Food Survival in Japan

05/27/201404/08/2016 / bunsongpayat / 3 Comments

Visiting Japan is neither just enjoying the sweet scenery of cherry blossoms nor having a glimpse of おたく [o-ta-ku] life in Akihabara. It can be just experiencing an authentic 温泉 [on-sen ; hot spring] after you learn the modern life in Tokyo. I do know some people who ended up doing shopping only because Japan fashion is so upbeat and fun. Like me, you probably listed Japan in your bucketlist because experiencing their culture will be a good shock to what you are used to.

Or…

Maybe you just want to indulge in sushi. Who could blame you for such reason? The love of many for Japanese cuisine may have started from loving the sushi first. I loved sushi first then went on with ramen and takoyaki…and now, sake.

I barely eat in Japanese restaurants in Philippines because they are so expensive. Most of the time , after we pay for an expensive set of sushi platter and gyudon, the authentic taste the Japanese restaurants claimed they can give was just not there.

Continue reading →

How Much I Shed in Japan

05/20/201404/08/2016 / bunsongpayat / 1 Comment

First blog on travel expense. Oh. Ok. T_T

I always talk and write about Japan but never really had a plan to go there unless for a school admission. Japan is too expensive, I always tell myself.

Submitting a bank statement for a travel visa gave me enough worries. What about the budget I have to save to experience Mt. Fuji, Skytree, Harajuku, Shibuya and Sushi? All money topics related with travel always give me second thoughts on pushing the travel.

And I am not the only one.

Found a good place to stay

“So….how much do I need to have in my bank account?”

“How much should I expect to spend?”

Continue reading →

Sneaking Out Food

08/26/201306/28/2014 / bunsongpayat / Leave a comment

Yeah. That’s true. I sneaked out bread and jams.

This is just one of the things already accepted even by the hotel staff and management. I think, it is safe to say, these foods are already included in our hotel accommodation. I am pretty sure because I know few people who work in hotels. They even said that many guests exceed the room limit (and I bet you think you outsmarted them). They just don’t really bother you sneaking out few more people into your room. You know what really annoys them? VERY Dirty Room, which, they said, “looks like you don’t really give a shit” and “unhygienic”.

Anyway, back to the food I was talking about. The room is for two people and that means the breakfast is also for two people. It will be a long day so we should be at least have breakfast. So what happened was we sneaked out some bread and jams from the restaurant and bundled them up in tissues.

Continue reading →

I heart you, Promo Fares!

01/22/201304/08/2016 / bunsongpayat / Leave a comment

Hep Hep! It’s a new year for travel! New sets of promo fares from Cebu Pacific Air! I am excited! I am planning for new lands to explore. Hoho!

But let’s be wise while Cebu Pacific Air is also being wise with how they will offer different promo fares this 2013. To help you somehow on how frequent Cebu Pacific Air ffers promo, here is what I have observed:

They usually offer them during payday period.
If there is a holiday or anything like Valentine’s Day coming up, watch out!
If your travel dates is 2-3 months from now, then the last promo for that period might soon be up. But don’t let your hopes be too high! They might offer it for only very limited seats. (Think about it, because they are just filling up the empty seats of planes that are already almost occupied)
Piso Fare is usually one year at the least before the scheduled booking date. I happened to notice that the Piso Fare for November next year will be offered around September or October this year. My flight to Bangkok last 2010 was only P202. There are at most two Piso Fares offered each year.
If you book online, try to check the availability of the promo fare for number of combination from the total number of people who will travel. Sometimes, a plane will only have, for example, 3 seats, available for promo fare. And when you try to book straight on for 4 seats, it will not give you the promo fare. For this one, I will book the 3 seats who will have the promo fares and then another 1 for a regular fare. After I total all airfares for the 4 people, I will just divide it up for 4 people so everyone can benefit from the promo.
Book after midnight. The website will get thousands of traffic during the day and there will be a higher probability that you will not get the promo fares. Try booking during the day and you’ll find the website in its slowest state. Everyone is online and juggling their preferred schedules online. If everyone you are traveling with is sleeping, then get first their passport details and of course, their assurance that they are letting you to book it for them whatever the cheap schedule you happen to get from the airline.

I still think Cebu Pacific Air is the most budget airline I have ever encountered with. A regular airfare to Osaka from Manila in Philippine Airlines will cost you around P10,000 but in Cebu Pacific Air it’s just around P5,000 only. The price ranges of Cebu Pacific Air is so wide that some dates are around P10,000 but most of them are offered at P5,000. So, stay alert for more promo fares this 2013!

*none of the photos posted here are from me.

Cancelled Flight

01/17/201309/10/2016 / bunsongpayat / Leave a comment

Have you ever booked a trip then cancelled it anyway?

I have. 3 times.

Thailand 2008

I and a HS friend were always thinking about traveling to Bangkok. Buy clothes and accessories there then sell them here. So we booked our flights a year before the planned date. It was supposed to be my first travel with only a friend because I always travel with family. It was exciting to prepare for a travel on my own terms. But when Red Shirt Protest Rally broke out in Bangkok, number of security issues were all over the international news and travel prohibitions were raised in most countries. My friend backed out.

Peace-ing out!

Malaysia 2010

I was supposed to visit Kuala Lumpur with college friends. We booked our flights just because the airfare was in a promo (around P2,000 roundtrip all-in). I backed out after few months because the planning became stressful. Although I love the idea of traveling with friends, travel was able to still bring out some more worst things from us. Haha. (Sorry guys! Bleh.) We had not yet listed the places we would visit but we were already having disagreement on how much should be our budget. Haha!

Nightlife Lights

Boracay 2011

We suddenly booked our flight to Boracay one day and then planned out the rest very well. We already had promo plane tickets and discounted room reservation. Everything was going ok. What went wrong? Our schedule happened to fall in my finals exam. So I backed out few days before our scheduled date. To make things worst, a strong typhoon went in the way of our well-planned vacation. No one was able to go to Boracay in the end.

What’s up, dude?

So, what is my point here?

When I reflected back on all the cancelled trips I have, I realized only one thing: We can be so impulsive at times when we learned a new airline promo. We book a flight regardless if we really have an intention of traveling or not. “It is a promo, why pass the chance?”. We always think that the promo fares are good opportunities to travel cheap. But booking without even having an intention beforehand is more expensive.

Well, this concern is nothing if you are ready to pay what impulsive traveling will cost you.

1st Photo from Bangkok, Thailand last 2010

2nd and 3rd Photos from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last December 2011