Here’s my thought. Filipinos, we’re almost gone with the wind a few years back. Typhoon Yolanda, literally, almost buried us in the mud and blown us away to nowhere. Thousands were killed, lost their homes, morally degraded, starved, cried, and up to now desperate to recover from an unprecedented tragedy. The strong wind strikes again – Ruby. We’re flooded. We’re drowned. We collapsed again for a while. We welcome each year with this. We used to count days before Christmas. We used to light up candles a few weeks before we share our smile. Those were the November days. Some of us mourned while some of us commemorated the passage of our loved ones. We used to keep our smiles for a while and then burst it out in the cold days of December. The red colours and flashing lights are trying to calm us down. The cold wind is trying to speak its sorry after those tragic days that left us horrified. We can’t get out of the fire. It keeps on extending its tongue and grabs t

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year All! Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon sa Lahat! How do Filipinos celebrate Christmas? You'll be amazed. Here is my blog post for that. Christmas celebration is one of the most awaited event by millions of Christians around the world and of course, of the Filipinos here in the Philippines. Many says that Philippines has the longest Christmas celebration among any other nations on earth. How true? September Countdown As early as September, people are already decorating their houses with "parol" or lanterns, flashing lights, hanging bells, "belen" or a manger where Jesus, Mary, Joseph and several animals are gathered, and more stuffs that resemble the spirit of Christmas. September is also the month when TV and radio stations are starting to count down the number of days before Christmas. By October and November, people are already busy listing down the

This blog is the continuation of the previous post: "Singaporing" Manila – Reversing the Reality Part 2 When I went to Singapore in 2012, there is an estimated 163,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)in this country. When you look at the map of Singapore, it is really so small that some call this country as the “little red dot”. The government of Singapore is parliamentary (it has a prime minister) and motorists drive on the left side of the road. Now, take a look on these photos portraying the everyday life in Singapore. Singapore has 55 urban planning areas that are organized into five regions. If you take a closer look on the public transportation system of this country, you will notice how the railroads, highways, streets, and even river systems were developed. They devised the so-called 1991 Concept Plan which was introduced by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Here in the Philippines, we have the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) which was formed in 1975. Acco

The Real Face of Metro Manila This blog is the continuation of the previous post: "Singaporing" Manila – Reversing the Reality Part 1 Here are some facts and figures about Metro Manila. In 2011, the population of Metro Manila (or Kalakhang Maynila) is 11,855,975. Consisting of 16 cities and one municipality, its total land area is 638.55 sq. km. A permanent resident of Manila is called Manileño. As of 2010, Metro Manila is the 11th most populous city in the world. Here are some of the photos taken from different areas of Metro Manila today. You’ve just seen how Manila looks like today. In February 2013, I wrote “ Why Business will Grow in Manila? ” In this post, I cited that business will grow in Manila or in the Philippines provided that these three conditions would be met. Condition #1: Mind your own business. Condition #2: Forget about varying political and religious point of views. Condition #3: Save for real. Invest for real. I wrote this article three months after my ar

I stayed in Singapore as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) for one year and half. To be honest, I like staying in this country. However, I don’t love working in this country, the main reason why I only worked that long. But I could definitely say that I’ve done my mission of working abroad for good. I saved some. I helped some. Now, I am with my wife and my dogs, plants, and living and working in my own house. Simple life is the result of my short patience and sacrifices while working in Singapore. I am a kind of OFW who is very thrifty when it comes to travel and leisure. If it’s about spending for fun, I could definitely say that I am at the bottom of the list. Instead, what I like to do is explore those places where I will spend less or almost nothing and during off season when fares and cost of tickets are low. I am talking about places in Singapore. As you know, this country is very small in terms of land area. It ranks 190th(out of 249) in terms of total land area. With exce

Last January 4 to 6, 2014, I and my wife visited Malaysia, a neighboring country of Singapore . This is one of my most thrifty 3-days international trip ever. With good planning and preparation, we only spent a total of around Php10,000 (all-in) – that is from Singapore to Malaysia then back to Singapore. How were we able to do it? On this blog with amazing photos, I will share with you the tips and guides on how Php10,000 became enough for our once in a life time trip. A Thrifty Trip - Overview Well, believe it or not, in this 3-days thrifty trip we have been able to ride these 5 modes of transportation – airplane, bus, train, ferry, and car. From Singapore, we took Tigerair (a budget airline) at the cost of only Php5,200 (or S$152 for 2 pax on a two-way trip). This was made possible with 3 months advance booking and at the same time availing a $0 promotion on the return flight to Singapore. Budget airlines like Tigerair and Jetstar (my preferred airlines going back and forth to the