Phil. Travel Expo 2013

Like last year , I went to Phil. travex this year on the first day_ a Friday at MOA/SMX. Unlike last year thu', I didn't have any itinerary to fill-in.




This time, it was more snooping around. Had no intention to buy & book any airfare nor accommodation. Also travex  helped me huge to kill time while waiting for my daughters who were at the MOA Arena ( just across this SMX) watching concert of Paramore. I was with a girlfriend.

Still, couldn't help but to be gushy over cheap deals available in the expo. Only I couldn't really really commit  future dates at this time. Mainly because my daughter in college has undefined school schedule 'til summer. Neither I could be able to travel without my girls the way I used to when husband was still around. But with my partner at  farfar away land now, nobody will sit for my baby teens.

Back to the expo, crowd wasn't that mad when I entered. Maybe because it was already late at past 6 pm. Only, few hours left before closing at 9pm.

Airways booking still busy thu'. But not as crazy as I had seen in the past years. If I were keen on booking a flight, I thought the q was relatively manageable.





Province of Leyte booth with beautiful mannequin.

A tv production covering the event.

Thailand booth  with actual spa/massage going on. I saw a tip box there, token from those who would succumb to the temptation, haha.

Quite similar those two. Don't you think so?

Guam with live music and dance.

Girlfriend and I had fun at Solaire Casino & Resort booth. It has photo live booth which snaps a photo then you can upload & post it on your FB account same minute.. haha, yes we are that shallow!

There are also some slot machines for demo purposes. Solaire Casino & Resort is opening next month here in Ph.




There goes my PH travex this year. I'm happy to note that this time my wallet had not been slashed.. cos I didn't buy any deal! haha.

It's more fun in the Philippines ( travex2012 part2)

At the recent Phil. Travel & Tour Expo 2012, zestfully flagged was the newest slogan of our tourism : -
"It's more fun in the Philippines" .
True.
So still here at PTTE 2012  let me take you back to our old : -
" Wag maging dayuhan sa sarili mong bayan" (don't be a stranger in your own country).

:

:

V

It's easy, with all those cheap tour packages being offered left to right, all you have to do is start somewhere in our 7,107 islands you haven't been yet

Lots and lots of booths offering local tour packages  at the travex. Personally thu', pre packaged tour doesn't work for me. I'm more of free spirited backpacker traveler who needs more leeway on pocket and time. I hate to be boxed with limited time and places to see. More so, I don't have much on my wallet to afford some expensive tour packages. So the trips you see here in my blog are 99% DIY (do-it-yourself).

Travel expo  for me is more of availing on promo accommodations. I didn't have the chance to avail promo airfare  there. I grabbed super cheap airfares on the internet. But I preferred to avail accommodations at the expo rather than on line. Cos in the past, I had experienced buying promo deals (accommodations) on line and some of them were wasted unused. Usually, these promos are limited to book outside blockout dates/weekends/holidays which exactly the time I needed these places for my family off school and work. Here at the expo they let me book on the spot, on the dates I prefer including blockout dates. Aside from the fact that expo's special promo rates are much more lower than promo on line. I'm not even talking about regular published rates here. I'm cheap. I love promo deals. haha.

This time, I was particularly scouting on Boracay accommodations. For this year, I have airfare tickets already booked. One with my brother for his birthday and another set with my husband for our anniversary. This is to say, you'll get to see more of  Bora here in my blog this year.

Well, if you're going to Bora before me this year and you need some places to stay suggestions, I could refer you to my latest Bora, and from there you could browse back to other hotels at Boracay I've been to.

A flyer was handed to me from 2Go booth. Offered were reasonable passenger ship fares to Boracay and other Visayas and Mindanao destinations. hmmm, that's new. .maybe. .

There were numbers of Coron, Palawan booths but I don't have plans of revisiting that paradise this year so I didn't step- in to anyone of them. Anyway, again if you're into Coron this year, you could visit lots of Coron posts I have here and from there be linked to places I visited in Coron

I thought this was an icecream outlet. Same name of a popular Swiss ice cream brand. I wonder if this resort is Swiss owned too?

Heading to Cebu? Don't ask me, cos the last time I went there, I didn't bother to avail any accommodation. I left Manila on an earliest flight, day toured Cebu and got back home before midnight. Yep => here

No airfare needed. Road trip to the north. Been there at Zoobic also - Tiger Safari, Close Encounter, Croco Loco, and lots of other adventure activities to indulge in Subic.

Extend your road trip to further north => Baguio City. Hotel Elizabeth , I haven't stayed here yet. Maybe next time. The promo rates were catchy thu'. Wish I had availed one. But didn't. 

Lots of  beautiful booths displays. . I only had limited time to take photos. I just enjoyed myself  looking at the the creativity of each booth.

But I had more fun of availing cheap promo rates according to my family calendar. Next.next. will be the international booths offering tour packages. I know, this was Phil. Travel Expo. Let's just be happy that quite a lot of foreign countries participated cos after our own country we could now fly to our global neighbors, right? 

see ya,