Shopping Finds

The Philippines is the second largest archipelago in the world, making it a natural playing field for water sports and adventure tourism. It’s no wonder that Singaporean adventurer and Guinness World Record Holder Khoo Swee Chow chose the Philippines as the place to attempt another world record on his list. But kayaking all over the Philippines is more than just a new world record for Swee Chiow; it’s also a way to celebrate 40 years of Filipino-Singaporean diplomatic relations. The expedition has been aptly named The Friendship Kayak because of the Filipino people’s hospitality and support for the journey; without it, this expedition would not be made possible.

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Today at Sofitel, the Byaheng Pinoy Campaign with Apl was finally launched. This new campaign is the fruit of a long-time collaboration with Black Eyed Peas member Apl.de.Ap and Tourism Secretary Ace Durano. As a globally successful artist and Pinoy at heart, Apl is the perfect icon to represent the Philippines and promote Philippine tourism to the rest of the world. According to Apl, he’s proud to showcase all the beautiful spots in the Philippines. “I wanted to help out tourism, to inspire others to visit the Philippines; to create jobs for people and help out the country and the community,” he said in an interview.

The campaign started out with the launch of Apl’s new single, Take U to the Philippines. The music video is geared toward the young MTV generations as well as the global traveler and culture connoisseur of all markets. This includes the young at heart like myself. I found myself swaying and rocking to this video even during the soft launch in Singapore where the The Black Eyed Peas performed at the F1 Rocks Concert. Apl himself wrote the lyrics to the song, with some minor suggestions from Ace Durano to highlight local destinations that tourists must check out.

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Beat the holiday rush and buy your plane ticket home without stretching your budget! Cebu Pacific’s Go Lite seat sale is offering P888 tickets to any domestic destination starting today until October 12, 2009 for the travel period from November 1 to December 31, 2009. There are 32 domestic destinations from Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Clark, and 20 direct flights from Cebu to key cities in Mindanao and Visayas. Avail of this special promo and grab your P888 plane ticket by visiting www.cebupacificair.com or paying through Cebu Pacific ticketing offices.

No matter where you are in the world, you can never forget the country you grew up in, even if your home country is constantly ravaged by typhoons, floods, and inept politicians. Black Eyed Peas member Allan Pineda Lindo a.k.a. Apl.de.ap left the Philippines when he was 13 years old, but still retained his nationalism despite a successful musical career and a comfortable life in the United States.

To show his love for the Philippines and the Filipino people, Apl.de.ap and Department of Tourism Chief Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano spearheaded a new tourism campaign called “Take Me to the Philippines.”

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I consider myself a very thrifty person, but I’m not one to just let my money sit in the bank and accumulate interest. All that money I save up ends up being used for traveling. Like the new breed of young Filipinos, I am gripped by an insatiable wanderlust that can only be satisfied by packing my bags and going somewhere. I don’t just travel because I want to take a break from my everyday routine (although that is a plus too). My desire to go to places has more to do with a curiosity about how other people live, a craving for a specific local cuisine, or the need to see friends and view my destination from a local’s perspective.

Part of traveling also involves bringing something back home to loved ones who weren’t able to join you. For young travelers who can’t afford to splurge on expensive souvenirs, they usually take home pictures, which say more about their experiences than any key chain or t-shirt can. So if you’re heading out of town or to an Asian destination during the next couple of months, don’t forget to bring a camera cos your best photo might just win you a free trip to Thailand, Malaysia, or Singapore.

Cebu Pacific just launched the Wandering Juan Travel Photo Contest, which is your basic travel photography contest with an interesting twist. All entries must include a pair of tsinelas somewhere in the photo to represent the wandering Juan attitude. Once you’ve got your photo, head over to www.wanderingjuan.com and upload your photos into any one of the three categories:

• Sights for photographs of landmarks and other scenery featuring a pair of tsinelas. Entries in this category should include a caption of no more than six (6) sentences.

• People for photographs of local residents encountered during the trip featuring a pair of tsinelas. Entries in this category should include a description of the person (including his or her name and occupation) or a memorable quote from the person not exceeding six (6) sentences.

• Travelogue for a series of five (5) photographs featuring a pair of tsinelas. The series of photographs must tell a story. Each photograph in the series must come with a one (1)-sentence caption.

The winners get free tickets to exciting destinations such as Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, courtesy of Cebu Pacific, as well as exciting prizes from Canon. So if you’re going to travel between the contest period of July 1, 2009 to October 31, 2009, make sure you’ve got your favorite pair of tsinelas with you.

And if you need some help getting started on your contest entries, here are several samples to get your creative juices running:

To upload photos or find out more information about Cebu Pacific’s Wandering Juan Travel Photography Contest, visit www.wanderingjuan.com or view the complete contest mechanics.