Ironwulf.net: En Route – The Philippines, Travel, Photography Blog

I was already prepared for the worst for the 10+ hours Bus journey to Bagan from Yangon. Oh I’ve read so many horror stories of old buses breaking down, air-conditioning giving up mid-way the journey or even some bumpy roads that would shake you up awake. But, fortunate to say, it wasn’t even that close. Changes here were for the better and the journey was much more comfortable and easier than I expected. I guess it was too comfortable that I had to push my seatmate, who’s sleeping like oil, a few times as he constantly leans on my side of the seat.

There are no direct flights to Yangon, Myanmar from the Philippines so I had to make a couple of flights to get there. First step was to get Bangkok, the closest possible airport to Yangon. I was lucky to get a cheap flight there through an introductory promo fare from Seair/Tiger Airways from Clark. On the rainy morning of November 2, 2011, I made my way to Megamall which is only 15 minutes from home. The Philtranco Bus (P400) headed to Clark was ready for its 7am departure. It’s been a while since I travelled by my lonesome and that familiar feeling of fear and excitement crept in. I don’t know what to expect of Myanmar except that I would be cut-off from the rest of the world for two weeks.

“We Plan to have AirAsia in every ASEAN country” says Zaman Ahmad,the Regional Head of Customer Experience of AirAsia in Malaysia during a short talk in their office. I was sitting on a bean bag surrounded by a few stuffed angry bird dolls and some tall stools for sitting. The meeting room was definitely a ground where playful imagination and ideas can run around. Must be why AirAsia had been successful as a low-cost carrier when it started – they were having fun doing it.

It’s one of those impromptu decisions again where we booked a flight to exit on a different destination from where we started. I was hoping we would have time to explore Davao in our 6-day itinerary but Bislig occupied us so much and we don’t want to hasten it up just to see as many sights as we can. So in our 5th day, it was time to leave Bislig and head to Davao. Interestingly, it will be my first time to set foot on this beloved city of the south. With much excitement, we caught the 9am Bachelor Bus from Bislig and rode south to Davao.

It was time to move one. Butuan was okay but our main purpose for this trip was Bislig in Surigao del Sur. We weren’t really much of a hurry and checked out of our hotel mid-morning. Took a couple of the trademarked orange trykes to Langihan Bus Terminal where we’ll catch our ride to Bislig. It took only a few minutes to get to the station.nd-balangays/”>Butuan was okay but our main purpose for this trip was Bislig in Surigao del Sur. We weren’t really much of a hurry and checked out of our hotel mid-morning. Took a couple of the trademarked orange trykes to Langihan Bus Terminal where we’ll catch our ride to Bislig. It took only a few minutes to get to the station.

“AirPhil Express operates a cruise ship now?” I asked when I got invited to experience their new Fly and Sail AdvenTour Package. It turns out that AirPhil Express partnered with Star Cruises to create a unique travel package making a cruise escape more affordable to everyone. The idea of having a cruise seems too luxurious and exclusive for the can-afford or post retirement crowd but it turns out it can be for everyone. Since I haven’t tried a cruise before I was happy to join in. So here’s the start of a 4-day adventure with a bunch of media peeps.

When we did our Backpack Photography Banaue 101, we took the GV Florida and was surprised to find that there are actually sleeper bus here in the Philippines. I had my share of riding a sleeper bus when I was in Laos, journeying from Pakse to Vientiane and finding them here made me excited. We were joking then that we should try for the heck of it. Being in Tuguegarao, we now had a valid reason to try it out on our way home. So after a day of spelunking in Callao and Sierra Cave, we trooped back to our hotel and prepared for the ride home via GV Florida’s Sleeper Bus to Manila.