2014 Malasimbo Music & Arts Festival at Puerto Galera

If you are looking for a truly different kind of music festival that combines modern and ethnic vibes in a majestic mountainside called Malasimbo, check this out which will b held on February 27th to March 3rd 2014.

The Malasimbo Music & Arts Festival only started in 2011 but it is now dubbed as the first international music and arts festival of its calibre in Asia. Imagine listening to local and international musicians in the middle of a tropical garden of Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro. 


It is advised to please book in advance your tickets and accommodation for your convenience. 

2014 Philippine Friendship Balloon Festival at Clark, Pampanga

Screenshot source: Philippine Hot Air Balloon website

Good news everyone! The 2014 Philippine Hot Air Balloon is pushing through! The Department of Tourism will now take over the management of this event to be held on Apr. 10 - 13, 2014. Remember the post I wrote about last November, that the Clark Development Corporation announced there is no hot air balloon festival next year because "it is to soon"? Well, please disregard it! 

Due to the overwhelming plea of the public, Department of Tourism Region III Director, Ronnie Tiotuico said that "we don't want to break the tradition / legacy" so this has to happen. The Department of Tourism is actually the pioneer organizer of the ballooning event 18 years ago before it was transferred to another group.  

My 2013 Travel Blogger's Christmas Wishlist

Ever since I got bitten by the travel bug years ago, I was able to control buying unwanted or luxurious things. Call me exaggerated but whenever I check the price tag, I tend to compare the product or the service to a flight ticket or a round trip somewhere. And it works pretty fine though especially now that I am a bootstrapping entrepreneur - making money out of promoting tours and festivals. I can now work anytime and anywhere - at home, in the beachfront or at the coffee shop et cetera!

This location - independent lifestyle though brought so much changes to my needs and wants. Above all my top priorities  nowadays is to always keep connected via mobile and online to my travel business partners and clients anywhere I go.  My world now revolves to joining events and meeting awesome people that are into to travel, blogging, social media, tourism, startups  and entrepreneurship.

A Glimpse of Circus Vargas in Manila

They say if you want to create a
memory that lasts a lifetime, go watch a circus. That's what I am yet to prove to myself because I have never watched such aside from those local performers during fiesta as a kid. 

For a cheap amount of ticket, I got to see simple tricks that entertained me for about half an hour. That's it. 

That is why I am really excited to join the press conference for Circus Vargas, an internationally - known travelling circus group that will perform here in Manila this holiday season.

Avoid the Morning Rush: Take the morning plunge with Nestea RTD

Do you go through your mornings in one big blur?  Do you find yourself racing from one task to another without enough time to breathe? 

The morning rush is something we have grown accustomed to and we no longer question if chaotic mornings are the only way to go. But peaceful and blissful mornings are possible if we take the plunge the night before. 

A great day starts with good night’s sleep, making the morning plunge a relaxing dip into your day.  

So here are a few things to do the night before to finally avoid the morning rush.

Bangon Tour: Department of Tourism's Project Aid to Typhoon Victims

If you are looking for a tour package and the same time aiming to help victims of the recent typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda, check out Bangon Tour. This is one of the many initiative courtesy of the Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions Board to boast our domestic tourism industry. Of course the Bangon Tour project will assist the government's eforts to typhoon survivors. 

Accredited travel agencies and other private sectors that are part of this are encouraged to voluntarily share a percentage of their net income to help fund local foundations and charitable institutions. 

Sixteen tourist spots are featured: Ilocos, Tuguegarao, Baguio, Batangas-Puerto Galera, Manila-Tagaytay, Puerto Princesa, Baler, Bicol, Cebu, Davao, Bohol, Iloilo, Boracay, Siargao, CDO-Camiguin, and Batanes.

So next time you plan a trip, I suggest you avail any of the Bangon tour packages. Not only you had fun when you get home but you became a part in rebuilding lives and businesses. 

For more information, you may click here to view the official website of Tourism Promotions Board Philippines.

FREE Travel for Writers, Photographers and Graphic Designers

Travelibre, a website that promotes tourism of the Philippines by producing contents related to adventure, trip planning to on and off - the - beaten path has a volunteer program that gives anyone to travel free! In return, a write - up, photograph or graphic art should be produced in order to be published to Travelibre. 

I am echoing this awesome opportunity to travel junkies who happen to be writers, photographers and graphic designers. This is one of the best free avenues to learn travel writing, photography and design right at the moment!

They also get to connect with other travel junkies: this is what I love the most because the opportunity to collaborate and just being in the company of people who share the same passion is incredibly fantastic! Volunteers will have a free inside scoop to places and otherwise inaccessible to tourists and the most important is the chance to get published! 

Batu Caves in Malaysia

Me and Lyn my travel buddy

Do you know that I have been to Malaysia for one day only? Yeah pretty short really because we spent 2 days in Singapore prior and we should have booked our flight back to Manila via Malaysia.  If you want to know how we did a Singapore  - Malaysia trip for 4 days only, please click here.

Anyway lessons are there to teach us what to do next time! So here am I giving you the 1st part out of the 3 reasons to visit Malaysia if you only have a day!

The Batu Caves is a popular tourist attraction which features the world's tallest murti (consecrated statue) of Sri Murugan Swami, a Hindu deity. It is located 13 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur and believed to be around 400 years old! K. Thamboosamy Pillai, an Indian trader was inspired by the V - shaped entrance of the main cave so he decided to build a temple to Lord Murugan within the caves. 

The Glamour and Sacrifices of a Freelance Life

At the Rockwell Makati Mall. Thanks Eve for the pic 

Whew! I just opened my Facebook 2013 Year of Review biggest moments and it gave me fluffy eyes because most of those are very true indeed, on top is me getting published in a local magazine last March (photo shoot and interview done in December 2012).  If you want to see what I have been through at least those I can share online, you may click here.

Today I am kind of celebrating my third month of being a freelancer and finally had the courage to take my first few steps to a loaction - independent lifestyle. 

This new chapter in my life was once described by a buddy as "nothing more than a career suicide". I replied back saying "I just  killed an old self who is no longer happy to what I am doing over the years". 

The truth is there are a lot out there working in a job that they don't like and they are well - paid but they just can't quit because they fear they will starve to death, won't be able to support their family or they are just too coward to make life changing decisions. I am one of them before. 

Circus Vargas Presents "Magikaria" in Manila

Christmas is just around the corner! We want the holiday season more enjoyable and memorable with the arrival in Manila of Circus Vargas troupe, one of the world's biggest travelling circuses. Dubbed as "Magikaria: A Fantastic Magical Experience", viewers will witness  a production filled with gravity - defying flights, flashy costumes, fun - dance routines and other deliriously delightful antics.

With thoughts of their past performances seen by millions of people worldwide, Circus Vargas will once again showcase their astonishing athleticism, physical beauty and acrobatic prowess of the men, women and children behind this. 

Circus Vargas promises to bring back the old school circus entertainment mixed with modern twists. There’s the fabulous fluidity of the aerial ballet that uses streams of chiffon material hanging from the ceiling. There’s also Zorro Low Wire who leaps and flips over various obstacles in his way, and other acrobats doing some fun trampoline style tricks.

2014 Sinulog Festival Schedule of Activities

Photo Courtesy of Facebook Fan Page Sinulog 2014

Sinulog Festival is a yearly event held every third Sunday of January in Cebu to celebrate and honor  the Santo Niño or Child Jesus. 

The highlight of the celebration is the Sinulog contest or the Sinulog Grade Parade on the ninth day where competing groups in bright colored costumes dance to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs.

5 Tips To Maximize Your Adsense Earnings

Can you see those two rectangular ads located on top of my blog title? These are advertisements from Google Adsense. Every legitimate clicks each of them receives has a corresponding dollar amount usually (less than a dollar) and when it reaches a minimum of $100, I will get paid! Yesterday, I just received my first paycheck worth $102.99 or Php 4, 407.56 via Western Union Money Transfer.

Google Adsense is the advertising platform obviously from Google where publishers and advertisers are its main components. Publishers are websites that show advertisements from Adsense. Advertisers are businesses that pay every time their advertisements are clicked through Adsense.