can really streeeetch your dollar. But if the budget’s real tight, you still might be able to pick up some ideas from these 13 secrets for stretching your travel dollar. I’m quoting the main points here, followed by some comments of my own, but go and read the entire article for more info.
1. Be mentally ready — identify a target budget, or at least make a mental note of how …read more

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The Philippine Tarsier is said to be the world’s smallest primate, measuring only about 4 to 5 inches in height. We’ve had the chance to see these tarsiers during our trip to Bohol, Philippines earlier this year and they were really, really tiny. For such a tiny head, though, they had such large eyes, so disproportionately large that are listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest eyes on any mammal.
The tarsiers we saw were kept in semi-captivity, allowed to hunt for food at night, and made to pose for pictures for tourists during the day. Quite …read more

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Do you always find yourself stressed over packing your suitcase? How many times have you thought, you’ve reduced your stuff to absolute necessities but your suitcase is still bursting at the seams you have to sit on it just to be able to zip it up?
If these sound familiar, perhaps you could use these tips for packing lightly. Basically, there are two rules:
1. Maximize all space, including the insides of your shoes, for example
2. Bundle wrap your clothes
Learn more about the art and science (indeed!) of traveling light from OneBag.com. Nifty tips, particularly now that more and more airlines are …read more

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In this day and age, staying connected during travel, whether for business or holiday, is essential. Most cellphone networks do provide global roaming services, but the charges are almost prohibitive. How do you keep in touch with folks back home or elsewhere and still keep the costs to a minimum?
One way is to forget about roaming and buy a local pre-paid SIM card instead, particularly if you foresee yourself making a lot of calls, or staying a longer period in a place. In the Philippines, for example new local SIM cards go for about US$1.50 and you can “load” credits …read more

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Planing on a trip abroad? Perhaps your summer holiday? Take note of Olivia Sterns’ Top 5 Travel Myths. Here they are in bold, and my comments to each.
Myth No. 1: Change Money At Home
Olivia says that carrying a large amount of cash makes you vulnerable to pickpockets. Agree. She says it’s better to rely on your ATM and credit cards. Er, I would say it depends. In a lot of places in Asia, ATM machines are hard to come by and may not accept all ATM cards. In some resorts and hotels in Asia, credit cards are also not …read more

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Just wanted to share a videoclip I took of Manila Bay, particularly the area behind the SM Mall of Asia, famed to be the biggest mall in the country, and 3rd worldwide:

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The last fews days before you go off on a holiday are usually the most stressful. Yo’ve got to wrap up things before you leave, pack and prepare for your travel, and at the same time make sure that things will be in reasonable order when you get back. How do you cope with the gazillion things to do???
Clark has prepared a handy packing and to-do list for travelers to help reduce that pre-travel stress. You can download the checklist way a few weeks before you travel, personalize it (you may have to add or remove tasks that don’t apply …read more

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Popular holiday island Koh Samui will be al the more accessible as Thai Airways launches flights to Samui starting February 15. There will be two flights daily from Bangkok (one at 7:45 am and another in the afternoon at 4 pm).
If you are a Royal Orchid Frequent Flyer member, you might also want to avail of discounted hotel rates and tours via the Special Royal Orchid Holidays packages.

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I just wanted to share some more pics taken from our recent trip to Bohol, Philippines:

The first few pics show the facilities of the resort where we stayed in, the Bohol Beach Club, and the beach pictures are of the resort’s stretch of white sand beachfront. The kid is mine

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