Tacsiyapo release your anger!

Are you angry? Hurt? Or just want to release your anger?

Then the Tacsiyapo wall of Isdaan located in Tarlac Philippines is the perfect place to release all that anger! We went there again on our way to Baguio to eat breakfast before we head out to our up north road trip. I first visited Tacsiyapo at Isdaan Restaurant way back 2008. Now other parts of the restaurant have also been developed like the angry birds and this elephant.

“Tacsiyapo” means is a local cuss word which means “P_tang Ina” in Tagalog and “Son of a B_tch” in English. Tacsiapo is a special area in Isdaan Restaurant where you can buy mug, plates and other things like radio and TV and trow it to Tacsiyapo Wall. The wall was specially built for individuals who want to release their anger by throwing those things to the wall.

Instead of actually uttering a vulgar word at your enemy, you can just throw any ceramic item at the wall and use your imagination that you are smashing those items to your enemy! The items that you can throw on the wall are NOT free. Price range of the items starts at around 15 Pesos for a mug or a saucer, 18 Pesos for a bowl, 35 pesos for a big plate, 150 pesos for a pitcher, and the most expensive is the T.V. which costs around 2 thousand pesos!

The Tacsiyapo wall is well labeled with people’s description such as well-hated “mother/father in Law”, “ex-wife/husband”, “ex-girlfriend/boyfriend”, “alcohol, and other bad habits”, “casino”, “high-blood, arthritis”, “creditor/debtor”, “magnanakaw (thief)” and even your annoying officemates or your boss and many more. There’s even a special wall for the Isdaan restaurant employees to release their stress from annoying customers and from the looks of the wall it seems that they haven’t used it at all.

If you are really carrying that much anger inside you then you may even get tempted to buy the Television to smash it on the wall. Talking about anger management!

#WalangPasok

President Benigno Aquino III already signed Proclamation No. 655 which declares 18 non-working holidays for the year 2014. If you check the list of the holidays, 15 of those holidays will fall on weekdays. Also, there are two additional non-working days for Islamic holidays that is expected to be announced once the dates are already finalized.

The regular & special non-working holidays for next year includes the following:

1. January 1 (Wednesday) - New Year's Day
2. January 31 (Friday) - Chinese New Year
3. February 25 (Tuesday) - People Power Anniversary
4. April 9 (Wednesday) - Araw ng Kagitingan
5. April 17 (Thursday) - Maundy Thursday
6. April 18 (Friday) - Good Friday
7. April 19 (Saturday) - Black Saturday
8. May 1 (Thursday) - Labor Day
9. June 12 (Thursday) - Independence Day
10. August 21 (Thursday) - Ninoy Aquino Day
11. August 25 (Monday) - National Heroes Day
12. November 1 (Saturday) - All Saints Day
13. November 30 (Sunday) - Bonifacio Day
14. December 24 (Wednesday) - Christmas Eve
15. December 25 (Thursday) - Christmas Day
16. December 26 (Friday) - Day after Christmas
17. December 30 (Tuesday) - Rizal Day
18. December 31 (Wednesday) - New Year's Eve
19 - 20. National holidays for Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha will be announced after the dates have been finalized.

So what are you waiting for? Start planning your calendar.

Boracay Worlds most romantic islands

Whenever someone asks me what’s my favorite place here in the Philippines I only have one answer Boracay Island.

Why? I simply love the place or just simply answer them “WHY NOT?” everything I look for a perfect vacation is already there. Boracay was even voted by Yahoo travel as “Worlds most Romantic Island.”

There are always fun and exciting things you can do, and places well worth visiting when you are in Boracay. There are even people from around the world who decided to stay because they too have fallen in love with the island and its people.

Another reason is the tons of activities that you can do when you are in Boracay. Surely you can find fun activities in Boracay that is suited for you. Some Boracay beach resorts already have contact agents that can assist you with your Boracay activities package.

My Its More Fun In The Philippines meme

Spa and Fitness

One of the sweetest ways to enjoy your vacation in Boracay is by pampering yourself. You can find a lot of relaxing spa or massage. Most hotels have their in-house spa, but you can also opt to independent masseuse that offer very affordable services right in the front beach which is perfect for travellers on tight budget. You can even get a massage during wee hours.

Scuba and Diving

Boracay is not only known for its white powdery beaches but also known for its great scuba diving spots. You can even feed the fishes with bread when you go scuba diving or helmet diving.

Party and night life

You can also find amazing bars and restaurants in the Boracay island. Boracay has got this wide variety parties that one can see. Most restaurants, bars and other establishments here offer different music genres so whatever kind of music you may like, you will surely find it here.

Whenever I go to Boracay I am sure that I do not need to think what to do next because there are a lot of options that I can choose from. From food, activities, relax or to simply appreciate the beauty of Boracay Sunset – I know that Boracay Island has a special place in my heart. I can list down more reasons why I keep coming back to Boracay but I think you should see it first hand for you to appreciate the beauty of the Boracay Island. I am sure once you visit the place you will think that saying its more fun in the Philippines is indeed true!

My travel to Puerto Galera

I have always wanted to travel around when I was younger. The first out of town trip that I did after college were Puerto Gallera way back 2005.

Puerto Galera renowned for its white beach and located at Oriental Mindoro, it's one of the beach destinations closest to Manila and one of the top tourist destination choices of Manilenos due to proximity as well as the numerous activities and adventures available in Puerto Galera. You will surely have a memorable time when you go to Puerto Galera especially with your friends or family.

How to get there:

1. Go to any of the following bus terminals located around Metro Manila. Travel time going to Batangas pier will take about 2 hours and the fare is around 200 Pesos.
a. Bus Terminals near the corner of Taft Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue (formerly Buendia), Pasay City. For those who are travelling by air going to Manila this bus terminal is nearest to Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Domestic Airport.
b. Bus Terminal near Ali Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City.
c. Bus Terminal in EDSA corner Kamias Street, Quezon City.
d. Bus Terminal in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

2. Upon arriving in Batangas pier, go to Terminal 3 where you can find the ticket booth of the ferry going to Puerto Galera. You need to pay the Terminal Fee worth 30 pesos per person as well as the Environmental User Fee for tourists going to Puerto Galera which is around 50 pesos per person. Since Puerto Gallera has 4 major points make sure that you are buying and riding the boat where you want to go. Sabang Pier, Muelle Pier, Balatero Pier and White Beach are the four major entry points of Mindoro. So if you want to go to White Beach make sure that you bought the right ticket and you are riding the ferry going to the White Beach.

If you are a foreigner, do not be shy to ask around if you are confused, most people who are travelling there and even the locals knows how to speak English.

2013 National Holidays

Plan your year ahead, here's a complete list of 2013 holidays.

A. Regular Holidays
New Year’s Day, Jan. 1 (Tuesday)
Maundy Thursday, Mar. 28
Good Friday, Mar. 29
Araw ng Kagitingan, Apr. 9 (Tuesday)
Labor Day, May 1 (Wednesday)
Independence Day, June 12 (Wednesday)
National Heroes Day, Aug. 26 (Last Monday of August)
Bonifacio Day, Nov. 30 (Saturday)
Christmas Day, Dec. 25 (Wednesday)
Rizal Day, Dec. 30 (Monday)

B. Special (Non-Working) Days
Black Saturday, Mar. 30
Ninoy Aquino Day, Aug. 21 (Wednesday)
All Saints Day, Nov. 1 (Friday)
Additional special (non-working) days
-Nov. 2 (Saturday)
-Dec. 24 (Tuesday)
Last Day of the Year, Dec. 31 (Tuesday)

C. Special Holiday (for all schools)
EDSA Revolution Anniversary, Feb. 25 (Monday)

I Left my Heart in Davao

A week ago, I went to Davao with my friends.

If you will base Davao’s image on the news you will surely think that it’s a very disorderly place where
killings of media men happened. The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre after the town where the mass graves were found will forever be one of the nightmares of this beautiful city.

Davao City is 750 miles south of Metro Manila, about 1 hour and 45 minutes by plane and it is situated at the southern portion of the Philippine archipelago and protected from typhoon all year round because of Mt. Apo. It is the largest city in Mindanao and people there speaks tagalog, bisaya and English.

I left Bulacan around 1AM to catch my 5AM flight to Davao City.

If you are planning to visit Davao anytime soon there are available daily flights to Davao from Metro Manila and Cebu from the major carriers of the country such as Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, and Zest Air.

to be continued...

Boracay Best Island by Travel + Leisure

I have been to Boracay several times already and this year I was able to go there 2 times already. I went to Boracay last March with my friends and last June for our company outing and I just booked another flight to Boracay this coming October. I go to Boracay not only because of its wonderful beach (that’s already a given), but because there’s a lot of things that you can do there.

Recently Boracay was voted as the World’s best island for 2012. Travel + Leisure readers voted Boracay not only because of its crystal blue waters and white, powdery sand but also because other criteria. Boracay Island received a mark of 93.10 topping the list of 10 best islands for this year. Travel + Leisure first recognize the beauty of Boracay last year when it ranked 4th Best Island of the world. Friends say that the Island was more beautiful when it was still not developed yet, wish I can see Boracay Island during that time. Oh well, Philippines has 7107 islands more to discover and the world have only seen one.

Check out some of the photos i got from Boracay.

Slimmers World GC From Go Travel

A friend gave me a Slimmers’ Gift Certificates sponsored by Go Travel. Since, i've been badly wanting a massage lately, I decided to grab the two (2) GCs worth Php1,500 of Services each without hesitations. The GC's, was a token from gotravel after availing their services.

After I got the certificates, I called SM North Slimmers if me and my friend can use the GC's on Saturday but sadly they are fully booked. Not a problem though because the certificates are valid till December 2012.

The free services choices that we can get from SM North Slimmers are gym, diamond peel/facial or body spa. I dont know about you but I guess that Php1,500 GC's is pretty nifty to pamper myself! Thanks for Go Travel for this wonderful treat! Check out Go Travel to book your next vacation.

Frommers ranked NAIA Terminal 1 as world's 2nd worst airport

Its find it a little weird that an airport can be included in the list of the best and worst airport. I hope they start the NAIA-1 P1.16B facelift to solve the terminal's problem and hopefully enough to be removed in the worst list.

The Best
1. Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) Hajj Terminal
2. Leifur Eriksson Air Terminal, Keflavik, Iceland
3. Seoul (South Korea) Incheon Airport
4. Wellington (New Zealand) "Rock" Terminal
5. New York JFK Airport Terminal 5
6. Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3
7. Marrakech (Morocco) Menara Airport Terminal 1
8. Madrid (Spain) Barajas Terminal 4
9. Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay
10. Bilbao (Spain) Airport Main Terminal

The Worst
1. New York JFK Airport Terminal 3
2. Manila (Philippines) Airport Terminal 1
3. Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/C
4. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi, Kenya)
5. Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 3
6. Amman (Jordan) Queen Alia Airport
7. New York LaGuardia Airport Terminal 5
8. Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport
9. Paris' Beauvais Airport
10. Chicago Midway Airport

If the NAIA-1 P1.16B facelift push trough, I think they should consider the “pro-bono proposal” video that designers Kenneth Cobonpue and Budji Layug with Architect Royal Pineda shared through Cobonpue’s Facebook page.

Here's the copy of the proposed design for the new NAIA Terminal Renovation

Special and Regular Philippine Holidays 2012

Every January I always take note of the Philippine Holidays. If you are planning to go out of the country or just to have some Rest and Recuperation (r&r) then this Philippine Holiday list for 2012 will definitely help you plan your travel.

Most people doesnt have the luxury to travel or have a vacation whenever they want and knowing which dates will have a long weekends can give you more time to relax and explore new places without having to use or file for vacation in your office. Plus, you can enjoy your vacation with your family, friends or special someone since everyone will be free during long Holiday time. Listed below is the official list of 2012 Holiday in the Philippines.

New Year’s Day – January 1 (Sunday)

Maundy Thursday – April 5

Good Friday – April 6

Araw ng Kagitingan – April 9 (Monday)

Labor Day – May 1 (Tuesday)

Independence Day – June 12 (Tuesday)

National Heroes Day – August 27 (Last Monday of August)

Bonifacio Day – November 30 (Friday)

Christmas Day – December 25 (Tuesday)

Rizal Day – December 30 (Sunday) B. Special (Non-Working) Days

Chinese New Year – January 23 (Monday)

Ninoy Aquino Day – August 21 (Tuesday)

All Saints Day – November 1 (Thursday)

Additional special (non-working) day – November 2 (Friday)

Last Day of the Year – December 31 (Monday C. Special Holiday (for all schools)

EDSA Revolution Anniversary – February 25 (Saturday)SECTION

Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha - The proclamations declaring national holidays for the observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha shall hereafter be issued after the approximate dates of the Islamic holidays have been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations, whichever is possible or convenient. To this end, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) shall inform the Office of the President on which day the holiday shall fall.Link to the Proclamation 295, s. 2011

So what are you waiting for? Plan ahead and do not forget to travel Philippines to see why Its more fun in the Philippines.

Its more fun in the Philippines

After the unveiling of Department of Tourism (DOT). The new campaign is simple and easy to understand. The new campaign trended in twitter an

d i've read that its another its a copy of Switzerland's tourism campaign but I think that the "It's more fun in the Philippines" campaign has made a positive impact because there are many netizens are starting to share their own versions of DOT newest slogan. Pinoys are fun and that's why I think it will attract the netizens to show the world why It's more fun in the Philippines.

Sarcastic litany like (“Traffic. It’s more fun in the Philippines;” “Pollution. It’s more fun the Philippines;” “Robberies. It’s more fun in the Philippines;” “Bloody drinking and videoke sessions. It’s more fun in the Philippines”) have already started showing in social networking websites. They should stop it and instead of not contributing they should just think of better ways to how they can help our country.

If you want to create your own version of Its more fun in the Philippines slogan visit www.morefunmaker.com.

Sunset. Its more fun in the Philippines

Skimboarding More fun in the Phillipines

Play time More fun in the Philippines

I came, I saw, I conquered Mt. Pinatubo

I survive the Mt. Pinatubo trek. It was one of my much awaited planned trip for the year 2011 with my college friends. Although some of my friends wasnt able to join us in our Mt. Pinatubo adventure, I was stilll excited because I was dying to go there since last year and also because of the so many things that people say about the beauty of the once powerful and devastating Mt. Pinatubo.

On January 2, 2011 along with my friends Mark and Lennel started our adventure from our pick up point at Q. Ave where we met the agent who fixed all our needs for this trip. We left Q. Ave around 3 a.m. and arrived at Capas, Tarlac around 6 am. We had a short break and ate our breakfast at Mcdonalds before continuing to the jump off point in Barangay Sta. Juliana, also in Capas where the 4 x 4 vehicle were waiting for us.

The terrain going to the starting point of the Mt. Pinatubo treakking was really rough and bumpy but the sights of the nature formed naturally were really amazing. I never imagined that such beautiful scenery were formed due to Mt. Pinatubo eruption.

After the rough ride, we started our trek to the famous Mt. Pinatubo crater. It was more or less a two-hour walk and it was really exhausting (for me at least). It wasn't really easy for me to trek the volcano because that was my first trek and i didnt even prepared for it. Ok, enough of the excuses... I had my first taste of muscle fatigue during that trek but I must say, all the pain was worth it especially after seeing the breathtaking view of the Mt. Pinatubo crater itself. The cool wind, the wonderful natural scenery was really amazing. We even swam in the crater eventhough the water was freezing.

If you want to go there and dont want to hire a Mt. Pinatubo tour agent like what we did, here's how to get there:

1. From Manila, you can take any bus going to Dagupan, Pangasinan, Tarlac, or Baguio.

2. Inform the driver that you need to go down to Capas, Tarlac Junction where you can ride a tricyle or a jeep from the market going to barangay Sta. Juliana where the jump off point of Mt. Pinatubo trekking is located.

3. Remember that you need to register in the barangay office when you get to Sta. Juliana. Upon your registration you can also ask them for other alternative activities that you can in the Mt. Pinatubo crater such as kayaks and boat ride which are available upon request. Swimming in the crater is free but remember to keep your trash or trow them at designated places. Or you can also arrange for a trek package with a spa for additional fee.

4. From there you can rent 4 x 4 vehicle that willl bring you to the start of the trek where you will start your own journey of conquering Mt. Pinatubo...

Do not forget to take a lot of photos... You will surely enjoy the adventure of trekking Mt. Pinatubo!

Tacsiyapo at Isdaan

Have you been to ISDAAN? It’s like a theme park with a restaurant (that serves great food). That’s how I see it. Giant Mayan/Aztec-themed sculptures will be the first things that you will notice when you drive along the hi-way at Gerona, Tarlac. That will surely be enough to make anyone who passes the hi-way curious of Isdaan.

You will find floating bahay kubo when you enter the restaurant as well as giant fish (statues) hanging from fishing-rods. They have whole lot of comfort food that you will surely love from seafood, grilled meat and cholesterol-packed goodies and veggies! There are a lot of things to see and enjoy around the place. They even have now 2 huge Buddha statues. You will also find giant urinating/spitting monkeys where you can play with your family or friends and try your luck staying dry.

You can even win a 1 kilo of fish when you successfully cross the San Kilo Bridge back and forth carrying a bucket of water. Just be sure not to fall and you have spare clothes because you need to pass through the giant urinating monkey. Well if you don’t want to get wet you can still enjoy their sumptuous food and enjoy the ambiance and feed the fish. Yes, you can feed the fish there for free.

The Tacsiyapo wall is another attraction they have which was featured many times on TV and on print. You can buy a mug or plate for P 8-15 or even a functioning TV (P1,500) and throw it to the wall. You can choose different things to that you can throw to the wall. Tacsiyapo is a great way to release your tension and anger.

My bro tried it and according to him it’s a different way to to release your anger... He tried smashing some plates and cups when we went there. Well, I don’t know who would be crazy enough to drive for 4 hours from Manila just to throw a TV into a wall but sure thing is Tacsiyapo is a great gimik for Isdaan.

Some people don’t want to stop by this place maybe because of its design with stone giants. But I think this is the best place to stop over especially if you are going to Baguio or Pagudpud or before driving back home to Manila. So be sure to include Isdaan on your list when you plan to go up North again and I assure you that Isdaan is really worth your time.